A fitting day (July 4, 2008) for the opening of the new U.S. embassy at Pariser Platz 2 next to the Brandenburg Gate. The embassy gave a great party with music and, most importantly, BBQ!

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Another great CSD in Berlin. And, as always, it rained on us. But we had a rockin' party anyway!

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This year's LinuxTag was in Berlin at the ICC. Mayda3000 got to see some demonstrations of OLPC and a Linux-driven flight simulator. Sorry about the background noise. It was all very impromptu.

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In a rare public appearance, the Dalai Lama speaks in front of the Brandenburg Gate about non-violence and a story about the Tibetan flag. An enlightening experience as always.

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Having recently discovered the Fläming Skate ring, I decided to give it a try. Wow. What an amazing track. Two hundred kilometers of the the finest, widest, cleanest, smoothest bike and skating circuit I've ever seen! Fläming is a county in southern Brandenburg, flat as a pancake but gorgeous countryside. Let's take a ride through the outback on a perfect spring day.

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Ah, it must be springtime. The first of many street festivals to come this season. Myfest in Kreuzberg 36 was a success and whole lotta fun. Ten of thousands came out to celebrate the first of May as only Berliners can.

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Berlin is known for being a green city. Lots of parks and open areas. But these trees don't just spring up by themselves. The Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland has a tree sponsoring program that plants trees throughout the city with the help of local businesses. IH Berlin PROLOG took them up on it and is sponsoring many trees in the neighborhood. This is the seventh tree PROLOG has planted and this is very special because it's right in front of the school. The type of tree is special too because it's a False Acacia (Scheinakazie) and the name of the street where it's planted is Akazienstr. How fitting.

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The 5th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, "When Things Cast No Shadow," opened to the public. Cyprien Gaillard's film "Crazy Horse," projected at Skulpturenpark Berlin Zentrum, a semi-abandoned no-man's land in Kreuzberg, shows the drawn-out process of a memorial monument to the Lakota leader Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota. According to the program, "Cyprien Gaillard's film Crazy Horse is a tribute to the sculpture-in-the-making of Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1948 the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, invited by the leader of the Sioux, began a sculpture to honor the Lakota leader Crazy Horse and Mother Nature. This monument, which will take approximately another eighty years to complete, will then be the biggest sculpture in the world. The dynamite used by builders when carving the figure into the mountains of the Black Hills, located beside Mount Rushmore, has wreaked destruction and chaos in the national park. The French composer and former opera singer Koudlam, who has collaborated on several projects with Gaillard, composed the music the artist's most recent film."

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Yet another technical wonder from the Berlin dance scene. This time we're packing the party into one single machine that functions as a DJ, light effects and fog machine. It's the International Dance Party to save the night! Of course, it is no replacement for a real, pale-faced, cock-necked DJ, but in a pinch?

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Julie helps us get a grip on our fear by using reiki.

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Mayda3000's club correspondent, Julie, got together with Soundstream/Soundhack in his studio to find out more about the man behind the label.

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Engineers and railway geeks rejoice! Tom went on a tour at the construction site of the new subway line U-55 at Brandenburger Tor. Braving the noise and dust, we can take a first look at the extension of the U5 and the new subway station on Pariser Platz. More information at UrbanRail.

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Another hit for Mayda3000. Madonna is in town to promote her film, Filth and Wisdom, which is the first feature film that Madonna directed. It stars Richard Grant, Eugene Hütz, and Shobu Kapoor and was filmed in London in 2007. The film premieres at the Berlinale.Filth and Wisdom is described as a comedy/drama/musical/romance, the story features a Russian immigrant, ballet school, lap dancing, cultural revolution, poetry, night club, punk rock band, book writer, dominatrix and gypsy..

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The Rolling Stones come to the Berlinale to open their new film "Shine a light", directed by Scorsese.

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Yea! At last, Underworld came to Berlin at the Columbia Halle and went mental while the adoring crowd danced and screamed.

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Berlin hosts the Transmediale Digital Art Festival at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Got to see and hear a wide range of media about political and social issues, some would say conspirational, through the medium of digital art.

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Julie expresses her thoughts on reiki and the community.

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Big, bad German Santa came to our language school today, and demanded poetry and song before he looked into his sack of goodies.

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Rik and Tom went to look at the stunning Christmas lights. The picture below is of Ku'damm/Tauenzienstr. Merry Christmas!

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The Kinzo Club for the Chicago East Party. More drag queens than meets the eye. DJs Miss Roxy, Rico and Peto Eye from Amsterdam lay down the tracks that make the girls dance! Special performance by Kaey aka Manson.

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Chicago Rose, a testament to professionalism and glamour! Tonight, at the Kinzo Club on Alex, she takes us to the top through a time-warping mix of classics. Berlin's drag scene at its finest.

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The Berlin art scene continues to embrace the avant garde and the unusual. Kourasch Momeni is presenting "Iltismus", featuring the artist's works and philosophy. Kourasch guides us through his ouevre as well as his subconscience, along with his alter-ego, a stuffed polecat. In German, and a great story.

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On a rainy afternoon in Mitte, what better way to get out of the weather than to join a gallery tour and have a look into some of Berlin's hottest art spaces. Asta von Unger was our very knowledgeable and gracious guide. Along the route, we visited Field in Auguststr. then onto Galerie der Kunststiftung Poll around the corner in Gipsstr. and finally to Galerie Barbara Thumm to see what Chloe Piene is up to these days. Sorry English-speakers, just in German this time!

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