Archiv der Kategorie: photoblogging

photoblogging

photoblogging, US Politics, USA

More Texan-friendliness.

Texan-friendliness

I had heard of http://www.sorryeverybody.com/gallery/single/se24.jpg/ before, but I had not seen the site until today. As opposed to the reason for its existence, it is really good fun. And in light of this blog’s recently re-discovered Texan-friendliness, I just had to reassure the lady above that while Europeans are religiously deprived and accordingly morally depraved, we are also, as prominently pointed out by Robert Kagan, generally rather too quiet and peaceful. Moreover, while many of us would love to, we have been taught by history not to play around with long-distance missiles just for fun…

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almost a diary, media, photoblogging

Maillot Jaune

Alright, it was a strange thing to do on a Sunday – get up at seven in the morning only to make a fool of oneself in a strangely popular “family oriented” tv programme – the “ZDF Fernsehgarten” (literally “tv garden”).

The Fernsehgarten is a show that has been running for 19 years, essentially without any format changes, and it is thus one of the very few programmes to weather the effect of audience fragmentation. They still show it all: In today’s show there was the latest German Idol, Dante Thomas (Miss California), Luka, a Brazilian singer who had a surprise hit single last year, and whose manager and I somehow thought we attended the same party on New Year’s Eve 1999, as well as Kristina Bach, a German Schlager singer, Riverdance, and an army big band. Maybe that is all just fine – given that Sunday morning may well be the only time that families are having a relaxed breakfast together. Therefore, on any given Sunday between May and September about two million people switch the telly on to watch Andrea Kiewel announce a line up very similar to the one above.

The key to understanding today’s show’s theme was the current major sports event on this continent, Le Tour de France. Given the now epic struggle between Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich for the Maillot Jaune, the show’s producers deemed it appropriate to organise a tribute by having their very own “Tour de Fernsehgarten”.

As usual with these things, the casting process was a bit more more random than anyone would imagine, and so it came that I wound up as part of the “Team Ullrich” in this Sunday’s show.

Maybe it bodes well for Mr Ullrich that we beat the team Armstrong by a margin of 300m over a distance of almost 55km. So, courtesy of the ZDF web site, I present you with a few photos of my Sunday morning effort…

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almost a diary, photoblogging, self-referential

Helau! I’m Guilty.

I want you for Rosenmontag

But don’t call the cops just now, my gentle readers.

As a matter of fact, I’m guilty of a crime that is not part of any tort law in the known universe. And actually, most people probably wouldn’t consider it a crime but simply a fun weekend. However, sometimes, things aren’t as simple as the seem on the first glance… so, in a way, yes, I am a traitor.

I am from Mainz and I am going to Cologne this weekend to celebrate this year’s carnival with some friends from abroad. And in a way, this is really bad, as Mainz and Cologne enjoy a healthy competition when it comes to the question which town has the bigger Rhenish carnival tradition. And being part of one of these traditions is like being part of a ‘family business’ – you do remember The Godfather, don’t you?

Well, I’m not really afraid of a concrete funeral. But I do indeed feel a tiny little bit guilty about the prospective enjoyments within the “enemy’s” heart. So I’m going to make it up: I will certainly make an effort to convert Koelsch infidels to finally say “Helau” instead of “Alaaf”…

And you best believe it takes a man to do that ;)

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almost a diary, photoblogging

White Christmas, 2003.

I’m a little bit disappointed. Usually, the pre-christmas shopping spree leads to at least a handful of interesting discoveries, with respect to shoppers or the products they bought. But this year? Hardly anything exciting to report from my ventures into consumer wonderland, maybe apart from the almost strange impression that the age of “Wham-christmas” seems to be over. I heard it only twice this year.

It’s not that people aren’t in holiday shopping mood anymore. But they, just as the marketers, don’t seem to be quite as willing to opt for experiments as they were in the past. There might be a correlation with the recently passed reform bills, which, in the expectation of stilll too many people are the official declaration that poverty, big time, looms over Germany now.

But lack of cristmassy enthusiasm could, on the other hand, simply be climatically induced, as this winter seems to become as cold as the summer was hot. I literally drove through a snow storm at Frankfurt Airport today. So at least we won’t have to listen to Bing Crosby dreaming of a White Christmas this year.

Speaking of orange trees in LA… I think there is an immediate lack of good new christmas carols these days. I wonder if EndeMol entertainment can’t find a way to create a tv show around this theme ;). Well, I think I will be able to find an hour or so for a final entry of 2003 during the upcoming festivities. But just in case I don’t…

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oddly enough, photoblogging, US Politics

Deep Throat.

Deep Throat: Hillary ClintonI wonder what Mrs Clinton wants to tell us here – personally, I suppose she’s indicating that she can solve the puzzle about the identity of Bob Woodward’s and Carl Bernstein’s secret helper in uncovering the Watergate scandal, deep throat. On the other hand, regarding the traumatic oral experiences her husband made her go through back in 1998, different interpretations are clearly possible ;)…

(found at zogbyblog.)

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Ken Starr Grand Jury - Monica is not here
media, photoblogging, US Politics, USA

Living History. Deleting Posts.

After Blogger decided to shred two of my planned entries today I have settled for one involving only very little typing.

I was in Washington, DC, back in 1998 when the Starr-Rreport was released, and I have never in my life seen so many journalists per square-centimeter.

I only had a tiny disposable camera with me, and the reddish part in the right hand side – yeah, that’s my middle finger.

I guess Hillary Clinton will have a more interesting account of that part of her living history. Der Spiegel has some German excerpts from her biography/political re-positioning in this week’s print edition.

I am not particularly interested in this kind of books, but I did have a brief look at the excerpt. I can’t help but wonder. What does Hillary Clinton really mean when she writes about she and Bill managed to get on after, well, you know –

“The Key to understanding our marriage is certainly our common history. But to be true, our relationship is too profound to be put into words. Maybe I could express it this way: In the Spring of 1971 I began a conversation with Bill Clinton, and more than thirty later we still talk to each other.”

“We still talk to each other?” Now here I can’t help but wonder if I believe this is a positive or negative verdict about their relationship…

Note: As this is a re-translation from German, I don’t know what she actually wrote. Last week’s Wolfowitz-oil quip should be a sufficient reminder of the perils of translation.

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almost a diary, compulsory reading, Fußball, photoblogging, Sport

Sometimes Football Is More.

On Sunday, the definition of “tragedy” was rewritten. Mainz 05, the local football team lost the race for the third promotion spot to Germany’s premier league, Bundesliga, by a single goal, and a single second, to local rival Eintracht Frankfurt. Both teams had scored 59 points in 33 games. Befor the last, and decisive, game, they were separated only by goal difference: Eintracht Frankfurt’s was one goal better.

The race was too close to call. At half-time, Frankfurt led 3:1 and Mainz led 2:0 against their respective opponents. Nothing had changed. But then Mainz scored twice while Frankfurt got two goals. Frankfurt would have to score four goals now – or three, should Mainz get one. A rather improbable scenario 80 minutes into the games.

Nonetheless, this is what happened. After Mainz got the 4:1 Frankfurt scored three goals in seven minutes, the 6:3 literally in the last second of the game’s extension leaving Mainz’ players and supporters (like myself) in a numbed state somewhere between disbelief and denial.

 It was heart-breaking to see so many people burst into tears – again. Pretty much the same thing happened about a year ago in Berlin. It just was not fair.

But life often isn’t – despite our Hollywood inspired tendency to believe in happy ends. In life, we have to fight the obstacles without guaranteed success. But if we’re lucky, we have someone who fights with us. And I suppose the team of Mainz 05 is lucky.

They will never walk alone.

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