Did someone say regGay party?

Saturday, March 27 2010

What a strange past couple of days it has become and the forecast shows no signs of regularity approaching. Yesterday Maria left on a bus for Dijon France, where she will get to enjoy a 5-day sabbatical from nearly a month of constant research and footnotes. My yesterday was spent in my room getting reacquainted with Marx and Blake, until I left for Mainz to release myself from my own thoughts and then it happened. I believe it was when the idea of making beer came into being that got the ball rolling, this Monday I have an appointment with the ‘icehaus’ to get some experience in Brewing. I left around 2 in the morning to go for a walk around campus and spotted a flier for a reggae party on the 27th. I like reggae. Was it the 27th? I asked two guys nearby if they knew what day it was and if they heard of a Reggae party. They said they did and asked if I wanted to come with them. Well why not?

Apparently there was a miss-communication somewhere, as I was understood to have said ‘Gay’ party, which has very little in common with ‘reggae party’. It was a bit awkward, but I did meet some interesting people. I inevitably filtered through to the crowed of straight people who were brought along by their lesbian friends and we got to talking. What strange twists, I met a guy who grows hops.

This morning was spent in the Library reading about the structures of discourses. It’s just so wonderful to be learning new tools for giving form to ideas. I had a coffee and bought a fairly dry and graceless slice of cake. Later I went outside to find two others eating another slice from the very cake that I had just finished eating! I realize that the placement of the exclamation mark gives an overblown sense of surprise, but that’s what I am going for. They turned out to be Americans going to school here for language and film studies.

Back on the computer I received a request to join the network of an old friend from Italy. He is now the manager of a Budweiser Brewery. I met him in a hostel without reservation and little money, only 10 Euros I believe, and he was in need of council. I suggested that he should by a fifth of whiskey with the 10 Euro’s and let Jack figure it out. Jack led us to the Coliseum where we met some nice ladies who agreed to provide him free accommodations. But why do I hear from him now? And why only after I had been affronted with constant 'make beer' references?

I leave with a quote from my book:

In order to become an agent in the first place, a character needs to have the ability, motivation and intent to act, and has to be in the position to act (ludweg 128)

All that I have been missing is the position to act, now its on!!

Wisdom comes from reinterpretation

Tschuss

Le Reverdere Romania, Hallo Deutschland!

It has taken nearly two months for this day to come, its what I have been waiting for to give order to all the emotional furniture enclosed by my new physical space, its like the rug that ties the room together. For the longest time I felt like someone pissed on my rug. Everything had changed and I had such a lovely routine of things reordered into question marks and bowling balls. I went seeking recompense only to find that in the end I am better off having had the rug ‘miterated’ upon for all the exploits and opportunities that have come as a result.

Reading over my journal entry for this day March 24th, 2006 I found that I had recognized something years ago while in Italy, and it wasn’t just that most little Italian kids smell like apple juice, but that an artist must never avert his eyes and a writer must always stay curious. I am a writer, and whether I write for others or myself my life will continue to be powered by my spirit of inquiry and distaste for the ordinary. I have forgiven myself for being exactly where I need to be. My friends come from France, Greece, the Ivory Coast, and yes Germany who I play soccer with in between breaks. Last weekend I finished a course on movie lighting and directing, all in German, and was asked to act in a students film coming up. Today I just attended a lecture by Dr. Dr. Noam Chomsky who flew over here yesterday morning from M.I.T to talk about how language is horrible for communication but great for thinking. I got there late and the room was already overstacked with professors but I told them I came all the way from Washington to hear him, so they gave me a press pass. I am currently writing an essay on late Victorian era moral validations of art through Oscar Wilds ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ for my entrance into Freiburg University. For the first time in a long time I am only doing what I want to do, and after 20 months of volunteer work this type of self-serving stimulation is just what I need at the moment.

Sometimes I forget that I am young. What is the rush? Learn something here, forget something there. Nothing happens until 28 anyway.

So here it is, my name is Brett Ortgiesen, I live in a little room on the fourth floor of a building owned by my girlfriends parents. We have lunch together as a family every day. I sweep and mop the stairs every two weeks and feed the rabbit when Robin needs feeding. Four weeks ago my computer was completely erased, two years of writing and notes gone, but I still have my journals. I decided to give my hair highlights but my hair turned neon orange. For a while I looked like a treasure troll, still sort of do. Once, when it was cold and I was at the height of my low spirits I slipped on dog poop and got punched in the face, though Marias mother was only trying to help. In the city retail windows with different portraits of Ben Affleck looking disappointed ring in the spring season. Purple is in, wonder woman boots are out. Just got health insurance for a year, the cost: 32€ a month. One semester at Johannes Gutenberg University: 201€. Three pretzels: 1€. Using a seven year old American Express tag line to finish the blog: Priceless.


I created this song from Reason about two weeks ago but I havent made the effort to find how to upload MP3's so I made a video to go with it. Getting Germans to hold some strangers camera is a greaet way of pissing most of them off. Hope all is well, enjoy.