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Drummas in the crib

holocaust

We’re back from Berlin
Actually I’m back from Berlin; Julie and Jakeyboy will return tomorrow night.
I got some nice pictures that I’ll post in the gallery section soon.

One place that I liked the most was the new Holocaust Memorial, a vast, rippling sea of quadratic stone blocks. It is in form with a lot of Jewish themed architecture here, like the Dresden Synagogue, combining massive blocks with smooth curves — the symbolism not hard to decipher — and also reminiscent of the courtyard memorial in Paris (the name I forget) close to the Louvre with its chopped down stumps of columns memorializing the executed royals and end of monarchy. Also, the Vietnam Memorial comes to mind.

It is a pool, a city, or forest, of blocks — first slabs, then sarcophagi, then tombstones, then as the ground gently declines in wave, as if in a grave, a realm of the dead surrounded with souls — individual all as the monoliths sway a-kilter.

The symbolism is minimalistic but multi-layered, still it was the personal experience of walking through the memorial that effects you most profoundly.

It is not a labyrinth per say, it is all rows and columns. But as you see the other visitors briefly intersecting your path and vanishing like ghosts, the become part of the memorial experience. Visitors from all different countries, colours, languages drift past your line of sight in the gaps between the blocks. Not a labyrinth, but also very easy to lose your companions all the same; the halls intermittently echoed with mothers calling for their children in a dozen different languages.

From the edges, you observe it and it seems an easily navigated field of barley. But as you pass through, the ground declines and you are swallowed up whole, buried alive. The memorial gently demands your attention and you can’t help but comply. On the other end you come out safely and undeniably changed. With that, and with its straight rows and columns, it’s really impossible to stay lost from your companions for long.

Originally, I was against Terence’s wishes of going there — I didn’t want to get depressed. As it turns out, you won’t. Even at the heart of the lake, you see and hear children giggling and playing hide and seek (we grown ups had to exhibit a great deal of self control not to join in). Julie suggested that maybe the presence of children laughing and playing at the Holocaust Memorial was a good thing. I agree. Maybe that was the best part of all.

Ron and Mari are married

I just got a post card from Ron in Vegas. He and Mari got married.

And the numbers are in
About 1700 neonazis attended the demonstration. 5500 other civillians attended the antinazi counter-demonstration. 2000 police officers were on duty at the scene.

It be that time again

It’s stupid time yet again

Valentine’s Eve has a sour meaning here in Dresden. It is yet again the yearly memorial demonstration to commemorate the bombing of Dresden.

Jackbooted, mostly unemployed guys march over the bridge, presumably met by others — many also unemployed, but also probably with more college educated — to tell them to fuck off. The cops — disliked by both sides — will be there to make sure no one kills anyone.

It’s a charade carried on from year to year, each year with more, not less, fervor.

It’s a tense, dangerous feeling day. Yet despite all the years I’ve witnessed it, I still haven’t truly been able to fathom where the bottom line lies.

This is a cultural play where many platitudes are propped up and absolutely nothing is learned.

Felting Wooling

Give me the keys, c*cks*cker.

When I got my copy of Plush-O-Rama, there was an interesting section on “felting” wool. So, I’ve finally had a chance to buy some wool sweaters for dirt cheap at Humana, fashion for the poor.

I must admit, I had to think for a second about the ethics of buying up sweaters mid-winter from a charity shop for destitutes just for the sake of making a wooly three-eyed plush creature making an obscene gesture. But there were plenty of other sweaters there, so now those suckers are in the wash machine getting the heck boiled out of them.

Can’t wait. Meantime sitting here trying to learn the peeks and pokes of Premiere, which has a much higher learning curve than the Ulead Studio I have been using up to now. There’s something rendering right now — a short monologue about TP, and footage of a recent outing to the Zwinger with Julie, Owen –who believes that the new carvings are just poured concrete– and Jacob, and old pal of Julie’s from New Yourk.
He’s on vacation from his highly stressful and overpaid job in Manhattan, but hopes to “aussteigen” to another place. Lots of irons in lots of fires, he’s also produced an indie film called Skyjacker, a dramatization of the D.B. Cooper caper.

A word from Doris

And now: A word from my boss
Liebe StudentInnen,

weil einige Anfragen kamen:

das TU - Zertifikat 1 wird an Ihr Pr?fungsamt
geschickt und liegt dort ab Ende M?rz zur Abholung bereit.

Sie k?nnen dann im Sommersemester - wenn Sie
m?chten - sofort Module des Advanced
Professional English (bzw. Advanced Business English) Programms besuchen.

(more…)

Mo Stuffs


Two new Mothafluffingstuffas

stuffies

Boy am I stuffed

xams slam

Got them exams graded
Which was no big deal; it only took me five minutes. Nonetheless, be sure to get yerself on down to class this week for your Teilnahmescheins.