Snowbells in January ???

There are two Phenomena!

#1.)  Snowbells in the middle of Winter

#2.) I am sitting shirtless in the Sun, trying to get a tan.

You will only see one of them

The Main Austrian Pastime

This, at the moment, is Austria's "Big Hero"
His name is "Marcel Hirscher"
and he is almost unbeatable in the disciplines of slalom and Giant Slalom.
Today he won both runs of a double header,
defeating his constant nemesis,
Henrik Christoffersen of Norway.

.

Below: The Norwegian, Henrik Christoffersen

From 0:2 to 3:2 in the Central European League!

Our Volleyball team, Aich Dob, pulled one out of the bag. 
A bag, their opponent,  Kamnik from Slovenia thought they had all but locked up. After Kamnik won the first two sets (23, 18 )
Aich Dob decided they had come to win, not just to play. In a tension filled 3rd, 4th and 5th game
the yellow-jerseyed won 19, 19, and 14.
What a come-back!

how much higher can you jump?

Not even the 2.14 meter tall Middle Blocker of  Kamnik

could prevent this loss.

Austria, where goest thou ?

This coming Saturday, the 27^th day of January will be the 73 anniversary of the Liberation of the Extermination Camp Auschwitz, where the Nazi's killing machine murdered approximately 1.5 Million inmates: Mostly Jews, men, women and children, but also Russian PoWs and others.

Due to the meticulous accounting for which the Nazis were famous, the number of Jewish victims alone could be established as 6 Millions, killed in a series of “Konzentration-Extermination Camps.”

So far, only the Secretary of State is scheduled to represent the Government of Austria during this commemorative Service held on this date and known as the “Holocaust Memorial Day.”

The “Right Wing” is alive and well in Austria, as it is in the rest of Europe.

When the publication of an extreme right wing student organization may state: ...“we will achieve the 7^th Million” in clear reference to the 6 Million Jewish victims, without creating more than a mild rebuke

then the world should ask: “What is happening in Austria?”

The particularly onerous student organizations, such as “Germania” as well as others still call themselves “schlagende Verbindung” (striking Student Unions) who pride themselves in the facial scars they inflict upon one another in saber fights.

Aside from these infantile attempts to demonstrate their bravery, their song book contains unmistakable

allusions to the time during which a gang of criminals ruled the roost in most of Europe.

Bertstravels

hopes for an enlightened future

but does not hold his breath.

The stunningly beautiful work of Dale Chihuly

In 2016 I visited the Art Gallery of Ontario  (AGO)

and was "blown away" by the glass blowing artistry of 

Dale Chihuly

an American artist, born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941

The pieces are huge and colorful and, simply beautiful.

Should you want to know more of this man's work, Google will help you.

                                The Float Boat (2014)

(appreciate the size of these installations by comparison to the visitor)

above and below: Laguna Tortello, Mille Fiori.

A visitor can barely be recognized in the right background, 

but his presence will help you understand the size of these installations.

"Blue and Purple Boat" (2006)

Red Reeds  on Logs

Starburst 2

A stellar explosion.

A Black Hole is being created.

What is it ?

I have no idea...

Roaming around some old pictures, I found this one.

Must have kept it, because I liked it! I still do!

Early Mornin'

and the  Chimps are on their way to the river for a refreshing drink!

on the Runde River, Gonarezhou N.P.  Zimbabwe !

To Pray or not to Pray

that is the question.

Recently, a friend of mine died.

I am told that he passed away peacefully and apparently painlessly.

He had many friends and all of them met in church to pray for him.

I suppose they prayed for his soul, since there was little sense in praying for his body.

And, I asked myself, what is it exactly they are praying for?

I did not join them for prayers in church. I went to my studio and played some music he liked and tried to remember the many discussions we had about so many different things. In particular we used to discuss, sometimes argued about, his religious beliefs.

Oh, he believed in prayer and none of my arguments would convince him otherwise.

Prayer, I argued, is both, needless and useless.

Since everything in this world and the one beyond will happen because that's the way it is in God's plan, prayers cannot change what God has determined to be the future course.

If it is “God's Will” that my friend's soul shall go to join him in heaven, it is needless to pray for this, since it will happen anyway, with or without our prayers.

If, however, due to unconfessed, and therefore unforgiven mortal sins my friends soul will end in a place, other than Heaven, say, in Hell, we can pray until the cows come home, our prayers will be totally ineffectual. There are many passages in the Bible, which clearly emphasize what happens under those circumstances: The soul of the sinner will roast in Hell forever.

Therefore I argue, prayer is both needless and useless.

Uncountable millions or trillions of prayers have been offered by believers for world peace. Did God listen ? Look around you in this world and you will inevitably come to the conclusion that God has turned a deaf ear to all prayers.

He, who is supposed to be All Merciful and All Powerful has, for some reason decided to have No Mercy and exercise None of His alleged powers to respond to any of these prayers.

One would think that He would finally get tired of having his name used for the systematic killing of millions upon millions of his praying subjects.

Quite recently one of the ultra religious politicians in the USA announced:

“I pray that I shall NOT be elected to this position, unless it is God's will that I shall..”

Unknowingly he made the case for the “needlessness” and “uselessness” of prayer.

Should God have decided that this poor man shall become a Senator, all his praying NOT to become one is useless. If he should pray to become a Senator, his prayers are needless, since God had already decided so.

Please, do not come with this tired argument, that God has given Man free will and therefore cannot or does not wish to interfere with Man's decisions. This is such blatant nonsense, that I deal with it only because the “Free Will” argument, is consistently tabled as an excuse for the contradictory, indefensible non-action of a cruel God-Image.

I say “God Image” since the Christian God was, I suggest, created by Man. Not the other way around.

So, you may pray to your heart's content. If it turns you on, be my guest. Just don't ask me to participate in this endeavor.

Bertstravels.

6 short years ago

Wasn't it a "Grand Old Time"?

This was Christin, when, in 2011, 

we roamed the Hailstorm Creek Marsh

at the north end of Lake Opeongo, 

and other beautiful areas in Algonquin Park, Ontario.

She was a strong paddler, but says today, 

that another such trip into the Wilds is not on her agenda.

What a shame!

Walking in the hill country

It's actually much too cold to walk around the backcountry.

But then you think of -40 C in Toronto

and suddenly your temperature here feels downright balmy.

Window shopping in Vienna!

Sorry !!! 

These windows are for Ladies only!!!

The Star Singers

An Old Custom in Austria: 

On the 3rd of January, 

four fancifully dressed young girls will visit your home.

They identify themselves as the "Three Kings"

who came to Bethlehem  to celebrate the birth of  Jesus Christ.

They are: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar.

The fourth one personifies the Star of Bethlehem, who guided the "Three Kings"

They sing Carols, wish you "Good Luck" for the coming year,

and collect donations for a worthy cause.

This year it was for a Children's Village in impoverished Ecuador,