Post Titled: elite singles Berlin, deutschland
I joined a really great new service where I can meet people just like me who are motivated and passionate about life people like
ok, so I am a bit off today, -na und?
please excuse the adoption of perez hilton aesthetics. stoop. stoop low.
elite singles hamburg münchen frankfurt germany
and...
some tags which do and do not apply: elite singles berlin leute kennenlearnen frauen nackt fotos geile frauen männer tar art rat tarartrat tussis

Post Titled:
David Byrne and the Dirty Projectors.

the Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth (foto by Mia Ferm) and the Talking Heads' David Byrne
foto that fits on the page:

So. I love the Dirty Projectors. I have probably mentioned that many many times in blog entries over the past year or so- and I have also noted the uncanny resemblance between Dave and David (even down to their charming awkwardness and their bird-like head bobbing on-stage) and their two bands- basically the loose theory being that the Dirty Projectors are to 2007 as the Talking Heads are to '77 and so-on and so-forth... (even though 2007 was last year, but that was the first time I'd heard of them)

ALL OF which is why I practically lost my sh*t when I read David Byrne's most recent journal entry this morning:

"I recorded a couple of songs Sunday and Monday with the band Dirty Projectors for an upcoming Red Hot project....I like what Dave Longstreth and Dirty Projectors are doing, although part of what attracts me to them is something I can’t exactly place, can’t figure out. Their music has familiar elements, yet often sounds like pop music by someone who has read about the form, but never heard it, and then handed the essential building blocks to make some songs. That’s not actually true though, as Dave made plenty of jokes about music while we were working —he has a deep knowledge of tunes and their respective artists. But the band’s music remains completely strange and oddly familiar at the same time. I’d been told more than once that we should all work together, and it seems the suggestion was fated to be realized.

For one song, Dave L sent me a demo by email that he had recorded in a Vienna hotel room on tour. I did my best to figure out the chords and the tempo, and record my own version, for which I then wrote the words. We didn’t end up using my recorded version; but the words, and my somewhat straightened out version of the melody, came in handy."

Post Titled: silliness in politics.
sometimes I find the strangeness of american politcs nearly impossible to explain to my German co-workers... i.e. the video my flatmate brought to my attention, MC Rove rapping and dancing:

OR Master P testifying before congress...

but, we are not alone... Ania explained of The Polish Beer-Lovers' Party (PPPP; Polish: Polska Partia Przyjaciół Piwa) was founded in 1990, one of its leaders being the satirist Janusz Rewiński. Originally, the party's goal was to promote cultural beer-drinking in English-style pubs instead of vodka and thus fight alcoholism.[1]" (wikipedia) The party which won elections and came to prominence in Poland a few years back, then sent this video
in which the personalities of Polish political figures are embodied by Muppets- Muppet Sejm IV RP:

Afera taśmowa wstrząsnęła niektórymi Muppetami. Ale niektóre próbują wyprzeć ją z pamięci. (I podziękowania dla Piwnicy pod Baranami za fantastyczną wokalizę negocjacyjną :)

Post Titled: Susanna Berivan
Susanna plays
tonight at Ä - which is? A: "It*s at Weserstr. 4o, starts at 1oh,
(I think she means 22.00) I guess. soooooo... I know it is wednesday and everyone is exhausted... but nevertheless:
head's up Neukölln/Xbergers... erh, berlin. in general.

Post Titled:
YOUR NAME HERE by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff (a book. and available)

HEY! Nice, I was hoping this might happen again since I snoozed and lost on the last round but back by popular demand: a PDF of the (yet to be published) novel YOUR NAME HERE by Helen DeWitt and Ilya Gridneff is now available:
"A copy of YOUR NAME HERE with placeholders for the images is now available for $8 by PayPal, payments to be sent to hdewitt@onetel.com; readers can decide for themselves whether they want to track down the images and see what should go in the finished book."

Note: I think it is quite safe to blindly recommend this since Helen and Ilya are devilishly clever creatures. Ilya is an Australian journalist always on the move and Helen has authored dozens of books, including The Last Samurai

Post Titled: Babel Fish.

Post Titled: PORTISHEAD THIRD
after three weeks of not getting at all tired of this album... I think I'm in-love.
(3 hours later...)
Ok, come to think of it- the werid thing about Portishead is that nobody KNOWS anything about Portishead other than the music, they do not sell any kind of persona/lity... and they put out an album once in a blue moon... (i.e. 1993, 1997, 2008 if I#m correct)... quite the opposite of most everything we know in the sphere of ye olde pop music industry. Anyhow-
ouch. thanks eardrums.
live videos are ok:
WE CARRY ON on Jools Holland

MACHINE GUN live on Jools Holland

Machine Gun video

un-post NOTE: Charlotte Roche post (which is a few posts down below) has been beefed-up a bit.
(and I actually spelled "feuchtgebiete" correctly this time.)

in other news, here are a few quotes from the which would otherwise be twittered:
... *clunk-ing noise and low humm which sputters-out*
ok, so... they're not here yet... dunno where they are... stil ... somewhere else... indication of my level of functionality.-
oh, here is one: "thanks for the baseball! I bought an onion last night and it was almost like a baseball, just kept tossing it up and down in my hand..."

meawhile, thanks nadinechen for the tip:


SIDENOTE: the twitter site for Paigedestroy is quite entertaining

NON-fiction-

ONE: excerpt from an email:
UNfortunately I got lost on the way back to Kreuzberg from Moabit.
FORTunately one of my favorite things to do is bikeride like a bat out of hell around cities drunk in the middle of the night with headphones. sad but true.

TWO: lucky me:

yo yo yo
no bosses in the office and nothing to do...

then...

you should write me a poem

in polish or in english

polish
---

palenie powaznie szkodzi tobie i

i osobom

w twoim

towarzystwie

ponadto

palenie tytoniu

w czasie ciazy

szkodzi

twojemu dziecku

--

is it a masterpiece?

definitely not

im a designer


END of that-

and thanks Ania also for letting me in on the
TRON ON HEROIN meets little architectural FLACHBAU MODELLS that is Jan Jelinek & Visiomat inc. - Modell Stadt Berlin, it is really hitting the spot...

Post Titled: hating-on words

as I am sick on an overcast Tuesday, these are a few of the words and phrases I am hating-on (all day long, maybe tomorrow also): datenschutzrechtlichen Grundsätze, Erfüllungsort, Nichtgewährung, Mängelbeseitigung, die Kodierungstechnik im Rahmen der rechtlichen Zulässigkeit weiterzuentwickeln... ok, I surrender...

does "hating-on" even have a hyphen?

Post Titled: Photoshop Gone Wild...
Dear Neue Bauer Natur Joghurt Werbung Geniuses,
No, really, why can't you just go to the mountains with a shiny bowl of fruit and take a foto? Is it really cheaper to pay a guy €75 an hour`to doctor the hell out of a foto than to pay a photographer adn his assistant to snap a foto in Bayern? After all is said and done, this doctored ad is pushing "Natur" but comes across as completely synthetic...(I still need to take a foto of the Edeka billboard- which gets the worst photoshopping of the century award... must remember...) There just seems to be a lot of shameless, sloppy, photoshopping gone wild -especially in grocery stores- and no one cares... alas. *yawn*

Post Titled: Das Sandmännchen ist nicht Unser Sandmännchen

Walking through the ROSSMANN, (the drugstore which has no drugs) I noticed a kids cassette tape (yes, a music cassette tape) for sale of a little claymation figure I have seen around for years but never thought to really look into... the wikipedia article opens with "Two versions of Sandmännchen were created: one in East Germany (Unser Sandmännchen), and one in West Germany (Das Sandmännchen)."
... my attention span may or may not get back to that thought... meahwhile The dø (a.k.a. Olivia B. Merilahti and Dan Levy ) - are still really nice, espeically when I am trapped at work here is a song called Unissasi Laulelet :
the dø official site

Post Titled: 12/12/2012 pole shift
Thanks Manü
jeaaa, just to tickle your paranoid-apocalyptic sensibilities:
dec. 12, 2012 Mayan and I Ching prediction
documentary

Post Titled:
Charlotte Roche
I might've embedded this video of her on Harald Schmidt about a year ago, but it is great, anyhow... just read that FEUCHTGEBIETE is being translated to English for release in the UK... one issue that comes up though is the translation of the title- because off the top of my head "feucht"= moist, damp and "Gebiet"= area... hmm, the article suggested "wetlands" and the ever-lovin' LEO.org (which I am not a fan of just because ALL my coworkers use and recommend it -like a cult) says that "Gebiet"= territories or tracts (??) (DETOUR: "OH cool, I am so glad someone took the time to make this page" actually, the whole Pinkerton FX site is great, reminds me of 7th grade, only cooler. RETURN:) yahoo!'s babblefish (ehrrrm babel fish - my favorite) gives us the translation "humid areas" but these do not have the punch of "feuchtgebiete". Gotta love the German language for being able to sucker-punch you in the face like that all the time. Hmm, we had a review copy at work... where'd it go...

englische überseztung

Post Titled: Gods and Earths
My flatmate and I were listening to a lot of Wu-Tang on Saturday morning what got us to talking about some of the constant thematic pop-ups, namely: Killer Bees. What and why killer bees? no context. Actually there are a lot of things about the Wu that make very little sense, but the conversation floated over to the topic of Erykah Badu -whose voice I love her voice, and she is -well- a bit odd:

ERYKAH BADU DIDN"T CHA KNOW
by avajra

anyhow, Matt went on to explain something about the Nation of Gods and Earths, the 5%

the 5% Network site
of the 5% WIKIPEDIA SAYS:
" * The 85%, easily led in the wrong direction hard to be led in the right direction, who are the humble masses, mentally deaf, dumb, and blind to the truth about themselves and the world in which they live.
* The 10%, who understand much of the truth but use it to their advantage to keep the 85% under their control through religion, politics, entertainment, economics, and other methods.
* The 5%, who are the enlightened divine beings, having repossessed knowledge of the truth regarding the foundations of life and of oneself, and seek to punitively liberate the 85% through education.
"
cartoon included on the site, -makes very little sense...


all ah's nation radio

Post Titled: INDIANA JONES und Das Königsreich des Kristallschädels

For several years I was thinking: is it me, am I going crazy OR does life just not make sense anymore. Fortunately Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proves once and for all that life in the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century -and surely beyond- does INDEED make absolutely no sense... but is nevertheless pretty fun (and definitely interesting.)

It is the Pirates of the Carribean Filmmaking Method:
1.constant funny/quirky-ness going-on.
2.don't worry too much about plot holes, dead-ends, or unresolved plot detours.
3.keep dazzling our senses with action, adventure and the impossibel and we, the audience, will ultimately cease worrying too much about plot holes, dead-ends, or unresolved plot detours- at least until a half hour after the film has ended.
4.-6.please crowd. make money. make sequel, repeat.

But really, even the Temple of DOOM (which no one likes) made so much more sense than the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Perhaps a certain reader would like to try to explain what his cousin was trying to do with the script there exactly- *-ahem ahem-*?

Post Titled: cool.
ok, these are some things which were inspired by my German radio (alarm) somewhat dumbfounded while recovering from Sat. night on a Sun. morning. I left NPR for the strange pastures of German radioland because ...listening to Prarie Home Companion ...kind of hating myself for listening to Prarie Home Companion and finding Comfort in it...
so, anyhow, German radio-, resume:
this (below video) is positively hypnotising, especially if one has kitschy emotional connections to Robbie Williams, who means every word "Real Love" ...over and over:

Note: notice lack of american tour dates, but in Europe for a several year period (late 90s-mid 00s) it was difficult to escape Robbie's music. It was on the radio, paying in the grocery store adn in the cheesy bar you ended up at-.- and then you find yourself not minding it so much...

Oh good! someone got really creative with Bryan Adams and Disney and glittery text to express hearbreak, very important part of life:


ok, and is this guy actually disabled or does he just have too much time on his hands to expirament with quarterpipes andwheelchairs?...
Backflip! -.-

wheelchair backflip

the Geman radio redeems itself:
Depeche Mode - Strange Love despite the very strange video...

Post Titled: little schoolgirls.
a.k.a. the Cowboy Killers CD Release Party

feel free to decode the Official communication:
"Brothers from the Ministry of Information,
the CD release party looks like this:

Room 77
Graefestrasse 77
Kreuzberg, Berlin
21:00 - Charlie bleeds

See attachment for what CDS look like.


Shank, ball tomorrow, most def. Rage is down. Get your shit together, he brought his balling sneakers.
mb

-----------------------
The Cowboy Killers:

Mike Ellison - Charlie Booth - Sully Morland"

www.myspace.com/thecowboykillersmusic

Post Titled: web "two point oh" beauty or whatever or a simple description of the simple science of blogging (on my terms)

mhh,.one of the truly beautiful things about the web 2.0 or web two dot zero or whatever the f§%k it is called is that is makes the practical application of pop references so darn easy, for example a "real-life" skype conversation, (which is baaascially just a supplement to real conversation since we all sit at the same desk cluster thing at work)
1. the dialogue (which is an excerpt of what goes on constantly throughout the workday) begins as half-talk half-type conversation,
2. all throughout this conversation references are exchanged per links per skype
3. excerpt of dialogue is copied and pasted and even more hyperlinks are added to existing references
4. the thing as a whole+plus is used as an example and archived in my blog as a sort of happening...
NOTE: it is also still saved in skype history, so long as I remember that it exists there and think to search for it...(BIG: IF IF IF!) otherwise it sort of ascends into past-informational never-neverland...

DLR says: how does eric clapton manage to be so boring when he's such a good guitarist. not really related...
TAR ART RAT says: it is like that monologue from trainspotting where they talk about lou reed
TAR ART RAT says: the one from when they are shooting the gun in the park
DLR says: hmm. my Trainspotting memory has disappeared.
DLR says: on to And She Was now, though

Post Titled: Back to the Future II ain' got nothin' on this...

PLACE TO PEE "TWO Belgian beer fans have launched a video game named Place to Pee, which allows players to fly down ski slopes or kill aliens while relieving themselves at urinals."
(thanks to "hot-tipper" Sully Morland of the Cowboy Killers for the head's up)

FYI: "Manneken Pis" = Peeing statue
odd coincidence because the fist thing I twitted this morning was:
TAR ART RAT TARartRAT at WORK:
M:"Belgium... Belgium is known for chocolate, right?"
D:"Yes, and the statue of the peeing boy-"
M:"Fine, but no dicks in the mag."

Post Titled:vern-dawg and radiohead song titles vetoed by thom yorke

ON OUR HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND WHO HAS SINCE BECOME A BUDSWEISER BIKINI MODEL OF SORTS:

"A camera, bad lighting, and alcohol does not a model make....."

More goodness from McSweeney's, which will make you choke on your snot if you like radiohead: radiohead song titles vetoed by thom yorke
thanks DAN.

Post Titled: complaints about a world without any really good healthcare options and mention of FLEET FOXES...

This is what Tuesday, 10:24am looks like this far, folks...

Forwarded the latest STUFF WHITE PEOPLE LIKE post to my father, who said:

"Whenever someone else pays [the health care bill], demand will exceed supply. This is particularly true in the UK where service is shitty and the waiting time is long.
At the same time, I don't support the concept of 'employer-based medical insurance' and I think that it should be more individual-based like automobile insurance. That would make it more portable (and people could more easily change jobs).
White people jealous of Europe! -- if that's the case, it's only because they are ignorant of the cost/benefit.

y-d"

to which I responded:

"Yea, Stuff White People Like is a satirical site-
"I don't know what is best: the states (where I couldn't afford to go to the doctor) or Germany where the waiting is too annoying to even bother- like now, my ribs are probably still fractured, but by the time I went to the doctor, got a referral to an osteo-whatever, then got x-rayed it would be like a 3 week process, in which time I can just keep that huge bottle of ibuprofen nearby (which is probably a stronger painkiller than the Germans would prescribe to me anyhow) and my ribs will most likely heal themselves &&& I won't/wouldn't have missed 2 days of work and wasted 6 hours waiting in waiting rooms."

Weird that now that I actually HAVE health insurance that I am usually too annoyed with the bureaucracy and processes of it to actually use it.

on another unrelated note... I have been listening to a group called Fleet Foxes lately via their myspace page and just now realised that one of the guys in the band is Josh Tillman, a guy I actually know from Seattle back when, many social circles ago- anyhow checkit, particularly White Winter Hymnal - it is gorgeous music.
Looks like they are playing Cafe Zapata on June 5.

Post Titled: Culture Badge.
Thanks to Mithridates for pointing this clever idea out to me.
and the MOMA elastic mind site UI is off the hook, like it.

Post Titled: non-fiction: PEOPLE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Ania at Kuschlowski's


flowers in HOTEL window,


cowboy killers at room 77, graefekiez


Hell's Chickens. Flo playing stand-up bass behind his head, Davy on guitar:


cowboy killers at HOTEL


mike ellison of cowboy killers at HOTEL


revellers / cowboy killers' audience, Bödikerstr.9 squat eviction party, 17.Mai, 2008



katie visiting from NY, Squat Eviction Party


sauna. cowboy killers, squat eviction party


Zora blowing bubbles on the kanal by Admirals brücke


Sully Morland of the Cowboy Killers, 1)topless. 2)and not.



Emma (1/2 of süp), violin and chalk





girls with chalk



the Brothers Booth



all photos taken in Kreuzberg or Freidichshain, Berlin. April 28 - May 18, 2008

Post Titled: KLAUS KINSKI JESUS CHRISTUS ERLÖSER
crazy motherf&§ker...

there is a new film, click above link
Jesus Christ.

Post Titled: Super Mario Bros. Widget
who knew-?

Post Titled: Keith Olbermann

Post Titled: seattle article in the New Zealand Herald

lovely article which twanged a few nostalgic heartstrings for the Emerald City: "Seattle: The spiritual home of pop culture" by Cathrin Schaer

Post Titled:
SAVE JESSICA ALBA

"save jessica alba" is an appropriated still from the youtube video "the stare response" (two posts down) by tar art rat tarartrat who has this irrational softspot for Ms. Alba- probably simply because she looks like a baby harp seal.

Post Titled: Non-Fiction, Room 77, Graefestraße 77, Graefekiez, Thursday night.

Got our asses kicked in table-fußball by two guys who live on my street. then we struck back and final score was 9-6. then theb alls got stuck and the bartendergirl had to come unlock the table for the 2nd time. It was also the longest sustained actual real social interaction I can recall having had with Turks in my neighborhood since arriving in Berlin even, with the exception of the owner of Zitron and some of Robs other friends- oh, and the speedfreak who lived above us on Reuterstr. But that doesn't count, he was insane.
Before challenging us in fußball, the two guys- looking very slick and well-dressed but visibly nervous and slightly out of place at the bar, probably the same way I have felt when I have wandered into all Turkish/arabic social establishments in Germany- there is a strange tension- like the first time I went to Mustafa, my barber, but anyhow these guys were cool and hopefully I will remember them adn say hi from now on. AND they were really effing brutally good at fußball- and even polite because my partner was a very vocal young american woman who was swearing up a storm, -which they seemed to really get a kick out of- and (??) they actually apologised after scoring goals.

Bewteen games ish hab gefragt: "Woher kommst du eigentlich?"
"Ish? Ish bin Türker. Komm' aus Istanbul. Dub bis Amerikaner?"
"Ursprunglish, ja- Kalifornien.- aber ish hab schon lange Zeit in Deutschland gelebt."
"akso, und was machst du hier? Erasmus?"
"nee- bin kein student mehr- also, beruflich bin ish journalist-"
"aksooo, journalismus- große zeitung- ? New York Times??"
"nööööö, das wäre sau toll, aber nee- nix so wie New York TImes"

GAME ON...

Türken Kreuzberg Kottbusser Tor Berlin

Post Titled: Post-Google officially adopts Jessica Alba
turn off the sound and it is like an ad campaign to save the baby harp seals or something:

tar art rat tarartrat

Post Titled: Kreuzberg Feuer 14. Mai 2008
last night: bike: flat tire, not paying attention on the u-bahn because I am SMS-ing, miss my stop, backtrack, then rushing all the way -very late now- to meet Helen at the Freischwimmer for talk, beer, exchange of anglo-products, and as the U1 made its way from Kottbusser Tor to Schlesisches Tor right out the window I saw a huge plume of black smoke billowing up from nearby- I could not stop looking at this, even as i WALKED UP Schlesisches straße I kept turning around to walk backwards- watching as the fire grew and invaded the street as well... and the smoke mixed with the pink-orange sunset... ironically listening to Tiny Vipers' "Campfire Resemblance" in my headphones while the sky filled with smoke. HERE are some early fotos from farther away... and MORE from BILD.de- crap newspaper
It said this morning that it was a paper factory which was burning and firemen used water from the river to put our the fire, -yuck.

Post Titled: del.icio.us

just taking a breather to post a link to my recent tar art rat del.icio.us links. ...why not, really?...

Post Titled: (UPDATED)uhm...
BLACK SHEEP
anyone? ...engine engine no.9..."
WHAT I WROTE YESTERDAY, (UPDATE BELOW):
"ok, so head's up- there is at least a 50%
chance that the show will be really bad,
but BLACK SHEEP, (the early-mid 90's
contemporaries of De La Soul and
Tribe Called Quest) are playing in a venue
called Cassiopeia at the Revaler Str. 99 complex
or whatever it is in Friedrichshain-
http://www.cassiopeia-berlin.de/
not sure how much
the show is but doors are at 21.00...
regardless... on the off-chance that
it is amazing, I think I need to go."
LATER...
OK, so the show was actually great- it was just dres and a DJ, but he was totally on-point, -which is really good because I expected to see an aging hip-hop icon just sort of going through the motions- but no: he was energetic, funny, seemed genuinely happy to be there and was therefore just amazing to watch- incredibly smooth vocalist when it comes to stringing the lyrics together, he an Mos Def haf quite a bit in Common- although changes are he was a big influence on Mos. SSSsoooo, yea, great hiphop show- best I have seen sine De La Soul was in Berlin almost a year ago. The only odd thing, however, was that: apparently a neo-nazi (? not sure what else he could've been-) stood in front of the stage for an entire song with his fist in the air- just standing there for nearly 5 minutes like a blonde blue-eyed statue while everyone -including the performers- did their best to ignore it. In the sort of euphoric delirium no one seemed to know what to make of it- was he kidding? No, because it went on way too long and he was way too stonefaced... I think the best outcome actually played out, in which he was more or less ignored -or-I think in response to his being there and being a dumbass that the performer-audience interaction and energy was actually heightened, which rendered the man practically invisible. This was the first time I can recall having ever been amongst my countrymen while feeling severely embarrassed and ashamed of my host country, Germany. I am accustomed to being around Germans and being embarrassed for Americans- that has been going on for half my life- but being embarassed for Germans in fron onf Americans IN Germany -and the liberal mecca of Berlin, nonetheless- was rare, icky and awkward... augh, so so so not cool. Well, Mr. Fascist went away without incident and all dres said (cryptically,laughing) was that "some things are universal"

P.S.if anyone comes across this post and can send me photos or links to fotos and videos that would be great.

Black Sheep - The Choice is Yours (this or that)


Berlin Black sheep Cassiopeia at the Revaler Str. 99 May 13, 2008

NY TIMES: Robert Rauschenberg, Titan of American Art, Is Dead at 82

never cared much for his work, but it is important...

Post Titled: Bayerische Resteraunt

thanks Dan.

Post Titled: in the so-called United Kingdom
visiting mz folks in the Cotswolds, there are rolling fields, birds, sheep,horses, thatched roofs and the like. Clean air, so I probablz won"t be posting again before Tuesdaz, happz mother
's daz!

Post Titled: RUBY TOWN
NON-FICTION, last night- Midnight-4:30 am.







excerpt...
...after we had been in Ruby Town for about 4 hours I started to get a bit delirious, so we sort of went to a more deserted area and sat in a triangular shaped arrangement of log benches amongst some of the old camper trailers (apparently empty or their occupants were sound asleep) when this couple slid back a fake wood panel door and i turned to look over my shoulder back through the camper door next to me at a fairly attractive, smiling, middle-aged blonde woman in bed with just a sheet wrapped around her chest, "oh, hallo!" she said- and mumbled something about how it was surprising to see people right out on the front step.
She asked me for the bottle of vodka on the ground by the trailer's front door- I picked it up and shook it back and forth to demonstrate its total emptiness"ist leer- aber war ich nicht!" It was empty when we arrived.


All there is to do in Ruby Town, so it seems, is drink, sink into confusion, and then drink more to numb the confusion... mh,
A man wearing only his tattoos guy climbs over her out of the darkness of the tiny camper sleeping space and goes into the other part of the living/kitchen room. Behind the bench next to me was a half bottle of wine- which someone had pushed the cork into to open, I handed it to the woman, who seemed quite grateful...
Sully and Charley are self-exiled to a far corner of the settlement where they continue to play the washtub bass and banjo...

I keep wandering- two men fly through the back door of the town's only resteraunt, they wrestle on the ground yelling and lightly abusing one another, a crowd gathers and one lets out a final tirade, then walks off- I see him later through a window spooning his wife on a bed, both of them watching a Cary Grant film.

The bartender will not stop mildly yet forcibly harassing me, I keep running into her! I see her all over town. Re-encounter, re-encounter. She is a straight-forward black girl with completely unidentifiable accent, braids going all over like coolio circa 1995, big steady eyes and a poker-face.
"Are you lost. What are you doing here? Who are you looking for now? Why are you here?"
she repeats over and over... I can't think, much less answer. I begin to hear birds begin and look up high above at the wood-panel sky and it's millions of wood-know hole stars, which Ania had pointed out to the authorities earlier.
We sit on stage, Ania speaks polish into an ancient microphone (which looks like an electric shaver) connected to a PA which I find off to the side, her Polish mumblings to herself about how we are off the map- as she flips through a map which is literally in tatters- reverberates throughout the end of town, I wonder if it is disturbing the sleeping-mumbling oracle in the chapel up above? It must because a girl confiscates the microphone...
Whereas at first I was just wandering into anyone's apartment, after a few hours of being scolded, interrogated- booted, strung along I was generally confused about where I should go/not go and what I should do/not do in this town...


signa.dk

SEARCHme:
search me, an aneurysm/A.D.D.-inspiring search engine (like iPhone-meets-google) but, unfortunately, the current algorithym sucks. Go ahead- try searching "Post-Google" by TAR ART RAT nuthin'!

Post Titled: woke up to this newer brave new world report on NPR this morning and, smiling, thought "awesome. there goes the office...once and for all."
from MARKETPLACE
WiMax promise: Online all the time
"Sprint and a company called Clearwire today announced a $14.5 billion deal to establish a wireless network that would make it possible for you to be online almost anywhere. A slew of companies are involved, including Google. Lisa Napoli reports."

I always have a feeling that 20 years from now we will look upon these times of sitting hunched in front of computers as the DARK AGES of the internet / Post-Google world...

disclaimer: I hate offices. I hate sitting. I probably have A.D.D. I need to move. BLAH,

Post Titled: Graphs of the Day on list of the day...

I originally came across these in a German magazine and just thought that they were the most brilliant thing that this Golden Age of Complete Retardation has produced yet! That "DOH"-themed clever stupidity. AND -Imagine my delight to rediscover them in a blog called "list of the day."
(no offense to those with down syndrome or any other conditions)

Post Titled: MOS DEF, TRUE MAGIC
my awesome sister pulled through and sent me the newest MOS DEF album "TRUE MAGIC" and - well, as with The New Danger, it is hard to say how much I like it afte just 3 listens.
It is sort of a more raw and bare-boned album, a far cry from Black on Both Sides, and espcially from the aggressive lyrics and heavy guitar sounds of The New Danger.
Even the album packaging is pared-down to the bare essentials: a softer-plastic clear case with only a "EXPLICIT LYRICS" sticker on one side and a small barcode sticker on the back, then a CD inside and that is it. Might like it a lot, ask me in a week or two after I have listened to it about 25 times. Do I force myself to like it, or is it simply a matter of this music not being instantly satisfying? I find that most of the music I life long-term needs to really settle-in, actually.

you can get your official "the PILL KILLS" (babies) t-shirts <a href="http://americanlifeleague.stores.yahoo.net/pikit.html">HERE </a>now for a limited time only a bargain at $6.50... this is actually the most controvercial thing I can even think of a person wearing at the moment. Even more shocking that that chinese artist who wore a suit of raw meat...
thanks Dan.

--
Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/tarartrat

Post Titled: so addicted to marketplace and twitter..."back in the day" (in the other past life) when I would get our of work, I'd walk over to my art studio, change clothes and start painting just as Marketplace with Ky Risdall came on KUOW, NPR. For some reason I sort of forgot about Marketplace over the past few years- until now, I heard it on 104.1 NPR Berlin which lead to my podcasting it with a vengeance... can't get enough. Somehow they make all the worldly economic woes so barn palatable... perhaps that is dangerous.
NOTE: this post was sent per email direct, hence it not being too fancy. I don't know if this cookie-cutter convenience is worth it, actually-... maybe just if I am traveling or something.

Post Titled: Peep Show, Series 2, Episode 4
for Tod, in hopes that he may become hooked:

Post Titled: 2nd Slideluck Potshow, Berlin
Tired, so I willl make this very brief: I was pleased to see that the second Berlin Slideluck Potshow last night (at RAW Temple) had an excellent turnout, and the work that I saw wasn't half bad at all. I had helped with some of the communication between the founder and Berlin organisers a few months ago, but then backed out as they got going and I had no extra time. Alas.
from the slideluck potshow website artists I later came across a great slideshow montage by a seattle photographer named chris jordan, (i think I prefer it without any sound though)
mmh, might write an article about the whole Slideluck Potshow overall, mmhh... we shall see...

Post Titled: Non-fiction CD burned for around the corner neighbor, delightful violin player from London none of the original spelling erors have been removed, I typed this in about 6 minutes on a work break

"A very superficial wrap-up of the non-hip-hop CD I burned for you:

1.Berimbau- I just effing love Astrud Gilberto's voice
probably more than any other, and this song is lovely-
2.Cloud Cult- I think these are just some Seattle kids,
short and bittersweet and enegievolles song-
3.the Dirty Projectors- this has been my favorite band
over the past year or so, they are just great- and positively amazing live.
4.chicago- sufjan stevens. never get tired of this one.
5.digital- joy division. this usually reminds me of how I feel about being at work.
6. clap your hands say yeah- just damn cute. not like babies eating lemons, but still...
7.the Ravenettes- I am thinking: sandy desert highway, cactuses, 2am driving... to... uhm, Mexico? From LA? something like that.
8.PSAPP- eating spiders. "we are small... we are small people."
9.the Dirty Projectors- this song is crazy.
10.woderwall by Ryan Adams. ryan adams is a drunk but he has some talent and i lke want he does with this one-
11.elliott smith- covering Big Star's 13, probing charming teen angst
12.I think this is the girl from the moldy peaches, kim... kim... can't remember, adorable lyrics, though..
13.today- jefferson airplane. hippie shit.
14.MOS DEF- Umi says. this would've been on the hip hop cd, but actually, it is not so hip-hop-ish, and really just nice. I think it is about hsi grandmother telling him to get out there and be positive and productive and whatnot- and to, uhm, free black people...
15. Death Cab- another Seattle group which is actually too popular for its own good now- I don't listen to them much but they mention the Berlin Wall in this song and "they're closing the bar and they want us to leave" (something that happend all teh time in Seattle adn rarely if ever in Berlin)
16. Imogen Heap- Hide and seek. good breakup song. ouch. took me awhile to get used to her, but I kond of like her now.
17.Talking Heads. This must be the place. (naieve melody): "I#m just an animal looking for a home" who isn't, -really?
18.Sigur Ros. Iceland. epic. sigur ros. iceland. epic.
19.Band of Horses."the Funeral" yes another seattle band and another tragic epic indie rock song, which is lovely...
20. Michael Vermillion- a very talented friend of mine. from... guess where? "

P.S. Number 12 should be Kimya Dawson, and I was surprised to find that the moldy peaches are actually from Port Townsend, Washington- isn't that a small retirement community up north on the sound? I also think

Post Titled: Alpha Centauri
I came across the term "Alpha Centuari" earlier today, which rang a lot of bells- not only is it a star system, but it is also mentioned in a Hitchhiker's Guide and I believe (pretty damn sure that)"The Last Starfighter"- (1984 sci-fi film) so I go to the Last Starfighter's imdb page only to find that it is being re-made in 2010! Why? Why re-make? Short Circuit also, grrr. and being re-made by the same  director, Nick Castle, except it will just be called "starfighter"

I had serious issues with the Last Starfighter grwing up- mainly because the Alex clone is really terrifying as it is taking form.
Other strange coincidence: Betelgeuse. a star system, also home of Ford Prefect, also a mid-80's film...
other complaints:
LACK OF STANDARDifiifiICATION OF SPELLING OF SUPERHERO NAMES, z.b.:
Superman and Batman are one word.
Spider-Man is hypnehated.
Iron Man is two words.
Superman and Batman are D.C. Comics.
Spider-Man and Iron Man are Marvel...
X-Men... ja, Marvel also...

-p.s- this is a test post, direct from email to blog... we shall see what it looks like...

anyhow here is the trailer to the original Last Starfighter

Post Titled:George brought his n'er-do-well son around..."

Beneath is an actual quote that Reagan wrote about George "W" in his diaries, recently edited by author Doug Brinkley and published by Harper Collins, titled Reagan Diaries.

"A moment I've been dreading. George brought his n'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida; the one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."
From the REAGAN DIARIES------entry dated May 17, 1986 –

This post made possible by
Ms. Monika Proffitt

Post Titled: Sunday Brunch Non-fiction, Yesterday, Hermannhof (Hermannstraße 48, 2. hinterhof, 1 obergeschoss)
Slouched in sort of one of the many radom crumb-y stained couch segments for a hours, drinking coffee with soy milk... somewhere in that time period my friend accidentally formated my 2GB photo card in my camera, instantly deleting somewhere between 400-500 fotos. Ouch. I just sort of blinked... an thought about the ones I had transferred over to the computer... hmm, I really don't know what I lost... but it game me an opportunity to go BACK to the carnival and shoot all over again. Second time around was a dozen times better (well, not the lighting, but everything else.)

public service announcement
the Magik Markers
there is a show tonight of a band called the Magik Markers at West Germany (Skalitzer Straße 133) tonight, if you want- come over to my place at 8pm (20.00 uhr) for a beer or 2 before we head over to the show, feel free-
Not sure I think entrance will be €5-7 (to the show, not my apartment)

Post Titled: message.

I received this message through myspace from a woman- a friend of a very good friend- with whom I have bee trying to meet up with for over a year now but we keep missing connections, anyhow- it is a great message, a strange classic of sorts which sticks out from most all messages I get:

"I just got back to London, sigh, thank god spring is in Europe or else I would have slit my wrists already. LA has a funny way of twisting my brain into some kind of sunny, happy clappy meltdown that can never seem to handle the first few moments back in reality. It was sad to sad to leave. I'm now jet lagged at 4 am, have taken an ambien that I was expecting to knock me out within minutes but so far the only side effect is 40% loss of typing skills. Maybe I'll take another in a minute. Oh wait, I'm having waves in my vision. Maybe I'll keep this short. I can't wait to come to Berlin. I think I arrive too late on the 6th to actually celebrate with you but the next day for sure. ____ I want to meet you, have heard so much about you and am in dire need of discussion regarding a fragmented life in regard to US and Europe...similar experiences, all basically to make me feel better about being here. Though I want to be where you are too. I'm asking for some inspiration. Maybe too much. I'm lost This is great I feel like I'm on acid now. Hope this makes sense when I'm sober. Then you must come to London and stay anytime. Anytime. Don't leave me. I must get ____'s e-mail I lost it please..I beg you! Send me a sign, you are the prophet in this moment. well I don't even know you but I miss you.
Stay with me a while....
yawn, time,.....let's skype..."

Post Titled: "the carpenter", xberg, berlin


since I have run into this guy multiple times in the past few days and then he was a topic of discussion at breakfast and I just happen to come kind-of full-circle in my brain "oh, I randomly have a foto of that guy-" I thought I might as well post him, particularly since ania charmed him into letting her take his foto...

she, however, was not as un-shy... adam and ania:

Post Titled. OHRWÜRME
yep, Friday afternoon, braindead and I have had 2 songs running through my head for days now, the first (moscau moscau!) was a result of going to karaoke with all my german co-workers:

and the second is a result of listing to the gorillaz wayyy too often while riding my bike around town... "dirty harry":

Post Titled: ruhige 1.Mai, 2008 in kreuzberg

In the early evening I went up the street to Kottbusser Tor to see what was happening in and around the surrounding streets, but is was all grilling adn drinking and music- hundreds of food stands set up out front of their respective resteraunts on Adelbert straße and everwhere between Marianneplatz and Oranienplatz, calm, nice, fun just sitting on the grass, having a beer, talking fotos, listening to all the bad music- not at all what I hat expected. There were metal bands full of old guys, crump dancers, an AC/DC cover band. Football and public urination and prett uch everyone had a beer in hand, like an über-block party.
When I left at 9pm and headed from Kottbusser Tor east on Skalitzer straße everything seemed normal until suddenly right in front of me chaos broke loose.
Headed my way was a sea of protesters and off to the right and left were armies of riot police. I am not sure how it started but there was sort of a herd rush and then the dozens and dozens of armored cops and police vans were clashing head-on with an entire protest march of anti-capitalists. I just stopped my bike and took out my camera and started shooting. It was like being in a bubble, all around me there were cops chasing down, tackling and beating punks, meanwhile beer bottles and firecrackers were flying through the air, and I just watched, shooting here and there perched on my bike in the middle of the street.
Overall, this was quite a peaceful May Day, probably because the problems were actually in Hamburg this year in clashes between 1,000 Neo-Nazis, 7,000 anti-neo-nazis and police.

Post Titled: the COWBOY KILLERS @ MANO Café 1.Mai, 2008
the cowboy killers' Charles "Charly" Booth (beard&suspenders), Mike "Mikey-baby" Ellison (wifebeater) and Salsberger "Sully" Morland (blindman) playing with special guests (members of Hell's Chickens and Les Haferflocken Swingers)