MC's Blog about everything

First step to summer vacation :-)

2010-02-26T06:28:00.004+01:00

Yesterday we finally made the choice were we will got to this summer.
From 13th to 27th of July we will be in fabulous Greece.
After we had chosen the hotel I phoned the travel agency to ask for special deals like they had in the past but thanks to the crisis every kind of special deals has been cancelled. Well, that ain't a real problem because they have at least the same price as we would have gotten on the internet - as far as I can tell. As the lady told me that there were only five(!) seats left on the plane I had her reserve the places and on monday we will complet the booking.

Stay tuned for further information about the destination and the hotel! :-)

PS: There will be a travel report too!

Sherlock Holmes' flat

2010-02-08T10:57:00.002+01:00

Just found this cool drawing of Holmes' accommodation in 221B Baker Street (drawn by Russell Stutler).

Website: Strange Maps

Sherlock Holmes

2010-02-08T10:37:00.004+01:00

On Friday we watched the new Sherlock Holmes movie.
We had already known that the story and the behavior of the characters are different from the usual Holmes stories.
In fact I really enjoyed the movie; there is lots of fun, action and tension.
I think even if you love the rather stiff and stereotypically british Holmes from the old stories you might like this movie. Yes, it's different but really good.
To be honest I believe that the new Holmes character is much more realistic than the old ones. You see the behavior of a genius when there is nothing to do, and that just being a genius doesn't do the trick. He has lots of problems and the smart Dr. Watson has problems too, so I am sure it's closer to live then it was before.
What I really loved were the fight scenes where her thought of what he will do in slow motion with a pretty cool monologue and realized it afterwards.

Hope there will be a sequel!

Website: Sherlock Holmes

MC is back!

2010-02-01T10:13:00.011+01:00

I know it has been a long time since the last post! Life was a bit stressy recently. Beside my studies there was too little time for blogging left, but I will try to post from time to time.

What happened the last months?

Well, I am getting on very well with my studies. Except for some courses it's fun most of the time. Of course the exams aren't too easy and so I was very nervouse, but until now everything went fine. Some colleagues (Joe, Gery, Babs) and I formed a little learning group - some kind of "BRAINTRUST" *lol*.
On friday we had the last test for this term - math. We exercised with several old tests but the professor thought of some 'very nice' examples for the tests. Things that haven't been in tests before and were partly rather hard to understand what he wanted us to do, but I think most of us did at least good enough to pass.

One of last year's highlights definitely was the Bruce Springsteen concert! IT WAS AWESOME!!! hope he comes to vieanna again soon!

There were some movies I've seen recently too - like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Inglourious Basterds, 2012, Avatar, etc. Hopefully I will find the time to post about movies I see again.

I also bought a new tech-'toy' especially for my studies. A Samsung NC10. By now it's more than a year old but still works fine. The battery stamina is super for long evenings at the FH - and the size makes it perfectly portable. Once you got used to it the display size is even enough to write longer documents on it. I love the little "Sammy"! :-)

The last vacations were Prague (Silvester 08/09), Mali Losinj / Croatia (Summer 09) and Bratislava (Silvester 09/10). Each one was wonderfull and real fun. Prague and Bratislava were really cold; Croatia was sunny and warm, only thing we didn't enjoy to much about it was that Mali Losinj is rather tiny and so you don't have too much to see and the whole Island is a mountain, wherever you go it's always up and down and most of the time a bit steep; another thing was the accommodation - we just aren't the kind of people who are made for vacations in apartments, we prefer hotel rooms were we don't have to do to much on our own. But the sea was wonderfull! :-)
What I really loved in Croatia was the fish-variety in the resturants!

I think those were the major points of the last year.

Quantum of Solace

2008-11-22T09:57:00.005+01:00

Seen yesterday.

Well, after having heard a lot of bad critics and nearly nothing good about the new James Bond movie, my expectation were rather low.

To be honest I don't understand what all those people are complaining about.
Yes, ok, it's not the cool British style agent we've known for centuries, but on the other hand everything changes sometimes. New actor - new character.
I think it wouldn't have worked if Daniel Craig had tried to be like Sean Connery (in my opinion the best bond ever). He looks more like a man of action and a bit less style, so don't just let him do some serious butt-kickin'?
I would say he's pretty cool.

Who i missed a bit was Q. Where has that cool, sarcastic secret-technology master-mind gone?

I liked the movie. It's definitely not a must-see but I would say a good one anyway.

Website: 007

Long Night of Science

2008-11-10T08:27:00.008+01:00

On Saturday we had a cool event called 'Long Night of Science' with stations in Vienna, Graz, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Wiener Neustadt.

I visited the stations at the FH Wiener Neustadt.

It started at 16:27 - local sundown - pretty cool idea!

At 5 p.m. there was the lecture 'The Invention of Time' by Univ.Prof. Rudolf Taschner. It was great!
He explained how time was meassured and calculated in old Egypt and Babylon. People back then were really smart. It's fascinating how exact they could tell for example the length of a month and on which observations their calenders were based. Egypts used the sun and Babylonians the moon.
He also told us about several procedures to correct the differencies resulting from light inaccuracies. Like inserting an additional month or the last correction by Pope Gregory XIII who took out 10 days of October in 1582 when 4. October was followed by 15. October. While catholic countries went along the new calender very fast it took more then a century until the protestant regions accepted it. In eastern Christendom the Gregorian Calendar was not accepted for several hundred years, and then only as the civil calendar. The Gregorian Calendar was instituted in Russia by the Bolsheviks in 1917, and the last Eastern Orthodox country to accept the calendar was Greece in 1923.
Then Prof. Taschner told us about some guys saying that time is just an illusion. They had some really cool arguments to confuse people and their own belief.
Next he referred to an artist who draws 'the time'. No it's not the picture with the clocks by Salvador Dali. It's Roman Opalka, who paints one number after another. In 1965 he started with white numbers on black ground; in 1972 he started to ad 1% white to the base coating so his 'pictures' get lighter piece by piece.
Best thing about the lecture was that Univ.Prof. Taschner didnb't just give dry facts he explained it with a lot humor and so it was fun listening to him.

After this lecture I went through the different stations. Really cool was the station about 3d-meassuring. There you could get a 3d-picture of your face. Really funny and interesting!
At other stations you could see self driving 'mini-cars'. On of them was also patoling on the floor to guide visitors through the corridors. It was led by a line on the ground and carried a flag that said 'follow me'. :-)
There were also stations about automation and medical stuff.

I think it's a fantastic idea to bring science closer to interested people.
I really hope that there will be a sequel next year!

Websites: Lange Nacht der Forschung (Long Night of Science), FH

Time for Change!

2008-11-05T11:38:00.004+01:00

Congratulations to Barack Obama and his team!

Website: Barack Obama

Wanted

2008-09-19T12:43:00.003+02:00

Seen Yesterday.

Nice movie with an interesting idea behinde the story.

The realisation in fact wasn't as good as it could have been.
Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie and all the others were great but that alone can't make a movie a masterpiece. To bad it's much too often tried to put great actors into a f**ked-up story to make people think it's a great movie, but it never does the trick!

The effects are cool and the stunts are awesome but anyway I wouldn't call it a must-see.
To many weird actions and to little depth and background in the storyline.

The story itself is about a brotherhood of people who believe that a loom tells them the names of dangerous people and that it's their calling to take them out.
Could have been a great movie but they messed it up.

Website: Wanted

Surprise!

2008-09-01T22:12:00.011+02:00

Here in Austria kids get a school cone from their parents when they enter school for the first time.
Well, as a matter of fact this tradition doesn't stop at the first school day of first-graders, because of the high fun factor you may get such cones several times. For example when you change to a next level school type of start to study at an university or things like that.

Now that I start my study at the FH Wiener Neustadt (University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, Austria) I had the pleasure of getting THREE of those cool presents!
WOW!!!

First I got a huge one on Thursday from my girlfriend Julia, one from friends on Friday and one from Julia's mother Christa today.
In all of them were a lot of writing utensils and sweets.
In Julia's there were also a plastic baby giant panda, a soft toy tige with magnetic paws (already on our fridge) and a cool puzzle-ball from sheepworld.
In the one from my friends there was also a pez dispenser (the Joker) and a puzzle magazine for brain training.
And inside Christa's there were two little model cars (a blue Audi A4 and a cool U.S. police car).

from Julia:
from my friends:
from Christa:
Thank you all very much for the great school cones!

postcrossing (8)

2008-08-31T12:55:00.007+02:00

This week I received three great cards.

One from Indonesia (beautiful sceneries at Mount Bromo, East Java), one from Singapore (cool Formula 1 promo), and one from Finland (awesome picture of an eclipse made by the NASA).

Thank you all very much!

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

exhibition about Vikings in Leoben

2008-08-30T01:06:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we went to Leoben to visit the exhibition about the Vikings.

Great exhibition with a lot of fascinating and breathtaking artefacts. Weapons, armor, jewelry, dishes, etc.

They even had a lifesize repluca of wreck of a small ship.

The guided tour was very good. We heard a lot about the Vikings' life and beliefs. They hadn't been as bad as often pictured. The robberies of christian churches didn't have religious reasons; in fact it was just easier to rob an unprotected church then a castle with thick walls and a lot of soldiers. The just took the way of lowest resistance.

Women were very importent and powerful in the Viking society. They kept the keys to the houses and do to that their owned the houses. If a pair got divorced she kept the house and he had to leave.

In the last section there were some parts where you could see some writings in runes.

Another misbelief that was eliminated during the exhibition is, that their helmets never had horns atteched. In fact horns would have made the helmet nearly obsolet. Swords would have been caught by the horns and so a hit on the head wouldn't have slipped off but caused serious injuries.

The reason why they were and still are pictured like that is to make them look more dangerous and because the picture is branded into people's minds so marketing without horns just wouldn't work.

The exhibition is really worth a visit!

Next years exhibition will be 'The Steppe's Gold' with sensational findings from tombs of Scythian and Sarmatian counts. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in 2009.

Website: Leoben

Schallaburg Castle & exhibition about Indians

2008-08-29T00:03:00.016+02:00

Yesterday we visited the Schallaburg Castle for the second time.

Last year there was an exhibition about the crusaders and this year it's about the Indians.
(I write Indians because it's about several indigenous peoples not only native Americans and so on.)

For info about the castle itself just take a look at my report from our last year's visit or visit the websites at the end of this post.

This year we were very lucky with the weather. Sun was shining and just a few light clouds were moving across the blue sky. So we were able to visit the castle's tournament garden this time.
(Last year it kept raining all day so we just visited the exhibition.)

The patio looked even better with sun shining then it already does on rainy days. It's rally a beautiful castle!

As usual photographing and filming were not allowed inside the exhibition.
It was really fascinating how the ancient peoples lived and what happend when the white people discovered the 'new world'.
I can tell you, when you heard all that you eventually don't want to be white anymore. After all the trading they just couldn't get enough and so the trading got poisoned with cheating and stealing and even worse things.
Of course there were mistakes made on both sides but I would say that most of the happenings caused by the Indians were partly just some kind of 'aggressive defense'.
For example the fight between general Custer and chief Sitting Bull at Little Big Horn maybe would have ended in a less horrible way if Custer hadn't underestimated the Indians' power.
The massacre at Wounded Knee was just a slaughter, not just a fight. Innocent people were killed without having harmed anybody in the first place.
It's clear that court yards still have to deal with things like that and the big problems with the relocation of several tribes and broken contracts.
On the other side I can understand that for example the U.S. government can't just say 'Okay, we're sorry!'. If they would do that they would confess the mistakes and cruelties and would have to pay immediately. And that amount of money would simply kill the whole nation - so court yards will be dealing with this issues for a very long time.

The exhibition, wasn't only about the problems between red and white. It also showed that the picture many people have of Indians is not completely right. It always depends on the tribe you think about. Of course Karl May provided a very detailed picture but he never said that it is complete or completely right. He was an author and not an historian.

It was also about the peoples in Greenland and parts of Russia of course.

In the last room they showed a bit about Indians nowadays. Fascinating!
During the early 20th century people were placing bets on the 'extinction' of the Indian popilation, but today you can see that more and more people with Indian roots accept that and are proud of it. So the population keeps rising very fast because of all the people remembering and accepting where they come from.
I was very glad to hear that! It would be a huge tragedy if all that was forgotten!

After the tour and another round to take a closer look at everything we went to the restaurant which had again special meals according to the exhibition.
Julia had an Indian appetizers (jalapenos and quesadillas with dip sauce), I had the chilli con carne in a small loaf of bread and we both had Zuni (pita bread made of corn). It was very delicious!

After that we had a little look at the small arcade court and the old fortress but the fortress was closed for restauration. An overwhelming building anyway!

Finally we visited the tournament garden.
It is beautiful!
Next to the castle they planted a lot of apple trees and in the other half there are colorful flowers. The garden is framed with a great wall and a lot of different trees and bushes.

Again it was a wonderful and very intersting day at this great castle!

When you get the chance you really should visit it!

Next year's exhibition will be about Napoleon. - We will be there!

Websites: www.schallaburg.at & www.schallaburg.com

The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

2008-08-29T00:00:00.003+02:00

Seen on Tuesday.

I hadn't heard anything good about the movie but was still very curious about it. I liked the first two parts and I like Brendan Fraser and Jet Li.

I don't get it why so many people slag this movie.
Of course it's not the best part and partly it seems a bit ridiculous but over all I would say you can really enjoy it!

The only thing I didn't like was the part with the Yetis. Okay, it's no problem that there are Yetis in the Himalayas and not too absurd that they could be friendly and helpful. But to me it was just too much! Although they were made great!

The story itself about the dragon emperor and his power over the elements and his pursue for eternal life is not bad but it could have been made up a little bit more in the movie instead of the O'Connell's family affairs.

It's funny and the effects are great.
Not bad at all, but not a must see!

Website: The Mummy 3

The Dark Knight

2008-08-25T21:38:00.006+02:00

Seen today.

Fantastic!
If you like Batman you should really go and see this movie!

Great action and great jokes!

It's a pleasure to watch the Joker (Heath Ledger) doing his job with so much passion. The way he uses other people for his purposes is unbelievable.

Only thing I don't get in the new Batman-movies is the timeline.
I don't know to much about the original comics and witch movies are more fitting to them but in the first movie you see that the Joker (Jack Nicholson) was 'created' by Batman himself by accident.
Now the Joker shows up completely unknown with another storyline and dies again.

But except the new time and storyline the movie is fantastic!

Website: The Dark Knight

postcrossing (7)

2008-08-24T10:54:00.000+02:00

Last week I received three great cards.

One from Finland (funny 'Kiroileva siili' - 'The swearing hedgehog', 'I am different - and PROUD of it!'), one from Indonesia (colorful procession with elaborate offerings brought to the temple on festival days), and one from Australia (beautiful spirit of the kangaroo by the famous Aboriginal artist Jamie Eastwood).

Thank you all very much!

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

Mamma Mia - The Movie

2008-08-23T08:57:00.000+02:00

Seen on Thursday.

Well, when I heard about the movie for the first time I was really sceptical how it would be. The trailers seemed a bit ridiculous to me. I really liked the musical and so I wasn't sure if the movie would be viewable or just be sort of painful.

Now I am glad that we gave it a try.
I think they all did a very good job!
Of course the singing wasn't perfect but I never would have guessed what great singing voices some actors have.
The scenery in the movie is of course a lot better than on stage and you are closer to everything.
I am not totally sure but maybe I like the movie even more than the musical.

Everyone was great in his/her role.

Plot:
Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) live with her mother Donna (Meryl Streep) on a small greek island and is about to marry her boyfriend Sky (Dominic Cooper). But Sophie doesn't feel to be ready for this major step without knowing who her father is. So she reads her mother's diary and invites her three possible fathers - Bil (Stellen Skarsgard), Sam (Pierce Brosnan) and Harry (Colin Firth).
When Donna finds out that those three are on the island everything starts to go upside down.

A great movie with a lot of fun and heart!

Website: Mamma Mia

a day at the zoo in Vienna

2008-08-21T23:29:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday we visited the wonderful zoo at Schoenbrunn in Vienna.

It was a warm and sunny day - perfect to be outside and see something special.

First I am going to write something general about the zoo - taken from the zoo's folder - and then I will tell you about our visit.

About the zoo:

The palace, the grounds and the zoo at Schoenbrunn are all part of one of the most popular cultural attractions in Austria.
The zoo was founded in 1752 and is the oldest zoo in the world!

Laid out over 17 hectares, the zoo has animals from every continent. Within the beautiful baroque setting of the Schoenbrunn zoo, it is possible to see Giant Pandas, Koalas, a giant rainforrest, an incredible coral reef, African elephants, monkey islands, a pelican colony - in fact more than 400 different animal species - many of which are rarely seen in zoos.

The zoo comes with several tropical oasises which offer a unique and enjoyable experience especially in the winter months including: the Aquarium and the terrarium house with a coral reef unrivaled in Europe, a tropical bird house and the Southeast Asian inspired jungle and rainforrest house.

In the historical center of the zoo you can expect to fin the Kaiser-Pavillion, a broque jewel that dates back to the 18th century and is now a cafe-restaurant. From the terrace you can observe the Giant Pandas and the animals in the Africa enclosure.

The 'Tirolergarten', directly next to the Tyrolean farmhouse dating back to the year 1722, gives you a feeling of being in the Alps and offers delicious, traditional Austrian dishes.

Our tour:

As you can see on the map the zoo isn't small so you should plan a whole day for your visit to have enough time to see everything without a hurry.

We parked on the parking space on the top of the hill where the 'Tirolergarten' is located (upper end of the pink trail in the woods). For arking I guess it's the best place. It would maybe be more comfortable to par at the Hietzinger-Entrance but I didn't see a parking place there, just a public garage where would have to pay and the only other parking place is in front of Schoenbrunn Castle but then you have a rather far way from there across the wonderful park to the Neptun-Entrance. So you can choose either the long way or up the hill.
At the box ofice we took a combined ticket for the zoo, the palm tree house and the desert house. We will visit the two houses on another day, the ticket is to be used within one year and so there is no need to hurry.

We started our tour along the right curve of the pink trail and walked through the woods and the enclosures of cows, sheep, goats, owls and wolves.

At the bottom of the hill we reached the penguins and the sea lions - to which we came back later again to watch the feeding - always a great show!
Following the yellow trail counter clockwise we moved from the monkeys to the cheetahs, black jaguar and tigers.
The Schoenbrunn zoo achieved to have a lot of baby animals like the new born baby tigers and a lot others. We were lucky and got to see them when their mother finally moved a few steps to the side. They are soo cute!

The lion was sleeping inside his house and so we couldn't see a lot of him and the hippos were the whole time underwater. Several times you could see their heads for a second when the came up to get air but nothing more.
The giant pandas where sleeping. The one year old Fu Long was sleeping on top of a higher located platform so all we could see was his fluffy fur and a bit of his nose.
The Koalas were as active as usual - nearly not (haha). I love them they always look so relaxed and nothing can disturb them. One was sleeping and the other one was sitting behind a branch of eucalyptus and eating. Those fuzzy ears are soo cool!
Next to the Hietzinger-Entrance the is a little information center an inside there you can see a big monitor lizzard and a model of the zoo.

Then we made a little break and had a snack on a bench next to the beautiful Kaiser-Pavillon.

From the giraffes we went on to the aquarium and the terrarium house to see the crocodiles, giant turtles, snakes, several reptiles and amphibians, fish and other underwater lifeforms.
In the garden of the aquarium you will find the beautiful pink flamingos.

Next to some birds cages there is this beautiful historic fountain with lots of wonderful plants.

We skipped some of the birds because their were lots of animals left to see in which we are honestly more interested.
The ring-tailed lemurs are funny fellows. Everytime I see them I am remembered of the king of the lemurs in DreamWorks' 'Madagascar' when he sings 'I like to move it'. A bit childish maybe, but it's funny. Next to the lemurs there are the lar gibbons.

Now we came to the zoo's biggest residents - the elephants. Too bad their were already soo many people inside because it was close to feeding time we couldn't see anything. But we already saw them on our way down from the Tirolergarten so we went on to the zebras.
When I was a kid they were my favorite animals. I love their jailbird design and the mohawk hairstyle.

It was time for the sea lions' feeding. It's always a great show. They follow their keeper wherever he moves and jump into the water when he throws the fish. They say that their funny behavior is natural and only a bit enhanced through the training.
The keeper also checks their skin and yaps for signs of diseases.

After the feeding of the sea lions we took a short break in the penguin house and watched them dive. As funny and clumsy they may appear on land they are really fast and elegant when swimming and diving in the water.
Then we moved on the last round left - the blue trail.
We started ad the polar bears. Here are also two young ones. One played with an old tire and the other with an empty plastic canister.

Next was the rainforrest house. The humidity inside is high and so it's rather sure to get sweaty in there. Wonderful flora and fauna await you inside. You cann see otters, fish, bats, several birds and flying foxes. Really cool!

Moving on to the Neptun-Entrance we reached the beavers, but they were hiding and didn't show up. So we followed the route to the rhinos.

Then came the reindeer, the insect house, the collared peccaries with their young one, the buffalos,the pelican colony, the banded mongooses with a tiny baby and the stork and the heron.

On the way back to the pink trail to get back up the hill to the car we visited the donkeys, the capybaras, the ostriches and then made a short side trip to the coati and the red panda.

We were already rather tired when we started our way back up. The hill is not too steep but when you've walked around in the zoo all day the last thing you need is to walk up a hill.
There is usually an alternative to walking - the zoo has its own little train that could take you from the Kaiser-Pavillon to the Tirolergarten, but it was out of order that day. Funny thing is, when we reached the Tirolergarten the train suddenly showed up and some people got off. Seems they fixed the problem right on time but we didn't look for it again. Bad luck! But so we were able to take another look at the wolves and owls. :-)

On top of the hill either before you enter or after you leave the zoo you have a great view at the 'Gloriette' - a beautiful building located on top of the hill inside Schoenbrunn castle's garden - along the avenue and see the emu whose enclosure is on the way to the parking lot.

It was a great the and I can only recommend you to go to the zoo when you visit Vienna.
You won't regret it!

Website: Zoo Vienna

postcrossing (6)

2008-08-17T20:31:00.005+02:00

This week I received nine fantastic cards.

One from Slovenia (nice multiview with map), one from South Africa (wonderful wildlife multiview), three from the USA (hot American muscle Pontiac GTO; awesome retro Cruisin' U.S.A. Route 66; beautiful Lake Elsinore in California), one from Spain (great nightview of the walls of Avila and Adaja river), two from Finland (cool winter multiview; fantastic nightshot Helsinki Helsingfors), and one from Malaysia (impressive view of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur).

Thank you all very much!

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

You Don't Mess With The Zohan

2008-08-17T20:14:00.003+02:00

Saw it on Friday.

Really cool movie!

Very funny and also a lot of action!

Adam Sandler is great as Zohan Dvir (a.k.a. The Zohan, a.k.a. Scrappy Coco) a counter-terrorist. He is the best. Some mix between Rambo and Superman - simply unbeatable.
But he's fed up with war and fighting, all he wants is to be a hairdresser. So he goes to the USA to make his dream come true. After some hurdles, when he finally made it, his past catches up, and Phantom, his archenemy, comes for the final show down.

Great movie with a lot of laughs!
Partly insane but extremely funny!

You won't regret it!

Website: You Don't Mess with the Zohan

postcrossing (5)

2008-08-10T11:42:00.013+02:00

This week I received eleven fantastic cards.

One from the Philippines (awesome multiview), one from France (beautiful view of La Roche Bernard), one from New Zealand (breathtaking glacier), one from Thailand (colorful floating market), one from the Czech Republic (impressing nightview of Prague), one from the Iran (two wonderful mausoleums), one from the USA (fascinating underwater view from Carmel Bay), one from Greece (impressive multiview of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens) and three from Finland (cool collection of old and new commercial and military planes; wonderful four seasons multiview; cute bark boat).

Thank you all very much!

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

postcrossing (4)

2008-08-03T12:41:00.005+02:00

Three more great cards arrived on Friday. :-)

One from Spain (The Plaza Castilla with the Torres de Europa in Madrid), one from the USA (coyote on the Mew Mexico desert at sundown) and one from the Netherlands (Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, USA).

Thank you all very much!

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

postcrossing (3)

2008-07-30T07:15:00.011+02:00

Wow! Received four more cards yesterday! :-)
From Japan (great nightview of Shibuya, Tokyo), USA (fascinating Air Force Academy with the star-spangled banner and the Thunderbirds), Italy (overwhelming nightview of Venice with the Palazzo Ducale and the Torre dell'Orologio) and China (great nightview of Pudong, Shanghai).
Wonderfull pictures again!

Note: To prevent this blog from too many single posts I will post the next cards once a week, so please be patient for updates to come.

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

postcrossing (2)

2008-07-29T07:57:00.014+02:00

Yesterday I received three more cards.
From Singapore (great nightview of the Singapore Nightflyer), USA (fantastic night-multiview of fabulous Las Vegas) and Canada (futuristic nightview of Toronto's skyline).
It's really cool to get cards from all over the world! :-)

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

2008-07-28T08:46:00.005+02:00

Seen on Friday.

To be honest, I had expected a lot more.

It's a great thriller with suspence a action, but it's just not 'The X-Files'.

I stopped watching the TV series when the whole story started to become to complicated inside the FBI; I loved the older episodes with lots of mystery and aliens and other supernatural stuff.

Can't really remember the first movie - but I don't think it was so special either, when I can't remember anything.

This time there is to much about Scully's and Mulder's past - don't even know if they really had a common past with a deeper relation or if the just put it in to make the movie a bit more interesting.
Only mystical thing is that there's a priest - a sentenced pedophile - who has visions of kidnapped women, because of his spiritual connection to one of his past victims.

If you want to see a thriller, it's a great movie.

If you want 'The X-Files', you should at least save the money for the cinema and rent the DVD later.

Website: The X-Files: I Want To Believe
----------------
MC listened to: Dixie Chicks - Long Time Gone
via FoxyTunes

Get Smart

2008-07-25T10:39:00.009+02:00

Seen Yesterday.

Sooo damn funny! Partly I nearly laughed my head off!

It's some time ago - about 18 years or so - since I saw the old Maxwell Smart played by Don Adams, but as far as I can remember it was one of the funniest secret agent tv series I've ever seen so far.
Steve Carell is fantastic as Maxwell Smart a.k.a. Agent 86.

Together with the CONTROL-Agents 99 (Anne Hathaway), 23 (Dwayne Johnson) and the chief (Alan Arkin), Smart has to save the world from KAOS' latest plans, after the CONTROL-headquarter was attacked and all the agent's identities were revealed.

A lot of slapstick comedy and fantastic and funny action make this movie a great pleasure to be seen!
I would nearly go as far as to say it's a must-see.

Website: Get Smart
----------------
MC listened to: Meredith Brooks - Watched You Fall
via FoxyTunes

joined postcrossing

2008-07-25T10:15:00.017+02:00

About two weeks ago I joined postcrossing.
It's a project where members get adresses from other members to send them a postcard and receive one from some other member.
I think its a pretty cool idea!
Just got my five first adresses. Cards will be sent to Finland, USA, Germany, Netherlands and Portugal.
When they reach the receipients I will receive my first regular cards. :-)

There is also a forum where people make special arrangements and trade cards (and other stuff) big style. But I think I will keep my hands off of that - too expensive. ;-)

In that forum Julia asked some people to send cards to me while she sends them some of hers to get me started. She is such a sweety!
I already received this three beautiful cards - from Finland (wonderful Aurora Borealis), France (great multiview of the city of Munster) and Germany (nightview of the famous Oktoberfest). :-)

Websites: Postcrossing, MC @ postcrossing
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MC listened to: Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine
via FoxyTunes

Kris Kristofferson in Vienna

2008-07-19T13:53:00.012+02:00

Friday, 18. July, 2008

Wonderfull concert!

On Thursday my friend Maze told me that Kris will be in Vienna on Friday.
Didn't think I would get a good ticket, but luck was on my side and I got the last ticket in the 16th row. Around that seat all were already sold. Then there were just a few tickets - 20 or so - in the last rows left. Lucky me! :-)

To be honest before this concert I didn't know too much about Kris Kristofferson. Only saw him the in 'Blade'-Trilogy and 'Convoy' and knew that he had sung the theme-song of 'Convoy'.

The concert was really worth being seen!

His songs and his whole appearance seemed pretty true and honest to me.
The songs are great and the things he said between them were pretty cool. Like when in advance of one song he said 'I wrote it for my kids and their momS.' - got a lot of laughs.
But he also said serious things. He mentioned that these days news are rather depressing everytime you read the paper but he's faithful that soon there will be the headline 'Barack Obama - new president of the United States'. From the reactions of the audience you could tell that people all over the world hope for a change, and maybe Obama could be the start of several changes all over the planet.

After the first hour he made a short intermission and as the lights went on a guy ran to the stage with a guitar case and Kris signed his guitar right away. I found that very kind of him!

To bad I didn't have my camera with me, but here's a little video from youtube-user wuzlump.

Website: Kris Kristofferson
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MC listened to: Kris Kristofferson - Just The Other Side Of Nowhere
via FoxyTunes

Kung Fu Panda

2008-07-16T09:58:00.009+02:00

Seen yesterday.

A very nice and funny movie!

Po's only dream is to be a Kung Fu fighter. But that's rather unlikely for a panda with some extra pounds - until kismet makes him the dedicated Dragon Warrior.

I love the 'design' of the characers. All together very funny.
The animation of the martial arts movements is fantastic and extremely smooth. During the training and fight scenes they included slow motion sequences - pretty cool!

Again a movie with a good message. You can be whatever you want to be as long as you believe in yourself.

'There is no secret incredient!'

Website: Kung Fu Panda

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MC listened to: The Rolling Stones - How Can I Stop
via FoxyTunes

keep on rockin'

2008-07-14T09:02:00.021+02:00

What a show!
No, not just a show!
It was an experience!

I never witnessed such a cool and awesome perfomance before!
The three times I had seen it before were already great but this finish was just unbelievable.
(1st, 2nd, 3rd)

This time I finally saw Se rkan Kaya as Galileo. It's true, he is the best!
Scaramouche was played again by Silke Braas - she is a pretty cool Scaramouche too. Jessica Kessler couldn't play in the great final performance because of an laryngitis. Get well soon!
I guess the rest was the first cast. Martin Berger as Khashoggi (fabulous!) and Brigitte Oelke as Killer Queen (perfect!).

The show was unbelievable! The actors put in some extra jokes and improvisations. It was a huge party for everyone!
The audience was wonderful too. Right from the beginning, when the lights went out and we were told to turn off the cellphones etc., the crowd started screaming like the stars were already on stage. Wow! What a start!
And the atmosphere stayed so till the very end.
At the start of every single song the people screamed and clapped their hands like at a concert and sang along. Some even spoke the text partly along. Really cool!

After the pause free glow-sticks were given out. An awesome view to see everybody in the theater waving with the lights.
Before the second part began people stomped the 'Wee Will Rock You'-rhythm and shook the whole theater.

During the second part the audience went completely 'Bohemian' and at the end everybody sang along the 'Bohemian Rapsody'. It was overwhelming!

This time there was even another song as encore - 'The Show Must Go On'. Again the complete audience was singing, clapping and jumping.

Here some videos from youtube-user Miaka01.

Afterwards Serkan thanked everybody and the actors pulled the custome and make-up staff and the techies on stage. A real noble gesture.

You could see the joy in the actors eyes for having given us such a great performance but also a bit of sadness about having reached the end of an era.

Hope WWRY will be back in Vienna soon!

As I mentioned last time - I think it's a great way to keep Freddie Mercury's and Queen's music and legacy in people's minds!

Never forget - THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Websites: We Will Rock You (at), Raimund Theater
----------------
MC listened to: Queen - Hammer To Fall
via FoxyTunes

Tutankhamun - The Musical

2008-07-07T08:40:00.014+02:00

Seen on Saturday in Gutenstein.

Gutenstein is well known for great productions of Ferdinand Raimund's plays; this year they have the world premiere of the brand new musical about Tutankhamun (ger.: Tutanchamun), the famous Pharaoh.

Great production! Fantastic stage design! Awesome actors! Overwhelming choreography! Great music!

This musical is really worth being seen!

The story starts with the death of Pharaoh Akhenaten (ger.: Echnaton) and Tiye's (ger.: Teje) - King Tut's grandmother - decission to make Tutankhamun the new emperor of Egypt.
The story shows the envy of the military leader and the administrator - who both wanted to become Pharaoh after Akhenaten's death; the way they let him sign several orders for their own benefit and the resulting povery of the Egypt people.
When Tutankhamun sees the troubles of his people he starts questioning decissions and changes his line.

The way King Tut died is left beside and i think that's good so, because of all the myths about his death.

A fine piece of work!

More pictures can be seen on the website.

Website: Tutanchamun - The Musical
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MC listened to: Smash Mouth - All Star
via FoxyTunes

Hancock

2008-07-04T08:03:00.009+02:00

Seen yesterday.

Starts extremely funny with a drunk, filled with self-hate not so glamorous hero Hancock (Will Smith), who of course helps people but what he leaves behind after his help looks like the aftermath of some terrorist attack .
People hate him, the city is fed up with paying the devastation he causes.
But all this will change when he rescues the PR executive Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who want to help Hancock to polish up his image.

I like the movie really a lot!

Only thing I missed was some kind of explanation who he really is and where he came from.

Website: Hancock
----------------
MC listened to: Black Sabbath - Killing Yourself To Live
via FoxyTunes

Wok'n'Roll

2008-07-04T07:24:00.014+02:00

Yesterday we tried a new Restaurant at the SCS Multiplex (shopping mall with restaurant and an UCI cinema; about 20 km south of Vienna).

The Wok'n'Roll is a wonderfull restaurant with a nice interieur and an overwhelming choice of different Asian dishes - Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, etc.

We thought several times of trying it because it always smelled fantastic when we went by.
Believe it or not it tasted even better then it smelled! :-)

Julia had Samosa (Indian dumpling filled with spicy vegetables) as starter and Wok'n'Roll Season's Vegetables (fried vegetables served with jasmine rice) as main course.
As starter I had Sateh Ayam (tender chicken skewers with spicy peanut sauce) and Wok'n'Roll Duck (fried duck with east'n'west asia sauce served with madarin bread and rice) as main course.
I also had a dessert called Asian Snow White (Thai rice pudding - Sago - with caramel sauce and almonds).

Everything was fantastic!

We drank mango juice. We thought that it would be very sweet but it wasn't - it was really delicious and refreshing.

I am sure we will stop by there several times in future!

Website: SCS (Shopping City Sued)
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MC listened to: Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
via FoxyTunes

Viva España!

2008-06-30T14:16:00.003+02:00

Congratulations to the new European Champion!

Seems like the best team has won!

You really deserve the title after 44 long years!

Best wishes for the future!

Thunder & Lightning

2008-06-27T11:09:00.004+02:00

Wow!
Last night a heavy thunderstorm came over Wiener Neustadt. Lots of rain and for a short while even hail - thank goodness nothing serious happened!
After the first wave of heavy rain I started watching the lightnings all around. They are so beautiful - dangerous but beautiful. The way they enlight the clouds and everything else is just imcomparably impressing.
I even made a short video of some of these forceful beasts.
Hope you like it!

----------------
MC listened to: AC-DC - Thunderstruck
via FoxyTunes

riders on the storm (2)

2008-06-26T09:58:00.005+02:00

Yesterday when we left the Raimund Theater there was a really terrible weather in Vienna. Heavy raining, strong wind and fast sequenced flashes everywhere. We had just a few meters to the car but within less then a minute we were wet to the bones.
The way home was not as bad as first expected. Different than the last time we didn't feel like a submarine due to the amounts of water coming from the sky but it would have been helpful if the car was an amphibian vehicle. Nearly every street was covered with water - but not just wet, they were partly lake-like with depths of more then half of the wheels' height.
I am sure they had to close a lot of underpasses.
On the freeway the rain nearly stopped but it was still stormy and all around you could see the beautiful lightshows of the lightnings through the clouds.
----------------
MC listened to: CCR - Who'll Stop The Rain
via FoxyTunes

still rockin'!

2008-06-26T07:56:00.024+02:00

Thanks to Julia's parents we had the pleasure of seeing 'We Will Rock You' again yesterday. (The third time for me!)

Fantastic as always!

Again we saw a different cast as the last time. Galileo was played by Sasha Alexander Lien (like on the first time I saw it) and Scaramouche was played by Silke Braas instead of Jessica Kessler. She has a great soft voice and was a wonderful Scaramouche too, but to be honest I liked Jessica more because she plays Scaramouche more saucily and thereby the complete character is a bit funnier.

This time there were a lot of kids and teens. It was really nice too see that musicals like this one habe the ability to bring young people to the theater. So the wonderful music of Queen and Freddie Mercury's legacy won't be forgotten too soon. (Keep up the great work!)
In the row in front of us there were three young girls who really had a great time. They always screamed and clapped their hands full of joy - even the actors recognized them during the encore and smiled at them. It was a great picture to see everybody smiling with sparkling eyes!

The audience was really disappointing this time. Through the complete musical they were always very enthusiastic and always screamed and applauded joyfully but in the end they just stood up for one song and then sat down again very quickly and just clapped hands sitting. I really didn't understand that. I would have expected a more party-like behavior.
And the actors would have really deserved that!
They were awesome as always!
At least there were loud standing ovations after the finish.

I am really looking forward to the final performance of WWRY on 13. July. I guess then we will see the complete first cast.
And I hope that it will be a loud rocking party!

Websites: We Will Rock You (at), Raimund Theater
----------------
MC listened to: Queen - Headlong
via FoxyTunes

Nim's Island

2008-06-25T07:16:00.007+02:00

Seen on Monday.

A very good movie about the everyday fight for courage for everyone - young and young at heart.
Can't remember having seen Jodie Foster in a funny movie and she's is in that genre as great as always.
She plays the author Alexandra Rover who writes the adventures of 'Alex Rover' (Gerard Butler) - a male adventurer in the kind of Indiana Jones - who is Nim's greatest hero.
Nim (Abigail Breslin) and her father Jack (Gerard Butler) - a marine biologist - live on a secret Island. When Jack is missing on the open sea Nim gets an email from Alexandra about the volcano on the island with the sender name Alex Rover. Nim is totally beside herself with joy and climbs up the volcano to get the information Alex requested. As the volcano starts shaking she hurts her leg on the way down. Bad luck continues as she sees 'pirates' landing on the island.
Nim begs Alex - who is in real life just a coward - to come to the island and help her. Alex starts the odyssey of her lifetime.

The movie is fun and suspense from the start to the ending. Slapstick and sweet and funny animals keep you smiling all the time.

I really liked it!

Website: Nim's Island
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MC listened to: The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun
via FoxyTunes

Restaurant Marchfelderhof

2008-06-23T13:58:00.015+02:00

On Saturday we visited a very fascinating restaurant in the northeast of Vienna - the Marchfelderhof.

It's very popular with the Austrian and international high society and it is pretty cool for us 'ordinary mortals' too. ;-)

Many celebrities love to give parties at the Marchfelderhof - Austrian and international celebs too - as you can see on all the pictures all over the walls.
Each table has its own name and theme. We sat at the 'Karajan table'. Some of the others are for example 'Falco's private room', the 'Van Damme corner' and the 'clockmaker's table'.

Everything is neatly decoratet and there is a lot to see. Even the ceiling is completely covered with different things matching the tables, like instruments and tools and so on. And they also have a beautiful winter garden.
Along the hall there are some showcases with a lot of souvenirs and other stuff.

It's a wonderful place to be!
The waiters are very kind and the meal was excellent!

Really worth a visit!

Website: Marchfelderhof
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MC listened to: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Get On Top
via FoxyTunes

Firefox 3

2008-06-19T07:53:00.013+02:00

Firefox - the best browser - has reached the next level and is ready to become a member of Guinness World Records with more than 8 million downloads in the first 24 hours.

World Record attempt

Get foxy too and download it now! ;-)

----------------
MC listened to: Jimi Hendrix - Foxy Lady
via FoxyTunes

Austria vs. Germany - 0:1

2008-06-17T07:23:00.009+02:00

Ok, I don't like soccer anyway - not the game itself but all the hype about it - but I have to admit that I would have loved to see our team win against the German team. To be honest I don't know much about soccer but I can't believe that anybody really thought that this would happen. Of course there were a lot of wrong decisions by the referees in the previous games so it may be true that there had been a slight chance but I was sure that Germany would win.
Anyway it felt good that the German team was a bit worried about the game.

One thing really positive about our defeat is that this ridiculous euphoria hopefully will cool down at least bit.

And I too hope that we won't have to hear about that stupid game in Cordoba too much in the future. I mean talking about a single game for 30 years and always thinking that it will be repeated is just sad. We one once and always talk big about it and never think about all the games in the meanwhile??? Wtf?! Come on people - WAKE UP!!!
We are no Soccer-Nation!
But there are other things we are good at, like skiing.
And why do we always have to compete so deadly serious when it comes to sport? There are a lot more important things in the world than that!
As far as i know we are very good at medical matters for example.
We don't need sport to be proud of something. When you are not good at one thing just take a look around and you will find something else.
----------------
MC listened to: Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
via FoxyTunes

The Happening

2008-06-13T08:21:00.008+02:00

Seen Yesterday.

All I knew about this movie - which was nearly non-advertised - was that some strange power forces people to act very strange and kill themselves.

It's not too bad but definitely not a must-see. I guess some will say the movie is fantastic others will say it's a piece of crap.
I would say partly both are right.

The idea of nature's payback - by emitting toxicities which attack human's neural system, turns off our instinct of self-preservation and forces us into suicide - is not bad.

But the way it is pictured is a bit ridiculous. Of course it's claer that the plants would need wind to bring the toxicities into action, but that the wind is always coming up on small locations just to get groups of people (decreasing in amount) seems a bit over-the-top.
Well, wind is one of nature's mightiest powers and so the thought fits in the plot but wind is not such a precise instrument as pictured here.

The part about plants becoming poisonous is in my opinion very plausible. We know that plants can do that without any advance warning - for example when the population of animals in an area hits a dangerous amount for the plants, some grases become poisonous to preserve themselves. And plants are able to communicate by emitting several messenger substances.

Overall I don't regret having seen the movie but I wouldn't have missed it if I hadn't.

Website: The Happening
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MC listened to: The Doors - People Are Strange
via FoxyTunes

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-06-02T09:02:00.007+02:00

Seen on Friday.

Against all expectations I liked it very much.
I hadn't heard anything positive about this movie before and so I didn't hope for too much - but it turned out as a good sequel of the story.

Of course I have to admit that there are some not so cool parts. Especially the ending is in my opinion not fitting. The last showdown is pretty cool with the effect inside the temple and the creatures but I think the should have stopped it after the collapse of the pyramid.
The the end of the movie was out of the line of the previous parts and not typical.
I don't write to specifically because I don't want to spoil anybody to much, I think you will know what I mean when you see it.

Right at the start I was a bit disappointed too. I missed the fantastic original I.J.-lettering. The title was just written in the same letters as the cast. And there was also different music instead of the I.J.-Theme.

Overall I really liked the movie! I think there are more jokes and much more fun in than in the other parts. Maybe it's only because times have changed and my so did my sens of humor but I laughed a lot.
And the effects were excellent!

There is one thing left to say: Respect to Harrison Ford for doing most of the stunts by himself!

Website: Indiana Jones
----------------
MC listened to: Johnny Cash - In Them Old Cottonfields Back Home
via FoxyTunes

Happy Birthday to MC's blog

2008-05-14T08:04:00.005+02:00

Today MC's blog is running for one year already!
That was a fast year! Time is always running fast when you're having fun!

Hope all the readers out there keep coming back for more in the second year of existence!
Have much fun!

KISS rocked Vienna

2008-05-13T18:06:00.015+02:00

You wanted the best! You got the best!
THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD! - KISS!

WOW!!!

That was a breathtaking show yesterday!
The greatest concert I've ever experienced!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC! It's really great of you to celebrate your 50th birthday with the audience in Vienna in such a 'purrfect' show!

When KISS was in Vienna the last time I didn't know to much about them. I got 'infected' with their music shortly afterwards by my uncle. I love KISS! Their music is really hot!

I hoped for quite a long time that they would come back to Vienna so I could see them live someday and this year my dream came true! To bad I didn't have the money for one of those cool 'Meet & Greet Packages'. But maybe someday I will!

I was really glad when Paul apologized for not being here for such a long and promised to come back soon! I WILL be there!!!

As I said the concert was fantastic! Everything you could have expected was there! Fire, fireworks, bloodspitting and the flights of Gene and Paul and the firework from Tommy's guitar!

Songlist:

Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Firehouse
Nothin' To Lose (Eric lead vocals)
C'Mon And Love Me
Parasite
She (Tommy Guitar Solo)
Watchin' You
Rock Bottom
100,000 Years (Eric Drum Solo)
Cold Gin
Let Me Go Rock 'N' Roll
Black Diamond (Eric lead vocals)
Rock And Roll All Nite

Encore:

Shout It Out Loud
Lick It Up
I Love It Loud (Gene spat blood and flew to rafters)
I Was Made For Lovin' You
Love Gun (Paul flew to back of the hall)
Detroit Rock City

I am really looking forward to see them again on their next tour!

Websites: KISS, Stadthalle
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MC listened to: KISS - Rock and Roll All Night
via FoxyTunes

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T09:40:00.003+02:00

Best wishes to all the mothers out there!
Hope you all will have a nice day!

Picture taken from: The Jammer With The Hammer (blog)

Dinner & Crime: Wanderlust

2008-05-09T07:27:00.011+02:00

Yesterday we were together with some friends at the castle Wilhelminenberg for 'Dinner & Crime'.

The castle Wilhelminenberg lies above Vienna and so you get a great view all over Vienna from the restaurant's terrace.

This was the first visit to 'Dinner & Crime' and it was really cool!

I don't want to tell too much and spoil you so I will keep it short allthough there would be a lot to tell!
In the show 'Wanderlust' you go onboard the MS Dinner the new flagship of Crime Lines. The actors involve the guests into the whole play. A lot of very funny characters are onboard this ship and everyone has a hidden secret.
The play is staged during the captain's dinner onboard. There is always fun and of course some serious arguing between the different characters until suddenly there is a murder. Now you get to see some exhibits and have to find the murderer and the motive.

Every table has to fill out a form in wich you write who did it and why. One of the tables with the right answers gets to win a round of sparkling wine and the table with the most creative (or dumbest - in a funny way) answer wins one too.

It was extremely funny and worth the money!
The dinner tasted also fantastic and they also have alternative meals for vegetarians.

Websites: Dinner & Crime, Castle Wilhelminenberg
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MC listened to: The Beatles - Lady Madonna
via FoxyTunes

10 years on the road

2008-04-29T11:24:00.004+02:00

I could also say 'Happy Birthday' to my Audi but that would sound a bit weird.
On the 29. April 1998 my car was registered for the first time. Don't know when it left the factory, so the real 'date of birth' will be some days before.
After 10 years of duty it runs fine as new.

Websites: Audi.at, Audi.com
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MC listened to: Hank Williams - Jambalaya
via FoxyTunes

'God on a Harley' by Joan Brady

2008-04-28T09:59:00.013+02:00

'Als Gott Harley Davidson fuhr' (German title)

This weekend I read this great book.

I bought it some time ago without reading the plot just because I liked the title. When I found it again in a drawer on Friday I saw that it had only 191 pages and was printed in a rather big font. So I thought it could be finished fast and was curious about the story that fits in such a small space. After reading the plot I was a bit worried that it could be just a love story with not to much in it, but after a few pages I recognized that there was a lot of depth inside and that it was not only about love in the common way.
I think a lot of people will find themselves - at least partly - in the protagonist Christine Moore.
There are some really good advice for a better live throughout the whole story.

The plot:

At thirty-seven, Christine Moore had a world-class case of burnout: a frustrating career, a few dead-end romances, and a less-than-perfect figure. Little did she know her life was about to change completely . . .
Everybody is developing continuously and that doesn't only apply to human beings, it also applies to the almighty force commonly called God or something like that.
God recognized that not everything was going like he had planned and that he was often mistaken. So he is out to help every single person and now its time for Christine's life to be improved.
He comes to her in the shape of a biker called Joe on his Harley-Davidson and so begins Christine's journey, a voyage of the spirit that frees her to appreciate each precious moment of life - and reveals to her six wondrous precepts that lead to the deepest peace and fulfillment we can ever know.

I can only recommend this book to everyone!

Website: Joan Brady
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MC listened to: Guns 'N' Roses - November Rain
via FoxyTunes

back to school (3)

2008-04-14T23:14:00.008+02:00

WOW! That was fast!
As I wrote earlier today that I took the aptitude test just last Thursday and this evening I received a call from my mother who told me that a letter from the FH had arrived. So I rushed to her to open the letter. Didn't think that there would be the big YES or NO in it, just something about how I did on the test.
When I opened it my heart raced a hundret miles per hour and I was pretty shaking. I pulled the letter out of the envelope and directly in the subject line it read 'entry confirmation'.
I REALLY MADE IT!
All that's left to do is to fill out the 'study entrance declaration' and bring it to the FH and then - starting at the 2. September - I will be an official student at the FH Wiener Neustadt.

Website: FH Wiener Neustadt
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MC listened to: AC DC - Thunderstruck
via FoxyTunes

The Rat Pack @ Magna Racino

2008-04-14T13:28:00.016+02:00

On Saturday we saw a great show at the Magna Racino in Ebreichsdorf.

Sammy, Frank & Dean - The Rat Pack

A fabulous show with really great impersonators of Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sintatra and Dean Martin.
I would have never thought that it could be that fantastic! Not only the voices were really close to the originals, also the movement and behavior seemed to be very genuine.
In the first part of the show they brought great hits like 'My Way', 'Mr. Bojangles' and 'Volare' and told stories of the lives of those three marvelous entertainers.

In the second part of the show they came back on stage in smokings. And gave a perfect show with a really high fun factor and a lot of digs at the drinking behavior of Dean.

I put both show parts into one video this time but had to split it due to youtube's 10 minutes limitation.

Part 1

Part 2

Of the three shows I've seen at the Racino so far this was the best! It was just unbelieveable.

There was also a special guest among the audience, Frank Stronach the boss of Manga was sitting just two tables away from us. Not that he's such a big celebrity but it's nice to see VIPs in person.

The dinner was also wonderfull again.

Before the first show part we had the appetizer - smoked salmon tureen with marinated shrimps, salad and dill-mustard-sauce - and the soup - strong cattle soup with native olive oil and dumplings.
After the first part of the show we were served the main course - chicken piccata with pumpkin seed balls on tomatoe and basil sauce.
After the show it was time for the dessert - a small piece of cake, raspberry mousse and vanilla ice cream.
Tasted great!

I love the ambience at the Racino! It's always a pleasure to be there - especially with such a fantastic show!

Website: Magna Racino
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MC listened to: Frank Sinatra - You Make Me Feel So Young
via FoxyTunes

back to school (2)

2008-04-14T13:04:00.006+02:00

Last Thursday I took the second step on the way to become a student at the FH Wiener Neustadt - the aptitude test.
I was really nevous the days before; I think that was because of the fact that I didn't know what it would be like and that there was nothing you could have prepared in advance.
As soon as the test had started it was like always, nervousity was blown away and it was no problem to focus on the test; and afterwards I have to say it was rather amusing.
Some of the stages didn't make to much sense to me in relation to the study.
This time was the first time in my life I had the feeling that I even solved some of those damn number rows - where you are given some numbers which have a logical run and you have to find the pattern and put in the next following number. But on the other hand I think I completely failed the German part. I think there will be some right answers but they only by luck. Some of the words I have never heard before.
End of the week I should get the test result.

Website: FH Wiener Neustadt
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MC listened to: Sting - Englishman In New York
via FoxyTunes

seven years of love

2008-04-10T20:15:00.003+02:00

Today Julia and I celebrate our 7th anniversary.

Julia, I love you soo much, I want to be with you forever and for always!

Jumper

2008-04-08T14:50:00.003+02:00

Seen on Sunday.

To be honest, I didn't know anything about the movie besides what I saw on the trailer. But I am sorry that I have to say this movie was a bit disappointing.

Maybe I didn't understand it - things like that can happen - it just doesn't make to much sense.
Ok I have often watched movies with a rather flat storyline, but there was a story at least.
Here I missed some background for all the action. Why are the paladins hunting the jumpers? Are they just religious freak who think that only god should be able to be anywhere anytime? If so, why is there not a single trace of religious symbolism?
To me it seemed like an old hillbilly-style family feud, where after decades of war nobody can remember why they started fighting.

I also missed an explanation for the ability to jump. In most movies where somebody is able to do something special, there is at least some sort of reason. Is it genetic? Is due to the accident at the river?

And the end of the movie just screams for a sequel.

Besides the rather unreasonable storyline the effects are really great! It looks fantastic when the jumpers break through different locations!

Don't think that this movie is bad. It's just not what I had expected.
If you just want to see cool action it's ok.

Website: Jumper
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MC listened to: Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers
via FoxyTunes

Charlton Heston, 1923 - 2008

2008-04-07T08:28:00.014+02:00

On Saturday Charlton Heston died at the age of 84.
(John Charles Carter; * 4. Oktober 1923 in Evanston, Illinois; † 5. April 2008 in Beverly Hills, California)

Hollywood once again lost one of its greatest stars!

I don't know much about him. To be honest, the only things I know is that he was really superb as Judah in 'Ben-Hur' (1959), as Moses in the movie 'The Ten Commandments' (1956) and as George Taylor in 'Planet of the Apes' (1967).
I love these movies!

Like all stars he also had sides not everybody liked to much - like his activities in the NRA. With statements like 'You can have my gun when you can pry it loose from my cold, dead hand.' he shocked some people.
I think, as long as people act responsible and keep their guns locked in at a safe place, it won't be much of a problem to allow private persons to have guns. As many people often say: 'Guns don't kill people; people kill people.'
A real problem are the guns sold on the black market or just stored in a drawer thats not even locked.

Rest in peace Charlton!

My heart is with the family and friends!

Website: Charlton Heston (Wikipedia)
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MC listened to: Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky
via FoxyTunes

Alfred Dorfer - 'fremd'

2008-04-07T07:52:00.005+02:00

Last Wednesday I saw with some of my friends the cabaret show 'fremd' (foreign) from the Austrian cabaret artist Alfred Dorfer at hour Town Theater in Wiener Neustadt.
I love his shows! He always has some pretty cool hits at several Austrian politicians and other things you may come across in your live.
One laugh followed the other. It's really great when you see something so funny, that your cheeks hurt after the two-hour-programm from all the grinning and laughing. :-)
Dorfer is always assisted by his band consisting of Guenther Paal (a.k.a. Gunkl), Peter Herrmann and Lothar Scherper and the sound technician Robert Peres.
Guenther Paal (Gunkl) is not only the bassist, he is also there for seemingly extremly intellectual comments, explanations and answers on different question.
He sometimes does his own shows. They are excellent too but right after the show you just can't tell what he said. Very heavy! ;-)

Websites: Alfred Dorfer, Gunkl
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MC listened to: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
via FoxyTunes

EAV - Amore XL Tour

2008-03-27T16:09:00.009+01:00

Yesterday I saw the concert of the Austrian band EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung - a dig at a past insurance group) at the Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt.

When I was in elementary school I loved a lot of their songs. That was some time ago so I was a bit sceptical about the show.

It was pretty cool!

When you see them live it's much better than on the radio - like always - but I would have never guessed that Thomas Spitzer plays his guitar in such a hard way. And Klaus Eberhartinger (frontman and vocals) always knows a fitting answer to every comment coming from the audience.

It wasn't really made up for kids, as the main subject was the different types of love - and mostly the physical part.

The hall was shaking as the people clapped their hands and sang along!

They played a lot of their old well known hits, of course. And several medleys.

It was pure fun!

Websites: EAV, Arena Nova
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MC listened to: EAV - Fata Morgana
via FoxyTunes

back to school

2008-03-26T13:08:00.009+01:00

I just was at our local University of Applied Sciences - Fachhochschule (FH) Wiener Neustadt - to sign up for their Businees Engineering Program (part-time). Now all I have to do is to pass the aptitude test on 10. April, and then, three years later, I will - hopefully - be Bachelor of Science in Engineering. And I think I will go on two more years to become Master.

Well, if I told you that I ain't nervous it be a plain lie! To be honest from time to time I feel like I'm going to s**t my pants! ;-)

Website: FH Wiener Neustadt
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MC listened to: Thin Lizzy - Whiskey In The Jar
via FoxyTunes

rocked again!

2008-03-26T07:40:00.005+01:00

Seen on Sunday.

WOW!
As fantastic as the last time!
Just can't get enough of it!

The cast was a bit different this time. Galileo was played by Carl von Wegberg. He has a great voice too! But as so often the first set you see seems better than the following changes. But to be honest that's just subjective, and you only recognize things you liked in the other set better and don't really see the things that are maybe even better now.

I really hope that I get the chance to see it once more!

Websites: We Will Rock You (at), Raimund Theater
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MC listened to: Queen - I Want It All
via FoxyTunes

U2:3D

2008-03-25T14:03:00.013+01:00

Seen last Thursday.
(sorry was caught in an online quiz -
really addicting but terrible)

What a show!
A great experience in 3D!

The U2 concert in Argentina during the Vertigo Tour was really fantastic!
The stadium was shaking and the audience was singing along nearly every single word.

A few years ago I didn't care to much about U2's music, but I have to admit, that I like it very much now!

It was not just a concert for fun. U2 seems to be on a nonviolent crusade for peace and freedom!
Bono and the others are real life heros of the present time. The concert was bit like a huge and loud mass for peace. After this show I would say the whole world should be sent to a concert like this. If just a few more people - and of course some of the so called 'important' people - would show the same believe in the power of change and the possibility of coexistence of all religions, races and origins like the argentinian audience did during the show, mankind could eventually really be able to achieve world peace.

Websites: U2:3D, U2
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MC listened to: U2 - Beautiful Day
via FoxyTunes

'Grease meets Hair' @ Magna Racino

2008-03-19T07:48:00.009+01:00

On Saturday we were at the Magna Racino in Ebreichsdorf for 'Dinner & Show' again.

For more about the Racino visit my previous post about it.

Like the last time we went to the gambling area first.
This time I was really lucky and tripled my stake.
Good start for a great evening! :-)

At our last visit we saw a great ABBA revival band and this time we saw the fantastic hits from the musicals 'Hair' and 'Grease'. As special addition we also saw some hits from 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Saturday Night Fever'.
The show was very good again, except for the 'Grease' part. It was not the best work and the male voices didn't really fit and it partly seemed like they were making fun of the musical.

Dinner was served in the same order like the last time.
First the appetizer - smoked Dornauer Arctic char tartar with it's caviar and sour cream - and the starter - lemon risotto with king prawns (sorry no pic).

After that delicious start we saw the first show part 'Hair'...

...and in addition 'Jesus Christ Superstar'.

Now we were served the main course - double from the Waldviertler angus with baked calf and mashed potatoes with black truffle and green asparagus (again forgot to take a photo).
Fantastic!

Now to the second show part 'Grease'...

...and 'Saturday Night Fever'.

As I said before 'Grease' wasn't the best performance but they made it up with 'Saturday Night Fever'. They really did hit the high notes the Bee Gees had predetermined.

After the show it was time for the dessert - a variation of apple and coconut. Tasted great!

The show was great and the dinner was excellent again!

I am really looking forward to be there again on 12. April to see 'Sammy, Frank & Dean - The Rat Pack'!

Websites: Magna Racino,
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MC listened to: Grease - Grease Is The Word
via FoxyTunes

Horton Hears A Who!

2008-03-17T13:45:00.007+01:00

Seen on Friday.

I had expected more, but it was very nice.
It's really a movie for young kids - not like 'Bee Movie', 'Monsters, Inc.' or 'Ice Age' which are fun for everyone.

The animals are made up sweet but not as loveable as they could have been.
What disturbed me most was the narrator - I don't like rhyming narrators. Don't know if his text is in rhymes in English too, but in the German version it is.

What I found extremely funny was the scene where everything was made in manga style. It is as ridiculous as most of those stupid manga shows (like Pokemon, Digimon and all the other sh*t) flooding our tv screens.

Anyway, the message that every live has a right to be is very good.

For kids this movies is really nice, people who are just young at heart should stay with 'Ice Age' and movies of that type.

Website: Horton Hears A Who
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MC listened to: Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers - Swing The Mood
via FoxyTunes

Surprise!

2008-03-13T11:38:00.006+01:00

Yesterday my sweetheart Julia surprised me with a present she had Amazon send to my office. She had told me something about an upcoming surprise before but I had no idea what it could be.
When a colleague came to my office and gave me the packet from Amazon I didn't realize that this was the mentioned surprise and was a bit confused because I hadn't ordered anything from them. But after opening it I understood.
Inside the packet were two books in wrapping paper with a card attached - reading: 'from your regular blog reader'.

The books are 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown and 'The Guide to Dan Brown's the Solomon Key: The Essential Primer' by Greg Taylor.

She had the idea because I wrote - a few posts before - that 'The Da Vinci Code' is the only book by Dan Brown I haven't read by now and that I am also waiting for the publishing of 'The Solomon Key'.

Julia, you are such a sweetie! I love you!

John Rambo

2008-03-11T14:10:00.008+01:00

Seen yesterday.

This movie is not an action movie, even if some people may think so.
I can imagine that the only fiction part of the movie is the figure of John Rambo and that a few man can eliminate an army. The rest of the story seems like it could be real life. The terror, the humiliation and killing of innocent people. Just take a look at the daily news on TV.

I guess most people know who John Rambo is, or have at least heard of him before. So I will not tell to much about the story, because it's rather similar to other parts.
People get in trouble - Rambo gets them out.
The only differences this time are (besides of his age) that he isn't going alone - small group of mercenaries is on his side - and that it is much bloodier and really affecting.

Website: John Rambo
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MC listened to: Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell
via FoxyTunes

Sweeney Todd

2008-03-11T13:49:00.009+01:00

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Seen on Saturday. (Sorry that it took so long.)

Amazing!
The basic story reminds a bit of 'The Count of Monte Christo' because of the fact that a innocent man is deported for something he didn't do and lusts for revenge when he comes back.
But 'Sweeney Todd' is much bloodier and has, in addition to the baseline, a macabre sense of humor.

Johnny Depp, who plays Sweeney, has a fantastic voice as singer too!

I liked the movie a lot!
It takes you to the deepest parts of the human mind, as the story and the deeds is easy imaginable in those hard times back than.

Website: Sweeney Todd
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MC listened to: Guns N' Roses - Knockin' On Heavens Door
via FoxyTunes

'Digital Fortress' by Dan Brown

2008-03-07T12:14:00.007+01:00

On Tuesday I finished another great piece of work by Dan Brown.
It's the third book I've read from Dan Brown.
After reading 'Deception Point' - with it's political plots - and 'Angels and Demons' - with it's ancient myths, I have to say that 'Digital Fortress' would be in my ranking in the middle of these three. There is more action then in 'Angels and Demons' but I like the myth a bit more then technoligy thillers.
'Digital Fortress' is full of suspense and unexpected twists.
I really enjoyed reading it!

The only book by Dan Brown left to be read is the legendary 'The Da Vinci Code'. Unless until he publishes 'The Solomon Key'. ;-)

The plot:

When the NSA's most classified technological wonder--an invincible code-breaking machine--encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power.

The NSA is being held hostage... not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it will cripple U.S. intelligence.

Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Susan Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides she finds herself fighting not only for her country, but for her life, and in the end, for the life of the man she loves.

Websites: Dan Brown, Digital Fortress
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MC listened to: U2 - Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
via FoxyTunes

We Will Rock You

2008-03-03T09:29:00.021+01:00

Don't know what to say!
The term 'WOW!' just doesn't explain it quite enough!

It's more then a musical, more than a show. It's a unique masterpiece!

Can you imagine a world without REAL music? Where everything is computer-generated and to be downloaded via the internet? A globalised world of GA-GA, ruled the a company called Globalsoft? Where music instruments are banned?
Me neither!
Galileo (Sascha Alexander Lien / first cast: Serkan Kaya) and Scaramouche (Jessica Kessler) are on the journey of their lifetime. They are on a crusade to find the last hidden instruments to revive the one and only real and true music - ROCK!

The story is great and the music is fantastic, wonderful, breathtaking!
The hits written by Queen really shake the walls of the good old Raimund Theater and make you really feel alive!

We would watch it over and over again. And we WILL! :-)

The producers:

Ben Elton,
Robert de Niro,
Brian May,
Roger Taylor

Websites: We Will Rock You (at), Raimund Theater
Pictures taken from musicalvienna.at
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MC listened to: Queen - A Kind Of Magic
via FoxyTunes

riders on the storm

2008-03-03T08:59:00.005+01:00

WTF!
This weekend the storm 'Emma' blew over great parts of Austria. It did a lot of damage and some people got hurt and a few even were killed. But after all we are very lucky not to have such catastrophal disasters in our area as there are in other parts of the world!
On Saturday we went to Vienna to see the Queen-Musical 'We Will Rock You', a great birthday present I got from Julia. Whe we started in Wiener Neustadt sun was shining and it was rather warm. So I didn't think it would get so bad on the way.
Half the way to Vienna we met 'Emma' on the freeway. The the wind was fast and hard, the embedded rain wasn't falling straight down or a bit tilted by the wind - it was coming nearly horizontally!
In parts it was hard to keep the car straight on track. Worst was that it came in single strong squalls. I was really glad that I have a limo and not a van or something like that.
It was the first time I had to drive 70 kph (about 44 mph) or less on the freeway without being caught in a traffic jam.
When we arrived in Vienna it was already over, just a bit windy.
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MC listened to: The Doors - Riders On The Storm
via FoxyTunes

and the Oscar goes to... Austria!

2008-02-25T11:01:00.002+01:00

Wow!

I can't believe it! Stefan Ruzowitzky got the first Academy Award in Austrian history!

His movie 'The Counterfeiters' ('Die Faelscher') got the Oscar in the category 'Foreign Language Film'.

Film Synopsis:

In the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, a group of prisoners with skills ranging from finance to forgery are put to work under the direction of a master counterfeiter manufacturing perfect replicas of foreign bank notes. As the Nazis plot to cause the collapse of the U.S. and British economies by flooding their markets with false bills, some of the prisoners use delaying tactics to forestall the plan.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I will as soon as I can for sure!

Websites: The Oscars, Die Faelscher (The Counterfeiters) (german)

Falco - Verdammt, wir leben noch!

2008-02-25T10:00:00.006+01:00

Damn it, we're still alive!

Saw the biographic movie about Falco on Saturday.

It's a really great movie about a really great artist.

I'm a fan of his music. Don't know much about his live, so I can't say anything about the truth in the movie.
But as far as I know only few people knew the real Hans Hoelzl; in public he always lived the role of Falco he had created.

I think Manuel Rubey was a good choice to play Falco. His voice comes close to the real one, although he can't be the original.

After the movie I just felt pity for Hans Hoelzl. A great mind who couldn't fulfill the expectations he had placed in himself.

Websites: The Movie (german), Falco (official - german)
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MC listened to: Falco - Out Of The Dark
via FoxyTunes

ABBA @ Manga Racino

2008-02-20T08:23:00.015+01:00

On Saturday 16. February we were at the Magna Racino in Ebreichsdorf for 'Dinner & Show'.

Before the 'Dinner & Show' we went to the gambling area. Well, luck wasn't on my side. But Julia won some money and was, of course, very happy about that.

We saw a great ABBA-Show with a lot of the greatest hits of ABBA, presented in two show-blocks.
The band's name is ABBAriginal. The ladies voices were great.

The Dinner was great too!
The dining hall was huge with an awsome interior.

Dinner was served in three stages during the show.
First the appetizer - ramson mousse with tomato vinaigrette - and the soup - truffled celery soup. Then there was the first part of the show.
After the first part the main course - corned chicken on ginger-lemongrass-risotto - was served. Tasted fantastic!
And after the second part of the show it was time for dessert - raspberry-vanilla-tartlet. Very delicious!

If you have the chance you really should come to the Racino for 'Dinner & Show'! You won't regret it!

Only one thing left to say: Thank you (ABBA) for the music!

Websites: ABBAriginal, Magna Racino
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MC listened to: ABBA - Thank You For The Music
via FoxyTunes

Audi A4 - 150.000 km

2008-02-12T08:56:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, at about 7.15 p.m., my car reached 150.000 km. About 19.000 km with me.

I am very glad I bought it. It's as reliable as expected.

Sometimes I still think about my old Audi 80 - it was a great time too, and I hope it's still doing fine.

Websites: Audi (at) & Audi (com)
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MC listened to: Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
via FoxyTunes

Audi R8 Superbowl ad

2008-02-07T11:08:00.001+01:00

Just saw this R8 Superbowl ad on another blog. (automoblog.net)

I love that car!

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MC listened to: KISS - Rock And Roll All Night
via FoxyTunes

Falco: Feb. 19, 1957 - Feb. 6, 1998

2008-02-06T10:40:00.002+01:00

Falco (Johann Hoelzl) was a superstar!
Today is his 10th obit.
His early death left a hole in the heart of music-fans.
He was the only Austrian musician who had real international success with hits like 'Der Kommissar' and 'Rock me Amadeus'.
Of course he also had to deal with all the ups and downs coming along with that business.
His style and attitude were so unique nobody will ever replace him.

Just on time the movie 'Falco - Verdammt wir leben noch!' (Damn it, we're still alive!) comes to theaters tomorrow. I am going to watch it as soon as I can.

Another tribute to his great work is the newly released DVD 'Falco Symphonic' where you can see a concert he gave in 1994 in Wiener Neustadt (my hometown) together with the Symphonic Orchestra of our conservatory. In long hours the video snippets were put together and the track of the orchestra was brought in new, because of the low quality of the original recording. But Falcos voice is from the genuine concert recording. On the according CD even his voice was taken from studio recordings to make it better.

Websites: Falco (official site in German), Wikipedia
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MC listened to: Falco - Emotional
via FoxyTunes

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

2008-02-01T08:10:00.000+01:00

Seen Yesterday.

I liked it a lot!
Well it's not what you would call a masterpiece, but there is unlimited fun, action and suspense.

What I didn't like was the fact that many things are achieved to easy. But who cares? - It's a movie.

The theories about conspiracies after the official end of the American civil war and about the presidents' 'Book of Secrets' could have been brought up a bit more and would have been a better storylline than just saving the family's name.

The first part of 'National Treasure' was much better but this one was funnier.

I think it's worth to be seen.

Website: National Treasure: Book of Secrets

The Bucket List

2008-01-31T08:50:00.000+01:00

Seen on Tuesday.

Fantastic movie! Really makes you think about life!

Billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) and mechanic Carter Chamber (Morgan Freeman), both suffering from cancer in terminal stage, end up as room mates in a hospital led by Edward.
As time goes by they realise that there are things they hav in common. Carter tells Edward that a teacher once told his class to write a list of things they want to do before they 'kick the bucket' - the 'Bucket List'.
Edward likes the idea and has the money, so they write the list together and start to fullfill the points.
They have a lot of fun but also moments of deep thoughts.

The movie shows in a fantastic way that you should always enjoy life and never wait for tomorrow to do something - someday there will be no tomorrow!

Website: The Bucket List

skiing on Stuhleck

2008-01-21T14:12:00.000+01:00

On Saturday my mother and I were skiing on Stuhleck.

We weren't lucky with the weather. It was raining the whole time.
When we arrived at the valley station we decided to give it a try. After a few runs we were already wet to the bones, so we had our lunch break early.
There are two positive things about bad weather - 1st: no long waiting at the ski lift - 2nd: enough free places in the ski lodges.
After lunch we just left one last time for the valley and quit.
As usual we visited my grandparents in Gloggnitz after a short stop in Maria Schutz. It's a nice small village with a nice church and a restaurant with the biggest and tastiest crullers I know. We always get some of those after skiing.

Website: Stuhleck

Fame - The Musical

2008-01-21T07:32:00.001+01:00

Saw it on Friday at the Stadthalle in Vienna.

Good show! Fantastic music!

The musical is not an adaption of the movie 'Fame'. The musical plays some years after the movie as you can hear from one of the teachers when she says: 'Nobody is interested in basic knowledge. Since the damn movie we are just the Fame-High-School!'

I think there could have been a better storyline. One student has problems with reading and another quits school to become famous in L.A. but dies in the end because of drug abuse. I missed a real continuous thread and so it felt a bit like there was no solid line to follow.

It's worth to be seen anyway.

Website: Stadthalle

I Am Legend

2008-01-14T08:08:00.000+01:00

Seen on Friday.

The movie gives a terrifying scenario of the world's future. Scientists have mutated a virus so it kills cancer. This 'salvation' doesn't last long. The virus breaks out and the caused epidemic turns humans to some kind of zombies.
Robert Neville (Will Smith) a brilliant scientist seems to be the only survivor and is somehow immune. He keeps up trying to find an antidote while fighting against the upcomming mental problems due to lonelyness. His only company is his dog Samantha and the liveless manakins in the stores.
The feelings of Robert Neville come out very good!

The only thing I didn't understand in the movie was the part when he recorded on his log that the infected people lost the rest of their social behavior. There are clear signs of social behavior in the way they act. They have some kind of leader and work together.

I liked the movie anyway!

Website: I Am Legend

Happy New Year

2007-12-31T15:17:00.000+01:00

My best wishes to all my readers and everybody else on our beautiful planet a happy new year!
May 2008 be more peaceful and a good year for all of us!

Elizabeth - The Golden Age

2007-12-31T14:30:00.001+01:00

Seen on Saturday.

Very good movie!
I don't know for sure if it's historically correct but I think it's not too far away from reality.

Plot:

Elizabeth: The Golden Age finds Queen Elisabeth I (Cate Blanchett) facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal.
Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of the late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla) with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada determined to restore England to Catholicism.

Website: Elizabeth - The Golden Age

Bee Movie

2007-12-28T12:00:00.000+01:00

Saw it yesterday.

Great one! Very funny!

Bees really do have a hard life making honey all their life which is then robbed by humans or bears. ;-)

There is also an important message in the story. Everyone does even with the smallest tasks something for the big whole. If the smallest wheel didn't turn the complete system wouldn't work.

It also shows that you can become more than the others tell you. Keep reaching for the stars!

I loved it!

Website: Bee Movie

Christmas celebration

2007-12-28T10:11:00.000+01:00

This year our family Christmas celebration was once again at our place.
Preperations were a bit stressful from time to time but the work really was worth it.

The Christmas tree was wonderfull. It's the straightest one I've ever found. The prices for the trees are rather high in my opinion. Our tree cost 25 Euros, an artificial one of the same size would cost about 50 and would pay of in the second year. But the beauty and warmth of mother natures real trees is just too sovereign and so we will stay with the real ones. Julia did a great job with the decoration.

The times before we had raclette but this year we decided to try it with cold cuts. It was excelent and more than enough. A great plus of cold cuts instead of raclette is the lack of intense smell.

And here are two photos of our beautiful window decoration. Julia just bought the one for the small window this year. Looks great!

I guess it was a wonderful celebration for everyone. To bad my granny couldn't come, but she had some serious pain in her back.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T22:46:00.000+01:00

I wish everybody all around the world a very merry Christmas and a peacefull time!

This should be time of freedom and without anger!

Peace to the world!!!

Picture by Thomas Kinkade

games convention in Eisenstadt

2007-12-10T10:21:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we have been at a small games convention in Eisenstadt. Not too big but very nice and of course not too many people.
A week ago there would have been a big one in Vienna but we didn’t have the time for that one. But I am sure that the one in Vienna was filled with people and really loud inside. So it was better to go to this one I think.

First we played ‘Jenseits von Theben’. A great board game!

You are an archeologist and have to earn knowledge by travelling and collection points in form of books, assistants and the people at the excavation sites. Then you have to go to the sites and ‘dig’ for archeological finds. As soon as you have collected enough finds you may organize exhibitions and collect additional points.

Second game was ‘Cluedo – Geheimnisse’. Pure fun!

In this version of Cluedo you can choose one of 50 secrets to solve. You have to go to the suspects’ houses and collect the hints which you write to your file until you know who did it and where the delinquent is hiding.

It was a great and funny day!

new retro style record player

2007-12-10T10:05:00.000+01:00

On Saturday I unpacked my new retro style record player. It looks fantastic! I love the design!

The sound of the integrated speakers is very good too. And the included radio works fine. Now I can even listen to a station which is nearly not receiveable in our flat in such a clear tone that it’s just unbelieveable!
All I have to do is to get my old records from my mother and then I can listen to that good old just real live sound – without digital enhancement – again after all these years.

The Golden Compass

2007-12-10T09:37:00.000+01:00

Seen on Friday.
That’s a great movie! A very sophisticated story that takes you on a fantastic journey.

The Characters are made up very well.
I have heard that the curch has some complaints about the movie - but I can’t figure out what their problem is. Maybe it’s that the people in this parallel universe have their souls walking beside them in the shapes of different animals called demons. I personally like this idea a lot.

I will not tell much more here – you should see it yourself! Don’t want to spoil! ;-)

Website: The Golden Compass

Christmas fair in Seebenstein

2007-12-03T09:06:00.001+01:00

On Saturday we visited the Christmas fair in Seebenstein. It's great! You walk through the castle park along the stands with Christmas decorations, gifts and of course a lot to drink and eat.
All along the way there are candles on the ground and huge torches. The route goes all around the big pond and creates a fantastic atmosphere.
To bad it was to dark to take some great pictures of the fair and the castle on the top of the hill without a tripod. But I found a nice one of a huge torch (or whatever these things are really called) on the web.

a**hole way of parking

2007-11-23T07:06:00.000+01:00

I know that some people are just too stupid for parking the right way, but what I had to undergo yesterday is just ridiculous!

The parking lots at our house are a bit small dimensioned and so it's not easy to park so that everyone is happy. I always try to be in the middle of my space because the idiot parking on the passenger side is sometimes a bit close to the left edge of his lot. I don't understand why he is so stupid. Would he park a bit closer to the right edge he (as driver) would also have more space to get out of his car. But that's not my problem, I leave some space on that side so he will not slam his door into my car.

The jerk to my left side also comes a bit cose to my lot often but until now I still could get - at least somehow - into my car.
Yesterday when he came home from work he parked so that his right wheels nearly were on the line. I could open my door just a few centimeters - just enough to get my arm inside.
Due to this stupid a**hole I had to go to the passenger side of my car, had to rip out the gear and push my car out of the lot to get inside.
I wrote him a short letter about considerate parking and put it under his wipers. Hope it will help.

Parking close to the left right side of the lot wouldn't be a problem if everyone did it, but as long as some don't it's just unfair and irrespective.

Sometimes I understand people who freak out and destroy things in anger. I wouldn't do that, but I understand it in some cases.

American Gangster

2007-11-22T09:58:00.001+01:00

Seen yesterday.

WOW!!! That's a really great movie!

Plot:

Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. As a result, his product is superior to what is currently available on the street and his prices are lower. His alliance with the New York Mafia ensures his position. It is also the story of a dedicated and honest policeman, Richie Roberts, who heads up a joint narcotics task force with the Federal government.

Based on a true story!

Website: American Gangster

games for my SE K550i

2007-11-21T08:07:00.001+01:00

Finaly I found some nice games for my mobile phone.
The sites - containing freeware and demo games and applications - are listed at the end of this post.

Games on my mobile:

3D Battle Chess
Cool chess game. Board and figures are displayed in 3D. When you hit the oponents figure (or vice versa) you see a short battle sequence.

Boulder Dash ME
It was one of my favorite games when I still had my old Commodore C64 many years ago. And it's still fun to play!
For those who don't know the game: You have to make your way through a mining gallery and collect gems. You have to watch out for hard rocks which can fall down and smash you.

Bubble Bash!
It's another adaption of good old Puzzle Bobble.
In the arcade mode you are on an island and have to solve some levels to get to the next section of the island. Some of the levels are pretty tough.
It's very nice and funny!

The Fast and the Furious - Fugitive
Nice racing game. As good as the can be on a mobile phone.

Guitar Legend - Get on Stage!
It's the mobile version of Guitar Hero. Great game on the phone too!

Heroes
Action game to the TV series.

Need for Speed Carbon
Nice racing game. As good as the can be on a mobile phone.

Puzzle Slider
That's the only game that was originally on the phone. You have to rebuild a picture or a row of numbers by interchanging two of the tiles.

Taxi
In this game you have to find passengers and bring them to their destination to earn money.

Tomcat Dogfight
Some kind of flight simulator. You sit in a F-14 Tomcat and have to shoot enemy planes.

Transformers
Mobile game to the movie. Very well done. Only soundeffects are missing. Especially the transformation sound would have been great.
Not to hard except for the boss fights.

Truck Depot
You have to drive a truck to the depot and clear the load before time runs out. Rather hard.

300
Mobile game to the movie. You lead a group of Spartans and have to fight all the enemies which are coming in small groups. I like it!

Websites:
Lasyk (different mobiles),
Getjar (different mobiles)

Audi comercials

2007-11-20T15:38:00.000+01:00

Just found some cool ads on youtube.

let it snow

2007-11-13T08:14:00.000+01:00

Today it's snowing again. This time the snowflakes are bigger. Maybe now the snow will stay for some time. At least it's a bit colder then on Sunday, so chances would be good.

first snow

2007-11-11T21:09:00.000+01:00

Today in the morning as we woke up - at about 8 a.m. - we could see snowflakes dancing in the sky. To bad the snow didn't last on the ground. But two hours later the world outside our window was covered with a slight film of snow.

A few kids immediately started sliding on the slope from the street to the house. It's great to see the smiling faces!

But this beautiful view wasn't for long. Soon snow stopped falling and the cover on the ground soon had melt away again.
In the west of Austria in the snow kept falling - in some regions really heavy!
Hope we will have real snow here too soon. At least a white Christmas would be great!

The Heartbreak Kid

2007-11-11T21:00:00.000+01:00

Seen yesterday.
I liked it very much. It's really great to see Jerry Stiller play Ben Stiller's father. He is as cool as in his role of Arthur Spooner in 'King of Queens'!
A lot of laughs and some weird thoughts and ideas about early marriage in the story.

Website: The Heartbreak Kid

rest in peace Nicky

2007-11-03T22:02:00.002+01:00

Yesterday in the evening my sister's dog Nicky died. :-(
He ways sick for a long time and now he passed away.
It is a very hard strike to the whole family as Nicky was a very loved and loving member of it.

We all miss him!

Museum of Natural History

2007-11-02T23:12:00.002+01:00

Today we visited the Museum of Natural History in Vienna.
It was my third or fourth visit already but the last one was some years (I guess about 12) ago.

The historic building itself is very impressive and has a wonderfull architecture.

We started at the geological section. The museum has a huge collection of minerals. I am not much into ‘stones’ but it’s fascinating how colorful they come. In the first halls you can see minerals, in hall IV beautiful gems and in hall V there you can see metoerites.

In hall V there is also a model of our planet resized to a diameter of two meters where different information is depicted. (for example: Earth by day and at night, sommer and winter, ozone concentration, sea temperatures,...)

Next we went to the anthropological section. Here you can see tools, potteries and jewelry from the beginning of mankind. It is interesting to see how people lived in early times.

In the following halls was the palaeontological department. I guess it’s one of the most interesting parts for the children who come to the museum. It’s just impressing how huge the dinosaurs were and what creatures roamed our planet. The Museum has a lot of skeletons and fossils.

After that we had a little lunch at the museum’s restaurant. Well, t’s a bit high priced but as the earnings are used for the preservation of the museum I would say it’s okay.

Then we went on to the zooligical section – the biggest part of the museum. Starting under the sea you see a lot of animals as you walk through the halls. First you see corals and deep sea animals,...

...then you come tho the insects and spiders followed by fish.

Afterwards come the amphibians and reptiles, birds,...

...and finally mammals and primates.

At the end we had a look at the new vivarium next to the entrance hall. A lot of living exotic animals like lionfish and colorful poisonous frogs and many other fascinating creatures can be seen there.

It was a wonderfull day!

When you go to vienna the ‘Museum of Natural History’ is really worth a visit! But you should plan a long stay inside to have enough time to see everything!

The museum also offers guided tours.

Website: Museum of Natural History

Lissi und der wilde Kaiser

2007-11-02T23:10:00.000+01:00

Saw it yesterday.
'Lissi und der wilder Kaiser' is the latest animated movie by the Bavarian comedian Michael 'Bully' Herbig.
The movie is some sort of parody about the Austrian monarchy mixed with a ridiculous story of the kidnapping of empress Lissi (parody of Elisabeth 'Sisi') by the Yeti who has a deal with the Devil.

It's better than other movies by Bully but it really not a must see.

Some nice jokes and laughs anyway but it could have been a lot better.

Website: Lissi und der wilder Kaiser

Sony Ericsson K550i – 2nd part

2007-11-01T15:24:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday I got a message from the shop the the new delivery had arrived. So I went there once again yesterday.
This time I tested the phone immediately at the shop and this time the speaker is ok.
I think I will stay with Sony Ericsson. :-)

cat-sitting

2007-11-01T15:15:00.001+01:00

Last weekend Julia and I had the honor of cat-sitting for the the cats of Julia’s sister Elisabeth.

Nicky (the black one) and Amy (the tiger) are such cuties. Both were really missing Elisabeth and Gery – especially Nicky. He was all the time just sitting and looking. Amy was a bit less troubled. At least she came to us when we put the food in their bowls.
She even played a bit with us for a short time.

I love these two sweeties!

my new Sony Ericsson K550i

2007-10-25T15:43:00.000+02:00

great phone with some troubles

On Tuesday I got my new mobile phone. A Sony Ericsson K550i.
It’s pretty cool!
The keys are a plus for the design but you have to get used to their size. After the first messages they are not a problem anyway.

The rest of the phone is like usual for Sony Ericsson good working, easy to find and just for learning by doing. The menues are really intuitive and you will get along with it very fast.

For further details just visit the SE-Website: Sony Ericsson

The only problem I had was the speaker of the phone. The voice was delivered very crackled and the crackling increased during each call. So I brought it back to the store yesterday and got immediatly a new one.
Same problem again?! That’s disapointing!
I didn’t test it at the store because I wouldn’t have thought that the new one had the same error. So I went the the shop again today.
They told me that the last piece they had was sold yesterday.
As soon as they get the new delivery the will give me a call.
Maybe that’s the best way. I guess that there is a production error within this series and maybe the phone of the next delivery will have speakers from another delivery to the factory too and so the problem could eventually be solved.

The people from the Sony Ericsson Service Center are really great and seem to understand what you are telling them. They told me at once that this goes as DoA (Dead on Arrival) and that I can just go to the shop and get a new one and the rest is up to SE.
The people from the shop were also very nice and it in deed wasn’t a problem to get the new phone.

When I told the lady from the SE Service Center about the same trouble with the new one she was a bit surprised and told me that they haven’t got a message about specific problems with the speakers but I am sure it won’t take long ‘til they get one. On the net I read some articles from people with similar problems with several models.

Now I will just put the K550i back into the packing and wait for the call from the shop.

I really hope that the next one will work fine and Sony Ericsson will be rehabilitated (for me at least). Until now I had a high opinion of them, but now it was slammed to the ground.
I don’t understand why a company that produces WalkmanPhones uses such crappy speakers for the phone.

Hang on for the update when I get the next one!