New studies

It has taken blood, sweat & tears to get it done, but I am finally enrolled at the Free University of Brussels (VUB). As of today I am officially on my way to become a knowledge manager. The course is called Master after master in Business Information and Services Management (BI&SM). Sounds impressive, huh. I have done all my studies at the VUB (Master in Contemporary History and Master in Archival Science), so I am well aware of the inherent chaotic functioning of the institution. In general, this has always worked to my advantage. Now (since the Bologna changes) it was a bit less funny. The internal mail lost my application papers. As a result I had to apply for a late registration. Which took forever. The most annoying part was the lack of information. It took more than a month before getting any word on what was going on (including numerous e-mail reminders and the help of the head of my faculty). But, that's all water under the bridge now. I am registered. Now I can concentrate on the stress for the upcoming exams and writing a clear definition of what my master thesis will be about.

On a side note, The BI&SM used to be called Master in Business Information Management (BIM). They added the "Services" only recently. The professors still talk about the bim-people though when they want to differentiate between us and the students of another master with who we share some classes. This always reminds me of a track by C-Mon & Kypski (although it has absolutely nothing to do with it):

Some history links

For the First World War, or the Great War if you prefer, the English National Archives has created an online exhibition called The First World War, sources for history. It's divided into different parts: an overview, 'Britain and the war', 'the military conflict', 'service records', and 'aftermath'. There is also a timeline, particular 'spotlights on history', and maps. Another exhibit tries to teach kids something about crime and punishment in history through an interactive site with case studies to solve.

An interesting read is the blog WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier. The story of Harry Lamin is being retold by his grandson in the form of the letters that he had send home. As stated on the blog "the letters will be posted exactly 90 years after they were written. William Lamin has another blog where he publishes the "official war diary of the 9th Battalion of York & Lancaster Regiment." For more detailed info on WWI you can check out FirstWorldWar.com.

The National Archives and Records Administration (USA) has an interesting collection of the Second World War. The NARA has put the images from the donated "Hitler Album" documenting looted art online here. A more general overview of the records they possess, can be found here.

Finally, the British Library has put up an online gallery called Turning the Pages, in which you can leaf through books in their collection that have exquisite miniatures.

Military Wikipedia

Pieter Branckaerts, a 22 years old Belgian paracommando (sometimes also called special forces) had an accident during a parachute jump. The result was an unwanted resignation from the army. Since, he kept his interest in everything which has to do with the military. Now, five years later, he decided to build a knowledge community. Subsequently he created Milpedia, a wiki with the intent of becoming a complete military encyclopedia. For the moment the site is only in Dutch, but the creator aims to have an English and French version up and running in six months.