"Most beloved brethren, today is manifest in you what the Lord says in the Gospel, `Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them'; for unless God had been present in your spirits, all of you would not have uttered the same cry; since, although the cry issued from numerous mouths, yet the origin of the cry as one. Therefore I say to you that God, who implanted is in your breasts, has drawn it forth from you. Let that then be your war cry in combats, because it is given to you by God. When an armed attack is made upon the enemy, this one cry be raised by all the soldiers of God: 'It is the will of God! It is the will of God!'"
(Pope Urban II)
Deus vult !
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A native Jerseyan, and recent resident of the fair city of Manhattan (Mordor-on-Hudson) for three years. With Mrs. AntiChrist's election as Junior Senatrix from the (Evil) Empire State, and the impending departure of Duke Rudolfo, NYC promises to become yet again a (more) unpleasant place to live. As at Stalingrad, the Reds are closing in. So I have packed up my belongings and made a "retrograde tactical adjustment" over the Volga - er, uh, the Hudson actually -- returning to the ancestral residence in Maplewood, N.J.

For the last ten years, I had worked at one of the most dysfunctional companies in the galaxy. As of the Feast of Saint Agnes in the Year of Our Lord 2003, I have freed myself from the shackles of Cubicle Hell. Currently, I am researching the possibility of going into business for myself - historical tailoring and consulting. There are several million MBAs in the world, but only a dozen or so competent eighteenth century tailors.

Diverse Factoids
Religion: Roman Catholic, Traditionalist
(Former) Parish: St. Agnes, East 43rd Street
. . .(the only thing I will really miss about NYC.)
Ideology: Christian monarchist (a political pre-Rafaelite)
Default Affiliation: Conservative Republican (Although increasingly dismayed about the current administration, and on the verge of becoming a Libertarian)

Academic Background
MA, Early Modern European history,
MBA, Information Systems & Management,
BA, European History & German (minor: Music Theory/Composition)
In process: MS - Information Systems

(Nota bene: In answer to the obvious question, NO, I am NOT a "professional student." If I were, I can assure you I would not be studying business and information systems, but rather history and music theory. My current (desparate) academic endeavors are directed exclusively towards finding work in a real company, doing real "stuff." So far, that ain't happenin'. But at least I'll have a couple of nifty degrees to cover holes in the wall. Plaster would have been cheaper.

So, if you are reading this and have any job leads (Business Systems Analyst) please forward. I do not yet have Suicide Prevention Hotline on my speed-dial, but I'm getting there . . .)

Hobbies
Historical tailoring (17th through 19th century),
Painting, collecting, and wargaming with military miniatures (i.e., toy soldiers)

Periods:
Punic Wars, Renaissance, Seven Years War, French Revolution, Early Napoleonic.
Scale: 1:20, 25mm to 30mm.
Rules: De Bellis Multitudinis

Historical re-enactment (American War of Independence)
Fencing (smallsword)
Automotive restoration (1954 MGTF)

Stuff I collect
18th century swords,
German spiked helmets,
Patriotic artifacts from the Central Powers,
Vatican City stamps,
German proprietary beer glasses,
Useless degrees.

Preferred Arts
Anything Baroque in any medium,
German and Austrian military music,
Virtually any European folk music,
Literature by Tolkein, C.S.Lewis, Chesterton, Belloc, Waugh, H.L.Mencken, and Florence King.
Period films (incl. Westerns by John Ford), The Avengers, The Simpsons, Wallace & Gromit, Black Adder.

Very guilty pleasures: European cabaret music of the '40's and earlier (Zarah Leander, Edith Piaf), Schimmelpenninck cigarillos.

Positions I can be expected to take on issues at FR:
In support of . . . Firearms ownership, community rights, the Confederacy, European culture, strict Constitutional construction (ca. 1787), the German and Austro-Hungarian monarchies (Yes, the topic occasionally does come up), and the Latin Mass.
Opposed to . . . Abortion, public education, affirmative action, democracy, egalitarianism, vulgarity (although the last three are inseparable from each other), and contemporary "culture."

Favourite Twentieth Century Personalities
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Kaiser Franz Josef,
Graf Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg,
el Caudillo Francisco Franco,
el Presidente Augusto Pinochet,
Archbishop Marcel LeFebvre, Pope Pius XII.

Most Despised Twentieth Century Personalities
Woodrow Wilson, Lloyd George, V.I.LeninWinston Churchill (In his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty in WWI, rather than as Stalin's stooge and accomplice in WWII).

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The gentle reader is asked to bear in mind that your humble correspondent has not included the "biggies" (Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, and Hitler) because his frame of reference ends with the destruction of Christendom, ca. 1918. Almost every contest since that time has been merely a falling out among banditti , as they divvy up the spoils.

If your visit to this page is the result of curiosity concerning my frequent defense of all things German, you are probably wondering, "is he some sort of Nazi supporter." The short answer is "No, he is not." I have many reasons for dispproving of the NSDAP: Here is one of them.

Ancient Wisdom . . . . . . . . .

Gegen Demokraten
Helfen nur Soldaten.

Source of the Screen Name
Goetz von Berlichingen (1481-1562) was an Imperial Knight and miltary leader, owner of the castle Hornberg. He was known as "Goetz of the Iron Hand" on account of the iron replacement for his right hand, lost at the siege of Landshut in 1504. Aside from being the subject of a play by Goethe, Herr von Berlichingen's name has become proverbial in Germany because of the following anecdote.

During one of the many little wars waged throughout the Holy Roman Empire, Goetz and his troops were besieged at the Hornberg by the army of one of the Imperial Prince-Bishops. The belligerent ecclesiastic called upon Goetz to surrender "in the name of the Emperor." Goetz's reply is roughly translated: "His Majesty knows of my loyalty to him. But you, my dear Bishop can kiss my a___."

And to this very day, the term "Goetz von Berlichingen" has come to symbolise defiance, preferably against overwhelming odds.