My Own DaVinci Code??

So, I was doing some reading on Berlin. Found an interesting little tidbit of information. Berlin's Tempelhoff district has a medieval heritage as an outpost of the Knights Templar, the warrior monks who gave that part of town its name. Anyone who read the DaVinci Code knows about the Knights Templar. For the one or two of you that haven't, here's a quick history from "Time Out Berlin."

The Templars were founded during the Crusades to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. They also blended two of mankind's most powerful urges - to worship and to fight - into an institution with spiritual legitimacy, political clout and extraordinary wealth. Their trademark white tunics with red crosses were as recognizable then as the logo of any global corporation today. The group had secret initiation rituals, took vows of poverty and celibacy and were big on collecting holy relics.

The knights were feared as ferocious fighters, but they also set up possibly the world's first formal banking scheme: pilgrims could deposit gold and silver at their nearest Templar outpost, collect a voucher, and cash it in at a Templar office near their destination. The Templars were probably invited to settle Tempelhoff precisely because of their money management skills.

In 1307, France's Philip IV arrested all the Templars at their Paris headquarters, charging them with heresy, based on stories of idol worship. The reality was that Pope Clement felt threatened by the Templar's power, and Philip wanted their cash for his war against England. After Templars confessed under torture, their Grand Master was burned at the stake and their land holdings, including those at Tempelhof, were turned over to other religious orders.

Templar legends are central to many esoteric systems, and why they went down without a fight in an enduring source of speculation. Some believe a chosen few went underground to preserve a secret knowledge, and re-emerged in the 17th century as the Freemasons.

Maybe Craig and I can go on a little DaVinci Code mystery chase all of our own (minus the whole people dying and everything). Then, I'll come back, write a book about it and become rich. Yup...great idea!!

Madrid - Bullfighting

So I've been doing some research on Madrid. I hadn't really planned on going anytime in the near future, so I wasn't too informed about the place. One thing that came to mind immediately was Spain and bullfighting. I'm a huge animal rights person so I have major issues with this Spanish tradition. Put it this way, when I see roadkill, it makes me want to cry. To the left is a picture of the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid. It's a famous bullfighting ring.


I've heard some things about bullfights. Such as: They starve the bulls before the fight to weaken them. The bullfighter stabs the bulls with little swords so that it slowly bleeds allowing the fighter to finally kill him later.

These things make me sick, but I'm also intrigued. I have always been a person to seek out the truth about things rather than just taking someone's word for it. This has been good and bad in the past. But nonetheless, I think it's the right way to learn and experience life. One of my missions while over there is to talk to people to find out what is truth and what is fiction in regards to the fights. I know there is an art and a sport to it. I know the meat of the bull is eaten afterwards, but still.


But in the meantime, I found this picture. While i never wish anybody ill will, there is a romantic notion to this picture. Revenge is sweet. Something tells me that the bulls aren't a big fan of the sport either.