All's Okay again.

Room 7, Station F

I'm sitting here on the side of my bed in the Landeskrankenhaus in Klagenfurt, Austria.

My good friend, Gionluca Serafini will pick me up tomorrow at 11.30 AM and bring me home to Bleiburg.

Outside, for the first time it is drab and dreary. Heavy cloud cover hides the Sun which has been blazing from the bluest of blue skies during the last two weeks or so.

Do I care?

You bet I don't. Tomorrow is coming-home-day, after 16 long days in Hospital.

Tomorrow is returning to Bleiburg day, where, so Christin tells me, many friends have been asking for me.

Tomorrow the weather does not count. It could rain in buckets or hail or snow.

Tomorrow will be a great day!

Tomorrow is coming-home- to-Christin-day.

Each day, which I spent here, I heard helicopters soaring in, landing on the roof of one of the hospital's wings. I don't see it, but I imagine that after the motor noise has ceased, stretcher bearers are rushing up to the 'copter, unloading victims of car crashes, of industrial accidents, and other life threatening problems, and I am secretly glad that I am sitting here, with a repaired right lung and not lying on a stretcher in the Helicopter or in an Ambulance.

What a great day it is today and what a great day it will be tomorrow

Bertstravels

still counts his blessings.

Imperfect book?

My very good friend, Andy, suggests I should "take it easy" since Grimms Fairytales scare kids, and the bible, just like those tales, is just an "imperfect" book.
Did you say, "imperfect"? To me, the word "imperfect" means something pretty close to the truth, with a little mistake here and there. This attribute cannot be used in connection with a work so full of contradictions, impossibilities, description of murders of entire "kingdoms", threats of everlasting fire and brimstone in everlasting Hell, where you go if you miss Sunday Mass, or kill somebody ( both classified as "Mortal Sins") and die before confession and absolution, given to you by a man, who just a little while ago buggered a little boy.
The Messers Grimm did not have a patch on the Bible, which for 1.5 Billion people is the guide line work and which claims to contain the truth, You would be totally surprised if you would find out how many Christians maintain that every word contained in the OT and the NT is true.
But that, my dear friend, is the end of my blabbering for one day.
Bert

REFLECTIONS here or there

You may reflect while sitting in a boat drifting in the Kafue River in Zambia, counting Hippos, Crocs, and Reflections,

or

you may reflect upon your life, while sitting on the side of your bed in a Hospital in Klagenfurt.

Which would you prefer ?

Can this story be true?

A Wall for Colorado!

When Mr. Donald Trump was elected to the Presidency of the United States of America, 

I wrote in my Blog and probably also on Facebook, that America had survived many disasters.

America survived the War of Independence, the Civil War, WW I and WWII, and various Economic Disasters

America, so I prognosticated, will also survive the Presidency of Mr. Trump.

I still believe this to be true in spite of … well, in spite of....

But now I have to ask myself: Although Donald talks about Yemen and Syria and Turkey... does he know where these countries are? 

I am inclined to doubt it. He does not seem to know where Colorado is. (I sincerely hope that he knows the location of Washington DC)

It is reported that the President of the USA made an offer to the Governor of Colorado to build a wall along his border with Mexico.

Isn't this generous?

There is, however, a small problem! Colorado does not have a border with Mexico.

It does have a border with several other States of the USA. 

One of them being “New Mexico”

Oh well, who cares? Mexico, New Mexico, it's all “Mexico” to Donald.

So, let's build a wall.

Bertstravels

is willing to give free Geography lessons.

Austria's National Holiday

26^th October

On this date Austria celebrates its “National Holiday!”

Because on this day in 1955 the last of the “Liberating Forces” left Austrian territory and Austria declared its everlasting Neutrality.

With this sentence alone we have started two points of discussion:

At the end of WWII, on the 8^th day of May 1945, was Austria “defeated” or was it “liberated”?

I believe that the German Army and the Regime of National Socialism was “defeated”. The people of Germany, along with the people of Austria, however, were “liberated” from the scourge of the brutal Hitler dictatorship.

Since the Allied Forces were physically present in these territories, it can, of course, semantically be said that they “occupied” them.

Had it not been for the stubborn insistence of the Russian leadership to remain in their half of Austria, the rest, the American, the British and other Western Allies, would have, so I believe, withdrawn at a much earlier date. But the scepter of communist expansionary tendencies convinced the Western Allies to remain until finally, in 1955, the Russian forces agreed to leave Austrian territory.

In fact, the USA had, years before, publicly declared Austria not defeated, but liberated.

So, after having argued about this single issue, let's briefly examine, and argue about the concept of “Neutrality.”

The Dictionary definition is very simple: Not to take either side in the case of a dispute.

In practice it is not quite as simple.

Switzerland, for instance, has cleverly and steadfastly remained neutral in any physical conflict. In matters of Economics and Ideology Switzerland is clearly allied with the West, and does therefore not occupy “neutral” territory.

While it is relatively simple to remain neutral in the case of armed conflict, for instance, it is not quite as simple in the case of “Democracy” vs “Dictatorship.”

In this case it is impossible to remain aloof, to remain neutral.

I am very glad that Austria is a Free Country, and I hope sincerely that it will be able to remain “democratically” neutral in all other respects.

That's what Bertstravels hopes for.

Is this fair?

.Who is Placido Domingo?

There is hardly anybody who does not know this Star -Tenor. 
Even if you are not an Opera fan, you likely ran across his name as one of “The Three Tenors.”

Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and said Placido.

They were the “ni plus ultra” of the world of Tenors. There were many others, of course, among them such Greats as Jussi Björling and Benjamino Gigli. ( about this last named, I can tell you a funny, personally experienced story.)

But back to Placido Domingo:

Recently, several ladies accused Placido of “sexual molestation” going back to the 1980s, that is some 30 years ago.

As a direct result of these accusations Placido resigned his position as General Director of the Opera Los Angeles, (which he helped to found some 30 years ago), stepped back from his engagement with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and was forced to cancel, or canceled several other appearances.

The question of why the women did not come forth with their accusations then and there, is really not a fair one, since back then, in ancient history, and long before the

“me too” movement, women felt largely dis- empowered and, in some cases feared for their jobs if they spoke up.

It seems to me, however, that it is in the very nature of man to make a pass at a woman.

Nature seems to have organized things, so that men are the aggressors and women the more timid partners in this duality.

The prettier she appears, the more likely it is that such an advance will be made.

If men had always refrained from such overtures (pardon the operatic pun), the human race would not have flourished. (maybe that would have been better for the world.)

Twenty, thirty years ago, the largest part of society would have said: “What a macho, macho guy he is and smiled indulgently.

Today, for the same infraction, Opera Houses (in this case) divorce themselves from the alleged perpetrator or accept his resignation, regardless of how beneficial the association may have been. Sponsors cancel their contracts which they have with Sport Heroes, and the man, who put his arm around a pretty woman and kissed her shoulder, 30 years ago, gets put in front of the door in mid-winter.

Yes, thirty years ago.

Most States of the USA have a “Statute of Limitation” of varying numbers of years for different crimes. With exception of murder, which has no such limit, they amount to anywhere between 2 and 15 years.

However: Placido Domingo is charged in the press for “a crime” he committed some 30 years ago and must pay the penalty, although he has not been charged by any Prosecutor, has not been tried in a Court of Law and has not been convicted by a Judge and Jury of even a traffic infraction.

He is charged with sexual molestation today and fired tomorrow.

Please do not take from the above that I condone a man's disrespecting the dignity of a woman, or that I consider an unsolicited advance by any man upon any woman as acceptable, but consider it as a plea to be fair to an accused, and not have him accused, tried, convicted and sentenced by public opinion based on some report in the Media.

The loss of Placido Domingo to the world of Opera would be tragic, indeed.

Bertstravels
will continue to listen to his records

Is this true? (:-))

Had an exchange with a friend about  Lot and Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Lot was given a chance to save the two Cities from destruction if he found ten good persons in either. He could not and therefore destruction rained on both. So the Bible tells us!

(when Lot and his family left the City, Lot's wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of Salt. Is this not a harsh penalty for being sadly curious about what is happening to your home town?)

Is it believable that in two cities there was not one single good person? Either Lot did not look very carefully, or the story is just a "story".(and a bad one, at that.).                                                  When God sent the Flood and drowned everybody but Noah and his family, does that mean there was not one innocent person, other than Noah and his family on the entire world??? What about new born babies and children who hadn't yet had a chance to be "bad"? What about faithful, good husbands and devoted loving wives and mothers? Was really everybody bad? Did "God" really think He made a mistake in creating this sad lot? Did he not know that He was all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, all etc etc etc and therefore He could not possibly have made a mistake. ... and don't, dear Joe, give me this excuse about "Free Will"... despite Free Will, man could not have surprised God...since He knew all there was, all there is and all there will be.                                                      In the "Form" in which He is described in ALL Scriptures of ALL Religions He does, in my humble opinion,  not exist. If He exists it must be in another form, about which Man cannot write or speak.

Let me go back to the story of Lot. Did not two Angels seek asylum in his house and several men appeared evidently wanting "to know" the persons in Lot's house. "To know" is a term used for sexual intercourse. Lot refused and... now get this--- offered his daughters so that the men "could do with them as they wanted".                                Holy Cow! What a good father!                      Would not a good man have fought these men to the end and, if necessary died in the effort? But Nooo... Lot wanted to protect the supernatural Angels and offered his daughters for rape and fornication...

What is this rubbish all about? 

The Brothers Grim collected better Fairy Tales.

just a coupla pix

You've probably seen these before. 

Have another look!

They're worth it !

That's not 'all there is'

there's plenty more.

Butterflies

I thought I'd show you two pictures

of some of the most beautiful animals there are.

Yes, I know there are beautiful birds

and Elephants and Hippos are also beautiful.

But "butterflies" surely take the cake.

and I don't even know their names! It's shameful!

Does prayer help?

My friends know by now that I am in hospital in Klagenfurt, recovering from a collapsed lung.
There may be an operation needed. Decision day: this afternoon or tomorrow.
In the meantime several of my friends have e-mailed, written and/or called, promising that they will pray for  my speedy recovery.

Of course I love them for this offer, since it shows that they care for me.

It does, however, raise the question of the usefulness  of "Prayer"!
If we consider that everything that happens, reflects the "Will of God" then, it seems to me, that prayer is useless or needless.
If, indeed, He wills that my friend shall NOT recover, then, our asking God that my friend should recover is useless. He is not likely to change his mind.
If, however, He has decided that my friend shall recover, my prayer is needless, since I am asking Him to do something, He has already decided to do. 
In either case, a prayer to influence the outcome of  a happening is either "useless" or "needless".

On top of all that, There is the question of His existence. .

Theists will say that He definitively exists, but they have no proof for this claim. All they have is a "Belief."
Atheists will claim that He does NOT exist, but they, too, have no proof for this claim. All they have is a "Belief."
So, I say, go on believing whatever you want to believe.

Bertstravels
will happily stay in his rational corner of the Agnostic

Is this even worth a mention?

In my last entry I wanted to talk about the question whether the work of an artist should be judged on its own merits, or whether the artist's moral stature and expressed opinions should be considered in the judgement of his/her work. I believe that I stated my belief quite clearly.

Now for the second issue which was raised subsequently:
Is Peter Handke a "nice man"?
I simply do not know. His loyalty to certain historical persons seems to indicate the contrary..
His behavior during a recent interview by the press would tend to confirm also that he is not a "nice man." 
His choice of expressions during this interview would likely place him into the category of an ill-tempered talking baboon.... no offence to baboons is intended here....
 But: Is his work great literature?
Go, read his work and decide for yourself.
The Nobel Price Awarding Committee seems to think that it is.

 Bertsravels
 likes the only book he read of Good Old Peter.

The Work or the Artist?

The Artist and his work.

Peter Handke is one of the most important Austrian authors.

He received the Nobel Price for Literature for 2019 for his impressive output and his sophisticated use of the German language.

I have only read one of his books (The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty Shot).

For this reason alone I cannot agree or disagree with the Nobel Committee's finding.

The other reason, of course, is that I have not read any of the books of other Authors who were considered for this honour. There was a Chinese, and a Spanish and a Canadian Author in consideration. Each, naturally, wrote in his/her native language.

I do not speak Chinese, nor Spanish, am therefore unable to read their books and although I have read several of Margaret Atwood's books I still lack comparison to those other language authors.

Let me therefore not argue about the merits of the Nobel Committee's selection.

Let me explore a different aspect of the entire issue:

Peter Handke is not only a successful author, but also a politically interested and engaged man.

In 2006 he gave an impassioned speech at the funeral of Slobodan Milosevics.

Slobodan was the right-wing leader of Serbia and stood accused of causing an unprecedented Holocaust during his wars against Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

By the International Court of Justice he was charged with 66 counts of crimes against humanity.

So, it is clear that Slobodan was not a very nice guy by any standard of comparison.

Yet, Peter Handke refused to accept the facts which were presented in abundance during Slobodan's trial. So, it could be stated, Handke was, or is, an apologist for one of the big killers after World War II- and therefore morally not equipped to be awarded such a culturally important price.

And this is the crux of the matter:

Should the work of an artist be judged solely upon the merits of his creation, or should we refuse to honour the creative output of an individual because he/she has shown to be morally inferior.?

In other words: Does the work stand alone and should it be judged as the work itself, or, should the work of a person be considered as simply part of the whole: Work plus Creator.

It is my considered opinion that a work of Art must be judged on its own merits and the moral attitude of the creator should not be considered at all.

Let me assume that some documents are found describing one Michael Angelo as a drunkard wife beater, evader of taxes, horse thief, brake and enter specialist, perjurer and defiler of the Sacrament inside of the Sistine Chapel and that is was proven beyond a doubt that this was the same Michelangelo who created the ceiling of the same chapel, would it be just to claim that this work was no longer to be considered a “Great Work of Art”? What would we think about the “Last Supper” by this same “Nogoodnick”? Would we now consider it the work of a dilettante house painter?

Of course not! We would still think of these two creations as outstanding art of all times.

Quod Errat Demonstrandum.

Bertstravels

Rootin' around the Countryside

These are likely the last images I shall show you about my immediate environment. At least the last until the snow falls.

Small brooks stumbling down the hill side.

Mushrooms on a log

Trögen Canyon

Drove there this afternoon. Just for the fun of it and the beauty of it.

Have a look!

Funny! 

It looks much more beautiful in Nature, than on a picture.

What kind of a rock is this?

It's blue with off-white veins running through it.

Clear river over fist sized, or larger rocks.

FOR FOREST

FOR FOREST

the uninterrupted

appeal of Nature!

There was a Soccer Stadium!

Built in Klagenfurt, Austria, at the urging of a megalomaniac Premier of the Province of Carinthia. This facility was built for 32,000 fans, at a cost of 66.5 Million Euros. (at today's rate of exchange, that would be about 100 million Can. Dollars.)

Up to the point of the opening of the new Stadium, Soccer games attracted somewhere around 5,000 to 10,000 fans.

This should give you an idea of the lunacy of this Premier.

Eventually the seating capacity was reduced to 12,000. Even at this reduced number, the Stadium never sold out, except for some rare international competition.

Now, do you think this is a bit short of rational thinking?

It gets better:

An “artist” had a brilliant idea: Let's plant a bunch of trees where normally the Klagenfurt Soccer Club plays its games. No, not little saplings!

Great big mature trees.

They brought 300 trees, some of them weighing as much as 6 tons and reaching heights of 10 to 14 meters and planted them on the playing field.

They planted a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees “to show the beauty of a mixed forest.”

As their advertising brochure states: “Visitors may view this 'installation' free of charge and in astonishment.”

There is really nothing “astonishing” about a forest.

You may bathe in its beauty, you may listen to the wind as it gently moves the branches, you may love and admire nature at its finest. But you would likely not be “astonished.”

The advertising speaks of the changing of the impression created by this “forest” during daylight, dusk and dark hours, the changing colors of the leaves as fall approaches, during all of which the visitor may revel in astonishment.

They talk as if this did not happen in nature.

Go up to the top of one of the many surrounding hills and look over the countryside and what do you see? Trees, Trees and Trees interspersed by farmers' fields and meadows.

There is so much life and so much beauty in this country, that the last thing I need are a bunch of trees, trucked in from afar, and planted in the middle of a soccer stadium, nor do I need the gobbledygook written and talked about by the so-called “art experts” and the people who “admire the Emperor's new clothes.”

Bertstravels

prefers to hike in real forests

This is what 'Carinthia' looks like.

and better!

Do we really need a soccer stadium full of transplanted trees?

Let trees grow in the country side!

Let's play Soccer in a Soccer Stadium.

That's where I grew up!

The building on the right is "Stadtplatz 22" (Townsquare 22) in Braunau am Inn, Austria.
I lived there from age 4 to 19. A happier childhood, and teenage is hard to imagine.

One of two ways to enter the Main Square.

An ancient tower and a one-car-width tunnel.

 This tower was restored in its original form in 1966

to memorialize the 700th anniversary of the City of Braunau 

in the year 1960

Color Bias?

It's never too early to get up and enjoy the morning before sunrise.

The fog is still hugging the ground closely 

and there is one white "Egret"

enjoying breakfast amid several "Open Bills"

We camp near a stretch of whet-land 

and birds come for an early morning snack.

At home I decide to allow "Picasa" 

to shed a little light onto this scene.

The image below becomes a little clearer,

but also a little less exciting.

A little drive in the country side.

Yesterday afternoon, we went for a little drive in the Countryside.
In the distance we could see the "Steiner Alpen."
As almost always, I had my camera in the car, thereby making these shots possible.

This photo is the same as the one above, 

but it is Picasa manipulated.