Tako’s Presentation about “Factories in Big Cities”

The homework from our professor was to do a presentation about a free topic for a debate. It should show what’s the benefits and the problems, but also our statement of the topic. Today our classmate Taco presented his topic with the title “Factories in Big Cities”. He brought in different examples about how terrible the big factories effect the environment. I think he did a good job on researching the different examples, but the way the presentation was created was more a report than a debate. Indeed it was like a long list of different damages the factories are causing. It was done in a way a reader or the classmates would of course agree- but there is nothing left to debate, to discuss about because the statement was missing. But I’m sure that Tako understood the advices from our professor and will do a great job at his second draft.

The Clear Arguments of Celine’s Presentation

I think that my classmate Celine did a good presentation about the topic of pros and cons of Caesarian section. In these days it appeares to be kind of hype, kind of fashion that more and more woman give birth to their babies by Caesarian section and not the way it was meant to be by nature. Celine was very clear with her argument when she said that giving birth to a baby by Caesarian section is a very aggressive act to both, to the mother and the baby because the gynaecologist has not only to cut the belly but also the uterus. And this of course also means another risk to both, a risk that is just not necessary. I also learned that giving birth to a baby the natural way, through the birth canal- what is of course more painful to both- causes a biochemical reaction that bounds mother and the fetus. Of course if there are any kind of complications or an emergency, Caesarian section is the only solution.

Child Soldiers in Africa

There still are children misused for wars, and this dramatic fact has a long and sad history. In past children where misused in the American Civil War, they were used by the Nazis and also in Iran. Many countries in Africa misuse child soldiers, today like it was in the past. These countries are: Angola, Algeria, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. Africa has the largest amount of child soldiers, with an estimated 200.000 of the total world estimate of around 300.000 child soldiers. But why do or did some countries misuse children in their wars at all? The answer is very simple, they are easy to influence and to manipulate. Another point is the fact that their education is on a very low level and their environment is unstable. Most of them lost their families and because of their naivety they become very loyal to the leaders. --- So, these wars are not fought by rebellious children. These wars are fought by children without childhood. Their childhood and innocence was stolen from them and all what is left is fear and desperation.

It Sometimes Rains in Southern California

I‘ve heard that it was at about the end of February when it rained the last time. --- SPLASH! All of a sudden South California is busy to search for umbrellas. Found it, unfold it because here it is, "Here Comes The Rain Again" like Eurythmics sang. On my way back home I watch an elderly man at his front yard. Seems like he missed rain, like he has been waiting for a long, long while. As he senses me, his eyes seem to ask "Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ --- I cross 11th street, watching a little boy. Four, five years old, the host in his right, a little light blue Goofy-umbrella in his left hand. South Californians are used to water their plants. It’s bizarre. It was only last week when I thought that it’s true, it “Never Rains In Southern California". It’s just nine weeks ago that I moved here from Hamburg, North Germany. I KNOW rain. I know how it feels when it starts raining and just doesn’t stop for weeks. It’s the main reason why I moved to L.A. because “I can’t stand the rain” like Tina Turner once said. Now it’s time to think it all over. Hey, can somebody hear me? “Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head”. It’s just not fair! "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?"

All these Worms

Yeah, I really love these early mornings. Like my friend does. Well, thinking it over, it’s more HIM who likes it so much. Because- actually, I always was much more that kind of an owl, a person that enjoys to sleep in. Things have changed since we met. Anyway, my friend gets up at 5:00. Every single morning. Ok, not correctly because on Sundays he loves to sleep in to really be relaxed after a tough week. On Sundays, lovely Sundays, the alarm rings late, at 5:15. To him there is always a good reason to get up early. There are so many things you can do in the mornings, my friend argues. Like sports. He enjoys to go to the gym - I bet he’s the only person there at this time. He might even be the only person in the whole City that gets up in the middle of the night. Sometimes he likes to do his runs in the night (that’s how I call this part of the morning). Yesterday he asked me to join him. - “What? Do you know what time it is?” - “Of course, and that’s the best time of the day, the best time to run. Get up! Early bird gets the worm!” An old saying, and -I’m sure it makes sense. To BIRDS. But- what the heck shall I do with all these worms?

Friday Night, Pepper and Parmesan

How I love to go out for dinner on Friday nights. To me it’s the perfect end of a long week and a relaxing way to start the weekend. Tonight we’re at our favorite Italian restaurant, the Pasta Factory. Our pasta is just served and my friend wants to know how my week was. I open my mouth to answer but get interrupted because the waiter wants to know if everything is fine. “Yes, thank you, it’s delicious”, and “yes, the wine is tasty too.” I try to answer my friend’s question but a different waiter, breaking our conversation again, is faster. “Would you like to have black pepper on your pasta?” We want it. The waiter disappeares. “Ehh-what did you ask me?” I’m now asking my friend. “Oh, just how your week….” “Would you like to have some parmesan on your pasta?” another waiter wants to know. “Oh yes, thank you! I had a great week. How was yours?” I answer his question. The waiter looks at me (he seems to be a little confused). My friend laughs out loud. “Could it be you’re just tired?” he wants to know. With the mouth full I ‘m just able to nod yes. After a little while my friend has finished his noodles and because I like to make little brakes I’m still eating. I just have a gulp of wine when the black-pepper-waiter finds a chance to and take away our plates. “But- but I haven’t finished yet, can I ...?” I stutter. - “Of course! I’ll bring you the bill in a minute!” the parmesan- waiter answers.

Sleeping in- the Perfect Start for a New Day

Sundays are perfect because you finally can sleep in. I think sleeping in is the perfect start for a new day. When you get up at noon-ok- half of the day is already done but you had 6 hours extra sleep. What- if daily done-,makes 30 hours a week . Ok- you might have to look for a new job (halftime)- because most companies want their employees to appear in the early morning. Another good reason to sleep in is of course the fact that you don’t have to drive during rush hours anymore, what saves extra 30 minutes daily, 3 more hours weekly. Next, all the lines like in the supermarket, bank, hairdresser, car wash. Let’s say another 30 minutes each day, 3 more precious hours a week. Continue counting all the time you’ve spent talking to your family and friends on the phone- one hour a day at least; so add 5 more hours to the time you’re saving now (because it’s too late to call your Mom at 9:30 p.m. when you’re finally home from work) so we are at the summit of 49 hours. Just add another 8 hours you would have spent socializing with neighbors, going out for dinner with friends or to the movies. Makes totally 49 extra hours to sleep in. You might not see your family, your friends again. After some time you might be without social contacts at all. But, no problem. -You still can get up early on Sundays.

The Miracles of Early Mornings

I love early mornings because you can makes experiences you wouldn’t if you get up too late. It’s 5:00 a.m. when the alarm’s shouting at me: “GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!” -This new bed is too high to just roll out softly, I miss the edge and -like at least once a week- fall with a loud crash. Yeah, the wooden planks still ARE hard. This morning it’s the left elbow. Could be worse. “GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!” Finally I find the little switch, SILENCE. -The water, coming out of the pipe, takes a long while to finally get warm. It switches from hurting ice cold to burning hot into a second. I never get it right. I tumble out to the kitchen, put on the coffee machine, it chuckles at me. It worked yesterday. There must be laws that allowe some coffee machines to work only three times a week. We got one of them. Ok, black tea will rescue me. The water heater is doing a good job, it heats up with a strange crackling noise. No water in it. No problem. Next is to put on the notebook to do another blog for my homework. The title is “The Miracles of Early Mornings”. The tea smells a little like dried cat’s pooh, I burn my tongue and throat as I check my schedule at the timer, noticing it’s -Sunday. --- Twelve steps to my warm, soft bed.

Unexpected Help

Last Friday, on my way to College I had a wonderful experience of unexpected help. I love to bike to the college in the morning- and I like to bike fast. This morning, just at the corner Lincoln Boulevard/Ozone, the chain of my bike jumped out and this kind of bikes, cruisers, don’t have front brakes. That’s exactly what I needed. I nearly crashed into the wall at my right side but somehow was able to stop just before. I never fixed the chain before but luckily my friend showed me weeks ago how to do it. So I started to fix the back wheel , it went ok. I just wanted to start with the front part, holding the chain it in my right hand, full of grease, when a young man crossed the street toward me. “Can I help you?” I shook my head no. “Thanks, I’m fine”. He came closer, and without asking again he just raised up the back wheel, fixed the front part, moved the pedals. “I did this a hundred times, I’ve been biking all my life. Here”- offering his left arm - “clean your hands, this sweater has to be washed anyway”. He wished me to have a great day and disappeared. -It took only two minutes, maybe three. But this unexpected help from a stranger changed my day from a good into a GREAT day. Thank you, stranger.

Nothing better than Roasted Chestnuts

Yesterday my brother Peter brought back old memories from my home country. He told me that he will have chestnuts for dinner. These kind of chestnuts you will find in the southern part of Europe, like Austria, where I was born. When fall sneaks in and colors the leaves into bright yellow, orange and shiny red it’s chestnut season. Harvesting them is a little “dangerous”, you always will get in touch with the needles of the skin, protecting the nuts. So- peeling them takes a little while. But with a pair of leather gloves, the good ones, you’re protected. I takes a basket full to feed four persons. Next step is to cut them crosswise. That’s ought to be done with a sharp knife, the cut needs to be on the brightest part of the fruits, or else they would crash uncontrolled when heated. Wait till it’s dark- for the atmosphere- that’s part of the recipe, light the fire, then put the chestnuts into a big iron pan. Shake it loose and make sure there are stories told, could be fairy tales or old memories. Shake the chestnuts again- loose. One more story to be told. Now they are well done. - Nothing better than roasted chestnuts!

Contact with Sharks at Marina Del Ray

I never before saw sharks in nature. We are at “Mother’s Beach” in Marina Del Ray for my first stand up paddeling exercises. It’s my premiere on a longboard, my friend is giving my some hints, shows me how to hold the paddle, to keep balance. I go out and after a little while I’m feeling pretty comfortable on the board. I do big circles, then decide to paddle back to the beach where my friend is waiting, being in good mood because it went so good. All of a sudden, down on the ground, some huge, dark shadows are catching my eyes. The biggest one, about my size, is closed to my left side, four feet. Not more. It’s a fish. A big one. The sun is reflecting in the water, it takes a moment to figure the shape of this creature, the sharp triangle on it’s back. A shark! There, from the right, comes another one followed by one smaller animal. So closed to the beach the water isn’t deep, not even two feet. Two of the sharks are about my size. I’m focusing, holding up the paddle, stirring in the water. What a breathtaking trill! The whole appearance takes two, three minutes- then they make a sharp left turn to the open sea and disappear. Only some moments later, back at the beach I jump off the board and a young man yells to me “Sharks! - Get out! Get out of the water!” It takes a little while till the small group, mostly surfers, come to me, asking me if I saw them. I get to know it was sand sharks. Inquisitive, shy- but harmless. But – one thing for shure: I will not forget this experience with this power- and graceful creatures.

The Enormous Increase of Global Organized Mafia

Journalist Misha Glenny can be called an Underworld investigator because he researches the background of global organized crime. Whether it's drug smugglers in British Columbia, weapons- or oil smugglers in Eastern Europe, Japanese yakuza or Nigerian scammers, to research this magisterial work Glenny penetrated the convoluted, globalized and franchised modern underworld - often at considerable personal risk. In the old days Mafia was organized nationwide. These days are past, Glenny shows us that the today’s Mafia is organized worldwide and with an extraordinary increase of 15 % during only the last two decades. The main reason was the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Then it increased because there were more than 14.000 people from security services (like KGB in Russia) fired. United Nations recognized that this is a mighty industry and it should be taken very seriously. Society ignores this world, but Glenny suggests that conventional law enforcement might not be able to combat a problem whose roots lie in global instability.
(Source: Profile on Ted com)

Breathless Mountain Biking on Santa Monica Mountains

We leave the house early on that Sunday morning, drive down Pacific Coast Highway and turn right to Tobago Canyon. Since weeks I am waiting for this day. It will be a great challenge for me. My first mountain bike ride ever. Since weeks I trained for this day, now I’m ready to go. We meet our friends at their house in the mountains, they are ready. We fix our water bottles, put on the helmets and cross the street. The mountain bike I’m riding is a perfect partner, it’s a Santa Cruz. We start climbing the path up to the top of one of the mountains. Craig, a professional trainer, is giving me some last hints, showing me how to brake in curves. As we climb up I find out the hard way that it takes lots of experience to chance the gears when the path is really steep. We go up further and after about one hour my legs feel like they are burning. I’ m breathing hard, closed to give up- than- there we are! We made it, we are on the very top. The view is amazing, all the peaks around us, the canyons. We just enjoy the moment, the sensational look around, inhaling the nature. After a little break and refreshing we start our way back. Down we go, faster and faster. I’m feeling the wind in my face, it’s hard to steer on the stony path with this speed but at the same time it’s just thrilling, exciting. Breathless I do the last brake when we reach the street , knowing that I will put this adventure on my list to do it again. Soon. That’s for sure.