Merci Zazie

J'étais là (2007, Album "Totem")

J'étais là tu vois, Lui à côté de moi.
On avait six ans, on jouait comme des enfants,
Au docteur, au docteur.
J'étais là, je voyais sur son corps, les plaies.
Les marques, les bleus, j'en croyais pas mes yeux.
Mes yeux. Et lui qui me disait :
"j'suis un dur, tu vois les brûlures,
là, sur mes bras, j'les sens pas" . J'étais là !
J'ai rien dit, et puis... j'suis partie de chez lui
Si j'y suis retournée ? Plus jamais.
J'étais là, comme lui.
J'avais quinze ans à peine
On était dans la cave, chez ses parents.
Je l'aimais tant. Faut dire qu'il était beau.
Mais, il s'piquait, mon héros.... à l'Héro.
J'étais là quand sa mère est venue me dire
"C'est fini, on l'enterre lundi... Lundi."
J'ai pleuré, bien sur oui, j'ai pleuré.
Puis, j'ai recommencé à trainer dehors, dehors.
J'étais là, en octobre 80.
Après la bombe, rue Copernic.
Oui, j'étais à la manif, avec tous mes copains.
J'étais là. C'est vrai qu'on y comprenait rien
Mais on trouvait ca bien, ca bien, oui
J'étais là pour aider, pour le Sida,
les sans papiers, j'ai chanté.... chanté.
Sûr que j'étais là, pour faire la fête,
Et j'ai levé mon verre à ceux qui n'ont plus rien
Plus rien. Encore un verre, on n'y peut rien.
J'étais là devant ma télé à 20 heures
J'ai vu le monde s'agiter, s'agiter.
J'étais là, je savais tout de la Somalie,
Du Bengladesh et du Rouanda, j'étais là !
J'ai bien vu le sort que le nord réserve au sud.
Bien compris le mépris.
J'étais là pour compter les morts.

J'étais là, et je n'ai rien fait !

Et je n'ai rien fait !

J'étais là pourtant !

J'étais là,

et je n'ai rien fait.

Je n'ai rien fait !!!!!

Link: www.blogg.org/blog-44210-date-2007-02-16-billet-537819.html

The name of the game

Just recently I went with friends to a Turkish Shisha Café in Dresden-Neustadt. After I while we talked to one of the waiters who turned out to be an Iraki. I asked him how is family was. He told us about several casualties and murders in his family. The war of the "coalition of the willing" was turned into a war between the Irakis themselves - simple method of "divide and conquer" ... In the end the waiter told us sort of a little poem which is not a poem in fact but describes the way our Western democracy works:

Democracy is the name,
War is the game.
So, forget about the name
and play the game.

Well, may the time come when the poems will have nicer contents.
Let's get away from oil as soon and much as possible.
Let's find our own way of democracy and get the war out of our heads.
Only love can help us ...

All the best, Micha.

Wanna Have a No. 1 Hit?

When Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D, Time Boy) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock, Lord Rock) published their 1988's single "Doctorin' the Tardis" as The Timelords, using samples of Gary Glitters "Rock and Roll (Part Two)", they had already some experience with sampling and copyrights - read more.

After "Doctorin' the Tardis" reached No. 1 in the UK charts in June 1988 Drummond and Cauty wrote the very helpful book "The Manual (How to have a Number One the Easy Way)" which was published in 1989. Read the English Version here.

Besides, the Austrian pop group Edelweiss who read "The Manual" reached (at least) No. 5 in the UK Charts with their single "Bring Me Edelweiss" selling five million copies world-wide.

There is also a German version of the book with an audio version read by Bela B., member of the most famous German punk-pop group Die Ärzte (read more about them here).

The Timelords became The KLF (more about them here) then publishing the album "Chill Out", which was reported to have given the music style its name, and becoming the best-selling single act in 1991 with hits like "3 a.m. eternal" or "Justified and Ancient" with famous US-country singer Tammy Wynette (1942-1998).

So, whenever you dream of a No. 1 hit then forget about fame, groupies etc. - but don't miss to read KLF's "Manual". Good luck, Michael.

Source: www.ultra-pop.org/images/band/klf.jpg

Who's Coloured?

I just found an interesting poem on this site: http://bkaviani.persianblog.com/

This poem was nominated poem of 2005. Written by
an African kid, amazing thought:

"When I born, I Black, When I grow up, I Black,
When I go in Sun, I Black, When I scared, I Black,
When I sick, I Black, And when I die, I still black...
And you White fellow, When you born, you pink,
When you grow up, you White, When you go in Sun,
you Red, When you cold, you blue, When you scared,
you yellow, When you sick, you Green,
And when you die, you Gray ...

And you call me colored ??? ......" 

How to use PR techniques for NGOs, any other organisation or your own work
When Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995), the "Father of Spin", started one of his PR campaigns, which included clients like Procter & Gamble, The United Fruit Company, American Tobacco Industries, Mack Trucks, General Electric and several governments of this world, he used to have a plan consisting of eight steps. Using this model can also be a basis for any other institution trying to inform the public. It is up to you whether you use it for manipulating people or to inform them - just like you can use a knife to cut your bread or to kill a person. In Larry Tye's book "The Father of Spin - Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relation" (first published in 1998) you will find this 8-steps-plan:

1. Define your objects
2. Conduct research
3. Modify your objectives based onb that research
4. Set a strategy
5. Establish themes, symbols, and appeals
6. Create an organization to execute your strategy
7. Decide on timings and tactics
8. Carry out your plans

Well, all the best for your own projects and never forget to ask yourself for what and whom you are doing the things your are actually doing? ... may help to avoid a lot of (mental) trouble on the long run.

All the best, Michael.

What may stuttering be and how could it be cured?

For millions of people world-wide stuttering is a everyday problem. It is mainly the fear of speaking which reduces their self-consciousness and thus their well-being. Many stuttering people do not only avoid certain letters or words but also situations (like using the telephone or shopping or any other activity in the public) - the start of a vicious circle.
The only cure is to go the other way leaving the vicious circle - enjoy life and don't get discouraged. It might be two steps forward and one step back - but the general direction is important. The first step of getting cured (whatever that means!!!) is the acceptance of yourself AND of your stuttering as a part of you. So many famous people stuttered (Newton, Napoleon, Jefferson, Churchill, Marilyn Monroe, etc.) - so stuttering also makes you to someone special. Researcher have proved that it is us who create our reality (you may have seen the movie "What the Bleep do we (k)now?"). If we see stuttering as something negative it will be something negative to us. If we want to fight it mercilessly it will fight back - simple physics: where is a power their is also a counterpoise.
So it is much better to learn about your "enemy" then simply fight it using all weapons you can get (e.g. pharmaceuticals, drugs, alcohol). If you learn to watch it you will figure out that your worst enemy is your best friend. A friend who shows you the way, who brings you in touch with many interesting people and new things, which tells you much more about you than any book or teacher or psychoanalysist ... you are your own teacher, because everything is already within you. The old Asian wise people (mainly Indian and also Chinese) knew about that more than 2000 years ago ... but we Europeans and Americans try to invent the bicycle for the fifth time.
The cause of stuttering might be a thinner nerve tract called the "Rolandisches Operculum " whose left part is an impotant interface for the speaking activity (also see www.neurologie.uni-goettingen.de/uploads/13-28.pdf - only in German), but it is also not even clear whether this is a cause for or an effect of stuttering. If it is the cause than it is not clear whether this is a dysfunction of the brain or an enhancement of it. If people get more sensitive with speaking what would be the problem about it? The only problem is that most stuttering people cannot deal with their higher sensitivity in the right way since they were mostly raised up by less sensitive people telling them that repeating words or syllables is something negative - so fear after fear was being instilled in the brains of many children - in most cases unconsciously since the parents or teachers or whoever felt responsible to tell his or her opinion to the affected child did not even understand themselves proberly. So wrong conceptions were being refered from one generation to the next.
The main problem of stuttering is only one thing in many forms: FEAR. Fear of being different form others, fear of being too much within "the herd", fear of loosing one's job or reputation or whatever, fear of loosing one's partner, fear of illness and death and also hunger ... The forms of fear have changed over the centuries but the sum seems to be the same. No-one is afraid of thunder anymore - but in the 16th century no-one was afraid of cancer. And it is only the way of getting rid of our fears bit by bit, e.g. by meditation, which can bring a permanent change. The fear is within the cells and that makes the whole thing a bit difficult though.
But if you consider your stuttering as a thing which can make you grow then you will really see the benefit of it and that there are even positive effects - maybe even more than negative ones.
The most effective method in my opinion is meditation since it does not refer to stuttering only but the whole human being - it may cost time but on the long run you save years and also thousands of Dollars, Euros or whatever - and the most important thing about it is that you get close to your soul - a thing no money in the world can buy.

But all that takes some time ... Anyway, isn't it the journey that counts not the final destination? Besides in life there is no final destination ... unless you die, but even then you might get reborn :) ... So, all the best, Michael.

Maybe you've been brainwashed too ...

When Greg Alexander (New Radicals) sang this song in 1995 the lyrics were completely different from the printed ones in the booklet of the CD also entitled "Maybe you've been brainwashed too" and there might be a reason for that ...
However, (modern) spin doctors have been around for more than 120 years now and one of the most prominent ones was Edward L. Bernays (1891-1995), a nephew of Sigmund Freud. One of Bernays masterpieces "Propaganda", you can now download from the internet: http://militant.org/files/propaganda.pdf

Amazon writes about the book:
With politics taking centre stage due to the US presidential election, the time is perfect for a reprint of this classic work from Edward Bernays, the father of public relations and political spin and the man who designed the ad campaign that got the United States involved in World War I. Written in 1928, this was the first book to discuss the manipulation of the masses and democracy by government spin and propaganda.

And don't get scared - the first lines of chapter one may sound a little bit like like a conspiracy :) :
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.

Well, it is not a conspiracy ... it is reality. So, enjoy reading. Michael.

Public relations pioneer Edward Bernays, shown (L to R) from the late 1920s to early '30s, the mid- to late '40s and 1990. The Museum of Public Relations

WANTED

Do you know
these two guys?

The swindlers from "Greenland"

When I went to Budapest in November 2005 I met two guys who told me a heart-breaking story that they had got their bag stolen (incl. a camera, laptop and the credit card) and that they missed their plane though. The elder of them (see picture, right) said that he was 28, the younger 18 (left). Both were from Sisimiut, a little city (town) on Greenland. The elder, who said his name was Stevenn, spoke fluent German and English. The younger (Sven) kept quiet unless being asked. Finally they asked for money to get back to Greenland and I helped them out - as backpackers usually (?) do. I got a lot of help all over the world, so I saw it as sort of a "duty" to help them.
To cut a long story short: they were lying and the post address, telephone number and email address were all wrong. Fortunately I took a picture of them (see below) on which they might be recognised.

This pictures was taken in Budapest, in front of the ATM where we

(in fact a friend of mine, in the middle) withdraw the money for "Stevenn" and "Sven".

I contacted the Tourist Office in Sisimiut and got informed that they had already done the same thing in Antwerp (Belgium, June 2005), Bristol (UK, August 2005) and Prague (Czech Rep., also see map below). They change the names but seemed to tell the same story again and again.

They spoke some scandinavian language - so they might be from Denmark or Island, most probably not from Greenland. It did not really sound like Swedish or Norwegian, but nevertheless it still might be possible.

So, if you know these two guys or one of them - then get in touch with me. In fact it is not the money (in all they might have made 1000 € or so) but it is the trust and helpfulness of the people they cheat on leaving behind financial problems and an increased mistrust among people. Apart from that they spoil the image not only of Greenland but also of Scandinavian countries to a certain degree.

I would like to add that this is not a "faked" campaign against to people I don't like or so - the case is also with the Police of Dresden.

So, thanks a lot for you kind help and take care ... sure, not too much. I mean, Lenin is reported to have said "Trust is good, control is better." but let us change this attitude into "Control is good, trust is better."

Thanks, Michael.

Picture taken from www.alsace-usa.com/images/europe-alsace.gif , modified.