Third Book Review: Fahrenheit 451

Hey guys!

Aaaaww yeah, another book review is coming up! Actually, this is not really a book review as I have not finished reading the book yet but I am going to tell you what this book is about until page 85. 

Book cover

Fahrenheit 451 was written by Ray Bradbury sixty years ago and is considered "a classic of world literature set in bleak, dystopian future". I actually did not plan to buy the book but when I saw the cover and read the first page, I was like "hm, I think I should read that piece". As university is pretty exhausting right now I don't have too much time to spend with reading.

The story is all about Guy Montag who is a fireman. The duty of firemen in this book is not to extinguish fire but to start it in any household where they can find books. Books are considered to make manhood unhappy because they are maybe written in the future (but people live in the here and now) or they are fantasy novels (unicorns are not real. One cannot own a unicorn = making people unhappy). Guy Montag believes in his duty and also thinks that what he does must be done. Everything changes when he meets a 17-year old girl named Clarisse. 

Ray Bradbury

I am definitely not going to tell you what happens next (oh yes. I'm only on page 85 and I know already. Get started to read it!!). 

The book was turned into a movie in 1966. I have not seen it yet (I haven't finished the book, remember?) but I am totally sure that I'm going to watch it as soon as I finished the book. I would like to know how the director of the movie shows firemen and I also want to know what Guy Montag looks like!!



I hope you are now interested in reading 'Fahrenheit 451'. Maybe you have already read it? What do you think about it? Leave a comment!

and..


keep reading! (:

U*k*u*l*e*l*e ♥♥

Hey guys!


I think I'm overposting, again and not for the first time, but I think I found a really nice topic to write about: MY NEW UKULELE!

A few posts earlier I told you that I turned twenty, right? As I was very clumsy in trying to play the guitar, my boyfriend bought an ukulele for me. On the right hand side you can see a photo I took. Its colour is purple, it looks kind of blue on the photo. I added the stars and the shamrock :)

I really enjoy learning how to play the ukulele. It is SO much easier than playing the guitar because it only has four strings and the chords are SO easy to strum! I was thinking about giving the ukulele a name but there was no name that came to my mind which satisfied me. I think it just needs an AWESOME name. I'm not talking of "Lulu" :D It's not a good name for it even though it's Hawaiian.
On the left hand side you can see a photo of me with my ukulele. I adore that cute little thing!!! :)
I would love to be once able to play the ukulele like the guy in the video is. He's awesome. It must have been soo hard learning how to do this!!

Isn't this a beautiful piece of music? Isn't this a wonderful piece of art? I love listening to the sound of his ukulele. His is bigger than mine but I think it might be possible to try to play it on mine. Maybe when I'm really able to play the instrument I'll try how to play the Bohemian Rhapsody. Maybe. :)

But first, I'll stick to listening to this guy while he plays it :)

What do you think, do you like the sound of an ukulele or do you like the 'normal' sound of a guitar ? Do you like both? Tell me, leave a comment! :)

Keep reading! (:

Corrected Culture Topic Essay

Hey guys!

One post earlier I told you about our Culture Days. So, here you can read what I talked about during my presentation!


CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

Humankind has always been fighting. Fighting for land, fighting for freedom, fighting for stability. War is a constant in human history. Whether in 333 in Issos or in the 1800s in America, mankind has never been reluctant to use force in order to fulfil its goals. When the Russian army invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the war between these two countries would soon become a cold war between Russia and the United States of America. The US wanted payback for the war in Vietnam, where Russia had “secretly” fought next to the Vietcong, providing weapons. The war between Afghanistan and Russia became a proxy war. The Cold War has had many heroes but there was one man who surpassed them all: Texas Congressman Charles Wilson.

Charles “Charlie” Wilson was a man who led a very eventful life. Born in 1933 in a small and conservative town called Trinity, Texas, he grew up as a devout Christian. This helped him to get elected to represent his district in the US Congress. Wilson was a man with many weaknesses of character. He loved women, alcohol -- mainly Scotch -- and he was accused of taking cocaine during a party in Las Vegas. However, in spite of these flaws he was a strong man who never broke his promises. In his last years he was known as “Can-Do Charlie” because he made it possible to beat Russia in Afghanistan by vastly increasing the budget of the American Defence Appropriations Committee. He was the first civilian to be honoured for his commitment by the CIA.

Russian soldiers invading Afghanistan was the start of a war Charlie Wilson would soon care about. Thousands of Afghan Muslims joined the Mujahideen, which was a guerrilla force. While Russia told the public that they had been invited by the government and were not invading the country, the Mujahideen declared a jihad – a holy war. First they were equipped with old rifles but America managed to play weapons into the hands of the Mujahideen. That was the turning point – the Mujahideen were finally able to defend themselves and their country successfully. According to Chris Trueman, a historian, the Russian Army used napalm, poison gas and helicopter gunships but they had to experience the same military scenario as the US had in Vietnam. The Mujahideen had proven to be a rough opponent for the Russians. Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia’s president at that time, had to withdraw the Russian troops when he realised that his army would not be able to win.

The woman who made Charlie Wilson confident about the war in Afghanistan was Joanne Herring. She was the sixth richest woman in Texas, very afraid of communism and had a very close relationship to him. In 1980, she contacted many influential people and tried to convince them that people in Afghanistan needed weapons urgently. Aside from that, she was sure that if Afghanistan lost the war, America would be next to be attacked. She was such a strong-willed person that Charlie Wilson was not able to say “No” when she informed him that she had organized a meeting between him and Pakistan’s president Zia. When Charlie flew to Pakistan, he also visited the big refugee camps with thousands of Afghans. All this pain and suffering touched him, so he made a decision.

He decided to contact the CIA. The man who was sent to him was Gust Avrakotos, a quick-tempered and confident man with a strong will, who would turn out to be his most important link to the CIA. With his help it was possible for Charlie Wilson to successfully make deals with the presidents of Israel and Pakistan. These two men promised to provide weapons so nobody could trace them back to the United States. This was necessary not to make a real war out of a cold war. When the Mujahideen were finally able to defend themselves they struck back hard and drove Russia out of their country. The CIA mission to supply Afghanistan was the most successful operation in CIA history. Making a big mistake, the United States stopped caring when the Russian troops were gone. That is why Charlie Wilson talked about having “fucked up the endgame” because they a the country that would have needed help to rebuild itself.

If Charlie Wilson had not been the confident and caring politician he was, the story might have ended differently. The Congressman and his commitment for another country in need remains unique up to this day. Although Charlie Wilson was a politician with weaknesses, he was the only Congressman to care enough to make a difference. This is what really impresses me especially because we live in a world where so many people have stopped caring about their fellow man.

I hope you like my essay! What do you think about it? Leave a comment! :)

Keep reading (:

Culture Days @ ITAT, yeeeeha!

Hey guys!

Past monday and tuesday we, the students of SUK2, did presentations on topics chosen by us. I am going to post my Culture Project Paper after this post, don't worry, you'll be able to read it :)

We had to watch at least 10 presentations, 7 of our home culture and 3 of the foreign culture. (We have two teachers. One is Irish, one is American. I'm in a group taught by both of them, this is why our group does not really have a home culture.)

The presentations I watched were:

• F.Scott Fitzgerald's Masterpiece: The Great Gatsby
• The reinventions of Malcolm X
• David Norris and LGBT rights
• Obama's drone war on terrorism and how it's reflected by arts and hollywood
• As American as smoking pot
• Ellis Island: The cradle of immigration to America
• Media violence in America
• Boston Tea Party
• Earnest Hemingway
• Captain America and Propaganda
• Black Power Movement Mexico Olympics
• Is Irish a dying language?
• Comparison of the Irish and Austrian Educational System

#1 The Great Gatsby

The presenter was Verena Belsky. The Great Gatsby is a novel published by F.Scott Fitzgerald in 1925. He lived with his wife Zelda (OH YES. Zelda - The Legend of Zelda! – That way at least the first thing I thought about when hearing the name :D) I NEEDED to tell you that fact because it was my favourite fact of the presentation :) I think Verena did a good job. She spoke loudly, slowly and understandable. It was noticeable that she was really interested in her topic what made it somehow more interesting to watch!

#2 The reinventions of Malcolm X

The presenter was Sarah Konrad. When I heard about the title of her presentation I had no clue what to expect. This is why I actually watched it. I didn’t know that Malcolm X had had numerous ‘identities’. My favourite fact of her presentation: He was once called ‘Detroit Red’ (Seriously?) and also El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. I think changing the identity, convictions and attitudes several times is a bit…hm, how should I express it…strange is a good word I think. I mean, no offence, I think he was a great man. The presentation was very interesting. Sarah also did a good job. Her Prezi (OMG I love Prezi!!!) was very well- structured. She spoke loudly, freely, understandable und slowly. I really liked her presentation!

#3 David Norris and LGBT rights
Actually, I hadn’t planned on watching this presentation but I happened to be still in the presentation room when she started to talk so I decided to stay and watch. The presenter was Katharina Luttenberger. I think her topic is very interesting because it’s very popular right now. (Conchita Wurst won the Eurovison Song Contest, but I think most of you know that, don’t you?) Katharina also did a good job, but I think she shouldn’t be sooo nervous. (Even if I think that I was really really nervous too when standing in front of all the students and talking about my Culture Topic.) She sometimes lost the thread and didn’t really know how to end a sentence and stuff like that. Fun Fact: She talked and talked and forgot to start the presentation. It was really funny because she was so enthusiastic when she talked that she just didn’t notice that she forgot completely about her PowerPoint presentation J All in all I think she did a good job J

#4 Obama's drone war on terrorism and how it's reflected by arts and Hollywood
The presenter was Jennifer Mächtlen. I think she did a really good job. She spoke absolutely free and had almost no text on her presentation. It was noticeable that she was interested in her topic and showed enthusiasm. She spoke loudly and clearly. I enjoyed watching her presentation. My favourite fact was that the issue of drones was discussed in the movie “Captain America: the winter soldier”. It’s not a fun fact, it’s just an interesting one J

#5 As American as smoking pot
The presenter was Szilveszter Szentes. I really liked his presentation because it is also a big topic in Austria (at least I think so). In my view he also did a good job in presenting his topic, although he was talking a bit quietly. My favourite fact of his presentation was that smoking pot was a symbol of rebellion during the sixties. I know that many many hippies took acid and this is why I think it’s interesting that pot was a symbol of rebellion. The presentation was well-structured.

#6 Ellis Island: The cradle of immigration to America
The presenter was Magdalena Prpic. I liked her presentation, but there were pictures covering some parts of the text of her presentation and I think she should have checked this! She was talking a bit quietly but I was able to understand her very well, though. Her presentation was very interesting for me because I didn’t know very much about Ellis Island. I am sorry to tell you that I didn’t find a favourite fact! If one comes to my mind later, I am going to update my post instantly ;)

#7 Media violence in America
The presenter was Lili Hegyi. I think she did a good job in presenting her Culture Topic. It was very interesting and I really liked the movie scene of ‘Pulp Fiction’ that she showed us. (‘I shot Marvin in the face’ ‘Why would you do that?!’) What can be improved is maybe that she shouldn’t smash the keys of the keyboard like she did. She was obviously interested in her topic and I really enjoyed watching her presentation. My favourite part of the presentation was the video she showed us (you might have guessed that :D).

#8 Boston Tea Party
The presenter was Lucinda Von Teichmeister. I absolutely liked her presentation because she had a very awesome prezi (and OMG I love Prezi!!). It looked like a newspaper article. For me her presentation was very interesting because I have heard the name ‘Boston Tea Party’ sooo often but I never knew what the whole thing really was about. My favourite fact was that tea worth of a million (or a billion?) dollars was thrown into the waters. I mean…it’s kind of funny, right? Or maybe it’s just me having a strange humour, who knows J

#9 Earnest Hemingway

The presenter was Jerneja Lojen. I liked her presentation because I got the feeling that she is an expert when it comes to Hemingway. She talked loudly and freely. My favourite fact was that Hemingway once said ‘The first draft of anything is shit’. It is an awesome quote, isn’t it?? And…actually, I think he was right. The PowerPoint was also nice.

#10 Captain America and Propaganda
The presenter was Anais Auger. What I liked most about her presentation was that she was wearing a Captain America t-shirt. I just thought that she had to know what she was talking about because it was obvious that she was a fan J Sometimes it was a bit hard to understand what she was saying and I had problems with following her. Maybe she should talk a bit more clearly and more slowly next time J

#11 Black Power Movement Mexico Olympics
The presenter was Eva Haider. I think that she did a good job in presenting her culture topic. I liked her PowerPoint presentation and she spoke loudly, freely and I had no problems in understanding her. There was only one thing that was not ‘perfect’ – her pronunciation of the word ‘Gesture’, but I really think that this mistake is not too bad!! J There is no favourite fact I could tell you about now, but there is one photo I really liked. Go to GOOGLE and tipe in “black power movement Olympics”. The photo I mean is the one with the two guys holding up their fists.

#12 Is Irish a dying language?
The presenter was Nina Mikusch. She was a bit nervous but I think she has such a likeable look that it just didn’t seem to be really so hard for her to talk in front of people. (Actually, I might be wrong. If you read this and you don’t think so, I am sorry and I think that I misinterpreted something. J )I do not have a favourite fact, but her presentation was really interesting because I didn’t know like anything about Irish!

#13 Comparison of the Irish and Austrian Educational System
The presenter was Simone Wohlkinger. I think that her presentation would have been sooo much better if she hadn’t been soooo nervous. Her topic was really interesting, but she was talking a bit quietly and even turned away from us while talking  (showed us her back) what made it hard to understand what she was saying. I think she should improve holding eye contact while talking. What could be also improved is that she was either looking at her notes in her hands, the screen or the wall behind her.

I really liked our culture days because I learned so much about….like, everything! J I hope I could pass on some good information to you guys!

Keep reading (:

Correction of my report

Hey guys!
A few weeks ago we had to write a report about a health-based topic. I decided to write about a vet's office.
What follows is the corrected version of my report!

Introduction

This report provides a summary of the findings of a customer satisfaction survey which was carried out over a four-week period during which the owners of the animals were questioned. The survey consisted of 150 evaluation forms as well as 20 face-to-face interviews with the owners of the animal patients. While the survey showed overall satisfaction with the premises and the vet, there were serious issues raised regarding the behaviour of the rest of the staff.

Premises
In general, the questioned people praised the premises for being light-flooded and having an appropriate size. The waiting room was felt to be big enough. There were similar results with regard to the treatment room. The cleanliness of the premises was also praised.

The vet

People's overall impression of the vet was very good. They praised her for being very pleasant and friendly and also appreciated her ability to remain calm in stressful situations. It was felt that the doctor truly cared about every animal and was not only doing a job. The owners questioned were also pleased by the doctor remembering their names.

The rest of the staff

One serious issue which emerged from owner responses was the rest of the staff being impatient and unfriendly. Several customers complained about having been left waiting for ten minutes or more while the receptionist kept talking on her private mobile phone.They felt this was not at all professional behaviour.

Recommendations

It is clear that certain points need to be addressed. I would strongl recommend banning private mobile phones from work in order to avoid situations like the one mentioned above. It is also essential to inform the receptionist about her impolite behaviour and is she does not see a reason to change it, the vet should consider employing another receptionist.





I hope you like my report!




Keep reading (:

PC 1: corrected writing task

Hey guys!

I totally forgot to post the corrected version of my writing task of PC1. So...here it is!

The most extraordinary restaurant serving typical Austrian dishes I have ever been to is 'Gasthaus Derflers' in my hometown, Ternberg, situated in Upper Austria. I went there with my boyfriend a few years ago. When we got in we were able to smell a wide range of odours and I got peckish instantly. Since everything was new at that time we could also smell that 'new-furniture smell' mixed with Schnitzel which is one of Autrias most known dishes,chocolate and cigarette smoke.

I can highly recommend ordering a garlic cream soup as a starter. I did and I was really satisfied. It was the best choice I could have made. The soup had a really smooth and creamy texture and was very well-seasoned. I was able to taste many herbs and I really like it when I can taste herbs in soups. My main course was 'Kaiserschmarrn'. If I were you, I would try it too. It was the best Kaiserschmarrn I have ever eaten! I do not know what kind of magician their cook is, the only thing I know is that his creations tasted like heaven. You should definitely not leave Austria without having tried Kaiserschmarrn at Gasthaus Derflers!

The staff is very nice and I am sure you will love the delightful atmosphere there. As the restaurant is normally booked out in the evening you're best going there around noon. I hope you will spend such a nice time there like I did! 



Sooo...this was my writing task of PC1 :)


Keep reading (:

20 - finally!

Hey guys!

I'm pretty sure nobody of you knew but I turned twenty this weekend. I wasn't having a big party or something but my boyfriend and me attended a tiny festival in Upper Austria. The location was amazing. Even though we had to walk like ten minutes to get to the actual location of the festival, we absolutely enjoyed our time.

Link to the homepage of the festival:
http://www.seewiesenfest.at/2014/de/


Directly next to the stages the people were able to go bathing in a branch of the river Enns. The water was sooo cold but as the sun was burning down on us we didn't care if the water was cold, very cold or ice-cold. I think we would have been happy with every kind of cooling we could have got. The photo on the left is one of my boyfriend and me. (Nope, I have no idea what I'm doing with my face. Has to be some kind of lip-biting. Looks a bit strange, I know :D )


One of the bands that had a gig there was "Keston Cobbler's Club". I "accidentally" watched their performance and in the end I was SO happy that I had seen them. They did a great performance. The band consists of 5 people. They play instruments like a tuba, two trumpets, a keyboard, an ukulele and "normal" guitars and they sang all their songs polyphonic - which is something I absolutely adore in songs. Check them out!!

We had a really great time at the "Seewiesenfest" and decided to go there again next year. I hope it will be as awesome at is was this year! Maybe some of you are from Austria, so this is a hint for you - Seewiesenfest, Kleinreifling, Upper Austria. Go there and have an awesome time! :)


keep reading (: 

The Australian Pink Floyd Show - the night of awesome!

Hey guys!

A few weeks ago I told you about me and my boyfriend going to the "Australian Pink Floyd Show". The concert was on the 9th of May. I have to say it really was an experience!! If they ever come back to Austria, go and buy tickets! -because they were absolutely awesome. 


Their best song they played that night was "Welcome To The Machine". It sounded absolutely the same as the original, it was really really good. I hoped for that but I didn't really expect it because it seems so hard to cover songs and if normal song covering is hard, how hard can it be to cover a song originally played by Pink Floyd?


I was overwhelmed. Even the lightshow was very lavish. (Some say Pink Floyd had the most amzing lightshows EVER in their live shows!) My post will include a video. The lightshow moved with the music - it was SO awesome to watch the hole scenario!! The quality of the video is not really the best because I filmed it with my mobile phone. It might give you an idea about how cool the song was :)



Here is the link to my google drive where I uploaded the video - it's too big to can be uploaded right here.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwb_eKla6iVzSTJNaV9kRWNwcVk/edit?usp=sharing

I hope it works - if it doesn't, please leave a comment and let me know!


The following video is my favourite song of the show - Welcome to the machine. I want to end my post with this beautiful song. Obviously it's the original version of Pink Floyd ;)

Keep reading (:

My favourite dish

Hey guys!

Do you like to eat? Well, I do. I really do. 

I'm sure all of you have this one special dish you absolutely adore - I have that one too. Mine is lasagne. 

It is a typical Italian dish that consists of a ‘Sauce Bolognese’, a ‘Sauce Béchamel’ and lasagne noodles.

If you want to prepare this dish at home you need to preheat your oven to 180 degrees and then start to prepare a ‘Sauce Bolognese’. The most important ingredient is onion. Your first move will be chopping an onion and two garlic clove into small pieces. When you are finished, put some oil in a non-stick frying pan. The moment you notice the oil is hot enough, put the onion and the garlic into the pan and stir-fry them until well browned. Stir in ground beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and a bit of water. Season everything with salt, pepper, oregano and two tablespoons of parsley. Let the mixture covered with a saucepan lid simmer for about 20 minutes. 

While the ‘Sauce Bolognese’ is simmering you start to prepare a ‘Sauce Béchamel’. This is a sauce consisting of milk, butter, flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. You have to start with melting the butter in a pot. Then you have to stir in the flour. Be careful! The mixture might stick at the bottom of the pot!

You have to stir in the milk. Be sure that the butter-flour-mixture doesn’t go lumpy. When you’re done bring it to the boil and season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. The Sauce Bolognese should be ready by now. Take an ovenproof dish, cover its base with lasagne noodles and put in a ladleful of ‘Sauce Bolognese’, then a bit less ‘Sauce Béchamel’. Then you have to cover everything again with lasagne noodles and so on and so forth until everything is in the ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the top of your dish with cheese and season everything again with oregano. You don’t have to season it again with oregano but it is my favourite herb. I adore its fragrant smell. I tend to season everything with oregano.The lasagne is now ready to be baked in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. 

If you try to cook it at home tell me if wether you liked it or not!

Keep reading (:

Another piece of homework

Hey guys!

Maybe I'm overposting right now, but I have to post a rewritten piece of homework we had to write a week ago. 

The text is a letter. Or, more detailed, it's a 'House Swap Letter'. In the letter I pretend that I'm going to do a 'house swap' with strangers. This is why they need to have some information how to get to our house and so on. So, the following part is what I wrote. (It's already rewritten)

Dear Marcella,

Thank you for your letter. My family and I are really looking forward to coming to your house! As promised I am sending you all the details you may need to know about our place.

Let me start by telling you how to get there. When you arrive in Ternberg, you need to turn right immediately after the police station. After about one and a half kilometres, you will come to a crossroads. Turn left and again follow the road. It's a pretty rural area, so don't be surprised if there doesn't seem to be much action. When you see a chapel and a fire station slow down a bit; otherwise, you might miss the small path one the left that leads to our house. Follow the path –the first house on the left is ours. You can park your car in our garage. You need a code to open the garage. The code is 4367. I suggest saving the code in your phone in case you forget it as you won't be able to get into the house otherwise. I will hide the keys for the front door in a flowerpot next to the front door.

As I told you our house is a little farmhouse. Please look after our animals! Do you have experience in handling horses? If so, you are allowed to go horse riding. Our horses are fed fresh hay. This is already prepared and only need to be fed to them.

We also own some cats and have bought some extra milk and cat food for them. Buying food for our cats is nothing you need to care about. There is plenty in the base cabinet in our kitchen. Please feed them two times per day and mix the milk with a bit of warm water. I suggest you feed them every morning and evening as they are already used to it.

If you need anything, there are some shops in the city centre. If you want to buy some bread, then you are best going to Kleindl. There are also a couple of supermarkets where you can buy your food. If you want to see the beautiful countryside, you are best hiking up the “Schoberstein” which is a small mountain in Trattenbach, a neighbour village of Ternberg. If you would like to eat out, I can recommend a restaurant that is called “Derfler’s”. They serve very good food there, but I have to warn you – it is a bit pricey. If you want to go out at night and have some fun, you should go dancing in one of our pubs. There is also a well-known discotheque called “Monte” where famous DJs spin the discs.

If there is anything else you need or if you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch!

Regards,

Michaela

What do you think of my letter? Are there still many mistakes in it I didn't notice?
Please, leave me a comment :)


Keep reading! (:

It's gonna be our summer!

Hey guys!


Even though it's only April I am already thinking about what I'm gonna do during the summer holiday. I also have already plans for the warm months (May and June). Wanna know? :)


My boyfriend, some friends of us and I are going to attend several concerts and also one or two festivals!

First:
The Australian Pink Floyd Show

The Australian Pink Floyd is a band that covers original Pink Floyd songs. I have heard that they do such a great job in covering that the songs sound almost the same! I'm excited to see them live and I hope they are really THAT good. That would be awesome :)

Second:
The Naked And Famous

The Naked And Famous is a band from New Zealand with a very intersting style of making music. I really enjoy their songs and I'm very looking forward to seeing them live in Graz!! :)

http://thenakedandfamous.com/

Third:
Acoustic Lakeside Festival

The Acoustic Lakeside Festival is a small festival with only around 2000 people. It takes place in Carinthia and the festival site lies next to a beautiful lake. My boyfriend and his best friend attended the festival last year and they were so overwhelmed because the  people had been so nice and everyone was so free with anyone they met!
You want to see photos, videos or just wanna know more about the festival? (sold out, by the way) check out the following link!

http://www.acousticlakeside.com/

I'm sure I'm going to write a post about every event. So, don't worry, you'll stay informed :)

Have you heard of the bands or the festival? What do you think of them? Leave a comment! :)

Keep reading and have a nice weekend (:

Why I love cooking - rewritten paragraph

Hey guys!

In class we had to write a paragraph why we love/detest cooking, about the worst cook we know or about the most delicious meal we've ever eaten. I decided to write about "Why I love cooking".

The following text is what I wrote. My teacher told me to rewrite the last part because she lost interest in reading it. This is why I'm going to post the rewritten version - I don't want you to lose interest in reading my paragraph :p


Why I love cooking

If I had had to write this paragraph two years ago I definitely would have chosen the adjective “detest”. Back then I was a student in a school where cooking and service were compulsory subjects and I absolutely did not like my teacher so these could be the reasons for me not liking to cook. Immediately after I finished school I realised that cooking is actually not a bad thing. Not having someone watch your fingers while you prepare a meal felt like a new kind of freedom to me and I realised that cooking is something that brings your creativity to life! Personally I think that it feels absolutely great if my meal is delicious! It actually makes me more self-confident. In my view the greatness of cooking lies in doing something with your own hands and the best fact about is that you can eat a delicious meal after putting a lot of effort in cooking!


What do you think about it? Are there still many mistakes?
Please leave me a comment. I would really like to know what I could do better!



Keep reading (:

German literature ♥

Hey guys!

I don't know if I ever told you that I absolutely adore German literature. Fact is: I do! 
A few days ago I bought myself a bunch of old "Reclam"-books.


Reclam is a German publishing house that mostly publishes German literature. At least I think so. If you want to know more about Reclam, click on the following link! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reclam

Back to topic. On Facebook there exists a flea market where I found those books. I bought:

• Friedrich Schiller: Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and love)
• Henrik Ibsen: Gespenster (Ghosts)
• Franz Grillparzer: Wehe dem, der lügt! (Woe to him who lies)
• Gerhart Hauptmann: Bahnwärter Thiel
• Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Iphigenie auf Tauris (Iphigenia in Tauris)

Do you know something about German literature? About Friedrich Schiller or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? No? Ok then, let's get it started!

Schiller and Goethe are considered to be two of the most influencial German authors during 'Storm and Stress'. It was a proto-romantic movement in German literature and music from the late 1760's to the early 1780's.

In my view this is a very interesting topic. If you want to know more, just click on the following link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_and_Stress

I actuall have not read the books above except for "Bahnwärter Thiel" so this is the only book I am able to tell you something about. 

Bahnwärter Thiel is one of the most important written pieces of German literature during Naturalism (literature!) written by Gerhart Hauptmann. It tells the story of a level crossing attendant who lives with his wife and his two sons in a small house. His wife has a very dominant personality and doesn't like the older son because he is not hers. She only cares about her baby. The story gets really exciting and thrilling. I can absolutely recommend reading that short story! My 'Reclam-book' only has 42 pages so it won't take you very long to read it. 

If you have already read it, what do you think about it?
Leave a comment! 


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Back in time!

Hey guys!

Have you ever wanted to get back the "old fashioned style" of music? Well, I always did - and now I got it back! 
My boyfriend and me bought an old record player and asked our relatives if they have any old records they no longer need. 

Here are my favorite records we got!

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Pendulum & Cosmo's Factory

  This is a double record with two albums. I think the number one song all of you now is "Have you ever seen the rain". 

Have you ever seen the rain 

I adore CCR, mostly because the voice of their front singer is remarkable. All of their songs have a nice melody and also nice lyrics.

Barclay James Harvest - Time Honoured Ghosts

I actually have no idea why BJH did not became as famous as Pink Floyd or The Beatles. In my view they also did a great job in making music!
My favourite song on this record or maybe the funniest song on this record is "Titles".

Titles

You may ask now what might be so special about this song - I tell you. This song is all about songs released by The Beatles! This is why the song is called "Titles". When you listen carefully you'll hear it instantly. 

Jethro Tull - Aqualung

"Jethro Tull" is a classic rock band. However, they are not as classic as you may think now. Their front singer plays the flute (and often plays solos with it!), they have percussions, organs AND a mellotron!

I couldn't decide which song I like best. This is why I linked you to their full album. Listen to it and decide for yourself which song you like best!
Jethro Tull - Aqualung

Tschaikowsky Ballet-Suiten 2 - Sleeping Beauty & Swan Lake

This is my favourite record of Tschaikowsky. He is my favourite composer! 

Swan lake - scene 10

This piece is normally much longer but I didn't find a video that had all the nice parts in it so I chose this video.

The best always comes at last! Be prepared!

The most impressive records I own are:

Mike Batt with The London Symphony Orchestra - Schizophonia

 I didn't know Mike Batt until my father told me about him and showed me the record. I listened to it - and I was kind of flashed! I have never heard such kind of music. Mike Batt is a very popular british singer & songwriter.
Listen to:

Voices in the dark/Don't let me be misunderstood

Mike Batt and Friends - Tarot Suite

 Mike Batt has an incredible style and is also unbelievable creative. He took some tarot cards and wrote pieces of music based on the meanings of the cards. There are two songs on the record I like very much! 
First:

Introduction (The Journey of a fool)

I'm sorry for the bad quality of the photo on the right hand side. It was taken with my mobile phone and the light was crap..
Anyway. A second song I absolutely adore on this record is:

Imbecile

I hope that you listened to the songs and that you enjoyed them! Maybe you'll change your taste of music now, who nows? :)

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Yara - the most perfect dog one could own :)

Hey guys!

Today I want to present to you my lovely dog Yara. 
The photo has been taken a while ago but she doesn't change much so I thought this photo still is perfect for introducing her to you :)
I already thought about writing about her last semester but then I just forgot.. so, here comes finally a blog post about my dog!

Yara is an Australian Shepherd Dog. The colour of her fur is called "blue merle". When I decided to buy a dog it was clear from the beginning that I wanted to buy an Australian Shepherd because these dogs are incredibly smart, active and have a lot of energy. One fact I have to say: She's not thoroughbred. Those dogs are pretty overbred. There are many that come with overbreeding! This is why I wanted an underbred Australian Shepherd. The mother of Yara is an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie crossbreed.

If you want to read more about this breed check out this link! 

http://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds/herding/australian-shepherd.html

The picture on the left was taken when she was around 8 weeks old. I took her home with me on January 8th, 2012. This was one oft the best days in my entire life. Having a dog is something you can't compare to anything else! She was "my little baby" :)




Australian Shepherd Dogs were originally used for sheep herding. Today they are also used for sheep herding and other herding rituals. These dogs are incredibly useful for these things because they WANT to learn all kinds of things. They are thrilled when they think there might come a new command from their owner and they WANT to fulfill everything their owner wants. So this means, if your Australian Shepherd Dog is trained well, you can do ANYTHING with this dog. 

I once tried to give her a new command and it took Yara about 5 minutes to get it. It's almost unbelievable that there are animals which are SO smart!

Yara isn't the only dog in our household in Upper Austria. Our second dog is a Bernese mountain dog. Even though this breed is also overbred we bought a thoroughbred Bernese mountain dog. We didn't regret it!                                 Btw, his name is "Benji" :)

Having a dog means that you also have to care about the dog. You have to go outside with it and you also have to busy yourself with your dog - no excuse. Even if you are busy with studying or something else - always keep in mind, your dog needs you! Think about it before you buy one. There are so many dogs that live on the streets. 

She always loves to sleep on my couch - on her back.

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