"Wiederholungsübeltäter"

I was looking for the English word for a repetition offender, because I wanted to give this post that as a headline. So again I put in the German word for the same thing, and the lovely translation engine offered me this word you now can see as the headline; "Wiederholungsübeltäter".
Well it isn't directly wrong, it is just like shooting sparrows with canons, and kind of funny that it offers me; "übeltäter" for "offender" and not only "täter", which could be the direct translation for an offender. A "übeltäter" could be translated as an ill, sick or bad offender, and in the context where I wanted to use the word, this is a bit exaggerated. As I tried to fill in the word again, to get the German to English translation, the cute thing offered me; "ill author"???
Wauw, now I am way of the line here, and I've nearly forgot what I wanted to tell.
Oh yes, it was about this "Wiederholungsübeltäter".
Normally we say, that we're not creatures of habits, and always wants to try something new and different. Normally it is true, but then yesterday when we were out to do some different business in the City, we again at the end of the day, ended up in the Ukrainian Restaurant I wrote about a while ago; "Ivan the Kozak".
It is indeed a lovely restaurant and has great food, but the main attraction for us that day in the restaurant was -I guess, as it was quite hot outside; the ice cold Vodka cool room bar.
So here again, the two cold noses warming up their stomach with nice ice cold authentic vodka before the dinner.
And if you do something again and again, you are a "Wiederholungsübeltäter", right?

Do you speak danish?

Rokni Haerizadeh

"Born in nature"
Oil on canvas, 2008
200 X 300 cm
Courtesy of the artist & Gallery 21


"God morgen, snakker i dansk?"
It is a new morning, it is Saturday and we are getting ready for a little run. i'm ready but Catriona is looking for her socks, so I guess I have time for a little post.
The sentence up at the beginning is in Danish and means; "good morning, do you speak Danish?"
I've never postedd something in Danish here yet, but maybe I'm going to in a while. Not always, but just sometimes so I do not forget how it is to speak -and write- in Danish. And I guess I have to pratice somehow in the future, as I'm going to participate in a new blog in a Danish newspaper, where Danish people living abroad writes about their live in the strange and foreign Contries.
When I have my first post I'll let you know where and how to find it.

Dear diary! -How Hong Kong awakes...

...or go to sleep, depends on how you see it.
After getting up yesterday morning (Wednesday the 27th), I didn't go to sleep again before this Thursday (28th) morning. It was not one of these "wauw, I'm so cool, I haven't slept for 36 hours" manifestations, no it was way more serious and caused by an event which on this day may have cast its shadow upon other major events on this Wednesday; the final in the UEFA Champions League.
Set in Rome was this maybe the dream final between the maybe two best Football clubs in Europe at the moment; FC Barcelona and Manchester United. I'm a big Football (soccer) fan, but havn't been able to follow this years Champions League, but I knew that I wanted to see this Final, so I planed to take a day of work today, so I could stay out all night to watch this game kicking of at 2,45 AM, But somehow destany gave me a helping hand, and so this Thursday was a holiday anyway here, so I didn't have to use a holiday. Back in Europe it was somehow easier and more handy as kick of time there is at 8.45 PM, and you can still be in bed by midnight and go to work the next day. Here it is more spectacular. The game is finished by 4.30ish AM. If there is extra time and even penalty shootout, it easily get's to about 6 AM, and then I normally get up, but staying out watching this game, I had to head all the way home over the mountain to our village by the sea as well.
I met up with another foorball crazy colleague, Graham at 1 AM, and then we found a bar to watch. It wasn't that easy. The streets was fuilled with people in ManU or Barca tops, trying to find some empty seats infront of the screens, offering the green images of adoration. We found some seats in a kind of German pob called "Biergarten" but thats was also nearly the only German about it, apart from the beer, I mean.
I'm not going to say much about the game, other than that I'm pleased that Barcelona won it, and that was indeed deserved, as they made Manchester look like a team from a much lower league, and I really enjoyed to be able to sit there to watch, without worrying about work the next day.
The pub was full and crowded from other football fans and night ravens -whoalso had a day of- and after the game when we came out, the other pubs in the neighbourhood was still filled with people and the steets filled with people on their way home, one way or another.
So it was the first time I've seen Hong Kong awakes, or go to bed, if ever!
On street level you can't really realize that dawn breaks, it is still dark down there and dominated by the lights and neon signs from the shops, but if you are able to raise the head and look up, the sky above lights up in a nice lightblue colour.
At 7 AM I was back in our house and could continue my beuaty sleep I started on the minibus back from town, and just interupted by a friendly soul, trelling me that we'd arrived and I should get out.
So that was my 24 hours of bring awake because of a football match.

Some songs just never fades.

And some even comes up with surprising combinations. This one is absolute great, but; is it better than the real thing?

If I had a top 100.

This on would also be on it.

Once upon a time on the South Island!

Not so long time ago I read a little notice somewhere in a Newspaper, it said that the two main Islands in New Zealand, still didn't have a real name, and they were still just called the North- and South Island.
That was in fact it.
Oh no, I forgot; they were now trying to find some names, and for that purpose they were looking into the Māori language.
When I was there on the South Island in April we stayed one night in a Māori community, and there we were told that the Māori word for the South Island was "the big Canoe", but of corse I've forgot that word and if it was just one and not a sentence.
But this has nothing to do with what I wanted to post today, it just came into my mind when I started thinking about this post and looking through all my Photos.
What I wanted to tell -or show- was the day I went horse riding with 9 of the students, and we all got dressed up in this kind of cowboy dress. The young people all lined up for a Photo, and that is why I called this post; "Once upon a time ...", and who doesn't imagine to hear the harmonica and think of Charles Bronson?

Cover songs in my Itunes; "Hurt"

Post industrial ballad; Nine Inch Nails.

Great song, so here straight away the same song by the man in black; Jonny Cash.

My brother was number 1788 by this years Copenhagen marathon...

...and Lone, my sister in law, was number 5741.
I just checked the results online on politiken.dk. Henrik ran in 3 hours 31 minutes and 15 seconds and got number 86 in his class. Lone ran in 4.11.49 and was number 101 in her class.
Congratulation to the two of them, well done -even that I'm sure that they are not really satisfied.
This photo is not from any of their previous marathon events, but from a party in Denmark last summer. They've done the Berlin marathon twice, where I've been to support them and maybe I could do that again one time, if they decide to run the Hong Kong marathon, or even better; the great wall of China marathon.

Another Boeing 747

And now it is also number 748, visitor.
I just found another interisting clip from the good old Kai Tak days, and again it is a 747 coming in to land.

Here it is also very clear tht the runway is built out into the water, and the high rises on Hong Kong is a nice backdrop for the planes.

Visitor no 6.747

I just saw this number when I logged in to figure out what to write about today, and now I got something at least for a start.
747 is the interesting about this number as this lead me to think about planes, and one certain type of plane; the Boeing 747 also called the Jumbo Jet, and until recently regarded as the biggest commercial airplane in the world.
In 1997 the old and famous Kai Tak airport here in Hong Kong shut down, and gave room for the new and highly modern Chek Lap Kok airport, but before Kai Tak was famous for the very demanding manoeuvrings pilots had to do to land on the narrow runway built in Victoria harbour, and also for the view of the planes coming in over the roofs of Kowloon city.

So much for 747!

Reptilicus -great danish horror movie!

A couple of weeks ago I remember telling something about the Danish horror trash film Reptilicus from 1961, and I promised to try and find a clip from that movie.
Well nowadays with youtube it isn't too difficult to finf stuff like that, and it is nearly like everything what has ever been made on film or TV, now is accessible on there.
Well enjoy the monster and the stunning effects!

Art fo art sake #4

Sara Rahbar
"God bless America flag#34"
textiles/ mixed media
119,38 X 180,34 cm
2008

Maybe this piece of art fit's perfect to the previous posts and to some of the issues of world politic today.
It is a bit obvious and maybe pathetic, but as I saw this at the art fair, I just had to smile a bit.
In fact after being able to let some of the impressions settle in my soul, I kind of realize that the smile was one thing I did do more often at this exhibition than normally when I watch an art show, a gallery or visit a museum. I think the artist from Asia did a very go0od job in making me feel that way, as their approach to the fine art was kind of filled with humor and self irony, and that is what I really miss in my own (western) culture, the ability to laugh about our own life and culture.

How to make plans, make it happen and be a President!

Just to follow up on yesterdays post, here is one from a man who certainly knew what he was doing.

White Stripes -doing commercials!

The author is not responsible for the content and message of the following video. It's just a beautiful video and a good song, and it kind of fit to the previous post.



Good night. see you in the morning.

Obama in Dresden!

I've just heard from one of my friends back in Dresden, that Mr. Obama himself will visit the city in the beginning of June, apparently he wants to visit one of the considerations camps close by, where some of his relatives were imprisoned during the war. When I think of that scenario, Dresden and the president of the United States, I can just see a lot of Police men and security forces blocking the city completely, and every citezent will have to go on leave and leave for a week. A worse case scenario would have been if it was the old President who wanted to visit, and I just can't imagine in my wildest fantasy how that would have developed.
But let's see, Obama is another person than the old one and maybe he has some surprises hidden in his sleve, and maybe my friends will be able to drink a beer with him in Schnurz or Trotzdem, and maybe he'll even kick the ball with them in Alaunpark on a Sunday afternoon.
I hope they will have a traktor-trotzdem shirt ready for him, just in case!

Xue Song
"Spring Blossom"
Mixed media on canvas
180 x 150
2008

Damned good coffee!

Oh yeah, good old agent Cooper and his damned good coffee. It is amazing what is hidden on youTube and all the other video sites. Just about one year ago I thought that there was mostly crappy home made videos on there, but as you see; you can learn new things all your life.

More of that please!

Here is something for the Iphone generation!