Nie sollst du mich befragen

... why on earth I shot this photograph; anyway, Salzburg cathedral being re-roofed, taxis regaining access to upper Festungsgasse and Mönchsberg … progress happens.

The ice-cold winds of roll-back

'Profil', the Austrian weekly news magazine, founded in the early 1970s and moulded after the model of German Der Spiegel and U.S. Newsweek, has chosen to take a tougher stance in the discussion on the Austrian social security system.

This week's cover, strategically placed in the week of the Austrian National Holiday, Oct. 26, makes a very clear statement: "So ungerecht ist Österreich. ... Hausfrauen, Erben und Untätige werden belohnt." Yours truly has a built-in linguist who reacts very strongly to sentences like this one. There is an equation made; people who do not work because they inherited property (for which they were not taxed properly, thanks to the Austrian taxation system) are put on one level with humans who supposedly are neither working nor willing to work, namely housewives, and, hm, who is an "Untätiger"? Maybe a bum who dropped out of the system of employment and in consequence is no longer even willing to take up regular work. This is the equation; so far so bad.

But the verb 'belohnt' implies that action should be taken; if an unjust system is giving rewards to the 'undeserving' then the implication is that these people should rather be punished. The title also mentions "Leistungswillige"; obviously those should be rewarded. So, money should be taken from the poor, like from mothers who dropped out of employment for lack of child care and decent part time jobs, and be given to the needy WASPs? Well, some of the money for the needy slick urban professionals, like Profil journalists could be coming from wealthy heirs, that's understood. It might not be enough, so some definitely should be taken from workless, maybe homeless people?

Ich glaube, es erübrigt sich jeder weitere Kommentar. Ich habe der Profil-Redaktion in einem Mail, das nicht für die Öffentlichkeit bestimmt ist, meine Meinung zur Kenntnis gebracht; als nächstes werde ich mein Abonnement kündigen.

Was bleibt, sind Wut und Enttäuschung, dass ein Medium, das meinen geistigen und politischen Werdegang begleitet hat, nun nicht mehr Zeitgeschehen kommentiert oder Missstände aufdeckt, sondern neoliberale Propaganda betreibt, zur Spaltung der Bevölkerung und zum Hass auf andere, in zwei von drei Fällen auf solche die weniger haben, beiträgt.

Once again, the soundtrack is Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Don't let it bring you down, it's only castles burning. – Sadly so. But there still is 'Heimat' around; und der Geist weht wo er will.

Bags & concrete

We've seen the light come shining with Marina Abramovich's vision of Mozart; now it might be time to look a bit further down to the right, where there's a depot for a bag lady's possessions. Just to remind us that there is a darkness not just at the edge of town but right here in the middle.

In Salzburg there are quite a few homeless people; some of them actually found themselves a home – in small turrets of the historic fortifications on Kapuzinerberg; now they are to be dislocated from these lodgings, with no alternative anywhere near. Salzburg Bürgerliste, the local Green party asks for support against this measure; please sign up here!

Schafe können sicher weiden

The sheep have long been brought to their stables at Gersbergalm; there's been too much rain and snow recently.

Correction, 24 hours later: on a transfer to Schladming – early ski season opening! – I saw, at 7° C, cows grazing outside while skiers lined up at the cable cars.

The title is from an aria in J. S. Bach's wonderful 'Hunt' cantata.

Steingasse & Gaisberg

Evening rain & sun

Pretty lenient day with the refusenik

From the diaries of a refusenik

Way back, when yours truly was only just starting his career as a driver guide, he felt offended by a tour to the Bavarian king's castles; an insult to his education and his good taste to take anyone to this kitsch-haven. His photos came out accordingly, following a few rules: towers that are not cut by the frame are a symptom of fascist esthetics. No photographs when there are blue skies. Every weird edgy detail in the foreground is preferred to having a maypole completely in the picture. A maypole to be seen completely is an indication for phallogocentricism. For further information consult the Handbook of Poststructuralist, Deconstructive, Feminist Linguistics, Philosophy & Esthetics.

Thank you.

Got corrected here by the blog theorist; the actual term was phallogocentrism. Its been a while.

Remembering some of the discussions at the university that used terms like 'phallogocentric' I get struck by a huge irony: using those terms was a means of getting discoursive power over those who were not quite as well-read in fields of recent theory – not an indication of 'deconstructive' use of language, then.

republic reverse-shot

Standstill

It's a huge construction project for small Salzburg; a former brewery and inn, right next to a quarry, that our prince archbishops used for their major baroque projects.

What you see here is a very nicely designed information tower on what is planned. Yet the project was started in 2008, and so far no progress has been made in 2009. Crisis.

"Übern Tauern tuats schauern"

It's not just snowfall in Obertauern; even Salzburg city is just around freezing this very morning, a crisp and clear snow wind blowing.

Let's go back five weeks in time and a few hundred kilometers south across Brenner, when one still could enjoy a warm afternoon outside, with a nice ice cream cone.

Another Salzburg province folk song, preferably sung by three female voices in close harmony to warm the listener's heart in cold winter nights.

"Inseln der Unordnung"

Heiner Müller

Doesn't Salzburg seem so … orderly in the layout of its old city? Maybe not regular, but, say, organic? Here's for something different.

"da summa is uma"

Salzburg province folk song, available in various recordings.

Buildings I love to hate, 1

Bronze?

Is it bronze, how did they fix it to the wall? Is it by Erwin Wurm, whose exhibition "Desperate Philosophers" was on at that time? Then it could have been some synthetic material and not quite as heavy.

Multi-cultural?

Spent an afternoon off in a café next to the main train station.

First I had eye contact with an Arab family, meaning We / I know, you're different and that's okay. Then I got a light from three young ladies who I thought were Muslim. The young bar lady, of Bosnian origin, told me they were really Serbian Orthodox.

Then I got a light from 4 young people of Turkish origin.

Finally the friendly bar lady and I gave some Londoners directions to the major beer hall of town, Augustinerbräu. I had mistaken them for Scottish.

Well? Well, the Austrian chancellor suggests the Social Democrats should be taking a tougher stance towards foreigners (in der Ausländerpolitik "kantiger werden"). What foreigners? What stance? A gentler, kinder, a machine gun hand? – Yours truly is neither in favour of any kind of violence, nor is he suggesting that the Austrian chancellor could be in favour of any such action. Yet to see how Austrian social democrats with their great tradition are giving in to racist and xenophobic populists makes me wish to build up some amps and huge speakers in front of the Austrian chancellery and blast it away with some feedback from Neil Young's guitar.

I don't really appreciate noise in public space, so the soundtrack is private and danceful:

The World of Arthur Russell, Go Bang. Soul Jazz Records, CD83

There are times, when it's really hard to find the right words, e.g. when yours truly is just fed up to the brim with the political situation in this lovely and peaceful country (yes, it really is, no matter what some 'real' Austrians are thinking when they're afraid of all those dark-skinned people). Then, at times the blogwart interferes to remind me I shouldn't post any comments that I might by sued for or registered by Staatspolizei or even military intelligence (don't think I'm that important …). Or the backoffice-crew stops by to administer some beer as a sedative while they invent some absolutely nasty puns that will never be published here.

Thanks anyway, lads, next round's on me!

Graffiti-Bridge revisited

For a detail see below.

Soundtrack: Prince Graffiti Bridge

Boiling Salzach

It's a warm and quiet October now; Sept 5, after heavy rainfalls in the Alps Salzach river tried to be really impressive.

In the background right, always impressive when it's not hiding in the clouds: Untersberg, the mountain that came to be called Maria's Mountain during the filming of Sound of Music.

Background left: Hoher Göll. Its 'clear' view dominates the blog header.

Tornado watch?

When I was young, and christmases were white, did we have those clouds in later summer? Nope! Way back, when things were better, we did not have those clouds. Period.

Connected

At times, yours truly is simply a fan, an excited, joyful, little kid in a crowded, noisy venue.

Could've been with Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Harri Stojka Express, the early Vienna Art Orchestra, Prince, Talking Heads, The Fall, Hüsker Dü, Henry Rollins, or, more recently, Erika Stucky or Lambchop. This time it was the Stereo MCs, as DJs at republic café.

Got into the groove with the resident DJ, spotted Rob Birch early on in the crowd, prepared a little note for him and waited for a chance.

Caught him right ahead of his set, now or never, got an autograph with a PEACE next to his signature, dropped my note, and was simply happy to listen.

Even the backoffice-crew were there, all of them, not trying to cook up any nasty jokes. Respect.

"Don't let it bring you down,

it's only castles burning."

One of those all time favourite songs by Neil Young, with a compassionate eye for the old man sitting by the side of the road, and with a love for life with all its anger, hurt, and sometimes sorrow.

Have a look at Neil's Garage!

Ladder

The little man in blogger's head demanded it; so here's the ladder again, and where it came from.

Re-opened

Haus der Natur, Salzburg's Museum of natural history and technology, in it's re-opening phase after substantial renovation.

And one more café terrace needs to be checked out.

Don't walk over ladders!