transport against London

London is the biggest city in Europe and the 19th biggest city in the world (says wiki). Still, there is one thing that makes you crazy if you have been living in similar big cities before.

It's really hot in the tube, although there is no real summer in London. But air conditioning is not really included in the ticket, so you'll get a summer feeling whenever you are not alone in the wagon.

Free education on the go. Wherever you go: grab a free metro paper. It might help you not get bored on the loooooong way through London. And you pick up easily on what's going on here: Amy, Becks, Harry, Iraq, swine flu...

Also, I love the irony! You have been kept waiting for no reasons for 20 minutes for the next tube that's supposed to go every three minutes and they will inform you happily that "all London underground lines are operating on a good service"?

It is Saturday night, you have been partying and now you want to go home. Take the tube? Impossible, cause it's not running anymore. Not even during the weekends. So, you have to get accustomed to another map - the bus map with different names for the stops. Busses go to the city centre first and then spread across London. So, it takes quite a while to get where you actually want to go. And on the way, watch out that no one pukes at your shoes (already happened on my first night out!)

New record: 3000

Thank you - keep following!

Erste Postkarte ist da!

Danke, Neelu! :)

Wer mitmachen will, findet alle Details hier.

the good pub guide

First day @ Random House Digital:

I met my really nice colleagues but I did not manage to remember all their names, yet, so I have to figure out away how to talk to them without addressing them for the moment.

The canteen provides really nice gluten free food and serves coffee and tea all day.

My colleague David who i am working with is really cool and I will be working with him on the good pub guide. So I am actually working on two things I really like: online communities and British pubs (although I cannot drink beer anymore...).

About gpg: "Now entering it’s 27th year, The Good Pub Guide remains Britain’s bestselling travel guide. The only truly independent guide of its kind, its comprehensive updates, meticulous attention to detail and countless reader reports ensure that only the very best of the nation’s watering holes make the cut."

If you want to find out more about it, join us on facebook or follow us on twitter.

home

Yesterday, I finally arrived in London for good. No more comparisons to last summer in DC or what could have happened in Palo Alto if... LONDON its gonna be and I like it!

During the day I went with Jo and her friend Lars to Spitalfields Market at Liverpool Street Station. Its a place where creative ppl stroll around. The market was actually not happening that day but we had a weird iced tea in a funky café and watched the folks who passed us by.

After, we went to Regent's Park where we had a nice picnic with some LSE rich kids. Right there and then, I decided NOT to send my kids to a private school - at least not until they developed some character...


Größere Kartenansicht

At night, I met with a friend who showed me Shoreditch - his favourite place to go out at night and I fell in love with that area: its like my fav area "Sternschanze" in Hamburg. People were having pints sitting on the street, getting drunk, having fights, enjoying their night out. The area looks a bit dodgy at first - totally opposite of West Ken where I live.

Yesterday night I managed to get home like I was born in London. I took the night bus to Oxford Circus and then swapped busses to get home. In between I had two hot hash browns (Mc D gluten free breakfast) - almost as tasty as a "German" Dönertüte. I arrived at Kensington Olympia at 5:30 and decided to cancel our Sunday champagne brunch.

Neue Auflage meiner Postkartenaktion

Meine Wände sind noch recht kahl... von daher habe ich beschlossen, wieder eine Postkartenaktion zu starten - vierte Auflage! ;)

Für alle die das Verfahren noch nicht kennen:
ab sofort bekommt jeder, der mir eine Postkarte schickt, einen festen Platz in meinem Zimmer und eine Postkarte zurück (sobald ich eure Adresse habe, am Besten per Email an: KatrinSchmidt84(ät)gmail.com).

Hier ist meine Adresse:

Katrin Schmidt
17a Fitzgeorge Avenue
W14 0SY London
UK

Ich freu mich schon auf Euch!

Getting settled

1st day: getting settled
1st mission: finding a store with glutenfree food (24h big Tesco, mins walking distance) = accomplished!
2nd mission: getting a new UK simcard, prepaid and as cheap as possible (tesco mobile) = finally accomplished after arguing with the woman at the service desk that my phone is not simlocked and I won't need to buy a new one and with the cashier that that I can top it up right here and there....
3rd mission: finding the cheapest option for me to travel throughout London (oyster card) = accomplished - but is it really the cheapest?
4th mission: meeting with Anis, the Maltesian friend I met in DC last summer

We had a coffee at Coffee Republic (chain of course). Later that day, I met with Jo cause we were invited to a roof top barbecue of one of her friends. 26°C and roof top barbecue certainly made me miss DC less. This summer seemed to have potential!

The following day, Anis and I went to chill in Hyde Park listening to a free Reggae concert. Later that night he introduced me to his girlfriend and classmates, a quite lovely international bunch of ppl. How I missed that! We had totally glutenfree food at an Ecuadorian place near Holloway Road station. Worth the travel!

We made plans to dance salsa soon and I finally agreed I'd love London!

London - summer residence

I arrived in London yesterday late at night. The low cost airline proved as usual some trouble: one hour delay and landing in the middle of nowhere... but thanks to the time shift I was given one more hour to sort everything out.


The area I am going to live in is beautiful. West Kensington tube station is not far and I have a 24h Tesco with glutenfree food in walking distance - the bread is awesome!


Fitzjames/Fitzgeorge Avenue

The way from the tube station to the house is typically English: Delhi stores everywhere... but my street is really beautiful. I passed by the house twice before it atually came to my mind that this IS really my new address.

Also, the flat for us three girls is really nice. We have a big kitchen and our rooms are not too small either. The content of my one and only suitcase disappeared in the cupboard easily.








Jo, my five year younger, LSE law-student, Asian-German flatmate welcomed me warmly and informed me about our shoes out policy. In contrast to my messy British house sharing experiences I am gonna live in a nice and clean place this summer...

In memoriam

help

machmallauter

will there be a future 1984?

social networking: gaining or losing friends?

we live in a digital age

Hey Jude

Kati en Granada

Granada - I am coming! While the air hostesses do their usual show the last two weeks are passing by. After finishing more or less successful five exams in one week, the following days have been dedicated to producing a short film and enjoying the first shafts of sunlight at the river Elbe.

Bye, bye Hamburg - Granada I am coming. I felt weird flying to Spain knowing not to meet Raquel or any of my dear Spanish friends. This trip was a journey back in time to me. 2005/6 I was part of the EU-ERASMUS programme myself. Now, I was going to visit Gabi in the midst of her exchange year. Crazy.

Again I had to make the experience that one should not rely on low cost airlines. The plane arrived late in Malaga and I missed the bus to Granada. Plus, I was starving. Unsure, where to eat something "sin gluten", Mc Donald's was my first choice. I managed to order salad and fries in Spanish chunks... and it worked.

I arrived late in Granada. It was really good to see Gabi. She picked me up from the bus station and dragged me home, where I had five minutes to change my clothes. We went to La Vogue, a club that strongly reminded me to my fav club Schwarzes Schaf in Münster. Home sweet home. Some of her international friends were there and although we could hardly community (their English was as bad as my Spanish) I started to like them.


One day later: Happy Easter. We were invited by the Italians who whipped a fantastic Easter lunch with different courses - most of them gluten-free (they checked the ingredients in the net) - I decided to love them.

On Monday, we had to get up early since we wanted to catch the bus to las alpujarras.
Moritz (D), Mareike (D), Gabi (D), Simon (F) and I (D) would spend two days at a self-catering youth hostel, founded by a former Waldorf teacher from Germany. Cristhian (PE) and Elisa (I) would accompany us during the first day. Barbara, the host, told us about the two essential rules of the hostel:
1. Take the torch to the loo in order to find the hole
2. Switch your mobile phone off.
Said and done.


I loved these two days: we were eating Spanish "sin gluten" food (Spain is a paradise for ppl like me), drinking different kinds of red wine, playing (and singing) the guitar, enjoying the sun, smoking some porros, gathering and chipping wood, wandering and climbing through the mountains and taking millions of pictures with Gabi's camera.

I did not want to leave - ever. But Tuesday evening it was time to say goodbye. It started to rain again IN SPAIN!!!


That night we decided to meet with the whole mountain gang again, in order to slowly disconnect - how Mo put it. We also met a lot more of Gabi's friends and visited a lot of pubs and bars before we again ended up in La Vogue. It was a great night! I already felt as if that experience was my ERASMUS, too and Gabi's friends asked me to stay longer. I really wished I could. And then... it happened: I put my beloved black leather jacket on the floor in order to dance freelier - one sec later it was gone. How I hate thieves. It's not only the fact that they take something away from you that has material and immaterial value to you but also the fact that they do it on purpose, in a night club, a place where people kind of belong to the same group, same age, they enjoy themselves... they are not supposed to steal from each other... I skimmed through the whole place, I could have stolen so many jackets myself, nobody paid attention to their clothes. But I could not find my jacket. So we left. I knew I should have paid more attention - I felt so stupid.

We spent the next day all day in bed. I woke up again and again and always suddenly remembered that some idiot stole my jacket and then fell back to sleep. Thank God it was raining anyway... Later that day we went to a concert of The Wailers who used to play with Bob Marley. I totally enjoyed that concert!



Everything's gonna be alright. So true. We went back to La Vogue to ask for my jacket and big surprise it was there! The mean person obviously just wanted to look for money or mobile phones in the pockets. But I am not that stupid.

Thursday = shopping, sun, sightseeing and millions of pictures. If you ever wanna feel like a VIP ask Photogabi to accompany you for one day. You also get free "how-to-take-the-perfect-picture-lessons".

all these pics are taken with automatic release - a real photographer does not ask laymen for help

Later that night we - of course - went to La Vogue again. Since I got my jacket back I did not have an objection against that place any longer.

Friday: first day with our rental car. I love driving with Gabi. We invited Mo, Mareike and Elisa to join us in the hot fountains in Santa Fé. The way there was really bad - thank God we had a rental car that we tortured through the bumpy roads. Near the fountains there was a small community living in tents and we also made the encounter of two German unemployed guys who seem to spend their benefits on drugs and alc in Andalucía. Later that night we went to La Percha - a typical Spanish bar with a gay host who seemed to love us from first sight and included us to his inner free-drinks-circle. Paco - te echaré de menos!

On Saturday we were on us. No more annoying German girls who ask for oranges all time. Just Gabi, her camera and me. The weather in Granada was dizzy again but we decided to drive to Cabo di Gata anyway. Our decision was right: we spent all day at the beach. Gabi also forced me into the sea that was still freaking cold.

Later that night we just went for tapas in the neighbourhood cause it was raining like hell. Tapas in Granada are the best and biggest. Although there are a lot of tostadas and breadstuff, I still had a great choice of papa de pobre, tortilla, home made chorizo sin gluten, aceitunas and many more. All included when you buy one tinto de verano for 2 Euros. I miss Granada!

Lying in the sun all day made us pretty tired. So we went to bed early and got up early to spend another day at the beach: this time in Nerja. I could not believe how time had passed by that fast. Gabi took me to Malaga airport and we had to say goodbye too early.

Take care little Gabi and enjoy Granada! Thank you for sharing your Spanish life with me, for making your friends my friends, for having me relive the ERASMUS feeling, for all the pictures you took of me, and the free photo lessons, for all the nerv-racking Spanish-English-German translations... I miss you loads!

facebook knigge

Frohe Ostern

Happy Birthday NATO

Heiß diskutiert...

Revenge is a dish best served cold

Life is like a box of chocolate...

Forrest Gump in one take.

Mc D - Zweiter Teil

Anfang Februar berichtete ich davon, dass Mac Donalds mir glutenfreie Burger herstellt und mir so, trotz meiner Glutenunverträglichkeit, ein bisschen Lebensqualität im Fast Food Etablissement zurückgibt.

Das ist jetzt vorbei. Denn: Der uninahe Mac Donalds hat einen neuen Schichtleiter, mit dem sich nicht verhandeln lässt.

Selbstmitgebrachte Hamburgerbrötchen seien "unhygienisch"
- obwohl sie orginal eingeschweißt sind;
er könne "keine Garantie dafür übernehmen"
- obwohl dies das Siegel der DZG bereits übernimmt;
er dürfe "keine Einzelteile" annehmen
- ???

Nach einer fünfminütigen kreativen Schmollpause kam mir eine neue Idee. Noch einmal würde ich es mit dem Schichtleiter auf mich nehmen...

Ob ich denn einen Burger ohne Brötchen bestellen könne...?
"WOLLEN SIE SICH DEN AUF DER THEKE ZUSAMMENSCHMIEREN?"
Ich dachte da eher an mein Tablett...
"Ich komme Ihnen ja entgegen und entnehme eine GURKE, aber ich kann nicht die Brötchen weglassen!"

Leider habe ich mich an diesem Tag wohl unvergesslich in das Gedächtnis dieses Mannes gebrannt, so dass ich nicht mehr ungeschoren davon käme, wenn ich die anderen Mitarbeiter gegen ihn ausspielte... ich will ja kein Hausverbot riskieren so lange es noch glutenfreie Pommes gibt.

Zum Glück bekommt auch in den USA nicht jeder, was er will oder braucht...

Welcome on board

Prost

That's why we love facebook

Swim

It's happy and i still like it...

Interessante Befragung zu Werbung auf Social Networking Sites

Wir führen im Rahmen eines Seminars der Hamburg Media School eine Befragung zu Werbung auf Social Networking Sites (z. B. StudiVZ) durch. Wir würden uns sehr freuen, wenn Du teilnehmen könntest.

Die Beantwortung des Fragebogens wird max. 25 Minuten dauern.

http://unipark.de/uc/hh_uni_psych_inst_ST/df46/

Die Befragung läuft ab heute bis zum 4. März 2009

Danke, Kati.

Harper's Index on love

I found these facts and figuers on love today at Harper's Index (there are plenty more to check out):

10/84 Percentage of American teenagers who report that their schoolwork makes them anxious: 82

Who report that their love life does: 57 [Link]

9/84 Percentage of American fifth-graders who report being in love: 39 [Link]

1/85 Percentage of women who say they believe in love at first sight: 57

Of men: 66 [Link]

5/92 Chances that an unmarried American is in love: 1 in 2 [Yankelovich Clancy Shulman (Westport, Conn.)]

6/98 Average amount an American earning at least $250,000 would pay to find “true love”: $487,000

Average amount that he or she would pay to become president: $55,000 [Worth magazine (N.Y.C.)]

5/08 Days of “heartache leave” that employees of one Japanese cosmetics company are allowed to take each year: 3 [Hime & Company (Tokyo)]

Online journalism anno 1981

Veranstaltungshinweis: DIE LINKE – Partei mit Zukunft oder populistisches Strohfeuer?

Heute möchte ich Euch herzlich zu meiner Veranstaltung mit dem Titel "DIE LINKE – Partei mit Zukunft oder populistisches Strohfeuer?" einladen.

Wann: Mittwoch, 25. Februar 2009, 19.00 Uhr
Wo: Quality Hotel Ambassador Hamburg, Heidenkampsweg 34, 20097 Hamburg
Veranstalter: Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit, Büro Hamburg

Referenten:
Burkhardt Müller-Sönksen, MdB
FDP Hamburg

Herbert Schulz
Landessprecher DIE LINKE

Moderation: Prof. Dr. Karin Priester
Institut für Soziologie an der Westfälischen-Wilhelms-Universität

Das neue Jahr beginnt mit einer drohenden Rezession, begleitet von einer hohen Unzufriedenheit mit den Steuer-, Sozial- und Gesundheitssystemen. Viele Bürger sind verunsichert und wünschen sich eine schnelle Bewältigung der Folgen der Finanzkrise. Sie suchen einfache Lösungen auf die komplexen, globalen Probleme.

2009 ist Superwahljahr: Neben der Bundestagswahl rufen auch die Wahl des Europäischen Parlaments, vier Landtagswahlen und die Wahl der Kommunalparlamente in acht Bundesländern zum Urnengang. Auch der Bundespräsident wird neu gewählt. Die Wähler haben viel zu entscheiden und werden daher von allen Parteien umgarnt.

DIE LINKE hat sich inzwischen in einigen Kommunal- und Landesparlamenten etabliert. Die aktuelle Krisenstimmung scheint nicht nur Protestwähler in ihre politische Richtung zu lenken. Mit einer sozialen Agenda „für flächendeckende gesetzliche Mindestlöhne, für gute Arbeit und gute Rente, für Gesundheit und Bildungschancen, für Frieden, für eine gesicherte und die Umwelt erhaltende Energieversorgung, für die Angleichung Ost und Regionengerechtigkeit; gegen Hartz IV, gegen Kriege, gegen Kinder- und Altersarmut“ greifen sie die von Unsicherheit geprägte Stimmung auf und wecken Hoffnung bei ihren Anhängern.

Gerade in Zeiten des Wahlkampfes werden provokante Äußerungen von Politikern vorschnell als populistisch bezeichnet. Handelt es sich bei der Partei DIE LINKE um eine populistische Partei? Oder hat die ehemals aus dem sozialistischen Milieu stammende Partei sich inzwischen etabliert und, im Gegensatz zu ihren Mitstreitern, Antworten auf die Bedürfnisse der Bürger gefunden?

Bitte meldet Euch hier online an.

Unforgettable movie speeches

Intense figures from Harper's Index

I found these facts and figuers on advertising today at Harper's Index (there are plenty more to check out):

12/84: Amount spent by the U.S. government on advertising in 1983: $228,857,200

Amount spent by Coca-Cola: $282,150,000 [Link]

4/90: Percentage of all billboards in white neighborhoods in Baltimore that advertise alcohol and tobacco: 20 [Scenic America (Washington)]

Percentage of all billboards in black neighborhoods that do: 76 [Scenic America (Washington)]

7/96: Chances that an American with a 1994 B.A. in journalism works in public relations, advertising, or is unemployed: 1 in 3 [Ohio State University School of Journalism (Columbus, Ohio)]

5/97: Number of bulletproof Bibles manufactured last year by California’s Innovative Marketing Alliance: 1,000 [Innovative Marketing Alliance (Dana Point, Calif.)]

4/05: Amount a Nebraska man made this year by auctioning his forehead to advertisers: $37,375 [SnoreStop (Westlake Village, Calif.)]

9/05: Amount the U.S. spent last year on mosquito nets to fight malaria in Africa: $4,000,000

Amount it paid a consultancy to conduct “social marketing” of mosquito nets: $7,600,000 [USAID (Washington)]

2/09: Rank of Barack Obama’s election among the “biggest day[s] ever in the history of marketing,” according to an Ad Age columnist: 1 [Al Ries, Ad Age (N.Y.C.)]

Happy Valentine's!

Thank you for reading and watching

Today we hit the 2000!

Touch the future now

AUSSEN KANTIG

Mein Hamburg Media School-Kommilitone und guter Freund Markus Foos hat das TIDE-Format AUSSEN KANTIG wieder aufleben lassen und den umstrittenen SPD-Bundestagskandidat Danial Ilkhanipour interviewt. Hier findet ihr den ersten Teil des vierteiligen Interviews.



Die Fortsetzung gibt es auf Markus youtube-Kanal.

If you were a parent would you do the same?

Gesehen auf spiegel.de.

Funny Photoshop Tutorial

Glutenfrei essen mit McD

Donnerstag ist LOST-Nacht an der Hamburg Media School. Alle Verschwörungstheoretiker versammeln sich dann in unserem Teamraum, um gemeinsam die neueste Folge der spannendsten TV-Serie weltweit zu sehen. Bevor es los geht, knurrt uns aber meist nach einem harten HMS-Arbeitstag der Magen. Und dann wirds wieder kompliziert: Wo kann man etwas unpaniertes, ohne Soßenbinder, ohne Brotbeilage, ohne glutenhaltige Aromastoffe essen, was trotzdem schmeckt?

Ganz einfach: Bei Mac Donalds!?!

Man nehme ein glutenfreies Hamburgerbrötchen...

(das kann man z. B. hier bestellen)

2. man suche sich die Schlange, bei der der Verkäufer am kompetentesten aussieht... meist wird trotzdem die Chefin gerufen.

3. man betone unbedingt, dass das Brötchen in Papier eingewickelt getoastet werden soll, sonst ist alles umsonst

4. man suche sich den Burger seiner Wahl aus (fast alle Soßen und Beläge sind glutenfrei, s. Nährwerttabelle)

Der Burger schmeckt zwar anders, aber schmeckt, ist vor allem frisch und heiß und wird dann oft sogar an den Platz gebracht.

Bewerbungstipps

Dating Roy Lichtenstein

Not Roy's - but art?

Imagine you live in a big city with lots of world famous sights, beautiul nature spots, a variety of cultural offers (theatres, opera, cinema, concerts, museums...) - and you never go there? Sounds familiar right?

what is that supposed to mean?

So, I took the chance and went to an art exhibition with pictures of Roy Lichtenstein with my sister Nina who lives with me during her two months internship in Hamburg. She does not share my local cultural lazyness - she is a tourist here!

all pics by Nina Schmidt

I loved the exhibition, although it was quite small. Maybe abstainers shall enjoy art in bits and pieces...

Be careful with what you buy in the internet

Digitale Netzwerke

spontaner Moderator: Leonard Reinecke (l.)

Heute hat meine erste komplett selbst organisierte Abendveranstaltung für die Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit an der Hamburg Media School statt gefunden. Morgens gabs gleich noch einen Herzinfarkt: mein Moderator musste wegen seiner Grippe absagen und ich brauchte einen neuen! Nach mehrstündiger Telefoniererei konnte ich den HMS-Doktoranden Leonard Reinecke zum Glück überzeugen für Philipp Westermeyer, G+J New Media Ventures GmbH, einzuspringen. Das Event war gerettet.

Die Referenten:
Prof. Dr. Christoph Neuberger, Universität Münster, Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft
Peter Wagner, Redakteur, jetzt.de
Max Fischer, Geschäftsführer, meinverein.de

Inhalt der Veranstaltung:
Im Rahmen der Globalisierung und der technischen Entwicklung des Web2.0 gewinnen digitale Netzwerke, sogenannte Social Communities, an Bedeutung. Kontakteknüpfen im Internet wird schneller, einfacher und vereinzelt persönlicher als in der realen Welt. Im Gegensatz zum Web1.0 kann das Internet aktiv mitgestaltet werden. Web2.0-Angebote sind beliebt, weil sie von den Nutzern so gestaltet werden können, dass sie gezielt auf ihre eigenen Interessen eingehen. Vor allem Onlinenetzwerke gewinnen immer neue Mitglieder.

Viele junge Menschen bewegen sich in mehreren virtuellen Welten: Sie kommunizieren über studiVZ und facebook mit ihren Freunden oder lernen dort neue Menschen kennen. Aber auch die Jobsuche ist über das Internet durchführbar: Portale wie Xing bieten dieMöglichkeit, ein Bewerberprofil zu erstellen, Businesskontakte zu pflegen oder diese zu generieren. Alumni-Vereine von Schulen, Universitäten und Stiftungen bemühen sich ebenfalls um den Einstieg ins virtuelle Leben. Eine Teilhabe an der Gesellschaft, die nur noch offline stattfindet, scheint zukünftig nicht mehr möglich. Wer sich jedoch in der Landschaft verschiedener Netzwerke auskennt und ihren Sinn versteht, hat die Möglichkeit, sich frei zu entscheiden, an welchem er partizipieren will.

Die Veranstaltung widmet sich Fragen wie: Welche Web2.0-Angebote gibt es? Wie viele virtuelle Kontakte sind gesund? Wächst die Bereitschaft zur Selbstentblößung? Werden Kontakte oberflächlicher, wenn sie über das Internet gepflegt werden? Wer verbirgt sich hinter den Communities? Wie wird sich die virtuelle Welt entwickeln? Welche Trends lassen sich erkennen?

Peter Wagner (r.) von jetzt.de

For a good cause

Dramatic shift in marketing reality

Obama's inaugural address

summer in DC - empty in front of the Capitol

I don't know what to think of this man, but I am pretty curious to learn more... I really wish I could have been in DC yesterday to follow his address and catch the atmosphere in the world's capitol.

You can review the whole inaugural speech here.

Full Address:

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its costs.

We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.

These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.

The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

And God bless the United States of America.

Today, we visited one of Europes biggest publishing houses. Germany's most read (tabloid) newspaper BILD was full of Obama and even did without the usual naked front page girl...

pic taken by Jörg Tillmann

Für alle, die nicht nur mit den Augen sehen

OASIS live in Hamburg - Don't look back in anger

approximately

One man show

guys' thing

The crisis of credit

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

2008 - a review

January 2008
The year did not start too well. I caught a bad flu and my grandma broke her hip. Later that month, I went hunting with a close friend for my application coverage for the Deutsche Journalistenschule in Munich. In the end, it did not work out but I had fun being out door with Claus and learning a lot about nature and animals. I also had a great weekend with some Naumann fellows in Berlin...

crazy night out in Berlin with Jule and Alex

February
For the first time I went to Cologne to celebrate Carnival with my cousin Anja. My mum designed me a Little red riding hood costume. Besides, I went to Sheffield to visit and fetch my lil sis Nina from her too short Erasmus experience.


March

The Hamburg Media School offered me to take my MBA there. Back in Münster, I handed in my final thesis of my degree and stepped into another time stealing experience...

the Hamburg Media School

April
I went to Potsdam to welcome the new Naumann fellows - a task that I totally enjoyed for the last time. This year, the Naumann ball was in Bamberg, where I reunited with the incredible Johanna and had a good time with the incredible Lara.

the incredible Markus - not to be forgotten

May
Quite spontaneously I went to celebrate the beginning of May with Anja and her boyfriend in Cologne and Bonn. Some good friends, like Matze, came to see me on my last days in Münster and I spent some sunny days at Münster's harbour with my new, almost American friend Sebastian. I went to Berlin to finally get my visa - just in time. The BusinessContactsMünster fare was one of the highlights at work with my amiable colleagues. The Symposium Oeconomicum Muenster took place on my birthday. Nevertheless, I spent all day there, surrounded by many friends, trying myself as a movie star. On May, 21st, I finished my degree with a really good final oral exam and partied all night at the Wiwi Cup 2008. I moved out of my flat and left for 2 1/2 crazy months in Washington DC - to reunite with my Spanish friends Raquel and Maria, make more friends for life and intern at the Representative of German Industry and Trade.

my farewell party

June

Though work was neither challenging nor comforting, I soon started to like my life in the world's capital. There is so much there you can occupy yourself with: Georgetown, Adams Morgan, U Street area, a lot of sights, memorials and the zoo, attending events from unis and think tanks, enjoying the sun at the pool, travelling the east coast... Besides, the Euro Cup was a kind of big thing in the US, too, and Germany did quite well. I met Condoleezza Rice, toured the White House twice (East Wing and West Wing), and went to the farewell party of the Spanish Ambassador...

an alcoholic calumet with mi chicas espanolas after a deserved Spanish victory

July
Time flew by in DC. Some of my new friends like Alicia already left DC and I hated to say goodbye. After celebrating a funny but rainy 4th of July, I went on a crazy road trip to Ocean City with some friends and discovered American ignorance "we can fake European IDs - 'cause WE have the technology..." Getting the injection I needed in July was another nerve-racking adventure but with a lot of international support I finally succeeded, and yet, the American Security Measures seem not what they claim to be... One of the highlights of my summer was the weekend in NY. Wow, I loved that city. Its only half as stressful as you expect it to be and amazingly beautiful.

walking through Manhattan

August
The trip to Colonial Beach was definitely worth being filmed. Flo, Rakel, Maria, Cindy and me spent the most hilarious day (and nite) somewhere in Virginia - totally lost looking for blue dogs and white elephants. I was counting my days in DC feeling sad for leaving my friends, but a little bit happy for leaving the depressing and absurd atmosphere at work. During a stay in Boston I debated on whether I prefer Harvard or the MIT - its def the MIT thanks to our wonderful tour guide Daniel who loves to be quoted in my blog. I went to my first baseball game which I surprisingly enjoyed but could not watch it till the end 'cause all the others wanted to leave and we missed the first home run. On my last night, my new friends managed to give me a night to remember... at least I did not lose my eyesight.

September

I settled in Hamburg and got myself accustomed to my new flat - living on my own for the first time. On the 6th, I went to my first wedding: Matze and Angela married. A lot of close friends like Christoph, Anis and Jule visited me and together we discovered Germany's second largest city. Finally, school started.

a real "Maltesian" in Hamburgo

October

My new uni started smoothly - with math and excel classes and a lot of welcome events... I made new friends whenever the timetable allowed this. Instead of Halloween, I went to Munich to receive my scholarship certificate after four years of Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung.

November

When Obama was elected US President, I was at a great party of the renowned Bucerius Law School, but I wished I could have been in DC. Exams and presentations were approaching but I still enjoyed Hamburg City night life which seemed to attract people from everywhere. Plus, my parents came to see me. On November, 19th, the Hamburg Media School celebrated its 5th birthday at a place with a great view at the harbour.

Timo, me, Mia and Conny @ the Hamburg Media School graduation party

December
Apart from studying day and night, I met some very interesting alumni students of my new uni. Our presentations were quite successful and motivated us to keep on surviving. My doctor finally found out what caused me losing weight: coeliac disease. A relief to finally know and being able to deal with but also a great change of my eating habits. And suddenly, it was Christmas. I enjoyed being with my family and had a great New Year's party with new and old friends.

See you all in 2009!