I became a Wahl-Karlsruherin four and a half years ago. Up until then, I hadn't been all too impressed with Germany. But Karlsruhe was different and I'm really happy we ended up here. Sure, you might say, any place would be good with France just a stone throw away, but I believe Karlsruhe has its own charm. It's a place I love to call home.

My first photo exhibition is about Karlsruhe and dedicated to Karlsruhe. The opening will take place on Friday, 18. 09. at 20:00. If you're nearby, I'd be very happy if you could drop in and say hello.

Let the genius of Fatboy Slim do the talking...

We've come a long, long way together

Through the hard times and the good

I have to celebrate you baby

I have to praise you like I should...

She's a wonderful girl. Funny and smart and pretty and stubborn and tender and loving and sweet, sweet, sweet.

Updates.

Twelve days to go till exhibition. Am getting nervous as prints aren't ready yet. It's not because the first attempt to have it done at a shop I had had no experience with was a cock-up. It's because I was too lazy to start the preparations on time. It has ever been so, I'm a natural postponer. I'm punctual when it comes to other people's time - I'm rarely late for a meeting etc. - but when it comes to my own obligations, I act like an idiot. Note to self: try not to be an idiot.

Reading. Finished Gilbert Adair's And Then There Was No One, the third novel of the Evadne Mount trilogy. A postmodern masterpiece. A must for everyone with any interest in contemporary literature. Makes me want more of Adair. Such a clever monkey. Am considering which one of his novels to order next.

Have I already sung praise to St Aubyn's trilogy Some Hope in one of my previous literary adresses? As I said to my dear friend Periša, he is the one we've been waiting for. Our society has become so obsessed with the rich and the famous hardly anyone remembers to point out what a shallow, boring and ridiculous millieu the upper crust is. St Aubyn's satire is hardly a satire: he's not really making fun by exaggerating or distorting - I am sure that his dialogues and characterizations are perfectly true to life. Not that I have much first-hand experience with the jet set (the experience that I do have is preposterous and even more grotesque than his accounts) but each VIP report from Monte Carlo that I seem to catch on TV is unavoidably satirical - even when puns are not intended. The only people more ridiculous than the Paris Hiltons of the world are the ones who look up to them. Which is probably why the middle classes will always be more pathetic than the upper ones.

It is only the 6th of September and already it's getting colder. Not that I'm complaining. I find the freshness invigorating and stimulating. The stale, sweaty, sticky, summery air is gone. Good things come to those who wait.

It's hard having to give up habits when you become a parent. Nice habits. Like staying in bed on weekends. And going to the movies. Or having a picnic dangerously close to a pond. Swearing comes to mind (not a very nice habit but a stress relief of sorts).

A different kind of nuisance, but often even more irritating are the things you have to embrace because of the kids. Listening to kiddie pop (Cherona, anyone?). Eating things they don't want to eat. Going to the zoo, because they need proof that a sheep goes "meeeh".

I hate zoos. I'd set all the animals free, unleash them onto the unsuspecting visitors. What's the deal with getting a kick out of observing captivity - even animal captivity? Those poor things look sad, all of them, especially the chimps. In comparison to the Belgrade Zoo where the tigers chew on their own paws in frustration, the animals at Karlsruher Zoo seem healthier if not happier. They're clean and well fed. The giraffes are so picture book-perfect they're glossy. And Una had a blast - not so much watching the animals, but forcing me to sing the camel song* in public after we'd successfully identified the corresponding creatures having their lunch.

Here are some pictures (more on my Flickr stream), but be warned - keeping an eye on your ever-curious, ever-running toddler and trying to take a picture of an animal at the same time is not the easiest thing in the world. Next time I'm taking the pater familias with us to babysit while I take more photos of myself reflected in glass panes.

*Absurd but addictive little song my mother used to sing to me when I was a kid, along the lines of 99 Bottles of Beer or This Little Piggy.