So I finally made it to Balalaika last night…I’ve been dying to go here for about a year or so…had a great time!

http://balalaika.rasking.de/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9KFpPN9KcaM

Place is run by Anita…an old lady from Harlem who made me tear up for Mr Bojangles…I should be embarrassed, but her version was incredible…Anita sort of reminds me of a large drunk muppet…at bit out of sorts (and has probably been singing and playing the songs exactly the same way for the last 40 years), but when she grabbed her guitar and did a bit of a “mi mi mi” warm up I was expecting to be disappointed (I guess she doesn’t sound good unwarmed…), but once she started singing it was amazing…I can see me making the Dreikoenigskeller->Balalaika evening a regular thing…

Mr. Bojangles

he danced with those at minstrel
shows & county fairs,
throughout The South.
He spoke with tears
of fifteen years
of how his dog and him,
had traveled about.
his dog up and died,
he up and died,
after twenty years he still grieves.

He said “I dance
now and every chance at
honkey-tonks,
for drinks and tips.
But most of time
I spend behind these country bars,
cause I drinks a bit.”

he shook his head.
and as he shook his head,
I heard someone ask please,

Mr. Bojangles.
Mr. Bojangles.
Mr. Bojangles.
dance,

anyways before Balalaika I went with Saffa, Mrs Saffa and Kat to Paulos Italian restuarant on Schweizer Strasse…I don’t often do real sit down dinners of late so this was a nice break. Food was pretty good…wine was expensive, but the atmosphere and service were great!!!

I realize that the people in the states probably don’t know a lot of the words I use on this page…one of these days I’ll break down and make some kind of translation…
e.g. Saffa – a Saffa is a south African. It can be an insult (like saying Yank). Since Saffa and Mrs. Saffa are from southafricaland that’s their names…
Pom (or pommy) is another one I didn’t know before I came here…it’s slang for a brit..look…I did some research for your reading pleasure…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_words_for_British#Pommy
Use of the word “pom” remains slightly contentious. Some British people living in Australasia find the term offensive and demeaning, others find it harmless and amusing. Attitudes to the use of the word have varied over the years. In the 1960s, slogans such as “bash a pom a day” were heard on New Zealand radio. In Australia, it was frequently employed in the contemptuous phrase pommy bastard up until about the 1970s, when the wave of postwar British immigration to Australia began to decline; the phrase is rarely heard nowadays. The word has become so common that few Australians and New Zealanders see any reason to avoid using it, some even justifying the use of it as a “term of endearment”. In December 2006, the Advertising Standards Board of Australia unanimously ruled that the word “pom” was a part of the Australian vernacular, and was largely used in a “playful or affectionate” sense. As a consequence, the board ruled that the word did not constitute a racial slur, and could be freely used in advertising. The Board was responding to a complaint filed by a community group called British People Against Racial Discrimination.

why is the guardian making so many appearances lately???
see I just did it again…noone in the states will get the guardian reference…