Witchcraft

Found an interesting piece from Yale Open Courses dealing with witchcraft. It starts off with magic as such, then its maleficent uses in witchcraft and its prosecution. It focuses on the circumstances of English witchcraft trials, but it does summarise nicely those of continental counterparts for comparison. An interesting difference for me was that in England witchcraft was never considered heresy, it was considered a crime. And secondly that such trials were sporadic, there were no systematic witch hunts except for the activity of Matthew Hopkins. These cases were generally reported to courts by people and not spotted by specialised investigators. The course looks for the various reasons why it all happened when it happened, and why of all counties Essex might have been the one where most trials originated. The lecturer even finds time to recommend the film Witchfinder General; I find it respectable if an expert has the ability to find artistic value in a popular adaptation of his expertise that he knows inaccurate from a purely professional point of view.

Kindness vs Politeness

I often feel that the really important things in life depend on small things like the difference between kindness and politeness. Politeness is a way to behave. I don't think there is any special value in it, it is a necessity. Be polite in an argument for example, and if the other is not, the blame will fall on his side even if he has a point otherwise. Thus it may easily be a defence, and a way of keeping distance, which is why it is often so cold. Kindness on the other hand is the luxury of warmth. You don't have to be kind, it is enough to be polite, but if you are, that indeed has a special value. You can make others face up the cruelest of realities with kindness if you so choose, and it does make a difference. But like any luxury, kindness is easier to lose, and quite frequently it will never be returned. It may change your life if it is, and so it may if suddenly kindness freezes into politeness in a relationship. Still, unlike politeness, kindness can never be enforced. Both the lack and enforcement of kindness, or any similar luxury, would spawn emotional beasts of all sorts... It is also true that kindness as a milder emotional excitement comes in waves, it is not and should not be as uniform as politeness may be. Thus, in many long lasting relationships it is the combination of the two that provides longevity, where politeness fills in (and not replaces) the gaps for another wave to come.

Folk Songs Modernized

It seems I am in a "folk song mood" today. To close down, I wanted to look for a few more modern adaptations, going down on a similar line as with Deep Forest in the previous post, a sort of electro-folk. The band NOX pioneered this domain in Hungary, and "Hej, Dunáról" is one of their first songs. I like the fast spaced flute here... Another one is "Tavaszi szél" (Spring Wind) from Holdviola. This is also a very nice song, and if you want to hear a bit of it performed by Freddy Mercury, have a look at the last video as well. He knew how to win an audience...

Sebestyén Márta

Sebestyén Márta is probably the most well-known Hungarian folk singer. Her performance of the folk song "Szerelem, szerelem" (Love, Love) is known for international audiences from Anthony Minghella's "The English Patient", but it is one of my favourites independently from that. In fact, I listened to it many times, or more than that I felt every word of it when I went through what it is about, I even translated it once. It is a bitter-sweet song, and it also has the power to tranquilise the emotions it addresses. Another well known work related to her is Deep Forest's Marta's Song, a combination of electronic music with an old csángó song. I like this song too, though if you understand the lyrics, there are strange cuts here and there, but I don't think it does any harm to the artistic result. I also found a life performance version of bits of the latter song that I attached last.

Deep Forest - Marta's song von d-limonen

Kolompos

Ok... a little folk music for children from Hungary. The team is called Kolompos, "kolomp" is a sort of bell, it is also used in this performance. I chose this one out of many because of its nice tempo. I was singing many of these as a child. Though only while playing, not on a concert :)

Lava

There is something beautiful and scary about lava. In this video from National Geographic, this shows very nicely. That is supposed to be stone, and it flows like water and glows like stars... it even bubbles... Seems to me like the drink of gods deadly for mortals. The funny thing is, you can be quite close if the flow is tranquil, I've heard you can even step into half cooled lava if you are fast enough (and don't ware rubber shoes), but if it's mad (it is so if it comes with gas), you'd better not be around... astonishing thing, anyway, some day I'd like a closer look...

Loriot

I have been posting a good number of British comedy sketches as well as some American and French ones. I think it is high time I posted something about German comedy, and what could be more appropriate than Vicco von Bülow, alias Loriot? In his long carrier he made fun of various aspects of life from a typically German point of view. Other than acting and writing comedy, he is also a cartoonist and a director. He made feature films as well in which he appeared with his long time collaborator Evelyn Hamann. I want to post sketches with English subtitles, which somewhat narrows down possibilities. I am especially sorry that I could not find a subtitled version of Kosakenzipfel in which problems arise from the uneven partitioning of a piece of cake. In "Nudel", Loriot mocks the seriousness of German dating habits of his time. Incredible, how a small detail may ruin an otherwise well orchestrated attempt... I think it wouldn't be half as funny were it not the for the intention to give the appearance of highly organized lifestyle. Scholarly analysis is targeted in Filmspektrum, in which a light entertainment short gives much material for critics to argue about. And finally a little sketch about the German version of a well-known phenomenon, the politician who talks much but says little...