Still very much alive...

...more to follow later on. But first, a great breakfast to start into a gorgeous day. :-) See ya!

Aphasisch, ich?

Als ob momentan nicht schon genug los wäre, häufen sich heute auch noch Sprechprobleme meinerseits. Gestatten, der Tag der Freud'schen Versprecher!
Beispiele gefällig?

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So where was I?

Oh yeah, right. I was going to do some work. Continue writing a new article of amazing research findings that just NEED to be submitted, published and shared with the WHOLE scientific community. Preferrably in Nature... or Science. I'm a modest soul who likes to take a back seat, ya' know.

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Hodgepodge

Today is kind of like something for everyone. Kind of like a goulash... not the de-luxe kind, cuz that only get's the best kind of meat. I'm talking all kinds of meat. ;-)
But first off, welcome to the gals coming over from The Women's Colony - great having you here, maybe you want to bring a warm coat (it's frosty here right now) and share a cup of mulled wine. Never mind that the "real" season for that is still a few weeks away, but it's at least a remedy against the cold.

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Brainteaser weekend - go off and rack your brains!!! Now! ;-)

Ok, I just inofficially passed a rather unconventional IQ test and I can't just keep that from you. I figured it out within 20 min or so, but - truth be told - got a few hints on the way. Over here, you'll have to do without, but maybe you can figure a few out??? It's not that hard with most of the riddles...

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Lady in lavender

A common sight these days - a bumblebee in the lavender on my balcony. Usually they just hum around, stop by for a short sip of nectar and off they go. This time, however, at least two of them used the plant to take a good rest... Well, I don't mind... ;-)

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Miracles only happen to those
who believe in them."
(from France)

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Wunder kommen nur zu denen,
die daran glauben."
(aus Frankreich)

Hanna

Only in summer...

Only in summer...
Nur im Sommer...

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Oh summer, me loves thee!

Oh my, so much has happened in the last 2 weeks... too much to tell it all, I guess. BUT... summer is here now. Finally!

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Merry start into the merry month

That famous philosopher once said:
"My formula of bliss: a Yes, a No, a straight line, a goal." (Friedrich Nietzsche)

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Not all is green... yet

Apparently, spring was only here temporarily. It's receded for the time being and made way for this unbearable kind of in-between-season. Which, frankly speaking, I dislike. Quite. A. Lot. That notwithstanding, I still took it upon me and went jogging this morning. Despite a slight drizzle it was actually really great. The air was fresh and clean, the paths sloshy, slippery and muddy up to HERE superb and everything in between was passed with great ease including, but not limited to, a big black dog who thought it to be great fun hopping right after me when passing him with his owner saying something like "duh, don't". All to be topped off with a late breakfast complete with croissants (for the sweet tooth) and breadrolls and smoked salmon (for the not-so-sweet tooth). Good start into a not-so-sunny weekend, I think.

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Title present, text not so... ;-)

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Never forget: you only need little
in order to lead a happy life."
(Marc Aurel)

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Vergiss nicht: Man braucht nur wenig,
um ein glückliches Leben zu führen.

Hanna

Spring... for real?

Wow, the weather is just simply amazing. I just rode my bike through the city and it was warm enough that I didn't need to put on gloves. Yes, that's such a miraculous thing that constructing the Great Wall seems like a children's prank in comparison. ;-) Anyways, leaving aside historic accomplishments of mankind, I always get very excited with the first days of spring approaching (however, I also get excited about a loooot of other things, too). And this time it's no different...

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German idioms, lesson 1: "Einen im Tee haben"

You might not have noticed it until now, because I am such a talent in subtle manipulations and in subtlety in general (see, how subtle I put that across???), but I DO try to at least convey some insights into German culture and the like to you, my dear readers. At times, that is ... (thinking about it, there might be even some more examples). Believe me now?
So why not introduce you to some of those strange sayings that every culture has an abundancy of, but which can turn into the much-feared false friends as soon as you try to translate them?

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Falling for fall...

Given the many, many clues around, it's hard not to notice that fall is approaching - and boy, is it coming fast!

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Style is...

... about accessories. Not only, but to a large degree. And this is not restricted to the apparel section in our lives. Nope, even a home profits tremendously from a few well-chosen and aesthetic accessories. The counterpart to which is this - funny, but still. NOT. AESTHETIC.

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Humor is the button,
that keeps us from loosing our temper."
(Joachim Ringelnatz)

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Humor ist der Knopf,
der verhindert,
dass uns der Kragen platzt."
(Joachim Ringelnatz)

Hanna

Unpopular sports dictionary, lesson #1

I remember a time back THEN, when we used to play water polo at my lifeguarding club. Not very often though, but still with more or less regularity as a kind of cool down after a good workout. Mind you, water polo is a pretty rough sport - there aren't too many rules to abide by apart from "no biting, no scratching, no pulling hair, no punching!". Of course there are a few more (e.g. a goal can only be scored by placing the ball inside the goal, not throwing it there), but most of the game is played in the area between the two goals and THAT is the area, where the above mentioned no-rule is extremely important when people struggle for the ball.

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Kulturarena, take 2

Heute mal in Deutsch. ;-) Es gibt heute kubanische Musik aufs Ohr. Que buena y linda!

Und der Glückskeks des Tages lautet:
"Es ist umsonst, dass dir das Glück gewogen ist,
wenn du es nicht selbst erkennst,
wie glücklich du bist."
(Andreas Tscherning)

Fortune cookie of the day:
"Fortune being on your side is in vain,
if you cannot recognize
how lucky you actually are."
(by Andreas Tscherning, but crumpled by my mediocre translation)

Hanna

New set of wheels...

Japp, ich hab einen neuen Drahtesel. Bild kommt nicht, damit ihr nicht neidisch werden könnt. Soviel sei aber verraten: es ist weiß (weil Weiß ja bekanntlich das neue Schwarz ist). Als Entschädigung hier aber ein kurzweiliges Bildtondokument (mal nicht neudeutsch ausgedrückt), das thematisch ganz gut passt.
Frage: welche Band zeichnet verantwortlich für dieses außergewöhnliche musikalische Werk??? Ich freu mich über viele Einträge in meinem Gästebuch! ;-)

Fortune Cookie of the Day (actually, of the day before yesterday):
"However it may be - life -
it is good."
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Glückskeks des Tages (naja, eigentlich von vorgestern):
"Wie es auch sei, das Leben,
es ist gut."
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Hanna

Summer in the city

Yesterday was the university's summer festival - due to the 450th anniversary of FSU, it was a wee bit bigger this year compared to the preceding ones. To be exact, three sites located next to each other were marked as the festival area, each one with its own atmosphere and distinct kind of events and food. Hence, the botanical garden and the tropical greenhouse offered caribbean and latin-american food and drinks, mixed with the right music. We wandered off into the greenhouse to stroll through the tropical plants, listen to whistling frogs and try to spot a piranha in the pond (we didn't, but instead we saw one of the little frogs). The Griesbachgarten, formerly a baronial residence, offered quite the converse - jazz bands, big bands as well as fire shows. The food was also a bit different - roasted oxen, complimented by necessities such as Thuringian brats. ;-) And in between those two was the planetarium, where one could enjoy crêpes, grilled chicken or hamburgers (yummm!) while listening to an acapella-band (which was later followed by a not-so-good cover rock band. All topped off with fireworks at midnight... and the end was only much later, since there was an after-hours party in a restaurant on the premises. When I finally went to bed at shortly before 4 am, the sky was already turning slightly blue again. ;-)


So, gestern war was los - die Uni hatte zum Sommerfest geladen und auch ich ließ es mir nicht nehmen, dort meine Aufwartung zu machen. Ein toller Abend mit klasse Stimmung, Musik, tollem Essen und glücklicherweise einem Petrus, der dieser Veranstaltung wohlgesonnen war. Im Gegensatz zu den vorangegangenen Jahren wurde dieses Jahr das Veranstaltungsgelände verdreifacht - zum Griesbach'schen Garten kamen noch das Planetarium und der Botanische Garten hinzu. In jedem der unterschiedlichen Gelände gab es andere Musik und Verpflegung. So konnte man passend zum tropischen Ambiente im Tropenhaus und Botanischen Garten karibische Grillspezialitäten oder Cocktails genießen, im Planetarium einer Multivisionsshow zur 450jährigen Geschichte der Uni Jena lauschen und draußen Acapella-Gesang vereint mit leckeren Crêpes, Grillspezialitäten oder Hamburgern (mmh, ganz lecker frisch gegrillt) genießen und es sich im Griesbach'schen Garten bei Jazz- und Bigbandmusik den Ochsen vom Spieß oder - ganz traditionell - Bratwürste und Brätel schmecken lassen. Dazwischen gab es viele tolle Aktionen mit Pantomime, Feuerjonglage, kostümierten Schauspielern oder Tanzflächen zum Selber-Ausprobieren. ;-) Und zum Abschluss um Mitternacht natürlich ein tolles Feuerwerk. Das war aber nur der offizielle Ausklang des Sommerfests - inoffiziell ging es (jedenfalls für mich) noch einige Zeit weiter, sodass ich dann beim Ins-Bett-fallen kurz vor 4 Uhr morgens schon sehen konnte, dass der Himmel anfing sich blau zu verfärben.

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Fortune without wisdom
is like a backpack with holes."
(from Russia)

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Glück ohne Weisheit
ist wie ein Rucksack mit Löchern."
(aus Russland)

Hanna

Fortune message of the Day

Among the things I got for my birthday last week was a little tin box containing hundreds of cardboard slips - to be exact, 365 pieces. Each one of them displays a little proverb or poem dealing with fortune and good luck. So there will be a new blog category for the coming year - the "Fortune cookie of the day". Mind you, the sayings come without the cookie, but coming to think of it, that's probably better... after all, it wouldn't be too fortunate to eat a cookie each day just for the wisdom it contains and end up looking like a storage shed for 365 cookies after a year. ;-)
Oh, and for all the "wicked saying of the day"-aficionados: this is not the end; I will still post them once in a while when I find a good one.
Alrighty, off I go... have a fortunate day!


Zu meinem Geburtstag letzte Woche bekam ich übrigens - neben vielen anderen tollen Geschenken - auch eine kleine Blechbüchse, in der hunderte kleiner Pappschnipsel sind. Um genau zu sein, sind es 365. Auf jedem dieser kleinen Zettel steht ein kurzer Spruch oder ein kleines Gedicht zum Thema Glück. Also gibt es ab jetzt eine neue Blog-Kategorie - der "Glückskeks des Tages". Natürlich ohne den Keks - was nach genauerer Betrachtung wohl auch ratsamer ist. Immerhin möchte ich nicht jeden Tag einen Keks essen müssen, nur um an die Weisheit in seinem Inneren zu kommen und nach einem Jahr wie ein Keksspeicherturm aussehen. ;-)
Ein kleiner Trost für die Anhänger des "Bösen Spruch des Tages": DAS hier ist noch nicht das Ende - ich werde weiterhin solche Sprüche veröffentlichen - wenn ihr einen guten kennt, schreibt ihn mir. ;-)
Für jetzt aber erstmal auf in einen glücklichen Tag!

Fortune Cookie of the Day:
"Fortune is to get drunk from a glass of water."

Glückskeks des Tages:
"Glück ist, wenn man von einem Glas Wasser betrunken wird."

Hanna