Obviously it's not autos what they want. German newspaper "Die Welt" revealed in an article today that "the emotional attachment to cars as status symbols" is fading among young Germans. The generation of men and women under the age of 25 sees the car merely as a means of transportation. What a concept. From my standpoint as an adversitising professional I find this development very alarming, immediate action is required, we have to find new spark plugs to ignite automotive love, supercharge the relationship with emotion, accelerate our efforts to ... screeech. From my personal standpoint I'm really looking forward to roller blading to Berlin on the empty autobahn in summer.

I don't think people my age should be Defense Ministers.

No, that's not true. Of course they should. I just wonder how people of the same generation can be so different. Some grow up. And others just get wrinkles. 

Impressions from Braunschweig or: The pleasures of being historically challenged.

Braunschweig, the Lion City, is celebrating the 800th anniversary of the coronation of emperor Otto IV. this year. Otto, the son of Henry the Lion and Mathilda of England,  was crowned on October 4th 1209 and remained the first and only Guelph emporer ever. Even without having a clue what that means, it is quite impressive to walk around the medieval city center with the cathedral, the old town hall, the lion statue and the half timbered houses.

Just look at this cannonball in the cathedral wall. It was fired on August 20th MDCXV! That was almost CVD years ago! Or more than MIIV? XMVI? I guess I have to calculate that again.

Legend has it that Henry's lion scratched the door of the cathedral trying to get to his master who was entombed inside. Braunschweig born Detlef V. shows the spot. No animals were harmed in the making of this picture.

Smile, Mum! Just kidding. This is not one of my pictures. It's from around 1865 and shows the old town's town hall. Things haven't changed much, they just added some color recently, as you can see in the picture below.

This is one of the gargoyles on the roof of the old town's town hall. I understand that it is quite boring to sit on the roof for hundreds of years, especially when it's not even raining, but... please! 

A sure sign that you're not in Germany anymore.

Germany? Not my job.

Rarely does one get the chance to find a great analogy in the hall. Today I did –  it was right there at my feet! I had been thinking about the view Americans and Germans have of their countries. Why people in America get excited about presidential elections and why Germans oftentimes consider the act of voting an unpleasant duty. I thought and thought and walked down the stairs and ... then I tripped over the pile of paper in the hall. Torn envelopes, candy wrappers, free newspapers, eureka! If people throw away their trash in their own house, why would they care for the well being of their country? "Germany is an apartment house" I thought. People live here, but they don't take ownership. It's just a house, not a home. They pay rent, and they pay taxes, and they believe this money buys them certain rights and services provided by the owner. Which - of course - is true, but only one part of the story. Why do people feel so  separated from their own lives?

Second sculpture find in German cave reveals „penises probably overrated“.

The "Schelklingen John Doe"

The "Schelklingen Venus"

BERLIN – After the presentation of a 35,000-year-old ivory carving of a busty woman found in a German cave yesterday, archaeologists unveiled a second spectacular find this morning. The „new“ carving found in Germany's Hohle Fels cave depicts a completely ordinary man with a beer belly, flabby arms and a tiny penis.

The Hohle Fels cave discovery suggests the humans, who are believed to have come to Europe around 40,000 years ago, had the intelligence to create symbols and think abstractly in a way that matches the modern human. „Carbon dating reveals both sculpture were done by a woman artist,“ said archeologist Lisa Özdemir. „While the female carving expresses a vibrant sexuality, the male figurine’s physique is rather boring. This leads us to the assumption that the importance of the penis is probably overrated.“ Scientists from renowned international universities agreed that after the discovery of the "Schelkingen John Doe" penile history has to be rewritten.

Goodbye, Miami Beach, hello, Germany! (And how about them commas anyway?)

before

after

Somehow I lost 30 degrees centigrade on my way from Miami Beach to Germany. How could that happen? It was summer yesterday!