Haven't posted anything in about three weeks, and one reason is that i've actually been sightseeing in Berlin.

On Tuesday, May 11, i went to the O2 Stadium, to see the Lady Gaga Monster Ball Tour. Lady Gaga has sold out every venue in Europe... except Berlin! The mayor of Berlin was quoted last year as saying that Berlin was poor but sexy. Scratch the sexy, Berlin is definitely poor. The problem with the Lady Gaga tour was that the tour was also hitting Munich and Hamburg: the prices for tickets had to be the same, otherwise no one would have bought tickets for Munich or Hamburg, they would just have bought the cheap tickets in Berlin and come over by train. Berlin couldn't afford the prices, so only about 3/4 of the O2 Stadium was sold. (In Dublin, the tickets sold out in about three hours, and another date was added, which also sold out; Dublin is just as cash-strapped as Berlin, but in Dublin, they know what they like, and they'll shell out for the tickets.) Anyway, it was quite the show, it lasted 2 1/2 hours, so i didn't get back until almost midnight.

But i had to wake up so i could meet Christine and Steve at the airport. I checked online, and the website said that the plane was on schedule, but when i got to the airport, that wasn't the case: there was a two-hour delay, which gave me time to rush back to a supermarket and pick up stuff like bottled water (the tap water is hard in Berlin) so that Christine and Steve would have things. Their hotel would probably have bottled water, but it would cost an arm and a leg (actually: 5 Euros as opposed to... less than .50 Euro including bottle deposit). I thought that i'd meet them, we'd go to their hotel, they'd check in and then want to relax: shower, nap, whatever. And i thought i'd meet them later and we'd go to a restaurant. But no: Christine was rearing to go! After we dropped off their bags, we spent six hours walking around Berlin! Six hours! I was exhausted! I haven't walked that much in Berlin... ever!

But it was fun, and it made Berlin seem like a city that had a lot to see.

Maybe it does. But that was May 12, and it's been one long sightseeing tour since then with a break to go to the Performing Tangier 2010 Conference.

And now it's the first of June, and it's back to work, such as it is. By the way: i wish people would stop sending me comments that are in languages that i don't read. I refuse to post anything in any language but English. So if you're trying to send me comments in languages other than English (and you know who you are, and you're not anybody i know), i refuse to post them, and so you might as well stop! (And i should add that when this first happened, Weiji Yu from Singapore was still at the Center, and i asked him if he'd look at this comment i received, and he told me, oh, it's an ad for sex. So please stop!)