Voelkerwanderung

Reading/hearing the controversies about the NEW migration regulations - history surely comes to mind, again. Everything in one form or another has already "been".

Is it all a "much ado about nothing"?

Much earlier many people migrated from the East to the West...from the Steppes to the Mediterranean. Some were Avares, Langobards, Goths, Huns, Tatars, etc. Although some migration could be called invasion..Magyars, for example. Some people (Moors, Berbers) also migrated from the sands of North Africa/Arabia to find new lands to dominate.

Then they migrated from the East and South of Europe to America and made America what is it today.. a polyglot country of adventurers.
Most came before strict rules and quotas were established, but came legally and strove to integrate themselves as soon as possible, learning English to better communicate, ensuring their children study hard, most to become college educated.

People also migrated from India to Africa to find a better life, till dispersed when African nations became independent, so they migrated to America/Canada/Australia!

And now we see further migrations by Africans to Europe and even on to America, from South - and Mesoamerica to the USA and Canada. From Asia to Europe, Australia and America. Some come to escape persecution, most to better themselves economically.

Some new immigrants now refuse learn the LEGAL language of the country to which they migrated, refuse to adopt the prevailing code of conduct/dress/mores.

So it seems, this staunch adherence to their old lifestyle, may truly be the cause of the adverse reactions by the peoples in those countries, who must have forgotten, they they too, were migrants, ONCE!

And I DO include American Indians who may have migrated from Asia across the Bering Sea land bridge.

It is understandable that everyone wishes to prevent ILLEGAL entrants who may be affiliated with today's criminals/terrorists.

If persons truly wish to come here to WORK, there are options to legally apply for temporary work status.

I should like to quote Abraham Lincoln here, and give the reader food for thought:

"As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.

We must disinthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country"

December 1, 1862 in his second message to Congress!

Now, I do know this has NOTHING to do with either the arts nor hockey, (well... one could say

that hockey players do migrate a lot, too ;-D!)

But following the disastrous oil spill, it is a burning issue for lots of people.

One day behind - One Euro short

Having divorced Twitter some time ago ;-(,
just found out that Aeros will not only have a new head coach
(Mike Yeo)but also a new (well actually also old Aeros) equipment manager Bronwell.
For more details feel free to head over to The Third Intermission/Russo's Rants.
As far as Aeros fan faves are concerned, Anton Khudobin "the famous "Dimples"- as well as Matt Kassian ("The Kassassinator") have received qualifying offers from the Wild. Welcome back, old friends as presented by Cabaret Singer Ute!!

Alles Neu Macht der "Karl May"

Karl May als Old Shatterhand und als
Kara Ben Nemsi, zwei seiner Titelhelden.

Beim Durchstoebern meiner Buecherkiste tauchte eine Taschenbuchausgabe (neuaufgelegt so um die 80er) des Karl May auf, und so verlor ich mich auf eine Zeit darin.

Alte Freunde, wie "Old Shatterhand" und "Winnetou, der Rote Gentleman", nahmen mich wieder in Anspruch. Komisch, als Kind war ich so fasziniert an seinen Buechern, und verschlang -ich glaube- fast jedes das ich auftreiben konnte, mit Riesengusto!

Aber als Erwachsene Leserin war ich etwas enttaeuscht. Ich fand das Deutsche sehr holprig zu lesen, die Dialogue aeusserst altmodisch und langatmig, und, um ehrlich zu sein, auch langweilig. Niemand kann soooo wunderbar sein, soooo nobel, so....na, eben fade! Wohin entschwandt das, damals, dem Kinde so romantisch und aufregend Erschienenes?

Natuerlich zeige ich dem Author Respekt, dass er, NUR mit seiner Phantasie bewaffnet, diese Geschichten ueber den "Wilden Westen" und die Arabischen Laender schreiben konnte. Seine erfinderische Gabe machte seine Leser damals sehr mit Amerika vertraut, was so manche zum Auswandern anregte.. zum mindestens in die USA.

Aber auch die Nobilitaet der Beduinen hat er sehr unterstrichen und damit vielleicht auch die Stellung der Deutschen in den Jahren 1933 und vorwaerts, denn Hitler ruehmte sich als seinen Verehrer, gepraegt. Die Anzahl seiner Buecher liegt fast in den Hunderten, und noch immer werden sie neu aufgelegt. Winnetou, Old Shatterhand und andere Helden wurden uch gebuehrend in Filmen verewigt. Als amuesante Anekdote, Schriftsteller Carl Zuckermann taufte seine Tochter Maria Winnetou ;-)! Zahlreiche KARL MAY Festivals bezeugen das konstante Interesse an ihn und seinen Romanen.

Die Romane von James Fennimore Cooper regte die Europaeischen Leser ebenso an! Und als dann um 1887-91 oder so, die reisende Truppe von Bill Cody, dem beruehmt-beruechtigten Buffalo Bill, mit seinen Indianern, Scharfschuetzen, Buffalos, Pferden und Stagecoaches nach Europe kam, tauchten eben diese Leser im 'romantischen' Wilden Westen voellig unter. Bewunderten Annie Oakley,

fuerchteten die Indianer, jubilierten den 'rettenden Helden" zu, die die Stagecoachreisenden beschuetzten....

Derzeit, so lese ich gerade, gibt es in Mainz bis Oktober eine Sonderaustellung dem "Buffalo Bill" gewidmet.

Have YOU jumped onto the band wagon yet?

For certain, soccer IS a passionate sport ;-)! Growing up with soccer in my native Austria, I attest to that.

But from the standpoint of a late comer hockey addict, it truly galls that the coverage of other sports, takes up more space in the media, even during the Stanley Cup Play offs.

Sure it IS amusing to see a soccer player named KAKA (yes, dear Viennese friends you read that right ;-)! Real name Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (he'd have to have a huge jersey to print all those names ;-)!

Or NENE (no, not after the Hawaiian goose).. and such other nicknames.

For sure it is a lot easier to pronounce that, than the often very long real Brazilian or Spanish names with their mother's and father's names attached and interspersed with the obligatory de, dos, or whatever!

I even enjoy the occasional football and basketball ones.

Rugby is OK, too, but cricket (sorry, Anglophiles) is not.

Polo, yes, mostly because of the smart, well-schooled ponies-not because it's a hip thing to do ;-)!

Golf, with or without Tiger, makes me want to go sleep.

Tennis - I can take or leave, more leave than take, though.

Do so love to watch skiing, sledding, luge, ski jumping,

Nordic combination etc. especially snug ;-) near a fireplace!

Hey, I may watch bowling (maybe), boccie, horseshoes, archery, and such.

I might be tempted to try curling, might, I say!

The lure of Baseball, dear American readers, simply is no lure at all.

BUT HOCKEY-YESSSS!

The scrunch of skates, ice spumes flying, pucks skittering, the sounds of hits that wobble the glass, cowbells, the horns, less so the perennial chant, impugning certain actions of the OTHER goalie, of fans when WE goal.

And the dead silence, even those boos, when THEY goal.

Hockey books, DVDs and such will be scant solace during the few months ahead.

And even more so for many other fans who do not have the passions for the arts, opera and the like, which , luckily, I do!

So naturally, I suffered with The Texas Stars in their loss of the Cup. But did find the super team work by the Hershey Bears, well, really rather superlative and exciting to watch.

It was truly amazing to see these guys, so well oiled and long schooled in team work, take over the games 3-6, with no let up! The reason, IMO, the Stars won the incredible first 2 games at Hershey? Heck, the Bears surely underestimated their foes and ...

Then they came back with a vengeance to simply out skate, out shoot, out score and out smart the Stars. And having some refs being 'blind' did not hurt either, too much! Despite Brent Krahn, fresh from injuries, stop 32 shots.

And again, in my modest opinion, whenever the Stars collected penalties, many times out manoeuvred by the other team with, the help of the soi disant 'blind' refs... the Bears scored.

Vroom, Vroom - Bikers !!

Well, it would have to be..
the same weekend we are in Austin for the Stars vs. Bears games 4 and 5...
the town was full of bikers in all their regalia,
including their 'mamas' ;-) (is that the right term?)!
And proudly showing off tattoos!
(No, we did not get one, even a tiny one!).
And to be fair, a few gal bikers with their 'daddies ' (? ;-D)!
So we had to be hotel nomads to stay that extra night (Game 5) -
And certainly never OVERSLEPT! Varoom, Varoom!
Austin town reverberated, the highways and byways became bike lanes (almost) with big signs everywhere "Share the road with a biker" or "Look twice for bikes".
But not a one said 'Use of earplugs strongly suggested' ;-)!

We spent some time Thursday at the (ah, so blessedly quiet and cool)
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art

The Texas State History Museum

(yup-it DOES have a LONE STAR Bronze in front on the plaza !

And on Friday at the LBJ Library.

From the JSB Museum of Art:

A really grand Staircase ..what, you did not bring your scuba mask?

Picasso's humorous sketch of Balzac;

a colorful Installation -obviously misnamed ( LoL )-

"Two in One" - I counted `19 elements, ;-) -

but a haven for kid sketchers.. which were there in abundance that day!

A huge wall hanging (aluminum/copper wire) by

Ghanaian El Anatsui (a favorite) oh, those waves of aluminum platelets!

Quite dizzying looking at it sideways! ;-)

being mystified by Jo Baer's "Horizontal Tiered" (empty canvases?);

next to Alejandro Puente's "Estraction" - let me guess it' the red being extracted ;-)

- and the meaning of it all is what?

Sorry, must be obtuse-just don't see much in these 2 art (?) pieces,

well, maybe the Puente is spatially acceptable... but the Baer?

Ben Shahn's "From that day on", a study in blue

(kinda like it-reminiscent of Picasso's Period Blue, maybe);

And Jorge Eielson's "Quipos 58B"-

a white on gray montage in homage to 'Incan accounting' LoL!

A bit of LBJ.. quite humorously talkative in wax,

ensconced in bronze on the balcony (rear )

What a 'paper collection' ;-),

the presidential stacks.

And the 'icing on the cake", an exhibit honoring

Walter Cronkite

(war correspondent, reporter, anchor man, space research promoter,

adventure traveler and story teller,

for me forever "The Voice of the Wiener Neujahrskonzerte"!)

Stars do not go quietly..you don't have to look ;-) with pics

Cedar Park on Game 5!

"Entrance of the Gladiators" with set jaws and steely looks (for the OT)

Matt Climie, Mathieu Beaudoin

Jamie Benn andScott McCulloch

Aaron Gagnon and Dan Jancevski

Trevor Ludwig and Ray Sawada

Brent Krahn, the B.U.G. for game 5

NR. 26 on look out!

Sad looking Bear in " box" - battered at by gremlins ;-)!

Hershey Bears-celebrating- another win, in Overtime,

to head home at 3-2.
7084 screaming and hyped up Stars fans, and few Bears fans sprinkled amongst them. If screams had been goals, the Stars would have won by 1000's ;-)

The Texas Stars DID NOT make it easy for them.

They fought and did battle with energy and to the, IMO, loudest acclamations by any fans in the almost sold out arena.

Texas Stars got on the board in the 1. with a PP goal by Gagnon.

The Bears came back in the 2. with the goal by Bouchard,

and that's how it stayed through regulation.

Giroux of the Bears got the winning goal about halfway into OT. each team just had 2 penalties! This was one of the fairest refereeing we've seen...both teams got away with murder.. unseen ? or ignored by a seemingly overwhelmed referee?

Right in front of my eyes, a Bear player (names withheld by author ;-) kept a Star player from skating after the puck by hanging on for dear life to his jersey tails! Another time, the stick was between the legs of the opposing player .. but did the ref. see it? Apparently not, even though he hoovered just a few feet away!!! Blind justice? Or incompetence by a ref out of his league.

As I said as FAIR a piece of officiating.. blind to both sides' refractions....

Climie did stop 41 s.o.g.s out of 43, while Neuvirth saved 35 of 36. Both goalies had some huge saves. Both defense was up to it, although Hershey's may have had an edge. Both teams skated well and forcefully.

At the least the STARS 'did not go quietly into the night'. The fought bravely, fiercely and with gusto all night long!

There was no slacking in the 3. this time,

as there seemed to have been in Games 3 and 4.

Hershey's team of AHL veterans who have skated together for so long

(probably could read each others' minds blindfolded),

just were that soupcon better and 'hungrier' for a repeat'

And so they won 3 games in a row, and that away from their home crowd!

Now the Stars will have to do battle in the lair of the Bears.

Can they repeat the results of the first two games there?

And still bring home the CUP?

Do you believe in miracles?

Broken hearted...pics added

Climie in goal

Neuvirth badgered by Beaudoin ;-

Happy Bears Fans.

Well, Philadelphia Flyers lost to Chicago, Number One.

So Hossa FINALLY got his Cup! He ONLY had to switch allegiance twice (at no personal financial loss to him, I may say)!

Secondly, Stars lost to Bears last night in regulation.
The Stars seem to fade from the firmament in the third, allowing the Bears 2 goals to win.
Bears had 3 PP on 5 penalties, Stars 1 on 4.
Greg Rallo and Lindgren were the two scorers for Stars, while Aucoin (a Daoust looking clone except for dark hair and beard ;-),
Beagle, Carlson and Giroux goaled for Bears.
This is now the second game, when Stars came out strong in the first, slowed in second and seemingly went over the rim into a void in the third.
The house was full, the sound incredible, the fans yelling their hearts out.
Both goalies did as well as possible. Neuvirth stopped 26, Climie managed 25 stops.
Both teams had same shots on goal (28 Stars, 29 Hershey).
Amazingly, Hersheys, as did the Bulldogs, were staffed with shorter players and to good avail.
It sure seemed as if they skated out from under the bigger Star skaters.
Like annoying gnats or pesky no seeumns ..just kidding.

Brits rule - humourously

So this confirms what I have always suspected!

Humour is linked to geography ;-)!

Snigger happy: Rude Britannia at Tate Britain - Times Online

Galgenhumor in Wien.

Ah, love our wine, love our Wien!

Slapstick humor - as applied to Hockey ;-), in the USA.

Or as presented by French Comediens... have fun!