Morgen ist Pappnasentag! - Viva AntiKa!

Ja, der Tag, vor dem sich Antikarnevalisten entweder verstecken, oder aber ihren Antikarnevalismus offensiv kundtun, steht bevor: Morgen ist Rosenmontag.

Der Wettervorhersage nach wird es in meiner Region wohl recht schönes Wetter geben... morgens leichter Frost, über Tag heiter bis wolkig und knapp über dem Gefrierpunkt, also für mich wunderbare Bedingungen zum Barfüßern vor und nach der Arbeit. Verkleiden werde ich mich nur während der Arbeitszeit - als "normal". Den Jecken würde ich ja Frost und Schneetreiben oder Regen und Sturmböen wünschen... wenn ich ein gehässiger Mensch wäre. Bin ich aber nicht.


Ansonsten gilt für mich am morgigen Tag: Viva AntiKa! - Ich werde der sogenannten "jecken" Welt schon zeigen, was ich von ihr halte:

 

Dieses Logo habe ich auch als Ansteckschild, das ich dann morgen sowas von offen an der Jacke tragen werde. Wenn ich eins nicht brauchen kann, dann Gruppenzwang beim Frohsinn. Ich lasse mir doch keine Kommandos zum Fröhlichsein geben, bloß weil der Imperator der Dunklen Seite das mal verfügt hat.

Ja, tatsächlich, die Vorgänger von Papst Palpatine, nein, Imperator Benedikt, naja, ist ja klar wen ich meine...

...die sind Schuld am närrischen Treiben. Die haben festgelegt, daß sechs Wochen vor Ostern die Fastenzeit beginnt und haben sich (wie es die christliche Kirche so oft getan hat) bei den vorchristlichen und heidnischen Bräuchen bedient und eine Zeit der Ausschweifungen und des Feierns vor die Saure-Gurken-Zeit des Fastens gesetzt. Bei den Römern waren dies die Saturnalien, zu deren Anlaß auch niedere und Sklaven den höhergestellten und Patriziern gleichgestellt wurden und dann auch bei öffentlichen Gelagen mit dabei sein durften. Bei den Griechen wurden diese Feiern zu Ehren des Dionysos abgehalten... alles in allem ging es dabei recht fröhlich und freizügig zu.

Im 2. Jahrhundert vor Christus wurden in Rom Mitte März zu Ehren des Dionysos (im römischen Bacchus genannt) die sehr ausschweifenden Bacchanalien gefeiert... sehr oft mit wahren Orgien und Exzessen, die unter Mithilfe von reichlich Alkohol und psychoaktiven Substanzen (Pilze und Tollkirsche) dann zu massenhafter Enthemmung führten... auch der "Mummenschanz", das Verkleiden mit Tiermasken und Fellen, hatte daran Anteil.

Auguste Leveque stellte das in seinem Gemälde "Die Bacchanalien" Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts so dar:

Derart exzessiv geht es im heutigen Karneval natürlich nicht mehr zu - auch wenn der Alkoholkonsum und die sexuelle Ausschweifung auch bei den zwangsfröhlichen Straßenkarnevalisten auch heute noch auf dem Plan steht. Nur nicht mehr wirklich schön, lebensbejahend und sinnlich anzuschauen wie noch im obigen Gemälde.

Immerhin: es gibt noch die Rückbezüge auf die bei uns üblichen heidnischen Bräuche des Austreibens des Winters und das Willkommen des Frühlings - speziell in den süddeutschen Regionen und der alemannischen Fastnacht... aber da ich sehr nahe an der rheinischen Karnevalsschiene wohne, habe ich hier das entsprechend katholisch-verkniffene Helau-und-Alaaf-tümeln geradezu vor der Haustüre.

Besonders abschreckend, weil immer noch so schön typisch deutsch: der sogenannte Sitzungskarneval, zu dem verkleidete Menschen auf Bänken an langen Tafeln hocken, auf Kommando Jubelrufe und sogenannte "Raketen" loslassen, zwanghaft schunkeln und über meist schlechte Witze sogenannter prominenter Karnevalisten auf der Bühne ebenfalls zwanghaft lachen - auch und wieder unter Zuhilfenahme des Alkohols. Enthemmt ist dabei überhaupt nichts. Und dieses kleine Experiment, das Herbert G. Schlichting alias Jonny Buchardt (ein Onkel der Schauspielergeschwister Ben und Meret Becker) im Jahre 1973 auf einer Karnevalssitzung machte, zeigt auf wunderbare Weise, wie gut deutscher Karneval in Sachen Begeisterungssignalen funktioniert... auch bei einem "traditionellen" Signal, das damals gerade 40-jähriges und dieses Jahr 80-jähriges Jubiläum feierte:

Gruppendynamik vom Feinsten... aber es zeigt auch, daß es bei organisierter Fröhlichkeit nur die richtige Steuerung braucht, damit aus etwas Häßlichem schnell etwas so richtig Häßliches wird.

Da suche ich mir lieber meine Anlässe und Veranstaltungen zum Fröhlichsein unter anderen als denen des kirchlich-karnevalistischen Komplexes (hmm, kann man auch mit "KKK" abkürzen... interessant!) heraus.

In diesem Sinne:

Runter mit den Pappnasen!

Happy Nude Sunday! (Indoors only, but still!)

While looking back on what's happened last week and reflecting on what's to expect next week, I am of course celebrating Nude Sunday today...

This means, of course, that this blog post, as well as the next two I'm preparing, have been done by me being in my usual most natural and relaxed state: happily barefoot and naked.

With spring still being five weeks away and temperatures being frosty or just above frost level, even on fair days, I find myself longing for warmer days, when it'll be possible to not only bare my feet to touch Mother Earth (which is possible in winter, too, as I am experiencing currently, on fair days), but to enjoy the natural freedom of baring all to feel the Earth I'm walking, sitting, lying on, to feel the Air wafting around me in form of a mild breeze, to feel Water, as I float in it and let it flow around my body and to feel Fire in the rays of a warm spring sun.

So, my Sunday program to relax and recharge is to meditate on happy skyclad moments, on being one with Nature and to look forward to celebrating Skyclad Sunday where it's best to do so: out there!

But, with "out there" being too cold to do this at the moment, I have to conjure up the sun's warmth, the mild breeze, the water to float in and the ground to stand/sit/lie on in here, and draw happiness from knowing, that these days aren't far away and will return.

Meanwhile, I will continue wiggling those bare toes, as often as possible, even on cool days - my little foreshadowing of happy nude days to come.

Strolling towards the weekend... on bare feet, too!

So, the middle of the week has passed, and it has been a liberating week so far - for my feet in particular, since a mild spell has brought about snowmelt and temperatures rising from the typical winter's -5°C/23F to pre-spring warm 13°C/55.4F yesterday. Perfect conditions (according to my taste and barefooting comfort boundaries) to shed the shoes and explore the ground in the natural and most pleasant way.

And while the pictures of my bare feet enjoying the different textures and changing  sensations of temperatures seem redundant, it's really more than just illustrating my quirky way of walking around - being able to grant my feet the freedom they deserve, I also decrease discomfort and pain in my knees and hip, which settle in if I have to wear unflexible shoes all the time, due to frosty and snowy conditions. I already suffer hampered mobility when having to wear closed shoes at work (for social rather than practical reasons) and occasional pain from stress and strain on my joints. Being able to walk naturally barefoot outside the office increases and fosters my health as well as my good mood and a positive attitude.

Monday

The day started with slight frost and the walk to the tram stop felt quite cold and also was treacherous due to rime and black ice on some spots on the sidewalks. The full moon, shining brightly in the west, guided me on my way to work...

During the day, temperatures rose to 5°C (49F), and except for a few places, most of the snow, slush and frozen slush had molten, forming puddles, intermingling with the puddles from the occasional rain during the day. In the shade, my bare toes touched slush here and there and the paved sidewalks felt alternately warm and cold, depending on whether my soles touched molten snow water or the milder rainwater. On leaving the office, the late afternoon sun clad the path to the bus stop in golden light.

This first day of barefoot freedom after the frosty week before was a true dleight, alleviating the "cabin fever" my feet had been suffering from.



Tuesday

Tuesday marked a considerable increase in barefoot pleasure, since temperatures were clearly above frost level overnight and all remains of snow and slush had disappeared completely. This enabled me to take my usual bus route to work in the mornging. In order to have a safer way to work and back during the snowy period, I had altered my route in the morning for a safer alternative (since the sidewalks had not been cleared everywhere), which took me thhirty more minutes to get to work. So, from Tuesday on, I was able to sleep a little longer, too... another booster for a good mood when starting the work day.


Wednesday

This was the warmest day of the year so far, with the aforementioned pre-spring temperatures. A strong, gusty wind was blowing from the south-west, carrying very mild air with it. It felt, as if Mother Nature was blow-drying her hair... and a few droplets of water were shaken from her freshly washed hair, too, it seemd (slight rain was falling). With temperatures like this, I did not only don a second toe ring, but decided to tune up the "bling-bling" factor as well, by putting gold and golden glitter nail polish onto my left big toe nail.

Before getting ready for work, these conditions also were just right to pick up my little Nuddhist morning ritual again... something I had missed greatly during the frosty period, too. My little skyclad breath exercise on the balcony and then having my first coffee feeling the morning air and mild breeze on my body also helped in powering up before facing the office day.

Delightfully wet and warm grass before entering the office...

Warm blacktop at the bus stop on my way home...

Soft and moist grass, almost sunlit, as the weather was undecided which turn to take... grey or blue...

Despite the nice blue sky at the bus stop, the grey clouds won, ultimately

Since things at the office were running smoothly and without stress, I was allowed to work off a little of the accumulated overtime... so, I was able to leave work an hour earlier on Wednesday, which also added to my good mood and giving me extra time to relax, recharge and refresh before starting the next day.

So far, this week had turned me into a quite relaxed admin at work...

Considering the historic dimension of the date (January 30 - the day when Hitler was instated into the position of chancellor of the Reich), I shared a simple, yet true message with friends and also at colleagues at the office...

Even though it might sound naive and childish to the mainstream, it's actually the best, if not the only way for our world to heal. It's sad and quite a bad testimonial of "civilization", that even after 80 years, there are still dictators and state leaders trampling on human rights and following the example set by Hitler and his band of delusional, greedy and inhuman helpers and followers. And idiots, celebrating Hitler are still there, too, now in second and third generation.

This world and especially certain people need a lot of healing...

Thursday:

Another mild morning, another smooth day at the office ahead. Morning nuddhism, pre- and after-work barefooting were again assets of this day, considering positive attitude boosting.

Repetitive as it may seem, here's yet another early morning happy feet example (at the bus stop):

In order to bid goodbye to January, Mother Nature had decided to wield the paintbrush and paint the sky in wild colors.

After spending another easy day at the office, I (or rather, my bare feet) encountered a major pet peeve of winter: grit, spread for anti-skid purposes, which is just left on sidewalks, even after frost, ice and snow have left... the shod people don't mind, but to me, it's slightly unnerving. Especially having to dig out those small, sometimes pointed granules embedding themselves in my living leather soles, is what I don't like about winter barefooting.

Fortunately, that did not happen this time... I was able to brush off the grit, as soon as I got past the area, where it was lying, by carefully wiping my feet on smooth ground.

On a personal level, this day has a special meaning... just like I was reminded, hwo long ago it was, that disasters like the destruction of the space shuttle "Challenger" or the Chernobyl reactor catastrophe happened, I inevitably had to think about the date, when a friendship that had grown bloomed into something more... That day is also 27 years past...

Had things worked out differently, we wouldn't have had to end that deep and wonderful relationship. However, this person still dwells in my heart and always will, we still keep contact and I still am there to offer ears for listening, a hug if needed or a shoulder to rest or cry on...

I know, it sounds like - again - dwelling in the past, not letting go, sticking to sad thoughts... but, no, that's not the case at all. There are memories of people and moments with them I treasure, and the time I had with that wonderful being is definitely one of the most valuable treasures to keep.

Therefore, I do not feel sad when thinking about it, even though there is a certain tragedy in needing more than one attempt to find the perfect match.

The day said goodbye in the same way the days before did... with gusts of strong, mild wind and clouds racing by...

This week's weather reflects what happens in life, at times, too... surprises, such as sudden bright and sunny moments as well as a strong shower raining down on you. I am facing bright moments on the coming weekend, since I am invited to celebrate the re-opening of my dear friend's oriental dance studio after moving to a new address. I already have gotten a little gift to give to her on that occasion (which is also her birthday) to help her gather some benign energy for her private and professional life.

The rainy moments are a little more stress at the office on Friday - the monthly statement - and hearing the bad news, that my friend has gotten the diagnosis of suffering from a heel spur. Along with suffering from fallen arches and a hallux, this is yet another of those mishaps trying to slow down her dance through life... and that's literal, since being a dancer and dance teacher, her feet are crucial to her life and making her living. But, being the person she is and having the strength she has (she is a very typical Aquarius!), I know that she will make it through that time of suffering, too. I'll still be there, with the offer of my ears, arms and shoulders as described above.

Yes, of course, she is that special being I referred to...

Königin Beatrix dankt ab...

Was wäre wohl eine angemessene Hommage aus Deutschland an die aktuelle Regentin der Niederlande zu ihrer angekündigten Abdankung am 1. April 2013?

Vielleicht eine Abschiedsrede von Hape Kerkeling?

Happy Snowmelt Sunday

So, it's that kind of weather, when mild temperatures and slight rain start melting snow to slush and also the nice opportunity to test the still-frozen waters in some places before it's all gone.

Wet, melting snow is a very cold mix of white on top and slush underneath. After taking several footsteps, which took me from wet snow over slush to wet grass and leaving trademark cool barefoot tracks, my feet were tingling and glowing very brightly in healthy pink. Surely invigorating and also very nice to feel Mother Earth's skin against mine again, when standing on grass... Instant recharge with positive vibes.

Well, this is proof, that rain falling is a source of happiness for me (see previous entry).

It's raining... and that makes me happy!

Yeah, I know, people are saying all the time, that I'm weird, so when saying, that I'm happy, since it's raining, I am not surprised, if this elicits shaking of heads in people and mutterings of "Weirdo!" under their breath...

They just don't know this:

Actually, there's nothing "new" about it... Many people, who were seen as "weird" at first have later become the coolest this world has to offer. I'm merely following good examples.

But why is it, that falling rain makes me feel happy, especially when winter, snow and ice are still here? Well, it marks the beginning of a mild spell, with temperatures rising clearly above frost level, and maximum temperatures even forecast to break the 10°C/50°F barrier next week. Our regional news network WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk) has its weather expert Jürgen Weiß claim on its web site: "Saturday's snowfall could have been the last for the time being". Kind of funny, if someone predicts the end of snowfall, when his last name translates to "white". But then, name humor isn't all that alien to me, since I am the namesake of a season, too... Spring.

In anticipation of milder days to come, I decided to be bold yesterday, when going to the neighboring city to buy a new cell phone - after my smartphone had crashed, after I dropped it accidentally in the tram, I had to get a replacement. The joke about that is, that a repair of the old one would be more expensive than buying a new one. So, the bold part was, of course, taking that trip on bare feet, despite slight frost. Since most sidewalks had been cleared of snow, were mostly dry and rock salt was used only in a few spaces, it felt not too cold. And it was liberating, after having to spend most of the time with my feet encased and imprisoned in closed foot coffins, to feel the ground underfoot and to walk the natural way, thereby relieving my joints of stress and adding to my happiness.

Walking on the cool ground and standing at the tram stop, my bare feet lit up brightly pink, indicating circulation working perfectly. Of course, people seeing me walk barefoot, sit in the tram or strolling through the mall to the electronics megastore to buy the phone were reacting the usual way: incredulous stares, nudging the people they were together with and whispering to inform them of the shoeless weirdness ahead, conversations suddenly stopping, when I padded past them on my happy feet... nothing out of the ordinary. And, just like when I bought a laptop computer there - barefoot, too - the megastore personnel did not react to my pedal nudity but treated me in the friendly, service-oriented way like they do with any customer. Just as it should be, a customer's outfit should not change their attitude. I'm glad that they live up to that principle over here.

On returning home after my little shopping trip, I saw that someone had decided to leave his/her mark in the snow by the wayside... pressing shod prints into the snow... Well, I decided to tune up the fun a few notches, by leaving my own footprints next to those...

Leaving such tracks is a cool thing to do - in a twofold way.

I am now looking forward to next week, when I will be able to walk the natural, refreshing, relaxing and recharging way on my trips to work and back - in addition to work running smoothly at the moment, this will greatly increase my good mood.

Furthermore, I am looking forward to the end of next week, when I will visit a little event on Groundhog Day celebrating the opening of my dear friend's Oriental Dance Studio after it has moved house to its new location (I already wrote about that here). Weather forecasts are indeed barefoot-friendly for that day.

For the remainder of this Sunday, I will, of course, spend it in my usual preferred way and celebrate it accordingly - happily barefoot all over:

Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and... Woot?? ME???

Yes, the internet is a funny place at times... I blogged about my barefoot Saturday winter adventure, including my barefoot office shift - something which is quite ordinary for me, even in winter weather, when ground conditions are OK for my taste. Last Saturday was such a day, despite temperatures being as low as -5°C (23°F).

I also shared the blog post on Facebook and Twitter, as a good and nice Web 2.0 person does, and from Twitter, it got picked up as a news item on the Minimalist Running blog as a news item for the leisure news section:

http://paper.li/minimalistruns/1325198345#!leisure

And so, it happened, that my blog post about being barefoot on the way to work, partly on the way back home and during my Saturday office shift got paired with Selena Gomez  going barefoot backstage at a charity event, and being photographed sans shoes, alongside a grinning and shod Justin Bieber:

Yeah, that's another notch on being a barefoot sort-of celebrity... or then again, maybe not. It's funny, anyway, I think.