Today is Thursday and it’s wet out there. From my cosy café here in downtown Copenhagen I’m trying to not enjoy the spectacle outside of people hurrying past striving not to get too wet. But to no avail, I’m afraid.

While I’m writing this the wetness seems to shapeshift from a drizzle over sleet to snowy and then back again.

Luckily here’s no papers laying around, whence I feel free to not comment on the dreary drudge of Danish pre-election politics this particular afternoon.

In the last post I told about an apparently lucky find from the odds-and-ends box in a large photo store here in our small capital. A seemingly very nice Sigma 24mm ‘superwide’ lens for my autofocus Nikon (it turned out it kind of had a problem with dirt in the focusing thread).

But yesterday when I looked inside to say hello I met mostly blank faces with eyes that seemed to evade looking my way.

Now, why is that? I have to suspect that at least one DeepState puppet employed in that very shop scrutinize my blog posts regularly and closely.

This may or may not be the case; and likewise my feeling of ad-hoc unfriendliness may or may not be pertinent. But be this as it may, it fits the bill to elucidate a case in point, anyway.

Because I know for a fact the DeepState (also called TPTB) certainly has as one of it’s strategies to economically starve their thoughtful critics.

Like said before (link 1), it’s proved itself to be an elusive task for the DeepState to outright have me assassinated or kidnapped, partly or perhaps even mostly due to my modest gift of clairvoyance.

Hence the urgency to employ other, more devious and roundabout ways and means. Among which the politics of starving you economically perhaps is held to be the most effective and important, although certanly not the only one (Note 2).

In an earlier blog post (link 2) I’ve told a bit about how the government a few years ago illegally and arbitrarily held back my housing benefit (rent assistance) for abt. 16 months, amounting to nearly $5,000.

And as told, this agency – like the Danes’ much beloved SecretService/SecretPolice (they even call it their PET!) – is way above and outside insight and effective oversigt. Furthermore you cannot complain to anyone except the agency itself. Brave new democracy – the regime in which you are totally at the mercy of ubiquitous and multifarious rogue power abusers! (Note 1)

Touching also upon another well known strategy: That of isolating you from friends, family and neighbours. One tool is to hire as many of your friends as possible as snitches for a SecretService agency, Danish or alien.

Of course only very, very few are able to resist if rogue agents from a rogue agency (with a fancy name) approach you with a request to help them spy on your friends and other ‘dangerous elements’ (- i.e. the clever and undounted critics).

For instance my old ‘friend’ – in fact my best friend for more than a decade – as recent as day before yesterday again (and again and again) tried to lure me on an outing in his fancy car. He’s perhaps long since sprung out as a Mozzard puppet? In a way you can’t blame him, perhaps, as it may run in the family?

Still the sheer evil may almost knocks you off your feet?

Another strategy, of course, is to simply assassinate or in other ways seriously harass your friends. For instance I wonder what happened to Gunnar Buchmann and Morten O.?

I also wonder who ordered the (obvious) arson house fires of my then perhaps two closest friends in Hilleroed and Roskilde? (link 3)

And who croaked the – old and sick to be sure – girlfriend of a neighbour? The ‘plan’ could obviously be to lure myself up in said neighbour’s lonely cottage. And – as I’ve touched on earlier (link 4) – that’s exactly what happened, or could have happened, as the first thing said to me after the grisly death was ‘now you have to go with me up to my cottage instad of her’.

Well – you couldn’t make this s**t up!

Could go on and on – there’s really no end to the evil that reveals itself almost everywhere when morals in society collapse more or less completely.

But back to life. Last Sunday was the closing day of the dutch sale of old books in the Heilig-Geist Church House.

The closing price was 10 Kr. ($1.50) and I had in fact considered not to attend on account, mostly, of my cramped quarters at home and a rather tight budget.

However I decided to take a short look if only to learn if two small booklets I had noticed the other day were still there.

They were. And also I had a hard time resisting a few other interesting offers whence I eventually found myself hauling two bags to a nearby café. I’ill just comment on a couple of the finds. (As usual I’ill quote samples in the same tongue as the books).

1. UDVALGTE BREVE AF L. SMITH. Meddelte af J.H. Bang. Sorø 1876, 52 p., (indbundet m. indbydelsesskrift fra Sorø Akademi).

2. Dito – Sorø, 1877. (vol.2 of the set).

L. Smith appears to have been a well known intellectual and man of letters in his time (late 18th century). I forgot to look up Mr. Bang – but will aim to remedy this later (it turns out I have nothing on J.H.Bang in my dictionaries).

From skimming the letters I would say offhand they don’t seem to be without merit even today. They are all written in 1785-86 I believe, and appear to may often be of general interest.

What sold me, however, was perhaps mostly the ownership history of these two otherwise unasuming booklets.

They both have the exlibris of the well known Danish linguist H.G. Olrik on the inside cover. And on the flyleaf directly opposite you read, likewise in both: ‘Højvelbaarne Hr. Konferensraad Dr. Madvig, ærbødigst og hengivenst fra Udgiveren’ (J.H.Bang).

Dr. Madvig is of course the famous Danish 19. century scholar of the classical languages.

3. THE DAIN CURSE. By Dashiell Hammett. Penguin Book, 1966. 188 p. Softcover pocket book that seems to be unread.

From the back cover: ‘Dashiell Hammett gave you THE THIN MAN and THE MALTESE FALCON. Here one of his toughest Continental Ops takes a steel grip on a case that is either modern witchcraft or conspiracy and hocus-pocus of the foulest kind’.

I’m sure I already own at least one copy of The Dain Curse. Hence I naturally thought I’ve read it more than once, like I have all Hammett’s other books about fifty years ago.

But I’m now past page 75 and half a dozen murders and frankly I don’t seem to recognize or remember a single scene or character. Which worries me slightly, and make me want to soon discover in my storeroom the box with my more than a hundred detective novels (Only Hammett, Chandler and Stanley Gardner/A.A.Fair – thank you very much).

Of course some readers may rather early get a feeling that the detective’s old author friend seems to be introduced somewhat haphazardly in the plot. He just ‘by coincidence’ happen to have moved to SanFrancisco – seemingly without good reason except he’s needed in the plot.

Or perhaps I’ve got a rudimentary reminiscence of this detail, after all?

Anyway a detail that’s an obvious weakness in Mr. Hammett’s labyrinthine kind of plot: The authors hero-dective says somewhere he has stopped beliveing in coincidence and clearly the author should have expected his intelligent readers to likewise have grown out of being ‘coincidence-theorists’ (Note 3).

Not surprisingly this particular novel seems to highlight a couple of the typical Hammett traits: A certain cold-hearted brutality and perhaps even reveling in murder? And also an almost old-testament severity and lack of humor. (By the way, wasn’t there’s an old township in then Palestine named Hammat or Hammath?).

Hammett was, I believe, very proud of his extraordinary cleverness:

– Big Flora: ‘…but you just played a hand – that’s – that’s…

– Hammett’s hero detective: ‘Yeah – I’m another Papadopulous’.

But occasionally you could wish for a bit more simplicity and less overly ingenious plots. Seriously!

Note 1.
The exact same thing seems to be in the offering for the Danish public health and hospital sector right now.

Our DeepState controlled govt. want to put an end to any and all local (political) control of the sector, so as to remove any conceivable access for the public to complain to local power brokers. These locals simply will have all their powers stripped by and transfered to the government.

In this way the DeepState controllers of our govt. can direct everything of importance, f.i. which political or ideological opponents or (not-totally-clueless) journalists are to be ‘wasted’ in the hospitals – as central govt. will control any and all promotions of doctors and nurses as well as administrative staff (links 5 & 6).

The Key: It’s the DeepState that controls ALL fat-cat jobs – be they in NASO or Save The Quids or anywhere else. Remember?

Note 2.
A couple of hours after having updated the above on my WP-blog yesterday (Saturday Jan.19.), I was accosted by an ‘Italian’ gentleman just outside one of my usual haunts in downtown Copenhagen, the photo shop Foto/C in Holbergsgade.

Sitting in his brand new light colored but otherwise nondescript car he rolled down a window and asked me for directions to the airport.

After having told him, he wanted to give me a present ‘for my kindness’. He was, he said, an Italian salesman of mens apparel. And as he had too much stuff to carry on the plane he wanted to present me with one of his fancy windbreakers – ‘normally priced at abt. four or five hundred dollars’!

If I would just enter his car to be seated beside him and shut the door to the cold wind, he would show me the clothings.

When I politely but firmly declined to enter his car his generosity now transmuted itself into an offer to sell me 3 (heinously ugly, as it transpired) windbreakers for only $150, in cash of course. Which generous offer it was not too difficult to resist.

Interpretation: Obviously one of the ‘devious and roundabout’ ways alluded to above. But very dangerous for all that, because had I been clueless enough to enter his car for just a few seconds, the following might most likely have happened:

After closing the door ‘to the cold wind’ I would have found that I couldn’t open it again. And soon after some sort of an sedative might perhaps have been administered, one way or the other? And kidnap accomplished.

Incidentally a kidnap is way more dreadful than an outright assassination: If kidnapped you may expect to be tortured for months or even years. Remember – the DeepState power brokers ARE INSANE! They don’t mind in the least wrecking you and your country and even your planet – if they can just have all the planet’s gold (for what??)(Link 7 & 8).

Summing up: I guess our government and their DeepState friends and masters really, really want me eliminated. A burning desire that seems to grow only more urgent by the day.

Note 3.
‘I’ll call myself a conspiracy-theorist if you will call youself a coincidence-theorist’
(John Judge via. D. Icke)

Link 1.

Malebranche, Carlyle, Stefan Zweig And Your Pet

Link 2.

Fugleperspektiv

Link 3.
Småting og bagateller (2)

Link 4.
The Simple Art Of Murder?

Link 5.
Operation eller mission?

Link 6.
Kill the canary

Link 7.
The Robots’ Cash Ban

Link 8.

THE GUSSIAN GOLD (A Satire)

(17./23.Jan./1.Okt.2019)

Crossposted on www.gamleboeger.dk and http://blocnotesimma.wordpress.com

Tweets on www.twitter.com/gamleboeger

Today is thursday – and it’s cold out there. But I’ve been at home the last few days to clean out a bit and thought I would do a few errands today. Here’s some of what I’ve encountered.

At Foto/C in Holbergsgade in downtown Copenhagen I talked to the manager. I usually ask if there’s a trifle or two from the odds and ends box. But no such trifle today. Except he wanted to present me with a rather shabby-looking canvas camera bag. I certainly did’t want the bag myself but thought I could give it to a friend that’s on a still tighter budget than myself. Whence I accepted the gift, thank you very much.

But in the odds and ends box in the Photographica shop in Skindergade i sort of hit pay-dirt. There was a Sigma 24mm super-wide lens for my Nikon autofocus lurking i a dark corner. Seems to be in nice condition, except I haven’t tested the functions yet. But for 7.50 $ I thought I could handle the risk.

But the main stop today was the dutch old-books sale in the Heilig Geist Church House in ‘central-downtown’. The price today is 20 Kr ($3). First thing, though, I talked to a friendly art-historian who wanted to have me partake in his excitement over some interesting finds – always glad to!

I also found a few ‘forlorn titbits’ myself (they are both Danish, whence quotes will be in Danish also):

1. CAJUS CORNELIUS TACITUS OM GERMANIENS BELIGGENHED, SÆDER OG FOLKESLAG. Af det latinske med anmærkninger ved Dr. Gustav Ludvig Baden. Kiøbenhavn, 1795, 80 p. Bound in contemporary, well worn half calf.

I think this is the original Danish edition of this well known, little gem. It can’t be overly common, at least there seems to be none of any vintage for sale in Denmark at present.

As said the binding is rather shabby and well worn, even if it’s still keeping tidily together.

Someone has cut a corner from a flyleaf, but the bookstock itself is extremely nice. In fact it’s almost like new exept for half a dozen timid and probably easy to remove pencil markings.

On the titel page you can also read: ‘Tyge Rothe Nordens Statsforfatning, første deel, s. 424: “- for hver der vil kiende Norden og de Nordiske sæder, kan ingen kosteligere skat være end denne ypperligen philosopherende historikers saa gehaltige som i korthed sammentrengte værk”.’

From the foreword by the translator, Mr. Baden (1764-1840) I quote:

‘Nok, endnu den dag i dag finde vi de umiskiendeligste beviser for at bogen indeholder de paalideligste efterretninger om de vore oldefædre, han beskriver; endnu den dag i dag finde vi – vel anderledes modellerede – dog de samme love, de samme indretninger, de samme skikke, som Tacitus har opbevaret os.

‘Herpaa at giøre læseren opmærksom har jeg og derfor især søgt med anmærkningerne, ved af Snorre, Saxo, Scøning, Suhm, Kofod Ancher, Stiernhöck, Rothe og flere at oplyse og bestyrke Tacitus’ kostelige efterretninger.

‘Måtte nu ikkun oversættelsen svare til sin original! Imidlertid, med fuldest selvbevidsthed om al mulig anvendt flid paa denne oversættelse, tør jeg hos den kyndige læser saameget mere vente overbærelse, som originalen er Tacitus, hvis præcision og nervøse stiil er saa vanskelig at give et fremmet sprog.

‘Hvad under derfor, at doctor Anton i sin afhandling over Tacitus, hvor tillige recenseres 32 i ni forskiellige sprog givne oversættelser af denne berømte historieskrivers værker, allene tør bestemt rose den spanske og danske oversættelse’.

I’ill present just one more short quote – or rather the whole of the very short part 4:

‘GERMANERNES LEGEMS KONSTITUSION.

‘Jeg (i.e. Tacitus) er selv af deres mening som troe: “at Germaniens folk er ikke ved giftermaal med andre nationer blandet, men en egen reen, og sig selv allene lig nasion”.

‘Derfor have de og alle, uagtet folkemængden er saa stor, ens legems positur: mørkeblaa øine, røde haar, store men kun til at anfalde (angribe) stærke legemer. Arbeide og slid kunde de ikke udholde. (note 1.)

‘Tørst og hede taale de slet ikke. Til kuld og hunger har deres klima eller jordbund vant dem.”

Note 1. US-President Mr. Trump?

2. DEN POETISKE KONST. Et Sidestykke Til Det Bekjendte Horazianske DE ARTE POETICA. Af Otto v. Staffeldt. 1826, Odense, 37 p. Softcover booklet.

This interesting little booklet is rather shabby in outward appearance and dog eared almost throughout. There’s a water stain in the upper right-hand corner. But – apart from these blemishes the pages are absolutely clean with no trace of foxing.

Like the title above, this booklet would appear to be rather uncommon; at least there is none for sale on the web in Denmark at present.

The aim of the booklet is evidently to more or less expound on: What is poetry? An interesting question that Mr. Staffeldt tries to answer, perhaps a trifle humorously, in his 38 pages long poem.

Well then – what IS poetry? I guess the answer could be, that it’s many things:

Firstly – to put a story in verse first and foremost is and always has been a helping hand – by way of mnemonics – to remember long tales from yore.

Secondly – it is and perhaps always has been a way to (help) entrance – charm, captivate or even bewitch – the reader or listener – by the sounds and rythm of the words, lines and verse.

And thirdly – may just be an effort of the poet to please an audience.

Or any possible combination of the above?

Of course one might add, as an addition to the second item, an more or less conscious effort at being disruptive, annoying, vexing or even malicious, if the author is unbalanced and/or more or less insane?

Here is a few lines from Mr. Staffeldt’s long poem (page 15):

‘Grundregler for et episk digt at give,
Jeg vist nok vogter mig. – En definition
alt mangler: – Og ei let det definert kan blive.
Da blev foruden fod min svage lektion.

‘Med defineringer man maa varsom være!
Derom alt mindet har Voltaire:
Og skottet haant mod hver som saadant vovet har.
Og paa sin vante viis holdt hver af dem for nar.

“Man har (saa vil han det) et heltedigt creeret
“af stor og herlig daad, saalænge repeteret
“af endnu større helt, indtil den er fuldbragt,
“i tiden af et aar. – Grundstenen her er lagt,
“nøiagtigen som jeg har refereret,

“Dog ikke mindre sees i Engeland
“et heltedigt, til himmelen ophævet
“af sort og hvidt heelt genialisk vævet:

“Hvori vor helt, – hiin paradisets mand,
“langt fra et aar at holde stand,
“i første kamp gik glip af smule vid i panden.
“Paa een og samme dag af fanden
“og af sin hustru bringes fra forstand, –
“og føres ynkelig ved næsen.”

But perhaps I should have let Mr. Staffeldt speak more on his own?

(10.Jan./11.Okt.2019)

Crossposted on www.gamleboeger.dk and http://blocnotesimma.wordpress.com

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