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Eric Fichtl

ABOUT

A few details about the person behind this website.

I’m that guy in the picture.

I am an editor and a writer, with a background in publishing, journalism, websites, and design. I also love photography and am exploring my interest in filmmaking.

Spoiler alert: This site features some of my writing and photography.


Me

 

 

My career has focused on supporting nonprofit organisations and social justice causes. I studied history and international affairs. I’ve resided in a number of places including Berlin, Bonn, New York, Hong Kong, Sofia, Buenos Aires, London, Chicago, and Geneva. I remain available for call-up to the Irish squad, should a deficient right-back be required (hint, hint).

 

  • Less-than-useful facts about me

  • First camera (ca. 1984)
    Kodak Disc 3500
  • First SLR (1998)
    Pentax ZX-M / MZ-M
  • Football leanings
    Country over club, come on Ireland!
    Member, Union Berlin (but Hertha-friendly).
    Co-owner, Lewes FC.
    Argentina over Brazil, Boca over River.
    Richard Dunne, si. Sergio Ramos, no.
    Allez les Écureuils!
  • Clock format
    24-hour clock, it's just clearer
  • Favourite food
    Might just be flautas de queso.
    Saag panir, arugula pizza, and fondue close seconds.
    I could survive on baguettes indefinitely.
  • Favourite element
    Bromine

 

El Equipo

A revealing new documentary from Bernardo Ruiz – visit the film's website and read my personal reflection on contributing to the production.

Note: The texts here come from work done around the world in different professional and academic settings, where I generally adhered to the prevailing local style. I don't deem it necessary to harmonise styles now.

The site's fonts are Yantramanav and Lato, used under the Open Font License. Icons on the site are from Font Awesome, used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Fonts and icons are hosted locally, not imported with scripting.

This is a low-cookie website, using only two essential cookies that expire when you leave, and no external third-party cookies.

I built this site using Craft CMS, based on the W3.css framework. Many thanks to Andrew Kelly of Anbod.io for his support.



<p>Berlin's Olympic Stadium was roofless when it hosted the 1936 Games, but during renovations in 2004 a seemingly floating roof was added to cover all 74,475 seats in the stadium (which, despite its age, still has Germany's highest all-seater capacity). The roof conceals clever lighting that creates no discernible shadows on the pitch.</p>
<p>Tiles in Marrakech form a perfectly imperfect herringbone pattern.</p>
<p>In Buenos Aires, a stencil proclaims 'The dingo ate my baby' beside a sticker of a local variant of Shepard Fairey's 'Obey' giant. That is, an Australian mother's cry of despair from a real-life case in 1980, channeled by Meryl Streep in a 1988 US film and amplified to absurdity in 1990s TV series from <em>Seinfeld</em> to <em>The Simpsons</em>, appears alongside a sticker riffing on a US street artist's work (itself a rendering of Andre the Giant, a deceased pro wrestler, paired with a line from a 1988 John Carpenter film, <em>They Live</em>) while invoking the arcane Spanish verb form barely used outside Iberia or churches – and they somehow come together on an electric box in Argentina's capital in 2015. It sort of makes sense. Or not. No idea.</p>
<p>In the early 2000s, these two women helped scores of people each day, typing forms and offering advice from the lobby of an administrative office in Sofia. Elsewhere in the city, it wasn't unusual at the time to see entrepreneur typists on the city pavements, typewriter at the ready, near any office where carefully completed forms were a requirement. </p>

 

30+
Years as a vegetarian
55+
Countries visited
2+
Fairtrade coffees per day
2 and 10+
Full and half marathons completed

CONTACT
You found my website. If you want to get in touch, feel free to use the form below.
Often in Berlin (not pictured)
Contact me via the form below

Always ready for and fairly responsive to messages. Be nice!