#BerlinDiaries - a personal journey through the new nervous centre of Europe v2.0 - downloadable book

#BerlinDiaries
a personal journey through the new
nervous centre of Europe
v2.0
Aleph123

Copyright © 2012 aleph123int@gmail.com, a.k.a. aleph123
All rights reserved.
ISBN:1481854259
ISBN-13: 978-1481854252

“One way of getting at how people thought about their world and what they thought made things
tick, is to look at what socio-linguists call personal and collective narrative. Narrative in this sense
is seen as a crucial element in the construction of social realities – perceived relationships and
structures – within which humans socially reproduce themselves. Narrative, indeed, can be said to
provide the link between consciousness and practice...
...Narratives are fictions because they are reconstructions of experience, they organize experience
and memory temporally through language and in the process elaborate a relationship between the
narrator and the events narrated. Thus narratives work essentially as a means of identifying the
individual self within a social and cultural context, of providing a reality – they answer the
question ‘who am I?’. As such, they also act as patterns for social action – future planning based
on past experience.”1
What did I learn from my travels for political activities around Europe as a
teenager? Your travels abroad can help you understand more about yourself
and your country than any inward-looking consideration.
As Goethe said about languages: "Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss
nichts von seiner eigenen”.
Empathise, see yourself and your culture through another culture, and you
will be a better and more conscious citizen.
Whatever I saw in Berlin was a catalyst to comment on current events and
think about the future.
But assuming that you are not necessarily an online reader who went on a
daily basis through my #BerlinDiaries posts, I augmented the material by
adding explanatory notes, links, and expanding existing thoughts.
I hope that you will enjoy the next few pages as much as those who
followed their unfolding online over two weeks, from November 14th to
November 30th (with a “coda” in early December) 2012.
And, of course, at least as much as I enjoyed writing and rewriting them!
1
John Haldon, in “A social History of Byzantium”, pages 9-10, 2009 Blackwell

PROLOGUE TO V2.0
Probably, both you and I are tired of all the “2.0” announces around.
In this case, it makes sense, as this new edition converts an online and
offline publication experiment into something with a longer-term
perspective, a kind of “living book”.
The idea is simple: #BerlinDiaries was written in December 2012, while
Version 2.0 adds more material on how the book was written, what was
added online, and basic elements of applied online marketing.
When you start publishing online (in my case, in late 1990s as online posts,
then 2003-2005 with an e-zine on knowledge management and virtual
companies, and finally from 2007 by simply blogging on social networks
and on Wordpress), you should have already identified a “format” and a
basic theme that will guide you in selecting how to choose what is relevant.
Even more important is to decide, within your “format”, what makes sense
to add from other sources, also to reduce your workload, and ensure a
continuous stream of updates (yes, you need a publication plan).
This is an experiment, and #BerlinDiaries, beside trying to be funny
enough to be read, tries to inspire you in creating your own “living books”.
About prices: Amazon Createspace allow you to choose your own price; in
my case, I set a price that is unusually low, but not the lowest.
If you succeed in completing your own “publishing cycle”, send me a link
(and I would appreciate if you were kind enough to post a link to both my
Amazon book and the Facebook page2), and I promise that I will enclose
references in future editions (online and offline).
2
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BerlinDiaries Twitter: @BerlinDiaries

PROLOGUE
Why this book? Because over 50 people read each segment that I posted
online when I started my travel to Berlin in November 2012- each day, and
I decided to keep doing so while I still had at least 50 readers for each post.
Well, I am still posting on a daily basis.
Why not use my #BerlinDiaries to both send a “thank you note” to my
known readers on Frype.com (and the unknown ones on Facebook)3, and
add a further experiment to my CV?
I believe (and I am not the only one, as I saw in my research between 2007
and 2009; for an update on the distribution of social networks, look at the
free e-book “Twitter for Diplomats”4) that online publishing will change
not only how books are distributed- but also how they will be read and,
eventually, written: the digital medium adds a layer of flexibility that has
been unknown of since Gutenberg spread book printing technology.
Therefore, this is not a traditional guidebook, but a personal journey to
explore the heart and mind of the new centre of Europe, more a
“philosophical journey” than the usual visit: a journey whose first phase
lasted over two weeks.
Why now, and why Berlin? Get through the next few pages, and you will
find answers to both questions.
Nonetheless, you are welcome to join me online to add comments,
requests- and maybe contribute with your own writings, online and offline,
to the next step, as I look forward to do a second, more institutional and
structured step.
3
http://www.frype.com/robertolofaro and http://www.facebook.com/robertolofaro
4
http://isdi.esteri.it:4300/ISDI%20ALLEGATI/Twitter%20for%20diplomats.pdf

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & RATIONALE
This book is an extensively edited and augmented reprint of what I started
posting online on November 14th, 2012, the day that my “city test” in
Berlin started: it would not have been written at all, weren’t for the daily
motivation generated by my online visitors.
My Berlin travel itinerary evolved through the daily interaction with Berlin-
but originally my plan was just to keep a travelogue and take few pictures.
I had previous experiences in keeping a (business) diary: it comes with the
territory, when you are used to work on multiple activities at the same time,
often in various locations, including by managing remotely, and hence
delegating tasks to, people.
And, again, without that experience in keeping track of multiple timelines,
subjects, and people, I would have never been able to write as fast as I did.
Storytelling has been part and parcel of my consulting and teaching
experiences for over a quarter of a century (early 1980s)- a short story, few
gestures, and some self-effacing humour go great lengths toward “fixing” in
the mind of your audience what you are trying to convey... faster and for
much longer than tens of Powerpoint slides.
How do I use maps and guidebooks? First, I have a quick preview, cover-
to-cover, and then... I leave them in my room, while having a first tour
around; I follow up with a segment-by-segment reading before going
around, and a final review after visiting something.
Why? Because I want to have a “foundation layer” of knowledge- but I do
not want minutiae to act as a filter between the cultural reality on the
ground and my personal experience, a “knowledge cage” prepared by
others.
I hope to visit again Berlin, and, with your help and feed-back, the online
components will keep this book alive, and, hopefully, kickstart a dialogue
on the future of Europe, between ordinary European Union citizens and
internal and external observers and partners.

CONTENTS
Note: places and locations in and around Berlin are highlighted in bold within the text
1 Introduction
La memoria di un criceto / Rome wasn't built in a day
1
2 Getting around Berlin
Berlin InfoPack / Walk the talk (and few thousands steps more)
15
3 A day in town
Testing and common wisdom / A quiet day that wasn't
26
4 Past and future wars
A day in the past / Turkey and NATO, or: pre-empting a proxy war
35
5 Games & thoughts
Games and gaming / Sometimes...
43
6 Serendipitous walking
A walk in town / Museums, games, parks and... bicycles in Berlin
54
7 A changing town
Annexed townships and museum surprises /
The gentrification of East Berlin & packing
67
8 Closing down
Memory, language and... apologies in Berlin
Three monkeys and a drawing boss #Berlin
78
9 The aftermath
Meanwhile... / Globalization in a cup of tea
87
A Meta-appendixes 2.0
Creating an online and offline posting format
Evolving your content for your audience
The publishing process
Keeping it alive
93
Afterword and planning: why Berlin 106

Interact on Twitter @BerlinDiaries and on Facebook.com/BerlinDiaries
1
1. INTRODUCTION
La memoria di un criceto5
Or: having the attention span of a hamster (for my older friends: of course,
a Hamster would be different, notably the "Mighty Hamster" that along
with all the other house pets protects humankind from itself!6).
No, I am not the "fons et origo" of this "memoria di un criceto" concept-
the author is an Italian customer (I would not say when, where, how, who):
for a week, along with others, he tried to convert me to uttering 4-letter
words during business meetings.
5
First posted on Frype.com/robertolofaro: 2012-11-15@09:08
6
For everyone else: while writing in 2007 on stage6.divx.com under the “nom de
plume” of Aleph123, I created a series of fictional reports from what I called the
United Hamster Front, an organization devoted to the well-being of the hamsters
that were said to be called up to make the website work, as each time there was a
technical glitch, a message stated “we are feeding the hamsters”, and I tried to
defuse flame-wars by calling up some humor and worrying about the well-being of
overfed, overworked hamsters; but I will post new UHF material at a later stage

#BerlinDiaries - a personal journey through the new nervous centre of Europe
2
Of course, as it was a blatant and open game... on the second day, all the
others started being visibly uneasy about uttering those words, and by the
end of the week, instead of converting me, I could remark that they had
stopped using those four letter words in our meetings.
Incidentally: it was an open challenge, and therefore I answered openly,
playing brinkmanship- but while in the Army I had a completely different
level of swearing… when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
Also if, admittedly, the most obnoxious case was a young Greek guy that I
met while with a bunch of young-yet-politically-active (ok, early 1980s)
teenagers, as we were travelling overnight by train to Paris.
He graciously shared with us all the interesting words that his Italian
"friends" had taught him: and I learned few Italian four letter words that I
had not known before, including in various dialects.
Back to the hamster's attention span: the point was simple- I wanted to add
a “legenda” to few slides because I assumed that a somebody at a senior
management level does not necessarily read material sequentially (my
experience, and not only in Italy, since 1986- also for startups).
And I was asked: do you think that he will have the attention span of a
hamster? I said- well, in my experience- I doubt that he will get through all
the slides in the original sequence, it is more probable that he will skip and
maybe jump around, focusing on what needs to be confirmed/ accepted/
clarified, and his rationale (e.g. as I saw with business&marketing plans).
Why did I think about that today? Because yesterday evening I watched
"Argo" in Italian- and there was an intermission, resuming few seconds
back from where the first half had ended before the intermission.
And today I saw the same in Berlin, while watching in English "Sky Fall" at
the Sony Centre, near Potsdamer Platz (showing movies in English):
therefore, they assume that the intermission is long enough to generate a
loss of memory within the audience!

3
Incidentally 2: personally, I prefer "Argo" to "Sky Fall", as most of the
twists in the plot of the latter are easily predictable- so predictable that my
reduced sleep over the last few days contributed to some yawning now and
then (yes, you can yawn also while watching a 007 movie- I remember the
same effect with one of Pierce Brosnan 007 exploits).
Incidentally 3: if you plan to go and watch "Argo", read first Ken Follett's
book on Ross Perot's exploit to "extract" his EDS employees7 from Iran,
and have a look also at the Wired article about "Argo" (published few years
ago8).
I could add more details on both movies- but I would be posting spoilers...
therefore, maybe later, and only to those who watched both.
Why I do prefer Argo? Because the hero is an almost ordinary albeit
unusual guy doing his job (getting people out of trouble, or "extraction"- i.e.
a problem-solver), with a kid and a (former? returning?) wife.
Not really your 9-to-5 ordinary divorced father: but "Sky Fall" was almost
farcical, in its overload of quotes from other movies (I did not expect also a
quote from "My Name is Remo Williams", when 007 walks on thin ice-
literally!).
But beside movies, I had this afternoon a "déjà-vu", reminding me of when,
as part of the gazillion of tests that I had on a daily basis since 2008,
somebody tried to enter my apartment building in Brussels using a puerile
"social engineering" test (fumbling around pretending to search keys until
you let them in without checking if they are entitled to enter the building).
Back then, as I was a resident in an apartment building that had only
resident inhabitants, I opened the door while going out, but then waited for
confirmation before letting the “testers” in.
7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Wings_of_Eagles
8
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-10/19/making-of-argo

4
Today in Berlin the same test was quite funny: somebody inside rummaging
through mail, while somebody outside the door of the building fumbled
through the keys (without finding the right one), and when I opened the
door to go out... thanked and entered.
Well... I actually entered the building for the first time while the door was
wide open, as a young man was watching who entered, but without
stopping anybody: hence, not really a residential place with the most glaring
standard security (moreover: there are few offices within the building).
Yes, another case of "hamster's attention span"- you do not need to be a
genius to see the difference between the two cases: an apartment building
used only by private citizens, and an apartment building used by offices,
residences, and ordinary dwellers...
In the first case, it was obvious why I stopped somebody trying to enter
with an excuse- while in Berlin… I had no reason to.
I wrote few times9 that in the early 1980s I was involved in an European
Federalist advocacy, notably within the youth organization (I wasn’t yet 17
when I started).
Well, involved is most definitely an understatement: I was a member of the
Central Committee of the Italian branch, before becoming town secretary
in Turin, a role that included liaising with the youth organizations
secretaries of the so-called “arco costituzionale” political parties (from the
Liberal Party, PLI, on the right, to the Communist Party, PCI, to the left).
But what I often fail to quote is that also after stopping "structured"
political activities, I kept monitoring international affairs- before and after
choosing to attend Summer Schools at LSE in London, in mid-1990s.
One of my travel rituals? To pick up the International Herald Tribune while
flying around- albeit I liked it more when it was a joint venture between
New York Times and Washington Post (I still enjoy filling the “jumble”
game as fast as I can, when I buy a copy of the IHT).
9
As this was posted as part of a blog, I am referring to previous posts on
http://www.frype.com/robertolofaro

5
And that's why in 1994 and 1995 I choose International Political Economy
for my summer studies, also if sharing my "intuition/analysis" was done
only privately and within my network (part of my "loyalty building"
activities- justify why they should keep thinking about me to staff or
manage hopeless/challenging projects and activities- the results on
Linkedin10).
Sometimes in Brussels I found pub discussions converted into a kind of
"who's who in EU and EU reform trivial pursuit edition": in my line of
business, I was more interested in other elements affecting the ability to
change and the management of social/business impacts.
Names are more relevant when you are “digging a trench”, i.e. you are part
of the environment, while instead I met thousands of people and worked in
dozens of companies around few EU countries (and occasionally
elsewhere): I needed to remember only key names.
But you would need an attention span exceeding that of a hamster- and you
should be able to resurrect, continue, expand on a "discussion thread" that
has been a stop-and-go for a long time.
Why? Because when you want to deliver continuity, despite being there only
once in a while, keeping the “human side” running is important.
Of course- I started working in different towns each day long before mobile
phones were common (in Italy, the GSM service was operational in 1995-
when I got my first mobile: I resolutely refused to get a pre-GSM mobile,
which initially were actually suitcase-sized phones).
Suggestion: before working toward "innovation", take a short step back in
time, see the commentary on potential evolutions etc., and then check the
current status: often, this will help to see through the “fog of incomplete
knowledge”, and avoid repeating patterns that failed.
As the disclaimer for investment offers states... past performance does not
necessarily guarantee future performance: therefore, it is always useful to
first understand where you are, and then, only then, propose a change...
10
http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertolofaro

6
But our attention span can be increased dramatically by cutting down on
Powerpoint slides, position papers, etc., and by studying the "before" and
"after" of previous change attempts within the same organization.
Anyway- today, without noticing, I did something that I had not done for a
while: a serendipity walk starting in Adenauer Platz and ending in
Potsdamer Platz (on the way back, a bus ride).
Probably today I walked (fast) slightly more than 10km - but it is my
tradition, to find or at least look for a residence in a town where potentially
I could return, and not for just a week-end, and spend the first day to go
around and get a feeling of the location (and the “human environment”).
I must confess: I did not expect to see the "new Berlin" as I saw it while
walking.
But there is one point that I noticed, starting with the public transport trip
from the airport: it has been a long time, in Europe, since I last met so
many people with a smiling face- and not only Germans, but also
immigrants working in services.
As for the status update that I posted on Facebook11: yes, I heard quite
often Russian mixed with German, but anyway my crash test on German
started well!
For the time being... my memory and attention span fairly exceed that of a
hamster (and no, do not ask me to spin the wheel on their behalf).
The balance between happy vs. sad/nervous faces is significantly in favour
of the first, if compared with what I saw in Italy over the last few years.
11
“I did expect to test/improve my German- but I never heard so much
Russian:probably, because traditionally my first night is walking n exploring... and
only Russians seem to sustain the cold :D later I will post: "la memoria di un
criceto"”

7
Maybe a reminder that the official anthem of the European Union is the
"Hymn to joy" from a German composer, anthem that unfortunately has
been converted into a ritualistic hymn, i. e. where the meaning of the words
is lost, and it is just "the right thing to do" to sing along...
But I had no experience of any organization where cultural change was
assigned to bean counters- sometimes the CFO was deeply involved, but he
did not try to have his accounting team magically become a creative or
motivational engine, à la Cinderella: cuius region, eius religio!
Actually- a few tried: and you got your Enron and Parmalat.
Let's see what happens...
Enjoy your week-end, and see you online.

8
Rome wasn't built in a day12
No, I am not trying to build an empire.
More modestly, I am doing a second round between my Dutch and my
German: the first one was in Brussels, where I rifled through German
courses using my rusty German to “kickstart” my Dutch, few years ago.
Nowadays, I have to avoid mixing up Dutch when I have to utter German
words- and remember my ways through the der/die/das (yes, in my work I
am used to cross the Ts and dot the Is).
As you maybe now realize, part of my current plan is to post a daily
"method report" on my navigation through German re-learning, akin to the
one that I did online for Dutch13 (but, in that case, on a weekly basis).
So, a couple of weeks ago, as I could not find a place in a residence in Turin
where I was before, to complete my preparation (and the alternatives were
out of my budget range)... I decided to look at priorities.
What better to shift from books to a "sink or swim" full-immersion?
Earlier than I expected- but in my business, how often I had to run before I
had learned to walk?
If a crisis happens, you have to keep it under control while you look for the
best people to involve in its solution.
As Starr14, quoting Wilensky, wrote: sometimes, a rushed up decision is
better than one you sit on for a while.
12
13
http://nlschap.wordpress.com
14
Chester Starr, “Political Intelligence in Classical Greece”, 1974

9
Therefore... I looked for apartments in Berlin, and then decided that, as I
did when I worked elsewhere around Europe, it would make more sense to
look for a residence than to rent a room in an apartment or hotel.
I do not like hotels for more than few days, moreover when working at
least part of the time- and the last time I rented a room in an apartment was
in 1993, in Prague, through a travel agency.
Funny, now that I think about it: there is a German link there too, as I went
in Prague in May 1993 as I had agreed with my German girlfriend to meet
one last time, to split, but... to do that by visiting for a week a place that we
had not yet seen, and share the cultural experience.
A residence usually delivers you the same services that you would have in
any hotel- with an added layer of freedom (e.g. access to a fridge containing
what you like, or picking your own choice of tea).
When I work, I like to drink few litres of tea- it is not just the content of
the cup, it is the mental process involved in preparing it (have a look at the
tea preparation in Red Cliff15).
But after choosing where to sleep, as I had never been in Berlin (I was
invited few times by a classmate at LSE, but we meet in Italy and Germany-
never in his birthplace, Berlin), it was time to look for a “Virgil” to guide
me through the town.
I scouted for an unusual guidebook- and I found a recently published one,
written by an Italian woman living in Berlin, a quite unusual cultural guide.
I cannot just get through the “traditional” guidebooks, with all their
itineraries, lists, etc: a catalogue does not deliver a cultural experience- and I
wanted to experience life in Berlin, not acting as an Italian in Berlin, who,
after few days... ends up looking for a pizza or spaghetti!
15
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425637

10
Yes, I know that even some Italians think that I am anti-Italian: but as my
Latvian friends told me in the 1990s, I was a little bit unusual- as all the
other Italians that they met saw Italy either in black or in white, while I saw
plenty of gray, and keep studying the cultural and political history of my
country, and sharing that knowledge with my foreign friends and
acquaintances.
I do not like the "mafia style" that since the 1980s I saw increasingly
widespread in my country- and I worked also for free when I still believed
that there were parts of the bureaucracy that were clean.
That's also why I think that appeasement with that "forma mentis" does not
work: converting few robber barons in the XIX century in the US was a
matter of having opportunists barter short-term advantages for longer-term
benefits, but you would need brainwashing on a massive scale to achieve
the same results with the various mafias of Italy, and all their legions of staff
and dependents.
The money flowing around mafias is on the tune of tens of billions of
Euros each year (a recent statistics said that it went to at least 170bln
EUR/year- counting just what is documented!).
And, unfortunately, every nook and cranny of the Italian economy is
potentially a recycling target: way too many people find expedient to get in
touch "just this time", compromise "just this time"... until they are just
another cog in the blackmail-based wheel.
It is the MAD16 strategy from the Cold War applied to a single country:
hence, the continuous calls for external interventions (by our EU partners),
due to the maze of conflicts of interest and mutual blackmail.
That's why I liked the "Vespri siciliani Operation" approach (used by the
Italian Government years ago): send in the Army in Sicily and other crime-
infested areas to do patrols and watch duty, so that you can use police
forces to do investigative work.
16
See e.g. Craig “Destroying the village: Eisenhower and thermonuclear war”, 1998

11
Hopefully a smaller army and a smaller police force, but both better trained
and better equipped and monitored, to avoid the "just this time" approach,
at least from them.
Having the man in charge of purchasing for the Police to resign due to
suspicions of massive irregularities while Interpol was meeting in Rome,
and his boss being reported by newspapers as publicly stating that basically
he is incompetent to coordinate his own department, as he wanted only to
be an investigator, was a recent public disgrace that hopefully will not be
repeated17.
Nonetheless, beside their obvious "kitchen expertise", Italians are used to
adapt to and adopt cultures at least since the fall of the Roman Empire.
And do not forget what Greeks said of Ancient Rome: the founders were
coming from all sort of places (and backgrounds)- but I will not repeat their
assertion (as this would be considered... “anti-Italian”).
The arrogant judgement about the "Roman parvenus" found its retribution
when, thanks in large parts to its own internal divisions, Greece was
conquered from Rome- better able to manage on a larger scale and organize
the "logistics of power" than a quarrel-intensive lot of too many “prima
donnas”.
Back to the unconventional guidebook (in Italian18): better than any other
guide (also in English and French) that I found in bookshops (at least, for
my serendipitous approach, i.e. "city discovery").
The first suggestion that I followed? Hop on the 100 bus, and do a tour,
while avoiding the ordinary tourist busses.
Just that suggestion... was worth significantly more than the price of the
book.
17
The potential headcount cuts are so large, that the current government decided to
cut 20% of the managers, and 10% of the employees
18
Fabbrizi, Piacentini “101 cose da fare a Berlino almeno una volta nella vita”, 2012; it
comes also with a blog

12
And the other 99 chapters within the book?
While maybe not necessarily suggesting something that I would be
interested in doing, they are quite entertaining.
Another useful addition: a map that I bought at a newsstand in a tube
station in Berlin, as well as a weekly pass.
At least the first time that I visit a place where there is a chance that I could
come back... I stay clear from museums (except for temporary exhibitions,
or if I have travel companions).
So, I have never been a good customer for any kind of "tourist passes".
I rather (as I did in Paris, London, Rome, Zurich, and now Berlin), go for
an ordinary weekly pass, and then feel free to walk when it makes sense
(MP3 is a true blessing, when walking)- and attend only the museums that I
like.
Unless it makes economic sense to buy the tourist pass- you are not
required to visit each and any museum listed on the booklet that comes
along your "tourist pass".
Your time belongs to you, and maybe spending one or two hours chatting
while sipping a coffee in a café nearby "La Sorbonne" is a cultural
experience worth much more than doing a Parisian pod race through 10
museums in a day.
Over the last two days, I remembered when my German girlfriend from
Southern Germany was worried about an interview in Hamburg- as they
talk faster.
And that's also another reason why I have to be fluent or in a "sink or
swim" situation before I dare to speak.
I have the bad habit of talking quite fast- and if I find people who talk fast...
I increase both the speed and the density of the content- nothing is more
fun that finding somebody you can interact with fast, and possibly skipping
unnecessary steps (i.e. a joint “connecting the dots” exercise- a kind of
verbal tennis match).

13
Hence, I need... a certain depth and breadth in my vocabulary (and that, in
turn, requires a significant number of movies and books).
For the time being... it is interesting- and in barely 24 hours I saw some
improvements.
So, yesterday night I charged the battery of my MP3 player, and planned to
start a 1/3-1/3-1/3 daily routine.
Or: 1/3 interacting around (and anyway listening on my MP3 player to
German dialogues while exploring the town, shops, and studying people
and local customs).
Then, 1/3 working on some business documents and business study.
And 1/3 for fun and preparing for future work (which includes, of course,
reading non-business stuff and writing).
But it is not a sequential splitting- e.g. I am used to set not one alarm, but a
sequence of alarms (or just one and then lay down until I get through the
various steps).
So that, when I have to deliver a lesson or presentation, or write something,
I can actually think and structure my argument without getting sucked up
by pen, paper, and that time sponge- word processors.
If you get through my blog19 or main social networking profiles20 you will
find plenty of posts.
Usually, I drafted all of them (or at least outlined the subject)... why laying
in my bed, between the first and second alarm, and without using pen,
pencil, paper- or even computers or text messages: just plain, old fashioned,
traditional “speech outline memorizing”21.
19
http://www.robertolofaro.com/blog
20
http://www.facebook.com/robertolofaro and http://www.frype.com/robertolofaro
21
Suggestion: Yates “The Art of Memory”, 1966

14
Well... the "1/3" allocation was based on the battery life- but it seems that
the FSI course material22 that I am listening to now doesn't take that much
life out of the battery.
So... 7 hours later, it was still running (I had planned just 5): time really flies.
Obviously- there are other means as well, that I already used in the past
when I needed to learn something fast (and to check my language skills),
but that will be for another day.
Meanwhile: there is an added value- you can easily avoid distractions when
either you do not speak well a language or (in case, as today, you hear
people speaking languages that you know) you can pretend not to.
And also in my work, I am used (as I was in the Army) to focus if I need to-
while still listening/monitoring background noise or distractions (also
when, sometimes, that "background" is actually in the foreground).
Another step: buying local clothes and local newspapers, and leaving in my
room backpacks and other details that say "tourist".
But I will never beat my record from New York: on the way from the
airport to town, on the underground... an old woman living in a different
zone of New York asked me for directions!
And now... back to my daily morning email routine, before wearing my
earphones, and walking around another area.
But maybe next week I will spend some time also to visit exhibitions.
22
The FSI courses are available online, and were originally produced for the US
Government, and therefore are reportedly not covered by copyright- but check for a
change of mind, as the corresponding DLI courses have been pulled out, due to the
exposure of names of instructors, etc; you can still find and download the official DLI
Headstart series from http://hs2.lingnet.org/index.html - Gigabyte courses, so do
not dare to use your mobile phone! Do they work? Well, I did my tests in German
and Spanish: see http://www.robertolofaro.com/robertolofaro/certifications

15
2. GETTING AROUND BERLIN
Berlin Infopack23
So, today I promised that I would not have limited this daily post to my
personal views.
Instead, I decided to first collect some information (yesterday I scouted a
newsstand for relevant material), and then divert this post toward providing
that information, should you eventually decide to visit Berlin.
Just a quick note, as I had barely more than half an hour to write this note,
this morning (I do apologize for any typos).
We are in the XXI century, and therefore I assume that any traveller will
have at least one gadget that comes "Wi-Fi enabled".
I found few public spots around town (and I am NOT referring to those
leaving their own network open), but, frankly, beside checking the GPS of
your mobile phone without spending money on data traffic, standing in the
middle of nowhere with a mobile or tablet in your hands isn't exactly what I
call "convenient".
23
First posted on Frype.com/robertolofaro: 2012/11-17@09:58

16
Instead, the Starbucks chain gives its customers up to two hours of free
connection- using the BT services, with a good connection.
Personally- I get a “cappuccino grande”, and sipping it while reading
newspapers online (postings on @aleph123 selected articles) takes about 45
minutes, at high-speed, more if you find more than a couple of dozen of
interesting articles, less if you are just below a dozen.
And, quite conveniently, the system update of my Blackberry Playbook
added the "URLTOPDF" application.
Therefore, I do not need to "untangle" Android management.
If you have an Android phone: it is a quite convenient application that takes
the URL that you provide, and creates a PDF file- useful to read later or
share articles or web pages that you found online (e.g. while going around
and pointing at a QRCode).
Why I have a Blackberry Playbook? Because I wanted a cheap tablet that
could fit my pocket (hence, 7" was the limit), but with a screen good
enough to read smallprint (and, at the time, the BB PB was the only one
with that resolution).
It was more expensive than other 7" solutions, but my eyes appreciated the
gesture, and anyway when I bought it the company was thinking of
disposing of the product line, and the price was reduced by 2/3; now they
issued the LTE/4G version.
My tablet comes only with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: but that was, security-wise,
a selling point, at least for me.
I had already few connection attempts from unknown sources, and not
having a 3G card inside my tablet is an advantage.
And it lasts more than 7 hours also if you use Wi-Fi for few hours; it
supports some Android applications natively, while others require some
technical gimmickry.

17
But the Internet connection at Starbucks is not free: the price difference
between them and other coffee shops makes up for more than that- still, it
is nice to sit on a couch.
You can even bring your own chess set and play chess on one of the tables
whose top is... a chess board.
And no, there is no table with a Go board (but you can find decent
Android applications that deliver a 9, 13, or 19 Go board).
Incidentally: my week-end reading, started yesterday in a decently large pub
in the Europa commercial centre, is on the 36 stratagems24 applied to Go25-
interesting, also if you are not a Go player, as you can visualize each
stratagem through the “patterns” that it creates on the board (remember
then to re-read the Rand document on Go and swarming26!).
The first morning I went out for breakfast: but, frankly, you end up finding
so many tempting meat-based snacks (I got a cappuccino with a
chicken&sweet chilli), that the following day I started another routine.
So, in the morning I had a cup of orange juice, a bowl of Ayran or other
dense yoghurt, and a cup of tea, along with some biscuits.
Why? Because all that fermentation helps in digesting all the snacks and
meat that you will find during the day.
I resisted for two days to the temptation of eating the famous Curry Wurst,
as I am quite partial to curry- my favourites? Green and Madras.
So, I covered food and free internet- but what if you do not see a Starbucks
nearby?
24
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty-Six_Stratagems
25
Ma Xiaochun “The Thirty-six Strategems Applied to Go” (search online, the book is
not available anymore, not even on the publishers’ website)
26
http://www.rand.org/pubs/documented_briefings/DB311.html

18
I used services provided by a UK provider (only for voice) and Wind in
Italy- interestingly, the former gives you for free while roaming conditions
that Wind asks you to pay for!
Anyway, Wind has two data options while roaming: 2.5 EUR/day for
50MB and 9 EUR/week for 100MB.
If the former seems a lot... it isn't, if you use email, web, GPS, etc.
The latter would be more useful if you just receive few emails.
No, visiting social networks is not a good idea, while roaming on data (but I
update my FB status via SMS).
When you eat, walk (moreover in cold weather), and drink (it goes with
walking), eventually you will need to find what seems to be optional
everywhere: toilets.
So, remembering the amount of time I spent looking for toilets when
travelling with friends, instead of scouting for cafes, I looked for more
"organic" solutions, i.e. something that is available everywhere.
Let's say: the cheapest (whatever people think) and cleanest toilet in Europe
were in Brussels and, overall, Belgium (generally- between 30 and 50
Eurocents, which covers the costs of those providing the service).
In Berlin, some cafes charge (!) as much for toilets, also for customers, and
you can find in any railway station (including largest underground and local
stations) toilets at 1 EUR (as much as you would pay in Milan).
Beware: the cleanliness varies, and usually larger stations are cleaner.
Talking about stations: do not get swayed by the presence of signs both in
English and German, as that does not necessarily imply that you will be able
to access services- unless you speak or at least understand also German.

19
Also first class service offices (as the one that I used in Oststation) do not
necessarily come with English-speaking clerks, and therefore you should
use your German (or prepare your “script” before).
Luckily my German was useful: I asked to retrieve my prepaid ticket, and
the clerk was instead trying to sell me a ticket, assuming that I had only
reserved a ticket.
It was quite funny to see that, in Berlin as in Zurich, some employees
assume that they can decide who buys what.
Incidentally: a long-range 1st class ticket is only marginally more expensive
than a 2nd class one, and if you consider the additional services... cheaper.
In Zurich, it ended up with a complaint, and a nice (for me) letter from the
marketing office of the SBB stating that their clerk received a lesson that he
would not forget, for making unacceptable comments (my Swiss partner
translated: he got fired).
The reason? I had used my credit card often enough to have the signature
half-erased, and I offered to confirm my identity with my passport, as I did
before; he made some remarks that were clearly levelled at my Italian
passport, and refused to accept the credit card, until I asked him to call the
supervisor (he even resisted to that suggestion).
But I was working there, while here I am just surveying: not my point to
improve service.
As for the areas that I visited: yesterday it was a shift toward East Berlin (I
went by train to the extreme Eastern side of the A B zone, and then
walked/travelled back, and after lunch north to Pankow).

20
I promised some material, and here it is:
 Berlin "New in the city" guide (I got a similar one in Brussels)- better
and more up-to-date than any guidebook, and if you avoid the obvious
"plugging" for products and services, quite useful (it comes with a mini-
map); dual language in English and German27
 Monopol Berlin Kunst and Kultur 2012-2013, with over 400 places
worth visiting (444, according to the sticker on the cover), with a
calendar of art events, museums, etc; in German, but easy to use also if
you do not speak German28
 Der Spiegel Geschichte Berlin- Berlin across (social) history; in
German29.
I went through them yesterday (my usual quick-read), and I plan to use
them to improve my knowledge of the town and German while doing a
long travel next week.
As for this first week... my aim was just to wander, pick up chances to test
my language skills, while being reassured that my Italian/EU circus will not
let me down with additional entertainment30.
Enjoy your Saturday!
27
http://www.newinthecity.de/en/berlin-news-en.html
28
http://www.monopol-magazin.de
29
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/spiegelgeschichte/index-2012-5.html
30
For older material on my circus: http://thecircusbxl.wordpress.com

21
Walk the talk (and few thousands steps more)31
The first day in Berlin I did a small (for my standards) walk, from around
Adenauer Platz to Potsdamer Platz.
Yesterday I decided to do something similar- but through a different path:
walking along Tiergarten, up to Potsdamer Platz.
Incidentally: it is where you will find embassies.
I did not know that I would end up walking through embassies and up to
Stauffenberg (right after Hiroshima), and then turning right on Ben
Gurion to get in Potsdamer.
I might be wrong- but it seems that only the Italian Embassy isn't
surrounded by a fence32: maybe also because it was recently renovated, and
therefore, in the new Europe, you do not really need a fence.
My original idea was to have a quick lunch and then continue to the
Brandenburger Tor (a short walk from Potsdamer Platz).
But then, having already seen it during the day from a bus, I said: why not
having a look after sunset?
So, I went to check the schedule for the next show of Cloud Atlas, whose
trailer I saw a couple of days ago- intriguing (as I posted on my FB status- I
haven’t read the novel or, to be more precise, I did not even know that it
existed).
I could have chosen "Judge Dredd 3D"- but, frankly, I had had enough
gunshots and flying corpses with "Skyfall" few days ago, while I had enough
noise in my "audio test" in a pub few days ago (live music, but in a place
large enough to spread the sound).
31
32
http://www.ambberlino.esteri.it/Ambasciata_Berlino/Menu/Ambasciata/La_sede/
for a virtual tour, while, according to the website, you can also schedule a visit

22
My first German movies were probably "Heimat" and "Zweite Heimat" in
the 1990s- but only in theatres (in weekly segments).
Instead, on DVD I lost count of the number of times that I watched "Das
Boot", long ago.
More modestly, this time I was looking for a movie to start with in English,
continue in German, and maybe have a look at it live on stage, as I did with
Spanish long ago- in this case, it was "39 steps", the Hitchcock version33.
As it was not immediately available... I went for a small and funny movie-
"The King's speech"34.
So, it is now three times in a week that I see it- first in English, then in
English with German subtitles, and finally in German with German
subtitles, while I began yesterday night a fourth run immediately after the
third- in German with no subtitles.
I liked the movie, I liked the speech, and... I was looking forward to a much
slower talking speed than the one delivered by “39 steps”.
The Gettysburg Address, Ulysses’ speech within the “Divine Comedy”... it
seems that the best speeches are the shortest ones.
Why? Because each word counts, and you can keep the attention of your
audience focused on each and every word.
Instead, when you deliver a 30 minutes speech, there is enough time to do
way too many “balancing acts”, to satisfy so many constituencies, that each
one can get from the speech what was expected... as it was told of UK’s
Prime Minister Blair as a mediator- both sides assumed that he sided with
them!
Anyway- it is a good test, as, for obvious reasons, is a movie built around
what is said.
33
34

23
My aim? Of course- to build some patterns that I can then visualize, and
therefore recover and use flawlessly whenever appropriate.
It is an old mnemonic trick (read Frances Yates’ historical tour in "The Art
of Memory") that I and others adapted to language learning: you can
quickly learn patterns in a language by picking up examples that are
associated with memorable images- and what better than funny moving
images?
But maybe you do not like to walk as much as I do- in that case, if you want
to see the town, you can rely on the complex but useful and comprehensive
network of busses.
You can even procure yourself the shopping guides available for each
section of the town (e.g. I got a couple), with detailed maps of the shops-
including in shopping malls that are scattered everywhere.
Before you start laughing: yes, I met people who plan travels across
shopping malls as if they were planning military operations.
Personally: I just have a look at the map, have an optimal walk (i.e. minimal
length) across all the mall, and then go back where I want to see more.
A female friend said to me that I was one of the few men who would not
complain about shopping tours, instead of just dropping into the first shop.
Also in my recent travels to the USA in spring 2012, I would rather do my
“exploration tours” by myself and then join my colleagues, than follow the
others, as I usually pass at least twice through the shops that I consider as
potential suppliers...
Talking about WWII ("The King's speech" ends at the beginning of that
war), the detailed material available in every shop (you can find those
shopping guides almost everywhere) made me remember a book that I read
on the scientific research branch of the British Intelligence during WWII35,
written by a member, where he related how for a while they believed that
the Germans had a secret weapon, because their radar antennas were too
perfect to be used just for a radar.
35
R. V. Jones “Most Secret War”, 1998

24
So perfect that... they were used in radio astronomy, after WWII.
I actually kept a couple of those shopping mall maps available in shops
nearby the shopping malls as souvenirs: you cannot criticize the Germans
for missing a chance to plan.
Incidentally- by chance I entered the Potsdamer Platz shopping centre,
and, along with interesting (and relatively cheap) food shops (plenty of fish
and Asian food, including obviously sushi), I found on the top floor a place
called "Caffé e gelato", where they sell a spicy chocolate ice cream that is a
distant relative of the best one that I found (in Turin), but still much, much
better than most chocolate ice cream (including in Turin and elsewhere in
Europe).
I remember that a professor at LSE in London said in a conference that the
mere English word "square" is a sign of a closed space, but a "piazza",
"place", "Platz", and similar in other languages, all point to an open place
set up for inclusion, not for exclusion.
Potsdamer Platz, Alexander Platz... what's interesting is that any major
square in Berlin is a "melting pot in sedicesimo".
Or: a smaller scale convergence of multiple cultural tribes that intermingle,
maybe also thanks to the presence of Christmas markets everywhere, selling
food, Winter accessories, and all sort of candies (and seasoned meat).
And yes, I never saw so many different types of bicycles- albeit it seems
that, here as in other "developed world" countries, tribes are often defined
by what they wear and what they use: the Jack Wolfskin tribe, the iPad tribe.
It reminded me what I studied in Sweden in Summer 1994 (a summer
school on Intercultural Communication and Management at the linguistics
department in Gothenburg) about American Indians and “group
membership”.
We replaced a tribal, cultural identity, with an identity set up by a brand
manager, that can be easily swapped, to comply with current fashion trends.
Witness the number of tattoo and piercing shops, increasingly not too far
away from... tattoo removal shops!

25
I am quite doubtful and sceptical about this being called "freedom"-
moreover when I read articles about riots to be the first to get the next
iPhone.
To look on the bright side: with so many "tribes" intermingling, it is less
visible the “cool smart ass by brand association” that you can find
elsewhere.
But next week, after visiting the shopping malls, I will try to explore
bookshops (no, I do not think that I will apply for a library card- maybe
next time!).
Meanwhile, today I will have a relatively long journey across the town-
West to South East, and I decided to take a bus, to have a chance of
having a look at different areas.
Therefore, it might well be that my next posting will be... a photo album.
Have a nice Sunday!

26
3. A DAY IN TOWN
Testing and common wisdom36
Today, a double billing, as I will skip posting tomorrow morning.
So, after the post this morning37, but inspired by yesterday's tour, another
posting, inspired by a comment and ensuing exchanges at a brunch that I
had today with members of a club I belong to since 1989 (one of the two
clubs I belong to- I will probably join a third one next year).
My view is partially known by older online readers- I think that there are
few tests that can have even the faintest claim to "objectivity": and any IQ
test is not one of them.
My comment today was about the obsession of seeing mathematical series
as objective, one-way roads, i.e. with just one possible solution.
Give time and opportunity, and anybody with a working brain can find
multiple solutions- and a logic series of steps supporting them.
36
37
See previous chapter, “Walk the talk”

27
So, what you are really testing with mathematical series is a) previously
acquired knowledge b) conformism.
But then, consider my previous assertion on why we submit to tests: to be
accepted.
Therefore, it would be nice to see more tests where you are required to
explain your logic, instead of just acting as a monkey within a test
environment.
Are you looking for cultural compliance? You can see if the proper training
background is there, either through formal training (institutions, etc), or
through informal on-the-job training.
If you are looking for creativity and a mathematical mindset that is not just
the result of schooling, you might be interested in unusual solutions.
And if you are looking for pragmatic genius...
…you expect that the path of least resistance is followed, adopting obvious
solutions whenever available, while introducing innovative new patterns
where no obvious one exists.
“Pragmatic genius”? Someone fitting your own definition of “genius” but
also able to deliver in a realistic, unstructured environment, as fast as
possible, using the smallest amount of resources.
As somebody wrote, with unlimited time (in business, add also unlimited
resources), even a bunch of monkeys typing by chance could write again all
the plays ever written by Shakespeare.
Following the most “logical” existing solution according to the “standard”
approach would be a sign of ability to apply learned skills and patterns, not
of ability to innovate.

28
Personally- I have been subject to so many formal and (mainly) informal
tests even before this century began, that I got used to the idea that most of
the testing is testing for the testing sake, i.e. some people work in a factory
assembling products using the same limited set of movements and tools day
after day, and others process people through a limited set of tests and
expected results, day after day- and both have a job.
Under that perspective, a test is as corruption: up to a certain level, while
being parasitical (it has no intrinsic value, only a projected value as enabler
or denier), can catalyze organizational innovation, as it clearly shows a path
through a maze of rules and regulations that have been layered across time,
a path that ought to be removed and replaced by something more
consistent with current needs.
Because tests generally are created based upon past experiences, and
validate compliance with a reference model.
The trouble with corruption (and testing) begins when it starts to generate
its own “controlled environment”, i.e. creating conditions that require
passing through signposts whose existence has no inherent, structural
reason whatsoever.
Except to create a territory where corruption is not only possible, but a
“conditio sine qua non”: when parasites convert their hosts into a reason
for their own existence.
And the same applies to tests: as, in the end, any test covers a finite amount
of patterns, whose finiteness is a side-effect of the finite knowledge of its
creators.
In any test, I met people who, while lacking initially the experience-based
“patterns” required to pass the test, did exercise long enough to build those
patterns- and pass the test: any test.
Believe it or not- I was explained in the UK how it could be possible to do
so also with IQ.

29
Why would you do so? In some cases, it is just the intellectual equivalent of
having always the latest gizmo- to gain acceptance and appreciation from
others.
And, for business-related tests, to increase revenue while limiting the
expenditure required to build up the experience needed to naturally develop
the appropriate patterns (what is usually called “on-the-job training”), as
this would involve both the trainee, and a significant chunk of the time of
somebody who already developed the patterns.
In other cases, most organizations and communities have barriers to
outsiders- but once inside, the concept that supposedly you cannot enter
unless you have the appropriate forma mentis and “patterns” enables
diverting the purposes of any organization: with the willing, active support
of other members.
Why now and why related to tests? Because in Europe we are structurally
replacing common sense with increasing layers of formal tests, from those
in the banking industry, to potentially a EU-wide test on “curriculum
compliance”, that probably could become a pre-requisite to work across the
EU.
Within a couple of decades, we will be “celebrating” the anniversary of two
cases where two democracies used a test-based approach coupled with a
suspension of common sense to bring a Mussolini and a Hitler to power.
I always found quite annoying to hear that in school history books both
were discussed as mere dictators, as if they had seized power by force: I am
afraid that that is a fig leaf on the disappointing truth.
Which one? That democracies can legally enforce dictatorship, one step at a
time38.
38
See e.g. the documentary “Five Steps to Tiranny”,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498671/

30
Maybe you do not know- but both Mussolini and Hitler had legal and
temporary authorization to their exceptional powers: brought about
through formal and informal coercion, but it is quite significant that both
found desirable to have at least a veneer of formal, legal authority.
And anyway Mussolini was deposed in 1943 through a legal vote of his own
supreme council while, if my memory doesn’t fail me, Hitler had had his
powers extended until 1947.
In both cases: proving that it wasn’t a mere formal act.
Now, back to tests and their replacement of common sense.
The main difference between the two is that a formal test is a point-in-time
event, even if repeated once in a while, with a formal structure, while
common sense is a continuum, and is (hopefully) constantly evolving.
Hopefully constantly evolving? Yes, because otherwise you get witch hunts,
McCarthyism, and the like- as you end up doing with common sense exactly
the same mistakes that you can do by crystallizing in tests yesterday’s fears
and knowledge as a guide for tomorrow’s choices.
It is common knowledge that usually wars are fought thinking about
previous wars39, with current technology- with effects sometimes dramatic
(e.g. in WWII)40.
Look at the movie “The Village” to see what happens when a fictional
common sense is frozen in time41, or, for a dark humour perspective, “Hot
Fuzz”42.
39
cfr. Norman F. Dixon “Our Own Worst Enemy”, 1987, discussing the WWI example
40
cfr. James F. Dunnigan “Dirty Little Secrets of World War II”, 1996
41
42

31
So, let’s hope that tests will not replace common sense- or that, at least, a
commission based on common sense (and not under the direct or indirect
control of those benefiting from the administration of tests) will be set up
to continuously monitor and evolve tests.
A “commission based on common sense” could sound as blatant an
oxymoron as “military intelligence”- but, in both cases, the secret lies in
routinely shuffling the cards, rotating positions, and swapping people in and
out.
As, following current trends, there is no escape: within the EU, there will be
an increasing number of tests aiming at moving fast-forward European
integration (yes, also political integration).
All this without a real open market, and through legalistic gimmickry.
Instead, we need to carry out the deep structural and cultural changes
required to make this integration process work, through real convergence.
We had already paid for expensive side-effects of legal gimmickry, such as
the Italian “tassa per l’Europa” (a temporary tax to fulfil the parameters),
and Greece’s adoption of “national creative accounting”43.
For the time being, have a nice week!
43
Smith, “Accounting for Growth - Stripping the Camouflage from Company
Accounts”, 1992

32
A quiet day that wasn't44
Well, yesterday I did expect to spend a night watching a Go game- live:
instead, I had a reminder of other games in BeNeLux45, and a déjà vu of the
labyrinthine buildings of LSE in London... but in a much larger building at a
Berlin university.
A professor at LSE told us the first day on our Summer School on
International Economy in 1994: a degree at LSE implies a degree in
whatever you studied, plus a degree in topography.
Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable day- if you read previous posts since
November 14th, probably you remember that my visit to Berlin isn't an
ordinary vacation: more an exploration tour coupled with a language testing
and a "how would life there be" set of activities.
So, after roaming North, East, Middle, I decided to start the week by
looking around the area were I live (around Adenauer Platz, West), by first
walking South toward Hohenzollerndamm, then up North to
Charlottenburg and through the Tiergarten, up to Bellevue,
Friedrichstrasse (the old East/West border station, I am told), and then
the Branderbuger Tor, up to Potsdamer Platz.
The interesting point? As yesterday was the first day in a new week, I had
planned to shift from the "observing" mode to the "be local" mode-
looking for shops that I could visit if I were to be living here.
Why yesterday? One of the reasons why whenever I went in Europe I
looked for residences, is that it takes just 3-4 nights for me to start calling
"home" wherever I have a fridge, few books, and can eat what I want when
I want.
So, having been in Berlin for the first time in my life for few nights (since
the 14th), yesterday was the right day (and, by accident, a Monday) to
explore the neighbourhood as a local, not as a tourist.
44
45
See http://thecircusbxl.wordpress.com

33
If you know me, you know what I first went for: bookshops!
But, despite falling to the temptation in the evening to buy a German
edition of Animal Farm (it is nice to start again to understand ordinary
books in German, as I did in the early 1990s), I got just a couple of books.
Albeit, I must confess- I was tempted by a piggy money bank that came in
the shape of a 1mt tall elephant outside an Ayurveda shop.
Only... it looks to be heavier than me- therefore, definitely not what I could
call "hand luggage": maybe if I will move to Berlin!
Of course, I am joking: when choosing furniture, I am closer to a
minimalist approach.
And no, before you ask: I haven't yet tried a Curry Wurst (but maybe I will
today).
Instead, after a pre-sunset stop at the Starbucks nearby the
Friedrichstrasse station, I went up to the museums island nearby, to
look at it from the outside and while the sun was setting down.
It is fascinating to watch the works to drain water nearby a museum, and
have a look at the buildings with few people around.
Then, I moved to the Gorky studios and the nearby German museum-
and spent enough time watching a running exhibition on a screen from an
artist, that a small bird decided to start hopping around me and to attract
my attention: it was my "St Francis" moment in Berlin (eventually, I will
post the picture online).
It was mildly embarrassing to have a bird staring at you and hopping
around you for a while, but what was running on the screen was more a set
of artist's perspectives on politics and society turned into visible jokes than
your ordinary exhibition46.
46
Part of an exhibition on freedom, “Verführung freiheit”, opened between October
17
th
2012 and will close on February 10
th
, 2013

34
Witness to our frenzy times: nobody (except me) bothered to stay for more
than a couple of screens, while I saw some of the same people stare inside
the museum for minutes to equally "light" art.
So... art is art only if you are inside a museum...
Luckily, nobody considered that true when, over the millennia, our
ancestors decided to add monuments around- otherwise, our towns would
look like warehouses!
And, again, I saw that some areas are worth visiting few times a day- change
the light, change the crowd, and you get a completely different perspective.
Incidentally: if you are interested, in my search for bookstores nearby my
residence, while walking up to Charlottenburg, at the end of
Wilmersdorfer Strasse, nearby Richard Wagner Platz, I found an army
surplus store (if you like to dress tough, but do not like to walk, get the U
Bahn to Richard Wagner Platz).
And yes, there is another Starbucks nearby, as there are plenty of shops
(and not just used books shops).
I do not know why- but I was thinking that maybe today I will do a tour
between old bunkers: in other countries, destroying WWII bunkers was
deemed to be too expensive, and therefore some were converted (also into
art galleries- I remember a project in France, on the Atlantic seaside,
converting a U-Boot bunker47).
So, considering that there are few bits and pieces here and there, it could be
interesting.
But, before, maybe a tour on the museums island during the day- also if I
plan to visit the museums only either this week-end, or next week.
Meanwhile... have a nice day!
47
E.g see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/books/review/Thomas-
t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

35
4. PAST AND FUTURE WARS
A day in the past48
I am afraid to say that today my tour was closer to my main purpose
whenever I travel (studying cultures) than to an ordinary tourist "Besuch".
But if anything, temporarily or on a permanent basis, I am not interested in
becoming just a Gastarbeiter- and therefore better to know before you start
embedding.
And also if your aim is just to be able to understand the local culture, you
need something that cannot be found in a guidebook.
Anyway, beside a test of yet another Starbucks, I decided to walk up to
Charlottenburg and then move onto the Northern side, i.e. Westhaven.
Not really a tourist area: but as I said to others, Paris isn't just the VII and
VIII arrondissements, and therefore I decided to spend some time visiting
not-so-fancy areas.
48

36
The walk up from Adenauer Platz to the Beusselstrasse S-Bahn stop
was enough to get a taste, but then I jumped on the first S41 to Ostkreuz,
a line literally running circles around the centre of Berlin.
It runs on the surface, and therefore it is the fastest way to see how Berlin
looks like outside the "New York style" Potsdamer Platz.
But then I decided to continue my exploration of the West with a small
diversion, taking the S1 to Wannsee.
Yes, it seemed an appropriate detour to provide any circus member that
was to appear some education- also if probably they would rather have a
pub or striptease bar tour.
On the former, maybe I will help- yesterday night on my way back home I
tested an interesting dark beer (I think from Poland): smoother than a
Murphy's, less bitter and more refreshing than a Guinness- nice for a
Winter grill in the garden.
On the latter... do as in London, i.e. I will visit a bookstore, and you will go
to your bar tour, and report otherwise...
My detour was obviously to visit the Wannsee conference site49
(incidentally, it is free, but I bought a book on the conference- in German).
If you are unwilling to do the more than 5km walk from the railway station,
or to wait the bus, you can watch the movie with Kenneth Branagh50.
Actually: watch it also if you plan to visit- it is a chilling statement of how
ordinary people can become mass murderers, and make you feel the cultural
context that made “ordinary” an Eichmann, the bean counter of genocide,
who basically claimed that he was just doing his job51.
49
http://www.ghwk.de/
50
51
As a further source that avoids gory details and is worth reading to know a little bit
more, read Wiesenthal, “Justice, not vengeance”, 1989

37
Somebody said that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary feats.
But, unfortunately, by study and experience I know that there are better
chances that ordinary people will do something inhumane, than they will
create the next social evolution step just by accident.
And bureaucracies are the best conduit (or fig leaf) to exercise the basest
reptilian instincts while being officially "guilty but not responsible".
It all begins with meaningless acts, almost ordinary, everyday actions52.
To de-dramatize, I will tell a short story that I remembered when I visited
the surplus military store I referred to in my previous posting53 .
While living in London, I found in St Albans a surplus military store, and,
after roaming it, I saw that it was genuine.
Most of the others, and not only in Italy, have few items, used just to attract
customers who are then offered overpriced look-alikes that would be
cheaper in ordinary sportswear stores.
Yes, including the one in Berlin I referred to in my previous posting.
Digression. How do I test? The simplest test is to look in the window for
something original but cheap, then enter the shop and have a quick tour to
see if it the original material is strategically mixed with plenty of ordinary
material.
If that is the case- go away, is a suckers'/military groupies (i.e. those who
just care about looking tough) trap.
52
See the documentary “Five steps to tyranny”, quoted before, if you do not want to
read books on how Italy and Germany turned into nazifascist regimes, while their
citizens filled squares to show their support; yes, those dictators were drawing large
cheering crowds, also if most of them started cheering democracy after said
dictators bit the dust
53
See “A quiet day that wasn't”, page 31

38
Confirmation: I asked for a watch cap in the window, and the clerk started
piling up half a dozen fakes charged at 4 or more times, and, when I asked
again for that one in the window...said that that was the last one, and could
not be removed (even funnier offers were available for boots).
Back on track.
My neighbours were a multinational bunch (mainly Italian) and, supposedly,
they had known each other long enough to be willing to share an apartment
in London.
One of them was fond of those green military jackets (albeit he was the
kind of guy who usually protests against NATO, the military, capitalism,
etc).
As his birthday was around the corner, his flatmates asked me to look for a
military jacket but, as we did not known his size, I enrolled him for a tour
of St Albans (nice Roman town- worth visiting, and just few minutes from
London).
Of course, we ended up in the shop. Of course, I found an excuse to have
him try the jacket (I said that it was for a friend, who had more or less his
size).
But then, I saw that he really liked it, and his flatmates started a strange
mildly sadistic bantering on the jacket...
Like a drill exercise, without any reason.
Well, we were supposed to share the cost, but eventually I decided to stop
that stupid torture the others were submitting him to, and give him the
jacket- before his birthday; the others? Were upset- and never paid their
share.
So, it is not so difficult to convert even “friends” into a bunch of sadists…
moreover when they start “the games” by themselves (exactly as it
happened in Zimbardo’s experiments).54
54
cfr. “The Stanford Prison Experiment”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZwfNs1pqG0

39
If you have a chance, have a look at "The century of self" documentary55,
and you will find plenty of more chilling examples of how easy is to lose
that veneer of civility that our society dropped over our really recent past...
Anyway, beside a book at the Wannsee conference site (on the Wansee
conference, but in German), I eventually dropped in a large music store in
Friedrichstrasse, nearby the train station.
Worth visiting, also if... between the foreign literature, I found a dual
language edition of Cicero's speeches on Catilina (you know, the "quo
usque tandem", i.e. “until when”, stuff)56.
And you can guess what happened...
So, I will have another book to read to improve my German, while,
incidentally, testing my most definitely rusty Latin!
As for the tour... over the next two days, I will be abroad, so the Berlin
series will resume on Friday, with the museum island, while I will explore
also another musical side.
55
56
Available for free from Gutenberg.org: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39355

40
Turkey and NATO, or: pre-empting a proxy war57
A small sample of recent and not-so-recent facts (you can find the links to
the articles supporting this list on @aleph123):
 When the unrest started in Syria, Iran sent few ships through Suez,
“training exercises”
 Recently, it has been suggested that the missiles launched from Gaza
on Israel might have been offered courtesy of Iran
 Syria (also under the father of the current president) was, along with
Iran, quite active in applying pressure to Israel via their proxies in
Lebanon, to provoke attacks and then claim media wins (more about
this later)
 Provoking Turkey was just an extension- even before the first
retaliation attacks started, it was obvious that there was a case for
invoking NATO support- stronger than the one that was de facto
invoked after 9/11 (when, incidentally, nobody even considered
attacking the country of origin of most of the members of the attack
teams, as it is an ally)
 Over the last few days, news started piling up of the
potential/planned/discussed/actual deployment of (German?) Patriot
missiles on the border between Turkey and Syria
 EU announced a de facto recognition of the opposition as a
representative Government of Syria- a pattern already followed during
the Arab Spring, and a pattern that could rule out invoking the NATO
clause from Turkey against Syria if attacks on Turkey originating from
Syria increase.
It would be an interesting legal case: a representative Government that
doesn’t control its own army is still something you can negotiate with to
avoid a tit-for-tat response to attacks from its own territory?
But a nice diplomatic way to at least give a try to attempts to avoid being
dragged into an escalating war on the Southern border of NATO (Turkey),
a war that breeds instability in the region as a way to also relieve pressure
from Iran (which can then continue with its own preparations).
57

41
As for the “media element”: what better to weaken the support from
Western countries to Israel than to have proxies provoke into attack by
keeping under constant pressure its civilian population (and not only in
post-1967 borders)?
Our freedom of press is the main support to the resilience of our
democratic countries- but can also be converted into a significant chink in
our social cohesion armour: ask in the US about how the Vietnam War was
improving on the battlefield, and going sour on the inner front (hence, the
“no more coffins/body bags on primetime” policy during the recent Gulf
Wars).
So, what’s next? Well, we will see. The Libya campaign showed that for all
our pride and wealth, we Europeans cannot sustain a long-term campaign
without the help of our American friends: not even when we have a
logistical advantage (Sicily was used as an aircraft carrier, pretty much as the
United Kingdom was a European logistical base during WWII- how could
“resistance” movements in Continental Europe have been possible if UK
had not been available to soldier on as a “beach head”?).
Therefore, right at the time when we are pulling out of Afghanistan (latest
figures: 500mln EUR to pull-out just for the French, and probably few
billions overall for all the coalition members), we might actually be gearing
up for at least some support to those already in the region.
Somebody said that the Cold War was never really “cold”- but, at least, it
wasn’t as close to our shores as what we keep getting now. Maybe we will
need smaller but nimbler, more mobile, and better equipped forces: who is
going to have the political will to say that we will need to spend more on
that right now, during a recession?
Incidentally: today brought other news- an extension of the investigation on
the infiltration of extremist Islamist movements within the Belgian Army,
to train, raise through the ranks, and then export training outside.
May I kindly remind that this is not really news? Or have you forgot the
storm that was reported by British newspapers when, during one of the
various Gulf Wars, the National Guard of Puerto Rico was sent to UK to
guard logistical bases- as there were doubts about potential infiltrations
within the British military?

42
The solution reported on today’s newspapers? To use the military to
monitor the military.
On my more limited side, I saw what the monitoring can brew when it
becomes a pointless routine (I saw the same when I briefly studied the
market for video surveillance).
Yesterday I received a notice to update my CV on a Chinese jobsite- few
minutes later, a recruitment agency in UK that hires former military sent me
a CV request for a job position as a clerk in import/export in China, for
100,000 RMB/year plus accommodation.
A practical joke.
Hopefully, the monitoring that will be introduced to avoid infiltrations will
have higher standards.
But before setting up a monitoring operation, read the “semi-official” story
of MI558 (yes, it is a huge volume, but worth reading): there are more
lessons to learn there than in many other books on how to (and how not
to) organize audit, surveillance, and the paraphernalia associated with any
complex organization (and not only in the military).
Meanwhile… let’s hope that the Patriots will suffice to avert a potential
land intervention from Turkey in Syria.
58
Andrew, "The Defence of the Realm", 2010

43
5. GAMES & THOUGHTS
Games and gaming59
Well, I am mid-way through my testing in and of Berlin.
And this morning I posted on my blog the first part of an article that
nominally is about cloud computing.60
Nominally- because it is actually about introducing change when change
alters the control structure.
I could have prepared a more generic article- but, as I did in the past, I
rather start from something which can provide a cultural context to a
relatively wide audience, beginning with something practical, also if my line
of thought was actually the other way around.
Today I will finally have time to do in Berlin a couple (or three, or four)
things that I had planned to do- of course, while walking.
59
60
http://www.robertolofaro.com/blog/2012/11/23/moving-to-the-cloud-and-
achieving-organic-sustainability-part-1-thinking/

44
Yesterday evening, on my way back from Luxembourg, I decided to have a
long walk before a pint.
Actually two: I had few emails to answer, and while one pint (or
"cappuccino grande" at Starbucks) is enough to do my newspapers review, I
needed more time.
I went to the Irish pub under arcades of Hackescher Markt, and found
myself in the middle of a small market, on my way from Hauptbahnhof,
through Nordbahnhof and then Oranienburg Tor.
Why there? Because it has both Guinness and Kilkenny (I still have to find
an English pub in Berlin), obviously Wi-Fi is available, and... I assumed that
it would be half empty.
Ok- I wasn't the only one making that assumption.
In the emptiest and quietest corner, there were two Italian students talking,
talking, talking- quite loudly, as if their Erasmus issues were to be shared
with everybody else!
In this case, it is nice to simply ignore- funny the comments that you can
hear when you pretend a) not to be listening b) not to understand what they
say.
But also if I had been deaf I would have understood: some of my fellow
Italians do not simply underline what they say with their hands- they
actually deliver a full additional track.
In my line of business, I had often to talk while listening also to two or
three or more conversations: or do you believe that when delivering a sales
or workshop presentation you have the luxury of ignoring what those that
you are trying to convert into (business) customers are saying?
Often, you need to wait for the formal question that will never come, and
therefore a polite way is to answer the question that wasn't asked through
the one that was.

45
Yes, it is a sales/change management variant of the usual political advice:
answer the question that you would like to be asked, not the one that the
journalist is asking.
I must say: in Berlin, it is warmer than I had expected (before you ask: yes,
also before drinking the beer!).
Anyway, I appreciated also the usual games that I first noticed in Rome
when I was working on Government projects in the early 2000s, then also
in Brussels, but probably were there well before (as some people keep
returning).
As for the title... yesterday evening I was supposed to attend a meeting of a
club I belong to since 1989.
On and off few times- when I talked with the founder in London a couple
of times, eventually he confirmed my reason for leaving more than once:
too many people assume that by becoming the head of an association that
requires an IQ test to enter they can become a "Lord of the Flies",
replacing their lack of achievements/deliverables in ordinary life with an
"IQ cocoon", as if they were representing the aggregate IQ of their
members.
Now and then, I met many people who actually admitted to try, fail, and
then prepare on tests, until they passed: our brain is quite flexible, and as
any test is based on patterns, if you want to pass a test that doesn't match
your patterns, you just have to exercise.
Incidentally: also some of those rated with the highest IQ spend a
significant amount of time... to pass more tests and outperform each other-
not my cup of tea.
Anyway, once in, you can easily spot the "infiltrators/fifth columnists", as
they do not necessarily convert their forma mentis to the "connecting the
dots quickly" approach- and they assume that testing ends when they
receive their membership card.
I had a couple of funny tests also in my travel to Luxembourg, as when a
taxi driver told me that once somebody asked for the scheduled time of a
train, and was told that it was... 63 minutes after the hour.

46
I immediately started laughing- and he said that sometimes people do not
catch the drift for a while (hint: of course, there are only 60 minutes within
an hour- at least, until you are on planet Earth).
The funniest set of tests was in my brunch with the club last Sunday- but I
cut it down when somebody started asking how many languages I know.
I said none- and I mean it, albeit I can use with varying degrees of
active/passive proficiency (i.e. talking and writing, or just listening and
reading) a small number.
The last time that I was again called for that "pony show", I closed up by
adding a phrase in Russian.
It reminded me when I had a girlfriend in Southern Germany, and, looking
20 while being 25, nobody believed that I was really doing what I was then
doing- working on cultural and organizational change, after working to
support senior managers in decision making.
Moreover- with an Italian passport? At the time, I had supposedly "open
minded" German artists challenging my knowledge of... my own business,
that they had no clue whatsoever about, except for articles that they
probably read to prepare the questions!
If I had said "I am an Italian hairdresser" or "I work as a chef within a
pizzeria"- nobody would have questioned anything...
We can tear down any physical walls we want, but until we tear down the
walls within our minds... we haven't yet started changing.
Also, this week I was planning to attend some Go games.
Well, the first one was a game within the game, a kind of "catch me up if
you can", and the second one was supposedly set in an area that I visited in
the morning, in the middle of nowhere.

47
I think that I will attend my first Go games outside Europe, where people
are more interested in playing games, than playing metagames (games about
the games).
But beside and outside my Circus61, I must say that people working in
shops and people in Berlin are quite friendly.
As for prices... on my way back from Luxembourg by train (this time,
almost every train was on time), I read the "New in Berlin" guide (skipping
the "Craiglist" parts- but useful to know that the list of addresses is there),
and saw the rental prices: frankly, lower than in Italy.
Why I waited until now? Because... I first wanted to "sample" the various
areas of Berlin- what's the point of reading a list of addresses if you do not
know the area? And I did not want to be “biased”- I wanted to build by
own feed-back on each area.
Almost a "catch22"62.
Last but not least (as it is time to go out and start my daily tour): yesterday I
walked through the K'damm from the beginning up to Adenauer Platz, as I
usually walked only on the other side.
Less fancy shops, but more interesting restaurants and real-life shops, as
well as a theatre worth visiting.
For the time being... have a nice Friday!
61
http://thecircusbxl.wordpress.com
62
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch-22

48
Sometimes...63
It has been now one week since I started posting, on a daily basis, my travel
notes from Berlin.
This short story is inspired by both an article that I read yesterday morning
(and I shared on @aleph123 on Twitter), and a first déjà vu that reminded
me of somebody (a German/Austrian from Mainz) who tried to stick on
me, in Brussels, various rumors- including, with some level of obsession,
that I could be a… neonazi!
Why? Well, a decent Italian speaker, with almost an obsession for Dante
Alighieri (he kept over his computer monitor... a head of Dante), he
considered a waste his assignment to Brussels- and looked forward to be
assigned to Rome, thanks to his ability to understand Italian and Italians.
Frankly- neither assumption was true: he reminded me more of those I
referred to in the previous post64, that I met in the early 1990s when I had a
girlfriend in Germany.
Well… I will write later about yesterday in Berlin - meanwhile, as I
announced on Facebook yesterday evening, this post is going to contain a
bit of experience-based creative writing.
“Sometimes, it looks as if movie scripts as complex as the ‘Cloud Atlas’ one are quite
straightforward, if compared with the unfolding and overlapping of multiple threads of
reality.
And sometimes, we are so confident about the moral backbone of our organization and
its ‘manifest destiny’, that we become unwillingly a vessel for what we are supposed to
fight against.
We say that we are a united Europe, but often you hear echoes of past wars- in jokes,
and in more significant choices.
63
64
See “Games and gaming”, page 43

49
But when we let past animosity interfere with future choices, we become way too easy to
steer toward paths that support somebody else’s aims- while thinking that we are in
control.
Suddenly, in early 2007 I had a bunch of new friends in Brussels, as soon as my brother
was relocated to Lisbon- and many questions.
The champion was a German/Austrian that claimed to have a degree in history (well,
never heard so many factoids from a supposed historian, moreover on WWII).
He went a little bit over the board when organized a walk for the two of us that was
actually the delivery of a history book from the early 1940s that he claimed he had to
return to somebody.
Only to then, after showing it to me, dropping it into the mailbox of his supposed friend,
and then go away, to show me a monument that was, well, a little bit on the
“conservative” side, and then, eventually, invite me to an exhibition at the war history
museum in Brussels that looked as a glorification of nazi material (the allies? had limited
lighting, exposure, and space).
But I found puzzling the comments on the ‘foreign affairs’ role, then held by a Spanish
diplomat that was supposed to be confirmed- and my historian friend repeatedly (when
nobody else was there to listen) criticized that option- even more puzzling, as he had good
relationships with Spanish officers.
Then, it was even more puzzling when he kept inviting me to meetings and dinners or
parties where I was the only one not belonging to the NATO and EU circles.
It all started converging when I saw a small Dante Alighieri on his computer, and he
confessed that his superior knowledge of Italian culture should have him in Rome, not in
Brussels- a town that he hated wholeheartedly (he spoke a decent Italian- but, as his
English, it had a strong cartoonish German accent).
I did not accept any invitation to hunting activities with groups that sounded a little bit
too far away from my political sensibilities (in the US, they would probably be considered
“2nd Amendment extremists”)- even friendship has its limits (I fired guns only in the
Army).
Yes, he too went over the board few times in playing Cupid- including to set up with a
Finnish girl that actually wasn’t Finnish at all, as I was warned by a Finnish contact.

50
I discounted the comments on the need to learn to use weapons in preparation for the
coming civil war and other racist innuendo: unfortunately, I heard a lot of that in
business circles in Europe, and more than once in Schumann, Brussels- not all the
“tolerance” that is posted on walls (sometimes literally, as once on the façade of the
European Commission building) is anything more than skin-deep.
Eventually, there was a change in the EU foreign affairs stewardship that matched what
I had been told, and what I read yesterday in a newspaper article: leaving the German
side in charge of the economic side, and the English side in charge of military and foreign
affairs.
As for others… they are welcome to support both (France is admittedly to play second
fiddle to both, as it is involved in both areas, while Poland could eventually join them).
Well… sounds eerily so early XX century.
Trouble is: you can have all the formal powers that you want- but if you do not control
the financial resources, then you can only sit on your hands- as the current holder of the
post of foreign affairs for the EU often seems to do.
Have a look at what was planned for something as simple as the ceremony for the Nobel
Peace Prize: United Europe? And we need to send a cohort of people to receive one prize?
I think that it was Kissinger that said that when he picked up the phone, there was no
Mr. Europe on the other side.
Despite a joke few years ago by our new President of Europe, now and then we keep
having a chorus (not necessarily singing the same tune), instead of a soloist supported by a
chorus65.
But after my German/Austrian contact informed me that he was not anymore allowed to
move in Belgium outside Brussels, another twist- showing that even that separation of
roles wasn’t enough, for some German elements- and that economic power is the one
steering the European ship.
65
Read also Van Rompuy’s “Op zoek naar wijsheid” (seeking wisdom), 2007

51
He started building up on Facebook the case for a love story in Georgia, around the time
of the war, paving a reasonable way to relocate there but… privately, eventually in our
long solitary walks he complained about the story.
A typical “attrition leak”: you start talking too much when you are too often trying to
extract information from the same people.
So, what was seen in Facebook wasn’t the real story- and, again, it all became converging
when I saw in Den Haag that the German and Georgian embassies basically shared the
same building complex.
Interesting- if you consider what happened in WWII in the region.
But some cultural references and commentary, such as Monthy Python’s “Meaning of
Life”, did not really match the political profile that he was increasingly presenting.
It reminded more ‘Citizen X’66, when Donald Sutherland says to Stephen Rea that he
apologizes for letting him on a serial murder case for years, instead of rotating after six
months, as the FBI used to do, on a serial killer investigation that started before the end
of the Soviet Union, and continued during the Perestroika.
Leave anybody deep into a mindset that isn’t his/her own long enough, and (s)he will get
closer and closer to considering ‘ordinary’ what should be only an occupational hazard.
Moreover- (s)he will probably keep doing what sustains the ‘occupational hazard’, using
the access and means that have been provided to be used against it- without realizing that
(s)he is being used to achieve aims that (s)he was supposed to help not to achieve.
So, in the end, who won? Probably, those whose plans were supposed to be interfered
with”.
The current deadlocked budget negotiations, increasing the attractiveness of
splitting the EU in few subgroups- and making it easier to create a smaller,
stronger core with various satellites economically linked to the core, but
without any effective decision power.
66

52
A scenario that is getting closer to “The Sum of All Fears”67 than to what
we expected from all the talks and statements about the European Union
becoming a different kind of superpower.
Almost as if Europe were to adopt the old British Empire policy of seeding
dissent between its potential opponents in Continental Europe, presenting
itself as the natural candidate to keep it all together- but on a global scale.
The only catch: this is being done as an uncoordinated jumble, with
overlapping interests.
With an increasing number of bilateral agreement from Member States with
external powers and sovereign funds and other financial institutions: no
amount of cohesion funds could replace the political will required to create
a cultural convergence.
As for my supposed association with neofascist, neonazi, and mafia circles:
unusual and stupid defamation- but fighting rumours in court implies
wasting the only scarce resource that any individual is endowed with- time.
Born in a Catholic/Communist family (probably only in Poland you can
find that combination, quite common in Italy in the 1960s/1970s), I was in
a multi-faith group when I was a kid (still in elementary school).
By my own choice, after I heard something that I did not like about a
Jewish classmate- the usual slander on “being punished for killing Jesus”.
Back then, I was learning how to sing few words also in Hebrew, basic
greetings in various languages, and so on and so forth.
Yes, I learned to say “venu shalom aleichem” before “good morning” (I
mean- the Hebrew phrase before the English one).
And, anyway- I share my position with that of a Catholic priest on a
hijacked plane: if you partition between Jewish and non-Jewish, then you
have to remember that also Jesus was Jewish...
67

53
In high school, I added to my eskimo (in late 1970s in Italy, a sign of leftist
allegiance) a black Basque cap with two stars of David that I painted in red.
When did I distance myself from Israel? 1982, Sabra&Chatila68: a State that
supports a proxy army cannot then claim to be neither guilty nor
responsible for their actions.
Nonetheless: I think that nazis (as well as mafiosi) are etymologically
“Barbarians”, i.e. “not from here”- you can wait until Hell freezes over if
you want to see me consort with or support them, directly and indirectly.
68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre

54
6. SERENDIPITOUS WALKING
A walk in town69
For once, I had to regret not bringing with me my backpack.
Now that I got in my mind the main “vectors” across Berlin… while
walking I found various small markets.
Why “vectors”? Because I remember reading an article about how people
remember maps- and how taxi drivers seemed to think about “vectors”, i.e.
finding main “lines” to connect two points, and then add more lines to get
to further details, e.g. a small alley.
As I started my business travels in late 1980s, long before Internet was
available in Europe outside academic institutions, I was used to buy the
Michelin guide, look at the map whenever I went into a new town for the
first time, memorize main routes across the map that could bring me back
to my hotel or bring me to my customers’ premises, and then leave the
guide home (i.e. in my hotel room).
Back then, even photocopies were unusual, and we had a meter and code
on the photocopiers, as in “The Firm”70.
69
70
John Grisham, “The Firm”, 1991

55
Whenever I went back into a town that I had already visited, I remembered
the “main vectors”- i.e. the main routes.
Also, if I had time, the first night was a “walk around” without the map.
But, frankly, in Berlin it took only few days to get used again to significantly
longer walks- and, as I said to an American friend yesterday, Berlin is a
“walkable” city: something that I like so much, that even in Arizona and
Texas I tried to walk my way around.
Do not even think about doing that: in the desert, you dehydrate so fast
that… in Phoenix, sitting outdoors in cafés implied sitting under sprinklers!
In Berlin, you will not have that risk.
Albeit my Brussels/London method to avoid rain works perfectly well: you
just need to… carry an umbrella with you!
I said walkable- and I will give you an example.
Let’s just say that today I went up from Adenauer Platz to K’damm up to
Potsdamer Platz, and from there through the Branderburger Tor up to
Alexander Platz, with a short diversion from Unter den Linden to
Friedrichstrasse, for a stop at the Starbucks and a cup of tea.
Why Alexander Platz? To check if my DVD of 39 Steps has finally been
delivered (more about this later), and then… to finally surrender, and get up
to the Konnopke’s Imbiss and taste a Curry Wurst.
Frankly: I wasn’t that much pleased by the Curry Wurst- albeit I must admit
that I liked walking up to there- pity that I had already few books with me,
so I walked back up to my now customary Hackescher Markt.
No, no Kilkenny or beer, this time: I looked for a couple of small
pomegranates- and I found instead two of the largest but best
pomegranates- half a kilo each.

56
At least- after cleaning it up to pick up the grains while writing and
watching a movie, I must say that it was really worth the diversion to the
market: and I liked more spending 5 EUR for two pomegranates than 5
EUR for the Curry Wurst!
But I will probably go up to the Konnopke’s again- as the area, as most of
the Eastern side of Berlin (starting e.g. from Potsdamer Platz) is
undergoing a quite significant gentrification71: and it is worth visiting while
the work is still in progress.
Somebody in Belgium said that sometimes I did diversions on architecture-
actually… I was designing buildings and clocks and furniture and clothes
when I was a teenager, for fun.
My German former girlfriend noted my interest in architecture, as she was a
Stadtplannerin; ditto another former girlfriend that I helped for a research
BA university thesis on Le Corbusier.
Architecture is one of the various interests that I followed.
Usually… at the same time with others interests, e.g. playing piano: but
probably you will see it when I will have completed loading online the
catalogue of my library- and I will start posting summaries in 201372.
It is part of studying cultures: what more represents a culture than its
architectural artefacts?
The only side-effect: most of my pictures represent buildings, and when I
used to travel with a camera, I ended up with hundreds of pictures of
buildings and “location spotting”-type images.
Or: without people, but useful to identify the appropriate setting for a scene
about X or Y or Z.
So, the next Curry Wurst will be a break before walking up and around the
nearby streets: pity that I am not staying another couple of weeks.
71
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gentrification
72
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/aleph123

57
Last Sunday somebody from the local branch of my club said that two
weeks are adequate to visit Berlin.
Personally, as I like to observe and absorb local cultures, I think that a
month would be more useful.
Of course- if you want to try the local markets, relax, and taste the local
cultural life, and not just be an ordinary tourist.
What do I mean? Sitting down and sipping a coffee, or walking in street
markets, or standing in line in a post office or bank.
Beside the Wannsee-Konferenz site and walking up and around Potsdamer
Platz (both to the Wall and passing through the memorial of the genocide-
a garden of stones), and walking up and down Museum Island (but without
entering any museum), I will probably visit tomorrow a second museum, as
November 25th is the last day of the exhibition on the DDR for the 25th
anniversary (so, appropriate to go there on the 25th): a unique chance.
Incidentally: it is true that there are quite a few Starbucks between
Potsdamer Platz, Branderburg Tor, and Friedrichstrasse.
But on a Saturday afternoon, the first two are overheated and overcrowded;
therefore, if needed… go to the shopping centre in Potsdamer Platz- better
to spend 50 Eurocent for a toilet than wait 15minutes in line after your
coffee or tea.
Moreover: beside eating locally, in that shopping centre is possible to take
away food to eat at home, including reasonably priced sushi.
Incidentally 2: as Friedrichstrasse is nearby the university, there are plenty
of clean, decent, and cheap eating places, even with a cool, modern look,
and I had an impressive sushi lunch for a fraction of what you would pay
elsewhere.
Yes, it was quite funny when people who had arrived after me received their
lunch and then, without seeing me order anything, started seeing food
arrive.

58
Including my “controllers”, who were already commenting without first
observing: cannon fodder is cannon fodder- also German cannon fodder!
But I wasn’t in a hurry- and having my tablet with me implies that I have
always something to read (and a large backlog that gets larger by the day).
Get to Friedrichstrasse (the station), and then walk toward right (if you
keep Unter den Linden on your back).
There are way too many places- so, I just entered in the first one that
looked quiet but busy, and where the plates on the tables looked interesting.
I haven’t yet done one of the usual tours that I did elsewhere in Germany-
getting up to the TV tower.
But with foggy weather up there… I will wait - it is nice to have a dinner on
a rotating restaurant overseeing the whole town.
Anyway- moving forward from January to November my visit to Berlin had
a positive side-effect: I saw the assembling of Christmas trees and lights,
and this week more than once I ended up in Christmas markets- quite a
festive atmosphere.
Eventually, I decided to skip a Bach concert in Sophienkirche73 (too much
noise), but maybe I will try the Lebanese eating place nearby- it has been a
while since I had a decent Shawarma.
Instead, I focused on preparing for the next step in my tests: attending a
performance in a theatre, to see how many times I can understand enough
to laugh when the locals laugh.
The 39 Steps DVD in English and German that I bought is in preparation
to a theatre show with the same title- but that significantly expands on the
already almost farcical overtones of Hitchcock’s movie.
73
A Church visited by Martin Luther King, where he delivered the “Let my people go”
sermon http://www.freikirche-hamm.de/berlin-1964

59
So, I watched it in English with German subtitles, and now I am watching it
in German.
Same approach that I followed for “The King’s speech”- also because that
speech is one that I liked a lot, with its overtones from the “St Crispin”
Band of Brothers speech74.
Albeit I liked the “Renaissance Man”75 delivery of the latter more than
classical Laurence Olivier76.
Yes, I like Hitchcock and I like movies from Shakespeare- but in both
cases, with few exceptions, I rather watch the ones with a lighter tone (e.g.
Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, or Hitchcock’s “The Man Who
Knew Too Much”).
As, anyway, what I enjoy more is the balance of the dialogue and roles, not
the tragic side (albeit I liked “Birds”, “Torn Curtain”, “West By Northwest”
and others).
If you have time, read the book from F. Truffaut (yes, the French director)
about A. Hitchcock77, or find the audio version (it was an extensive
interview, available for free on Archive.org78).
Anyway, on the way back… I surrendered- and I took the U-Bahn back
home from Potsdamer Platz: between the pomegranates and the books, I
was really regretting not having a backpack with me!
But tomorrow I will bring one in my pocket- for reading during my tea
stops… I will use my tablet, but maybe I will find some other markets.
74
From Shakespeare’s “Henry V”,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Crispin%27s_Day_Speech
75
76
77
François Truffaut, “Hitchcock”
78
http://archive.org/details/AlfredHitchcockLongInterview-FranoisTruffraut

60
I already sent some postcards: and one showed Berlin West and Berlin
East- interestingly, it seems that I already walked across most of the inner
part of the town (i.e. the part covered by the S41/42), and this by walking
probably more or less 10km/day.
More or less: I am not as those alpine climbers who keep tab of the vertical
kilometres that they climb each year, and I do not mark on a map the extent
of my walks.
Only suggestion: use buses or walk, as by using the underground (except
the S41/42, which is not underground) you will miss the chance of seeing
most of the town.
So, tomorrow will probably be a “museum and study” day- albeit… if it
doesn’t rain, a walk through few parks could be interesting.
As for the next week: I will probably have some time… if you have any
place in Berlin that you would like to have checked, let me know.
Maybe I will say “no”, maybe I will go and add some notes, and maybe
even pictures.
And I do not talk only about “tourist places”: as an example, this morning I
went to check and collect the new opening times of the main libraries,
nearby Potsdamer Platz.
Meanwhile… enjoy your week-end!

61
Museums, games, parks, and... bicycles in Berlin79
Well, the last information that I was asked to provide tonight, in Unter den
Linden, was the location of Checkpoint Charlie80.
I haven't yet seen the museum etc- but I sent the one asking to
Friedrichstrasse, as that was the exchange station and location, according to
my books and a postcard on Checkpoint Charlie.
And anyway the Friedrichstrasse Starbucks is one of my favourites, as it is
located in a position quite useful for my walks, despite being close to most
tourist attractions- and I always found it clean, and with seats available.
Therefore, my background movie while writing is... “Le Serpent”81, that
ends more or less in the same place.
With Yul Brinner and Henry Fonda- probably the 12th time that I see it: its
script is more complex and interesting than most recent movies.
Beside my usual walk up to Potsdamer Platz in the morning, I managed to
visit the exhibition on the DDR at the Deutsches Historischen Museum
(it was closing today), as well as the one on art about freedom in Europe
since 1945 (closing on Feb 10th 2013).
I skipped the painting exhibition, as I had decided in the morning to go and
attend a conference/lesson on Go (part of the tournament that I wasn't
able to attend few days ago).
Well, the building is quite interesting- the exhibition didn't have anything
new, but was an interesting collection of usual and unusual objects from the
DDR- maybe worth having a look at the catalogue, if you find it.
79
80
A couple of book references from my library: Gilles Perrault, “Checkpoint Charlie”,
2008 (in French); Walter Sikorski, “Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall”, 1998
81

62
No, in neither exhibition I did what most of the other visitors were doing:
using the audioguide to dutifully spend more or less the same time on each
exhibit.
As for the art exhibition... I am sorry that it felt more as if chosen by a
committee than by an art director.
Still, some of the works convey more than a mere message (which is a
scourge of contemporary art- marketing), as, at least to me, art is more than
a mere political or marketing statement.
But I do not want to influence you- it is worth visiting, if you happen to be
in Berlin, and would take about one hour.
A useful discovery was the museum bookshop: plenty of interesting history
and art history books, along with some guides and maps worth considering
(e.g. I got a map on "Red Berlin" and a guide on the architecture and art in
Berlin).
As I did have only about 45 minutes until my Go game conference/lesson,
and I decided not to get into a McDonald, but to taste something local and
quick, I ended up checking few sandwich places- too hot and stuffy for me
(but if you suffer cold... most places are frankly overheated).
Then, I surrendered and went for a Curry Wurst and mushrooms in Unter
den Linden, just in front of the university.
Personal note: stick to Sushi and regular bratwurst or ordinary Indian/Thai
curry.
As for the conference/lesson- interesting; it was delivered by a 7/8 dan
Asian teacher (depends on the source- I obviously had a look at the website
online82), from Zurich.
82
http://www.yunguseng.com

63
Pity that I did not know, while working in Zurich, that an active Go club
was available in town: it would have been better than the usual night with
expats in the pub or at the bar of the hotel, and it would have been
benefiticial to my Go skills (and maybe also to my local business
connections).
The lesson ended with... a test.
I do not worry about making mistakes, when I am learning- I worry about
learning. Therefore, also if it has been a long, long time since I last had a
game (I hate playing against a computer, but I still have to find somebody
willing to play the game), I checked if my review last week-end of the 36
stratagems applied to Go, as a way to resurrect my Go skills, worked.
Well... if you are like me, you do not aim to achieve the best score, which
would imply to do a problem at a time, wait to check and discuss the
solution, and then check the others.
Instead, you spend few minutes answering all the problems at once (as I
did- noted in my mobile my answers), and then, if needed, you change some
answers (I changed only 2 out of 8) , while the explanation of the previous
one is delivered (as anyway the teacher was discussing each problem
individually, and then leaving some time to answer the others).
Why? Because this way you can better assess your own real skills, instead of
having a short-time “pattern to success” thanks to the discussion.
Overall... it all confirmed that Go is a mental/visualization game (as also
without playing it and just reading and thinking about it, I was surprised by
my results), and that I am what a customer told me long ago- somebody
who uses attack as the best defence.
Or: between the options, I tended to choose the ones that were more risky
but with the higher potential- and which happened often to be the best.
But not because I am a good player of Go, just because of my natural
inclination.

64
Of course: solving problems is not the same as playing a game end-to-end;
it is the same difference that there was in my line of business between being
called to solve an issue or manage a storm in a teapot, and actually setting
the first step for a long march (no pun intended- just a cultural reference,
considering the origins of Go in China) toward change.
But no surprise here- as I worked on negotiations for longer than I want to
remember (and studying/profiling cultures is quite useful in both
negotiations and analysis), focusing on territory, communication channels,
influencing is bread-and-butter: and studying once a decade Go from
scratch certainly helped to develop some patterns.
Side-effects of excessive travelling and negotiation activities?
Beside what I wrote long ago about when somebody asked me if I had lost
a 2 EUR coin (I picked it up, said no, and then split the amount to be
"fair"- as he suggested, I picked it up), you get also used to simply “visibly”
ignore any point that could weaken your position- if you focus on that, you
risk actually showing it, while if you ignore it... often, either it goes
unnoticed, or actually is taken as a sign of weakness by your counterpart,
that then becomes less focused and more careless- creating a window of
opportunity.
A funny example: I had no time to get back, but I heard a "crack" when I
did a movement that would be fine with my jeans, not really with business
trousers.
But you know- we Italians are picky about colours. I had decided to dress in
blue today, and I had only the gray jeans available so...
...I had to wear the only blue ones that I had in my cabin-sized luggage: the
ones that I would usually wear with a jacket (with or without tie; and yes- I
brought two jackets and few ties, just in case).
The "crack" was - ahem - a side crack on the left leg, that you would notice
only while I were to be seating on a stool (only at the end of the afternoon
this happened), as otherwise it would be covered.
So, what would you do?

65
Would you waste a perfectly planned day by going back for a small glitch?
No- ignore it, and fix it later, as there were limited chances that it will either
worsen or get noticed by somebody that matters: you have to manage risk,
anyway, don't you?
Because... if you travel a lot, you should always have thread and needle with
you (shirt buttons have the interesting habit of getting loose when it is most
inconvenient), moreover if you are on a Sunday..
Also from the Army the only item that I asked to keep was my sewing kit-
pity that the Artillery buttons eventually were taken away by somebody else!
Probably, you are more interested in other bits and pieces on Berlin, than
on my way to “manage” clothing emergencies.
A quick one, that I already posted on Facebook: I assumed that each
Starbucks in Berlin was delivering the same services with the same pricelist.
Well... the one nearby the American Embassy, in Branderburg Tor is
not: small, cramped, dirty, smelly, with prices higher than in any of the
others and... while it has a padlock outside the toilets as most of the other
Starbucks (so that only customers can enter, by using the code on their
receipt), this one has the padlock and door open, leading to... a staircase
were you are asked to pay.
But on the way back, beside giving an answer to a tourist asking about
Checkpoint Charlie, I tried a different path (as I am anyway on track to
complete my exploration East and West).
From the Brandenburg Tor, walk up to the Strasse des 17. Juni, until
Charlottenburg, the Opera Theatre, Bismarckstrasse: in my case, I
turned then left on Wilmersdorfer, up to Adenauer Platz.
I must say: at night, the walk up to Charlottenburg through the park (that I
saw few days ago during the morning) is even better than during the day
(but I do not know how safe it is).
You can also follow the directions and turn to Zoologische Garten and
then have a pint to the Europa Centre, if you prefer.

66
In this case, I must add: Berlin, beside being an eminently walkable town,
with plenty of trees (reminds me of both Turin when I was a kid and
London when I visited it for the first time, in 1983- before trees were
removed or died), it is also one of the most bicycle-friendly towns that I
visited, with plenty of reserved tracks and visible repair shops.
Actually, I saw one on my Curry Wurst visit at Konnopke’s yesterday: and it
was the first time, since I was a kid, that I saw a bicycle repair shop asking a
customer to check the repairs by trying the bicycle, going around the shop.
Beside the various bicycles in shapes and sizes that I never saw before, the
funniest one can be rented in Potsdamer Platz.
I met the guy with a Crocodile Dundee hat that brings it to Potsdamer Platz
twice on his way to his job.
It is a bicycle that has a normal seat, and 8 additional seats (and sets of
pedals) arranged in a circle.
The idea? You can have real team work. I would suggest companies to try
building up team spirit by organizing races down Unter den Linden- more
civilized, family-friendly and less Ramboesque than the usual survival week-
end.
And, anyway, in Italian in business we say, to those who got a (usually
management) position that they had wanted to obtain and complain that
they lack the skills required to do what they are supposed to do: "hai voluto
la bicicletta? e allora... pedala!".

67
7. A CHANGING TOWN
Annexed townships and museums surprises83
Today, as I announced before, I had a run with my "Städtführer Berlin",
focused on architecture.
In this post, I will start from the end of the day, and then jump around.
So, right before going back home, I called the residence office to see if
somebody would be there tomorrow morning, and said that probably I
would be in by 18 hours- to discuss about the future.
I know that while around in shops etc I try to use German actively (albeit I
am currently mainly focusing on improving my understanding of the
language, the town, and the real-life culture).
But allow me to be lazy: my opening salvo was- do you speak English
(actually- I think that I probably started the phrase in German, and ended
in... Dutch)
83

68
Then, I asked for the prices if I were to stay a month or more, after a
preamble stating that I did not know when and for how long, but just in
case...
No price difference: meaning that there is enough demand also without
lowering the prices (in other locations, the longer you commit, the less you
pay).
At the request for December I said- certainly not in December: my German
isn't good enough to work in Germany in December- it will take some
time- and we both laughed.
But at least, now I can again survive in a German-speaking country and
occasionally say something more complex, except with the occasional slip
into Dutch or English: but I survived through two movies, and will check
on Wednesday in theatre.
Beside that, the pub that I visited right before coming back (another Irish
pub, just around the corner- with a German/English quiz night each
Thursday), and the newspapers, almost all the rest of the day I used my
German: including at the Citadel in Spandau and in shops.
I was quite lucky today.
Why? Because, thanks maybe in no small part to the presence of an
umbrella in my bag (joking, just joking), an old habit from London and
Brussels, I had a sunny and even relatively warm day.
I must confess: probably warm for me, as I walk a lot, fast, and with few
pauses (basically- each traffic light and a teacup once arrived at my
destination).
But I would suggest the walk to Charlottenburg (nice, also if I did not
enter, as I had planned to be in Spandau by lunch time, and the park and
museum/castle probably deserve at least a full day).
Then, a ride by bicycle to Spandau, thanks to a wonderful bicycle lane and
few parks here and there, parks that, if you had a bicycle and a picnic box,
could be interesting to visit on the way in.

69
Why Charlottenburg?
Because the queen... founded the Sozietät der Wissenschaften, that
eventually became the Prussian Science Academy (so, Caterina of Russia
wasn't the only queen creating an environment for thinking people).
If you like the idea of walking, roughly from the Schiller Theatre up to the
Spandau Citadel, consider that, if you get tired, I saw a bus passing by every
10 minutes or so, and Spandau is still within Zone B (the one covered by
standard tickets and weekly passes).
As for Spandau- a mixed bag of feelings.
Yes, it is an old town (from my books- it seems that Berlin expanded as
Rome did, by annexing nearby settlements- I did not know that).
And, yes, the Christmas market up to and around the Gothic Church St
Nikolai is one of the largest ones that I saw, and not only in Berlin.
Moreover, the Citadel is worth visiting- and, personally, I had a couple of
interesting surprises that made it worth a detour, and not a whimsical
choice done to test a book and add an "X" on the map!
But... I never saw in Berlin so many "we buy gold" shops in such a small
area (including within the shopping mall).
Incidentally: if you are a smoker... Spandau is the only area in Berlin where I
saw a significant number of signs informing that a restaurant, café, etc has a
space specifically devoted to smokers.
As for my Latvian friends... in the Citadel remains of previous Slavic
settlements were found and... from December 2012 until January 2013 was
planned an exhibition on Jugendstil84 buildings in Berlin and Riga.
Anyway- Spandau (at least the old part) has really the feeling of a village,
but I would strongly suggest a visit at the fortress (Citadel is more
appropriate), also if you are not interested in military architecture.
84
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Nouveau

70
The St Nikolai church contains some interesting bits and pieces of history:
but I am not saying that only because behind the altar there are references
to Italy (the fortress was adapted in the XVI century with the help of Italian
military engineers and architects).
Within the walls of the Citadel, you will find something really unusual- it is
not your typical fortress converted into a museum, as it is used also for art
schools, artists’ ateliers, and art events.
It could actually be a nice place in summer if you have kids- provided that
you keep an eye on them: too many open areas that could be dangerous.
Moreover, beside the collection of artillery pieces (my compulsory service in
Italy was in the Army, Artillery Specialist), the museum shows an unusually
detailed social and institutional history of Spandau, how it evolved from
when it was chartered as a town, up to when it was incorporated into
Berlin.
Including, on the upper floor, a story of how Spandau in the early XVI
century was the focus of an attack on the Jewish community that used
(fake) stories that were then to resonate for a long time- and not only in
Germany.
On my way back, I decided to take the train- but before, I went through the
local mall.
Why? Because the feeling of a city-within-a-city that gave me Spandau was
an incentive to see how the shopping mall was structured to blend within
the local culture, needs, and interests.
Just to say how much I am interested in the way institutions develop: the
only book that I bought today was... a copy of the "Codex Hammurabi"85
85
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

71
Anyway- it is just a small train ride away: and really worth your time.
As for the pub... when I went for my usual coffee and newspapers stop this
morning, on my way to Schiller Theatre, I saw a sign for yet another Irish
pub, so I gave it a try tonight (it is close to Adenauer Platz).
It has obviously Guinness and Kilkenny, as well as a local beer, but...
...its internal structure is closer to the "tea house" than the usual English
pub with a counter.
Meaning: there is plenty of light, is family-friendly, and... it comes with a
piano (eventually, a mother and her kids started using it).
I like to visit pubs slightly before the end of the working day, when they are
still empty, because you can see how they are when they are not just
watering holes dispensing alcohol- and I would be curious to see it during a
quiz night (despite anything else and the Circus, I liked the funny
atmosphere of the Trivial Pursuit pub nights in Brussels).
Between tomorrow and Thursday I plan to do some crossing the Ts and
dotting the Is on my map of Berlin, just to see other areas: so, maybe
something new will come up.
After the long walk of today... anything else would be a walk in the park.
Also because today there was next to nothing between Charlottenburg and
Spandau, except... thousands of steps from one point to the other.

72
The gentrification of East Berlin & packing86
So, before getting back to my German exercises (tonight, after watching
again yesterday “The 39 Steps” in German, is again “The King’s Speech”),
while having “Gettysburg” on the background (appropriate- you will see
why soon), a short walk through my toeing today around Berlin.
If you read my status updates on Facebook87 (I update there because more
than 140 characters are allowed, and your status can easily be updated via
text messages), you know that today I was walking on the Eastern side of
Berlin.
And doing a small self-test: checking if I could get again to the Curry Wurst
place without watching the map.
I only had to whip up my GPS to try to find the Starbucks in Alexander
Platz (did not find it- but probably I was looking in the wrong place).
Nonetheless, I remembered a nice café that I had seen nearby the Babylon
movie theatre (you guess- international cultural movies and book
presentations), and I went there: nice cappuccino (had two).
I must say- going up to Konnopke’s to check the road that I had quickly
seen the other day when I went there for the first time was a nice idea.
No, I did not have a Curry Wurst (I saw twice that we are incompatible), as
for few EUR more I could get yet another Sushi meal (nearby
Kastanienallee).
The gentrification is taking its toll- so, I would suggest to visit the area
before the “upgrade” process is completed (thereafter, probably each and
every price will go sky high).
86
87
http://www.facebook.com/robertolofaro

73
Incidentally- I found (surprise surprise) a bookshop in Kastanienallee
selling used books of Italian authors in German- including few from Dario
Fo.
I bought “Hohn der Angst” (in Italian it was “Clacson trombette e
pernacchio”), followed by an interesting essay on “Die Angst des Politikers
vor dem Lachen”- or: the political value of laughter (I know that the literal
translation is different- but that is my meaning after getting through it).
But maybe more about this somewhere else and another day.
My walk through Kastanienallee brought me around an area that I had not
yet seen: quite interesting buildings and quite interesting ongoing
renovations- including plenty of ethnic restaurants (I do not remember ever
seeing before a Syrian restaurant from Damascus).
Not too far from the Goethe Institute is the Starbucks in Rosenthaler:
large, noisy, overheated, with a deadly slow Wi-Fi connection… but with a
nice view from the windows- probably the best one so far.
And, anyway, my quest for the Starbucks in Alexander Platz was actually to
add one from the former East Berlin, after the K’damm and
Friedrichstrasse ones.
The first firmly in the West, the second on the street where the
“Checkpoint Charlie” was, also if, according to my map, it was further
down the road, near the Kochstrasse U-Bahn stop (therefore, the
Starbucks in Friedrichstrasse would have actually been in the East).
Incidentally: at the Goethe Institut I picked up the costs and dates for the
exams and for the residential courses or evening/week-end courses for
2013, if you need the material.
Personally- while the evening/week-end courses are cheaper, you have to
be used to work well more than 8 hours a day- otherwise, as I saw in other
cases, you risk wasting time and money (you get a short-term memory fix,
and then forget: hopefully after you pass the exam).

74
Moreover- I am used to learn in leaps and bounds (which, also when I was
teaching various business subjects to grown-ups, seems to be quite
common).
Meaning: your prior knowledge is a brake on your learning, but you cannot
learn as a trained monkey.
If you want to achieve a longer-term result, you need to “embed” the new
knowledge within what you already have between your ears.
An example: you get stuck on stupid, simple things, but when you get it,
additional knowledge based upon that is added much faster than would be
the case for somebody who came as a “tabula rasa”.
Today I had few cases where I simply “blurted out” phrases in German,
without thinking, and my German was understood, both in shops and in a
theatre where I went to check the procedure for my e-ticket (but people are
quite polite if you make an effort).
Anyway- I am used to learn languages by patterns (reading, listening, etc),
and not through the grammar: the first time that I read an English grammar
cover-to-cover? 2007 (yes, it is still a work in progress).
But nobody believed that: in a job interview in Belgium, beside the usual
question about how many passports I hold or I am entitled to (and I was
applying for a low level position in a non-secure environment- somebody
else was thinking about other positions or a spooky background), I was also
asked where I learned English, as there was no documentation about that
on my CV.
Probably reading a lot could be useful- and that’s why, along with testing
and checking around the environment, I bought books that I am confident
that I will be willing to read.
The reason I bought also books in German from Italian authors? Because I
can probably still get, through the translation, patterns that are more
familiar, while I can also find in Italy the Italian edition, and quickly expand
my German vocabulary.

75
But you could do that also with a “meta-language”, i.e. a language used to
get through another language- typically, English is the language that I used
when learning, say, Spanish.
More recently, in my travel to Brazil for a customer, both Spanish and
English were useful to get through the FSI bridge course of Brazilian
Portuguese for those knowing Spanish.
And I bought, of course, also German books written by “mother tongue”
German writers in German.
Anyway- in the next couple of days probably I will be visiting the same
locations that I visited before, except maybe few temporary exhibitions that
I saw today.
Therefore, probably I will write again on Saturday night (unless I will be
unable to), as I will leave Berlin on Friday.
What do I plan to do next? To spend a couple of months in the mountains
in Northern Italy- where I self-confined myself after completing in early
August the terms related to the contract that I resigned from in mid-July.
If you want- I was disgusted enough to self-exile to Brussels, after my
attempt in 2003/2005 to return to Italy by also supporting startups and, for
the first time since my service in the Army, working as project manager and
business analyst for Government projects through a partner.
But after Italian interferences in Brussels in 2008 eventually forced a return
(I could dig in only for a while- even going as far as hiding experience to get
a job in Brussels! Trust me- never do that), I saw in my most recent
activities that it is impossible to prove a negative, imagine more than one,
and that it will continue forever and ever- as you would expect when the
taxpayer foots the bill.
I saw just appropriate to apply to myself the same “preventive measure”
that the fascist government in Italy applied, relocating in the mountains: it
was called “confino".

76
Anyway, it is quite doubtful that, beside the interesting and amusing
interviews that I had since Summer 2008 around Europe (at my own
expenses), and the occasional test activities, it will be feasible to resume the
old activities that I carried out until 2008, and struggled to keep alive for
few years more while weathering the storm.
Working to earn just enough to finance further testing is a Sisyphean task: it
never ends, as the more tests you pass or fail, the more keep being added by
somebody (either to work for you and against you- but in both cases, your
lifetime goes away, while for the others becomes merely point to score, i.e.
showing that they were right- either in supporting or attacking).
Therefore, better to follow the advice of a quite successful serial
entrepreneur: find a work to do for a while to cover the side-effects and
then restart again.
But do only what has no side-effects on future choices (i.e. no knowledge
transfer- only work).
Keeping skills alive requires activities using those skills.
Therefore, after double checking the various alternatives, with the
confirmations of the last two weeks, I had tonight a review of the
“performance evaluation handbook” from RAND for public services88, to
start filling my “Citizen Audit” website89.
It will not be a “journalist report”- as I think that journalists should report
news when available, while an independent auditor should follow the
whistle-blower approach: report internally while an internal solution to any
issue is still feasible, and publicize when it is blatant that there is neither will
nor ability to solve things internally.
Beside analysis, project management, negotiations, I had to check-and-
verify contracts, suppliers, activities, people.
88
E.g. http://www.rand.org/topics/performance-measurement.html
89
http://www.citizenaudit.info (currently pointing to my online experience database)

77
Therefore, my study plan since August covered updates on something that
could be used both in the private and Government sector (programme
management, service and system architecture), and also some technological
bits (cloud computing, information architecture on a more formal level).
As for the German language and others: hopefully, can be used anywhere
anytime- not necessarily in the country where they are considered “mother
tongue”.
I keep repeating (no offense intended- it is just a neutral observation): if I
am working as a clerk in a shop and I am a mother tongue speaker, that
does not qualify me to be considered a mother tongue speaker to discuss
about business at the Board level in industry X.
But you saw some signs of the process in my blog posts and articles on Italy
and Europe (including on my blog90): as you have obviously to do some
trial-and-error, and Internet is a substantial help!
So, for the time being… enjoy the week, and hope soon to be able to add
the completed edition (I will probably try to collect more pictures over the
next few days).
Who knows? Maybe, while in the mountains, I will have time also to
resume studying Russian and Chinese at the steady pace that I was able to
follow when I had a 5km walk almost twice a day, in Brussels, and
additional time to test (Chinese) characters.
For the time being… have a nice week!
90
http://www.robertolofaro.com/blog

78
8. CLOSING DOWN
Memory, language and... apologies in Berlin91
First and foremost, my apologies, as I promised to postpone writing until
Saturday, and to spend time only collecting pictures to complement the
forthcoming free e-book assembling all the articles within a whimsical yet
personal walk through Berlin.
Then, a second, and more important, set of apologies: sometimes, in my
attempt started in 2008 to share online something that goes beyond the
mere soapbox, i.e. something useful from my business and life methods, I
ended up underestimating the effort needed if you do not share the same
background.
In business, it is easier to amend and correct, as whenever I transfer
something I do not simply broadcast, but I listen and observe.
But when writing online... it is still a work-in-progress.
91

79
Let's start from the end, the status update that I posted yesterday evening
after my "German language understanding theatre test":
funny, a status update that I posted in the entr'acte while I was
watching in a theatre a German expanded version of "The 39 Steps"
disappeared...
my comment was: I am glad that I followed my method and watched
few times the movie in German, with and without subtitles- as I was
able to 'feel' the lines of each actor coming back
somebody (North American, from the way she was underlining each
phrase from her colleague with a 'go on' mumble), who had said
before that she was through the theatre show few times as it was
spoken too fast (wasn't: the movie too has a fast clip), commented
that a chance was lost to avoid writing
I met in Rome and Brussels plenty of people who augment reality-
but ask people who worked on my projects, and I go by the rule
"dare a Cesare quel che è di Cesare": I do not care claiming successes
that should be acknowledged to others
and, yes- I did not simply remind the lines as soon as the "attach"
was delivered- I understood them
except Mr Memory "dying monologue": it is 3 times faster than in
the movie
as for the message on the same line that I just received on FB: my
dear, I call "reality" what I can document, not what is acceptable and
does not break eggs...
as for the show "augmentations": if you understand the original
script, and you did get through (as I did) at least some B1/2 German
passively, it is an enjoyable show, worth the price
the only complaint? the theatre is smaller than it looks on the map-
on row 3 seat 13, I was close enough to read actors' lips

80
Those who read my posting since 2007 on stage6.divx.com, and then on
Facebook.com and frype.com, already know that I am the first son of a
theatre/radio actor.
Therefore, along with a natural contextual and visual memory (more about
this later), I had a chance as a kid to develop a peculiar skill.
The skill, that sometimes created some funny and, in more recent years, not
so funny side-effects, was simply a consequence of my help to my father
while he was learning his lines.
I have been a curious and voracious reader and explorer all my life.
My support in preparing to act a script was limited to reading the last line of
the previous actor, check the delivery of the line, and read the first line of
the next actor.
Acting on stage is almost a round-robin, does not happen in a vacuum- you
have to be able to "pass the witness", as we say in Italian, and, if the next in
line is momentarily lost, fill-in the gap: the show must go on.
Now, with my reading habits, it happened by chance that I got used to read
all the lines within a script quickly, reread it completely, and then read while
doing the "attach&check&detach" routine described above.
By the third time, usually I knew the script by heart.
I think that it is an acquired skill requiring just a bookworm attitude and
willingness to work, so there is nothing to boast about- it is a matter-of-fact
statement.
More than a dozen years ago, a former girlfriend who was doing some
acting had to review her lines, and we went in a quiet café.
She asked if I wouldn't mind helping her to review the lines- and I said that
I did that as a kid.

81
We did it once, twice, and then... she said: but you are not looking at the
script- as I wrote in the original status update (the one that got lost) "old
habits never die", and even decades later I was instinctively recovering a
skill that I had developed as a kid.
Yesterday night was the same: usually, I need to read and visualize (in my
mind) a script to actually "activate" that skill, but this time it worked almost
as well by just watching few times the movie (with subtitles, i.e. the script as
translated, not as dubbed to keep the synch with the lips).
And it was funny- I started as in the "King's speech": first, my
understanding of the lines was with a few seconds time delay, then suddenly
I was catching up with the “tempo”, recovering the lines and understanding
the words, undoubtedly because I knew the story- but also because I knew
and understood the lines, including variations introduced for the stage.
Verbatim? I do not know- but as when listening to operas, it is not a word-
by-word play what matters, but the overall delivery.
Opera semi-professional listeners, called “melomani” in Italian, go to watch
a new opera with a "libretto" that contains the script, as I saw often as a kid.
My mother said that she was close to that- and, as a kid, I went often with
my parents’ friends to watch live operas - I got the music ear from my
mother.
Even funnier (but probably a side-effect of the time spent on my B1/B2
level course before coming to Berlin), I was able to follow the variations on
the script (most of the expansions were raunchy humour that would not
have been passed by censorship in the original movie... but the seed was
already there).
So, maybe it will take a little longer if you are not used to this kind of
reading/visualizing/memorizing approach: but I would certainly advise to
pick up something as fast for your "understanding test"- as, anyway, a good
30-40% was universal humour.

82
As I wrote above: if you watch the movie92, Mr. Memory delivers his final
speech at a quick clip.
That's why, as a preliminary step, I used "The King's speech"- and not only
because it is a movie that you can watch few times and never get tired of it:
the lines in that movie are delivered at a significantly slower speed than in
“39 Steps”.
But in theatre... it was eerily fast- probably three times as much as in other
movie.
I am used to talk quite fast in any language- or keep quiet (and when
learning languages, I usually get "lost in talk" just because I try to keep pace
with what I would like to say).
Probably, it was a “foreign language speaking pattern” that I picked up
from my French teacher in high school, that along with a half-English
classmate we timed at a peak of 240 words per minute (in French and
Italian)!
Incidentally: the only languages that I learned in school? Italian, French,
Latin.
Now, the picking up of pictures continues, while today, my last night in
Berlin, I will also try to complete the areas that I did not visit before (and
probably I will have to ship back the books that I bought, unless I am
allowed to carry another bag on board!).
Last but not least: tonight, German/English quiz night.
Enjoy the day!
92
Available also on YouTube.com (it is outside copyright, from what I read)

83
Three monkeys and a drawing boss #Berlin93
So, tonight I went for the quiz- a little bit late, but I rather travel for two
days with clean clothes, than be on time to a quiz and carry along bags full
of clothes that arrived in better conditions.
As for the title... when I arrived, I saw that the layout was different from
what I had expected- there was a screen and a podium and a circle of tables
devoted to the quiz but... the two other aisles of the pub were focused on
football, noisy chatting, and music.
In Schumann at the Old Oak there was silence during the questions as if we
were attending a church function, here it reminded me more of an alcoholic
version of the market in Istanbul.
Why? Because “negotiations” were going on, albeit not on the price of
fruits and the like... and alcohol was certainly a facilitator.
Well, when I arrived, I found a table on the border between the quiz area
and the chatting area, with just another empty table on my left.
At my right-hand side one of the quiz teams obviously included at least one
Italian girl, and the team eventually expanded with a fourth member
speaking a French with a non-French accent (unusual choice, in Germany).
Instead, the table on my left was occupied by three white German men in
their late 20s/early 30s (or looking so; the "monkey" reference is
behavioural, not racist... still somebody trying to stick on me their racial and
political prejudices, I heard!).
Personally, I believe that if somebody can do something that I cannot do,
that does not imply that it cannot be done.
Beside commentary, after the second pint they started the monkey rituals
(howling, puffing, etc.), addressing the four girls.
93

84
Notably when one of the girls at the table at my right decided to take off
her sweater.
Then, despite the arrival of the drawing boss, one of the three monkeys
decided to start the ritual that I saw in documentaries.
Or: rising up, opening his nostrils in the direction of the girls, making
circles around his mates but looking toward the direction of the girls...
...so, I quickly completed my reading and pint, and left: I would not like to
see again as I saw in London: drunk match-making rituals at 11pm!
As for the drawing boss... it is a literal definition.
When he arrived, the three monkeys instinctively formed a semi-circle,
while he occupied (no, not physically!) the other half of their round table: a
clear re-distribution of power according to the relative status (but the boss
basically turned his back to the girls’ table: business, just business).
Then he opened a notepad with drawings that he used to collect
information from them and share assertions with them.
In some cases- he was actually pointing at a drawing to ask them to confirm
where the information was to be pigeonholed: as in the tests to teach
English to monkeys that I saw in some documentaries...
Quite interesting rituals- more interesting than the quiz: while in Brussels I
was quite often covering all the bases except TV and music, here I was able
to get through only the "political" side (e.g. who was the French President
after CDG?).
Anyway- I can see that probably the 3+1 do not work in the private sector:
if I were to assume that anybody working for me or with me could do only
what I could do, then... right after shaving in the morning, I would stare at
myself in the mirror and slap on my face, saying "wake-up: with 7 billion
people, maybe somebody has a different mix of abilities from your own".

85
How did it end? No clue- I left the pub and went back... as tomorrow
morning is a “packing&travel” day!
As far as I know from my check with the airline today, I can check-in 23kg,
provided that it is only in one piece- any other piece of luggage, even for
just one kg... 50 EUR94.
To show my priorities: I was first thinking that maybe it could make sense
to ship the books that I bought here (it would cost less than half, with DHL
in Europe), but then... I decided that I can risk of losing few shirts and the
like, but if I were to lose the books... some of them would be impossible or
difficult or expensive to replace...
So, I will probably end up either paying more for my luggage than I paid for
my ticket (my record is paying 170 EUR for extra luggage, more or less, and
for the same reason: books)... or go around for two days with limited
clothes, but plenty of books.
As for the pictures... today was a nice walking day, but rain still did not
suggest a visit to the TV tower in Alexander Platz.
Albeit I tried the wok at the quick Asian restaurant nearby Friedrichstrasse
where I went last week- stick to the sushi (also if they show pictures of
salmon and then instead deliver surimi- but the other bits and pieces are
nice).
Nonetheless, they have a nice choice of Asian beers (maybe common in
Germany, not so much elsewhere); I do not know why, but today in the
morning I had twice chicken: maybe my body would like a chicken soup.
94
eventually, the weight was less than 23kg, but in two pieces- therefore, I had to pay
an additional 50 EUR to Air Berlin: more than Opodo had charged for the ticket from
Berlin to Milan!

86
Meanwhile, today I paid a visit to the BerlinStory shop (between
Brandenburger Tor and Friedrichstrasse), and I bought a couple of books
(to balance the couple of free museums that I saw- in Wannsee, I bought a
book at the museum95), including one on the story of Checkpoint Charlie96.
Therefore, my night reading at the pub was actually re-reading the
introductory chapters of a book on Eisenhower and thermonuclear war97,
as they actually lead to the building of the Berlin Wall.
For the time being... enjoy your week-end: I do not plan to post anything
here tomorrow (I have other articles to write while travelling until
Saturday), but who knows- maybe, like for this post, reality will intrude in
my plans and command/commend posting something!
95
Roseman, “ Die Wannsee- Konferenz. Wie die NS- Bürokratie den Holocaust
organisierte“, 2002
96
Sikorski, op. cit.
97
Craig, “Destroying the village: Eisenhower and thermonuclear war”, 1998

87
9. THE AFTERMATH
Meanwhile...98
...as usual, time flies.
My closing segment of the #BerlinDiaries series (a series that I had not
planned- but travels have always been my unofficial muse), i.e. the script?
Well, I wrote it on Friday, but then I did not like it- so, the small script will
be there... eventually (this week-end I should finally have time, if snows
allows me to get back home and have some silence!).
For the time being... it sounds like a script for a silent movie produced for
Starbucks.
Right now, I am reviewing the German books that I bought while in Berlin,
and I saw that, by accident or by unconscious design, I ended up with three
lines.
98

88
Italian and English fiction books in German (as a stepping stone to a
resurrection and expansion of my German vocabulary), non-fiction books
in German written by German authors, and English or German history
books that could actually be useful to understand more about Germany.
And, of course- my few maps of Berlin and guidebooks that I already wrote
about before.
My visit at the Wannsee-Konferenz site99 produced the first book on my
list, on how ordinary people can slide into organizing mass murder, and still
get through it with a "business as usual" attitude.
The other books are actually all starting in or around 1945, and continuing:
a book on the literary history of what used to be called Western Germany,
another one on the military missions of the Allies in Germany (up to the
end of the Berlin Wall), and finally a book on the history of Checkpoint
Charlie and the Berlin Wall.
As I wrote online few days ago, while travelling back to Italy I was reading
on my tablet a book on Eisenhower, overlapping with the path leading to
the building of the Berlin Wall.
Why all the history elements? Well, if you read the post where I discussed
the guidebooks that I bought, first in Italy, then in Berlin, you know that I
looked for something that went beyond the usual catalogue of monuments,
buildings, names.
I read a lot of books about WWII and the Cold War- but, frankly, I could
always look at the books to check names etc, while I was more interested in
the interaction between various "motivational frameworks", and how
something that we take now for granted was first developed in WWII, the
first mass-production war with airplanes.
As my next step is the same that I adopted whenever I learned a
technology, business process, etc- trying to "fix and merge" what I saw,
learned, read, with what I already knew or had experienced before.
99
http://www.ghwk.de/

89
And it would be quite interesting to reassess long-held certainties, maybe
acquired through school and books that were one-sided.
Left or right or centre- it doesn't matter: if your author or teacher has a
thesis, it is quite understandable that (s)he will select, consciously or
unconsciously, what leads to seeing the proposed thesis as a natural
consequence.
Getting books that have a partial overlap, but start from different
perspectives, is therefore quite useful.
How do you move from just sharing a walk through a town, to sharing
pointers to understanding its culture?
By using what you saw and read (e.g. in museums and monuments, but also
in cafés and restaurants) as "cribs" to decipher the underlying cultural
framework of each physical element that you could encounter.
And history books will certainly help, moreover when their focus is on
discussing how people felt and reacted, instead of just listing battles and
names and dates.
I did check online on CreateSpace to see how I could actually use that way
to publish the e-book version of the #BerlinDiaries.
Frankly, I do not really know if I will use it- but by having a framework of
reference that has already been used for years by others to publish online, it
becomes easier to focus on content, instead of wasting time to re-invent the
wheel, also if you use it only to structure your PDF as if you were to then
publish through them.
It might well be that, in the end, as I did e.g. for my Dutch learning
experiment100 or the articles on political/advocacy online marketing101, I
will simply use an existing (free) online framework, or create a book-like
Acrobat file (adding few pictures here and there).
100
http://nlschap.wordpress.com
101
http://dirittodivoto.com/index.php/strumenti

90
But rethinking to the articles, it seems almost as if multiple purposes were
overlapping.
I have been told few time that I was doing Bond-esque assumptions- well,
frankly... my experience with books about spooks started when, while using
Martin Cruz Smith "Gorky Park" as a tool to improve my English (the
same approach that I am using now with German- but with other authors),
a half-English high school classmate suggested to read John Le Carré.
Since I started working around Europe with multinational teams, I met
more than once, East and West, people curious about my background, with
plenty of funny ideas (a significant number of them had actually a military
or security background).
And quite a few were those who picked up an investigative work dreaming
to be a James Bond, or a Sherlock Holmes, and ended up spending most of
their time doing something closer to what “HGW XX/7” does in “Das
Leben der Anderen”102 (or, with a little bit more glamour and creativity,
Michael Caine's Harry Palmer character in, say, “The Ipcress File”, when on
watch duty): digging trash, opening letters, observing.
End result? Thinking that those who observe can actually replicate what
those that they observe do.
And this is a common disease with business analysts when trying to
reorganize work (but in this case, easily cured with some common sense).
They assume that you can understand (or believe to understand) and do
something that you are merely observing, just because you are used to
observe.
As if you had in your brain an universal key to reality, a shortcut to avoid
the lengthy process of having to extract the interpretation keys from those
that actually have those keys.
102

91
But you know- to make that mental switch, you need to do something that,
in our sound-bite world, few are willing to do: listen before you talk, and
use what you hear to reassess what you think.
Luckily, I was able to go up to the Alexander Platz TV tower only on the
last morning of my last day in Berlin: seeing the town from above had a
completely different meaning, as most of the buildings, roads, squares were
already "tagged" by experiences in my mind.
And therefore, instead of observing a postcard from over 200 meters up in
the sky, I was... remembering the noises, smells, colours, that I associated
with each section of the city.
Obviously: this will be the most difficult element to add within my e-book.
Maybe, talking about German... I should re-read "Parfum" (a book from a
German author that, incidentally, I read in French, on loan from a French
colleague who was temporarily assigned in Milan, in the early 1990s).

92
Globalization in a cup of tea103
While waiting for my cup of tea to be ready, I decided to read the writing
on the foil shielding each teabag that I acquired in Alexander Platz.
Why? Because I was curious about the origins of a teabag named
"Greenfield Herbal Tea Honey Rooibos"- up to the "Honey" was
understandable- but the "Rooibos" had a "Dutch" twang.
Well, the source is South Africa- and this would already make it interesting-
a teabag from South Africa sold in Berlin in a Russian shop.
But the full tracking label (and I would really like to see within the EU each
product in each shelf trace the origin to that level of detail- and some more)
says:
Specially for GREENFIELD TEA Ltd., London, W1U 2HQ, UK
under control of Orimi Trade Llc., 3 Tobolskaya street, St.
Petersburg, 194044, Russia, tel/fax: (812) 346-82-40
produced by NEP Llc.
www.greenfieldtea.co.uk
So, we have at least three continents in a teabag.
Why three? Africa, Eurasia, and... UK- which in these days gets closer and
closer to the old joke "there is fog on the Channel- the Continent is
isolated".
And now, back to my breakfast in the mountains on a sunny day- so warm,
that I am sitting outside... before starting a study day.
Tomorrow? Something more substantial about our economy and decision
making, but for the time being I will relax with a book on Game Theory
and few bits and pieces about Go.
Enjoy your Sunday!
103

93
A. META-APPENDIXES 2.0
Creating an online and offline posting format
I am not an expert talking from a soapbox, just a consultant who is used to
"walk the talk"- i.e. I used to do research projects to develop and apply new
concepts, leaning on somebody else’s expertise if and when needed.
Sometimes this brought about the application of knowledge from other
domains, as when I developed or designed multimedia used to ensure that
training was delivered everywhere and each time exactly in the same way-
no matter who was delivering the training.
Anyway, everything was always done assuming that, from that moment on,
whatever was left behind should be self-sustaining, i.e. with no further
access to consultants or experts for routine activities (including updating the
material), while maybe some access to those resources would be needed to
develop new material.
You can find online plenty of material on how to create a “format”, but in
this context it all boils down to one simple rule: whatever you do, first
comes a definition of your initial aims, then the means.
But you first need to have active knowledge of the potential means that you
could use to achieve your aims.

94
How do you choose? I posted online few articles on how to integrate new
media within your advocacy or political marketing activities104.
Few articles will keep being added to that series, and once in a while I will
structure everything into book form, using a format that should enable to
focus on concepts, as the specifics of technologies, what is “trendy”, the
“must use”, etc. change across the time.
So, let's assume that you decided your "why" and "how" (you can find
plenty of material online and books or e-books on the “technicalities”).
Another issue that I always stressed with companies and startups is "when",
as way too many online and offline publishing initiatives start, follow an
initial motivation, and then lose steam- obviously after sharing grandiose
publishing plans with the potential audience.
#BerlinDiaries was and is an experiment, and therefore its aim was to test
various elements that could be added within the mix, to assess how
resources should be allocated between the different options.
Therefore, it is an example of the structure, process, results- but if I were to
do something similar for others, it will include an additional, “operational”
level, i.e. a #BerlinDiaries-style publication, and probably will include
setting up and coaching a team to deliver additional “services” (e.g. a
website, organizing meetings, maybe a club, other relevant ways and means,
including specific fund-raising activities and ways to build “revenue
streams”, i.e. sources of income to finance the operation, if needed).
No matter how good is your format, you must identify, along with your
"format" and "mix" of channels, also how you will add further collaborators
while ensuring that the format is not distorted.
Eventually, it might be that you will see worthwhile to embed your
publication into other activities (as I did between 2003 and 2005 with my
online e-zine on knowledge management and “virtual companies”, i.e.
organizational development for the XXI century).
104
http://www.dirittodivoto.com/index.php/strumenti

95
This could be true also if you write and publish just for fun- or even if you
do not write at all, and just want a series of guidelines to develop
“organically”, from within, your activities (as also a non-profit book club
can be killed by its own fast-breeding success that generates an uncontrolled
growth).
For this “scaling up” of your activities, while also ensuring that you hold
your line, I usually suggest one short, old, but still useful book, from Gene
Roddenberry105 (other books on Internet, marketing, communication,
economics 2.0? search my online catalogue106).
However you decide to manage your format once designed, remember that
not necessarily following a format is a satisfactory creative endeavour for
those aiming to become experts in communication (many “volunteers” are
actually focused on positioning themselves, not supporting a cause or
initiative- and lose easily steam once they move from doing something, to
doing it day after day).
Evolving your content for your audience
The approach that I followed with #BerlinDiaries was to consider what
could be “static” (e.g. my diary, unless I were to visit again Berlin), and
leave that within online blog posts and the resulting book, while leaving
outside (for the online element) what should be routinely updated.
Of course, this is just an example: and therefore it is more the concept and
its initial applications that matter, than how they evolved so far.
So, I would like first and foremost to share with you the basic concepts
beyond the “format” that I designed and its online components, to focus
not on the results, but on the preparation activities required to produce
those results.
Consistency does not imply repetition.
105
S. E. Whitfield and G. Roddenberry “The Making of Star Trek”, 1968
106
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/aleph123

96
It is advisable to identify a common thread, as that would define your
boundaries, or at least make your readers willing to return: this is both part
of the format and of its continuous and consistent use.
Actually, in some cases, you might even consider doing a “series”, having
exactly the same plotline in each chapter, and simply repeating it from
different perspectives, or different unfolding of the side-effects of choices
in each chapter: but in this case too, repetition will not be “boring”.
Examples: watch an old movie, “Run Lola Run”, any of the copycats from
Hollywood or, if you are inclined to something funnier, “Groundhog day”.
Some writers say that you write for yourself, others that you write for your
readers: consider that, if you publish, probably your aim is to share what
you want to share, and therefore you have to attract at least some readers.
In some cases, e.g. political advocacy or business marketing, just a few are
enough, if you provide them something that they will be willing to talk
about- so, the number of “readers” doesn’t matter as much as the networks
those readers belong to (the “circle” concept on Google+).
Of course, there will be a number of writers who simply write because they
assume that humankind and our world need their writings- but none of my
writings (or past consulting activities) sharing ideas is considering them as
members of a potential audience.
Why? Of course, they have nothing to learn from anybody, and plenty to
teach to their followers (as their appeal to them is based on irrational
foundations, not on rational choices).
Nonetheless, once famous, you might well be able to write each morning
whatever you feel compelled to write- and have a loyal following of readers
simply buy whatever your write (yes, a Frank Zappa attitude).
A mistake that I saw often in business and non-profit uses of the
integration between online and offline elements (books, but also events,
meetings, etc.) is to start with what you have, and then assume that you will
find a way, ending up rehashing what you already had, and ending up
picking from others or from newspapers whatever you can to keep
publishing.

97
I am not questioning “how” or “what”: that is part of your own creative
process, and what you believe that should be published.
The point is: unless you have a framework of reference for what you write,
it will soon sound “fake”.
Every writer, fiction or non-fiction, has a “signature”- and with few notable
exceptions, the way to get out of that “signature cage” is to join forces with
others.
A couple of examples writing for contemporary audiences: Arthur Clarke
and Tom Clancy did this often, in their own respective realms.
Others instead rely on ghostwriters when they lose steam and their books
get boringly repetitive- but the smartest one do so when they have loyal
followers who would buy anything with their name on the cover.
Few others, well, both in fiction and business, keep writing when they
should have stopped.
Moreover, there are more people around better qualified than I am on the
theory and practice of creativity and writing, as I am just a
learning/communication practitioner in business (notably on
organizational/cultural change and the introduction or “embedding” of
new technologies or business processes within an existing organization).
Sometimes, I am asked to provide ideas and then develop them, while
sometimes I am just asked to make ideas useful and/or attractive, do some
number crunching or negotiations, or coordinate people, but I do not think
that I have any “universal silver bullet”.
Each time, I have first to understand who or what I am dealing with, and
then choose the appropriate “tools” (avoiding that typical consultants’
mistake- they have a hammer, and therefore each problem looks as a nail).
When your format is ready (or you derived a format from what you just
wrote, as you would do in defining a sequel for what originally had none
foreseen), a different approach is required, something that maybe you
would like to leave to somebody else, a “Devil’s Advocate”.

98
Find people that you trust, and use them as human “guinea pigs”, i.e.
having them act as your “audience member number zero”, and listen to
their reactions; obviously, it is critical to choose somebody who will talk
straight.
Moreover, choose a second “Devil’s Advocate” focusing on the
sustainability of what you plan to do to keep your publication “alive”.
Sometimes, you might need a team of writers before than you expected, and
this might be unaffordable.
Keeping alive a book implies converting a “product” into a “service”.
As you read in the first pages of this book, #BerlinDiaries was born almost
by accident, after a couple of blog posts attracted more readers than I
expected, and therefore I said “why not?”, as I was in the process of
checking which parts of my business experience could become my new job.
The format for #BerlinDiaries (online and offline) was actually something
that I had to work on while posting my daily “diary on a blog”, as initially I
did not expect to convert that into a book.
Anyway, the “diary on a blog” format contained few elements:
 A common thread- an (almost) accidental tourist discovering Berlin,
exploring its physical and cultural dimensions
 A “series guideline”- each post had to contain a mix of what I was
observing, as if it were a “walking guide” through Berlin, but with
connections with current events, and some additional bits and pieces
from my previous business and political experiences
 A round-robin approach, as each post, while being independent, should
link with previous ones, while usually closing with an announce of what
was about to happen (yes, obviously this derives from TV formats)
 A hyperlink technique- borrowing from Popper etc., opening doors to
other knowledge domains, but sharing links (i.e. leaving those doors
open) to articles, Wikipedia, movies, and other material, to promote
curiosity and serendipity in those bothering to read
 A minimal self-linking- also when tempting or useful, limit the number
of links to previously published articles and blog posts, to avoid a too
explicit self-referential inclination.

99
In the end, the last two points were critical in converting a simple book
into an experiment integrating online and offline elements.
The idea was to “help others to help themselves” to knowledge, by
challenging a little bit the reader, and then providing “escape pods”-
disguised as hyperlinks to a variety of media.
While completing the “static part”, I had two choices: convert each post
into a section of the book, verbatim, or “expand”.
In my case, I assumed that it would be better to add some value, and to
expand and clarify concepts that I only drafted in my blog.
Therefore, this became a second layer within the format: a process that
started with online articles, expanded into a book clearly linked to what
was available (for free) online, and then was kept alive not by updating the
posts, but by creating an online presence (in this example, a Facebook
page107 and a Twitter account108, updated until end of May as a “proof of
concept”).
I have been my own “Devil’s Advocate”, as I wanted to test on myself
processes and material that I plan to eventually use elsewhere.
It is the old saying: “what you listen, you forget; what you see, you
remember; what you do, you know”.
A last bit of information: in my case, the content for the online side of
#BerlinDiaries was disclosed mainly… while I was deciding what should
go inside the “blurb” on the back-cover of the book.
So, what is Berlin? The capital of a leading European Union member-
basically, the new potential centre of (power) gravity within the EU.
Hence, the subject was picking itself: news and ideas on what could
happen in and to Europe, as it is continuously extending toward the Urals
and the Balkans; last time that this happened? WWII…
107
http://www.facebook.com/BerlinDiaries
108
http://www.twitter.com/BerlinDiaries

100
The publishing process
This section is focused only on the Amazon/Createspace process.
The first suggestion: I have been registered with Createspace for years
before I even considered using it to publish a book- but it provides
interesting material that could help guide you on choosing your own path
toward the publication of a book, e-book, CD, DVD, or any combination
thereof.
What is Amazon? A way to convert into reality both Anderson’s “Long
Tail”109 and Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction”110, as you can have zero production costs (except your own
time), and infinite print runs and shelf life, at zero “storage costs”.
You can make your own rules, or simply write your book with whatever
tool you like, and then copy-and-paste it into the Microsoft Word templates
supplied by Createspace.
One caveat: the easiest way is to follow the step-by-step instructions first
through the help system, then complete the preparation of your book, and
finally follow the step-by-step instructions (the so-called “wizards”).
There will be few checks that you will required to do (e.g. downloading the
proof and checking it, and so on)- do every test that you are asked to do,
you will save time later.
As for choices: I choose the 6x9in format, white paper, and a price that was
high enough to generate a profit, but still low enough to enable “impulse
shopping” and… buying copies to give as promotional material.
That’s it- no point in adding further details and replicate what you can read
online; you can also buy additional services (proofreading, cover design,
etc.)- or integrate other people in your process (e.g. by “bartering” services).
109
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail_pr.html
110
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm

101
Keeping it alive
The easiest way to “keep alive” your book is to publish only on Kindle, and
then update your book (if you change the title or other reference
information, it becomes a new publication).
You can also join the Kindle Select, which requires that you publish
exclusively through Amazon the e-book version of your book for a certain
number of days.
In exchange, the Kindle version of your book will be available for free on
loan to Amazon Prime customers, and you will get a share of what has been
set aside by Amazon for the program (in some countries, you also get a
bigger share of your Kindle price if the customer then decides to buy your
book).
Caveat: as reported by newspapers in the past, your “Kindle choices” could
affect your existing readers, as if you removed a book from Kindle in the
past buyers saw the books that they had bought removed from their
“Kindle Library”- not really the word-of-mouth that you want to be spread.
Anyway: if you decide to add the Kindle version of your book- better to
spend some time to create a file specifically for Kindle, as the automatic
formatting doesn’t necessarily generate a file that contains all the you would
expect in a Kindle book, or any e-book (e.g. a “live” table of contents).
Have a look at the articles that I referred to within the introductory section
of this chapter111, but you can also find plenty of material online.
I will not suggest specific titles on the mechanics (i.e. which tool or tools to
use and how) or marketing, as things change too fast; nonetheless, you can
have a look at a free recent book112, to get an overview updated in 2013,
theoretically focused on Twitter, but with a short and decent summary of
the current demographics of the Internet.
111
http://www.dirittodivoto.com/index.php/strumenti
112
http://issuu.com/diplo/docs/twitter_for_diplomats

102
Also if you have a team of marketing experts, getting some ideas could be
useful to avoid wasting resources- and maybe inspire you on which content
makes sense to add online, and how often this should be done.
#BerlinDiaries is obviously an experiment that does not aim to go beyond
the publishing and “keep alive as a test” point.
In other cases in the past, the online “live” component was actually linked
to an internal set of guidelines (a kind of “what we stand for”), which was
part of the overall business and marketing planning activities.
Which minimal components were considered?
 Long-term objectives, that defined where the company was heading to
(with startups, I usually asked the leading founder to come back to me
with a kind of 1-page speech that he would deliver 5 years after the
company had been started, before I would accept to support them)
 Business evolution model, to give guidelines on the general “do and
don’t”- a kind of corporate version of the “Ten Commandments”, i.e.
nothing really operational, but certainly a series of basic tests of what is
acceptable and what isn’t
 Internal book, to have a “reference framework” shared between all
those involved- a lesson I learned from my first employer, where two
of those books were available, a “Personnel Reference Binder”, and an
“Ethical Standards”; I was supposed to know and follow the first, I
actually followed both- also if I refused, in Italy, to sign a contract in
English, as I wasn’t supposed to know English; others signed and did
not care at all about following the guidelines, something that you
cannot afford in your communication activities
 Communication strategy, to identify the mix of channels to be used,
and guidelines covering the communication activities
 Channel guidelines, e.g. for the website, online social networks, grass
roots development, event management, funding approach, etc
 Recruitment approach, defining not the skills, but the attitude that new
members of the organization would be needed to have (e.g. to avoid
damaging the previous elements by adding somebody who will try to
bring along her/his own idea of how the company should be run).
Which channels should you select? That really depended on your specific
business needs- and the resources at your disposal.

103
In some cases, the channels required are just the usual mix of
Twitter/Facebook/G+/YouTube, while in others the mix could be
significantly more complex (e.g. a website, mailing list, online communities
divided between staff members, “local antennas”/funclub leaders, and
audience, including various levels of “premium membership circles”),
coupled with “real-world presence”, or even simple (e.g. just a Linkedin
profile and 1-page website).
With #BerlinDiaries, the “testing” aim obviously guided in choosing the
channels and the content to be posted on each one of them:
 Facebook page113, where first a few article links and comments, then a
weekly (well, more about this later) digest listed the “keywords” of the
news selected for the week
 Twitter account114, only for news concerning Europe (from the Atlantic
to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle to the Bosphorus- i.e. not just
the EU, but also Russia and Turkey)
 An assortment of other channels, not relevant to discuss here.
A typical evolution would be to keep a schedule, i.e. having something that
is posted regularly enough to make sense to visit once in a while the page,
while adding something more to keep the page fresh and relevant.
Then, to add a community element, both online and offline, e.g. by creating
a “meetup”115, and eventually spawning new ones, one in each region, so
that they can organize local events and feed material to be added on the
online components.
Out of both online and offline activities could then derive further books- a
pattern that has been followed by others.
Obviously: it depends on what you aim to do- for #BerlinDiaries, or any
other kind of “advocacy” activity, it makes sense.
113
http://www.facebook.com/BerlinDiaries
114
http://www.twitter.com/berlindiaries, re-tweeting @aleph123, where I post English
summaries and links to articles from newspapers around the world (in half a dozen
of languages)
115
http://www.meetup.org

104
If you are publishing fiction, maybe you could just focus on a discussion
group, and discussing what you are writing now, or what you plan to write,
what you already published, etc.
I promised that I would have written what happened with #BerlinDiaries.
Well, the content for #BerlinDiaries was to be informative- and therefore I
started posting short titles (Twitter-style, i.e. really short, but with
#hashtags) of news items from newspapers around the world.
Aim? Be informative, but instead of sharing commentary, share the news,
and if and where relevant add essays etc.
Value for those bothering to visit once in a while? A short summary in
English of articles originally in half a dozen languages, focused on Europe
and its institutional evolution.
Eventually, it became a weekly summary, listing the keywords represented
by the articles, with links posted on Twitter.
Anyway: #BerlinDiaries has been useful both to test publishing activities
and to define “how” it could be done, while identifying potential pitfalls
and dozens of useful (and some not-so-useful) minutiae.
The update of the online channels used for #BerlinDiaries was halted in
late May 2013, but will probably resume on a more regular schedule later
this year.
Obviously, you will need to add what wasn’t relevant to my own publishing
experiment, i.e. a marketing element to increase the sales and readerships-
refer to the articles and books that I listed in the footnotes across the book
to get inspiration and find further articles and books116.
Next step? Use the experience of #BerlinDiaries to prepare and publish
something else- and maybe adding further ideas to share.
116
A book worth reading also if partially obsolete is Kotler, “High Visibility”, focused on
building your own personal brand but with cross-references to other areas of
marketing and communication

105
Let’s summarize some “operational budgeting” information, that maybe will
be useful for your own activities (I will focus only on the book, not the
online components):
 Original material length: approximately 50 pages
 Drafing the material: between 30 minutes and 2 hours each day, for
three weeks (the initial online posting)
 Defining the format for the book and selecting the reference materials
from Createspace and other website: 2 days, part-time
 Writing the complete book: 2 weeks, part-time, bringing to 100 pages
the book.
 Getting through the publishing process: 4 days, part-time
 Updating the book for this edition: 2 days, part-time
 Expanding the book and revising it: 4 days, part-time, restructuring
some sections, and adding a dozen pages.

106
AFTERWORD AND PLANNING: WHY BERLIN
I was born in a large town (Turin peaked at 1.4mln inhabitants- now it
doesn’t reach 0.9mln), and I am used to live in even larger towns.
Therefore, while my family “buen retiro” in the Alps is certainly a boon for
my studies, research, writing, once in a while I need to get back in town-
where crowds are.
In the past, this would have been anywhere- nowadays, I would rather go
where I can stay away from the boredom routine of my Circus- or, at least,
meet new members.
Therefore, as the alternative wasn’t available, I decided to move forward, in
November, a trip in Berlin that I had planned for the end of December
(originally was planned to start right after Christmas 2012).
Maybe too early to test my German (I am still a “sink or swim” person), but
anyway useful to see how could be life in Berlin.
And, as those servicing my residence in Berlin (and, until August, in Turin)
saw... it doesn’t take long before I start setting up a mini-library.
Nonetheless: Berlin is certainly worth an extended visit- maybe later
Stay tuned- and see you online!

#BerlinDiaries - a personal journey through the new nervous centre of Europe v2.0 - downloadable book

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