On June 4th the Helmut Newton Foundation opened in Berlin with two exhibits curated from his wide body of controversial photographs. Tucked behind the Bahnhof Zoo in a massive building erected in 1909 for the Land Defense Club (Landwehr-Kasino), the building will hold not only...
There’s a new urban myth circulating about Sex in Dallas, a young techno-punk band based in Berlin. Early in February the group signed to the Berlin recording label Kitty-Yo, famous for artists like Peaches and Gonzales, and already the rumors are flying. As the story goes the band originates from Texas,...
Pedaling up into Prenzlauerberg the other day, enjoying the warm summer late afternoon, I came to a break in the buildings where a long strip of green runs along Bernauer Strasse. A famous street in the history of the Cold War, this is one of...
About two years ago a flower shop opened up just down the street from me. I was a bit skeptical about the prospects of survival for this business, positioned as it was, on the shaded side of the street and directly across from 3 other...
Changing planes between here and there the other day, I had just enough time to indulge in another American fast food treat unavailable in Germany, Cinnabon. Conveniently positioned directly in front of my gate, the delicious scent beckoned to me as I made my way up the jetway to the...
It’s hard not to get nostalgic bombing around my hometown, Seattle, in the same car that I learned to drive in 17 years ago. The steering wheel is looser now, almost squirrelly. Many of the passenger doors don’t quite open and the knob falls off...
East Berlin is notorious for a long history of illegal bars, underground clubs and secret dens of drinking and debauchery. In the last few years many of these hidden watering holes have dried up – succumbing to the pressures of propriety, liability and the police. Still, you can find a...
There’s a new color in the sugar bowl, yellow, the color of fear. Growing up I remember playing with those familiar little white packets of sugar at the restaurant table. I would fan them out, admiring the artfully drawn but poorly registered pictures of the Space Needle and other local...
After a hectic day of scooting around Los Angeles with my mother, pulling together details for my sister’s looming wedding day, we decided to relax with a margarita and Mexican food at Pancho’s, a Manhattan Beach favorite. Living in Berlin I have little opportunity to enjoy anything resembling authentic Mexicali so...