Ich bin ein Ausländer

I spotted this sign as were were driving around Crete. We didn't go inside, maybe I should have.

I am trying to understand how Homo-Sapiens evolved from caves on the moon, and I started to think about all the people that think the moon landings were faked. And then it hit me! Maybe, since it all happened so long ago, obviously we are just remembering things differently (hoax believers vs. non-believers), but we're all remembering it wrong. They weren't moon LANDINGS, but launches. The humans that evolved from caves on the moon colonized the Earth, about 40... no 6000... no 200,000 years ago.

Or something. Maybe they had a pair of all other animals on board as well. And it wasn't Neil Armstrong, it was Noah Armstrong!

Like I said, I should have gone in to see what was up.

Hopefully, it is just a mistake made by someone writing in their 2nd or 3rd language (I know I make enough mistakes in my 2nd language, sometimes to hilarious effect). I really, really, hope that there aren't people out there that think humans evolved on the moon.

Labels: funny, huh?, photo, travel

This is what happens when you put your camera on a tripod at night in late October in eastern Crete away from (most) light pollution, set the lens to 24mm, angle it towards the sky (around 45 degrees), open the aperture to 2.8, focus on infinity, and leave the shutter open for nearly 10 minutes (583 seconds).

I think Carl Sagan was right about how many stars there are out there. The photo doesn't do it justice, but outside of the city like that, on a clear night, I could believe there are billions and billions and billions of stars out there.

UPDATE: I'm not happy when I reread that last paragraph. I know Carl Sagan is right - there are billions and billions and billions of stars out there. I loved watching his show "Cosmos" on PBS when I was a kid. Living in the city, sometimes I forget that there are more stars than those that make up Orion and the Big Dipper. That night in Crete reminded me how many there are, and it was especially cool to be able to point out the "milky way" to Jeannette, who had never really looked at it before.

Labels: photo, travel

One of the first things I noticed in Crete is that Heraklion has a lot of graffiti. And a lot of it is quite nice.

Now if I could just get someone who understands Greek to tell me what they say...

Labels: photo, street art, travel

Firewater Poster acquired after their show on 16.10.2008 at Cafe Central in Weinheim, Germany.

It was great, I recommend seeing it when they come to your neighborhood, or anywhere within 100 km. The only bad thing was that it wasn't long enough. Oh, and that the opening band started way later than they should have. But you can't really fault Firewater for that.

Set List:
Hey Clown
Bhangra Bros.
Borneo
Already Gone
Chi Cha
Bourbon & Division
Electric City
Get Out Of My Head
Weird To Be Back
--
Paradise
Three-Legged Dog
"The Tuning Song" - Tod A. (silently) tuned his guitar while the other 5 played.
This Is My Life

Labels: music, photo

Hanson Brothers set list from their show on 11.10.2008 at Cafe ExZess in Frankfurt (Main), Germany.

Goombah
Everything
My Game
Robot
Duke It Out
--
Stick Boy
Commando
100 + 10%
Night W/o
--
I Know You
Tranquill
Sabrina
Comatose
Jack-off
--
No Emotion
Secret
Third Man In
Danielle
--
Hockey Song
Bad
--
+Enjoy Y-self
Let's Go Out
Brewin'
Get Right Back
--
++They Made Her
Head Cheese
Road Pizza
Sudden Death

Labels: music, photo

A week ago, Jeannette and I discovered the swan nest in town along the Neckar. We both thought it was way too close to the walking path. Mama Swan was taking care of her nest and 6 eggs, and it was fun to watch her lay down on them, and reach for nearby twigs to tuck into the cracks between her body and the nest. Every 5 minutes or so she would stand up, rearrange an egg or two (by sliding he beak and head under one and pushing/rolling it around) and plop down again, re-tucking her babies in.



On Saturday, we discovered that some of the eggs had hatched. Mama was still taking care of two eggs, and there were two fuzzy little swan babies swimming around with Papa. We have no idea what happened to the other two eggs...



This time I had my camera and got a few decent shots. I hope the swan family didn't mind...

Labels: paparazzo, photo, swan

OK, so it is probably not the sprayer's native language, so I tend to cut them a bit of slack, but I'm not really sure what this means. Unlike most graffiti with spelling or grammar mistakes, I can't even guess.

Just for thoroughness, I googled "Border Momation, Stop Their Portation!" and got zero hits. I narrowed it to the individual words:

Momation seems to be the same of a rap and/or hip-hop performer (sorry, I am bad with musical genres), who has a channel on youtube.

Wiktionary defines "portation" as the act of carrying something or the act of porting software.

OK, with that information, the meaning still isn't clear.

Apparently "Portation" is also a plugin for the Archos TV+ that streams live TV from your TV+ to a laptop, Symbian phone or handheld Archo 605 or 705 with DVR station. Maybe it is a protesting the streaming of Momation's videos (or more likely, live performances) to mobile devices. But the "border" is not needed then. Unless it is international streaming.

Maybe there is an alternate definition of "Border" I don't know about. Or maybe it is a typo. Border should be Broader or something. In that case, maybe it is a plea to stop distributing Momation's work to a wider audience.

Either way, it is a very specific complaint for a sprayer...

At any rate, after this post is online, at least anyone googling for "Border Momation, Stop Their Portation!" should get a hit.

Labels: photo, street art

So, for Jeannette's birthday, we rented a convertible and drove up to the Harz mountains to hang out in Quedlinburg and the surrounding area. It's the first time we have ever been in the state of Sachsen-Anhalt (which, in my humble opinion, translates to "Sexy Hitchhike", but you probably won't find that in a dictionary.)



We had a lot of fun, because the weather was perfect for a convertible, plus we just happened to be in the right place at the right time for the tapping of the keg for a spring festival that was sparsely attended, so we got to have several free beers. I was a bit surprised, because Jeannette kept saying "Faßanstich" and I thought she meant "Fasanenstich", and I wondered when the birds were coming out. Not that I wanted to see pheasants getting stabbed, but Jeannette seemed excited about it, and it was her birthday so I was rollin' with it. The free beer was a pleasant surprise. (For the non-Germans, the confusion was between "Faßanstich"="keg tapping" instead of "Fasanenstich"="Pheasant Stabbing". For the Germans, I know they don't really sound that much alike, but I like punning, spoonerizing and playing on words in English, and I decided to start trying it in German, too).

Anyway, we had a great weekend, and would write more but dinner is ready, so you'll just have to wait. Here are some pictures to keep you occupied till then.

Labels: photo, travel

I have been in Iowa for the last few days visiting my and my wife's families & the few friends we still have in state. I have only had a few chances to take the camera out, and yesterday was cut short because I forgot to bring a fresh battery. Oh well. I'll try to get that great shot of the bridge in Waverly again today, and some pictures of the Quad Cities later in the week. Maybe tomorrow there will be some shots in Mason City, where I am going with Textbandit to meet Carrie who is driving down from Minnesota. Should be fun times.

Labels: family, friends, photo, travel

It was a lovely night on December 25th, and we were fairly far from light pollution, so I decided to try to take a picture or 57. This one turned out fairly good for a first attempt, don't you think?

So now you know what the nearly full moon looks like over SE Ireland.

Labels: photo

Happy New Year. I'm late. As usual when it comes to this time of year.

Anyway, here's a sign we saw in Ireland. Take a look. Think about it. Tell me what it means.

Labels: photo, travel

We popped into the Augustiner Brewery a couple times while we were in Salzburg, and one of the first things we saw when we walked in the door was the Beer Warmer. It's basically just a big sink full of warm water, and people soak their full beer mugs in it if it is too cold. I don't understand how a still-liquid beer could possibly be too cold, but I suppose Austrians are different Volk and they apparently have different strokes.



The procedure at the Augustiner Brewery is interesting. Perhaps all Austrian (& maybe even German) beer halls are like this, I don't know. I guess much, much more research is in order. The whole deal is mostly self-service. You grab a new mug from the shelves near the door (your choice of 0.5 or 1.0 liter mugs), then wash it in the beer fountain, pictured above. Then you pay for your beer. Then you go to the guy at the keg, and he fills it up. Optionally, you can then go to the beer warmer, if you swing that way.

The first day we were there, they were serving only Märzen beer, but we came back a few days later when they cracked open the keg of bock beer. I wasn't a big fan of the Märzen, but the bock rocked.

The beer hall was pretty cool, there were 4 huge rooms, at least one of which was non-smoking. That was nice. There are several stalls outside the hall that served food. The first day I was at one of the sausage stalls, and I watched the guy put some yummy looking grilled sausages into a nice looking bun with mustard and what looked like curry powder for the woman in front of me. I asked what it was. He told me it was a "wadlfjkhao diuvkjhba" or something like that. This Salzburger Austrian dialect of German is pretty bizarre. I didn't see anything on the menu with the perceived first couple syllables, so I asked again. This time I heard a bit differently, he clearly said "wdlafhjkoa dovkjhab"! Aahh... Still not on the menu, and the woman didn't hand him much money, so I asked for one of "what she had".

It was the best €2.20 I ever spent. What I missed while watching him make the one for the woman in front of me was the toasting of the bread and, more importantly, the sauce that featured tons of onion and horseradish cubes that went into bun first. It was incredible, And I have no idea what it is really called. Jeannette was even there, and with her mastery of German and several bizarre dialects, she couldn't make it out either.



The second day we came, the day that they served bock beer, was much more crowded. We shared a table with an Austrian couple, who told me that my German is pretty good. That was nice, but they don't have to lie like that... Maybe I should have asked them what the horseradishy toasty sausagey thingy was. They probably would have just told me it was a "woldajhogka vodhjkba". But I already knew that. Eventually they left (probably because Jeannette was eating oranges with her beer), and the group of Italian kids that were waiting for a table sat with us. We talked a bit, and Jeannette decided I needed to be in a picture with them. OK! We also were quite jealous of the guys at the table next to us. They were apparently throwing a bachelor party, and had brought in all kinds of great food. I wanted to join them. I'll have to get over my shyness
before I can do that.

Labels: beer, food, photo, travel

At most (all?) festivals in Germany, at least Southern Germany (I haven't spent much time in the North, especially Northeast), there are stands that sell Lebkuchenherzen - essentially gingerbread hearts with frosting and sappy phrases. Usually they say things like "I love you" or "my sweetie" or "Grandma's little sweetheart" or "my sunshine". They include holes & a ribbon so they can be worn around the neck, and everyone can see that you are daddy's little princess or treasure or whatever. Usually they are written in German too, but at some places, especially more touristy spots, there will be plenty of english as well.

At the Bad Canstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart this year, we spotted, amongst the German "I love you" and "I'm easy" hearts, the classic English "I have the tits, so I make the rules". Jeannette grabbed the camera and ran over to take the shot.

Labels: funny, Germany, observations, photo

Yeah, the town is Fucking, Austria. We think that we should open a hotel there and call it the "Fucking Hotel". And maybe a bar attached - "The Fucking Pub".

It puts this one in 2nd place:



Conversations must be interesting in nearby towns. I can just imagine someone saying: "I'm going to Wank with my friends tonight."

Labels: funny, photo, travel

We were in Salzburg over the long weekend of Nov. 1st.

I don't know why it has taken so long for me to get some pictures out, because it is a beautiful city and I got some great shots there. I guess I've just been busy lately.

Labels: photo, travel

14 years ago on this date, the great musician & composer Frank Zappa died.
I don't know if this street in Venice was named after him or not, but I definitely thought of him. I don't like all of Zappa's music, but most of it is great when I am in the right mood (like a lot of music), and it is all better than the typical radio tripe you hear these days. Although I think there are more Frank Zappa CDs in my collection than any other artist, I still long for new music from this creative genius.

Well, this isn't much of a tribute. I'm not erecting any statues or anything, but (and I know it isn't saying much under current circumstances) he would have made a great president.

Labels: photo

I wonder how effective they are?

Labels: photo, street art, travel

Someone told me this window was Moorish. I thought it was Gothic. What do I know?

Labels: photo, travel

Labels: photo, travel

I've had enough flooded basements in my life for this to give me the heebie jeebies. There is water above the bottom of the door here... It has to be inside the house, too. I don't think I could live in Venice.

Labels: photo, travel