Philippe Claude wisdom

Everything from Philippe Claude:

I do not smoke; I can't put so small things as cigarettes in my mouth!

When I have the choice, I take the best!

I go down on anything but the price!

I like natural but I prefer supernatural

I speak French in France, I speak German in Germany, I speak Spanish in Spain and in south America but in the rest of the world I speak English!!!

Philippe Claude needed to be 40 to understand finally why there were wars: because they could be won!

The world doesn't need Philippe Claude but the world doesn't need to know!

If you have no idea about beauty, please respect the symmetry, it is the beginning of beauty but very far to be its end!

Beauty is to contemplate not to have sex with!

After 10p.m don't wear glasses, you are supposed to be in a social surrounding and they are a handicap to communication!

Finding himself was finding a stranger, a crazy stranger!

You'll never get rich in Berlin but twice faster famous!

Being lucid should have been an insult, but it was a compliment!

My perception of ART changed the day I realized LIGHT was even more important than the MOVEMENT to express LIFE

Do not apologize to me with Chrysanthemums; it will be soon enough the day to put them on my grave!

You have no excuse not to think when you have time therefore; too many people are forced to use this time to find 
food.
The necessity to compare everything, expresses the fear of new, and denies the curiosity.

Do all the mistakes you can before 30, you can still pretend that you didn’t know!

You never will be totally happy, but you can enjoy “more” and suffer “less”

What is important is what I can forget, not what I can remember!

I think what I do is always good; it is only much later I realize, that sometimes it was not!

When you don't know what to wear, wear everyting!

You have to be ready for the worse and to improvise for the best

Don't call friends people you regret having on the phone when you were drunk and it has been so expensive!

EAT IT BEFORE IT EATS YOU

One day with Madonna

So let’s be clear, you get what you paid for and for 120 Euros I expected a minimum!  I got much more than two grams of fun!

My first Madonna concert was in 2003 and I was so disappointed. I had sitting places. I had to watch the screens to see the show and I couldn’t stand up without people behind me screaming for me to sit! I said never ever.

9 years later my great friend Antonio, a real fan, beg me to come with him. This is no more a question of money but with all the greatest respect for Madonna, I still want the entertainment I paid for and I didn’t in 2003! So, I say „Sure why not, but only if we are standing directly at the stage!“ And we did, but not only this, we did the whole warming up, the cheering of the true fans bringing Martin and  Stefan breakfast at their camping spot in front of the door and later on bringing champagne at night. We got to learn all the assembly of the devoted. To learn knowing all those people from Barcelona, Prag, Milan and Paris was such a beautiful first part of the show. After so much waiting the mystery Ipad girl arrived finally but we were not chosen to the golden triangle. Tears of deception were flowing all over but this is the moment were the group became solid and got a new dynamic. We would stay together and because the early access people were looking like coming from the right side we would run to the left. It is 35 hours ago I brought croissants to Martin and at 8:25p.m I stand on the second raw of people, 50 centimeters from the stage,...and I am so much taller with my boots!

I have to admit that the waiting was then almost unbearable. One hour more still, before a fake David Guetta. Yes,  Martin Solveig is also French, has the same hair cut, has the same speeded up pop djaying way when it stops and finally put some basses and everybody should have fun and at the end is even more boring because somewhere is not as big! The „Do you really want the queen?“ shouldn’t have last an hour because then it was 45 minutes more to wait for Madame! Of course this is a part of it and everything is calculated and the exhausting waiting brings you in a state of total release when she finally arrives.

The stage which looked so small took then its all dimension. Three video panels of each 15 meters high and 10 meters wide are placed in a perspective angle behind the stage. In the front 10 different huge video cubes coming up and down with the same animations as the back create a fantastic 3D effect. And this is it, why the 3D when it is live? Maybe just because it will be a video one day or maybe even better a 3D movie, would it be that surprising?

So this is very important because if you stand very close you don’t need the whole visual effects; you want to see the sweat on the forehead of the queen, you want to see the makeup cracking up and when she misses a lip syncing but still stays astonishing. If you sit, pleeease just in the middle otherwise you would miss one of the meaning of the show.

Aside of the 3D, it is all about defying gravity, a touch of „cirquedusoleilesque“ take your breath away without being too much. Finally, something that people aim to forget is that a Madonna is something very religious and it is her real name, so we have also some  churches, but in odorama, and a new interpretation of the tired redemption theme. This is not „Crime and punishment“, this is „Crime and redemption“!

So I was so happy seeing one of most amazing show of my life when all Germany preferred to see a very bad show on television: the half-final of the European soccer cup!

The 2010's: instructions of use

It's so hard to capture the spirit of a decade when it’s not over. Even a few years later, the lack of distance from the facts hinders an objective perception. Five years ago, while I was organizing a 90’s party, my friends arrived with all sorts of unexpected outfits just because they had tried to reproduce their own 90’s (sometimes even with their boring vintage clothing!) and not the specific atmosphere of those years. The 2010’s were such a mystery to me until that sleepless night when I decided to attend the party "Homopatik" at "about: blank".
My friends still answer the phone at 6:15 in the morning and are waiting for me in the garden. I take the first taxi and believe I can be there in fifteen minutes. Horror, Ostkreuz is actually very far from Ostbahnof; my budget of 70 euros is already well underway and I am not yet in the club. I am happy to be sober to face the South American goalie; she let me in and immediately the magic begins.

This are the results of my observation in the coolest place of Berlin, every third Friday of the month.

What to hear in the 10’s:
I could define it as electro-blues with a hint of tribal disco. Forget the worshipping of the DJ, we love only our friends and now the DJ has a secondary role ... but he is professional!

What to drink in the 10’s:
There is only one drink: Vodka-Mate. I have not tried to fight against the current, I knew I was catapulted into the 10's, so I had to bear the consequences, I would drink my first vodka-Mate at "about: blank"! Of course all bottles are returnable but there is some more routine to respect. Half a liter of native American caffeinated drink arrives on the desk and if like me, you look frustrated at the sealed bottle, the eager bartender will tell you: "So, drink a sip!" In Germany, you have to obey from time to time (not always!). I drink two sips and the bartender takes my bottle and fills it with vodka up to the brim. I screw back the cap and mix the cocktail. The breakfast can start!

What to wear in the 10’s:
I knew it, American Apparel had run its course and Weekdays took over. Still some slim jeans but leggings with improbable colors were a must. "But are your pants green? - No, can’t you see it’s yellow! "The key is that the top is "oversized" and that the bottom ... is not! This is the basis of the outfit, accessories are (must be) personal creations. This refers to the sublimation of the curtains of your grandmother (as a scarf, an apron or even a skirt), the recycling of used straws from the club to organize a tiara or the reinterpretation of a fake pearls necklace to be laid carelessly over your shoulder. Next comes the makeup, and please for men, never symmetrical! The eyes are the most important, but the eye area extends up to the ear, with lots of bright colors and glitter. Although most of the people stand in bright light and the rain, it has to be seen in the darkness of the club. If you have already seen video clips of "Empire of the Sun" it is exactly the same thing, but trashier!

What to do in the 10’s:
You are a "Nerd" but do not know about it. You look for your friends in the club with "WhatsApp" and everyone think it's very normal. Everybody search for a cigarette everywhere but nobody buys a pack because it costs too much. You party with your friends and stay awake with all the letters of the alphabet, except C (too 2000’s and it costs too much!). You do not know yet but you belong to a generation who will speak out new message soon.

Good luck kids, in fact 2012 has much in common with 1993 but I won’t tell you the end and yes you can still surprise me!

Three hours later the photographer who enjoys capturing the innocence of young girls on film replies "Sure, I know Richard Kern, I am over thirty!" And then I ask him his opinion on naïve perversion and he tells me he never sleeps with his models!

At that moment I experience a "Writing flash” and I must leave everybody to tell you everything.

The girls wear sunglasses in the rain, the boys finish their beers while waiting for the regional train and a beautiful day of the 10’s years begins. I love my city and finally the rain stops!

No Nostalgia but Gratitude

 On Thursday, November 5, 1992, I arrive in Berlin for the first time since the fall of the wall. It's cold, it's winter in Germany, not surprising. From Tegel airport, the road is not long until the small gay friendly hotel in Kreuzberg.
Heinz's funeral a few weeks earlier in Traben Trarbach, and the one of Christian gone missing the year before in Berlin, was the grim reason for my solo trip.
Just upon arriving in the lobby of my hotel, I was immediately challenged by a new music video on MTV. In Paris, cable was a privilege and MTV was my favorite channel on the big TV which took up all the space in my room. I had to fill out paperwork, sign things… but I was going to miss the extraordinary name of the group welcoming me in Berlin. No, it was written there, all I needed was remembering it; that would be the piece of music associated with my arrival in Berlin: Stereo Mc's - Connected. It was a new sound, a new city and a new me. “Give me a piece of paper and a pencil if you please, I must note the name of this group, maybe I can find the CD”
The memory of the O-Bar in Oranienstraße, five years earlier, was so nice that my first concern, straight after dropping off my luggage in the room, was to return there. A wall that had disfigured the city for so many years had fallen, but all seemed like five years ago. The same kebab shops, the same stores selling leather trousers and the same alternative cafés. It was 4p.m and the bar was not open? They may have even gone bankrupt, but actually not, in the little guide, they said it would open only at 6p.m. What a strange idea! The only bar open in the afternoon that seemed interesting was not very far, but was called "Café Anal". It sounded more like the name of a night bar!

Night was already falling at four o'clock in the afternoon in Berlin but it was even darker inside the café. Cemetery candles were almost the unique light while old dismembered dolls installed across the room were the finishing touch of a cheap gothic decoration.
I was all alone in the cafe with the bartender.
I was in an infernal cave all alone with a little blond angel behind the bar.
Ah, there was no Coca-Cola, and yes I was French and I had just arrived in Berlin and I was surprised that the O-Bar was not open and of course, we could speak French. My German friends back in Paris spoke French with such a slight accent that it was difficult to recognize their origins. My little bartender had a fairly pronounced accent, but spoke very good French and was fascinated by my presence. He had nothing to do but to tell me all the great things I could do in his city. A list of cafes, clubs and activities, not to miss during a stay in the new Berlin, each accompanied by a small map or outline, began quickly to fill several pages. It was already 7p.m and there was still no customers, but my cute blond intended to accompany me to the O-Bar because he had nearly finished his shift. The boy was too small to excite my senses but such an unexpected and pleasant company could not be refused.

It was at that time that I learnt how lucky I was to have arrived on Thursday, the day of the coolest night of the hippest club in Berlin:"The 90 degrees"

Of course, it was forbidden to arrive early, an itinerary composed of several bars on the way was the preliminary of the core business: managing to be able to enter the “90 degrees”. I was delighted to hear that it would have not been a problem for me to get in, but still intrigued by this aspect that reminded me of Paris, in a city that, five years ago, seemed so small to me. Clubs had always fascinated me for how they allowed the materialization of various cultural identity movements; this one materialized a new energy. The music was different; people were never tired and were interested in me. My little guide had gone out of sight for a long time and at 8a.m Friday, November 6, 1992, that’s when I became the new IT BOY Berlin. I realized that only fifteen years later, but I had to move to Berlin straight away.

Today, June 20, 2011, all that is left of the “90 degrees” is the gate. 
Right there where you now see a gaping hole, I was bartending, cloakroom attendant, dealer and DJ but most of it, a whore, a whore who wanted to finally carefreely enjoy, even the minute after the last minute, of his unexpected "rebirth". There is no nostalgia in the contemplation of the ruin of a place so important and whose entrance I’ve even owned the key for a while; there is only gratitude for the extraordinary and privileged time I’ve had the chance to share!

"In 2012, are we able only to see and no more to watch?" or "Nature and perversity"

Before discussing the idea of “Nature and Perversity”, the first purpose of this paper is obviously the perception of the image in 2012 and how Facebook has changed the way we see and therefore to look at things.

In 2009, Europe saw the emergence of a life "permanent online" with the development of the "Smartphones" and Internet flats for mobile phones. Being constantly online and being able to exchange instant information about the most trivial of our existence, Facebook has ceased to be global to become local. English was no longer the language of reference in non-English speaking countries and suddenly people stopped to read on Facebook that what is said in a local environment remains very local. The volume of information became unmanageable for "Facebookers" with over one hundred "Friends". How to read the entire menu tasted the night before at the other end of the world through an acquaintance of past holidays when the subway is crowded and every jolt of the wagon make us lose the thread of the text. The absolutism of the image entered at this time in a new era. Our brains used to the absorption of 24 frames per second can, in record time, assimilate all the messages contained in video clips and other advertisements. The problem is that most of them only act on our subconscious. We go through all this information and what we notice, what we want also to comment, with the most common clichés, we do not know the deep reason. Whitney is dead? “R.I.P”! Robert has a birthday? We need to find the application that sends a picture of a cake directly on his wall! The concepts of friendship and to like have become completely watered down. Exchanging few words in a cafe is enough to create a virtual friendship (Facebook Friend) and reading a comment became liking it (I like) - which is why there is no button "Dislike" because it has nothing to do with our opinion -. This text asked me a lot of time writing, how many of my 1087 "friends" will press the "I like" and how many will read it at least so far? If you got there, you no longer need to read the rest, simply write with letters "I liked it" as a comment, I'm curious about the result. So, reading has become so difficult and so uninteresting that we have only the images left, which we believe so well to understand that the comment is superfluous. No, the image should be expected as the first factor of a sorting activity leading to a higher intellectual one. Marcel Proust wrote with reason that the view is the most common of the five senses because it prevents us from thinking! And if we stopped to see the pictures to start watching them!
The Cartesian conception of human superiority is based on the thought (as opposed to instinct): "Cogito ergo sum". This idea, very French, established the nature as a danger and an obstacle to modern civilization, and this already in the 17th century. How to behave in 2012 when man puts now nature in danger? Does being French change something?
Make no mistake, the subject of this paper is to determine what can be considered pervert by civilized citizens in two areas that seem so disparate: hunting and homosexuality. However, thinking about it, we see an interaction between the two. In primitive societies who hunted to survive (by eating and destroying their predators), homosexuality was often seen as a danger, as an obstacle to the reproduction of the species. In current Western societies where survival depends more on the preservation of wildlife and the environment as reproduction, homosexuality seems much more accepted. If the two are opposites, is it implying that you must be a vegetarian if you are homosexual? If we look carefully we see that the animal itself despite its primitiveness is not free from homosexuality.

Sigmund Freud wrote that the sexual act without intent to procreate defines perversion, which is much larger than homosexuality and actually sounds very fun. Would the idea of hunting without consumption of the spoils define a notion of perversion? Even without knowing the meaning of the great Sigmund, it would be normal to disapprove such an aggressive and gratuitous practice. The settlement of the society related to agriculture is no longer a question, the dilemma between the lenses of Abel and the hunting of Cain went well. If agriculture can be felt as an evolution towards civilization of primitive societies, livestock farming is also definitely. Could our problem with the meat being directly induced by a certain anthropomorphism that we have with animals? We are disturbed by the presence of eyes, a tongue or ears because it reminds us of our own body. This is for once quite primitive! We are able to think on the purpose and context, then our reaction should be influenced by it. Here is the crucial point. Rather than spread on very subjective notion of "perversion", allowing very questionable behaviors overflows, should we not wonder about much more objective data such as the preservation of endangered species necessary to maintain a ecosystem essential to the survival of humanity? The overpopulation of wild kangaroos threatens Australia so their hunting is welcome, but not using them for food is ridiculous. Not using their skin would be also stupid! With the same logic hunting of the lynx or the elephant is completely unthinkable today. In terms of animal farming in order to exploit their skin or fur, what is the threat to the ecosystem? None, but then ethics demand that the rest of the animal is used for other purposes.
If our impulses incline us to react in certain ways, the desire to prove our human existence forces us to control them. Racism is a very primitive impulse present in children. The child learns that the difference of color is not a danger for him and opens to the possible enrichment through the difference. It is the first step towards a better and intelligent society where multiple sexual orientations and culinary diversity complement one another in harmony!