Latest German History Movie A Violent Collage

Two and a half hours of endless violence, garbled ideology and much posturing. And I'm not talking about 'Quantum of Solace'. No, this is the latest film about modern German history. But it is not about the World Wars or the East German dictatorship. It is about West Germany's terrorist group of the 1960s and '70s: the Red Army Faction (RAF).

[Watch the trailer on the official film website]

'The Baader Meinhof Komplex' tries to sum up around 30 years of complex social tensions in West Germany: the post-war generation that had to deal with the role of parents and grandparents in Nazi Germany; the student movement and the reaction of older people to its liberalism; and the radicalisation of left-wing ideology that resulted in terrorist tactics.

What results is a collage of scenes that supposedly show 'what actually happened' at the time. We see a student demonstration brutally put down by police and of course the catalystic shooting of the student Benno Ohnesorg by a police officer.

The left-wing intellectual Ulrike Meinhof joins the extremist Andreas Baader and away we go. Political assassination follows bombing follows shooting.

The graphic depiction of violence in this film is shocking in itself, but does it really make one think about the social issues of the time. I left the theatre feeling numb. I can imagine others leaving the theatre feeling elated. For example, this movie would go down very well with any member of Antifa - a German group that sees a need to fight fascists hands on.

It made me more convinced than ever that the use of terror is wrong. What did these people achieve apart from expressing their anger in the most apalling way? The film provided no new clues or perspectives. Given the amount of time it spent looking at the terrorists after they were caught and tried, it's portrayal of them is rather too sympathetic.

German director Uli Edel might have been better off sticking to the realms of myth as in his last movie - 'Ring of the Nibelungs'. He's tried to create an epic, where a single story could have told a lot more. To prove my point, look at 'Downfall' by German director Oliver Hirschbiegel. He took Hitler as his material, but he did not make a film about the entire Second World War. His powerful drama plays out in a bunker in Berlin in 1945 and reveals a lot more about German history than Edel's violent collage.

That said, see 'The Baader Meinhof Complex' yourself and let me know what YOU think.

Dark Night at the Cinema

I recently watched 'The Dark Knight' at the English cinema called Turm Palast in Frankfurt am Main.

Maybe you didn't know, but in Germany subtitles are not common. On TV and in cinemas all English films are simply dubbed into German. So you get Bruce Willis, Nicole Kidman etc. speaking German. Of course, it doesn't make much difference for Arnold Schwarzenegger...

The new Batman film was released in August in Germany, so of course I saw it on one of the cinema's smaller screens. It was not a good cinematic experience.

The volume was lower than on my TV set. The seats were falling apart and the faded red upholstery was rotting off before my eyes. I doubt that this cinema has been refurbished since the end of the Second World War.

Just after the bit where the Joker gets put behind bars, there was the sharp 'clack' of a fuse blowing and the screen went black. Apart from disgruntled murmers from the small audience that was that. Film over. The cash machine was closed, but I got my money back the next day.

Obviously, this does not make me the best judge of the film. But what the hell was it actually about?!

The plot was, indeed, bat-like: erratic in flight and virtually blind. Would Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker really have attracted so much attention if he hadn't died shortly after filming?

The Joker was enjoyably psychopathic. But if you really want to be thrilled by a bunch of maniacs, try going to a Slipknot concert.

Christian Bale's performance as Batman was as stiff as his hard rubber suit. In fact, even the action scenes were boring.

I probably would have demanded my money back even if the projector hadn't blown up!

Why did so many people think this film was the best thing since sliced bread?

'Gaslight' at The English Theatre in Frankfurt

Seeing a good play 'live' at the theatre can be exhilarating. 'Gaslight', a tense psychological thriller, had me gripped from the start.

You see a strict husband psychologically abuse his distraught wife in a high-ceilinged dark Victorian sitting room. 'Sounds like fun!' I hear you say sarcastically. Seeing this less than a few meters away from me, I felt very uncomfortable too. The way in which Mr. Manningham reprimanded his wife for being forgetful and pale was horrific.

He accuses her of taking paintings down from the walls and hiding them when he is out. Mrs. Manningham cannot for the life of her ever remember having done such a thing. But of course, she must have hidden the paintings, because neither her husband nor the two servants have. As a result, Mr Manningham is convinced that his wife is going mad and is at little pains to carefully, if not patiently, explain this to her.

But then a jovial old detective by the name of Rough pays Mrs. Manningham a visit whilst her husband is out one night and the plot literally thickens by the minute from then on in. A dark history of murder and deception is gradually unravelled.

If you have chance, go and see this play. The acting is exemplary and the plot is magnificent in its suspense and clarity. Even after some sort of resolution at the end of the play, the utterly harrowing expression on Mrs. Manningham's face does not allow you to leave the theatre feeling relieved (see picture).

Looking forward to exploring the work of Patrick Hamilton further.

Kundera's integrity under threat

Dissident Czech author Milan Kundera was yesterday accused of denouncing a Western spy in the 1950s.

Kundera who is famous for satirizing the Czechoslovak Communist regime in novels such as 'The Joke' vehemently denied the accusation. Now aged 79, he has lived in France since 1975.

The institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes which collects and publishes Communist secret police files, claimed that it had found documents which proved that Kundera had informed on a fellow student. Part of the Czech state, the institute is widely regarded as credible.

One speculates whether the Communist secret police named Kundera in the document as a way to smear him at a later date. If you were found out as an informer you became a social outcast. In any case, more research will be needed to judge the authenticity of the accusation.

One thinks back to the revelation that Gunter Grass was a member of the Wehrmacht during World War Two and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's latter-day support for Russian President Putin. Author's hailed for their work in defending human liberties are often found out to have a dark past.

Read more here: The Independent

Art?

Is Kate Moss an artist? Of course she is, all the tabloids and free rags shout. She is 'it' - the golden girl that everyone wants to feel connected to.

Oh, isn't it scandalous that that picture she drew only sold for £33,600 at auction last Saturday? I mean, come on, it was a self-portrait with her own lipstick and... Pete Doherty's blood! Expected to fetch £40,000 - peanuts! I would have bought it for half a million! (If I was made of money, at least).

The title of Kate's masterpiece alone is a piece of art 'Who Needs Blood When You've Got Lipstick'. Yeah, what if we all had lipstick in our veins - no one would ever bleed to death again. And everyone's lips would be lovely and red the whole time. Wow! Or maybe she's talking about Pete's blood. Like: 'Pete, you're a wanker! I've got the best lipstick in the world!' Look, I can draw with it. 'Wow, Kate, that's wicked!'

But you gotta feel for Kate, dontchya? She must have been looking at Hirst's auction and thinking - I don't need a dead cow, I've got Pete's blood and my lipstick. Up your's Hirst! I should be the most expensive living artist in the world, not you!

But at least, Banksy's work took a bashing at the auction too. Really, though, what could he expect? He refused to authenticate the authenticity of his authorship. 'Yeah, bollocks, art world I don't care if you poncy pricks don't buy my work? It's not mine.' How cool and postmodern. No worries that his mural on the side of a van 'Fungle Junk' only went for half the expected £150,000?

So Hirst sold some of his work for £111 million on 15 September. Not bad. All those animals and formaldehyde must cost a bit anyway.

It is surely a step forward for civilisation that top artist's these days don't have to die in poverty and disgrace before they achieve fame and certain players start selling their works for heaps of cash. If only Van Gogh had pickled his own ear in a jar and set up his own auction instead of descending into madness and eating his own paint. But then the art world, now, would be light years ahead of its time. Hirst would be a drunken farmer and Kate would be a checkout assistant. And today's artists would be conducting the world economy!

Pietersen a gamble

After the resignation of Michael Vaughan as the captain of England cricket team the appointment of Kevin Pietersen in his place is a gamble.


There is little doubt that Pietersen is the best batsman in the side, but will he make a successful captain?

The three former England captains Vaughan, Hussein and Atherton have all been very sober and calm characters. You couldn't doubt their grit and determination, but, dare I say it, weren't they sometimes a little boring? A little too 'by the book', a little too... oh dear... 'English'.

Pietersen is anything but 'by the book'. Just look at his incredible stroke play. He has single handedly brought the term 'switch-hitting' to cricketing life.

He is flamboyant, but he is single-minded in his pursuit of success. Past occasions show that he plays his best under pressure and who knows, maybe the captaincy will take his game to an even higher level. As an Englishman I sincerely hope so.

Announcing the squad for the final test against South Africa tomorrow this is what Pietersen said:

"Sidey's struggling with a few niggles," said Pietersen. "We all saw he was down on pace last week, so he's not fit at the moment and we decided to give him a bit of a break to get away from things. But Steve is buzzing, properly buzzing. You can see that little smile on his face, and he'll be given the responsibility to take the new ball tomorrow."

It's upbeat, snappy and to the point. Quite a change from the droll captains of the past.

On the other hand, it could all go wrong. How well Pietersens famous 'ego' will be able to withstand all the responsibility is yet to be seen. My bet is that a honeymoon period will, sooner or later, come to a sudden end. But let's hope I'm wrong.

Obama speech in Berlin

Barack Obama called for nations to cooperate to increase freedom and peace in the world. A strong European Union would be good for the world and good for America.

We all share the burden of ‘global citizenship’ he said and the task ahead is more challenging than ever before. The advance of technology has made the world smaller, but also more dangerous.

Obama recalled the events of the Berlin Airlift 60 years ago. Only three years after the end of the Second World War, America was ready to provide a lifeline to its former enemy.

Ideas, not weapons were what, eventually defeated Communism. Obama argued that this achievement should bring hope and strength for the challenges ahead.

Obama said that a world without nuclear weapons is a major target. The superpowers of the Cold War came close too many times to destroying everything.

Using the metaphor of the Berlin Wall, he called for walls between Muslims, Christians, Jews and different races to be brought down.

He admitted war is objectionable, but said that the battle in Afghanistan must be fought on by US troops and German troops. German Chancellor Merkel will certainly have been listening closely to this part.

Obama avoided echoing JFK’s ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ and also his own ‘Yes we can!’ slogan. His delivery was sober and balanced.

Repeatedly addressing the ‘People of the world’ as well as the ‘People of Berlin’, Obama seems keen to take on the real power and responsibility of being a world leader.

“Thank you Berlin. God bless you.” He ended to spontaneous applause from the large crowd.

German Wikipedia in book form

Forget your laptop, forget your blackberry and smash up your i-phone, because soon you'll have all the information you need at the flick of a page. Well, if at least if you can read German and let's face it, who can't?

Full of composite words such as 'Zeitgeist' ('Zeit' = time, 'Geist' = spirit), it takes only half as much time to learn German as any other language. And on top of that, it's so logical, isn't it?

So make sure you pre-order your copy of Das Wikipedia which is due out in September. Factually checked and colourfully illustrated, its a snip at 20 Euros.

The free online lexikon will print 50,000 of the site's most visited subjects.

So we can expect poppy entries on Carla Bruni, Tokio Hotel and Playstation3. Time to flog those dusty Britannica's at a carboot methinks.

German news round-up

Germany was alive and kicking this weekend with several unusual headlines hitting the news.

Thousands celebrate German pop song festival in Hamburg
I thought that the only person that actually enjoyed German 'Schlager' lived a few doors down from me. 'Schlager' are folky German pop songs that are sung by mustachioed orange-tanned grinning Bavarians and have plenty of accordion in them. Actually, I think the songs are specially designed to be carried by a gentle breeze, propagating themselves like pollen.


I was astounded to discover that 300,000 fans celebrated this music in Hamburg on Saturday. And the organisers had expected half a million! Several lorries were converted into huge 'Schlager' floats which blasted the music out through the streets during an all-day procession.
Check out some images from the 5th Schlagermove, here, at Stern.

World's longest concert continues
The church organ in Halberstadt played the next - sixth - chord of John Cage's As Slow As Possible work to much rejoicing amongst locals. The performance began in the year 2000, so with one chord ringing out for more than a year on average, the tonal change must have been a breath of fresh air.

Hitler head torn off
Minutes after the opening of Madame Tussauds wax figure museum in Berlin on Saturday, an angry German visitor attacked the wax effigy of Adolf Hitler. He jumped over a rope supposed to separate the exhibit from the public. When another visitor tried to stop him, a melee ensued and the result was a headless Fuhrer. The man in his forties came from the leftist district of Kreuzberg police said after they had detained him. Museum officials swiftly removed the damaged waxwork.

Today, media reported that the museum is fixing the figure which will remain a part of the exhibit of politicians.

'Fidelio' by Beethoven

There must be something special about the Neue Oper in Frankfurt. 'Fidelio' is the third opera I have seen there and it easily matched the other two for sheer musical brilliance and modern theatrical style.

If you think opera today is about fat singers in period costume melodramatically prancing around cardboard cut-out sets then think again.

The Neue Oper is clearly at the cutting edge. Again the audience was treated to an ultra modern stage design. The entire back and side walls were an invigorating full yellow. Clever use of lighting either took you inside the prison or to the exercise yard.

Basically the piece is about a woman, Leonore, who rescues her lover from prison by pretending to be a man called Fidelio. Surprisingly nobody dies. This is an uplifting moving opera about heroism and justice.

Swedish-American soprano, Erika Sunnegardh, is simply outstanding as Fidelio/Leonore. She sang like a nightingale and her athletic figure was ideally suited to the demanding dual role.

The other stand-out performance was that of bass singer James Cresswell who played the prison master Rocco. As demanded by the music, his voice was deep and commanding, but at the same time he somehow managed to convey a sense of irony about any situation.

It is a credit to the performance that the two characters with the biggest parts were also the most enjoyable to watch and hear.

Danish film review: ‘Prague’ (2006)

A gripping dark drama, artistically shot and lined with black humour.

Christoffer (Mads Mikkelsen) travels to Prague with his wife Maja (Stine Stengade) to organise the shipment of his dead father back to Denmark. He is unemotional about the whole thing and only expects to fulfil the practicalities. It is 25 years since his father ran away from Denmark leaving him and his mother behind.

At the hospital, Christoffer is unable to wave a fly off of his dead father’s face. He just stands and stares – that is the extent of his stunted feeling. The doctor drolly tells him ‘Life is hard. And you cannot have it all.’ A mantra repeated by the completely bald elderly lawyer played by Czech actor Bořivoj Navrátil.

Whilst the coffin with his father is mistakenly sent to Singapore, events in Prague rapidly develop. Christoffer and Maja’s marriage begins to fall apart. Maja has been seeing a man altogether more lively and tender than the detatched Christoffer. Meanwhile, a surprising fact of his father’s history emerges.

Mikkelsen plays Christoffer very well – lonely, sad, even nihilistic, his placid pale face rarely changes expression. But Stengade really wins your heart as the long-suffering wife who can’t stand her moody self-absorbed husband any longer.

Danish cinema does dark abstract movies well and black humour is its forte. In any Danish film I always find myself looking out for features of the influential Dogme 95 school of cinema. ‘Prague’ does not disappoint. It has all this and more. Stark realism is its most powerful attribute.

Book review: 'Snow' by Orhan Pamuk

Snow by Orhan Pamuk
First published in Turkish, 2002
English translation by Maureen Freely, 2004
436 pages, £5.99 on amazon.co.uk

‘Snow’ is a beautifully written and very human novel. Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk explores religion, politics and art with a set of passionate characters, but the story is mainly about one man’s search for love and happiness.

That man is called Ka. He is a poet who, after years of political exile in Germany, returns to Turkey. He travels to Kars, posing as a journalist sent to investigate the suicides of the so-called ‘headscarf girls’.

Headscarves were banned at the local college, and people believe this is why several ardent Muslim girls committed suicide. But Ka talks to the locals and finds that other reasons probably led the girls to do it, such as the brutality of their fathers.

Thick snow falls and all the transport routes to the remote town are cut off. As the town is hit by a military coup, Ka falls madly in love with Ipek, daughter of the 'enlightened' hotel owner, Turgut Bey.

Interesting characters and wry humour illuminate this novel. For example, Serdar Bey, the editor of the local newspaper, publishes the next day’s news before it happens. And the Islamic extremist Blue is a complex character who stands out for both his brutal conviction and his gentlemanly wiles with women.

Poems come to Ka as if by divine inspiration, and we see him furiously penning them in a public toilet or at the kitchen table. Pamuk alternately pokes fun at artistic pretentiousness and celebrates the electric rush of pure creativity.

Pamuk often digresses from the main plot but this only makes the novel richer. Some books you can’t put down, but I often put this book down just to savour what I had read and to avoid reaching the end too soon.

Kars and its people finally make Ka realise what he wants from life. But at the same time he does not want to shake off the solitude and depression that he knows so well. Will Ka leave his lonely poet’s world for love? Or will raw emotion overtake him?

Germany has a new super star

Saturday night, i found myself glued to the TV for a good four hours. It was the final of Deutschland sucht den Superstar on RTL.

Fady Maalouf competed with Thomas Godoj for the viewers hearts and a record deal.

It was clear for me who should win. Bohlen again hit the nail on the head when he said that Fady's singing reminded him of the warm feeling he got as a little boy when he had peed himself!

Thomas has a great voice for the rock side of pop. His first two songs of the evening: 'Fairy tale gone bad' by Sunrise Avenue and 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol ranked with his best performances on the show.

To me, Fady's crooning voice was all-over the place again on non-discript pop songs.

I was happy when Thomas won (I even sent in an sms) and also very relieved.

The amount of advertisement breaks they slotted in with increasing frequency before the winner was announced was terrible. RTL had a captive audience of perhaps a couple of million and they unashamedly battered us senseless with dozens of commercials on a loop.

Tom's final song which will be released as a single this week could have been better. Firstly, the lyrics of 'Love is You' are pretty banal. Secondly, the song itself is way too poppy for his so-called rock image. And thirdly, this is not a song to launch a super star career. But hopefully, others will come soon that are.

So Tom was number 1 from 30,000 original entrants. Maybe his victory was most pleasing due to his underdog status. In terms of his singing ability he was no mere beginner. But what about his image? At his audition Bohlen brutally told him that it looked like a coffin lid had hit him three times in the face! The English expression, 'third time lucky' springs to mind.

In the end, it is reassuring to see that an 'outsider' with true talent can still beat all the pretty vacant wannabes out there.

Awesome military might

Red Square, Russia, 09 May 2008

The Russians celebrated the 63rd anniversary of their victory over Nazi Germany with style.

What could be more rousing than a good honest military parade on Red Square? At last, Put-in had put-away enough money in his piggy bank to afford a big hootenanny for his patriotic followers. Forget spending anything on the decrepit schools and hospitals!

Did you see the pictures? By Jove, it was heartening to see the Russians flex their military muscle. No beating around the bush, like those sneaky Yanks. Check out the BBC video here.

Hold on a minute though. Is it just me, or do those jeeps look a trifle dated? Sure they've been done-up a bit, but I've seen more lethal jeeps on my way to the local supermarket in Nottingham. And those tanks? I know the T-34 was one of the deadliest fighting machines of the Second World War, but come on, they're a little bit past it now aren't they?

I feel sorry for the Russians who wanted to paint the garden fence or the garage over the weekend. There must have been a shortage of dark green paint in the D.I.Y shops!

Seriously, I'm sure the Putin had quite a hefty bill from the cleaners. All that dusting off of 17-year-old-plus hardware.

Do military museums exist in Russia? If so, I suppose all they had left to show were a couple of pick axes (donated by retired assassins) and a sharp spade or two. Everything else was in the parade!

And what about those whopping great missiles, probably longer than a London bendy bus? One gets the feeling, that Medvedev et al. are compensating for something.

Night of the Museums in Frankfurt a.M.

Nacht der Museen, Saturday 26 April 2008

Around 50 museums and galleries opened their doors to the public from 7pm until 2am. A special ticket for the bargain price of 12 Euros gave you admittance to every single one of them if you had the stamina and resolve.

This was a great opportunity to do a quick whip around and find out which museums were worth a second more considerate visit in the future. Or so I thought.

Huge crowds, meant that long snaking rows of people crawled around from exhibit to exhibit at snails pace. Or the larger museums resembled over-excited ant hives as masses of visitors swarmed around. It was an incredibly lively occasion as far as museums go!

In the end I made it to five along Museumsufer (Museum Embankment):

1. Städel art gallery. Enjoyed a glass of wine whilst watching a live calypso band in the hall at the back. Did not witness a single artwork. They were actually operating one-in, one-out at the door. Never mind, I was here before, and the collection is extremely impressive.

2. Museum für Komunikation. Again very busy. A modern building with lots of glass. Got a great aerial view of the classical dance performance, from the third floor looking down to the large open floor at the bottom. Seemed a bit thin on exhibits. But an interesting exposition on diary writing and blogging, offered me some inspiration.

3. Deutsches Architekturmuseum. Models of human settlements through the ages. A little bit boring. Strange layout meant slow moving crowds. Blueprints displayed more like artwork, than technical drawings and little more than basic information offered.

4. Museum der Weltkulturen. World cultures? All I saw was a small wooden canoe and a stuffed crocodile!

5. Museum für angewandte Kunst/Museum of Applied Arts. Another modern building with lots of glass and spacious rooms with white walls. A lot on offer here. Vases, furniture, electric appliances, toys, kitchen implements etc. All practical yet 'arty' in their own inimitable ways. The special exhibition called 'FRAGILE' (pronounced as in Latin, with hard 'g') showed the best collection of Soviet Union porcelain I had ever seen. No, surprisingly, this was the museum highlight of the evening. The delicate cups with intricate proletarian designs, made my tea mug look stone age.

Every city with more than two museums should have an evening like this!

Get the funk, Get the funk, Get the funk...

I'm not a funkman, but things got pretty funky at the Central Station in Darmstadt last Friday night.

Maceo Parker brought his band to town. They played their guts out for three whole hours. More than five pieces could have been played, but funk jammin was never gonna result in three-minute hits.

The crowd of a couple of hundred jiggled about like crazy. One skinny wild white girl in front of us was so funky, she was dangerous. Her elbows were everywhere. People around her exchanged furious glares. Sure, the music was electrifyin', but the German crowd still had a sense of decorum and general respect for a modicum of personal space was upheld.

Reared in the mosh pits of Nottingham, I personally wouldn't have minded a bit more jostling, if not good honest barging in the crowd. At least then, everyone would get a spell right up front, centre.

The music had a great syncopation and rawness to it. The drums and bass sounded awesome - and the rest of the sound was CD quality too. My only gripe was that the keyboards were virtually inaudible to me. Granted, it's a rhythm/backing instrument, but so too the guitar and that was belting out like a ballistic squawking seagull. And rhythm is what this music is all about.

Maceo played some mega slick flourishes on his gleaming sax and the other brass, trombone and trumpet, whipped some wild riffs out of the box too.

It took me a while to really get into it and 'feel' the music, even though I enjoyed the whole concert. There was no support act and this didn't help. Even an appalling support act can really get you in the mood for the real thing. And standing right near the front, meant that access to the bar was limited. Don't get me wrong, I don't need to be wasted to enjoy music, but a certain level of alcohol can certainly lubricate the nerves connecting ear-brain-soul.

The bands presentation was immaculate, suits and all. And they rotated nicely during the set, giving each member alternately a chance to shine and a chance to ooze backstage. Their presentation was reassuring, but I didn't need the music to be that immaculate too.

Things never got dirty or outta control. In fact all the funky choruses of 'We love you' started to piss me off. Repetition of simple phrases was the order of the day rather than poetic lyricism.

Maceo, may have tuned his funk to such perfection, that it's just lost its rawness and dirty vibe. But who am I to say; I'm not a funkman.

Potty about Potter

JK Rowling is obviously potty about Potter, and fair play to her.

I've never read a Harry Potter book, or seen a Harry Potter film, and never plan to either. So my immediate reaction to the news that Rowling is suing superfan SV Ark for publishing a Harry Potter Lexicon in print was - so what?

OK - Rowling wants to publish her own HP Lexicon. So what? Surely fans will still prefer a lexicon from the original author than some geek. Maybe, Rowling really is worried that her lexicon might turn out to be less authoritative than Ark's. Once, she even confessed to occasionally using his online encyclopedia as a reference.

And with £500 million plus in her bank, how could she possibly be worried about Ark's book hurting her sales. Does it come down to principle then? Certainly, Rowling has conjured this card out of the hat too.

Both author's have been in tears over this, so the dispute must be about more than money.

Why shouldn't a fan, get obsessive about some other person's work, and then be allowed to publish a useful reference guide about it? Beats me. I would be flattered.

A smidgen of jealousy might have coloured my view regarding one of the world's most successful living authors, but I feel somewhat validated by the judge's legal perspective. U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr. called the so-called 'world' Rowling had created 'gibberish'. And he probably had to read some of her stuff.

Why is everyone in the real-world potty about Potter apart from me and U.S. District Judge Robert Patterson Jr.?

---

Picture: 'Rappi Notter' the Ukrainian translation of Harry Potter. Sounds better, don't you think - kind of sordid.

Germany's X-Factor

Germany's X-Factor is called 'Deutschland sucht den Superstar' or DSDS for short.

I've been hooked on it for some time now. It's much more entertaining than the UK equivalent.

For a start, the regional selection round found every madman/woman and his/her dog wailing in their bid for super pop stardom. The characters were so outlandish it was hilarious. My favourite, was the guy who looked like a cross between Captain Spock and a bosseyed Yoda. He wore his best shirt for the audition, a bright orange Hawaiian beauty, and murmured the most ridiculous ditty.

Whereas Simon Cowell would have stomped off in a rage, Dieter Bohlen (pronounced 'Bullen'), the German equivalent, chuckled along with the million-plus viewers.

Sure, Bohlen also looks like a sour grape, but he is infinitely more likeable than the arsey Cowell. His comments are succinct and he is often very funny with it too.

Now into the finals, Bohlen is really giving the final 8 or so competitors what for. Last week he lifted another humdinger of a critique out of the can. One which had my English mates tickled once I'd translated. One of the girls sang a bland rendition of some pop song - the details are irrelevant and Bohlen said:

'Your performance was... dildoesque.' He went on to explain: 'Yes, technically perfect, but lacking all emotion.'

The entertainment value of this show is clear, my Enlgish mates hardly understand a word of German, but they lapped it all up with as much relish as the Bier.

Picture: Mario Teusch - hopeful from the first Casting Show

Sociology

I have a BA in German and History. Where to next?

Sociology sounds attractive.

What do I understand by sociology? The state of society today. Social issues: poverty, demographics, environment, prostitution, globalisation. Combines methodology and thought from history, statistics, philosophy, anthropology, science. A holistic approach to studying the issues of today. Perfect for journalism? The role of technology, modernisation.

Isn't Frankfurt a.M. the best place to study it? It's where the Frankfurt School of the Sixties was based, surprisingly enough. Horkheimer, Habermas, Adorno, Marcuse usw.

It would probably take 2 years to get a Masters here, whereas I could get one in a year in England. Expanding one's mind takes time though, and writing and debating in German would certainly be great practice.

Will post my further research on this later.

note to myself (ntm)

Ok these blog entries are getting a bit wordy. From now on I'll try and keep em to about 4 short paras. Short sharp blasts of comment.

The International Musikmesse Frankfurt a.M.

Saturday 15 March 2008

The international music fair in Frankfurt is massive. Musical instrument manufacturers come from all over the world to present their wares. Several huge hanger-like halls are spread over Frankfurt's trade fair ('messe') grounds. Level two of one hall was dedicated solely to wind instruments. Each manufacturer presented their instruments and other products on seperate stands.

The fair had been open for business since Wednesday, but today it was open to the public. Despite the 29 Euro adult entrance ticket hordes of people flooded the site, confirming that music is one of the biggest draws there is.

The wind instrument hall was resounding with horns, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets and the steady buzz of voices. Players of all levels were welcome to try out any instrument on offer. The hall dedicated to strings was a little quieter and more civilized. Various classical dities faded into and out of earshot.

The rock music instruments were clearly the biggest attraction. Hundreds of groups of 'alternative' youth skulked around in drainpipes and assorted stripey/chequered garments. Well cool.

I have to admit, that I was here for the rock and guitars too.

Furch, a Czech guitar manufacturer, had a stand in the same place as last year. Again I was blown away by the quality of their beautifully crafted acoustics. But a lovely hollow-body pure cedar arch-top stole my jazzy heart.

A super-white pointy Les Paul-like Washburn guitar was simply awesome to play. My hopes were dashed though, when I found out it cost over 2,000 euros.

Germany: aging or already old?

The electronic info screen in the underground showed me a very interesting statistic yesterday:

10,000 people living in Germany are over the age of 100!

This is incredible! I knew Germany had an ageing population, but I did not know that so many people living here were born in 1908 or earlier.


Please feel free to comment on any of my posts

Henry Moore and the Countryside Exhibition

'Henry Moore und die Landschaft' at Opelvillen in Rüsselsheim from 7.11.07 to 30.3.08
Entrance: €6, €4 concs

On Saturday 16 February I visited the Henry Moore exhibition at the Opel Villa in Ruesselsheim about 30 minutes by train outside Frankfurt am Main. It was not what I had expected or secretly hoped for. Not for the first time, I was taken in by the advertising posters. These showed sheep grazing under a huge undulating organic metal form created by the Yorkshire lad. Forever the optimist, I looked forward to ambling about a huge green field dotted with such swirling forms and even the odd baaing sheep. Although pessimists enjoy immunity from disappointment, I still prefer revelling in my optimism while it lasts. At the exhibition my expectations gradually merged into the reality and, all in all, it was great to see some of Moore's works 'in the flesh' for the first time. So let's just focus on what was on view...

Around eight reclining figures were on display over the Villa's two floors, all of them so much smaller than the one with the sheep - indeed; they were actually smaller than a single adult sheep. And the numerous maquettes, small bone-like forms waiting to hatch like eggs into bigger things, were quite a bit smaller than lambs. Apart from that, I was mildly surprised to find the walls hung with dozens of two-dimensional artworks by the master sculptor. These were very abstract, for me, not as interesting as what they must ultimately have inspired; the three-dimensional forms themselves.

Moore explained that there are three basic positions for the human body: standing, sitting and lying. He saw that the reclining position afforded the sculptor the most freedom of form. Standing positions are limited and seated positions always require some sort of seat, whereas lying offers a countless number of possibilities - just try and count the times you readjust your body as you lie tossing and turning in bed one night and you’ll get what he means. I gleaned this information from one of the information posters – be warned that these were only in German!

You were allowed to touch the metal sculptures - run your hand along the smooth surfaces and explore the nooks and crannies. However, the two stone sculptures were off-limits. Now, I cannot recall the exact forms I saw in my head, they are not easily remembered like flat images, nor for that matter classical statues. The beauty of Moore's scluptures are that they change form and meaning as you circle around them. Wave upon twirl of raw lava flicker and cast shadows here and then there. You think you see a human resemblance and then you move on and you see the sheer face of a cliff.

The most interesting sketches for me were a series of details of an elephant skull. Taken as a whole an elephant skull is a complex feat of nature, but focusing on individual sections, as Moore does, only increases the wonder. A single curve on the cranium could be an old bent tree trunk. Moore was certainly dealing with the forces of nature and what more mighty and symbolic than an elephant.

Finally, there was a twenty minute film in which Moore discusses his work. Opel Villa does not seem too concerned about catering for non-German speaking visitors: the film was overdubbed in German. Even so, there were breaks in which Moore's Yorkshire accent could be heard uninterrupted. He came across as a very amiable and wise old gentleman. It was from 1981 when Moore was 83, so a little dated, but it was interesting to hear from the sculptor himself (he died in 1986). You saw him driving around his field of sculptures in Perry Green! And in his workshop surrounded by old bits of wood, stones and boney parts.

But where did Moore really learn how to sculpt such curves, oh! such curves? Well, his mother suffered from rheumatism and she gave her seventh child, young Henry, the privilage of rubbing oil onto her back. Ten-year-old Henry was a little embarassed, but he sure did learn from the top. What is more curvaceous than a woman's shoulder blades and the long sweep down to her round buttocks?

The exhibition certainly whetted my appetite for Moore. I look forward to seeing some of his really huge works. Of course, Sheep Piece at Perry Green, Hertfordshire, England, is the top of my list.

The Queen of Spades

On Saturday 26 January I saw 'The Queen of Spades' by Tchaikovsky at the new opera house in Frankfurt am Main. It was only the second opera I have seen, but I was very impressed.

The production was immaculate and the highs and lows ebbed and flowed deliciously.

It was sung in Russian and had German sub(top)titles. The music was solemn and measured, perfectly fitting the lurking threat of death that haunted the characters.

Officer Hermann, the main character, is a heavy gambler and a wild man, full of passion. On first sight he falls in love with Lisa, the granddaughter of a countess known as the Queen of Spades. However, Lisa is already engaged to the buoyant Prince Yeletsky. Hermann is in despair when he finds out - he believes that he is far too poor to compete for the fair Lisa. His officer friends taunt him and tell him the story of the old countess. Her fortune is said to be based on the secret of three dead-cert winning cards: 'tri karty! tri karty! tri karty!' A refrain oft repeated throughout the piece.

Frank van Aken is perfect for the role of Hermann. He staggers around the stage with the weight of the world on his shoulders and rages against the elements, memorably in a flashing thunderstorm. It was van Aken, incidently, who played Laca, another desperate aggressive lover in the other opera I saw here, 'Jenufa'.

Lisa performed by Anja Kampe, certainly has the innocent desire to do good. Just as Jenufa, she is cast as the embodiment of purity. Lisa falls for the raw passion of Hermann over the take-it-or-leave it attitude of Yeletsky. For me there was something missing in her character. She was too much the simple object of purity. She just did not emit enough emotion, her facial expression seemed too rigid - neither loving, nor despairing.

You can see that Michael Nagy has fun playing the happy-go-lucky Prince Yeletsky and he provides a great foil to the brooding Hermann. I really enjoyed his lighter mercurial lines which came as some relief from the melancholic mood.

The importance of the military and its traditions in late 19th century Russian life was powerfully evoked as the stage was often filled with rows of soldiers in blue uniform. And the codes of courage and strength clearly shine through all that jolly cameraderie. Pistols abound and game upon game of Russian roulette is gleefully played with little concern for the dead losers who have to be dragged out of the way.

Finally, the stage set and choreography of the characters really made the piece. Four huge square arches were lined up in a row on the stage. On one side they were shiny, which made the lightening scene, and on the other dark. The action took place under this forboding monolith and to make the characters seem even more fragile and pawn like, the pillars were set on a circular rotating stage. One of the huge backdrops showed a fine bearded man, perhaps representing Hermann. In a later scene, this was turned upside down to reveal a grinning skull!

The set was both modern and minimalist, yet also strangely classical. The statue of a bright red gorilla with raised fist was hardly out of place. It reflected the raw brutal animal urges of Hermann. When the statue smashed into pieces on the floor, it was not a good sign. To see something like this live... well it was so much more powerful and real than any Hollywood special effects.

Overall, a fantastic performance that carried Tchaikovsky's self-declared 'masterpiece' off with great applomb. He must have been smiling in his grave.