Kaufhaussterben

Der Frühling ließ von den letzten Kaufhaus-Ketten nur noch Kaufhof übrig. Horten, Hertie, Woolworth, Karstadt – irgendwie wollte keiner das Zeug mehr. Jetzt ist Ausverkauf, was weg kommt, kommt weg und nachfüllen tut keiner mehr. Das Geld ist aus. In Hamburg-Altona steht ein Kaufhaus schon seit knapp fünf Jahren leer und die darüber liegenden Stockwerke schon knapp 20. So sieht es drinnen aus.

Stadt-Räder jetzt auch in Hamburg

Hamburg hat seit heute auch das Velib.

Che Guevara’s birthday party cancelled

old-school – yet, kinda cool

The New York Times is launching a new “Times Reader 2.0″ to get me to pay for Online-Content. Will it work?

Don’t touch my phone

Two days ago, somebody asked me for my number. It was not somebody flirting with me, asking for my cell phone number. No, it was a lot more intimate. Actually, it was totally inappropriate – at least that’s what I felt. On phone etiquettes.

Hamburg is better than Berlin anyways

Hamburg is just the better place to live anyways. Says who?

Old ugly white men

Yesterday, I ended up at a press conference where, sitting between all those journalists, I realized three things: I was the only woman. I was the only person looking less than 40. And I was the only one who was definitely not just white. A penguin in the desert.

Welfare City, fare well

Berlin’s not a rich city. One out of five Berliners lives on public welfare. One out of five, I’d guess, is probably also living on the cash they squeeze out of short-term subletters in need of all-set rooms. The subletters pay the usual market-price rents, while the people they’re subletting from pay ridiculously little thanks to their old contracts. My landlady Christine combines public welfare with subletter squeezing and makes an excellent living out of it. Last Sunday, she kicked me out.

Berlin has a Roma problem

Imagine you let somebody squat your place for a night. The next day, he decides to stay. The day after, he not only stays but also invites a whole bunch of his friends to your place. One day later, even more people are coming. Now, you don’t want to be rude and kick them out but somehow…this is not going the way you wanted – what do you do?

Maria – die griechische Diaspora Ägyptens

Letzter Ägypten-Eintrag. Oder: Ich weiß immer noch nicht, was hier eigentlich geht.