History Undusted: Solothurn, Switzerland
The baroque town of Solothurn, though only an hour away from our home, was unfamiliar to us until my husband and I took a day trip this week. It has a beautiful historical centre and is known as the “city of elevens”: It was the 11th canton to join the Swiss Confederation; there are 11 towers in the fortification walls of the city; there are 11 churches and chapels, and 11 historical fountains throughout the city; the stairs leading up to the St. Ursus Cathedral have landings every 11 steps; the cathedral itself has 11 altars and 11 bells; the local brewery, producing an eponymous beer, is even called Oeufi – which is a Swiss dialectical word for eleven. 11:00 is the most “auspicious” time to set appointments in the town, and there is even a clock, hanging on the wall of a local bank, which is segmented into 11 hours; it has 11 cogs and 11 bells, which are chimed by a metalwork sculpture of a harlequin on the hours of 11:00, 12:00, 17:00 and 18:00. The bells chime to the tune of the city’s unofficial anthem, the Solothurner Lied.
Solothurn’s history dates back to the palaeolithic era, and its Roman era is dated to around AD 15-25; it was first mentioned in AD 219 as vico saloduro, and may have referred to a Celtic settlement, possibly meaning “Salo’s fort/stronghold”. In the Battle of Sempach, July 1386, the Habsburgs attacked Solothurn; it was a decisive Swiss victory, and even more importantly, it helped to solidify the loosely allied Swiss Confederation cantons into a more unified nation and is seen as a turning point in the growing strength of Switzerland as a nation. Today, it is largely bypassed by tourists due to its proximity to Bern, the Swiss capital, so it remains a hidden gem.
Another interesting clock is the clock tower, the “Zeitglockenturm”, a tower built in 1152 and first mentioned as a “clock tower” in 1406. If you look closely, you’ll see typical rain spouts coming off of the corners of the tower’s spire and roof, shaped like dragon’s heads. The 24-hour astronomical clock was built by Lorenz Liechti and Joachim Habrecht in 1545. The sun and moon hands both run counterclockwise; the moon makes one complete rotation every 27 days, while the sun makes one complete rotation every 365 days.
According to the Roter Turm website, there’s a humorous story connected to the upper, 12-hour clock: By 1753 the hour hand and the bells were no longer in sync; a commission contacted the watchmaker Niklaus Pfluger, reminding him of his gild’s oath, i.e. his responsibility to correct the clock. He suggested to the local government council that they add a minute hand; but minutes were not so important in the 18th century, apparently – they told him to leave it as it had always been. He took matters into his own hands (I guess it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission…) and in 1756, he added a minute hand. He justified it as the “warning hand of God” – but he made it smaller, less noticeable than the hour hand, so on this clock, the small hand shows the minutes, not the hours.
Because the clock tower was built and added to over time, you’ll see four dates on the full image of the tower: 1411 and 2022 on the highest, 12-hour clock; and 1545 and 1883 on the central tableau; the latter dates usually refer to restorations.
The three figures in the central tableau above the clock are a knight, king, and skeleton (Death), which perform every hour: The knight holds a battleaxe in his right hand, and a sword in his left; every quarter-hour, he turns his head toward Death and strikes his breast, signifying his loyalty to the central figure, the king. On the right stands Death; in its right hand is a hourglass, which is turned on the hour, symbolizing the contradictions of life – good, bad, life, death. In the other hand is an arrow, showing that one could be struck down at any moment. On the hour, its head turns toward the knight.
On the throne between these two figures is the king: In his right hand is a sceptre, which he lifts on the hour. His jaw moves in rhythm with the hour hand, and his beard represents wisdom. However, notice that he’s wearing red and white fool’s garb: If the king does not rule with wisdom and the humour of a fool, his reign will become a tyranny. It tells us that life should have moments of both wisdom and a jester’s humour.
While Death announces the hours, the king swings his sceptre. At the same time, Death nods with each stroke and confirms the relentless passing of the hours. The king with his fool’s garb reminds us of the memento mori. When death or illness reigns, even the power of a wise king can do little (Solothurn was hit by the plague, e.g. in 1348). Though the Freudian era banished death from contact with the living in many Western cultures, death personified as a skeleton is still a symbol seen in many countries around the world. Having death constantly before your eyes encourages you to savour each moment of life.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief glimpse into a beautiful city with an ancient history!
Filed under Articles, Etymology, History, History Undusted, Links to External Articles, Space, Astronomy
The Hues of Hogwash
Most English-speaking people have heard the term whitewashing: Literally, it means to paint a surface with a diluted white paint to lighten the surface and conceal blemishes. Figuratively, it means to downplay the negative aspects by emphasizing the positive ones of a person, event, or situation.
Greenwashing is a term related to environmental issues: It is the deliberate dissemination of a false or misleading impression of environmentally friendly practices used to conceal or obscure damaging practices.
Blackwashing is the use of public campaigns and advertising funded by the coal industry to draw attention away from environmentally unsustainable practices or to justify exclusion from carbon taxes.
Bluewashing is to tout a business or organization’s commitment to social responsibility while using this perception for public relations and economic gain; to present a humanitarian front while obscuring actual practices.
Redwashing is the practice of a state, organization, political party, politician or company presenting itself as progressive and concerned about social equality and justice, in order to use this perception for public relations or economic gain.
There are other colours of X-washing, but they all stem from greed: In marketing, these tactics are a way to charge customers more, because the higher price leads people to think, in connection with the misleading information or imagery, that the extra money spent is going to a good cause, e.g. schools for the workers’ children or working children, when in fact it’s likely going toward a CEO’s yacht.
On holiday recently, we’d forgotten to bring towels from home into the motorhome, so we went into a houseware store; I thought the towels would be a bit more expensive than another store I usually buy our towels from, but it was a whopping 50.- per towel more! On each towel was a tag; here’s the translation (the company name withheld):
“Cotton (name)® Made in green, inspiring confidence. Tested for polluting ingredients and sustainably produced according to (name)® guidelines. The label “made in green” gives you the assurance that this textile product has been made by pollutant-free materials in environmentally friendly factories in protected and socially acceptable work environments.”
Nowhere is it mentioned where this product was made; their testing agency, for accountability, is them. Inspires confidence? On what grounds? Price? Notice that they don’t claim to have passed those tests or what they were testing exactly, nor do they state what their guidelines were supposed to be.
These schemes prey on first-world people’s sense of guilt, or of wanting to pay a bit extra to help those less privileged. Yet their concept of “environmentally friendly factories in protected and socially acceptable work environments” might have nothing to do with your or my concepts – would the company’s execs be willing to work in those factories? I doubt it. This is also an example of bluewashing.
An E-Talk was given to show the marketing tactics in connection with the foods we eat. The disclosures made in the short talk are enough to leave the audience in stunned silence. I challenge you to watch the video (less than 7 minutes long) here. Marketing’s most effective, secret weapon is you. They bank on willful ignorance (the avoidance of making undesirable decisions or taking actions that accurate information might prompt).
All of these wash-tactics boil down to hogwash. So the next time you find yourself looking at the claims of a label, or seeing the sunny kitchen in a perfect home with perfect families on a commercial, take a moment to challenge what you’re reading or seeing, and use your purchasing power wisely. Research; see if the company is on any blacklist by organisations that actually care (WEF, Greenpeace, or any from a long list of NGOs). Search the topic online – there are a lot of informative articles out there with practical tips for making informed decisions. Here’s a website for checking a brand’s ratings: https://directory.goodonyou.eco/. If you find that a company is making bogus claims, stop buying their products; make the effort to blow the whistle on them – social media can be a positive tool in that aspect.
This brings us back to that secret weapon of marketers, our willful ignorance: The tragic factor in all of these tactics is that, like water, humans usually choose the path of least resistance… least effort… least active involvement, least time required; and so willful ignorance prevails. However, since we’re making an average of 35,000 decisions a day anyway, (automatic, habitual, emotional, stress-related, worry-related, or environment-related) let’s neutralise that ignorance one wise, informed choice at a time.
Obscurities: Doryphore
No one likes a doryphore – a pedantic & annoyingly persistent critic of others; a petty pedant, a person who complains about minor mistakes. The word comes to us through French, and is also the term used for the Colorado beetle – perhaps alluding to the meaning of the word related to “pest” (doing double duty for a bug and for someone who is a pest). Alas, I think doryphore deserves to be brought back – it’s much more sophisticated and subtle than mere pest.
Most languages in the world probably have a term for such people as they are, unfortunately, rife; in Swiss German we would say that someone is “bünzlig” – they’re usually the people who become meter readers and give you a parking ticket as you’re getting into your car 10 seconds too late. We recently paid a parking ticket because we parked for 10 minutes in a business parking, on a Saturday when the business was closed and spots were empty; yes, technically a ticket can be issued; but most authorities use common sense in such situations – but not the doryphore; they were likely waiting, watching for shoppers to do just that. In all the years I’ve been driving and parking in Switzerland, it’s the first time this has happened, but there will always be that one bünzlig person. Pity them. They live in shrinking worlds.
Filed under Etymology, Obscurities
10 Tips for De-Cluttering
Although it’s already summer, we have only had one day over 30°C. Don’t get me wrong – I’m perfectly happy with cooler days; you can layer clothes, but when it’s hot, you can only take off so much and still be socially acceptable.
But when the weather begins to warm up, thoughts turn to spring cleaning. The practice goes back centuries: For climates that experience cold winter months, spring cleaning usually takes place when the weather begins to be warm enough to open windows but not warm enough yet for swarms of bugs coming in as a side effect. Also, back when wood was the main source of heat, if it was warm enough not to need the wood-burning stove, it was the ideal time to clean out the soot and to dust the house, letting the breeze help carry it away. In modern times, where most houses no longer depend on wood or fireplaces as the main heat source and windows can be opened year-round (with the heater returning indoors to comfortable temperatures), spring cleaning is still a tradition.
Most people have those areas in their homes where things can stand around for months or even years before they put them in their proper places; sometimes those things that don’t have a proper place stand around even longer. Spring cleaning is the ideal occasion to look around, notice those stand-arounds, and put them away properly or eliminate them altogether.
“Mis en place” is a French culinary term meaning “putting in place”, or “gathering” (as in gathering ingredients in preparation for cooking). Outside of the kitchen, it can be used as a description for putting everything in its place. Spring cleaning and mis en place is a great opportunity to de-clutter.
Here are 10 tips for de-cluttering:
- Once-in-the-hand principle: Firstly, get yourself a basket to carry from room to room to gather things that need putting in their places; once the basket is full, put the items where they go. Don’t lay things down somewhere else “for now”!
- Two-Year Gauge: If you haven’t touched, missed, or used an item in the past two years, chances are you won’t miss it – give it away, donate it to a second-hand shop, or recycle it.
- Clothes: Do you have clothes you’ve kept but never wear, or they’re the wrong size, or they’re worn out? Keep one worn-out outfit for dirty work, but bag up the other items to donate, scrap, or give away.
- Kitchen: Go through your food cupboards: Toss out anything past its expiry date (this is at your discretion; foods today rather more honestly call it a “best before date”, as canned goods are often good for a while past that…); rotate the older cans of food to the front, the newest toward the back (also best practice when putting away new shopping); toss out any spices that have gone off or are stale.
- Storage: Do you have plastic containers without matching lids or lids without containers? Get rid of them. Do you have duplicate utensils that you don’t need? Donate them. Do you have pots or pans that are worn out? Replace them if need be.
- Linens (towels, bedding, etc.): Toss or recycle any threadbare, ripped, or worn-out items. Fold the keepers and store them neatly (stacks tend to get lazy over time, don’t they?).
- Electronic Gadgets: Go through your electronic items and match cables to each piece of (working) equipment, and recycle the rest. Along the same line, clean out your inbox of superfluous emails.
- Toiletries: Toss anything that has gone off – hand cream, makeup, nail polish and medicines included.
- Paperwork: Get rid of any guarantees that have expired, old paperwork, or manuals for items you no longer own; file and organize what you keep. While you’re there, check those pens to see which ones still work and chuck the rest.
- Sentimentality: Don’t hold on to something out of guilt (someone gave you X…) or obligation (they might notice I’ve tossed it). If it brings you no joy, is not practical, or isn’t in keeping with your aesthetic, don’t keep it.
Have you already started spring cleaning this year? Tackling one point at a time (in a day, or a week) will make it possible, and you’ll be done before the cat can lick its ear!
I’m curious to know if any of these tips inspire you to de-clutter a specific area – please comment below!
Fieldnotes
A few months ago, I began something that has added a layer of creativity and organisation to my life which, to be honest, is fairly creative and organised as it is. But this little addition adds a nice colour: Fieldnotes.
The original concept of taking fieldnotes comes from the scientific disciplines: An archaeologist in the field, taking notes on where, what and when something was uncovered; a geologist, botanist, ornithologist, or entomologist taking notes on observations, perhaps drawing an illustration of a specimen or a map of the landscape.
Fieldnotes can include writing, diagrams, drawings, or visual clues within an entry such as arrows or other visual connectors. They differ from a daily journal in that the fieldnotes are concise… rambling or expanding on a thought belongs elsewhere, but not in a “quick-draw” situation (pun intended).
Creative thinkers have jumped on the idea for reasons other than scientific observation: As a writer, fieldnotes help me capture snippets of ideas, dialogue, or an observation when out in public (I love to people-watch), or something I read – sometimes the comments on YouTube videos are a great capsule of humour! I also use fieldnotes to keep track of tasks on a busy day – lists of to-dos, to-writes, and so on. When I have a creative project, I take notes on the steps taken – such as making giant flowers that no one else has ever made; how to scale up a smaller version of a crepe paper flower is not always straightforward, and if I have several to make, it helps to have those detailed notes of the prototype phase for the next time around.
Taking fieldnotes might help get your creative juices flowing. If you’d like to start this practice, here are a few tips:
- Use a small notebook – one that can fit into a shirt pocket, man-bag, or purse. I’ve made my own with 70gsm blank paper, which allows me to make the same size and style repeatedly. But if you can’t do that, just use something like a moleskin notebook; these come in various sizes, with or without lined pages. There is also a company with books called Field Notes, though they seem a bit pricey for what you can do on your own…
- Use a good pen, or pencil, or coloured pencils if you want to sketch something with colour.
- You can either take chronological notes, such as dating each entry, or you can organise your notes into groupings: One page per character, scene or topic, or for a to-do list, or whatever you want to capture on the go.
- Use visual cues, such as boxes around certain elements or arrows connecting one thing to another. Use illustrations or draw diagrams; attach images from magazines, printouts, etc.
- Highlight tags or keywords; consider numbering each page and keeping an index at the back of the book to help you find things later on.
- One book that might help kick-start illustrative note-taking if it’s new to you is The Sketchnote Handbook, by Mike Rohde.
- Think about how you’re recording things on the page: Do you always want to write straight, top left to bottom right, or do you want to mix things up and write diagonally, sideways, or even backwards? Yes, sometimes that’s a thing; Leonardo da Vinci wrote privately in a mirrored direction, only writing normally when he wanted others to read his notes; he also developed his own shorthand.
I also have my own shorthand for many things; Sometimes I use what I call pigeon Asian (I use this when I don’t want anyone else to read it); it’s something I learned when living in Hawaii. It looks like Kanji (the logographic writing of Japan), but it’s not – that’s all I’ll explain! I also use logographs, such as the ancient Anglo-Saxon rune of daeg, which includes the concept of day, dawn, intuition or breakthrough; I use this to designate those times when I’m writing: Rather than writing, “Today, I wrote/worked on the manuscript for...” I just write that symbol plus the name of the manuscript and details. I have a whole series of such shorthand symbols that I use daily.
While there are note-taking apps available (and I use one, called “Keep My Notes”, on my phone for things like shopping lists or feedback notes for singing students or bands that I take during performances and review with them later), sometimes it’s helpful to get away from digital screens. Sometimes I’ll write whole scenes away from the computer – I don’t use my fieldnotes for that, though it will probably be used to outline a scene that comes to mind until I get to another notebook. Something about writing long-hand sparks a level of creativity that might not come while working at a computer; hand-eye coordination should never be underestimated in creative endeavours. Once a scene has developed enough away from the screen to be integrated into my current manuscript, it then takes on another reiteration as I type it in, tweaking and changing… it’s what I call a “ripening process” as a wine metaphor for the creative maturing process a scene goes through by this method. It gets my head into a new space figuratively, literally, and literarily!
In an age when we are constantly bombarded with visuals wherever we go, sometimes it’s healthy to go back to good ol’ pen and paper. On those days so busy that I can’t remember what I’ve actually done, it’s helpful to look back at my fieldnotes as I write out my thoughts in my daily journal.
Do you write? Do you ever make lists for shopping, chores, people to contact, or things to do? If so, how have you kept track of such things so far? If it’s a system that works for you, brilliant! But if you find yourself wanting to switch things up or wanting to improve your use of time, would you consider taking fieldnotes? Please comment below!
How It’s Made: Fireworks
Around the world, fireworks are a traditional part of certain celebrations: Here in Switzerland, the two national nights would be the 1st of August (1291, Independence Day), and New Year’s Eve. In America, the 4th of July is probably the most widespread fireworks night. In Japan, fireworks competitions are enjoyed by spectators during the Sumidagawa Firework Festival, and in India, it’s Diwali, the Festival of Lights. In many countries in South America, Christmas is the big night; in Britain, Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated with both fireworks and bonfires (in Scotland); he was most associated with a failed gunpowder plot intended to blow up parliament and assassinate King James I of Scotland / James IV of England and Ireland.
Most people have, at some time in their lives, seen fireworks go off; but most people have no idea how they produce varying shapes and colours. Derek Muller, aka Youtuber of the Veritasium channel, goes into the details of what makes fireworks take shape, have varying colours and enable them to have precision timing in displays. To watch the video, called “The Hidden Science of Fireworks”, which includes footage of a drone’s perspective amid a fireworks display, just click on the image below! Enjoy!
Filed under How It's Made, Nature, Science & Technology, YouTube Link
In a Name
My husband and I have a quirky sense of humour; we recently had a good laugh coming up with pets’ names in pairs (don’t ask why that topic came up – it’s too hard to reconstruct!): There are pairs of names commonly associated with each other, such as Tom and Jerry, or Cain and Abel; last night, we thought of naming two cats Maelstrom and Doldrum – the irony is that these are nautical terms for ocean conditions and we live in a land-locked country. My husband says that if we ever have a snake, he’ll name it “Abebambelela” (which is a Swiss German phrase meaning “to hang down”)! There are certain words that I find funny, like Asparagus (or the old English version, Sparrowgrass), and I can imagine naming cats something Latinesque, some of which are actually quite beautiful (Aurora, Adamaris, etc.)
Pet names are as creative as the owners, so the sky’s the limit! I once heard of a dog called Dillingham Osborn Gunderson… initials being DOG. Naming a pet Velcro, Big Mac, Groucho or Tweezer seems tame to some purebred titles (such as Bluewater Full Metal Jacket – Jack for everyday wear). When our cat had kittens (the mother, Gandria, and father, Caprino, were named after towns along Lake Lugano), we used musical terms (sticking with Italian): The first came out vocal, so he became Crescendo; the second was slow and calm, thus Piano; and the 3rd is gentle but friendly – Allegra. We kept Allegra, who is curled up between my feet as I write this; the other two were adopted by neighbours – who subsequently moved to give the cats more room!
I will never have a purebred pet; more often than not, the animals are sickly, as traits have been unnaturally bred into them; pugs and Persian cats are prime examples of pets that simply cannot breathe properly, and have respiratory infections or even failure. These health issues are hot topics between breeders and vets or those who care for animals such as the Kitten Lady. Give us a good ol’ farm cat, “Heinz 57-pedigree”, and they’ll do just fine! We have three cats: Allegra (born in 2009), Andromeda Zora (from an animal shelter, born in 2020), and Mira Bella (born in a home nearby, 2021).
Do you have any pets? If so, what are their names, and how did you choose them? Please comment below!
Filed under Articles, Etymology, Family History, Musings, YouTube Link
When It Rains, It Pours
You’ve probably heard the saying, “When it rains, it pours” (or the British version, “It never rains but it pours”). The idiom refers to a series of unfortunate events occurring within a short amount of time.
I wouldn’t necessarily limit it to unfortunate events; sometimes they’re just inevitable occurrences or busy times. The latter two would describe my past few months: From mid-January to last weekend, one of our nephews was staying with us every weekend when he had time off from his basic military training; this 18-week period is mandatory here in Switzerland, but our nephew is half-Swiss, half-Mexican, and is currently living in South Africa, so he actually volunteered. Not only did he want to be near Swiss family and have the experience of being away from his home and in a camaraderie, but when he returns next autumn to begin university studies here, it would be easier for him to be accepted if he did so.
What that meant for us is that, though we really enjoyed having him here and spending time with him, the things that normally happen on weekends simply had no room, and the weeks were ultra-busy, leaving little time to tackle those things. When our nephew was here, the focus was on him; “Tia” (Spanish for “aunt”; Tio is “uncle”) was frequently heard. Laundry (tons of it!), cooking, shopping, meal-planning… they all happened much more frequently – he was a bottomless pit, as most teenage boys are. The first month or two were most intensive, as he had grown up with a maid – which he rapidly learned I am NOT. He learned a lot of “life lessons”, and about family house rules – things he’ll need to know when he finds a student flat-share; he learned to cook a few new meals, clean up the kitchen after himself, and how to cut his own hair. He learned that if he put his socks into the laundry bunched up into a ball, that’s exactly how he’d get them back – that, and we have no clothes dryer (only drying racks) – so timing on getting his clothes back clean and dry for the following week was a crash course. He learned to think about and change habits to reduce his environmental footprint.
My weekends were usually when I could plan, write and edit blogs. Because that time was either reduced or swallowed up entirely every weekend, some tasks took precedence; when I had time, focus and energy for writing, it went into getting my five books prepped for paperback release, and gradually getting them sent off for proof copies. So far, I’ve been able to release two of the five novels. The printer (who is either in England or in France) doesn’t ship to Switzerland (why do companies frequently act as if Switzerland is on another planet?!); it’s been a challenge getting the books to me – fortunately, some of our family lives in France, so they can receive it. Sometimes the packages are sent, sometimes carried by hand to closer family, sometimes handed off in car parks!
Two weeks before our nephew’s time here came to an end, we accidentally discovered that we’ve got a huge problem in our flat: Water damage coming from somewhere that will now require walls, floors, balcony tiles, windows and downstairs ceiling to be ripped out and repaired! Raining, pouring… For the past four years, repairmen have come and gone but none of them have gotten to the root cause. So this time, I’ll be watching them like a hawk and pestering them to push beyond their nose to find the actual cause, repairing that first! And that all begins this week.
After the past few intensive months, I’ve been trying to catch up on those things that, of necessity, were neglected, and those things I need to prepare for when our home is invaded by an army of repairmen – at least that’s what I’m imagining, though it will more likely be a steady stream of comings and goings, appointments, and cleaning up the aftermath of dust and debris…
And now that my schedule can resume a partial semblance of normal, I want to get back into creative writing – my next novel, as well as this blog! So many projects, so little time! But if a day had 40 hours, it would still not be enough to accommodate everything I’d like to do. Maybe it’s God’s mercy that we don’t have 40-hour days!
Filed under Articles, Family History, Musings
Stephanie Huesler 
Just For Fun: Beware of Zombies
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July 17, 2024 · 6:52 PM