Feininger had been a student at Bauhaus and never meant to become a photographer. Initially he was trained to be a cabinetmaker and then later worked as an architect with Le Corbusier. At some point he gave up on architecture itself and focused on its photography, which led him to become a key photographer at Life magazine for over 20 years.

When he immigrated to New York in 1939 he found his urban utopia, a place even more bursting with life than Paris and Stockholm, where he had lived before. Besides his work as an alround photographer capturing everything from fashion events to car accidents, he found time to walk the streets of New York and portrait it in all its facettes. But unlike Henri Cartier-Bresson or Robert Capa he never waited to capture the one decisive moment. He rather tried to built the perfect impression by craftfully staging the picture he had in his mind.

As one of a few photographers of his time he was capable of successfully mastering craft and techiques with art and design. He considered craftsmanship to be the basic tool for his artistic expression—he saw the camera as the photographer’s typewriter. And this, in the end, made him an expert among experts. He wrote a number of standard references to photography, one of which you will probably know if you ever got serious with this artform: The Complete Photographer from 1978.

His work continues to define the image we have of New York until today. This probably explains the nostalgic feeling of ours when we saw the exhibition. If you have ever been there or not – Feininger’s pictures still feel strangely familiar.

Andreas Feininger
New York in the Forties
18.02.09 – 18.05.09

Bauhaus-Archiv
Museum für Gestaltung
Klingelhöferstraße 14
10785 Berlin

[Show as slideshow]

As we now hear Starbucks will be closing more than 600 stores in the US alone, which probably no one will even notice because they have more than 10,000 of them over here.

That said, I have to add that I really feel for the 1000 people losing their already underpaid jobs. But it also shows that there is not unlimited demand for ever the same products. I admit that it gereally makes sense to have chain stores in some respect. But it also makes traveling (and living) so not exciting at times, because it kills cultural particularities.

Her comes a sermon by Reverend Billy, founder of the Church of Stop Shopping, getting the word out to the masses on Fox Biz News:

“Capitalism isn’t necessarily the same as Freedom.”…eat this Sister Rebecca! Although my favorite part is when he says that their coffee “isn’t that great”. That’s a good one.

So you can argue if Rev. Billy is taking it all a bit too far, or if Rebecca Gomez has ever given anything she said a thought – at all. Yet, one thing is for sure: supporting independent businesses is a thing we could probably all agree on.

If you do, then you can start on Sunday by showing up in New York’s East Village:

AuH2O is not only local and independent – it’s fashion with an attitude. Kate Goldwater (hence the name: Au=gold H2O=water) is a feminist, a friend of the environment, a soccer player and a sweetheart. Learn more about her store, her fashion and herself on her new blog: blog.auh2odesigns.com and come out for fashion coffee and music this weekend. I’ll be there…

By Semir (double post)

• Tapmag: So you’re an American living in Berlin?

Jan Burdinski: No, I’m a Berliner who thinks America is great, and who always stood for a strong foreign and security policy, with a very clear fiscal policy, meaning less taxes.

• tapmag: Traditionally, Republicans have some problems abroad. Aren’t you always the underdog?

Burdinski: It varies. Gallup conducted a survey for the 2004 election and in South Korea, Poland and Bulgaria, Bush would have won against Kerry. He would have lost in Germany. We’re not doing this out of opportunism but because we believe in certain issues. If 90% of the people here think Obama will be elected President, as 90% thought Kerry would become President, I’ll just say, okay. Let’s see on the evening of November 4th and then the White House will be ours after all.

• tapmag: Let’s wait for Florida.

Burdinski: I had a conversation with a Democrat a short while ago and she said, “I’m a Hillary Democrat and I will never ever vote for Obama.” That’s great, I wouldn’t vote for him either, but then I also wouldn’t vote for Hillary. He’s been in the Senate for three and a half years, has relatively little experience. Someone from Deutsche Welle called me and asked, “What’s your comment on him coming to Germany?” I said, it’s about time. If he wants to be President, someday he should talk to the important international partners.

• tapmag: What about McCain, is he coming?

Burdinski: McCain will visit Europe before Election Day, and will of course talk with France, England and Germany. He had been traveling in Latin America. Why? Immigration is an important issue and Obama has shown that he doesn’t reach Latino voters, they all went for Hillary. Now there’s ground to claim. If Blacks all vote for Obama, and Latinos for McCain, they’re about equal and it comes down to the still white majority. Especially in the big, red corridor, the “Flyoverland”, as it is arrogantly called, Republicans are still doing very well.

• tapmag: So you’re still optimistic?

Burdinski: There’s going to be a bloodbath in the Senate and the House of Representatives, but I believe we will keep the White House. America is not ready to elect a black President.

• tapmag: Race is still the deciding factor?

Burdinski: McCain won’t make it an issue, and I think it’s good that way, but there are going be groups somewhere that say, “Guys, think about it.” And there’s going to be people who won’t even think about it and just say, “We won’t vote for a black guy.” That’s regrettable, but true.

• tapmag: How important are the American expats for the presidential election, how strongly do you have to court the Americans living in Germany?

Burdinski: We have a series of states that are hugely important, like Ohio, which I believe was decided by one or one and half percentage points last time. It was somewhere around 150,000 votes. There are far more expats than those who have voted, so even here one can make a difference. I would encourage every American, regardless of how he’ll vote, to register and exercise his right to vote. Afterwards we’ll fight over who he will vote for.

• tapmag: Thank you.

———

• tapmag: Why all the enthusiasm for Obama?

Jerry Gerber: Obama is now a kind of household item, like Tempo, he is very popular. He might disappoint some people, sure, but at the moment he’s what attracts people.

• tapmag: Is he comparable to any other Democratic presidential candidate?

Gerber: Kennedy, maybe, something new after Eisenhower, who wasn’t a bad president but older. I don’t know if there are others, Clinton, partially, his campaign is 1992 was also based on this slogan, “something new, at last something new”. But there is something else because for the first time an African American could move into the White House. That always plays a role.

• tapmag: The Republican we talked to said this might be a fact that prevents Obama from reaching the White House, that America is not ready for a black president.

Gerber: You could also say that McCain doesn’t reach many Americans because America is not ready for an old president, he’s 72. Or a continuation of the last eight years. I don’t know whether America is ready for a black president, whether it is mature enough. And Obama always says , “it’s unimportant. My color is not important.” It might matter for some people but for him it’s not important. And he’s right. It’s not about electing a black president, but about ending a period of bad presidents. That’s what’s it about. A new era is coming. Whether a white, half-white, green, brown or black man sits in the White House is not important.

• tapmag: What role do the expats play?

Gerber: A big role. Of course you could say that we only play a big role if we have voters from the famous swing states. Most of us are from states like New York, New Jersey, California…

• tapmag: Not exactly swing states…

Gerber:…California is not a swing state, New York isn’t any more. New Jersey not really either. Some are from Florida, but that’s not important. Apart from the fact that it is a duty to go and vote it is possible that all voter abroad together have an effect, even in the Electoral College. Obama plays a big role here. Because he stood in the primaries, the interest in this campaign has been huge. Many people are Democrats and said that they now want to vote. They wanted to vote in the primaries. Many of them did not vote before. They used their passport to travel to the States but forgot to vote. But now they do. I believe there’s going to be a huge number of voters in November.

• tapmag: Did you have an influx of new members at Democrats Abroad?

Gerber: Yes, many new people, people we didn’t have before. We now have a group of young people, we tried that before but it never worked. We now have many events that we didn’t have before. Granted, it’s got a lot do with the campaign, but everything is lively now.

• tapmag: What’s your strategy to reach members, especially when it’s about convincing them to go and vote. What do you do, do you write them?

Gerber: We have lists, but not of all Americans in Berlin. There are 20,000 of them, we don’t have that many in our lists. But we go where they might gather. For example, we have flyers at cinemas like Odeon, Babylon in Kreuzberg, Hackesche Höfe or at cafes. We are also trying to be there when there are events. When there’s a gathering of people, we’re there and distribute flyers or buttons. We sell or sometimes give away stuff, that we have to pay for by ourselves. We have a little money for advertisements, we put two of them in the Ex-Berliner. We try to go to people and rely on them to tell their German or American friends, “Hey, there’s a meeting at…”

• tapmag: When Obama is coming to Berlin, what’s his motivation? Is it about demonstrating that he is knowledgeable in international relations?

Gerber: Yeah, sure. He also sits on the Committee for Foreign Relations in the Senate and it’s normal for a Senator on this committee to make trips abroad. But certainly it is useful for campaign to show his compatriots that he’s traveling abroad. He apparently also wants to visit Jordan and Israel, also France, Great Britain and Germany – Berlin. He going to talk to Chancellor Merkel. And it probably won’t hurt if he’s photographed here, in front of the Brandenburg Gate. It can only help the Brandenburg Gate, and maybe him as well.

• tapmag: Thank you.

Gerber: One thing at the end: I don’t want to be Vice President.

Anyway, I just read a blog post on woot.com that has occasional reviews of funny used books. This one is called “Street Smart” and was written by Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa and their lawyer Murray Schwartz.

In his blog entry Jason Toon highlights the funniest and most paranoid moments of the book (including Guardian Angels fashion) and wouldn’t miss the chance to spice them up with a handful of hilarious comments. My favorite excerpt from the book is probably this one:

Wow… I’m so glad my ass is here – safely in 2008!

I mean, what is this guy doing down there? How long did he have to wait under this car? And most importantly: what happens now?

One of your white slippers you have just seen for the last time, buddy! But wait, this guy is stuck under your car. Maybe you just wait until he will crawl out of there? Or get in the car and move it just a little bit? If people really tried to rob others like that back in the 80ies, then it was probably the most brainless era in crime history.

So when I read this and the comments on the blog entry, I begin to understand: all the fears that my parents were (and still are) expressing about me moving to big cities are clearly relics from the 80ies:

Can I find an apartment in Berlin? Hell, yeah! Back in the 80ies? Maybe not so easy… Isn’t it ridiculously dangerous in the big city? Not really. Maybe more than in a small town. But I’m not afraid of people shoving me off the subway platform. Which has – by the way – most interestingly taken place in Berlin recently.

But enough of that. I don’t wanna spoil the fun.

Go and see the full blog entry here.

Have a nice day!

By Semir (double post)

Witty and politically incorrect – only on TV

The series beared unexpected turns, witty remarks and wonderfully politically incorrect actions. All this has gotten lost in the transition to the cinema screen. In the place of explicit talks there is name-dropping to an almost unbearable level. When Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) does a photo shoot, minutes are spend just hearing designer names. It is true that fashion has always been a very important part of the series, but this is an overdose even for fans. It makes the whole movie seem like a two-hour-exodus to the home shopping channel, only thing missing is the blinking „order here“ button. This degrades the women who have been watching every episode addictively and have grown to love the characters to mere credit card holders.

The Shoes More Important Than The Story

The plot couldn’t keep up with the wardrobe. And, yes, this does contain a flaw in this case. The plot is so thin that you know it all just from watching the two-minute preview. The preview also gives away about one and a half hours of the movie’s time, and the little surprises that come up cannot make up for this. The storyline is so disrupted that one can hardly follow it. Location changes serve as a replacement for plot turns. This is not what the TV series deserved.

The characters and their actions remain superficial and sometimes incomprehensible. One has to remember, this movie is obviously made for those who know the series (otherwise you would have trouble following it). These women know the characters, and have followed them over years. In a way, the four ladies have become the „good friends who moved to the big city“ for their audience. Living a life more extravagant than them, but coming back to tell of it every Thursday night.

This deep understanding of the characters is violated in the movie. The character development is minimal, and where action occurs, it is left unexplained. How the writing team did not manage to come up with a more coherent plot remains a mystery – after all, they had more than enough time for it, as the movie has been in planning for years. This is extremely unfortunate and probably the biggest flaw of this film.

Back to Where it All Started

The second flaw is the ending. I do not want to give too much away here, but it is unfitting for a movie whose main character makes sure to state that fairy tales don’t happen in real life. It is also unfitting for its audience, which expected a more grown-up solution of the ever-ongoing story of Carrie and Mister Big. Suddenly, everything turns out along the lines of happily ever after.

I had read bad reviews before and blamed them on the reviewer being a man and not knowing about the fascination that is Sex and the City. But unfortuntaley, I have to agree. This movie will be a disappointment to those who have come to love the series. The characters are neglected in favor of big designer names. But in the end, even Manolo Blahnik stilettos cannot carry an entire movie alone.

By Jessica Binsch

My personal highlight comes with the quote of the day:
“Our computers are like SUVs – most of the energy they consume is used to propel themselves. Like the cars are so heavy they need all the energy to move themselves – not you!” so said Yves Béhar.

Yves Béhar is the founder of fuseproject and the dude who designed the Jawbone (a bluetooth headset that eliminates surrounding sounds while you speak) and the new NYC Condom dispenser:

With this quite plausible comparison (PCs = SUVs) he was referring to the One Laptop Per Child project started by Nicholas Negroponte. See this Video from the Design Miami 07 for a short wrap-up of the design side of the XO Laptop:

Yves Béhar is actually also one of the designers that contributed to the botanist series by orange22 that I stumbled upon later at ICFF. Orange22 claim that the pieces are sustainable and eco-friendly. I’m not too sure about that because the base material is aluminum. It is correct that aluminum can be recycled. But the amount of energy that is needed for the process is unreasonably high. No wonder the German green party has factually banned cans from the domestic beverage market. But anyway – I guess there are different shades of green, right? At least the look and feel makes me wanna have one (and you don’t throw benches away that often):

This one was designed by Yves Béhar but speaking of natural products you may also check out that one:

In fact they are all quite sleek.

Probably the complete opposite of it may be the chairs and benches that sixinch from Belgium put on display. They have really nice pieces in general. What they showed on ICFF was “classical” chairs covered with foam. Sorry, but that was just cheesy:

Again: check out their website as they have other stuff that I actually like.

Next thing that I want to point out is the Geneva Sound System. It has an iPod dock, radio and CD player while you can also close the top flap to make it look like a simple cubic speaker on a stand. This is (for me) one of the most advanced iPod based products that I have seen yet. As in the U.S. virtually everyone has one – why not?

If I will ever live and work in a loft, I’m sure I’ll go to M2L on 215 E 58th St in New York first thing in the morning to get one of these babies:

What you can’t really see on the picture is that you can flip the plate on the hemisphere in the front, which will serve as a table. It’s a great workspace when you just need a laptop and a phone to start working. And the look is so 60ies futuristic, it’s just beautiful.

M2L is represented as part of a Dutch collective at ICFF. Check this PDF out if you’re interested in more design from the Netherlands.

Other designers that I liked (but weren’t on the designboom market) where Takumi Shimamura and Isaac Arms(although his website sucks).

Last thing for today’s post is designboom.com which is a website/blog that covers art, design and architecture. They also organize design competitions, online classes, a web shop and so called ‘designboom marts‘ one of which is currently taking place at ICFF. The concept is to put 40 young professional designers in a flea market setting with products in a range of 10 – 100$. The designboom mart is really worth seeing and very different from the rest of the booths. What I really liked was the Milk Gone Bad lamps by Anatomic Factory:

Also quite nice the Block Night Light by 25togo:

They actually didn’t have that with them but sold their My Document laptop sleeves instead. But I like the lamps better.

These were my personal highlights of the ICFF 2008 in New York. I have to go…Good night!

By Semir (double post)

There is something close to biblical about rain, when the skies give way to an almost cathartic downpour, draining off the drudge, sins and conversation-residuals clogging the streets. In any Hollywood movie (especially considering the writers’ strike) it could have been a Second Coming scenario, yet it was an unassuming Monday with weather more befitting of an unassuming British city pronounced Gloomster (but probably spelled Gleucmcester) in the midst of Berlin. The prophesized savior of American politics, Barack Obama, drew close to a 100 people, who sought shelter in the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung on this rainy, borderline-suicidal Monday evening, to learn about the self-professed harbinger of a new era – in a country so far from theirs.

Needless to add, Obama himself was not there. Instead we were served a German debate between Christoph von Marschall and Anjana Shrivastava. Marschall is a Tagesspiegel editor and US correspondent since 2005, whose book “Obama – the Black Kennedy” appeared short before Christmas. Anjana Shrivastava, American, a Harvard-graduate and former Wall Street Journal Europe essayist turned Berlin-based writer, currently writing a weekly colum, “Winning the White House,” for Welt Online. Barack hardly needs any introduction: upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia, white Kansas mother and Muslim, black Kenyan father, his work as a community organizer on the Southside of Chicago, his self-confessed “blow”-record, his being the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, and his catapulting onto the world stage as the most colorful candidate (no pun intended) of the 2008 US presidential election. Still, the quest for “the true identity of Obama” seems never-ending. Is he black or white? Does he have any connection to Osama? Too green, or just what the doctor prescribed? Political pragmatic or polemic stunt? “Hopemonger” or a new Messiah?

Christoph von Marschall, the designated “BaraXpert,” having personally followed Obama on his campaign trail, offered an introduction and projection of his very own “Black Kennedy.” First the standards: Upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia, white mother, black father – you know where I’m going. Then came the interesting and (sometimes unintended, I reckon) controversial part…

Black Hole or Full Circle?

Be it his autobiographic narrations of his substance abuse to help him through college, or his wife, Michelle’s, (half-joking) accounts of Barack’s smoking habits, the Obamas have done little to seal off the fact that he is human. A gift and a curse, Marschall proposed. “His life story is his political programmatic. Obama has become a parable of the American Dream. His rallies are reminiscent of religious events, and at times a simple sign reading ‘Hope’ or ‘Change We Can Believe In’ – not even mentioning his name – is enough to cause hysteria,” the Tagesspiegel correspondent observed. Ever since his now famous 2004 keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, MA, Obama has become something like a “’projection screen’ for hopes and dreams not even an Übermensch could fulfill,” Marschall continued.

The symbolic of Obama and his 2004 keynote address was not lost on the analyst, either. The Illinois Congress member won wide popularity with his glorious eloquence, as did another Illinois Congress member, Abraham Lincoln, who won his presidential endorsement at the 1860 Illinois Republican State Convention, and went on to become one of the single most popular presidents in the history of the United States. Should Obama go on to become the 44th US president, this would, according to Mr. Marschall, mean history coming full circle: beginning with Lincoln, hailed as the abolisher of slavery, and ending with Obama, the first African American president in US history. To draw attention to Lincoln’s debatable opportunist use of abolitionist rhetoric to favor the Union would have been futile. To remark that Lincoln self-admittedly would have sustained the peculiar institution to save the Union, and if so would have transformed the “full circle” into a ring of fire, would have spoiled the mood. And, arguably, Lincoln’s early stance on slavery should stand in the shadow of his contribution to its eventual abolishment. Yet, good as Mr. Marschall’s intentions were, and they really were, they somehow seemed symptomatic of a campaign in which gender and race seem to have taken up as much energy and media coverage, if not more, as Iraq, the economy and health care combined. When Marschall mentions something as bluntly stereotypical as Barack and Michelle’s “two cute black girls” as trump cards in the candidate’s campaign-image – as opposed to Hillary’s “old” looks, Bill, or, if Bill’s busy, Chelsea – people can question Obama’s shade of “blackness” till kingdom come. The reasoning seems to question whether Obama would even be where he is now, had he been a mid-40s white Illinois representative named Gill.

“Der Präsident ist sehr viel learning on the job”

Around this point Anjana Shrivastava joined the debate, and suddenly it became oddly emblematic of the real (U.S.) debate. Before us a middle-class woman, weighing Obama’s lack of experience against Hillary’s, and a white middle-class man, who was coming around to this Obama-spectacle.

What ensued was a long round of pro-Obama/pro-Hillary jabs – because, frankly, no other candidate than “HillaBama” was mentioned, as seems to be the trend as of “late” – and a more-than-occasional collision of misunderstandings.

Principle of Reality Control

Cristoph von Marschall offered that 40% of American voters say they would never vote for Hillary, because of her “polarizing nature,” and therein lies Obama’s strength – in his ability to unite people and work across party lines. Indeed, Obama has proven himself a “complex uniter” – as someone who is not afraid to go bipartisan to seal legislation – a feature not lost on voters disillusioned with the current state of Washington. His tireless rants against the lobbies on K Street have had people rally around his flag, who see the pie getting bigger, but their piece smaller. To gain so much popularity off of going against forces that can usually make or break a candidate (and without being mistaken for Ralf Nader, at that) is nothing short of audacious. More importantly, his ability to mobilize youth is spectacular, considering past records among young (potential) voters. According to CIRCLE estimates, in Iowa alone, the turnout rate amongst youth aged 17-29 increased from 4% in 2004 to 11% in 2008, while the number of youth who caucused almost quadrupled from 14,940 (or 3%) in 2000 to 56,875 this year. Also, bouncing back from initial doubts in both black and white camps as to the “racial identity” and “electability” of Obama, his win in Iowa suggests him gaining a feasible majority of the “black votes.” It is said that the one who wins the “black vote” wins the election. CNN exit polls predicted that Obama would have won 73% of the “black votes” in Michigan had he run – an estimated 22% would have voted for Clinton. This situation has only become more desperate for Hillary, in the wake of her and her husband’s recent rhetorical missteps. That being noted, however, there is nothing new about working across party lines, as such.

The notion of party loyalty in the US, as we know it from Europe, is a common misconception. Surely, since the Democrats won both the Senate and the House in November 2006, the drawing of party lines has become sharper. But in a two-party system, where not even the party of the President can turn a blind eye on the “goings-down” of things, there is a good chance you will find a New York Republican having more in common with a Texas Democrat politically, than with a Utah Republican. The skill to create coalitions and work across party lines is, in many ways, a prerequisite if you want to prove to the voters, who got you into Congress in the first place, that you can bring home the bacon. This explains the 2006-voters’ frustration and disillusion with the Democrats, spearheaded by Miss Pelosi, who have acted as the blueprint of how sticking within party lines can get you close to nowhere. Indeed, the future president will have to balance a double-edged sword: on the one side, the need to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that he or she can single-handedly make tough decisions; on the other, the need to unite, to cooperate and communicate, to move the country in the right direction – even if it takes donkeys and elephants to get there. The latter is where the Bush Administration has failed miserably, and cut itself fatally.

Obama is a political prototype of a “uniter,” which unquestionably worked in his favor in the early stages of the campaign, where he created a warm contrast to the, sometimes, cool machinery of Senator Clinton’s. But both camps have had to realize the complexity a potential president’s character must contain in 2008, neutralizing their weaknesses by borrowing the other’s strengths. What has followed has been a brouhaha of WWF-style “Mr.&Mrs.”-tag-team attacks and misty-eyed masterpieces. Whoever can keep up the act the longest is likely to win the Democratic nomination.

Principle of Experience

Back to Berlin where Shrivastava played the “inexperience” card: Against Clinton, Obama was too young and green (and we’re not talking hybrids here) to get the nation back on the right path. “If Daimler Chrysler were to propose a 21-year-old to get them out of a crisis, people might be skeptic, too. I am not willing to experiment!“ she reasoned. People got it. “Der Präsident ist sehr viel learning on the job,” Marschall responded. People got that, too. In the meantime, Shrivastava reloaded, took aim, and fired…hitting nothing but air. “International experience.” “Foreign policy experience.” “Obama’s been to London once, on a lay-over.” In her defense, this was in part brought on by the audience, who had inquired about a future president’s (read: HillaBama) interest in Europe.

Nonetheless, claiming “international experience” as a disqualifier for the presidency is a clear stab in the dark for two reasons:

1. For one, a considerable portion of the United States’ citizens has never traveled outside US borders, let alone to Europe. In 2005, the Economist reported that only 34% of Americans over the age of 18 have passports. Admittedly, that does not add up to not caring about international affairs; by all means, Americans have experienced first-hand the effects a bad image can have on a nation. Yet, the Bush Administration’s fatal ventures into distant plains (Iraq) coupled with domestic catastrophes (Katrina), a near-recession national economy and growing social differences, has created an urgency among the public for the next president to direct his or her focus inwards, and “stop playing cowboys” for the taxpayers’ money.

2. Most senators, who make up a significant part of presidential candidates, have little to no international experience. Their main concern is to represent the voters of their State and maybe an occasional business trip – something that requires a thorough national and regional knowledge, but does not necessitate a half-full “Where I’ve Been”-map. That happens when an Administration is appointed. Undoubtedly, Hillary has the advantage of having spent 8 years in the White House, “but during those two terms in the White House, Mrs. Clinton did not hold a security clearance. She did not attend National Security Council meetings. She was not given a copy of the president’s daily intelligence briefing. She did not assert herself on the crises in Somalia, Haiti and Rwanda,” NY Times revealed on Dec. 26, 2007. The “third” contestant for the Democratic nomination, John Edwards, spent 2001-2004 organizing “tutorials, roundtable discussions with foreign policy analysts at his Georgetown home, trips to hot spots abroad and meetings with foreign leaders to prepare for his presidential campaign,” according to a 2004 Washington Post article.

If we move to the Republicans, usually “international credentials” have consisted in serving in the military, possibly in Vietnam. But even here, Senator McCain is the only candidate left, who can claim that title. Giuliani was reclassified from a 1-A (available for military service) to a 2-A (civilian occupation deferment) in 1969 – having been rejected once in 1968, Giuliani was not granted deferment until his employer, Judge MacMahon of NY, “took care of things”; Huckabee was too young to be drafted for Vietnam; and the only “service” Romney has done is mission service. Matter of fact, only 5 of 15 presidential candidates served in the military: Ron Paul (R), John McCain (R), Duncan Hunter (R), Mike Gravel (D), and Chris Dodd (D). But, let’s be frank, we are not looking at no “Minister to France”-Thomas Jeffersons here.

Even so, Marschall pointed to two experiences that only Obama can boast: intercultural (USA and Indonesia) and interconfessional (Christian mother and Muslim father). And though the “Muslim-side” of Obama has received mixed reviews in the public debate, these qualities just might prove more decisive for the future of the United States than his cross-party line qualities, should he become elected. But there is a long and bumpy road ahead, with roadside bombs sure to be planted by both Republicans and Democrats. Whether Obama is truly experienced enough will depend on his ability to keep cool and steer clear. Then he might just navigate his way to the White House.

Who was Obama?

Outside the rain had subsided, the streets bathed in the golden light from the lampposts. Two hours past, and the notion of who Barack Obama really is seemed no clearer than the Berlin sky. Colorful politician or unelectable man of color? Political prophet or America’s next president? As Marschall said, “Obama’s political program is his life story – a parable of the American Dream.” But there is a long way from Lincoln’s one-room log cabin childhood in Hardin County, Kentucky, to Obama’s childhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dare the Americans keep the Dream alive – full circle?

By Peter Dahl

To find out, we tried to get into the studio and watch the taping of his first show back on air. Unfortunately, about 500 other people had the same idea. Instead of lining up at the end of the queue around the block, we talked to one of the protesting writers in front of the studio.

tapmag: Hi, what‘s your name?

Writer: Gale

tapmag: …and you‘re a writer at The Daily Show?

Gale: No. None of us who are here today are writers at The Daily Show. We are here to show support for the writers of The Daily Show who are on strike as well. We want Jon Stewart to go back to work. We are all big fans of his, we think he is very funny, but we want him to go back to work with his writers.

tapmag: Who is writing the gags right now, where are the jokes coming from?

Gale: I have no idea, I assume from Jon Stewart. He‘s a funny man.

tapmag: What exactly is “the write thing” to do now?

Gale: The right thing to do now is to try to get the AMPTP [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers – ed.] back to the table and to negotiate fairly with the writers. They have walked away from the table and they won‘t even talk to us.

tapmag: What do you say to the claim that the whole strike is breaking the spine of the industry and is putting off audiences for years to come?

Gale: Well, I would be very sorry if that happens. But, I don‘t think you can blame the writers for that because we are ready, willing, and able to go to work and now we are being forbidden from going to work because the AMPTP will not negotiate with us. We‘re at the ball game and they left. There‘s nothing we can do until they come back.

tapmag: Are you looking forward to seeing reality TV shows such as American Gladiator back on air?

Gale: Not at all! But I hope everyone else is excited about it because we are going to see a lot of them. It‘s going to be American Idol vs. American Gladiator for many months.

tapmag: Well, all these Hulk Hogans have to make a living somehow.

Gale: You bet!

tapmag: Looking at the digital challenges which are threatening all media companies right now, how do you think writers can protect their main source of income – intellectual property – from file sharing and piracy?

Gale: I don‘t know that we can. That‘s part of the problem and until we get cooperation and [the AMPTP] helps us to protect it, I don‘t think there‘s an easy solution.

tapmag: Thank you very much, good luck.

Gale: Thank you.
And guess what, after watching the show on TV, we can gladly say that talking to the writers was the right thing to do. Jon Stewart without his safety net of written jokes is just the half the man he ought to be (back us up here, New York Times). To be fair, it’s all still better than The Millionaire Matchmaker, The Celebrity Apprentice, The Baby Borrowers and whatever else reality TV has bestowed on us in these dark days of scriptless TV.

Here’s a bit of propaganda from the writers side which does a good job at explaining what the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) wants:

The producers simply claim that the numbers are on their side:

It’s official: The people in charge at the WGA have led working writers into a strike that has now cost those working writers more in salary and benefits than the WGA’s organizers ever expected to gain from the strike.

Of course, future revenue from internet sales are not included in this equation. What nobodys asks: What are the costs for the industry? And what about the audience? Is there no Guild of American Couch Potatoes and Movie-goers (GCPM) out there that declares a strike of the viewing masses? Time is ripe.

By Kolja Langnese

However, some of us are already looking further than christmas, since they will be in New York for New Year’s! To get into the spirit, I compiled a little list with my favourite music videos of New York City ever. Please feel free to add yours in the comments, I will try to update the list accordingly.

1: Andrew Thompson – “There Must Be Some Kind of Misunderstanding”

2: Nas – “Nas Is Like”
3: The Rapture – “Wayuh”

4: Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige – “I’ll Be There For You”

5: Pet Shop Boys – “New York City Boy”
6: Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – “The Message”
7: Beastie Boys – “Open Letter to NYC”
8: Moby ft. Debbie Harry – “New York, New York”
Update:
Since there is no real music video of Frank Sinatra’s classic, enjoy this scene with Gene Kelly from the movie “On The Town.”
A good collection of all sorts of NYC vintage videos can be found on the site of the New York Magazine. Take a look here.Happy Holidays everyone!Kolja

Starting today, Queens’ P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center , a MoMA affiliate, will present Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 15-hour epic film version of Alfred Döblin’s Berlin Alexanderplatz.

Orginally aired in 1979/80 as a 14-part series on German public television, Fassbinder’s masterpiece, running a total of 930 minutes, was recently restorated and released on DVD.

Apart from being able to see the episodes in 14 distinct screening rooms, visitors will have the opportunity to read the storyboard, see magnified stills and listen to audiotapes of Fassbinder dictating the script.

Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz was previously shown at Kunstwerke Berlin. P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is located at 22-25 Jackson Avenue in Long Island City. Directions are availabe here.