Ein Schaffender Spiegel

Today I read 550 pages of Christopher Clark's mammoth Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947. Despite the (exhaustive) brilliance of Clark's book, I have returned home with one predominant thought, namely that the Hohenzollern's could really have benefited from a book of boy's names. To illustrate: the period of Prussia's greatest expansion began under Frederick William, known as the Great Elector. He was succeeded by King Frederick I; he in turn was succeeded by Frederick William I; his son was Frederick II (Frederick the Great); Frederick II begat Frederick William II, who in turn was succeeded by Frederick William III. And can anyone hazard a guess at the name of his successor? Frederick William IV. And on it goes. At one particular amusing point - and the book is full of them, as well a 770 page epic should be - Clark is delineating the causes of the Prussian-Danish war of 1864. He begins his account by noting that the conflict is somewhat difficult to understand, primarily because virtually every single actor was named either William or Christian. Anyway, Clark's book is frighteningly good and well worth reading, though full appreciation - not to mention fact-retention - might necessitate a rather more leisurely pace than I could afford.

Things I miss from back home: Heinz salad cream (for making tuna); decent canned tuna; proper fish and chips (a rich booty for the individual who can transport, intact and warm, a delicious deposit of fish, chips, batter, and salt to my plate); hearing the morning-song of the birds (ironic, that, given that they woke me up at 5:30am every morning for an entire year); Match of the Day; people who understand why a ODI tournament victory over India would not be a foregone conclusion; ryvita; Alpen; new CDs being released on a Monday. And friends, family etc.

Good things about New York: my new friends; the Columbia library; the unbelievably tasty corn on the cob; the easy availability of virtually every single kind of food you could ever imagine right on my doorstep (though they can't make a curry worth a damn, to coin an Americanism); the endless gigs and cultural opportunities; the apartment-comparison game; Columbia's swimming pool; the frequent random and comic occurrences; The Onion.

I'll end with a quote from Kant's Critique of Practical Reason which has been making more and more sense since I began reading Heidegger:

"To invent new words where the language already has no lack of expressions for given concepts is a childish effort to distinguish oneself from the crowd, if not by new and true thoughts yet by new patches on an old garment."

Spoken like a true Prussian. Sapere Aude!