Fair play to the Grrrreekz! They demonstrated two facts today: one, whatever happens in Greece will profoundly affect the rest of Europe and the world: when they declared a week of bank holidays today, stock markets and the euro went down worldwide; second, of course the decision on Greece’s future can never be left to unelected bureaucrats and even less so bankers who have nothing on their mind than profit margins for them and their client investors/gamblers, so they announced a referendum in about a week’s time.

All this, of course, because they are intelligent, well-versed in Game theory, and firmly grounded in democratic principles. Greece is where democracy was born, they even invented the word for it. They certainly don’t need a lecture from the Germans, nor anyone else for that matter, on democratic principles.

The heat is on – not just in Athens, but also in Hamburg. If you believe the weather forecasters (can you really believe anyone on the telly these days?) temperatures in Hamburg will exceed 30o. It’ll be hotter in our apartment, being on the top floor and exposed to the sun all day long with no shade whatsoever. It’ll be fun! – We are prepared though: when Lidl had those blow-up canoes on offer, we bought one planning to use it the other way round. Instead of putting it on water, we’ll put the water into the canoes and create a mini-pool for Pádraig. Can’t wait to see it working!

Talking about Pádraig, he still has a tiny bit of a cold, but nothing serious, really. He continues eating his three extremely healthy ‘meals’ every day (ReadyBreak with stewed fruit, soup, and carrots with potatoes – mustn’t forget to change the menu one day).

A new problem we’re facing are mosquito-type flies who seem to wake up in the night, make this awful noise, and love sucking blood out of innocent people, leaving itchy marks behind. We’ll have to find an effective solution for that one soon…

The Andy Warhol – type poster of Pádraig really impressed me! Like the brilliant picture of the Dreamboat on the cover of Amhrán do Phádraig it was done by one of Pádraig’s really talented friends. Pádraig once produced a ‘logo’ for his An Saol podcast, using a very cheap internet-based service.

I want to start working on PR material for An Saol – but I could never produce a logo of the quality of any of the stuff prepared by his friends…. They’ve just got so much more talent! (Get the hint?:)

Anyhow, here’s to An Saol – Live your Life!

Today’s German Music Tip
Glasperlenspiel, Paris. “Wir können immer noch frei sein… Lass’ es jetzt nicht vorbei sein…” The brand new song of one of Germany’s best known bands.
What’s hot
Talent, intelligence, and democracy
What’s cold
Blackmail
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Der schnöde Mammon