Pot-Pourri number 3317

This is the year 2075. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of WWIII, our historians have just released a major finding: the contents of a hard drive dating back to the beginning of the 21st century. Most of its contents bear interest only for historians: bank accounts, utility bills and so forth, however, some valuable texts such as the one we present today could be retrieved. They were called “posts” or “blogs” (etymology uncertain), by which people shared personal ramblings – as difficult as it is to imagine today – with unknown correspondents across the world. We now present one of those “posts”, which sheds some light on the strange customs of the late 1900’s and early 21st century.

Hakuna matata Palace, Potsdam, near Berlin, 2010. (Editor’s note: the Sans Souci Palace was built by Prussian King Frederick II between 1745 and 1747. Sans souci is French for “no worries” or “Hakuna matata” in Swahili, now the major trade language as we all know. See the Lion King for further reference.)

Amsterdam, winter of 1966. The frozen canal in front of our apartment. My sister and I wanted to go ice-skating, but that was a no-no. (Editor’s note: this photograph was clearly taken before global warming. Amsterdam – as is well documented – is now a tropical beach resort with palm trees.)

San Francisco, July 2016. Death walks the streets of San Francisco. (Editor’s note: probably a celebration of the Mexican Día de muertos)

British troops in Port-Saïd, Suez canal, Egypt, c.1938. (Editor’s note: before WWII the British held a strong military presence to guard the Suez canal, the “gateway” to India and the Empire. Now why are the soldiers wearing skirts? Some historians claim they were Scottish troops, wearing a traditional garment called Kirt or Kilt)

Tlalpan, Mexico city. c.2016. The entrance to our new street.

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.” San Francisco, July 2016. (Hamlet, V, 1; historians are puzzled at this San Francisco reference, since we all know Shakespeare was born in Denmark. Source: Wikipedia)

Zeppelinstrasse, or Zeppelin street, Potsdam. Graf (Count) von Zeppelin was the inventor of a rigid air-ballon, used massively for military tasks in WWI and later for civilian transport. (Editor’s note: after a fire destroyed the Hindenburg air-Zeppelin in 1937, the model was abandoned. Planes were found to be much more efficient for bombing cities.)

The Cathedral of Siena, Italy. Built between 1215 and 1263. Eight centuries ago.

London bridge, 2016. (Editor’s note: the London bridge was destroyed in the 2020 bombing of London)

Bangkok, c.1957. Bangkok’s waterways or klongs were then the main thouroughfares, with all human activity developing on and around the water.

The author, Karachi, Pakistan, c.1954. (Editor’s note: It seems that in the second half of the 20th century, babies and children were submitted to endless hours of jail-time. A barbaric practice indeed)

San Francisco, July 2016. (Editor’s note: Dr James E. West, born in 1937 in Virginia in what was then the United States of America, invented a new model of microphone in 1962. Microphones were replaced altogether by Gamma waves in 2035.)

Phnomh-Penh, Cambodia, c.1957. Ruling Prince Norodom Sihanouk is greeting a foreign dignitary whose name has not been written on the family album (possibly a high-ranking United nations official). My father, then Managing Director of Royal Air Cambodge, the national airline, stands in the centre.

Beaubourg, Paris, 2016. (Again there is heated debate among historians about Beaubourg: was it a factory turned into a museum, or a museum turned into a factory, after the end of the great depression of 2032-2035?)

Bogotá, Colombia. December 2016.

The Captain and crew are delighted to have you on board again on Equinoxio Time-Space shuttle and would like to extend their best wishes for the year 20-17. Some forecast models predict strong turbulences in the months ahead, so make sure to keep your seat-belt fastened at all time. Nevertheless, Hakuna matata, Sans souci, No worries, we have landed in a time-space continuum where/when Trump has NOT been elected.