Somewhere near Spyglass Dr. and Sandestin Dr.

Dönerladen 4, originally uploaded by chillmost.

On Sunday M and I went to Bardowick to look at cars. Next to one of the lots we saw an imbiss that got torched. I had read about it in the local paper a few days earlier.

What’s for Breakfast?

Honey Balls!!

So now the Dems control the House and possible the Senate. Are they really going to be able to make the necessary changes with such a slim majority? We’ll see. For the past year I haven’t discussed politics much here or elsewhere. This is because it makes me so angry. Just typing this I feel my blood pressure go up. I have been known to really raise my voice and start yelling when the subject comes up. I can’t believe that after all the shit that went down in the last 6 years, this is all the Dems can win back? This slim majority? They didn’t lay out any strong alternative policy that draws up support for them. People just voted for them because they were sick of the Republicans’ shit. Jon Stewart expressed similar sentiments when he described the Democrats’ election strategy as “backing slowly out of the room as your sibling is getting yelled at for burning down the garage”.

Something tells me, we’re not out of the woods yet. If they don’t start cleaning house soon and mass mailing subpoenas, they are going to lose what they didn’t work so hard to get.

The European reaction.

Meh!

In our new house, my room is on the ground floor and used to be a Kneipe way back in the day. It used to be called “Viskulenhof” and the proprietor was Heinrich Martens. Here are some pictures of back then….

Date unknown: mid 1940’s perhaps. I’m basing this on the photo quality and exposure settings. Also there are no wrong-way and “Radfahrer erlaubt” signs. It also doesn’t appear to have rain gutters on the roof like in the next pictures.

These two next photos are dated August 1950. I assume this is the same guy. In these pictures he is a little heavier and a little older than in the previous. He is also wearing glasses.

My landlord grew up in the house as did his parents. I’m not sure if Herr Martens was related or not. He recalled from when he was a kid seeing horse-drawn wagons come down that street to deliver beer barrels to the Kneipe and bring other goods to the river which is just at the end of the street.

This is the house today. Sometime between 1950 and today the 3rd story was extended. It felt weird to be standing in the same spot taking the same picture. If walls could talk, I’m sure my room would have quite a few stories to tell.

I’ve touched upon the German chimney sweeps before. Mausi has explained in even more detail about them. Today, the New York Times has an article about how the EU is busting up the monopoly enjoyed by German chimney sweeps.

Few trades are as encrusted with tradition as that of schornsteinfeger, or chimney sweep. Revered as a source of good luck, with their black hats and sooty faces delighting children, chimney sweeps are a link to a vanishing past. They are also, critics say, old-fashioned monopolists.

Europe has been trying to break open the monopoly since 2003, contending that it violates laws that permit any qualified citizen of a European Union member to set up shop in any other member state. With Germany dragging its heels, the commission recently sent it a legal opinion ? a prelude to taking it to the European Court of Justice.

Is nothing sacred?

That’s right! I wish I was partying in St. Louis right now. I remember when they won in 1982 and how exciting it was for a little kid to be in the middle of all that enthusiasm and “Cardinal Fever”. At the time the theme song for the series was “Celebration” by Cool & the Gang. Actually, I’m not even sure if it was officially linked to the Cardinals in any way, it’s just that the song was played constantly everywhere whenever the game was on or when they ran highlights on TV or radio. It just sort of permeated my memories of that time and I always associate it with the 1982 World Series.

Ah yes! After taking out the New York Mets in an amazing 7th game, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to the the World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Awesome!

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Things are calming down. We are all moved in and almost everything is put in its place. Last weekend M. ran in the Cologne Marathon and crossed the finish line at a respectable 5:11:34. Musically, I’ve been helping a local band, Tussika, record a demo DVD. That has been fun. I’ll write more just as soon as I can clear my head.