and for educational purposes only. Database as of 14.04.2014 / Reconstruction: Sept. 2025}
Am Schreibtisch höre ich nichts, oder der Strom stört mein Gehör. Ich rolle zur Mauer mit dem Fenster, aus der Schneise der Bewegungen. Ich bin nicht sicher, ob die Kassen klingeln, oder die Bewegungen schon wieder abstürzen, das Geräusch ist schwer zu vernehmen. Jetzt hört es sich an [more]
I’ve been taking the train to my parents a lot lately, and so consequently to the house where I grew up. It is the strangest form of travel; taking me from past to future but never really to the present. As if duration and the passing of time [more]
Das kann ich nicht sagen, ich meine, ich möchte es nicht denken. Meine Augen verdrehen sich, oder besser gesagt, mir erscheint ein Selbstbild, in dem ich schiele. So kommt mir das vor. Das impliziert Umstände, die nur durch eine unnatürliche Haltung oder durch einen Silberblick richtig proportioniert erscheinen. [more]
Verhalte ich mich wie ein Genosse. Aber zu wem, ohne andere und ihre Abteilungen. In Treppenaufgang und Lift gibt es Möglichkeiten, meine Muskulatur ist bereit, vor allem im Gesicht. Nur verzweifelt jeder, in diesem Haus, wenn er an mir vorbeigeht, während ich bestenfalls humpeln kann. Es sieht nach [more]
David Denby says: “Cheap nihilism offers its own kind of pleasure.”
Syrian nuns apparently now rival Israeli soldiers as the most valuable hostages in the Middle East. Yesterday, in exchange for 13 nuns who had been kidnapped by a local Al-Qaeda franchise, the Syrian regime released 25 to 152 prisoners (according to state- and opposition sources, respectively). Jabhat al [more]
This poem you need to read. It was twittered a few days ago: Our Generation (by Jordan Nichols) Our generation will be known for nothing. Never will anybody say, We were the peak of mankind. That is wrong, the truth is Our generation was a failure. Thinking that [more]
Geradeaus, am zweiten Schreibtisch, niemand. Aus der Richtung riecht es nach Jémand, oder nach saurem Rotwein. Da muss noch ein Glas sein. Es gibt einen Waschraum mit Toilette, dort habe ich niemand ein oder ausgehen sehen. Hier, zu meiner Rechten, die Anrichte mit einem Kühlschrank hinter einer Tür, [more]
Are you more the kind of Taker-type, Giver-type or Barter-type? For Adam Grant, one of the youngest professors at the Wharton Business School Pennsylvania (USA), there are these three characters, that rule the world. The taker-type is a career focused person who is trained to use ellbows. The [more]
Le Havre, France. Memories return unexpectedly. Often triggered by words, sounds, smells, feelings, or looks, they can eventually bridging between one place and another. I had only spent a few hours in Le Havre on the way to embarking on a ferry across the channel. The city left an [more]
Rotterdam, Netherlands. In the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, there are portraits of burgers with earnest looks, dressed in black clothes sitting before black backgrounds, painted with meticulous attention to detail showing every wrinkle of the face and fold of the collar. There are un-dramatic landscapes, which mainly show the sky, [more]
You are a designer, an architect, a software developper – brief: You design products? Then do me favor: Stop it. The world doesn’t need more products. We are full of products. I proclaim the peak product. The world was never missing the nescafe nespresso cups, the E-bike, the [more]
This method is influenced by Confucius and Bruce Lee. It is clear that our lives are situated in a permanent field of tension between two poles: plus and minus, day and night, supply and demand, giving and taking, and so forth. Followers of Confucius speak of yin and [more]
You can not solve the problems with the tools that caused them. This is what Einstein once said. So, when we talk about economical issues, we should try to look for some answers outside the economic box. We should not try to answer wages issues with more wages, [more]
Quedlinburg, Germany. Quedlinburg, is an important historic place in Germany. However, its main events took place thousand years ago, when it was a palatinate of the Saxon emperors. Today, this tiny town can hardly survive. Despite all the old half-timber houses being renovated, and the pavements redone in romantic [more]
I don’t know the numbers & statistics too well, but it started on january 6 & it ends today on march 6. If one sums up those days in between, you get more or less 60pages filled with spiracles out of my membrain. Pretty much straight from the [more]
Wir lassen etwas kommen, sitzen am Tisch vor dem Fenster und sehen Bezirke, die am anderen Ende der Stadt liegen, essen, trinken. Ich tue es allein. Wieder Steak, mein Wasser, und der Wein für Jémand. Ich trinke beides und esse beide Steaks. Ich versuche mich an die alte [more]
I got famous a few years ago with blueprints for so called Hartz IV Möbel, Bauhaus inspired furniture. I do not sell the construction plans. I give them away for free. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do expect something in return: a story. People pay me with [more]
My friends were a bit taken aback when they saw my mother. She had shaved off her hair and was wearing a robe. “From now on, I am no longer only there for you, my son, but for all children,” she said. It was her way of dealing [more]
Vaterstetten, Germany. Do you remember the first exercise you had to do in school? For me, it was the entry exam for children who were born after the cut-off date, to check whether they were mature enough for school. We were sat down in the newly built 1970s primary [more]
Es stand nicht viel herum, Schränke geschlossen entlang einer Wand, im Sechsten von sieben das Schrankbett, dann der Schreibtisch, also vor allem dunkel parkettierter Boden, helle Wände und Decke. In meinem Rücken, falls ich am Schreibtisch sass, die vier grossen Fensterscheiben in ihren Rahmen, und falls ich mich [more]
‘It is not from space that I must seek my dignity, but from the government of my thought. I shall have no more if I possess worlds. By space the universe encompasses and swallows me up like an atom; by thought I comprehend the world.’ Blaise Pascal, Pensées [more]
People in nightlife tend to believe they have power over time so day and night time are irrelevant. There is only party time or no party time at all. Like a never-ending loop on a record, turning around & around, up & down, creating 45 monotonous revolutions per [more]
Kronberg, Germany. When we try to dig deep, we often use etymology as a drill. And whatever we excavate creates a new background for what we see. Looking at architecture with this tool kit in mind can be very rewarding. For example, at the Villa Gans by Peter [more]
Bonn, Germany. It makes a big difference, whether you go up or down, when entering a building, especially when it is the parliament. In the former German capital city, Bonn, the parliament building seems to be effortlessly embedded into the landscape of the riverbank of the Rhine. A large [more]
The richest people of our time – let’s say last year – made their money with computers, software, mobile phones, supermarkets, chemicals, textiles, real estate & investments in all kind of areas. I don’t know what that means but I also don’t see the difference between 1 billion [more]
Falls es wiederkehrende Bewegungen sind, nehmen wir ihnen bei jedem Kreuzen denselben Betrag ab, oder unterschiedliche, nach einem Muster getaktete und tarifierte Beträge, je nach dem. Für jede Bewegung gelten die Gesetze der Welt, in der sie sich wähnt, wir beurteilen Bewegung für Bewegung. Manchmal sehen wir verirrte, [more]
Baldham, Germany. Browsing through a box of books from my early childhood, I realized that quite a few of them were written for children in order to get by with the experience of living in the newly built suburbs of the 1970s. “Wir ziehen vor die Stadt” (We are [more]
Money is very practical, because it gives you the freedom to transform it into happiness the way you want it – as long as the things that makes you happy are buyable. Such as a Porsche, the new iPhone or a day off at Artemis. But what about [more]
Jalan Bani Bu Ali, Oman. Once you have passed by Jalan Bani Bu Hassan, you get to Jalan Bani Bu Ali, two small towns in Oman that derive their distinct names from a rivalry between two brothers. But more than that they stand for the surprising wealthy of heritage [more]
So let’s keep the spirit alive. De-celerate & con-template for the time being. Celebrate tomorrow for it may never come. Reflected shadows of the past for yesterday’s new quintet has vanished into lounged horizons filled with too many impressionists. It’s time for true melancholy (sic!) & true detectives (sick!) to clean up [more]
Soweto, South Africa. We were not supposed to be there. By definition of the apartheid regime in South Africa, whites were not to go to the black townships. Why should they? Well, to visit friends, for example, or watch a football match. On very few occasions we went, and [more]
If you want to meet inspiring people, ask them for an interview. This is how I got the chance to meet people that I know from the newspapers: typographer Erik Spiekermann, Rapper Kool Savas, the Musicians Boss Hoss, Architect Thomas Willemeit (Graft), enterpreneur Ralf Anderl (ic! berlin), Food-Activist [more]
They are all helpless. But I’m still going to these meetings. Because I somehow have the hope that I can learn something. All of them start with the exact same slide: the women’s quota in the Swiss academic landscape. Depressing. So what? Change something! These meetings want to [more]
Lake Tana, Ethiopia. It took the plane three attempts to get off the runway. Not a nice way to travel, but rewarding, once you actually make it from Axum to Lalibela to Bahir Dar in Northern Ethiopia. These places are age-old cultural sites, but our understanding of heritage, conservation, [more]
Wakan, Oman. Experiencing the landscapes of the Arab peninsular it comes without surprise that it was here in these barren lands that monotheistic religions were conceived. There is barely anything between the treeless earth and the cloudless sky. Where should the trolls, the spirits, the ghosts, or the goddesses [more]
Bassem*, the youngest of six, has an older brother who has been living in Bavaria for some 30 years. He refers to him as “German Brother,” and while I’ve met this brother many times, I can never retain his real name. German Brother, like many Lebanese expatriates in [more]
If you ever feel like a smooth mix, make it test pressing mixes:
A couple of days ago, I asked a scientific group leader what he thinks is the difference between research in Switzerland and in the U.S.A. He answered me as follows: “Think of a crazy idea you may have. And of a rather difficult experiment that may somehow demonstrate [more]
“I smell smoked meat. The smoke comes from the skin of my left arm.” This is how a Dan Brown Novel kicks off on the first page. Gooooosebump! How much goosebump makes your talk? Yesterday I joined the TEDx MünchenSalon and learnt a lot about telling stories, about [more]
24.02, On the train from Berlin to Amsterdam. Here’s what I love about German trains: they are punctual, they are spacious, their comfortable seats and tables make up for the fact that you are basically staring at boring landscapes for at least the first three hours of the [more]
Oberföhring, Germany. It takes less than half an hour to read Remy Zaugg’s book “Der Ort des Werkes und des Menschen, oder das Kunstmuseum, das ich mir erträume”, in which he describes the kind of art museum that he dreams of. However, the reading opens up a whole [more]
So stürzt nichts ab, oder wir erschaffen nichts Eigenes, das einmal abstürzen mag. Wir ziehen das Werkzeug durch etwas wie eine Landschaft natürlich aufsteigender und abstürzender Bewegungen. Zwei Räume, zwei Schreibtische, unsere zählbaren Bewegungen sind das Anheben und das Manövrieren des Werkzeugs in der Landschaft ausserhalb unserer Räume, [more]
Tonight, I went to a talk given by Micheline Calmy-Rey, former head of the federal department of foreign affairs. Not because I’m deeply interested in politics (even though I should be), but rather because I’m deeply interested in “personalities” (or great leaders), whether they’re Nobel Prize winners or [more]
I Have you ever heard of the Acid Test? “Also know as the ‘quick ratio’, this is the ratio of a COMPANY’S liquid ASSETS (like cash, bank balances, and easily salable SECURITIES) to its short-term debts, that is, the money it must repay other people in the not-too-distant future. [more]
A lot of people complain about their homes, because they don’t feel that comfy, although they have already spent so much money on expensive furniture, pillows, accessories and flowers. And what do people do when they don’t feel at home at their homes: They move out and seek [more]
She is smiling at me, constantly smiling. Does she really like me? Probably not. Actually she is also smiling at the people in the rows in the front and in the back in the same way. The stewardess, who we call flight attendant today, gets paid for doing [more]
Madinat Qaboos, Oman. Every morning when I am dropping our children to school, I am happy about the place where they spend an important part of their day. Their school is neither the typical overwhelming big brick box from the late 19th century, nor is it the underwhelming [more]
nmw. lthmdtt. https://soundcloud.com/therealnamegame/w-up-f-a-catch22-o-t-22nd-m
Siegen, Germany. At the last funeral in our family one of my relatives half-jokingly, half-seriously entered the burial vault to find out how many places were still available in our family grave. This ornate little building on a graveyard in the German town of Siegen was built by my [more]
According to my mother, I had sworn off all forms of organized religion, and God’s very existence, by the age of four. Initially, the characteristic attributes of the Almighty were transferred to Mary Poppins, who I believed was all-knowing and vengeful. Our babysitter took advantage of this, sending [more]
JEFFE Are you there, Counselor? COUNSELOR Yes. JEFFE I dont mean to upset you, but reflective men often find themselves at a certain remove from the realities of life. In any case, to prepare a place in our lives for the tragedies to come is an economy few [more]
Hume is never far from Meades’ lips when he is discussing religion, the subject that, more than any other, seems to incite his anger. “I’m hostile,” he tells me when I ask why this should be so. “I’m not particularly angry. Well, no. It does anger me. What [more]
Tianjin, China. The food looked delicious in the ice bowl. Knowing it would melt away soon stimulated our appetite to enjoy it here and now. The mayor of the city of Tianjin who treated us for this feast lifted his glass and expressed a toast. We replied and wished [more]
You get up, do what you’re supposed to do, organise yourself & yourstuff. You get sleep, food or shelter, make love, music, work-out, clean up your bullshit & some other person’s dog shit. You check your social life by browsing & scrolling your humble fingers up & down, [more]
The american poet, publisher, drug addict, gambler and heir Harry Grew Crosby was wedded to Mary Phelps Jacob, inventor of the first modern bra. In 1929 he wired from Paris to his father, a Boston investment banker: „Please sell $10,000 worth of stock. We have decided to live [more]
Stell Dir vor, eine Kammer, oder dein Gefühl für deinen Körper. Und nun lösen sich die Flächen von einander und entfernen sich. Der Boden fällt nach unten, die Decke fliegt nach oben und die vier Wände gehen jede in ihre Richtung. Mit dem Boden fallen die Füsse. Rücken, [more]
In Berlin we have 1.102 bridges, more than Venice. 7% suffer from a disease that normally human beings know: Cancer. No joke, experts found out, that there is an acid reaction taking place in the concrete, that injures the bridge: concrete cancer (“Betonkrebs” in german). There is no [more]