Byebye Zweite Hand

You don’t know how much you like your collegues until they are gone.

The Zweite Hand – the Second Hand – was an ad magazine (founded 30 years ago), once cool, now dead. Taken over by The Tagesspiegel some years ago, somehow saved, somehow left to die … whatever … I had a good time there and we had a yummy good bye party yesterday …
And I learned: fight for your rights. Not to party … that’s for free … but for decent termination pay. They sacked 11 people and wanted to get away with einem warmen Händedruck … nothing … no way … so we organized ourselves to gain at least, alas! a social RIP payment for people who worked there for half of their lives, come on, that’s what Gewerkschaften are for! Labor union, I mean. That’s what people struggled for 100 years ago. Ours is Verdi and I must say … thank you Jörg for fighting together with us until the end: sometimes it makes sense to not give up, to go out and inform the public, to go on strike even if you feel a little ridiculous. Do it. Know about rights and chances.
Yeah!
I’ll miss you (I smoothly swam over to Zitty, another Tagesspiegel daughter magazine, don’t worry about me … love my new collegues, I’m safe. Until …)

Hey Herman!

Me and my friends went out to have some drinks – now there’s a cool speciality, a quite new bar in the neighborhood: Herman! Schönhauser Allee 173.

They have hundreds of different beers, all Belgian! First thought that might come upon you: oh no, not that sweet cherry / strawberry / vanilla beer again *headache* – no no not true, I had a super caramel color, not sweet, tasty, „real“ beer called „Palm“, mmmh yummy …. they even serve some mysterious beer in champagne bottles!!

Bart, the charming owner, explored the world and landed in Berlin, he wears an interesting hairdo (somehow made me think of Napoleon) and answered to my question „why Herman?“ that he named the bar after his teacher. One of the good ones. Sports was it if I remember right. Not Herman Van Veen. Bah. Now he was Dutch, right?

Cheers and Prost everyone!

On The Road To Mama’s 75th Birthday Party

On the road. Summer turning into autumn. From North-East to North. In a cosy car with my brother, his girlfriend and her little dog.
Clouds speeding in 3D, wind turbines turning, sun burning red.
A 3-legged-dog running happily through the grass.
Coffee is not bad at our highway rest area. Double espresso cappuccino.
To fat boys pissing in the weeds.
I love to be on the road!
Happy birthday Mama!

Music Is It

You know what I would really miss if all people in this world got ooops killed by ooops themselves, shit accident, global Monsanto errr war oooops error?

Music.

My friend Frauke got 2 tickets for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. 3 pieces. Classical. Witold Lutosławski, Gustav Mahler, Leoš Janáček. Couldn’t be more different, diverse.
Conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, the boss of this orchestra (going to quit soon), cool, I first saw him and his work in a movie >>> Rhythm is it <<< I am a newbie. I am a nothing-knower. I observed them, the musicians, how they worked together like a swarm. Fascinating. 50 violins sounding like a bee swarm. A choir of 100 men and women singing together demonstrating a power that blew me away, I don't like clerical themes at all but they were just fantastic. Keep on rockin’!

First Bare Hir Leggs, Then Creepe Up To Hir Kneese …

I was wondering where the name dildo comes from – I came upon a very old poem …

And make me happie, stealing by degreese.

First bare hir leggs, then creepe up to hir kneese;

From thence ascend unto her mannely thigh—

(A pox on lingring when I am so nighe!).
Smock, climbe a-pace, that I maie see my ioyes;

Oh heauen and paradize are all but toyes

Compar’d with this sight I now behould,

Which well might keepe a man from being olde.

My little dilldo shall suply their kinde:

A knaue, that moues as light as leaues by winde;

That bendeth not, nor fouldeth anie deale,

But stands as stiff as he were made of steele.

Thomas Nashe, 1593

Today at Galeries Lafayette in Berlin Friedrichstrasse open Vogue night, buckets of champagne for all ladies, my friend and I went there, informed ourselves and … she won the race!!

Yummy Beer, Free Field

I was invited at Freifeld-Festival in Northern German Oldenburg last weekend to give a hand processing super 8 workshop during their inside and open air music & arts festival! That was fun and sunny and full of inspiration for everybody – me and 10 participants. Playing with 5 super 8 cameras, strolling around the festival which was situated on a large site that used to be soldiers barracks (à propos: Obama, I’d like you to return your Noble Prize. It’s really in wrong hands. It was meant for some peaceful action, not for starting a war. Sigh.)

10 people, 5 cameras, shooting 5 film rolls and developing them in a very special soup: OLs Beer, vitamin c and washing soda!
The result: wonderful negative black & white film!

Liepnitzsee I Love You!

The cleanest and most beautiful lake in / around Berlin is definitely the Liepnitzsee! Soft green clear water, happy ducks, old fashioned rowboats to rent, a ferry named „Frieda“ and a lovely café on the island, the Insulaner!
I had the most relaxing day there today (with Bernd, David and Jenna), a perfect summer day!

And I learned a new drink: „Schmunzel“ (which actually means „smirk“ or „chuckle“): it’s just orange juice with „Korn“ (corn schnapps)!

Aquasse

The coolest place to be in Nürnberg when it’s really really hot (38°!!) is the Galerie Bernsteinzimmer!
I had a little film show and exhibition there last weekend – a workshow of my films and some smaller pictures from my film stills hanging on the walls.
This place is centuries old. Cooling wooden floor, heavy stone walls and a wonderful terrace that one of Helga’s friends (forgot her name) called Aquasse instead of Terrasse because we’re looking at aqua and not on terra! Makes sense!!

Thank you Verena for organizing and Helga for everything and the best Schnittchen on earth!!

Full Steam Space Machine

I’m back in Berlin!
Took me a while …. from LA to London … then to Berlin.
These extremely beautiful beaming red dressed Ladies are stewardesses of Aeroflot / Russia! They know how to dress!

Berlin is LA’s cold little sister. I’m confused. It’s suddenly cold and not bright. I will have a nice jetlag.
That’s why I went to my favourite Burgeria around the corner (2 Americans, 1 German) and ordered a Superjalapeño Burger. And a Tyskie (Polish) beer while waiting.
They had the radio on or some private compilation … my two very personal waiting songs were “Full Steam Space Machine“ by I don’t know and then “Keep On Rockin‘ In The Free World“ by … you know.
Yeah, free world. There’s something going on right now. I feel for all who get killed right now fighting, no not even fighting: standing up for a free world.