Heading Back To D-Town!

So Im heading back to Dettelbach in the morning. Getting on a bus at 8 A.M. No problem I have The Dark Tower Series to accompany me. I started reading the series when I was fifteen. I just last week began it all over again. I wanna read it straight through without the gaps waiting for the next book in the series to be written brings. I find it wonderful that while reading Gunslinger, Drawing of the Three, and Wastelands.... I have been ushered back to visuals in my mind I havent visited in 20 and more years. Reading these books again is akin to watching an old favorite movie. I am struck by the familiarity of the visuals I chose for myself at fifteen. I remember fondly the relationships between characters but see them at a deeper and more profound level than I did in my adolescence. There are some passages I now see subconsciously inspired me with ideas I thought I came up with on my own many years later.

 Ive always loved Roland. He is a western Jedi of sorts. A deeply spiritual master of his craft. He is a consummate improviser. He is fully available in every moment. He has uncanny instincts and insurmountable timing. He forgets nothing and these memories fuel his quest.

 He (Roland and King) reminds me that what I have always found important on my journey never required large sums of money or a nice expensive car or the big house and "fine education" or any of the things society seems to grade its civilians on. I need the guns that feel right in my hand..... to feel like I am "shooting with my finger". I need a balance of time alone on the path and time with friends. Not tons of people..... just the ones who will be a part of my Ka-Tet and teach me their magic and learn from mine. I need to lose. I need to lose badly. And I need to not dwell on loss, but look forward sometimes even blindly towards the goal. But most of all...... I need never truly know what that goal is..... because that in itself will define me...... and ones freedom can be conquered with such knowledge and demand from oneself.

So I will play the trumpet and guitar every day. (my guns)
I will practice german every day. (the new portal into a world with which I am unfamiliar)
I will pay small homage to the past and future and mostly focus on my present (because the present is the path to my Ka).........

but most of all I will  try not to carry the weight of  all the worlds on my shoulders.... so my Tower doesnt own me.












 

 

Tearing My Hair Out

Todays   Project

Nominative, genitive, dative, accusative singular in connection with a masculine noun:

mein, meines, meinem, meinen (my)
dein, deines, deinem, deinen (your - informal)
Ihr, Ihres, Ihrem, Ihren (your - formal) (her) (their)
sein, seines, seinem, seinen (his)(its)
unser, unseres, unserem, unseren (our)
euer, eures, eurem, euren (your - informal)


singular in connection with a female noun:

meine, meiner, meiner, meine (my)
deine, deiner, deiner, deine (your - informal)
Ihre, Ihrer, Ihrer, Ihre (your - formal) (her)  (their)
seine, seiner, seiner, seine (his) (its)
unsere, unserer, unserer, unsere (our)
eure, eurer, eurer, eure (your - informal)                                  

singular in connection with a neutral noun:                          

mein, meines, meinem, mein (my)
dein, deines, deinem, dein (your - informal)
Ihr, Ihres, Ihrem, Ihr (your - formal) (her) (their)
sein, seines, seinem, sein (his) (its)
unser, unseres, unserem, unser (our)
euer, eures, eurem, euer (your - informal)

plural is identical for all noun genders:

meine, meiner, meinen, meine (my)
deine, deiner, deinen, deine (your - informal)
Ihre, Ihrer, Ihren, Ihre (your - formal) (her) (their)
seine, seiner, seinen, seine (his) (its)
unsere, unserer, unseren, unsere (our)
eure, eurer, euren, eure (your - informal)                                 

German indefinite articles

case                  masculine                feminine             neuter                         

nominative        ein                          eine                          ein   

-

genitive            eines                        einer                        eines                

-

dative               einem                       einer                      einem               

-

accusative          einen                     eine                            ein

                                                                                                                                                                                           

The Lock

My face has no lock.
Never has.
It is as free to do with its understanding of my feelings as it wishes.

My voice has no lock.
Never has.
It cant find the ability to betray its understanding of my feelings.

My eyes have no lock.
Never have.
They cant suppress their desire to express my feelings.

My soul has no lock.
It never has.
It feels you and reacts. It sees you and reacts. It hears you and reacts.

It Loves You.

My Heart Has A Lock........

BLAU!!!

So here I am..... meeting up with myself again. As always wherever you go there you are. This time there is a difference. Im great with it.

I have been in Berlin now for 6 days. I like it and love it.
I love it for reasons I have previously stated.
I like it ....... well thats a bit more complicated.

You know how in NYC its always a bitch cause peeps just cant fuckin walk right?
Tourists seem to have their heads up their asses?
Visitors dont know whats behind or to the side of them?

Well New Yorkers...... here is a bit of info.

It isnt because they are tourists or visitors.
    I walk through Berlin and EVERYONE strolls around without concern for others space, speed, or movement. I have wanted to bitch and moan about sidewalk etiquette more in the last six days than in the previous year.(due to my foreign status mums the word) My host took me to a park flea market the other day..... (he doesnt know me that well yet )......  and I would have rather ridden a bike with no seat through Harlem in winter. Talk about frikin Stop and Shop. I have more knowledge of the back of the German female head than I need.

 Dont get me wrong. Its true. I miss her. New York is home. New York is LIFE!!
..... but despite some minor ill advised personal infractions by the locals here, I have some goals. After June (if I can get all my papes in order) you may not see me for quite some time.

German is a pain in my ass. The language is a nightmare. The structure and cases and declinations are a headache. But doesnt all that provide a fine challenge? Isnt that a great way to begin? Cant this difficulty once usurped be a trampoline to French and Italian?.... (both countries  i will live in as well mark my words)

I think YES!!!
 There is a problem however....... Blau means blue.    So do I have to go back to CHA!! or can I stay with

                              BLAU!!!!!











   

Berlin!

 "Summer 1993.... a new beginning. Its 4 a.m. do you know where the party is? Afterhours.... DJ Frankie Bones... goin out to the positive vibe, and the positive people, in the underground. Sunday morning.... here It Is!"
These words opened my favorite mixtape of deep house. I was 18 and living in NYC. There was creative energy everywhere.... people busting acid dance moves on street corners... DJs spinning nightly in prep for that weekends big party under the Whitestone bridge. Art on the walls music in the streets and weed in the air.

 Soon after, the city became a vapid wasteland. Not in a run down sense but in a corporate playground kinda way. Our energy disappeared. Since then Ive often wondered where it up and got the fuck out to..... now I know!
BERLIN!!
Walking around this city is like hardsteppin through NYC in its last true creative era. EVERYTHING is tagged. And the good pieces are unreal. People on bikes and scooters and walking. restaurants and wine bars without the chic hype on every corner. And dont drink your beer all quick like so you can leave your house for 

the bar...... just take it with you and sip it strolling down the street... or even..... sitting on the train!
Ive kinda missed NYC for quite a few years..... but Im happy to say I dont have to now.... cause I found where she went!!!

Rogers' 65th Birthday

 This weekend we celebrated my uncle turning 65. He is a sculptor/painter/printer. He told me when he moved here to Dettelbach 20 years ago it was difficult to break ground within the close knit circles of friends. It has certainly changed for him in that department.

 His friend Fritz renovated a beautiful stone room and we spent a couple days moving prints and sculpture around to obtain the best feel.

Udo and Janush

 When all 60 guests packed in Roger said some lovely things thanking everyone for their support and love. He has become a bit of a celebrity around the area and everyone adores him.

After the opening we moved to a local hall... think Elks Lodge... and had dinner and music. I played some electric guitar and trumpet and sang blues spirituals with another friend of Roger. A DJ showed up...think 16 year old with itunes.....and before i knew it there were only four of us left and it was 5 in the morning. Udo, Janush, Regina and myself. Roger is blessed the town is blessed to have him and I am blessed to be accepted by them all......

The Town!

This is the main street in the town.

A little walkway along the wall.

Add caption

 These are pictures of Dettelbach. It is a quaint little place that is surrounded by a stone wall. I live inside the wall. I can walk five minutes and be surrounded by vineyards and farms. The lookouts on the wall once served for protection.

The second night i was here I ventured into the "dive" bar. I sat down with a beer and promptly a young dude sat down at the table I was at. His friends joined him a minute later. I was surrounded...... being a New Yorker my instinct was to look for a way out and choose the two guys I was gonna plow through first. I needed no escape. They all took me under their wing for the night and for the next five hours we hopped from bar to bar.... which is to say we went to the other bar.... and then partied in a youth center until dawn. Youth center you ask?? Yes. The drinking age is sixteen. There is a bar in the youth center..... in fact the place is vacant otherwise.



 A few days later I walked the streets dressed as a snow flake in the Fasching parade... think Mardi Gras without the tits... and poured wine to all the observers who stuck out their cups as we passed. The parade ended and the entire town... and five surrounding towns... packed into a hall and a DJ spun dance music for 6 hours. I danced my ass off for a while but when the guy played "Barbie Girl" I knew it was time to get the fuck out of there. All of the music was American.... and none of it was original. He did however play "Party Rock Anthem" so I guess my night was complete. Something did strike me as special.... In the U.S. there would be an empty dance floor (or at least I would be the only dancer) for quite some time before the people got their nerve up. Not here.... nobody cares about how they look..... they party and dont give a fuck what anyone thinks.

From the vineyards overlooking town.

 REFRESHING!!!


I cant wait till spring. for one I get seasonal depression so the dark skies do me no good but the vineyards are gonna pop and its gonna be gorgeous. There is a program in a nearby city in which you work 2 weeks in a vineyard and study for 2 weeks rotating until you complete the vintner course. I am on the fence about either getting my sommelier certification here in Germany and then moving to France, or working the vineyards here and when I am fluent in German moving to France and after studying French get certified in Paris.

These are the difficult decisions in my life..... hahahahahaha!!!

Five minute walk........ cant wait till spring.

The dive bar :)

Town square.

My House......

A Few Weeks In.......

So ive been here a couple weeks now. Dettelbach, Germany. The town is only a few kilometers away from my great grandparents home town. My town has cobblestone streets and is surrounded by a medieval wall. Everyone says hello and good morning and good evening and so forth..... I'm living in a 400 year old house. I'm learning the language and meeting fine friends of my uncle. Ill be posting pics soon enough (when i can figure out how to use the camera). It is super quiet here. Quiet enough to decompress from the stress of NYC but also quiet enough to have to deal with personal issues that have been in hiding behind the distractions of urban life. I love it here. There are already plans in the works for Switzerland, Austria and Italy in the near future. I will be all over the place..... so far.... best decision I ever made.

It Begins......

Hi Friends,

This will be my journal. I will be writing and posting pictures of my travels here so anyone interested can check up on me and not have to be slapped upside the head with Facebook status messages and updates. Its only fair to you to give you a choice no?