More Random Tidbits

Hi there. I'm kind of having a hard time thinking of interesting things to post here, so I hope you don't mind if I share a few more random bits that don't at all relate to one another, but that I find a bit interesting.

For one thing, Germany seems all but obsessed with Michelle Obama. She has generated such a buzz here - almost more than the president, himself. The day after the inauguration, the front page headline of one of the newspapers here mentioned nothing of Barack, but did ask "Wie sexy ist die neue First Lady?", and had a full page photo of her in her white dress dancing with Barack. I have seen at least four articles solely about her, including one in Der Spiegel, and it seems as though the Germans are mesmerized by her. She does seem extremely likable, and I, for one, think she looked damn sexy on inauguration day. How refreshing to have a president and first lady who actually seem like real people.

Moving on....if you happen to have been born after, say, 1960, you might want to see if you can track down a copy of "Herr Lehmann." It's a movie, based on a book by the same name, and is a good snapshot of German culture during the late 1980s. The themes are universal - love, loss, finding one's self - and are presented in a simultaneously comedic and melancholic way. I've seen it twice now, with English subtitles, and really enjoy it.

Germany is not known for producing a ton of great music (Kraftwerk, anyone?), but also worth checking out is a band called Seeed (yes, with three e's). They are, I think, a 17 member band from 9 countries, and incorporate Reggae, Latin beats, hip-hop, and some African rhythms. It's fun. Also really good is the solo project from one of the lead singers, Peter Fox.

So, I hope it's not too evident, but my English is taking a nose dive here. Concentrating on German has really handicapped my English skills. I actually said "drived" here the other day, in the context of "Mark drived us here." Really.

Oh, and speaking of language, if you happen to be near a native German speaker, ask him or her to try saying the word "months." I think it is possibly the most difficult word for Germans to pronounce, and I must admit, I get a little bit of pleasure out of knowing there is at least one word I can say better than the people who master "maulwurf", "nachrichten", and "umstrukturierungsprozess" (no idea what that last one means, but it is a word taken straight out of the newspaper).

Perhaps the best example of the difficulty of German words, though, is the following one, which also happens to be their longest:

Donaudampfschifffahrtselektrizitätenhauptbetriebswerkbauunterbeamtengesellschaft.

I dare you to try saying that. Also notice the three f's in a row there. Nothing says German efficiency like an 80 letter word with three f's in a row. The word translates to: association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services. Why say that with multiple words when one will do?

Okay, I think that's enough for me for today. I will try to come up with something good for next time. Until then, be well.