All translations

Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote. ( Benjamin Franklin)

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. (Katherine Hepburn, American actress)

O, Lord! Despite a great many prayers to You we are continually losing our wars. Tomorrow we shall again be fighting a battle that is truly great. With all our might we need Your help and that is why I must tell You something: This battle tomorrow is going to be a serious affair. There will be no place in it for children. Therefore I must ask You not to send Your Son to help us. Come Yourself.
(the prayer of Koq, leader of the Griquas tribe, before a battle with the Afrikaners in 1876.)

Un experto es alguien que sabe cada vez mas sobre cada vez menos, hasta llegar a conocerlo absolutamente todo sobre nada.

Tomma tunnor skramlar mest.

Guarda-me Senhor como a menina dos teus olhos

King Laurin's Hike each year takes you to food stalls and a display of local traditions at the foot of the Rosengarten Mountains. Unfortunately, in 2008 a group of Schuhplattler dancers from Tramin near Bozen couldn't make it to the valley because of stormy weather in a mountain pass. A local group from Welschnofen stood in for them.

Meanwhile the tourist industry have discovered the Schuhplattler and invented variations to amuse a merry public. Spanking for example, and kicking each other in the ass, have very little to do with tradition. Schuhplattlers danced by girls will attract any sensation-seeking vacationer; however, it may well be the ultimate corruption of its original courtship dance character.

This little girl had been watching the lady in blue play the harp, then let herself be cajoled into perform on an instrument which is way too big for her (watch her reach down for the bass strings). To me this earns her an upload to YouTube. Taken July 2007 at the Museum Tiroler Bauernhöfe (Tyrolean Farm Museum) at Kramsach, Tyrol.

The Trachtenvereine disapprove of such excesses, even though at the local fête their young men will occasionally show off with some unconventional acrobatic displays.

These rules of choreography now serve as a guideline for the panel of judges in the numerous local and regional competitions. Both the Tyrol and Bavaria have a well-organized network of 'Trachtenvereine' – associations that foster costumes and musical traditions.

This video seems to fit in with what the public at popular ski resorts are asking for, even though the dancers belong to a ring of tradition-oriented associations. Perhaps we should assume that here the earliest plattlers' intentions have again come to the fore, i.e. to impress with an exuberant show of physical prowess.

Schuhplattler dances are Bavarian and Tyrolean folk dances performed by boys and men who stamp their feet, slap their thighs and heels to the beat of the music. They originated as courtship dances in which the boy sought to impress with a show of vigour and agility. Around 1900, group-dancing (men only) evolved and the steps and movements were gradually standardized and codified.