What a week!

Yup, that's me. It seems a nasty sinus infection has seeped up into my eyes. How disgusting is that? This pic was taken after one dose of hard antibiotics and five doses of eye drops. You should have seen them before!

Maybe I should consider plucking those eyebrows... eh, forget it!

So last Sunday I started a sore throat, went into a fever and choking on my own... you know... mucus. ugh. By Wednesday I started to feel like my eyes were being pushed out of my head from the inside every time I blew my nose, coughed, or just leaned over.

Here in Germany, if you take over three days off from work ya gotta go to the doctor for an ok to return to work, so you can guess where I was yesterday. Yup, off to see my favorite caretaker. Really I figured that I would be back at work by today.

Nope, she had other plans... "take some antibiotics and here, these eye drops should help. And oh, you need to take at least another week off of work". You're kidding!

Lovely, eh?

Hey, interesting thing. Zitty Magazine asked to use one of my photos they found on my Flickr page. There's nothing really special about it. The pic is of Rathaus Schöneberg, and not a really good photo at that. The only thing I think might be special is that it has gay pride flags flying out front. They do it for the whole month of June, so even that isn't so special. Nonetheless when we suggested that it might be nice to have a little money for the rights to the photo... they offered 20€! HEY! That paid this year's Flickr charges!

Other than that my life this week has been spent in our apartment. I watched movies when I wasn't asleep, and when my eyes got so bad that the light hurt, I listened to movies that I know so well that I can listen to them and know what is happening on the screen. It was cool the first two days, now it isn't so fun. Who would have thought?

Ramblings for a Friday

So I'm pulling some stuff out of the trash can. Yup, I've been meaning to write about it, and dammit, I just need to do it.

In the words of Diane from Martinis for Two, "What I didn't blog about this week" although mine is going to be more like two or three weeks.

Waaaay back in the 2nd week of October I was lucky enough to meet Christina G. of Amiexpat along with a few Berlin Expats, most of them bloggers.

I managed to meet a Berlin blogger I didn't even know existed (sorry Ben, but hey, I've been enjoying back issues of your blog quite a bit). Yelli of 50% of my DNA and G. in Berlin showed up and another Berliner friend of Christine braved the group as well.

Christine was one of the few bloggers I've met face to face who is exactly what I had imagined. I suppose that it says a lot about her openness on her blog.

About the same time this was happening, I was experiencing a nasty situation with my neck. It suddenly got very tight and hard to move. Sometimes I could even hear it grinding as I moved. Yoga didn't seem to help it, concentrating on stretching and relaxing periodically throughout the day had no effect, after five days it was time to do something about it.

I bit down hard and went to my chiropractor, Anne Rampacher. Anyone looking for an English-speaking chiropractor in Berlin... I heartily recommend Dr. Rampacher. Nope, I get no discount for this review.

What I also don't get is the German resistance to the chiropractic arts. Not long after my arrival in Germany I had some nasty back problems (I bet it was the rock-hard German standard bed... I know you're feeling me on this Yelli). My general practitioner gave me a prescription for six sessions with a physical therapist for red light therapy and massages. SIX 1/2 hour SESSIONS.

Upon my suggestion that I would find a chiropractor and see what they would think, my doctor laughed. She said that I would have trouble FINDING a chiropractor in Germany, and that besides, they couldn't help me anyway. When pushed, she explained that my problems were muscular, not skeletal. OK, so no chiro.

Twelve red light therapy/massage treatments later it still was not gone. The next step up, water treatment... OH HONEY! Immersed in a bath of WARM water, nice lady using a hose to hit my pressure points... then drying me off and wrapping me up in a sheet and wool blanket to lie down relaxing for ten minutes. OK BABY, this works! And it did!

OK, so I'm rambling... sue me.

Two years later I am perusing my latest ExBerliner mag and I come across a real, live chiropractor begging for English-speaking patients. She's German but went off to England to train. Eventually she's come back to try to make a living and instruct her countrymen in the joys of chiropractic care. Love her, go see her!

It took two sessions and two weeks, but my neck is back to rights. It seems that sitting at my desk all day long is simply not good for my body. Can you believe it?

In this time period N. and I did a little entertaining and I made a friend who might just turn into a real movie buddy. We are both movie freaks, we both enjoy the same types of flicks, we are both in a relationship with no kids or other things to tie up our possible meeting times, it is like a match made in heaven... except... She has trouble understanding movies in English , and I have trouble understanding movies in German. Hmmm. Dammit! Well, we're going to try it anyway. I'm sure that it will help my German skills.

I've been to see two movies recently: "Wanted" and "Burn After Reading". They were both OK for a mindless movie if you know what I mean. Wanted had this weird story premise which blew the whole thing for me, I just couldn't go there, so it lost some of its original interest for me. Burn was a cute film with interesting actors doing one dumb-shit thing after another. I agree with Cliff, it just wasn't as funny as Fargo. Maybe for me it is the Shrek phenomenon. A movie comes out with an interesting premise, does a good job of making it fun and engaging, and I like it. Then the sequel comes out. The premise is still cute and it is still a bit excititing because it still has the feel of the original. Then Shrek the Third comes out and eh, who cares.

A while ago I bought WAY TOO MANY DVD'S, just because they were on sale, and slowly I've been going through them. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is just one of those movies I've heard about all my life, but had never seen. At 4.59, it was too good to pass up. The movie itself was very nice. I just love Hepburn and could watch her all day long without tiring of her airy way of talking. Next up was "The Children's Hour". I've known about this movie most of my life, but from a different group of people. The interesting thing... they both star Hepburn.

"The Children's Hour" was one of those (insert whisper here) lesbian (ok, back to regular tones) movies. This version was made in the 60's (b&w ladies and gentlemen), extremely controversial, and was WAY ahead of its time. Two ladies running a bording school are accused of being lesbians by one of the idiotic little brats. The sad thing is that one of them actually did have these feelings, so there was an ounce of truth in the lie. BUT, they had never acted on it... so they lost EVERYTHING for NOTHING.

It also had to end like all lesbian stories at the time... either the lesbian had to die, or she had to end up with a guy. The original stage play, written by Lillian Hellman, and this movie both took the former way out although by different methods. This rather good movie had Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner showing their fabulous stuff. Like most movies of its time I felt that the emotion was WAY over-acted, but hey, the transition from stage to screen really was hard at that time.

Last weekend, the Heidelbergerin and her American buddies, Michael and Jason came storming into town. G. in Berlin (yup, the same G. from above... she's at all of these things, have you noticed? :) made it a five some (well, N. joined later... is that a six some?) and we enjoyed touring Berlin a bit, she blogged about it, so I'll take the easy way out and say go over there for more info, but so far, the Heidelbergerin is strangely AWOL. I suppose that she is still recovering.

Oh the poor ladybugs. I can't help but feel sorry for them at this time of year. They are crawling all over my apartment, especially around the open windows. Of course I understand that they are simply looking for somewhere warm as the weather turns cool. But could my apartment really be the most reasonable place in the world for a lady bug to hide from inclement weather? I never know what to do with them. Do I put them back outside to what might be their death? Do I leave them alone to walk all over my bathroom walls, leaving little lady bug foot paths when I've steamed up the room? Do I put them in one of my houseplants and hope that they are able to fend for themselves? Someone please help me.

OK, just one more thing... and then I'm outta here.
WTF is it with the Christmas Party invitations already?
PEOPLE?!!? How organized can you be?
It isn't even Halloween yet! How CAN you be thinking of Christmas?

Been reading:

• Space Tourist, Station Cosmonauts Land Safely - DAMN, I'm so jealous!
• Greenspan Concedes Error on Regulation - Really? You're kidding? The markets didn't just regulate themselves? I can't believe it!
• Dare We Stand Up for Muslim Women? - This absolutely sickens me.
• We Must Pass the Constitutional Amendment to Ban Gay Marriage - I just love Elayne Boosler
  

Been watching:
Will Ferrell is back to play Bush alongside Fey's Palin.
"I like to think that I'm one part practice folksy, one part sassy, and a little dash of high school bitchy".

Make-Believe Maverick - yes, another political post!

Make-Believe Maverick
A closer look at the life and career of John McCain
reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty
By TIM DICKINSON Rolling Stone Magazine
OMG! It is a LOOONG one. But it is QUITE interesting. Of course it is rather biased, and smells a lot like Swift-Boating.

I guess that I never knew Bush and McCain had so much in common.

What it does do very well is to give a more clear picture of the life of "that other one" who wants to be president. The explanation on the depth of the "Keating 5" and how unusual that situation was... was quite eye-opening.

Plus who out there had any idea that this guy actually gave up information when he was held in 'Nam? To hear his tell of it, he told them all to go to hell. But I must say that I (and I assume the reader) have NO idea the kind of torture the POW's endured, and I would not wish that on anyone. Of course his experience in the Hanoi Hilton wasn't pleasant, and I don't want to belittle that. But to learn that he got preferential treatment and was probably kept alive because of his family lines is astounding. May I also add that I've known quite a few Vietnam vets in my lifetime... and um, most of them came back a little "touched" for having had the experience.

To make matters worse, in his endless drive for power and one-upping his daddy, he has linked up with the scary Neomaxiezoomdweebie who is just as hungry for power. What scares me about her is that she is jumping up and down to do fantastic things like write discrimination into the Constitution and take away hard-fought and hard-won rights.

After reading this, I'm more certain than EVER that I don't want this hothead to have his finger on "The Button"

A big "whoot, whoot" to DRE for pointing this one out to me.

Been reading:

• Palin on Federal Gay Marriage Ban, Angry Crowds, and Religion
• Biden says he'd oppose Calif. gay marriage ban
• Palin breaks with McCain on gay marriage amendment
  

Halloween decoration with non-traditional twist

Hello Crafters!
I bet Martha never clued you into this one!

Yes ladies, that is made out of exactly what you think.
Tee hee hee.

This was found amongst a hundred others at TamponCrafts.com.

Here I always thought they looked like Cousin It.

Good enough for Powell, good enough for me

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell finally expressed his thoughts on the candidates for president, and came out for Obama. I remember back in July when asked who he would endorse he carefully mentioned that he would be watching how things progressed before backing a candidate. Yesterday on Meet The Press with Brokaw he finally opened up. I just hope that Americans will stand up and take notice.

He hit all of the points which have been bothering me.
OK, so Obama's not a Muslim... but so what if he is... isn't this STILL America?
WTF with the Bill Ayers thing? Who cares?
And Powell said McCain's choice of Palin raised questions about judgment.

"She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired. But at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president," he said. "And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Sen. McCain made."

A different take on Take On Me

I'm showing my age here... Yes, I am a child of the 80's. But most of us in this special "age bracket" called Generation X remember fondly when MTV showed MUSIC VIDEOS... yes, believe it or not!

Gen Ex'ers who cultivated their musical taste during the video age probably also look back with a gleam in their eyes when considering videos which seemed absolutely avant garde during "our" time.

Some of these videos were so innovative that the first time we saw them, there was a collective "WOW" by gape-mouthed kids all across North America sitting transfixed in front of their non-remote TV's.

There were many, but "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, and "Rock It" by Herbie Hancock were just a few of mine. (Ahem... we should not have to mention Thriller by the Gloved One. And hey, did anyone else really get the subtext when Michael tells the girl, "I'm not like other guys... no, I mean I'm different". heh heh heh)

Of course "Take On Me" by a-Ha was shot in a new technique which really fascinated not only me, but many others as well.

BUT someone has Karaoke'd this video/song with the literal translation of what is happening in the video! Toooooooo Cuuuuuute! I love it!
"I'm gonna kick some ass with my own pipe wrench"
I giggled for two minutes!

Did you watch it? No?
OK then... you're gonna miss out!

I remember seeing the original video and thinking that one part reminded me very much of William Hurt's freaky scene in "Altered States" (the familiar section starts at 1:02 in this clip - in the a-Ha video it starts at 3:48).

This changing of the lyrics is the kind of crap I would think of while watching these videos. I had a LOT of fun with Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately".

I wonder if other people have as much fun as I do with song lyrics?
There are whole songs that I can't remember the original lyrics. They've been replaced in my memory by improvised verse.

Let's do the Time Warp AGAIN... LIVE!

OK, OK! So I heartily admit that through my senior year in high school and years afterward I was one of the screaming minions in the weekly habit of standing in front of a movie screen chanting "Lips, lips, we want lips".

Rocky Horror Picture Show was an eye-opening experience for this young dyke... and I loved it! All around were people very much like me who didn't really fit into society's idea of normal... and they didn't care, just like me! We had a great band of players and costumers who dedicated hours to "getting it right" and just having fun doing it.

There were pre-movie toasts to the uninitiated "VIRGINS", and in our theatre we had a guy who would do "Spiderman on Acid" before the show. (Basically he would run from one side of the theatre to the other as fast as he could and try to jump on the opposite wall... always landing with a splat and then falling to the floor while scraping his fingernails.) Oh well, we were a diverse group.

The "Rocky Horror Picture show," starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf, has grossed $140 million in domestic box office over the years, mostly from the pockets of youthful audience members who have shown up for midnight screenings over the past three decades.

When I first started attending the audience "par-tis-i-pation" experience, the theatre allowed us to throw toast, rice, toilet paper and newspapers at will as long as we cleaned it up before leaving. Unfortunately a management change caused some problems in my senior year. They didn't like the idea of the show and almost canceled it. After much negotiation they continued to play it but with the proviso that we wouldn't do things like throw stuff or use water guns. Dammit.

On the weekend of my senior prom I had rented a tux complete with purple cummerbund and bow tie of course... so why not use it the second night to go to Rocky! After my graduation a group of my "outside of school" friends gave me a party to celebrate, complete with cap and gown, right before the showing of Rocky. One of my favorite things to do after the show was to fill the back end of my truck with friends and go skinny-dipping at a lake in Towanda, Kansas of all places. My gosh, I wonder why we never got caught.

When I made a new friend, I took them to Rocky to try to figure out if they were "cool" or not. One co-worker actually freaked out and never really talked with me again... ok, she was uncool. I didn't care if they preferred not to memorize long lists of script and sub-text script... I just wanted to see if they were open-minded enough to not freak when seeing a man in heels, corset, and torn up fishnets singing about giving yourself over to absolute pleasure.

Not long after moving to Berlin in 2005 I began to see posters advertising the LIVE Rocky Horror Show. OMG! I HAD to be there! I told N. and her parents that I would like to see it and soon it was a family affair. M&FIL bought us tickets (thanks folks) and the day approached when we would get to see Frank n Furter and crew.

When we arrived at the venue I was a bit disappointed, no one had dressed up. Oh well. I had brought some toilet paper and a water gun just in case my fellow audience members decided to par-tis-i-pate as others have done around the world for decades. Much to my delight, as each person walked into the seating area they received a special "packet"! It had TP, a water gun (whoops, no water... what?) a few pages of Bild, and a firecracker "popper" thing which would explode with bits of paper at the appropriate party moment. All of this came with an information sheet which explained when to use the items... COOL!

I was completely blown away when I discovered that our seats were in the BACK ROW! Um... OK, so being far away from the action is one thing, but in Rocky Horror Picture Show there is a call-back shout during the song "Science Fiction Double Feature". ("Where's the best place to fuck?" "In the back row..." "FUCK THE BACK ROW!!") In over 200 viewings of RH, I NEVER sat in the back row... it just wasn't done!

Although my Parents in Law are pretty cool, I'm afraid they might not have passed my high school coolness qualification. They remained quiet and reserved throughout the show, something I've since learned is very much a German trait. They only joined in the clapping with the music when the rest of the crowd was in hysterics. When I handed him the toilet paper to throw, FIL threw the entire roll instead of holding onto the trailing end... and of course it hit an unsuspecting guy in the back of the head. Well, at least there was no trail leading back to FIL.

But then it was within months of their only daughter not only coming out as gay, but also marrying that crazy American. Long story, they didn't know ANYTHING until about five days before our wedding date. This was after six years of "friendship". They were treating me very nicely by buying us tickets to this wild show, and they even managed to have large smiles on their face at the pause. Maybe they had already passed the "cool test" eh?

My Sweet N. has let me know that she is simply not excited about seeing Rocky live on stage again... but of course I'm ready to go buy tickets today. Would anyone else like to go with me?

Don't dream it, be it.

The Neo-maxie-zoom-dweebies at MTV have decided to remake the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It simply seems like an act of stupidity. The first one sucked as far as the movie experience goes... why on earth would you try to remake it?... Money I suppose.

I love it when a plan comes together

Sunday we were visited by some friends who up until now had never been to our house. (Germans tend to entertain outside of the house... the home is pretty much just for you - perhaps it is because the city places are just so small) The menu was decided about four days out, and the required elements were for the most part purchased the day before, in true German fashion, to have the freshest ingredients.

Side note here. I'm always a little nervous about planning a group encounter at our house on Sundays. Since the stores are closed on that day, I always suffer from "do we have ABSOLUTELY everything we might need plus some we might not" syndrome in the lead up to the event. There will be no easy popping over to the local grocery store if suddenly you find out that the sour cream really is SOUR. (By the way, how do you KNOW if sour cream is sour?)

Cooking the majority of the items the night before really made for a nice experience in prep work in the hour we had before our guests arrived. N. helped a LOT in every way she could and things just kind of came together. At 15 minutes before their planned arrival time we got a message which said that they would be 30 minutes late. OK, no worries. It's not like I've got a souffle in the oven or something... it is Tex Mex. Plus it gave me some time to wash some of the dishes beforehand, lessening the BIG cleanup task which I knew would have to wait until the evening after.

The picture is N. wasting time before they arrive by watching TV. I heard a commercial coming on which I knew would end up with a guy in sombrero and serape ... so I thought a picture was in order.

The food was good, not fantastic dammit... but it was good. Unfortunately my guacamole ended up a bit heavy on the lemon juice. So I added more avocado (part of that "plus some" shopping experience... I got 3 avocados for the dip, and one more just in case) and the extra one seemed to really help. The stuff needed some serious salt for my taste, but I didn't want to over salt just in case the others didn't like it. All in all it had just the right consistency, not too much tomato, and was simply fantastic!

As I expected, the tortillas were substandard and a bit dry (this really makes me miss my local tortilla factory back in Kansas). The refried beans were OK for out of a can. Sarah at Regensblog suggested that I try making them myself in the future... hmm... that looks like a LOT of work. (But I would be more than happy to invite myself down to Regensburg to help you put them together at your house.) The chilis were so damn hot that I hesitated to use more than just a few in the meat mix. But the leftovers did make great table decoration. Tee hee hee. Does anybody have a nice idea what to do with about 7 fire-hot chilis?

When it came to our visitors, I must say that we really enjoyed ourselves. Surely it wasn't only the wine that had everyone smiling so warmly. It is a pleasure to say that I feel N. and I have found a great pair of people for friends, and I am very happy.

A pair of couples starting a relationship is an interesting happening in my eyes. I look at the four of us and easily see that N. and friend 1 have a LOT in common, down to the way they think and reason things. But it is also intriguing to find that friend 2 and I have a lot in common as well... even though we have a bit of a language difficulty... she speaks very little English, and I speak very little German. On top of this lovely problem she speaks with a Vogtland accent (area of Sachsen known for their unusual accent), and I have enough trouble with regular German. But we are fast becoming better friends and somehow find a way to communicate.

The reason most of the meal required prep time the previous night was because N. had a 10K running event early in the afternoon of the meal. It had about 6,000 participants with part of the track touring the zoo... cool, eh? She and her father just love these things and had decided to run together. MIL and I took the opportunity to walk the grounds of Charlottenburg Palace as we waited for them to get back.

These events are one of the few times that I really don't appreciate being so short. People line the running track, making it difficult for me to see my loved ones. Of course I'm standing there ready to take pictures and scream encouragement, but so are about 12,000 other people. Perhaps I could use some stilts or maybe a ladder in the future... I am taking suggestions.

I've often asked N. to wear a florescent vest or something which would make it easier to see her coming, but she not so respectfully declines... um, I guess that would be uncool. Remember this is the woman that color-coordinates her running suits.

Some of the other runners wear gear which makes them stand out. Yesterday I saw a guy in black shorts accompanied by a long-sleeved formal white shirt topped with a black bow tie. He looked absolutely dashing as he flew past me. We always see "Statue of Liberty guy" who runs wearing one of the green foam crowns, and every race has some poor schmuck who is paid to run with an advertising board or suit over his body.

Not only do I have trouble finding my loved ones to urge onward, but they have trouble seeing me too. People on the sidelines also do things to be noticed by their runners. In the past I've had a helium balloon attached to my backpack. This is OK as long as there is no wind... but with a bit of a breeze it tends to knock itself about and bonk strangers in the head. While I realize that this keeps people at a nice distance, alas something inside makes me see that it just isn't polite.

One lady who stood across the street from us had the coolest idea; she held an umbrella with balloons attached to it and dangling down all around it were pretzels! We watched her as she welcomed about six people to the finish line (must have been a club)... and each time they would come to her first and pick up their pretzel before going on to claim their medal. How cool, eh?

Guess what we're having for dinner on Sunday?

We'll have a couple of friends over Sunday late afternoon. When asked what they wanted to eat, I was told to come up with something American. Hm... Apple pie? Should I feed them a burger and fries or what? So I decided to go with something I've been hungry for and just haven't had the time/energy/reason to put it all together. Tex-Mex. Hey, that's pretty American isn't it?

Tomorrow's menu: Burritos, (from scratch meat mix is stewing on the stove right now) oven-made nachos, and the ingredient I'm most excited about... homemade guacamole! I perused the stalls at Winterfeld Markt Saturday morning for the perfect avocados, picked out some plump tomatoes, found some WONDERFUL hot chilis, a bit of green onion, fresh lemon juice as a preservative, ground sea salt... oh my, this is going to be great stuff.

This time I decided not to go for the REALLY FRESH tortillas from the local Mexican guy who delivers all kinds of food. Nah, I'll give the Fuego brand one more try. Also I found SALTED tortilla chips at Kaiser's. OK, this is an event! No silly curry-flavored nacho chips for us! Hell, I even sprung for the 2.89 EUR can of Fuego refried beans to see if they're any good. Now all I need is an ice bucket full of Corona and I'm all set!

Anyone want to join us?

Ich habe Schwein gehabt

Tee hee hee!
Imagine my surprise as I am listening to my favorite American radio program (NPR All Things Considered) and a story comes up about Sparkasse, a bank here in Germany.


Here was the opening that caught my ear:

"Europe is still struggling to come up with a united response to the financial crisis sweeping the continent. Amid the turmoil, however, one banking system is sound and secure.

The more than 400 savings banks in Germany's Sparkasse system have for many years followed a conservative strategy. And its clients are now reaping the benefits."
Read/hear the rest of the story here.

Cool! You know why it's so cool? It is because my local Berlin Sparkasse has the majority of my money. Well, the majority of my money in Europe anyway. We won't talk about my holdings in the States. After sneaking a peek at my Stateside portfolio earlier this week I'm VERY happy to know that the money I have here is as safe as a piggybank.

.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.000000000000000000..
(Sorry, that was Frank's addition to this post... he really likes to "help" me while I'm on the computer. Interesting how I'm writing about money and he seems to have typed out a huge series of 0's with occasional decimal points. Perhaps he was watching my American account balances closer than I thought.)

How about everyone else? Are others suffering from the whole economic crunch?
So Iceland is the first "country" to really kinda go under... who's next?

Sparkasse pic lovingly borrowed from Sparky
Originally uploaded by sparktography

Been reading:

• Thai political crisis at fever pitch
• Ever wondered about that weird lump on McCain's left jaw?
• Learning languages online with Babbel - it's almost like a video game
• "McSame?" Try "McShame" - "With Palin we encounter the purest example, in our lifetime, of a candidate whose mere presence on a national ticket demeans and pollutes the very process."

It's Time For Some Campaignin'

This wonderful little diddy is from JibJab. Those crazy guys famous for the dancing heads. All the big players are here: George W., John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary, and the rest of the Capital Hill gang. It's a good, solid roasting of the whole group!



Been reading:

Neither candidate supports gay marriage - and that’s okay

Russia: Georgia troop pullback to start Wednesday

Father kills family and himself, despondent over financial losses - This just pisses me off. OK, so you're a weak asshole. You don't have to KILL your KIDS because of it!

Racist? - Wow! This is quite a thing. I did two tests. One of which I could predict the effect as kind of a litmus test. The next one was out of my comfort zone and may I say that I surprised myself.

SNL's take on the VP debates

OK, for those who haven't seen it yet...

The Saturday Night Live take on the Biden/Palin debate.
Gwen Ifill played by Queen Latifa!! Incredible choice!
I just gotta say it... Maverick!

Bigger image? click here.

It's all about Joe!

Hey, did I ever tell you that Joe and I are buddies?
Yup, he writes me often. He's kinda growing on me.
I'll let you in on some of our private conversations... I think you'll find that it has an important message.
Don't worry Joe, I'm already there.
But maybe some other people would enjoy your message...

From: Joe Biden
Subject: Register before it's too late

Dear Snooker,

I've traveled around the world, and I've seen my share of presidential campaigns. But I have never seen one in which Americans living abroad have had a bigger impact.

Barack and I know we have support from Americans all over the globe -- and we appreciate all that Democrats Abroad has been doing to grow this movement for change.

But the time for you to make your voice heard is quickly passing. Voter registration and vote by mail deadlines are approaching.

Some states close their rolls as early as today, October 5th.

Find your state, get registered, and get your absentee ballot today:

http://www.votefromabroad.org

Eight disastrous years of George Bush policies have jeopardized our security, tarnished our international reputation, and sunk us into the most profound economic crisis we have seen since the Great Depression. Now, John McCain wants to continue down the same path.

Don't imagine for a second that your vote doesn't matter in this election.

Register today and request your absentee ballot, and make sure your voice is heard:

http://www.votefromabroad.org

Together, we can make history and bring about the change we need.

Thank you,
Joe

Music Monday - I Kissed a Girl

Gosh, I can't get away from this "I Kissed a Girl" song. (video below) It seems as though every time I am within earshot of a radio, I am inundated with the lyrics,
"It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight".
Besides the incorrect English, I have a bit of trouble with the song... but more of that later.

I congratulate the producers for coming up with a completely catchy, throbbing beat to go with the slightly scandalous chick-on-chick lyrics. Unfortunately the singer's voice has been over-dubbed so much that it is hard to get a feel for the true sound of her voice. In the end it all mixes together, just becoming one driving noise. I really don't like producers who are raising the levels of the current songs artificially high so the music will still sound good on MP3 players and of course you can't forget the horrid brats who walk the streets playing what passes for music through their tinny mobile phones.

The music video producers (see it below as long as the record company doesn't realize that it is on You Tube with a misspelled name) also should have a little luv... they managed to create some kind of Moulin Rouge thing which really worked for the song. Slightly sexual, without being too much... and they also managed to have the entire thing WITHOUT a girl on girl kiss, ensuring that VH1 would still play it. Of course they also end the video showing her waking up in bed beside her presumed boyfriend, as though waking up from a dream... so it wasn't real after all... oh well.

The singer Katy Perry had been previously trying to break into the Contemporary Christian music scene, towing the family line I suppose. It seems that Mom is some kind of preacher. Hmm... Something tells me that Mom isn't too happy these days, eh?

Personally I'm rather torn. The fact that such a song can get so much airplay is interesting to me. Twenty years ago George Michael was getting shit for "I Want Your Sex"... if his lyrics had been explicitly to men, it would never have gotten radio play, let alone the constant MTV attention. But Miss Perry has a song that shows a willingness for bisexual experimentation, and it is on the HOT 100 and Top 40 in the States, and is on the charts in many countries around the world. Wow.

At the same time the lyrics (found below too... hey, everything is down there, eh?) work my last gay nerve with the "I'm gonna act all sexy with my girlfriend to get attention from the boys" mentality which drives me up a wall. Of course we haven't even begun to discuss how she would probably still be trying to sell songs about Jesus if she hadn't come up with a little diddy about a supposed walk on the wild side. To add insult to injury she has another song coming out named "Ur So Gay" which panders to the stereotype that a straight man with qualities like a gay man is decidedly not cool, but girls kissing girls is soooo hot. spare me.

An interesting happenstance is that this goofy song has spawned even goofier parodies, "I Kissed A Pig", "I Kissed A Boy", and a slightly disturbing, butt-smelling "I Kissed a Dog". "You bark, I obey..."

Alrighty then... here is the video for the song followed by the lyrics, followed by a genuinely cute song/video by Jill Sobule of the same name. Now THAT's cute!!

Katy Perry - "I Kissed a Girl" lyrics

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter
Your my experimental game
Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

I think I'm up too late

Good morning... well it is good morning in my world. I start this at 5.25am after watching the Biden/Palin debate.

Staying up tonight gave me the perfect opportunity to work on my pics of WEBMU, for the Flickr members, most of them are waiting for you at the site. For those who are contacts, you can see the entire set on my Bremen page.

Please excuse me if my brain is a little addled. I've been awake close to 24 hours now.
If you don't mind, I'll fall back onto the much maligned bullet point.

• I think that Palin performed pretty well in this debate, but let's face it, she had no where to go but up.
  
• I don't know if Palin not making a fool of herself can help a campaign which seems to be on its way down.
  
• Biden showed himself to be quite knowledgeable, but did we expect anything else of a 35 year Senator?
• Um... do you think he was really as broken up as he seemed to be when talking about his boys having medical problems after the car wreck that killed his wife and daughter?
  
• Tonight I watched the debate on CNN International. They had a cool little graph thing which showed in real time how some undecided Ohio voters were feeling about what they were listening to. It was cool!
• Oh, and while I'm there... the CNN screen thing with the moving windows... I love it. Where can I get one? SOOO Minority Report
  
• Friday, Oct 3rd NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be surrounded by a shitload of NYPD as he speaks from the Brandenburg Gate here in Berlin. Um... something wrong with Berlin cops?
• Oh and hey Bloomberg... buying your way into a 3rd term as mayor requiring a change of the term limit imposed by city law. Oh yeah, I bet the Governator in CA would like some laws changed about that pesky native citizen requirement for seeking the presidency.
• Geeze this thing about Palin holding that baby after every public appearance kinda creeps me out. I mean, at the end of that debate it was quite late... and all those kids were there ready to be paraded across the stage.
  
• Man I'm sorry to hear about Steve Fossett's remains being found. There was part of me that was hoping the guy had just retired to an island somewhere.
• Not to toot my own horn, but I'm loving this picture.
  
• Is it just me or did Palin come off as having the same ideology on equal civil rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians? I bet she gets her hands slapped for that one.
• Hey, thinking about that... "rocker" Melissa Etheridge is going to tie the knot with her longtime girlfriend while it is still legal in CA.
  
• Is anyone else pissed about the bailout being served up with a huge slice of pork?
• Branglina and enterage have moved to Berlin as Brad makes a movie... will the city ever be the same?

OK, I'm going to bed.
Night night... or should I say... moin moin.

It is kinda parched...

It really was soooo wonderful to meet up with all of the Whiny Expats! (yup, I know I'm late... man, I've been hurting... see below). I would like to thank (once again... I'm sure it is becoming boring) both J. and Claire for their hard work and effort in bringing this crazy group together for a memorable event.

For those who weren't able to make it, I will simply direct you to Adam's write up of the event. I'm sure that anything I type up would pale in comparison.

What I would like to add is that I am blown away by the people I was able to meet! What a great group of fantastic individuals! It is strange, I always assumed that the average blogger is basically an introvert, and I would guess most of the Whiny Expats I ran into this weekend would also classify themselves as such... but it really is not true. (not counting you Adam... I would NEVER assume this about you)

Everyone came together and talked at times making so much noise that strangers stopped and stared. I personally found that by the end of Saturday night my voice was wearing thin from so much conversation. Oh how wonderful to be in a group of people where communication is so easy and just flows! I would LOVE to teach the Germans a thing or two about opening up enough to express yourself to your fellow man and how rewarding that can be.

Case in point. Last night N. and I visited with two Americans. They are my sister's husband's sister and her husband (still with me?). These two retirees find themselves on a whirl-wind two week tour of Germany (how American, eh?) and stopped the craziness long enough to sit down and visit with us for a few hours.

I don't know these people. IF we had ever met I was probably ten years old, and they are now they are in their sixties. After looking back on it the only thing we really have in common is that they now live in the town I lived in from the time I was four until my life changed so significantly at fourteen.

From our first simultaneous sighting in the hotel lobby it was quite smooth. We flowed from topic to topic realizing that we are all quite liberal with a solid fear of the conservatives in America and what is happening.

The point is that conversation was easy, very simply we found common ground and enjoyed sharing life experiences. Once again... I would really enjoy the chance to teach the Germans this talent.

At one point the man launched into the very interesting story about being in the classroom on September 11, 2001 with a group of high school students when the redirected Flight 93 crashed and exploded into a field less than a mile away. Something I had never heard before was how fast the FBI was on the scene, about 30 minutes. Hmm... interesting considering that this place is really at least a two hour drive from the nearest city of any size, Pittsburgh. Surely helicopter mobilization would take some time as well... But then hey, I'm no expert. He and his wife discussed how the town closest to the crash was locked down along with the surrounding towns. Mobile phone towers were disconnected and land line service was interrupted. For a period of over four hours people were not allowed into or out of the main little town, with no explanation of when travel would become possible again. Whoa.

Topic change

Since Monday morning I've had the headache from hell. It seems to stem from a pain in the neck which has been with me since the train ride on Sunday night. Then I guess adding a sinus headache on top has not helped.

Today I went to a fantastic chiropractor. For all of the "wellness" stuff the Germans subscribe to, I am completely surprised that they do not grasp onto the healing qualities of these incredible doctors.

She threw me onto the table and immediately came to the crux of the problem, the entire right side of my back feels like a rock... and not in the good way. She worked on my neck a bit after giving my back some attention. For the most part my headache is gone although her prediction that I would hurt later is certainly coming true. Damn sadists!

What was interesting is the conversation we had before my adjustment. She said that she has trouble getting customers. It is as though the Germans don't trust the chiropractic arts. But you know what? I've had German friends suggest infrared light for everything from stiff muscles (yeah, the warmth feels good) to a stuffed-up nose. Aw... come on! What is infrared going to do to my snot issues?