You’ve got to see this to believe it.

One of the perks of freelancing is the ability to take an hour out from an otherwise busy day to read the newspaper, take a stroll, or, in today’s case, to accompany William ‘Macboy’ Levin on his trip to a Park Slope health spa for a back wax.

William is heading to Israel on Saturday and decided his back hair was an impediment in his quest to find a ‘hot Israeli chick’. (I think he believes his Austin Powers-esque chest is a bonus.)

Well, I’m pleased to say the back hair is no more thanks to the skill of a very nice Russian beautician who wanted to know which of William’s parents was the hairy one. (William assured her it was his father.)

Unfortunately the experience was nowhere near as painful as I had hoped. But for fans of the creator of Shabot and myriad viral Jewish cartoons here is an excerpt from the forthcoming, straight to DVD, S&M documentary Back Wax: The Ben Baruch Way, soon to be available in all good synagogue bookstores.

David Pogue links to some fascinating video and audio downloads from the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) talks in Monterey, California.

TED invites the world’s smartest, most creative and—judging by the talks—most entertaining people to deliver short lectures on a range of subjects including the arts, business, science and technology.

A ticket to TED costs $4,400 but the dowloads are free. On Pogue’s recommendation I watched an eye-opening and amusing talk by Swedish public health expert Hans Rosling last night. For the current list of downloadable talks click here.

He’s the greatest!
He’s fantastic!
Wherever there is danger he’ll be there!
He’s the ace!
He’s amazing!
He’s the strongest, he’s the quickest, he’s the best!

This is a slightly distorted view from my friend Dezik‘s balcony (sorry, but my camera’s usually excellent ‘stitch mode’ let me down). What a wonderful surprise to discover that Dezik lived in East Berlin which, as you can see, is still in transition.

My first 24 hours in Berlin were utterly miserable. It was about 90F outside but inside I was shivering under two duvets. However, I was excellently looked after in Russian, German and English by Dezik, Dima and Sofie. A friendly German doctor diagnosed toncilitis and three Penicillin later I was shuffling around the city, soaking up the World Cup atmosphere.

Here’s the Brandenburg Gate:

And here’s the view inside the cupola of the Reichstag. The cupola was designed by Sir Norman Foster and those reflective panels are designed to deflect light inside the Reichstag chamber. As you can see there’s also a walkway that leads to an observation chamber above:

Despite my illness, I had a great time in Berlin. I loved the bike lanes and trams and the laid back atmosphere. Dezik told me that unemployment is at 20 per cent in Berlin but the city felt remarkably safe. And the surplus of housing and lack of jobs means living expenses are relatively low. Dezik and Dima pay just 460 euros per month for a one-bedroom apartment. The city is overflowing with bars and restaurants and clubs and galleries. I was practically sold. Who knows, maybe one day?