Melantrys’ Page

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My dear audience. I know I have neglected you.
But this will make up for it.

I have just returned from a shopping trip to the nearest place you can call a city without blushing too much.

About halfway between there and here I passed a car accident.
One car was standing in the middle of the road, facing me, with a severely mutilated left front. Small bits and pieces of the car seemed to be littering my lane. But that I only saw after I had already passed the car.
On the other side of the road two cars were parked on the shoulder of the road. I couldn’t see if they had any damages as well.
One person was standing on the passenger side of the car in the road, presumably talking to its passengers. I couldn’t see all of the passengers, but I did see the driver when passing the car.

By now you must be wondering why I am telling you this.

Well….

…. that’s why:

The driver was wearing the Scream mask. You know, the horror movie?

Yeah.

Update (11/29):

I told my colleagues about the accident.
And our youngest told me that she and her sister had been driving the same route about two weeks ago…. when she glimpsed into the mirror on the passenger side and saw a giant bunny sitting in the car behind them. She told her sister to check the mirror, and the sister got quite a shock: the bunny was sitting beside…. guess who.
Yeah, someone with the mask from “Scream” on.

Seems like driving along that road in masks was a little hobby of them….

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Yesterday Loriot (born as Bernhard Victor Christoph-Carl von Bülow almost 88 years ago) - to my mind Germany’s best humorist of all time - died.
It should not come as such a big surprise considering his age, but I guess some things you kind of never expect to happen.

I can’t remember a time when I did not know his works.

Here’s a sketch that even non-Germans should be able to understand:

And here’s one for Lelly (replaced with a mutilated version of the actual sketch as the good video I linked to first got deleted by the Youtube user):

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If your job puts you into regular contact with your fellow citizens and you keep seeing the same faces, day in, day out, and if you’re even stuck long enough in the job to see children become young adults, you are tempted into the illusion that you actually know these people, at least a little bit.
Oh, boy, will you be wrong about that!

And I refuse for once to tread the “well, no-one really seemed to much care for the boy when he was a kid” path.

I put down the cracking some of the store’s windows by throwing stones at them together with a friend some years ago as the folly of youth.
He seemed contrite and polite enough afterwards.

Today my blood was boiling when he came into the store with a young man wearing a “White Pride” patch on his jacket. I didn’t say anything then, but I promised myself I’d tell him what I thought of the company he’s keeping these days next time I see him about.

Now…… my thoughts keep running in circles. So he’s hanging with nazis. Is that his worst sin? As I learned later today it is not, not by far.

There was a death in this village last year; a man beaten by his drinking “buddies”, then left alone to die. They weren’t convicted as it was unclear if the beating truly caused the death, or if some prior illness did.
One of the drinking buddies is the boy’s father.
And the boy brags about his father killing the man.

Maybe his way to deal with a horrible reality, I don’t know. And frankly I don’t care.
What kind of person goes and brags of his father killing someone to the friends of a child of that killed man?

I needed a vent; I hope you’ll bear with me….
This small village feels very unlike home tonight….

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Even if it comes almost too late: Happy Easter to all my Christian friends!!!

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In his post Benghazi Now!!!!! my blogging friend PH writes about the escalating violence in Libya.
He wishes his post to be spread to embarrass the western governments.

Well, I doubt they’ll need our help for that.

Such a short time since the conference here in Germany at which they all announced that they should also consider ethical factors in their dealings with foreign leaders.
This month it was, to be precise.

And today?
Gaddafi celebrated himself on state tv with pictures from a pro government rally in Tripoli a few days ago. What has been happening elsewhere, like in Benghazi, has only been available on Youtube. The foreign press has been forced to leave the country.

Now the internet has been cut.

Still, some people manage to upload cell phone videos or give accounts of what’s going on to foreign tv stations via telephone. This of course means that no news from Libya can be independently verified, but the accounts - sadly - seem to be genuine enough.
In one word: slaughter.

So.

Does our chancellor condemn Gaddafi and demand that he stop the violence? No, if course not. Ever since he has distanced himself from terrorism we can finally get at his oil again he’s been our friend.
The same pathetic wishy-washy statements we got while protesters were being attacked in Egypt.
Let’s not say anything that might offend Gaddafi, after all we’ll still want the oil if he manages to kill and frighten off all the protesters.

So, PH, there’s nothing more we can do to make those western politicians look any worse than they are already managing on their own.

Meanwhile things also appear to be rather tense in Bahrain. Since the camp of the protesters in Pearl Roundabout has been removed by force, protesters seem to have chosen a hospital as their rallying point. Al Jazeera has been talking to overwhelmed doctors in that hospital in the capital city Manama. There has also been footage of doctors breaking down under the continuing strain of treating so many people.

It remains to be seen what the latest news that the military was ordered off the streets will mean.

Edit: Riot police seems to have been ordered off from guarding Pearl Roundabout as well. The last few police officers were chased off by protesters “armed” with flowers. The roundabout has been reclaimed by the protesters.

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… someone is being quoted on Twitter as having said to his cousin.

Apparently some are choosing brushes and paint though.

The Egyptians are incredible.

First they cleaned up their country figuratively, now they’re doing it literally.

Bless them, and let us hope the other people in other countries struggling for freedom and peace will score wins just as amazing.

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I can’t post as fast as things are happening.

So while I was away at work, Mubarak decided to go on a hurried and unexpected vacation in Sharm el Sheikh.

He handed the power to the military and actually stepped down.

I will refuse to worry at the moment about the possibility of the military establishing a military regime instead of handing the country over to the people and a democratic process in due time.

*raises a glass of sherry in toast*

Well done, people of Egypt and good luck with all the work that’s still ahead of you.

You are incredible!

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Either Mubarak is totally far gone and playing with the fairies in some happy place, or today has been really, really well-planned.

First high ranking military people announce on Tahrir Square that the protesters’ demands will be met and a news station gets “leaked” info on Mubarak’s speech which will allegedly announce his resignation.
Then the speech is broadcast an hour late and contains…. well, tons of Blah, for one thing. Praise for himself, of all things. Assurances that “his children” have been heard and that the deaths will not have been in vain. Also repeated hints at “outside forces”, which reminds one strongly of the misinformations that have been spread via state tv of Hamas, Israel, the US, whoever paying for and directing the revolution.

He will delegate some authorities to Suleiman (yeah, right, as if he is any better than him) - but not step down - and will not run for elections in September.
Dude, did you even hear half of what your people are asking??

The people are angry now, so very angry. Everyone was so sure he’d step down and then this.

I fear this is a ploy to make them so angry they’ll become violent, so the government will have a “valid” reason to crack down on the revolution with all “necessary force”.

It doesn’t help dissipate that fear that only this morning I read an article in The Guardian about the military being involved in abducting and severly torturing protesters, with people being unaccounted for and being suspected to still be in the hands of the military.

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Bear with me, dear friends, as I fear this will become a post filled with disjointed ramblings.

As a comment on current events it is certainly long overdue, but now, just like as when it all started, I am still at a loss for proper words.

So, the people have taken to the streets in various countries in the Middle East and North Africa, from Tunesia, over Egypt, Jemen, Jordan and Syria to Saudi Arabia. (Although I suppose it remains to be seen whether the 40 women protesters and the 200 and something online activists are going to stay isolated incidents or will be the start of something big in Saudi Arabia.)

And suddenly our politicians realize….. “My gosh, we have been actively supporting dictatorships all those years! How could that happen?! Let’s make sure we’ll find a way to combine our egotism and laziness with ethics and human rights - where possible. What’cha saying, Mr Representative from Saudi Arabia? No, no, of course we’re not talking about your country, hahaha, nothing wrong with the way you guys are handling things over there, eh?”

Oh, could this be any more pathetic?

Meanwhile, in Tunesia, the police shoots and kills 4 protesters. The good news is, they arrested the chief of police afterwards for it.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, Copts pray in Tahrir Square and not only hold up crosses, but also the Q’ran. “Hand in hand.”

Furthermore, Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey doesn’t appear to have been cowed by his arrest a couple of days ago and today not only analyses the possibilities that have been presenting itself from outside of the protest movement but comes up with ideas of his own as to how they themselves could bring about an efficient transition to democracy.

I wish all those countries all the luck in the world and will leave you with a simple, yet beautiful protest song from Tahrir Square. Apparently this has been recorded last Friday.

(link to video on youtube)

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While kicking my heels in a hospital examination room today I overheard a conversation outside in the corridor somewhere.

male voice: (something about blood vessel troubles and also not being able to go “via the groin” about a patient)

first female voice: Well, why don’t you do the honours then?

male voice: Me? I don’t even know anymore how that’s done.

second female voice: He’s not allowed to.

first female voice: Why aren’t you allowed to??

second female voice: He has the norovirus.

male voice: Had.

second female voice: He’s not fit to work yet but he’s been faking it.

first female voice: Is he on the roster?

second female voice: No, he isn’t. Sorry, but I’m not gonna lie for you.

From what I then gathered, he got sent home, but seriously….. what kind of idiot was that?
Working in an area that all incoming patients go through, and that patients who have to come for the changing of a dressing and similar stuff also go to, while probably still distributing the norovirus? Thank you, fuck-tart.