So after a quick diversion into the robotic realm last week, I thought I’d wrap up this two-part series about my recent European escapades!

Previously I posted some pics of the cool art to be seen in Oslo, Norway and the choicest selections from Berlin’s East Side Gallery. This week’s focus is a bit more on Berlin’s excellent street art scene.

This awesome Japanese woodcut-style portrait decorated the side of a hotel across the street from the East Side Gallery facing the Spree River. We really loved the economical use of color and elegant contours and just thought in general it was great art AND marketing for the hotel; it’s hard to miss AND hard to forget.

After a couple of mis-steps seeking out the cream of the art scene crop that we’d heard so much about before arriving in Berlin, we asked the proprietor of Big Brobot, a very cool book/toy/comic/t-shirt shop in the Friedrichshain section of the city, if he could recommend any good galleries that exhibited more street art and pop art (as opposed to the truly awful installations we’d seen up to that point.) He kindly pointed us in the direction of the NeuroTitan gallery and shop.

After a couple of missed turns, we finally were pointed in the direction of the correct alley leading to the gallery. Once we stepped into the alley, we were greeted with some really wonderful pieces of street art, from spray can art to traditional media to paste-ups.

The alley then led into a courtyard that featured this very cool steam-powered sculpture of a steampunk bat-creature with flapping wings, roving eyes, and flailing proboscis. I really wish I’d switched on my video camera to catch it in action!

Finally, to get to the NeuroTitan gallery, we had to climb a few flights of stairs to enter the shop area before checking out the exhibit. While the exhibit was pretty “meh”, the trip up the stairs was awesome, with the walls just COVERED in really cool graffiti and street art. One of our favorites was the “Fashion Chimp” ad paste-up, done in the style of a 1930s-40s women’s magazine. Who wouldn’t want a giant, life-sized “fashion chimp” for their home?

That pretty much wraps up our 2011 European adventure. Sad as we were not to be able to make it to Tokyo, it was an excellent diversion none the less, and hopefully the planet is done kicking Japan’s ass for a few years and we can make it over there soon.

In OTHER Ex-Boyfriend news—AT LEAST two new designs are going to be up by the end of this week. If you or someone you know is into vampires, kitties, and/or kawaii-style art, be sure to check back!

ALSO: Be sure to tune into The Daily Show on Comedy Central tonight at 11pm. Our good friend Jackson Galaxy from Animal Planet will be sporting our very own Fuzz Aldrin this evening during Aasif Mandvi’s segment! Woot! Be sure to spread the word!

UPDATE: The Daily Show segment featuring Jackson Galaxy wearing Fuzz Aldrin tonight has been postponed thanks to some big political news today, but I’ll keep you guys updated about when it really airs!

First, there’s this little bit of awesome:

Then, there’s this little bit of awesome: my new tee design, Reasons I’m Late. If you dig my 3-Day Forecast shirt, you’ll probably like this one. You should maybe buy them both?

(Video via Videogum. Shirt via me.)

As excited as I am for my upcoming European vacation (May cannot arrive soon enough), stuff like this just serves to make me pine for a Tokyo visit in the near future.

(Via Cute Overload)

I “get” kawaii. I like cute stuff. I understand the appeal.

I also get irony. I am, after all, a postmodern Gen Y-er. To someone of my age and disposition, irony is the peas to my cynicism’s carrots.

So to combine the cuteness of kawaii with the irony that has been the life-blood of the last few generations seems like a no-brainer.

But something about kawaii-styled pooh smells funny (ZING!)

This is nothing against designer Undoboy, who has a much more impressive design resume than I do, and who seems to have a relatively concrete aesthetic that he works from and within.

But poop is poop. It is, quite literally, waste. And the deranged notion amongst kawaii enthusiasts that illustrating anything in a kawaii style makes it adorable, regardless of how noxious it actually is, is ridiculous. And while we’re calling spades spades, let’s also acknowledge that avoiding poop’s natural, um, “hue” in lieu of a more aesthetically-pleasing rainbow palette is cheating.

That said, be sure to be on the lookout for my upcoming design, “Pastel Vomit”. Two can play at this game, Undoboy!

Meet the newest Ex-Boyfriend kitty, he’s a Maneki Neko.

This lucky cat is a common Japanese sculpture said to bring great fortune to its owner. You can check him out on tees and accessories. So much less brutal than lopping off a rabit’s foot.