We will leave the EU to its willing masters

The top line shows the value of German exports to France in billions of euros.  The bottom shows the value of French exports to Germany.  It's an ever widening gap.

I'm no economist but with such disparity between Germany and the rest of the EU on this and other matters such as world trade, banking, common currency, national debt, transport and immigration, not to mention the proposed multinational EU Army and the many inter_EU problems (for example the 27 current members speaking 23 different languages and having their own traditions and values)  I wonder how the EU can seriously be expected to function as an entity in any other way.

Unless the EU Project is driven by a couple of willing masters as it is at present  it will surely find itself on a slippery and uncertain path.

It seems to me that the EU system, or some would say monster,  demands subservient countries be willing to work in the interest of the willing masters.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

The post-Brexit future is not grey as the doomsayers have it.   In fact it is a sunny option. We shall now renew and strengthen ties with many old friends, those peoples who have stood by us in our hour of need. And we shall make new friends around the globe unhindered by EU dogma.

The British Ambassador here has advised Britons and Austrians to keep calm and drink tea. Britain, he adds,  is going to leave the EU not the world.

Everyone likely to be affected by Brexit should consider making a post-Brexit plan in order to move forward:

Here's mine:

At the Sigg Collection in MAK

The Sigg Collection in Vienna's MAK is well worth a visit. 

The star of the show for many will be the fallen red chandelier titled 'Descending Light With Missing Circle' (2017) by Ai Weiwei.

The international artist currently lives and works in Berlin.  

I was entranced by these blind performers. This was the high point of the show for me.

The musical video is titled The Declaration of the Blind (2015) and is by Zhu Jiuyang. It runs for 27 minutes. I could listen to these performers all day.

I was surprised to discover that the five blind story tellers were members of the so-called propaganda team of performing arts at the time of Mao Zedong.

In the MAK video they can be seen and heard  performing in their local dialect their own  hypnotic interpretation of the Declaration of Human Rights.

I've searched high and low for a copy of this wonderful  video on the internet but so far without success.

Scenery with Monitors is the title of this 2015 oil on canvas painting by Zhao Bandi who lives and works in Peking. 

Along a path through a garden landscape cameras observe the environment. China operates a countrywide system of intelligent cameras with face recognition. 

Doubtless others do too. 

Questions

Q:

Without questions are we only half alive.

 Who am I? 

What is the purpose of life on Earth? 

Why am I here? 

A: 

Love one another.

My Friend the Bashful Carrot

'To Eat or not to Eat?'  

That is the question. 

Not cloned, 

not sprayed with dangerous chemicals, 

not injected with growth hormone, 

not sealed in a plastic tray, 

and definitely not up to officialdom's  dream 

of uniform quality standards,  

can the bashful carrot really be considered 

safe 

to eat? 

After all, 

he was harvested by dirty human hands!  

And sold by human beings 

from wicker baskets

lined up on a wooden plank 

 in the public market place. 

Yes, in the crowded open street! 

A pigeon perched nearby. 

And someone coughed. 

Coins and notes changed hands.

And people smiled

and laughed. 

And no-one shopped with a credit card. 

Some had arrived on bicycles.

Others with the bus.

Some had walked

from home 

or from their cars parked several blocks away.

There were no supermarket jingles 

or buy two get one free

bing bong 

sales announcements. 

To eat or not to eat? 

There is no answer to the question. 

 We will not chews for you. 


But some will try.

The Lake in Winter

The Neusiedlersee which is situated on the Austria-Hungary border is a large lake much frequented by day trippers and tourists during the spring, summer and autumn months.

Camping is very popular. There are not that many hotels but there is plenty of B & B accommodation on offer.

The area is beloved by the thousands of cyclists who like to cycle round the lake. There are cycle ferries crossing the lake at different points for those who do not want to pedal all the way round.

A small red and white flag and the words Zimmer Frei near the front door of a house signals that a room is available.  If the sign says Belegt it means 'No Vacancies'.

Birds are now overwintering on the lake.

Here are some photographs from yesterday.

The frog is very big!  But the geese are bigger!

Storks will arrive from Africa in March and April.   One year a stork miraculously made the journey with a spear stuck in its side.

And the winner is . . .

Click link on screen to watch on YouTube.

Caption Contest (For Amusement Only*)

*Older readers will remember these famous  words of the penny arcade slot machine notice. There were sometimes small prizes to be won. I can recall fairground amusement machines dispensing packets of Polo mints as prizes to lucky winners. Today's lucky winner shall receive a signed copy of the picture in the post below this one. Go for it! But keep it clean.

"PERHAPS TONIGHT JOSEPHINE"

Hand in hand 

Napoleon 

and Josephine 

appear 

to enjoy 

a photo opportunity 

before 

the Temple 

of Abu Simbel.

Not a yellow 

vest 

in sight.  

Fashion note:

Madame's sneakers 

by 

Louis Vuitton.

Price Tag 

 for similar  

€750

Another day in the life . . . . (photo courtesy 'Small Camera' at MAK)

SELFIE