Define "hot" for German measures:

Note: Measurement in Celsius.

Two and six weeks ago in Beirut...

Today the current issue of Germany's Rock Hard Megazine has reached the subscribers and will be on sale by tomorrow. Some weeks ago the magazine's editor Holger Stratmann has accompanied Finnish metal-classic innovators Apocalyptica to Beirut/Lebanon. Four weeks later I was about to follow their steps with a band of ours, but unfortunately the festival got cancelled.

I should be glad it got cancelled some ppl told me. But of course I am not! I feel like I've had the chance to visit Beirut right before the missiles destroyed what's left over from and renewed after the war. I feel compassion for all the people who would have come to the concert and wish that all of them will be able to come to the concert unhurt next year (that's where it was postponed to in the first place).

I was already making detailed plans for going out in Ashrafiya and sightseeing in Hamra. Perdu!

The Rock Hard report is ending with the words of the local scout for Apocalytica: "...provided that the peace will last. The seed for the civil war is already sown... A TV station aired some jokes about the Hezbollah and only the next days some cars burned, arsoned by young men, heated by their leaders."

In this more than fragile situation Israel seeks the solution in bombing the different fractions of the Lebanese society together. Together in one boat with Hezbollah, solidarity is a strange power and you can calculate it almost as precise as mathematics. No, I don't really agree with the German minister with the tongue-breaking name Wieczorek-Zeul, who is quoted "Israel's actions are beyond the pale according to international law". Don't get me wrong, my thoughts are with every Israelian citizen who has to hide in bunker not to get his head off by a Hezbollah grenade, and I'm pretty sure that the Hezbollah is the organization who forced this outbreak of war in the first place and which has to be cut off it's supporters and to be run dry. But I'm also afraid that the current action taken is moving the situation in the opposite direction.

The Lebanon & Israel in the news:
Six Days Of War: 200 Killed, 715 Wounded... | The Huffington Post

Too hot for serious thinkin'

... so instead I scored!

You scored as Arwen of Rivendell. Arwen of Rivendell 77% Frodo Baggins 76% Saruman the White 70% Peregrin Took (Pippin) 67% Eowyn of Rohan 67% Gandalf the Grey 63% Legolas 56% Boromir 50% Aragorn 50% Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) 50% Galadriel 47% Gollum 37% Samwise Gamgee 33% Gimli 23% Which Lord of the Rings character are you most like? created with QuizFarm.com

My current favourite of the cooking shows

... is Silent Cooking. No one's talking, precise headlines describe the next step and list the ingredients - and the rest is like ZEN: You can actually SEE the cook creating innovative recipes, nothing is "I already prepared something" and the music is modern and relaxing. Cook 'n' chill, watch and wake up next morning, after delicious dreaming.

Wolfmother II

I've got tickets! ... for me & Bobo

Tour de France 2006

Well... very much unlike the past years I haven't blogged about this year's installment of the Tour de France by now. OK, the biggest issue in this case was the FIFA world championship, as I didn't dare to spend more time in front of the tv as I already did in the name of football. Second reason is Jan Ulrich as I first thought it's pointless to watch when he's not with. Fuck off, I don't care about "legal methods". But... Tom Boonen is still in it.

... and maybe my Dad's right: "There's only two teams who I believe to be "clean": First the Gerolsteiner Team as they are supplied with enough water to shower every day. And secondly the Milram-Team. And Milram is even trying to feed them with dextrorotatory and counter-clockwise rotatory lacto-bacillus to improve the cornering technique."

(Do you have to know the humour of my Daddy to get it...?)

Day One after Klinsmann

There were two thoughts about Jürgen Klinsmann staying/not staying as the German team coach during the last days. I wished he would have stayed, but I should have bet on him not doing it. I would have been right. And I think he's leaving for the right reasons. While all his notorious critics did shut their mouth during the FIFA world championship they surely will start calling him "Schwabenschwuchtel" (fag, roughly translated) again the first time the team looses. So thumbs up for Klinsmann, Yogi Löw, Bierhoff and Köpke!

R.I.P Rudi Carrel

I never did thank Rudi Carrel for lifting me up in the most unlikely way in an almost unreal situation and I never did - so I do now:

The night before my beloved grandmother died, my mother has called me about noon to tell me. This day I felt wrong where I was and there was nothing I could do about it: The morning was occupied with university, the time right after I got the call by my mom I rushed to work (I was working at university that time), we've had a Christmas party planned and there was still so much to do the last day before Christmas holiday. Me and my parents agreed it makes no sense to come home early as there would be no funeral preparations before the next monday or even tuesday. The same evening I was expecting Ed Goodlife - and we were both nervous to the bone, half because it was the first meeting flesh and bone at all and secondly as we tried to fix a bound for a company that night. Edward was on the train and his seat was not an inch more comfortable than mine - but he was sharing the company of Rudi Carrel in the dining car and Rudi chatted with him immediately as Ed spoke to him in Dutch and he heard the familiar tongue. (After all this introduction now finally comes the very special moment). Edward made Rudi Carrel call me with his mobile, and even though the line was really bad he said something like "nice talking to you". Which was especially moving as my granny was always a huge Rudi Carrel fan...

Wolfmother!

Even though I'm sceptic about 90 percent of all British music hypes of the moment, I'm still enthusiastic about the Island monkeys' latest outputs at least twice a year. This time it's a bit like with AC/DC: First Wolfmother came all the way from Down Under to England, then the press digged them and now they are truly the great tune of the moment, and I especially like this edition of their video for "White Unicorn":