Versailles Fizzle – Jour des Chats Edition

We planned to celebrate 14 juillet by attending the German-French friendship fest. All began well: bumper cars! bungee jumping! mini-airplanes! roasted, sugared almonds! the Tiger feeling horrid on one of those “Himalaya”-style rides (or so they were called in my childhood) that consist of speed, minor up-and-down bumps, and a disco-ball plus smoke machine.  (He loved [...]

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Musings on the Frauen-Weltmeisterschaft (aka Women’s World Cup)

I’ve been following the Women’s World Cup from my perch here in Germany. Herewith my random observations: As long as the German team was still in the running, there was a fair amount of public excitement. Of course it was only a fraction of the fever that erupts for the men’s team. In both 2006 [...]

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Caturday All Year Long

Technically, there are not any cats in the old Al Stewart song, “Year of the Cat,” but its lyrics are evocative and elusive, so maybe there’s feline element to it after all. Even though I’m now old and jaded enough to roll my eyes a bit at its “mysterious exotic woman” trope, I still love this [...]

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The Best Possible Outcome in the DSK Case

I’ll say right now that I think Dominique Strauss-Kahn most likely did sexually assault the maid at the Sofitel who accused him of rape. The prosecution originally claimed to have compelling, virtually conclusive physical evidence. That evidence hasn’t evaporated along with the alleged victim’s credibility. But I can understand why prosecutors may have to drop [...]

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The Best Composer You’ve Never Heard Of: Marion Bauer

Well, I don’t know if she’s truly the best, since by definition I’m unfamiliar with the other composers I’ve never heard of. But Marion Bauer is pretty amazing, and it’s a damn shame she’s nearly forgotten. This post is my little contribution to publicizing a piece of newly recovered music history. I encountered Marion Bauer [...]

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“I’ll have a martini, very dry, with a Glock on the side, hold the olive.”

I leave my adopted state, Ohio, for my annual summer sojourn in Germany, and this is what happens! Nothing but lunacy! Ohio’s Governor Kasich just signed a bill allowing bars to allow people to carry concealed firearms into bars. As Slate puts it: “Because nothing goes better than guns and crowded places …” Ha! I [...]

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