Category Archives: High Art

Look Mom No Cables

December 2, 2014 By in Heconomy, Hi-tech, High Art, Higher Education, Home Cooking Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Many of us who have ridden inside an elevator since its invention 160 years ago are accustomed to hearing its ominous hums and creaks, as well as stories of malfunctioning elevators that cause people to be stuck inside for hours. So, the idea of hopping into a cable-free elevator in a mid to high-rise building can sound both thrilling and nerve-wracking. That idea is soon to become a reality for global transportation manufacturer ThyssenKrupp, who is set out to test the first units of their cable-free MULTI elevator system once the testing tower in Rottweil, Germany is complete by the end of 2016.

Operating on a circular system, the elevators will be able to move vertically and horizontally in a loop at a speed of 5 m/s, powered by new linear motor technology similar to that of the Transrapid magnetic-levitation train. Passengers would have access to an elevator cabin every 15-30 seconds with a transfer stop every 50 meters.

I Love A Parade

November 18, 2014 By in Hideology, High Art, Higher Education, History, Home Cooking, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

For decades, neo-Nazis have traveled to the southeastern German town of Wunsiedel, where Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, was buried until 2011. The right-wing extremists march through the town in commemoration of Hess year after year, glorifying the horrors of the Third Reich.

This time, however, everything was different: Although Wunsiedel’s inhabitants had observed the march from a distance over the past years, this Nov. 15, some of them welcomed the neo-Nazi protesters effusively with rainbow confetti and even cheered for them. What had happened?

No, the residents of Wunsiedel — most of them skeptical and critical of the neo-fascists — had not suddenly turned into Nazi sympathizers.

Instead, the group Rights versus Rights (Rechts gegen Rechts) had come up with a new way to protest the annual neo-Nazi march: For every meter the neo-Nazis walked, local businesses and residents would donate $12.50 to a nongovernmental organization devoted to making it easier for neo-Nazis to leave behind their hateful politics.

Why Germans Are Desperate To Ignore A Dangerous World?

November 16, 2014 By in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, High Art, Home Cooking, Humor, Hypocrisy Tags: , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Desperate? I think determined is the better word. Why? Because they can. And this is just what Germans do. It’s never been any different here (not in our lifetimes).

Disneyland

Imagine being born and raised in a place that is cut off from the rest of that yucky world “out there,” just like your parents before you. In an amusement park kind of way, I mean. You know, kind of like Disneyland? Only they call it Deutschland instead.

I spoke about the relative weakness of NATO, about the failures of European foreign policy, about Russia’s use of money and disinformation to divide Europe and the United States. The crowd and the other panelists nodded—and then almost immediately changed the subject. Instead of NATO, the German audience wanted to discuss genetically modified food and chickens washed in chlorinated water.

“When I think of politics I think about my neighborhood, street lights and construction permits.”

Well There Was No More Wall To Take

November 10, 2014 By in Habeas Corpus, High Art, Home Cooking, Humor, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

So we’ll just steal the balloon stands from last night’s show!

Balloons

They’re going like hotcakes, folks. Or they went like hotcakes, I should say, before the organizers had a chance to clear all of the 7000 away. And the first ones have shown up on eBay, for crying out loud.

Die Ballon-Halter der Lichtgrenze werden offenbar zum Sammlerobjekt. Einige verschwanden nach der Aktion zum 25. Jahrestag des Mauerfalls noch in der Nacht. Der erste war bei Ebay aufgetaucht.

German Of The Day: Der Elende Rest

November 7, 2014 By in Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, High Art, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

That means “the miserable remnants” and that’s what singer-songwriter and former East German dissident Wolf Biermann just called SED leftovers the Left Party today at a ceremony commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. To their faces. In the Reichstag itself.

Somebody’s got to remind folks about this now and then. Not that anybody here cares…

“Eure Sprüche, die habt ihr drauf … ihr müsst mir gar nichts erzählen.”

Let There Be Wall

November 6, 2014 By in High Art, History, Home Cooking Tags: , , , Leave a comment

I mean Lichtgrenze.

The LICHTGRENZE is the light installation along the former path of the wall through the city center. It will trace the division of the city over a stretch of approximately 12 kilometers and with thousands of illuminated balloons as an impressive installation in Berlin from 8 to 9 November, 2014. At once emotional, poetic, and serious, this installation remembers the recent historical event, the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

Squealer Mania!

November 3, 2014 By in Habitudes, Helplessness, Hideology, High Art, Home Cooking, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Cult: A religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

Squealer

His story has popped up in advertisements for lingerie and a travel agency. His face appears on merchandise ranging from T-shirts to skateboards. His deeds are celebrated in works by artists and musicians.

Meet Edward Snowden, Germany’s latest pop culture icon...

To find parallels for Mr. Snowden’s current cult-hero status in Germany, you have to go back to Che Guevara or Ho Chi Minh, said Johannes Krempl, an advertising executive in Berlin.