Sunday Music

Yesterday, shortly before 14:00, it started to rain. When I went out an hour later, stretches of tar were already dry again, I could feel the humidity saturating my clothes. Thankfully in the evening the temperature had finally dropped, and wind blew all moisture away. It’s sunny and dry under fluffy clouds today, the temperature lingers around 28°C, and that’s how it will be over the coming days.
Last week the Finnish PM danced on a party with friends. Of course, inevitable today, a video was published. Next day the 36 year old PM’s suitability for office was questioned, and she was asked to take a drug test (!). Obviously a dancing lady must be sloshed or otherwise out of her mind, cool thinking.
In Poland it is nearly impossible for a woman to get an abortion. Thanks to the ultra national, “conservative”, regime of the PiS party. But they feel there is still too much space left for unruly baby machines, so every pregnancy shall be registered. It is actually an (controversially discussed) EU regulation connected to the digital administration of patients’ data – but nobody seriously doubts in Poland that this Polish gouvernement will be using these data to surveil & monitor pregnant women : A prosecutor has nothing else to do but to compare this pregnancy registration with birth certificates – abortion is a crime in Poland, et voila.
I do not know for how long Polish women will go to jail for ending a pregnancy, but a woman who had liked the wrong tweets, has to go to jail in Saudi Arabia – for more than thirty (30 !) years. (She originally was sentenced to six years, but- hey ! – let’s get it right, right !?)
We live in astounding times. A kind of new darkness seems to fall on mankind – or maybe the dark veil never had really lifted, and all those wounderful thoughts about humanism, enlightenment, freedom-liberty & self determination never made it outside Königsberg’s university seminar, where KANT imagined what could be … ach …
And while KANT dreamed, the peasants danced.
Let’s hear a little bit of Sunday Music now. The Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra under conductor Plamen DJUOROV plays Three Old French Dances (Rondeau, La Provencale, Le Basque) by Marin MARAIS (1656-1728) (Ger., Eng.), soloist is Ognyan KONSTANTINOV (ytchannel).
I hope you like the music, may the coming week be bearable.

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Just Aside

One would have to look up the definition by the criminal code, but Merriam-Webster (Ger., Eng.) defines in its online edition “treason” as “the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance ( … )”.
It seems that not one single member of the USAmurigan ruling class can be arsed to look into a Dictionnaire. This country is truly ruled by weaklings, who have never heard of the words responsibility & duty, or grasped the concept of “allegiance to the State”.
As I read, the traitor plans to throw out thousands of state officials when he will have returned to the trough, they will (at least in part) be replaced by “fighters against the “Deep State” – so that there will be no more “State” left, just an openly corrupt kleptocracy.
At least everything will carry a nice & clear price tag again.

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New Year, New Challenge

When I sat down at my desk this evening here in Franconia, I swear I heard a kind of “blobbing” sound, maybe it’s the chair’s way to express its happiness to be used again.
First things first : Happy Birthday , best greetings and wishes to Savannah, that L.A. Lady !
And of course – Happy New Year to all of You, venerated readers !
Now that the future has already started, let’s learn something new, the first & only Public Service Announcement on this blog – may it be helpful all year ’round ! And beyond ! To The STARS !

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Beer, Virus, Glasses

I am in a chatty mood today. I bought some beer from foreign places. Some weeks ago a friend invited me to dinner, and we went to a place that offers Chinese food. I never have been to China, or Asia in general, so I have no idea whether the food offered here in Europe as “Chinese”, “Asian”, Thai” etc. is really something people in those countries or regions actually do eat. What is sold here may well be adapted to a common “European” taste. On their menue I found Korean beer, and ordered a bottle. The stuff was actually manufactured in Germany, a normal, nondescript “Pils”, drinkable, not bad, just a beer.
But today I bought beer from China – it seems that the big steamers now do arrive in Europe again : Brewed & bottled in Qingdao (Ger., Eng.) in a brewery established in 1903, when the city was a German colony. It contained only a very small amount of rice (3 %). I wonder if in other former German colonies also breweries can be found. It was a very pale, and “light” brew, nicely drinkable, less than 5 % alcohol. Just serve well cooled.
Out of pure curiosity I also bought a Belgian brew, something I usually avoid at all costs, simply because these people throw anything into their beer that can not run away : Rice, sugar, colour, more yeast, even chocolate. In my experience Belgian beer is synonym with headaches of the very bad sort. They produce these concoctions of course with a little more uumph than usual. So the “exceptionally rich and complex flavour palette” comes with more than 10 % alcohol. It is called “Gulden Draak” (Eng.) and comes in very small bottles. Two are enough, seriously.

In circa two weeks the new school year will start, it seems that for me nothing changes – same route, same children. We will have to start twenty minutes earlier than last year, so it nearly equals what we had before the pandemic. The virus’ “numbers” are all going upwards around here, it will be interesting to see if, and when yes, what, will be changed. Presumably nothing.
I have not read about the last “findings” of the virus’ origins, and frankly, I am inclined to doubt anything in this respect that comes from a stately source, be it USAmerican, or Chinese, or else.
I can not forget this article on Reuters from last year, nevertheless I do not know what to make out of it. I vaguely remember that the French also reported a virus related death from late 2019. Whatever it means, I hope someone will piece it together one day.
All I am interested in is that no one of the people I love gets infected, and that I meself do not infect nobody. If that means, I am the odd one with the mask, so be it. Surely I will not use something that is made for de-worming cattle as a medication.

I spent too much time on news sites these days, of course I could not escape the last effort of Mr West, who seemingly found something he calls “Jesus”. What I heard on youtube, and other occasions, was bombastically boring ; someone should tell him that the only person, who gets away with supersized glasses on this planet, is Ms Apfel, happy hundredth by the way.
Enough of this. Sorry for having bored you for another five minutes or so. Let’s finish with The Pylon of the Month, August 2021, here.