Berlin awoke this morning to what will probably go down as the most astonishing occurrence in history:O2 World (the arena and areal that's been under construction over the last several years) is gone! Not a trace to be seen!
Also missing is the new McD's in Kreuzberg and the new auto distributor across from Universal. Other things that have disappeared are too numerous to list here, though I should mention that the BASF atop the cube is gone; Alexa has taken her leave, leaving a wide open river bank along Alexanderstraße; additionally, all the huge billboard-adverts covering the facades on buildings undergoing renovation have either vanished, or been replaced with the following message-- which was also in full-page form in all the newspapers this morning:
Dear Berliners,
.You've certainly noticed big changes today, and lest you be fooled into thinking this is some vast terrorist conspiracy, I've taken the opportunity to distribute this admonition:
.The repossession that you are witnessing is an action I've chosen to take because I can no longer stand by and watch my beautiful work be destroyed by crass antisocial manipulation.
.The irony, of course, is the fact that I am so often the one who is used for the tooling of the masses to facilitate and justify the control that these businesses and their concomitant physical monstrosities represent.
.I've waited long enough. I'll not go into the long list of destructive human construction and counterproductive human consumption upon which it feeds. Suffice it to say, it should suffice; the information you've needed to guide you along a healthy path has long been available and apparent to no avail.
.But just to make it abundantly clear, I further submit this warning:
All automobiles parked along streets with trams will be "removed" within 30 days.
Happy Mayday!
Yours with love,
the God
in Whom
y'claim
t'bliev
