The Threat of the German Tank

WWII German Tiger Tank

The Allies invasion of Europe was not by any means a decision taken lightly. They had to be sure that victory was attainable or the war might have been lost for sure.

The Soviet Union seemed to achieve victory no matter the cost. There were plenty of underground painters releasing satire portraying Stalin's hand pushing masses of Russians to stop the German tanks with their bodies. The German tanks were better, stronger, and had more reach. The invasion of Western Europe was a high risk operation. There was a race for tank design and process because at some moment Soviet tanks could not even penetrate the armor of the NAZI Tiger tank.

One of the highest risk of the Allies' invasion was the German tank. If the Germans created a new tank or the German tank production was a lot higher than predicted, the allies could have suffered a terrible defeat. Looking at WWII footage, the panthers divisions were fierce, highly trained, and highly technical. Every time a German tank was encountered was a risk to the whole mission, and it produced a serious engagement that derailed plans on a daily basis. By the time US troops placed the hidden German tank, a serious blow had been taken.

One of the most important tasks for the successful invasion of Europe was to figure out the NAZI tank production. An engineer had the idea that given Germans were so methodical, they would probably number their tanks in the order they were produced. Using this assumption and constantly comparing the numbers to captured German tanks in the battlefield, the allies forecasted Germany's tank production to be 256 tanks a month. Given the magnitude of the German battle front, the allies concluded this number was too low to put the invasion in jeopardy by itself.

When US troops took over the German tank factories, records showed a production level of 255 tanks a month. A simple insightful knowledge of the German culture allowed the Allies to see in the dark and accurately forecast the enemy's strength.

Pyotr the Great

Pyotr Romanov

When combating the Swedes, the Russian Tzar Pyotr happened to be one of the only two people in his country who knew how to navigate the sea. He commanded one of his ships, and captured two battleships from the Swedes. When in history have you ever seen that?

Peter the Great was a fierce and terrible ruler, but at the same time, it is probably the only monarch that actually taught other people. When he took power over Russia in his late teens, he put someone else in power, disguised himself as a carpenter, and left Russia to learn from other Western powers. He stayed in humble homes while obtaining certificates of bombardier (artillery service man), mason, knitting, map making, learned how to draw teeth, conduct autopsies, and many others trades.

Pyotr Romanov, the Russian Tzar, worked in the shipyard of the Dutch East Indian Company as a laborer. He learned how to build ships, locks, fortresses, navigate, and naval warfare. When the ship was built, he end up going to the Island of Java in Indonesia as seaman. Disappointed by the lack of advance geometry in Holland, he continued his journey to England where he met none less than Isaac Newton.

When he returned to Russia, he built the city of San Petersburg against all odds making it one of the most beautiful and best built cities in Europe. He completely remodelled Russian culture introducing items as simple as napkins, shaving, raised sidewalks, and fire hoses. He also conquered and expanded Russia into an empire taking land from the once all powerful Swedes in the North and Turkish and Ottoman Empire that constantly raided his country from the South enslaving thousands of Russians. (Given the Russ were nomads, they didn't tend to have slaves. Less mouths to feed.)

There were plenty of failures on his accounts. He was constantly humiliated by other European monarchs because of his Russian manners, and he wasn't able to forge alliances against his enemies. A wise European King said about him: he will either be dead or do extraordinary things. His first war with the Swedes ended so bad for him, he had to order the confiscation of church bells to forge new cannons. Even though he was a monarch, this earned him the respect of the later Communist Soviets because he was sacrificing items of religion for achievable victory without superstitions. Like Russian historians like to say: he knew what belonged to God and what belonged to Caesar.

In contrast to other monarchs that would have needed a second delegation to ship back their luggage and gifts after months travelling, on this return to Russia, Peter the Great shipped only two suitcases containing only technical instruments and scientific drawings and manuals.

When has it ever been another monarch who learned everything from the manual labors, sophisticated trades, science, and warfare. He led his country by introducing and teaching them everything from the simple to the most sophisticated in order to rival any Western nation of the times. This portrait is said to be the most accurate painting of the young Peter the Great, and it was painted around the time of this journey in England.

Alexander Nevsky

The history of the world is like the history of chess. The history of chess is written by the dominant player. At some moment, one player rises through the ranks given a certain ability, strategy, or philosophy. He dominates and then history is made. In 1886, the positional strategy gave rise to a clear world champion. This strategy dominated until another ground breaking approach dominates every other player.

In War, it is the weapon. World War I was the constant fight for air superiority. First, the planes were used for intelligence gathering to learn about enemy movement. The opposite side would create planes to shut down the spy planes. Then there was the race to create planes that could dog fight and protect the spy planes, and so on. World War II was the race for a machine gun with more range, the tank, the supply chain, etc.

The stealth fighter and the M1 Abrams Tank have been dominant for the last few decades, but back in the 1200s, the ultimate weapon was the mounted Knight. The mid evo Knight was protected by thick armor and a trained strong horse that gave him mobility in spite of its weight. They were armed with long lances and they attacked in close rank with speed, reach, and force. Another strength was their sense of army and brotherhood having swore to their Christian God to protect their fellow knight and to serve unconditionally to protect the weak. The Hospitallers or the Knights of Malta were founded to protect pilgrims on their journey to Jerusalem. Most entered the order by given away their fortunes which gave them a lifelong servitude to the order.

The Knight orders dominated the Middle Ages. The Templars were the first force to entered Jerusalem in the first Crusade.

Around this time, a tribe called the Russ had settled and found unification around a city named Kiev in the Ukraine. They had suffered the Mongol invasion and the Swedes with their Viking heritage.

The Teutonic Knights were a German army of knights well known for their power. In 1242, they were all powerful across Europe. Led by the Master of the Order itself, they incursed into Russ territory. And a young prince named Alexander Nevsky who had been exiled is asked to return and lead the defense of what later would be called Mother Russia.

They met on the ice of Lake Peipus. The Teutonic army, with legions to the Pope and against pagans, had around 30,000 men compared to an army of around 40,000 made out of Russ and Polish. But the Knights were feared. Nothing stood in their path like a Buffalo stampede. They were highly educated, trained, and experienced in a life of warfare.

Teutonic Knights

On this lake, the Mid Evo Knight was defeated for first time in history. A new strategy had been discovered. Foot soldier protected by light armor and fur under the spell of a wise young Kievian Prince returning from exile became brave enough to attack the knights proving that surrounding the Knights was the next dominant move for the next few centuries.

Modern accounts understate the victory of the Russ tribe. They mention it wasn't a great defeat, and the knights were not defeated out of strategy, but they were outnumbered. In its context, the annihilation of the Teutonic Knights spread like fire village to village, town to town, castle to castle. The Knights of the Teutonic Order had been destroyed by Alexander Nevsky the prince from the Russ tribe in the far East. Historically, it wasn't the first time Knights were outnumbered. There are accounts of a hand full of knights putting down riots and battling armies. On that day, something more abstract than a simple battle had taken place. The Middle Ages Knight ended to be the ultimate weapon and over time a higher number of foot soldier took their place in the battlefield.



А л е к с а ́ н д р

A L e k s a  n d  r

Н е ́в с к и й

N e b s K e y i a​

 Centuries later, Napoleon was constantly outnumbered, but he would only use raiders for side assaults under his best generals with highly trained horsemen. Among other ground breaking strategies, the core of Napoleon's army and their most veterans units were always on foot dominating all Europe.

Anthony Bourdain

I avoided watching Anthony Bourdain for years. People insisted I should take a look. I tried once a long time ago, and I guess I came across the worst. His bland excitement without the ability to explain it. I found empty his promises of something special, amazing, and exclusive by just standing in the middle uof it. His constant references to his rehab and his rehab buddies plus his constant "relapses" on TV just bored me.

Then I saw he had some on the Caribbean, so I recorded them. And Bourdain was smart. He accepted his shortcomings, and let a knowledgeable local to guide the script for some of the episodes, and at times the product was true and beautiful.

The feeling of eating and drinking in a Caribbean Island is indescribable. I am not referring to the feeling of vacation, but Anthony Bourdain gets close to what it is. The sense of time doesn't exist. The only measure that matters is how high or low is the Sun. It is only important because you should take cover, apply sunblock, or time to eat and drink more.

Time doesn't matter like in the commercials of Parrot Bay rum. In every other episode, he is eating a meal, and you have the sense that it will end. In the Caribbean, Anthony Bourdain spends the whole night eating, drinking and telling stories with all sorts of people, and the sea is always there. We are just guests and witnesses of the sea. The sense of one meal or one drink doesn't exist. And what is very unique about the Caribbean is that you can do this with anyone. It just happens. You could be talking until 6 am with a fisherman, a maid, the housewife, the boss, the general. It just doesn't matter.

You can return the next day, the next month or in 10 years. You will be invited by the same people to drink rum and eat fresh seafood hearing the waves rumble like you never left, and they expect nothing in return because that is the contract. That is the only way it can be possible. There is a reason why Hemingway lived in Cuba for so long. You live, eat, drink, and dance on the beach just to see another sunset. It is your only deadline.

I really shouldn't have watched him at all given that he went to Miami, and he was going to ignore the Cuban influence. But at the end, he gives in and drinks Cuban coffee before leaving.

I end up coming across pretty good episodes like France, Spain, Madrid, Japan, Washington DC, Venice, Caribbean Island Hopping, Chicago, French Polynesia, and Argentina.

Through Bourdain and the excuse of meeting chefs, you get to experience another culture for what it is and without the tourist glass.

Madrid was stunning about the food. A Chef says I don't know where the limit is. Mom and Pop restaurants that are the best of its kind because it is their way, and they are the representation of that area's cuisine. It wasn't read in books. Books were written about them. Just to hear their Castillean accent makes it an occasion.

In the Venice's episode, the language spoken is ancient and poetic. An artist talks about how Venice residents know so much about Art as a natural extension of their lives surrounded by so much history. He says the locals would teach him when they walked by. One told him he hadn't realized he was following the Sun constantly repainting over the shade. Another one told him he was afraid of leaving empty space on the canvas. They just said that he was frightened of the Void. These people were raised among  Masterpieces, and they had learned the critical eye for art the same way any other kid learns to ride a bike. He found himself in another dimension, and he couldn't get out. He decided to make Venice his home.

Chicago: Edgy. good conversation with other chefs.

It is almost like Gauguin directs the French Polynesia episode. Anthony Bourdain uses Gauguin references constantly to guide him through the Islands. This just makes it worth it by itself.

The Japan' episode is probably one of the coolest exposures to Japanese culture without embellishment. It shows some real and deep cultural characteristics and habits of few Japanese trades: cooking, flower arrangements, Kendo, knife making, and bartending. Anthony Bourdain lets the Japanese chefs or Kenpo masters speak for themselves spontaneously with no edits. The best of the episodes is when Bourdain let the episode be led by others giving beautiful and raw information. This is one of them.

The same occurred with France. It is very hard to give the French sense of the cafe. But he does it, and it ends with it. He connects constantly present France with the old one of centuries ago, and that is the enchantment.

A must see is Beirut to know what is to be in the middle of a conflict. Having been rescued by US Marines at sea, I can tell you this episode is electrifying and truthful. When the US Marines show up, you know you are saved. The episode is chaos, angst, and hours passing without anything to do. Having been in situations like this one, I can say Bourdain's feeling of relief is the same for every person who found themselves in a conflict and were rescued by US troops.

An amazing, truly remarkable experience is the one with the Eskimos. I think it was the British Columbia episode. The difference in perspective between an American and the Eskimos makes Bourdain hope that the cute seal gets away while the Eskimo is proud of his hunt.

And there is no better anthropological insight into this culture than what follows. They live in a house with tables and chairs. But to my surprise, they sat on the kitchen floor around the seal like back in an igloo, and they devoured the seal fresh without fire, plates, or silverwares. You could see the elders amused like opening a Christmas present. This was probably their childhood family get-togethers after days of hunting. Anthony Bourdain deserves a medal for this. With great reluctance and out of great respect for these people, he tried the greatest treat only reserved for the elders or special guests: the eye of the nice cute seal he was hoping would get away.

He has the ability to let himself follow the trail of food without fear, and he finds himself in unexpected places. At the end of the day, it is probably the Chef, having prepared and experimented with every food source,  who is best prepared to trust the fact that all humans are alike and the ritual is in essence the same no matter how fancy or surprising it might look.

Stay away from:

Tuscany (He gave up and gave the script to his camera man. Weird. maybe one of his TV relapses)
LA,
Anything Eastern Europe or Russia. He has this guide who doesn't have a clue. (Zimmer's episode on Russia is better.)
Panama (Who cares about Noriega's house. 20 minutes on that). He gets to burn 40 tons of drugs with the DEA. 

I kind of owe an apology to the people who recommended Anthony Bourdain. You are right. A dozen episodes are so good that they make up for the other 100 episodes I avoided.


Adding to the list of good ones:
Hong Kong. What a great view into this world. Lost in Translation with actual conversations. The best noodles in the city are made in an apartment in the bad side of town. The only master left from the ancient Chinese art of food. This is one of the most magical moments ever captured.

Pacific Northwest. Interesting look at Oregon young cooking culture.

De Chirico

The Vexation of the Thinker

How do you encompass the vastness of the world in a limited space and still retain its infinity and the discreet nature of things?

Streets that turn before ending, near horizons, raised walls promising magnitude, hidden compartments and the promise of beyond by tiny openings to the unknown. The Vexation of the Thinker is expressed by the reflecting posture telling us of the deep and isolated monologue. In a sense, the act of thought invades this corner of the world, but it is at the same time modest. Another painter might have invaded the canvas with the message. This corner of the street is overwhelmed by struggle, and you can feel the pause created when the world of questions and thought claims the soul of the searcher leaving him bare. The immaterial struggle illuminates the forefront, but there is also a more important message that runs through the never ending streets and bold corners of De Chirico's universe: the world itself.

The Disturbing Muses

Humans representations dwell this world, but they are almost indistinguishable from the world itself. They are part of the whole and add as much mystery as the next structure. In their silence, you can hear their conversations or their listening.

Certain artists have this ability to understand the plane of existence. Dali's plane covers the whole canvas. They all live in the same space. De Chirico is free to cut a piece in the symmetry of the world to bring the message out like a tray with questions. I have always been fascinated by this almost random misplacement of layers of space. The other mystery are the shadows. Every object has its shadow, and this fills the world with real things that have the same qualities in relation with each other: shadow, mystery, pieces and parts of a human world.

The world would have end up contained like the sheep inside the three hole box of Saint-Exupéry. But the shadows of objects you don't actually see make the world explode out of the flat structures. By leading us to this detail in the far, we start seeing depth even though the perspective is inaccurate. He is able to enhance or decrease importance and depth by placing concepts and noise.



The Tower

The conquest of the Philosopher

This is the magic. Under the hands of the Masters, tiny and insignificant things are discovered to have overwhelming power. They find them one day in their lives and they obsess forever trying to find the evading essence of the Truth discovered. The simplicity of the shadow of an object we don't actually see around corners absorbs us and makes the canvas our new reality.

The human form is the most delightful. In their silence and their isolation, they find themselves connected and vital, and we don't know why exactly.

De Chirico is a quiet intent to return to iconography after the popularity of the impressionists eliminated symbols across the Earth. This intent was probably too quiet or too brief because the metaphysical was soon replaced by the dream.

Tree of Life

The Master of his Time

It is said to have accurately painted the port of Havana by accounts alone. (What would be important without some connection to Havana. Right? )

The master of understanding. He was raised, did his studies, and became the head of the philosophy department of the city of his birth. He never left his birth place of Königsberg, but still he was able to hold an understanding of the world like no other to the point of influencing his Time by his ideas. The creator of the Golden Rule.

So far (before getting results from the Geneva Hadron), it seems he flunked the space time discussion.

Behind the phenomena is something he called the realities. What is behind/cause of the realities? I don't know. Even though he destroyed the logical proofs of the existence of God, he still said: I call it God. The Phenomena is filtered by our own six senses. Would we ever know? The Jury is still out.

The Metropolitan David

Death of Socrates

Enough has been said on Socrates, but this painting is almost the summary of his life.

Socrates believed in knowledge based on the continuous search for Truth. At the same time of Socrates' life, there was a school of thought called the Sophists. They taught the Art of persuasion. According to Plato, Sophism was based in the Art of deceit.

This is ultimately the reason why Socrates is condemned to Death. His eternal quest for knowledge leads him to doubt the main foundations of his society and to vividly criticize important statesmen of his time. He makes enemy of the Sophists. Socrates didn't have an agenda to push through. He was doing his duty as the main philosopher of his time. On the other hand, the Sophists are a school based on the persuasion. Sophists believed Truth is what you can prove. Socrates was proven guilty. This is probably one of the most ancient and most basic human struggles.

His method - the Socratic method - is the constant questioning of arguments. I saw a philosopher once (can't recall his name) doubting the US court system based on questioning, and judge Scalia upheld the Socratic method in its defense. Judge Scalia answered categorically: "That is the method we have in the Western world. I don't know of a better way. The opposite would be to sit someone on the stand, and asked them to tell you everything. And what is to say what was true or not or even relevant." (more or less).

It was like the philosopher who was supposed to understand Socrates, read about him without really understand or lived his teachings in practice. Philosophy was the first branch of study; then it got specialized into a million different ones. Now, philosophy lives in careers, degrees, methods, and Scalia's mind. It is his bread and butter. Meanwhile Philosophy by itself has become Sophism.

But there is a thin line between argumentation and Truth. The Sophists and Socrates both believed in argumentation. But the difference is like the difference between the Moon and the Sun. Argumentation to convince someone is completely different from arguments to find the Truth.

His last wish was to die next to his disciples. David shows the gesture of the raising of the poison as one last salute. In his last moment, Socrates who always said he knows nothing, tells his followers: now it is I who will know. In this painting, David captures the transcendental of the teacher who becomes immortal just by his gesture in the face of darkness while every other human soul weeps.

Hotel Inglaterra

Opera House & Hotel Inglaterra

At the other side of the Opera House, you can see the white building of the Hotel Inglaterra (England). It is the oldest standing hotel in Cuba. It was named after the major world power of the time. It opened its doors in 1875.

Legend has it, that a new rebellious class of criollos (Spanish born in the New World)  frequented the cafes of the hotel and threw milk on the Spanish guards during colonial times. I believe it is also the place of a historical duel in Cuba's history. Two young men argued about the prestige of weapons of war. Cuban troops fighting for independence from Spain used the Machete as their main weapon of fighting. A Spaniard contended the Machete was not a noble weapon like the sable. Both decided to duel to death to prove their point. The Criollo used the war Machete, and the Spaniard chose the Spanish cavalry sable. None die, but their gesture became legend summing up the temperature of the times foretelling the war to come in 1895.

HavanaBing Homepage of October 18th, 2009

Vintage car, The Capitol, and the Opera House - originally built in 1771; one of my usual spots -

The Evading Presence

La Belle Ferroniere
ca. 1490

One of those trailing teaching from Carl Marx that still haunts me is the lesson of seeing objects of creation and ideas in their historical context.  I tend to look at Art in chronological order. It allows you to see the genius of the past, and lets you comprehend and live the genius of the present. After 3 days of non-stop art, I came across the first real painting, the first one that breaths.

I had never felt anything from this painting before. I always admired Leonardo Da Vinci. It is one of the first biographies I ever read, but for me he was always the inventor with a pencil, not an artist. La Madonna of the rocks is an amazing jump in proportion and study of the human body. It takes a curious person to see and recognize patterns in the human body that nobody had dared for centuries. In a time when the human body was off limits, it takes the simple sincerity of truth enlightening you of your small human consequence for you to focus in the mundane of the human body and make it profound by perfecting it.

I knew La Mona Lisa was ahead overcrowded by a mass of followers of all races and nationalities like the welcoming of the Queen of Earth. Many of the followers were almost as much about the Da Vinci Code as about facing the enigmatic Madonna. I looked along the hall at those amazing quattrocento paintings and everything I had seen previously killing time.

I made myself see the least known works postponing facing the crowds for as long as I could. The Madonnas, the amazing rubbery babies and their postures while the Madonnas gesture to pick them up. But it is not really for me. I have never felt the passion for these paintings, only the admiration of the technical master.

And I come across La Belle Ferroniere. Subtle. Quiet. She is walking away not even interested in my presence. Look deep into her eyes, and you realize she is really not looking at you. The same way La Mona Lisa hides her true feelings, La Belle Ferroniere looks away without telling you. Every other painting so far is immersed in some story, or looks straight into the camera to be admired. She glances over to my right completely ignoring me. Every other painting up to this point is a pose for the observer. This is the master that after giving life to its creation, his piece doesn't need the viewer anymore. This is the first offering of a true dialog with the admirer, and she does it by pushing him away.

I hadn't felt like this in so long. Where has she been all these years. It is the discovery of a new painting that you didn't know or that you knew but you had never actually looked at or understood. Here is a painting I have never paid so much attention to and when I am in front of her, she pays me back by looking away. She pays me back for all those years of disinterest. She ignores me like a teenage love. She knows my presence, and she is not posing for me like every other piece of Art. She doesn't need to. The rest were created to be seen. This one was created to be herself. She is so aware of her own life that she chooses herself again and walks deeper back into her world without hesitation about where she belongs.

I kind of felt like asking where has she been hiding. Why? How could she? How can someone top this feeling of awe?

But Da Vinci is not done. I realize I am 3 feet away from the original. Given it is not that famous, it doesn't have the heavy security and the long corridors protecting her. I look to the sides looking if someone is witnessing the same thing, but I am alone...with her, and I feel I have just become another of her guardians. This makes my discovery more overwhelming. Nobody signaled me she was special. She found me. It is a woman brought to life by her master and only to him she belongs. I am standing in the same position Leonardo Da Vinci would have stood while painting on the canvas over 500 years ago. I can see his age, his beard, his brushes almost interlinked with his long hair, the mess of his mind invading my surroundings. I can see the curse of not being able to complete his works finding excuses to move on to something else. It all disappears, and all is left are her eyes containing what only she has seen. Five hundred years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci stood where I was in front of her and blew his final stroke breathing life and she went on to live walking away from me.

The Master of "the Presence" is Vermeer. You can step into the scene. His paintings are in a constant dialog with the viewer from the moment his eyes fall upon the canvas. It is not a discovery; it is a mutual recognition from both sides.  Vermeer produced this masterpiece on 1665.

Da Vinci painted La Belle Ferroniere in 1490 almost 200 years before Vermeer. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Da Vinci ends to be science. He is simpler. He is creation itself.

Havana's Maidens

La Santisima Trinidad, The largest ship of its time

After major defeats of the Spanish Armada, Spain had lost its indisputable supremacy across the seas.

During the 1700s, the beginings of the industrial revolution in England propels England into an  almost unbeatable industrial and ship making power.

In comparison, Spain's armada suffered a recession in ship production specially into the 1700s. For the first 3 quarters of the XVIII century, Spain doesn't really replenish or improves on its ships' designs or on its production processes. The Real Felipe and its design remained the most powerful galleon in the Spanish Armada. Given Havana's access to strong tropical wood and its exposure to ideas as one of the capitals of the world, Havana's shipyard is the main shipyard that continues to accommodate the best Spanish Ships but are not rivals to England's new economical power.

By mid 1700s, Havana was the biggest port and the third largest city in the New World following Lima, and Mexico City. It was bigger than New York and Boston.

In 1762, England sends 53 warships to the Island. Generally accepted numbers state the strength of the British army and navy with over 11,000 soldiers. However, there were thousands of other non-enlisted personnel that were added as the fleet headed to the city of Havana. Adding up all non-regular and colonies' militia, the rough numbers add up to around 25,000 men. The 13 colonies offered between 2,500 and 4,000 men, and even Jamaica and Martinique added over 2,000 men for the siege of Havana. Total number of vessels counting hospital, cargo, ammunition, and food enough for a siege added to a total of 200 vessels.

To put it into context, the Spanish Armada sent against Queen Elizabeth had a total of 22 warships, and a total of 102-120 vessels.

What a need the modern world has for invented mythology when our human history is more glorious. No movie scene matches the magnitude of actual historical events.

Havana is surrendered to the British 3 months later. During the British occupation, Havana suffered a radical shift in its history from rich city of the Spanish empire to center of commerce and manufacturing with British technologies. New processes, construction methods were introduced so quickly that most were forgotten afterwards.

A year and half later, the British exchanged Havana for Florida after the 7 year War ended. By this time, England had built on top of Havana's shipyard with their new industrial processes and technologies. I believe England was able to produce only a hand full of ships 4 to 5. I have tried for years to track down what they were.

After England's retreat from Havana, the British burned the shipyard. But it was too late. the high number of slaves imported during this time and workers had already learned the latest technology. From its ashes, Havana's shipyard, El Arsenal rose to become one of the greatest shipyards in the world producing the largest ships including la Santisima Trinidad, the largest ship of its time. The shipyard end up producing around 100 ships. Probably some of the best last ships before steam and its metal sheet based vessels came to be.

This brief British influence in an unexpected place allowed the Spanish fleet to flourish again rebuilding its numbers with some of the most powerful ships in the world. Once again, Espana returned to be a power to be reckon with in the high seas.

Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra
Senora del Buen Fin

Delacroix

Delacroix. The breaker of the neo-classicism. The house where he was born. He lost himself in exotic themes of sultans, slaves, and passion. The Red lives in his paintings like a character of its own. Bright Red against the balance of tones of Napoleonic perfection.

Even in his least known works, the Red permeates the canvas sometimes becoming the main object of adoration. the Red makes the saddle heavier and important. It balances the scene by a subtle counter weight to the movement when establishing the ground where the sword rests. He doesn't spend time over defining the figures even when living under the influence and among the greatest classical painters. The scene hasn't ended compared to Napoleon portraits which are applauded and loved, but they also carry the confining task of capturing the instance of the climax of glory.


Not overly known by popular culture, but here is the precursor of the next 100 years. Impressionism surged on his rush stroke and from his diminished attention to the content in contrast to the emphasis on mastery to deliver a simpler message. The changing of the topic from the subject to the whole. His irreverent escape from classicism inspired others to inmerse themselves in other subjects. This is the touch of a genius, an unrecognized game changer of his time.

Versailles



The garden of the Sun King at sunrise.

Code of Hammurabi

The beginning of civilization

1054 Supernova Petrograph

Located few miles off Chaco Canyon. It is an amazing feeling standing below this petrographic. A member of the Anasazi painted this while living surviving in the New Mexico desert 1,000 years ago. The Supernova was probably seen for weeks as bright as the Sun. There was a small set of symbols used by the Anasazi. One of the reason archaeologist believe this is referring to the Supernova is because the symbol is unique. The Moon symbol is clear, and it probably was used to give a reference on the size. The hand is the direction of the new star in the horizon. Their simple writing is more expressive than just symbols. With only three symbols it tells the story of the time, the direction, the size, who saw it, when, and how scary it was. Another of the questions could be why painted so far away  from the dwellings? Is it because it was too new to be brought into their homes? Did time and fear have to recede to make it part of their daily lives? I can just imagine the Anasazi around their kivas in their ceremonies after this event. The Supernova phenomenon only lasted a few weeks. The Anasazi probably left the symbols be the mark that will tell: once this happened.

From this marker, turn right to go down to the petrograph, or turn left to go up to the dwellings at the end of the Mesa a mile out.

Why Das Man?

"Das Man" is a concept by Heidegger one of giants of German philosophy. Heidegger always made a difference between the authenticity and the inauthentic experience. One can see how weird a concept like this sounds nowadays when authenticity is in which consumer market fragment you can be classified. But philosophy always shows a different way to look at things. Modern processes, scientific reasoning, mathematical formulations are always based one way or another in a body of knowledge accumulated over centuries specially from the product of philosophical debate. PhD stands after all for Doctor in Philosophy.

Heidegger explores the Being. The coexistence or the relation with others based not on the others but on what others might provide to oneself is the inauthentic coexistence. It is just "being together." The other type of coexistence is based on providing others with the possibility to find themselves and to realize their own being. This second form is the true authentic coexistence.

Das Man is "The They" or "The One". According to Heidegger, it is the expression of an inauthentic existence. It is doing something because "that is what one does" or "what people do." Das Man represents an intangible set of rules, linguistics, social norms, and fads. It is an intangible authority with no particular cause or begining that robs the individual from experiencing the true self. It limits us from experiencing who or what our Being or Life really is.

Heidegger portraits this "Das Man" as a negative source of authenticity. The authentic experience is the one with no trace of "that is what people do or what people think" reasoning. In contrast, this blog will try to represent the positive of "Das Man." The qualities from society and history that we choose to add to our own self in the discovery and experiencing of the "Being."