2023 07 New York Trilogy – III. Manhattan Streets
Manhattan, the heart of New York, some might say. Loud, commercial, freaky. Old and new, rich and poor collide here. The architecture of the “old” New York meets the reinforced concrete and the glass facades of the skyscrapers. The people seem small and lost, and yet they shape this city. Food trucks are used for quick enjoyment, for soft ice cream as well as for halal food or the famous hot dogs. Digitization has also started here – large displays “decorate” many of the trailers.
Roadworks and construction sites are everywhere, even on weekends when traffic calms down from a busy weekday
“When I’m in New York, I just want to walk down the street and feel this thing, like I’m in a movie.”
Ryan Adams, American Singer-Songwriter *1974
2023 06 New York Trilogy – II. People
Cities are made by people. This is of course also true for New York. Be it the Policemen, regulating the traffic delivering a show that can almost compete with the break dancers in Times Square. Showing off is kind of a past time, selfies being taken everywhere by everyone. Some choose the night view city panorama from Rockefeller Center as a background, others choose the LED Version Star-Spangled Banner – but do they know that this decorates a recruiting office for the US Military? The rikshaw driver pumping air into the tires of his vehicle to prepare it for the next customers for a tourist city tour. Will they be more focused on their mobile phone as on their environment like the passenger in the metro?
“One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt.”
Georgia O’Keefe, American Painter, 1887-1986
2023 05 New York Trilogy – I. Water Tanks
A few weeks have passed since my last blog. The year has a lot to offer. In addition to Brazil, this year there is a project in the USA, more precisely in New Jersey. I took the opportunity to roam New York for two weekends. Enough material for a New York Trilogy.
When you walk through New York, you immediately notice them: the water tanks on the roofs of the houses. Like some of the apartment buildings, they seem to have fallen out of time: Since the natural water pressure in New York is too low to transport the water to higher floors, the inventive New York people have built water tanks on the roofs. into which the water is transported by means of electric pumps. From the tanks, it is then distributed throughout the building. The fire brigade can also make use of this water. In fact, that was the main reason for the construction of these tanks. At the end of the 19th century, the city obliged homeowners to quickly provide the fire brigade with large quantities of water. The construction of such water tanks was mandatory until 1965.
A typical tank is around four meters high, measures four and a half meters in diameter and contains almost 40,000 liters. The tanks are often made of wood.
If I can make it there
From the song *New York, New York“ 1977 written by John Kander and Fred Ebb
I’ll make it anywhere
It’s up to you
New York, New York
2023 01 – Murals of São Paulo
In the last two years, I was several times on business trips in the economic capital of Brazil. It is not really a touristic hotspot, comparable to other locations in Brazil, in fact, many tourists skip it, as many other locations have much more to offer. However, there are some hidden jewels, like the sculptural architecture from Oscar Niemeyer in Ibirapuera Park or the Arts Museum on Paulista Avenue. Another one are the Grafittis, or better Murals, like in the area of “Beco do Batman”, Batman’s alley. In this alley and the neighbourhood of Villa Madalena around, these temporary murals are continuously renewed, and cared for by local community members. They differ significantly from the sprayings found in other areas of the city. In Beco do Batman, the paintings range from representations of natural beauty of Brazil over comic like scenes as the encounter of Pelé, Brazils Soccer Hero with the said Batman, toward psychedelic dreams of flying cars, cubistic butterflies in rainbow colors or tree-like human creatures fleeing in panic from new technology and invasions of their homeland.
The paintings started with a paining of Batman on one of the walls in the area, and gave the place it’s name. Today, it is one of the tourist places with many bars, art galleries and the like.
Graffiti ultimately wins out over proper art because it becomes part of your city, it’ s a tool; “I’ll meet you in that pub, you know, the one opposite that wall with a picture of a monkey holding a chainsaw”. I mean, how much more useful can a painting be than that?
Banksy, Street Artist, “Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall” June 2003
2022 12 – Happy New Year – and New Books
No worries, I will not write about all the bad things that happened this year. We all know the sad stories that happened this year. So let’s simply call it a year and look forward with a good spirit and the hope that madness and stupidity are finite and that peace, hope and creativity will help to evolve this world to a better future.
In this sense, I wish you all a very happy and healthy new year, may your dreams and wishes come true!
I would also announce that three of my books (German Version) are now available for sale in the blurb store. You can click on the picture to learn more about each book.
The future interests me more than the past,
Albert Einstein, *14 March 1879, +18 April 1955 – theoretical physicist
because that is where I intend to live.
2022 11 – Italian stories
This year’s holidays were Italian. Three different locations in three weeks. First a week in Tuscanny – in Scarlino close to Massa Maritima, then – after one week of work – Lago di Garda and – fleeing the weather – one week of Piemonte.
Each place we went has a lot to tell. Lakes and rivers, with visible lack of water speak of the missing rainfalls in this summer.
Soccer is still the most popular sport, despite the missing success of the national team. Each village has soccer fields in the most remarkable places, where the attention is quickly guided towards the beautiful landscape in the background.
Villagers hide their secrets behind closed doors, or allow a clandestine view through the open garage door. The village church has changed its function and now serves as a local wine shop.
The importance of the church seems to be degrading, as traffic crosses the bridge above, the new god of mobility looks arrogantly down on its predecessor…
You may be as old, as learned, as wise and as tasteful as you like –
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German Philosopher and Physicist, 1742 – 1799
a trip to Italy always offers your mind new impressions.
2022 10 – In search for a destiny
The arrival in Rodi gives rise to sadness. When I get out of the car at the bus stop, even the cows show open disinterest and turn away.
The typical buildings of a community bear witness to life, but on the other hand they appear lonely and abandoned, creating boredom.
I wonder what the people here do, what is their purpose in life.
Those, who go to the Sunday service in the freshly whitewashed church, then discuss community affairs over a beer in the station buffet.
Do they work at the post office or the train station, as community workers at the recycling center or even as civil servants in the Casa Communale?
The parking lot at the bus stop and the railway line raise questions about the destiny and future of the place.
What remains is a destiny in which the end alone is fatal.
Aside from that single fatal inevitability of death,
all – be it joy or happiness – is nothing but freedom.
A world remains in which man is the only master
2022 09 – Chiuso – Closed
In this memorable summer, memorable for the endless periods of sunshine (for Swiss Standards), the lack of rain (leaving an uncounted number of dead garden plants behind) and record temperatures across Europe, our annual Ticino Workshop hit it perfectly – the only rainy day within weeks was the day of photography. Already the previous day, when we arrived on San Gottardo, the rain kicked in. As it was announced, only a few tourists found their way over the pass and stopped. The usual crowds, feeding on sausages, hamburgers, ice cream, beer and soft drinks, buying tickets for the now abandoned fortress and souvenirs at the tourist info were nowhere seen. Busses passed by avoiding the showers. As a consequence, the atmosphere was a bit gloomy. I had originally planned a story about tourism on San Gottardo, showing the ques in front of the barbecues, loads of garbage and the like.
But now, everything was closed – Chiuso in Italian.
I’ve quietly closed doors that I’m not likely to open again anytime soon, not out of pride, but out of respect for myself.
found on the Internet various authors claim it….
2022 07 – Forest horses at work
This Story is the trial for our annual Ticino Workshop. Unfortunately, I had only my iPhone as a camera at hand for this event.
At Pentecost, the Birdlife sections in my region hold an annual march. This year the goal was the forest hut in Remetschwil and was organized by the Birdlife section of Rohrdorferberg. The forest horse club from nearby Tägerig had brought a trained forest horse which was intended to give us an understanding of the gentle use of horses in forest work.
The club was originally just a group of about 10 people who had come together in the common interest in draft horses. The club was approached by the forester in spring 2019 with the idea that horses could be used in a nature reserve instead of the usual heavy motor vehicles. After an on-site inspection, it was agreed that there would be a trial in fall. Everyone was amazed at the positive result and the club was asked to continue to carry out maintenance measures in protected areas of the forest. After this assignment had met with great interest nationwide, Forest Horses Switzerland was founded on March 1st, 2020 and started operations on June 1st, 2020.
The Noriker cold-blooded horses are preferred for moving wood. These are medium-heavy, strong and persistent mountain draft horses. The breeding area includes the mountainous areas of the Austrian and German Alps.
During the demonstration, Sepp was used as a horse leader. First, the gelding named “Mohr” is led into the forest to the tree trunks that have already been felled, and the chain is fixed around the tree trunk.
Spectators are very interested in watching this old new way of transporting wood.
The horse is led around the densely packed bunkers to pull the attached trunk to the road.
Of course there are also traces left by the trees on the ground. However, open forest soil also creates an ecological niche. And compared to the tracks left by heavy logging vehicles, the footprint is minimal. The burly gelding also easily manages trunks that have not been delimbed to the forest road.
Mohr seems indefatigable as his keeper takes a break after 90 minutes…
There is something about the outside of a horse
Winston Churchill
that is good for the inside of a man
2022 06 – São Pride 2022
As it sometimes occurs by coincidence, the “Parada do Orgulho” in 2022 past just in front of our hotel on the Avenida Paulista (see also 2022-04 Radio Days) where I stayed the second time in this year on a business trip. This time, it was also a call to vote against intolerance and homophobia in the next presidential elections to be held later this year. It was a huge party with over a million people and additional pictures can be found in a web gallery.
It is impressive to see the crowds of open minded young and old people showing their support of the common case, some dressed normally, some straight, some gay, some lesbian, some – god knows what (I cannot follow anymore the ever longer abbreviation of LGBTQsomething, that does not make me feel less open to their requests to be treated as anybody else would like to be treated by society and institutions)
Here are some impressions from this event
What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.
Tennessee Williams, American playwright and screenwriter (1911 – 1983)