The Winter Of Your Discontent
A helpful reader has pointed out that my last two favourite german words were in fact Weltanschauung (world view) and Weltschmerz (world weary).
We regret the error.
My German vocabulary is indeed very depressing.
New Favourite German Word
My Last New Favourite German Word was Schadenfreude.
Schadenfreude has now been superseded by Risikogesellschaft which means Risk Society. A Risikogesellschaft is a society that has organized itself to deal with modern risks like nuclear reactors and habitable planets on the verge of meltdown.
A Risikogesellschaft is of particular concern to the reclusive misanthrope because he has no part in society’s ridiculous misdeeds but bears the risks involved all the same.
Newsweek recently brought a geo-engineering plan to my attention. Apparently, we can cool down the planet for a measly few billion dollars by releasing Sulphur Dioxide into the atmosphere.
Yes, it might be raining Sulphur soon. When I was younger, I was really afraid that one day I would be killed by acid rain. I would look up famous statues in Rome and tell people: “This is what acid rains going to do to us all.” On a side note, I also pointed out that the pigeon problem was rather worrying as well.
Several adults assured me that it would never be acidic enough to kill anyone but I was smart enough to know that you couldn’t trust weather forecasts.
