About the Digital Princes

Dear friends,
again, it's after midnight and I am still in front of my computer living the digital part of my life. Well, that story is pretty close to my previous post and my short review of that book I read early this week. I actually got some interesting messages after that entry ... with the question if I liked the end of that story.

So first, a short summary of the plot: A married woman and a guy (who is still suffering from the breakup of his last relationship) accidentally get to know each other via email. First it's just incidental communication, soon messages are going back and forth for a couple of months. No surprise, both of them get really interested in each other and it's just a question of time when they will meet for the first time. It's a constant up and down and both are hesitating somehow. Will it be the end if they turn their digital relationship into real? And there is still the real life with husbands, ex-girlfriends, children, etc. Finally, they set the date and time. Unfortunately, they do not manage to really meet up just because of one little thing. FIN

So, do I like this end? My first anwer to this question was: Any other end would have been trashy or even more disappointing. And I still believe so. Imagine ... they meet and everything is as they thought it would be. How trashy! Who would believe that? Or, they meet and it's the complete difference of what they had in mind. This would have even been more disappointing than if they never meet.

And it's like that! You somehow get to know somebody, no matter if in a chat room (in the late 90s), through a thing called Facebook or even if somebody introduces you to someone else via that kind of stuff. You have a hesitating beginning, a point where the ice breaks and sooner or later there is a moment where you have to meet up. If you don't, you're falling into that digital no man's land. And well, if you really manage to meet up and it's disappointing this becomes 'no digital man's land'. ;-)

Consequence: A digital 'relationship' is a digital relationship. It's hard to transfer a certain level into the real life. And if this sounds like I know what I am talking about? Well, I know what I am talking about. ;-)

So guys, two weeks ago I grabbed a very old CD out of my archive. It's some 'Best of' compilation and it's - hold on - from 1992. :-D Huhu! But there were a couple of things that turned out to be timeless. One of them is an all time favourite of mine: "Two Princes" of the Spin Doctors.



And the great lyrics of this piece:

One, two, princes kneel before you
(thats what I said, now)
Princes, princes who adore you
(just go ahead, now)
One has diamonds in his pockets
(that sounds great, now)
This one, said he wants to buy you lockets
(aint in his head, now)

This one, he got a princely racket
(thats what I said, now)
Got some big seal upon his jacket
(aint in his head, now)
Marry him, your father will condone you
(how bout that, now)
Marry me, your father will disown you
(hell eat his hat, now)

Aww, marry him or marry me,
Im the one that loves you b baby cant you see?
Aint got no future or a family tree,
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be,
I know what a prince and lover ought to be....

Said, if you want to call me baby
(just go ahead, now)
An if youd like to tell me maybe
(just go ahead, now)
An if you wanna buy me flowers
(just go ahead, now)
And if youd like to talk for hours
(just go ahead, now)

Said, one, two, princes kneel before you
(thats what I said, now)
Princes, princes who adore you
(just go ahead, now)
One has diamonds in his pockets
(that sounds great, now)
This one, he wants to buy you lockets
(aint in his head, now)

Marry him or marry me,
Im the one that loves you baby cant you see?
Aint got no future or a family tree,
But I know what a prince and lover ought to be,
I know what a prince and lover ought to be....

Said, if you want to call me baby
(just go ahead, now)
An if youd like to tell me maybe
(just go ahead, now)
If you wanna buy me flowers
(just go ahead, now)
And if youd like to talk for hours
(just go ahead, now)

Love,
Iris

Cover To Cover

Dear friends,
finally I find some time to sit down and write again ... this has been a powerful start into 2008 - yes, I started again where I stopped at the end of the last: Packing my suitcase. And, this actually means that I am on Frequent Traveller status now. Miles and ... I am still expecting the more to come! ;-)

But during the train rides and flights last week I was thinking about an interesting phenomenon. At Christmas and during the Holiday season I got a couple of SMS from people I haven't talked to for a while - some of them for almost a year or so. But instead of calling we write SMS and it sometimes even ends up in a kind of conversation with messages going back and forth. The interesting part: This often ends up on a level where you would never get by just talking.

And boom! Yesterday night during my flight to Helsinki I started reading a book I got for Christmas. This book called "Gut gegen Nordwind" is actually about this kind of phenomenon ... two people that have never seen each other before start communicating via email. I read it from cover to cover, dived into it, completely forgot the time ... at the end it was 4 am in the morning here and I could hardly fall asleep. On every single page I recognized a bit of myself. More than that. :-) This was so much and completely very Iris! :-D

Okay guys, I will write that book! No way not to do it! :-)

And now I can finally post the video I wanted to post since early last week. This is the song that kept me driving over the last couple of days: It's "Flagpole sitta" by Harvey Danger.



i had visions, i was in them
i was looking into the mirror
to see a little bit clearer
rottenness and evil in me
fingertips have memories
mine can't forget the curves of your body
and when i feel a bit naughty
i run it up the flagpole and see
who salutes(but no one ever does)

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell
been around the world and found
that only stupid people are breeding
the cretins cloning and feeding
and i don't even own a tv

put me in the hospital for nerves
and then they had to commit me
you told them all i was crazy
they cut off my legs now i'm an amputee, god damn you

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell
i'm not sick but i'm not well
and it's a sin to live so well

i wanna publish zines
and rage against machines
i wanna pierce my tongue
it doesn't hurt, it feels fine
the trivial sublime
i'd like to turn off time
and kill my mind
you kill my mind

paranoia paranoia
everybody's coming to get me
just say you never met me
i'm going underground with the moles
hear the voices in my head
i swear to god it sounds like they're snoring
but if you're bored then you're boring
the agony and the irony, they're killing me

i'm not sick but i'm not well
and i'm so hot cause i'm in hell
i'm not sick but i'm not well
and it's a sin to live so well

Love,
Iris