If it's not Raven, it's crap...

Vijita U.G. , Asian Wizkid and International Pirate. 'Gators love her and I do too. While walking home from work today, it occured to me that I've been thinking it was Wednesday...all day long. I felt like an ass, since I had pretty much spoken to everyone I encountered as though today were really Wednesday, making tomorrow Thursday. I even wrote an entire email to someone that was pretty much based on that assumption. It kinda explains, though, why people were kind of looking at me like I was nuts. Anyway, after this realization and before I had the chance to berate myself for my stupidity... an even more jarring thought hit me: I TOTALLY forgot about Dr.U.G.'s -- a.k.a my oldest and dearest friend's -- birthday!! Noooooooooooooo! It finally hit me what her cryptic comment from February 25th meant and now I feel like a complete asshole. Jeeds , do you realize that this is like our 20th anniversary? Well, not your birthday exactly...but we've known each other for 2...

This is the Globetrotter (Mecca for expensive outdoor gear) in Barmbek, near where I live. It's a big, red, cube-like building and is good landmark/meeting place for people who want to come to my place. It is not at all hard to spot. I walk by it all the time, but never give it any pause, because it's like a giant store full of stuff that I have pretty much zero interest in. I mean, sure if they were fill that mofo up with CDs/records I'd literally set up camp there. Which is ironic, because I'd probably need a tent... but I think you get what I mean. ( Click Below for More ) While waiting for FeeBee at the aforementioned meeting spot, I paced about, taking the time to actually look at the window displays. Here's a couple of things that caught my attention: This is the "Kids Dream" compass/multi-functional pocketknife. Maybe kids are different these days as opposed to when I was growing up. Maybe I just had the wrong kinds of dreams as a child, because a...

If you've ever had the "pleasure"(?) of seeing me first thing in the morning, you probably realized right away that I'm not exactly a big freakin' ball of sunshine (before 11am). I am (to put it mildly) slightly irritable, my hair's kinda troll-like, my eyes and face are puffy, and I could probably pass for a voice-double of Marge Simpson...that is if I felt like communicating with actual words, rather than grunts. If you've experienced otherwise in my company, that's really the exception rather than the rule. I generally like to roll out of bed around 9am to be at my desk by 10am. I know, most of you have to get up a lot earlier than that, but fuck that shit...for real. However, somedays I have to go by that little place called the public authority responsible for aliens (a.k.a where fun and happiness go to die) and I gotta rise and shine earlier than I prefer. Today was one of those days. ( Click Below for More ) This time, Mo offered to pick me up...

There's some semi-fresh graffiti work close to the Esso gas station near my apartment. It must have been done on Friday or so, because I don't recall it being there on Thursday. There isn't really much to appreciate about this piece, as I find the spelling and print quite atrocious... but the message is...interesting. I've passed by it the last few days and I must say, it's really made me think. At first glance, I thought it was kind of an anti-Mulatto Revolutionary statement, but the more I ponder it, the more I think that it's the most pro-Mulatto Revolutionary statement ever. See, the whole part about "di white separated from di black" refers to "society" in its current condition and what this particular writer wants to do is "burn a society", i.e. challenge the status quo. Anyway, I'm thinking making "Me burn a society" the official motto of The Revolution. Unfortunately, the two pieces to the left and right of thi...

She's like the Superman to my Clark Kent, except we occasionally manage to be in the same place at the same time. Just not this weekend. Note: This post has been forward-dated for freshness. 70 CM Film Screening curated by Diana Arce Premiere: February 23, 2007, 8PM NewYorkRioToyko e.V. Eberswalderstr. 4, 10437 Berlin-Prenzlauerberg Other Screenings: March 7 and 8, 2007, 10PM Ex’N’Pop Potsdamerstr. 157 10783 Berlin-Schoeneberg ( Click below for more info about the screenings ) The average westerner requires 70 centimeters of personal space in front of them. NewYorkRioTokyo e.V. and Ex’N’Pop are proud to present films exploring the domain of psychological personal space. The hour-long program includes the works of 9 experimental filmmakers from the United States, Israel and Germany. Personal space is often defined as the invisible borders people build for themselves. Within these films, the authors invite the viewer to cross and breakdown these borders, explore the delicate line, or...

I think I need to start setting my sights on finding a group of friends who are less accomplished than the ones that I currently have. No offense, guys (and gals)...but could you (for my sake) stop being so good at life and just be losers...just for a little while...just until I catch up? You can either be beautiful or successful, not both -- so go ahead and pick already, people. I don't want to see any of you on Gawker anymore. First, because Gawker is mean. Second, because I don't think I could stand another such scalding from spilling hot coffee on myself in surprise. Also, while we're at it guys... let's not author any more books . I mean, hooray for you and all...but this is not helping my self-esteem one bit. On a more serious note, I think J. Courtney has been a bit misunderstood. She's like the Nas of the dating self-help book scene . A lot of people just couldn't get past the title Hip-Hop is Dead . I remember having dinner with her, Miss Fee , and Ha...

I'm no hip-hop concert newbie, that's for sure. I've stood right in the middle of the melee, jumped around and screamed my head off. I've attempted to help hold up a crowd-surfing rapper or two (though I'm really too short to be of any real assistance). I saw a woman pull out her weave -- chunk by chunk -- and throw it, screaming, right at the stage, before pulling out and smoking from what was probably a crack pipe. I watched Busta Rhymes pass the courvoisier through the audience, whilst singing "Pass the Courvoisier" to the audience. And, as if that weren't generous (not to mention unhygenic) enough, he then passed around a communal blunt. No, I haven't seen every rapper's show, but I've seen enough to know that last night's Kurtis Blow concert was by far the most surreal hip-hop show that I have ever been to in my life. ( Click Below for More ) Molotow Club was the setting for the show. I hadn't been there in a long-ass time, ...

that is, unless you work somewhere cool like me...

This photo doesn't quite capture the eyesore that is this kiosk. I recently had the opportunity to spend a little bit of one-on-one quality time with Wonfuzius , my favorite Korean gangsta. And, might I add, he is looking quite svelte these days ;-) He came over to my crib, and then we went out and he showed me his (former and my current) 'hood. It was kind of like the long lost sequel to the movie Rush Hour ...at least in my mind. ( Click Below for More ) Originally, the plan was to take a picture of the döner stand that I frequent at the Barmbek station. I've been wanting to do this for awhile, ever since I saw the name of the establishment on the canopy. Since I normally approach the stand from a side-angle, it wasn't until I glanced over at the place from the bus stop (where I could see the stand head-on) that I got a glimpse of the sign. I think it's already been firmly established that my maturity level is that of a 15-year-old boy, nevertheless I felt kind...

You ever get the feeling that it's just gonna be a long-ass week? I think the worst thing is when you get this feeling on Monday morning around 1am. After Wednesday it won't be so bad (I think/hope) but with the tiredness of a bad night's sleep combined with the wiredness of far too many cups of coffee this morning -- Wednesday just seems a bit too far off for my liking.

Last night I went with FeeBee , a colleague from work, to the 5th Annual Dynamic Stylez Hip-Hop Jam in the Markthalle. I've been going to a lot of concerts as of late, thanks to awesome hook ups from work. I feel like I'm so close to achieving a very important professional goal of mine, namely to get free music and free concert tickets all the time. I don't really get "tickets" to the concert per se. It's really just a spot on the guestlist and most of the time I'm allowed to bring a guest. Sometimes two (but usually just one). Normally, my mind goes automatically to Andre , when I think about who to take as my "+1". This stems from a promise made to him long ago: "Dude, I swear, we're gonna get into so many concerts!" However, as of late, I feel like changing this policy, because the last two times I invited him to a show and he agreed to come, he ended up forgetting about the concerts and making other plans... and not even like ...

I hate to tell you, kid, but it's all downhill from here. Welcome to Friday, everyone. I hope it's treating you kind. I can't help but glance at the different news pieces on the GMX website everytime I go to check my email (which is like approximately 1 billion times a day). Today, I saw a story about a UNICEF study that has revealed that children in Germany are worse off than children in other industrial nations (in German). ( Click Below for More ) I kinda just skimmed through the article, since such trivialities as "facts" and "details" mean so very little to me. However, I grasped that out of the 21 nations in the study, Germany came in at number 11 -- and this is somewhat unacceptable to some people. And I think this combined with the PISA-Studies has got some Germans feeling like Rabeneltern (neglectful parents). But really, Germany, if you think about it, the countries that placed higher than you...they do offer some pretty good competition (...

Click image for more funny V-Day cards This afternoon, I was purusing the Spiegel Online's Germany Survival Bible , which is good for a laugh...if you're still into the Seinfeld -ian "What is up with that ?!"-Type humor. The only article that I found the least bit enlightening was the one about Gesellen (travelling craftsmen). Because, for real, I did actually think that they were funny looking hobos. However, the reading of the article came a smidge too late, as Tiger finally explained to me a couple of days ago who these guys actually were and what they did. Heretofore, whenever I asked I only got the reply, "Like, duh...they're the Gesellen ." And because I didn't want to reveal that I didn't know what that was, I would just go, "Ohhhhh...the Gesellen . Riiiight, gotcha." ( Click Below for More ) Some of the articles have to be read with a grain of salt. Others require a truckload. My favorite was a piece written by a German called...

I was amused and slightly appalled when I heard about the Aqua Teen Hunger Force "bomb" scare in Boston from a few weeks ago. The whole thing was kind of reminiscent of the whole Super Mario Power-Up Boxes April Fools prank. Granted, ATHF doesn't have the cultural significance of Super Mario (as yet?), but holy crap...was all the overreaction really necessary? I like how it's listed in Wikipedia as the 2007 Boston Mooninite Scare . That (and the video above) is pretty much the icing on the cake for me. Stay tuned for the Dendemann concert wrap up and other exciting news in the fabulousness that is my life.

I hung out with Lady Anastasia von Etch-a-Sketch ( S.A.M III's better half and all around fun gal). Before we set off at 1:25am to brave the snow in search of good times, we had a conversation about Lost, which I love -- and she does not. I thought of this video, which is funny to me. Sorry that I lost track of you at the Grüner Jäger, Etch . I'm not sure if you left before or after me...and I know you wanted to go to the Fischmarkt. However, I think it all worked out for the best, because it was motherf***ing cold last night ;) However, I managed to make it home safe and sound...eventually.

This tag is officially not crap When we were kids (my siblings and I, that is) whenever we would tell our mom that we were bored, she'd give us some manual labor to do. Then, while we were scrubbing and cleaning or whatever, she'd walk by with a smile on her face and say, "See, you're not bored anymore!" Two things resulted from this: 1.) we became weary of ever admitting that we were bored 2.) we got pretty good at making up our own games, so that we wouldn't ever have to (admit we were bored) -- both have kind of followed me into adulthood. As an au pair in Rotterdam a few years ago, I found it hard at the beginning to keep myself from getting bored (on my off-time). Being an au pair is kind of different from your other living abroad experiences, because it can be really difficult to meet other people. It's not like the study or work abroad thing, where you at least kinda get to be around other adults, with whom you can perhaps eventually socialize. No, ...

Thanks to Toby for sending me this video. We ( Toby , Buche , André and I) were there last Sunday, right up close. It was an awesome show. They confiscated the NyQuil that Buche brought to me at the door (but I got it back after the concert, I wasn't gonna use it until then anyway) and my left shoulder is still bruised in the spot where another concert-goer accidentally elbowed me whilst he was jumping around. Good times...

It's currently still in the A.M. and my cold hasn't fully gone away. I kinda fear that I'm starting to look slightly coke-headish with the constant swatting at my nose to get rid of stray boogers and pieces of dead skin. Last night, I dreamt about the little tube of Nose Better that Miss Fee gave me once upon a time. I still have it -- somewhere in Oklahoma... I'm in the process of transcribing and translating two interviews at the moment. At first, I used to type out the interview in English and then go back and translate it into German. Now, I just listen and translate directly...unless I run out of time at work and want to finish it up at home (because I can't take the recording device home with me). Personally, I prefer transcribing and translating the English interviews into German, rather than just transcribing the German interviews. It's hard enough deciphering what rappers are saying in my native language, with their crazy non-answers (e.g. "Basic...

Click for larger image Trini Mutti has been in the hospital for about two weeks (give or take) and I've been kind of shuttling between her place, my place and the hospital bringing her stuff as needed, picking up mail and making somewhat of an attempt to keep her houseplants alive (which if you know me, you also know there's a reason why I don't have plants...). I've also spent a few nights there, which is kind of an amazing feat because she doesn't have internet or TV (oh horror of horrors!!!) and can get by on entertaining herself with yoga and meditation. Luckily, she has books and a stereo...so...I mean, that's something... The other day, she asked me to bring her some X-rays in a big envelope that her doctor needed to see. Inside this big envelope, I also found a 2-year-old issue of the The Daily Observer (pictured above), which is newspaper from Antigua (one of the places where TM is from*). Anyway, I thought it was a pretty awesome front page... that...

Here's a very brief summary of my weekend: I nursed a cold, I watched André and Wonfuzius (for like 3 hours) while they put bits of trees into a wood chipper, I went to a Blumentopf concert (for free!), and last but not least, Blogger kinda made me change to "new" Blogger and I think it fixed my umlaut problem (äÄ,öÖ,üÜ). I'll let you decide which one of these activities was the most fun for me. Now that I have that out of the way, I'd like to address a completely different matter. On the way home from the concert last night, the subject of my unwillingness to run after vehicles of public transportation (busses and trains) came up. It's something for which I'm often ridiculed and I don't really recall if I've ever explained my stance on the matter. Quite honestly, I'm fairly certain that the explanation will probably lead to even more ridicule... ( Click Below for More ) Alright, so first I have to backtrack a bit and explain my concept of ...

I can't stop, it's like chips (or so they say). I belong to too many of these "networking websites" -- not so much because I'm into networking, as I am into stalking people when I get bored. On a slow night I can kill a few hours (and precious brain cells) trying to recall the names of people from long ago. I discovered I've forgotten a lot of last names, but then again, last names weren't that important in first grade. Anyhow, I don't want to be BFF with most of these people, I just want to see what they've accomplished in life thus far or (in some cases) if I still hate their guts. Sometimes I actually do find people that I've been trying to get back in contact with for awhile (like my German host sister from high school) ... and other times, people find me that I'd just rather *shudder* forget that I ever met. ( Click Below for More ) Then, sometimes these people (from the latter category) send me messages, which sort of force me to fur...