A very sad day.

As a graduate of the Georgia public school system, I was both mortified and horrified to learn today that Georgia education officials have removed the term "evolution" from a proposed set of guidelines for middle and high school science classes.

According to the New York Times, the Georgia public schools have "scaled back ideas about the age of Earth and the natural selection of species." (The article is here, but reading it may require free registration to the NYT web site.)

I find this development utterly depressing. Why is it that the USA is the only country of its standing where there's even a debate over the teaching of evolution?

A brief quote from the NYT:

Georgia's schools superintendent, Kathy Cox, held a news conference near the Capitol on Thursday, a day after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an article about the proposed changes.

A handful of states already omit the word "evolution" from their teaching guidelines, and Ms. Cox called it "a buzz word that causes a lot of negative reaction." She added that people often associate it with "that monkeys-to-man sort of thing."

Any comments I could make on this statement would simply be superfluous (and probably profane). Better to let the superintendent's comments stand on their own idiocy.

Yum... this chocolate is so... square!

I give you Ritter Sport chocolate bars, whose slogan is "Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut." Yes, that's right. "Square. Practical. Good." Ritter's three main selling points. Because other chocolate only wishes it were so square!

And practical!

I actually love their chocolate (my favorite flavor is whole hazelnut, although their special Italian flavors out right now are delicious too) and their web site is attractive. The German section has games and postcards, so it's a little more fun to visit than the English side. And check out this Ritter Sport desktop wallpaper. Whoa! It might be a little dangerous to put it up on your computer.

"Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut" reminds me a little of the slogan used by Middleswarth Potato Chips in Pennsylvania. Here's another example of taking a basic characteristic of the product (or, in this case, the name of the product) and turning it into a "feature." On the Middleswarth bag is printed, "There's an 'A' in our name... and 'A' quality in our product that will put 'A' smile on your face with every bite."

There's an 'A' in their name! They must be good! Or, as Marty always used to say, "Hey, there's an 'S' in their name, too! Does that mean the chips taste like shit?"

(Actually, the chips were very good!)

Even funnier was the slogan they used to print on the backs of their potato chip bags when we lived in Pennsylvania in the early 90s: "Finally... the perfect potato chip -- in the ideal package."

Just what we've all been waiting for! Potato chips -- in BAGS!

Hey, there are two 'A's in my name!

I wrote this post yesterday, but Blogger wasn't publishing for me, so it just went up Wednesday morning:



Rouge, people. It's ROUGE. I can't tell you how many searches for "Moulin Rough" bring people to Raspberry World. That would be a whole different kind of movie! (And now that I've said that on my page, even more people are going to come here looking for it. Gah!)

Here's a lunch recommendation for all you folks living in Munich: Müller Zwiebelbrot with Schlemmermeyer fetaki spread on it (conveniently available next door to each other in the Viktualienmarkt). Food of the GODS, y'all. I buy the fetaki by the 100 gram, since it's not really cheap, but that's enough for a couple of days. Marty tasted it and said it was "interesting." I think it's glorious. It's just feta, garlic, pepper, spices, and olive made into a spread, but it's so yummy!

More stained glass from Linz today, up above. The one on the right reminds me of a rat maze. The one on the left reminds me of one of those ties from Infectious Awareables. (Heads up, Katynka, gift ideas for all the epidemiologists on your list!)

I can't decide if I think this is too creepy for words, or just flat-out hilarious. You can make your own!

Sorry for the loss of service yesterday. Raspberry World was down for about twelve hours. All appears to be functioning within normal paramaters today.

Music heard today: Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 2; Robbie Williams, Swing When You're Winning.

We got a lot of snow this weekend! Eight inches or so, it looks like. Wow! It's really pretty.

Not much time today, so have another picture from the Linz cathedral. These windows reminded me of science experiments and stuff you would look at under microscopes.

As Laura pointed out in a comment on my last entry, the first stained glass window picture I posted looked like it was made up of pixels. Actually, all of the windows I took pictures of were very modern -- some of them had what appeared to be topographical maps on them, or infrared images. The windows above look like they have large ventilation fans turning in the blue panels at their base. All of these windows made me think of science, engineering, and technology. It was really something.

Weekend! Marty and I are thinking of going to a museum today, but I also have German homework to finish up and songs to practice.

Mail call: a friend sent me a little tin of cinnamon Altoids with a picture of the Heat Miser on it! It's so cute. And it reminded me that German stores don't seem to sell cinnamon candy. Have I just missed it? Cinnamon is the best candy flavor ever! But I never see it here.

Mmm. Zimt.

I need a little more light and brightness in my January, so I'm finally going to post these pictures I took last August when Marty and I visited Linz, Austria. We went into the cathedral there and took many, many pictures of the stained glass windows. They were really unique. Mostly I took these pictures because I wanted to show them to my friend Katynka, who quilts. But they're so pretty that I think I'll share them with everyone. So stay tuned over the next week or so for some fancy stained glass, starting with this one.

Indigo Girls at Radio City Music Hall, 4 June 2002.
Read all about it here.

All That We Let In

The Indigo Girls have a new album coming out on February 17, All That We Let In. It's produced by Peter Collins, who produced two of my favorite IG albums, Swamp Ophelia and Become You (okay, well, there isn't really an IG album that I don't like). And they're playing Radio City Music Hall on March 12 and 13! Tickets go on sale Friday (January 23), or today if you have a special presale code.

I saw them at Radio City two years ago, in June 2002. It was just shortly before we found out for sure that we were moving to Munich. It was my third time seeing them in concert, and my second time with my friend Trish. I wrote about the concert here, and posted some pictures (scroll down to June 5). You can even check out the fabulous Radio City bathroom!

The Indigo Girls are my all-time favorite group, and I can't wait for the new album! And hey, maybe they'll do a world tour this year! Their international fans would be very grateful.

Jackpot!

People get to Raspberry World through search engines looking for all kinds of things, but of course one of the most common searches is "raspberry." Someone came today looking for that, and judging by the post that was at the top of the page earlier, I think they hit the jackpot!

We are having a wet day today, but mostly with Schneegestöber (snow flurries) rather than rain. I have lots of German homework to do, so I'll be getting on that any minute now. After I look up the German word for "sling" in the coolest German dictionary I own.

Look what I found tonight! Himbeeren! Or should I say frambuesas, since they're Spanish raspberries? I realize this isn't exactly raspberry season, but they were too pretty to pass up. And they even taste good! They'll make a nice addition to breakfast tomorrow.

This was a good day. German class was fun and I learned some new expressions. "Ich muss ihm auf die Finger schauen," in relation to the Governator's term of office. The difference between ausbrechen and auseinanderbrechen. What it means when you sit behind "Schwedische Gardinen." (Hint: in Gefängnis!)

Then Carol and I met up for some pizza and German study, and also made plans to celebrate Chinese new year on Thursday with dim sum.

On a completely different subject, I found this file on the consulate web site about doing genealogical research in Germany, for those of you who are interested in such things. I know I have several friends who visit RW who are of German descent, and that at least some of you are interested in geneaology. Hope there's something helpful on that site for you!

One more shot of my lovely raspberries. I bought these at the fruit stand in Odeonsplatz, on my way home tonight. Yum. Aren't they pretty?

Das Münchner Kindl

Look! Up on top of the Rathaus! It's a monk! No, it's a little girl!

Or maybe it's both.

Das Münchner Kindl is the symbol of Munich. Historically, it's a monk in a black robe with yellow trim (the city colors of Munich). These days, the Kindl is usually represented as a little girl or a young woman. In Oktoberfest parades, the Kindl is played by a blonde teenage girl who rides a horse and carries a big mug of beer (much like the ones carried by the little girls in the picture above).

Munich was founded by monks; the name München comes from Mönche, the word for "monks." And monks, of course, are famous for beer. Which explains a lot.

As for whether the Kindl is a girl or a boy, it is not, as they say, an easy question. Clearly the monk was historically a man, but since the 1920s at least the representation became more female, in facial expression, body type, and hairstyle. The Munich City Museum calls the Kindl "gender neutral." Though every one I've seen since I moved here was clearly a girl or a young woman.

Either way, they like to have fun! See, this one's rollerskating.


The images are from the City Museum, which apparently has a very large collection of Münchner Kindl items. However, I doubt they have the latest fashions for the Kindl, seen downtown in the window of Hallhuber today:

Indiana Jones and Thai Food

Well, that was about the extent of the weekend around these parts. We were given an Amazon gift certificate at Christmas, with which we ordered the Indiana Jones trilogy (thank you, Scot and Jim!). So this weekend we watched the three movies, and two of the "making of" features on the extra DVD. We'll watch the third "making of" special tomorrow night.

We've both loved the first and third movies for as long as I can remember (though in my case it was only since college, since "Last Crusade" was the first one I saw, when it was in the theaters). Until last night, I had never seen "Temple of Doom" at all, and I think Marty had only seen it once, when it was first released. And now that I've seen it, I don't know that I ever need to again. I'd always heard it was "grosser" than the other two, but that wasn't the problem. It was like a whole different story from the first and third movies. Where were the Nazis? Where was Denholm Elliot? Where was Indiana Jones, college professor? And who was that kid?

Still, for completeness' sake, I'm glad I finally saw it. And on the "making of" feature, even Spielberg said it was his least favorite of the three movies, which Marty and I took to mean that he agrees it kinda stinks. I did, actually, enjoy the Sri Lankan locations and the Indian actors in the movie.

The first and third movies kicked as much ass as they ever did, I'm happy to say.

Then we went out for Thai food. While we were eating, I mentioned to Marty that I had to go home afterwards and write my German homework, and he teased me mercilessly for using the word "write" in that sentence. Too much German!

We walked home in the snow, and then I wrote my homework. So there.

Unusual Museums

Rachel asked for more details about the Easter Bunny Museum, which I mentioned yesterday. It's one of several museums housed at the Zentrum für Aussergewöhnliche Museen (Center for Unusual Museums) here in Munich. Each "museum" in the center is more like a large exhibit of the indicated item. Easter bunnies, pedal cars, chamber pots -- it's certainly an unusual collection.

Laura and I went in October, mostly drawn by the chamber pots. We discovered the bourdalous there as well. These intricately decorated little chamber pots (intended for use by ladies in the parlor) resemble nothing so much as fancy gravy boats -- some were even made by Meissen. Being faced with an entire room of them was really a little disconcerting, to tell the truth. They really used these things during church? Or in the parlor?

Visiting ZAM is something like walking through the rooms of a very thorough, very eccentric private collector. The chamber pot collection is truly impressive -- there seem to be thousands -- and it's worth seeing for the political and humorous chamber pots alone. The Easter bunny collection was a little disappointing, although perhaps I just expected more from the erstes Osterhasen-Museum der Welt.

Other items displayed at ZAM are perfume bottles, guardian angels, and "Sisi" memorabilia. I think it once also housed a collection of antique locks and keys (and possibly some punishment devices) but apparently these have been moved elsewhere.

Incidentally, if one is interested in ancient locks, keys, and punishment/torture devices, there's an excellent museum of such things in Rothenburg ob der Tauber: Das Kriminalmuseum. Really outstanding.

Links.

If I had unlimited stationery funds I would own nearly everything on this site. Go and read the "profiles" of some of my favorites. They're totally cracktastic! Tare Panda, Kogepan, Afro Ken, Nohohon (my new favorite!), and Mashimaro (who really kinda freaks me out).

And mostly for Katynka:

The Kid Rock dream. The aftermath. Kid Rock's All Music Guide entry.

This is Xaver. I am not, by nature, what you might call a "dog person" (though I do like some dogs very much), but how can you resist a face like that? He was hanging out at the beauty parlor this afternoon, though I don't know that he really needed a haircut. (I, on the other hand, most definitely did.)

We've had just about every kind of winter weather this week. Yesterday it snowed like a wild thing for about two hours in the afternoon, though none stuck to the ground. We've had rain, wind, fog, and even sunshine (that bright, brittle winter sun that only warms you up when you're on the other side of the double-paned windows). Strange weather.

So I'm home, out of the wind, with a cup of Wild Berry Zinger tea. I was happy to find a tea shop in Munich that carries some of my favorite Celestial Seasonings flavors. I love all kinds of tea, of course, but my favorite is my favorite.

Weekend is up next, and I think it may involve a trip to Wal-Mart, German homework, and possibly a museum or two. We haven't checked out the City Museum yet, and I'm intrigued by the toy museum as well (although the guidebooks don't seem to recommend it often). It has to be better than the Easter Bunny museum, anyway.

In my last entry I forgot to mention how pleased I was to read on Salon today that Brokeback Mountain appears to be closer than ever to actually getting made as a movie. Endlich!

In my opinion, more cowboy romance movies (or any, really) could only make this world a better place.

January Sun

It was raining hard when I woke this morning, but now we're having a glorious sunny January day. What a treat. The wet weather we've been having lately really makes me appreciate the sun.

This morning I attended a new German class. I think I'm going to like it very much. It doesn't meet every day, but there's lots and lots of conversation, and only four students in the group. I think it's just what I need at this point in my German development. However, I do need to review my German grammar, because the rest of the class is in much better practice than I am right now.

I think I'm really going to enjoy having a class that meets next to the Viktualienmarkt, Munich's downtown farmer's market, which you can read all about here. Leaving class just before noon today, I picked up some cheese at Schlemmermeyer (my favorite!) and some bread at Müller. Lunch was quite a feast when I got home. That'll be something to look forward to on class days!

I don't remember when I last posted to this weblog twice in one day, but there you go.

Just wanted to announce that the Links page is updated for about the first time in a year. My "Museums I Like" list is greatly expanded to reflect the museum-going I've been doing in the last year, and the list of journals is up to date at last. There are others I check on a less frequent basis, but the ones listed are the ones I check most every day.

I mourned the passing of the Brunching Shuttlecocks, but I'm glad to see that some of the departments live on in new manifestations. Also, is it true that Just-So Literary Postcards is gone? I haven't taken the link off, just in case the server was down, but if anyone knows I'd love to hear. That would truly be a loss.

Music update: I have purged my playlist of Daniel Küblböck tracks (as charming as his rendition of "Papa Don't Preach" is), and now have two songs on perma-repeat. "Red Rubber Ball" by The Cyrkle, and "Tracks of My Tears" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

But now it's time for dinner, and the next installment of my date with Colin Firth.

I'm Not the Kind of Girl You Take Home

I got Sheryl Crow's greatest hits album at Karstadt yesterday. It reminds me that I bought her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, when it first came out in 1993. And, less than a year later, sold it to the used CD store. I rarely sell CDs, honestly, because I almost always end up wanting (and often buying) them again later. I haven't re-bought that one, but I've kicked myself for getting rid of it more than once. I also have The Globe Sessions, which I love, and C'mon, C'mon, which is also great.

So, the greatest hits is good, although the European version is, unfortunately, missing the song "Steve McQueen" in favor of "C'mon, C'mon," which I guess was a bigger hit over here. Also, we have an extra track, "It's So Easy," a duet with Wolfgang Niedecken, whose name I don't recognize but I assume he's German. Mostly I'm happy to get this CD for the duet with Kid Rock, "Picture," and the songs from the other albums I don't have. And thankfully, her ill-conceived cover of "Sweet Child o' Mine" isn't on here.

I've been watching the BBC Pride and Prejudice again (the Colin Firth version, not the one from 1979, which I also own on video). While I have some very minor quibbles with things that were changed in this production, it is so successful at capturing the spirit of the novel that I never grow tired of it. I so love the way both Elizabeth and Darcy are shown as fallable, yet sympathetic. I'll continue watching tonight, for my favorite scene! Darcy's first proposal.

As longtime readers know, this is far from the first time the topic of Darcy has arisen on Raspberry World: A Confession; Bridget loves Darcy; a comparison of two Darcys; the Firth Chair; and much, much more. Oh, heck, see for yourself.

Kunsthistorisches Museum Cafe, Vienna
(click to enlarge)

Vienna Coffee

If you want to drink coffee in palatial surroundings (or, for that matter, dark smoky dives), Vienna is your town. The picture above shows a cafe in the rotunda of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, where Marty and I had lunch one day during our trip. The lighted case, of course, is the pastry case. I ordered a "Griechisches Bauernsalat" (a Greek "farmer's salad") which turned out to be the hugest serving of feta cheese I had ever seen. It was delicious, but so much cheese that I couldn't even eat half of it, which will mean a lot to those of you who know how much I love cheese.

But I digress.

The coffee style of choice in Vienna is "melange," which is very similar to cafe au lait or Milchkaffee (coffee with steamed milk). It's served everywhere, and the coffee houses range from very grand to very humble. Below are three pictures from Cafe Central, one of the grandest. (Click the images to enlarge.)




So, today it's a bit warmer in Munich than it's been so far this year. I'm working on some German translation and doing chores, listening to Kid Rock and Pansy Division. Gearing up for errands.

Hello to my new friends in Haidhausen! Glad to know you're reading!

Marty outside the Burgtheater in Vienna

Ow! Those brass guys sure do bite hard!

We visited such great museums in Vienna. We saw a Lichtenstein exhibit, an exhibit on Modernism from Klimt to Klee (at the Albertina), the Jugendstil collection at the Belvedere (Klimt, Schiele, et. al.), and the incredible Kunsthistorisches Museum. We also toured the Hofburg (the city palace of the Habsburgs) and the Staatsoper (opera house). So... much... culture... *gasp*

Not only did we tour the opera house, but we also attended the first act of La Boheme. I know that must sound strange, but as well as the normal tickets (which can be as expensive as €175 and are almost always sold out), they also sell 567 Stehplätze (standing places) for every performance. The standing places cost only €2 - 3.50, depending on how close to the ground floor you end up. We bought our €2 tickets and went up, up, up to the rafters, where there were two rows of velvet-covered barriers set up behind the seats. We stood there for the first 45 minutes or so of the opera, and it was amazing. The acoustics in that hall are astounding, and it sounded better than many recordings I've heard of the same music.

That actually wasn't my first time in the Vienna cheap seats. Doug and I attended Lucia di Lammermoor there back in 1988 when we were staying in Vienna. That time, it was opening weekend for the opera, and Vienna was dressed to the nines. Doug and I were backpacking around Europe that summer, but we did our best. Nobody was looking at us, anyway, with Lucia shrieking away in her mad scene on the stage. Lovely as it was.

This time, Marty and I could have stayed for the whole opera, of course, but we had just seen La Boheme in March 2003, when Katynka was visiting us in Munich, so we didn't stay for the whole thing. After all, the tickets were only €2.

(The opera was sung in Italian this time, thankfully.)

One last ornament. This pink clippy bird is one of my two favorites on the tree. (The other is the orange clippy bird that matches it.) I bought them at Ludwig Beck department store in Munich.

It's not every day one turns 35. To celebrate, Marty and I went to the Glyptothek, the Munich museum housing ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. It was a great place and I'm sure I'll go back. I can't wait to go in the spring when their outdoor cafe is open. We had dinner at the Spaten Haus, my favorite restaurant here. It was a really nice day, and a fun way to spend my birthday.

Yesterday (unrelated to birthday celebrations) we went to see the Lord of the Rings at the English cinema. The whole trilogy, I mean. Wow. It was really good, seeing the movies all together like that. But wow. That was a really long day at the movies. A triple feature, of 3+ hour movies, with breaks in between... you do the math.

And Sam is my favorite hobbit.