Family Ties?

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Image: Claudia Braun 01/2026

It’s about respect in today’s random question. It asks…

Who has completely lost your respect?

One person, who completely lost my respect, is my mother’s son [my so-called brother]. He has been rude and disrespectful towards my parents for as far back, as I am able to remember. He is a narcissistic, manipulative and aggressive jerk, to put it bluntly. So long as you serve a purpose to his needs or benefit he will be nice to your face and ignore you completely otherwise. If you dare to disagree with him or don’t do what he wants, you get screamed at first, then punished afterwards with the silent treatment and distance. Not to mention that he hates my guts [without being able to give a plausible reason] and disowned me several times in front of family, longtime friends and relatives. Screw those family ties. That bond is not a free pass to treat your parents and other members of the household // family like crap. I’m done with his behavior, especially towards my mom. Let him hate // disown me, if it makes him happy. I lost my brother three decades ago. And after years of trying to reconnect with him, it’s time to call it quits for good.

Somewhere New

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Image: Claudia Braun 01/2026

Good morning. Today’s random question is about a fresh start, as it asks…

If you could run away from it all and start fresh somewhere new, would you?

Yes absolutely, provided that I can take my sweet puppy girl with me, and am free to choose the continent/country/town in which to start over.

Roughing It

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Image: Claudia Braun 01/2026

Good morning, and happy Sunday. My random question for today reads…

When was the last time you went camping?

If memory serves me right, that must have been round about 16 years ago. My best friend took his nieces and nephews camping and asked me to join them. Luckily we were only roughing it for one night. Apparently I’m not that much in tune with nature, because I don’t care for a repeat. Nevertheless, I’m thankful for the experience.

Still Fascinating

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Image: Claudia Braun 01/2026

Here is today’s random question…

What’s a childhood movie or series that you still enjoy watching today?

When I was a kid, each year after Christmas there was a TV mini series for kids. One of them was called “Timm Thaler”. The story is about a boy, maybe 10 years old, who sells his laughter to baron Lefuet [anagram for the German word Teufel, which means devil] in exchange for winning every bet. The baron // devil is a ruthless, wealthy business man, who is unable to laugh. Buying Timm’s laughter, he seeks to appear more engaging to business partners. The series tells Timm’s story of getting his laughter back. Timm Thaler was broadcast for the first time on December 25th 1979, and I turned 7 years old a few days later. Not only back then was I fascinated with the baron // devil and accompanying music, each time he appeared. To this present day, and being in my early 50’s, it still gives me the chills when I hear the music or see a picture of the actor portraying the baron. Below, I’m sharing a video with a few impressions from this children’s series and the baron’s song, called “Aravanadi” by Christian Bruhn…

“Aravanadi – Der Baron” by Christian Bruhn | Source: YouTube


Choices

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Image: Claudia Braun 01/2026

Happy Monday, and here comes the next random question…

Is solitary confinement in prisons a human rights violation?

Nope, I don’t think so. Inmates do not end up in solitary confinement, because they were baking cupcakes for everyone. Actions have consequences, simple as that.