I’ve been nudged about the lack of updates here, and rightfully so – this was to be an account of personal insight + adventure and I’m throwing up month-old food pictures I didn't even take from a country I’m not even in.
Truth be told I’ve been chipping away at a monster while making myself home here in Berlin. I'm still trying to find that balance between spending too much time with this laptop and simply being a tourist. Is it possible to do a startup's amount of work and travel at the same time?
I’m still not sure.
What I do know is that Berlin is the perfect place to lock your old jaded bones away for days at a time. I’m able to emerge at any hour of day or night, walk a few blocks away, and find something to do. How many cities do you know that can nourish the mental health of a man who goes to bed around 6am every day?
The magic of Berlin is that every day here is different, and not in a “what asshole is going to chase me today” sort of way. A man casually walking down Warschauer Strasse wearing a cardboard puppet stage. Giant trucks blaring rhythmic noise for the Fuck Parade - the origin of TechnoViking and anarchist’s answer to the Love Parade. Climbing to the bar on top of Tacheles with the literal hole-in-the-wall view of Berlin, only to watch the poor New Zealand girl’s glasses fall four stories off of her face and onto the bar below. Witnessing the timid and the nervous sing karaoke to a group of thousands at Mauer Park. Hearing the lure of beats from an open doorway on the street, and knowing that investigating the sound might end in your best evening ever.
It’s a shame that curiosity in America has in many ways been replaced by fear, or at least trespassing with a 40% chance of shotgun. As a kid I was reckless in my exploration of the world around me. Being in Berlin gives you the freedom to be as young as you want. The illusion lasts at least until someone asks how old you are…
There is really no other city like it. Just promise me you won’t come in February.
So what the hell am I doing? Working. Stupid working. Working until the end of the month, at which point I fly to Dublin for Electric Picnic, return back in time for the Berlin Festival, followed by more stupid working, and then move to the UK at the end of September.
Why the UK?! MR. BLOGGER I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO ASIA YOU BIG LIAR!!!
When I arrived to Seattle well over a decade ago I saw my first show at a venue called the Crocodile. Godspeed You! Black Emperor was a band I’d heard some of but wasn’t overly familiar with. A few friendly types would be there and it was a good chance to explore my new city. That show was so many things to me: the best musical welcome a man could get, the start to some of my closest friendships, and one of the most intense live acts I’d ever seen (trailing only to Crash Worship and Coil).
Shortly after arriving to Berlin I got word that the never-touring-perhaps-pronounced-dead band would be not only doing a tour, but curating a weekend at the infamous All Tomorrow’s Parties. A week later I found out the Swans were getting back together for a new album and headlining the wild line-up of the Supersonic festival.
Beijing will always be there. These two combined, I cannot resist.
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