(Alternative title: Great way to spend ~30 minutes after finish organic chemistry lab early)
Hallo!
Willkommen zu mein fertig blog! (I think I just broke several rules of grammar... :|)
I took the suggestion for the final AMD, and watched the simpsons in German.
From the very beginning, I found I was able to catch much more than I would of been able to from the beginning of the semester. Including Homer going crazy over breakfast, for better or worse. (Aber... das Fruestuck ist nicht lecker :o). After Homer destroyed the robot, he said "Tut mir leid", which is a less formal way of saying I'm sorry. 911 was also said as "Neun eins eins"
Upon going to Moe's (Er hat mehr Bier getrunken!), he used the "du" imperative form to request preservative to keep the thumb fresh. (Aber... kaffee ist nicht gut fuer er gesundheit- das ist nicht die richtig [treatment].
I will acknowledge I did not understand the robot part at all, however.
Upon trying the other links, I found they were kaputt :( (Ah well...)
Anyways, thanks for reading!
Auf Wiedersehen!
When the robot died,
Posts mit dem Label Anthony Gobbo werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label Anthony Gobbo werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Mittwoch, 7. Dezember 2011
Dienstag, 15. November 2011
Kapitel 5 Kulture
Guten tag!
Heute, this post is on the assigned readings on kultur.
For the first article "Rules of the Street", I felt surprised and somewhat amused by the article. I am assuming that this is an exaggeration of how forceful people would be, but even if it isn't, it's different values than those in America, and I can't say it would entirely be for the worse. America...er... "thrives" off how thin-skinned we are, getting affronted if someone bumps into you, the whole political correctness shtick-... well, I'd rather get bumped around than have the willingness to have as much force of personality as a wet paper bag.
On "The land of beer, sausage, and sex shops", I have to say they did a masterful job of building up to the second paragraph, that one definitely is eye-catching. (I feel a little tongue-in-cheek as I say this...) My primary reaction for the actual content of the article is shake my head, but the way it was written... at least it was amusing.
As for Klofrau... well... *shrug* ok. Doesn't make much sense to me, but it doesn't really have much impact on me either. Kind of one of those assignments that you read, and it doesn't really ever change anything for you and you just feel like you have to talk about it... :|
In "Flirting with Fräuleins" I stuck more with the "He says" component, and it actually reminded me of the SMS article we read. (Inasmuch as the article stated how Men do not like to be as overt in expressing themselves, and along a similar vein, are much more subtle about it in German culture than American culture.) To that end, women are more accustomed to and comfortable with the more subtle flirtation, which is more intellectual and witty than overtly sexual- overall, that seems to be a plus in my book.
Well, I guess I have talked enough about the articles this week- until next time!
Tschuess!
Heute, this post is on the assigned readings on kultur.
For the first article "Rules of the Street", I felt surprised and somewhat amused by the article. I am assuming that this is an exaggeration of how forceful people would be, but even if it isn't, it's different values than those in America, and I can't say it would entirely be for the worse. America...er... "thrives" off how thin-skinned we are, getting affronted if someone bumps into you, the whole political correctness shtick-... well, I'd rather get bumped around than have the willingness to have as much force of personality as a wet paper bag.
On "The land of beer, sausage, and sex shops", I have to say they did a masterful job of building up to the second paragraph, that one definitely is eye-catching. (I feel a little tongue-in-cheek as I say this...) My primary reaction for the actual content of the article is shake my head, but the way it was written... at least it was amusing.
As for Klofrau... well... *shrug* ok. Doesn't make much sense to me, but it doesn't really have much impact on me either. Kind of one of those assignments that you read, and it doesn't really ever change anything for you and you just feel like you have to talk about it... :|
In "Flirting with Fräuleins" I stuck more with the "He says" component, and it actually reminded me of the SMS article we read. (Inasmuch as the article stated how Men do not like to be as overt in expressing themselves, and along a similar vein, are much more subtle about it in German culture than American culture.) To that end, women are more accustomed to and comfortable with the more subtle flirtation, which is more intellectual and witty than overtly sexual- overall, that seems to be a plus in my book.
Well, I guess I have talked enough about the articles this week- until next time!
Tschuess!
Dienstag, 1. November 2011
On getting mowed down
Guten Abend!
In this week's kultur posts, it appears the opening sequence involves getting ran over one way or another. In "Two-Wheeled Teutons, they warn the reader to not stand in the bike path- you will get ran over by a cyclist in a hurry. While i'd like to imagine common sense would prevail and if you see a bike rushing towards you, you wouldn't stay in the middle of it's path, I guess this needed to be said...? (The same logic applied for me in "The Red Dictator". I know in Ann Arbor, the logic doesn't really apply much- pedestrians abuse right-of-way here - but I spend most of my summer's in New York, and there... the philosophy is much more in line with Germany's view. Lets look at it this way: in the event that a person collides with the car, two things will happen: (1)- The car will get dented. That is a few thousand dollars, some time, frustration, and repairs... generally this will want to be avoided. (2)- The person getting hit gets dented. That isn't quite as easy to fix, and in New York some drivers will take it upon themselves as a challenge (like in Germany) to see how close they can get going as fast as they can to scare the stupid pedestrian. (In summary, there was nothing groundbreaking in those first two articles for me, and indeed, it seems very reasonable to me.)
In illogical logic, I find myself torn between amusement and sympathy for any hapless tourist taking the mickey. On the one hand, it appears like it is a glorified game of "I will make this as literal as possible, can you be completely literal?" But on the other hand... I guess this is just a fundamental thought difference that won't make much sense to me. (Why not follow the logical train of thought a few steps further for why they would be purchasing the ticket? This article leaves me confused and not terribly satisfied about it...) On the other hand, Fare Dodgers Beware made perfect sense to me. I personally wish that America -could- run off an honor system, but I cannot see that working too well as values shift. For example, I had my biochemistry exam yesterday and the GSI who was proctoring exited the room. Immediately I caught myself debating checking the answers for the exam (In the end I didn't, as cheating doesn't sit well with me...) but if it even crosses my mind, thats probably not a good thing. I told a few of my friends of my thoughts during the exam and a few looked at me blankly asking why I didn't do it. Das ist nicht gut! In this regard, I find myself envious (if slightly incredulous) of an honor system that can actually work.
And on the other hand once again... the final article (Disorderly Germans) had me confused me than anything else. I eventually decided (after staring blankly at the article for a minute) that the goal was to poke fun at the Germany philosophy/emphasis on Order (capitalization intentional!). Even then, I don't really see what function this serves, but nevertheless... kind of like the article on Getting Naked with the Germans- But in that case, i'll just peg that to a societal difference and move on with my life.
Well, I guess that is it this week!
Tschuess!
In this week's kultur posts, it appears the opening sequence involves getting ran over one way or another. In "Two-Wheeled Teutons, they warn the reader to not stand in the bike path- you will get ran over by a cyclist in a hurry. While i'd like to imagine common sense would prevail and if you see a bike rushing towards you, you wouldn't stay in the middle of it's path, I guess this needed to be said...? (The same logic applied for me in "The Red Dictator". I know in Ann Arbor, the logic doesn't really apply much- pedestrians abuse right-of-way here - but I spend most of my summer's in New York, and there... the philosophy is much more in line with Germany's view. Lets look at it this way: in the event that a person collides with the car, two things will happen: (1)- The car will get dented. That is a few thousand dollars, some time, frustration, and repairs... generally this will want to be avoided. (2)- The person getting hit gets dented. That isn't quite as easy to fix, and in New York some drivers will take it upon themselves as a challenge (like in Germany) to see how close they can get going as fast as they can to scare the stupid pedestrian. (In summary, there was nothing groundbreaking in those first two articles for me, and indeed, it seems very reasonable to me.)
In illogical logic, I find myself torn between amusement and sympathy for any hapless tourist taking the mickey. On the one hand, it appears like it is a glorified game of "I will make this as literal as possible, can you be completely literal?" But on the other hand... I guess this is just a fundamental thought difference that won't make much sense to me. (Why not follow the logical train of thought a few steps further for why they would be purchasing the ticket? This article leaves me confused and not terribly satisfied about it...) On the other hand, Fare Dodgers Beware made perfect sense to me. I personally wish that America -could- run off an honor system, but I cannot see that working too well as values shift. For example, I had my biochemistry exam yesterday and the GSI who was proctoring exited the room. Immediately I caught myself debating checking the answers for the exam (In the end I didn't, as cheating doesn't sit well with me...) but if it even crosses my mind, thats probably not a good thing. I told a few of my friends of my thoughts during the exam and a few looked at me blankly asking why I didn't do it. Das ist nicht gut! In this regard, I find myself envious (if slightly incredulous) of an honor system that can actually work.
And on the other hand once again... the final article (Disorderly Germans) had me confused me than anything else. I eventually decided (after staring blankly at the article for a minute) that the goal was to poke fun at the Germany philosophy/emphasis on Order (capitalization intentional!). Even then, I don't really see what function this serves, but nevertheless... kind of like the article on Getting Naked with the Germans- But in that case, i'll just peg that to a societal difference and move on with my life.
Well, I guess that is it this week!
Tschuess!
Montag, 17. Oktober 2011
Food, drink, and other tastes of culture
Guten Abend!
I started this week's kulture post by reading "An Obsession Explained", which offers an amusing description of various types of authentic alcoholic drinks. Oh, and remember to toast those around you! Of particular worth in this article was the various descriptions of how hung over you will be after imbibing the various drinks. To quote:
"Berliner Weisse is served mainly in an around Berlin and you really shouldn't allow yourself to be seen drinking the stuff. It's an embarrassment. At just 2.8 percent, the alcohol content is low and it is often served with a straw. Popular in the summer, it is served with a disgustingly sweet syrup that makes it green or red.
I started this week's kulture post by reading "An Obsession Explained", which offers an amusing description of various types of authentic alcoholic drinks. Oh, and remember to toast those around you! Of particular worth in this article was the various descriptions of how hung over you will be after imbibing the various drinks. To quote:
"Berliner Weisse is served mainly in an around Berlin and you really shouldn't allow yourself to be seen drinking the stuff. It's an embarrassment. At just 2.8 percent, the alcohol content is low and it is often served with a straw. Popular in the summer, it is served with a disgustingly sweet syrup that makes it green or red.
Hangover risk: Inapplicable. If you drink enough of this stuff to get a hangover, it's your own damn fault."
^That largely set the tone for enjoying that article. As drinking does not actually appeal to me however, the descriptions of the various drinks did not stick with me well.
The next article I read was "Capping the Bottle", which provided a nice counter-weight to the first article. This article discussed, among other things, the movements to tighten-up the public drinking laws in Germany, as public intoxication has strong correlation to increased incidence of crime. (Not a shocker at all...) Unsurprisingly, the idea of banning public drinking is as well-received in Germany as the prohibition was in the US. So the article describes various other measures they use to try to reduce public intoxication.
The final choice article I read was on Eco-centrism in Germany. That is to say, a movement in Germany towards organic foods. As a person who is going into medicine, and likely to major in chemistry, I have to say I can definitely agree with the philosophy- the amount of damage you can face from the chemicals used in food is both surprising and disturbing. [Tangent] An example of this is use of growth hormone to increase the size and weight of animals. Some of these growth hormones stay in the meat after it has been cooked, and has some effect upon consumption in people. This can force a body to grow beyond intended dimensions for the person, and this usually can (and indeed does) result in increased incidence of joint/bone/tendon issues. [/Tangent] Long story short, Germany gets a thumbs-up in my mind here.
After this, I moved along to the mandatory-reading articles, starting with Optimists are Idiots. I actually did not know how to take this article when I read it. On the one hand, I prefer to follow a philosophy of "hope for the best but expect the worst", so I could see a certain level of pragmatism to it. On the other hand... I had a hard time imagining that I could take this article as literally as it presents itself. (In other words, while I could believe there is a certain level of bias against excessive optimism, I could not believe it was as negative as it was represented.
As for Teutonic humor- Upon reading the article, I felt I would probably appreciate the Berlin or Hamburg varieties of humor the most, though again I felt it was probably more blanket-stereotyping, and not perfectly representative.
And thus ends this week's run on culture!
Tschuess!
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