Kosovo

Kosovo is a small landlocked country in the Balkans. Yes, it’s a country. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on February 17 2008, and was immediately recognized by a number of countries who had not had to deal with serious separatist movements in many years.

Kosovo was part of the Roman empire, later overtaken by the Byzantine empire, lost, and retaken again. It was then conquered by the Serbian Empire, and finally by the Ottoman Empire.

This is where our modern drama really begins, way back in the 15th century. We take an ethnic group that, after all that conquering, has developed a pretty cohesive racial identity, and proceed to force them to convert to a new religion through political sanctions against the Orthodox Christian faith. The stage is set for a long and troubling tragedy, and it will be played out.

Fuedalism

Feudalism is the system of social order that produced the knight. It is the subject of fantasy, but also a symbol of oppressive government and corruption. Also, it isn’t as much a thing of the past as you might think.

Feudalism is in many ways the most basic type of government conceivable. It is reflected in the classical organization of the Italian Mafia, and its vestiges remain in the majority of the world’s governments. The simple premise is that one person enters a binding contract with another. The first person offers land, money, or other goods or rights capable of supporting them permanently, and in return the second person is bound to come to the assistance of the first in times of trouble. Seems simple enough, but let’s not forget what we’re talking about. The first person is called a “lord” and the second is called a “vassal.”

Wine

Wine is not elitist, no matter what anyone tells you. If you have trouble believing that, go to Spain. Spaniards sometimes refer to their country as “la tierra de vino,” or, “the land of wine.” In a Spanish restaurant, a glass of wine costs the same as a glass of water. If anyone knows wine, it’s the Spanish.

For those of you who don’t know, Spain is a country in Western Europe. It’s the country where Spanish people are from. It happens to be next to Portugal and France. All those Spanish people in your country that your government is trying to kick out? They’re actually not Spanish at all, unless your country happens to be England.

The trouble with most wine connoisseurs is that they are the sorts of people who use words like “connoisseur” without cracking a smile. Wine is not, and was not, about the social elite. If you wear a monocle and carry a pocket watch, you are not grounded enough to properly enjoy wine.