No more

Irrelevant. The pretentious whore turned out to be a filthy, hairy male prostitute, not that she or he was of any interests to me, but I stayed curious. 12:30 in the afternoon, she came back from a smoke outside, and then it (he/she) raised it's arms, revealed a super hairy belly, it almost made me puke at the restaurant in this train station. Transvestites are not my primary choice.And then there was this old  papa, sitting there every-time when I wait for my train connection after I have went shopping. He is absolutely "out of it", derailed, talks sweet nonsense to everyone, starts singing songs at times randomly, well known tunes, with a passion. 
Then I observed a father and a child. They were kind to each other. Very refreshing. I wondered how the mother of this child looks like and where she was hiding, or working?
I know one thing now, perfection is not a pursuit of riches and money which we seek. Instead somehow your blessed palm will capture a sparkle that dropped from the sky. And it sparkled long enough for you to get inspired indefinitely.
That is linear, and this non-linear complexity supported by Einstein's theory of self-persecution, e2-what? You forgot the formula? Perhaps you are an artist! It never mattered anyway - Einstein was a freak, and he never made a secret of it. He was able to compose passion and still keep his posture. And sort of left-handed he jerked out the theorem of relativity. Pretty brilliant move. Do I adore him? Absolutely.


(All imagery is mine of course, soundtrack is stolen from the Web, it happened to be from Whithesnake - cheers!)

Alcohol

What is interesting with these statistics is, that Mushrooms and LSD fair on the bottom of all the habitual poisons of self-destruction, and that alcohol tops it. On top of that, they (the hounds of statistics) found out that LSD will decrease the desire for alcohol, taken just one trip (medium strength) and thereby decrease desire towards alcohol, and the effect will last a year. Funny how one drug cancels out an other. 
I am not advertising Hoffman La Roche's "miracle cure" here, and I am definitely not giving you a green light to try LSD. That drug is not a trip, it is a voyage. And if you do not have a good coach (or several) - taking this substance might turn out to be disastrous to your health and well being - and, you might experience permanent damage.
So said, I have to be honest, I did try it once myself, in 1981. The journey was  spectacular and I found myself crossing borders and opening doors I had never touched before. All inner energy was absolutely focused, you were able to shatter a brick-wall with the blink of your eye, no kidding. And you perceived the future about three seconds before it happened. 
Would I do it again? NO! Once was enough. I do not want to spoil the treat. It can not be redone.
So what do I do now? I silently moved up to the top of the list, namely alcohol, and I hate it! And I am getting rid of it as I speak ... even with help - not my usual style, but I accept!
What is missing on this chart is mescaline, that cactus derived thing. Or maybe I just oversaw it. Never would try it anyway.
One of the more stupid songs of Lennon comes to mind here:
"All you need is love, tatahdadadah". Drug of the future? Maybe.

I am kind of pissed off

I am kind of discombobulated, because the friend who originally invited me to Switzerland to work here, said that all my writings are worth shit, garbage, no purpose. His Zen mastery elevated him to an other plain I guess. You know, give him grief to be able to learn more about Zen, perhaps that will suffice, first suffering, then clarification. You can climb a mountain barefoot, but you can not walk a mountain ridge without shoes.
Snow calms my valleys, but spring will melt the ice.
You all be well.

I am tired about Syria, Israel and Iran

All the time, the BBC reports about Syria, since days and weeks on end. I am sick of it. 
Netanhaho met Obama in the US, and Obama said, Israel will always be supported, no matter what....  no matter what cause, no matter what situation. 
So Iran is the target of Israel now, their so called capability to produce nuclear bombs? 
I am not sure why there is always unconditional, unilateral  support from the US to Israel?!  It actually bothers me. Is it the film industry (mostly Jews), the bankers (mostly Jews), the politicians (mostly Jews)? What makes it possible for the US to always have a blind eye, when it comes to the situation of Israel? What is so special about this British, after WW2 constructed enclave?What is so special about Israel that makes it untouchable?
Obama: "When the chips are down, we will always support Israel. Israel will always be our partner."
Is this a game or a gamble?
Netanhaho: "When it comes to the security of Israel, we will never falter and always pursue our own interests, even if we have to bomb Iran to protect our national security". 
This is a sad line from a country who produced some of the worlds most gifted and talented artists in the past (20th century), writers, musicians, free-thinkers, architects, biologists, scientists. 
Now they are just fighting for their blood, not their geniuses, not their intellectuals, not their artists, not their reasonable common man or woman.
They act just like Nazi's towards Palestine and the local population, kind of queer, if you consider this reversal of history. The promised land is not a state with borders. It is in your heart that you embrace nations without fences. That is the only method. Religions might be important and cute. But in the end, on the bottom line, tolerance and mutual cultural understanding will rule the day.
Hence, Obama and all of the US support systems of Jews is wrong, Netanhaho and Israel is wrong. I do not say this easily, because I respect both sides. 
Welcome to WWIII!
Why don't we simply let regional people figure out their own fate, may it be in the Middle-East or in some other continent without interference. But I guess that is too hard for a cowboy to understand.

What focus?

Now that I am still struggling to find the right stellar constellation in the passing of my own biography, I simply went to the little Zoo in La Chaux de Fonds. Kind of interesting, haven't looked at caged animals for a while. We should stuck some of the human species in there as well, might give it more suspense. These humans who can't even protect themselves with adequate skin or fur. They use cloth instead, very dependent on that stuff. So I saw these purple fishes, and I kept wondering why in all earth they choose to be purple - some kind of vanity maybe?

Then I spied a donkey or a mule with a fine girl, the mule or donkey being free to trot around wherever it wanted. That was more to my liking.

Then I past the snake behind thick glass, a poisonous viper, don't know which hell they came from. If I ever visit a tropical country who harbors nasty snakes, I will get a gun and shoot them all.

I hate snakes

Three churches in one block, what's up with that?

The "old" part 

The "new" part (mini Manhattan)

This animal, some kind of mountain lion, is more to my liking. I wouldn't mind if this beast would catch me and then kill me. A snake NO, this animal YES! I suppose I am a biased creature.
I went to a church today in Langenthal, about two hours away from my place. I do it out of curiosity. I was singing along, text was projected with power-point.
The melodies were simple. But why this structure. Do people really need a church to find the spirit within themselves? I sometimes wonder. On the way home in the train I talked to a Sikh  from India, about religion and Swiss watches, who he does import to India - and of course also about the faltering US economy. I am not sure where this is going, but the kernel is: The west is not (anymore) the best.
There is still innovation "here", but all production is outsourced to Asia. The workers starve, because there is no more job to do, there are no more factories or production centers. The USA has become a wasteland. It is sad - with so much potential... but unfortunately a complete breakdown of all infrastructures. Water, electricity, roadways, trains, etc. It will collapse, and I am truly not a doomsday fagot. All there is left, is to start anew, kind off a bit of a  Eisenhower mood, though I did not particularly liked that President. Obama will probably win second term. But what is he gonna do? There is shambles by his feet, there are ruins in Detroit, (worse than Eastern Europe before the wall came tumbling down) - a health care system that mimics disaster, and 1% who earn 75%, 10% who earn 20% of all other the possible income - and the best of the rest, that thing which was supposed to be called middle class, those forlorn 89% of the population are poor suckers who carry the rich. Pretty disgusting really. Almost 90% people pay, for the rest to get away in glory.
The proposal Obama came up with to tax people fairly who happened to earn more than one million dollar, vanished in quick sand. It didn't gel with the Republicans.
Apple (God bless Steve Jobs) is now the number one company in the world counting assets and income. But what do they do? They invent new projects and designs on the West Coast in the USA, then ship manufacturing to China. Levi's is the same, once a brand-mark or trademark of US pride, now a conglomerate of different factories on mainland China. Nothing against China, they do it the way they have to do it. Nevertheless, it takes my breath away.
More close to my own reality. I carved and copied old carvings for a year, for a museum, earned about 28 US dollars an hour - not a big deal you would say. Now then, after a year, the museum wanted to save money. So they send plaster casts to be worked on to Malaysia, the wooden copies came back, not as refined and as authentic as I had manufactured them, but oh well, they were there, they were cheap, for 15 Dollars a day. Good enough, nobody will notice.  
I am not sure if capitalism in its present form will survive, it acts like a scorpio who is ready at any moment to kill itself. That is not a futile future.
I watched this Australia filmed movie series "Mad Max" - desolation, fear, brutality, anger, despair, complete loss of reality --- I do not need to go there now, but being there, in such a space - this is not who we are. It does not need to end up this way. We are always stronger than  this ghost of self-destruction, who keeps bugging us to succumb to insanity.
We are still humans, and not machines.
We actually can care about each other.
And, we will give it a new try!   




  

Nordic Light

This is a copper relief of mine, pinned up at an outside  wall of a restaurant in south-western Germany. The dimensions are roughly four by five feet. The name "Nordic Light".
It is a bit crowded with forms, I would do it differently now, more simple. 
Simplicity can be a form of life, perhaps a solution to our ever accelerating lifestyle that wastes the focus and essential on the immediate. I do not know much about Zen-Buddhism, but I am attracted by its contemplative simplicity. What is quiet, can also listen. 
I do not want to go into great lengths of this, but no matter what your spiritual outlook, your religion - or even if you are a gnostic (you know, atheists don't really exist, they just think they do) - simplicity in life matters, the beauty is in front of your nose. And that can be spiritual.
With all the accelerating troubles in the world, I wish that you can demonstrate to be a beacon, a true "nordic light" that does shine all over. 
And next time I say it simpler, more in the Zen way.
That's Zee for you today.

Ani Difranco performs Manhole@Bonnaroo

 I am not a super fan of hers, but I do like this life performance. She also did a "song" called Self-evidence short after 9/11, it was brilliant. Sometimes I see her more as a poet (feminine term escapes me right now) than a musician. Though when she hits the strings, it is skillful bouncing all over. A gifted lady indeed!

"Manhole"


I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
Like love's mementos usually do
And I look up to see who's different here
The latest me or the latest you


Course, you're the kind of guy who doesn't lie
He just doctors everything
Chooses some unassuming finger
And quietly moves his wedding ring
Who rewrites his autobiography
For any pretty girl who'll sing
But you can't fool the queen, baby
Cuz I married the king


And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering


I kissed you on the street that night
On the far side of four
But I didn't like the taste
In my mouth or yours
And ignoring the persona you wore for my benefit
For once I had the balls to call it
Just call it
But a lesson must be lived
In order to be learned
And the clarity to see and stop this now
That is what I've earned


And maybe it was I who betrayed his majesty
With no opposite reality
Like a puddle with no reflection
Of the sky or the trees
But after my dreaded beheading
I tied that sucker back on with a string
And I guess I'm pretty different now
Considering


I'm holding here a book
Notable, but not the greatest
Stolen for me by the latest
In a long line of thieves
And I'm just about to drop it
Down that manhole of memories
When I realize it doesn't bother me
And heartache not so dire
Cuz I looked up to see integrity
Finally won over desire

as I understand

A woman or a man flew a kite, the picture is fuzzy I know, it was cold. My camera did not obey. Sorry.
But from my window I saw this person struggling with air and wind, amazing!
Sometimes he or she was grounded on the icy snow, just being there ... just contemplating.
How much courage does it take to fly a kite on a midd winter afternoon,  how much energy can we spur up for such a task? It might seem banal and unimportant to you, but I still believe in the finding of the treasure.
Now  - that is this thing, the treasure  is buried in your heart, a golden ray which goes beyond anxieties, beyond worries and pain. The thread becomes the path.
The kite-flyer maybe had no message at all, but what she or he did was to unbound gravity, even if it was just for a moment.

As the Syrian, Egyptian and other Middle Eastern States' struggle to go on - I sometimes wonder and muse about my own directions, what kind of revolution or evolution do I picture and want?
And most importantly, if I happen to have such a vision, even if it is scant, what would it be, how would it be transformed? How can something be implanted which is created in good will to common grounds, for anybody to be picked up. I don't know the answer yet, but it will come to me when I see it. I used to do sculptures with 
a passion, I thought I could meander into peoples mind, cheer them up, make them wonder. It is not anymore so. One of my later creations - which I actually finished, was "Diving for Pearls", a contribution for a girl who actually did that, not in the ocean, but in her heart.


Neil Young, the old junky hippie once wrote a song, it was called: "Searching for a heart of gold" - and on every ending line he said ... and I'm getting old.
That is how I feel, I am getting old - and the world in general grows old on me with all their bullshit, their endless survival techniques to vitalize capitalism and endless growth, instead of capturing that what is in front of their nose, the shiny dew drop that fell from the heavens, sparkling. A gift.
Still, I propose that sculpture is the bond or the link between humans and nature. Many have succeeded to do so, I will try my best to follow suit. 

Stupidity Tax to save the World

I have a new concept, it is called the "stupidity tax".  While Obama raves about normal statue of  taxation for people with over one million Dollar income, the G20 people in Davos chitt chat in hotel rooms of how to solve the "Euro crisis", Brussels will be next, same spiel.
Despite Obama's energetic speech when he addressed the Union, the question remains, and that is a question also to the "occupier movement":
  can emphasis on growth and  a "smart" budget  work? It does not belong into my vocabulary, that you can shrink and be lean and grow at the same time, that is an oxymoron.


They better make up their minds, those politicians and bankers, the CEO's of larger companies, the  investors who invest in blind faith.
Hence I propose a "stupidity tax" - only payed to me, for people who just blab in Davos and other places. I will keep 10% as overhead for the administrative costs, the rest will be donated to viable and needed projects around the world for people in need.


The "stupidity tax" is 5% of your annual income.


Once the world becomes a bit more sane, this tax will not be needed anymore and all goes back to normal. In the mean time - donate!

pastel

The moon rises in the east,
just like the sun
to whom it may concern
reflections have begun.
-----------------------------


I wish you could visit me here again
after you left your wild flowers
gathered on a common pasture,
dried up now, colors still imbued
and life goes faster and faster
we build our own towers
but will they ever sustain?






Now, it is not about moon and flowers
we tend to survive by will and fate
which lies in our heart, a fragile gate


Love is like a broken arrow buried in your flesh
you know it is there, but it is beyond rescue
the whole web of things these days will test you
it is time to escape this mesh


Love is like a Big Mac from MacDonald's
you taste one slice, then you discover number two
will and heart combined
isn't it fascinating?
you will just have to bite through.


I wish you could visit me here again,
after wild flowers have dried
I certainly have tried
but I am still in pain.

I have no grasp on this

Since I live in Switzerland, I got accustomed to the reality of Swiss radio.
It goes like this: 10% World News, 20% National News, 40% Financial News - the other 30% are dedicated to sports and traffic irregularities, and the weather of course.
The biggest chunk of reporting tries to analyze the financial sector. I listen to it, but as much as I do, I understand less and less. Perhaps I am just stupid, but the so called "financial crisis" in Europe makes no whatever sense to me at all. All I hear, is that countries wish to borrow money from other countries, and preferably with low interest rates. Now Standars & Poors downrated several European States, which leads again to a credit crunch.
Now, you must correct me, show me the way to understand. Why is it so, that all countries need to borrow money from other states (especially the United States) to fill their coffers?
How can this work? You borrow money from each other, then again from each other just to make the government work ... somewhat, until the next crisis.

This is a bit complicated, because I have had not the energy to think this through. So I will act as Simple Simon! Here are my questions.
When states borrow money from states who have no money either, where does the actual money come from, or be held?
How can nations get away with flabbergasting debts and continue on that course, while we citizens are ordered to keep a sane fiscally balanced household otherwise greedy banks will chop our head off with two digit interest rates and penalties.
And Italy whines - if they have to pay more than 4% interest on loans for their state coffers.
I guess my question really is: How come that capitalism got so harsh, that it defeats it's own means and direction?
Unlimited growth,  and expansive profit gains for each quarter can not be the future, it is against all common sense. No government can expect longevity on such premisses and borrow money from something, which there is not, in order to maintain a certain status quo.
They just found some fossil collections of Darvin's in a drawer. Perhaps Darwin was right after all: The world evolutes around the fittest for survival.
But how does that apply to nations? Borrow less? Be more self-sufficient?
I have no specific recipe, just like the demonstrators at Wall Street. But I have a feel that this whole system will come to a halt, just like the cruise ship on the Italian coast.

Stairway to what?

In the German language, sky and heaven have an identical name, there is just one word for it: "Himmel".
God lives in the "Himmel", clouds pass randomly there above, the sun sets there. It is an interesting fusion. The English tongue differs. 
You either go to heaven or hell, but while your at it, you might watch the splendor of the sky. 
Language reflects an interesting issue about the mentality of cultures. I wish I could speak them all!

this one is for Nova, just because I happen to like her

Ok Nova, not all is gloom and doom, there are brave and honest people out there. People who care about each other and the environment. There is a strain of hope. I happen to  experience such a community in my house at first hand. Five families living under one roof.
And then we had Cheese-Fondue together to ring in the New Year, ice and snow abound.
The party was outside - as you can see in the picture.
I am encouraged by a lot of things these days, the movement who started in Wall Street NY and spread all over, but mostly I am thrilled by the potential the youth, the next generation carries and presents to us.
2012 will be great!

New Year Post

This is (was) the heating means for the great Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. It is about 1500 feet away from the main building, maybe more. Who knows. Anyway, as youth and children we explored the "heating channel" dug deep underneath the soil. It was aery. We thought we were Tintin, a French cartoon character, with a little white dog, and a flashlight, exploring the cavities of the unknown.
So we went underground from the main building until we arrived at this "Heitzhaus", scary stuff, climbed out of the window, and praised the day.
Those were the days where fear was no option, there was no solution, only adventure. King was the one who dared the most. I was only crowned once, leading this adventure. The stakes weren't high, but the adrenaline flowed in abundance. After all, we moved in a cavity without clear outcome. Kind of a trip. That was then, what is it now?
For the New Year I am mostly pissed off. I will tell you why.
I hate that the BBC reports about North Korea as if they know what is going on, for days on end, without any kind of substantial facts. News about NO news. Pathetic.
I despise the European so called financial crisis, it is all bogus. Darwinistic economics have plagued our globe for centuries. Why do we "wake up" now?
What is the "Wall Street" demonstration all about? Why does it spread globally, even to Davos (Switzerland)? I think they have a point, even though they have no particular remeedy.
Earthquakes are in abundance, in Christ Church New Zealand and even Switzerland. Go figure. Mother nature says no, we stupid humans continue. Fatalities are preprogrammed. It is a shame.
I must say that 2012 will be a decisive year. No, not because the Mayan calendar or any other kind of other sublime message, it is decisive because we, as people of this earth, want it to be so.
Start locally, thereafter think globally. that's my sequence.
Best wishes - Lukas.

what's in a name

Force International Security Assistancesoldiers - that is what they call the mercenaries now (on BBC), those people who are hired to kill others if needed. A couple of them got killed today in Kabul. Tough luck. 
Never had a great liking of them - I will shed no tears.
A real soldier kills and dies for his country, those mercenaries die for money and greed. 
Blackwater (it has been renamed to something else right now) deserves absolutely no sympathy or empathy. All they create is humans who wish to kill for hire. Why the US army even considers these folks is beyond my comprehension.
For good money these people can be hired, to do their dirty deeds wherever...
What if Donald Trump comes along and says: First we will take Manhattan, then we'll take Berlin. 

Does it really matter?

...to the United Nations, the way in which Muammar Gaddafi met his end does matter. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, has said she wants a full investigation. (source BBC)

The UN plains had been there as well, bombing places, people got hurt and killed. What is there to investigate? There is no such thing as an ethical assassination. If successful, the outcome is always death. End of "investigation"...

Does it really matter if he got killed by a rifle or a pistol, by a nervous rebel or soldier? I believe Gaddafi preferred it this way anyhow - instead of being dragged in front of some court of justice. 

History goes on without him now, no more Beduin tents in Central Park of New York City. I kind of miss that gesture. But since he was an asshole and not a servant to his people, he now faces his maker and the 17 virgins that come with the package of death. Maybe the "maker" will scrap the deal with the virgins, who knows. Somehow I do not think he deserves them - but this is from the mouth of a non Muslim, so it probably does not count. After all, I am an infidel.

Let me glance at the "investigation part" for one more moment. It is kind of absurd. I talked to a man in Libya two days ago and he admitted that all he had was fear in his heart until Gaddafi was out of the picture. (talked to him on Skype) --- So now his fears can cease. No more investigations please!

moth

It was a dirty day in little Switzerland, unreal for a country that hates dust. The trains were still on time, they always are but the tick tock of my inner clock failed to synchronize I wonder if trains have consciousness, do they know what they deliver from A to B or Z? do they know that boring Basmati rice is traveling in my bag and only spices, preferably from south-western Thailand will save the day? The trick of moving on is not speed but pace The life I live in is unstoppable and I see images flying by through windows where greasy spots blur the imagery, left by an innocent child who was searching for a clear view and the truth But I can close my eyes, ignore everything around me and listen to the pounding of my heart, are you still there? The train rattles along and whispers sweet nothingness as answer an other disappointment,  a ride without purpose Then came the moth who shunned the light and sat on my knee I looked at that thing and had to think about you, I don't know why I was imagining how it would be, if we could share a stretch maybe not from A to Z, perhaps from B to L - does it matter? Yes it does - at least for me. __________________________________

Human Trade

One human Jewish Foot-soldier is worth or equals 1,000 Palestinian captives.
That in itself tells a story.
No comments.
One Swiss cow is definitely worth 1,000 Jersey cows raised in the US.
Human trade or beastly trade, what the heck is the difference.
How many Palestinians would it take to free one Polarbear from a doomed iceberg - five, or perhaps after all ten?
It might take only one Jew to stop global warming and also stop the decay of the North Pole.
We call this fair trade.
And we all pay the price!

Is it possible to hide?

 Ich fang diesen Post mal auf Deutsch an, warum auch nicht - das ist ja auch eine Sprache, eigentlich eine subtile Sprache, vielseitig und farbig, philosophisch geeignet, und dann auch noch alles mögliche andere.
Ok, für all die Anglosaxen: 


I might as well start this post today writing my first sentence in German, why not, it is a language after all with fair choices and possibilities. Actually, German combines French intellectualism with British soul and Prussian precision, unfortunately without Far Eastern flair. But you just can not have it all. Instead push for diversify and just learn locally whatever needs to be addressed at the moment, wherever you can be of help or assistance.
All right, back to the German tongue.

Etwas verstehe ich aber noch nicht. Es hat damit zu tun mit der gegenwärtigen, sogenannten Finanzkrise in Europa, und auch mit all diesen Weltbanken überhaupt welche jetzt plötzlich "gerettet" werden müssen damit der normale Bürger sein Gemeinwohl nicht verliert. Das ist doch absurd. meine Seele, meine Genügsamkeit, mein tägliches Gemüse welches ich verspeise - ist doch nicht abhängig von dem Wohlsein der Banken?

Do you not find it interesting, that even in the capital of Mac-Donald-Land, namely New York - Manhattan (it sure is not Washington, sorry) the common people protest on the streets and voice their opinion about uncontrollable globalization of resources, those who only serve business interests , not the fair trade kind, but the kind of the demon of financial institutions, who suck all the living blood available, like a vampires out of the scared  and trembling human being, the common man, while they are (the vampires that is) are ravaging and thirsty, lust, greed and deceit is their craving for ever more. The little bit of sustenance people have like you and me, we - who are forced constantly to share without consent to the ones who have hoarded for generations, drop our droplets of personal blood - this is unacceptable and disgusting. Hence I sympathize and can understand all this protest around, not only in NYC, all the rest of the world as well.

Ich verstehe etwas nicht ganz. Wie kann es sein, dass Regierungen in Europa sagen wir müssen unbedingt sparen, Stellen kürzen, Programme streichen, Menschen wegschieben und trotzdem die Konjunktur, den wirtschaftlichen Wachstum ankurbeln, mehr Profit machen, jedes Quartal mindestens 4%.
Das ist doch einfach absolut unmöglich, geradezu absurd...  Wie kann man sich besinnen, die finanziellen Ausgaben  im Staat zu drosseln und gleichzeitig wachsende Erwartungen im Wirtschaftswesen zu haben, dass das kapitalistische Gedankengut oder System immer wieder weiter wachsen tut als ob es keine natürlichen Grenzen des Wachstums und Profits geben würde. Ich bin ja offiziell kein Buddhist, doch ich habe Sympathien - "take care of the resources you already have - and you will enjoy the multiplication of plenty".  Not such a bad idea ...


basically what I mentioned above is: There is no unlimited expansion of anything living. I suppose humans have to accept this and find their place and domain within a world which should not participate in cancerous growths of any kind or some sort of Darwinistic scheme of the survival of the fittest.  Come on, we can do better.

Can a Swiss Emmentaler cheese be a country?

You have seen this map before. It is a disaster. A permanent refuge camp within a country. So as I understand, mister President M. Abbas from Palestine will today try to convince the United Nation assembly, that his state is actually a state. These must be desperate times, since he very well knows that the US will veto such a move to accept Palestine as the 194 State (or so) in the world community.
Why Emmentaler cheese? Well, it has holes all over the place, just like Palestine, holes and walls and guarded fences created by Israeli settlements. A nightmare, though the Swiss cheese still tastes good.
I have absolutely no clue what the solution or answer is, how the Arab population within Israel can become their own. It is though a fact, that in the near future people of Arab origin will be the majority in the state of Israel. Then what? What will Israel do then? 
Since I am alive and half-way awake, I hear the sermon of peace talks. This has been going on for 35 years now. Nothing came of it. Israel, together with her big bully the USA, insists and insists, Palestine is a wreck shooting cheap rockets, keeping fear and misery alive on both sides.
I do not believe it can be done. There will be neither peace, a Palestine State, or any kind of solution between the Arab world and Israel in my lifetime. 
This is not a prediction, this is as confirmed as if you were watching with patience a snail eat holes into the awesome lettuce in your garden. Inevitable. Somehow as inevitable as the Swiss Emmentaler Cheese holes.

Brandenburg

Normally I am not inclined to do any kind of reviews. Today I break the habit. 
There is this work from J.S. Bach called "Brandenburgische Konzerte", a masterwork that drags on and on, pleasant, but what was he thinking... do we want to sit here all night?
So my wife comes along and visits me in Europe and hands me these CD's. I kind of had the attitude, heard this before  - done that. So i did not pay immediate attention. Tonight I did - and I was struck. 
The music was not only recorded in a professional and superb way, it rocked! I think Bach would have been proud of it.
The way they (Akademie für alte Musik) made it interesting, is to shift the the beat, the contrapunkt, just so slightly. It made the whole thing interesting, alive and jazzy. What also helped was that some of the more important wind instruments are being played on wooden gear. Gives an other timber.
If you ever fell asleep during the Brandenburg Concerto, listen to this recording, it will wake you up, make you alert. I guaranty.


http://store.harmoniamundi.com/brandenburgische-konzerte.html

2,000,000,000

I find it kind of amusing, that a 31 year old lad gambled away two billion Dollars while employed as an investment banker for the Swiss bank UBS.
Think about it, that is a lot of money.
I was also thinking to have a cup of coffee this morning, but I did not have the change.
His losses could have been my wins for a cup of coffee for the rest of my life.

an other one

I hate to be too personal, but sometimes you have no choice

I cut my heart into several peaces
throughout my life
and one sliver
belongs to you.
It is impossible to know where you are
because only a whole heart can know
any whereabouts.

I am tempted to get a needle and a string,
mend it all.
Unfortunately that is absolutely out of question.
Some peaces can never be sown together again.
You left me here stranded in disarray,
it is not your fault,
neither is my pain.

When I think of love, it is never perfect
just an image of good will and sacrifice.
One day it is gold, and an other day silver.
And mostly it is just a deep longing
of some sorts,
until the inevitable  happens.
Did it happen to you?

Stairway to heaven

Tripoli - Syria - interesting, some kind of Democracy sweeping the region? I am not sure that "democracy" is a viable concept though. Presently it only serves the ones who earn the big bucks. The followers of the golden trail, the immeasurable fortune of cunning illegal money, in our pockets.
I am still afraid about Lebanon, the tiny country bordering Syria. I am still afraid about Israel, the true aggressor of the Middle East. These bombings of the Gaza Strip were uncalled for. This is not democracy, this is terror. Where is the so called "free world"? Free?
Perhaps it is in your backyard, the instance of relevance, the beauty of the moment.
Think small, that is democracy.



ARE YOU PLANING TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN?

I don't know if it is Swiss ignorance or imported trash

meat from some obscure Eastern European country.

Somebody forgot to castrate those piglets when they were three weeks old. My meatballs, with all due respect, tasted foul, despite all the delicious seasoning.

It is a shame. Why cant they cut out the balls before the BOAR taste takes over. Makes you want to be a vegetarian.
My Lord, it is not a big deal, I did it when I was eighteen. You take a sharp razor knife, cut them open, squeeze the balls out, put some sterilizing compound on the wounds - and 12 hours later they are running and snorting around the mother as nothing has ever happened. Those were the days...
Now you can't do that anymore. It is against the law, perhaps the law of stupid humans who have little knowledge about nature and animals. Now you would have to tranquilize the pig, make it not suffer, then remove the balls. I believe the trauma is worse on the latter.

It is time to become a vegetarian. The playing-field is so uneven. The earth is tired. For every pound of meat, we waste acres and acres of land just to produce a small amount of calories.
OK, so I am not going to be a fanatic. I will still eat what I can hunt myself, the deer, the turkeys and so on...
But for the pigs who do not get their balls cut out in time, I will refrain. They just taste like shit.

I do admit

I do admit that I am crazy, my aim is known, but not my method how to sustain such presence, that is a secret =
Moments expire, tick tock, the shadow image remains, the truth is hidden behind skimpy curtains, as we do need to find excuses to hide, eradicate that red tint in our faces, it works, so far,,,,,,so far 

Columbine in Norway

As I type this, I am listening to the Norwegian radio station. I understand about 3/4 of it. It is something, not all, but something. Norway is a "small" country, 5 million people mostly settled in coastal areas.  The vastness of the rest of the country is hardly populated, reindeer make their tracks.
It makes me sad, that youth has been slain, just because an extremist right wing knucklehead  has not been given the right medications at the right time.  I suppose this kind of stuff will happen more often in the future, people are just loosing their minds.

First time in Oslo alone, I was then 17teen, ordered an Irish Coffee,  outlandish expensive. But you had a sense of that the world was intact, strolled down the avenues, the streets. People nodded, greeted and then passed you by. It was wholesome then.
Now you have crazy maniacs crossing the streets, everywhere. You can not anticipate their next move,  a fierce look will not shun them anymore.
Kill or get killed seems to be the latest fashion. I am very sure I will not subscribe to this.
Is this becoming a world of chickens, an animal farm where everyone is picking without brain and consciousness, with a chicken heart? Are common human values gone?

Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough | Video on TED.com

Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough | Video on TED.com

... and sometimes it depends how lucky you are - haha, good one!

Nirvana or not?

I hate being a free-lancer, it was not always so. Today my present gig, close to Basel,  is finished and done. Now what - back to the cows where my appartement is? And then what? I am tired of improvising life in a society that leaves hardly any room for improvisotianatial artists at large... Now I dream about a steady job at "Joe`s Garage", changing oil, repairing a clutch. But I am not a mechanic, so forget that. OK, not all is bleak - I do have some good leads within my field of work. But it is kind of tiersome to start all over again. Blessed be the burgeois folk who have one job for a lifetime (and then a pention to retire). I do not live in that world (by choice) but I still envy "the other side".  

Clouds

I am sure I do not understand everything about clouds. These pictures were taken around 5 AM out of my window, each about ten minutes apart.

 Beauty and depression, form and floating change as a jetliner scrapes a straight line into the sky before your eyes, completely out of tune, still remarkable. 

I think our minds go a bit like that. Metamorphosing shapes in neverending transformations and we are facinated but also burdened by the strait lines, the one who goes from A to B.

Would it not be great if we could play a bit more -  and appreciate in our minds the formidable and healthy opposition between a cloudy and a sunny day, a curved flexible image - and a straight line?

 

I am starting to get angry again, not a good thing

Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people - who fucking cares?
There are thousands of people who get killed by traffic accidents each day. People who get killed by doing their job, a brick who flies on their head whilst walking down the lane. Crippled, dead, or somewhat disintegrated.
I rebel against insanity, the stories you are being told, the madness in Eurasia, the stories about incest on the train from Vladivostok  to Peking. (Got to be on that train one day).

 You know, it used to be simple, but now it is not so.
I ride the train from here to there. All people have "plugs in their ears", they shut off, I do the same thing now, I am almost ashamed. I am ashamed that I can not reach out, so I dull myself with music and vibes. That is really not excusable!
But then there are moments of divine perfection. You look at a face near you and he or she smile´s reassuringly.
 Then you know that you have lived for a good day in the present!
A smile can change the world, believe me.

just a kiss away

Give me shelter
Never bothered to listen to the lyrics as a kid, just loved the screaming voices of the Rolling Stones.
This version makes it easier to comprehend content. In my view these people from "Playing for Change" do a darn good rendering.
Enjoy!
All right, I do not have a super fast connection, so above link from their homepage might not work for you either. Found it on YouTube, here it is: