Bel Ami

Will Glahé - Bel Ami

Can we please have a motherfuckin' moment of silence? Desmond Dekker died.

I really like Nowitzki, I think it is great that a German has a very good chance of becoming the first non-American MVP in the history of the MVP (even when Ginobili would have won if he hadn't got injured two years ago), but truth to be told when he prompts quotes as the one below I will have to reconsider my position on him and maybe hope for the resurfacing of Uwe Blab.

Nowitzki was at his best — scoring 6 points in the final 1 minute 36 seconds — and could have been forgiven for singing a tribute to Hasselhoff, who attended his first playoff game and watched from 11 rows above midcourt. (Hasselhoff, the actor-turned-singer, is big in Nowitzki's native Germany, and Nowitzki recently revealed that he hums a Hasselhoff tune when he shoots free throws.)

Finally, the TV-show 'Lost' (which I have never watched) has lead to a book being published that was read as some kind of a deco on the island and it is marketed as having been written by one of the characters in the show. I so don't like this interweaving of various levels in regard to trying to sell cultural products. The only thing this will result in is that we all read the same books based on the same films that we had seen before (or vice versa, see the Da Vinci Code). I don't need two versions of the same product. Everyonce in a while it is fun to watch a film based on a good book, but then, in my opinion, that book should have passed the test of time (The Lord of the Rings) and become a classi. To publish a movie (or a book) based only one the success of its sibling in the cultural market is distasteful (or maybe better: it is distasteful that it works, that we are stupid enough to suck it up and consumate both (and yes, that includes me too, Harry Potter is all I embarrassingly have to add).

I guess the real question is, am I becoming a cynical old fart (with only 24 I might add) who cannot deal with modern culture and is longing for some glorified past in which everything was of a higher quality or do I have reason to criticise this? I sincerely believe I do have reason, because mainstream culture seriously seems to have deteriorated some and I seriously fear that this whole interweaving business, cross-platform marketing or however these advertisement guys call it, is going to lead to a pretty sad levelling of of what we watch, read and listen to.


PS:
If it is true what the Ny Times reports today, that American soldiers massacred civilian women and old men, I don't even know what to say to that. How can anyone argue that any army is inherently evil? Soldaten sind Mörder. And seriously, what kind of mess did that President make. Cannot someone try to argue with me that this invasion was a good idea? I need to let off steam. Please? Pretty, pretty please?

Thinking and Drinking

Amos Milburn - Thinking and Drinking

So I went to a gay party/club for the first time in my life yesterday and I survived to tell of it. It all started innoncently enough, my roommate had a friend over for dinner and after a while they kind of dared me to come and go to this club around the corner from here. Because they assured me that I would get free tickets and seriously played the dare game with me after a while I was like, fuck this, I'm going now.

We first went to some friend's place (luckily all within walking distance from here), where there were about 7 guys hanging out (note that the word guys in this context is to be taken literally) and sat around there for a while, I had two more beers and smoked some crap. Everything sweet and dandy so far. After some prodding by the more active members of our select group we finally went to the club the entrance of which is hidden in the back of a Café (I wonder whether that is for historical hiding purposes or just of an accidental nature).

Well, I enter this gay club, show my ticket to the bouncer who looks me over once and gives me a wink for my natural good looks (or maybe that's just how he wanted to say hi or I don't know what). Well, I ventured deeper into the whole thing (the place is basically in a cellar) and found two dudes making out on the stair case before entering the dancefloor area. The funny thing is, it really wasn't all that spectacular, after initially feeling a little weird simply because I was surrounded by virtually only men (there were some women around too, some obviously lesbian, a couple of hetero couples and (I believe even though I don't know) some hetero women who just came for the party) it all gave way to nothing really. Just felt completely normal, just a club, just people drinking, just people trying to hit on each other.

Having said that, obviously some things were different. First of all, I don't think I ever got hit on that blatantly. There were at least two guys (maybe more, I am not that great at picking up the signals apparently) who not only showed up where I was standing around all the time, but also walked past me trying to catch my eye at least four or five times. I didn't talk to either of them, but one of them actually looked pretty good (as far as I can judge that), so I guess I actually pass as decent looking in the gay world.

Then, the whole place is fucking neat, no crappy regular Berlin club. They have an immaculate wardrobe, everywhere is proper lighting (again completely opposed to most dim club's here). Finally, and this really surprised me, everybody is completely respectful of each other. Having slowly adjusted to the idea that guys apparently feel girls up while dancing all the time (when the girls for the most part don't want any of that), I had figured that gay men would be kind of agressive. This is not true at all though, I probably haven't had as little body contact while dancing in a full club in like forever.

Finally, it was surprising how normal everybody was. I would estimate 80% of the place I would not have considered homosexual on the street. There were thugs, nerds and everybody else too. I talked quite a bit to some American guy who has been living here for a while (just as a side note, there were quite a few black guys in there as well as Asians, quite a good bit of foreigners too) and it was just very relaxing and easy-going. Plus, he kept talking to me after I had (in a Freudian slip most likely I presume) mentioned my girlfriend as did this Turkish-German dude from Bochum (who had gotten us the free tickets).

Summing it up (way too long this whole thing I know, but it was a weird (yet positive) experience) I loved how unpretentious people were in there. No showboasting to impress any girl around, no agressive stare-downs, nobody bumps into you and gives you a I'm-a-gangster-what-do-you-want look. The only downside of the whole thing really is that gay people listen to way too much pop shit, in the beginning they at least played some Missy Elliott (not that I recognized here, my roommate told me) but after that it went downhill quite fast. Anyways, I'd definitly recommend having a look at a club like that to everyone, if only to find out how normal and unspectacular it really is.

Pastures Of Plenty

It seemed very fitting somehow to accompany a post on Steinbeck with a song by the Dust Bowl poet Woody Guthrie.

Woody Guthrie - Pastures Of Plenty

Because I wanted to start writing about the books I read a little on here. I noticed with somekind of a sad dawning that I do not read enough anymore. I used to read at least one or two books a week, nowadays I might finish a book a month, sometimes not even that. Anyway, this has resulted in me making myself a promise to start reading more again. We will see how this works out, but quite bluntly, I spend too much time online and drinking pointlessly in the evening nowadays.

I just finished John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley. John Steinbeck is one of the grandest American authors. He wrote at length about the Okie's coming into California (and the general plight of workers migrant and stationary). He is one of the - too - many authors whom I read when I was too young to really comprehend his work, but I loved him back then.

The book which I read now, is not one of his famous earlier ones but rather details a coast to coast trip he did in his fifties (and the fifties as well), taking along with him only a poodle called Charley. To a large extent this is the take of a man from a different era on modernity in the USA, not while it is happening but after is has taken place already. For the most part he doesn't like the way his country has transformed, yet he knows time has moved on. The point of view of someone who has lived most of his life already on full-fledged highways, suburbs and the such provides very interesting insights I found.

The last part of his book describes his journey through the Deep South. Very interesting, very moving, especially when he describes a scene in which a group of mothers stand in front of a school every morning to scream obscenities at one little, black girl being escorted there by the police and at the white parents who still send their kids to that school.

Hey Bartender

Floyd Dixon - Hey Bartender

In der Zeit wurde letzte Woche ein Buch über ein interessantes Thema besprochen. Anscheinend war die deutsche Community in New York bis zum Jahr 1904 noch sehr verstrickt, inklusive gemeinsamen Ausflügen und ähnlichen Angelegenheiten. Dann erfolgte ein tragischer Unfall bei dem über 1000 Leute umkamen und ja, der Zusammenhalt war aufgelöst. Kind of pointless, I know, aber ich fande es ganz interessant, hatte da noch nie von gehört.

Baby, Let's Play House

Some weirdo, called Elvis recorded this later and made it quite famous, but that doesn't change that it is a great song:

Arthur Gunter - Baby, Let's Play House

The Washington police searched the offices of a Democratic representative. The NY Times rightfully condemnes this.

I really think it is scary how much power the current administration has amassed in the institutional power triangle. Historically, the fathers of the constitution (for references check the Federalist Papers) interestingly enough wanted to guard against a legislative branch of the government that would obtain too much power. For that reason they not only split up that branch into the rash and populistic House and the deliberative, wise Senate (modeled on the Roman Senate initially), but also they made sure that in the system of checks and balances they created the executive was made stronger because they assumed it to be inherently weaker by nature.

Obviously they could not foresee that this would change in the 20th century (as much as I like FDR, he definitly is to blame for this), yet out of today's perspective the assessment that the legislative branch is the most dangerous one simply seems ludicrous. This then leaves us (the Americans and the world too I guess) with a problem, we have one branch of government which is stronger than the other two AND made additionaly stronger by the constitution. With the exception of France really there is no democratic country that relies so heavily on one branch (or should I say: one man?) of its government to guide the way.

Truth to be told, Bush has done a good job of highlighting this problem even further, yet this is a historic development the only person who weakened it some was Nixon because of the backlash which he produced. This is really dangerous I believe. I've said this before (maybe not on here, but elsewhere), the American constitution definitly needs revising, the balance of power as thought up by Montesquieu and put down in one of the most important democratic documents of all times is in serious peril the way it is handled right now.

Damn, do I sound serious there, really does seem like a dangerous development though, the 20th century abounds with examples of what happens when the executive branch amasses too much power.

On a lighter note, die Süddeutsche Zeitung veranschaulicht, warum ich als wahrer Gentleman eben kein Fußball, sondern Basketball spiele.

Et oui, j'ai commencé cherché pour un colocation à Paris enfin. Vraiment, ca c'est pas facile, si vous connaissez quelqu'un là, qui cherche pour un coloc sympa, intelligent et modeste... dis moi.

Florida Hurricane

St Louis Jimmy Oden - Florida Hurricane


I forgot about this last week, after the US had declared that they would normalise relations with Lybia, which definitly is a hint with the Zaunpfahl (anyone any suggestions how I would translate that?), the guy who runs the oppression machine's most important tool, the intelligence unit, declared that:

"We encourage America on the path of cooperation and we hope we will cooperate together through cultural debate to spread democracy around the world together."

Well, if that isn't something to look forward too. Maybe the FSB (russian intelligence) and any other shady intelligence unit would like to partake as well. But then, with the way these institutions seem to operate in 'normal' democratic countries (BND & CIA, NSA) maybe it does not make much of a difference anyway.

Flip, Flop and Fly

I think if there was one genre of music only that I was allowed to listen to, it would have to be Jump Blues. Seems like there is no other style of music matching its intensity, its combination of great music with amazing voices. I am completely incapable of listening to this kind of music without it lifting my spirits.

Big Joe Turner - Flip, Flop and Fly

The FR completely cuts down the 'Da Vinic Code'. I have read the book and enjoyed doing so. While the ending was completely crappy, it was one of those good, relatively mindless quick reads (comparable to say James A. Michener or Michael Chrichton). Yet, I will not watch the movie for various reasons. Number one, I hate bowing down to such publicised worldwide events (even though admittedly I did so with the Lord of The Rings and Star Wars (which seems excusable for the former as I loved the books but not the latter)). Number two, well I don't really know, truth to be told I simply have no desire to watch the movie, am not even sure whether I should download it. Somehow Tom Hanks just produces major yawning on my part as does most of this other Hollywood crap coming out recently (exceptions do exist of course).

Anyway, I was amazed at how open the hatred of the journalist writing in the FR came out. It is just another popular movie based on another popular book for God's sake (figured His name should be mentioned at least once in this post).

I am currently reading 'Travels with Charley' by John Steinbeck and wanted to share an excerpt of that novel with you:

'We have inherited many attitudes from our recent ancestors who wrestled this continent as Jacob wrestled the angel, and the pioneers won. From them we take a belief that every American is a natural-born hunter. And every fall a great number of men set out to prove that without talent, training, knowledge, or practise they are dead shots with rifle or shotgun. The results are horrid. [A shout-out to Mr Cheney seems to be appropriate at this point.]

...

Somehow the hunting process has to do with masculinity, but I don't quite know how.'

I think this glorious excerpt should nowadays be linked to off-road 4-wheel big-ass cars and the such as well and seriously, what the fuck. How do they call it in one American advertisement for some fancy, really expensive car with air-condition, radio, CD-player and probably TV's in the back for the kids and a playstation if you buy the deluxe version? The great outdoors. How laughable is that?

This whole tough-boy, gun-slinging image that seems so desirable in the US is really bizarre. Can anyone here imagine Chirac, Schröder or at least Tony Blar posing with a gun and one leg resting on the carcass of a deer? Well, at least the Republicans seem to diminish their own numbers with this waste of time (and again a shout-out to Dick Cheney, what a fucking moron).

Stack O'Lee Blues

Mississippi John Hurt - Stack O'Lee Blues

So, apparently the BBC wanted to do an interview with some kind of expert concerning internet piracy and the such. But, some moron (my guess would be that it was an intern) who was supposed to pick up the dude (meaning the expert) from the lobby, just dragged some cab driver upstairs. Now, the cab driver initially had no clue what the hell was going on, he had just been called in and was waiting in the lobby for his customer or, well, his 15 minutes (initially I do not know anything about Andy Warhol, except this 15 min bussiness, but that definitly stuck with me) of fame.

Crying Steel

Chuck Berry - Crying Steel










create your own visited country map

all the countries (and US-states) I've been to, not that impressive yet somehow even though Europe looks rather filled, definitly will be working to achieve some more on that thing

Stone Cold Dead In The Market

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan - Stone Cold Dead In The Market

I loved this post about Berlin. I would like to add only three things to that.
#1 - The Big Sexyland girl definitly never had any kind of part in any puberty dream of mine.
#2 - Where it says 'boy' it really should say 'West Berlin boy'.

Here is to the ugliness of West Berlin. Plus, check out what the NZZ, only one of the best papers in the (Western) world, has to say about us.

Die NZZ hält einen Fortbildungskurs "Lächeln" für Berliner schon lange für angebracht: "Die 'Rüpel-Hauptstadt', als die sie kürzlich der bürgerliche Tagesspiegel bezeichnete, soll sich dank einer Charmeoffensive zur Hauptstadt des Lächelns wandeln. Wenngleich die gemeinsam von der Fifa und der Deutschen Zentrale für Tourismus initiierte 'Nationale Service- und Freundlichkeitskampagne' ausdrücklich alle deutschen WM-Städte im Blick hat, so ist es kein Geheimnis, dass vor allem die Berliner Nachhilfe nötig haben. Denn in der deutschen Hauptstadt lebt man nach dem Credo: Wir sind hart aber herzlich. Schon für Goethe war der 'verwegene' Berliner Menschenschlag ein Thema. Dessen rauer Charme, so der Dichter, führe dazu, dass man hier 'mitunter etwas grob sein muss, um sich über Wasser zu halten'. Die Geschichte von der Kellnerin, die dem Gast das falsche Gericht brachte und, von diesem auf das Malheur aufmerksam gemacht, entnervt entgegnete, ob er denn diese Pizza nicht einfach essen könne, weil sie sonst alles neu in Kasse eingeben müsse, zählt zu den Lieblingsbeispielen aus einer ansehnlichen Liste gesammelter Anekdoten. Im Fussballjahr 2006 soll aber alles anders werden: Die Besucher aus der ganzen Welt sollen sich wohl fühlen dank einer Drei-Millionen-Kampagne, die von der Bundesregierung unterstützt wird. (...) Dienen sei in Deutschland seit 1945 einfach nicht positiv besetzt, glaubt die Sprecherin der Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe Petra Retz. Deshalb tue sich der Deutsche grundsätzlich mit der Dienstleistung schwer. Die jüngere Generation sei da eindeutig lockerer."

That 'dienen' stuff in the end sounds like crap for me, but other than that it's all good.

Maybellene

Chuck Berry: Maybellene

Here are the best works of American fiction of the last 25 years according to a NY Times panel. Shamefully I have to admit that I have read only two of them, but I ordered myself three more on Buchticket (if you reside in Germany, you really should take advantage of something as cool as that site), so I can keep up to date on my reading.

I just finished Maureen Dowd's Are Men Necessary?. She is the only female op-ed on the NY Times. The book really is a collection of rather loosely connected essays. Some of it are of a very biological nature (supposedly men will die out in 10,000 something years, while women will not) and rather boring I thought. But she dwells on male-female relations quite a bit and more importantly on women's general role in society. That part is really interesting, this whole thing about how feminists during the sixties proclaimed complete equality, which failed, and how nowadays so many women appear dolled up, how feminism has taken a step backwards again.

While I do not share all of her assesments - especially her comdemnation of Hillary Clinton - and with the exception of the biological middle chapters a good book. Entertaining while at the same time providing some food for thought.

Finally, maybe it really is time for all of us to leave the wild. Truth to be told, I have no clue what I am trying to say with that.

I Never Will Marry

Here is to West Virginia:
The Carter Family - I Never Will Marry

side note #1:
This is an inside reference joke that stems from some dude whom we met while going out last night and whom all my accompanyists (two gay, one female) considered cute, forcing me to form an opinion as well.

side note #2:
West Virginia initially is the only state that was created during the Civil War as it seceded from Virginia because it did not want to fight for secession with the rich folks from the coastal part of that state. The mountainous regions in the West were much poorer and had no slaves, leaving them to make good music (see above) and fight with the Union.

Apparently Ahmadinejad had some time on his hands and wrote an 18 page letter to President Bush. The first time since 1979 that the Iranian head of state and the American one have communicated with each other directly.

"Those with insight can already hear the sounds of the shattering and fall of the ideology and thoughts of the liberal democratic systems," Mr. Ahmadinejad wrote.

I seriously do not hear the death knell for the liberal democratic system, actually it might be the most successfull export product of the Western world ever (but then maybe not considering bullshit like mcdonalds, coca cola and the such). Seems like most every country is clamoring to get to where we are actually (see: the revolution in Nepal, demonstrations in China, less elitist leaders getting elected in Bolivia and Venezuela, the peaceful rebellion in Thailand). Democracy might not be sweeping the world, but it is definitly crawling along and yes, you might call me the perpetual optimist.

"We increasingly see that people around the world are flocking towards a main focal point that is the Almighty God," he wrote. "Undoubtedly through faith in God and the teaching of the prophets, the people will conquer their problems. My question to you is: 'Do you want to join them?'"

The funny thing of course that Bush already has joined them and that the two are a lot more similar than they probably would care to know. Yet, Marx was right, religion is opium for the people and truth to be told it has been replaced by consumerism. In Europe religion is dying out (und das ist auch gut so), I am hopeful other parts of the world will follow. Not that consumerim is great (I will surely write about that at some point), but religion is definitly more dangerous. Considering the facts I would argue that religion loses its importance virtually all over the place which is why these fundamentals start screaming louder and clamoring all the harder. But you know what? It won't change anything, if you offer ever every person in the world a nice car, a big TV and good health insurance, who would take some random possible redemption after one is dead instead? We are all rallying around the golden calf not the almighty god or one of his many prophets.

For a couple of smiles check out this now, I'm off to the gymn.

Lost Highway

Leon Payne: Lost Highway

London, well, what can one say. A massive city, crazily impressive. It seems a little like an amazing mixture of New York, Paris and Berlin (the three coolest cities I know). It is as big and full (and racially diverse, which is always a plus with me) as New York. It is as pretty (in parts) and historical as Paris. And it actually has parks that are as big and nice (and prettier, because so much better kept) as Berlin.

Especially the historical part impressed me. The graves in Westminster simply left me awe-struck. So many people I actually know are buried there, usually in a place like this there is like one relevant person. In Westminster we are talking Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Dickens, Dylan Thomas (not that I know anything about him, but hey Robert Zimmermann took up his name, so he basically has to be cool too) and, my personal favorite, Oliver Cromwell. Really the only bad thing that can be said about London (apart from the prices that is) is that they still live under a monarchy there. Such folly, if not stupidity.

Definitly recommend a trip for anyone who hasn't been there and the one we did (2 1-2 days) is completely ludicrous. You need at least like a week.

On m way back to Berlin this morning (meaning on the bus to the airport at 4am) I met this Polish girl, who was sitting next to me. We got to talking and she told me that she had been studying in London for three years now, that made me wonder why her English was so crappy. She seemed to be incapable of expressing herself with a coherent sentence (meaning correct grammar and the such) and finally it struck me like a bolt of lighning on a clear day (hmm, this whole prose thing doesn't relly seem to work for me) she was not actually talking bad English, she was speaking Jamaican all the time.

Turns out she studies Carribean Studies, hangs out with Jamaicans all the time and spend a year at the university in Kingston. Too fucking weird, here I was sitting the whole time wondering why her English was so sucky when in reality she was simply speaking in an amazing manner I might add a different dialect. Kind of a pointless story I know, but I was so dumb-struck when I realized I was sitting next to a Polish girl talking patois, that was just too much for me.

Hard Rocks In My Bed

Bumble Bee Slim (Amos Easton) - Hard Rocks In My Bed

Because I have moved up into jet-set sphere by now, I can happily announce that I am flying to London in like 8 hours (no, I haven't packed, nor shaven, nor taken a shower, all in due time). Gonna be kind of crazy, I have never been to the UK. Good fun all of this, that's for sure.

Here is what Gary Lineker had to say about Michael Ballack, finally someone who agrees that he is completely overrated:

The best of the German team is Michael Ballack, who seems sure to end up at Chelsea in the summer. Yet he seems over-rated to me. Yes, he is a world-class player but I think he is a nice, tidy skilful footballer and not much more. I am sure he does not get many votes when players or supporters fill in the time between matches playing that old game of picking their all-time greats teams.

Ballack certainly does not look like the sort of player who can carry his team to a World Cup triumph, as Maradona did so brilliantly with Argentina. But then you do not get many Maradonas to the pound. German fans may take comfort from the fact that they reached the last World Cup final, but only after a very favourable draw and it was inevitable that they would lose to Brazil in the final.

I signed this petition (even though they seem to not have taken my picture, since I cannot seem to find it, not quite sure how I am supposed to take that) in support for this black guy who got mistreated the other day in the NOFV (NordOstdeutscherFußballVerband ???).

Mean Old World

Little Walter - Mean Old World

I am still kind of in awe of myself that I managed to go home last night, one hour before a cajun/zydeco band was scheduled and about as long before there would have been some police action. Seems doubtfull I'll act as sensible again next time, but it definitly paid off today, got so many things done.

Some of you will know that I have been writing a paper on Huckleberry Finn for a while now (at the same time I was working to be precise, which is why it took me so fucking long too). Well, I finally finished today.

In it, I am Basically discussing whether Huck and his creator Mark Twain are racists or not. Coming to the conclusion at the end that Huck is never capable to throw off his racist upbringing. Twain on the other hand in his life managed to do so (he once volunteered for a Confederate militia), yet could not in his novel let a 14-year old boy take such a big step at once.

Great book, for all of you who haven't read it yet. I read it as a kid first and loved it, but the amazing thing is that is has two levels it can be read on, making it is as enjoyable to adults. I think Twain is one of the three coolest American writers anyway (the two others being Faulkner and Edgar Allan Poe). His wit, irony and sarcasm is unparalleled. I found two rather rare texts by him on the internet one about war the other about masturbation (yes, you read that right). What can I say? He is not really cool (in regard to his opinions), but also really funny (not that that is anything new or suprising about him).

I can seriously virtually every book he wrote for a really cool afternoon/evening. My personal favorites:

Huckleberry Finn (no comment necessary I believe)

A Connecitcut Yankee At King Arthur's Court (the title sums up the story line rather well, a satire on the influence and power of innovation and technology)

A Tramp Abroad (about his travels in Europe, especially his views of Germany and the Germans amused me very much, and yes I am very proud of him having spent one winter in Berlin)

Adam's Diary & Eve's Diary (the folly of religion)

Oh yeah, anyone actually downloading and reading my paper, I will still do a spell and style check tomorrow, but the content will not be changed anymore (especially considering I don't even need the credit for this course, don't even really know why I wrote it in the first place), so bare with me if there are some stupid errors in there.

Walkin' The Floor Over You

Ernest Tubb - Walkin The Floor Over You

I was too busy last week to get my xenophobic entry (or any other really) done. Had an oral presentation on international trading theories which freaked me out quite a bit, because it was my first time doing anything with economy ever and on thursday I flew to Kopenhagen for the wedding of a friend of mine. Was good fun there, maybe drank a little excessivly, especially considering I came back on sunday only to go out for drinks, anyway.

Yesterday were the 1st of May events in Berlin. These 'riots' have quieted down quite a bit since their heyday during the 80s, but still it sucked not being able to stay until things got started and watch a little. Has a really weird feeling to it, to be in these demonstration crowds, watching the police chase people, adrenalin I guess.

Here is an interesting article about some special police force and how they work. Now I figured that the way these cops are described was a little exaggerated, but then I clicked on this link and watched the movie on that site and well, the guy at the end of the video, who is without uniform definitly needs some psychiatric help.

On a kind of unrelated side note, one of the German guys in Kopenhagen for the wedding is of the nationalistic kind a little and I so badly cannot stand that. Truth to be told (and I don't even want to know how many people disagree with me here) being proud of one's country is one of the lamest things ever, so tiresome.