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dancing_moonSo I was going to do a nice, well-structured post on the German university system (because some of my former classmates from Sweden were curious) but that will have to wait a bit, since I'm feeling a bit too tired for that right now. My annoying almost-cold is beginning to become a real chest cold, which I am valiantly fighting with the help of fresh ginger tea, eucalyptus honey, hot steamy baths and a bit more actual shut-eye in the sleep/internet equation.
In the beginning of November, we'll go see the Norwegian all-female band Katzenjammer. According to our Katzenjammer-expert, they do "chaos pop with some folk-punk". It's fast, engaging and entertaining at least, and I think the concert might turn out to be really great - they seem like one of those bands that do extra well live.
One of my favorite songs, A bar in Amsterdam.
We bought the tickets today and, since we were at the ticket office already also got tickets for the musical Tanz der Vampire - one pair of plastic fangs included with the tickets!
Alas, it's based on the movie by Roman Polanski, him of serious skeevyness, and as such, I'm sure he'll get royalties. Otoh, I hope it's not too much, because Tanz der Vampire nicely filled some ticky-boxes on my mental "Stuffs I Must Do in Berlin This Exchange Year": Seeing some big-budget stage extravaganza, seeing a original German-language musical and vampires/gothy stuff. They'll show the Rocky Horror Picture Show here in Berlin too, in November, which works for ticky-box one and three, but since it will either be translated or in "denglish" (German talk, English songs) it moves to the second position.
Also, the stage images they have on the website look wonderful (eeeeeven though one of the posters has a bit of a Twilight-y vibe going on) so, uhm, I'll just be evil and go. Sorry.
A few days ago, I finished reading Walter Moer's Ensel and Krete: ein Märchen aus Zamonien. This Hansel and Gretel parody is, if I have understood it correctly, one of the earlier Zamonien books. I've written before about his amazing squiggly language - I'd hazard a guess that at least something like every fifth noun is changed or entirely made-up. As such, it's an entertaining challenge for someone with German as a foreign language, but the plot is never hard to follow and I have a lot of fun trying to figure out what he means and which "real" word he's making fun of with his little twists.
Though the plot is quite far removed from the classic fairy tale - it's two children who get lost in the wood, but they're not thrown out by their parents, and also the witch is some kind of giant alien spider-mushroom (it's complicated) - it's not much more complex than a Hansel and Gretel retelling usually is. As such, I'd much prefer his thicker novels. Otoh, considering how little time I have, it's just as well that this is a pretty slim volume.
Basically, it's a take-it-or-leave-it book, though anyone who has a strong liking for Moer's style ought to have fun with it. It's also the first book where Hildegunst von Mythenmerz is introduced, which alone makes it worth a read.
When buying this one, I also noticed that the sequel to his Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher had arrived: Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher! Only out in hardcover so far, but I'm very much looking forward to reading it later :) And there's apparantly a third part coming out in about a year, swell!
In the beginning of November, we'll go see the Norwegian all-female band Katzenjammer. According to our Katzenjammer-expert, they do "chaos pop with some folk-punk". It's fast, engaging and entertaining at least, and I think the concert might turn out to be really great - they seem like one of those bands that do extra well live.
One of my favorite songs, A bar in Amsterdam.
We bought the tickets today and, since we were at the ticket office already also got tickets for the musical Tanz der Vampire - one pair of plastic fangs included with the tickets!
Alas, it's based on the movie by Roman Polanski, him of serious skeevyness, and as such, I'm sure he'll get royalties. Otoh, I hope it's not too much, because Tanz der Vampire nicely filled some ticky-boxes on my mental "Stuffs I Must Do in Berlin This Exchange Year": Seeing some big-budget stage extravaganza, seeing a original German-language musical and vampires/gothy stuff. They'll show the Rocky Horror Picture Show here in Berlin too, in November, which works for ticky-box one and three, but since it will either be translated or in "denglish" (German talk, English songs) it moves to the second position.
Also, the stage images they have on the website look wonderful (eeeeeven though one of the posters has a bit of a Twilight-y vibe going on) so, uhm, I'll just be evil and go. Sorry.
A few days ago, I finished reading Walter Moer's Ensel and Krete: ein Märchen aus Zamonien. This Hansel and Gretel parody is, if I have understood it correctly, one of the earlier Zamonien books. I've written before about his amazing squiggly language - I'd hazard a guess that at least something like every fifth noun is changed or entirely made-up. As such, it's an entertaining challenge for someone with German as a foreign language, but the plot is never hard to follow and I have a lot of fun trying to figure out what he means and which "real" word he's making fun of with his little twists.
Though the plot is quite far removed from the classic fairy tale - it's two children who get lost in the wood, but they're not thrown out by their parents, and also the witch is some kind of giant alien spider-mushroom (it's complicated) - it's not much more complex than a Hansel and Gretel retelling usually is. As such, I'd much prefer his thicker novels. Otoh, considering how little time I have, it's just as well that this is a pretty slim volume.
Basically, it's a take-it-or-leave-it book, though anyone who has a strong liking for Moer's style ought to have fun with it. It's also the first book where Hildegunst von Mythenmerz is introduced, which alone makes it worth a read.
When buying this one, I also noticed that the sequel to his Die Stadt der Träumenden Bücher had arrived: Das Labyrinth der Träumenden Bücher! Only out in hardcover so far, but I'm very much looking forward to reading it later :) And there's apparantly a third part coming out in about a year, swell!
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Date: 2011-10-27 20:20 (UTC)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xErScBxbpCU
or "Kontroll på kontinentet"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtcqLahj4LQ&feature=related
Never seen them with a bassalaika, though. :)