Interlude – Lyrics and Prayer

Before my blog returns to the world’s crises, I wanted to share an Anime series that I recently discovered, Fire Force.

Fire Force is aptly befitting the summer, which was way too hot.

But it’s a lot of fun to watch!

The show has some great lyrics that I couldn’t find good transliterations for on the web, so here they are:

Prayer:

The flame is the soul’s breath
The black smoke is the soul’s release
Ashes thou wert and art
May thy soul return to the great flame of fire

Látom

Opening Lyrics Season 1, Cour 1:

[Verse 1]
The darkness is illuminated
The days we’ve grown accustomed to walking are weeded out
My dream might be to make a stable living
but I’ll moan over the lack of stimulation

[Verse 2]
The end is illuminated
Where are the streets we’re accustomed to walking?
Time can sometimes be irksome,
but we’re enveloped in warmth

[Pre-Chorus]
Flames rise to show us the way
reminding us of a gentle melody

[Chorus]
There is no eternity, none at all, they say
I just smile, thinking that’s fine with me
If we shine, someday, our light will go out
We’ll keep on walking until the day
the fire of our lives gets doused

[Verse 3]
Playthings that make sounds
and magic that chases pain away
are all precious treasures to me

[Chorus]
There is no eternity, none at all, they say
I just smile, thinking that’s fine with me
If we shine, someday, our light will go out
We’ll keep on walking until the day
the fire of our lives gets doused

Closing Lyrics Season 1, Cour 1:

[Chorus]
You can toil your way through humorless days
and curse the unwavering present,
but words that simply hang in the air
are not enough to save you

[Verse 1]
We’ve been walking shoulder-to-shoulder
between sights we never reach
and pain that brings no warmth
to make it to a faraway place

[Verse 2]
Given the hope that you speak of
or the ideals that you dream of
I’ll find a way to show you love, however cold you may be

[Chorus]
You can toil your way through humorless days
and curse the unwavering present,
but words that simply hang in the air
are not enough to save you

[Verse 3]
You can cry out timidly
but that changes when the nights grow fevered
Even if we let go of each other’s hands,
I hope we can still walk together again

[Fin]
I’ll refrain from saying goodbye
to ensure that we can meet again somewhere

Introduction Season 1, Cour 2:

A long time ago, mankind was touched by the planet’s anger,
and the world was engulfed in flames.
It was the Day of the Cataclysm.
The flames burnt ferociously,
with an intensity threatening to incinerate the places mankind lived,
the languages they spoke, and the culture they had built up.

(Copyright always remains with the series’ creators and their licensors!)

2022-09-02

(Screenshot, Crunchyroll, 9/2/22)

Shutdown two, week forty-nine

The incidence in Cologne has declined; it’s again at 59 right now.

Beginning today, the state will no longer fund Corona-Tests for people who could get vaccinated instead. I do not understand why some people risk a rather unpleasant death over getting vaccinated – is it superstition? Or the lure of conspiracy theories?

The (still governing) Christian Democrats continue on their course to disintegration; their Austrian counterpart has already reached the finishing line.

Our Social Democrats, the Greens, and the Liberals are in talks to determine whether they should form a coalition government – I sincerely hope they will succeed for the sake of the environment and all the villages in the ZAD Rheinland!

One of my favorite pre-pandemic pastimes was to go to the movies – the Cinemas have re-opened and have suitable hygiene protocols in place, so it’s time to return and make sure they don’t shutter for good.

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(The Peppercorns and the Secret of the Deep Sea, Filmpalast, 10/9/21)

Shutdown two, week fourteen

The numbers are still not that good, and we’re most likely looking at an extension of the lockdown.

Meanwhile, let’s talk about arts and culture, what has changed for me during the lockdown and what I believe will continue:

  • Movies: I used to go to the cinema a lot – I love movies. Naturally, the major streaming providers have taken on a much more significant role in my life. I happily pay for renting movies now that I would have watched in the cinema before and might continue to do so in the future.
  • Concerts: Less often, but still quite a lot of times I would go to live shows, sometimes even far away ones. During the lockdown, a couple of online tour providers have come up, such as StageIt or Moment House – it’s not the same experience, but I can and do attend many more venues digitally now than before in person. Hopefully, I will be able to continue this in the future, too.
  • Clubs: Another favorite. Here’s Twitch coming to the rescue, with many event streams and easy support options, for example, for TLL – a club several hundred miles away that I would have never visited if it wasn’t for Corona.

So, at the same time, Corona has reduced my mobility and enhanced it; let’s see what the future holds!

On a side note, spending many hours in front of the computer warrants an upgrade to the interface, and I now have a shiny new gaming mouse:

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(input,hiddev1,hidraw4: USB HID v1.11 Keyboard [ROCCAT ROCCAT Kain 120] on usb-0000:02:00.0-6.3/input2)

Shutdown two, week thirteen

The situation is getting better but is still dire. We will most likely see an extension of the current lockdown while our government ramps up the vaccination efforts.

But how will our life change afterward? Let’s have a look:

  • I do not meet friends and family in person.
  • I haven’t been in an office in months.
  • I haven’t met a colleague in person in months.
  • I hardly ever go shopping anymore.
  • I haven’t been to a restaurant in months.
  • I haven’t been to a cinema or concert for almost a year.
  • I haven’t traveled anywhere for almost a year.

What, if any, of these pre-Corona habits will I take back up?

I am quite happy with social activities being digital, and I hope some will stay that way even after Corona. And once you get used to digital concerts, there’s no way going back. Or is there?

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(Techno Lieben und Leben, Twitch, 1/31/21)

Be considerate and stay home!

City and Council of Cologne are requesting all citizens and visitors to stay home and cancel all events, big and small.

The goal is to minimize all forms of social contact during the next couple of weeks, to slow down the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 (and thus COVID-19), as especially the elderly and people with a weakened immune systems are at risk.

So, be considerate, stay at home and help your neighbors!

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(Empty cinema, 3/13/20)

Spiderman: Far From Home

What a ride – first, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, probably the best animated movie this year with a lot of fresh ideas, then, Avengers: Endgame where Peter took the mantle from Tony Stark. And now, Spiderman: Far from Home

Far from Home is a great reboot of the Spiderman universe, portraying a cool super hero fit for the 21st century; at the same time it also showed a lot of continuity and references to past Marvel movies for fans, old and new alike

Highly recommended – go watch it, but stay until after the credits!

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(Movie poster outside of Metropolis)

Sherwood

Through the original family option of Google Play Music All Access we were migrated to YouTube Premium (YouTube Red in some geographies), and with this we also got access to YouTube Originals, which includes a variety of high-quality mini series.

One of these is Sherwood – loosely based on the legend of Robin Hood, the series is set in a world where the climate catastrophe has already happened and most of the world is flooded, it chronicles the adventure of Robin and her friends in their fight for justice and equality against the Sheriff of the upper city.

Very relatable characters, good storytelling and great animation make this a fun series to watch – highly recommended!

2019-06-30

(YouTube – Screenshot from Sherwood S1E7)

Red Hood Fan Series

Until recently I did not know that there were such things as fan series – boy, did I miss out!

I would like to highlight one in particular, the Red Hood Fan Series which is set in DC’s Batman Universe, following the adventures of the three Robins – Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne – in their quest to take back Gotham from the Court of Owls

With professional camera, high quality editing and great actors such as Cameron Judd (as Damian Wayne), Ian Lang (as Jason Todd),  Nadav Jackson (as Colin Todd), and Madden Zook (as 7B05), the series is a must to watch

Season 2 was financed by a Kickstarter, which I missed, but I’ll definitely be in for season 3!

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(Instagram @redhoodfanseries)

Elyas M’Barek

During the weekend, we saw “Der Fall Collini” by Marco Kreuzpaintner, based on a novel by Ferdinand von Schirach.

The film paints a very accurate picture of West Germany in the time after the war and before the 68 unrests, a time when a lot of Nazis were still in positions of power and used their positions to escape prosecution for their war crimes.

Der Fall Collini is most definitely a very important film, especially given the rise of the new Right in parts of Germany and Europe, but most striking is the lead actor – Elyas M’Barek in the role of the lawyer Caspar Leinen.

Elyas handled the transition from comedy to drama really well and excels in his role, torn between family, law and justice.

I believe he’s probably the best young German-speaking actor in the moment and am very much looking forward to seeing him again on the big screen!

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(Movie poster at Rex am Ring Lichtspiele, Cologne)

Endgame (No spoilers)

Last night we went to the Avengers – Endgame opening night (actually an Infinity War / Endgame double feature).

Three hours of good fun, solid action and no boring parts!

This movie is indeed the grand conclusion of the Avengers saga, very much befitting its epic, world- and time-spanning scope, and opens a lot of roads ahead for Marvel to build on that foundation, and develop the surviving protagonists, old and new.

Highly recommended!

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(Poster on display at Metropolis, Cologne)