About Nothing

I feel strange this evening. A bit like “Out of time”, unconnected, watching Major Tom while he does his thing, but he can’t come close to me, I’m in another orbit. No, I’m not spaced out, flying high as a kite ; I just sipped a bit of my usual drug, Silvaner nectar of GOds. I am not overtired, and hence seeing little white mice playing at my feet – butzibutzi havesomecheese … just a little sideways perhaps ?
I enjoy to drive through the countryside, watch the colours change, look into farm yards and notice small things that change – I observe other people’s lives, as I always did, it is what I learned. The subject is called “history”, “Volkskunde” it once was, now they speak about “European Ethnology” or “European cultural history”, or  just some other random combination of these silly words. It is always observing, allowing curiosity to take over, asking silly questions, but mostly watching in an alert and intense way.
Living second-hand it is not, simply because all this “doing” does not replace the own life. And watching always means trying to understand what is going on, what always means reflecting on or about the own “understanding” : What do I see, and how ? What do I understand how, and why ? Is it in me, in the object, somewhere else ? What values do I follow when I evaluate something I “see” (what means “perceive” in this coherence : It was “seeing” we were told to learn & understand, the leading ability to master), what is my own, what is acquired, and, of course, – where do I stand ?
What is me ?
I think any person who seriously wants to produce something like a text, an image, a picture, an object in what respect so ever, as an artist, as a scholar, as someone faintly interested in creating something, starts sooner or later to think about her or his position in respect to the creation and the others, that is the audience, the bloody rest.
This leads to the need of self-definition.
The self-defining blogger does a “MeMe”.
Some time ago – we live in a timeless age of unlimited digital availableness (at least we are told so, but those in command ( = google, or any other digital super-national entity) can change this very easily, as The Mistress and Leni suffered from !), so it should be no problem to look back at those questionnaires  – some time ago, I say, bloggers did “MeMes”, catalogues of questions that helped to better understand each other, to make some points clear, or simply to make fun of each other, oneself, or both.
I wonder who “still” blogs, I know this question has arisen some time ago. I only can say that it is people like you – who read this – and people like me – who write this. What came after “the blog” was “fatzebuk” and “Twitter” – both became really big, and thus instruments of influence for whatever : “Social media”. Always on short notice. Un-filtered. Seemingly. Abused and manipulated faster as one thought.
And so without any long-term meaning. It is not meant to stay, it is not for reflection, it is not for a dialogue. “Twitter” was some years ago brought to my attention by Cara, who seemingly used it very early. With all due respect to all users, I never could find out why I should use this thing.
I do not do “fatzebuk” because of a statement of the head honcho, who plainly saied that “privacy” was an old-fashioned and to be abandoned concept that had no place in his new digital world. I learned from an article that fatzebuk-employees are congratulated not to their birthdays, but to the annual date when they created their account. And that they are erased, really “snuffed out”, when they leave the company : This is “damnatio memoriae” on a new level. If it is correct what I read, then this ideology is a-historical and dis-honest to the core. I do not join this cult.
And blogging is different ?
Yes it is.
First of all because of the thin veil of anonymity that is drawn all over it, it can even become a coat if you do it right, and perhaps need to. Because of the form that allows something called “thought” to enter the blab. Because of the liberty one can take in forming this blogging persona, even when one jumped right on it originally. Time – and this is the essential word here – time will tell : Fatzebuk, twitter, whatzapp – they have no idea about time, they are an unending now only. This is not remotely connected with “life”, “person”, “individual”, “feel” & “truth” – all things that need to develop and change, slowly, but steadily.

GOd, I’m brilliant.

Now let’s have a MeMe. It is called the “Game of Fours”, Κυριε Νικος tagged me. Four questions, four answers each.

1. What is your favourite food?
2. What are your favourite drinks?
3. Places you’ve been?
4. Names that you’re known by?

1. Kloß mit Soß (How you do it ; image)
   Gemüsereis (It’s rice with vegetables. There is nothing to show, sorry. Ad garlic and pepperoni, please.)
   Rouladen (Well yeah, that’s it.)
   Pudding, self-made (Do it this way, or use Doc Oetker. Anyway, contemplate the words “rum”, “cherry”, “Rosine”, “whipped cream”.)
2. Water (Preferably cold, no bubbles. I still remember the taste of the water in my grandfather’s house.)
   Silvaner (A world to be discovered. My stomach hates red wine nowadays.)
3. Venedig : Pure beauty.
   Kreta : A distant memory.
   Zypern : Tremendous, especially before they built all those roads.
4. Eh ?
   (Hey, was machen) Sie da !?
   Struppi
   Bussischnucki (vernacular)

I invite anyone to play along with the “Game of 4s”, if you like it, why not ?! Thanks to Nikos for inviting me !

Don’t step on the mice, please.

And while we’re at it : Play it loud, please. Just so, let it bleed …

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