Look: here are clips from the lovely burlesque show I went to a few weeks ago here in Berlin...

So Joi visited me for just over a week in October, and after three weeks of being in Berlin mostly just writing in cafes by myself, getting Mermaid together, suddenly I was traipsing all over the place... We had much much fun; we went to all kinds of clubs and bars, we spent a lot of time working in cafes (this city is full of the best cafes!), we saw this amazing little cabaret show about Marlene Dietrich, we met up with our friend Jen and went up to Hamburg to see Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld... and then Eric came to town, too, and we had more adventures, including a gorgeous Oscar Wilde party in this lavish, candlelit Victoriany apartment, where we all sat around a long table strewn with grapes and roses while our crazy host, Coco, read to us from Oscar Wilde's fairytales and, later, tapdanced like a little whirlwind.

Since there are way too many photos to try to post here, I'm just linking to the Facebook album documenting Joi's visit, complete with EXPLANATORY CAPTIONS. Honestly, she should pay me for these things.

And then Joi left and Eric was here till just a couple days ago, and we spent most days writing together in cafes... And we went to a bunch of amazing bars and restaurants (my favorite was this place that only serves roasted half chickens that have been FRIED, and you have a choice of either potatoes or cabbage on the side, that's it), and I met his glamorous friends Uli, who's an actress, and Marc, who's a composer, at their wonderful little house where I was greeted, at the door, by a whole barrel full of walnuts from their backyard and was immediately in luvv.... And one night we went to one of "Berlin's secret restaurants"... secret because it's in a hidden location you only find out a couple days beforehand... And we met Ms. Bee Lavender and Mr. Byron Cook one afternoon at one of my favorite cafes... And then on Halloween night, Eric's friend Wendy was in town and Eric, Jen, Wendy and I ended up having the most weird and varied night ever: we started off with dinner at a rockabilly tiki bar cafe, then went to see Lily Allen in concert, then went to this weird 70s Russian disco bar to see this incredibly fun, crazy Russian polka ska band (my favorite event of the night!), and then went to a goth club followed by a trip to the famous techno-club-in-a-former-power-station Berghain, where I lasted about half an hour before whisking myself into a cab home. I am really more of a polka gal.

Oh, one night we also had a fabulous Japanese dinner, Eric and Jen and Amy, who is friends of a friend in Kansas, and Lidia, whom I met at the Oscar Wilde dinner, and I... and then went off to see some quite spectacular Berlin burlesque at the appropriately named BANG BANG CLUB. Here I met this lovely artiste, with whom I shall do some glamorous little collaborations in the near future and who also pointed out "Berlin's Dita," who was standing in front of us exuding glamour. I mean as if it were an Olympic sport. Unbelievably gorgeous, these German ladies!

Anyway, here is my general Berlin album that contains some of the wondrous events and places and people described above.

AND I BELIEVE THAT JUST ABOUT SUMS IT UP

The end.

I do love me an autumn snowfall, especially in Berlin.







Today it snowed for less than an hour, I think. I was in my apartment, writing, and then I walked through the snow a few blocks to the German restaurant at the end of the street, which was dark and candlelit, and ate a big bowl of tomato soup with cream.