* * * * * * * kdm

It's very old but I'm used to it and I like it.
Note the two missing keys, I took them off because I never ever needed them - but too often I touched one of them involuntarily and noticed the bad result too late. So, I just took them off. The "E" on the E-key is no longer visable, it had too many touches. The red and blue marks are (better: were) little eye-catchers for me. The 20-years old strip on top of the "F" function keys is my text program's list of key codes. The notes on top of the numerical pad is my own configuration of the "numbers": some special commands for my text programme WordPerfect. And the cyrillic letters on the A-Z keys were for Julia when she needed to type something in Russian on my PC, back in ancient time, yet without her own laptop.
Of course, I also have two newer keyboards, one even in très chic black! I tried them, but quickly I plugged in again my well-used old one. It's a tool that is rarely mentioned or even praised. Now it's done.

Nice fans or other unknown people send us things. Things that we never ever have asked for. Just today I received a huge parcel from Ohio (postage alone: 45.50 US$), gladly I was not asked to pay taxes for this heavy packet, because then I would have immediately refused to receive & pay for it.
During the last 35 years we receive by post always the same home-made things: writings (poems or prose) incl. whole books, drawings, and of course music on tapes (previously) or CDs or CD-Rs (now), or other little handcrafts. In 99% made & sent by amateurs.
In the present case it was a handful of b/w drawings and an 18 (! eighteen) pages letter in small English handwriting. Again, no e-mail was sent before, with the question: Can I send you something? (Answer is always & anyway: Thanks, but please: don't do! )

Mostly they are asking the "famous" Klaus Schulze - sometimes me - for things that they want from us: Schulze (or "Shultz") should listen to their home-made music, should read their books or poems, should make a record deal with them, should look at their drawings, should make for them contacts with the Berlin(!) music scene and to a label, or they want Klaus' address for a personal visit, etc. ... (It could be that some of such messages, letters and mails are actually just a joke or parody. One of such funny fake begging letters I still remember: ...its clever originator is now my beloved wife, Julia.)

And then, I have to write nicely back, telling them in short the factual truth that KS cannot do anything for them and that they please should not send anything ... or in the case they ask before if they can send and what's the address, I write just short witty things like this: "Many thanks for your interest in Klaus Schulze. But, please, do not send a book. Klaus Schulze has enough books :-) Best regards, kdm".
KS himself is not much curious about & interested in these doodads.

There are rare cases that such an unasked sending was accepted by me. I do remember two. One is a (meanwhile professional and somewhat successful) musician, and the other case is a cartoonist. Probably there were some more in the course of time, but I don't remember at the moment.

What I try to say with this long sermon, is: Please do not send us things that we did not ask you for, and just because "KS" is a not unknown name in music. It saves you postage and disappointment. Because we are not interested in it and we cannot do something for you. Also, it's not our profession to give or write fair comments or reviews about your artistic or other doings.

Die SZ titelt heute: "Merkel und Sarkozy verschrecken die Börsen"
Ich schrieb dazu:
Die sollten ganz andere Dinge mit denen tun. Mal in der Bibel nachlesen: "Voller Zorn knüpfte Jesus aus Stricken eine Peitsche und jagte die Händler ... aus dem Tempel. Er schleuderte das Geld der Wechsler auf den Boden und warf ihre Tische um."
DAS würde mir gefallen. Es wär' ein Anfang.

I don't know why I forgot to mention this here, after I had watched Stephen Fry's speech for the very first time, some months ago. It's still worth and a joy to watch and to listen to him. Therefore, here it is.

Man glaubt es kaum.
Ich schickte der Deutschen Post, also meinem zuständigen (großen) Postamt 12247 BERLIN (Lankwitz) einen Brief, weil der Briefträger wieder(!) mal einen Bock geschossen hat:
Guten Tag
Ein aus den USA am 6. Juni verschickter und von mir heftig erwarteter Brief kam und kam nicht hier an. Heute sendet mir der amerikanische Absender eine Mail mit einem Scan des Umschlags des an ihn zurück geschickten Briefes. Die Berliner Post hatte darauf einen rosa Zettel geklebt und vermerkt:
"Empfänger unter der angegebenen Anschrift nicht zu ermitteln. (Krikel-Krakel) 14/06."
Ich hab den Scan ausgedruckt und beigefügt, sehen Sie selbst: da hat wieder Mal jemand von der Post Mist gebaut. Die Anschrift auf dem Brief ist exakt, sogar sehr deutlich, nicht mal ein klitzekleiner Tippfehler ist drin, auch meine Lankwitzer Postleitzahl ist korrekt und einwandfrei zu erkennen...
Und: ich wohne unter dieser Anschrift seit Mai 1999, mein Name ist seitdem und immer noch deutlich lesbar an der Haustür sowie am Briefkasten. Zudem bekomme ich seit Jahren und andauernd Post, Briefsendungen wie Paketsendungen (letztere nehm' ich meist auch noch für's ganze Haus und auch für das Nachbarhaus entgegen). ....
Anlagen: Kopie des Scans des Briefumschlags
Kopie der Mail an den Absender
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Die Post schickt mir meinen Brief zwar geöffnet aber unbeantwortet zurück und schreibt auf einem beiliegenden Zettel nur kurz: "Bitte wenden Sie Sich an unsere Kundenhotline" ...ohne Unterschrift.
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Mein Postamt, das für die Briefzustellung zuständig ist, will also keine Briefe erhalten oder schreiben, sondern möchte, dass sich der Kunde telefonisch von einer "Hotline" abwimmeln läßt.
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Dies war der Brief, den mein Postamt an den Absender in den USA zurück schickte. Die Adresse ist absolut korrekt und sehr gut lesbar. Der Briefkasten am Haus ist deutlich mit meinem Namen versehen und ich bekomme ja auch permanent Post.
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