just update

 Went to Neuchatel yesterday, needed to be near water. The lake is actually pretty nice and the town is charming.  I just sat there basting in the sun, vitamin D my friends. On my travels as a nomad I observed more and more that the French speaking Swiss region is much more cheerful and polite than other places. Children still greet you on the streets, grown ups too. Total strangers, with a smile on their face. Refreshing. These days I run more and more into people who have a story to tell, sometimes quite astonishing and also valuable. I am not sure what this shift is all about, but I suspect that times are in change, the old must leave to make place for a new openness between human beings. 

In that vein I would like to announce that two of my songs will be played on the radio tomorrow (Thursday), 8PM central European time, in Freistadt Austria. Here is the link:
http://www.frf.at/index.php?ordner_id=200
Just an other attempt for openness.

I am not quite certain what this world is aiming for, the future is a bit misty in this shadow of present unruliness and natural disasters.
It seems to me that we all need to compound focus, faith, compassion and optimism. In loss of that, the boat will sink. A tragedy indeed!

The fountain of youth

Went to visit Basel the other day, had a blast, smiled a lot, watched the people. It is a diverse city, a fine cultural mix of peoples of all countries and different paths of life. From the beggar to the banker, to the old lady on the park bench, there is always something happening. Sit down at that bench, exchange a few words with that lady. Little efforts, but those moments  will eventually change the world, your efforts to be human to an other human being. Simple as that.
The fountain of youth and rejuvenation is in our own hands, I can not prove it,  but I believe it is so. And the fire of passion only burns as long as you kindle it with desire.
Thirty years ago I was a waiter across this fountain of Tinguely. Of course it was a love affair. It is always like that. She was a blond super orthodox, awesomely pretty religious knucklehead. I fall for blonds, can not help it.
So I revisited today my "fountain of youth", smiled, took a picture and then left...

Life is that way.

About Tinguely: Tinguely's art satirized the mindless overproduction of material goods in advanced industrial society.
Tinguely grew up in Basel, but moved to France as a young adult to pursue a career in art. He belonged to the Parisian avantgarde in the mid-twentieth century and was one of the artists who signed the New Realist's manifesto (Nouveau réalisme) in 1960.

Oh, the person on this picture is totally random, I believe he is cheering up his little son, that is how I remember it.

Fukushima, and then what?

I am not sure if I can express myself adequately anymore. There are too many simultaneous shifts to follow and to record. We sure live in a time of great challenges.
The civil war in Libya and the Ivory Coast. Why do get exited? They are always at war, even in so called times of "peace". Same thing in the Middle East. People think they have a purple/jasmin/lavender revolution. Perhaps it is a good thing. I will not judge.  But on the bottom of it, it is always the same fucking story: Who rules whom!
Japan is a bit different. Japan is a very fine groomed society from what I can perceive from my Eastern friends. They do not fight amongst each other, perhaps some street-thugs do so now and then, but that´s about it. The society at large, they have a sense of unity and respect for each other.  I like that.

 What I do not like, is the earthquake and all the following consequences. It is a bit too much to bare, even if you are thousands of miles away.  I mean, you all know the latest details, why waste my breath...

What I would suggest, we will find new ways to communicate locally. And that must also be true for countries that are presently not in unrest. It means us all.

My credo is: Politicians are fine just to keep some of our infrastructures running, as servants for the people. Beyond that, let them perish. Same old story.
Democracy does not work, you figured that one out by now.  Democracy is a fine marketing tool to persuade the masses to obey and bow to a sliver of the elite. They then do what they want. Hey, it is the "Greek Way", that is the cradle of so called Democracy. (have some olives, I like them. Can not give you the branch with the dove. That would be exuberant. )
Democracy my ass, we all will have to decentralize, pick up a pitch and a fork,  do it ourselves whatever there is to do as humans for humans, and let the ruling parties wither in their ways...
Enough for today, and no sexy pictures either...

Am I an old-fashioned punk who only likes sardines as bait?

Have you read the BBC web-pages lately - the language there is awful.
Here is an example:

"Our problem we need help - communication, radios, we need weapons," 


What the hell is this: "our problem we need help"

I mean sorry, English is not my mother-tongue, neither did I study that language. My written English is often crude, my spoken English ornamented with colorful expressions. If you meet me on the street, I would not appear to be an Shakespearian scholar. In the contrary, I like simple talk. But the BBC is going too far, too many a times. It just pains me. Language is the breath and expression of our souls, and once we start to castrate bits and pieces, the punctuation's, the flow of the melody - we are doomed to digress to stone age times.


So, the proper sentence is: Our problem is that we need help - simple as that, just a few more  punches on the key-board, two more words. Big deal - ah? Yeah, big deal actually.  
I see the same nonsense happening on Swiss and German news outlets, degrading my present status quo of a human being to the level of a Neanderthal cave citizen. 


Language does matter - have no doubt about it. What has this to do with Sardines? Well, I opened a can today, I suppose they where from Portugal, tasted a chunk, but it wasn´t that grand, tasted like bait to me.
Sometimes bait is the only way to go, but not always.

FuWhat

I believe I have a personal crisis.
It is hard to avoid the news, or the not so news from Libya.
In the mean time Fukushima is on the sideline, for us all. And it should actually concern us prominently, it should be THE topic of the day, every day.
But no, this is not so. Diversions all around.


I have a problem with this. Because I really don´t care who will drive the camel fleet to the next oasis in Libya - Gadaffi friends, rebels, or muslim brotherhoods, or some other kind of tribe or ethnicity. Frankly, I don´t give a rats ass how they figure it out. Democracy you see, is as lofty as an unwritten blank page. So you can´t defend an unwritten blank page with fighter jets and then call it liberation. How arrogant have we become to believe that we can figure it all out for them, and that the so called West will save civilians and prevent internal slaughter within nation states, this time Libya? 


If you have three pence to the penny, you know that the above actions are totally absurd. History is made by deeds of inspiration, not force which is sole nuisance and retardation, sometimes necessary perhaps, but not in this very case.

Instead we should focus on the 100´000 and more people who died in Japan, actually no, we should not do that. Rather - we should concentrate and support all those who are still alive, who need shelter, who need comfort. 


And - the Fukushima thing is not over yet - a wake up call to us all.


(PS that painting has "evolved" and has become very dark and black lately. I am gonna change it in due time)

Glow

I miss the old good pirate times on Green Island. I also know that this is a rerun from an earlier post ... so what, I just feel nostalgic.
I suppose there are three kinds of sea-born pirates these days, the ones in the Caribbean (though I have never met one in person), Somalia (never would like to meet one) and the ones on the coast of Maine, a very upbeat and friendly bunch indeed!
All other pirates, those goofy heads from banks, insurance people, politicians and what have you not who always stay on the mainland, those are not even worth being called pirates, they are just thieves; there is a difference...

after what?

I shaved today, I guess some male people do that. Not sure if its for the appeasement towards the other gender or has some altogether other kind of cleansing function, I mean I am really not sure.
And then you have Aftershave, basically alcohol with a smell. You are supposed to put this on after your done. I really don´t know what this is good for. Does it save my skin or does it attract butterflies. Heck, this is over my head!
So today I tried out something new. I put the aftershave on first, and then after that I shaved with the razor. What a miracle - it worked.  After this experiment I still smelled like a pimp. No matter how you do it, you can not ever do it right. My conclusion, aftershave is a well thought out marketing gimmick with a lot of odor, nothing more.

I kind of liked Gaddafi, but now he is out of luck

For over thirty years he ruled Libya, sometimes with charm, taking interviews from foreign reporters in a Beduin tent in the middle of the desert,  he was like "the King of Arabia" even though he lives in Africa. He should have become an actor in a Hollywood flick, I believe he would have done well, at least in earlier years.
Now it is all over. The Arabic world is in turmoil, and also the sisters and brothers in North Africa are shouting and crying out for democracy to begin. Can´t stop that train!
I try to learn that lesson, that gesture how we can and learn from history. Gaddafi (how do you spell his name in Arabic???) on the other hand did not care, he doesn't give a rats ass. (about the people)

His glamourous life is over, and he never managed to be a star. Kind of sad, but oh well, I will get over it.

I lost my cool

Look at this, there is a helicopter dumping seawater at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Wow, how amazing. Could it be, that I MISS THE POINT here? Where is the fleet of aeroplanes, the ones which dump water during wild-fires and such. I mean, there is such a thing, isn`t there ... or was I just stupid and dreaming the last twenty years?
A helicopter to seize a nuclear melt down. That is quite something! What else do you got? Tractors? Come on, this is Japan we are speaking about, not Gadaffi, ah well, that of course is an other issue, want even go there right now, but the so called West must figure that one out, promptly. Where are we - ah yes, sideways by the saltwater balloon dropped from the helicopter who then saved the world. Did it?
As you can see, I am back to my own cynical well-being again. I am not overly proud now of all my conduct lately, but I also I find this stuff what is going on right now inferior, this dabbling dizzy way my compatriots and  their life's and their livings are slewed in a coma whilst being awake, this  is becoming a pathetic drama with no real director in sight, and the backdrop, oh the backdrop inexcusable, or should I say politely: Is it not?
When my most adored teacher and friend left this world about four years ago, he said - Lukas, I am tiered, I can not deal with the zombies who incarnate on this globe anymore, therefore I will leave now. 
Of course this sketch is not finished, but I will also leave you now, new life adventures in ten minutes, that is if I make it in time...
I did not go, I suppose the train left ten minutes ago without me.
Instead I watched Karate Kid number 2 tonight. It seemed to be appropriate,  all imagery was about balance, measure and beauty. Something we need.  And when it came to the scenes between the beautiful and composed Japanese young woman and the Karate Kid...  I just felt tears in my eyes, could not help it.


Now, that is just a movie I am reflecting about. But what are we going to do in real time?

PRAYERS to the PEOPLE of JAPAN

I will not post any grotesque image to underline my point. You can find them elsewhere (everywhere).

 In quiet pose I sit here, contemplating. It is not the forthcoming death toll that will be shocking. The abrupt shift of nature which affects hundreds of thousands is the massacre. Nature has no pity, conscience or or convenient answers to humans. We are both pawns and creators of life, and if there is a God, he probably wished it to be so.

The earth does not contemplate, shall I have an earthquake or rather a flood today... the earth as a living being subsequently follows laws other than the rational of human beings, laws that are not yet well understood.

I wonder how much more tremulous days we have to experience before the tidal waves will calm.
But for now,  to the many brave and courageous people in Japan - my heart stretches out over the oceans in support.

the theorem of survival

survival - it is spoken like that, is it not? YOU  open your mouth, and before you know it, something quite strange enters into it. It could be junk food in Biel (Swizerland) while waiting for a friend to arrive, or it could be anywhere, it could be a fish with poisonous toxins, it could be also at MacDonalds once again where you wait for the BIGMac to get smothered in plentiful of ketchup to soothe the general aroma. (perhaps there it is, where pickles are served - if and when you  are the golden child).
I am not trying to bitch about things, since I could not care less about them McDonalds and all their prosperous walkabouts. They will drown in saturated grease, a bit at at a time.
Fastfood hence makes my ordinary life not jive.
The theorem of survival, well - I will get back to that.

sunburst, musings on the go: pics

pics

bathroom news

My own biography unfolds as the world is twisting, roaming and groaning, stretching towards freedom, taking unfathomable hits by nature and in general tries to survive through all this turmoil.
Twisted metal and piles of rubble dominate Christchurch in NZ, people get shot with life ammunition in Tripoli. Where is it all gonna go?
A folly fox, called Romeo by the people, got trapped on the 72nd floor in a new construction building in London. There he had lived with splendid views of the city for about two weeks before his discovery - odd news. 
My own personal news are so pitiful compared to what is reported all around the globe, my aftershave placed above the bathroom sink, and jet another job change, leaving the present location behind after three months of adjustments. Kind of strenuous.
Petty bathroom news, a single persons mundane journey towards betterment or something...

Mist

Sorry, no frivolous news today. No kinky pictures either. All is covered in a misty fog. My work-situation is changing once again. That shouldn't concern you at all, the details unimportant.
I still live for music and harmony though, that equilibrium you know. That sounds simple, but it is still a quest of never ending twist and turns.
As Australia rocks through the bits and peaces of natural devastations, the Middle East is going through other kind of changes. I can't fathom what it all means and where it all will end.
Perhaps I am totally naive that I request a halt of imperialistic ambitions, a stop of people controlling and punishing others because they are weaker or because they belong to a religion of this and that...
Perhaps I was never to say this: Give humans a chance and let the zombies and apes stay second this time around.
The problem is, as the mist evaporates, the fog is still arising.
Humans are the most pathetic forms of living tissue, completely unable to take care of themselves. It is hence they believe in God and in other phenomenal issues. That avenue might coheres a window of some kind of relief. A blessing to some, perhaps detrimental to others.
I am not an atheist, nor a gnostic. Those labels are irrelevant anyway because they are pure inventions of human intellect. They mean nothing.
I still believe (believe!) in some form of super-sensible being or reality that has a handle on things ... maybe. That might sound funny to you after all what I have said before; but belief is a risky avenue...
Didn't you know?
What is yours?

contemplation row

you have to be honest, it is not always easy to take care of a male person who has constant epileptic seizures and a "hysterical drama queen" who also shows a tendency towards violence ... and this ongoing simultaneously.
That is my life now, to attend - to be gracious and to be observant.
The reward is clear, you tackle the lows and the peaks - and if and when you succeed, bliss awaits you around the next corner. Tranquility  has merit.
Nature, towns and circumstances around here are very interesting, I will be doomed to send more pictures and text shortly. But have patience, my new beginnings are still fragile.  

Fragmental beginnings

 The view from my window is quite pleasant, the rooms empty except for the few belongings I took along in a suitcase. It is kind of refreshing to not have to have so much stuff anymore.
Work is fine but exhausting - everything is new, that's why!
Have my own internet access since yesterday and will participate here and there more again in the days to come.
Today only these images - soon more.
Must go ... right now!

Back again, work done for the day. 
This is my mental diary style, images, impressions, not many words.
Not many words for you...
And I presently save my breath and comments not to specify political, ecological and economic issues. You know it all, if you truly wish to know it all - and therefore you can create your own very picture without any problem. This is the curse of being connected with no possibility of making any difference, through the internet that is. An abstract kaleidoscope of impressions dancing in front of your eyes and mind. What can I do to better such a situation, not only my own, but perhaps the one of my neighbor, or my surrounding community? That is a question that pops up for me a lot these days. It actually does. And since I am now in the profession to take care of people with special needs, this question has become even more urgent: What can I do for the "Common Man/Woman"? (additionally) A question to ponder. I hitch hike a lot these days, and people stop. What I see in their behavior and reactions is: I don't mind to connect, tell me your story!  Isn't that a natural urge that often gets pushed under the carpet, the possibility to exchange your own observations of how life is for you and how you deal with it, even if it is with a stranger? 

it is going to be a New Year

It is going to be a New Year, no matter what!
I wish you all new strength, light, power, warmth and insight - perhaps an inner power, more energetic than the nuclear plant I happened to take a picture off.


It is also my duty and desire to thank you all for following my windy ways in 2010. This, your comments,  were actually sometimes a source of inspiration and comfort despite the wicked digital media it was carried on. Gary, Cym, Lindsay, the Dutch lady, and many others who's names are well known, helped me toddle along. I thank you all for that!


I believe, we arrived (once again) at a pivotal point in human history. Even though I experience a rather stable situation (economically) in Switzerland in the present, the turmoil of anxieties on all other levels continues ... everywhere. 
In many ways I would characterize the year 2010 as a year of demolition and renewed  orientation. The BP spill, the loss of Obama-Hope, Haiti (ongoing), the financial collapse (ongoing), ... and so on - are just reminders of times to come. I am not trying to sketch a bleak picture, but I am well aware of the hurdles. Times must get worse before they be better. As I watch the new full moon rise, I feel the power embedded in my own biography. Reflections indeed.  My new mantra must be earth bound, not stellar.

Switzerland is small, a tiny place. I mean, there is nothing you can hide, not even money, if you have such - that "bank-secrecy" has become a myth. Switzerland is like an ant-hive, well organized, functions key, precision adored. And then there is beauty in traditions. Since I have been here, my cholesterol and blood pressure levels have gone through the roof due to the consumption of fine cheeses and fine wine. I suffer and enjoy simultaneously. What a dilemma!

Went to an old fashioned cotton weaver-factory today. Most of the production is now outsourced to Asia, the stalls empty, triste. So my brother in law rented some space, he is an engineer, and helps to create and manufacture bicycles with added power of electric motors. His design will be world famous - that I know...  :) No, kidding aside, I wish him good luck.


For all of you out there, I wish you good luck as well. May the New Year be fruitful, pleasant and plenty.
(you sort this out, will yah)


Sincere greetings, strength and compassion for the New Year,


Lukas.

Good day everyone!
As life in general continues its mysterious and turbulent  ways, my personal situation has settled somewhat. 
I am situated in an area where the worlds most prestigious watches are being manufactured - and I kidd you not, the landscape is exactly as on this picture. The watchmaker studios are nestled in rather small towns,  and even villages. La Chaux de Fonds is probably the most unique of these places. Designed like Manhattan, the structure resembles a checker board, the only place of its kind in Switzerland. Le Locle, a small neighboring township build in the typical Jurassic style with crooked streets and also old (15, 16, 17...th century) houses is the birthplace of the Chronograph and also the manufacturing town of Tissot watches. It is amazing to stand there and look at that not very large Tissot building surrounded by medieval structures. 
Where I live, I smoke my last cigarette of the day outside. It is dark and I listen to the harmonic composition of cowbells from the neighboring farm. The barn is a half-open structure and the sound can escape. Sound in darkness. Peace.

versus

Keep the old mysterious inheritance
And add the becoming self-reliance
In inner soul spheres, it rejuvenates
And should awaken strength towards all of what is presently in demand
My outer practical work is life,
And that is what impregnates my path today, that is my present whereabouts and also my task.
Rudolf Steiner (Wochenspruch)  


With all the convoluted and kind of sometimes unpractical suggestions and presentations, I do like Rudolf Steiner's straight forward thinking and approach. A mystic in some ways, perhaps an initiate. The point is, that he scattered around initiatives and concrete suggestions of how to improve your meditative life without the help of an external "guru". His aim was clearly that you become "self-reliant". Of course, most Anthroposophists (lacked the genius) to follow such a path (is this nasty to put it so arrogantly this way?) Nevertheless, a seed was planted by him and it might take yet an other generation for fair results to appear.


My own path is going to change "subito" as well, in three days I will change once again location and job. I am looking very much forward to do this, though I do have to admit that I am a just a little bit nervous - "stage fright" you could say...


As I write this there is snow, it's beautiful and calm. What a blessing. The world finally (in my eyes) puts on a protective coat.