4th of May to the 10th of May

Nothing much happened. The weekend was great. I was at a meet up of the green party and talked to wonderful people. We all had a great time and it felt incredible to mingle. Most surprisingly was the head of the Criminal Investigation Department unit. If all policemen would think and behave similar to that man, we would have a greater police department in Germany. Our little one is really into Power Rangers and that makes me happy. Anyhow here we go with more stories starting from writing prompts from a book.

4th of May: “A character enveloped in whiteness”

He opens his eyes. Blinding white, enveloped in nothingness. Only a line of red liquid running down his left arm. A high-pitched sound rings in his ears. A white that human eyes just can’t get used to. The ringing sound goes away after 10 breaths that he carefully counts, only to be replaced by the sound of his heart pumping. This might be one of those rooms that are so silent that one might go crazy after a while. Now he realises he is naked. Heart pumping. Every pump the line of red liquid got longer until a puddle started to form around his feet. The blood was certainly warmer than the white floor. Then that brass sound filled the white room. It seemed the sound made the room even brighter until it reached his body and enveloped him like the room before and made his body tingle. “Time to go.”, he thought to himself as the room swallowed him together with the sound and then there was nothing but whiteness.

5th of May: “Conjure up an image of Mexico”

Well, this is easy. I haven’t been to Mexico. Ever. But I met a lot of Mexican people. Brilliant people. Loving people. I like to believe that Mexicans have a great set of humour. The first picture that comes up is the sombrero, poncho and moustache accentuating a huge smile. I have seen a TikTok video where some American fellow goes through Mexico and asks the people if it offends them when he is dressed exactly like that. They all loved it. It wasn’t very clever or funny but I also wouldn’t be offended if someone shows up with Lederhosen. Also the food. Mexican food is spectacular. Beans, spicy stuff, more spicy stuff and cheese. Gimme all. Gimme more. My picture is someone smiling bright, wholesome, and there are some peppers in the picture. Peppers that make my mouth water. I gotta stop or I will have to cook up something.

6th of May: “There is just something about you…”

… and I don’t mean the cream cheese in your beard. You can whip that away, please. If I would have to specify it is that smile. That aura around you. A power. You make the world in your immediate vicinity a tad bit better. People smile more and laugh uncontrollably after a while. Maybe it’s the laugh. It’s infectious. Maybe it’s the comfort that you exhaust that lets people be themselves. Maybe it’s the variety of people that you can conjure up around you and if they would have to remember one person from that day, then it would be you. You are like a spider that catches people in a net and then instead of suffocating them and eating them you roll them in a blanket of comfort and tickle them or massage them until they come out of their shell and show how beautiful they really are. Yeah, you are a cuddly hairy spider.

7th of May: “Fan fiction of your favourite TV-Show”

I love what they have done with Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. I was never a huge fan of the Karate Kid movie but the idea that Daniel San is actually (kind of) the bad guy was always an interesting one and they basically followed that plot with Cobra Kai. I want the X-Men back as a TV-Show. It has often been tried and mostly failed. But I love what they represent. The Misfits (brilliant show too) with a heart of gold that fight for the good not matter how shunned they are. I want them to get a large roster of characters from all around the world, from all flocks of life and I want them all to be misfits in their daily life. All people that stand out. All people that are different. All develop different powers and strengths that make them stand out even more but will help them make the world a better place and then the old school Roster of heroes can come and mentor them. The bullied tiny kid. Some gay characters. Poor low class citizens. People that lost their family. People that have lost loved ones to horrible sickness. Marginalised groups. Punks-, Goth-, Metal- and Hardcore people. DnD-fans, role-players, tabletop gamer, choir-singers, ballet and teens that study nerdy stuff. This will be a show that runs forever. Every topic can be worked in and new characters introduced but they all are misfits with a beautiful heart and they all get a chance to fight for what they stand for and even fight for people that shun them. I think that would be a great show.

8th of May: “A scene in which your mother is a child”

My mother has two younger siblings. They basically grew up in a soviet country. The German Democratic Republic or GDR. They grew up with a lack of digital entertainment. Their father was mostly absent or tired from mining Coal, Uranium and other rare Minerals and Metals. What they didn’t lack was imagination. They had the youngest one dress up and do modelling dances in the window for their entertainment. They played instruments and helped with the animals in the house or flipping the hay in the summer. A textbook set of kids they were. One brunette, one blonde and one red-head. All girls. All fun. They were mean to each other but they also liked the company of one another and the bond they formed when hiding in the room they shared after “lights out” was called hours ago and they staged another play on the windowsill hiding from their angry father. I believe their favourite evenings where weekend nights when a monstrous black machine to project obscure cartoons onto the wall was propped up in the living room and they all cuddled up under blankets and escaped into a story that we, today, would not be able to stay up for. Whimsical worlds still have an appeal and a fascination for stories unites us.

9th of May: “Eating as a character study”

I love watching people eat. The speed and sound they shovel food in their face with tells you a lot about a person. While some people can’t bear the sounds of slurping or chewing I don’t mind that so much. Having lived in China only honking up loogies bothers me in a setting where food is involved. It’s an intimate moment when someone puts food in their mouth and closes their eyes for a bit. When I was fasting 2 weeks ago, it was true that after 4.5 days the first bite of an apple was heavenly. I did close my eyes for a bit while pushing my bicycle just to relish that moment. I wonder if you guys ever had one of those “Chinese” spoons, I have not seen them in China much, but they are those tiny and deepish spoons made from China. Then there is a cheap version made from plastic that I have seen in China a lot. One day in a restaurant me and some Chinese friends watched a fellow a few tables away enjoying his congee. Eyes almost closed, really digging in and slurping it from one of those spoons. Now these spoons, especially when made from plastic, do have sharp rims that could cut into your lips if you weren’t careful and this is what happened with that fellow. He dug into the congee and put it into his mouth and with every spoon he cut his lips a tiny bit, so slowly he drew blood. This did not slow him down, he eat slow and careful already, but the enjoyed the congee so much that he just didn’t notice or care and donated some blood back into his oral cavity. The congee must have been spectacular.

10th of May: “A headline of an article I didn’t read and I make up”

Hong Kong Wants More Tourists, but Mostly ‘Good Quality’ Ones

Now that the last democratic processes have been stripped from Hong Kong the political party set out a new goal: attracting tourists. With protests, Covid and restrictions due to the pandemic gone Hong Kong eyes the tourism market as a growth factor. Tourists have left China and to a lesser degree Hong Kong en masse during the last 3 years. With ticket prices still sky high there are talks to get more tourists into the country. This undertaking is however, after Hong Kong is basically completely assimilated into China with Chinese characteristics. Meaning face saving measures to just attract good quality tourists and visitors. By that we are talking visitors from CCP friendly countries and tourists and travellers with enough money to spend in the city. Gone are the days of foreign beggars, they are not welcome to have their South East Asia travels supported by begging in the streets. The tourist that shops in at least three luxury outlets and presents exit plans of ahead of the departure is the model tourist Hong Kong is looking for.

(I have not read the article, but linked it via the headline, but I am sure this is not too far from whatever is truly planned)