1920s
Berliner Post No. 1
APRIL
1reichspfennig -1Linden
Jo Yardley Tells All ! In this exclusive interview, 1920s Berlin Project creator and owner Fraulein Jo Yardley tells the story that started it all, and shares what’s next for Berliners. Q.) Who is Jo Yardley in Second Life? She’s a Dutch woman who met a German seaman in Holland, fell in love and married him. They moved to Berlin together, but he died during the war and she remained behind; a young widow with a broken heart. For a few rough years she had to work very hard just to survive. She sat bent over a sewing machine in a basement sweatshop seven days a week. Then one day the war ended. The sweatshop owner liked how hard she worked and when he decided to leave Berlin he offered her the chance to rent the basement from him. Jo spent all her savings on redecorating the place, and with help from her friends, eventually she made a Keller tanzlokal there and opened it up to the locals. That is how she now makes a living, no longer living on the edge of starvation but managing to pay her bills and putting a few marks aside every now and then. Dreaming of one day of leaving the dirty city and moving to a little cottage in the woods. Q.) Why is authenticity important in the 1920s Berlin Project build? Authenticity is very important to me in real life (RL), but also in second life (SL), if you want to recreate a realistic historical experience every detail counts. In RL it is my job to make sure movies and tv are realistic and authentic, when I came to SL I soon got annnoyed by all the unrealistic historical sims and decided I could perhaps do better or at least should try.
Photograph: Jo Yardley by Zeno McAuley
Q.) When was the opening day of 1920s Berlin Project, and what was that day like for you? There were 2 opening days, the first one was when I build my very first tiny Berlin sim and it was just a normal day with probably 2 visitors. But just as Berlin was growing and attracting people the owners where I rented the land decided to sell their region and Berlin was destroyed. I almost decided to quit but because I had already made a few friends who loved the Berlin idea, I decided to start again and this time get some real land. A bit scary because I had to make some investments of RL money, something I had told myself I’d never do when I joined SL. But I did and started to build like mad. The small 1920s Berlin in Dudintsev opened on July 18th 2009, er I mean 1929. This was a big opening with many people there, some are still part of Berlin today. It was a very exciting day, but also very stressful. CONT. PAGE 2.
Jo Yardley Tells All ! continued from page 1.
Q.) How soon after opening did you realize that the project was a success? It took a long time because at first I thought it was normal for a new place to get lots of visitors. And also soon after opening we were chosen for the Showcase, this Linden Lab designation sent a LOT of visitors our way. So only after this wave of curious people had become smaller, and after we were no longer the “hottest new thing in town”, did I start to realise Berlin still attracted people. Even better, people actually wanted to rent the much too small, dirty and smelly apartments I build. I didn’t expect people actually wanted to live here after having seen that 99% of SL is full of people being glamorous and living in big huge shiny houses. But people did want to live in Berlin and even more, they wanted to become part of this growing community. I never could have dreamed Berlin would actually turn into a real little village. I always just had a club, shops and intresting buildings in mind, tried the apartments as a little test and was surprised and delighted people actualy wanted to live here.
Q.) Why does 1920s Berlin Project have so many rules? I wish we didn’t need them but we do, somehow people just keep misunderstanding what we ask of them here. Just “Wear 1920s clothing and don’t be a Nazi” isn’t enough, people just kept coming in, confronting us, arguing. And every time after we had a bad experience a rule was added. Some people understand what berlin is all about after reading one line, others need 35623 pages. And still some don’t get it. In the end we just want people to become part of the virtual time travel experience and it is a shame we need so many rules but it seems it is the only way to keep most of the people out who don’t want to particepate.
Q.) If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently? I would never have rented land and would instead have just moved on to buying my own right away. Whatever happens to SL, at least I no longer risk some landlord simply telling me to remove Berlin. Besides that I may have taken more risks had I known in advance that Berlin would work out this way but on the other hand I think being careful and growing tiny bit by tiny bit has also added to some of the charme of this place and the weirdness of how its build.
Q.) How will the full-sized historic 1920s Berlin Project differ from the current project? For starters it will be bigger and have more stuff that is there just for show, not to make money. For instance the little colonial shop on Magdalenenstrasse makes almost no money, it would be smarter to rent it out as a shop but I just love the colonial shop and felt we needed one. So when we get a big sim there will be more things that just add a extra dimension of realitiy to Berlin. How about a working streetcar; a train that may take you to a suburb, some famous Berlin landmarks, etc. BUT the scale won’t change much. Yes there may be a bigger neighbourhood of villas such as Schumann Allee and there may be more houses and streets, but in the poor neighbourhoods we will still be living close to each other and we will still be able to get lost in the narrow alleyways.
Q.) If you could require visitors to read one book, or see one film about the Weimar Era in Berlin what would it be? Berlin Alexanderplatz, a 1929 book by Alfred Döblin and also a Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie. ####
Q.) How should a resident initiate role play in 1920s Berlin Project? We are very easy when it comes to roleplay, we just ask people to behave realistic and authentic in Berlin. But the best way is to write a little background story about who you are pretending to be in Berlin and then simply try to make a living. Tell people you meet your story and soon they will make you part of their stories. Just walk around, find a place to sleep, visit Happy Hour and before you know it you are a Berliner.
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Fiance charged in murder According to Berlin Polizei, Herr Damon Charisma died as the result of multiple gunshot wounds. His fiance Sunhi Mistwalker, recently of Berlin was charged with suspicion of murder and jailed.
investigation ongoing Officer Mila Edelman assured Berliner Post that the investigation into the murder of Damon Charisma continues. “There are a lot of unanswered questions,” said Edelman. Medical Examiner Doktor Duvid Quixote reports that Charisma’s gunshot wounds would not have been fatal had he received prompt medical attention, “within twenty minutes” of being wounded. In a surprising twist, the doktor also found lethal levels of arsenic in the victim’s blood, which would no doubt have killed him within a few days regardless of the gunshot wounds. The police request that anyone with information about this crime come forward immediately. ####
In statements made to Berliner Post by Officer Mila Edelman, police became suspicious when Mistwalker sent out photographs of herself in full black mourning dress, with a notice announcing Damon Charisma’s violent death. Berliner Post obtained a copy which is reprinted here: “My Dear Herrs and Fraulines, My heart is heavy with sadness at the loss of my dear fiance Damon Charisma. His short life was snuffed out by an assassin’s bullet. I am overcome with grief! Tearfully Yours, Sunhi Mistwalker.” Officer Edelman stated that Police obtained a copy of the announcement through unnamed sources, and immediately began an investigation because the crime was never reported, nor was a medical doktor called to attend Charisma. Two days after the death notice Mistwalker called friends to announce that if they wished to pay their respects to the deceased a “wake” would be held in lieu of a funeral at her residence on Schumann Allee at 7:00 P.M. Fearing that Mistwalker intended to dispose of the body, Officer Edelman, and Medical Examiner Doktor Duvid Quixote arrived soon after the first guests to find Charisma’s body laid-out in a closed casket in the parlor with Mistwalker in attendance over it. Mistwalker was arrested and taken to Berlin Jail for questioning; Charisma’s body was examined, and tissue samples taken for further testing by Doktor Quixote. ####
i didn’t kill him
In an exclusive interview from jail, the alleged murderess, proclaimed her innocence. “I loved Damon, and would never hurt him. He was my fiance,” said Sunhi Mistwalker. When asked why she didn’t call the police she responded that she didn’t trust them. When asked why she didn’t call for a doktor she was heard to say through her sobs, “I was in shock.”
Photograph: Sunsi Mistwalker by Zeno McAuley
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In defense of garsdale by Zeno McAuley
The ladies may sit in their maidenly chambers And crochet and knit, but by God it gets dull! If it weren’t for the laudanum, the old penny dreadfuls, Why, life would be hardly worth living at all. Then along comes Herr Garsdale – the man’s human mustard! He’ll lift jaded palates, he’ll thrill and excite. Why, he’ll ravish a lady and leave her a-swooning. Do you dare leave a crack in your casement tonight? He’s a cad, he’s a card, he’s a bounder a blackguard, A rascal, a scoundrel, a loveable tough. And he makes their hearts beat just that little bit faster That dear Tommy Garside, their bold bit of rough. And what if those scars on his knuckles were made on The teeth of some penniless, broken down whore? And what if when wit will no longer prevail, His mode of persuasion is cracking a jaw? Oh not our dear Tommy! Mere gossip won’t sway us. We’ll sit in our maidenly chambers and sew, And we’ll leave a small crack in our casements and wonder If Tommy might visit and set us a-glow!
brothel in berlin To the dismay of some, and the delight of others, a brothel has opened on Magdalenenstrasse. Scenes like the one above, with scantily clad women holding up alley walls all over Berlin had become commonplace before the opening of the house of prostitution. Since then the “boot girls”, “grasshoppers”, “gravelstones”, “halfsilks”, “kontroll-girls”, “munzis”, “nuttes”, “Tauentziengirls”, “chontes”, “demicastors”, and “dominas” are confined to a strict zone which includes the alley behind Der Keller and the Brothel. ####
PIMP WOUNDED BY POLICE Tom garsdale PIMP, attended by a lady friend writhes on the floor, at doktor duvid quixote’s office after being wounded in the buttocks by officer mila edelman during a shoot-out with berlin police.
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FIRST CHURCH SERVICE Compline was held for the first time at the Magdelenekirche on the 7th March. Father Helendale presided, ably assisted by altar servers Friedrich Zepp and Petrus Endsleigh with responses by Herr McAuley. As per Catholic practice, the service was conducted for the most part in Latin. In a short sermon, Fr Helendale condemned the establishment of a brothel in the area, expressing concern for the souls of both clients and prostitutes alike; also singled out for criticism was the appalling lack of support for the needy in the area, which, it was argued, was largely responsible for forcing young ladies into the aforementioned establishment. The Church has been fiercely opposed to the brothel from the outset. The Reverend Father was delighted with the high turnout and is extremely grateful to the congregation for their generous contributions during collection. Special thanks are extended to all those individuals who assisted with the service, and those who have donated material items to the parish.
Artist Christian schad AT GALERIE GLITZERN UND SCHICKSAL
Die Neu Sachichkeit (The New Objectivity), which was organized by Gustav Hartlaub, began in Mannheim during 1925. Thereafter Neue Sachlichkeit replaced Post-Expressionism when referring to the dominant style of the Weimar period. Christian Schad is counted among the most notable artists of Neue Sachlichkeit which includes Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Georg Grosz, Rudolf Schlichter, Alexander Kanoldt and Franz Radizwill. There were two aspects of Neue Sachlichkeit painting, “classicism”, and “verism” which is described as biting realism. The avant-garde painters of 1920s Berlin had mostly fought in the war (though Christian Schad sat it out in Switzerland), all came home to Germany sickened by their experiences. Abstraction, stilllife and landscape painting couldn’t express thier rage. The portrait was more suited to direct confrontation with the human condition. Photograph: Christian Schad, Journalist Egon Erwin Kisch, oil on canvas, 1928
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photograph: Petrus Endsleigh by Zeno McAuley
petrus’s pick me ups
Berliner: Dry Gin Drink Ingredients: 1 1/2 Tbsp Gin 1 1/2 Tbsp Cointreau 1 1/2 Tsp Mandarine Napoleon Directions: Combine all ingredients and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon rind and garnish with a lemon slice. Serves: 1 Cointreau (pronounced [kwan’-tro]) is a brand of triple sec liqueur, and is produced in SaintBarthélemy-d’Anjou, a suburb of Angers, France. Cointreau sources its bitter oranges from all over the world, usually Spain, Brazil and Saint-Raphaël, Haiti. In addition to being imbibed as an apéritif, Cointreau is sometimes used as a digestif. Cointreau is considered to be either a premium brand triple sec or a unique category of liqueur. With a 40% alcohol content, Cointreau is strong for a triple sec which usually have an alcohol content between 15 and 40 percent. Introduced 1849 Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur was created in 1892 by Antoine-Franois de Fourcroy. Only the freshest mandarin peels from Sicily are used and these have a fine peel with very little pith, resulting in plenty of zest. Following the maceration in Alcohol Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur is triple distilled to produce an intense essence of mandarin. Mandarine Napoleon Liqueur’s complexity derives from its secret combination of mandarin and twenty one botanicals. An elegant Belgian tangerine and
cognac brandy flavoured liqueur. 38.5% Vol. Alternative Stir in mixing glass with ice & strain 1 1/2 oz gin (4.5 cl, 3/8 gills) 1/2 oz dry vermouth (1.5 cl, 1/8 gills) 1/4 oz kummel (6 dashes, 1/16 gills) 1/4 oz fresh lemon juice (6 dashes, 1/16 gills) Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)
Monkey Gland Ingredients: • 2 oz gin • 1 oz orange juice • 1/4 oz grenadine • 1 dash absinthe • orange slice for garnish Preparation: 1. Swirl a dash of absinthe in a chilled cocktail glass to coat it, then dump any excess liqueur 2. Pour the other ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. 3. Shake well. 4. Strain into the cocktail glass. 5. Garnish with the orange slice or a burnt orange peel. Of all the drinks in the world, the Monkey Gland is one of my absolute favorites, if you get it just right that is. Most recipes tend to suggest a splash of absinthe or one of its many substitutes, but I prefer the subtlety of coating a chilled cocktail glass with absinthe and dumping any excess. This creates a nice, fruity cocktail with the slightest taste of anise and the aroma itself is intoxicating and delightful. During the time that absinthe was illegal in the U.S. many bartenders learned to make this drink with Benedictine, also a worthy libation. This drink has a sordid history behind its name. From there it’s just a matter of shaking up everything else and adding it into the glass. This produces a well-balanced, fruity cocktail with the delicious hint of juniper and anise. The aroma is just plain yummy! The Monkey Gland is not the typical drink name and it’s origin is, well, interesting. In his 1922 Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails book, Harry McElhone (owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris) took credit for the invention of this drink. He also claims that the name Monkey Gland was inspired by the 1920’s experiments of one Serge Voronoff. It was well before the time of Viagra and it’s many male enhancement counterparts and Voronoff was experimenting with various implants, the most famous of which was the grafting of monkey testicle tissue, or monkey glands, to human testicles. Voronoff was well-known for this rather shocking technique and over time he received a considerable amount of ridicule for it and died in near obscurity in the 50’s. So, there’s the story behind the drink. If nothing else it’s great trivia while your sharing a round of Monkey Glands with friends.
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Highlights
and
low-life
BY ZENO MCAULEY
Der Keller, call it what you will – a hub, a hell, a cheap thrill, a low down dirty dive Der Keller doesn’t care. It’s been there for longer than anyone can remember, and will be there still when the enlarged liver of the barfly clinging unsteadily to the top of his stool has carried him away to that great Linden down below – and we don’t mean in Zamyatin. If, for the moment, this gentleman should lift his bleary eyes from his stein of flat, tepid beer and peer through the dirt-smeared windows above, he might catch a glimpse of the stockinged ankle of a shivering whore, tattered stole pulled tight about her narrow shoulders, trapped in the pool of light cast by the iron street lamp against which she leans. But who will buy? Who will sample her delights? Not the tall fellow in clerical garb nursing his glass at the bar, that’s for sure. For Father Helendale is an ardent opponent of prostitution, though his condemnation is reserved for the conditions in which the world’s oldest profession thrives rather than for those who fall into its unforgiving grip. Father Helendale’s occasional irascibility is an obvious corollary of his indignation at a world so lacking in Christian charity that women are left by the community into which many of them were born to sell their bodies in order to put food onto the table. “Where are the soup kitchens?” this goodhearted man asks, at which Keller owner Frl Jo Yardley might wince as she mops at the spilled beer on the bar, before squeezing it out into the slops tray ready to top up the next thirsty punter. A thought flickers across Frl Jo’s face – what effect might a soup kitchen have on business? None she decides as she takes in the gin blooms and bloodshot eyes of the locals, and her features compose themselves again. Father Helendale may live another day. A tall lady, immaculately dressed, enters, greets people with a wave of her slender hand and
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begins to dance alone. This is Frl Morales, one of Berlin’s premier designers of haute couture, and, apparently, the only one whom actress Pola Negri will allow to design gowns for her. Many woman in Berlin would give an arm and a leg for a Morales creation, and such is her skill in the cutting room, that even should they do so, the resulting exercise in sartorial perfection would no doubt hang flawlessly. Frl Morales claims that she dances alone as no man will dance with her, since she has a ‘reputation’. This may have something to do with Kino manager Herr Sandalwood’s claim that Frl Morales, like the black widow spider, consumes her partner after mating, though it is evident in the eyes of many of those in the Keller that this would seem to them a price eminently worth paying…The strains of Jean Lohe’s ‘Valencia’ begin to reverberate through the single speaker on the Keller wall and barman Petrus Endsleigh sings along in a stentorian baritone. Herr Endsleigh and his cousin, Herr Petrus Frugel, are something of a Jekyll and Hyde act, for whilst Herr Endsleigh is a well-liked and much respected local character, Frugel is a blackmailer and an exploiter of women – not of the kind of woman who shivers still beneath the flickering gaslight up above, but of those lonely and romantic souls into whose lives he might insinuate himself and from whom he might encourage indiscretions. , CONT. PAGE 8
highlights
and
low-life
iHerr Endsleigh, who used to live in a tiny space beneath the stairs of the Nussbaum Hotel, is not a rich man, but many a time he has had to dig deep into his pockets in order to persuade the repellent Frugel to leave town. However, like the proverbial bad penny, the man always returns. Just tonight, several burly locals have had to eject the wretch. Frugel has made many enemies, and a small, bearded fellow sitting quietly in the corner takes note of this. Herr Roxley has a hybrid accent, part Irish and part Chicago, reflecting the places in which he has plied his trade. Maybe he is thinking that Herr Frugel is a problem he could solve easily enough. But Herr Roxley is no do-gooder. His services come at a price… Speaking of services which do not come free of charge, up above, the lady of the night has found her gallant beau. Necks strain, though he is visible only as a pair of trouser cuffs and patent-leather shoes. No matter, he is obviously one of the many local philanthropists, squiring the lady home through the dark and dangerous alleyways of night-time Berlin. Herr Byron, immaculate as ever, with white scarf draped across his shoulders and the beautiful Valeria on his arm, heads for the door. As the clock on Der Keller wall will testify, midnight is by now a distant memory, but for those who love to dance, the night is eternally young. Perhaps they are away to one of the numerous swish Palais de Dance which lie outside the immediate vicinity. Maybe Le Metropole, a veritable Louise Brooks compared to Der Keller’s rather blowsy Mae West. But for those who remain, Der Keller is a true home from home. Frl Jo seats herself close to the stove and whistles up a smoke from always-cheerful cigarette girl Frl Ulrik. Jo is a great believer in the health-giving properties of tobacco. Soon she’ll be off into the night. It is a fact universally acknowledged that Frl Jo never sleeps, but quite how she whiles away the wee small hours remains a mystery. Some claim to have seen her purchasing black market stockings at 4 am, others that she has an interest in the education of those unfortunate fish out of water, the sailors of many nationalities who find themselves ashore in Berlin for a few riotous hours, much as the legendary British prime minister Herr Gladstone would personally attend to the instruction of the ladies of London’s Haymarket…
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continued from page 7.
A gentleman enters, enquiring after work and is roundly mocked. It doesn’t take him long to realise that this is not a haunt of the gainfully employed and he gives up and orders one of Frl Jo’s special cocktails. If blindness does not ensue, maybe tomorrow he will consider the helpful suggestions that he become a gigolo, or take up the brass knuckles and fill the vacancy as doorman at Der Keller, not to keep the riff raff out you understand, but to keep them in. Though those now slumped across tables or testing the laws of physics on the dance floor seem to need little enough persuasion. Outside, young Friedrich Zepp shivers as he flicks his marbles against the wall. Klaus Eiren, the local drunk, lost his marbles long ago. He may be in the gutter, and his eyes may be on the stars, but this is only because he is, as usual, far too inebriated to shift himself from his recumbent position. Father Helendale is in his tower, checking the church roof for lead thieves, whilst further afield, Frl Roxan is working late in her milliners’ shop, concocting new designs to beautify the fashionable ladies of Magdalenenstrasse and Schuman Allee. There is a glow in the east. Morning will come, as usual. Maybe the sun will shine on Berlin, but in truth, it looks like rain. Maybe a sweet shower, sent from heaven, will wash away the city’s sins. Maybe… ####
1920s BERLINER POST is published bi-monthly
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Zeno McAuley PUBLISHER Gstone Turas CONTRIBUTORS Petrus Endsleigh Cuthbert Helendale FEATURE WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY Zeno McAuley NEWS REPORTER/AD DIRECTOR Gstone Turas
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! G N I W SHO