[MarkJerling]

And it's been a wet weekend here.
Heavy rain, slips and floodwaters close key roads and cut South Island in half | Stuff.co.nz

The bad weather seems to have passed us by. Some heavy rain, but only for a short period here.

[gaweidert]

Practicing German are we, I've been taught this, whatever it means...

Ich bin ein Dummkopf!

Well, way back in the early 1960's President Kennedy did stand in front of the Berlin Wall and told the world that he was a jelly doughnut.

[gaweidert]

A classic example for me was American Pie.
I loved that song! Played it every time I was near a jukebox.
Then one day I tried to make sense of the lyrics, couldn't for the most part, but it didn't change my feelings.

Maybe this will help.

You Tube

You Tube

[robtcorl]

Maybe this will help.

Thanks, but yeah I found out later all of the meanings.
I remember the plane crash, but didn't remember is was on my 12th birthday. Don is 2 years older than me.

[FantasticMrFox]

Well, way back in the early 1960's President Kennedy did stand in front of the Berlin Wall and told the world that he was a jelly doughnut.

Truth be told, the world just wanted to interpret it that way - technically he said exactly what he meant, he was just unfortunate to have used a word with two possible meanings

[RoxnDox]

Fox, I hope things get better for both you and her. Depression just plain sucks, for the person and everyone around them. Speaking from long experience... Best advice is just hang in there, take care of your own self, and see what the future brings one day at a time.

And music does indeed help. Especially bagpipes. <grin>

[bertwert]

And music does indeed help. Especially bagpipes. <grin>

Aye

[robtcorl]

Aye

Nay

[StiffLegged]

Truth be told, the world just wanted to interpret it that way - technically he said exactly what he meant, he was just unfortunate to have used a word with two possible meanings

Well, the cynics did; also journalists and unsympathetic politicians. Plus ca change.

[Racer X 69]

Willie has given up weed.

You Tube

You Tube

[gaweidert]

Truth be told, the world just wanted to interpret it that way - technically he said exactly what he meant, he was just unfortunate to have used a word with two possible meanings

A little bit of unknown history. Khrushchev was putting a lot of pressure on Kennedy to stop the brain drain from Eastern Europe to Western Europe. He was getting more and more emphatic that the people be sent back and Kennedy was between a rock and a hard place. If he sent the people back, Moscow would be happy and the Cold War would stay cold. But if he did it would be a political disaster for him and the Democrat Party back in the US.


Then one night the first version of the wall appeared. Kennedy was actually relieved that it went up as it saved him from making a very hard no win political decision. His visit to The Wall was actually all for show. Great press and played wonderfully in the friendly media back home, but in the end a totally useless gesture.


I think that Reagan's visit was more relevant as it came at a time when the first cracks were starting to appear in The Wall. On the flight over, US State Department officials read speech he was going to give in Berlin. They turned white when they got the the words "Mr Gorbachev. TEAR .. DOWN .. THIS .. WALL!" and insisted that they be removed as way too provocative. President Reagan refused.


Three other comments:

- Berliners are a really good pastry.

- With all the great pastries in Germany why do not all German adults weight 150 kilos?

- Bacon!! To keep this thread on whatever track it is on.

[gaweidert]

Willie has given up weed.

Willie Nelson Has Quit Smoking Weed - YouTube

Hard to be an "Outlaw" when smoking weed is now legal in a lot of places and the act of smoking weed has lost all of it's shock value.

[Racer X 69]

Hard to be an "Outlaw" when smoking weed is now legal in a lot of places and the act of smoking weed has lost all of it's shock value.

Not to mention all the damage from too many years smoking cigarettes.

[FantasticMrFox]

With all the great pastries in Germany why do not all German adults weight 150 kilos?

I am a big fan of pastries, cakes, pies and all. I cannot speak for others, but I am saved by a genetic disposition to hardly put on any weight, and regular exercise (running/bouldering/cycling everywhere rather than taking a car) But just as in any other industrial and emerging country, obesity in Germany is on the rise ...

[Racer X 69]

I am a big fan of pastries, cakes, pies and all. I cannot speak for others, but I am saved by a genetic disposition to hardly put on any weight, and regular exercise (running/bouldering/cycling everywhere rather than taking a car)

And of course you are young, with a youthful metabolism.

I was the same way, not putting on any weight until I past 40 or so.

Then the freewheeling, eat and drink anything I wanted days caught up to me. And in my 50's, 5 years sitting in the driver's seat of a big truck really made an impact.

At 19 I was 6 (183 cm) feet tall, and weighed about 120 lbs (54 kilos).

At 55 I was 5'10" (178 cm) and weighed over 220 (100 kilos).

A bout with pancreatitis woke me up and I radically changed my diet and resumed regular exercise, dropping back to a svelte 165 lbs (75 kilos). Admittedly I have slipped some, and am back to 190 lbs (86 kilos), mostly due to 3 major surgeries in the past 3 years.

Still, I feel many times better than I did at 220 (100 kilos).