Bundesliga ethics... TOLL! Christoph Kramer didn't foul Kutschka after all.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Grossostheim ...yes, there really is such a place.
It's not just a Nintendo location.
Rewboss shows us sites from a Market Festival called Schlappeseppel-Fest, including some of the more forgotten arts such as making paper, printing, spinning, smithing, and cider pressing.
Rewboss shows us sites from a Market Festival called Schlappeseppel-Fest, including some of the more forgotten arts such as making paper, printing, spinning, smithing, and cider pressing.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Aussie's German Dancing = Schuhplattling
Entertainment: The Sauerkraut Dancers...Brothers and Sister
German Style (Gangnam Style -- Parody)
Und hier, noch einmal: Wie kann man Schuhplatteln?
Wollen wir Tanzen lernen?
German Style (Gangnam Style -- Parody)
Und hier, noch einmal: Wie kann man Schuhplatteln?
Wollen wir Tanzen lernen?
Deadline: Oct 15: What's German around here? PHOTO Competition
Discover and showcase local German-American connections in your hometown.
Use your camera to document history, architecture, language, people and groups, or other creative impressions and send us your best picture with a short description.
The best picture will be determined by a panel from the German-American community!
Enter this contest by completing the entry form on www.justaddgerman.org/photo-contest by 10/15/2014 and you could be the winner of one of these amazing prizes:
1st Place: 1 iPad Air
2nd-4th Places: 1 iPod shuffle (each)
5th-15th Places: 1 iTunes gift card (each)
______________________________
Olga Liamkina, Ph.D.
Educational Liaison
Goethe-Institut New York
Use your camera to document history, architecture, language, people and groups, or other creative impressions and send us your best picture with a short description.
The best picture will be determined by a panel from the German-American community!
Enter this contest by completing the entry form on www.justaddgerman.org/photo-contest by 10/15/2014 and you could be the winner of one of these amazing prizes:
1st Place: 1 iPad Air
2nd-4th Places: 1 iPod shuffle (each)
5th-15th Places: 1 iTunes gift card (each)
______________________________
Olga Liamkina, Ph.D.
Educational Liaison
Goethe-Institut New York
Will Woolly Mammoths Once Again Roam the Earth?
Mammuts sind vor 10000 Jahren ausgestorben. Das heißt, sie haben vor langer, langer Zeit gelebt und jetzt leben sie nicht mehr. Aber wir können noch Mammuts sehen: in Trickfilmen (“IceAge”), auf Zeichnungen, in Museen, in Spielzeugeschäften (als Stofftier) und auch auf der Straße (siehe Foto)! Es gibt sie nur nicht in echt! Aber man hat ihre Knochen gefunden – zum Beispiel in Sibirien – und auch ganze Körperteile, die im Eis gefroren waren. Japanische Wissenschaftler versuchen nun, Mammuts zu klonen – aus der DNS eines Kadavers, der im Eis gefunden wurde. Hier findet ihr dazu einen Zeitungsbericht: “Das Mammut soll auferstehen“. HIER BEI SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG ZU FINDEN.
Klonen Das Mammut soll auferstehen
Japanische Wissenschaftler wollen eine seit 10.000
Jahren ausgestorbene Tierart klonen: Das Mammut. Die DNS stammt von
einer russischen Eismumie, austragen soll den urzeitlichen Nachwuchs ein
Elefant.
Sie wollen zwar keine Dinosaurier wieder zum Leben erwecken - aber dafür ein anderes, seit 10.000 Jahren ausgestorbenes Tier: Japanische Wissenschaftler planen, in fünf bis sechs Jahren ein Mammut zu klonen (2016-17).
Bild vergrößern Reste eines Mammuts im Eis Sibiriens: Aus dem Gewebe
eines solchen Tieres wollen japanische Wissenschaftler Erbgut gewinnen
und ein Mammut klonen.
(Foto: Reuters)
Das Team wird sich auf die Arbeit des japanischen Wissenschaftlers Teruhiko Wakayama stützen, dem es gelungen ist, tote und seit 16 Jahren eingefrorene Mäuse zu klonen. Iritani rechnet damit,
dass das erfolgreiche Klonen eines Mammuts mehr Kenntnisse über das riesige Säugetier ermöglicht.
Mammutfunde wurden zu mehr als 80 Prozent im Permafrostboden im östlichen Sibirien gemacht. Das japanische Team arbeitet mit einem russischen Mammut-Experten und zwei US-Spezialisten für Elefanten zusammen.
Na, ja. Wir aber wollen mit diesem Mammut auf dem kleinen Foto Deutsch lernen!
Denn dieses Mammut macht Werbung! (This Mammoth is marketing/advertising something.)
Wofür?
Für einen Zoo?
Oder für eine Zoohandlung?
Für ein Museum?
Für einen Kinofilm?
Für einen Zahnarzt?
Wofür kann ein Mammut werben? Und was kann dieses Mammut “sagen”?
Wir suchen einen kreativen Satz!
Und für die Kenner und Spezialisten: In welcher Stadt steht dieses Mammut?
Schreib doch deine Ideen unten als Kommentar! (Write your advertising suggestions below!)
JFK: Ich bin ein Berliner
Most of us thought that this issue had been resolved decades ago. Somehow, it keeps cropping us as new, with no mention of past clarifications. Jürgen Eichhoff resolved it in 1993, for instance:
German-American Language Myths: Ich bin ein Berliner ... and a Linguistic Clarification” by Jürgen Eichhoff, Monatshefte 85: 71–80 (1993
Here we go again! --rsb
Legend has it that US president John F. Kennedy made a whopping grammatical gaffe with his iconic declaration "Ich bin ein Berliner" 50 years ago on Wednesday, essentially telling his audience -- and the world -- "I am a jam doughnut".
The historical lore was that JFK, in his first faltering words of German, was wrong to use the indefinite article "ein" and should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to declare his solidarity with the embattled Cold War city.
Not so, says Anatol Stefanowitsch, a Berlin professor of linguistics. "The sentence 'Ich bin ein Berliner' is grammatically absolutely acceptable," he told AFP ahead of the commemorations for the stirring June 26, 1963 speech.
The phrase came up twice in the speech, delivered in Kennedy's broad Boston accent. It was his brainchild and translated into German for him by official interpreters -- JFK had written it out phonetically on notecards so he would be understood. (Perhaps: Eek bean eye-n bear -lean- er ! --?)
Stefanowitsch notes that while "Berliner" is a German word for a filled pastry, the context of Kennedy's declaration made his sentence abundantly clear to the cheering throngs. "The confusion derives from the fact that (in German), you normally express your belonging to a predefined group in a sentence without an article, such as 'Ich bin Student' or indeed 'Ich bin Berliner'," he said.
"The sentence 'Ich bin Berliner' is clear and cannot refer to 'doughnuts' because that is not a predefined group," he explained.
Stefanowitsch said the construction with the article "ein" is used when a speaker wants to say that he doesn't literally belong to the group (Berliners in this case), but rather wants to express that he has something in common with them. "That is exactly what Kennedy wanted to do -- he did not want to claim to actually be a resident of the city of Berlin but rather to say that he shared something with the Berliners, namely their love of freedom," Stefanowitsch said.
At the end of his 10-minute address, Kennedy uttered the immortal words: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner'."
So there would have been no blank stares or giggles from the crowd of 450,000 Germans that summer's day? "Kennedy not only delivered a grammatically correct sentence but rather the only sentence that made sense there," Stefanowitsch said.
German-American Language Myths: Ich bin ein Berliner ... and a Linguistic Clarification” by Jürgen Eichhoff, Monatshefte 85: 71–80 (1993
Here we go again! --rsb
Legend has it that US president John F. Kennedy made a whopping grammatical gaffe with his iconic declaration "Ich bin ein Berliner" 50 years ago on Wednesday, essentially telling his audience -- and the world -- "I am a jam doughnut".
The historical lore was that JFK, in his first faltering words of German, was wrong to use the indefinite article "ein" and should have said "Ich bin Berliner" to declare his solidarity with the embattled Cold War city.
Not so, says Anatol Stefanowitsch, a Berlin professor of linguistics. "The sentence 'Ich bin ein Berliner' is grammatically absolutely acceptable," he told AFP ahead of the commemorations for the stirring June 26, 1963 speech.
The phrase came up twice in the speech, delivered in Kennedy's broad Boston accent. It was his brainchild and translated into German for him by official interpreters -- JFK had written it out phonetically on notecards so he would be understood. (Perhaps: Eek bean eye-n bear -lean- er ! --?)
Stefanowitsch notes that while "Berliner" is a German word for a filled pastry, the context of Kennedy's declaration made his sentence abundantly clear to the cheering throngs. "The confusion derives from the fact that (in German), you normally express your belonging to a predefined group in a sentence without an article, such as 'Ich bin Student' or indeed 'Ich bin Berliner'," he said.
"The sentence 'Ich bin Berliner' is clear and cannot refer to 'doughnuts' because that is not a predefined group," he explained.
Stefanowitsch said the construction with the article "ein" is used when a speaker wants to say that he doesn't literally belong to the group (Berliners in this case), but rather wants to express that he has something in common with them. "That is exactly what Kennedy wanted to do -- he did not want to claim to actually be a resident of the city of Berlin but rather to say that he shared something with the Berliners, namely their love of freedom," Stefanowitsch said.
At the end of his 10-minute address, Kennedy uttered the immortal words: "All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner'."
So there would have been no blank stares or giggles from the crowd of 450,000 Germans that summer's day? "Kennedy not only delivered a grammatically correct sentence but rather the only sentence that made sense there," Stefanowitsch said.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Der Igel als Held
Hier ein Märchen: Here is a Hedgehog legend -- in English.
Other legends in Europe:
During the 1970s and 1980s, hedgehogs were one of the poster animals for environment activists through Europe. A lot of hedgehogs were killed by traffic, and since the hedgehog already had an aura of a cute little friendly animal, the choice was nearly perfect.
In a Veps legend, the (female) hedgehog appears in a creation myth. According to it, early on, there was no dry land; the entire world was just a big lake. It was a giant hedgehog who brought soil and sand with its needles, creating dry land.[1]
A hedgehog plays a role in a Lithuanian and Latvian creation story as well: when God made heaven and earth, he did not take good measurements, so the earth was made larger than the heaven; on the hedgehog's wise suggestion, God squeezed the earth, so that it would fit into the heaven. (In some version of the legend, the process of "shrinking" the earth resulted in the creation of mountain ranges.) To reward the clever hedgehog, God equipped him with a suite of needles.[1] A similar legend is attested among the Banat Bulgarians and among Romanians as well.[2] [4]
The wisdom of the hedgehog is presented in other folk legend in the Balkans as well. In a Bulgarian legend, the Sun decided to marry the Moon, and invited all the animals to the wedding. The hedgehog was the only one who failed to appear. The Sun went to look for the hedgehog, and found him gnawing on a stone. When the Sun inquired what he was doing, the hedgehog explained: "I am learning to eat stones. Once you marry, you'll have many Sun children born to you, and when they all shine in the sky, everything will burn, and there will be nothing to eat". The Sun then decided to call off the wedding, and the world's inhabitants were saved from starvation.[2]
Theaterfest Ideas? --rsb
PS: In German, one thing is for sure: The Igel can not fly!
Other legends in Europe:
During the 1970s and 1980s, hedgehogs were one of the poster animals for environment activists through Europe. A lot of hedgehogs were killed by traffic, and since the hedgehog already had an aura of a cute little friendly animal, the choice was nearly perfect.
In a Veps legend, the (female) hedgehog appears in a creation myth. According to it, early on, there was no dry land; the entire world was just a big lake. It was a giant hedgehog who brought soil and sand with its needles, creating dry land.[1]
A hedgehog plays a role in a Lithuanian and Latvian creation story as well: when God made heaven and earth, he did not take good measurements, so the earth was made larger than the heaven; on the hedgehog's wise suggestion, God squeezed the earth, so that it would fit into the heaven. (In some version of the legend, the process of "shrinking" the earth resulted in the creation of mountain ranges.) To reward the clever hedgehog, God equipped him with a suite of needles.[1] A similar legend is attested among the Banat Bulgarians and among Romanians as well.[2] [4]
The wisdom of the hedgehog is presented in other folk legend in the Balkans as well. In a Bulgarian legend, the Sun decided to marry the Moon, and invited all the animals to the wedding. The hedgehog was the only one who failed to appear. The Sun went to look for the hedgehog, and found him gnawing on a stone. When the Sun inquired what he was doing, the hedgehog explained: "I am learning to eat stones. Once you marry, you'll have many Sun children born to you, and when they all shine in the sky, everything will burn, and there will be nothing to eat". The Sun then decided to call off the wedding, and the world's inhabitants were saved from starvation.[2]
Theaterfest Ideas? --rsb
PS: In German, one thing is for sure: The Igel can not fly!
Kind allein zu Hause, na und?
[Hätten wir in den USA diese Sache gleich gehandelt? -- Might we have handled this situation the same way here in the USA? -- rsb]
Source:
http://www.hna.de/lokales/
Junge suchte seine Mutter und ging los
Fünfjähriger allein: Polizei brachte ihn zurück und schenkte ihm einen Teddy
Leinefelde. Ein fünfjähriger Junge aus Leinefelde (Thüringen) machte sich am
Donnerstagabend alleine auf den Weg, um seine Mutter zu suchen. Sie hatte den
Jungen alleine in der Wohnung gelassen, um etwas zu erledigen.
Also machte sich der Junge auf den Weg und lief durch den Ort Leinefelde – auf
der Suche nach seiner Mutter. Ein aufmerksamer Mann bemerkte den Jungen auf
der Straße und brachte ihn zur nächsten Polizeistation, der Autobahnpolizei in
Leinefelde.
Die Polizeibeamten kümmerten sich um das Kind und fanden heraus, wo er wohnt.
Auf dem Weg zur Wohnung trafen sie dann auch die Mutter und konnten ihr den
Jungen übergeben.
Als kleiner Trost für den aufregenden Abend bekam der Kleine von der Polizei
einen Teddybären geschenkt. Diese Teddys sind der Polizei für solche
Augenblicke von der Deutschen Teddy Stiftung zur Verfügung gestellt worden. So
waren am Ende alle glücklich.
Ein besonderer Dank der Polizisten gilt dem 51-jährigen Mann aus Leinefelde,
der den Jungen zur Polizei gebracht hat. (tko)
Revolverheld: Lass uns gehen! Gewinnt Raab's 10. BuViSoCo 2014
Revolverheld gewinnt, Tonbandgerät fünfter
22.09.2014 08:21 Uhr
Ein Popsong über die
Sehnsucht nach Ruhe hat das Rennen beim «Bundesvision Song Contest»
gemacht. Die Bandmitglieder von Revolverheld konnten einen historischen
Sieg einfahren. Jetzt gilt es, eine Wette einzulösen. Die Band
Tonbandgerät, die für Schleswig-Holstein gestartet ist, kam auf Platz 5.
Revolverheld gewann den Bundesvisionsongcontest 2015.©
Swen Pförtner/dpa
Göttingen. Mit einer
Rekordpunktzahl hat die Band Revolverheld den «Bundesvision Song
Contest» gewonnen und den Titel nach Bremen geholt. Am Ende von Stefan
Raabs Gesangswettbewerb erhielten die vier Musiker aus allen
Bundesländern zwischen Alpen und Nordsee höchste Wertungen.
Revolverheld-Sänger Johannes Strate kündigte nach der rund vierstündigen
Marathon-Show an: «Wir werden jetzt wahnsinnig feiern.» Am Dienstag
wird das Quartett dann im Weserstadion vor dem Fußballspiel Werder
Bremen gegen Schalke 04 auftreten: «Das war eine Wette, wenn wir hier
gewinnen.»
Wieder einmal hat sich damit in dem Länderwettstreit nach Vorbild des Eurovision Song Contest ein Favorit durchgesetzt. Womöglich sprach der Text des Siegersongs «Lass uns gehen», der im Radio rauf und runter gespielt wird, auch vielen Fernsehzuschauern aus der Seele. Sie konnten am Ende der Sendung, die live von ProSieben übertragen wurde, per Telefon oder SMS abstimmen.
«Lass uns gehen» handelt von stressgeplagten Großstädtern («Bin immer erreichbar, und erreiche doch gar nichts»), die vom «Sommer in Schweden träumen». Die vier Bandmitglieder leben übrigens alle in Hamburg, nicht in Bremen, denken aber über ein Wochenendhaus auf dem Land nach, wie Strate nach dem Sieg auf der Bühne sagte.
Entertainer Stefan Raab hat den «Bundesvision Song Contest» vor zehn Jahren erfunden, als es noch so aussah, als könnte Deutschland beim Eurovision Song Contest nie gewinnen. ESC-Gewinnerin Lena hat diese Annahme widerlegt, dennoch blieb der «BuViSoCo», wie er auch liebevoll genannt wird, als Plattform für deutschsprachige Musik. Neben angesagten Künstlern wie Andreas Bourani (Bayern) und Marteria (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) waren in diesem Jahr wieder junge Talente am Start.
Unter manchen eher belanglosen Pop- und Rapstücken überraschte Teesy (Sachsen-Anhalt). Der junge Sänger begeisterte die 3500 Zuschauer in der ausverkauften Göttinger Lokhalle mit seiner Wahnsinnsstimme und seinem smarten Auftritt in weißem Hemd, Fliege und Hosenträger. Teesy beweist, dass Soul und R&B auf Deutsch gut funktionieren können.
Überhaupt war die ganze Show in gewisser Weise eine Dauerwerbesendung fürs Musikmachen. Alle Künstler hatten sich vorab mit Raab zu kleinen Jam-Sessions getroffen, wobei teilweise Originelles zustande kam - etwa wenn Andreas Bourani R. Kellys «I believe I can fly» auf Bayerisch singt oder Miss Platnum Marlene Dietrichs «Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin» interpretiert.
Zu kritisieren gibt es an so einer Show naturgemäß immer etwas: Möglicherweise war die Bandbreite an Musikstilen nicht so groß wie in vergangenen Jahren. Darüber hinaus traten in der zehnten Ausgabe unter den 16 Kandidaten nur zwei Solokünstlerinnen auf. Der Erfinder der Show zeigte sich am Ende dennoch sehr zufrieden. «Hier gibt es nur Gewinner», betonte Stefan Raab, der die Jubiläumssendung ungewohnt elegant in schwarzem Anzug und Krawatte moderierte.
Hier die Platzierungen aller 16 Kandidaten der Live-Show:
Und hier ist der Text:
Hallo, hallo!
Bist du auch so gelangweilt,
Genervt und gestresst von der Enge der Stadt?
Bist du nicht auch längst schon müde
der Straßen, der Menschen, der Massen?
Hast du das nicht satt?
Ich kann nicht mehr atmen,
Seh' kaum noch den Himmel.
Die Hochhäuser haben meine Seele verbaut.
Bin immer erreichbar, und erreiche doch gar nichts,
Ich halte es hier nicht mehr aus.
CHOR:
Lass uns hier raus!
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln.
Hört der Regen auf Straßen zu füllen.
Hör'n wir endlich mal wieder,
Das Meer und die Wellen,
Lass und gehen, lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen!
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln
Hör'n die Menschen auf Fragen zu stellen
Hör'n wir endlich mal wieder
Das Meer und die Wellen
Lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen
Die Stadt frisst die Ruhe
Mit flackernden Lichtern.
Schluckt Tage und Nächte in sich hinein
Gehetzte Gesichter in der drängelnden Masse
Jeder muss überall schnell sein
Zwischen den Zeilen hab' ich gelesen,
Dass wir beide weg von hier wollen
Wir stecken hier fest
Verschüttet im Regen
Und träumen vom Sommer in Schweden.
CHOR:
Ooooooh...
... Lass uns gehen..
Lass uns hier raus
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln
... Lass uns gehen..
Hört der Regen auf Straßen zu füllen
Können wir endlich mal wieder
Entscheidungen fällen
CHOR:
Wieder einmal hat sich damit in dem Länderwettstreit nach Vorbild des Eurovision Song Contest ein Favorit durchgesetzt. Womöglich sprach der Text des Siegersongs «Lass uns gehen», der im Radio rauf und runter gespielt wird, auch vielen Fernsehzuschauern aus der Seele. Sie konnten am Ende der Sendung, die live von ProSieben übertragen wurde, per Telefon oder SMS abstimmen.
«Lass uns gehen» handelt von stressgeplagten Großstädtern («Bin immer erreichbar, und erreiche doch gar nichts»), die vom «Sommer in Schweden träumen». Die vier Bandmitglieder leben übrigens alle in Hamburg, nicht in Bremen, denken aber über ein Wochenendhaus auf dem Land nach, wie Strate nach dem Sieg auf der Bühne sagte.
Entertainer Stefan Raab hat den «Bundesvision Song Contest» vor zehn Jahren erfunden, als es noch so aussah, als könnte Deutschland beim Eurovision Song Contest nie gewinnen. ESC-Gewinnerin Lena hat diese Annahme widerlegt, dennoch blieb der «BuViSoCo», wie er auch liebevoll genannt wird, als Plattform für deutschsprachige Musik. Neben angesagten Künstlern wie Andreas Bourani (Bayern) und Marteria (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) waren in diesem Jahr wieder junge Talente am Start.
Unter manchen eher belanglosen Pop- und Rapstücken überraschte Teesy (Sachsen-Anhalt). Der junge Sänger begeisterte die 3500 Zuschauer in der ausverkauften Göttinger Lokhalle mit seiner Wahnsinnsstimme und seinem smarten Auftritt in weißem Hemd, Fliege und Hosenträger. Teesy beweist, dass Soul und R&B auf Deutsch gut funktionieren können.
Überhaupt war die ganze Show in gewisser Weise eine Dauerwerbesendung fürs Musikmachen. Alle Künstler hatten sich vorab mit Raab zu kleinen Jam-Sessions getroffen, wobei teilweise Originelles zustande kam - etwa wenn Andreas Bourani R. Kellys «I believe I can fly» auf Bayerisch singt oder Miss Platnum Marlene Dietrichs «Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin» interpretiert.
Zu kritisieren gibt es an so einer Show naturgemäß immer etwas: Möglicherweise war die Bandbreite an Musikstilen nicht so groß wie in vergangenen Jahren. Darüber hinaus traten in der zehnten Ausgabe unter den 16 Kandidaten nur zwei Solokünstlerinnen auf. Der Erfinder der Show zeigte sich am Ende dennoch sehr zufrieden. «Hier gibt es nur Gewinner», betonte Stefan Raab, der die Jubiläumssendung ungewohnt elegant in schwarzem Anzug und Krawatte moderierte.
Hier die Platzierungen aller 16 Kandidaten der Live-Show:
- 1. Platz: Revolverheld, Bremen (180 Punkte)
- 2. Platz: Jupiter Jones, Rheinland-Pfalz (124 Punkte)
- 3. Platz: Teesy, Sachsen-Anhalt (102 Punkte)
- 4. Platz: Marteria, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (101 Punkte)
- 5. Platz: Tonbandgerät, Schleswig-Holstein (87 Punkte)
- 6. Platz: Andreas Bourani, Bayern (81 Punkte)
- 7. Platz: Max Mutzke, Baden-Württemberg (58 Punkte)
- 8. Platz: Maxim, Nordrhein-Westfalen (46 Punkte)
- 9. Platz: OK Kid, Hessen (33 Punkte)
- 10. Platz: Nico Suave feat. Flo Mega, Hamburg (28 Punkte)
- 11. Platz: Duerer, Thüringen (25 Punkte)
- 12. Platz: Miss Platnum, Berlin (16 Punkte)
- 13. Platz: Sierra Kidd, Niedersachsen (15 Punkte)
- 14. Platz: Inglebirds, Saarland (12 Punkte)
- 15. Platz: Sebastian Hackel, Sachsen (10 Punkte)
- 16. Platz: Kitty Kat, Brandenburg (10 Punkte)
Und hier ist der Text:
Hallo, hallo!
Bist du auch so gelangweilt,
Genervt und gestresst von der Enge der Stadt?
Bist du nicht auch längst schon müde
der Straßen, der Menschen, der Massen?
Hast du das nicht satt?
Ich kann nicht mehr atmen,
Seh' kaum noch den Himmel.
Die Hochhäuser haben meine Seele verbaut.
Bin immer erreichbar, und erreiche doch gar nichts,
Ich halte es hier nicht mehr aus.
CHOR:
Lass uns hier raus!
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln.
Hört der Regen auf Straßen zu füllen.
Hör'n wir endlich mal wieder,
Das Meer und die Wellen,
Lass und gehen, lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen!
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln
Hör'n die Menschen auf Fragen zu stellen
Hör'n wir endlich mal wieder
Das Meer und die Wellen
Lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen, lass uns gehen
Die Stadt frisst die Ruhe
Mit flackernden Lichtern.
Schluckt Tage und Nächte in sich hinein
Gehetzte Gesichter in der drängelnden Masse
Jeder muss überall schnell sein
Zwischen den Zeilen hab' ich gelesen,
Dass wir beide weg von hier wollen
Wir stecken hier fest
Verschüttet im Regen
Und träumen vom Sommer in Schweden.
CHOR:
Ooooooh...
... Lass uns gehen..
Lass uns hier raus
Hinter Hamburg, Berlin oder Köln
... Lass uns gehen..
Hört der Regen auf Straßen zu füllen
Können wir endlich mal wieder
Entscheidungen fällen
CHOR:
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Helene Fischer, für VW -- Es gibt einen Helene Fischer Sportsvan
(mindestens in Österreich = at least in Austria one can purchase this car)
Lena rockt unter der Dusche (Werbung)
Lena Meyer-Landrut promotes the new shower head introduced by Stefan Raab (Advertising)
Experience the Power of a Book Book: IKEA
Any part of this ad that you enjoyed? (Ah! What an improvement over the scroll!) Let us know.
(The joy of this experience does remind me a bit of our German classroom... rsb)
Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
Written by Matt Phillips@MatthewPhillips
He's almost certainly carrying cash. Fabrizio Bensch
September 17, 2014
As
banks, technology giants and would-be disruptors such as Square
scrummage over the payment system of the future, German consumers seem
perfectly happy with the payment system of the past. Germany remains one
of the most cash-intensive advanced economies on earth.
No
one knows precisely why Germans have such a strong preference for cash,
though survey data offer some hints. German respondents suggested that
using cash makes it easier to keep track of their money and spending [pdf].
“A glance
into one’s pocket provides a signal about the extent of expenses and
the remaining budget. With a large cash share of expenditures, the
quality of the signal is high. We conjecture that for some consumers
this signal is of value and hence they choose to use cash,” wrote ECB
analysts who studied the phenomenon.
Other responses suggest Germans like the anonymity of cash, in keeping with their general enthusiasm for tightly protecting privacy.
But,
of course, their attitudes toward currency must owe something to
Germany’s tumultuous monetary history. During the Weimar-era
hyperinflation that peaked in 1923, prices rose roughly a trillion-fold,
as Germany attempted to pay its onerous war reparations with devalued
marks.
The sheer lunacy of the sums involved make this everyone’s favorite hyperinflation.
At the end of it, a loaf of bread cost 428 billion marks, a
kilo of butter would run you roughly 6 trillion. Employers would halt
work in the middle of morning to pay out bales of banknotes to
workers—who sometimes collected them in laundry baskets—and
the workday would be suspended for an hour or so as employees were
given time to run around and purchase as much as they could before the
money became worthless. (They would barter it later.) And, of course,
people were using the worthless banknotes for all sorts of silly things,
such as wallpaper, furnace fuel and kites.
But this wasn’t
the last time Germany’s currency was rendered worthless in the 20th
century. After World War II, the reichsmark was again in
disarray. Hitler had largely financed the war by printing money, keeping
inflation at bay through a uniquely fascist policy of strict price
controls and violent threats. (“Inflation is a lack of discipline,” Hitler once said. “I’ll see to it that prices remain stable. That’s what my storm troopers are for.”)
During
the postwar occupation, the Allies kept wage and price
controls and rationing in effect. But more and more economic activity moved to the black market.
Packs of Camels and Chesterfields, nylon stockings and Parker
pens—which US servicemen stationed in Germany could easily buy at
their bases—became de facto currencies.
The currency
reform of June 20, 1948, in which Germans were forced to convert their
cash into the newly introduced deutsche marks at a rate of more than 10
reichsmarks to the D-mark, was painful too, vaporizing more than 90% of an individual’s savings (paywall).
But
the new currency help pull hoarded goods back into shops and tamped
down on the enervating effects of the black market. It was widely viewed
as a tough, but necessary step that put Germany’s post-war economic
resurgence in motion.
As
such, the deutsche mark became a point of pride, first for West
Germany, and in 1990 for those who lived in the former Communist east as
well. (They were able to exchange their worthless ostmarks for deutsche
marks at a generous rate of one-for-one.) It was with some
consternation that Germany changed over to the euro in 2002.
So what role does this history play in the preference for cash?
One explanation is that, as researchers have found, memories of hyperinflation have quite a bit of staying power.
People in countries that suffered banking crises quite sensibly often
prefer to save in cash—though typically in foreign currencies such as
US dollars—rather than put money in the bank. (Federal Reserve Bank of
New York economists found that demand for US dollars rises for at least a generation
in countries after they suffer a searing experience with high
inflation.) And countries such as Bulgaria and Romania, which have
recent histories of currency instability and financial crises, also are
quite heavy users of cash.
But the real point isn’t that Germans love cash. It’s that—for the same historical reasons—they loathe debt. (Armchair anthropologists have also long noted that German word for debt—Schulden—comes from the word for guilt, Schuld.)
Levels
of consumer debt in Germany are remarkably low. German aversion to
mortgage debt is part of the reason why the country has some of the lowest homeownership rates in the developed world.
Just 33% of Germans said they had a credit card back in 2011. And most
of those hardly ever get used. In 2013, only 18% of payments in Germany
were made via cards, compared to 50% in France and 59% in the UK.
The
national preference for cash, then, seems to be the flip side of
aversion to debt, which, in turn, can be interpreted as a sign of
deep-seated doubt about the future. (German businesspeople are also notorious for their pessimism about the future.) And fear of the future, of course, is rooted in the past.
In
other words, the German tendency to settle up in cash undeniably
reflects the fact that for much of the last century, Germany has been
either on the brink of, in the midst of, or struggling to recover from,
disaster. And traumas like that are bound to leave, if you’ll excuse the
pun, a mark.
Read This Next: Most Germans don’t buy their homes, they rent. Here’s why
Friday, September 19, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
High Hoon, a short film project from Theres Knuth
Theres aus GAPP 2010-11 hat uns heute in der Schule besucht. Dieser Film hat ihr geholfen in Berlin in der DEKRA Hochschule und Filmakademie studieren zu duerfen.
Er wurde suedlich von Dueren, in Heimbach, gedreht.
Was bedeutet der Titel?
Was hat Theres mit dem Film zu tun?
Er wurde suedlich von Dueren, in Heimbach, gedreht.
Was bedeutet der Titel?
Was hat Theres mit dem Film zu tun?
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
17 Years Old Throughout History
Das Jahrhundert der Jugend
What was it like being 17 years old during the past century? Deutsche Welle presents this to us in a unique way. Let me know how you might like to make use of these materials.
HERE IS THE LINK
What was it like being 17 years old during the past century? Deutsche Welle presents this to us in a unique way. Let me know how you might like to make use of these materials.
HERE IS THE LINK
Step Into German Contest
Why let someone else win? Answer 3 questions about a short soccer video (Match of the Month!) and enter.
HIER IST DER LINK
HIER IST DER LINK
Balloon Music: 99 Luftballons mal anders
Andrew Huang .... ist jetzt in Deutschland.
Gunnerrola
Songtext von Nena: Sing mit!
Gunnerrola
Songtext von Nena: Sing mit!
Hast Du etwas Zeit fur mich,
dann singe ich ein Lied für Dich
von 99 Luftballons
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont.
dann singe ich ein Lied für Dich
von 99 Luftballons
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont.
Denkst Du vielleicht g'rad an mich,
dann singe ich ein Lied fur Dich,
von 99 Luftballons
und dass so was von so was kommt.
dann singe ich ein Lied fur Dich,
von 99 Luftballons
und dass so was von so was kommt.
99 Luftballons
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont,
hielt man fur UFOs aus dem All
darum schickte ein General
auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont,
hielt man fur UFOs aus dem All
darum schickte ein General
'ne Fliegerstaffel hinterher,
Alarm zu geben, wenn es so wär,
dabei war'n da am Horizont
nur 99 Luftballons.
Alarm zu geben, wenn es so wär,
dabei war'n da am Horizont
nur 99 Luftballons.
99 Düsenflieger,
jede war ein grosser Krieger.
Hielten sich fur Captain Kirk,
das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk!
jede war ein grosser Krieger.
Hielten sich fur Captain Kirk,
das gab ein grosses Feuerwerk!
Die Nachbarn haben nichts gerafft,
und fühlten sich gleich angemacht,
dabei schoss man am Horizont
auf 99 Luftballons.
und fühlten sich gleich angemacht,
dabei schoss man am Horizont
auf 99 Luftballons.
99 Kriegsminister-
Streichholz und Benzinkanister-
hielten sich fur schlaue Leute,
witterten schon fette Beute.
Streichholz und Benzinkanister-
hielten sich fur schlaue Leute,
witterten schon fette Beute.
Riefen, Krieg und wollten Macht.
Mann, wer hätte das gedacht,
dass es einmal soweit kommt
wegen 99 Luftballons?
Mann, wer hätte das gedacht,
dass es einmal soweit kommt
wegen 99 Luftballons?
99 Luftballons
99 Luftballons
99 Luftballons
99 Jahre Krieg
ließen keine Platz für Sieger.
Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr,
und auch keine Düsenflieger.
ließen keine Platz für Sieger.
Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr,
und auch keine Düsenflieger.
Heute zieh' ich meine Runden,
seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen.
Hab' nen Luftballon gefunden,
denk' an Dich, und lass' ihn fliegen.
seh' die Welt in Trümmern liegen.
Hab' nen Luftballon gefunden,
denk' an Dich, und lass' ihn fliegen.
.........
So sollen wir eine Fremdsprach lernen?
This is how we should become fluent in a foreign language? FASCINATING!
OK Kid: Grundlos gluecklich
Von Ian, 5 Lieder, die zusammen gehören. .... Danke, Ian!
I've finally understood what Ian means about these 5 songs being related in a continuous film.
Here's the first of 5: BORDERLINE
The next song featurs a frustrated airplane modeler during the month of February "28 weniger, endlich nicht mehr Februar:" WARME KAFFEE 2. It should spool up next on Youtube. "Reis ab, was dich zerreist!" Tear off/out what tears you up.
Third is: UNTERWASSER LIED. "Nicht mehr zu atmen..." No longer [able to] breathe...
FOURTH is the titled feature, "Grundlos glücklich," or happy go lucky -- for no reason
Das Theme ist optimistisch, oder -- ? ? ? ? Was bedeutet es hier ,,grundlos zu sein"?
(The theme is an optimistic one, right ???? What does it mean here to be purposeless?)
Songtext
Der Rasen ist gemäht, die Straßen sind gefegt (fegen = to sweep)
Und der Wind weht die letzte Melodie aus dieser Stadt (wehen = to blow -- in wind)
Und ich sitz wieder da, mit meinem rechten Fuß am Kinn.
Wahrscheinlich um zu gucken, ob ich noch flexibel bin.
Oder noch tiefer häng', als mir lieb ist,
Wahrscheinlich noch mehr daneben, als der Vers über den Beat ist.
Ich kotz mich aus, mein Gott bin ich eklig.
Doch ich versteh' mich endlich wieder gut mit mir.
Simsala Gin
Schau nochmal ins Glas, alles wieder halb so schlimm.
Schluck auf und vorbei:
Grundlos glücklich. Grundlos sein.
Chor:
Grundlos glücklich. Grundlos sein -- x2
Ohne doppelten Boden
Nicht mehr da will ich hin, da werd ich sein.
Nicht mehr unten, nicht oben--
Grundlos glücklich. -- Grundlos sein.
Die Treppe zieht sich lang zur nächsten Tür,
doch kein Bock zu diskutieren, ob es mit dem Aufzug schneller wär. (der Aufzug = elevator)
Interessiert sich schon dafür?
Zieh mich am Geländer hoch, will die Stufen nicht mehr spüren.
Sieht komisch aus, kein Plan ob es 'was bringt,
gibt mir einen Grund und ich fall' wieder hin.
Solang bin ich cool, mit meinem rechten Fuß am Kinn,
zwischen Fliegen können und Liegen lernen, schweben ohne Sinn
Und schon wieder Simsala Gin.
Schau nochmal ins Glas, alles wieder halb so schlimm.
Schluckauf und vorbei.
Grundlos Glücklich. Grundlos sein. CHOR: x2
Finally the 5th song in the film sequence is "Zuerst war da ein Beat."
Let Ian know if you too have become a fan of OK Kid!
I've finally understood what Ian means about these 5 songs being related in a continuous film.
Here's the first of 5: BORDERLINE
The next song featurs a frustrated airplane modeler during the month of February "28 weniger, endlich nicht mehr Februar:" WARME KAFFEE 2. It should spool up next on Youtube. "Reis ab, was dich zerreist!" Tear off/out what tears you up.
Third is: UNTERWASSER LIED. "Nicht mehr zu atmen..." No longer [able to] breathe...
FOURTH is the titled feature, "Grundlos glücklich," or happy go lucky -- for no reason
Das Theme ist optimistisch, oder -- ? ? ? ? Was bedeutet es hier ,,grundlos zu sein"?
(The theme is an optimistic one, right ???? What does it mean here to be purposeless?)
Songtext
Der Rasen ist gemäht, die Straßen sind gefegt (fegen = to sweep)
Und der Wind weht die letzte Melodie aus dieser Stadt (wehen = to blow -- in wind)
Und ich sitz wieder da, mit meinem rechten Fuß am Kinn.
Wahrscheinlich um zu gucken, ob ich noch flexibel bin.
Oder noch tiefer häng', als mir lieb ist,
Wahrscheinlich noch mehr daneben, als der Vers über den Beat ist.
Ich kotz mich aus, mein Gott bin ich eklig.
Doch ich versteh' mich endlich wieder gut mit mir.
Simsala Gin
Schau nochmal ins Glas, alles wieder halb so schlimm.
Schluck auf und vorbei:
Grundlos glücklich. Grundlos sein.
Chor:
Grundlos glücklich. Grundlos sein -- x2
Ohne doppelten Boden
Nicht mehr da will ich hin, da werd ich sein.
Nicht mehr unten, nicht oben--
Grundlos glücklich. -- Grundlos sein.
Die Treppe zieht sich lang zur nächsten Tür,
doch kein Bock zu diskutieren, ob es mit dem Aufzug schneller wär. (der Aufzug = elevator)
Interessiert sich schon dafür?
Zieh mich am Geländer hoch, will die Stufen nicht mehr spüren.
Sieht komisch aus, kein Plan ob es 'was bringt,
gibt mir einen Grund und ich fall' wieder hin.
Solang bin ich cool, mit meinem rechten Fuß am Kinn,
zwischen Fliegen können und Liegen lernen, schweben ohne Sinn
Und schon wieder Simsala Gin.
Schau nochmal ins Glas, alles wieder halb so schlimm.
Schluckauf und vorbei.
Grundlos Glücklich. Grundlos sein. CHOR: x2
Finally the 5th song in the film sequence is "Zuerst war da ein Beat."
Let Ian know if you too have become a fan of OK Kid!
Monday, September 15, 2014
New York Times
Environment | The Big Fix
Sun and Wind Alter Global Landscape, Leaving Utilities Behind
Germany’s Offshore Wind Push
Video Credit By Erik Olsen on
Publish Date September 13, 2014.
HELIGOLAND,
Germany — Of all the developed nations, few have pushed harder than
Germany to find a solution to global warming. And towering symbols of
that drive are appearing in the middle of the North Sea. They
are wind turbines, standing as far as 60 miles from the mainland,
stretching as high as 60-story buildings and costing up to $30 million
apiece. On some of these giant machines, a single blade roughly equals
the wingspan of the largest airliner in the sky, the Airbus A380. By
year’s end, scores of new turbines will be sending low-emission
electricity to German cities hundreds of miles to the south.
It
will be another milestone in Germany’s costly attempt to remake its
electricity system, an ambitious project that has already produced
striking results: Germans will soon be getting 30 percent of their power
from renewable energy sources. Many smaller countries are beating that,
but Germany is by far the largest industrial power to reach that level
in the modern era. It is more than twice the percentage in the United
States.
Germany’s relentless push
into renewable energy has implications far beyond its shores. By
creating huge demand for wind turbines and especially for solar panels,
it has helped lure big Chinese manufacturers into the market, and that
combination is driving down costs faster than almost anyone thought
possible just a few years ago.
Electric
utility executives all over the world are watching nervously as
technologies they once dismissed as irrelevant begin to threaten their
long-established business plans. Fights are erupting across the United
States over the future rules for renewable power. Many poor countries,
once intent on building coal-fired power plants to bring electricity to
their people, are discussing whether they might leapfrog the fossil age
and build clean grids from the outset.
A
reckoning is at hand, and nowhere is that clearer than in Germany. Even
as the country sets records nearly every month for renewable power
production, the changes have devastated its utility companies, whose
profits from power generation have collapsed.
A
similar pattern may well play out in other countries that are pursuing
ambitious plans for renewable energy. Some American states, impatient
with legislative gridlock in Washington, have set aggressive goals of their own, aiming for 20 or 30 percent renewable energy as soon as 2020.
The word the Germans use for their plan is starting to make its way into conversations elsewhere: Energiewende,
the energy transition. Worldwide, Germany is being held up as a model,
cited by environmental activists as proof that a transformation of the
global energy system is possible.
But it is becoming clear that the transformation, if plausible, will be wrenching.
Some experts say the electricity business is entering a period of
turmoil beyond anything in its 130-year history, a disruption
potentially as great as those that have remade the airlines, the music
industry and the telephone business.
Taking
full advantage of the possibilities may require scrapping the old rules
of electricity markets and starting over, industry observers say —
perhaps with techniques like paying utilities extra to keep conventional
power plants on standby for times when the wind is not blowing and the
sun is not shining. The German government has acknowledged the need for
new rules, though it has yet to figure out what they should be. A
handful of American states are beginning a similar reconsideration of
how their electric systems operate.
“It’s pretty amazing what’s happening, really,” said Gerard Reid, an Irish financier working in Berlin on German energy projects. “The Germans call it a transformation, but to me it’s a revolution.”
The
potential payoff for getting the new rules right is enormous: a far
greener electricity system that does not pump as much greenhouse gas and
other pollution into the atmosphere. Yet as the German experience
shows, the difficulties of the transition are likely to be enormous,
too, and it is still far from clear whether the system can be
transformed fast enough to head off dangerous levels of global warming.
“I
am convinced that wind and sun will be the central sources of energy,
not only in Germany but worldwide,” said Patrick Graichen, who heads a
think tank in Berlin, Agora Energiewende, devoted to studying the shift. “The question is: How can we turn the energy transition into a success story?”
Plummeting Prices
One
recent day, under a brilliant California sun, saws buzzed as workers
put the finishing touches on spacious new homes. They looked like many
others going up in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, but with an
extra feature: Lennar Corporation was putting solar panels on every
house it built.
The
prices of the panels have plunged 70 percent in the past five years.
That huge decline means solar power is starting to make more economic
sense, especially in parts of the United States with high electricity
prices.
At
about 100 Lennar subdivisions in California, buyers who move into a new
home automatically get solar panels on the roof. Lennar, the nation’s
second-largest homebuilder, recently decided to expand that policy to
several more states, starting with Colorado. The company typically
retains ownership of the panels and signs 20-year deals to sell
homeowners the power from their own roofs, at a 20 percent discount from
the local utility’s prices.
“It’s
so simple when we tell a customer, ‘You’re guaranteed to save money,’ ”
said David J. Kaiserman, president of Lennar Ventures, the division
overseeing the solar plan.
The shifting economics can largely be traced to China,
by way of Germany. Over the past decade, the Germans set out to lower
the cost of going green by creating rapid growth in the once-tiny market
for renewable power.
Germany
has spent more than $140 billion on its program, dangling guaranteed
returns for farmers, homeowners, businesses and local cooperatives
willing to install solar panels, wind turbines, biogas plants and other
sources of renewable energy. The plan is paid for through surcharges on
electricity bills that cost the typical German family roughly $280 a
year, though some of that has been offset as renewables have pushed down
wholesale electricity prices.
The
program has expanded the renewables market and created huge economies
of scale, with worldwide sales of solar panels doubling about every 21
months over the past decade, and prices falling roughly 20 percent with
each doubling. “The Germans were not really buying power — they were
buying price decline,” said Hal Harvey, who heads an energy think tank in San Francisco.
The ripple effects drove some American panel manufacturers out of business, prompting complaints
about Chinese government subsidies to the manufacturers who seized much
of the market. But the decline also created an opportunity for American
homeowners and for companies like Lennar.
Wind
power, too, has come down sharply in price in recent years, and it is
now competitive with the cost of new coal-burning power plants in parts
of the United States.
A Threat to Business
The
decline in the cost of renewable power spells potential trouble for
companies that generate electricity. They make a lot of their money at
times of day when demand for power, and therefore power prices, are
high. Solar power, even a small amount, could be especially disruptive,
shaving wholesale prices during those peak periods.
Though
growing rapidly, solar power still accounts for less than 1 percent of
American power generation, so the disruption has not yet been seen on a
large scale in the United States. But some utilities, fearful of losing
out as the power mix changes, have started attacking rules that encourage solar panels. Others are taking the opposite tack, jumping into the solar market themselves.
Nipping
at the heels of those utilities are fast-growing start-up companies
that are putting tens of thousands of panels on rooftops and leasing
them to homeowners for no money down, with Wall Street banks providing
the financing. The hot spot is California, which is aiming for 33
percent renewable power by 2020 and seems increasingly likely to get
there.
In
Germany, where solar panels supply 7 percent of power and wind turbines
about 10 percent, wholesale power prices have crashed during what were
once the most profitable times of day. “We were late entering into the
renewables market — possibly too late,” Peter Terium, chief executive of
the giant utility RWE, admitted this spring as he announced a $3.8
billion annual loss.
The
big German utilities are warning — or pleading, perhaps — that the
revolution cannot be allowed to go forward without them. And outside
experts say they may have a point.
The
Achilles’ heel of renewable power is that it is intermittent, so German
utilities have had to dial their conventional power plants up and down
rapidly to compensate. The plants are not necessarily profitable when
operated this way, and the utilities have been threatening to shut down
facilities that some analysts say the country needs as backup.
The
situation is further complicated by the government’s determination to
get rid of Germany’s nuclear power stations over the next decade, the
culmination of a long battle that reached its peak after the 2011
Fukushima disaster in Japan. As that plan unfolds, shutting down a
source of low-emission power, Germany’s notable success in cutting
greenhouse gases has stalled.
In
fact, the problems with the Energiewende (pronounced in-ur-GEE-vend-uh)
have multiplied so rapidly in the past couple of years that the
government is now trying to slow down the transition. “I think we need a
little bit of time,” said Jochen Flasbarth, a deputy minister of the
environment.
But
the German public is not taking that well. Marching down a Berlin
street with thousands of other protesters one recent day, Reinhard
Christiansen, the head of a small company focused on renewable energy in
the town of Ellhöft, said, “We are afraid they are trying to put the
brakes on the energy transformation.”
A visit to the Aller-Leine-Tal, one of
many energy cooperatives that have contributed to the success so far of
Germany’s Energiewende, or energy transition.
Technological Innovation
As
renewable energy sources start to cause gyrations in power supplies and
prices, experts contend that clever new market rules could keep the
costs reasonable.
Some
of the innovations they recommend are already in use to some extent —
pioneered in the United States, with Germany avidly studying them. They
include regular payments to persuade utilities to keep some fossil-fuel
power plants on standby for times when renewable sources lag.
“It’s
like a retainer you pay your lawyer to keep her around in case you need
her,” said Jay Apt, an electricity expert at Carnegie Mellon
University.
But the larger innovations are likely to focus on how people use electricity, rather than on how it is supplied.
Techniques
to manage demand have been in limited use for decades, but new
technologies are enabling a far more ambitious approach. Apple and
Google, for instance, are investing billions
in businesses designed to capitalize on the new opportunities, such as
by helping homeowners manage their power use with devices like digital
thermostats.
Electricity
prices, instead of being averaged over a month, could theoretically
vary in real time, at least for willing customers. Price spikes would
encourage conservation. Conversely, smart chips built into appliances
like dishwashers or water heaters could switch the devices on when power
was plentiful and prices low. American tests of this approach have been
promising.
Other
methods could help, too. More high-voltage power lines could link wind
farms and solar panels in disparate locations, smoothing out the
variations. This is politically difficult, but some such lines are being
built in both the United States and Germany.
For
Germans, the unpredictability of onshore renewable power explains the
appeal of offshore wind. The stiff, steady breezes in the North Sea and
the Baltic Sea mean that turbines built there will produce far more
power than land turbines.
That
is why three utilities have virtually seized control of the tiny resort
island of Heligoland, renting out one hotel for 10 years straight. It
is the most convenient body of land to use as an operations base for the
huge wind farms they are installing, with long-range plans to go as far
as 125 miles offshore.
The
streets of the island are thronged with well-paid workers. “Really, all
areas on Heligoland are profiting,” declared Eike Walenda, the manager
of a local outfitter and fueling station.
The
costs of building in the sea are far higher than on land, of course.
The price tag of up to $30 million per turbine is not just for the
machine itself, but also for power cables, installation and many other
items. To induce utilities to go forward, the government has had to
guarantee them power prices of several times the market rate.
But,
just as with earlier forms of renewable technology, the Germans expect
the costs of harnessing offshore wind to drop sharply as the market
grows over the coming decade. If that happens, the United States could
be a big beneficiary. Studies have shown that offshore wind could supply
as much as 15 to 20 percent of the power needed by East Coast cities,
and construction is about to start on a handful of American projects.
For
now, the German offshore farms are adding billions to the costs
consumers are already bearing for solar panels, onshore wind turbines,
biogas plants and the rest of the transition to renewable energy. Polls
suggest it is a burden they are willing to carry.
“Indeed,
the German people are paying significant money,” said Markus
Steigenberger, an analyst at Agora, the think tank. “But in Germany, we
can afford this — we are a rich country. It’s a gift to the world.”
Follow Justin Gillis on Twitter: @JustinHGillis Erik Olsen contributed reporting from Berlin, Matthew L. Wald from New York, and Chris Cottrell from Heligoland, Germany.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Schandmaul singt...Ich wäre so gern ein Sonnenstrahl...
I'd so gladly be a sunbeam..
What style would you give this music?
Hier kann man mitlesen und mit singen -- und Deutsch lernen!
Try reading along, singing along, and learning German!
What style would you give this music?
Hier kann man mitlesen und mit singen -- und Deutsch lernen!
Try reading along, singing along, and learning German!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Reflexive Pronouns in German: How are they different than in English?
Let's listen to Herrn Schwab:
Reflexive Pronouns in German:
Singular Plural
Nom Akku Dativ Nom Akku Dativ
ich mich mir wir -- uns --
du dich dir ihr -- euch --
er
sie -- sich -- sie -- sich --
es Sie
Reflexive Pronouns in German:
Singular Plural
Nom Akku Dativ Nom Akku Dativ
ich mich mir wir -- uns --
du dich dir ihr -- euch --
er
sie -- sich -- sie -- sich --
es Sie