Clovis Fernandez, Brazil’s “12th Player.”

Posted on July 9, 2014 by The Old Wolf

News media published this image of a sad Brazilian fan, Clovis Fernandez, shown crying.

What they did not publish was this image:

This beautiful picture shows Senhor Fernandez handing the trophy to a German fan. He was quoted as saying “Take it to the final! As you can see, it is not easy, but you deserve it, congratulations” (Roughly translated) With thanks to redditor /u/keyboardbitch

Mr. Fernandez is Brazil’s quintessential fan. Below is a video of his story:

I recall Italy’s loss to Brazil in 1990 after Roberto Baggio’s disastrous goal-post kick; I was, of course, devastated – but it’s nice to know that Mr. Fernandez took so much joy from that event.

Good sportsmanship is always a pleasure to see, and there’s far too little of it out there.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

December 17, 1940

Posted on April 27, 2014 by The Old Wolf

From /r/historyporn:

“Children of Japan, Germany, and Italy meet in Tokyo to celebrate the signing of the Tripartite Alliance between the three nations, on December 17, 1940. Japanese education minister Kunihiko Hashida, center, holding crossed flags, and Mayor Tomejiro Okubo of Tokyo were among the sponsors.”

A relevant story from my own family history: My father was, in his day, a well-known character actor who began his career in radio. Italian was his first language, and his theatrical gift made him a superb dialectician. One day he was on a sound stage playing Mussolini in a radio play, when the actor playing Hitler became ill; Dad jumped in and assumed the rôle. By some odd quirk of fortune, the actor playing Hirohito also became unable to continue, and so my father ended up voicing all three parts. The director looked at him and exclaimed, “My God, you’re playing the whole Axis!”

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Neuschwanstein Castle, 1900

Posted on November 8, 2013 by The Old Wolf

An old Photochrom of Neuschwanstein in Füssen, Germany.

These were “colorized images produced from black-and-white photographic negatives via the direct photographic transfer of a negative onto lithographic printing plates. The process is a photographic variant of chromolithography, a broader term that refers to color lithography in general.” (Wikipedia)

Below are a few shots I took from my visit to Neuschwanstein in 1976 – it was winter, and gray, so the colors are not spectacular, and my camera was basically hqiz, but I recall how wonderful it was to visit the “original fairy tale castle” that inspired Disney’s simulacrum.

Füssen from Neuschwanstein

Castle in the Mist

An interior hallway

I would pay large money to be able to explore the entire castle, turrets and all – most of those areas are off limits to tourists.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Frankfurt, 1928

Posted on October 20, 2012 by The Old Wolf

Photo by Paul Wolff. Found at Frog Blog.

Hannover, 1983

Posted on October 6, 2012 by The Old Wolf

Herrenhausen fountains

A Hannover busker

CeBIT Fair: Hannover, 1983

Data General booth at CeBIT

The Data General MV 10000 – only the latest technology.

Herrenhausen Gardens

Outdoor Cafe in Herrenhausen

Herrenhausen Gardens

Hannover – Organ Grinder

Downtown Hannover – 1983

Auf euer Wohl!

Stuttgart, 1970

Posted on October 5, 2012 by The Old Wolf

In 1970 I took a little junket to Stuttgart to see a young lady with whom I was terminally smitten; I was living in Naples at the time, and she was on a study-abroad program with Gettysburg College where I had met her in 1968. Alas, my heart was broken, but it was an awesome trip nonetheless.