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The hidden history of wine and Burgundy

Most people know only about Burgundy’s wine, but not the history of the Kingdom of Burgundy and its wine. With its little kingdoms, and later as a unified, independent country, the history of these dozens of counties unified and separated is such an intriguing story. Today, I would like to talk about the history of wine and Burgundy.

Duchy of Flanders (Flag). One of the richest regions in Burgundy (Both then and now)

Wine was first made in about 6000 BCE in Georgia. Its enjoyment was later spread throughout the world by the Armenians, Sicilians, Greeks, and Persians. During the time of ancient Rome, it became a beverage used throughout the world. Later, regions like Spain, Burgundy, or the Caucasus rose as the main regions in Europe for wine production. Especially, Burgundy, was able to rise as a region full of big and small kingdoms, not unified, but rather led by nobles who got their wealth by fermenting the grapes in the region until 411, when the number of kingdoms in Burgundy highly decreased. In 982, Burgundy was unified (except for a few kingdoms led by dukes of the region) under Otto William, a Burgundian noble. However, Burgundy was conquered by neighboring countries about once every century or two, due to the fact it was between France and the Holy Roman Empire, and Burgundy was one of the richest countries at that time. For instance, in the late 9th century and 10th century, Burgundy was conquered by the Holy Roman Empire and Italy.

The army of the Burgundians, armed by the Burgundian style of armor

Again, 400 years later, during the times of the 100 yr war, Burgundy’s richest region, Flanders, was conquered by the British, to boost the morale of the English soldiers with the wine. Also, the Britich used their new base in Flanders to attack the French from both land and sea, and take away the large amount of money stored there. Other parts of North Burgundy were conquered by the British, and the French would try their best to drive out the English forces in Burgundy, putting Flanders in chaos. In the end, the Burgundians regained Flanders, but the Calais region of Flanders, within Burgundy remained British territory. Also, the Prince Bishop of Liege conquered most of South Flanders and Austria took control of middle Burgundy. To regain land and connect South and North Burgundy, King Charles the Bold, known for his bravery, attacked Austria, even though they had been engaged in an alliance. Austria, except for a few cities like Verdun, and parts of Switzerland fell under control of Charles’ forces. The price of wine also skyrocketed, as parts of France and Burgundy banned all nonburgundian wine (which was less profitable than champagne or Burgundian). Most nobles in Eastern France were Burgundians who sold champagne, as the grapes to make champagne grew well near Burgundy. Later on, the two wines became the most expensive alcoholic beverages in Europe. As the strength of the Burgundians increased, Austria became desperate and allied with Switzerland, previously their biggest enemy. That was before King Charles had a war with the east and with France, the Holy Roman Empire, and many other Dukes that had some small kingdoms throughout Burgundy. These countries and duchies needed the wealth and wine (to boost soldiers’ morale and sell for profit), so they started a war between Burgundy’s biggest alliance, Savoy and Burgundy itself against the French-Switzerland-Austrian-Holy Roman Empire’s alliance. Even England later fought with the Burgundians as well, to gain more resources and sustain their territory. After the war, Burgundy was in chaos, most of the soldiers were killed, and during the Battle of Nancy, King Charles the Bold died after being lanced by some Swiss mercenaries. Sooner or later, Burgundy fell into French hands in the middle 1500s. In spite of its strong cavalry and robust army, and help from the neighboring kingdom of Savoy, which itself survived for another 300 years, Burgundy eventually fell into oblivion as a country, and today is part of France and the Netherlands.

Largest extent of Burgundy(under King Charles the Bold)

This is how the Kingdom of Burgundy, once a prosperous country, well-known for its developed warfare, fell into enemy hands. The kingdom was always the area that other kingdoms wanted to conquer, full of wealth and wine. (Descendants of the Burgundian rulers still hold land in the area.) All in all, in my perspective, most countries that are between two or more other countries find it hard to survive in the long-term.

Why TV shows and movies like Squid Game are being popular worldwide

Recently, many movies like Alive or Peninsula are getting famous and loved by many people. But why are these apocalyptic movies so loved? Today, I would like to share the reason for it and give some examples of movies connected with the reason I’ve mentioned.

Movie “Peninsula”

Movie ALIVE 2020

These apocalyptic and quite violent movies are apprearing in the TOP 5 dramas and movies worldwide. Why do these movies get famous and loved? Well, with COVID-19 ongoing for 2 yrs, people started feeling like these apocalyptic issues might happen. Plus, the movie characters feel friendly as these characters have to survive throughout an apocalyptic or dangerous situation, like the real-life, COVID-19. One example might be ALIVE. ALIVE is a Korean movie with some people trying to survive throughout a zombie virus outbreak. The characters try to prevent being infected by the disease, which spreads when an infected person bites another, just as people catch COVID when others do now wear masks. Even the movie Peninsula which is simply “The Train to Busan 2,” is also a zombie movie making people feel this like the situation where humanity suffers from COVID and they are trying not to get infected.

Recent action & thriller drama, “The Silent Sea” 2021/12/24

Squid Game

The same thing happens to dramas. The recent drama Squid Game is about surviving throughout many games where there will eventually be only a few surviving until the end in order to get the approximately 38,385,131 US$ prize. Like this, if dramatized, we can see that we have to survive throughout this COVID situation. In another drama Hellbound, people have to survive from some weird creatures who some believe are people of heaven and which burn people randomly using weird powers derived from different dimensions. Eventually, people have to survive throughout this situation like we do with COVID. Even in a drama called “The Silent Sea,” people try to use a virus called wulsoo, that makes the victim produce an unbelievable amount of pure natural water, which the people need because water is in short supply, but then they die. Scientists are trying to infect fish with the disease, which would create the needed water but not die.

As COVID is getting worse, people feel friendliness with these movie characters in their apocalyptic situations, feeling that they are in a similar predicament. This makes many movies and dramas based on this theme popular throughout the world and much-loved. All in all, per the current situation, people really love these movies and drama productions, because they are truly distinct, especially in a world of COVID.

Game addiction due to the COVID-19 lockdowns/isolation

Have you ever thought or heard of game addiction happening due to the COVID situation? People are at home these days due to the COVID, and kids are having online classes with computers. Today, I will talk about game addiction caused by the COVID and the reasons for it happening.

Game addiction is increasing among kids, as we can’t meet others and as for school, classes were held mostly online. As we couldn’t go outdoors, kids had to play at home, making games be played more widely among kids.[OR and they spent a lot of that time playing games.] This constant isolation makes kids, who already like games, get addicted to them, as there wasn’t much else for them to do. Also, there are even kids who play games designed for adults. For instance, my friend plays the game, “Rise of Kingdoms,” which is for Americans aged 10 years or more, while he is only 9 years old (in his American age). Also, as schools closed due to the COVID, they have plenty of free time, and they often use it to play games. Kids who already played games before the COVID have a better chance of being addicted to games. This leads kids unable to concentrate on school work. Plus, kids can’t have social relationships, as they play games at school instead of playing with friends. Also, it becomes hard to keep having daily routines as usual. For example, you don’t have friends, you don’t do your homework and just play games except for eating and sleeping. As a result, their education is disrupted, which will be a big issue in their futures. Plus, as technology develops, USBs that make a computer go back to the main screen if something or someone is detected are being invented, which makes it even harder to find out if someone played a game, so game addiction happens without being known to parents and teachers.

Thus, it is apparent that during the lockdowns and school closures that arose from the Covid-19 crisis, young people often turned to mobile phone games as something to pass the time and challenge them, at least a little. With students using games so much, the chance them getting addicted to games, where they can’t stop even if they want, it increased.

In order to stop game addiction,one idea I have it to intall a program that make a computer or phone turn off automatically when the user is playing games too much.It might be a great solution. Whatever can be done, it is important to stop game addiction before our future prospects become darker.

HK Protests

Hong Kong is one of the financial centers of Asia and is democratic, unlike mainland China uner the Communists.

Despite the fact that it is the financial center, HK is getting forced to be a Communist city by the Chinese government. Thismade HongKongers protest for democracy and capitalism and also their freedom.

The HK protest started in the 21st century, when the battle between the protestors and the Chinese police started. The Chinese police started using guns and police shields, while the HK protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves from the gunners who were trying to shoot them. Unfortunately, the Chinese started surveillance on protesters in order to put innocent protesters on trial. In order to prevent this, HK protesters started to spray paint on CCTVs which surveil them from day to night. Protesters also use laser pointers to distract cameras and police as another tool to stop surveillance. However, those tools were too weak to stand up tothe Chinese police. As a result, the sacrifices of HK protesters increased quickly, and as soon as possible, many HK students joinedthe protest for the freedom of capitalism and democracy. Sooner or later, HK students were getting killed by the unjust acts of the Chinese police. Plus, even Chinese civilians started attacking unarmed HongKongers. That meant more HK protesters that fight bravely against the Chinese government are getting beaten up by police and Chinese civilians. However, what they have in order to resist is a few iron poles, masks, goggles, umbrellas, laser pointers, and other weapons made in their homes. Recently, it isn’t only the Chinese police and civilians that attack HK protesters. The Chinese military is getting prepared to attack the HK protesters. Without the permission of the HK government, the Chinese military started clearing the roads for the Chinese police, which gave fear to the HK protesters.

Eventually, the HK protest should keep going and HongKong should be an independent country. The sacrifices of the protesters should be known throughout the world. Despite any acts of the Chinese police or military, HK protests should keep going until HK is free from Chinese control.

The USS Constitution: “Old Ironsides”

The USS Constitution, often called “Old Ironsides,” was built in the 1700s. It has 52 cannons, and the cannons can be fired and the ship can sail even today. The ship was originally built and launched in order to defend shipping against the Barbary Pirates. it was it was also used to defend American shipping during the “Quasi War,” which erupted when France started attacking American shipping.

As originally configured, the ship had 67 cannons. The Barbary Pirates were a group of Muslim bandits from around what is now Algiers. These men saw piracy as a good thing to do in order to support their faith. They were active from medieval times until the mid 19th century. They would attack merchant ships and hold the crews for ransom, as well as slave ships, from which they would take the slaves and trade them themselves. The famous brothers Hayreddin Barbarossa and Oruc Reis were barbary pirates. In one case, they raided a large slave ship, sold the slaves, added cannons, and called the ship Queen Anne’s Revenge.

These pirates, activity had a chilling effect on merchant shipping of many countries. They had mainly worked off the coast of Algiers, Tripoli, and other North African ports. They were loosely organized, but sometimes acted almost like a Navy of a sovereign country. The USS constitution was one of our small fleet of ships built to defeat these pirates. Their crews worked through both the 1st and 2nd Barbary wars, until the pirates were finally defeated.

Meanwhile, colonists in the new world had taken up arms against Britain. France under general Lafayette had supported them, putting them at odds with the country across the English Channel. The United states had made peace with England, angering the French and instigating them to attack American shipping. Ships owned by privateers, or private businessmen, with the blessing of the French government attacked merchant ships with a goal of taking the ships and their cargo. Constitution was sent to engage these raiders. When the French-owned ships were defeated, this is when the United states was first recognized as a naval power, alongside Britain, whose ships ruled the seas at the time.

Photo by Dimitris Mourousiadis on Pexels.com

The constitution continued to be used by the US Navy. Even during World War II, the ship was used as a morale booster for American soldiers and sailors. Eventually, after multiple refittings, constitution became a museum, anchored at Boston harbor and welcoming visitors. This ship sales occasionally on special holiday events, most recently in mid-2021.

Behavioral economics

Have you ever thought how companies make people buy their products? Or why people buy 1+1 items in a supermarket? Everything of this is part of Behavioral economics.

Behavioral economics is a type of economics which is a mixture of psychology and economics. It analyzes peoples minds in buying or consuming and the way of marketing successfully by knowing what people want and what people prefer. It is a new concept apart from traditional economics where you should choose the safest way without risk. For instance, when you can earn 1 billion$ in a 10% of accuracy, and you can earn 1 million$ in a 90% of accuracy, people choose getting 1 million$. One example of Behavioral Economics is the fast-food company Subway. Subway blows out smells of bread on the street in order to increase customers. The company has a machine that blows out the scent of bread in every Subway shop. This is one of the reasons of Subway’s success.

Another example of Behavioral economics is in the World TOP drama Squid Game. During the second game, dalgona game, 218 doesn’t tell what the game is to his team and make the people go to each a different shape. Despite he knew what the game is and can lead everyone to the easiest shape. This is 218’s plan to drop half of the team so that he could get all the money himself. Choice 1 for 218 is telling what the game is and letting everyone of his team win. This is a choice where everyone can win. Choice 2 for 218 is not telling what the game so that only half can win. This might let 218 get more money, but is dropping, terminating half of his team.

In one experiment, there were 2 bottles of the same red wine. 1 bottle was more expensive than the other bottle. When the two bottles were taste tested by people, most people preferred the one that was more expensive. Even though, actually, they are the same red wine. This is also one intriguing example of Behavioral economics.

One sector of Behavioral economics is the Prisoner’s Dilemma. There are two prisoners in court, one is A, and another is B. There are 0 witnesses and if both betray each other, both has to serve two yrs in prison. If only A betrays, A would be set free, but B would serve 3 yrs in prison and vice versa. When both are silent, both serve 1 yr of prison. But people try testifying each other, even though there is a way for everyone to win.

Behavioral economics is one of the most important parts of economy. It can tell you how people think and also help you in marketing and other parts in business. All in all Behavioral economics is important to many parts of society.

The hyperinflation of Zimbabwe and its relationship with De Beers

Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe was indeed the worst of the 21st century. Why was a country with a good start with money from the British so easily doomed? Today, I’d like to share my findings of how and why the inflation in Zimbabwe started and its history.

An animation about Cecil Rhodes trying to conquer Africa

Africa was long ago known as simply a place where ships could dock, but later as diamonds were found in the territory, many started to invest in diamond mines in Africa. Cecil Rhodes was one of them. With some money supported by Rothschild & Co., he was able to start the famous company De Beers. Later with his ambitious plans, he founded the South African Company, and conquered a big part of Africa which is nowadays Zambia, Zimbabwe, and a part of South Africa. Naming the land Rhodesia, with the monarch as the Queen of Britain and him as the first president of the new colony, the state was partly independent in some ways, and a huge amount of money was invested in Rhodesia. Plus, the land was known to be quite sustainable for crops, enabling many British farmers to mass produce tobacco and many other crops. Later in the 1960s, two movements, one led by Joshua Nkomo called the Zimbabwe African People’s Union or ZAPU, and the other headed by Robert Mugabe, who led the Zimbabwe African National Union, ZANU, had a coup d’etat on the Rhodesian government. ZAPU was supported by China while ZANU was supported by the Soviet Union. As in the 1960s the Cold War was happening, the British made a deal with the ZAPU and ZANU: if the two would have a democratic vote to lead the country and democratically lead Zimbabwe, they would give financial support to Zimbabwe & let the country be free from British control. The deal was confirmed and ZANU eventually won the vote. It seemed like Mugabe was leading the country well, with equal rights for black and white citizens at first.

Robert Mugabe

Joshua Nkomo

However, this didn’t go long. Robert Mugabe allied with North Korea after visiting North Korea and meeting Kim Il Sung. He soon started to take away the land of the top 5% of the population, almost all white, in Zimbabwe. “War Veterans,” who were actually ZANU functionaries, violently killed some while the others were having their land taken away. Due to this, the whites fled to Europe and companies led by whites fled overseas. Soon the land became useless, with the black landowners not knowing how to grow crops or having any agricultural technologies. Britain immediately quit supporting the Zimbabwean government financially. Plus, there weren’t any machines to mass produce products in factories, with the whites who owned most companies gone. This caused the decrease of jobs due to the increase of companies(which were mostly owned by whites) fleeing overseas. Eventually, Robert Mugabe became a total dictator and had his army trained by the North Koreans. Then he started massacring anyone who disagreed with his ideas, (especially Joshua Nkomo, his followers, and his security team). Robert Mugabe eventually killed 20,000 followers and soldiers of Joshua Nkomo with the North Korean special forces. He dictated the country for about 40 yrs and was kicked out of the country after a coup d’tat. He later died in Singapore at age 98 in 2019. His wife is still in Singapore to hide from the angry Zimbabweans.

The inflation is still happening in Zimbabwe, and recently, due to COVID-19 it is getting worse. All in all, it is important to know about this terrible hyperinflation and why it happened. Plus, we should know how to prevent this from happening by analyzing the hyperinflation of Zimbabwe. Every inflationary crisis has a reason and is bad for everyone.

Gun Control in the US

Have you heard about terrors in the U.S related to gun control, orhave you seen people with guns when going to the U.S? Today, I will talk about gun control in the U.S, and its pros and cons.

The U.S is well known for allowing guns unlike most other countries. There is a movement to enact strict limitations on gun ownership, but the numbe of people disagree with having gun control are increasing. Then, why can’t ownershipget banned in the U.S. It is because of the NRA, the National Rifle Association, which is one of the most powerful political groups in the world and strongly agrees on gun ownership. It was formed in 1871 and is older than 12 of the U.S. states. The NRA strongly defends the second amendment which is the purportedly gives people the right to bear arms. Even when assault rifles were completely banned in the U.S., they was allowed again due to the NRA, which changed anti-gun lawmakers to pro-gun lawmakers. The NRA states that, in order to defend oneself against a bad guy with a gun, you need a good guy with a gun.

However, there are more people who will commit serious crimes in the U.S than in places where gun ownership is banned, since guns are able to injure or kill an individual easily compared to using weaponry other than firearms. That leads to high crime rates in countries where guns are allowed. Plus, LED incapacitors, which are also allowed in the U.S., can paralyze a human being’s eye. In addition, flamethrowers and grenade launchers, which are also allowed in the U.S., can deliver severe damage too.

There are also issues which are getting bigger related to gun control. One example is that there are more firearms than people in the U.S and that Americans own 42% of the world’s privately held firearms. In addition, , 95% of gun injuries in the US are due to civilian shootings

Luckily, unlike most states, Massachusetts makes every person ttakes a firearm safety course before going to a gun store. Then you have to go to the police department and submit a reference and also your fingerprint too, as a background check. That means there is still hope to stop gun-related crime in the U.S and also in other countries where gun ownership is allowed. U.S gun control is one issue that is a third-rail in politics, compared to other countries.

All in all, in my perspective, I think we need to break through the NRA and enact gun control in the US, in order to stop the crime and before the death rate increases and the issue gets larger than now.

Ginseng

Have you ever heard of ginseng? Thus, its benefits are scientifically unexplainable, there is proof that it helps you from many sicknesses. Today I will talk about the types, benefits, side effects, countries that produce ginseng, and the history of ginseng.

Ginseng is largely divided into seven types. The most common ginseng which we can easily buy online is the cultivated ginseng. There are also red, white, fresh, wild cultivated ginseng which are all cultivated like the cultivated ginseng. Another type of ginseng is the wild ginseng. The wild ginseng is the rarest of all ginseng. As per google, 15-20 year old wild ginseng cost 4,226$ while 100 year old and above costs 169,040$ to 253,560$. There is also dried blanched ginseng which is produced when fresh ginseng is slightly boiled, taken out, and dried.

The main countries that produce ginseng are China, Vietnam, US, Canada, Korea, and Russia. China produces 70% of the world ginseng but it has a lesser quality compared to South Korea. In China wild ginseng is almost extinct, so it is almost unavailable to find wild ginseng. Due to its quality Chinese ginseng are mostly used for soup, not medicine. Even American, Vietnamese, Canadian, and Russian ginseng have poor quality as well. However, Korean ginseng has better quality so, it is used mostly for medicine. According to google, Korean ginseng has the best quality compared to ginseng from other countries.

Ginseng was first mentioned in the Korean book, “The history of the Three Kingdoms” and (“Hyangyak Gugugubang”/incense first aid room) 1500 years ago. Due to this, Korean ginseng was traded in a high price in Asia. Most ginseng hunters were employed by the emperor, while there were also people who weren’t. There were many risks for being a ginseng hunter, though as there were many bandits seeking ginseng. In the US, ginseng was an important item to the Native Americans. It was used as medicine for the Native Americans as well. In “The Travels of Marco Polo” ginseng was mentioned as an important medicine. During the Age of Discovery, Korean ginseng was introduced to the Western World which made Korean ginseng famous in the Western World due to its’ huge benefits compared to Chinese or American ginseng. This made the demand of ginseng to get higher. This made ginseng to be rarer, and the price of ginseng skyrocketed until now.

Ginseng has many benefits to people. It can help brain function, boost the immune system, have benefits with cancer, and many more. Also, ginseng can easily heat the body and can help stomachaches as well, when it is boiled into soup. It can also affect one’s mood as well. However, there can be some side effects of ginseng as well. There could be allergic skin reactions, diarrhea, dizziness, and etc. Plus, the side effects and benefits are different per ginseng type. For instance, some people are allergic to red ginseng but aren’t allergic to fresh ginseng. This makes ginseng not always a benefit to people.

Ginseng is still a high quality product, and is getting rarer time by time, as ginseng is endangered worldwide. It is usually worth 50-500$ from at least anywhere per pound. All in all, ginseng is still a beneficial product to many people in many ways.

Vintage & Old violins

You’d definitely know about the Antonio Stradivarius, who made arguably the best-known violins in the world. These high-quality violins, knows as vintage or old violins, depending on their age, are known to have a spectacular sound, but this depends on the instrument. Today I would like to share my findings about these violins from my 4 years (of) experience of playing the violin.

Violins were first made in Italy during the 16th century. Violins are divided by age into 3 categories: Modern(1~35) : Vintage(35~99) : Old(100~400) yrs old. The oldest violin maker according to history is Andrea Amati; his violins are called the “Kurtz” and a few are still left. Some even sold on shopping apps like ebay. After Andrea Amati, many started making violins such as Jacob Stainer’s Stainer, made during the late 16th century. After these violins, craftsmen made thousands of instruments. Especially, the Ackermann Lesser or Antonio Stradivarius would be two of the famous violins made after the Stainer.

The sound of violins usually improves as the age. As the wood gets older, the sound becomes fuller, making the violins sound spectacular. Because of this improved sound, older violins are usually more expensive than current instruments. However, some old violins are unable to be played.

The first violin in the US was introduced by Spanish missionaries to the Native Americans during the 16th century. The Tarahumara people in the Chihuahua region of Mexico were the first to play the violin in the Americas. The first violins in the US were made by farmers in Kentucky and West Virginia. The first Korean to play the violin was Yeoung Hu Hong also known as Nan Pa Hong. Born in 1897, in whats is nowadays known as Hwasung city in the Kyeongi province. He attended the Jeongdong church and was able to learn and listen to many Western instruments and music. Also, he is well known for introducing Western music and style to Korea. He also attended the Tokyo Music school to learn many different kinds of instruments.

The violin is an interesting instrument and has an interesting history. Many play the violin as a hobby to relieve their stress, and it is one of the best-known instruments in the world. Even at this very moment people are learning to play the violin.