No Words Needed

Thanks to Dustin and his friend, Rusty.

OH Bama!

We checked out the big Inaugural party in Berlin tonight. Seems that it was the biggest party in the world, outside of America.
Goya was the venue, with both Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad as sponsors.
See a few more of my pictures here.

Bar-ack O-Bama Herz-lich Will-kom-men

What a day to be an American.

Last night an expat friend said something which stopped me in my tracks. All the stress of a busy work world just sunk away. "Tuesday is going to be a great day to be an American."

She's absolutely right. It IS a great day to be an American. So here's to Obama. Dude, you've wheedled yourself into a job no sane person would want. I wish you all the best.

I have some hopes for you. It is my sincere desire that you are able to achieve even 1/10 of your aspirations. For your family I wish all the best with as little interference from the press and political world as possible. Like many Americans, and may I say it, even many of the world's citizens, I hope that you and your cabinet are able to find a way out of these many crises and take the United States into a positive direction.

For now all I can say:
Yes We Can!

Been listening:
This morning on rs2 (radio), the regular segment of Küss mich Kanzler (Kiss me Chancellor) was really cute. The premise of the segment is the home life of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel. The fact that she is a woman, and that her husband stays completely out of the public eye is very interesting, funny to think about even. Sound-alike voices in the show are simulating the Chancellor and her husband just going through life's little problems exploring with a funny edge that she is the leader of Germany.

Although I only heard the last part of the piece, what I got was really cute. Sung to the tune of "Sweet Home Alabama, All Summer Long" was "Bar-ack O-Bama Herz-lich Will-kom-men". Tee hee hee!

I found the website which normally posts the pieces, but it isn't up as of this morning. Maybe later today it will be available. I'll have to check back later for another listen.

Been watching:
Fight for Kisses - OMG!! This is cute. The mommies/daddies will really enjoy this creative video. Dancing baby, move over!

Sure, make me a liar...

When I talk to friends and family back in the States they often ask about the weather in Berlin. "It is OK" I proclaim, usually remembering the warm summer days with many hours of sun. They ask about temperatures and I tend to explain that Berlin weather is very much like what we had as I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania... gray all winter with temps hovering in the freezing range, enjoyable summers where the daylight is warm but the nights can have just a bit of a chill.

In the wintertime the people living in colder States want to know about snowfall. Usually I say something like, "Well, we get snow but it doesn't stay around more than a few days."

Yeah sure...

The snow in these photos is well over a week old! What is that about? This annoying crap needs to come... and go! Quickly! At least we don't have it the way my hometown in Pennsylvania had it... The so called "Lake Effect" with snow hitting the ground in October and many layers coming afterward, often staying in its mushy blackened form until Easter.

As of this morning we have what I will describe as 100% humidity. There isn't any rain falling right now, but the air is thick and just slightly above freezing. I predict the snow won't be around much longer... and for me, that's OK.

All of these pics (and more) can be found here.

Caption please...

This thing needs a caption. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Memories of Motown

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Motown Records, the Estrel Berlin has opened a delightful show which offers a walk down Motown memory lane. My Sweet No and I were lucky enough to be invited to the premiere of this entertaining stage show celebrating the best Motown hits from the 60's and 70's.

It really was a lovely event bringing out much of Berlin's entertainment "royalty". Before the show there was a mixer with buffet. Our little group kept pointing out famous folks and politicians... hmmm, I have to admit that I recognized only one of them, Roberto Blanco, who seems to be on every musical show produced by German TV. I found a video report by tVB (in German only, sorry) which shows some of the mixer. It was a bit hard to get around to the food with all of the cameras stuck in people's faces. Don't you worry, that didn't stop ME!

Normally the Estrel has a "Stars in Concert" approach with lookalikes recreating the look and sound of big stars such as Tina Turner, (oh my gosh, that reminds me that we'll be seeing the ORIGINAL in just a few weeks... I can barely breathe!) Sting, Louis Armstrong, Rod Stewart, Boy George, Elvis, Cher, Whitney, Joe Cocker, and many more. We get free tickets once in a while, so we take in the show occasionally for a little cheezy Las Vegas feel.

But for this special event, producer Bernhard Kurz brought to Berlin some REAL Motown stars such as The Contours ("Do You Love Me - Now That I Can Dance") and The Miracles, who originally recorded with Smokey Robinson ("You Really Got a Hold On Me" / "Shop Around" / "The Tracks of My Tears"). For the premiere night only the special guest was Martha Reeves of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, ("Heat Wave" / "Jimmy Mack" / "Dancin' in the Streets").

Martha is still shaking it on the stage, let me tell ya. She's aged (hell, haven't we all), but our table decided that she must be around 70 by now... and if I think of my mother at 70 in comparison to this pro getting up there and doing her thing... well, there is no competition.

It was interesting to see the German audience's lack of response to music which quite simply makes me want to dance. There I am clapping and tapping and shaking in my chair as those around me (including No) are simply staring at the stage... HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN? When the artists invite the audience to clap or sing along, the people just sit there calmly as though making any noise would be disrespectful. This is one thing which I find completely different between the American and German audiences.

Martha even made mention of this in her performance. She was giving the intro to "Jimmy Mack" and was asking the audience to "do something unusual for German audiences" and help her get him to come back by clapping and making lots of noise as well as singing out for Jimmy. Um... no. I would assume that many in the audience simply didn't know the song. Also it is quite possible they didn't understand her... but then it is quite hard to not understand someone standing on stage frantically making the motions of clapping.

Right up alongside those famous performers were a talented group of lookalikes which rounded out the night by bringing many other famous songs from Berry Gordy's Motown; Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson.

On the night of the premiere we were treated to Motown's PR man, Al Abrams, who gave on stage insights into the beginnings of the important recording company. Also onhand was William "Mickey" Stevenson who headed the A&R Department (artists and repertoire). They had some really funny stories to tell about the formative years of a company that opened previously locked doors for black performers.

All in all it was a fun night. Sweet No even recognized some of the songs, although there were many in our group who felt a bit left out because they really didn't know most of the music being played. There is simply an age difference... anyone under 40 is at a disadvantage. Of course there is also the geographical problem. Europe just didn't get to hear a lot of the music we Americans are much more exposed to. But it was universally agreed that even without the recognition, the music was quite enjoyable.

The Estrel put on a good show and did a nice job on the buffet. The white wine was a good quality and the mixed drinks weren't watered down. It was interesting to see them trying to do American food. May I say that it was funny to see two different items made with sweet potatoes (not a normal occurance on a German buffet), and their rendition of roast beef was quite lovely.

If you are a fan of Motown and happen to be in Berlin before the 1st of February, I highly recommend this show!

On a side note: I have a strange affliction with writing the word "Motown". For some strange reason when I type the word itself, I always want to write it "Mowtown".... what is that about? Do other people have this problem? What part of the brain is this? Why this disconnect? What other words cause such troubles for people?

W is still haunting me

Don't get me wrong. I'm not an ungrateful person, certainly not an ungrateful daughter. But coming to Phoenix to visit my mother and brother gives me two alternatives if I wish to be mobile. Either I spend money on a rental car, or I borrow my Mom's Buick.

Now... considering what the drivers behind me will see as I tool down the Tempe city streets... does anyone else understand why I am mentally adding up the true costs of car rental?

Oh well, the stereo kicks ass. At this volume I couldn't possibly hear any verbal attacks.

The first night of my visit she started talking badly about Obama and I felt the need to calmly defend my democrat principals. I thought she was going to kick me out of the house... whoops.