hmpf

Robert Gernhardt ist tot.

http://www.fr-aktuell.de/in_und_ausland/hintergrund/?sid=9d73c957915d37f773bbf76b12dcee35&em_cnt=918306

http://www.faz.net/s/Rub1DA1FB848C1E44858CB87A0FE6AD1B68/Doc~EBEBCA566866643DAAE69609654380F5D~ATpl~Ecommon~Scontent.html

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/artikel/545/79466/

http://www.titanic-magazin.de/startseite.php

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/literatur/0,1518,424472,00.html

(ETA: To my non-German-speaking friends: Robert Gernhardt was a brilliant, and very funny, German poet, painter and graphic artist. He died of cancer today, aged 68.)

Spent New Year's Eve online, chatting to ankae, good friend of mine (truth be told, possibly rather something like my long lost twin sister - she even shares nearly the same birthday!), much missed since she moved literally halfway around the globe about two years ago. (Two years already? Yeah, I think so.) Was glad to discover she still has *some* geek tendencies. (The issue we kind of dance around when meeting/talking again after a long time: "... say, you still a geek?" Our very own Gretchenfrage. Always afraid the other might 'grow out of it', thus proving that *we're* just stuck in some sort of eternal adolescence, after all.) Just before midnight nager and Anduranova also popped up online, and I chatted with all three for a while, feeling oddly connected for all the distance (present, past and future; physical and other).

It was a good New Year's Eve, strange as it may sound.

And today I found out that my oldest online contact, a lovely woman by the name of Jean who copied the Methos eps for me, way back when I had just entered Highlander fandom, died recently. I lost contact with her after a few mails and letters at the time - I was still very uncertain about the whole fandom thing, and about online life and a lot of things, and painfully shy to boot. Now I regret I didn't keep in touch. I made her a bit of jewellery in return for her tapes. Strange to imagine that it may now be owned by some relative who probably doesn't know its history.

Rest in peace, Jean. Thank you for showing me the kindness of fandom.

Much love to everyone else out there, as well. Have a good 2006. Don't die, okay?