Living in the Occident

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2016
- April
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The particular meaning of the District Organization of 1885 as "Certificate of Birth" of the administrative district of Grafschaft Bentheim
    04/17/16
    In 1867, King Wilhelm I, king of Prussia, promised his regime would pay special attention to the training of the district and provincial constitution in a speech from the throne. After multiple legislative proposals introduced by ministers and parliament members which didn't meet the approval
- February
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The Prussian Constitution of Districts and Agencies from September 12 1867 in the Province of Hannover
    02/20/16
    "The contrast between the Hannoverian constitution of agencies and the administrative organization of the lowlands in Prussia couldn't have been greater", pronounced E. von Meier. Whereas in Hannover (until 1852) Justice and Administration in relatively small districts were consolidat
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The subordination of the Hannoverian Kingdom and consequently the Bentheim Grafschaft to Prussia in 1866 as the westernmost Province
    02/18/16
    In the crisis that broke out in 1866 around the supremacy of Prussia or Austria in the German Federation, as Hannover refused to support Prussia's plans of reform and also afforded no consequence to an ultimatum, it was occupied by Prussian troops. In a proclamation from June 19, 1866, the comm
2015
- December
  - Why Mindfulness Meditation is reasonable to me.
    12/25/15
    I have difficulty practicing Mindfulness Meditation. And yet I do believe it has much to offer in helping to lead a healthy life. Particularly in its emphasis on living in the present, and the temporary existence of events and states of body and mind.
    
    Thinking about the future can lead to
- November
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The Legal Consequences of the German Revolutionary Year 1848 for the Kingdom of Hannover and Bentheim County
    11/22/15
    The period following the Revolutionary year 1848 brought a series of laws to the Kingdom of Hannover, in whose design noticeably liberal ideas left their mark. Yet in 1848 the law of the modification of the Land constitution recognized - here the influence of the newly appointed minister Stüve showe
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : Introduction of the Hannoverian Administrative and Legal Constitution on May 24, 1824
    11/11/15
    That the circumstances regarding the territorial sovereignty of the Princes of Bentheim and Steinfurt, pursuant to federal acts and in accordance with laws decreed in other states were to be controlled was reflected in the royal decree of April 18, 1823. Subsequently, the Princes in Graftschaft Bent
- October
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The County is freed from the Napoleonic Yoke in the year 1813
    10/29/15
    The Vienna Congress of 1815 decisively renewed the affiliation of the Grafschaft with the King of Hanover. With the definitive expulsion of the French from the Grafschaf in 1813 by Russian troops following the Battle of Leipzig, count Alexis of Bentheim and Steinfurt was able to take possession of t
- March
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : In 1810, Bentheim county is absorbed into the French Empire
    03/08/15
    With the authority of the victor, Napoleon disregarded customs and old ties and introduced the French way of governing. Bentheim county, which he had attached to the Ems departement, was broken up, and by 1808, three Cantons were established, of which the Bentheim Canton was integrated into the Coes
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte initially gives the county back its independence, but then incorporates it into the Great Duchy of Berg in 1806.
    03/04/15
    During the Seven Year's War (1756 - 1763) under the protection of French troops, Count Karl succeeded in temporarily regaining possession of his lands.
    
    Hannover thereupon stopped its payments to the county debt redemption and at the end of the war did not initially resume them. Inste
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present : The Hanoverian Pledge 1752 and 1753
    03/01/15
    When count Friedrich Karl came into his inheritance in 1746, the finances of the land were hopelessly in shambles; he decided to mortgage his territory. Negotiations with Prussia and the Dutch Republic, who as neighbors were interested in acquiring the county, disintegrated. In 1752, the count pledg
- February
  - Bentheim County from the Beginning to the Present by Hubert Titz and Heinrich Voort : Prehistory, Medieval, and early Modernity
    02/26/15
    Grave artifacts lead one to conclude that a settlement existed at Vechteufer already three thousand years before Christ. In appointing the first Counts of Bentheim at the end of the 8th century, Charlemagne is considered the forefather of Bentheim county.
    
    In the course of Christianizatio
  - Dedication
    02/25/15
    During the seven hundred year reign of the counts of Bentheim and during this long period of independence, the inhabitants of the county developed a high level of self confidence.
    
    The Bentheim counts were not only protectors, but also role models for the people in their region, who in fa
  - Forward and Thanks
    02/22/15
    At the end of March 2002 while on a private visit to the US, Swenna Harger gave me a large package with documents for this book to give to Herrn Titz. I didn't know what was in it. In the middle of April Hubert Titz contacted me. He had a lot of materials from the US for a future book about emi
  - Aus der Grafschaft Bentheim in die Neue Welt
    02/22/15
    As I mentioned in a previous post, during my research into the Brink history in Europe, I stumbled across a book written in German about immigrants from the county of Bentheim to West Michigan, in which is included some mention of my ancestors.
    
    The authors of this book are Gerrit Jan Beuk
  - The Heuerling System
    02/20/15
    I've discovered a site on the internet which has a lot of information on German family genealogy. It's called genealogy.net and I've found the entry for Jan the elder. Link to Jan Brink In addition to the information I obtained from my aunt and the church in Nordhorn, this database in
  - The European Brinks
    02/17/15
    I am re-reading the information I received from the Nordhorn church, and noticing things I didn't before. Could it be that it's the first time I've had a good look since speaking with Mrs. Harger in December? I'm specifically picking up on the word "Huurman" which Mrs.
  - Roots
    02/16/15
    I remember a rather surprising number of years ago, when I was a young adult and first became interested in my family origins. It may have been shortly after my mother's parents had passed away. One day, my mother showed me a document of many pages that had been written on the history of my gr
2013
- March
  - Why am I now living in France?
    03/16/13
    Asnières-sur-Seine, France
    
    Yesterday, I picked up my long awaited Carte de Resident from the Prefecture in Nanterre. It puts an end to having to renew my working permit every year. The Nanterre Prefecture is not a particularly exciting place to be and I'm happy not to have to return
2012
- February
  - Purchasing a Home in France - Part III (Taking the plunge - The Notary, the Agent, and the Broker)
    02/06/12
    Chantilly, France
    
    I reckon that in real estate transactions just about anywhere in the world, there is a basic human need to involve a neutral third party to act as a referee between the buyer and the seller. It must have something to do with the relatively large sums of money changing ha
  - Purchasing a Home in France - Part II (A Find)
    02/06/12
    Chantilly, France
    
    We had started our search in late July and by the time November rolled around, were wondering if we would find anything we liked. A month or so into our search, I decided it might be a good idea to purchase a book written in English about the steps involved in buying a h
- January
  - Purchasing a Home in France - Part I (The Search)
    01/30/12
    Chantilly, France
    
    After four years of living in Chantilly it is time for a change. I've decided to become more social, let's just say I want to experiment in communal living in a manner of speaking. In July my significant other and I decided to make a plan to live together. Her
2009
- July
  - What's Behind the Development of Tools?
    07/13/09
    Chantilly, France
    
    What is the secret behind man's capacity and desire to develop more complicated, powerful, precise, sometimes abstract, and specialized tools?
    
    Is it survival that drives him?
    Is it curiosity that lures him?
    Is it a desire to be the master of his
- May
  - Do Shifts in Population Drive Technology Change?
    05/31/09
    Chantilly, France
    
    As an IT professional I am interested in peering into the crystal ball to try and discern the future development of technological trends.
    
    I am also convinced that what has happened in the past, i.e. history, can tell us much about what could happen in the futu
- February
  - Suspending Judgement
    02/02/09
    Chantilly, France
    
    About 17 years ago, when I worked as a programmer for a software company in Ann Arbor Michigan I took the Myers Briggs test which was offered by the company. It was offered as a way of helping employees understand how they relate to their coworkers. I think the idea was
2008
- December
  - An Artist never Creates in Isolation
    12/23/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    I visited the exhibit "Picasso et les Maitres" today at the Grand Palais in the center of Paris. The exhibit is explained as "210 works from the world's leading collections illustrate the inspiration Picasso drew from the great masters." The re
- November
  - Why Living in the Occident?
    11/30/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    So why did I call my blog "Living in the Occident"?
    
    By Occident I mean living in the Western Culture. I guess I could have called my blog "Living in France" which is where I live now but I wanted the scope of my blog to be larger than that
  - Dahab Retrospective
    11/29/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    While I was on vacation, the world wide economic slowdown continued to deepen. Returning from vacation was not easy. I don't know what had the most impact - the muscle pains from all of that physical activity that I was able to stave off in Egypt but upon returnin
  - Dahab - Day 5
    11/14/08
    Dahab, Egypt
    
    My windsurfing lesson was at 11:30 today. There was a stiff breeze blowing. I used a size 180 board and a size 5.4 sail. I was continuing working on the water start with some progress to be made before having some success. Dahab is a very popular place for windsurfing and
  - Dahab - Day 4
    11/12/08
    Dahab, Egypt
    
    As is commonly the case in mass market resort hotels, breakfast is a buffet and is also oftenly the case, what starts out at the beginning of the week as a delight starts to become old after a few days. The restaurant at the Iberhotel is pleasant, however with seating inside
  - Dahab - Day 3
    11/12/08
    Dahab, Egypt
    
    Tuesday my windsurfing lesson was scheduled for later in the day so I decided to take advantage of the extra time in the morning to visit another modest dive/snorkeling site a 15 minute walk down the coast from the Iberhotel. According to information I found on the internet,
  - Dahab - Day 2
    11/10/08
    Dahab, Egypt
    
    The Iberotel Hotel is located on Dahab bay, south of the city of Dahab. It's the last in a string of hotels on this stretch of beach, all of them offering some kind of windsurfing experience. And there are a lot of windsurfers here. As my windsurf instructor pointed ou
  - Dahab - Day 1
    11/09/08
    Dahab, Sinai, Egypt
    
    (Dahab Bay)
    
    The sun sets around 5:30 p.m. this time of year in Dahab. It's a pity really. The landscape is spectacular. Dahab lies on the eastern finger of the Northern Red Sea. It's also called the gulf of Aqaba. The gulf, indeed all o
  - Warsaw
    11/06/08
    Warsaw, Poland
    
    (Reconstructed Presidential Palace)
    
    So what do I know about Poland? Not much. It's a slavic country wedged between the Germans and the Tsars. And its history is intertwined with both of them.
    
    After ten years living in Europe, it's
  - Ten years in Europe, What's next?
    11/02/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    Sometime in the first half of 1998 I flew to Paris on assignment for Chrysler Corporation. Although I've returned to the U.S. many times over the years, it was never to reside there. Since 1998 I have been living in Europe, partly in France and partly in Germany.<
- October
  - Vamos a la playa
    10/23/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    Although I grew up only a few miles from excellent sandy beachs on the shores of Lake Michigan, I have to say that I have mostly not been much of a beach person. I enjoyed the occasional outings for picnics and hikes but sitting for long periods in the sun has just seem
  - Origins - Part IV
    10/10/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    I enjoyed the years I spent living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As it is home to the gigantic University of Michigan, there are many and diverse opportunities for intellectual stimulation and personal exploration.
    
    My ideas about what kind of career I really wante
  - Origins - Part III
    10/05/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    In 1989, Mikhail Gorbechev was in his fourth year as leader of the Soviet Union. George Bush Sr was beginning his first year as president of the U.S., taking the Republican baton from Ronald Reagan who in 1987 had stood before the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and in a spe
- August
  - Origins - Part II
    08/31/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    The town I grew up in was founded in the mid 19th century by immigrants from Europe led by a church minister. From its beginnings it was, and has remained over the years, a highly religious community. My parents were quite active in their local church, and throughout m
  - Origins - Part I
    08/30/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    I'm not an especially nostalgic person. Looking back at my life is not something I do a lot and I think it's a good sign. I have always encountered new challenges along the way, new areas of interest which keep me facing forward. But at certain times I feel t
  - The First Entry - A Secret Desire to be a Writer
    08/24/08
    Chantilly, France
    
    The fact of the matter is, I've been writing ever since I was a teenager. I've just kept almost all of it to myself. And thank goodness for that as most of it was pretty dull stuff. I still have a stack of notebooks on my shelf which were spared from being t