Das Kriegsspiel

The word “Kriegsspiel” is obviously German, as is its inventor a military writer from Schleswig, Georg Vinturinus, who in 1798 invented War Games on actual terrain. It was based on the “Kings Game” invented in 1664 by Christopher Weikhmann of Ulm, Germany, and on a game Helwig, master of pages to the Duke of [...]

You will never eat salad without thinking where it came from again

Whether we like it or not, we all know that part of the American wealth and our cushioned lifestyle is based on a huge workforce in foreign countries like China as well as immigrants within the US doing jobs most Americans won’t do. Not only won’t do for the small wages they pay, but probably [...]

Scorsese, DiCaprio and Classic Films

On the occasion of the director’s fourth collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island, which hits theatres this weekend, he let the LA Times know which movies he let his cast and crew watch to set the mood of this dark picture.
Come join us for film school with the master! Out of the six movies he [...]

Grammys for 3 Austrians

A Grammy, was posthumously awarded to Austrian jazz legend Joe Zawinul for his album “75″ in the category “Best Contemporary Jazz Album”.
One day I heard a pianist play `Honeysuckle Rose,’ … and I was hooked. I said, `What is that?’ He said, `jazz,’ which was a word I had never heard, and I asked [...]

Wonderlust at the new W in Hollywood

“Wonderlust”
- as the W Hotels printed on their CDs located in every guest room and on some banners at the newly designed building – has reached vibrant,
glitzy Hollywood in the process of redefining itself.
The impressive complex comprised of the W Hotels and the W Residences, apart from pretty much any hotel service you can think of, features [...]

Leonardo DiCaprio in NRDC PSA

Unlike the US, Germany has been a forerunner in striving to become the world’s first major renewable-energy economy. Scientists from the University of Kassel have proved in an experiment called Kombikraftwerk that Germany can power itself entirely by renewable energy!
Austria, granted a considerably smaller country than the US, has been going green for years and does not [...]

Avatar’s Na’vi use German Grammar

Who knew that German could actually be cool enough to lend it’s Grammar to the natives in the most successful movie of all times, Avatar’s Na’vi?
The natives of the fictional planet Pandora speak a made up language created by Paul Frommer a linguistics expert at USC.
Na’vi language is similar to Star Trek’s Klingon or to [...]

Helping Haiti

German Chancellor Angela Merkel encouraged more citizens to give to relief funds in an open letter published in Bild newspaper on January 19. “The people in Haiti need our continued support,” Merkel writes. “They need our solidarity.”
The Austrian Red Cross has a unit specialized in clean water and subsequently plague prevention. Specialists, among them two [...]

Miep Gies Austrian who hid Anne Frank and saved her diary

“I am not a hero, but did what seemed necessary at the time”
“Imagine young people would grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary [...]

Advent und Weihnachten in Wien

Advent in Wien ist immer eine ganz bezaubernde Zeit. Die ehemalige Reichshauptstadt versprüht besonders in diesen Tagen ihren weltbekannten Wiener Charme.
Christkindlmarkt und Adventzeit
Nicht verpassen sollte man den Besuch bei einem Christkindlmarkt.
Der größte und bekannteste Christkindlmarkt ist vor dem Wiener Rathaus, bemerkenswert ist das wunderbar beleuchtete Rathaus in dessen Fenstern ein Adventkalender zu sehen ist. Sehr [...]

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