But, first, a funny story. After we had been talking for a while, I mentioned our blog. Jack stopped me and said, “Wait a minute. What’s your blog’s name?”“Gates of Vienna,” I replied.
“You’re Gates of Vienna?!?”
“That’s right…”
“I thought that was a European blog!”
I told him that a lot of people think that. So, just for the record:
We’re not European.
Well, not counting Fjordman, LN, Kepiblanc, Zonka, XY, Phanarath, Rune, and all the other Scandinavians who guest-post here.Dymphna claims Irishness, but she was born in the USA. My mongrel ancestors (English, Scots, German, French, etc.) all crossed the Big Pond at least 150 years ago.
We’re bloody Yanks. We have no right to bloviate on matters European, but we do, anyway.
11 comments:
But you are some of our favourite yanks !
"We have no right to bloviate on matters European..."
Self-deprecative nonsense, freedom of speech is surely the right of rights. Of course, yanks orating verbosely and windily about Eiropa are bound to foul things up sometimes, but what else are we commenters for? And its not like a euro commentator has ever been told to STFU on the American topic posts (well, not by the site owners anyway).
Baron, Dymphna,
Please carry right on! If you're occasionally OT, or occasionally OTT that's a very acceptable price to pay for a coherent and concerned commentary. Moreover, sometimes distance is essential to really see what game's afoot, as in the recent post over at the Augean Stables by Richard Landes:
Greenway wins the LCE of the day award.
I really don't see any European having the perspective to write that piece or the guts to write some of yours.
Please keep it up!
As Gracie Allen used to say, "I'm only Irish on my mother and father's side".
How's this for a tagline: "Two yanks - a mick and a mutt - bloviating"
Hey, Fellow P-K --
How about some translations from Latvian (or Russian) to help us get out of the Scandinavian ghetto?
Can't wait to hear about the meeting with Jack Wheeler. That guy seems like an exceptional human being.
How about some translations from Latvian (or Russian) to help us get out of the Scandinavian ghetto?
If you don't already know about him, this guy seems to have a Russian & British clientele.
http://edwardlucas.blogspot.com/
With the danger of commenting totally besides the subject - I have done a little research on the different cultural terms and cultural roots.
It does seem a little weird that certain people seem to bundle together in the blogossphere. I mean why is it that the Yanks end up discussing with the Scandinavians? Why do most "western people" totally agree upon the matter of Islam?
Being a student a history I have done a little research, and here are my hypotheses:
1. It seems that we do share some very deep roots. The Anglo-Saxons came partially from Denmark (Angles is a part of Slesvig, southern part of Denmark). These roots you can see in the mentality (a certain agressive Viking attitude) in the language, in the religion (we are mostly protestants) and so on, and in the cuisine (we like beer and barbecue)
2. These Viking roots are more or less acknowledged through the Viking world - in Denmark we still hold on to the Viking lore (My name refers to the central tree i Valhalla) but in other parts of the Viking world - the myths of Freja and Thor are very faint memories. The Anglo Saxons still name their days after the old Gods Thor: Thursday, Freja: Friday, but my feeling is, that nobody really knows anything about it.
So perhaps that is the basic reason why we end up saluting the brave Fjordman and recognising something in each other - because we all share the same basic cultural premises.
Asger, you are right!
Please see my post about the Men of the North.
Wally Ballou--
Good Gracie Allen line. I still miss her: an intelligent ditz. No wonder George Burns never remarried...how could he replace such a gem?
As for being Irish on my mother and father's side, me mither claimed we were "Irish back to the Kings." I was in my teens before I knew she was referring to tribal chieftains who couldn't get their act together to fend off the evil British.
When my mother found out I was marrying a Protestant with English blood, she paused and then said..."I suppose we need to widen the gene pool..."
Of course, I didn't tell her all the other stuff about him.
Dear Baron
I see what you mean - for me it is a little shaking to realise the extent of my own culture - and also the central role we danes somehow have.
I can see, that a lot the relics of the Viking Culture is here in Denmark, the stories, the lore, the rune stones, the graves of the kings, the craftmanship, the Viking faith. And somehow it is our responsability to preserve it.
For all the men of North.
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