Category Society
Cracking Down
It was almost three years before someone asked my to show a ticket on my local commuter train. I was so surprised, I fumbled to produce it – I just wasn’t expecting the request. The train runs from Basel, Switzerland, to Freiburg, Germany, and is used by thousands daily. There are no turnstiles. At many […]
Most Valuable Sculpture
What does it say about the internet (and our society) that every reference I can find for this piece mentions it is the most valuable sculpture in Offenburg? Does it have no other significance? I would have thought that content or artistic merit would be more important. But obviously I am wrong. (And admittedly I […]
Harvest Time
A thousand kilos of grapes picked seems to me like a good morning’s work. Mind you, I didn’t do it alone. When you have friends who own a vineyard you can expect to be pressed into service at certain times. Until this year I had never been in Germany for the harvest. Yesterday’s total was […]
More Signs of the Times
Took the train the other day. Not an uncommon experience in a country with commuter rail, but I work from home so I don’t do it that often. I noticed once more how much times have changed. The use of masks is still mandatory on the trains themselves. But I hadn’t realized you are now […]
Saturday Morning Rant
I feel somehow I should rant about something this morning, express some anger. Problem is, I’m not angry at anyone or anything today. Or at least not enough to write about it. So I thought instead to share this post from five years ago. Hopefully it will allow me (and you) to get those inner […]
The Witch’s Fountain
I couldn’t puzzle out the meaning of the inscription on this fountain in the southern German town of Waldkirch, but from the figures I can deduce there is a supernatural element. The character on the left is definitely a witch. Witchcraft is a central theme throughout the Black Forest. The Grimm Brothers collected their fairy […]
Degenerate Art?
You’ve probably said it yourself. “I may not know much about Art, but I know what I like.” I don’t spend much time in art galleries. I come away feeling I haven’t gotten as much out of them as I should. Do you ever feel that way? As if the art experts are part of […]
Welcome To September
The conventions are over, and now the US presidential election campaign begins in earnest. The 2020 campaign will be like none other before it, coming as it does in the midst of a global pandemic. Americans are faced with a clear choice. Mind you, that’s what commentators say every four years – and somehow things […]
Where’s The Logic?
The demonstration will not happen. The authorities say it is unsafe to gather. Somehow that doesn’t make sense to me. I agree there are safety concerns – but it isn’t as if the organizers didn’t know that. There was a mass rally planned for Berlin this Saturday. Now it won’t happen – unless the demonstrators […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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