Spirit of the River

Sometimes, you need the help of a wise friend. A discussion on Facebook gave me the idea to write about imaginary relationships (which includes friendships, too, it's not all about love). Most of us had such a relationship at some stage in our life, some of us had a more detailed one, and others just had thoughts like "What if...?" Some kids had imaginary friends, other kids didn't. An imaginary friendship is defined by the fact that the person you day-dream about either doesn't exist or has no interest in the kind of relationship you are interested in. In many cases, the person of desire is a famous person or a fictional character that simply is too good to really exist in life. And this is what I am writing about here: I am not going into imaginary relationships with people you actually know - because I think that can be quite a dangerous topic, and it can also create problems in relationships as they actually are in reality. But what about your daydre...

While this is not really a love letter (which would be privately addressed and for the eyes of one person only), it is a blog post about why English means so much to me. People often ask me whether I ever plan on going back to Germany, and when I say no, hardly anybody understands. And I usually don't explain because I know that only very few people would truly listen and understand my reasons. In this blog, I do not explain why I do not want to live in Germany, but I will explain why I want to live in a country where people speak English (and basically, Germany's not one of those countries).  It has nothing to do with English being one of the most influential languages in the world. It has nothing to do with English being more beautiful than other languages (though to me it is). My reason for loving English is because to me it is the language of life. The language that gave me hope when there was none in my life. It is the language of the people who taught me mor...

I was not sure what to write about today, as I did not feel very motivated. But then I thought about an article I've read about Captain Janeway last night. So why not write a little about her? I have to admit that I don't care much about mingling with other Star Trek fans. They seem to be quite elite, and not very accepting of people who aren't fan of every single Star Trek series. So I keep to myself, and I am not one of those hardcore fans who can tell you which events happened at which star date. I enjoy Star Trek (TNG, Voyager, and Archer's Enterprise) for the stories and characters, the developments and the philosophy. I don't care much for huge intergalactic battles. Captain Janeway has turned into my favourite. If I had to choose one character to meet in my life (if they all were real), then it would be her. As much as I love Picard, and as much as he helped me with getting through my childhood and teenage years, Janeway is the one who completely stole ...