Qype: hollywood canteen in Hamburg

Hamburg - Restaurants - Fast Food & American

Ugh. I am writing this with not one but two belly bombers anchoring me down. Four visits is enough, never again. This last time was a remarkably horrid experience.

This week there was a huge sign out front 'buy one get one free'. The deal seemed pretty clear, so despite my other three mediocre visits, The Mexican and I opted for yet another Hollywood Hamburg adventure.

Gripe #1: Buy one get one free comes with more strings than 80's pop music. The free burger was for me and only me. I could not share my free burger with The Mexican. Also, I could not bring said 'free' burger home with me. Ok, ok... this was just some gimmick to get me in the door (a ploy that this burger joint seems to rely on heavily), but I really felt as if I had been tricked.

Gripe #2: The battle ax behind the counter was... unfriendly to put it mildly. But to be fair, on other nights the service has been friendly, cute university chicks... no complaints there.

Gripe #3: 1950's Oldie Rock playing nonstop. I believe they have one CD on infinity loop. I realize that they don't make any more 1950's "I'm just a lonely teenager now that my poodle skirt girl died on dead mans curve while drag racing my hotrod" - and there are good reasons. After 3 songs it's a true BEATING.

Gripe #4: Bland, soggy hamburgers. Bland, soggy chicken burgers. Bland, soggy hot-dogs. Stale, day-old buns that, when removed, beg the classic question: where's the beef?!

Gripe #5: Stupid, embarrassing names for the menu items. Yes, they got away with this in Pulp Fiction's Jack Rabbit Slims... but they also had slot cars, a midget page and a memorable dance scene. I mean come on! Ducky Don Carlos my <euphemism>donkey</euphemism>.

So to sum up: we where tricked, beat about the head and shoulders by Nurse Ratchet, subjected to torturous bad flash-back music and lost any remaining dignity by having to order 'pun'ny named sup-par burgers.

But hey, you know, that's just, like, my opinion, dude...

Check out my review of hollywood canteen - I am baden - on Qype

Qype: Eiscafé Veneziana in Hamburg

Hamburg - Cafes & Coffee Shops - Ice Cream Parlours

Very much Italian ran... and very, very good.

Although you sit inside, most of summertime business happens just off the sidewalk. I have even watched a dude ride up to the counter on his bike, order, pay and leave--all without bothering to dismount.

Overall, if you happen to be in the area--and are jonesing with the 'you scream I screams'--by all means stop, walk or roll in for a cone! But, if are on a quest for the 'Best in Hamburg', Eiscafé Veneziana will at least make the short list.

Check out my review of Eiscafé Veneziana - I am baden - on Qype

Qype: Cafe Absurd in Hamburg

Hamburg - Cafes & Coffee Shops - Cafes

I often choose Café Absurd when I need a central, neutral place to meet for coffee. Outside of coffee and it's many derivatives, Absurd also offers beer, wine and a pretty decent sandwich menu.

When the weather is nice, you can sit outside on the pick-a-nick tables--and when it's not, you have cushy chairs and sofas inside. Also WLAN and a smokers area for you that do.

The wait staff are true St. Pauli... nice and cool. They always bring a side-shot of water with your coffee, and they always offer a chocolatey-marshmellowly-pillow-on-a-wafer thing. A nice touch that I have only experienced here.

The music is as eclectic as the staff. I have heard a wide range of chill standards, funky soul and german indie rock.

Check out my review of Cafe Absurd - I am baden - on Qype

Qype: Große Freiheit 36 in Hamburg

Hamburg - Nightlife - Clubs - Nightlife - Music Venues

Große Freiheit 36 is actually a pretty sweet place to see a gig. It's roomy, but still small enough to hint at being intimate. There is a very large balcony that sweeps around three sides of the venue so if are a wee person, or happen to be bringing a wee one as your date, you've got options.

The acoustics are surprisingly quite good. I saw a rock/acoustic performance and my ears left happy.

The drinks where as expected: very weak and very expensive. I paid €9 for two waters and a shot of Pernod. The 'shot' came in a laughably small thimble. I mean, seriously... it looked it should have been served on the table of the 'tequila shooting frogs'. Solution: get lit out front before the show... it's Große Freiheit after all, no lack of things to see, wink-wink, nudge-nudge...

Check out my review of Große Freiheit 36 - I am baden - on Qype

The Five Point Five Year Stamp

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I know a guy who knows a guy... and you know this guy. While at university this guy, the one you know, studied many things. After many years it was time to graduate, but it was not exactly clear what was his 'master' subject—it seemed learning was his true passion. The story ends with enough credits and knowledge to basically name his degree. I believe he choose history. He is one of the top 5 most intelligent people I ever met—he has the education to prove it.

Here in Hamburg I have a good friend that might be considered vintage. 62 years old, and wow has he lived each and every one of them. Every time he tells a story or recalls a personal adventure, jaws hang partially open and once again the listener is stunned. How one man can fit so much living into just one lifetime is still a mystery to me. He is one of the top 5 wisest people I have ever met—he has the years to prove it.

When I decided to live abroad I wanted more than just the experience—I wanted something to show for it. Much like the first guy, I have a passion for learning. So, I figured, if applying oneself at university for more than a few years can procure an impressive degree, there must be some kind of equivalent. My 'European Degree' took the form of becoming a permanent resident of the EU. This would allow me to live and work in any of the EU countries just as I can in any one of the US States. It was by no means an easy task—and I highly doubt I could have achieved it without the support and encouragement of many. Although I may never be as intelligent or as wise as people that I look up to, it's a pretty good feeling knowing sometimes I have the tenacity to finish what was started—and on June 12, 2008 I have the stamp in my passport to prove it.

Move, Time, Travel

Time seems to move faster in 2008. It probably has much to do with moving to the beautiful harbor city of Free and Hanseatic Hamburg! Yes, I recently moved, traded pigs for ships, and wow I am a heapin' helpin' lot happier for it. You know that saying 'if you want something done, give it to someone busy'? Since the move it's been all kinds of busy--and if my taskmanager is any indication, it looks like I am checking off about 50% more tasks per day. One client is off to showcase their new exhibition Dialogue in Silence to the WEF in Davos, Switzerland and has been using Twin Pictures as a media and technology swiss army knife. Another client pulled the trigger on an training program we offered for 'Cosmetic GMP'--with the promises to develop into a very interesting long term relationship. 'Ours to loose' as they say in Texas. And to top it all off... it's off to India on Saturday! I have only experienced one Bollywood film, and not once in the 4 hours was there a wedding, therefore I have no idea what to expect. However, in addition to the wedding in Bhilwara (that lasts 4 days!), there are tailored suits to be fitted for in New Delhi, and a business trip to visit an outsourced programing team in Pune. In 2007 I stretched my Northern and Southern borders of travel. Next week I will push further East than I have ever been. Hard not to be excited about the direction 2008 is heading so far!

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An American Halloween in Germany

The phone rang this afternoon. It was the local Newspaper.

Yes, Hello?

Good Day. My name is Mrs Blablabla from the Biberblaber Newspaper, I am calling for a Mr. Baden.

I am he.

I found your name from the official registration records of our district, and it says that you are an American. Can you give our subscribers a unique view on how Halloween is celebrated in your country?

Moment... only so I understand correct. You find me from official record. You know I be American. You want know how people from my country party about Halloween?

Yes, exactly. Can you tell our readers how Halloween is celebrated in your country?

Wow. It is good to know records like this are so open. OK. Halloween...

I proceeded to explain--using my 5-year old German--all the different things most Americans do during Halloween. I tried to tie in what I remember about the background and directed her to Wikipedia. I found that I was missing a few German words when trying to explain concepts like Pagan Roots and Bobbing for Apples. Our 20 minute conversation ended up with her asking if it would be OK to send someone around to take my photo for the paper. Absolutely Not, I replied...It's bad enough that I can be tracked down as an American living in this little pig-farming dorf... a photo in the paper is out of the question. So much for keeping a low profile. Time to move to a bigger city.

Brazillian Basics I

Food: Lots of very good, exotic fruit, therefor lots of crazy fruit juices sold in Juice Bars. Everything that could be sweet is way sweeter than you expect. Meat, Fish, Sushi all very good and inexpensive. Sandwitches (sanWee-gee) and places where you can pay for a plate of food by weight abound.

Drinks: Beer (shoppe) is O.K., best to go with Caipirinha just not with Pitú (known as shrimp juice here). Guaraná Antarctica is also very nice.

Driving:
fullflex bi-fuel system. Top 3 brands: VW, Fiat and Chevy.

Language: Everyone speaks very fast. Use the phrase "tudo bom" (tu-do bon) and/or "tudo bem" (tu-do bayn) as much as possible--it means "everything cool?" and everything is always cool. Also, when meeting somebody, you get to say "Oi" like a London punk rock bitch-head from the mid 70´s.

Pets: Very high concentration of veterinary clinics, pet grooming and pet supply stores. People love cats and small/medium sized dogs.

Beach Weekend - Maresias, Brazil

Years ago, when I was living in New York City, I learned how to recognize and appreciate the moments that become wonderful memories as they occure. This weekend was one--in spades! Every aspect from the weather, the location, the company, the food... perfectly magical. Saturday morning we woke up late, and rushed to jump on a bus for Sao Paulo. Arriving, we took the metro to where we where to meet with our new friend Bianca. After a quick purchase of some more summer threads, we met our new friend and 'zoom' off to the beach. Just before we arrived in Maresias, we stopped for a bit at Camburi Beach. We walked down the beach, hiked through the jungle, and ended up chilling on the rocks that jut out into the sea (pictured). Moments like this turn people you know, into friends that you love. From rocks back to beach for food, drink and a swim that ended up being our first of many 'If we don't kill ourselves' adventure of the trip. The three lifeguards that saved us from being swept out to see where very nice guys, by the way. After not dieing, we drove the 6km to Maresias where we met Jeff and Lille. Well actually they where called Je & Le Le, as Brazilians have the custom to shortening names. Men get one syllable, the women also but it's repeated. The rest of the evening was filled with great food, vodka and tropical fruit... and toped off by dancing until 7am in what has to be the best clubbing experience of my life. Imagine a club located in the middle of a beach jungle... hidden within walls of lush trees and beautiful people. As I think back on it all now... I feel changed somehow. It was so much to digest in such a short time. Perhaps I am digesting still.

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Campinas, Brazil

From Germany, to Holland, to Spain... and finally the madness stopped in Brazil. That was last Friday, and what feels like a month ago. I am creating a reservation web application for a museum on what it's like to be blind. It's called Diálogo No Escuro and it is part of the whole Dialog im Dunkeln exhibition. This pano was shot from my 'Office/Apartment' window while taking a break from coding. No doubt there will be entries following this one... to include more of The Rich and Beautiful Brazil, The Poor and Heartbreaking Brazil... and the sun kissed Brazilian Bikini Waxed Bodies. Boing!

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Enschrede, Holland - ABN

Woke up and was ready by 7.00. First time working in Holland in a few weeks, and I felt I knew what to prepare for. After a long day like this, I just want to sleep. I also want to push the ball forward in a lot of areas of my life, but I wonder if sleeping isn't the best way to achieve that. Right now Guido changes channels and wants to sleep. As he turns the light out, leaving the changing glow of the TV for a second... only to go dark and start to sleep. The last week was really a challenge for me. I was suppose to visit my father over Thanksgiving, but that did not work out. Not enough money, really. Just had to close up my Taxes for the last 3 Q and it was not a pleasant surprise. Sandra is now in Brazil, and after only one week, she has found herself established, with friends, and a full working schedule. I even was asked on Saturday if I could build a reservations program for the Brazilian Branch. Brazil must be an amazing land, and if I can, I would do it for cost, just for the experience. She is an amazing woman, and I have yet to find the drawer to categorize her in. Very special, the little Mexican / Deutsche / Italian / Brazilian monkey. Dirk has been drinking noticeably more. He comes home from the Clink and picks up a beer for the road. Spends about two hours at the office, then picks up something to eat, and a bottle of white wine. That is usually almost empty by the time I get home, and it's not always the end of the drinking for the day. I wish him the best, but It's time I focus on my own life and stop trying to help him. I have done all that I could ask a friend to do for me in the Lifeguard roll. My mother wrote me a letter. I feel for her, but still that part of my family is simply a part of the past. I miss it only in a reminiscent, sentimental sort of way. I have been having many strange dreams the last week. Very intense, and fun to recall the next day. I wish only that a machine could be invented to record dreams, it would sure be fun to watch them conscience. I have been searching for a new 'game' the last few weeks. Not having something to do when I want to play is always dangerous, so I have set out to research flight simulators. I played them quite a bit as a kid, and know from taking flying lessons that they make the theory and instrument understanding a lot of fun. Heh, the first time I flew a plane, the instructor keep telling me I spend too much time looking at the instruments and not enough time looking up and flying-- a good problem if I go for my Instrument Rating. The simulator I settled on was Orbiter - a Space Mechanics and Piloting simulator. Space Pilot, sure... why not. It's almost midnight, and I had better get some sleep, as I have a 7:00 wakeup.

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Spermcoaster - Blender 3D

Here is a wee test animation made using Blender 3D and Voodoo Camera Tracking. For the non-german speaking: 'die zwillinge' means 'the twins', a small advertising agency I work with here in lovely Sonsbeck. Twin Pictures is the production company I started as the media arm of die-zwillinge. Now shut up and watch the video already.

Utrecht, Netherlands

Night street sounds pass below the open hotel windows. Bikes rumble by, then silence for awhile. A mix of languages—some in my mothers tongue—laugh and converse in dark tones as they walk home from the bars and clubs. An in the next moments, as sleep creeps in, I wonder if this night will be recalled accurately, in all it's splender.

God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland, and Utrecht is one of the the hubs. Because of its central location, the Ultrecht hauptbanhauf makes more connections, moves more people that any where else in the country. With a film festival in town, the streets seemed amplified with mixes of students, funky film-goers, locals and stop-overs.

High above the old canals stand the winding tangle of street, bridge and alleyways connect a village for uses long abandoned. Put in the past like the stately windmills that dot Hollands dykes. What would it all look like back in action. Windmills truning with sails full of wind, canal boats delivering goods from the harbors to the wagons and stores. It must have been an amazing place—still is. map

Things I Learned Last Night > Blender 3D to NTSC Widescreen Video

I have learned a few 3D programs over the years. Learning a new one has been my obsession the last weeks. Blender is an impressively powerful 3D modeling and animation program. Blender is also open sourced. This means it is free to download, use and enhance. It is also supported by a global team of friggin cool people -- accessed via wiki and googled websites -- that help Blenders learning curves slide by a bit smoother. It is in this vein that I am collecting my findings on rendering an animation for video here. Once it is complete, I hope to join the ranks of the friggin cool.

So, Things I learned Last Night about:
I. Rendering a Blender animation for use in After Effects/Premiere
D1/DV NTSC Widescreen (1.2)
SizeX: 720, SizeY: 480 - This will render the proper (or close to it for now) screen size
AspX: 12, AspY 10 - Video pixels are not square, 12 x 10 will render the proper pixel aspect ratio, however the final footage must be interpreted manually later on
Fields on - so that the interlaced fields are rendered for video
Odd on - so that the bottom field renders first for NTSC
Output to Targa files (Extensions on) - Better than AVI in case the machine crashes during render
Save the file before rendering

Render the file from the command line like so:
blender -b <path to file><filename.blend> -a

When render completes there should be a list of .tga files in the render folder (C:/temp)

Open up After Effects / Premiere Set up Composition / Project for D1/NTSC Widescreen (1.2)
File > Import > File... > Browse to list of targas
Select first .tga file
Check Targa Sequence check box, Open

Right click on the new footage > Interpret Footage > Main...
Set Pixel Aspect Ratio to: D1/NTSC Widescreen (1.2)

There you have it.

Get Along Little Doggy

Being pulled through the mountains on a Six Dog Powered sled is unlike anything I have ever experienced. First, you have to respect the fact that they love their life. Everyday they get to run, run, run! They like running so much they don't stop... not even to poop or eat snow. The back two dogs are called wheelers. They are pretty much the power houses of the outfit. The lead dogs are called, well, leads. They are pretty much the brains, you tell them where to go and they pretty much listen. After doing this, I can't help but imagine a dog sledding team made up of 20 Jack Russel Terriers. Not only would it look friggin' awesome, but imagine all 20 of them seeing the same damn squirrel. Now that would be a ride!

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Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Let's call it a working vacation along the lines of work hard play hard. Currently I find my self smack-dab in the middle of the playing part. Yesterday Bill, Hunter and I went snowboarding at Blackcomb and Whistler. It's been a about four years since I have been on a board, and wow am I feeling it today. I think I will live through the day so long as I stay clear of any activity involving squatting. Today's line up: Dog Sledding.

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Anti Pope

Like a lion kills an antelope, and yes, yes, even like a hammer hits a cantaloupe Movlanian heart-throb Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik has declared himself as the Anti Pope. If you enjoyed the greatness of such true Europeans as Pleasureman Günther -- or even fake Europeans -- Zladko's blood-chilling video: Anti Pope is sure to please. But if speaking backwards through a hooded translator is not your thing, then check out project fast. Be sure to take a joyride and and 'Shake what your motherland gave you'. Now get back to the Internet.

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I (heart) gypse chicks

I have a wee thing for Gypsies. And the wee thing grows a bit larger when it comes to Gypsy Music. Be it gogol bordello or filthy little gypsy girls with fiddles, I just can't get enough. One such bands that I very much enjoy is Hot Club of Cow Town. Good Texas Swing, that. But I just read a great story about guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintet Hot Club of France, complete with vintage video download. Check it out at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.

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Death of a Disco Fly

...well it happens a lot 'round here. And if you think peace is a common goal, just wait till four or five of these nasty-ass creatures start buzzing around your ears. I wonder if the power could somehow be amp up... then maybe they would make more of an explosion when they die. Die! Die! Die! Disco Fly.

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Dark and Frantic Transatlactic Miles

Seat backs and tables to there original positions, once again it is time to brave a ride on todays commercial flying experience. Due to security restrictions, no robot pirate monkey... alas, fret not friendly American friend, for your pleasure I bring you the next best thing: a real live German wine-killer named Dirk.

So hi-yah, America! If you have a little time to get sucked up into some vacation mode fun, send me an email, adjusting the seatbelt to fit low and snug on the hips. Naturally, this is all very spontaneous, poorly planed, typical baden stuff---but what better way to have an adventure? One sketch of a plan* just might initially look something like:

-----October 2005-------
18: Fly to USA
19 - 21: San Francisco
22: Rod's wedding in Yontville
23: Sacramento
25ish: Drive motor home down to San Diego
27ish: Los Angeles
29ish: Round Mountain
-----November 2005----------
2ish: Seattle/Bellingham
5ish: Bellingham/Vancouver
8ish: Reno/Tahoe
9ish: Sacramento
12ish: San Francisco
14: Fly back to Deutschland
-------------------------------
*Everything except flights and the wedding is subject to change.

Since there is a motor home and foreign national involved, there will most likely be road-tripping in plentiful supply interspersed Chinese fire drills, visiting with friends like you... and the much needed day or three to simply chill.

All the best, and hope to see you soon!

Baden