¡achtung!

H and I are finding an unlimited stream of documentaries on Justin.tv and the latest saga that we are engrossed with is the history of submarine warfare during WWII, endearingly produced by the Royal Spain Marine.

There's a lot of in depth knowledge presented in the series, that makes good use of a wealth of historic footage--clips are never repeated nor the soundtrack of incidental music which is always different too. The documentary has a charming A/V class feel to it sometimes (translated from Spanish to English, then dubbed in German), but certainly not in quality of in scholarship. Although we have watched a lot of programs on this theme and been to the U-Boot yards and docks along the Atlantic, it never really registered to me that submarines were taking advantage of more than a niche in the battlefield. The documentary took the time to people the culture of the submariners and impress what a really big piece of the war that front was, and not the planes and rockets that garner more attention. Similarly, WWI some contend that the Empires fell for the want of horses. One of the most significant denouements of the war was perpetrated by sloppy manufacturing of torpedos, which led to a reversal of power and untold lives and supplies not lost. The Italian war-time navy even produced little one-man vehicles that zipped around the Mediterranean like under water Vespas. One architect of the Kriegsmarine's submarine campaign, Otto Kretschmer, surrendered and was taken as a prisoner-of-war to Canada. Afterwards, he joined the German civil naval forces and rose to the admiralty of the NATO navy. Like the German engineers who became darlings of the American space agency during the Space Race, many apparently could transition into such careers. The components of peace and war are quite complex affairs to unravel.

specie

The rampant and entrenched fear of euroblivion for the common currency and for Europe's economic and political future relevance seems to me rife with dishonest and expedient bursts of fright. The currency union, many skeptics and hand-wringers argue, was conceived with errors, primarily citing that the push for economic integration without political alignment was too naive.
On the surface, that is a compelling argument but maybe that also smacks a bit of sophistry: Greece and Spain may not have the same tax regime and collecting mechanisms as Germany or France, nor perhaps the exact same philosophy when it comes to maintaining social programs, but I think that peace, cooperation, and willingness to participate in the EU parliament and abide by those rules does suggest a good degree of coming together politically. Differences that are not mutually exclusive, even in the context of the shared euro, and there is no politics or policies incompatible with the whole of the community. And granted financial inequalities glossed over made it possible for some nations to secure more and more cheap credit, but all that virtual money is created in a vacuum, betting on making good on outrageous debts, without the backing of property or manpower hours behind it—on both sides. Now these ledgers threaten a renewed stripping of that varnish, moves to create inequalities artificially and enhance competition. I am sure there was greed all around and not all players had the purest of intentions, but the goal of the EU was not this inversion. The fear that is visited on the economies and governments of Europe is not only a diversion-tactic and is going to spur the change that will safeguard these ideals, but rather help vouchsafe the lenders and usurers who've exhausted the opportunities elsewhere. Responsibility, fairness and stability are not fast-moving commodities.

never brought to mind or party likes it's the year 1932

François the head is certainly ready to party. Daily Mail writer Dominick Sandbrooke presents an interesting, though rather bleak and depressing, article paralleling the political and economic framework of the year to come with that dark period eighty years ago.

The analysis is not a condemnation or pronoun-cement of doom but does offer some stark similarities in mood and faith that are in turn some stark warnings. Though I think when there is profit to be made from social anxieties and fearful portrayals it is hard to escape corporate and media traps, the world, I think, will not go down the same path. There has been an embarrassment (embarrassment as a unit of measure, like the cup of kindness that we all share as well) of disappointment and discouragement, but rather than bringing the world to the brink of chaos, maybe positive things will come of this frustration--a backlash that steamrolls injustice, avarice and gentrification. Predictions are notoriously difficult to make, and perhaps now that Mr. Sandbrooke has put his reporting out there, though he never posed it as anything more than a question, a possibility, maybe he has jinxed it, our future guarded from all cheerless best-guesses. We can resist the influence-peddlers and propagandists and make this coming year a bright one, though hope and pride both humble before the lessons of history.

siss boom bah!

Around here, people are really keen on heralding the new year with explosive volleys of private fireworks displays, and H and I are looking forward to doing the same at midnight. It is a wild and lawless moment in the year, but it does not happen completely in a regulatory vacuum as the noisy and colourful celebrations might suggest. Like the officious vestments of the Carnival Kings and Queens, there is an agency that oversees the safe and orderly execution of these neighbourhood rallies, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und prüfung (kurz BAM). Despite the wide and potent variety of Silvester fireworks available at any grocery store, there is still a market for smuggling in even bigger and more powerful (and unsafe) explosives from eastern Europe. The BAM, under its new safety campaign "Kein Boom! ohne BAM!" (No boom without BAM!), has intercepted some particularly dangerous sounding cargo: rockets that shoot up to forty metres in the sky with a battery to power the second stage, which can launch the fireworks another forty metres.

Aside from the risk it could pose at such heights to aircraft, apparently the second-stage ignition is unreliable and as likely to fire off the rocket another forty metres horizontally or straight back into the ground. Though such revelry is tolerated only at New Year’s, maybe the practice ought to be expanded, as a way to keep the middle-distance of the sky free of the coming aerial drone race, when corporations and law-enforcement, encouraged by drone-manufacturers, get in on the patrolling, and there are traffic-control drones, meter-maid drones, news reporter drones, ambulance-chasing drones, etc. I hope such patrols don’t come with the new year,  but maybe the booms, bangs and bams can chase away those bad portents too. In the meantime, we’ll celebrate and have some fun. Happy New Year! PfRC wünscht allen ein besonders frohes neues Jahr und guten Rutsch!

like disco lemonade

This is just a personal reflection, but I thought it was significant, driving home and listening to the radio, that I did not include any accom-plishments in the arts in the PfRC year-end revue. I wanted to remember the talents that have passed on, artists, innovators and visionaries whose departure has left the world poorer--like Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, Loriot, Andy Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor and Václav Havel and dozens of others, separately and I did see a bunch of enjoyable movies this past year and heard some contemporary music that was good, funny and clever--although, more often than not, it was the classics, as with the music in the car on the way home from work, a solid block of cult hits from the 80s and 90s between Christmas and New Year’s with some refreshingly choice and nostalgic songs--I had not heard Ryan Paris’ bouncy Dolce Vita in years and years or even Marcy Playground from when I was in college (and I know that reference dates me, as it does for those whom lived through more exciting times). I would not condemn everything modern as forgettable and unoriginal, as some do, but it was strange that nothing registered. It is just maybe indicative of the age that talent is retiring and that many new works are inspired by and derivative of the past, the memorable, resounding and catchy mostly created and polished by a thousand anonymous talents with know-how, heart or a trust.