What's On Your Mind Atm??

[MeltingMan]

Although no one was happy about the sale, there was a sense of optimism in the first quarter. The hallway and veranda were cleared out, and I voluntarily replaced the LEDs in the stairwell, one by one. The new owner gained access to the last apartment, and then things went quiet for a while. In the meantime, the garden has been spruced up and the hallway has been painted — all things the previous owner no longer considered necessary. So, the agony of the last two years is over. Only communication still needs to be refined. Constantly threatening to hire a lawyer or even call the police is a bad idea. 

[Ulrich]

So, the agony of the last two years is over.

Good to hear. 

[MeltingMan]

Since May 1st, a new, stricter waste regulation has been in effect here. Violations result in hefty fines. Two things come to mind, as there have been notes and random checks in the past, just not in a way that everyone has understood.   There are countries where even carelessly discarding a cigarette butt can be very expensive!   So, I would like to suggest that instructions on proper waste separation be circulated in several languages. And then there should be a dedicated school subject for it. Just imagine how much garbage eighteen million people produce – so collective action is required.

PS: I don't know if the brown bin still deserves the additional designation "organic waste bin." During Ramadan, it's emptied once more. Some people don't seem to understand why plastic bags shouldn't be used in it. They argue that paper bags, or paper in general, tear. Many food scraps contain residual moisture, which increases the weight. The bin is somewhat smaller, but even if it's only half full, it can be difficult for one person to move.

[MeltingMan]

Today it's Look 07 from G*cc* Cruise 2026. I'm happy that the trench coat made it back onto the runway. I remember the suede version from nine(?) years ago. Unfortunately, my size was already sold out back then, and now I can't afford it anymore anyway. Instead, I bought a blazer and a (shorter) loden coat. The bag is probably suede, right? Très chic.

[MeltingMan]

The catastrophe of Heysel [29 May 1985] was a mass panic as part of the endgame of the European Football Cup in 1984/85.

The word 'mass panic' is no longer appropriate in this context. The science in the English-language space uses 'Crowd disaster' as a generic term.   

[MeltingMan]

After being expected in February, the new leases arrived at the end of May. All tenants are affected except for one (she has to move out but has gained some time). A spontaneous meeting with the landlord was arranged yesterday. A total of five people were involved – three of them long-term tenants.

So far, no one has signed (as of yesterday). Resistance is building. The landlord emphasizes that eviction is not planned, but ultimately, he has no interest in the residents. In my view, trust-building measures would have been necessary. When I talked to him, he threatened to hand the matter over to his lawyer. I now have an appointment for legal advice soon. So, I was definitely not too early at the office in February. 

[MeltingMan]

Addressed to someone outside the forum.

I have problems with second home owners in Berlin. Considering how expensive it is, I don't know who from the region can really afford it.

I know a few people who had to give up their second homes in Berlin. Trees don't grow to the sky. I, on the other hand, don't know if I'm still welcome, given the A*D's electoral success and the reportedly male surplus. I rather believe that their average life expectancy is still lower than in the West. When it comes to affordable housing, however, I also believe that the downtown we are talking about here, which is largely listed and dates back to the 14th century, will at some point become unaffordable for average earners.

When I tell people where I'm originally from, they scratch their heads. The city is better known only in Hamburg, thanks to the passenger ships on the Elbe.

I had no intention of leaving there. It would be interesting to know how many people can say that about themselves, i.e., those who actually left. And whether the city even cares about it. There were thousands, as far as I know. So how many still have "a suitcase there," something people jokingly say about Berlin?!

[Sacha8]

I've just read a comment on Bandcamp today about the revival the Goth scene is experiencing right now: the person writing this comment basically said that, as we live in very dark times with wars and dictatorships shamelessly going on under our very eyes and we feel helpless, perhaps listening to dark music is the only way out to let this misery go away - apart from political action with protests and active resistance, that is (this is my personal add to the comment). I wonder if anyone here agrees. Certaintly, when I first listened to SOALW, and "Alone" in particular, I felt all of this, and I thought such songs were needed now more than ever, because they speak about the here and now, despite ostensibly talking about something else, and something very personal like ageing, disillusionment and so on. Yet, given the fact that the aforementioned Goth revival is happening also because people in their 50s and 60s (70s too) are going back to their roots to make sense of what happened in their lives, what mattered and what didn't, how music affected their choices (I know this has been happening to me since SOALW came out), aren't most of us experiencing that same disillusionment and ageing RS has expressed so beautifully in the record? Isn't this Goth revival a way to come to terms with ageing too, and to honour what we've been, what we've learned, in order to understand how to move forward despite the world burning? To honour death, should it knock on our doors - and it did, twice, for me, in the last few years. I also lost my parents, and though we weren't close, their death affected me more than I can say. I'll leave it at that.