Agents of Faith – Votive Objects in Time and Place

BGC Yale University Press

Faith.

Offerings and tokens to express gratitude.

Infusing mundane objects with meaning and thus elevating them to another level.

The tome explores this practice and the objects that were made “ex voto” and casts its net wide across historical periods, religions, and cultures.

Roman Catholicism is a focus of this tome, as one would expect, but it gets interesting when not only individual religions are left behind but also religious belief. The book examines what inspires the creation of votive objects – the concerns, the hopes, the dreams, fears and how they have stayed the same as well as changed throughout the ages.

The sheer diversity of the votive objects, commonalities and differences of the age-old practice and its manifestations and the often very personal and idiosyncratic scenarios that inspired their inception before they become tokens enriched by the faith of millions, is fascinating.

Opulently illustrated and curated by Ittai Weinryb (Associate Professor at Bard Graduate Center) with Marianne Lamonaca (Chief Curator), and Caroline Hannah (Associate Curator at Bard Graduate Center Gallery), essays substantiated the feast for the eyes by exploring a variety of themes, time periods, and cultures.

Featuring hundreds of objects from two thousand years before Christ up to the twenty-first century from the new via the old to ancient worlds rooted in all of this earthround’s major religions make this book a thing of beauty and a votive object in itself.

Water of Life

Jameson IPA Caskmates / Launch at JJ’s Place

Ok, full disclosure.

I like a good boilermaker.

Ever since I got word about Jameson’s Caskmates series, a mild excitement welled up in me.

A justified one as their collaboration with local stalwarts Young Henrys was a delightful thing of beauty when it comes to hoppy influenced whiskies and whiskey infused beers.

The underlying idea is straight forward and based on an exchange of barrels between breweries and distilleries.

What on paper might sound straight forward – it is much more than a mere “beer with a shot” - is a complex affair that indicates the amount of calibration Jameson’s head distiller Brian Nation has invested in the creation.

Their most recent IPA Caskmates edition adds another layer of complexity to their game: A warmer and darker shade makes your acquaintance with a subtly aromatic nose, which rests on a solid bed of hops and oak.

Chewy and creamy, it serenades your palate and takes a surprisingly spicy detour that culminates in a beautiful sweet lingering fruity, smooooth finish.

As with previous Caskmates expressions, it is more-ish, easily drinkable and, if you are an IPA – and more importantly an Irish Pale Ale - aficionado, it is hard to go past it.

I specifically savour the citrusy notes the IPA left and, what I love most about a great IPA – hints of pine needles, which in this case via the marriage with Jameson result in dark chocolatey notes. Delicious.

What Jameson created is an utterly enjoyable liquid emission with an on-point flavour profile that leaves one lusting for more and with a very affordable price point, there is hardly any reason why your distinguished shelf should not be graced with a bottle or two.

Now, not a distillery to release a new expression quietly, Jameson did not merely host a launch event but a dedicated festival catering all things whiskey, beer and live music.

We were lucky to take in the festivities in Sydney, where apart from local independent bands, e.g. The Delta Riggs and The Gooch Palms, whiskey tastings were hosted by Jameson’s head distiller par excellence Brian Nation, live barrel charring was demonstrated with the Jameson Master Distiller and Master Cooper, sustenance was provided by locals Frankie’s Pizza and Continental Deli.

The halls of Sydney’s Commune provided a suitable ambience and was turned into “JJ’s Place” for a joyous festival that proved to be not only fit for the IPA Caskmates release and a celebration of Jameson as the prime distillery it is but would have fit in with any other serious music festival.

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Photos by @k.a.vv

Water of Life – Johnnie “White Walker”

Now, Johnnie Walker.

Marius Mueller Westernhagen’s go to.

If you are remotely into Scotch, there is no way you would not have come across it.

Johnnie Walker Blue remains a go to, especially when I am traveling internationally, and the watering hole of choice is not able to hit my weak spots for smoke and peat.

Yes, it is a blend but at that, it is ensured that all components are of prime quality and not that age is the ultimate indicator, but none of the individual whiskies used is young than twenty years. The borderline iconic presentation has become one with the liquid emission.

Now, what we got here is a limited edition “White Walker” edition release.

As any HBO aficionado would be able to tell, it’s of course a Game of Thrones themed release coinciding with the winter coming in most parts of the world and paying homage to the humanoid ice creatures of the show.

The beauty of this release starts with the GoT themed packaging of the bottle – a villainous White Walker is gracing the updated logo of the frosted bottle dressed and prepped in the trademark Johnnie Walker way. In other words, Mr Walker has gotten the zombie treatment with gleaming blue eyes and he comes equipped with a sword. To top it off, once the flagon is exposed to the freezer and temperatures descend into minus territory, a secret message appears, i.e. a reminder that “Winter is here”.

I was a bit suspicious as to the nature of this release – is it just a gimmick?

So, this is just a gimmick whisky, right?

Upon sampling the dram, I was pleasantly surprised as opposed to JW’s trademark flavours, this one makes an excellent breakfast whisky with its delicate aroma, citrussy nuances and spicy hints with an elongated fruit finish.

White Walker still harbours the velvety vanilla creaminess and hints of the characteristic Johnnie Walker smoke, but it is complex in the sweet department, very well balanced and very approachable – I’d imagine this to be palatable even to those who would normally not be enticed to sample whisky outside cocktail territory.

The fact that due to the nature of this special edition, one is encouraged to skip the ice and chill the bottle instead, makes it ideal for sipping it neat.

Summer is coming on terra australis and it is going to be an enjoyable one, walking with long decisive steps side-by-side with the chilled White Walker.

Read more Water of Life entries here.

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Photo provided

Hitler’s Monsters: A supernatural history

Yale University Press

Now, this is an interesting one on a subject that has been explored in manifold approaches of both serious and amateurish manners. The occult nature of the national socialism movement. No matter is you think it is nonsense or if you are intrinsically interested, Hitler’s Monsters and its author Eric Kurland is tracing the German infatuation with “border science”, i.e. “dousing” or geomancy” – which was often practiced with a pendulum and a map. The interesting bit is that Kurland does not rest there but documents how German susceptibility to magical thinking did create systemic problems throughout the war effort.

The book does do a good job underpinning that Hitler’s interest in the natures that supercedes what can be proven scientifically was both less doctrinaire and more utilitarian, and how he used the material it provided for his political propaganda and manipulation of the public.

Hitler’s Monsters is a itler’s

well-written elaboration that sheds a powerful light on Nazi Germany.

The book comes in three chronological parts composed of three chapters each. One traces the role of the occult and its influence on the Nazi Party from its intellectual antecedents in the late nineteenth century through the seizure of power in 1933. Part Two is about the role of the occult  during the first six years of the regime that was meant to last for a thousand years. The last part is about the supernatural and World War Two.

There are chapters on astrologers, magicians, parapsychology, biodynamic agriculture, radiohelia and natural healing and the use of the World Ice Theory, which was used to explain how the human race and the Aryans evolved from ancient gods and not from apes, thus making Himmpler employ much effort to sponsor this theory as a state science.

The last part of the book discusses the role played by the Werewolves, who were supposed to guard the Reich and protect it from its enemies. These Werewolves could, according to the perverted Nazi thinking, change from humans into animal, not unlike Siegfried has done in the Nibelungenlied. Goebbels even created his own "Radio Werewolf" station, in which many broadcasts started with the sound of a wolf howling and a song by a woman named Lily.

Eric Kurlander bases his investigations on archival research and shows how the Third Reich was more monstrous than commonly supposed. Although not an easy read, I believe that this book will become a classic in a very short time.

A thorough "post-revisionist" balance to recent claims diminishing or explaining by other means the reasons so many under the so far darkest period of Germany sought guidance through "border sciences" of Thule-obsessed, and other dodgy speculation.

A book recommended for anyone interested in Nazi Germany or the impact of superstition on a nation.

Logic: The Laws of Truth

Nicholas J.J. Smith

Princeton University Press

It was Arthur Schopenhauer who claimed that logic, should be capable of being deduced from self-evident premises. The focus of Logic: The Laws of Truth is not such on the necessity of evidential substantiation but on Socratic and Aristotelian logic, which is a pity as I perceive logic to be based on verifiable evidence rather than because authority figures have told you so, or because it is widely held to be true which is a formula that for disappointment.

What the tome provide does provide is a well-founded, clear, precise and comprehensive introduction into the underlying principles of first-order logic, truth preservation, validity and soundness, which are backed by exercises, and explanations.

Despite the complexity of the sujet, the vocabulary used is consistently informational and the use of trees and tables aid the understanding of semantic content.

For the uninitiated, Logic: The Laws of Truth is a great resource for anyone remotely interested in philosophy and a great addition for the ones who are already familiar with other books on the subject, e.g. Sider's Logic for Philosophy, which goes a bit further and covers many topics not covered by Smith.

A more than viable foundation for what is the varied and often very subjective theology of truth.