It is also always a wonder how things come along when one begins to make these sorts of junctions in the path. Like the bus you have been waiting for comes then is followed by half a dozen other buses in rapid succession!!! Back in November, when I was making those five different directional series of Me-Now-View shots from my windows to see the year out, I made the decision to put the photography blog (My Take) on hiatus for the remaining six weeks of its eleventh year (and yes, DoWY is approaching that anniversary too!) because I am just not getting enough fresh lens fodder to keep that effort going. With this decision taken, I also realised I would now have time to put a laser-like focus on this blog. That was the time that I was setting up my Advent musicalisms series, and the intermutts worked its algorithms and presented me with Sabaton's Christmas Truce.
The. Thin. End. Of. The. Wedge! As mentioned previously, I got lost in their back catalogue and history channel and realised I had my supporting structure for the blog. I will still have lighter, laughier days...once I've got things properly ticking along. If this initial stage seems all very heavy (and not just metal 😝), the fault is mine as I endeavour to lay proper foundations for what amounts to a posting project. I am very conscious that some will find these longer posts not to their taste. That's fine. Ultimately - as is the case for all of you who are blogging/vlogging or otherwise teching - the writing is being done for my own exploration, and if, by sharing these things, anyone else gains even an iota of new information, benefits from a new point of view or finds a new area of interest, then all the better.
I've touched upon my belief that history is essential to us in order to understand our now, as well as it being an aid to seeing potential futures. What I have not spoken of here before is that Modern History was one of my key subjects at school, which I took to Scottish Higher (A-Level) study with the intention to read History and Philosophy at university. I was offered places at two... but by that time, I had been on my first Great Down Under trip. Things had changed. And I ended up in computer science instead. You've got the MacHistory label for all that.
I have always kept my interest in history, particularly from the Boer War and up through the 20th century to current events. Make no mistake, what is happening worldwide, in our daily lives, is history in action. The minute you just left became a part of it. Everyday social history is important. Political history is important. And the history of conflict is important. Firstly, we must never forget the horrors, sacrifices, noble deeds, and heroic acts, as every life is worth honouring with memory. As Human Beings, from the earliest social gatherings, the narration of lives - hatched, lived and despatched - has taken place. In every family and community, there is to be found the 'recorder and narrator'. My dear friend Aitch is an archivist. The keeping of papers, books, and artefacts all help build that history. In modern history, we also have the benefit of film and photography. This comes with the understanding that what is to be witnessed is likely to be disturbing, at the very least.
With the posts I will be sharing here, I hope there is some degree of cohesion as I have picked items that reflect different aspects or sides. The main message that comes across in these episodes (and all the others on the channel) is that most soldiers just get on with being soldiers and are not any different from the soldiers on the opposite team. And on all sides, there are also real ^&*""*^&**^s who use war to express their sadistic nature.
What has been intriguing to me is that sometimes a few days or even a couple of weeks after pondering a subject such as I have just written, the algorithms will throw something else my way to fill out the picture. An example is the following half-hour interview with Joakim and Pär. I debated whether to share this, but I think you will appreciate their discussion as they tour the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels. It gives you a good feel for the two main guys of the band, as well as brings up a couple of facts that even I had not known about (think dogs). There is very occasional strong language.
NB - as I invite you to ponder these things and, perhaps, add to the discussion, I will leave this one with you today and switch off comments, so you don't have to feel obliged to fit this all into your 'right now'. If you have some feedback, question, or something to share on the subject, bring it in tomorrow's comments. Ta.