Berlin show pays homage to 50 years of graffiti culture – One of the longest open-air exhibitions, which celebrates 50 years of graffiti history, opened Thursday in Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm boulevard.
Spanning a 1.2-kilometer strip of the well-known avenue, “All we wrote – the Passion of Graffiti” is a journey through the history of graffiti culture, from its marginal beginnings in New York in the 1970s to its rise as a “cool” and “mainstream” art-from in the age of social media.
And that it should be stopped immediately. And the rest of us need to know that they think war is bad and that we, the less-cultured, should think it is bad too. War ain’t got no culture, in other words.
I know!, the cultured say after brainstorming. We’ll hold a “Concert for Peace.” That’s never been tried before. We will also make paintings of doves holding olive branches. That ought to have the desired effect. Anti-war books are also in the process of being written. Once they are published and airlifted to those making war, and read by them, this will definitely stop the war, provided it hasn’t been stopped already by, I dunno, all the cultured people of the world holding hands together and singing “Imagine” while waving Ukrainian flags with “No war!” on them to “express solidarity” or “make a statement” or “set a sign” and bring an end to this awful, culture-less conflict.*
But be warned, you war mongers out there: If none of this works, the culture may escalate. And you don’t want that.
*Yes, it’s true. Cultured people can hold hands together and wave a flag at the same time.
That’s easy. Practice very aggressive social distancing. You know. Like, move to France?
Have you ever walked on the bicycle lane? Put a refundable bottle into a regular bin? Asked a bus driver how much the ride costs? In Germany, these beginners’ mistakes might earn you a good scold. Here’s how to avoid it…
“The point is not whether they are right or not, it’s that anyone here thinks they’re allowed to educate you.”
German Oddity 177. Germany is what you might call a correcting culture. It is not uncommon for perfect strangers to publically reprimand you here if you do not abide by what is considered the societal norm. Newcomers are usually shocked when discovering that others have no qualms about telling you that you’re doing something wrong, as if you were a small child. If they don’t tell you outright there will at least be a display of disapproving headshaking.
German oddity 415. The pig is big here. Germans have more pig and sow idioms then wurst varieties – and that’s a whole lot. They also seem to think that any phrase or saying can be improved just by adding the words pig or sow to it, thus making said phrase or saying saugut (sow good or damned fine).
So what about this German oddity in the news today? After a German day care center in Leipzig decided not to offer pork on its meal plan anymore (gee, I wonder why?) threats started coming in. The police have now decided to guard the place.
And after BILD decided to report about the day care center’s decision the hashtag #Schweinefleisch (pork) reached the number one spot in Germany.
Polizeischutz für Kita ohne Schweinefleisch in Leipzig.
Germany’s New Politics of Cultural Despair – The Authoritarian Revolt: The New Right and the Decline of the West (a book by Volker Weiss).
Nothing against new takes about how the West is in decline (again? still?) but the West has been in decline for as long as anyone alive can remember, not to mention for as long as a whole bunch of folks who are no longer with us could.
Take Oswald Spengler and his The Decline of the West, for instance – from 1922! Nothing against declination, folks, but how much longer is this decline of the West going to last? As a wise man once said: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
In modern times, fears of social change and spiritual impoverishment can always tempt the malcontented to imagine that the present is an interregnum destined to yield to a new age of faith and wholeness.
Popular as it is, many people are vehemently against Halloween in their countries, whether it be religious objections or fears of cultural imperialism.
It may be a bit of both in Germany, where 48 percent of respondents in the 2017 YouGov survey said the spooky holiday is a U.S. import that displaces German culture. October 31 is Reformation Day in Germany, and commemorates the day when Martin Luther launched Europe’s Protestant Reformation.
So on that happy note, Happy Halloween everyone! Whatever holiday you might be celebrating tonight.
Fast 50 Prozent der Deutschen glauben, Halloween sei ein US-Import, der die deutsche Kultur gefährde. Fakt ist, dass der Brauch ursprünglich aus Irland stammt.
*Psst. Don’t spoil everybody’s fun by explaining that Halloween originated in Ireland.
Why that’s almost 5.060606060606061 oddities per penny!
What a steal.
Just ask Marina. If you happen to know her, I mean:
“Hermann, thank you for your blog and books, I am hooked. I recently picked up 501 German Oddities and couldn’t stop laughing. I am German, but live in Boston with my husband, who is from the area and grew up here. We cracked up so many times and just had a blast reading your book. It was actually eye opening at times to the both of us and explained some “odd” behaviors of mine to him. Super grateful for the book and can’t wait to see more blog entries. All the best, Marina.”
Pakistani-German couple in Darmstadt sentenced to life for killing their daughter
A Pakistani-German couple has been convicted of killing their daughter on religious grounds after she slept with her boyfriend. The teenager was strangled and dumped in a nearby forest.
In case you didn’t know, this kind of thing is referred to as an “honor” killing.
And by the way, there is no such thing as a life sentence in Germany. Life means fifteen years here.
Lawyers for the defense argued that despite being in Germany for twenty-eight years, the husband was “not properly socialized” in German culture and his wife “had nothing to do with the normal world.”
For only 99 cents? Why, that’s… 5.060606060606061 oddities per cent! A pretty high percentage of oddities there, I’d say. For the penny, I mean.
And worth every penny, too. Just ask Marina. If you happen to know her, I mean:
“Hermann, thank you for your blog and books, I am hooked. I recently picked up 501 German Oddities and couldn’t stop laughing. I am German, but live in Boston with my husband, who is from the area and grew up here. We cracked up so many times and just had a blast reading your book. It was actually eye opening at times to the both of us and explained some “odd” behaviors of mine to him. Super grateful for the book and can’t wait to see more blog entries. All the best, Marina.”
Observing Hermann 