Bathos

[oloriel]

Why are all the flags half-masted again? National mourning for the pope, or are we preparing for the End-of-World-War-II-celebrations already?

I mean, seriously. The only time that we fly flags at all in Germany are a) times of national mourning, when they're all half-masted, b) important visitors, when they're actually up, and c) soccer world championships.
At all other times, there just aren't any flags. Nope.

And this year has been a half-mast year. First, the sea quake in South-east Asia, which prompted several weeks of mourning which turned into the Auschwitz remembrance and then Bush came to Germany but that wasn't really worth dragging the flags up again so they just remained half-masted. Now the pope is dead, so we're mourning again. Next up, as I said, is probably the end of World War II. And I'm sure we'll think of something else to mourn after that.

Really, no surprise the economy is going down if all this country does is mourn.

*headdesks*

On a completely unrelated note, on Monday I went to karate practice for the first time since last October. Was half-relieved that I still remember the techniques, especially the kata (except for Kankû Shô, which we did yesterday, but I never knew that very well anyway); and half-shocked that even though I am totally out of practice, there were others (who presumably practiced all the while) who were less enduring and less precise than me. I suppose I should take that as a good sign for myself. But what the hell have they been doing? They're still just as far as they were when I last practiced, last fall. Maybe I flatter myself when I think I'd learn at least a bit in half a year, but they apparently didn't. They didn't even build endurance, or anything. Total stagnation. What the hell have they been doing all the time?
Which leads to me being unreasonably proud of the fact that I at least didn't get remarkably worse than I was before.

</ blather>

- - -


Warum sind wir denn jetzt schon wieder auf halbmast? Staatstrauer für den Papst, oder bereiten wir uns nur schon auf die Ende-des-zweiten-Weltkriegs-Feierlichkeiten vor?

Nein, ehrlich. Dieses Jahr war nun wirklich ein Halbmastjahr. Erst mehrere Wochen Trauer für die Opfer des Seebebens in Südostasien, die direkt ins Gedenken für die Auschwitz-Opfer überging, und als Bush nach Deutschland kam, haben sie die Flaggen auch nicht gerade höher gezogen. Jetzt ist der Papst tot, also trauert der Staat wieder. Danach kommt bestimmt, wie erwähnt, das Kriegsende. Und danach fällt uns bestimmt wieder irgendwas neues zum Trauern ein.

Echt, kein Wunder, dass die Wirtschaft abkackt, wenn wir ständig nur am Trauern sind.

*headdesks*

Was damit überhaupt nix zu tun hat: Am Montag bin ich zum ersten Mal seit fast einem halben Jahr wieder zum Karate gegangen. War halb erleichtert, dass ich die Techniken, vor allem die Kata (außer Kankû Shô, die haben wir gestern gemacht, aber die konnte ich schon vorher nicht besonders), noch einigermaßen beherrsche, und halb schockiert, dass, obwohl ich völlig außer Übung bin, da diverse Leute waren (die die ganze Zeit trainiert haben), die noch weniger Ausdauer hatten als ich und auch technisch unsauberer. Ich nehme an, ich sollte das einfach als gutes Zeichen für mich nehmen. Aber was zur Hölle haben die gemacht? Sie sind kein Stück weiter als im Herbst. Nicht mal ausdauernder geworden oder so. Totaler Stillstand. Was zur Hölle haben die die ganze Zeit gemacht?
Und das führt dazu, dass ich schon unvernünftig stolz darauf bin, dass ich zumindest nicht viel verlernt habe seither.

</ sabbel>


- - -

Comments

[ilanalynn.livejournal.com]

I'll look next time I'm on the post to see if the American flags are half-staffed too. Every time I see them half-staffed like that I just want to know who died. :P

btw, I think it's funny that the flag-raisers of your lovely country couldn't be bothered to raise the flags all the way for Bush's visit (which made us stay home all weekend for fear of the traffic, he landed not ten minutes away from where we are, and the roads were closed for a very large radius around the area). It's somehow appropriate. ;)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Oh, they probably could. In our country in general, I mean. They just didn't bother right here, which is far away from where Bush landed anyway...

[http://users.livejournal.com/macalla_/]

Personally I think that there should definitely be deep mourning, wherever Bush is told to put his feet (because he's to dumb to remember how to walk).

Apart from that - oh yes, please. Let's mourn a man who was too conservative to consider the spreading of aids and other diseases and decided (in his god given wisdom) to forbid condoms instead.

[arhuaine.livejournal.com]

The only time that we fly flags at all in Germany are a) times of national mourning, when they're all half-masted, b) important visitors, when they're actually up, and c) soccer world championships.

*lol* It's the same in England. In fact, mostly limited to (c).