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!

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(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!

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(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!

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(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 …

Insta-Life

(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!

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(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!

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(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.

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(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

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(Köln gegen Rechts, 2/21/20)

Thuringia – why do we care?

A couple of days ago, the unthinkable happened: A candidate got himself elected as governor with the help of the far right.

In Thuringia, of all places, where last century the Nazi party scored their first victory and started a spree of unspeakable atrocities and heinous crimes against humanity.

All just a couple of days after Holocaust Remembrance Day, just a couple of days after the 75-year anniversary of the liberation of the German death factory in Auschwitz through the Red Army.

What is wrong with people?

Never Again – Never Forget!

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(#koelleforfuture, 2/7/20)

Visions For Climate

During the weekend we had a networking event with for-Future climate activists from all over Germany and many other European countries.

Networking becomes ever more important in the climate justice movement, to unite and coordinate activities, as our governments fail to address the emergency we’re facing and even harbor plans to make it worse, by adding more fossil fuel power plants, such as Datteln IV or Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.

The event was an Open Space, expertly facilitated by Jutta Weimar, Jens Wellendorf, and many supporters, who graciously donated their time and effort; results will now be forwarded to the local groups.

Vegan catering came from Fläming Kitchen, a so-called people-kitchen based in the Fläming region between Berlin and Leipzig – yum!

We were hosted at Max-Bill-Schule in Berlin Weissensee – many thanks to the director, Bernhard Klein, for having us!

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(Program schedule)