Kristallnacht; Prelude to destruction

This is the book that I started reading today after finishing The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles. I'm already really into it, as history is a secret passion of mine :S.
I already had a brief understanding of what Kristallnacht was; I knew that it was referred to as 'the night of broken glass' because it was when Hitler went around and demolished Jewish shops and synagogues etc and stripped Jews of their qualifications and.. dignity. I knew that Hitler commenced this act upon hearing news that the German Ernst vom Rath had been shot by a Jew at the German Embassy in Paris too. However, I did not know the full story behind the shooting of vom Rath. The book explained;

'On 18th October 1938, on Hitler's orders, more than 12,000 Jews were expelled from Germany... 4,000 were accepted by Poland. But 8,000, denied entry into Poland, were forced to stay at the border... There, in harsh conditions, they waited for the Polish government to agree to take them in... One expelled couple, who had been living in Hanover for more than 27 years, had a 17 year old son, Herschel Grynszpan, living in Paris. From the border his sister Berta sent him a postcard describing their expulsion: "No one told us what was up, but we realised this was going to be the end." Her final appeal: "We haven't a penny. Could you send us something...?"... Herschel recieved his sister's short but anguished message on November 3. On the following day he read a graphic account of the deportations in a Paris Yiddish newspaper, which reported a number of instances of insanity and suicide among the expellees. Grynszpan was outraged. On the morning of Sunday, November 6 he bought a pistol, loaded it with 5 bullets, and on the following day went by Metro to the German Embassy. His plan was to kill the Ambassador. After telling the doorman that he had "an important document" to deliver, he was sent to the room of the Third Secretary, Ernst vom Rath. "Did you have an important document to give me?" vom Rath asked. Drawing his pistol, Grynszpan called out: "You are a filthy Boche and here, in the name of 12,000 persecuted Jews, is your document." Grynszpan fired 5 shots.' - Kristallnacht; Prelude to destruction, Martin Gilbert

But I am not afraid

Thick as thieves the last of leaves

In the winter sun

Holding fast this freezing branch

Is home to us

Step, step right over the line

And onto borrowed time

When it's life, not waiting to die

Waiting to divide to divide

Counting stars and passing cars

On the interstate

The end is near I feel it dear,

But I am not afraid.. - Borrowed Time, A Fine Frenzy

Today I finished reading my book whilst listening to A Fine Frenzy's album 'One Cell in the Sea'. Above is the track and some lyrics from it that I found very appropriate to the story.

I felt they were relevant because the tale is one about a logger from Finland and how he survives during the war in 1939. Conditions are harsh and as he is taken prisoner by the Russians he finds himself in the company of a few other Russian prisoners of war and a Finnish speaking Red, Antonov, who helps him commute with the others. Although they are supposed enemies, they all form a bond with one another and realise that they are all that they have left in the world. They make an attempt to escape the clutch of the heartless and bitter Russians and flee to a boathouse. However they realise that they are running out of food and have to make an important decision between staying and dying of hunger, or attempting to go their seperate ways and possibly dying in the cold.

'The snag with your question, angel, is you don't know if we'll be shot when we get home, nor whether we'll be allowed to live in Sweden. You said so yourself, we don't know anything, and the man who knows nothing goes home.' - Antonov, The Burnt-Out Town Of Miracles (Roy Jacobsen)

They all decide to set off on their own individual missions and wish eachother good luck for the future. I wont tell you how it ends in case you're planning on reading it, but I will say that I was quite disappointed with the ending.

What a cute idea

'Little happy ants, Sure are cute! But I can no longer, be a mute. Squish 'em in your kitchen! Catch 'em if you can! Shoo ants! Shoo ants! And away they ran.' - littletjane on Etsy

OOoohhhh Je T'aime..

www.custommade.bigcartel.com

yes please :)

A book and a song

'enemy' shellfire was coming closer like the stitches of a gigantic sewing machine, screams of pain, shouted commands and whistling medics - the machine was running amok, and a billowing carpet of brown smoke settled across the town, so dense and boundless that it enveloped the sky as well, and there we sat, in the middle of all this, like maggots in the core of a rotten apple. - The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles, Roy Jacobsen

'comment pourrais-je vivre, si tu n'étais pas là?'

'how could I live, if you were not here?' - Si tu n'étais pas là, Fréhel

I am unoccupied, so I have picked two interesting things and included them in a blog together. The book is one that I am reading currently. The song is by Fréhel and I like it.

Maybe I think you're cute and funny

Maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you if you know what i mean.

You grew on me

like a tumour.
I love Tim Minchin :)

This is my brain
And I live in it
It’s made of love
And bad song lyrics
It’s tucked away behind my eyes
Where all my screwed up thoughts can hide
Cos God forbid I hurt somebody
And the weirdest thing about a mind
Is that every answer that you find
Is the basis of a brand new cliché

This is my brain
And it’s fine
It’s where I spend the vast majority of my time
It’s not perfect
But it’s mine
It’s not perfect
I’m not quite sure I’ve worked out how to work it
It’s not perfect
But it’s mine - Tim Minchin, 'Not Perfect'

But he sang louder and louder inside the house..

I'd been listening to Bird Song for a while, sub-conciously singing along. Then I really started listening to it. And I realised how twisted it is. It's about a bird that was singing outside Florence's house, and she was worried that it would bother the neighbours, so she invited him in to reason with him but he sang louder and louder inside the house so..

'I trapped him under a cardboard box
And stood on it to make him stop,
I picked up the bird and above the dim I said
"That's the last song you'll ever sing."
Held him down, broke his neck,
Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget.' - Florence & The Machine


Pretty damn sickening? Whats the inspiration for that?

Hate the sin not the sinner

'Key pieces include shirts based on retro college looks and given a treatment of beading and applique finished with a vintage worn feel.'




I love Elvis Jesus shirts. :)

Country Mile

I entered a competition to win tickets to the Green Man Festival, and now I wanna go to that!

It looks like a lovely place and the acts include Jarvis Cocker, Camera Obscura, Wilco, Peggy Sue, Noah and the Whale and Bon Iver..

It is £50 for people aged between 13 - 17 but I can imagine the transport to Mid Wales would cost a bit too! Hm.. what to do.

Also I have been looking at at San Fransisco's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival.. the line up is amazing! But its quite expensive ($225). And, of course, it is in San Fransisco.. slight problem there. Augh...

The Day We Caught The Train

I want to go to beachdown! £45 for 4 days of music..

Was such a good festival last year.. but the line up is nowhere near as good as it was before.

Ocean Colour Scene have just confirmed their appearance.. but besides them, The Zutons, Grace Jones & Ida Maria, the line up hasn't won me over.

I've just been told that theres a festival on soon.. for free.. and The Smiths are playing?

Nice :) That has sorted my dilemma.. for now.

A blockbuster card.

An old stick of juicy fruit.
A crumpled receipt for a pair of leather boots.


Painted the room 'Dusted Damsel' and 'Malt Chocolate'. :)

Addictions

Who needs drugs when you can have KILKOF.

Well actually, a bit of a contradiction there?

Cough medicine. The most beautiful taste.

Wall of arms

I'm painting my room. Gotta choose a colour tomorrow. I suggested maroon but apparently that would be far too dark. Hm..

Revelation

'my shabop shalom baby, wont you shabop shalom with me..' ♥ - Devendra Banhart

I have been listening to Devendra Banhart for a long long time now and have always been fond of his music. I love how wonderful and adventurous his lyrics are, and his music is so chilled and happy. I decided to have a gander at what the bloke looks like and MY GOD, he is a beauty. I've discovered the meaning of love at first sight. He is actually divine.

Obsessive, compulsive.

Do I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

It really bothers me when people write the initials of something but forget to put the last '.'

For example: T.N.T <-- see the bit that is missing? IT KILLS ME! it should be T.N.T.

haha, I'm sure I make loads of silly mistakes myself, but when I notice them on other people, it actually drives me insane.

Another thing that I can't handle is when people spell 'you're' wrong.
If you are using it as a shortened version of 'you are', for example, you're very tall, then it should be 'you're'.
If you are using it to refer to something that belongs to someone, for example, this is your pen, then it should be 'your'.

!!

ANDDDDDDDDDDDDDD...... I dislike how people think that the words 'of' and 'course' merge to make one word; ofcourse.

It is just not right. And it tears me up inside. Amen.

Genius Next Door

I struggled to grasp the meaning of the lyrics at first, but after searching on the internet I finally gathered some sort of understanding of them;

""dreaming that the antidote is orgasm" - many believe that when a person drowns, they experience a euphoric sensation at the moment of death, comparable to an intense orgasm. I believe maybe the lake had a reputation- the teenagers would go there to party, and dare eachother to hold their breath a long time underwater, hoping to achieve the fabled orgasm while still surviving to tell about it. Instead, many drowned- but this did not keep the kids from going back. They were foolish. Perhaps they joked that those young men who died had ejaculated in those waters... inspiring the humor in the consistency of the lake itself. The townspeople obviously did not find it appropriate to talk about what went down at the lake."The neighbours were trying to keep it quiet//But I swear that I could hear the laughter//So they joke, and they nicknamed it the porridge//Cause over night that lake had turned as thick as butter"now the geek "genius" thought he'd try the theory out himself, without anyone knowing- he thought he was smarter than the drunk boys and would be sober enough to save himself, but he drowned alone in the lake, still hoping to acheive his orgasm, not realizing that there was no "antidote" to save him from death." - juliaspaperbags from songmeanings.net

This is the interpretation that summed it up best.

I admire how Regina writes such wonderful lyrics.. what would inspire her to write a tale like this, adapt the words into a poem and then create a beautiful melody to go with it..? I simply had to write a blog about it.

Dance Anthem of the 80's

"An addiction to hands and feet
There's a meat market down the street
The boys and girls watch each other eat
When they really just wanna watch each other sleep.."

My birthday was amazing. I had a surprise party. I have such amazing friends. I am so thankful.