Category: Places
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Tuniermannschaft, flags, and chaos in the streets
Three weeks ago, whenever I talked to a German about their World Cup team, almost no one expressed much faith in their football team. They weren’t graceful like the Brazilians or the Argentinians, were young, had an inexperienced coach. Last night they beat Argentina in shoot-out. When we went to bed at 1 people were…
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To Dortmund and back, off to see the wizards
To Dortmund and back: Two slow buses and a suburban tent city located right between the airport and the highway, on the outskirts of a very tasteful office park. They spare no expense for we invading Auslanders, who turned out mostly to be Brazilians or people-masquerading-as-Brazilians, and a large number of extremely happy and drunken…
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Eating in the dark
Last night dinner at Dunkel Restaurant, a Mitte establishment in which you are led by a blind waiter into a large dining room wholly devoid of light, and spend the next few hours guided only by your fingers, ears and taste buds. I’ve experienced complete darkness just once, and only for a moment, in the…
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Gavin’s health plan for San Francisco
Give Gavin Newsom credit for thinking big. He’s proposing a new plan that would offer health coverage to currently uninsured people who live in San Francisco. Under the current system, far too many people are uninsured, and costing the city money anyway at emergency rooms, he argues. True enough. Anyone with half an eye open…
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There is more than football in the world. Like, say, robot football.
There is more happening here than just the World Cup. Just take one example: This weekend was RoboCup, in which lots of little robots play, um, football. Maybe that’s not so totally different. But it was a blast to watch. It turns out that cheering for two pairs of wobbly little two-foot-high robots as they…
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On football, nationalism and cantaloupes
There are probably other things going on in the world besides football/soccer. Wars, Zarqawi’s death, violence in Palestine again. But around us here every day is football, which provides its own lessons in international relations. A bit of texture first: All of Berlin, at least, is dedicated to watching as many minutes of the thrice-daily…
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Wild West on the banks of the Spree, and Polish hip-hop
So, cultures meld instead of clash. Or blend. But that would imply delicacy and grace. Whatever. A first part of the evening: The opening of a wild-west themed beach and flea market, built to look more or less frontier-style (don’t forget the Wild West massage) on the banks of the Spree. BBQ hamburgers and beer,…
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Der Spiegel interviews, debates Iran’s president
A fascinating interview utterly unlike anything that would happen with a major U.S. publication. Der Spiegel talks at length to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (link is to English translation) about the Holocaust, Palestine, German responsibility to Jews, and about the current nuclear debates. Ahmadinejad accuses the interviewers of “fanatically” taking the side of European politicians, and…
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All Bud at the World Cup? No wonder people hate Americans
The World Cup. Big sports event. In Germany. Where they drink, and make, a lot of beer. But Anheuser-Busch spent northwards of $40 million to sponsor the World Cup, and so at all stadiums, all games, Budweiser will be nearly the only beer availible. *Nearly* the only beer because of trademark issues, thankfully. First, they…
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Nass, which doesn’t mean nice, for Sleater-Kinney
It’s wet outside. Nass, a word which I have just learned. It’s also wet inside, on me and through me. My fingers are too cold to type really efficiently; but just wait, I tell myself, they have real winters here, its no use complaining about the spring. We’ve just ridden back across town from the…
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Tra-la-la isn’t a weapon, it just looks that way
Last night Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra-La-La Band at Maria am Ufer, a little club tucked on the bank of the Spree, in I think what would used to have been the dead zone between Wall and West. They start by saying, “This is our third time in Berlin. The other times,…
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Pink carpets and happy gourds
A small spring storm last night, with heavy rains and blustery skies. Today most of the chestnut and cherry blossoms are swirling and eddying on the sidewalks, blown into thick pink carpets against the curb. On another note, I’ve found a local establishment that sells my Cruz de Malta yerba mate, for 4 euros a…
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One month. So far, no international incidents.
We arrived in Berlin exactly a month ago. Our landlord’s agent, the “punk with a pillow,” was gracious enough to pick us up at the airport, and drive us to our temporary studio on Maybachufer, along the Landewehrkanal. The next morning we met Paul at the Brandenburg gate, and spent the next few days in…
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Tranny magic at the Osteria
It’s 4 am and the sky is lightening, a little too soon for my tastes. We’ve just come home from an evening with Kenji and Till in their Kreuzberg neighborhood. Wine at their apartment and then dinner at an Italian cafe, where near midnight a tranny magician wandered in, and spotting us alone in a…
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Fertility symbols for breakfast
I’ve been up for an hour or so, reading the news and fiddling with bits of PHP when Aimee comes into the living room. “I’m going to make a French breakfast,” she says. “How does little omlettes with leeks sound? And asparagus with speck?” This is obviously a trick question. Only someone with massive and…