Winter Nights

Blessings Darlings!

Back in the day - and I mean REALLY back in Europe, from the iron age until industrialization - winter was the time for learning history, poetry, culture, wisdom.  After all, in summer the herds would be out in the fields being watched by the original cow boys from dawn till dusk.  And dawn was really early, and dusk really late.

But in winter, the thinned herds were kept in the village so you could easily feed and water them.  Dawn was late, dusk early, so you didn't crash as soon as the sun went down.  And, in Ireland, even the Fianna bunked in towns during the winter.  So after dinner you could head over to the neighbor's place and the elders would tell the stories, share the poetry and tales. 

So I think I'll go there in this blog for a while.  I'll start with the words of the Havamal and some of my own commentary on it, how it applies to MY life.  I'm not going to pretend to be overly knowledgeable about the time it comes from, after all!

The Havamal is part of the Poetic Edda, a collection of Old  Norse poetry.  It is, fundamentally, common sense served up by Odhinn.  Common sense being, well, awfully uncommon lately, it seems like a great place to start.

I'll be using the Auden & Taylor translation, which is all over the interwebs and appears to be public domain.

If any of y'all are knowledgeable about the times this comes from, or have other insights to add, PLEASE add comments as we go along!  I'm no expert historian, nor am I Asatruar or anyone who has really studied this in context.

Frondly, Fern

Egypt

Blessings, Darlings!

Yes, the Mubarek government has to go - they have a history of oppression and are the tool of the oligarchy. Yes, some coalition has to take its place that is not totally tied to the oligarchy (but, clearly, has to have the approval of the military).

I'm no policy or urban or economic development wonk, or an economic history buff (either professional or hobbyist).  But SOMEONE out there must be! 

How do you turn an oligarchy into something that allows for economic opportunity for everyone in the country?  What exactly does a government to do promote job development in this case, when just a relatively few families hold all the assets and apparently only hire people they know? 

Are they historic examples of this happening?  If so, tell me about them, please!

Frondly, totally at sea Fern