socialmedia – Page 4 – Christian Frank

Shutdown, week six, LDW +2

We’re at the beginning of the seventh week of shutdown in Cologne, and we’ve started to cautiously ease some of the restriction and re-opening shops for business again.

Social distancing measures are still in place, new for this week is the requirement to wear a face mask when shopping or using public transport. We’ll know in two weeks whether R continues to stay below 1 or not …

Also, two years ago, was my last day at Hewlett Packard Enterprise – the fourth term at University is coming to a close, too, with one more year to go.

And, we still haven’t acted on the refugee camp in Moria and at all the other places at our borders – shame on us!

(Coronawalk with my buddy Machod, 4/26/20)

Shutdown, week five, maintaining weight

At the end of the fifth week there is cautious optimism in Cologne and starting Monday we’ll see some small measures of reopening the city.

Overall, contact avoidance and social distancing will remain in place though.

You might recall that I started a LCHF diet in November 2018 and I’m quite happy that I have been able to maintain my weight until now, I hope I’ll be able to continue to do so – the added exercise during shutdown seems to help. A bit.

The other big news this week: We are still failing the people at our borders, big time. Shame on us!

(Bathroom scales, 4/17/20)

Shutdown, week four, total lack of solidarity

It’s the end of the fourth week in which Cologne has shut down, and it’s definitely the most somber and silent Spring Break and Easter holiday of my life.

In Christian mythology, Easter signifies hope, but not at our borders.

The utter lack of solidarity across Europe, and even more at our borders, towards the most vulnerable people of all – migrants fleeing the perils of war, civil unrest and strife – is appalling and deeply shameful.

Our Federal Ministry of the Interior recently agreed to allow 50 (in words: fifty) migrant kids into a nation of 80 Million.

Happy Easter!

(Pikachu on lawn, 4/11/20)

Shutdown, third week, staying sane

We’re entering into the fourth week of shutdown now – the measures seem to be working and the spread of the virus seems to be slowing down.

Three things have been helping me a lot to stay sane in the past weeks, and hopefully will continue to do so in the weeks to come:

A simple activity tracker (Misfit Ray), to make sure I get enough sunshine and exercise
A virtual buddy, to make walking alone less alone
Social media, to make social distancing less distant

Stay safe and support your local businesses!

(Ferkulum, 4/4/20)

Shutdown, second week, with many Artists and Pokémon

As we’re finishing the second week of shutdown here in Cologne, two things have stood out:

Many artists are going out of their way to entertain us, and Instagram Live emerged as the platform of choice for me. Thank you!!

If you’re going alone, Pokémon Go is a great companion app for the daily Corona walk. Just remember to feed your buddy with enough Razzberries …

(3/25/20, screenshots of various live streams)

Shutdown, first week, with home concerts

In Cologne, we’ve just completed the first week of the shutdown, with many more to come and a lockdown looming on the horizon.

As long as there are neither tests nor a vaccine, the only course of action to prevent spreading the infection of an airborne virus is to maintain physical distance. Staying at home as much as possible and avoiding physical contact is a show of solidarity, a display of caring for others, not an infraction on personal freedom.

I am very privileged and very thankful for that: FOM has quite successfully moved to remote teaching, and I can carry out all my work from home.

I am also very thankful for all artists that go out of their way to make our life at home much better!

Adexe y Nau,
Johnny Orlando, and
Oscar Stembridge,

to name a few. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!

(Adexe y Nau, #Yomequedoencasa, 3/21/20)

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!

(Empty cinema, 3/13/20)

O caritas, o caritas nobis semper sit amor

“We must never forget that Caritas has its origin and essence in God Himself (John 1, 4:8). Caritas is the embrace of God, our Father, for every person, especially for the very last and the suffering, who take a privileged place in his heart.” (His Holiness, Pope Francis, May 2019)

I am deeply ashamed about our actions at the EU borders in Greece and the Mediterranean Sea, and our utter lack of compassion for the people in need.

(Dhagpo Kagyu Ling)

Hanau

This Thursday, Weiberfastnacht, was the start of Carnival, which is usually a week of fun-filled celebrations leading up to Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

Not this year.

Wednesday night before, yet another right-wing terrorist went on a killing spree, taking nine lives in the small town of Hanau; from his social media accounts, we know that his motivation was blind hatred and xenophobia, fueled by current AfD rhetoric.

The names of his murder victims are:

Ferhat Ünver

Gökhan Gültekin

Hamza Kurtović

Said Nesar El Hashemi

Mercedes Kierpacz

Sedat Gürbüz

Kaloyan Velkov

Fatih Saraçoğlu

Vili Viorel Păun

(Köln gegen Rechts, 2/21/20)

2020 Goals

Here are my goals for this year:

Further reduce my carbon footprint and continue to actively support Fridays For Future in the struggle to achieve climate justice
Reach at least a normal BMI, i.e. a BMI less than 24.9:
- - Reduce my weight below 174 lbs. (79kg) and start exercising
Submit at least three responses to Call for Papers / Meetup talks
Run regular Rancher meetups in Cologne
Process YouTube backlog, publish regularly on YouTube throughout the year, and improve my video and photo skills
Reach these Social Media milestones:
- - 10.000 Tweets
  - 1.000 Instagram posts
  - 100 YouTube videos
Earn enough credits to start my Bachelor thesis in early 2021

2020 must be the year in which CO2 emissions begin to drop!

(#COP25 – posted by Aidan R. Gallagher)