saturday 1 – rang up skipton and sang happy birthday to Joshua
Katie made an interesting comment:
We as parents need to be the ground under our children’s feet, being there for them and never deserting or taking over their lives or forcing them to do things, rather letting them decide and constantly underpinning their efforts.
tidying up office downstairs, going through a clear out
Katie made a lovely spaghetti carbonara, which we had with a baden white wine
sunday 2 – it’s the “Kids help kids” weekend at church, this time only food was offered for sale, but huge amounts and lots left at the end, came away stuffed.
Tea was a few more purchases from “Kids help kids”, mini-quiches, still tasty.
Eve wanted me to read to her – it doesn’t happen that much these days – enjoyed reading “Midnight” by Jackie Wilson and putting some emphasis on the 2 characters, violet and jasmine, read a chapter in about half an hour.
monday 3 – went out to office, then made mistake of staying on train until donnersbergerbrücke, which hardly ever works unless the s-bahn is really early in order to intercept the bob train, ended up getting the bus because the s7 was showing 20 minutes wait, so got back quite late, nonetheless a nice evening.
went to bed early really tired.
tuesday 4 – got up fairly early and day off for the trip with neighbours Tosh et al upstairs to the Wirtshaus at the Grossmarkthalle for Faschings dienstag brunch of weisswurst and a weissbier
went on to topkaufmunich to consider record decks and got treated to listening to some vinyl from jonathan wilson and david bowie’s recent album, the next day
had mcdonalds for tea, mentioned pancake/shrove tuesday but it would have been too much mess
Sabs mentioned about that if the earth’s time of existence was spread into one year, men appear on the last day and the last 2000 years are in the last hour, plundering so much of the earth’s resources in so little a time
Eve and I cuddled together on the red sofa as i drank the rest of the beer in the fridge and explained about lent/fastenzeit, that I was giving up beer and she rushed in to tell Katie she was giving up the kinder country chocolate bars as she found it a good idea.
For my part I explained that for Lent, I was giving up beer and red wine (white wine being ok!).
We sat talking about what she was going to do when she left school – she has it in mind to go on 2 years round the world – america and australia, i said she’d have a dozen men chasing after by the end, picking them up as she left each city.
Reading was very enjoyable, it’s nice she still feels this way, still reading about the friendship developing between violet and jasmine in the bedtime story book, Jackie Wilson’s “Midnight”.
wednesday 5 – got out to office and met up with Josh who’d been away in Oz for the last month.
thursday 6 – Ilda still staying over due to having new kitchen at home
went to swimming without Stephan who is away due to half-term
still the focus on style with high elbows, square and stable non-rounded shoulders and middle body, no swaying, long reach above water
friday 7 – got caught in a spam wave on a friday afternoon, people getting angry etc, one or two of the quotes were good:
Armistead Maupin:
Our job as human beings is to love.
It means practicing it on a daily basis.
Frank Zappa:
There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/frank_zappa.html
saturday 8 – cleaning up the hobby room, taking printer to wertshof on 130 bus, another option at our local bus stop
kicking up a lot of dust and got my allergy going, coughing and struggling to breathe
reading a Guardian article about youngsters not going to football matches due to prices and disconnectedness etc:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/mar/08/how-football-lost-touch-young-fans
led also to:
http://rethinkingchildhood.com/
http://www.victorianchildandnatureconnection.org/
sunday 9 – pancakes for breakfast, so some recompense from shrove tuesday, Joe Noelliste from US played a rousing, charismatic-style piano at the church service and got many to stay back for choir practice
fell asleep whilst sabs was doing her maths abschlussprüfung/final exam work; very tired due to not sleeping so well
from New York Times international weekly supplement from SZ 07.03.2014:
“What the Water is Telling Us”, by Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water”, selected quoting:
rain across England and Wales is the heaviest in 240 years … three reasons we’re seeing more water issues …
i) population growth … challenge of supplying water to growing populations is acute in mega-cities …
ii) living standards … people with modern plumbing often use 5 or 10 times the water as those without it …
iii) climate change is likely to make routine cycles of weather more severe and perhaps more frequent.
But what we’ve seen with water over the last decade is a warning. Tumult may be the new normal.
.. two secrets to understanding and addressing water problems. The first is that all water problems are local … Communities – have the ability to solve problems right where they are happening. The second thing to remember is that water doesn’t respond to wishful thinking. It responds to careful, permanent changes in how we live, how we farm, how we build and how we charge for the water itself. The British government has a nine-year-old report about preparing for increased flooding. The title ‘Making Space for Water’.
The amount of water water on Earth doesn’t change … simply is used, evaporates and is used again. But we are being reminded that water doesn’t end up where we want it, when we want it.
But unlike many other big problems … most water problems are solvable … what we need is time and the realism to tackle the problems.
In that sense, the current water tumult is doing us favour. If we pay attention, water is giving us fair warning.
“From the Pyramid to the Square” by Jonathan L. Friedman, couple of interesting quotes, about the impact of the Egyptian film “The Square”.
It captures some of the most important shifts happening today, starting with the fact that in today’s hyper-connected world, wealth is getting concentrated at the top, but, at the same time, power is getting distributed at the bottom and transparency is being injected everywhere.
… young people will no longer tolerate leaders who deprive them of the tools and space to realise their full potential.
Talks about the Egyptian and Russian leaders, “Sisi and Putin will also lose if they don’t change, because there is no stable progress without inclusive politics and economics.”
Also another interesting article “Exposing the Web’s Underbelly”, about the investigative work of cyber security expert Brian Krebs in exposing east european and russian cyber crime, “who make billions off pharmaceutical sales, malware, spam, frauds and credit-card theft.”
Read for 15 mins to eve from “Midnight”.
monday 10 – following interesting quote in an all hands at work:
a ship in the harbour is safe but that is not what a ship is meant for
getting home from working at hallberg and listened to PM and they had an interview – lunch with PM – with Bob Crow leader of the Tube drivers, where I found him a little dsingenuous and the interview a little disrespectful
tuesday 11 – quote for me today was from GK Chesterton:
a good soldier fights not because he hates those in front of him, but because he loves those behind him
again getting back and finding out that Bob Crow died, then I started searching and found it was this morning amazingly. researching a little further and there were some good tributes and he genuinely wanted the best for his members, for example, Ken Livingstone had it most succintly with: “Bob Crow did indeed ensure that tube drivers are the only well-paid working-class people in London”.
friday 14 – hear on radio news that Tony Benn had died:
some quotes I thought about for responding to Jonathan and Allan’s facebook threads about Tony Benn.
Using my simple litmus test to evaluate the real motives behind political decision- and policy-making:
Does this policy, decision, or argument serve the interests of ordinary people or the interests of people in authority seeking to exert power or extend control?
shows me that Tony Benn was head and shoulders above most other politicians in the UK.
UK politics seems more about exerting control, exercising power and serving interest groups, rather than people.
Tony Benn always went for the ball, not the man. He remains for me, a hugely influential figure for those who believe in a fair social democracy, whatever your finer views might thereafter be.
This is an amazing video, which shows just how tough, sharp and relevant he remained in his later years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX-P4mx1FLU
Tony Benn – The Flame Of Anger Against Injustice And The Flame Of Hope.
most powerful weapon is education .. if people knew what was happening, they wouldn’t accept what was happening …
don’t think we’re an isolated little group … … progress has been made by 2 flames that have always been burning in the human heart – the flame of anger against injustice and the flame of hope that you can build a better world …
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/14/tony-benn-obituary
What he lacked in knowledge of political economy or revolutionary theory he always more than made up for with energy. This was applied with equal zeal to everything he did: ‘I have got built into me, through my upbringing or whatever, a tremendously strong inner voice saying what I should do at any moment.’ In the 1960s, Foot noted:
No one in Labour party history – not even Herbert Morrison in his heyday – applied his mind and energies more assiduously to the work of the [National] Executive (than Tony Benn).
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/14/tony-benn-socialism-epitaph
The trouble for his detractors was that Benn would not go quietly into old age. He didn’t just believe in “anything”: he believed in something very definite – socialism. He advocated for the weak against the strong, the poor against the rich and labour against capital. He believed that we were more effective as human beings when we worked together collectively than when we worked against each other as individuals. Such principles have long been threatened with extinction in British politics. Benn did a great deal to keep them alive. In the face of media onslaught and political marginalisation, that took courage. And, in so doing, he encouraged us.
In the afternoon, it was the start of the course at familylab.de, paar im wandel, with the course book:
http://www.chancen-verlieben-sich.de/home
saturday 15 – day 2 of the course at familylab.de, paar im wandel
sunday 16 – day 3 of the course at familylab.de, paar im wandel
received wonderful quote from Gregor, a kölnerspruch:
Ich bin, ich weiß nicht wer.
Ich komme, ich weiß nicht woher.
Ich gehe, ich weiß nicht wohin.
Mich wundert’s, dass ich so fröhlich bin.
my feedback for the course …
Course was fantastic (and too cheap for what I got out of it!).
It really helped that I was alone with my thoughts and feelings for the weekend, with Katie visiting England.
I can understand now why therapy sessions don’t (often/always) work, because there is a danger that they treat or give vent to and exacerbate symptoms and you don’t get off the rollercoaster. I can imagine that therapy sessions do work when someone doesn’t already have the tools available or the insight to see where the problem is or simply need to use the tools available.
But is becoming abundantly clear, the only way is to hit that 60% figure for being in “oneself” and that’s the key for me to work on right now.
In my situation right now, the message couldn’t be clearer: “you need meditation/affirmations/forrest gump running/whatever, in order to find yourself and to find what makes you ‘tick’. And most importantly:
you need this ‘anchor’ to yourself the most when you think you have the least time for it. If not, you’re going to give vent to and run after every darn feeling which is going on and in relationships, that could be explosive and cause untold harm to yourself and others, result in financial ruin or even land you in jail in its extreme case.“
The course also explained a lot of what I thought were personal behaviourial issues (eg. a John-like tendency to go on about things), whereas they’re actually, that I’m just out there in no-mans land and not listening to and being in touch with ‘Phil’.
What I’m most grateful for is that the course about was what Mathias left unsaid, for example in a typical pedagogic approach, it might be that every character blemish is highlighted, as a worst case for example, “Hey, look at that darn blemish you have!” and this of course, usually leads nowhere.
Change can only come from within and if one is lightly nudged to maybe look (and has the sensitivity to perceive that), then all that remains is to work on that with determination and the transformation you are looking for will take place.
So then we’re back to finding “oneself” and remaining in that state, regardless of what is going on outside and in a funny-way this video explains a lot about being in that state, yet showing respect for another:
monday 17 – reading the guardian from saturday which katie had brought back from the uk and some related quotes from the interview with Timothy Spall the actor:
what is the trait you most deplore in yourself? Wanting to be liked – it’s a fine line between amiability and vanity
What is your greatest fear? Dying before I’m ready.
Fits in with some of the regrets dying people express, this list from a palliative care nurse in Australia, Bronnie Ware:
The 5 things being:
1) I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
“It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.”
2) I wish I didn’t work so hard.
“This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship.
…
All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices … by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.”
3) I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
“… by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.”
4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
“… deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved.
… approaching death, the physical details of life fall away.
People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them.
They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love.
… It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end.
That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.”
5) I wish that I had let myself be happier.
“Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice.
Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind.
How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.”
With a nice summary:
“Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.”
tuesday 18 – went swimming and not doing full strokes any more until have unlearned my bad habits
thursday 20 – went swimming in the morning focussing on legs and again no full crawl stroke, until ready
went to haralds for lunch for first time this year and had tortellini and salad, nice
read about Daniel Barenboim’s book “Musik ist alles und alles ist Musik”
also a quote from the Uli Hoeness affair, about the time he will have in the prison and the great biblical quote:
Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.
went swimming with stephan and again no full stroke yet, still in “zerlegte” state and am slowly building my crawl back up again to this time a “hip technique” rather than a shoulder technique
friday 21 – waiting in reception before meeting Jose and noticed the fascinating quotes in this area:
Was haben Sauerstoff und Kommunikation miteinander zu tun? Sehr viel sogar. Beide sind auf der ganzen Welt zuhause und beide sind für unser Leben essntiell. Wir Menschen können auf beides nicht verzichten: Kommunikation ist für uns so elmentar wie die Luft zum Atmen. Un es wäre gewiss nicht übertrieben, Begegnung und Gespräch als den Sauestoff unseres Zusammenleben zu bezeichnen. …
Kommunikation ist unser Element. Denn Kommunikation sollte so einfach sein, wie das Ein- und Ausatmen.
saturday 22 – went swimming for a short session focussing on legs, saw the usual guy who is adopting the total immersion technique, amazingly slow and efficient, gliding over/under the water, head is under a long time, arms stretch and seem to reach forever.
tuesday 25 – drilling deep holes for sabs’ bookcase next to her desk
working at home and went for lunch with gary brown to the nestroy restaurant, it was kartoffel day, quite nice actually
in the evening, working with eve on her physics covering kraft, action and reaction, we talked about where the force was, basically to think of it as being in the middle of an object and in a certain direction, to deal with 2 problems – the forces on a car at constant speed and why it always will accelerate and reach a constant speed at vollgas; also the hammer thrower and the trajectory of the throw with 5 options, quite difficult and some tears at first but it was enjoyable!
tried to stress that I really didn’t care about the physics and our relationship was far more important than any question or exam
wednesday 26 – good quote in work from Bruce Klein:
Best advice I’ve ever gotten was life is 5 percent what happens to you, 95 percent how you react.
went round to feierwerk and kranhalle after getting all motivated about supporting music after listening to Pete Townshend giving his John Peel lecture, had planned to go this evening, in any case and saw:
Elias – support act, soloist with guitar, good, witty german tunes “du gehst nach Hause und ich gehe kaputt” or the song about going to bed and getting up.
Livingston – excellent driving rock with heavy synth from drums, 2 guitars, bass guitar and 2 synths spread over the 5 members, also with subtler moods and quieter pieces, some great songs, “human”, “fire on fire”, about 200 people there, all ages, was stuck at the back at the end with the ones old enough to be the group’s dads. Seems they are based in the UK, but with mixed members, eg. a german on lead guitar who was very good and they had been ensconsed away near berlin to make their album due out in the summer, lead singer sounds South African, possibly dutch. Look forward to hearing it, especially the quiet song, first 2 verses of which came pretty spontaneously, singer explained.
thursday 27 – went out round town with Mile, to Ratskeller, Augustinerbrauhaus and Killians.
friday 28 – visit GBR and Jose, then home in good time to finish off and relax into the weekend with pizza and white wine
saturday 29 – visited Spitzingsee and then Schliersee with Gary and Liz, lovely sunny, warm day 22 degrees
sunday 30 – confirmation service for Lily, Felix, Nana and Frimpy.
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