Sunday, March 23, 2008

Atheist Field Day

Ok, ok -- I admit it. I don't really have that much to say, I only wanted to write that title. Well, and draw your attention to some of the issues that us poor Germans are told to worry about by the media. And a nice little basket of eggs it has become.

There is, first of all, the outcry by German politicians and bishops about the Hollywood blockbusters shown by private TV channels this Easter (Die Hard (1-3, too!), King Kong and Highlander).

Now there's a few people with nothing else to do .... Shouldn't they be in church anyway? Like you, dear visitor???

Second, the prohibition of the sale of condoms in a chemist's in the sleepy (but staunchly Catholic) town of Fulda in Hesse. The snag: the building that houses said chemist is owned by the Catholic church -- and condoms, as we all know, are the devil's work.

Fulda, one must say, has a reputation for harbouring silly ideas.

This is a doddle, however, compared to the most recent British terror: the fear of Nazi racoons. The sun has it's own characteristic view of the matter. I really and truly love that famous British humour ....

Less cuddly but chillingly beautiful are the oversized creatures discovered in the Antarctic. But beware ... giant Nazi starfish out on a slippery blitzkrieg -- and saluting, too. Next step: Polar Bears that look like Hitler.

For the more arty ones amongst you, a nasty review of Thomas Ostermeier's Mark Ravenhill/Martin Crimp double feature at the Berlin Schaubühne. Here's the trailer (yes -- these days theatre goes movie):




I reckon I gave up on "In-Yer-Face-Theater" after voluntarily exposing myself to Irvine Welsh's totally forgettable play You'll Have Had Your Hole in Leeds in 1998. Though I quite liked Ostermeier's production of Sarah Kane's Blasted. Well, it had Ulrich Mühe in it ....

Finally, in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, John R. Searle seems to get evolution completely wrong.

Happy egg-hunting everyone!

12 comments:

Francis Sedgemore said...

Fucking Fulda, eh? I know it all too well. Especially the living purgatory that is the town's railway station in the middle of the night, while waiting for a train to take me somewhere even vaguely interesting.

You will no doubt be aware from your regular reading of the esteemed organ the Daily Mail that Britain's bishops – Roman and Anglican – are currently making complete arses of themselves in public. It must be Easter!

https://obscenedesserts.blogspot.com/ said...

I didn't even know that Fulda had a railway station until now! That sounds like an awfully bad patch in you life.

Anyway, here's news on the cold war significance of Fulda.

But since you're a boy, you might know all that anyway -- like The Husband.

And another image of someone of whose existence you were once blissfully unaware.

Thanks for drawing my attention to the embryo problem. I would have never read Miss Phillip's latest keyboard spasm otherwise.

I was too busy reading Mr McCartney's satantic verses!

All best,
Anja

Francis Sedgemore said...

Bahnhof Fulda has a Wikipedia entry, so it must exist! Verily, Fulda is the Wolverhampton of Germany.

Ms Goody in a "catfight", eh? That looks more like what I believe is termed "girl-on-girl action".

You really must have a lot of spare time on your hands, Anja. Or are you preparing a second PhD thesis, this time on the English tabloid media? It's shitty work, but I guess someone's got to do it.

Mad Mel? Pah! Nowt but a raving bag lady.

JCWood said...

Wikipedia: trainspotting by other means.

How else would we know that 'Mast 9108' (a specific Abspannmast (AKA, 'Anchor Pylon') is 'besonders bemerkenswert' ('particularly remarkable'). (Look under 'Sonstiges' in the Fulda Bahnhof entry.)

And, no, I can testify that my better half's attention to the tabloid press is not part of a new project: she is, rather, an insomniac. Nothing like a late-night dose of Jade Goody to soothe the sleepless mind.

Really...you should try it.

Anja already has a post-doc diss. But she's considering a post-post-doc on how the absolutely amazing quantity of tabloid stupidity may eventually succeed in sinking a well-known archipelago off the coast of France.

These blog posts are just testing the waters...

Francis Sedgemore said...

That's as maybe, John. But there is every danger that cities such as Darmstadt will sink into the mud of the Rhine basin as a result of the masses of poor white German trash who feed on the local equivalent of The Sun and the National Enquirer.

JCWood said...

Luckily, Darmstadt is relatively far from the river, so all those Bild readers have a relatively stable foundation.

In any case, the best bit of Darmstadt is on a hill.

Screw the rest.

JCWood said...

Ooops, forgot to mention...

Thanks for the reminder of your very astute comments on the raving bag lady.

How does she get published??

Francis Sedgemore said...

Best bit of Damrstadt? Jugendstil yuck! :-)

For insomnia I recommend a nice strong spliff, and a shift in mental focus to images of fluffy little lambs a leaping. I have to say that close-ups of Jade Goody's tonsils don't do it for me.

Kris McCracken said...

Thanks very much for that wrap up. One would be forgiven for thinking that politicians might have more pressing concerns than what is on Pay-TV, but it appears not!

Also thanks for the tip off on the Nazi racoons. They are no doubt merely the first in wave after wave of fascist mammals that will destroy Britain. We are all very lucky that The Sun is out there to protect society.

I’ve included a link on my page regarding your eagle eye for the news: [...thanks to Obscene Desserts, whose alert eyes may well avert future catastrophes...]

https://obscenedesserts.blogspot.com/ said...

I'm amazed by the protracted correspondence a half hour's worth of clicking and pasting can generate. This is one hell of a rewarding experience (considering the long-term projects -- my own and those of others -- that I'm typically dealing with)!

Francis,

No spliffs here, I'm a civil servant! And so I was up at 3:40 this morning pondering life and the universe ....

... and the relative beauty of Darmstadt Jugenstil. Tame in comparison with some of that overblown Frog stuff.


Kris,

Thanks for your encouraging words (irony ... irony ... do I detect a wee bit of irony? :-)) and the link. As to the racoons: I found out afterwards that this story is already oooold and has generated a bit of a discussion amongst fans of Goering and co. Google "Nazi racoons" and you will come across all kinds of pages sporting runes and such.

All best,
Anja

Francis Sedgemore said...

No spliffs here, I'm a civil servant!

Yea, like, whatever.

Kris McCracken said...

If you spot any more Nazi animals on the move, please let me know, I'm always on the lookout! ;)

I am slightly concerned about these Stalinist turtles myself, and have a theory that an introduced pest down our way – the cane toad ¬– may hold Maoist or Trotskyite tendencies.

I find these things a welcome relief to the bureaucratic nightmares I face at work on a daily basis.

Please keep it up!