Cornelis van der Wal🇮🇱🎼📖🍷

TW: A Norwegian pro-Pal hung herself by HOOKS. In her actual skin. These people have lost their minds.

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down." Socrates.

Cats have their own heavenly patron — Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, a 7th-century Belgian nun. She is venerated as the protector of cats and the guardian of home comfort. It is believed that Saint Gertrude protects homes from misfortune and brings peace to those who live alongside these mysterious and sensitive creatures. Cats always sense subtle worlds — perhaps that is why they are so close to the saint, whose life was dedicated to silence, prayer, and care. May every home where a cat purrs be filled with warmth, protection, and light.

Hungary’s newly elected leader Peter Magyar is signaling a clear pro-Israel stance, pledging to maintain strong ties with Israel and enforce zero tolerance for antisemitism. Speaking after his election victory, Magyar emphasized the importance of protecting Hungary’s Jewish community and continuing the country’s close relationship with Israel. Magyar highlighted that Hungary is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe, stressing that their safety and security remain a top priority. He made it clear that antisemitism will not be tolerated under his leadership, continuing policies that have kept Hungary relatively stable for Jewish life compared to other parts of Europe. At the same time, he described Israel as an important partner, both politically and economically. While his leadership marks a broader shift in Hungary’s direction after years under Viktor Orban, Magyar’s message on Israel remained consistent: the relationship will stay strong. The statements come at a time of rising antisemitism across Europe, making Hungary’s position stand out. For many, Magyar’s remarks signal that despite political changes, support for Israel and protection of Jewish communities in Hungary are expected to remain firmly in place.

The castles of Europe are some of the most amazing things we’ve inherited from history Between 75,000 and 100,000 castles were built in Western Europe during the medieval period, with around 1,700 in England and Wales alone, and roughly 14,000 in German-speaking areas... Most of them rose between the 9th and 15th centuries after the collapse of centralized Roman authority and the rise of fragmented feudal power. As attacking armies grew more sophisticated, so did the walls meant to stop them. The cost was staggering: from 1179 to 1188, King Henry II of England spent over £6,500 on Dover Castle alone — an enormous sum given that his entire annual revenue was around £10,000. That figure was more than three times what he spent on any other building project in his reign, and more than four times what went into grand royal residences like Windsor. And then there is Malbork... Built by the Teutonic Knights in what is now Poland, Malbork is the largest castle in the world measured by land area. It covers 52 acres and once housed approximately 3,000 knights. A medieval visitor reportedly noted it seemed "more a city enclosed by walls than a single castle." In 950, Provence was home to just 12 castles. By 1000, the number had risen to 30. By 1030, it was over 100. The pace was not driven by a single empire with a plan, but by thousands of individual decisions made by lords, bishops, and kings who each decided, in their own time and place, that stone was the only reliable answer to an uncertain world... The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning "fortified place". Between seventy-five thousand and a hundred thousand of these fortresses were built over six centuries as a reminder that every civilization eventually decides what it will leave behind. Europe decided on this. And the castles are still here.

Symphony 2 of Mahler (Resurrection) is deeply spiritual and stunning. Clearly, the most emotionally intense symphony of Mahler.

In 1942, Nazi guards believed they had destroyed Viktor Frankl. They stripped the 37-year-old psychiatrist of his name, dignity, and possessions. They shaved his head, tattooed the number 119,104 on his arm, and burned his life’s work — the manuscript for his first book. They were wrong. Months earlier, Frankl had held an American visa in his hands — a ticket to safety. But it was only for him. His elderly parents could not go. Torn by the choice, he saw a small marble plaque on his father’s desk inscribed with the commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” He let the visa expire and stayed. Deported to Theresienstadt, then Auschwitz and Dachau, Frankl witnessed something profound: survival wasn’t determined by physical strength alone. Some strong men collapsed, while weaker ones endured. He concluded that what mattered most was having a “why” to live for. In the camps, he quietly rebelled against despair. He mentally rewrote his burned manuscript. He imagined lecturing about it in Vienna one day. He clung to the memory of his wife Tilly as a lifeline. And he encouraged fellow prisoners by reminding them of their own unfinished purposes. Liberated in 1945, he weighed just 85 pounds. He learned that his wife, parents, and brother had all been murdered. Instead of surrendering to grief, Frankl sat down and wrote Man’s Search for Meaning in just nine days. The book, initially rejected by publishers, went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. Viktor Frankl lived until 1997. He proved that even when everything is taken from us, we still possess the ultimate freedom: the power to choose our attitude and find meaning in suffering. The Nazis tried to erase him. Instead, they inspired a legacy that has helped millions endure their own hardships. This book is a “must read” if you haven’t studied it. Hope is eternal.