tba.

*
* to be announced...

Students’ Event Guide

& Literary Journal
University of Hamburg
 The Sirocco Reaches...
Hamburg?
T able of C ontents
C ategories

weblinks 3 DemonstratioN

university life 4 Altonale 13 The spark started with a flame, flames This latest fight is our fight, and the
that burned across North Africa, fuelled outcome will affect us all. We want you
5 Meet the tba-family: tobI
film/cinema by frustration and anger at blatant to enjoy every second of the beautiful
6 Review: dj shadoW @ ue & g injustices. month of June. Read this issue and you’ll
exhibitions
8 Review: GrünanlagE @ schanzenpark be amazed at the cultural bounty that
The peoples of the Arab world are rising
market our city has to offer. But remember, your
9 Kurt vile & the violatorS against countless years of iniquity and
voice counts, this is your university and
music hardship. The young people in Greece
10 Football in hamburG and Spain are protesting against demo-
you can have a massive say in its future.
locations
12 tba gallery - renegade masteR cratically elected leaders who no longer The only thing that is certain is if we
theatre represent them. do nothing, we will have lost. One of
13 Int’l short film festivaL
the great voices of the 20th century
creative corner And in Hamburg? Our university
14 Pottery & poetry - koppel 66 died last week, but his words are as
faces one of its most serious crises. If
tba-related 15 Life in a daY relevant today as they’ve ever been...
the Hamburg Senate has its way, the
16 Ty segalL University’s budget will be slashed, vital You will not be able to stay home, brother.
staff and resources will be lost, and the
17 Weblink: deviantart.coM You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
students will suffer disproportionally.
You are welcome to join
the tba-team with your 18 World press photo: hard newS You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
tba brings you an eclectic mix of
spirit and knowledge,
whatever it may be! Meet 20 Short story: beyond the hillS local events each month, and more than Skip out for beer during commercials,
us every Wednesday, 6 anything, our magazine comes from the
pm at the Anglarium 25 Short cutS Because the revolution will not be televised.

(Phil-Turm, 1st floor, community. The community of students.

room 171) or mail to: 26 Imprint & the tba-familY We all work for free to do something
office@tbajournal.com that we feel is important, and we all care The revolution will be live.

about our university and our town. ccc

T ake responsibilit y for your studies !
Students, protests, demonstrations. In the mind of many people
these words are closely connected. Unfortunately, these people
were students 40 years ago and are today’s middle class, pen-
sioners and politicians. The latter seem to have forgotten that
they enjoyed a university education that left them lots of leisure
and study time, was free and highly valued and supported by
society and politicians of that time. As a consequence, today’s
students face more and more budget cuts, a system of manda-
tory attendance, grades and increasing pressure, and the struggle
to finance rising living costs, tuition and semester fees, whereas
time for side jobs is absorbed by studying itself.
How are we supposed to finish studies that demand more work
and grant less time, within the Regelstudienzeit, get excellent
grades to compete in the labour market or enrol for a master’s
degree if libraries are closing for the lack of funding? And what
about the quality of our teaching if tutors who are supposed to
give compulsory tutorials, are not hired any more – again for the
lack of money? On 25 May a demonstration took place which
demanded the im-
Source: medienforum münster e. V.
mediate abolition of
student fees, as it had
been promised by the
social-democratic sen-
ate before we elected
them.
3
I do not mean this to be an article
about student fees, austerity pro-
grammes, and their pros and cons. I
mean this to deal with demonstra-
Source: Vera Struckmann
tion itself. What used to be con-
nected to student life in the late
1960s seems to be out-of-fashion
today. However, unlike back in those days, our professors
are actually encouraging us this time, ending lectures early
to give us the possibility to express our opinions and join
demonstrations. Apart from voting, this is our chance to take
part in decisions that concern our future. Of course we all
could use this extra time differently just as well – to catch
up with reading, to prepare presentations, to meet people for
coffee that we haven’t had time to see for weeks, or simply to
take a well-deserved break and relax. But can we really leave
this matter, which affects us so directly, to others? Aren’t we
renouncing our right to complain if we don’t try to change
things ourselves? Why not take your friends with you, get a
new Shirt for 1 €, and join the group of people dancing be-
hind the truck and showing the rest of the city that change
isn’t just a slogan , and that students still care.
Looking forward to seeing you on the streets...
V.S.
 Altonale 13
When? June 1 - 19
It is that time of the year
Where? all around Altona (S Altona) again. Hundreds of thou-
Read more: Altonale page sands will flock to Ham-
burg’s westernmost bor-
ough in the first 2.5 weeks of June. But why do they come running and,

Source: official webpage

more importantly, why are we bothering you with such a mass event?
Well, unlike the other regular and highly frequented events in our city,
namely the Hafengeburtstag and the Dom, the altonale has not be-
come a farcical celebration of culture and history that serves as cover
for what is just another commercial scheme. Instead, it embraces and
evolves around the borough’s cultural and ethnic diversity, all the while
the organisers have
aiming to improve the city’s
provided a platform
intercultural understanding.
for local artists and created a programme consisting of concerts, read-
Through this it aims to pro-
ings, plays, art exhibitions and (movie) screenings, tapping into a wide
vide a lasting and effective
range of artistic movements. Arguably, the altonale reaches its climax
social structure for the dis-
from the 17-19th of June, when the altonale streetfair takes place,
trict by calling upon its citi-
however, my highlight is another one: On 4 June at Thalia in der
zens’ initiative and holding
Gaußstraße, director Telat Yurtsever presents Salon Istanbul, an hom-
them responsible. I believe
age to the city and its 2,600 years of dynamic history, all presented
that is a good enough rea-
through the medium of music.
Source: Julia Bührle-Nowikowae

son to endorse their cause.

As for the actual event: B.B.
For thirteen years running,

4
 Meet the tba-familY

Tobi
Boy, oh boy, it’s been a great time! During the last few weeks, I have
grown more and more melancholic about the fact that I will soon be leaving
this Northern jewel of a city. There are plenty of things here that allow me to already
foster a little bit of nostalgic homesickness when thinking about leaving Germany for
good and setting up camp in another European metropolis. Which one will
it be? Copenhagen? Will it be London? Or Amsterdam? At the moment,
there are plenty of options on the table for me and the one sure thing, the
only constant in this complex equation of my life is that I am leaving
Hamburg. And when will I come back to visit friends and family? Ham-
burg has been a great place to be. I came to experience its janus-faced
countenance - ugly and lovely at the same time. I have lived next to
the Reeperbahn for almost one year and when I finally came to move
Source: Sarah Kaufmann

to another quarter of the city, I had had my share of tourist nightlife

and was more than fond of leaving the Reeperbahn behind. But to
completely turn my back on this city is quite a different thing. Those
late afternoons with friends in Schanzenpark, a delicious snack of
fish & chips at Landungsbrücken, a walk uphill Jenisch park in
Övelgönne or simply a crazed-out night at Rote Flora or in the
streets of St.Pauli – these are the memories which will always
stay with me. Furthermore, I came to get to know a whole
universe of people (including our beloved tba-family),
who became good and close friends.

5
R eview : dj shadow @ U ebel & G efährlic H
Read more: Shadowsphere in action
DJ Shadow page
DJ Shadow
seems to be schizophrenic. Don’t get me wrong, I mean
that in a good way. Schizophrenic, because one the one side,
he is one of a group of pioneers who, 15 years ago, single-
handedly revolutionized Hip Hop – and with it, deejaying
in general. Schizophrenic, because despite this fact, he still
appears to be the down-to-earth guy, a buddy living around
the block, who is a little shy but always humble towards
his audience, delivering
jokes such as “I know a
little German … and he’s
standing right there.” with
the joy of a teenager who
discovered how to make
funny noises through his
nose. And Schizophrenic,
because Shadow (born
Josh Davis) is not only
DJ Shadow, but, together
with James Lavelle, is also
U.N.K.L.E. - an electro/
house-DJ team.
6
What else is there
to know about
Shadow? The hard
facts tell us that he
has been around for
more than twenty
years, with his first
record released in
1991. In 1996, he
released Endtroduc-
ing, which was the
first samples-only Get-to-know-the-DJ-with-these-songs:
• Why Hip Hop Sucks in ‘96 (Endtroducing)
album ever pro- • Fixed Income (The Private Press)
duced. Today, this • Organ Donor (High Noon EP)
seems to be no big • Stem-Long Stem (Endtroducing)
deal but back in the
days, it provoked a huge discussion about samples being
music or not. Musical beauty of course is in the eye of the
beholder, but despite one loving or hating this kind of mu-
sic, one should acknowledge and respect the skills Shadow
already possessed and put into practice when combining
this vast amount of sound snippets into the larger musical
picture of Endtroducing. Since his early days, Shadow has
worked with other (later-to-become famous) DJs Krush,
Q-Bert, Public Enemy and Cut Chemist, the Massive At-
tack crew, rappers such as Rakim, Lateef, Blackalicious and
Mike D and singers Richard Ashcroft and Thom Yorke –
only to name a few. It becomes clear why he is thought of
as already having left a huge mark in music history. In my
personal musical history, Shadow is one of the key figures
because I appreciate his style and have followed his live per-
formances for quite a while now. My first encounter with
the Shadow style of deejaying was at a Massive Attack con-
cert, where he was “the supporting act”, simply announced as
‘Special Guest’. With me being an enthusiastic Massive At-
tack fan, I still remember the amazement which caught me
when I realized that not only Massive Attack are playing this
evening, but also the then-very-mysterious DJ Shadow, who
performed on six
turntables.
Shadow’s versatility
of varying musical
styles is amazing
– he is able to do
sets of finest elec-
tronic music but
also enjoys mixing
old school funk,
soul, reggae and hiphop tunes. The latter had been master-
fully put into practice during my second live experience of
Shadow, when he did “The Hard Sell” - together with Cut
Chemist. It was then that you could witness two DJs really
knowing – and enjoying - their heritage. With The Hard Sell,
Shadow and Cut Chemist paid their respect to the nowadays
almost-forgotten 7’’ vinyl and created a concept using only
7
45 rpm records (7’’). They scratched their way through an ec-
lectic collection of 45s and eventually culminated in a “portable
turntable duel”.
My latest encounter with
the ways of the Shadow was
on May 15, when he paid
a visit to Uebel & Gefähr-
lich with his 2010/11 tour
set “Live from the Shadow-
sphere”. This concert was
mind-blowing in various
ways: Not only did he present a finely-crafted mix of electronic
music (from House elements over Grime, Dubstep and Drum
‘n’ Bass) flavoured with good ol’ Hip Hop tracks and samples.
The visuals of the show were also one-of-a-kind. The stage was
covered by a vast silver screen before which a white orb was
positioned. From behind, the “background visual” was projected
on the silver screen and from two projectors in the front of this
silver screen, video animations were put on the white surface of
the man-sized sphere. Within the sphere, Shadow had his set
of mixers, players and notebook and this was the place where
he did his set. And in the end, it was the combination of visuals
and DJ Shadow’s precise and crisp mixing what left me with a
huge, satisfied grin on my face even hours after the concert was
over.
T.S.
Review: grünanlage schanzenparK
Where? Schanzenpark (U3/S Sternschanze)

Source: all photos on page: Milena Vanessa Rizo Blandon

Read more: Gruenanlage page

Vast crowds of people came to see the sum-

mer opening for Hamburg’s most cher-
ished open air festival! On the 5th May
there were loads of people revelling in the
sound of minimal techno, represented by
Extrawelt, Solomun and 2000 and one.
The festival seems to attract more and more people each time, perhaps
due to the increasing popularity of the music genre itself. Although this
year’s start was not as beautiful as
the years before, to some
extent the music made you
forget everything around
you. Here are some im-
pressions for those of you
who missed it:.

M.V.

8
 K urt vile & the viol ator S Source: Justin Clowes

When? June 30

Where? Uebel & Gefährlich (U3 Feldstr)

How much? €12.80

Read more? Kurt Vile artist page

Get-to-know-the-artist-with-these-songs:
• Puppet To The Man (Smoking Ring For My Halo) The wind gently strokes your cheeks
• Blackberry Song (Childish Prodigy) as you gaze above the television tower
• Don’t get Cute (Constant Hitmarker)
and the marvellous skyline of Hamburg.
• Slow Talkers (Constant Hitmarker)
Accompanied by melancholic, tender
and yet vigorous music, the scenery seems to be just perfect. What
could be more beautiful on a warm summerday drawing to a close?
The Uebel & Gefährlich hosts the Philadelphia-native Kurt Vile
along with his band The Violators in the end of June on its roof.
Vile, a former fork-lifter, has just released his fourth Lp “Smoke
Ring For My Halo” on Matador Records. His songs remind one
of the old times. Lo-Fi sounds mixed with catchy finger picking
Source: radio k, twin cities

create a sound, which even finds admiration from Kim Gordon of

Sonic Youth.

M.V.

9
T ackle and score - football in hamburg

Read more? www.american-football.org

Little known (fun) fact about Hamburg: While Berlin may
be the official capital of Germany – and European Party
capital and what-not - the German capital of Football is
Hamburg. No, I’m not talking football in the British sense
of the word, a.k.a .soccer – I mean bone-crushing, fast-
paced football American style! In Hamburg there are nine
clubs that offer football in its countless varieties – foot-
Source: Holger Beck
before, right? While from the outside football seems
confusing and oftentimes downright complicated and bor-
ing, it takes some time to warm to this game but then one
can really enjoy it. With increased knowledge about the
rules – which are in fact not that hard to learn: the ba-
sic idea is that one team tries to advance the ball to the
opponent’s end of the field, which said opponent tries to

ball for kids, adults, men and women, avert – one can start to appreciate the
all alike. And spread across the city complexity of the game’s plays.What
all summer long there is a chance generally separates football from
to watch this intense game. Little any other game is the intensity with
do people know, there is also a long which it is played. It may seem that
tradition of football in Hamburg. In the game which steadily gets paused
1980 the first team competed in the after a few second’s play is not very
NFL (Nordwestdeutsche Football tiresome at all, but the fact that every
Liga – not the Big-deal-league over play happens in an interval of a few
in the US). seconds makes the thrill of it. Every
player has to do his job in full sprint
Four German championships were captured by teams from
with full power in order to make his team’s play work. What
Hamburg, five championship games were held in this city.
makes football in Hamburg – and Germany in general -
Hamburg’s NFL Europa team was the last to ever win a
even more likable – at least to my mind – is the fact that it
World Bowl... But enough about boring facts. The ques-
is an amateur sport. While the big events in the Color Line
tion is why would you want to go see a game if you haven’t

10
Arena or other stadiums have an appeal of their own, there
is a feeling of a family barbecue when p.e. on a Saturday
you stand in the Stadtpark with a beer in one hand and
a beer in the other and also of entertainment as you can Hamburg Pioneers Senior Men’s team will be playing
watch a bunch of guys who are Joe Normals during the home games on Sunday the 29th of May, Saturday 11th of
week put on their armor Source: Holger Beck
June and on Sunday the 28th
and enter in hard physi- of August, each starting 15
cal competition for about o’ clock on their Homefield
three hours knowing fully ( Jahnring 26 just across
well that on Monday they the street from the City
have to be back at work or Nord). Why not spend an
at university. While in the afternoon in the Stadtpark
US players are currently watching a game? For other
in a labor dispute about games check the respective
how many millions of team’s websites which you
dollars they make a year, can all find linked at www.
the guys and girls you get american-football.org. The
to see play in Hamburg site’s host Holger Beck is a
don’t get paid and put in all the hard work only for the fun voluntary photographer at many games and the pictures in
and glory of one afternoon’s game. this article are taken from his site.

So next time you do not know what to do on a Saturday or J.B

Sunday think about going to a game of football and sup-
port these fellows. Entrance fees are generally lower than
for soccer and other sports and if you keep an open mind
towards the game you will probably really enjoy it. The

11
tba gallery: Banksy

12
 Source: KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V.

S horts wee K tion and can win several

awards either judged by
When? June 6 -13 different jurys or by you
Festival season has
Where? multiple locations as part of the audience.
begun – time for
Unlike at other festivals,
How much? Single ticket 6 € music, camping,
you can choose the films you find interesting and only visit these
5er ticket 25€ // 10er ticket 45€ sun and open air.
without paying for something you are either unable to attend or
But if our beloved
Read more? shortf ilm festival page can’t stand. This means that you can just watch one short film for
weather god Zeus
6 € or five for 25 €, and as the tickets are transferable and, since
is not in a good mood, festivals are also connected to images
more might be merrier, you can purchase a 10er ticket for 45€
of grey sky, mud, rain boots, ponchos and noses red with cold.
and watch the same short film with 9 friends, each of you paying
Luckily not all festivals are open-air and include standing in
4,50 €. Additionally, there is a special tip for
crowds in front of stages.
those of you who would love to meet new
One such festival is the International Short Film Fes- people and save money: As the organisers
tival. Taking place in five cosy little cinemas (zeise kino, are looking for places to stay for filmmak-
Metropolis, Lichtmess, B-Movie, 3001 Kino) you not ers and guests from all over the world, you
only stay dry and warm in case of bad weather, but you can provide your couch, get in touch with
also get to know cinemas that are different from the big the short film scene and get a free ticket. If
Source: KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V.
chains, each of them having their very own atmosphere and you don’t need your bicycle from the 07 th
charm. If the weather gods shine on us, and we escape a blanket until the 13th you can also lend it to the organisation team and
of Icelandic ash, there is also the possibility to go to the sixth gain three free tickets. However, the festival does not only include
cinema, which is established short films – there are also workshops, parties and a café/bar for
for the festival and is open breaks and time-outs in between.
air. The short films shown in You should definitely mark the date in your calendar – and in case
Source: KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V.

these cinemas are numerous you don’t want to wait and are in the mood for a foretaste there
and represent countries from are several “Vorveranstaltungen” and the trailers of the past 26
Algeria to the USA. All of festivals online
them take part in a competi- V.S.

13
K oppel 66 - A P l ace for P oetry and P ottery

Where? Lange Reihe 75 (U/S Hauptbahnhof )

Read more: Koppel 66 page

It was my
first visit to Koppel 66 and I was already witness to a world
premiere. Theatrikon e.V., an organization founded in Ham-
burg to stage Greek drama in Greek, was celebrating their very
first German-Greek event. The program included a reading of
poems by Jannis Ritsos, a poet shamefully neglected by the Ger-

Source: Förderkreis Koppel 66 e.V.

man literary world. Interspersed throughout the readings were
several renditions of popular Greek music, particularly by Mikis
Theodorakis. While remembering the faint scent and taste of
retsina from my last voyage to the Peleponnese, Ritsos‘ words
unfurled, ascending the steep
walls of the hall where we were
through a small alleyway opening its muzzle among the
sitting. The hall, two stories
plethora of shops and restaurants along Lange Reihe in St.
high and lined with galleries,
Georg. The atmosphere of Koppel 66 is captured by a few
used to be a factory and now
lines of Jannis Ritsos which read: “It is not, my brother, that
accommodates several studios
we sing to elevate ourselves from the people, we sing to bring the
and workshops spanning the
people together.” Koppel 66 is a fantastic spot to bring peo-
whole range of arts and crafts.
ple together and discover some gem like Ritsos. Upcoming
The building is rather beauti-
events include exhibitions and music performances.
fully situated in a surprisingly
green backyard, to be entered P.H.

Source: Förderkreis Koppel 66 e.V.

14
 Y outube ’ s L ife in a da Y

When? starting 9 June

Life in a Day is a new and ground-break-

ing form of documentary film. This Europeans, Africans, Asians
project, directed by Ridley Scott and and follow them for twenty-
Kevin Macdonald, depicts one day four hours. They share their
in the world. The film project was thoughts and emotions with us
supported by YouTube.com and was and allow us a special insight
screened on the platform in Spring of into their lives.
this year. On 9 June, Life in a Day will
The audience is confronted with
open in German theatres. The producers
the entire range of emotions, start-
asked the YouTube community to film their
ing with funny going on to sad, loving,
life on 24 July 2010. They gathered 4,500 hours
shocking and brutal. We meet some of the pro-
of footage from 192 countries. Out of the provided mate-
tagonists only once, others we follow through the day.
rial the producers created a very emotional and astonish-
ingly complex film. The issue that was probably hardest This is a film you should watch and take your time af-
for the producers was to introduce a red thread into all the terwards to think it over and be grateful for the great
material. They did a great job on that though most of the variety of mankind we have on our planet.
single contributions only take a few minutes. Nevertheless
R.G.
they managed to create an extraordinarily entertaining and
emotional experience.

The film shows a day, beginning with getting up and end-

ing with going to bed, all over the world. We see Americans,

15
 Source: Ty Segall
A tuesda y night with t Y
Getting into the train at Saarlandstraße, I look at the
time – 20.30 – great, I’m on time for once. I’ll have
time to hang around before the show and chat with
the girl I’m meeting, Milena, who also writes for tba.
I’m looking forward to some good old, four-on-the-
floor, garage rock. Well, old and old, Ty Segall in its
current form has existed since 2008, but their sound
is heavily inspired by 60’s garage rock, with sing-along
tunes that would make the Beatles proud, but covered
in a dirty, lo-fi buzz with Ty’s shredding howl riding on top of the
groove. The venue, Hafenklang, which mostly hosts the harder sound-
ing part of the new, alternative music scene, seems to be an appropriate
location for the San Francisco-bred Ty Segall. Somewhere on the way
from Königstraße to the harbour, which should only be a 5 minute
walk in my quick pace, I lose my sense of direction, and suddenly find
myself at Altona railway station. Flustered and annoyed, I jump on the
train back to Reeperbahn, since I’m sure to find the way from there.
As the male voice in the train calmly announces Holstenstraße as the
next station, the pressure in my chest rises and I realize I didn’t wait
to see whether I got on the right train. Obviously, I should have taken
a moment to make sure. From Holstenstraße I take the train back in
the opposite direction, or, that is what I think I do, until the unknown
man once again calls out a station, that I do not know. At this point,
I laugh out loud, and ignore the dull stares that I get, because there
simply is no reason to laugh on this Tuesday evening in Diebsteich. I
16
write a desperate text to Milena, telling her about my
absurd situation, and hope I’m not missing any of the
music. Counting to ten and closely examining the
train direction, I finally manage to get on the right
train and arrive to Hafenklang just shortly after the
support band, The Trash, a local quartet, has started
playing. Their garage rock has a bluesy and 70’s feel to
it, with organ tunes and longer passages of guitar im-
provisations. With the bountiful energy of youth, they
finish their set in a long drone of feed and leave the
audience warmed up for the main name. This night in
Hamburg must be one of misfortunes, I think for myself, as the tech-
nical equipment offers complications shortly after Ty Segall has gone
on stage. Several intermissions of varying lengths drain the energy
from the atmosphere, which is a shame, because Ty Segall actually
had the audience at hello with his two-minute all-fun and no-mess-
ing-about pop-blast “Girlfriend”. Luckily, The Trash is still hanging
around and lends the band an amplifier, and this time we get a break-
free set of mixed goods, including a new song, and, determined not to
let a bad beginning ruin the evening, a small mosh pit forms in front
of the stage, praising the band and each other, but ultimately ending
up by pouring beer into some guitar pedals, making the band’s fare-
well greeting a “we will go now so you don’t break any more of our
equipment”. Walking to Landungsbrücken, reflecting on bands and
groupies, against the backdrop of the always impressive harbour front,
my love for Hamburg, and rock ‘n’ roll, reaches a new high.
H.T.
 W eblink : deviant ART
Source: Markus Kattein,Thomas Beecken Realisations

Are you an aspiring artist or art addict?

a great way to improve your skills
DeviantART.com is the largest online
and learn new techniques, no mat-
network for anyone who is interested
ter if you want to learn how to sew
in art, no matter if it is of the tradi-
cute little plushies, how to draw
tional kind, like photography or paint-
the paws of lions or how to create
ings, artisan crafts, tutorials, poetry, lit-
amazing affects with your camera.
erature or more recent digital art like
If there is a piece that you would
video game developing, there is space
love to own among the artworks of
for everyone to create.
professional and really skilled art-
DeviantART was founded in 2000 by a few guys living in Holly- ists (and those who are on their
wood to offer a platform for art-addicts to communicate and way to become one), simply
share their works. About 80,000 new artworks are uploaded select which size you want
every day. It is a great possibility to get feedback on your work, and you can buy a print –
to gather new ideas and inspiration, or just browse through easy-peasy. You might not
the endless discover the next Rothko,
galleries of but who cares about red
all the site’s squares anyway?

Source: Olivia Spyth

unique mem- DeviantART is at least an
Source: Markus Kattein,Thomas Beecken Realisations

bers. Also, enjoyable way to spend

the tutorials your leisure time and get
on this web- honest feedback on your
site, made by artwork. .
members, are
O.S.

17
W orld P ress P hoto – H ard N ews

Source: Daniela Meese

Where? Gruner & Jahr Lobby
Am Baumwall 11 (U3 Baumwall)

When? May 12 – June 08,

Daily 10am – 6pm, Wed. -8pm

How much? free Have you

ever been News” through “Portraits” to “Nature”.
to Bangladesh? Ever seen what it looks like when several This exhibition takes you on a rough trip around the world.
hundred people try to get on a commuter train that is already You should not expect pleasant sights because those are
packed full and has arms and legs dangling out of all the win- rarely newsworthy. You will most likely encounter a lot of
dows and from the roof ? Deutsche Bahn it ain’t. people who have been hurt in unimaginable ways. For in-
stance the girl on the cover photo of this year’s exhibition
Maybe you have seen such photos in a glossy magazine or
who lost her ears and nose as a result of terrible cruelty.
on a news website. These pictures are the very essence of
On the other hand there are also situations where some-
vibrant journalism. The quality of photographic materi-
one has earned the beating they received, like the infamous
al can amplify the impact of an entire article tremendously.
bullfighter who got his chin pierced by the horn of the bull.
The best works from
all over the world However, the whole
are displayed each exhibition is not
year at the World only based on the en-
Press Photo exhibi- tire scope of human
tion. The pictures suffering but also
are honoured in cat- includes extraordi-
egories from “Spot nary characters and

Source: Daniela Meese Source: Daniela Meese

18
 Source: Daniela Meese
Source: Daniela Meese

scenes from all over the world, in everyday-life

situations that seem absurd and alien to us.

Even though this is only a very small exhibition

it is definitely worth a visit, especially if you have
some spare time and want to see something you
won’t easily forget. Real pros know to visit the
exhibition early in the day to avoid the crowds
of visitors. The international aspect is emphasized by the German and English plaques that
explain the circumstances under which the pictures have been taken. If you want to
experience something beyond your own nose, see something of the world that is not

Source: Daniela Meese

suitable for tourist brochures, then this is
right for you.

Tender-footed individuals, however,

should steer clear of the exhibition..

J.T.
Source: Daniela Meese

19
S hort story : beyond the H ills
It starts as an inkling somewhere in the back of your mind. This
cannot be right, it says, the words tickling against the rim of your
subconscious like a soft falcon feather as beyond the windows
the red stone of the houses grows paler and paler in the blaze
of the sun. Sweat beads pool in the hollows under your eyes
and along the row of your brows. Darker spots stain the brown
of your dress under the pits of your arms and you keep them
pressed close to your torso even though the old leather sticks
uncomfortably to the skin of your bare arms.
This cannot possibly be right, it says again, persistently. You
shake your head and blink against the bright sun, against the
salty sting in your eyes.
The houses in the valley beneath you look so small from high
up here, so small and dull in the dust that you imagine anything
above them must be something at least. It is an exciting thought
to think of as the groaning axles take you higher and away and
higher still. It is exciting in a way that strangers are exciting
because they wear funny shoes and speak in funny voices when
they greet you on the street to ask for directions; it is exciting in
a way that children slap their hands before their eyes when such
a stranger passes and only dare to steal a glance at them from
behind little gaps between barely spread fingers; it is exciting
because it is new and unfamiliar and unlike anything you could
possibly imagine within the realms of your limited little world.
Are the others as excited as you are? You raise your head above
the seat in front of you but all you see are black heads and gray
heads, the back of heads, and no faces.
An unexpected tremor rips through the vehicle and knocks your
knees to the side into a fleshy thigh; the thigh belongs to a ma-
20
tronesque woman next to you in her floral-print sack of a dress
and bucket-like shoes. A little brown babe rests against her enor-
mous bosom like a parasite attached to its host. It turns its head
just as she turns hers to look at you. They both muster you briefly
in much the same flitting probing manner before averting their
eyes again, apparently deeming you dreary enough. You mumble
an apology and remove your knees to the other side. The parasite
shifts and buries its face in the bulge of the woman’s chin and you
almost fear for its life as the folds of flesh come dangerously close
to suffocating the little babe, but just almost.
You look away quickly and return your gaze to the view outside
your window. How strange it all seems. To imagine that just yes-
terday, just this morning actually, you were down there among the
houses and the dust, part of a life that now appears out of this
white blaze – like a remote memory – right before your eyes. It is
unthinkable and yet you have the very reminders etched into your
flesh like the blueprint of a fragmentary artwork.
As a babe, you were just as brown as the parasite, brown and puny
and skinny even then. Your mama blames herself for your condi-
tion still. She believes her doings while she was carrying you are
at fault – her diet, her disposition, her overall constitution. Your
pale and nimble mama cannot understand why you turned out the
way you did, too weak to work, too dark to give away.
You are my punishment, Águeda, your mama would say, my pun-
ishment from God for every sin I ever committed, and little
Águeda would not understand what her mother was saying, would
only stand and blink and squint up into her mother’s face.
Now, not so little anymore, you have come no closer to under-
standing those words, and somehow you doubt you ever will. How
could you, now of all times? Now – right now, here – right here,
in this big yellow bus, with its brown worn leather seats, and with
its springs that squeak and squirm at even the barest whisper of
a movement, and with its thin stained windows that are still not
stained enough to keep the sun from hurting your eyes. Now,
when you believe this bus must be made of fairy dust that you,
before today, only believed existed in tales and stories and far
away places that you would never ever get to see.
Now, when you have never been in a bus, have never ridden in
anything with wheels and seats, and how soft the leather feels
against your legs and arms, as worn as it might be it still feels
wonderful, now you will not start doubting your mama without
reason. Surely your mama loves you. Would you be here, oth-
erwise, if she had never loved you? No, you are convinced: your
mama must love you, just as the matron next to you must love
her babe. So the next time the inkling steps forth – but this can-
not be right – you tell it off; and it leaves.
Content when silence finally settles in your head, you swing your
legs to and fro under your seat and again watch the houses be-
neath you in the valley, growing smaller and smaller by the sec-
ond, or so it seems. You try to make out your house from up here,
but the village is too far away and the perspective is so strange
and askew that the details you recall about home are sketchy and
vague and would not really do to distinguish one house from the
other, let alone one person from the next.
They all look like tiny black bugs, the ones you hate because they
are everywhere all of the time; you can imagine yourself lifting
your skinny leg and bringing it down again with force, squash-
ing every single one of those filthy little bugs beneath the sole
of your foot, and you can almost hear the noises they would
make, those crushing squashy noises you actually kind of enjoy,
until you remember that these bugs are actual people and you
feel a sudden wave of shame flooding your face. Such thoughts…
mama would scold your for having such thoughts; mama always
knows what you are thinking.
21
You shake your head vigorously and wipe such thoughts from your
mind; the matron turns her face to observe your sudden outburst;
her eyes narrow a little and she shakes her head, though in a
much different fashion than you. The babe on her breasts whines,
startled awake, and she lifts one of her hands to its little back,
rubbing up and down with her plump palm until it calms again.
The gesture reminds you of how your abuela would do the same
for you, back when she was still alive. Her hands were not fleshy
like the matron’s but thin, almost brittle. They would poke into
your back when you crawled into abuela’s bed and she would hold
you close to her old scrawny body with her equally scrawny hands.
Abuela spent all her time in bed; you do not know why and, as it
is with so many other things, you might never know the reason
for it. But that is all right, because that was just the way it always
was, abuela spending time in bed, holding you. Something in your
chest contracts at the memory, and it hurts, terribly so. You miss
your abuela. Your abulea loved you. You knew that and you still do.
You never doubted her, not once. Everything abuela did or said
was true and everything was true because abuela said so. What
would abuela say now, if she could only see you, riding the bus,
clad in your best dress?
Abuela might turn to your mama and say, “Hija, look what you
have done to my nietita,” and then turn to you and smear some
dust onto your hands, onto your feet. Abuela liked you barefoot-
ed; carefree, she called it. She also liked your mama barefooted,
but “that girl stopped being carefree a long time ago, and I am too
old, and you are too young, so why bother?” and, too young, little
Águeda never really understood what abuela meant by that, and
you are no wiser now that years have passed.
Your best dress no longer looks like your best dress, stained with
sweat as it has become in the sweltering mid-day heat, and you
know the fabric will, if given the chance, dry in wrinkled creases.
You smooth the palms of your hands over the skirt, trying to get
 rid of them before they even appear, but already they spring up
as soon as you move your hands away and it is just so frustrating
that you curl your fingers into fists and bury them under your
knees to keep them still. You don’t really care how you look any-
way. You have no real reason to care, do you? Why do you have to
wear this stupid dress anyway? No one is there to see it, no one
is there to take you somewhere people could see it. Where is this
bus taking you anyway? Are there people waiting to tell you how
pretty you look in your simple dress, with your hair combed into
a fine ponytail at the nape of your scrubbed-clean neck, wherever
‘there’ might be?
All of a sudden you no longer want to be here. You want to get
off this bus and go home, home to mama, home to Ani, and to
Fredo, to Mari, and to Jojo, because you are a family, even with
papa and abuela gone, you are still a family, right? Why are you
the only one up here on this bus when everyone else is still down
there, tiny as bugs on the bottom of the valley, so far out of your
reach?
It feels as if someone has reached into your chest and has wrapped
cold fingers around your lungs, freezing the air before it can flow
into or out of your body. You struggle against the grip, open your
mouth for big gulps, but no matter how hard you try you just
cannot breathe. In the window you see your reflection gasping
for air, looking like some strange kind of fish, an undiscovered
rare breed of brown and black colors. Next to your reflection,
even the parasite looks like it has more right to be than you do,
its dark skin dull and raw, stretched over a shapeless jumble of
bones for a body.
The thought is followed by the sting of tears, returning sud-
den but not unexpected to your eyes. You blink, and blink, and
squeeze your eyes shut, but the sting is still there. Raising your
hands to your face you press your fists to your eyes and hope that
they will keep the tears inside.
22
You do not know how much time has passed when you are shak-
en awake brusquely. It is still and gray beyond the windows, the
muted gray of early morning. The bus has come to a stop in the
middle of nowhere. You blink, realizing that you have been on
this bus for almost a whole day. How far from home might you be
by now? You wiggle your toes and feel the responsive flex in your
muscles travelling up your legs. Your back hurts a little and you
hope that, wherever you are going, you hope you’ll be there soon.
The thought that the trip back home will be just as long crosses
your mind und suddenly the throbbing in your back seems just a
little more pronounced.
What you wouldn’t give for a moment off this bus! As much as
you want to return home, for now all you can think about is that
dull pain in your lower back, and how stretching your legs, walk-
ing, running, anything but sitting really, would make you feel so
much better. Being outside would also give you the chance to
finally relieve yourself of the pressure that has been building in
your belly for hours. You know there is a bucket somewhere in the
back of the bus, a small shabby yellow bucket, but you also know
you couldn’t go in here, not with everyone around. A shrub or a
bush or a stone seems so much more inviting.
You are startled out of your sleepy haze by a heavy hand grabbing
onto your shoulder. Your head whips around and you find your-
self face to face with the matron, her eyes intently fixed on you.
She has shifted the parasite on her breasts to the far side and her
own body toward you, as much as her massive form allows her to
move and twist in her seat. Immediately you worry that you have
done something to draw her attention to you. Maybe you had a
nightmare you don’t remember now and, in your sleep, flailed your
arms and legs, hitting or kicking her or her babe. You shrink away,
into yourself really, because even though you try you simply have
no room to actually shrink back, but she just looks at you without
saying a thing. Still you hardly dare to breathe.
Suddenly, though, the weight is gone from your shoulder as she
removes her hand and instead uses it to help her push herself out
of her seat.
The parasite gives a sharp yelp at the unexpected move, scrunch-
ing its face into an absurd mask of irritation. For a moment all
lingering traces of humanity seem to be erased from it; then,
with a touch of the matron’s hand, it disappears. You blink, taken
by surprise. You are aware that you are staring, barely noticing
anything else around you and hardly even seeing the man next
to the woman until he moves toward you. He pulls you up by the
arms, long bony fingers cutting into your skin as he drags you
from your seat into the aisle and to the front of the bus.
It happens so quickly that you do not even realize what is go-
ing on until he pushes you down the few steps and you stumble
clumsily out of the bus into the sand. You manage to stay on
your feet even as your knees and your ankles protest at the rough
landing, sending a spike of pain to travel up your spine. A cloud
of dust springs up from the ground; you recognize the kind, the
fine sand that will not settle soon and, when it does, it will be
on your clothes and on your shoes and in your hair; your brown
dress will be a shade lighter and your black hair will look almost
gray.
The man pushes against the back of your head with the open
palm of his hand, sending you stumbling again. You turn around
to regard him, the man who has dragged you out of the bus.
Why? What does he want with you? You blink against the pale
light to see his face: haggard and drawn, it looks as thin as his
fingers feel. Small eyes stare down at you and when you open
your mouth to ask what is going on you see something in those
eyes that makes you swallow and press your lips tightly together
instead. Something familiar flickers back to life, pressing forth
against the rim of your mind. This cannot be right.
23
“Ve!” He orders you, and you obey quietly, setting one foot in front
of the other. You shift your eyes from his face to the ground be-
fore you and it is only then that you notice that there are other
people out here, a small group of people standing almost right in
front of you. You recognize the driver and two other men from
the bus, but there are also strange people you have never seen
before, a man and a woman with light hair and pink skin. The
strangers are talking in funny voices, words you cannot make out
even though you recognize the language as the language of all the
visitors who have been to your village. You observe them curiously.
You wonder what they might want here; there is nothing out here
for people like them.
“Ve!”
The command sounds again and the hand pushes against your
head once more, knocking your chin forward against your chest.
One of the strangers – the woman – jumps when she sees the
thin man handling you this way, and she steps forward quickly,
meeting you halfway. She lays a hand on your shoulder without
actually looking at you, instead glaring at the man. You wonder
who she is because the thin man abruptly releases your head and
steps away, nodding, a move almost like an apology. Out of the
corner of your eyes you track his movements as he walks over to
the other stranger, the man with the pink skin, shaking his hand
in greeting. Do they know each other?
The fingers on your shoulder tighten their grip for a moment and
the pressure draws your attention back to the woman before you.
She has tipped her hat back now so that you can finally see her
eyes. They are a strange kind of blue, and they are smiling like
you remember abulea’s eyes smiling at you; or maybe it just seems
like her eyes are smiling because her lips are stretched into such
a wide grin that her teeth are showing, gleaming in the pale light
like the smooth rocks you collect back home.
She is speaking again, funny words that you don’t understand,
and you wonder if she knows that you have no idea what she is
saying. She squeezes your shoulder once more and then pauses,
repeating that motion – speaking and pausing, speaking, paus-
ing – while sometimes squeezing your shoulder and sometimes
not. The words she is saying are the same again and again. You
think she is trying to tell you her name. Doris, you think, what
a funny name.
The driver and the other men walk by, heading back to the bus.
They don’t even seem to see you, staring straight ahead as they
are. The thin man splits away from the group as they pass and
comes to a stop next to you. He seems happier than before for
some reason, you think. He looks at the woman – Doris – with-
out saying a word and for a moment you wonder if maybe he
doesn’t speak their language either. But then they know each
other, don’t they? Don’t you need to speak the same language
to know each other? Then the man nods and tips his hat. You
recognize that gesture: It means ‘good-bye.’ Papa used to do it
whenever he went away, and he did it that day you last saw him.
Even though you’re not wearing a hat, you know you are now
expected to mimic the gesture and so you do: you tip your finger
to your forehead instead and smile at the woman. The thin man
turns back to the bus and move to follow suit, but the woman
still has her hand on your shoulder and won’t let go.
She is speaking again. Her eyes are very blue now as she crouch-
es down and wraps her arms around your waist, pressing you
against her body. The smile falls from your face.
This is not right.
You don’t know this strange woman, even if you know her name.
She does not seem to understand that you have to get back to
the bus because you have to go home now. You will have to sit
on those leather seats that will make your back hurt for at least
24
another day, but then you’ll be back home with mama and Ani
and Fredo and Mari and Jojo, and the strangers will be back home
with their family.
You open your mouth to tell the woman to let go, but no matter
how hard you try, the words just won’t come out. It feels as though
the woman’s arms are wrapped so tightly around your chest that
each and every word dies before it can even reach your tongue.
You feel yourself being lifted off the ground, your feet dangling
limply in the air as the woman rises to stand. Then the man is
next to you and you watch them exchange smiles and more for-
eign words. You think there must be a reason why everyone seems
so happy all of a sudden but you just cannot think of a reason,
cannot think of anything really. Somewhere behind you there is
a low noise and you dimly register that it is the sound of the
bus starting up, gearing up to drive away. The strangers are still
speaking, one in each of your ears, and their words are drowning
out all other sounds around you, one by one by one foreign word.
Agatha, they say, looking at you. Agatha.
You blink, and blink, and squeeze your eyes shut.
c FIN c
S.R.
 S hort cuts - some beautiful af terthought S What? Europäische Nacht
der Kreativität

Where? Kunst- & Mediencampus HH

(Finkenau 35, U3 Mundsburg)
If we had a staff of 50 and the When? 24 June, 5pm
ressources of DER SPIEGEL,
Free? Yes
these are some of the events we would
have covered in more detail...

What? Uebel & Gefährlich

Sommerfestl

Where? Planten & Blomen (U3 St.Pauli)

What? Das Cabinet des
Dr. Caligari When? 26 June, 2pm
with live DJ (Raphael Marionneau)
Free? yes
What? Künstlerische Abschlussarbeiten
Where? Metropolis Kino
2011 - MA Performance Studies
Steindamm 52 (U/S Hbf )

Where? P1, Kampnagel (U Saarlandstr.) When? 19 June, 6pm What? The Tree of Life
When? Mon - Thur, 27 - 30 June Free? No, €6 Where? Abaton (S Dammtor)
Free? No, tickets: tickets@kampnagel.de When? Preview: 13 June
Free? No, €5 - 7.50

What? Avantgarde Festival What? Noam Chomsky

What? Demonstration: Aufbau Lectures on Linguistics
statt Abbruch der Where? Schiphorst & Politics
Hamburger Hochschulen! (between Hamburg & Lübeck)
Where? University of Cologne
Where? U/S Dammtor When? 24 - 26 June
When? 6 & 7 June, 7pm
When? 7 June, 2pm Free? €15 - 60
Free? Yes
Free? yes, T-Shirt print: €1

25
 Imprint - the tba familY

editor-in-chief Marc-Liam Toolan

sub-editors
Björn Behm, Tobias Steiner, Meet the familY
Julia Tegtmeyer, Hannah Tvede
Behm Björn (p. 4)
Brodersen Jesco (p. 10f.)
Groeneveld Rika (p. 15)
Haman Paul (p. 14)
Rähse Sarah (p. 20-24)
Rizo Blandon Milena (p. 8, 9)
Spyth Olivia (p. 17)
Steiner Tobias (p. 5, 6f.)
Struckmann Vera (p. 3, 13)
Tegtmeyer Julia (p.18f.)
Tvede Hannah (p. 16)
photography - see picture credits -

Source: Sarah Kaufmann

layout Tobias Steiner
tba - to be announced
2011, all rights
copyright Students’ Event Guide
reserved & Literary Journal
University of Hamburg