as you bit into your strawberry lace

endlich mal wieder eine neue compilation. huurah! und: endlich mal wieder ein neuer blog-post!

kasabian ≠ underdog

arctic monkeys ≠ crying lightning
endlich die neue single

ash ≠ return of white rabbit

maximo park ≠ the kids are sick again

x-wife ≠ on the radio

yeah yeah yeahs ≠ heads will roll
looooooove the video!

metric ≠ help i’m alive

uh huh her ≠ explode

the asteroids galaxy tour ≠ push the envelope

marina and the diamonds ≠ i am not a robot
super video – directed by rankin!

santigold ≠ lights out

new young pony club ≠ dress

little boots ≠ new in town
nicht mehr so gut wie meddle =(

la roux ≠ in for the kill
auch nicht mehr so gut wie quicksand

the good natured ≠ivory tower
tolle game boy musik

phoenix ≠lisztomania

cut copy ≠ strangers in the wind

ratatat ≠ wildcat
ich will auch einen tiger anzug!

und hier wie immer die video playlist.

things i love thursday #10 weekend-edition

having my mac back

last friday, when i was just about to write a new blog post, my harddrive died. it was horrible, first hoping it would come back, then realizing it was all gone and i would have to spend the long weekend without watching movies, without listening to music, and without the internet. fortunately i have an apple protection plan and a time machine backup on an external drive. so after having brought notebook and external hard drive to an apple store i was pretty hopeful that it was all going to be alright. and the week without a computer turned out to be not so bad at all. i spent the weekend outside with friends. and during the week i had to work so much i wouldn’t really have had any time for the trusty macbook anyway. one tiny problem arose though: i had not backed up my applications folder, which made it impossible to fully restore the system. my tip to any mac user: do not exclude the applications folder from your time machine backups! in that case you won’t even be able to run the system preferences. apart from that i am most happy that i did save all my fotographs. and a little depressed that the new playlist i had been working on is now lost.

running with music

i have mentioned before that i used to run on my cross trainer while watching episodes of tv shows. i couldn’t do that last week due to lack of laptop so i resorted to listening to music. and voila: running with music is so much better! i was much faster and got rid of a lot more built up aggression and managed to go much longer and further than ever before. i listened to does it offend you, yeah? and digitalism. any other great running music suggestions?

potential new glasses

i went looking for glasses with the fabulous lena last saturday and i actually found a pair i think i will get. have been looking for three years now and never thought i’d be this lucky. what do you think?

looking forward to my summer vacation

last week i booked my flight to portugal. in five weeks today i will already be at the beach in figueira da foz. i can’t wait. this is going to be my bright spot in all the stressful days at work that are sure to come up during the next few weeks. i can’t wait for the food (lulas!), the great weather, all the reading (must buy books at amazon!), seeing movies in english, lying at the beach all day, having absolutely no obligations whatsoever, cheap summer sale shopping, grocery shopping, driving around the country with luis and listening to music.

full days at work

even though long hours suck, it is good to have days at work where you don’t wonder for a second what to do next, where you don’t have to keep yourself occupied with tasks with no immediate relevance, where you don’t have to wonder if you are actually making the money you earn. finally i get to be responsible, and i get to see if i am actually good at this job. i get to learn and experience new things and even though getting a bad critique is tough there are many moments where i can’t hold back and have to say how much i love my job out loud. nina, my colleague, thinks i’m nuts but i’d much rather be nuts and be excited about what i do than be sane and hate it. especially when so many of my waking hours are spent doing it.

raquel reed

raquel reed is a turquoise-haired model from new york with a my little pony tattoo on her thigh. i love looking at her photographs, because they are so pretty yet so special. i recently discovered this video she made and think it’s delightful.

addiction strikes again

ich konnte wieder mal nicht widerstehen und habe mehr bei forever21.com bestellt. die speziellen versandkosten bei einem bestellwert ab 100$ waren zu verlockend. und ich hatte auch mal wieder eine verbündete, mit der ich sie mir nun sogar teilen kann. hoffentlich halte ich meine schätze bald in den händen. schade nur, dass es die grauen schuhe, die ich mir eigentlich noch gönnen wollte, dann doch nicht mehr gab. die nächste wunschliste ist aber schon angelegt und ich werde bestimmt bald wieder schwach werden. schließlich kann man nie genug schleifenhaarbänder und bleistiftröcke besitzen.

bag-tease

i always thought taking a picture of my bag and what i carry around in it would be totally self-indulgent and completely irrelevant to any visitor of this humble blog. but when my friend bubkes recently did it for her bag i found it quite interesting and inspiring. and i have also always enjoyed nubby twiglet’s bag posts. and gala darling’s new year bag contents article. i suppose it is a bit of voyeuristic joy to see what others have with them at all times – because usually you wouldn’t even ask a close friend to disclose all the things she has in her bag. personally i am dying to know what my friend nina hides in hers because it is huge and i haven’t yet seen many things come out of it. so is suspect some fascinating mysteries in there. also i must say it gives me some exhibistionistic pride to disclose the contents of my handbag to you because i must admit that quite a few items in there are picked out with much thought and consideration but due to their life in the depths of a violet patent leather bag they don’t usually get the attention they deserve.

* a refilled bottle of water (was raspberry flavoured water when i first bought it – yum!)
* a hello kitty mirror with a little red comb inside that i got in munich ages ago
* my sucky cellphone with a murakami flower i got at the exhibition in frankfurt
* the book i am currently reading (which is not anna karenina any more because i finally finished that)
* my keys with hello kitty key-caps and a pink lacoste keychain for easy locateability
* a hello kitty pen
* sunglasses from forever 21
* a turquoise patent leather frame wallet from urban outfitters that luis got me in san francisco
* a black coin purse from h&m i usually carry my camera in that do once gave me for christmas
* my ipod touch with pink earphones
* the green and pink h&m pouch i store my ipod in
* mac studio fix compact foundation
* labello lipgloss (passionfruit is the best flavour and colour i think)
* mac lipstick in plumfall, russian red or girl about town
* pink container for pain killers (good to have them handy when you need them)
* miss dior cherie perfume my mom gave me this easter
* pink mango leather gloves against chilly winds while riding my bike
* pink umbrella with a head and feet my cousin got my for my last birthday

obviously i don’t have all of this with me all the time. it depends on the weather (sunglasses / umbrella / gloves) and where i am going and how long i will be gone (book / perfume / water). but a shocking amount of this stuff is with me at all times. and with it memories of people and places i like to think of and have close to me.

so what do you never leave the house without?

p.s. did i mention i love cmd+z??? it just magically brought back 15 minutes of writing i had accidentally deleted.

things i love tues/thursday #9

blossoms and spring

nothing is more beautiful than the beginning of spring. each year the first rays of sun, the first songs of birds, the first buds on trees, the first flowers on the ground make me really insanely happy. it fascinates me how i am filled with the most irrational sense of hope and happiness again every year. even if things are tough i find myself smiling and realize that all this is just because of the seasons changing. it’s like this constant unconscious feeling of wonder that comes to the surface now and then and in between gives everything a certain fairy tale feel.

one of the things i like most about early spring (and early spring is all that really counts) is blossoming trees. i find the sight of a tree covered entirely in pink instead of green completely fascinating and overwhelming. an especially lovely experience i had with a tree’s blossoms this year was standing under it with two friends while another friend shook the tree so we got a wonderful fragrant shower of tiny pink petals that stuck in our hair throughout the entire evening. it was magical. and when i think of blossoms i am reminded of the song cherry blossom girl by air which is i think the only song i know that i wouldn’t mind listening to constantly. and i mean all the time.

picknicking

i think that consuming food outside, ideally sitting on a blanket on the ground, is the most charming way to eat in the entire world. i would take a picknick over a 5 star dinner any day. picknicks are not easy – it’s a lot of work to think of food that can be prepared in advance, transported without being damaged and eaten without proper equipment. and then actually preparing and packing it all. but that is what makes picknicks so special in my opinion. and that they remind me of the birthday parties my mother threw for me when i was little. at the moment my colleague-friend and i try to have our own little picknicks on our lunch-break by going to the market twice a week, buying delicious fresh things and eating them outside on a bench in the sun.

wearing false eyelashes

it’s funny how i sometimes discover something i like only to realize that i have been doing so for quite some time. it’s that way with fake lashes. i have really come to love wearing them recently, taking every opportunity that presents itself to put them on. i bought a couple of different styles, including the hello kitty lashes by mac. but then when i was going through my make up bag the other day i was reminded that i have been collecting and adoring fake lashes forever. i got my first pair for the carnival when i was maybe 11 and i instantly felt like a queen when i wore them. i was not very pretty then but the lashes instantly transformed me into a lady (which was my costume that year). and when i spent new year’s 2000 in amsterdam the only thing i brought back from that trip was a pair of immense glittery fake blue lashes which i have never worn because they are just too ridiculously long. i’m sure i won’t stop loving fake lashes any time soon and i already can’t wait for the weekend when i get to wear them again.

fischli/weiss

peter fischli & david weiss are two contemporary swiss artists who have created a huge amount of very original, entertaining and diverse pieces of art. this ranges from a collection of clay sculptures with a message (called plötzlich diese übersicht) over installations made out of sausage and cigarette butts (die wurstserie) to diversely different series of photographs. but the first piece i knew by them, the piece they are most known for and the piece i still like the best is their film “der lauf der dinge” which shows an incredible chain reaction set up by the artists. below you can watch a little preview.

the prospect of starting to read a new book soon

i’ve been reading anna karenina for 5 months now and have just crossed page 1000. there are still more than a hundred pages left but that seems manageable now. don’t get me wrong, i have enjoyed reading this great, important book but i am ready to read something less melancholic, more contemporary now. something that i can come home to after a long day at work and still manage to read more than 10 pages of. i already now what my next book is going to be, it’s called “a fraction of the whole” and is by steve toltz. supposedly it’s a bit like “special topics in calamity physics“. i can only hope.

frühling für die ohren

ich empfehle: video starten, dann text lesen.

mein soundtrack für diesen frühen frühling sind ganz eindeutig die heart strings. beim ersten hören hielt ich sie fälschlicherweise für schnöden easy listening pop. aber da war auch noch winter. und inzwischen habe ich erkannt wie großartig sie eigentlich sind. zuckersüß-leichter twee-pop der in jeder stimmungslage passt: beruhigt bei wut, macht froh bei niedergeschlagenheit, stimmt positiv bei morgenmuffeligkeit, bestätigt bei zufriedenheit, lässt lächeln bei guter laune, ermöglicht ruhe bei nervosität.

mehr erfahren kann man über die londoner auf ihrer zauberhaften internetseite und bei myspace gibt es einige hörproben. her new desaster ist glaube ich mein lieblingssong. am ersten video zur neuen single kids wird wohl noch gebastelt. man sieht, es handelt sich noch um eine relativ junge band, die mich hoffentlich noch mit vielen weiteren alben beglücken wird.

things to do on a train

being on a train is a great opportunity to really take some time for things you normally wouldn’t get around to. it shouldn’t just be about passing the time but about using it and not wasting the unique mood a trip with a train can create.

before boarding the train, buy a magazine you have never read before.

while preparing for your trip upload some new music to your ipod and use the time on the train to make yourself familiar with a new band or album.

write a real letter using paper and a pen to an old friend you haven’t talked to in years. tell them all about what happened since you last met, what you are up to now, what matters to you, what still makes you think of them.

for every stop of the train, imagine what it would be like to get off here. where would you go? who would you call? what would you do? what would it feel like?

take a book that you know you can read entirely during the length of your trip. don’t look up from it once. let yourself drown completely in the story.

learn a poem by heart. everyone should know at least one.

read an old diary. ideally one from exactly 10 years ago. try to remember what things were like back then. what has changed? did you expect thing to turn out the way they did?

write a list of things that were great about last week.

write a list of things to look forward to in the next six months. if that list is to short for your taste think of things to do that you would be able to look forward to. make plans.

write a short story starting with the words: “i was on a train on my way to see xxx. we hadn’t met in more than five years…”

write a short piece about something you know more about than most other people.

make a list of things you want to get for your spring/summer wardrobe.

make up stories about the people living in the houses you pass or sitting across from or next to you.

write a letter to your future self. what do you want to accomplish by this time next year?

make a playlist of your favourite songs to listen to while on a train.

go through the contacts on your mobile phone and text the people you feel you haven’t been in touch with enough.

look out the window, listen to classical music (i really like haydn!) and imagine you were  living 100 years ago travelling somewhere on a train. where are you going? who are you with? what is your story?

try to start a conversation with the person next to you, maybe they have something interesting to tell you.

so what do you usually do when you’re on a train? or a plane? or a bus?

things i love tues/thursday #8

okay, so it’s not thursday today. but i thought i could love things on tuesday too.

sylt

i went there the weekend before last because my parents are currently staying there. and i will be going again next weekend. hurrah! i love sylt because it’s a little like my home, my parents and i have been going there at least once a year since i was five. we went for new year’s a lot or in the off season when it’s really quiet and you don’t constantly run the risk of being hit by a jaguar, porsche or other fancy car brand that i don’t even know. but that’s okay because sylt is beautiful also when it’s dark, foggy, windy and rainy. in fact i think this kind of weather suits it the best. but see for yourselves.

the wind

living up north now i have been getting to enjoy something that is not so common in southern germany: real wind. i have always loved the wind because it was such a rare thing, but even now when it has become so much more common for me it still fills me with glee. having to fight for my umbrella with the wind makes me shriek and grin uncontrollably. and riding my bike against the wind, taking twice as long as i usually do and almost falling over gives me the weirdest feeling of adventure. i only wish the wind would stop messing up my hair. but then again i can just wrap a scarf around my head and all’s well. speaking of the wind once again reminds me of this great video, watch it if you haven’t already (even if i have just given away the punchline)

leaving work before dark

i don’t want to jinx things by saying that spring is here (everybody else is and look what we got: snow again today). but one thing that i can say is: it is no longer pitch black when i leave the agency in the evening. provided i leave on time that is. but still it is just such a great feeling to be going home without having to turn on the lights on my bike. it makes me feel like the remaining hours of the day are still long and there is no need to crawl under the covers right away. like it would actually be fine to go out and do something.that makes it a lot easier to achieve great work life balance.

the l word

i just watched the last episode of the l word and it makes me really sad that there is never going to be another one. that was just the greatest tv show since six feet under. and i honestly don’t see how any other show could take its place. i really hope there will be something new and great next fall. supposedly there is going to be a spinoff revolving around alice so that is something i am going to set my hopes on. but for now i am just saying goodbye to the beautiful cast. i am really going to miss bettes beautiful laugh and shanes cool appearance and jennys insanity… and now i am shutting up so i don’t sound like a pathetic tv junkie with now life of her own.

surprise packages

my dear do sent me a surprise package last week which just made my day. there were so many sweet things in there that all showed how well she knows me and how much thought she had given it. those kinds of packages should be exchanged between friends so much more often. of course it takes quite some effort to think of things the other one will like and then put them together and mail them. but still. i got some great new music and amazingly long and full fake lashes which i can’t wait to wear and yummy belly-warming chai tea that reminds me of visits to mannheim and an andy warhol card and pustefix rainbow bubbles which i keep by my desk so i can blow some out the window whenever i feel my mood getting bad. and they so help to make it better again. so thanks a bunch again sweet girlfriend!

pink eyeshadow

there is no other colour for eyeshadow quite like pink. of course pink is a great colour for anything but i always feel that pink eyeshadow is just very special and unusual while green and violet and blue are all more or less expected – which doesn’ make them kess great of course.  mine is dazzle dust by barry m which i got 4 years ago on a trip to london. there is still plenty left – maybe i should use it more often. it also goes great with my new 11,5 cm heel shoes from forever 21…

delayed gratification

two weeks ago i finally got my college diploma. more than 6 months after handing in my thesis and having my last oral exam. i got it by mail which i think is just ridiculous. why don’t i get to throw a silly hat into the air and wear a shitty robe that makes me look fat? why do i have to wait 6 months for my college degree, my biggest “achievement” in life so far, and then get to open it alone at my desk with a cup of peppermint tea as my sole companion? i was not going to have it that way which is why i took the closed envelope with me when i went to visit my parents – after letting it just sit there for 3 days. (but what were three more days?) and i am so happy i did. first we all had a sip of champagne (i actually think i like pommery better than veuve cliquot now) and then i opened the envelope. the grade was the one i wanted (even though i almost didn’t get it) so there was no need for the consoling words my parents had  prepared in advance. instead we had some more champagne and i really got to appreciate what an important moment this had been in my life. so waiting was definitely worth it.

there’s no place to go to be alone

meine neue playlist. die elfte. endlich!

empire of the sun * walking on a dream

the new sins * feelings have changed

uh huh her * not a love song

lily allen * back to the start

the good natured * warriors

ladyhawke * professional suicide

the asteroids galaxy tour * around the bend

santogold * you’ll find a way

la roux * quicksand

le corps mince de francoise * bitch of the bitches

lykke li * i’m good i’m gone

feist * my moon my man (boys noize rmx)

i was a teenage statan worshipper * skeletor

does it offend you, yeah? * dawn of the dead

maximo park * wraithlike

the rifles * sometimes

flamboyant bella * absolutely wankered

black kids * i’m not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you

die komplette video-playlist hier.

things is love thursday #7

black eyeliner

often when i look at a fashion fotograph and find the depicted woman especially beautiful i realize that what i find so intriguing about her is her black eyeliner. or when i read a fashion blog and adore the writers’ personal style it often goes along with the use of lots and lots of beautiful black eyeliner. i remember going to a school carnival when i was 8 and there was a girl there who was a year older than me and who wore eyeliner as part of her costume. i guess that’s when my obsession was born. one of my first most cherished make-up items was a liquid eyeliner by ellen betrix i got on sale at a drug store. but to make one thing clear: not just any eyeliner will do! it needs to be liquid, it can’t just be a thin line, it has to be black and it has to be winged. the fatter the better. the best thing about eyeliner is though that whenever i incorporate it into my makeup i am sure to be satisfied with the result. i am never as happy with the way i look than when i wear black eyeliner. by the way m.a.c. liquid last is my favourite.

birds and bunnies in the city

nothing is cuter than riding my bike home from work and suddenly seeing a rabbit running along the sidewalk in front of me and finally disappearing into the bushes. and hearing the birds sing when i am coming home from work is similarly heart warming. especially because it means that i am not coming home all that late and because it’s a sure sign of spring being on its way.

seifenblasen

the most incredible thing happened the other day: there were bubbles in front of my office window, floating through the air. wonderful, exquisite, iridescent, fragile, soapy, perfect bubbles. i almost couldn’t believe my eyes, jumped up and went to the window to check again. but there they were. it turns out that someone in an office building close to ours was sitting by the window, blowing bubbles into a random winter day. i wish i could thank this person for making it special for me!

button eyes on coraline.com

i always love it when official webistes offer some kind of tool that allows you to customize a picture of you in a certain way or to build a character that would play you in that particular movie or show. the website for a coraline, an upcoming movie by the creator of a nightmare before christmas, allows you to do just that. in this animated movie some people have buttons for eyes and so you get to see what you would look like if you were one of them. it’s wonderfully scary i think. and some of you might know how i adore buttons! do share your results in the comments!

facebook chat

i think that facebook chat is the greatest invention ever because it allows you to have quick chats with friends at work without having to feel guilty about using an actual instant messenger. and exchanging a few words in a chat is so much less effort than having to write an actual email and a great way to stay informed about and in touch with people in far away places.

hochbahn

one line of the metro in hamburg (u3) is different from all the other lines. it’s the deluxe line. it doesn’t go below the ground or at street level like ordinary lines. instead it goes over bridges in the middle of inhabited streets, over canals, by the harbour. i love riding this line, may it be day or night, because the view is always amazing and you get to see some of the most beautiful parts of hamburg. i think that anyone visiting hamburg with a little time on their hands should ride this line from hauptbahnhof to the north. i especially love looking into the windows and the gardens that you pass on your way. and how at night it looks like passing trains are just flying through the air.

this video

who knew that pole dancing could be so artistic and so not tacky at all? another great example for this in my opinion is   miss pole australia 2006, to be found on youtube.