Vandalism on Hans Kloepfer

Vandalism on Hans Kloepfer
Originally uploaded by theowl84

Today I was walking on Schlossberg in Graz. I realized the green head before but today I also took a picture from it.
It's so sad that there are people destroying the most beautiful things. This head used to be black, but now somebody has spray painted it green. There are also other statues destroyed in the same way near this place.
When I took this picture an old woman started talking to me about what she'd do to prevent this: she'd place police men with bats and guns everywhere. While she admitted that shooting the perpetrators isn't the best choice, she suggested beating them.
Well, I don't think that this is the right treatment, but I do not have a good alternative neither. The best thing would be giving young people something better to do or at least make them realize that there are valuable things that shouldn't be destroyed.

Dead Body Forecast

The weather on Sunday will be clouded in some areas, with 9 degree in the morning and up to 30 degree in the afternoon.

A message like this doesn't really catch anyone's attention. Unfortunately this kind of news won't either:

A parked car bomb exploded in a crowded area near a medical complex in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 30, officials said. [Newsvine]

I heard this news today on the radio just before the weather report. The reporter used the same voice tone for the forecast as for the killings.
It struck me quite a bit: we've become so used to people dying in Iraq that it's nothing special anymore. Like the monthly car bomb - a never ending series. I guess when a bomb kills only one person in my country, there will be reports about it all day long.

I'm On YouTube

This video was taken while the four of us were playing around with beer bottles.

A Poem against Suicide

This is a poem I wrote to a girl I learned to know on the Internet about a year ago. I learned to know her in a time of depression and she was talking about suicide a lot. I decided to publish part of the poem I wrote to her at that time. I cut the first part to maintain her anonymity.

Talking for hours without a break,
I cannot imagine this is fake.
So it didn't take long to realize,
This is becoming friends without looking into the other's eyes.

There are so many things we share,
But one difference that makes me care:
While in my life I try everything I haven't tried,
You embrace death and suicide.

I don't know anyone with such an obsession
And please don't blame it on depression!
This thing is really spooking in my head:
I don't want you to be dead!

I think you are creative and smart,
I love your poems which is your way of art.
I read some of them and sensed your cry:
This world does not want me, so just let my die.

There is still one thing I don't understand:
You want to see the world on the other hand.
You are interested in many things including Spanish,
So death cannot be your eternal wish.

Sometimes life is good, sometimes it's bad,
Sometimes you're happy, sometimes you're sad.
There is so much this life is giving,
So promise me, you will stay among the living.

I met the girl a few month after I wrote this poem and she is fine.

Fuer Elise

Today I was in the Haus der Musik in Vienna. The best thing was the Grand Piano standing in the hallway of the museum. Everyone was allowed to play.

I sat down and started playing Fuer Elise. Suddenly a little girl came to the piano and smiled. It didn't take long until several other children were around. They all were listening to me playing. I didn't even dare to look up because I didn't except that much audience. After I finished playing they applauded for me. My girlfriend who was sitting behind me was really proud of me at that moment. It's been a while that my piano playing skills have been honored that much.

Strange people in the park

Thanks to the marvelous weather I'm spending as much time as possible in the park. Today I sat again on the place as yesterday. And again most people were drinking alcohol there - at 4 pm.
But today I also had some funny experiences. A girl sat down on the bench next to me and said: "Excuse me, is my nose bleeding?" First I didn't even understand the question because it was so out of context. But it seems like she has that problem very often and of course had no mirror.
She went away shortly after and after a few more minutes an older guy walked by every bench and tried to sell self-made candles for EUR 1.50 each. Well... I don't think he'll sell many candles in the direct sunshine. Maybe he should have tried a few hours later.

Where is our youth going?

Yesterday I was reading in the city park of my town. Even though it was still afternoon many young people sitting on the other benches were already drinking beer. Too bad there is no ban on drinking in public places in Austria.
But compared to what I have seen later in the evening, this was nothing. I came across the park again in the late evening. It was filled with hundreds of young people, many of them below the age of 16. But everyone was drunk. I wish drinking would have been the only drug consume there.
In addition to that the paths were littered with empty or full beer bottles and other things. Compared to afternoon, this place looked completely different. And nobody is gonna do anything against it. The police was driving by but didn't even bother to get out of the car. Like society lets down our youth on purpose.
We must not forget that our children will be the ones who will be the adults in the future. They will have children of their own. Where is this all going? Maybe their parents are already drunk on some evenings, too. A great example for them.
But instead of seeking a better life, the children embrace alcohol and drugs in ever increasing numbers. Looks like there is nothing else to do for them. Or if there is, they all have only one thing in common: getting drunk on a regular basis. What more do they need. It's fun, it's probably cheaper than going to the movies and you have lots and lots of people who do the same.
There are some ad campaigns against alcohol. But instead of telling them that it's bad, we should show our youth how to have fun without it. And we should do it fast before those who know how die out.

Being more friendly to strangers

About a week ago I was walking my dogs in the morning. Many people pass by every time. But this time was different. A girl passed me. Well, there's nothing special about that - but shortly after she said "Hello" and went on. I turned around. No one else was there but she kept on walking in the opposite direction. It got me all a little confused.

Having seen the movie Waking Life I remembered the ant scene where the narrator passes a woman and she starts talking to him:

I mean, it’s like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continuously on ant auto-pilot with nothing really human required of us.

I've thought about it after seeing the movie and I'm thinking about it again: why do we ignore most people on the streets? Can't we all be a little bit more friendly or at least notice the people we pass?

In the future I want to be more friendly to strangers. For example, today a girl wanted to cross the streets and was unsure whether I'd stop my bike. Instead of going on, I stopped and gave her a smile to let her know it's safe to cross. She smiled back.

It doesn't take much - but when everyone does it, life can be a lot more enjoyable.