My License is Still Good for Driving, Feathers on top of Squirrels on top of Springs, and Tiny Cars.

The evening before my birthday I went to a comedy show. There was a band with a beautiful, beautiful (Brazilian?) singer whose voice was a screaming mix of Billie Holiday, Amanda Palmer, Alela Diane, and Adelina Patti. She sang the blues and it was gorgeous. The headline comedian had a stand-up/piano humor set which he pulled of quite well. After the show a cozy group of friends, who just discovered it was my birthday eve, threw me a wonderfully make-shift birthday celebration. :)

Cozy apartment, cozy people :)

Make-Shift doesn't come with cake, candles for a wish were there in plenty.

Will gave us an exclusive poetry reading.
Chocolates and champagne were in abundance.
As were beautiful voices. For the night, in the least, my sometimes musical heart was awoken. I went home, (I live circa 20 feet away) grabbed my guitar, and the rest of the evening was full of song. It was a blast to read music again, even more so on account of the German writing. They don't have "B!" They have "H" instead! C-D-E-F-G-H-A! how funny! They also don't use accidentals in chord names. C# isn't C#, rather Cis. and c# is cism. I love that reading music surprised me, I haven't felt that joy in a while. I love hearing a song and I love reading a song. Sometimes I'll pull out my real book and simply read along. The analysis part of music, the mathematics and the logic are so pleasing to me. The functionality of it, how it actually works is fascinating.
Sometimes things excite me uncontrollably. Lately my excitement stems from words, (for instance: the word 'puzzle' in German is "Geduldspiel," literally, "patient-game." Doesn't that tickle your feet?! Game of Patience!) or weather that I've never felt before, or weather that i've felt before but in a different season, or children who do the tiniest things different here, or children who do the same things but in unbelievably different settings and it's normal (for instance: Sitting in a packed bar for a soccer game, full of men screaming together and chugging dark, dark German beers, one can't help but notice the mother who casually, without any concern, though with certain infinite motherly love, simply sits, smiles, and watches as her learning-to-walk two and a half year old boy waddles curiously and carefree through the stomping legs of burly fans who somehow know not to trample the toddler. It's like they are used to it. I've often had the sense that everyone here raises children together. It's noticeably a community effort.), but it's been a long time since I've jumped around in my seat because of a music sheet. Feeling that again was the best part of my birthday night.
And the people, of course.

This is a pig with a four-leaf clover.
Wednesday was my real birthday-day. The after-school tutor house where I work made me smile for the afternoon. My co-worker and friend made an incredibly delicious cherry cheesecake (cherries made me think of dad; you would have loved it). The head teacher purchased enough gifts so that almost every student of mine could give me one. They were all extremely German. My favorite: "kläpperle," a southern Germany percussive instrument similiar to wood blocks. They are used during Carnival, which is in two weeks.
I also received the four-leaf clover holding pig above, the ultimate, ultimate symbol of German luck. Germans love pigs. If someone tells you you have a pig, they are calling you oh so lucky.
Now I have a pig.
My students! We ordered a pizza for some pre-cake substance. :)
This is a dust-feather thing attached to a drill. I need not mention that it is art.
Friday night was "Museum Night" in Basel, Switzerland. On this once-a-year evening, all the museums (30 of them) are open from 6pm-2am, and they are free for younglings under 25. If you are of the older variety, you pay a small one time fee and can then visit them all. The Tinguely Museum, my favorite, is named after Jean Tinguely, a metamechanical sculptor man who built things out of things and made them move. I can not imagine how much fun he had. He must have gotten so excited every single time he saw a piece of shrapnel on the street, a bottle cap, or a shape in a cloud that he could later physicalize. His works are meant to satire the numb overproduction of industrial stuff. Some of his works were even one time projects that self-destructed. All of his works are connected to a power source and a pedal. If you step on the pedal they move, often in a jagged and imperfect repetitive circle.

I thought this was one of the coolest exhibits. It's a car. When you step on its pedal, all of the jaws start slowing biting and the car lights shine blindingly bright. There is also a somewhat disfigured bear sitting in the passanger seat who moves around. Among other things.
Could anything be cooler!? It's a bike! It works! You can sit on it and pedal. When you pedal, the pen/crayon/marker, you can change it out, moves sparatically and makes you a painting! What an idea: industrialized, numb reproduction of art.
I wish I had taken a picture of the entire apparatus, though this is by far the best part. A piano played by a little toy wooden man.
The craze behind me is just one big mess of moving parts. You can walk on it (it has stairs, three levels) while everything is moving. It includes a horse from a carousel, a large spinning brush from a car wash, many wheels, plants that are horizontal, garden gnomes that are upside down, and christmas lights.
I don't know what this affair is supposed to be. It had lots of conveyer belts and buckets that kept going back and forth. Wish I got the name of the thing.
Same as above, lower and opposite side. Some of the masks on this turning machine are from Fasnacht, a carnival celebration. The largest one is in fact in Basel. It's quickly approaching. It starts at 4am on a Monday morning. There are roughly 20,000 who take part, that's to say, who wear customes of many sorts with the criteria: it should be impossible to identify yourself. At 4am the city of Basel shuts out every single light, including street lights. The only light comes from lanterns. The celebration begins. Bars are open the entire 72 hours that the Fasnacht lasts. It sounds like the maddest, most fantastical and possibly scariest hullabaloo ever. Monday the 15th of February. I can not wait. Jenny Holzer had her very first exhibit in Basel for Museum night!

Jenny Holzer is a word/LED-display artist who displays words/scripts in large, often outdoor settings. Some of her words tell a story, some are just phrases, some are just words. Some are up-to-date news reports. She had an exhibit here reporting Iran and Afghanistan relations. Pretty cool. Can't look at it for too long.
Jenny Holzer phrases of the day: 'Stupid People Shouldn't Breed' and 'The Wish to Reproduce is a Death Wish.'
Thank you Jenny Holzer.
I thought it was simply awesome that the entrance to the Jewish Museum was a piece of cloth hanging from a ceiling.
A few random photos from today, but first! My little smoking man! You can't tell he is smoking but I tell no lie; you put incense in his belly and then he smokes it! A Christmas gift from Dresden. :)
Little kids are awesome. Dude's just chillin'.

The demonstration of the day. Just recently an allowance in Germany was granted to permit the Military to enter schools to promote military involvment. This protest stood against military influence in schools, arguing that war teachings and military information should, in education, be taught by teachers and education professionals, not by the military institution itself.
"Against psychological
warfare in schools
YOUTH OFFICERS OUT
OUT OF EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES"
And, for a kick, a toy car roams the streets of Europe. Poor little guy probably gets laughed at all the time.

I don't feel I can leave my apartment until march 1st. The amount of work I have to do is a little overwhelming HOWEVER, plans are slowly, slowly forming as the largest break of all time nears. Berlin, Prague, Zürich, London, Turkey... trains are flying in my head. I gotta work for 'em though.
With time. With time I will finally be on the road.
Until then I will research and write, research and write, research and write and repeat. The hard part is starting. I'm not quite there yet.
I have a presentation on Tuesday on Slam Poetry and I get to slam for my class. I'm looking forward to it. :)

peace.

First Phrases

A young studentin of mine asked if I would play a game with her today. Last time we played memory, which was fun and all, though I did lose, and discovered I've lost that effortless childhood ability to remember where two obscure pictures stand on flipped over pieces of cardboard. Not to mention the game really didn't do much for her English; you just don't talk much.
Today she chose this game from the corner and I couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, Hanna, I will teach you how to say your age and favorite hobbies, right after you learn how to compliment that young gentleman's scooter, namely, the slightly Chinese-American adolescent wearing a do-rag.

have a great day. :)

This Christmas is Dedicated to Henry.

Here is my Christmas Tree. It doesn't have any ornaments; they knock the poor thing over. All and all I think he's pretty happy. A friend suggested I buy the smallest, ugliest tree I could find, otherwise no one would buy it, and it would be sad and lonely for Christmas. Merry Christmas little guy.

Christmas celebration number one. These are two happy people and one happy tree. Look at those smiles. Happy Happy :)

Nick in Freiburg! We had a wonderful visit. He made it in time to catch the last two hours of the Christmas Market.

He danced in front of the Rathaus, even got a few spectators.

Beer in my kitchen.

Beer at Schlappen. It's called Bananecolaweizen, a sweet beer with banana and sprite.

It's delicious.

Unfortunately this picture fails to capture everyting festive about Christmas Eve. A friend hosted a dinner party with an incredible spread, merry wines, and a lovely tree. In the least, here are two satisfied dinner guests.

Oh my gosh it's Erinn! :) Also a delightful visit. What a beautiful beautiful familiar face.

I'm not sure where to start with Switzerland, but this being the start of the ski day, seems like a good spot. You have to take several cog-train rides, each one anywhere from 10-50 minutes, to get up to the slopes. The ride is gorgeous. The whole experience is gorgeous. I spent more time standing on the slopes and looking around than I did skiing, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Train station number two. Very first run, still quite low in the mountains, not quite yet above tree line.

Village in the mountain. It's amazing, people can take twenty minute runs from the top straight to their door. Or favorite pub. This picture was taken at the highest accessible point in this region of the Swiss Alps. I traveled train to train to train to three lifts, then two gondolas, to reach the top during an ever worsening storm. When I got to the top, the avalanche warning was at it's highest. The temperature during the very last gondola ride alone, which was certainly the shortest, dropped 18 degrees F. The board above is a showing of the Swiss Alps that are supposedly in front of me. They had mountain guides to go down with you if you were alone. I decided to get a meal, mosey around, and enjoy the blizzard. The buidling is on a rock at the top of the mountain. There is one exit point: a narrow door out of which you ski. I finished my meal, retrieved my skis, and walked to the door at the very moment they closed it. I was literally the first person they closed the mountain on. I was six feet away from the exit and closing in, and they shut it down. This was depressing. I slumped down on a bench along with six or seven heart-broken others, and waited until they determined the wind was calm enough to send us down in a tram. I hate to think about all the skiing I missed in transportation to and from this stupid rock.

Of course my attempt the next day proved much more satisfactory :).

Ahh. That's a little better.

This is the last stretch to get to the top. It starts at the top of that rock in the distance. Really not that great of an altitude change, it's impressive how much the temperature can drop.

mmm white mountains. Here are some views from the top. I stayed for two hours or so before I skiied down. I could have stayed longer, only skiied one run the rest of the day, and would have been just as happy.

Die Sonne probiert! Die Sonne probiert! Proclamations from one happy woman. The sun's trying!!

Coolest walkway ever. I felt like Bruce in Pulp Fiction approaching the ring for the final time. The next few pictures document my run.

View just out the doorway.

noch mal. Nothing but powder before me, nothing but powder in front of me.

Looking back at the top.

Re-entering civilized skiing.

This is the converging point. Out the peak door there is a narrow trail everyone takes, then you split and find your own powder for a while :). Here's the slow comeback into a trail.

Finally blue skies.

pretty.

woohoo!!! :) Dad and I right off the Schilgrat lift, Mürren.

noch mal.

Bottom of Schilgrat lift :).Ein schöner Ausblick.

Once again, what a cool village. This is where they filmed the bond film "On her Majesty's Secret Service," in case you've ever heard of it. I hadn't.

All the visits were great. Nick and I celebrated Christmas together, with a tree, presents, carols and all. I got to show Erinn my favorite Sunday morning brunch spot. Her, her friend, my father, and I were all able to have dinner together at my apartment. Nick and my dad got to see each other for a solid hour or so. I certainly do not underestimate the value and luck in being able to share my current spot in life with friends and family. I couldn't ask for more. My father and I got to visit many of my favorite restaurants, walk through a good deal of my daily life, and vacation in Switzerland together. He also got to meet a couple of my friends here, as did Nick. I didn't want anything more than that. Sharing my life with the people who are important to me, that's what it's about. Leading your own way, and having people who will smile and be happy for you when you say hey look, look where I am, that's pretty cool.

Aside from the gaping lack of Henry on the slopes, there's one other reason he comes strongly to mind. It's actually not him but Jone, his mom. Nick Mon and I had a few people over for a dinner party on the 25th. We used every dish we possibly could to serve everyone. It will be a while before I forget what my kitchen counter and table looked like after everyone left. To be honest it was one of the most satisfying sights I've seen, signs of life in the form of emptied plates and cups, every last one we owned. We cleaned for 2 and a half hours. After off-target attempts to find the right dishwashing music, I landed on Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen. The album brought back stark memories of the Kenyon kitchen and mama Jone. Cleaning dishes with HankTank in the quiet night at the Kenyon household is as much a summer night routine as is playing Mile Davis or Dexter Gordon albums, or playing frisbee in the street by city light. Henry's kitchen, Jone's territory, is one of my greatest homes, as are Jone and Henry. Suffice to say, the album was perfect.

Greetings from a few of us in the program here. This gathering was a great kick off to the holidays.

Here's to a relaxing and refreshed merge back to the runnings of things. Happy day everyone.

:)