Song for the trip: Coyote Kisses – S✦archaser (by mp3ye.eu)

The most interesting talks (maximum 18min) for me have been the ones of:

• Gaganomics by Jörg Reckhenrich (Artist, Management Thinker)
• A Living Man Declared Dead by Taryn Simon (Photographer)
• Amortality: Anatomy of a (New) Species by Catherine Mayer (Author)
• Where Did I Park My Car?  by Neil Burgess (Neuroscientist)

The event was summarized by Caitlin Kraft-Buchman in the TED blog and pictures can be found at the TED Flickr Stream. Now, the only thing I am waiting for are the talks as video on demand. After the conference there was the opportunity to talk to all the speakers while the after salon party in a nearby pub hosted by the Salon organizers Frog Design.

As London is a highly visited place, we had to switch hostels as there were no free spots available in they one we stayed the first night. So we packed everythhing and walked across the city center to finally check in at the Piccadilly Backpackers Hostel. While walking across the city, we checked the Tate Mondern to see the pictures by Taryn Simon - A Living Man Declared Dead. 

We saw a lot of people with little red flowers attached to their clothing - so called Poppies. They are a symbol of Remembrance Day or Poppy Day, to remember all the fallen during wars.

In the afternoon I had the chance meeting my UK colleagues and to help them out a bit. We stopped by at the BeMyApp WeekEnd London - an event were people with an application idea meet with designers and developers to pitch their story and to have this app created over the weekend – hackathon style. We pitched the Intel AppUp developer program story to interest developer to deploy their app in the Intel AppUp Center.

Then our party weekend should begin. We went to the Fabric nightclub at around 23:30 and cued 400m behind the entrance in groups of approximately 50people. After nearly 1h waiting time we moved one group in the right direction – 5 more to go … we decided to leave. We followed the advice of a promoter near Piccadilly Circus, paid 10 Pound, entered a club but left straight after entering as it was the worst 5min experience ever – which was the best decision.

Around the corner was the new W - London hotel. We didnt know, that it was a hotel, people (all Russians) cued before so we did as well. We sneaked in with a small group of Russians, entered a great lounge area but wanted to get into the club next to it. We tried to enter it the regular way – but got rejected as the minimum table expenses are 500 pounds. So we tried the same procedure as as entering the hotel – and we got it! We entered a small club 50-75 people mostly Russians dancing to Russian house music and lots expansive Vodka and Champagne, and a German and French with no money (each of us hat 5Pounds left) in the middle, talking, dancing and getting “invited” for drinks!

For getting arround the city we decided to go for a Oyster card. Which was perfect as we paid only 2,7 Pound to go from Heathrow to downtown London in 40min as we were riding Off-Peak. Defenitelly much cheaper than buying regular tickets and more convenient.

Next morning we started with a common sight seeing and shopping tour, met a friend, chilled in the city and went to Fireworks at the Themse. The last night came and we packed our stuff to go to the Fabric nightclub and straight to the airport the next morning at 6. This time we got in, had fun till 4 and then walked, rode busses and the Heathrow express to get our flight at 7 in the morning!

Thanks to Maud & Antoine!

The result is shown in the pictures – a bright and welcoming atmosphere with lots of cool and useful things. Here are my favorites:

• lower and brighter cubicle walls
• automatic height adjustable desks for sitting and standing
• drawers that can be used as sitting-opportunities for casual chats
• large new monitors in collaboration areas & a Nintendo Wii on every floor
• new phone booths
• new small meeting rooms

Thanks to a colleague, I now own my own daruma doll (達磨). I have been to Japan but most likely missed the definition and use for it but certainly remember that luck bringing figure. I colored his left eye, made a wish and wait for the result.

the daruma doll – a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma). They are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck.

As I brought my camera to picture that memorable moment of having a totally new workplace =) I decided with a colleague to go on a photo tour through Munich. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t as nice as we would have loved to have it – it was raining. Therefore our plans of taking pictures of unusual and non-touristic things in and around Munich turned out to be an in-vehicle sightseeing and explanation tour.

All the takes that have been taken at this dozy spot above Saalfeld may retrieve in the movie “Lulu and Jimi” that will be in cinemas in 2008.

• It is about sweeping love, rock & roll and getting rid of all that stale air of the fifties. Light and darkness, bright garish colours, hot rock & roll and wild dance numbers mark this road movie about lovers fleeing from the evil powers of a deeply bigoted society.
• Charakters are Lulu and Jimi ; Lulu’s mother Gertrud, her secret lover Schulz and many more.
• Director Oskar Roehler

  (Source IMDb.de)

In order of that, extras from the agency wanted and deliCUTessen will go to the movie just to see a circa six minute result of working on various scenes from 4pm till 7am each night.

It was a experience anybody who likes movies should get just to gain a slide idea of how movies are really made.

To end it up – thanks tho the agency as well as crew and not to forget – all the extras. Like Oskar would say “… und danke!”.

I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken — and I’d rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived.

by Margaret Mitchell

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

by Mark Twain