A german woman living in Zurich filed a suit with the german Supreme Court in Karlsruhe against the end of the world. The court denied hearing the case.. The lady in question wanted to commit Germany to actively do something about the CERN because the scientific experiments there threatened the destruction of the world (the Cern might create tiny black holes). Germany had the obligation to intervene at least until the warning of the impeding doom could be empirically confuted. But...

In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where their family member lay gravely ill.  Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber.   'I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news,' he said as he surveyed the worried faces.  'The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain ...

In the hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where their family member lay gravely ill.  Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber.   'I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news,' he said as he surveyed the worried faces.  'The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain ...

Salt Cellar bucolic Humdinger he's speaking double Dutch stiff upper lip his goose is cooked big dipper to harangue somebody stay shtum (that I got right away.. lol) I must see a man about a dog sweetheart deal teetotaller putpocket You can't teache somebody to suck eggs to prevaricate  

I read this in yesterdays newspaper feuilleton and it made me laugh. It is quite the little annecdote. A little provincial theatre in northern france wanted to stir some excitement for their new theatreproduction and sent several small black cardboard coffins with a bullet in it to journalists in the region. In the box was also a note  that said "You'll have a date with Ben and Gus soon". Ben and Gus are professional hitmen - out of a play by Harold Pinter called "the dumb waiter". The j...

Quality TV shows hardly exist in german television. The only one that I really like is Tatort, a police procedural that is something of a cult. But that is a special case. In comparison, there are many great shows in american television, and one of them is Burn Notice. It is filmed on location in Miami and also takes place there, which is rare in itself. So I get to see what Miami looks like - I don't want to go there and this is better than windowshopping. Florida is hot, humid, full of nast...

I read about this story in a different blog here . To summarize, a woman named Courteney Cook rationalizes why she left her military husband while he was away in Iraq, for an anti-war "blue-eyed Marxist". She also describes how she met other men, and actually goes through agonizing contortions to rationalize her behavior. It's both disgusting and painful to watch. She also gives her advice for others on how to leave your husband while he's away at war I know that a few users have a mi...

I guess I gotta watch out next time I visit.. honestly. who comes up with ideas like this? From Spiegel Magazine http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,677121,00.html Modern Day Flintstones A Stone Age Subculture Takes Shape in the US By Philip Bethge A modern-day Stone Age subculture is developing in the United States, where wannabe cavemen mimic their distant ancestors. They eat lots of meat, bathe in icy water and run around barefoot. Some researchers say people led...

Recently I watched this little treasure *cough* with my 9, 6 and 4 year old nephews and niece. Has any of you watched this film? It is _NOT_ for children - at all. The plot has murder in it, tons of violence like attempted burning of villagers inside their own house, a merciless hunt for Esmeralda with the accompanying burning down of Paris, a song where Claude Frollo sings about hell and damnation and his obcession with Esmeralda and why he wants to kill her, all painted in red and with flames....

The 5th season is in full swing in (catholic) Germany. Carneval or Fasching/Fasnet is called the 5th season, and a big part of carneval is criticising the political establishment of everything that annoys you. Most cities have special events where the people that live there prepare sketches and comedic skits to express their criticism with local or national politics, developments in society etc. That tradition is very old and goes back to the middle ages where people were able to criticise the r...

My sister has a little son and everybody knows that little kids love toys. But my sister is quite peculiar about toys because she hates, really really does not like toys with electronics or made in China. There aren't really that many alternatives - but there are the old Fisher Price toys, especially the Little People series playsets from between the 60ies and 90ies.. I am sure many had those when they were young or had them for their own children. Fisher Price had the parking garage, the riverb...

I don't really know if you had heard about this incident in detail, but I found it so bizarre that I wanted to share it. I can only imagine what would have happend to that man had he flown to the US.. who would have believe someone with explosives in their duffel bag that it wasn't theirs? Don't travel to Slovakia via air travel, you might end up being used as a courier without your knowledge, and by the police no less. from CNN Slovakia explosives gaffe 'highlights security faili...

I was in the hospital recently for 3 days and had decided to take a good book along as reading is a really great way to pass time - and I chose Dracula. I hadn't actually read the book even though I had to read literature journals about the role of woman in the victorian society, the function of the monster, sexuality and eroticism in gothic novels, and about vampires as a gothic creation that stood for the monster that was allowed to do everythings that wasn't in the prude victorian society. ...

Everyone who has ever had to fight with government bureaucracy or any form of bureaucracy and thought that they were going mad will sympathize. This clip is from the movie "The twelve tasks of Asterix" in which he and Obelix have to complete said task. The first two minutes are a bit odd, but it picks up rather quickly after that.  Enjoy  

Today the groups for the FIFA Worldcup 2010 were drawn in South Africa. It is a big big thing because now we know who will play whom in the group games - and it allows for plotting and strategizing (and some friendly betting among friends) about the outcome. I can't wait for the worldcup, it is the biggest sporting event in the world. For those of you who are ignorant of football or the world cup, the US are together with England, Slovenia and Algeria. Kinda funny to have the inventor of footbal...