gegenglueck

... wenn hier die fahnenschwenkenden, suffgröligen Kleinhirngermanen dem einzigen Sport frönen, für die es mehr Bälle als Gehirnzellen braucht, bin ich weit weg. In einem Land, wo sich keine Sau für den Dreck interessiert. Und man ohnehin soweit in die Pampa kann, dass es kaum jemanden gibt, der sich damit befassen könnte.

Als Einstimmung könnt ihr ja schon mal dieses schöne Lied von SDP (wieder)hören.

... noone will hear you. Here someone gives a loud shout and it seemed to work out at least for now. From my point of view BeWelcome is the best of all hospitality exchange networks in terms of organisational values and definetely right now the only one I'd contribute to. And contributions are necessary right now: money is (or thanks to a lot of people: was) running out, the chairman left frustrated, the webpage felt quite dead ... but within a short time after the letter to all members the donations bar exploded"[1], a lot of people show up online and more. Hopefully this momentum lasts and in consequence the networks becomes more usable for actually making contacts, finding hosts/guests and making a difference.

Being part of hospitality networks for nearly four years now, I can only recommend using them, I've met many people from / at different places and enjoyed it a lot. Off course: sometimes it's just a short meetup and a place to sleep, but even that is much more than sitting in a random hostel or hotel. And countless experiences went far beyond simple traveller's gossip. My warmest regards from here to Hongkong, Lahore, Kopenhagen, Helsinki, Kassel, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Viktoria, Funchal and many more places: You've made a difference.

I would really like to get rid of the bad run commercial network of couchsurfing. It's the biggest network and also the most usable one, as most of the people hangout there. But the problem aren't the people, it's the system and at couchsurfing we can't change the system. We could only beg and pray it continues working. So an alternative network is needed, that is run by the people who are the network, where everyone can have an impact on how things are done. And if we really want to, we will make a difference.

[1]We're not talking about really much money here, nevertheless it's necessary to raise it or the servers go offline / domains expire / bank account is closed.

As anounced elsewhere, finally Eating Betty's "every spoil a DUB" appears on our shitty little planet. Thanks to someone special I was able to grab the CD from my postbox before leaving to Berlin. After the business stuff, I've had a good time with old friends and some poets* (MC Jabber really rocks!) there. Right now I'm sitting under the surveillance of at least a dozen of robocops** in the train back to Hamburg, a weak autumn sun fighting bravely through the clouds ... northeastern german wastelands.

In my ears the new piece from NYC ... starting slowly and a promising deep bass (wrong equipment here, but the neighbours have been warned). Never losing track off (the) roots. Pieces of voices from somewhere, disturbing, echoing in the back of the songs and listening mind ... And of course, again the typical Eating Betty guitar: not quite fitting to a dub setup (and if you listened to some of the other ACEtone projects you'll find out for sure, that he knows to play dirty rock'n'roll as well ...), but lurking around the edges, filling in the gaps of echos, somehow present adding something handmade and easy.

A very nice cd of dub that doesn't share the (often) sterile atmosphere of this category. Roots and influences are not just mixed up, everything went through the special Eating Betty evolution process first. This is nicely put together with original and unique selfmade parts. And: There is always something warm and human in it based on human voices and "real" instruments. And warmth and humanity is a lot in this dark age. As my (so far - may change after further hearing) favourite track is titled: Goodness Dub.

So, if you're ready for dub, eager to shake your ass or just curious gegenglueck recommends this one. I was told it's available in every good online shop, but if you go out and demand it at your favourite record shop, the dealer could benefit from widening his horizon as well.

* Sorry, but I do NOT link to MyShit.
**After recounting: alone in this part of the train there is a robocop for every four of the passengers. Probably I'm surrounded by grannies with bombs in their purses, toddlers with pumpguns in their bagpack, nerds with laptops hacking into everything, every second passenger is reading "how to build a bomb"-books hidden behind bestseller covers ... a society of terrorists. And old men with ballpens, printing the internet day by day, are the last ones standing to fight it with robocops, surveillance, fascistic laws ...

The area around Berlin Hauptbahnhof / German Parliament looks like an alien base in a wasteland near Moabit. A tumor in the city, an architectural misfunction, a concrete wound in the city surface ... aliens or humanoids: I guess it's alright to declare war on'em anyway.

Wie der ein oder andere weiß, war ich auf Sizilien. Natürlich gibt es mal wieder keinen allumfassenden Reisebericht und auch die 3421890 Fotos werden jetzt nicht alle hochgeladen. Ich reduziere mich auf die drei wichtigsten Punkte:

1. Ich war in zehn Tagen nur einmal online. Das IST eine Leistung. (Auch wenn sie durch € 5,- für die Stunde erleichtert wurde.)
2. Das italienische Essen ist zurecht als gut bekannt, aber davon, die Güte des Speiseeises zu überprüfen, hat mich, diese, nun ja, "Werbung" abgehalten:
   Was soll das sein? Kacki inna Waffel? Uärghh.
3. Wozu es gut ist, diesen Laden um die Ecke zu haben, ist mir entfallen, war aber auf jeden Fall wichtig:
   

Buona Notte.