the good old times

Whatever happens, the past will always be the good old times.

I had a Lisbon flashback recently. Monday morning at work, I checked a personal mailbox and spotted a mail from the 59:1 indie club, a concert was coming up and they were giving some tickets away.

Alright, let’s reply and hope to win tickets for the concert of a totally unknown band from Canada, Attack in Black. The next day, the day of the concert, bing… “you got mail”… and 2 tickets for the gig. Next step, find someone to go with. That sorted itself out pretty fast and I ended up having a real cool evening with Manu.

Back when I was living in Lisbon, we used to win heaps of free tickets for ballet, theatre, movies and concerts – I could have won even more if I’d really put myself into it.

I so missed this. The occasional happy oportunity to go to a concert for free with a friend. I wish there were more such opportunities for that in Munich, I’ll keep my ears and eyes open.

Oh, the concert? It was fun. The band ran out of songs and started doing some covers. They were funny and entertaining. The bass player so reminded me of Jeanne, a fab CSer I had the pleasure to meet this year, which by itself is another situation I will add to my next “good old times”.

cheers,

n.-

How to display facebook pictures out on the streets for EVERYONE to see (and admire?)

It's Sunday, voting day in the city. It's time to decide who can influence Bavaria and Munich.

I don't know anything about the local or national politicians. What I do know is how odd (ie. stupid) some billboards are. I picked out this example. Who in his right mind would vote for someone using a facebook-worthy picture (ie. stupid again) as an official picture?

I wonder if I'm missing some hidden message or just lacking the humor to eventually like this left-winged candidate's photo. The stuff I usually find around here is corny, but this is beyond that... it's the s-word again.

Probably (eventually?), the urge to search for more details about this guy's political program would be triggered by his grimace.
It feels to me like the urge to search on Wikipedia for stupid (here comes the word again) subjects (quite a pass-time and time-waster) - here's one of the best Wikipedia-related videos I've ever seen - link.


n.-

PS: the punch line reads "because other politics for Bavaria are possible and needed"... as if "we" need more buffoons

nothing much to report?

... well, not quite.

Jonny 5's sneakers... yeah, Lacoste for the insurgents, now!!!

Flobots...

The Flobots concert last Sunday (the 14th) was absolutely great. There are several reasons for this.
Munich is quite a conservative/classical city, hence any small gig turns into a family/friends event. We (me and some CSers) ended up hanging out with the band after the concert. Among the HUGE amount of pictures I took, a good bunch were taken by me as the official photographer for a group of 3 Germans and some other folks - we just walked from one member to the next to take group pics. The members were really cool, too bad for them that it was a small crowd, but as an attendant, I loved it!

The concert videos are online.


Wies'n...

Oktoberfest has started and so did all the crazyness. The city changes its face during this period, year after year after year... I'll make an effort to go there the least possible though:)


The summer...

Is coming to its end, the cold is here to convince us. I am happy about the home parties I am organizing and attending until we all close ourselves in our comfortable homes and hibernate socially.


Job...

I'll soon be starting at my new job, it's time to refresh that precious IT knowledge. Nothing like starting with networking, messaging and security. It sounds like fun, it is fun, but only if there are some breaks in between - after I get myself a decent guitar, I'll keep the one I have at home in the office. Let's see how it goes.


Upcoming...

Gotye will soon be in town.
Camille too, but the tickets are way too expensive.
Femi Kuti (Fela Kuti's son) would be a good oportunity to dance to afro-beat for the first time. I heard his son (Fela's grand-son) would play on stage too.
CSS is cheaper and promises to be a party.
Tindersticks, could be something to check out too!


Munich, as a toytown (or Little Big City), still has something going on, even with the narrow sight I have at the moment.


n.-

A long nose and a pony tail

Everybody knows the IKEA PS VÅLLÖ watering cans.
According to this link, the designer, "Monika Mulder got with Vållö the award for Best Swedish Design 2002".

I wonder if she ever imagined the can to be used the way it was displayed at an optician in Munich.

reinventing/-using/-cycling design...


n.-

mais uma volta, mais uma viagem

And one more tour at the Hofbräuhaus. It's loud, there's lots of beer and the foreigner population is 10 times bigger than the German one.

We got ourselves a pair of panties from the vending machine located in the "Dame's" bathroom. I guess they come in random colors and shapes but we got unlucky and had in our hands some white ones with a big butterfly motive in the front ornamented by some shining silver decoration.

After a brief discussion, we all agreed about the big mystery: "Why in the name of all that is sacred, are there panties for sale in the toilet?"
Bridget Jones gave the answer a long time ago: If a girl hangs out there, wearing some corny/cheesy/ugly knickers and meets a (drink till they're) cute bloke, there's nothing like a visit to the bathroom to get a decent (if you're lucky) undergarment for the embelishment of the last moments of the night. (at 3EUR each, be sure to take lots of coins, you might also end up with an anti-climax butterfly-shaped G-string...)

Anyway...

Honey! Listen to me! As drunk as you'd both leave the place, he surely will NOT mind about what your underwear looks like. Oh! I get it, it's all in your head... a question of self-confidence!

I agree then, there's very little more important than self-confidence - men should then be able to buy sticker-tattoos from their WC vending machine.


n.-

Insert 3EUR and press the right button

Who can explain to me why the Hofbräuhaus' ladies toilet has a vending machine supplying G-Strings?

Want to know what the men's toilet has? A (stainless steel) puke bowl.I guess that management decided on these offers as a reaction to demands.


Was I a girl, would I understand what relationship drinking and a new pair of panties have?I wonder how well these G-strings sell... this stupid curiosity makes me want to investigate.



Servus


n.-

same old, same old... for a change

Nothing much going on on N's Munich front.

• Germany qualified itself for the Euro2008 final happening Sunday night;
• I never know what to put on before going out (the best bet is still the "shorts + t-shirt" combination, it can rain but it won't be cold);
• a friend is staying over next week;
• I have some new poi tricks to practice on (which makes me think I need to research about the lef-/rightside brain "thing"...

So tonight is veggie-dinner night, 2nd episode. My proposal is a Mango Ginger Tofu. I'll be posting about the outcome, I can already tell that the marinade cooking in the kitchen smells terrific!!!! Just imagine mango, ginger, garlic, maple syrup and wine simmering for half-an-hour... it just awakens the notion pleasure with a totally new and amazing odor.

If only the people enjoying the veggie-nights also had room, a decent kitchen and wouldn't live too far away from downtown. It sucks to be the only one...

n.-

leashes for everyone

Hunde sind an der Leine zu führen = Dogs have to be held on a leash

There are some harnesses and leashes for children, as used this sample video: Phillip the Hyper Hypo. It's obvious that the city employee in charge of finding a spot to hang these signs had a ball when he spotted this perfect opportunity.

I haven't seen kids on leashes in Munich. Could it mean that parents are breaking the law?

N.-

A park, beer, music and friendship

Augustiner Helles, the (almost) perfect companion to an early afternoon gettogether in the english garden.

The artist is Pierre, a fabulous guitar player. Pascal, the other Canadian, unfortunately couldn't fit his drums in his backpack:(

The instrument is a backpacker guitar, can be carried onboard a plane. I'm getting one of those the day I have some $$$, reckon I can play some guitar and start backpacking again.

n.-

Leover, Bernadette, Sandra and Number Five

Number Five, just like Elvis, is still alive.
He and his brother are still on the lookout on top of the Old Peter's church.

In an odd order and with a mix of different origins, Sydney, Philippines, Poland, Germany and England are represented here.

Great guests, except for N.5 who us quite a useless fellow unless you slide some coins in.

n.-

kitsch or just odd taste

The direct translation is "lion's den". Two words to keep in mind here, Dirndl, the bavarian festive outfit, and cleavage. Easy to acknowledge that both go hand in hand.

n.-

PS: That Munich beer is just the 2nd worst in town, the worst "still" being Spaten.

the fun in poi

Poi...
here's a word that still causes a set of different reactions from people...
- poi?
- coi?
- is that from thailand?
- yeah, I saw some people spin some fire stuff...

Conclusion, many never heard of it but it proved to be a great social tool and a word not to forget.

I've been teaching it and I usually find three types of padawan... hum... people:

1. the ones that give up really fast (normally because it's not their cup of tea)
2. the ones that like it a lot but do acknowledge it is not easy and keep on making an effort
3. the ones that do it naturally and learn to do things that took me two weeks, in 10 minutes (I remember Chris, a guest of mine... he would be able to do great things with one in a matter of weeks/months)

I fit into the second type. I focus on the technique because I am not "instinctive" or natural about the moves. The downside of this is that it takes me longer to learn and even longer to actually feel how I do what I do do as I rely a lot on muscle memory and it's very hard for me to correct mistakes that I carry for a while (thanks to the same muscle memory). The upside, I am a very good example for people that are not confident about their skills but would like to overcome the initial difficulties.

Meet Ina, a natural. We are each other's opposite, her moves are all emotions and heart while mine are technique and brain. This means we have heaps to teach each other.















Meet Chris (and Andrea). He's a CSer that I hosted and was so far the most gifted (fastest learning) padawan of all, 3rd kind of artist. I could swear he had done it before but he confirmed he never even as much touched a Poi before.

Andrea is like me, not as natural as we'd like to be.






It slowly becomes a regular event to meet on sunny Sundays in the English garden. People just show up with their own toys like juggling balls, devil sticks, slack line... and enjoy some practice at the sound of the close-by drumming group that jam all day long. It is in the base a regular CS meeting for people interested in practicing, catching some sun and chat with folks. It's also a way for me to avoid spending the day drinking beer in the beer gardens, not that I have anything against it of course:D

There's been an increase in the participation of people. We're quite easy to spot, just look for the dozen spinning balls, people walking on ropes, jugglers etc...

Poi without music is not as easy. A rhythm, a beat is needed to tempo the moves. I started by finding Portishead quite adequate, slow beat, sad voice, theatre and drama - all this just waiting to be choreographed. Now I turned to Fela Kuti's afrobeat (jazz/funk/afro) sound, it's not too slow neither too fast and allows lots of speed changes.

Tinita sent us a link about a monthly meeting in Munich for fire artists. Artists with fire, musicians and a crowd in a circle around the twirling, jumping flames. There I was with my trustworthy IXUS75 taking the best shots I could. I only regret that the camera has no manual focus (I wonder if the special firmware to update the factory one, CHDK firmware Allbest, has that feature). Even without it, I managed to make some quite good shots. Had I used a decent SLR, a flash at the second window would have frozen the artist in place.



Here's a slideshow (with a link to the gallery) with part of that night's show:

More to come next month.

Anecdote of the night. Andrea shows up with Virginie. Oddly, V knew me but I couldn't remember her (I always remember people, odd). Here's a slightly retouched transcript of the conversation:
N - Sorry, I can't remember you
V - We met in November at your place
N - Really? You joined a party as a friend of a friend?
V - No, you showed us your appartment and even showed us the poi.
N - riiight, you were looking for a flat when I wanted to sublet mine but thought mine was too expensive.
V - yes:)


There are LOTS of online resources to learn from:

• www.poipoi.info - great tuition videos
• www.homeofpoi.com - a good shop and you get 8.1% discount if you use this link
  
• www.flowtoys.com - cool site with nice glow gear
• www.youtube.com - meenik and yuta, the best poi techs out there!
  

This is not the first and surely not the last post about poi, no worries. Today, a little trip to the garden's sun allowed me to improve my Backwards Behind-The-Back 3beat weave and start something with the Forwards one. It was a particularly good day for practice and for a sunburn (I am convinced now, Munich's sun is NOT harmless).

Keep on spinning around the world because I will teach what I know everywhere I go!

n.-

every little thing starts somewhere

I was about to go to bed. So I turned off my TV after watching bits of Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia 1 & 2 (Festival of the nations & Festival of beauty). It's the artistic documentary on the 1936 Olympic Games held in Germany - games used back then as nazi propaganda, but that is not the point of this post.

Some years ago, Rammstein covered Depeche Mode's Stripped (I love both versions) and the video is made out of footage from those documentaries.

My favorite part of the video, around 2/3rds of its run, is the diving competition and the way some of the jumps were filmed. The ones in reverse are particularly beautiful, they just look SOOOO GOOD - I thought back then that those were the video producer's work. But no, the whole video is 100% untouched footage of that 50+ year old docu.

I regret not having searched for more of Leni's work previously because I want to watch more of it now. She was supposedly not connected to the party, she just happened to be a very good artist whose qualities were then used for their purpose.

Munich, in its turn has the Olympiapark, where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held, games that became infamous after a Palestinian group took the Israeli olympic team hostage - Munich (2005) supposedly portraits the events, another movie I promised myself I would watch... 3 years ago:P

The structure still exists, it's a cob-web-like plexy-glass and steel structure. It's supposedly the olympic (infra-)structure surviving and being used the longest after its original purpose. Both Munich soccer teams (FC Bayern München and TSV 1860 München) had it as their home but were happy to get their own stadium (the actual Allianz Arena) as it was not the most comfortable sport arena when weather was not favorable. That also seems to reflect on every other activity to be held there, because they now do not know what to do with the structure and it is not generating income to keep its maintenance going.

My curiosity for these two specific Olympics started with an article about what is there to be done with the now so old Olympiapark, also called "Oly" by its friends.

The construction's design symbolizes lightness vs. the heavy monolithic arena of the 1936 games. Its shape harmonizes with the surrounding green hills and even the seats are in 2 or 3 shades of green, pushing the landscape integration another notch. It is a particular place to appreciate for its symbolism, architecture and engineering milestone!

It is just too bad that it's not the landmark it used to be - visitors now go to the Allianz Arena (the more modern architecture and sport icon - thanks to Herzog & de Meuron) and I can only predict that they will bring the structure down... one day... probably to build a carpark, office buildings or extend BMW's nearby factory:P

What goes around comes around. The Beijing Olympic Games are also proving to be a political issue, I mean, the incidents between China and Tibet are. Now the safe passage of the Olympic torch relay is not guaranteed in some places. So I read that the Olympic torch relay as we know it nowadays, initially based on an antic Greek myth, has actually been "fine-tuned" for the 1936 games.

What started as the appreciation of architecture and design, moved on to a history lesson and then to the further appreciation of photo and video art. As a matter a fact, I will be in Berlin to visit a friend of mine, a video installation artist. All of this is just the right inspiration and a good oportunity to take some good old film B&W shots.

n.-

P.S. While I host people, I supply information about the city and slowly all those little tidbits are included. Is that the career of a tour guide growing in me?... Naaaaaa, I don't think so! :) The truth is, I know more about this city than any other I ever lived in.

P.P.S. By the way, the Berlin Stadium still exists, it was renewed in 2004 according to this and was the stage of the 2006 World Cup final (besides other games too).

Hugs, what is that?

[ just for starters, a cool LifeHacker article on XBMC 2. ]

This last Saturday, the 22nd of March was the international Free Hugs campaigns day. No need to go into further details if everything is under that link, suffice to know that it's about giving hugs to people on the street.

24 MILLION views of this video can't be wrong:

The local CSers set to meet last saturday at Marienplatz, the busiest square in town, at 13 o'clock, each one bringing his self made sign. Oddly enough, there was a peace-related demonstration on the same square, actually, it was a protest against the german army's presence in the middle-east countries.

I took on leaving the place as I did NOT want to be mistaken for them - not that I am against it, but giving hugs away had no political meaning, just a social one.

All kinds of looks are given when you hold a huge sign in the middle of a busy street crossing or while slowly walking down the street. Some people walked past with a smile and a shy look, others would take pictures from a safe distance - which means that I will be on so many people's photo gallery to be shown to their friends, family and pets...

The start is just like the on the video, I just stood there holding the sign, slowly turning myself to people and searching for an eye contact. It took a little while but eventually, after 5-10 minutes, the first signs of human acceptance were displayed. From that moment on, I was sure the afternoon was bound to be great.

I repeatedly heard people saying/whispering "free hugs...", "free hugs?" or "free hugs, hihihi...". Many would just see me look at them, turn their head forward and pass by me with a smile. Some germans would complain why I was using a german sign, to which I responded that as long as they asked, I would explain what it means, "Gratis Umarmung".

There was an explanation to the lack of a germanic translation on my sign, 8 letters took me 2-3 hours to draw, while its counterpart would take me some 3-4 and it was already 23h when I finished the first side. I will work on one for the next time.

It is quite a social experiment. I am not selling anything or publicizing a religion but I am walking down the streets with a huge sign. Some people knew about the campaign, other were very interested in knowing why I was doing it, many would just establish visual contact and come to me for a hug!

It can sound very silly... actually, it doesn't at all! Hugs are f'in great and I wish I gave/got more all the time and by that I mean DECENT and heartfelt hugs. I certainly felt very uplifted by the whole experience, in the end, it is a give and take action.

UPDATE #1 START
1 hour after posting this, I decided to remove a bad ranting about the experience in the shopping area (which isn't even that posh). I guess that a hug isn't anything anybody needs there. Shopping makes people happy... so they say... This was where mostly only tourists were open to hugs.
UPDATE #1 END

It feels so good

A living proof of the good a gesture as simple as a hug can make someone's day. Meet Annika, a very nice girl from not too far away who is about to end her time in Munich and move to Dresden.

After sharing a hug with me, she accepted to hang out and participate! She admitted to have had such a shitty day and that hug was just what she needed.

She would definitely take part in another Free Hugs day, I just don't know when that will happen but I will be sure to remind her to join!

The salvation
Again, a group of people offered me salvation through Jesus. It's the 4th time since I live here that I am approached, just as if I look as I need to be saved (which I actually do). It usually happens without me bearing any kind of sign though:P

Machismo
It was funny how some men would NOT hug me. They were either from Spain or Italy, very macho of them indeed. I am sure their masculinity is still intact by avoiding that very compromising front contact with another man:) Dedicated to them, there is a very helpful video - How to give the perfect man hug.

Age matters?
A statistical fact: if I separate the people in the streets into 3 age groups, young, grown and old, I would say that the young and old were MUCH more open to hugging then the grown.


Hugs are easy, free, warm, human and great.
I would ask you to give me a hug the next time you see me!

a hug

n.-

Ladies enjoy Lederhosen (some say...)

The MTV EMA 2007 are held in Munich and their poster is just soooo Munich!

Believe it or not, Snoop Dogg, is NOT the only black dude with Lederhosen! Ozzie, my friend the tour guide also has the major bavarian look and gets some serious glaring eyes around here!

Well, some guys just look good in leather!

n.-