New Blog Format
Surprise!
If you think you're at the wrong page, as Justin Mack would say: "You Are Wrong!"
I've recently had requests from some of my readers to adjust the format for easier readability. I think this new template will do the trick, but would really like some feedback - positive and constructivly negative. Just make a comment at the bottom of this post!
Thanks!
Perpetuating American Stereotypes
This is something I wrote a bit ago, before I had net access:
9/12/04
I really should start keeping track of all the ways I perpetuate the negative American stereotypes. Well start off on a to be expected note: Whenever I end up with my SA crew out around the town, eating, drinking and having lots of fun in a fremde Stadt (foreign city), we naturally end up loud. Any good Ami (American) would be loud, right? So you have a group of 5 to 12 Americans being pretty loud in the street, whilst most of the Germans are walking around speaking reservedly amidst themselves. Strike One.
Strike Two: Jason (the other SA kid in my complex) and I decided to check out the sporting facilities on campus. Being students of this Uni for a year, we figured itd be ok. So we found the building, walked in and explored. A staff member even unlocked a mini-gym for us to shoot some hoops in. Everything went pretty well once we figured out the complex layout of the building. Once satisfied that we had covered everything, we walked out. But on the way, some 50 year old German with a heavy Bavarian accent stopped us and asked us for our Ausweisen (id's). Of course we didnt have any (apparently the gym is an extra fee, if you want it), and no one stopped us on the way IN to ask us, so we mumbled something in German about it being our first time, not seeing the entrance sign, and quickly shuffled off. He was pretty pissed. :-)
The Third Strike involves only me, unfortunately: A few days ago I borrowed some bike tools from a student on Jasons floor in order to get the old, French-made road bike I inherited into riding shape. The day after that, I was pretty tired, it was around 10:30PM, and I was walking down a dim stairway to the computer lab. I saw some Germans happily talking in the hallway, so said hi, and thought I recognized the guy who lent me the tools. So of course I thanked him and let him know it was a success. Turns out that wasnt him, but some random German who lives elsewhere. Oops. But it gets better! -
- I started talking to them for a min or two, when one of them turned to the other and said something about Hans und Franz (in that order). Hans un Franz! Saturday Night Live, baby! These Germans know their stuff! So I thought. I excitedly jump into the conversation asking if they were talking about one of the skits. They just look at me blankly. Still feeling awkward from my first mistake, I hurtle myself quickly into another. I proceed to explain the premise of Hans und Franz, act it out for them, and try to make a joke about stereotypes. All of this was auf Deutsch (in German). By the time I was done making a total ass of myself in this stairwell, I had gotten a chuckle out of them, but mostly confused or awkward looks. I quickly bid them a good night, and flew down the stairs to check my email.
You've got to give me some credit though - at least I KNOW I'm messing up...
New Postal Service Single
There is a new single out by the
Postal Service called "Against All Odds"!!!
Its a cover of a
Phil Collins song, but really really rocks! It starts off slow and distant -reflecting- but surges into a rhythmically engaging and full blown appeal/lament of a relationship quickly falling away. Its definitely the
Postal Service in style, but not a regurgitation of previous material. This is really apparent in both the production of the song, as well as the rhythmic style. You can find the new video
here. iTunes can DL the single already.
... Vienna Continued
[Ed. The previous installment was cut short by a low laptop battery due to excessive picture posting and virus scanning. This is now Part 2 of 2]
… everything you could want to buy, barring houses and cars. I saw so many types of fruit and meat and veggies and nuts that I never knew existed, or had never seen in person before (ref.
Dragonfruit picture on my other website). Vienna is a very cool place because it acts as a bridge between East and West. There are lots of Middle Easterners, lots of Slavic peoples, lost of Eastern Europeans, but also plenty of French, German, Spanish and Italian denizens. Its a great montage of culture. Unfortunately I was not able to learn any more than what I observed, as I would be interested to know if there are cultural factions, if there is friction between them, and so forth.
That afternoon my friends Richard and Ryan hit up the Kunsthistoriches Museum (Art History). The building alone was worth the entrance fee. We spent 3 hours there and barely scratched the surface! Portuguese, Spanish and Flemish artists kept us fascinated with their paintings, and Egyptian sculptors riveted us with their hieroglyphic attention to detail. Sehr interessant!
Later that night we made it over to the Musikverein to see a Mozart concert. The acoustics were astounding! Apparently NPR does an annual New Years broadcast from there because the acoustics are some of the best in the world. The show itself consisted of movements from various Mozart pieces, as well as some Aurias. The musicians were among the best classical players/singers I've heard.
The final day I was lucky enough to spend way to long on our Uni bus, while we drove a ways out of our way to see a huge monastery in the small town of Melk. It was very elaborate, very intricate, very beautiful, & chock-full of art and sculptures. Its one of the oldest monasteries still in operation in that part of Europe, but I began to wonder whether it was glorifying god or gold. I am inclined to think that it was more a tool of the church back in its glory years in order to impress and control the area - rather than a place to get in touch with god/spirituality. As a contemporary student I thought of it more as an art and history museum than an actual place of worship (which it is). In anycase, really interesting and I'm really glad we were able to check it out.
If you ever get a chance to hit up Vienna, don't pass it up!
Ahh, Vienna!
4 days in Vienna and I feel as though I barely scratched the surface!
Needless to say (but I will anyways) I had a fantastic time in Vienna! The depth and breadth of culture there is so vast in comparison to anything I have seen before in all my travels. Everyother building in the city has some great story behind it, or at least reflects a different time or style of architecture. Palaces, statues museums, monuments, gardens and the like are littered all over the city like McDonalds in Atlanta.
The first day we arrived and hit up the immense Palace of the Hapsburgs. We got a tour of the inside (but no pics allowed, sorry!), which contained the most luxurious art and design I've seen so far. The grounds were beautifully landscaped, with hedges, flowers and fountains stretching as far as the eye could see.
That night we had fresh-cooked Wiener Schnitzel. And local beer. Need I say more?
The next day we got a tour around the city's highlights, including another palace, some monuments, the Hundred Water House (a famous Artist apartment complex designed in the 20th century which looks like its straight out of a dream). We chilled around some of the more urban locals that afternoon, and indulged in some very rich Viennese coffee.
That night we managed to get out to an opera,
Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice), with music by Strauss if I remember correctly. It was performed at the Volksoper for those of you in the know, and was a great production! The set was a turning one, and very elaborate. We also managed to nail a really great student discount (which has been a going trend - it appears Europe takes good care of its students).
The next day we went to Naschmarkt, which is one Uber Flea and Farmers market in Vienna along the Danube river. It was mad busy with a great array of diversity and ....
I need to run! Battery dying on my laptop!!!
Back from Vienna
Tag!
I returned safe, sound, excited and completely exhausted from my 4 day trip to Vienna about 3 hours ago! I had such an amazing time! The whole city is like one big museum - really quite unlike anything I have ever come across before.
In anycase, I'll post more on what I did as well as some of the 100+ photos I shot on my digital real soon (Monday perhaps? Hopefull?). But right now I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for 12 hours...
