Featured photo: Fireworks | © Bettina Kümmerle
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Feuerwerk
The custom of completely pointless shooting around is completely out of date, and if you are a little honest with yourself, this custom has never been up to date, because fireworks have always been characterized by the fact that they contain images and even entire stories placed in the sky.
Technology-savvy cities have long since switched to drones in this regard. And people who love nature and the environment, like to worry about their own health and don't have the money to throw out the window, do without it or at least limit themselves a little more.
Unfortunately that's not the case here in Heilbronn, where the shooting continues to increase from year to year. The only positive thing I could see this time around was the increased willingness of individuals and groups to clean up a little themselves afterwards - my street was almost clean again when we got home and the good neighbors were still out with shovels and brooms.
Party hopping
Even though I like to approach the turn of the year a little more calmly, this time it was a real party hopping for various reasons, which hopefully doesn't lead to another turbulent year - otherwise the dance on the volcano would be a suitable analogy.
As we were able to see, our youth really let it rip and without any pyrotechnics. They started before the new year, before the humans on the date line, and they almost made it to Howland Island; But since it is not inhabited, you could perhaps accept it.
And before we could both take things a little more comfortably at the end, there was a dance ball that added a whole new dimension to the cultural heritage of Ballnacht. Since the end was again to my liking, I can say it was a very successful start to the new year - it just took a little longer until I really got there.
Amsterdam
Between the years I received a blog post from Hans Müller, which focuses on the upcoming US elections. After reading his post, I was torn as to whether I would abandon the resolution I made at the end of the year to stop publishing guest posts on the blog on the first day of the year.
And as luck would have it, the request came from at just that moment Detlef Sternhow many good resolutions I have already broken. Although the half-life of good intentions is on average less than that of radon, I would have set a record for myself. And this is how you can find the most recent post by Hans Müller, as intended in my current blog structure (a blog is alive!), in the forums. The title is very appropriate for today: “An American Tragedy – What happens next? (Part 1)".
Hans Müllers article is exciting to read and the topic will get us excited more often this year. What's new to me is the meaning Nikki Haley could achieve as a Republican candidate - most people would probably agree that in this regard everything would be better than Donald Trump is. Motivated by this post, I wanted to start writing my own two newsletters, but then I decided to look at this topic, which essentially determines the New Year, a little differently and now watched a film all the way to the end , the David O Russell released in cinemas in 2022.
A major advantage of going to the cinema is that you usually watch the films there until the bitter end, at least it has always been that way for me with a few exceptions. Things are different today with the ability to watch films from your own couch. The exciting question that arises for me is whether this will slowly but surely have an impact on the film plot?
But back to Amsterdam, this historical crime film is a deep black social satire and, although set around a hundred years ago, is as relevant today as never before. Christian Bale I like his role as a doctor and soldier Burt Berendsen Quite good; even if its copy of Peter Falk as Columbo is a little too thick, but this is probably due to the satire.
Overall, the film was a failure with critics and audiences, and I also had some teething problems. But some things just have to be seen to the bitter end. We can only hope that this film doesn't come out this year Hans Müller will foreshadow the second part of his American tragedy.
People would have liked to know more about the new dimension. It seems that only respect for the creature prohibits the disavowal of unaffected species through carelessly chosen metaphors.
The interested reader knows how to assess and appreciate the carefully considered choice of words! Duckburg – city of dimensions.
Sometimes the interested reader receives one or two keys to cracking the blog code at the regulars' table.
Thank you for the positive comments on the USA text. It is extremely interesting to observe the American election campaign and compare it with what happens here. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the four Republican debates on American television because, according to our time, they were broadcast in the middle of the night.
The conflicts in the USA will become more violent and “uncouth” the closer the election date of November 5.11.2024, XNUMX gets. One striking difference: Achieving a higher political mandate in America is a million dollar affair. The office of president costs several billion dollars. Predictions about the outcome are not possible today - almost a year before the election.
Recently I have observed two interesting developments: After Trump's statements that migrants from South America were poisoning the "blood of the nation", there was a discussion about fascism in the serious media, in the course of which Trump's statements were mixed with passages from Hitler's “My Struggle” were compared. Trump defended himself by saying he had not read “Mein Kampf”.
American friends of mine compare current developments in the USA with the 1920s and 1930s in Europe. But I also received messages full of American optimism: "Reason or something like that could win and we could get through the 2024 elections and come together to solve things like the climate crisis or other crises." I'm really curious to know whether this is just wishful thinking or not whether there are signs of such optimism in the near future, because there is no doubt that the election result will also be important for Europe.