Laughs at random

I present to you some random quotes by the American president Bush, selected from www.bushwatch.com which is in my link list.. some of them are so hilarious. I can guarantee for their authenticity but I can't imagine Bush has said stuff even more stupid than any microphones have ever been able to catch..

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we," he said. "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Washington, D.C. 08.05.04

"More Muslims have died at the hands of killers than—I say more Muslims—a lot of Muslims have died—I don't know the exact count—at Istanbul. Look at these different places around the world where there's been tremendous death and destruction because killers kill."—George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Jan. 29, 2004

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

..."The true strength of America happens when a neighbor loves a neighbor just like they'd like to be loved themselves." --George W. Bush, Elizabeth, N.J., June 16, 2003

..."I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances."Washington, D.C., George W. Bush, May 29, 2003

Enough Time To Be President

An article in the newspaper the other day told the story about how the Humboldt Uni in Berlin missed this year's chance of officially becoming elite university and the support money coming with the award. Apparently due to the unexpected and quick change of the HU's president nobody payed enough attention at the application project for the award which apparently led to a lack of the usual quality apparently resulting in the failure..
Reading this reminded me.. there's this long forgotten and never used HU-email-account of mine, let's have a look, oh four new messages, one from the new HU-president Prof. Dr. Christoph Markschies himself, he welcomes all students, wishes us good luck and the best news is almost worth being quoted: ..the first consultation hour for all students will be January 9th from 8-9 o'clock! Wow, from 8-9, that's a long time! Damn, I missed it last time. I'm sure I'll miss all of the future chances too. What an elite-uni-president, he really takes his time for his students, doesn't he.. A look at his website tells me his usual consultation hours, they're every other Tuesday from 8-9, room number 2032, in case you feel like meeting a master in historic theology and ancient church history..

Conversations of today, Berlin, Germany

- a library, afternoon, every other person leaving has to be stopped at the exit because of a very loud "beeep" which can be heard when walking through the magnetic gates, I'm stopped, too, and an elderly guy touches my book codes with a piece to stop the magnetic beeps, he asks me: "Have you been served by the woman in the red jumper?", and I say yes and ask why he doesn't tell her to use this anti-magnetic piece and he says: "I have done that twice already and there will be a third time in a moment. I'm going to shoot this woman.."
- evening, in a train, a fat little boy about 12 years old and his good-looking friend or brother, maybe 25, the boy, talking about someone in his school class: "..and he even drinks vodka already!", the older guy doesn't seem nearly as impressed as the boy, then they talk about girls, the guy says: "I've never really been, you know, the successful talker..", the boy asks "since when do you smoke?", the guy: "6 years", the boy "but it just stinks!", the guy: "Ah well, you know, it's just.."
- evening, train station, an ordinary looking guy, listening to music with his earphones, his phone rings, he answers it but the voice on the other end of the line can be heard clearly: he has accidentally put it on loudspeakers, "Markus?" a female voice says, hastily he tells her to wait a minute, presses a few buttons and calls her back, calling her Susanne, they're talking about a club, he says: "I know they won't let me in, even if you came out and told them, they won't let me in, you know I have enough of this place, it's not like I really need to get into this club, I don't want to go there anymore, Susanne!"
- evening, train, a guy who looks like the typical lost poet/writer, his dreamy facial expression, and of course he reads the literature part of the newspaper, he's very polite and offers me the only vacant seat, I bet he plays the piano and has read all of the essential Goethe's and Shakespeare's.. the woman opposite me reads Camus' The Plague
- next morning, train: a little boy spills water on the seat, his mother hands him a tissue to wipe it off, eagerly he runs it along the seat, he turns it over to show it to her: the white tissue is now black

The Luxury Of Certain Calendars

Pure luxury, that's going to a music shop where you can sit in the warmth in a comfortable atmosphere while outside half of the world is bending under the cold, and you listen to other people's music, you choose a cd and sit down to listen to it. Music people have once made with fire in their heart, with thoughts in their mind and the desire to share them with others, idealists with an unbroken aura of hope who make music of the heart and of the soul, while others stare back at you from calendars, female singers who look like they couldn't decide between the job of a singer, a model or a prostitute so they managed to create something in-between and ordinary innocent people like me have to look at half-naked women posing like they want to be defined only by their bodies, making other women feel either ugly or angry, in my case the latter because it degrades women in my eyes and it destroys the progress so many feminists have been fighting for.. their hope was that men shouldn't continue viewing women as some sort of sex object but that's exactly what these superficial stupid girlies in the calendars do, apparently they feel it's expected of them and it's the only way to market themselves. I admit I see there must be a huge competition, the enhanced version of the competition which is going on in the streets every day anyway. But there should be a difference between sex calendars (which I don't mind because they're available for both sexes!) and singer's calendars..
You see, one of my next modules in uni next semester will include a part called gender studies, so I'm already trying to get used to the thought of talking abobut stuff like that.. I'm really not looking forward to it because I'm still waiting for THE great discussion which doesn't annoy me for a change..

Service For Free

It's so funny to watch people's amazement when they're met with unexpected friendliness. I brought my glasses to the optician today to be repaired, a service which amazingly is still free. While waiting I could observe an elderly man who came in, went straight to the counter and asked a member of the staff if he could adjust his glasses. After he got them back he tried them on, said they were great, thanks very much, turned around and without hesitaion, with the certainty of a sleepwalker he went out. Unlike a woman who came in after him and asked for one of those little boxes to out in contacts and she convulsively wanted to pay for it. When the saleslady told her she didn't have to pay anything for it because it was part of the service she let out a loud "WHAT!?" and clutched her wallet with eyes wide open with amazement. She was so surprised she started stammering stories that her son needed the contacts box because his eyes had gone weird or something. Then after another uncertain smile and a look back she left repeating thankyouthankyou all the time.. So easy to make some people happy. She'll surely be coming back to buy her glasses at that shop..

In winter time people look even less at other people than during the summer. Of course you only notice this if you look at people and find out they don't look back at you in return. They are too occupied staring at the ground where their feet try to steer their way safely over the ice which, admittedly, is very slippery indeed. But is walking safely really worth such a complete lack of communication? What's a smile worth? Is it not even worth the small risk of lifting your head for a second to look at someone passing by? OUr society stops talking, smiling, looking and flirting with strangers during winter because communication is so thoroughly based on looks and smiles. And isn't being looked at and smiled at by people we like what we love most?

The Explosion Of A Rocket

Here's what I just thought: If there's no reason to celebrate, just make one up. It's quite easy actually, especially if you can relive the explosion of a rocket on New Year's Eve by looking at a picture. Really, we (=us happy people, I mean)should celebrate our happiness a bit more, more openly above all. This is an anti-stress-appeal!
Imagine: Do you seriously want to discover your first grey hair with thirty? Would you like wrinkles on your forehead which stay even when you smile, at the age of 31? Can you imagine needing clips attached to your lips because it's the only way you are able to smile? Do you want other people to slander about your fake smile behind your back? Hear them saying " oh when's the last time your didn't see her/him stressed?"?
Wow, I bet you're scared now. Luckily all that's none of our business because it's other people's problems.. or is it? Maybe you feel like a bit of celebration, also called relaxation, is needed next weekend? You could start looking at a few old photographs of days when you were young and little and overexcited and used to run around with an overdose of happiness, now you'll try to be like that again. Becoming a child again is one of the most difficult things.

Dedication to butterflies

"If you can hear butterflies laughing, you know what clouds smell like", said Novalis. I have a weakness for butterflies. In literature they are used many times as a symbol, associated with summer, sunshine and happiness. "Why are you looking for gold when there are so many marvellous butterflies in my country?", asked Montezuma. A Mexican girl I know once told me she was very scared of the Mexican butterflies, especially if they came into her room, because they are huge, about the size of two hands stretched out and held next to each other. Those are the best pictures I could find via google.
Butterflies are the living proof that seemingly small things can make you happy. Happiness. Whatever it is. Having an overload of endorphins, I guess.

Globalisation

Cows don't work for all parts of the world...

Be a cactus!

We know where The Beatles would like to be ("I'd like to beee under the seaaa in an octopus' garden with youuu!" .. brilliant song by the way) but where I want to be is certainly exactly there: where the sun is shining and winter seems like a far-away story from a foreign country.. If you want to travel with your eyes I deeply recommend this
website to you, you can search for pictures by continent or subject. And be sad as soon as your eyes turn away from the screen and see the cold outside. Welcome to Germany.

Feel the magic!!

To me it has always been an ordinary thing to do: having wishes, there has always been something to wish for all the time. Not because I was constantly unhappy or unsatisfied with my whole life but simply because it's in human nature to have a constant desire for better times and improved situations. Why drink water if you can drink wine? Just as an example. Hopefully nobody will imply that I have a problem with alcohol because an example including wine is the first thing which came to my mind..! Anyway though, New Year is the time people tend to suddenly open up and talk about their wishes for the new upcoming year. For me, this is the only day in the year I don't like thinking about wishes, it has become too commercial. But, if you take a look at that picture which some anonymous person created, making wishes on falling leaves sounds like fun. Why do I never think of something as creative as that? And what a shame we have to wait for next automn to try it out! I can only recommend: keep your eyes open for randomly falling leaves this summer and think of something which makes you smile, make a wish and feel the magic!!

The multiple meanings of brightness

Unfortunately lately I belong to those people who don't have time to watch television, or not a lot anyway, but one look into the tv programme from time to time is enough to convince me that I should share this brilliant phrase with you which I read somewhere: "I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. There's a knob called 'brightness', but it doesn't work."
I know some people choose to lead their lives according to the tv programme, apparently life's easier organised like this =)
Luckily we can count on the sun always to be bright..
By the way, hello world, I'm glad you made it into this year. I made it, yay! Welcome in 2006!