"Major Edmund de Rothschild led his battery of the 200 Jewish Field Regiment -- part of the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group formed in November of 1944 -- into the town of Mannheim 'through an archway which still bore the repulsive legend Judenrein.'  As they drove into the town, people began to shout: 'Die Juden kommen!  Die Juden kommen!'...

A few months later, he [Major Rothschild] paid a visit to Hitler's mountain retreat, the 'Eagles's Nest.' 'Seeing a mass of broken Sevres porcelain,' he later recalled, 'I wondered if it had been stolen from one of my cousins' homes.'  It probably had."

p. 474, Vol II, "The House of Rothschild," by Niall Ferguson.  For another perspective on the Kehlsteinhaus and Nazi playground in recent times go Here for the Guardian's review of the Berchtesgaden Intercontinental which notes that the shower heads are exact copies of those in the London Savoy of 1904.

Meanwhile, let me just say that the problem with explaining anything is that language is Left Brain, and when you're trying to tame the monkey mind you want to be in Right Brain territory.  But try telling anyone that.  And thanks to everyone who offered advice on how I just need to calm down [Let Go, Let God!]. So simple.  So easy to say.

Now, in case anyone missed it, go Here for neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor's discussion of her stroke, which I happened on at Metamorphosism, and I was telling everyone about until I realized how many of you already knew all about it.  It's more than a minute -- more like 18, in fact -- but if you haven't watched, I urge you to. It could change everything for you.  It certainly had a profound effect on me.

Which brings me to my Current Reading List, about which -- I know, language, Left Brain, all that -- but you asked:

Niall Ferguson, "The House of Rothschild"
Eckhart Tolle, "A New Earth"
Luc Sante, "Kill All Your Darlings"
Jim Thompson, "Pop. 1280"
Thubten Chodron, "Taming the Monkey Mind"
Cynthia Asquith, "Remember and be Glad"

and just finished James Schuyler's "What's For Dinner?" (NYRB reprint).
 
Oh and hey, wow, I have duplicates of some outofprint titles of Jim Thompson, which (young PK at Dickinson take note) I will send to the first lucky commenter -- and OMG it's just like Swag Tuesday at Joe.My.God. except it's Thursday!