DISCLAIMER: Update 15 May, 2007: I am not going to delete this entry because that would be cheating, BUT if you believe the BBC then apparently Clean Coal is, uh, ok- although I am still against coal as a fuel source. Ok, backt to my ranting post:


Post Titled: If only GE was fucking joking this would be hilarious, but instead it is just creepy, sad, and horrifying.


Thanks Michelle!
So, as was brought to my attention (since I just happen to have turn-of-the-LAST-century coal heating myself) there is this coal campaign GE is doing in the states: See video HERE. at the bottom of the page

Ok, seriously... claiming coal as a eco-friendly energy source, GE needs to stop smoking crack immediately. Unless there is something magical about coal, some crazy process so that when it burns it gives off pure sunlight and fresh air rather than poisionous GAS then how the hell can they actually promote this idea???

I will continue to try to make sense of this ... this... belch in logic.

Update: Ok, after reading everything on their website about teh process, which is full of statements like:
"GE's IGCC "Cleaner Coal" process emits less than half of the sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, mercury and particulate matter of a traditional pulverized coal plant, making the use of coal for power significantly cleaner."
It is still coal, and still dirty, so why invest time and resources in it AT ALL? I see the argument, but it just isn't justified... I mean, sure somethign like this is better than NOTHING, but it seems like a weak sort of compromise...
DISCLAIMER: (posted May 3, 2007): "Clean Coal Fuels, a company specialising in the development of next-generation Coal-To-Liquids plants. ACCF’s first facility, in central-eastern Illinois, will cleanly convert 4.3 million tons per year of coal into 28,000 barrels per day of ultra-clean diesel fuel. Stephen will discuss the current state of the rapidly growing US CTL industry, and its potential as a near-term readily deployable large-scale “bridge solution” alternative to oil as a major source of new ultra-clean transportation fuels. Additionally, he will explore the potential for CTL-related deployment of new “bridge” and “clean tech” technologies at CTL plants, such as use of CO2 off-gas for production of micro-algae biodiesel feedstock, CO2 sequestration for enhanced oil recovery, and eventual use of renewable biomass feedstocks in lieu of coal."

lies, truth? dunno. coal is coal- or is it?

Post Titled: Recent History of Violence
I love how the UEFA President Michel Platini has come out to say that Violence is Poisoning Football...
READ SPEECH HERE

wait, Why stop at football-? isn't violence just poisioning the WORLD?
I dunno- maybe he is onto something...
Oh, frivolity.

On that note, here is a really HARSH article about German Anti-Americanism in Der Spiegel (in english, heh.)

Post Titled: Recent History of Violence
I love how the UEFA President Michel Platini has come out to say that Violence is Poisoning Football...
READ SPEECH HERE

wait, Why stop at football-? isn't violence just poisioning the WORLD?
Oh, frivolity.

Post Titled: Google Adsense Day ONE
Post Subtitled: Incestual advertising as a result of my writing about the very thigns that are advertized? I knew I would love this.

So, Ok, I love it, looking at the very first set of ads to come up in the "Tower banner" down there to the right, we have:

Finland News Blog
Daily Updates with Free Articles
RSS Feeds & Blogs at the Economist
Economist.com

Immigration:
Destroying National Identity?
Love to Lead
lovetolead.info

Expatriate Experiences
Read the Diaries of expatriates living down under: Guardian Abroad
www.guardianabroad.co.uk/diaries

Wine Blog
Daily Wine News & Commentary
Read it Now
fermentation.typepad.com

Mayo Clinic Diets Blog
Diet with Results Simple
Diet With Menus
www.o-sf.com/diet

HOW FUN IS THAT!?! and as a result of this post will the ads redouble, remain, what happens next- and if I tag this stuff? How will it hit on google itself?
damn, love it.

Post Titled: Ch-ch-ch-changes, or just selling out?
Post Subtitled: that is right, I have joined Google Adsense.
Well, just a minute ago I plunked the HTML (which I just found out stands for ... Hyper Text Mar... Language...(I forget already.) into ye olde blog template, sort of like Dr. Frankenstein flipping the swtich and waiting for the moster to come alive... the advertizing beast... and you know what, I am not necessairily a fan of putting ads into my blog, but to be quite honest, I have been writing in blogger since December 2005 (before that in Myspace) and have never made a cent... not that I expected to ever make a cent, that is definitely NOT the point, but if I could make 20 cents a week off the blog, just 20 cents! That could feed a starving child in Africa! Or me, because I usually live off of approximately a Euro per day, so- if my blog bought me sustenance every day that would be kind of hilarious... and besides, I can quit Adsense any time, right?

I know, I know, ADS in the pristine TAR ART RAT blog, HORRORS!!! No, it is horriffic, make no mistake, but I am going to give it a go, see what happens. When I first started writing nobody read my entries- why would they? Let's re-cap to my first entry in Blogger ever:


"Tuesday, December 06, 2005
In the past 4 years I have heard all manner of arguments from both sides about Afganistan and Iraq, but still- what it usually comes down to for me is that I can see a day when more "Iraqi people" will have died at the hands/ as a result of scared young American soldiers (as acceptable casualties in their constant street battles crazy jihadists) than were "massacred" by Saddam. I can also see a day when the death toll of american soldiers fighting in the "war on terrorism" will be more than the oft-quoted +or-"3,000" who died in Sept. 11. so... then what. Our actions are wasteful of life and money and resources not to mention hundreds of thousands more ruined lives. That's all folks...

posted by TAR ART RAT at 12:08 AM 0 comments"


Awwwwh, cute. Ok, so now Hundreds (not thousands, just hundreds) of people read (or at least come across) this blog every day (thank you, statcounter.com for that spy-ish knowledge and John ans Susanne for giving me the heads-up) and - well, I know... It is selling out.
But what am I selling out? Don"t you have to be IN IT FOR THE MONEY to sell out? I am never going to make squat from blogging, BUT on a positive note, It actually opens whole new worlds of possibility for making fun of... scientology, for example. pop culture things... hmm... not to be trivial, BUT adsense expiraments may ensue.

missing

missing, originally uploaded by axis42.

great photo of great poster in Seattle. Heimweh? perhaps.

Post Titled: Crazy shenannigans!
From Inky Circus: The Charming tale of two 14-year old girls calling GlaxoSmithKline's bluff.

Uhh, excuse me,... Michael Jackson's will take Vegas by Robot Laserbeam Invasion...

Great little note from Seattlest about John McCain's brief support of gay marriage on Myspace. Yet another loophole when it comes to web 2.0 meeting elections

Post Titled: Somebody to love.
The world's tallest man found him a wife and settled down.

Uhh, and a 139 page document presented to congress by the Govermnent Accountability Project regarding - well, called Redacting the Science of Climate Change... haven't exactly had time to read it.

Sorry, I am busy, that's all I got.

Post Titled: Speaking of Civil Disobedience

Ok, so they are making (or have made?) a Movie about the Seattle WTO Protests with Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000) and Michelle Rodriguez? That is surreal- when an event you were intimately involved in suddenly enters the realm of re-enacted docu-fiction...

Rote Armee Faktion
member released from prison, nuts.

based on the length and content of the last two days of blog entries. you can see about how much time and desire I have had to do extracirricular things on the computer, BUT
that does not prevent me from posting about TOADZILLA!

Post Titled: Blogs of Note
Chris's Invincible Super Blog is fantastic.

Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaret Wallström, has a very cool and informative blog.

I also enjoy Philippe Borremans BLOG

other than that, it is monday... yep.

Post Titled: Poo-poo EU B-Day Bash in Berlin
So, a week ago I read on BBC online that there would be a huge EU 50th Birthday celebration on Unter Den Linden in Berlin with free beer and free museum entry fees.

WRONG!


Paul and Jesi and I hit it up only to find NO free beer, stragglers, NO international booths opened and only a measly Joe Cocker soundcheck to entertain us... got some great fotos/video though.


actually, this ambulance surrounded by lights might be one of my most favorite videos I have ever taken... so in that respect it was all worth it.
Amazing commentary from Jesi and Paul and Paul


This was a big downer. Fortunately the 1st birthday of cafe Ringo was also going on, so we went there and stayed chattig and drinking until 3am with some good folks.

But poo-poo on the EU Birthday party, I just KNEW it was too good to be true because NOTHING is free in Germnay.

Backpack-Grill Wurst Vendor outside Humboldt University vs. Painting inside the Deutsche Guggenheim
cheap shot, I know.

Post Titled: "Barack Obama is not 'Black' on Colbert Report
Post SubTitled: Youtube, please don't pull this video -literally cried laughing.

Post Titled: I have often wondered: "Who are the people in your Neighborhood?"
Well, apparently this guy is one of them:

Post Titled: A post I don't want to write, but feel obligated to blow off some steam for the good of all concerned.

Ok, basically, it occurred to me that the population of the Western world can be broken down into the following categories:
1.elites
2a.wanna-be elites
2.b working populace eeking out a living
3.the broke-ass class
4. (per Jesi) "broke-ass elites" heh.

so if you categorize yourself into one of these, then think: WHO is really working in my interest? Unless you are an elite then is sure as hell isn't the elites... oder?

Europe is in danger of rendering itself impotent in the 21st Century due to its obsessions with:
1.suffocationg structure
2.tired ritual
3.comfort/stability/quality of life. (ok, perhaps these things are important, but still)...

and it will kick and scream, but to no avail. no joke.

just a few thoughts I had on my walk to work...

still, I do believe that Europe's upcoming problems PALE in comparison with the United States'

In real German News from the NY Times:

"A German judge has stirred a storm of protest here by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim woman’s request for a fast-track divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.
In a remarkable ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, said that the couple came from a Moroccan cultural milieu, in which she said it was common for husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote, sanctions such physical abuse."

Post Titled: Overheard Quotes
Post Subtitled: Dorky Friday

"He comes across as an utter nutter, and you walk away with this nutty taste in your mouth thinking 'He's a completely insane person but everything he says is absolutely right'"
-George on Slavoj Zizek

"This guy is so far out in the environmental extreme, we'll be up to our neck in owls and outta work for every American."
George Herbert Walker Bush on Al Gore during the 1992 Presedential elections

"Public Relations is war."
-PR Consultant Ross S. Irvine (please click his name to see how evil he is.)

“When the Koran is put above the German constitution, I can only say, ‘Good night, Germany,’ ” Ronald Pofalla, general secretary of the Christian Democratic Union, the main conservative party

"Sometimes I wish there were some things that my computer couldn't do"
-T.A.R. complaining about the sheer amount of time he spends in front of a computer screen every day.

OOOH!!! MATH THAT PROVES VAMPIRES CAN'T EXIST

On another dorky note, this new Danny Boyle Film "Sunshine" sounds awesome.

Meanwhile, Carjackers get Zapped by Tesla COil in Austrailia (from Wired) holy moly.

Post Titled: Is that Al Gore with his arm around Pharrell Williams?

Yes, it is.

Post Titled: Mash-Up Politics and Football Renaissance
Hillary 1984 from Huffington Post. I'd imagine we can expect much more of this.

'nuff said.

On another note, how great is this mural? (I think it is in the Köln Bahnhof?):

followed by this hectically paranoid Nostradamus conspiracy text I just found predicting what will happen from 2007-12
The United States in particular will be subject to serious natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and flooding, and flatten the nation from end to end, causing enormous conflict, despair, and misery. The US will be bankrupted attempting to deal with its disasters. Three other great nations will send aid to help the citizens survive.
How Fun!


From Christian Science Monitor: apparently I am not the only one with COAL BURNING issues- shoo'

Oh an "OUCH" Note, THIS blog about Israel is the most depressing blog I have found yet... perhaps with the exception of Anne "Hate-All-Over-You" Coulter's BLOG

Post Titled: Save Knut!
from Katja:

Knut is a Baby Polar Bear in the Berlin Zoo, they are now debating whether to put him down or not because he has been snubbed by his mother and therefore cannot grow-up as a real polar bear... so in Berlin apparantly is is better to be dead to not be what you are supposed to be? ooof!

Post Titled: World's Universities
WHOA, scary Logo found on Ege University, (Turkish) website:

(jea, gotta love that hook. not obvious at all.)
Check out this pie chart ranking the World's best UNIVERSITIES. Hectic. Fascinating.

as a follow-up to yesterday, HILLARY IS WATCHING YOU (from the Times online) regarding Politicans on Myspace, this time in english.

News from WIRED online: What is really in Neutrogena soaps and an explanation of Google Earth's images over Afganistan, yeaa.

Post Titled: Guess it had to happen.
LINK HERE to an article in Der Spiegel about Presidential Candidates Myspace pages, check it. Oh, silly world!

Post Titled: Art Face Off
well, I am now the official blogger for Art Face off in Berlin, a position that seems like it will be fun, here is my FIRST POST. Just a round up of things around town I liked or heard about, really.

Ok so they removed my first post because I didn't follow the guidelines, but on another note here is a awful erotic art site I found which was calling for entries on craigslist Berlin, What is the point of erotic art? TO annoy the shit outta people?

P.s. Today alone 438 people have already read my blog, that is nuts.

Post Titled: Too good to be true?
Peekvid seems to be offline now, hmmm... which is too bad because all I had planned to do today was to draw and watch random stuff on it.
Anyhow, I did find a blog discussing Peekvid's legality

Update: seems to be back online, but not working too smoothly on any of our computers... anyone else having these issues?

Post Tiled: Berlin Low-Res
Along the morning Walk to work:

is it an installation? No idea.
Park by the Judisches Museum:

Inspired by an old seattle break dancing video I found on Peekvid, I tried to imitate them, but was fairly unsuccessful:

and Nadine was likewise inspired by Germany's Next Top Model:

Adam Sacks opening last night at KApinos Gallery feat. Pauls:

the fury:

we were running late,

Post Titled: artsy fartsy
Someone is listening to Yann Tiersen on a chilly Saturday morning, it is floating down through the ceiling. Gotta go fight the little Turkish women now for the prime veggies on the groceryallee

Post Titled: United Nations Plaza

(Foto: a Police paper door seal on a club called Zum Patentamt which was closed- then "sealed" - literally, by the city officals...

Went to a thing at the United Nations Plaza tonight, we arrived a bit late and could already hear the lecture going on as we walked up the stairs. Poking my head through the entrance I saw that there was a panel of three men sitting at a press conference-type table at the front of the room, whit an audience sitting on white boxes or window ledges all packed in the room. Of the panelists themselves, one in his late 20's who looked like a german student- far receeded hairline, tiny round glasses and thinning disheveled blonde hair... the man in the moddle looked like a dishwater blonde and gray reproduction of Bob Geldof, and the last was a professor-looking fellow with a kind round face and glasses. They were talking, pausing to drink water and clearing their throats as a normal panel of academics might and the sound of all of this boomed through the room through speakers, except it was not quite syncronised with reality. The panelists were lip-lynching to the sounds coming out of the speaker, and had timed their water breaks so well that sometimes it was almost impossible not to believe that these sounds were not theirs, except they had a plastic waterbottle and the sounds was that of a glass waterbottle being set down on the "table" (or sound of a table). Don't know what he purpose of all this is actually, but after a few minutes, I found that I was able to watch is as a notmal panel, the shock of the absurditiy of it had worn off and I was able to swat and capture the art theory jargon burping out of the speakers. I really only understood about HALF of what was being said, but I'll blame that on low blood sugar.

We flooded a dinky little sports bar afterwards, the kind of place that never has more than a few random old losers was suddenly filled with 40 artsy-fartsy folks from the show, this was very intertaining. I bumped into Alicia from work and had a lovely conversation with her- it is funny how you come across expatriots who youare on the same level with and others who are greatly MOR or LESS integrated into the foreign society. Alicia, like Amelia, is fairly well-integrated and speaks very good german with a noticable american accent, but more power to them. Makes me want to kick myself- people find loopholes and ride them out... all in good time.

But really, all was well on this Thursday night, I walked for hours and met friends of friends, another Paul and Jes (just moved here from California) who turned out to be hilariously clever, good good.

In morning news: wow, Medhi Army chills out, didn't see that coming.

Post Titled: I may need a break.

THe blog needs to take a breather, so: bis später.

Post Titled: Power Walk With Me
Haah hah, I totally just bumped into Snoop Dogg's entourage on my lunch break out front of the Hilton at Gendarmarkt or whatever the hell it is called. Why didn't I ask for tickets, shit. Nice guys, though.

Last night I found a new route to work along the Spree River, which is so becutiful it was killing me all the way home, not to mention that it makes life about 50 times more gorgeous- who cares if I have to sit in front of a computer from 9-6 if I get to walk along a river along the way to and from? Walking normally I seemed to keep pace with the Power Walkers as well... Wierd.
Damn, how do I get into that Snoop DOgg show... hmm-

I walked around for 3-and-a-half hours after work... not angry, or sad, but rather just feeling destitute because I had a bad last half-day at work and I make/have absolutely no money... haven't for quite some time now... I made a map to go to a meeting for theatre piece but it fell out of my pocket somewhere along the way so I sat and watched the swans in the river... and was kind of jealous that if you are a swan then you can just exist. Humans do not have that luxury.
I wanted to throw my phone in the river... but after thinking it over realized that it was a pointless gesture. THey should only do that in the movies.

Post Titled: Ememy of the People
VIACOM is suing Youtube for $1 BILLION (from Reuters)
thanks a lot VIACOM. That will definitely make things better.
Meanwhile, saw this this morning on Prinzenstrasse:

Post Titled: OUCH.
PAINFUL AND SAD NEWS ALL AROUND THIS MORNING, FOLKS... let us begin with the basics:
Call me oldschool, but this is the third feature I have seen on American married couples sleeping in separate rooms in the past 2 days (THE GUARDIAN). Honestly, I understand that people need their beauty sleep but this trend makes me sad to the point of physical illness... it is another perfect manifestation of the me me me society. Igit. I know, that is an opinionated and stubborn point of view, and I did not sleep well last night because Nadine ended up with all the blankets, BUT I would much rather end up with a poor nights sleep and wake up next to her than wake up separate rooms in separate parts of the apartment. Fuck that.

ANYhow, the blog and morning rolls on.
What might MTV ARABIA be like? We shall soon see...

Hadn't checked the Huffington Post in a few days, and probably shouldn't have because now I am cringing with adrenaline way too early on a Tuesday morning, and here are the stories I ripped from there:

"Once again it's that time of year when Forbes reminds us that over the last 12 months the poor got poorer and the rich much, much richer! The total collective net worth (real property, liquid assets, stocks, jewelry, artwork, slaves) of the world's 946 billionaires, was way up over 2006 for a grand total of $3.5 ter-illion!"
found on Huffington Post, god this is depressing, CLICK to read the article.

Meanwhile, a certain General Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is ranting about how homosexuality is IMMORAL... - uhh, wanna talk about immoral, jackass? I can think of a trillion things our military does that are a wee bit more "immoral" than harmless faggotry. Besides, time and time again we have seen that people who are this adamantly opposed to homosexuality are actually just venting those deeply repressed G-A-Y guilty feelings themselves, or am I totally off the mark with this one? Poor pooor repressed General! Would somebody please give him some dick to shut him up?

QUOTE: "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way," Pace told the newspaper in a wide-ranging interview."
(from Chicago Tribune)
Hypo-f**king-crite!

I know, I know, so EASY to just rant in a blog and continue do do nothing, isn't it?

Holy cow, why is RUSSIA SO SCARY? (from the Economist)

GREEN FAD article on Cal State Long Beach site is insightful

Resulting cynical Blurb I wrote for the Newsletter at work:
"Politicians and Corporations the world throughout are Painting the Bandwagon Green and then riding it. Blair and Merkel have recently called for a meeting to precede the June G8 Summit in Germany, Gore won and Oscar and it seems that companies across the board are tripping over themselves to come across as more eco-friendly. This is all well and good, but in the long run does it stand a chance or will it merely be yet another fad? When nations like China and the USA continue to pollute at ever-increasing rates, buying a pair of organic jeans at H&M will be nothing more than a symbolic gesture, and without a serious sea-change these gestures are perhaps entirely in vain."
Which ties in with the skype chat I had yesterday with Susanne...
TAR says: hmm, you know, I was in the supermarkt today- and I hear the song "If you're going to San Francisco"
susanne says: yep
susanne says: what happened?
TAR says: and there is that part in the middle that says "there's a whole generation with a new explanation- people in motion..."
TAR says: and I thought- "That is so dissapointing, such hypocritical bullshit"
TAR says: because nothing happened.
susanne says: mhhh
susanne says: yes afterall
susanne says: it is not easy to change something
TAR says: and then I thought: "maybe it is better that young people today (ok, MOST of young people) DO actually stand for NOTHING"
TAR says: maybe that is more honest.
susanne says: i don t think they stand for nothing
susanne says: i think the stand for something less global
susanne says: more individual
TAR says: like, in the end if such a so-called revolutionary generation as our partents' produced no change... well, anyhow, it was a cynical thought, but I had it.
susanne says: i mean a lot of people start infront of their own doors, like eating no meat, going back to monogamy
TAR says: right, like I want to have kids one day with nadine and I want our kids to be cool-
susanne says: they will
susanne says: thats a fact
TAR says: BUT then again,here we are- rebelling in out ways against our patents' views
susanne jakob says: mhhh well that s the way it goes- i think revoultions became more personal, it moved away from these mass movments, which is good too
TAR says: SO maybe we should have some reverse psychology. Ok, I have to cook
susanne says: k

On a lighter conspiracy-font-type note, anybody notice that both Playstation 3 and Spider-Man 3 used the exact same font? Well, they are. Although, to be fair this is the same font used for the first two Spider-Man movies used the same font... but it doesn't mean that they aren't subliminally cross-pollenating and cross marketing...

First Months Rent and Deposit

Nadine covered in money Neu, originally uploaded by TAR ART RAT.

Exactly that.

Post Titled: 2017
I had the day "off" but that really meant that I went to join all my best friends at the Auslaenderbehoerden for 4 hours until I finally walked away with a thing that I can put in my passport which says I can stay legally in Germany until the 31st of May, and it has a hologram on it, the hologram is a good sign. One of the questions on the form was "How long do you intend to stay in Germany?" Which I left blank, but then they said I have to fill it in so I put 2017.


Someone in the Hof is power-sanding while listening to Speed Metal, ugh.

Today was sunny and warm, and I fell in love with Berlin all over again.

I was very happy to receive Michael Vermillion's CD in the mail today, 20 songs, all genius little tear-jerkers. He didn't have to pay international shipping tosend it, but he did. Very thoughtful of him.

THe guys who opened the gallery at the bottom of the building seem pretty clueless, I think i should go talk to them... they don't even have a website yet.

Post Titled: Strange Tides
There is a lot going on in the world today.
BSH vs. Chavez
A wall in Cypress is being knocked down.
But the most interesting thing I have found thus far is:
"Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group."
(Probably the only link I will ever make to FOX News.)

On a completely different note DAWN CERNY has a badass little website.

THE GREENS site was launched today, brainchild of the TED folks, hmmm.
You can watch the TED talks HERE, some of them are quite excellent.

Post Titled:
Site from the Teschnische Universität Darmstadt where you can look at models of MOLECULES

I am too tired to really say anything today so I am just going to lis the things of interest I have come across:

TUNNEL FROM SPAIN TO MORROCCO- that is something. Thanks George.

NWA World alerted me to the fact that Easy-E died in 1995... did I know that?



Oh, and the talented and lovely MIRANDA JULY as mentioned in DAVID BYRNE's Online Journal (not "blog"!) which is great and should be read by all bored internet users because it is what I always read when I was a bored internet user trapped at a desk in front of a computer 8 hours a day 5 days a week...

and BORAT=VICTIM, gotta love that. Coolest thing Condi Rice has ever done.

"MOTHERLAND" = great fotos by Simon Roberts of Russians IN Russia,
that pairs well with HEL-LOOKS full of wierd hipsters, thanks Susanne!

'k-

du arsch.
(yes you with the brown-blonde-red hair)

iloveyou.

300th POST! woo-hoo!

Post Titled: Dianetics Copyright infringement

I received this email from the Publishers of Dianetics sh*t this morning:

"On 3/7/07, Andras wrote:

Hello!

Please remove my email from your blog. It's copyrighted, so you shouldn't copy it without OK.

Best,

Andras Tompa
Materials Consultant
Bridge Publications, Inc.
Publisher of Dianetics and Scientology materials
Call: 1-800-FOR-TRUTH
Email: info@bridgeinc.us
Website: http://www.bridgepub.com/"

It is the internet and if you are fgoing to send me your propaganda email I will do what I want with it, thank you very much you washers of brains.

Please write Andreas and tell him to go whine to Zoron or Zoonu whatever.

In the meantime, here is L.Ron explaining how genius his genius-ass voodoo really is:

"The creation of Dianetics is a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his inventions of the wheel and arch.... This is useful knowledge. With it the blind again see, the lame walk, the ill recover, the insane become sane and the sane become saner.
-- L. Ron Hubbard "
READ MORE-Click HERE

Post Titled:
Does anyone notice anything UNUSUAL about this SENTANCE from the NY TImes
"What sets Barack Obama apart is the way his training has been at the grass-roots rather than in the treetops."

Ouch. I didn't notice it at first, but... if seems kind of wrong. Like an unintended freudian or subliminal slur-

Post Titled: VOTE FOR ME HERE in the Saatchi Gallery SHOWDOWN
Take a minute to vote on some paintings, it is kind of fun actually.

Post Titled: Monday began again.

I walked to work this morning and it only took about 40 minutes, which is odd because it takes approximately a half-hour with the U-Bahn, hmmm. And it (walking) is free.

I have been meaning to include a link to the TED Conference. Good stuff. I think you can watch the lectures on their site, many of which are well worthwhile.

OOF! Could MODERN JACKASS have a new definition?:
(From the Washington Post)
No U.S. Backup Strategy For Iraq
Outside Experts, Not White House, Discuss Options

By Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 5, 2007; Page A01

During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?

The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."
FULL ARTICLE HERE

Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position, Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) recalled. "Plan B was to make Plan A work."


On an annoying note- it is things like articles titled "The Hidden Costs of CHildcare" that make me never ever want to return to the United States again... you feel me on that?

Post Titled: Forced relaxation SUnday
I Was going nuts alone in the apartment so I took my camera and went for a walk talking photos along the way... for 6 hours:

(add photos)

The Jewish Museum looks like something out of Return to Oz


About two hours into the walk Helen called and we met up for a beer at this little gem of a timewarp called Yorkschloesschen, where there was "no photography allowed"... now I have an ethical dilemma because as I waited for Helen to arrive I took video and several fotos... do i post these? Oh, heck:

This was actually a nice place to talk, I felt out of place but not uncomfotable for the first 20 minues sitting alone at a high round table, looking around and realizing that I was the only person under 50 except the waitress. I just strarted fotoing and noticed out of the corner of my eye the dagger-glares I was getting, then- hanging next to a spotlight which was wearting glasses- (why didn"t I fot o that?!) on the ceiling in the middle of the room I also noticed a very old painted yellow aluminum sign that said "Fotografieren Verboten" or something like that. Conversation wiht Helen was much needed, covering all maner of obscure subjects as well as odd expatriate peculiarities- on a great note I learned of the origins of the open-source culture: Euro geeks mixing and sharing and celebrating their own programmed video game creations. Also unusual GRAPH and statistics remniscent of the ones tha David Byrne had in his EEEI Powerpoint tour a few years back. Goood stuuuffff!
And now the week. Lugged another 25 kilos of coal and now... I want to build something. I feel useless.
Oh hey- you can see that sign at the top right of the foto:

Post Titled: Amazing foto of Nadine by Ingrid Hoffmann

Post TItled: Too good to be legal.
SO, Peekvid is very cool, watch tons of movies and shows online FREE- wonder how long it will last. IN the meantime it will do. Even if the don't have the second season of Lost. (grumble grumble)

In the meantime I am taking the weekend to do a while lotta nothing. Did finally finish editing a short story called GORKY MURPHY INDUSTRIAL presents DELIA s if anybody wants to read it just write and I'll send a copy. It is too long to post here, although I had considered it.

Admittedly I have had a bit of schadenfreude over the past few days because of the stock market drops in the US and Asia and because of Airbus' difficulties. (I think that stems from some obscure loyalty to Boeing after having lived in Seattle.) Anyhow, like that kid on the Sinpson's says "HAaa-hah" Airbus, what a bunch of losers.

There was a crazy art opening last night at the bottom of our building for the Crystal Ball Galerie, complete with the artist's band of theramin-accordion-trombone players, you could hear if from 2 blocks away, and lemme tell ya- the Turkish Culture club nextdoor had its feathers ruffled. (It is a quiet place where middle-aged and old men gathe to smoke and talk and watch football.) I tried to take a foto, but my camera battery died.

I got the BETA BAND's album HEROES TO ZEROES at the library and have been pleasantly surprised with how good it is- one of those albums that gets better the more you listen to it, too bad they broke up.

Meanwhile I am trying to write a few blurbs for book recommendations on the Seattle Univerity Library site, this is what I have thus far:

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
This book is great, read it before you die- or better, read it now! Even though it was written in the late sixteenth century, it is far more clever, funny and relevant that most contemporary novels being printed today. The antics of the two main characters, Don Quixote and Sanco Panza, present to reader the complex absurdities of life through the painfully funny pursuits of meaning and love in thier lives. Sure, it has been often credited as "the first modern novel" but, in my humble opinion, it also ranks among the best and most entertainitng. I have honestly never laughed out loud while reading as much as I did with this book.

The Ice Strom by Rick Moody.
"This book is a and gorgous read as well -and could be soncidered as a warning on what to do and not do with your life. Set in the New England in the Mid-70's, this novel turns the quiet comfy misery suburban mid-life crises and adolelcenct confusion into a beauticul read, not to mention it is embedded plenty of Nixon and Fantastic four references.

A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle
As Al Gore has presented and predicted- in the near future the weather and environment may go bezerk, and what might it be like to actually live with that? T.C. Boyle presents a thouroughly entertaining novel which follows the life of an aging environmental activist during the onset of the Global Climate Crisis, and creates a delightful out of a world gone mad.

I have never written a book recommendation before, so I find it hard to say something besides "READ IT, IT IS AMAZING!"

Post Titled: Characteristically Uncharacteristic
News from the BBC! Baby monkies and tigers in love! Floating Dutch houses!

Walking by a empty lot there was a billboard (as usual) with a glossy diagram of the building which will soon be built there - you know the ones with the little digital people spotted in sporadically walking along the sidewalk. Another office building, and here we have our problem: this architecture that is best described as Characteristically Uncharacteristic, YAWN.

For a society that is so highly regulated and well-ordered, one that has never even undergone a revolution, I think there may be a glitch in the German DNA, something like LINE BLINDNESS. If you are waiting in line here it often happens that someone will simply ignore the line or try to create their own damn line even though there are obviously several people already waiting. I am not saying it is averywhere, but I see it about once a week, and it incites a deep rage within me. Not really, but kind of.

The Checkpoint Charlie hood is positively crawling with tourists and

In the "cold" room

In the "cold" room, originally uploaded by TAR ART RAT.

THis is the big "cold" room which we don't bother heating yet- now turned into emergency clothesdrying, narcolyptic storage, and project room...

Nadine at Eberswalder Straße

Bella Nadine, originally uploaded by TAR ART RAT.

Went back to the Flohmarkt at Mauer Park a few Sundays ago to get some furniture, and sat on it whenever possible on the way home.

Clever post title long forgotten...

U-Bahn, originally uploaded by TAR ART RAT.

Took this photo yesterday at Hallesches Tor U-Bahn on my way home from work.

Post Titled: Sit this one out.
John McCain (if that is how his name is spelled) just announced that he is entering the Presidential race... and I just thought "Shouldn't the Republicans just sit this one out?" They have no chance of winning. ANY of them.

Random BLOG of the DAY that is really, well- something else.

You know those days (the ones that happen every once in awhile) when you are cold and tired andend up drinking 7 cups of coffee? Yea, that is today and now the lesser imps and demons are fighting about who gets to claw ther way out through my eye sockets first.

just created a feed for my blog, not sure what that means yet (idiot).

Meanwhile, apparently there is an art gallery opening at the bottom of my building.

And LASTLY: another good reason to join a CULT, uh- I mean, Dianetics/Scientology just sent me this amazing video