Schwelmo's Welt

I was thinking to quit smoking. I am actually been thinking about it a while. But right now I think I shouldn’t stop. I know it is not healthy, but that doesn’t stop most people from drinking sugar packed fizzy drinks or eating junk food. And I don’t want to advertise it in any way....so if you haven’t started yet DON’T, ever! But I do believe that everybody should be able to do what he/she wants…Ok, sometimes I want to kill somebody who really pissed me off and I shouldn’t do that and should not be allowed to (and I never did). And you shouldn’t be allowed to bomb other countries without or faked reasons or at all. And you should not be allowed to get away with it. And you shouldn’t get away with torturing people just because you are bored, stupid, were never really accepted and your parents did not love you. Even you are in the middle of a desert and do not know what you are there for. You should be allowed to draw cartoons and being satirical.

What does this have to do with smoking?? Well, Maori party decided (this is not true I just found out: one member wants a complete smoking ban, so please replace Maori party in this post with "one member of the Maori party") they want totally ban smoking. You wouldn’t be allowed to smoke anywhere. It is forbidden to smoke in pubs here, I kind of understand why and I am used to it and do not really mind to go outside if I feel like a puff (actually we usually stay outside and the non-smokers follow after a while. So that the pubs are pretty empty inside and packed outside.) even if I would stop smoking I do not care what other people do to themselves or in their home, garden, car. It is not of my business. If you enjoy smoking, do it. I know you will say something about how unhealthy it is, passive smoking and damage to the society. Well drinking alcohol is unhealthy and eating (red) meat is the second highest risk (after smoking) for cancer. Nobody wants to forbid that. Well, you find people who want to forbid meat or alcohol.

Being obese is unhealthy and damaging the society. Driving a SUV is unhealthy, uncool, blocking my view at interceptions and killing school kids who are too small to see if you are driving out of the school drive way. I would love somebody forbids them (and actually would love to drive one as I am sure its fun). Anyway, I think it is not the Maori partys business if you smoke or not!

At the same day the EU made “great progress in securing the safety and FREEDOM of the EU”. The parliament decided to save all telefon calls (incl. internet connections) with owner of the connection, time, date and number of the receiver for 6-24 month. EVERY call! War against terrorism and other crimes! Thank you, I feel much saver and free now. Thank you for trusting us! Maybe you should read our letters as well. At least Ireland and Slovakia said no.

And the job of storing the data is left to (Deutsche) Telekom, which weren’t able to make a telephone connection at my ex-girlfriends place for 3 month.

Hey, where are we going?? What kind of world we wanna give to (y)our kids? Nowadays-even actors get into trouble by doing their job.

One day somebody tell a friend via email or telephone that he is drawing a cartoon while he smoking in his lounge and will be arrested by the police, which was informed by the Maori party (who globalized their non-smoking program by then). And all that for his own safety in the name of national security and fight against terrorism.

# posted by Schwelmo @ Wednesday, February 22, 2006 1 Comments

I am getting 31. Thirty one!! Can you imagine that?? This is already over 30! Well, when I think back what I thought about 30 when I was a kid and I compare it with my status now…it is nothing like it. I imagined having a house, car, job and family including kids. Well to tell you the truth I have a car. Its real granny like but it brings me from A to B and back (where A is Palmy and B something else {beach i.e.}). I don’t have a job but getting paid to study. I live in a house but share it with others. I am still flatting and I can’t see a family coming up. But I am reasonable happy! While growing up I learned that you could be happy with not many material things. All you need are a good group of friends and family. You need something to do but not necessarily earn much money. Just enough not to worry. I feel privileged to been grown up in a western society country not to worry about starving, being able to say what I want (even if it doesn’t make sense) and the opportunity to go to school and University (well, while I was going to school it mostly sucked). Most people in this world are not able to afford a car, not to speak about education and I guess that will not get much better.

If I compare my life now and 5 years ago not much went worse but a few things improved. Five years ago I was on the other side of the world. I had night when I have day now. I was flatting with 3 other lovely people on a main traffic street in Duesseldorf. Now I am flatting with 3 other lovely people in a house with garden in Palmy. Five years ago my birthday was in one of the coldest and rainiest month of the, now it is in summer. Five years ago I was vegetarian. Now I am vegan. Five years ago my belly was smaller. Five years ago I needed to drive 3.5h to the beach and it was in Holland with ugly buildings and lots of Germans around it. Now I drive 30min to share the beach with Germans and Kiwis (and French, Italians, Chileans, Belgians …) but not as many. Five years ago my nose was blocked with diesel dust now its pollen. Five years ago my English didn’t really exist. Nowadays it is fine after two beers. Five years ago I had a girlfriend but wanted another one. Now I am still looking for another one. Five years ago I was worried to get bald. Now I am worried to get balder. Five years ago I had a bike accident. Now I might lose a tooth because of this. Five years ago I started smoking, which I still do. Five years ago I mainly drank Alt, now it is Guinness. My music changed from 80% punk and 20% Ska and reggae to 50/50 and a bit of country and Irish. Five tears ago my hangovers became increasingly bad nowadays it is still getting worse. Five years ago I had contact with most of the people I call friends. I made new ones and hope that in five years not too much will change as well.

# posted by Schwelmo @ Friday, February 17, 2006 1 Comments

I am not crazy. A week before Xmas I noticed the water smells funny and taste disgusting. Not that the tap water in Palmy is usually a pleasure to drink as it has the chlorine aroma known from swimming pools. But this time it was tasting earthy and moldy. I asked my flatties which couldn’t confirm it. So I thought that’s it. I am over 30 old and getting crazy. “They wanna poison me! It must be aliens or the FBI” (actually its probably Coke). I tried not to mention it anymore. Just in case they really think I am crazy and sent me to the next Sanatorium where I have to live with 3 Jesuses (is there a plural of Jesus?) and 2 Napoleons for the rest of my life. And I went away on holiday for 2 weeks so I did not taste the water.

When I came back it was worse. Not only that. Other people went crazy as well. Yvonne started to taste it as well and a few others. As that were to many people to be crazy it must be the water. And finally, one month after I thought the water is more odd than usually I got the official confirmation “ I am not crazy”. It came in form of the headlines “Moldy taste makes citizens paying bottles water” and ”City battling toxic algae threat”. In the first article they said “ we don’t know what is causing it but the drinking water is safe”. ????? The first thing they did was to filter out the muddy taste. It doesn’t smell that bad anymore, just normal bad as before. But if I could smell it before Xmas what did the people do who are responsible to look after it between Xmas and last week? Holidays?? Probably.

As we know the drinking water is becoming a worldwide shortage problem. Nobody of us does really care as we think we can use the water from the tap. But did you notice that Coke, Nestle and a few other companies already own the bottled water market? Here in New Zealand (bottled) water is more expensive than petrol. Everybody is complaining about the high petrol prices but nobody seems to care about the water. And they hide it. Coke is selling water under the names “pump” and “Kiwi Blue” (pretending to be local). Sometimes they try harder as seen in “The Corporation” where a company even owned the rain water in Mexico (? not sure where exactly it was. Watch the movie). Anyway beside of maybe getting paranoid. I enjoyed the water at the beach this weekend! More about it when I have more time. But check out Yvonnes

size compared to the wave!

PS: Check out the vegan cookbook (Links). No excuses not to invite me for dinner anymore! ;-)

# posted by Schwelmo @ Tuesday, February 07, 2006 2 Comments