tvc15

Ex Oriente Lux

Offsides?

The bird flu scare is reaching new dimensions in Germany. Not because it already killed 10000 people but ever since it is endangering the World Cup, as officials say. So if terror- ism is not blowing up (no pun intended) the World Cup, it could happen due to the bird flu. Which is naturally a crisis beyond any proportions for the football loving German public. So far no one has uttered that this could be one big conspiracy to avoid losing the World Cup back home. Dead swans coming home, they´re coming home...

Peninsular & Oriental Steam

This company from Britain is said to being close to be taken over by Dubai Ports World from the UAE. Anything can happen in a capitalistic world! But it makes the US-Congress a wee bit nervous ever since the Peninsular & Oriental Steam is running the harbours of Baltimore (Maryland), Miami (Florida), Newark (New Jersey), New Orleans (Louisiana), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) and New York City. An Arab organisation getting a grip on major US harbours? Watch March 2nd, the planned date for the decision. By the way: no one is concerned if Arabian oil sources are controlled by US companies. So why bother if Arabs control US harbours? Harrods in London is doing rather well...

2 - 4 L / SQM

Imagine you want to leave the winter be- hind for a couple of days. Just a few days before you´re about to leave to Arabia you´ll find out it could be raining 2-4 litres per square metre on the day you´re sche- duled to arrive. Think they enjoy their bit of rain during the Arabian winter, but the 30 degrees Celsius in Abu Dhabi last week sounded not too bad to us! Where was that giant shopping mall again?

Amanda Lepore

A very strange video of Amanda Lepore can be found here. Just make sure you are willing to see a strange video before you click the link! Anyway YouTube is worth brow- sing around, some excellent videos are hidden there.

Very Strange

They hoped they died before they got old, or at least sang so. One actually did fade away at a young age, even before the 70s were over. The other one did get older and in the end died due to a certain substance in a hotel room. So the rest is still there and decided it´s time for a tour.

Whoever (no pun intended) decided to come up with this classic advertising for The Who touring Germany in 2006 has a lot of humour. Black and white humour: 41 years after My Generation was recorded, 41 years after I was born. Very strange.

Shops We Don´t Trust Part I

Passing this shop after a drinking session last Friday, we thought the owner is having some kind of joke. The shop looked like it was out of use for twenty years, taking us straight back to the 80s. Old ads on the wall, spare parts flying around and this humble advertising lit, but falling apart. Another hand written sign read: "Out on client ser- vice. Give me a call!" Should we really?

8888

Visitor 8888 came along and read this blog today. Our in- telligence says he or she was from Germany and watched four pages.

Bloglivity

The term bloglivity was created by myself today. It´s a neologism for the longlivity of blogs. So if you quote it in your next essay, please cite you found it here, used for the very first time in history.

Anyway, I came up with the word when I saw Electroguide has already vanished from the scene as I dared to remark here in last December. It now links to the Kraftwerk forum Elektro Gemeinschaft, which is quite a good place to read around now and then.

As this happens, tvc15 is aiming at it´s first year of exis- tence in early April. So stay tuned!

Hubbard? No, Hubbert!

Somehow it think there is a term coming up that will blasted into our ears 24/7 in the next years. Think it will raise it´s head more frequently than terms we loved to hate in the past. Like Greenhouse Effect, Middle East Crisis, Glasnost, Waldsterben, Shareholder Value, Y2K and the like. Funny enough I think the term is closely related to many of these topics. So say welcome to the coming prince of the tabloids and grammar school essays:

Peak Oil

Design Quest

The only place I voted this week can be found here. The cultural icons from Britain presented are well known so it was hard to pick one. Finally I did choose the Routemaster, as it passed away last year. Can´t imagine what London will look like without it!

Twisting Knobs

This device is just so cool, just bought it yesterday. Never before playing around with Reason 3.0 was that much fun. No more silly action with a mouse, now it´s time to tweak the synths, effects and mixers until the cows come home. Very man machine indeed!

Graffiti Phenomenon

2006 is the ideal time for more retro issues. Besides bring- ing back atomic threats, narrow minded fundamentalism or clinging to monarchy... In between I prefer some positive flashbacks to the late 70s and the early 80s, when Graffitis were new, hot and oh so street. I take photos of Graffitis now and then, especially if they are funny and colourful as the ones presented in the new section Graffiti.

Bowie Plans For 2006 Revealed

2005 saw David Bowie doing "not very much" as far as albums, tours and the like are concerned. But he was not far away, I found out. Friday a week ago I was running around with the rest of the wedding party, advancing to a bar. On the way I saw this sun studio with a common name for the first time. Looks like old David has decided to come up with a less prominent investment?

Another Virus Warning

miracolix.org

We heard that miracolix.org was launched yesterday. We wonder who is behind this fruity site...

DC10

Until two weeks ago I did not know where Zgy-Om died. But I got to know it happened on the dance floor of the DC10 club in Ibiza! Time to give DC10 a credit, we visited this place full of crazy nutters last September for the first time. You can now too find it in the Essential Clubbing section. But it will be a while until it´s packed on Mondays...

Talking about Zgy-Om again, there is a nice site devoted to him now.

Known Faces II

Long time no friends from Cologne were featured in a special photo section. Today we proceed to Antonia. In case you haven´t noticed so far, she appears in in several other sections. Little wonder as she is my girlfriend! The photos cover the years from 2000 onwards. Antonia was born in Leipzig "twentysomething" years ago but has been living in and around Cologne since the mid 80s.

Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft

Found this on the web, some days are funnier than others!