Emperor Palpatine has announced open elections for a new Emperor — and he’s nominated Darth Vader. You get to nominate one challenger.

Emperor Palpatine has announced open elections for a new Emperor — and he’s nominated Darth Vader. You get to nominate one challenger.

What’s something you used to believe as a kid that seems ridiculous now?
This might sound cynical or jaded: I believed in love. But life has taught me that what we call love is often more about being useful. Maybe love exists but not for me.
I am so old that I remember life before TV, telephones (that is, landline), and the internet. I remember the excitement of a colour TV and our first landline phone. My parents had a typewriter that I used as a little boy.
So maybe the internet? It opened ideas and the writings of individual people. It allowed me to connect with people from all over and exchange views and life-experiences. It opened the world beyond my small part of it.
If you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be?
A little strange but …
The ending of Dan Brown’s Demons and Angles is terrible. It actually made me laugh out loud. (If you know, you know!) I normally enjoy Brown’s books, and I enjoyed Demons and Angles, but the ending is just plain weird and does not make sense in the context of the book.
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life?
I speak (write and read) English really poorly, as evidenced by this blog. That is my go-to language and the language in which I mainly think.
I understand German since it is my first language. I can read it but not really speak or write. It changes the way I think and reason. Also gives me words that have no English translation.
How has it impacted me? I read German books in public and sometimes get strange looks. I also understand people when they think they are speaking privately. But it is my life and I know no different.
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?
Wasn’t this a prompt the other day?!
Best advice from me to me is “you do you”. Do not look outside, find the real you inside. Other people are important but do not hitch your wagon to anyone or anything. Be you!
Who are you most inspired by?
Inspire most? I am inspired by a lot of people online. People who are doing it tough but keep going. People who are creative and super talented. Or people who are stepping out and living their dreams. I try to be positive and help!!
But “most” is a person of the past. And it changes! At the moment Franz Kafka since I am reading The Castle. Insightful and creative. And full of warning for today.
What’s your top tip to be successful in life?
There is no yesterday and no tomorrow. Live now, be present. The now is all.
And, tbh, I am very far away.
What’s a book, movie, or TV show that you wish you could experience again for the first time?
TV show: The Sopranos or Chernobyl. (I love anything to do with Chernobyl.)
Book: I am Dynamite – book about Nietzsche.
Movie: The Big Lebowski
I am going to belabour a point and say it again. Happiness (if it exists) does not come from outside of me. In a world of production, likes and hites, happiness is me being me. It never comes from outside of me but only in the realisation that I am me and that is more than enough.
And, tbh, I am very far away!