Society – Page 16 – Writer Between Worlds

Sons of a gun

At this point I just want to say something about the recent shooting sprees in America. It seems all sorts of maniacs are on the loose again. And their guns, too. Now, I am not trying to pick a fight with anyone, but I cannot stand the blatant hypocrisy and shortsightedness of the gun-loving party.…
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Latest ownership craze

I remember my mother raising me with that Central European sense of politeness, where she would constantly nag: “What does it cost you to say hello? What does it cost you to say thank you?” It used to cost nothing, and so we grew up always politely saying hello and thank you. But what do…
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A touch of German humor

Well, since I did such serious German-bashing in my last post (and my conscience has been shaken by vigorous spasms of guilt ever since…), let me make it up to them by saying that they do have occasional bouts of excellent humor. Take this guy that was on Deutschland Funk this morning, a stand-up comedian,…
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Prozedur über alles

Would it be possible to write a piece about the periodic absurdity of German life? The eye-popping, mind-boggling, neuron-grilling absurdity of the bureaucratic mindset? I don’t think so. See, I can’t even come up with the right adjectives… Remember those Tom-and-Jerry cartoons where a desperate Tom pulls his own tongue, hits himself over the head…
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Europe – Endrope?

I opened the ‘Shares & Stocks’ section of the paper today and an ocean of red met my eye. All the indices were down, except maybe two or three (surprisingly enough, Nokia shares were up. Well, not a lot of place to fall once you’ve hit rock bottom, I guess :-)). So what is the…
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Joy-less

His face is gaunt and he stares blankly ahead. Dragging his feet up the hill to his house, he is either frowning in discontent, looking bored, or being downright spiteful and aggressive. His bubbly anger boils just under the surface. He is 5. At home he has a room full of toys waiting for him.…
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Heloooo, said the echo in my brain

Ever since I have gadgets, my brain has been emptying itself of information at a worrying pace. Knowledge deserts me, it peels off my nerve cells like a facial. Everything is crammed into a mess of wires and processors nowadays, and I feel lost without my external hard drive. It is a horrible feeling. My…
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MultiKulti auf Deutsch

The time was 2 p.m. and the temperature was 32 degrees centigrade – in the shade. The parking lot was teeming with expensive cars whence packs of hyperactive, overwrought children irrupted. The mothers were carrying plates and salad bowls and cakes and the fathers looked as lost as they usually do. Dragging my feet across the…
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From face-to-face, to Facebook

For the past 6 years I have been working as a freelance translator. I love the job and the flexibility it offers, but I am finding it increasingly hard to live in an increasingly autistic bubble. The lack of social interaction sometimes borders on the unbearable. Of the thirty some agencies I cooperate with on…
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The orthodox Easter and the mainstream Bunny

Life is full of strange moments. The absurdity of life becomes implacably apparent when you try to explain it to small children. We are part of a minority which celebrates Easter according to the Orthodox tradition, at a later date than our Catholic brethren. I know the “technical” explanation why that is so, but how…
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Category: Society