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Sunday 1 January 2017

Borges: Einar Tambarskelver / The New Foreboding (Acts of State)

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Dancing Bear, State Fair of Texas, Austin: photo by Lynn Lennon, 1985 (Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library)




Austin, Texas: photo by gumanow, September 2009, posted 26 January 2010



 During the forced evacuation of Finnmark, Byåsen school was used to house evacuees and as a temporary replacement hospital: photo by Ukjent, c. August 1944 (Municipal Archives of Trondheim)


 

During the forced evacuation of Finnmark, Byåsen school was used to house evacuees and as a temporary replacement hospital: photo by Ukjent, c. August 1944 (Municipal Archives of Trondheim)



 During the forced evacuation of Finnmark, Byåsen school is used to house evacuees and as a temporary replacement hospital: photo by Ukjent, c. August 1944 (Municipal Archives of Trondheim) 




During the forced evacuation of Finnmark, Byåsen school is used to house evacuees and as a temporary replacement hospital: photo by Ukjent, c. August 1944 (Municipal Archives of Trondheim) 

Jorge Luis Borges: Einar Tambarskelver

                         (Heimskringla, I, 117)

Odín o el rojo Thor o el Cristo Blanco...
Poco importan los nombres y sus dioses;
no hay otra obligación que ser valiente
y Einar lo fue, duro caudillo de hombres.
Era el primer arquero de Noruega
y diestro en el gobierno de la espada
azul y de las naves. De su paso
por el tiempo, nos queda una sentencia
que resplandece en las crestomatías.
La dijo en el clamor de una batalla
en el mar. Ya perdida la jornada,
ya abierto el estribor al abordaje,
un flechazo final quebró su arco.
El rey le preguntó qué se había roto
a sus espaldas y Einar Tambarskelver
dijo: Noruega, rey, entre tus manos.
Siglos después, alguien salvó la historia
en Islandia. Yo ahora la traslado,
tan lejos de esos mares y de ese ánimo.


Einar Tambarskelver

  
                         (Heimskringla, I, 117)
 
Odin or red Thor or the White Christ ...

They matter little, the names, the gods behind them;
There is no other duty than to be brave
And Einar, leathery captain of men, was that.
He was foremost among the Norwegian archers
And expert in the handling of the blue
Sword and of ships. Of his trajectory
Through time, there now remains to us one sentence,
Which gives off light in the chrestomathies.
He said it in the wild din of a sea battle.
The lost day's fighting done, the starboard side
Open to boarding, a last shot snapped his bow.
The king asked him what was that that had broken
Behind his back and Einar Tambarskelver
Replied, Norway, king, between your hands.
Centuries later, someone saved the story
In Iceland. And I now transcribe it here,
So distant from those oceans, from that spirit.

Jorge Luis Borges: Einar Tambarskelver, from La moneda de hierro (1976); English version by Robert Mezey and Richard Barnes

Norway, Acts of State


Statsakten (Celebration of Government Act at Akershus, marking transition to German supremacy in Norway under the national government of Vidkun Quisling): photographer unknown, 1 February 1942
 


Statsakten (Celebration of Government Act at Akershus, marking transition to German supremacy in Norway under the national government of Vidkun Quisling)
: photographer unknown, 1 February 1942
(National Archives of Norway)


Statsakt in Berlin. Empfang Quislings beim Führer. Links Reichskommissar [Josef] Terboven, mitte Reichsminister Fr. Lammers, rechts Reichsleiter Bormann, Gruppenführer [Julius] Schaub und Gruppenführer [Martin] Bormann: photographer unknown, 13 February 1942 (National Archives of Norway)
 

  [Walking up Akersgata in Oslo] Statsakt für Minister Lunde. Fra venstre: General Feuerstein, Generaladmiral Böhm, Quisling, Rediess, Terboven : photographer unknown, 11 January 1941 (National Archives of Norway)



Vidkun Quisling, Josef Terboven, tyske offiserer og Rikshirden
): photographer unknown, 1 February 1942
(National Archives of Norway)


Arrested and sentenced to death for treason, Vidun Quisling spends his last days at Akershus Fortress awaiting execution by a firing squad: photographer unknown, October 1945 (National Archives of Norway) 

Livestock Market

Changed, changed utterly! | by National Library of Ireland on The Commons

Dublin Livestock Market ("Cowtown"): photo by Robert French, between c.1898 and c. 1902 (Lawrence Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland)

Changed, changed utterly! | by National Library of Ireland on The Commons

Dublin Livestock Market ("Cowtown"): photo by Robert French, between c.1898 and c. 1902 (Lawrence Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland)

Changed, changed utterly! | by National Library of Ireland on The Commons

Dublin Livestock Market ("Cowtown"): photo by Robert French, between c.1898 and c. 1902 (Lawrence Photographic Collection, National Library of Ireland)


SYRIA - People search for victims as fire spreads behind them following a reported government airstrike on Douma, Damascus. By @AbdDoumany
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 December 2016


Step inside China's hellish, illicit factories Photo: @kevinfrayer: image via WIRED Photo @WIREDPhoto, 20 December 2016


IRAQ - A member of the Iraqi forces looks on from behind a vehicle in Mosul during an ongoing military operation against IS. By @ahmedafp: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 December 2016


SAFRICA - A rare male King Cheetah is pictured inside a closed camp at the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre in Hartbeespoort. By @wesselsjohn1
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 December 2016


INDONESIA - Balinese children prepare to perform during a New Year celebration in Denpasar. By @sonny_bali #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 December 2016



Picture shows #Hizbollah fighters in Alramousah border with the East #Aleppo and cutting the road of the evacuation process: image via IRT @InstRepTeam, 17 December 2016


And I only have eyes for you #Tillerson #Putin @ExxonMobil - #Russia  oil giant @Rosneft2012 agreement ceremony @GettyImages: image via Reading the Pictures @ReadingThe Pix, 10 December 2016


#2016InReview Nov 12 MYANMAR - People protecting themselves from fireworks during the Tazaungdaing Lighting Festival. By @ye_aung_thu #AFP
: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 31 December 2016



#Kashmir Fishermen cover their heads with blankets and straw as they wait in the Anchar Lake,  #Srinagar By Danish Ismail @reuterspictures
: image via Photojournalism @photojournalink, 30 December 2016


The New Foreboding

Happy new year everyone. #newyear #family #vacation #familytime: image via Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr, 31 December 2016

The Enemies List is real, all STRONG LEADERS have one. On 1/20 baby MAGA will feast on the blood and bones of dissenters! #MAGA #EnemiesList
: tweet via Trumpmerica @Trumpmerica, 31 December 2016




Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!: tweet via Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump, 31 December 2016