Mental health month?!

Do they have a serious problem with mental health in Denver? There's a whole lot of those posters about screaming "May is mental health month - do you feel it?" all over the place. Very odd. I mean, it's ok to have a mental health day or something, but ONE MONTH? I certainly *did* feel something!

This strange first impression has not exactly been weakened by about the highest concentration of seriously ugly people I have encountered on 16th Street which appears to be the main shopping mall in this city.

But then, things improved. First, I came across a really good and committed bookstore which - judged by it's size and selection - leads me to expect a rather considerable community of well read people. And secondly, I had a delicious dinner in a very commendable restaurant on the sidewalk of 16th street while enjoying a wonderfully mild evening (ca. 23 degrees I'd say). Well, we'll see how Denver comes along.

Remember that I obtained The Da Vinci Code a couple of days ago? Thanks to hours on end of air travel, I've already finished it.
It's a while since I finished a 500 page rollercoaster in just a few days, and yet it didn't quite live up to my expectations. The first reason for that probably is that it is too ostentatiously erudite - something that its "benchmark" Umberto Eco ("U.E. on steroids") would never be. Probably it is lacking in humour. Secondly, it is a well constructed story with plenty of surprises popping up all the time. But that's exactly where to rub sits: in my view, the drawing board construction is a bit too obvious. And that's a pity. And thirdly, as in most conspiracy related books, an ominous Swiss bank account has its appearance, although it is so totally beside the point that I will not go into any details. I guess Brown just didn't care about this particular piece of information to do some real research on it. To sum up: I don't regret having read the book, but I am not going to read another Dan Brown anytime soon.

New York, New York

Just a quick impression from NY this afternoon - all in sepia, i forgot to switch back:



And the presentation went down really well, btw.

Media ...

You may be interested to hear that the Swiss economic weekly CASH has just promoted me to the position of supreme Swiss analyst. Very interesting what editors get to to spice up their stuff. Here is the article.

Reason

I am happy to report (from NYC incidentally!) that "the Americans" are becoming more reasonable again! You are now allowed to use full metal cutlery again in the airplane, even for knifes! It just wouldn't do to have to cut a nice filet steak with a plastic excuse of a knife when you have a nice 1997 Cantenac Brown and immaculate linen 12000 meters above sea level ... yes, you guessed right: I did enjoy my flight! But no, wait, there was one glitch! They stopped serving Martini!! They can't do that, I'll have to complain!

Tonight

There is something intensely peaceful
about speeding a powerful car through the rainy night
while listening to Glenn Gould effortlessly
drawing sketches of eternity...

And with that, I am signing off for a bit. The next post likely will originate from across the Atlantic. Good night.

Praise to Amazon?!

Did I mention that Amazon actually filled my order mentioned earlier?

Well, they did, and the parcell arrived in good order right the day before the party, so I was able to use the additionally ordered item to very good effect. "Good Bye, Lenin" is a very nicely and weirdly German film well worth watching for everyone interested in the post-unification German psyche. The sequence where the saluting Lenin statue flies past is just hilarious!

Anyway, I am still waiting for Isajah Berlin's Romanticism - I wouldn't be surprised of the delay if he'd been a romantic himself, but since that excuse is definitely not applicable in this case ...

Haunting past

The other day, I have read an article about how your past may come haunting you when you Google. Now this is happening to me! I didn't know that I have been quoted for this!

Guest appearance: Of Brains and Brawns

Isn't it bad enough that nowadays you cannot get decent personnel anymore that keeps their mouth shut when they get flogged? It is fine with good gardeners and the like - after all, you can take praise for being their employer. Or the bodyguard - it's ok, too when he excels at Sports, as long as it's not Polo. But come on, he is not supposed to beat me at school! For God's sake!

Replacement bodyguards please apply here!
W.W.

The Aftermath

I cleared out 12 empty bottles of red wine, 18 b beer, 2 b champagne and put away sundry half empty (nah, still half full!) ones of the more demanding stuff - and the cigar box, of course! Taking care of the debris the day after is always hard work, even without a hangover ...

But luckily the sun was out in the afternoon, so there was room enough for a bit of basking and recovering. Mind you, there is still some surplus of the notorious Schwarzwaelder pie (ca. 10% weight alc., isn't that about right, Christine?) featuring quite prominently in the picture as well...

The Party

The manifestation has taken its course! And it was fun, thanks to every helping hand in the background (I mean that!). For you nosey parkers out there, here's a careful selection of pictures which should limit my liability for embarrassment to the strictly necessary.
Note the gadgetry on the top left corner.
Some of the crowd. Campfire fun!

One is not so sure of the outcome of the following sequence (I haven't taken the pictures): ...

But eventually, fatigue set in ...