Black woolens here and there amid the struggle for the truth

[tempelhof]

no small feat to ignore the noise as loud as it characteristically is.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

no small feat to ignore the noise as loud as it characteristically is.

Before you and I met here, that is, many years ago, I was much more patient. No longer.

[tempelhof]

and patience should not be and is not required of you. what you have is dedication, generosity, and industry beyond any and all reproach.

patience is required of those who will learn.

it is not incumbent upon you, at risk of using too graphic a metaphor, to provide bites which have been pre-chewed.

the material is there, thanks to you, to keep those who will learn busy for years to come should they have the stamina to make serious headway into the matter at hand.

let the real student learn. let the rest be silent.

for me? i chose to learn. as do so many others. and for the opportunity i have nothing but gratitude.

[DrCMH]

I, for one, have not thanked often enough those who have contributed such fine material to this forum. Be it genuine items for study or, even more important, written examples from primary source literature as to the proper appearance, or lack thereof during the period, that irritated the powers that be almost as much as these variences do to those now who subscribe to the gunshow lore of more recent times. It takes some thought to eloquently express the written word and quite a bit more time to insert images which evoke the mental imagery that, hopefully, serves to convey the intent of the author through the digital medium.

Some are better than others at this. But all individuals that endeavor to participate in a courteous manner are valued here...and we all even learn a thing or two.

I wish to express my gratitude to those who have done so much and expected nothing more than a courteous "thanks" in return for sharing their treasures and knowledge. I, personally, have found the knowledge to be the real treasure.

CMH

[Eddie]

I am constantly delighted at what I find in You Tube from the 20th century, as well as very good German and Austrian documentaries on our subjects.

Agreed. For everything obnoxious and base that has occurred to "Kultur" in this last century, it is simply astounding to me that one can watch masterworks of film, listen to many complete albums, and watch documentaries(good and bad) on our favorite subjects or even interviews and actual footage of historical events all for no charge. I say this as someone who grew up firmly in the digital age, and it still amazes me. I follow a blog that regularly posts almost 100% forgotten images from Heidelberg newspapers from the turn of the last century, so many excellent images formerly relegated to the waste bin of history are finally given their due in small, electronic corners of cyberspace. I think the most optimistic and starry-eyed marxist or progressive of the turn of the century would have called you naive if you told him that such things would be free for viewing and listening to nearly every person for no charge. It's important to remember that mankind's best inventions are usually used in awful and simple ways by most people.

I also agree that our 13 year old friend Patrick has fantastic manners and a bright future ahead of him. "M" remains my favorite film since my father took me to see it at the local art house cinema at age 12.

[goodbuys]

F-B,It still amazes me of the rarity and quality of your collection.I never,ever get tired of the pieces,photos,sales catalogs etc.When their are others who are selling put together garbage only for there greed! It makes me a 43 year collector know that a person of honesty,integrity,still exists and we all enjoy your comments! Carl

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Thank you friends, I am honored by such fine company and am happy to engage your interest in foetid woolens.
With the passage of time, as well as what might be a rather expensive outlay of items for my heap of old junk, I am sure more touchy about all of this than good manners permits.
The post that irritates me here is also typical of what a bad student does in class to damage the climate of learning.
Usually such an intervention manifests an insecurity and inability to make a sound contribution, as well as bad manners.
I confront such things quite often, as I do not lecture and my style compels the participant to be very engaged, as well as risk scrutiny of others as to their ability to learn about the past in a sophisticated, critical way.
More and more thought, reflection, analysis, patience, and the willingness to wrestle with subtleties are beyond a certain mediocre and immature student I encounter more and more and who, in turn, is more aggressive and anti intellectual in a pretty vulgar way. Such manifests a general trend in society in my native and adopted country.
When such ding dongs show this kind of aggression to me, or to others, especially, I usually hammer them just as I got hammered as a young pike from my mentor (who was a Scot, and very tough) and also as happens still in German advanced study, where little quarter is given. This reproach then sends them over the moon, because they have never encountered a reproach of any kind in their previous experience. Their amour propre is then badly unhinged.
I am sure such a thing is very horrifying to many who have no experience of advanced study, or of life in universities in other countries and at other times. They expect here what they see in reality television or the sight of attractive women, scantily clad, isolated on forgotten tropical islands, having a fish bowl full of roaches placed on their head.
Orwell is a favorite of mine, surely, but instead of Room 101, we want something else here, but aggressive stupidity evokes censure.
I cannot, however, jump over my shadow.
The advanced study over four decades and more has enabled me to collect this material and this material always spurred me onward to learn more each day without surcease.
The effort is more gratifying in the company of you colleagues and I thank you very much for the fine posts here.

[Friedrich-Berthold]

Also the recent assault on the soul of Richard P. has made me much more prone to massive retaliation than was the case a few years ago.

[Ostm63]

Also the recent assault on the soul of Richard P. has made me much more prone to massive retaliation than was the case a few years ago.

I have read this particular thread and i can still not believe that this has happend. I am very disapointed about the behaviour of that community where i am member since 2004
Really disappointed ....