October 2011
1 post
darren hayes - secret codes and battleships (5/10)
darren is back. well, actually he was never really gone, people just stopped caring after he released a non-commercial album in 2004, consequently got dropped by his record label and last blessed the world with a self-released and self-indulgent double album in 2007. for his ‘comeback’ darren went back to his easy listening romantic pop (savage garden) roots and tries very hard to...
July 2011
10 posts
rising sun diaries, day 10
i finally make it to the lovely ‘jal’ lounge where the showers wont be operational until 6am, so i feel a bit sorry for the people who will be sitting around me on the plane. especially since these people must have spent quite a lot of money on their tickets as i get upgraded to premium economy class for free (again!) at the gate! all’s well that ends well. time for some well...
rising sun diaries, day 9
this time i really have to wake up early as my flight will be leaving at 6.35am tomorrow morning and i have to check in 24 hours before departure to once again secure an emergency row seat. unfortunately the japanese beat me to it and i end up with a really bad seat and an offer from british airways to buy an upgrade to premium economy for ‘only’ 921.50 pounds. no thanks. after a few...
rising sun diaries, day 8
after planning and failing to wake up really early to have a sushi breakfast at the ‘tsukiji’ fish market for almost a week i finally manage to get there. at 2pm. its not quite the same but at least i arrive just in time for the lunch-special. after exploring the posh ‘ropongi’ neighbourhood and the mori arts center (with its rather intriguing contemporary art exhibition...
rising sun diaries, day 7
its pretty cloudy and the day starts with a visit to the enormous ‘meiji’ shrine in harajuku and a bit of obligatory shopping and visiting some of the well known tourist traps including the oriental market. at 6pm its time to get excited at tokyo disneyland which is pretty much deserted due to the impending typhoon which is supposed to hit the coast tonight. half the rides are closed...
rising sun diaries, day 6
even though many japanese understand english they seem to generally refuse to speak it. this makes daily life as a tourist a bit more tricky and difficult but also quite exciting. its like living in a secret society where most of the time you just have to pretend to know what the hell is going on in order to fit in. today its finally hotspring time and i even get to wear a traditional...
rising sun diaries, day 5
yesterday was not all bad news as i also finally found a working rollercoaster (directly behind the temple), a karaoke bar and even played a few rounds of some traditional japanese marble game / ancient pinball machine variation. today i left tokyo to explore the countryside, was inside a giant buddha in ‘kamakura’ and finally found myself a beach. that particular...
rising sun diaries, day 4
time for asakusa, one of tokyos most traditional neighborhoods and home of the famous sensoji temple. 100 yen will buy you an ‘omikuji’ (your fortune written on a small piece of paper) which in my case contained a number of rather pessimistic predictions including ‘you will be completely at loss with your empty heart’, ‘your wish will be hard to be realized’ and...
rising sun diaries, day 3
its not until 1pm when i finally wake up in the hotel bed (which is pretty much all that this tiny room consists of). downtown to the impressive tokyo dome (where the roller coaster is sadly out of order, most probably due to the country-wide power shortage), then up the metropolitan government building viewing platform which is free of charge but there is a hidden 500 yen cover charge when you...
rising sun diaries, day 2
a really early start to the day as my flight lands at tokyo haneda airport at 5am. already 26 degrees outside and i somehow manage to find my way to the hotel where i realise that i am more jet-lagged than i thought (or was willing to admit to myself) and my body is aching for a real bed. as the temperature crawls up to 34 degrees a quick trip down the the supermarket confirms that i will indeed...
rising sun diaries, day 1
its not easy to snatch an emergency row exit on a long haul flight as these usually only become available 24 hours before departure. when your flight takes 12 hours and you travel in economy class (which is as far as my budget stretched) you really want to try very hard to be amongst the first who log-in to battle for the best seats and i am happy to report that i succeeded. but it was in vain as...
May 2011
1 post
make me, break me (2)
‘make me break me’ is a delicate uplifting electropop-song and also the debut single by up-and-coming new swedish band ‘vanbot’. their first album has just been released and their sound is basically robyn meets la roux meets ester ideskog (who is the girl behind ‘vanbot’). stream and download the song for free here
April 2011
1 post
make me, break me (1)
sometimes when life is a downhill slope you’ve just got to lean back and enjoy the ride…
March 2011
1 post
21 things i want in a lover
surprise me. challenge me. hold my hand and kiss me in public. sing with me in the shower. spend a lazy weekend on the couch with me watching my favourite shows from the last century. be passionate. don’t run from a fight. be spontaneous. be romantic, not cheesy. make me feel safe. introduce me to your parents. wear my ring. force me to use skincare. believe in me. laugh with me and cry with...
February 2011
1 post
valentine's day
random thoughts for valentine’s day. today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies… to make people feel like crap. i ditched work today. took a train out to montauk. i don’t know why. i’m not an impulsive person. i guess i just woke up in a funk this morning.
[eternal sunshine of the spotless mind]
December 2010
1 post
hurts - happiness (8/10)
hurts is a new british synthpop band who released their debut album ‘happiness’ this september. strangely enough the title track did not make it onto the actual album (which reminds me of omd and their beloved ‘sugar tax’ album) but other than that i am happy to report that this is one of my favourite musical gems of the year. here is my first ever track-by-track review:
1...
November 2010
1 post
letting go
there are many things i don’t know how to do, but letting go of someone i deeply care for must be pretty high on that list. when your head tells you not to listen to your heart anymore, why is it so damn difficult to follow through? over the years not letting go has gotten me in all sorts of trouble, has significantly complicated my life and all my friends have long grown tired of saying...
August 2010
3 posts
adventures on the west coast, day 11
going full circle and driving back to la, this time spending two nights in a lovely hotel in santa monica. the santa monica pier reminds me a lot of brighton pier and i win a precious magnet and a rather unique temporary ed hardy tattoo on a sheet of paper at the arcade hall. fashion debacle in downtown after i invested 2 dollars in a bandanna. was a little too overexcited to try it on and threw...
adventures on the west coast, day 10
woke up and feel pretty much as dead as the rental car (which somehow seems to have run out of battery over the last two days). hours later even the hotel room in the best part of the city (pacific beach) can’t make me fall in love with san diego and i miss vegas. at least all the post-marathon pain in my legs is finally gone and i am looking forward to los angeles and the santa monica...
adventures on the west coast, day 9
the big hangover arrives and gets treated properly at the huge hotel pool area. more mcdonalds, more gambling and free drinks at the table. of course only after showing them my id which in one case took 20 minutes to resolve as they had never seen an austrian drivers licence before and certainly didn’t have a clue what or where austria even is. still really loving the city though and wish i...
July 2010
8 posts
adventures on the west coast, day 8
death valley and las vegas are next on the list and the endless rocky desert with its unbelievable heat doesn’t fail to impress. also buying one of the biggest cans of beer i have ever seen which may slightly influence my judgment. las vegas is smaller than i thought, but arriving there late pays off as the city really shines at night. endless rounds of drinks and endless rounds of black...
adventures on the west coast, day 7
a long drive ahead to and through yosemite national park, a very popular attraction it seems as most time in the park is actually spent stuck behind dozens of other cars in an endless traffic jam. magnificent views make up for it, but again the large groups of people frantically taking pictures at each vista point make it seem more like a fast food all-you-can-eat nature experience…..
adventures on the west coast, day 6
leaving for napa valley to recover from last nights hangover. first need to rest some more in the hotel which has a pool in the middle of the parking lot (and cancelling the pre-arranged guided wine tour), then its time to properly explore the wineries and see what california grapes have to offer. boutique tasting rooms with fountains and statues and glass walls to attract tourists who don’t...
adventures on the west coast, day 5
waking up at 4.30am to make it to the marathon on time. its a good thing the race starts at 6am, sleepwalking through the first 5 miles and things are going surprisingly well until i hit the wall at mile 21. its as if someone suddenly pulled the plug and all life has been sucked out of me. somehow you can feel your body shutting down without fainting so you get to watch yourself fall apart with...
adventures on the west coast, day 4
time to properly explore san francisco which doesnt require a whole lot of walking, thanks to the glorious 49-mile scenic drive which takes you through the whole city and its major attractions and historic structures without ever having to leave your car. also picking up my ‘bib number’, timing tag, goody bag and the official t-shirt for tomorrows marathon. a bit scary to finally meet...
adventures on the west coast, day 3
today it was time to visit the six flags discovery kingdom roller-coaster park where people working at the rides greet you with obligatory high-fives and everyone must have an id to get a beer (there is of course a maximum of 1 beer sold per id). arrived at the hotel sober and sunburnt and off to a dodgy club with cheap long island ice teas and a random stranger complementing my teeth (?) and...
adventures on the west coast, day 2
waking up in a dodgy hotel in the middle of nowhere, half a bagel with orange peel jam for breakfast and continuing the journey up north. sea elephants on the shore and locals who turned a regular road into a private road because of its popularity and the opportunity to cash in. arrive in san francisco at last where the relative cost of a parking space is higher then the cost of a hotel-room. i...
adventures on the west coast, day 1
more than 10 hours on a plane, not enough wine to get drunk, not enough comfort to get a proper rest. half awake, half asleep and finally joining the mile high club, though i guess it might not really count if you are all by yourself. running out of conversation, running out of papers to read, running out of patience for the spanish woman behind me who seems to have a pretty bad bladder problem....
May 2010
1 post
sudden death
the thing about living in a first world country is: we somehow are much more detached from sickness, deseases and death. many things can be cured and everything else happens hidden from view in hospitals or homes for the elderly. only the odd car crashes or some national catastrophes bring death in sight once in a while. i guess thats the reason why a sudden, unexpected death of someone close to...
April 2010
1 post
be my guest
ever since i have moved to london people have been queuing up to visit me. free accommodation seems to be quite an incentive to visit the uk and i have always been known to be quite hospitable. however a few unspoken rules applied and i can get very frustrated if people disregard them. its just rude to stay at somebody’s place and not bring a small token of appreciation for the host with...