One of the few names I recognize in German cinema is Fritz Lang. While I've never seen any of his films, the cool-factor of his movies like "Metropolis" is evident.
I would love to have these movie posters full size, but these postcard versions will have to suffice.
Over in Potsdamer Platz in Berlin is the super-cool Deutsche Kinemathek Film and TV Museum. Since my knowledge about German cinema is woefully lacking, I was enraptured with all they had on display.
Rummaging through the gift shop, I found these picture postcards of Madame Baker and Frau Dietrich that I've never seen. Thought I'd share.
Back in 2008, we visited Berlin, Germany and took the tour of the Checkpoint Charlie museum. Really fascinating stuff and deeply emotional.
I recently discovered in one of my infamous unmarked storage bags, that I bought some nifty postcards from the museum. I'm posting them here.
This was the sector sign at Checkpoint Charlie.
The back of this postcard reads: "Conrad Schumann, the GDR border guard, escapes to the West."
A reprint of an interesting article in "Spiegel Online" about the loss of craftsmen in Germany to make nutcrackers. Ok sure, who needs a nutcracker? But any time a hand-made art form dies out, it's pretty sad. Yes, a machine can make them too, but it's just not the same.
While I do lots of walking around downtown at lunchtime, I run into some graffiti now and again. Some of it is bad or cheap, but some of it has a sense of humor. These pedestrian signs made me giggle.
For instance, this sign. It seems you can't cross here unless you have a mustache.
This sign is by a park, so if you see a soccer player dribbling across the street, you know to yield.
I dare you to push this cross walk button, you might meet the devil!
This creepy little skater face was kind cute.
Finally, be extra careful at this intersection. Hula ensues spontaneously.
It would be sheer drudgery if you took responsibility for only the bad things in your life. You are also responsible for the good things. If you have a vision for yourself, you can aim higher. The good things become more meaningful because you are heading for long-term fulfillment. This is much better than a string of short-term pleasures, nice as they may be. People without a vision can amass a lot of small pleasures. This kind of immediate gratification is everywhere in our society; distractions are a multi-billion-dollar business. Look at your daily quotient of idling around the Internet, video games, channel surfing, movies, snacking, shopping, and merely hanging around.
These distractions are hangovers from adolescence, when immaturity was a natural state. They drop away when life moves on and you undertake the project of building a self. The point isn't to become self-serious and reject having fun. The point is to aim for higher satisfactions that last. By developing a vision of what your life is about, you are asking, "Who am I?" and then turning your answer into positive actions.
Deepak Chopra
The Munich Oktoberfest ended on Sunday after two weeks of beer-fuelled revelry that led to a total of 4,500 items being handed in to the lost property office at the site, including two wedding rings, a hearing aid and two French horns. Unlike in previous years, however, the list did not include false teeth.
Among other items found was a copy of Playboy magazine signed by a model featured in it.
One thousand items of clothing were also left behind, as well as 950 identity cards, 480 mobile phones and 400 sets of keys, the city of Munich said in a statement.
Perhaps that's not surprising given that 6.4 million people visited the festival and drank a total of 6.9 million liters of high-octane beer brewed specially for the festival by the city's six leading breweries.
The guests ate 116 oxen and 57 calves. Attempted thefts of the one-liter beer glasses fell to 111,000, down from 2011 when watchful security staff fished a total of 226,000 glasses out of the bags of departing guests. The glasses are popular souvenirs.
For years, I've wanted to attend the Celtic Festival in Grass Valley. But for one excuse or another, it's never happened -- until this past weekend. The weather was warm (tipping at about 88 degrees), but the atmosphere was rightfully soaked with everything Celtic. Heck, even taking a leak I felt underdressed without a kilt:
The Festival had many attractions including horses, sheep, and these amazing highland dogs. Sorry, but I haven't a clue about their breed, but lemme tell you, they're frakkin' tall. These pups were just under a year old. At that rate, they'll be as tall as the ponies in no time:
There's a "living history" area where all the goofy people dress in their period costumes just like at a Renaissance fair. It's not really my bag, but the people-watching is top-notch. The women with their boobs cinched up to their necks, and the men walking around in leather and yielding weapons of mass destruction, aka their penis extensions. Great viewing fun! Here's a court of some sort having some kind of lunch (the details really are lost on me):
Mainly, I came for the music. And the festival performers didn't disappoint. We stayed for most of the afternoon and saw a few bands like Hanz Araki & The Might Few and a local group, The String Sisters. I really enjoyed these folks from Chico called Ha'Penny Bridge Band. A big heavy on the Irish jig, but worth me buying one of their CDs.
My favorite group of the day was the Paul McKenna Band from Glasgow, Scotland. They were charismatic, professional, and a whompin' stompin' good time (at least that's the impression I got with all the drunk people left of stage, dancing a step I've never seen before in my life):
When I view art, I like to take my time and let it evoke some sort of reaction or emotion from me. What's the artist trying to say? Do I even like the picture or sculpture or dirty cardboard cutout? But in the Louvre in Paris, the crowds were insane. It didn't make for a conducive environment to really take in the art. The scrum in front of the Mona Lisa is a good example. Check it out:
So I guess I could have entertained myself by mocking tourists, or knocking a few down (guilty on both counts), but my time in the Louvre turned much more productive. Our mission? Take as many pictures of exposed "junk" and giggle like a 13-year-old. Check out a few of our snaps.
The Killers are back with a terrific new song. I'm looking forward to the new album due out in September. Brandon Flowers' vocals have always had an urgency to them. When he sings it's as if he's saying "Listen to me or I'll explode". Don't let Brandon explode. Listen:
Back home, every morning that I am able to drag my ass out of bed I am reminded about our stay in Esther's Guesthouse in Gimmelwald, Switzerland. It was vacation, of course, and I'd wake ready for the day with a little help from Mother Nature. How? Glad you asked. I'd pull a chair over to directly underneath the skylight, open it, and peer out and breath in the fresh air and take in the glorious view. Doing all of this while in the buff helped too. Here's Esther's place. We were on the top floor. We were the 3 windows on the top in the front.
Here's our room from the inside:
This is the view from our room from the front of the building:
View #1 looking out of the skylight
(try not to imagine me naked taking this picture):
View #2 looking outside the skylight
(already okay, go ahead and think of me nude while taking this picture too):
