HIER EIN CONTEST -- Von Step into German. -- Warum nicht ein TSHIRT (oder etwas elektronisches?) gewinnen!
Worum geht dieses Gedicht Der Liebende
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962)
Nun liegt dein Freund wach in der milden Nacht,
Noch warm von dir, noch voll von deinem Duft,
Von deinem Blick und Haar und Kuß -
o Mitternacht,
O Mond und Stern und blaue Nebelluft!
In dich, Geliebte, steigt mein Traum
Tief wie in Meer, Gebirg und Kluft hinein,
Verspritzt in Brandung und verweht zu Schaum,
Ist Sonne, Wurzel, Tier,
Nur um bei dir,
Um nah bei dir zu sein.
Saturn kreist fern und Mond, ich seh sie nicht,
Seh nur in Blumenblässe dein Gesicht,
Und lache still und weine trunken,
Nicht Glück, nicht Leid ist mehr,
Nur du, nur ich und du, versunken
Ins tiefe All, ins tiefe Meer,
Darein sind wir verloren,
Drin sterben wir und werden neugeboren.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Prinz Pi rappt: Drei Kreuze für Deutschland
Per STEP INTO GERMAN: "Since the release of his first album in 1998, the rapper has published
fourteen records and collaborated with many stars of the German hip hop
scene. Prinz Pi is known for his socially conscious and critical lyrics
and does not back off from controversial subjects.
(His) real name is Friedrich Kautz (and he) was born in 1979. He grew up in a typical middle-class family in Berlin. As a teenager, he studied ancient Greek in high school and discovered his passion ... Since “Pi” is not only Greek but, as the rapper says, also “the link to his classical education and a cool mystical number”, he changed his name to Prinz Pi – and suddenly received the attention of a growing number of journalists and magazine editors.
In "Drei Kreuze für Deutschland" Pi sympathizes with those German soldiers who died during the military intervention in Afghanistan, or because of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after their return to a “normal” life.
SONGTEXT: ERSTE STROPHE
Der Vater ein Kapitän, er ist bei der Marine,
Ein großer Soldat mit unbeweglicher Miene.
Er kommandiert sein Schiff und auch seine Familie,
Seine Uniform sitzt tadellos, er zeigt nie seine Liebe.
Er zeigt nie eine Schwäche, denn er muss befehlen.
Er war keinen Tag im Dienst krank, denn er darf nie fehlen.
Wenn der Vater predigt, ist sein Gott Disziplin.
Der Wind scheint ihn mitzuziehen.
Sie warten auf das Schiff mit ihm.
Seine zwei Söhne wurden so schnell erwachsen.
Das Hochzeitsfoto zeigt sein einziges Lachen.
Seine Fregatte muss zum Persischen Golf los.
-- Nachts geht ein Mann über Bord, die Suche erfolglos.
Kein Sarg kommt nach Haus, nur ein Kreuz am Band.
Irgendwo sinkt seine Leiche auf den Grund.
-- Das kleine Kreuz, es liegt leicht,
Es liegt so leicht auf Mutters Hand.
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
(Refrain)
Da steht ein Haus am Meer, ein kleines Haus am Meer.
Mit Mutter, Vater und zwei Söhnen und sie liebt sie sehr,
Und einem Labrador und einem Familienwagen.
Und in der Küche sieht man Mutter warten.
Da steht ein Haus am Meer, ein kleines Haus am Meer.
Mit Mutter, Vater und zwei Söhnen und sie liebt sie sehr.
Und einem Labrador und einem Familienwagen.
Schon seit vielen Jahren sieht man die Mutter warten.
ZWEITE STROPHE
Der große Bruder kehrt zurück,
In seinem Kopf knallen Gewehre,
Und schreien die Kameraden, sie schreien seinen Namen.
Und wenn er träumt, dann sieht er die Straßen
In bräunlichen Farben, gesäumt von Irakern.
Und er weiß, die Bomben, die Bomben,
Sie warten auf seine Kameraden,
Die Jungs, die dort starben.
Und dem einen nahmen sie beide Arme,
Einem anderen seine Augen und dreien ihre Nasen.
-- Und er konnte nichts machen und das ist das Schlimme.
-- „Es gibt nur einen Ausweg“, sagt ihm eine Stimme,
Die er hört, auch mit Schutz auf dem Schießstand.
Die Stimme kam aus Kabul nach Nordfriesland.
-- Und so nimmt er sein Sturmgewehr,
-- Salutiert vor der Fahne
-- Und steckt sich den Lauf in den Mund. Dann läutet zuhause die Tür.
-- Zwei ernst blickende Soldaten wünschen Beileid.
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
(Refrain)
DRITTE STROPHE
Der kleine Bruder ist zurück, er ist Mamas Liebster.
Sie sagt: „Bitte, bleib bei mir“ und er blieb da,
Wohnt im kleinen Haus, damit nichts mehr passiert.
Schreibtischdienst, ist hier stationiert.
War drei Jahre in Kundus, er spürt nur Leere.
Alte Freunde wollen quatschen, doch keiner will reden.
Alle wollen aus dem Dorf weg, wollen zur Party fahren,
-- Doch er bleibt für immer in Afghanistan.
Über dem Dach der Kaserne sind die selben Sterne,
ob in Deutschland oder in der Ferne.
Beim auf den Bus warten, gleich vor Mutters Garten
Jagen zwei dumme Glatzen einen Schwarzen.
Der Kleine hat Courage, der andere eine Tonfa.
Auch das arme reiche Deutschland produziert paar Monster.
Die lokale Zeitung geht dem auf den Grund.
Die Armee verleiht ein Kreuz,
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
Die Mutter steht allein vor der Kaserne,
Und sie fragt: „Was habt ihr mit meinen Jungs gemacht?“
Keiner hat Verantwortung, kann ihr sagen, wo sie starben.
Niemand hat sie umgebracht.
Die Mutter steht vorm Admiral, blickt auf die Orden.
So viele bunte Stecker kriegt man fürs Morden.
Dann nimmt sie die drei Kreuze:
Ihr Mann, ihre Söhne, ein Captain, zwei Leutnants.
Und macht ihre drei Kreuze,
Sie macht ihre drei Kreuze,
Drei Kreuze für Deutschland.
FIRST VERSE
The father’s a captain, he’s in the Navy,
A great soldier with an unmoving face.
He commands his ship and also his family,
His uniform is always impeccable, he never shows his love.
He never shows a weakness, ‘cause he must command.
He was not sick a single day for work, ‘cause he can never be absent.
When the father preaches, his God is discipline.
The wind seems to pull him along.
They wait for the ship with him.
His two sons grew up so fast.
His wedding photo shows his only smile. His only laugh????
His warship must head to the Persian Gulf.
At night a man goes overboard, the search in vain.
No casket comes home, only a cross on a ribbon.
Somewhere his dead body sinks to the bottom.
The little cross, it weighs very little,
It weights so little in mother’s hand.
Then a dog barks outside. (Chorus)
There’s a house on the sea, a little house on the sea,
With mother, father and two sons and she really loves them,
And a Labrador and a minivan.
And in the kitchen you see the mother waiting.
There’s a house on the sea, a little house on the sea,
With mother, father and two sons and she really loves them,
And a Labrador and a minivan.
For years now you see the mother waiting.
SECOND VERSE
The big brother returns,
Guns crack in his head,
And his comrades, they scream his name.
And when he dreams he sees the streets
In brownish colors, lined with Iraqis.
And he knows, the bombs, the bombs,
They wait for his comrades,
The guys that died there.
One lost both his arms, And he couldn’t do anything and that is the worst.
“There’s only one way out,” says a voice to him,
One he hears, even with protection at the firing range.
The voice came from Kabul to Nordfriesland1.
And so he takes his assault rifle,
Salutes the flag
And sticks the muzzle in his mouth.
Then at home there’s a ring at the door.
Two serious-looking soldiers express their condolences.
Then a dog barks outside.
(Chorus)
THIRD VERSE
The little brother is back, he’s mama’s favorite.
She says “please, stay here with me” and he stayed there,
Lives in the little house, so that nothing else happens.
Desk work, he’s stationed here.
Spent three years in Kundus, he only feels emptiness.
Old friends want to chat, but nobody wants to talk.
Everyone wants out of that small town, want to head to a party,
But he will stay in Afghanistan forever.
Over the roof of the barracks are the same stars,
Whether in Germany or in the distance.
When he was waiting for the bus, right in front of mom’s yard,
Two dumb skinheads chase a black guy.
The little one has courage, the other a baseball bat.
Even poor, rich Germany produces a few monsters.
The local paper gets to the bottom of it.
The army awards a cross,
Then a dog barks outside.
The mother stands alone in front of the barracks,
And she asks “what did you do with my boys?”
Nobody is in charge, can tell her where they died.
Nobody killed them.
The mother stands in front of the admiral, looks at his medals.
So many colorful pins is what you get for murder.
Then she takes the three crosses:
Her husband, her sons, a captain, two lieutenants.
And she crosses herself three times,
She crosses herself three times,
Three crosses for Germany.
1A region in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, bordering Denmark and the North Sea.
(His) real name is Friedrich Kautz (and he) was born in 1979. He grew up in a typical middle-class family in Berlin. As a teenager, he studied ancient Greek in high school and discovered his passion ... Since “Pi” is not only Greek but, as the rapper says, also “the link to his classical education and a cool mystical number”, he changed his name to Prinz Pi – and suddenly received the attention of a growing number of journalists and magazine editors.
In "Drei Kreuze für Deutschland" Pi sympathizes with those German soldiers who died during the military intervention in Afghanistan, or because of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after their return to a “normal” life.
SONGTEXT: ERSTE STROPHE
Der Vater ein Kapitän, er ist bei der Marine,
Ein großer Soldat mit unbeweglicher Miene.
Er kommandiert sein Schiff und auch seine Familie,
Seine Uniform sitzt tadellos, er zeigt nie seine Liebe.
Er zeigt nie eine Schwäche, denn er muss befehlen.
Er war keinen Tag im Dienst krank, denn er darf nie fehlen.
Wenn der Vater predigt, ist sein Gott Disziplin.
Der Wind scheint ihn mitzuziehen.
Sie warten auf das Schiff mit ihm.
Seine zwei Söhne wurden so schnell erwachsen.
Das Hochzeitsfoto zeigt sein einziges Lachen.
Seine Fregatte muss zum Persischen Golf los.
-- Nachts geht ein Mann über Bord, die Suche erfolglos.
Kein Sarg kommt nach Haus, nur ein Kreuz am Band.
Irgendwo sinkt seine Leiche auf den Grund.
-- Das kleine Kreuz, es liegt leicht,
Es liegt so leicht auf Mutters Hand.
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
(Refrain)
Da steht ein Haus am Meer, ein kleines Haus am Meer.
Mit Mutter, Vater und zwei Söhnen und sie liebt sie sehr,
Und einem Labrador und einem Familienwagen.
Und in der Küche sieht man Mutter warten.
Da steht ein Haus am Meer, ein kleines Haus am Meer.
Mit Mutter, Vater und zwei Söhnen und sie liebt sie sehr.
Und einem Labrador und einem Familienwagen.
Schon seit vielen Jahren sieht man die Mutter warten.
ZWEITE STROPHE
Der große Bruder kehrt zurück,
In seinem Kopf knallen Gewehre,
Und schreien die Kameraden, sie schreien seinen Namen.
Und wenn er träumt, dann sieht er die Straßen
In bräunlichen Farben, gesäumt von Irakern.
Und er weiß, die Bomben, die Bomben,
Sie warten auf seine Kameraden,
Die Jungs, die dort starben.
Und dem einen nahmen sie beide Arme,
Einem anderen seine Augen und dreien ihre Nasen.
-- Und er konnte nichts machen und das ist das Schlimme.
-- „Es gibt nur einen Ausweg“, sagt ihm eine Stimme,
Die er hört, auch mit Schutz auf dem Schießstand.
Die Stimme kam aus Kabul nach Nordfriesland.
-- Und so nimmt er sein Sturmgewehr,
-- Salutiert vor der Fahne
-- Und steckt sich den Lauf in den Mund. Dann läutet zuhause die Tür.
-- Zwei ernst blickende Soldaten wünschen Beileid.
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
(Refrain)
DRITTE STROPHE
Der kleine Bruder ist zurück, er ist Mamas Liebster.
Sie sagt: „Bitte, bleib bei mir“ und er blieb da,
Wohnt im kleinen Haus, damit nichts mehr passiert.
Schreibtischdienst, ist hier stationiert.
War drei Jahre in Kundus, er spürt nur Leere.
Alte Freunde wollen quatschen, doch keiner will reden.
Alle wollen aus dem Dorf weg, wollen zur Party fahren,
-- Doch er bleibt für immer in Afghanistan.
Über dem Dach der Kaserne sind die selben Sterne,
ob in Deutschland oder in der Ferne.
Beim auf den Bus warten, gleich vor Mutters Garten
Jagen zwei dumme Glatzen einen Schwarzen.
Der Kleine hat Courage, der andere eine Tonfa.
Auch das arme reiche Deutschland produziert paar Monster.
Die lokale Zeitung geht dem auf den Grund.
Die Armee verleiht ein Kreuz,
Dann bellt draußen ein Hund.
Die Mutter steht allein vor der Kaserne,
Und sie fragt: „Was habt ihr mit meinen Jungs gemacht?“
Keiner hat Verantwortung, kann ihr sagen, wo sie starben.
Niemand hat sie umgebracht.
Die Mutter steht vorm Admiral, blickt auf die Orden.
So viele bunte Stecker kriegt man fürs Morden.
Dann nimmt sie die drei Kreuze:
Ihr Mann, ihre Söhne, ein Captain, zwei Leutnants.
Und macht ihre drei Kreuze,
Sie macht ihre drei Kreuze,
Drei Kreuze für Deutschland.
English Translation
Three crosses for GermanyFIRST VERSE
The father’s a captain, he’s in the Navy,
A great soldier with an unmoving face.
He commands his ship and also his family,
His uniform is always impeccable, he never shows his love.
He never shows a weakness, ‘cause he must command.
He was not sick a single day for work, ‘cause he can never be absent.
When the father preaches, his God is discipline.
The wind seems to pull him along.
They wait for the ship with him.
His two sons grew up so fast.
His wedding photo shows his only smile. His only laugh????
His warship must head to the Persian Gulf.
At night a man goes overboard, the search in vain.
No casket comes home, only a cross on a ribbon.
Somewhere his dead body sinks to the bottom.
The little cross, it weighs very little,
It weights so little in mother’s hand.
Then a dog barks outside. (Chorus)
There’s a house on the sea, a little house on the sea,
With mother, father and two sons and she really loves them,
And a Labrador and a minivan.
And in the kitchen you see the mother waiting.
There’s a house on the sea, a little house on the sea,
With mother, father and two sons and she really loves them,
And a Labrador and a minivan.
For years now you see the mother waiting.
SECOND VERSE
The big brother returns,
Guns crack in his head,
And his comrades, they scream his name.
And when he dreams he sees the streets
In brownish colors, lined with Iraqis.
And he knows, the bombs, the bombs,
They wait for his comrades,
The guys that died there.
One lost both his arms, And he couldn’t do anything and that is the worst.
“There’s only one way out,” says a voice to him,
One he hears, even with protection at the firing range.
The voice came from Kabul to Nordfriesland1.
And so he takes his assault rifle,
Salutes the flag
And sticks the muzzle in his mouth.
Then at home there’s a ring at the door.
Two serious-looking soldiers express their condolences.
Then a dog barks outside.
(Chorus)
THIRD VERSE
The little brother is back, he’s mama’s favorite.
She says “please, stay here with me” and he stayed there,
Lives in the little house, so that nothing else happens.
Desk work, he’s stationed here.
Spent three years in Kundus, he only feels emptiness.
Old friends want to chat, but nobody wants to talk.
Everyone wants out of that small town, want to head to a party,
But he will stay in Afghanistan forever.
Over the roof of the barracks are the same stars,
Whether in Germany or in the distance.
When he was waiting for the bus, right in front of mom’s yard,
Two dumb skinheads chase a black guy.
The little one has courage, the other a baseball bat.
Even poor, rich Germany produces a few monsters.
The local paper gets to the bottom of it.
The army awards a cross,
Then a dog barks outside.
The mother stands alone in front of the barracks,
And she asks “what did you do with my boys?”
Nobody is in charge, can tell her where they died.
Nobody killed them.
The mother stands in front of the admiral, looks at his medals.
So many colorful pins is what you get for murder.
Then she takes the three crosses:
Her husband, her sons, a captain, two lieutenants.
And she crosses herself three times,
She crosses herself three times,
Three crosses for Germany.
1A region in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, bordering Denmark and the North Sea.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
SKANDAL bei den Wise Guys (Gott sei Dank)
SPIEGEL ONLINE: HIER DIE GANZE ARTIKEL
Sind die Wise Guys zu der dunklen Seite gewandert?
(Have the Wise Guys turned over to the dark side?)
So scheint es in Neuseeland, als ihr Lied RELATIV, für eine Stufungsprüfung benutzt war.
(That's how it might seem in New Zealand, after 16-17 year old students across the country were asked to interpret their song RELATIV, on a German exam. Some left the exam in tears; other laughed in amazement. Teachers themselves were perplexed as to how the song should be interpreted.)
Sind die Wise Guys zu der dunklen Seite gewandert?
(Have the Wise Guys turned over to the dark side?)
So scheint es in Neuseeland, als ihr Lied RELATIV, für eine Stufungsprüfung benutzt war.
(That's how it might seem in New Zealand, after 16-17 year old students across the country were asked to interpret their song RELATIV, on a German exam. Some left the exam in tears; other laughed in amazement. Teachers themselves were perplexed as to how the song should be interpreted.)
Da haben einige Schüler in Neuseeland (liegt neben Australien) aber etwas gehörig
missverstanden: Nicht die provokanten Texte von deutschen Musik-Exporten
wie Rammstein gelten hier als anstößig (offensive), sondern ausgerechnet ein Lied der familienfreundlichen Gruppe Wise Guys wurde in einer Deutschprüfung zum Problem.
A-cappella-Formation Wise Guys: "Wir brauchen 'nen Skandal"
Bei einem landesweiten Test zum Erwerb eines deutschen
Sprachzertifikats bekamen die Schüler die Aufgabe gestellt, den Liedtext
des Songs "Relativ"
der Kölner Band zu interpretieren. (The assignment, shared country-wide for the completion of a German Speaking Diploma, was to interpret the song.) Viel zu sexy, urteilten danach die
16 bis 17 Jahre alten Schüler, auch die Lehrer waren angeblich entsetzt (allegedly appalled).
Im Lied heißt es unter anderem: "Du bist netter als mein Nachbar. Und
ich nehme an, im Bett wär mit dir relativ viel machbar." Das war
offenbar schon zu viel für die Ohren der Schüler. Einige seien so
perplex gewesen, dass sie unter Tränen die Prüfung verlassen mussten.
Andere hätten nur ungläubig gelacht, berichtete ein neuseeländisches Nachrichtenportal.
Der Song sei auf Grund seiner sexuellen Anspielungen und schwer verständlichen Wortspiele für die Schüler ungeeignet und völlig unangemessen gewesen, sagte ein Deutschlehrer der Website stuff.co.nz. Er und seine Kollegen seien darauf nicht vorbereitet gewesen. Auch nach mehrmaligem Hören sei es schwierig zu erläutern, worum es in dem Lied gehe.
Vielleicht die Beschreibung einer Striptease-Tänzerin
An anderer Stelle heißt es: "Es ist relativ gigantisch, wie du manchmal strahlen kannst / Mir wird relativ heiß, wenn ich sehe, wie du tanzt." Daraufhin seien einige Schüler der Meinung gewesen, es müsse sich hier um die Beschreibung einer Striptease-Tänzerin handeln. Ein Lehrer sagte dem Bericht zufolge, die Aufnahme habe sich außerdem angehört, als sei sie in einem Goldfischglas produziert worden.
Richard Thornton, stellvertretender Vorsitzender der zuständigen Schulbehörde in Neuseeland, verteidigte die Auswahl des Lieds. (Selection of the song was defended by the chairman of the New Zealand School Board who was responsible for the choice.) Es sei ausgesucht worden, weil es darin um gesellschaftlich relevante Themen gehe, die auch Schüler interessierten. (We selected it, because it contains societal themes which also interest the pupils.) "Die Aufnahmen sind professionell gemacht und die Texte klar zu verstehen", sagt Thornton. Alles sei korrekt abgelaufen. (The recordings are all made very professionally and the text is clear to understand. Everything ran just as it should have.)
Die Wise Guys zeigen sich von dem Rummel in Neuseeland verblüfft: "Ich hatte mit dem Songtext nicht die Absicht, Schülern in Neuseeland die Tränen in die Augen zu treiben" sagte Sänger und Texter Daniel Dickopf SPIEGEL ONLINE. ("It wasn't my objective when writing the song, to bring the pupils in New Zealand to tears," said singer and songwriter Daniel Dickopf. )
Der Song sei bereits vor vier Jahren auf dem Album "Frei!" erschienen und auf Konzerten sehr beliebt. Noch nie habe sich jemand über zu explizite Texte der Vokal-Pop-Gruppe beschwert. (Never had the vocal-pop-group been burdened with the tag of being too explicit.)
Der Song sei auf Grund seiner sexuellen Anspielungen und schwer verständlichen Wortspiele für die Schüler ungeeignet und völlig unangemessen gewesen, sagte ein Deutschlehrer der Website stuff.co.nz. Er und seine Kollegen seien darauf nicht vorbereitet gewesen. Auch nach mehrmaligem Hören sei es schwierig zu erläutern, worum es in dem Lied gehe.
Vielleicht die Beschreibung einer Striptease-Tänzerin
An anderer Stelle heißt es: "Es ist relativ gigantisch, wie du manchmal strahlen kannst / Mir wird relativ heiß, wenn ich sehe, wie du tanzt." Daraufhin seien einige Schüler der Meinung gewesen, es müsse sich hier um die Beschreibung einer Striptease-Tänzerin handeln. Ein Lehrer sagte dem Bericht zufolge, die Aufnahme habe sich außerdem angehört, als sei sie in einem Goldfischglas produziert worden.
Richard Thornton, stellvertretender Vorsitzender der zuständigen Schulbehörde in Neuseeland, verteidigte die Auswahl des Lieds. (Selection of the song was defended by the chairman of the New Zealand School Board who was responsible for the choice.) Es sei ausgesucht worden, weil es darin um gesellschaftlich relevante Themen gehe, die auch Schüler interessierten. (We selected it, because it contains societal themes which also interest the pupils.) "Die Aufnahmen sind professionell gemacht und die Texte klar zu verstehen", sagt Thornton. Alles sei korrekt abgelaufen. (The recordings are all made very professionally and the text is clear to understand. Everything ran just as it should have.)
Die Wise Guys zeigen sich von dem Rummel in Neuseeland verblüfft: "Ich hatte mit dem Songtext nicht die Absicht, Schülern in Neuseeland die Tränen in die Augen zu treiben" sagte Sänger und Texter Daniel Dickopf SPIEGEL ONLINE. ("It wasn't my objective when writing the song, to bring the pupils in New Zealand to tears," said singer and songwriter Daniel Dickopf. )
Der Song sei bereits vor vier Jahren auf dem Album "Frei!" erschienen und auf Konzerten sehr beliebt. Noch nie habe sich jemand über zu explizite Texte der Vokal-Pop-Gruppe beschwert. (Never had the vocal-pop-group been burdened with the tag of being too explicit.)
Die Idee zum Lied kam Dickopf während einer Unterhaltung, in der oft
das Wort "relativ" benutzt wurde. (The idea for the song came to Dickopf during a conversation about how often the word "relativ" is used.) Dies werde im Song auf die Schippe
genommen. Um Sex geht es in dem Lied nur am Rande. (Along the edges of the song there are traces of sex.) "Als ich das alles
gehört habe, musste ich aber schon etwas grinsen", sagte Dickopf. (As I heard about the incident, I had to grin a bit, said Dickopf.) Die
Gruppe, die unter anderem schon den Titelsong für den evangelischen
Kirchentag gesungen hat, ist bisher weniger für ein provokantes Image
bekannt.
Im Gegenteil: Die Musiktexte der Kölner Wise Guys werden regelmäßig
von Deutschlehrern im Unterricht verwendet, das Goethe-Institut schickte
das Quintett im Jahr 2002 sogar auf eine Nordamerika-Tour. "Wenn es
Kritik gibt, dann hieß es bisher immer, unsere Lieder seien zu lieb und
zu harmlos", sagte Dickopf. ("If we are ever criticized, until now it's been because our songs are too sweet and harmless," said Dickopf.)
Über ihren Nimbus als Chorknaben verfasste der Sänger sogar ein eigenes Lied. Darin heißt es: "Wir haben leider nix von Rambo, Rammstein oder Ballermann / Sind noch nicht mal böse Onkels, nur die Jungs von nebenan (...) Wir brauchen 'nen Skandal, brutal, 'ne Schlagzeile in 'Bild' wär' optimal." -- > Immerhin, das mit der Schlagzeile hat mit einiger Verspätung nun endlich geklappt.
(The Wise Guys finally got the scandal they seem to be seeking, according to the song text in another of their songs: Unfortunately we're nothing like Rambo, Rammstein, or Ballermann; we're not even angry uncles; just dudes from next door...we need a scandal, something brutal, a headline in the --scandal rag-- BILD [Picture] would be optimum.")
jon/dpa Casual translations provided by blogger.
Über ihren Nimbus als Chorknaben verfasste der Sänger sogar ein eigenes Lied. Darin heißt es: "Wir haben leider nix von Rambo, Rammstein oder Ballermann / Sind noch nicht mal böse Onkels, nur die Jungs von nebenan (...) Wir brauchen 'nen Skandal, brutal, 'ne Schlagzeile in 'Bild' wär' optimal." -- > Immerhin, das mit der Schlagzeile hat mit einiger Verspätung nun endlich geklappt.
(The Wise Guys finally got the scandal they seem to be seeking, according to the song text in another of their songs: Unfortunately we're nothing like Rambo, Rammstein, or Ballermann; we're not even angry uncles; just dudes from next door...we need a scandal, something brutal, a headline in the --scandal rag-- BILD [Picture] would be optimum.")
jon/dpa Casual translations provided by blogger.
2014 England requires L2 Instruction in Elementary School
England to require foreign language instruction
Beginning in 2014, all primary schools in England will offer at least one foreign language option for students ages 7 to 11 (Grades 2-6) .
Potential choices include French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Latin and ancient Greek.
Officials hope earlier exposure to language education will result in more students learning classical languages, which can boost students' knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
The Telegraph (London)
Beginning in 2014, all primary schools in England will offer at least one foreign language option for students ages 7 to 11 (Grades 2-6) .
Potential choices include French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Latin and ancient Greek.
Officials hope earlier exposure to language education will result in more students learning classical languages, which can boost students' knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
The Telegraph (London)
Hör Deine Großeltern zu! "Legacy" Projekt
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AND SEND A MESSAGE INTO THE FUTURE
The Legacy Project and annual Listen to a Life Essay Contest help you TRAVEL TIME and change lives.
The 13th annual Listen to a Life Contest runs to March 22, 2013. Travel through time as you interview an older adult about their life experiences – you may be surprised by what you learn. Then, submit a 300-word story to send a message around the world and into the future. All winning essays become part of the Legacy Project's online Legacy Library, recording life wisdom that can make the world and our future a little bit better.
When you really listen to a life, you have an opportunity to discover timeless insights and ideas. They may be big or small, but they're always valuable.
One Grand Prize Timeless Award winner receives a Lenovo ThinkCentre computer – because computers are amazing tools for helping us create, record, and share ideas – and a keepsake timepiece from Expressions of Time.
10 Legacy Award winners also receive a keepsake timepiece from Expressions of Time. And all winners receive a framed award certificate and an autographed copy of Dream, an award-winning bestseller about time, legacies, and dreams across a lifetime.
This year, we'll be featuring selected stories as they come in – even before winners are chosen! – to recognize as many entrants as possible. A story you share can change a life!
Filmmaking in Germany
From Germany Info...German Missions in the United States Written by journalist and author Sabine Pahlke-Grygier. Translated by Jonathan Uhlaner
Germany is a country of film legends.
In the 1920s, Berlin's
famed Babelsberg studios was one of Hollywood's top competitors. It was
also a laboratory for a new form of high art where Fritz Lang crafted
the vivid dystopia of Metropolis and Marlene Dietrich melted hearts with a bat of her lashes in The Blue Angel.
Films “Made in Germany” achieve international recognition and win some of the top prizes. It has, however, been a long and winding road. The fact that the film industry had such a difficult time for quite a few decades can also be put down to Germany’s history.
Films “Made in Germany” achieve international recognition and win some of the top prizes. It has, however, been a long and winding road. The fact that the film industry had such a difficult time for quite a few decades can also be put down to Germany’s history.
When moving pictures started to take their first steps around 1900 and filmmaking pioneers were in a neck-and-neck race to exploit the best technical and aesthetic assets of this new medium, German producers led the field. At the legendary Babelsberg Studios, Europe’s first large-scale film studios set up in 1912, directors like Fritz Lang and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau made film history.
Then the Nazis came to power. Many creative film people had to flee the country, the war broke out and the division of Germany was the final blow – the result was a harsh void which took the German filmmaking scene decades to recover from. Film production did in fact continue after 1945, but German films did not stand a chance on the international film-making scene that in the meantime had been taken over by the major Hollywood studios. The only people to gain any attention at all were the West German “auteur” directors of the 1960s and 1970s like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders or Volker Schlöndorff.
A new awakening after reunification
After reunification a jolt went through the sector. This was evident both in the content of the films as well as in the industry’s structures. Contemporary subject matter like the new political situation and the culture clash between East and West drew people into the cinemas in their droves and aroused international interest, too. In 2003 the German Film Academy was founded. At the same time attention was focused on new talent. A new prize came into being for new, young filmmakers called the “First Steps Award” and at the Berlinale film festival the newcomers were also assigned their own section called “Perspective Deutsches Kino” (Prospects for German Cinema). The number of film-goers watching German films and co-productions increased continuously. In 2009 there was rejoicing in the sector – over 212 new German film releases, 14 of which attracted audiences of over a million.
International prizes were won like Canne’s Golden Palm for The White Ribbon, the Golden Globe for Waltz with Bashir, Venice’s Golden Lion for Lebanon, and at the Berlinale the special jury prize for Soul Kitchen and a Silver Bear for Everyone Else. Over the last few years German productions have been nominated four times for an Oscar in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. Victory was theirs twice with Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) in 2008 and Das Leben der anderen (The Lives of Others) in 2007.
Cinema, television and film funding
The 2010 film year with its 180 releases of German productions and co-productions did not go quite so well. This may well have been due to natural fluctuations within the industry, but this development immediately triggered the old, ever recurrent discussion on the dependency between film and TV. For over 40 years now hardly any film has been made in Germany without the financial involvement of TV channels. The debate on whether television has too much influence on the dramatic or the aesthetic quality is equally as old – inferring that films are produced that are too small for the big screen. TV editors who know that big productions like Das Boot (The Boat) would never have been made without their involvement reject this. Even successful producers like Stefan Arndt (Good bye, Lenin!) express their doubts that television is bad for the cinema film and the cause of box-office flops. “What I mean to say is that maybe some German films are simply just not good enough,” he says in a discussion at the German Film Academy. “The films are not unique enough, they are not exciting enough, they are simply not mind-boggling enough.”
If “larger than life” cinema, as the head of the German Film Academy, Alfred Holighaus, calls it, is to be made in Germany at all, it is going to take more than just the funding by the television stations. Even successful producers like Bernd Eichinger (Perfume, The Downfall), Regina Ziegler (Henry of Navarre), Detlef Buck (Wir können auch anders, Same Same but different) or the longstanding director of the Bavaria Studios, Günter Rohrbach (Stalingrad, Anonyma – A Woman in Berlin) were and still are dependent on public funding. This means that every project is accompanied by a battle for the funding, which is granted annually by the federal government and the regional governments of the individual states. Even the biggest and the oldest studios, Babelsberg in Berlin and Bavaria in Munich, would not be able to survive without these subsidies.
Young and up-and coming talent – “Welcome back to reality”
The struggle for the funds that are available for the various phases of film-making, be it screenwriting or marketing, is often long and drawn out, because their allocation, depending on the institution, is often linked with certain conditions. This makes calculating the films’ budgets quite difficult. New, young filmmakers often get lost in this “jungle.” And despite the fact that the training of young filmmakers in Germany, with its five film schools and all the post-graduate and specialist courses available at various universities and colleges, has “improved immensely,” as Andrea Hohnen, the organizer of the First Steps Award, puts it, there really are not that many who manage to really make it in the film business on a long-term basis.
Every year about 60 young directors, armed with their degrees from the film schools and universities, pour onto the market. According to Alfred Holighaus it easier for them to make their first film than their second. “When you make your first film in Germany you are allowed to enjoy the privilege of being a bit crazy. These people are hot and as filmmakers they can exploit themselves to the hilt. Even the actors, the whole production team, are modest in their demands and tolerant, yet highly ambitious.
The first thing the filmmakers usually have to do is pay off the debts incurred making their debut film, often with the help of the prize money they won in the First Steps Award competition. Then, however, they have to face the tribulations of everyday life. Not everybody is able to stand the pressure of having to be creative, of having to win over funding bodies and TV stations and the ever-present insecurity. It really is often like that, as was the case with Axel Melzener, a screenwriting graduate of the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg. Of the ten young people who graduated with him, only three managed to continue working in the film sector, “The others either gave up, went on to study psychology or even became nurses,” he says. “Welcome back to reality.”
Written by journalist and author Sabine Pahlke-Grygier.
HERE YOU'LL FIND A PARTIAL LIST OF RECENT GERMAN FILMS ON DVD
(20 German films are listed alphabetically.)
A scene from Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"
(© Courtesy of Kino International)
Today,
a new generation of filmmakers is winning international acclaim with
smart takes on tough topics. In 2007, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's
spy thriller The Lives of Others snagged an Oscar for Best
Foreign Film and showed the world that German films can keep
international audiences gripping their popcorn. Films “Made in Germany” achieve international recognition and win some of the top prizes. It has, however, been a long and winding road. The fact that the film industry had such a difficult time for quite a few decades can also be put down to Germany’s history.
Films “Made in Germany” achieve international recognition and win some of the top prizes. It has, however, been a long and winding road. The fact that the film industry had such a difficult time for quite a few decades can also be put down to Germany’s history.
When moving pictures started to take their first steps around 1900 and filmmaking pioneers were in a neck-and-neck race to exploit the best technical and aesthetic assets of this new medium, German producers led the field. At the legendary Babelsberg Studios, Europe’s first large-scale film studios set up in 1912, directors like Fritz Lang and Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau made film history.
Then the Nazis came to power. Many creative film people had to flee the country, the war broke out and the division of Germany was the final blow – the result was a harsh void which took the German filmmaking scene decades to recover from. Film production did in fact continue after 1945, but German films did not stand a chance on the international film-making scene that in the meantime had been taken over by the major Hollywood studios. The only people to gain any attention at all were the West German “auteur” directors of the 1960s and 1970s like Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders or Volker Schlöndorff.
A new awakening after reunification
After reunification a jolt went through the sector. This was evident both in the content of the films as well as in the industry’s structures. Contemporary subject matter like the new political situation and the culture clash between East and West drew people into the cinemas in their droves and aroused international interest, too. In 2003 the German Film Academy was founded. At the same time attention was focused on new talent. A new prize came into being for new, young filmmakers called the “First Steps Award” and at the Berlinale film festival the newcomers were also assigned their own section called “Perspective Deutsches Kino” (Prospects for German Cinema). The number of film-goers watching German films and co-productions increased continuously. In 2009 there was rejoicing in the sector – over 212 new German film releases, 14 of which attracted audiences of over a million.
International prizes were won like Canne’s Golden Palm for The White Ribbon, the Golden Globe for Waltz with Bashir, Venice’s Golden Lion for Lebanon, and at the Berlinale the special jury prize for Soul Kitchen and a Silver Bear for Everyone Else. Over the last few years German productions have been nominated four times for an Oscar in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. Victory was theirs twice with Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters) in 2008 and Das Leben der anderen (The Lives of Others) in 2007.
Ulrich Mühe portrays Stasi captain Gerd Wiesler in "The Lives of Others."
(© picture alliance / Mary Evans Pi)
Cinema, television and film funding
The 2010 film year with its 180 releases of German productions and co-productions did not go quite so well. This may well have been due to natural fluctuations within the industry, but this development immediately triggered the old, ever recurrent discussion on the dependency between film and TV. For over 40 years now hardly any film has been made in Germany without the financial involvement of TV channels. The debate on whether television has too much influence on the dramatic or the aesthetic quality is equally as old – inferring that films are produced that are too small for the big screen. TV editors who know that big productions like Das Boot (The Boat) would never have been made without their involvement reject this. Even successful producers like Stefan Arndt (Good bye, Lenin!) express their doubts that television is bad for the cinema film and the cause of box-office flops. “What I mean to say is that maybe some German films are simply just not good enough,” he says in a discussion at the German Film Academy. “The films are not unique enough, they are not exciting enough, they are simply not mind-boggling enough.”
If “larger than life” cinema, as the head of the German Film Academy, Alfred Holighaus, calls it, is to be made in Germany at all, it is going to take more than just the funding by the television stations. Even successful producers like Bernd Eichinger (Perfume, The Downfall), Regina Ziegler (Henry of Navarre), Detlef Buck (Wir können auch anders, Same Same but different) or the longstanding director of the Bavaria Studios, Günter Rohrbach (Stalingrad, Anonyma – A Woman in Berlin) were and still are dependent on public funding. This means that every project is accompanied by a battle for the funding, which is granted annually by the federal government and the regional governments of the individual states. Even the biggest and the oldest studios, Babelsberg in Berlin and Bavaria in Munich, would not be able to survive without these subsidies.
Young and up-and coming talent – “Welcome back to reality”
The struggle for the funds that are available for the various phases of film-making, be it screenwriting or marketing, is often long and drawn out, because their allocation, depending on the institution, is often linked with certain conditions. This makes calculating the films’ budgets quite difficult. New, young filmmakers often get lost in this “jungle.” And despite the fact that the training of young filmmakers in Germany, with its five film schools and all the post-graduate and specialist courses available at various universities and colleges, has “improved immensely,” as Andrea Hohnen, the organizer of the First Steps Award, puts it, there really are not that many who manage to really make it in the film business on a long-term basis.
Every year about 60 young directors, armed with their degrees from the film schools and universities, pour onto the market. According to Alfred Holighaus it easier for them to make their first film than their second. “When you make your first film in Germany you are allowed to enjoy the privilege of being a bit crazy. These people are hot and as filmmakers they can exploit themselves to the hilt. Even the actors, the whole production team, are modest in their demands and tolerant, yet highly ambitious.
The first thing the filmmakers usually have to do is pay off the debts incurred making their debut film, often with the help of the prize money they won in the First Steps Award competition. Then, however, they have to face the tribulations of everyday life. Not everybody is able to stand the pressure of having to be creative, of having to win over funding bodies and TV stations and the ever-present insecurity. It really is often like that, as was the case with Axel Melzener, a screenwriting graduate of the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg. Of the ten young people who graduated with him, only three managed to continue working in the film sector, “The others either gave up, went on to study psychology or even became nurses,” he says. “Welcome back to reality.”
Written by journalist and author Sabine Pahlke-Grygier.
HERE YOU'LL FIND A PARTIAL LIST OF RECENT GERMAN FILMS ON DVD
(20 German films are listed alphabetically.)
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