Daily Archives: 10-May-05

V-E Day Video

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Here on the 60th anniversary of VE Day, I’m watching two films, Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph des Willens and the Criterion version of the French film Nacht und Nebel.

The first is the face that the Germans wanted to present to the world, the second is of the reality. Both are quite shattering, especially Nacht und Nebel, which pulls no punches in its imagery and which is not for the faint-hearted or weak-stomached.

Both documentaries should be viewed by all for purposes of ‘never again!’

But we live in an empire where our fellow citizens are being purged from churches because of political dissent.

Humans never learn. Never again? No.

Inevitably again.

Spring Edging toward Summer

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First real humidity of the year today … though it wasn’t blazing wiith sunlight today, it got up into the high 70s, and the weather was definitely balmy. The trees are in full bloom — magnolias, cherry, etc. Haven’t seen all that many squirrels around the house lately, for whatever reason, though they seem to be fairly active around campus. Have seen and heard tons of birds, mostly robins and starlings, with the occasional woodpecker and cardinal thrown in for measure. I’ve heard some unusual birdsong, but nothing I’ve been able to identify.