The World Needs Baby Goats

Disclaimer: If 2025 is too hard for you, jump to 2026. In my text, of course. ;-)

2025

This morning, I read an urgent plea from a patchwork artist asking people not to roll finished quilts onto swim noodles, as recommended on the internet. These things disintegrate into slimy slop and destroy the fabric. But hey, Google, LLMs and influencers all say so! Experts and conservators are wringing their hands. Real knowledge becomes invisible.

Someone said it’s time to invent a politics kaleidoscope for reading the news: There is always some government that keeps changing, narcissistic types who want to get some Nobel prize immediately, and the laughing third party who wants to make sure that at least two sides are in conflict. Because that is the only way their cult of death, which they want to establish everywhere, can function. Such a kaleidoscope would be an ideal news spinner and a colourful replacement for rose-tinted glasses!?

Last news in this collection: While more and more people can barely afford heating in winter, health services are stretched to their staff limits, and you may be considering where you could save a little bit money, the net worth of one of the most evil guys increased by nearly 50% year-on-year to $645bn. No, it’s not a James Bond story about Elliot Carver (Si apre in una nuova finestra), it’s real 2025 (Si apre in una nuova finestra).

A completely random combination of what bombards us every day. 2025 has given us so much of it that it's actually more than enough. For me, the year was so tough that I often felt like screaming with all my might from the top of a mountain. Fortunately, you can also do that in your car and then just talk with baby goats. Or someone else who is kind.

Now imagine a big shredder where we could tear the year 2025 into tiny little pieces and keep only the beautiful scraps.

2026

Unfortunately, ignoring and repressing the ugly problems in the long term will not help us. I am convinced that 2026 will be an absolutely decisive year for our future.

We will have to fight for our democracies. We will have to fight against the digital loss of culture and knowledge. We will finally have to stand up for the kind of world we want to live in.

The good news: We are many. And many would like to join but feel overwhelmed and helpless.

That's why part of my work here next year will be to provide some orientation - and report more on how people get involved or how to come up with ideas for doing so. I already share a lot on Mastodon (Si apre in una nuova finestra), a social media network that runs in a decentralised manner, without algorithms and dependencies on billionaires or fascist owners. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get people away from those platforms – although there is a great guide (Si apre in una nuova finestra) for those who are interested in Mastodon. If you want to follow me there (Si apre in una nuova finestra), just say hello that you are coming from my blog!

For everyone else, I want to offer a kind of digest here more often, with links to articles that I found particularly important or interesting. A kind of a commented link list.

Nature will remain my main theme, but natural and cultural heritage will also be a focus – and how we can protect and pass on our knowledge. This blog is one of the guaranteed human bulwarks: I think up and write my texts all by myself, using my own teeny-tiny grey cells.

Best Wishes

… for a happy new year! And yes, we all have every right to simply switch off the kaleidoscope of everyday madness sometimes and simply look at baby goats. Or anything else that lifts our spirits!

Perhaps my zine “Reconnection For Aliens” which you can download here for free as a gift (Si apre in una nuova finestra) until the end of the year!

Stay curious and symbiotic - I look forward to meet you again next year!