Christmas

Today, on December the 1. is the first day that you can open your Advent calendar. Do you have one, maybe even made by handicrafts? It is a nice ritual that remembers me on my childhood when I can't wait until Christmas.

For me this year was very uncommon and eventful with biggest change, the movement into the U.S. That's also the reason why the pre-Christmas period this year is very different from all other experiences.
The weather makes me not feel like Christmas is coming. In Germany now it is freezing cold and you sit inside where it is warm. There are many Christmas markets where you drink mulled wine to warm you up and eat gingerbread.
Here in the U.S. I can sit outside with a T-shirt and I really don't feel like Christmas.

In Nuremberg, where I come from, is the most famous Christmas market (Christkindlesmarkt). Often we have snow, but we always have many tourist from all over the world.

Lyra Is A Good Liar

Lyra is such a tough and smart girl, and she is sly and clever. I liked the chapter which described Lyra's conversation with the king of Svalbard. First, the story she told to come to the king was impressive, and once she came to him she told him that she could be his daemon. How she has arranged to made the king believe her story was fabulous.

It sounded also very logic, that Iorek was coming to get her back. Therefore, she was able to protect Iorek from immediately death, so that he got the chance to fight against the king. However, with her plan Lyra gave her life in Iorek's hands and she was connected with his fate.

Yesterday, I saw a report about the preview in London was all the stars. Now I'm really curious about the film.

On the website of the film I found out, that in the film they pronounce Daemon as DEE-mon.
As you can imagine, the bears and daemons are not natural, expect of dog daemons, that's how the animated it:
The bears’ armor was likewise brought to life in the foundry after the bears themselves – and their armor – were carved into life-sized maquette sculptures that could then be scanned into the computer.Similar maquettes were made for each daemon, from Lyra’s Pan to Mrs. Coulter’s golden monkey. Only dog daemons were performed by trained animals.

I can highly recommend that website, it is also a good reading practise. Now as we now nearly everything about the story of the film, I'm very interested how a film (esp. this film) is produced.You also find some informations about the actors, for example what the actor of Lyra looks like:

Her name is Dakota Blue Richards.

DAKOTA BLUE RICHARDS (Lyra Belacqua) was born in London in 1994. When her mother named her Dakota Blue, she couldn’t have imagined the impact that name would have just over a decade later when she was cast in the leading role of Lyra in The Golden Compass.

Soccer: Why It Can't Make the Big Time in the U.S.A.

I really like this essay because I'm interested in the reasons why that sport is not as popular here as in the rest of the world. I was disappointed by the soccer worldcup in the U.S. because of the lack of interestent of the Americans. Despite the euphoria in the rest of the world, the stadiums were not filled by the american audience. This essay helps me better understandig the way Americans like sports.

First, Americans love their violence. In my opionion, the Americans prefer watching violent scenes not only in sports, but also in movies. In Europe we try to protect the players from being seriously injured. However, I'm also excited about watching to ice hockey because there is a lot of action, and the players are well protected.

Second, it is just to difficult to core in soccer. I don't understand that paragraph; counting the goals is sooo easy.
Either the ball is in the goal or not. For soccer sometimes it is necessary to be lucky, and not only to to play good soccer.



Violent scenes are also seen in soccer, but there are strict rules and the players get warning (yellow card) or have to leave the soccer ground (red card) if they break the rules.

A very famous expamle for a punishment with the red card which is known by all the soccer fans under my readers is Zinédine Zidane whom you can see on the left side.

(Soccer World Cup 2006 in Germany)



Third, it is unlikely that Americans appreciate a sport in which players are not allowed to use their arms and hands.
That's the reason why it is called "football" in almost all countries in the rest of the world. You should avoid playing with the hands; otherwise it's a foul or in the penalty area you will also receive a warning (yellow or red card). However, it is allowed to use the head; in fact many goals are achieved with the head.

Finally, soccer is not TV-friendly. I would like to see sports and not only advertisments. In the rest in the world that is not a problem because soccer is shown an TV and it is very popular. As the author mentioned, the World Cup final
was seen by 1.7 billion television viewers. In the half-time break there is enough time for a good commercial break.
If the Americans will be stultified by all the commercials in their sportevents that's not a problem of the sport!

I look forward to watching the next soccer game on TV now....

Kinds of Art

My simple definition for art is the following: there are two different kinds of art, one that I like and the other one I don't like. In my opinion, art is something you can argue about because art is a matter of opinion.

The articel in our book about art reports about architectur. That's one field of art I had not count to art.
However, now I remember me that in my art classes at school I had art history and I learned also about architecture. Unfortunatly, the knowledge about that is gone completly.

I'm more impressed by architcture than by paintings. In Europe we have a lot of very old and fabolous builings and even wohle cities ful of impressive architecure, e.g. Rome is a beautiful place and you can spent weeks there without being bored.

I was also very surprised of the flair in New Orleans. It is defninetly very different from the cities I have seen before in the U.S. On one hand, you can see gorgeous houses with extensive wrought-iron balkonies the French quater. On the other hand, the city also has the villas of the time of prosperty in the suburbs. New Orleans is a journey worth, not only for a archticture....



French quarter Villa

The reason why I am in the U.S.

I moved to the U.S. with my boyfriend, or better to say my boyfriend moved to the U.S. with me. We both see it as a challenge to live abroad and learn to speak another language fluently. It is also interesting to see the differences in the cultures even if it's not simple. I'm here because I love my boyfriend and I would like to accompanying him so that we can stay together.

He got the chance to work abroad at his company Mercedes Benz. Therefore, Mercedes is the real reason why I'm here.The company was founded in 1890 in Germany. Since that time, you can see the logo, the well known star, on every vehicle. As you can see, the look of the cars has changed a lot over the decades, but the company is still very successful.

The second one (GL) is one of 3 models which are built in Alabama. The new factory in Alabama was founded in 1997 in Vance. The reasons why the company built up a new production here are multifarious. First, the tax system here is an advantage for Mercedes. Second, the cars which are built in Alabama are pretty big and so the main salesmarket of those cars is in America. If the cars are built here the company save costs for the export to the U.S. and tolls as well. Thus, Mercedes can make more profit in its business.

However, I'm still wondering about the prices. Even the cars which are produced in Germany are cheaper to buy here in the U.S. as they are in Germany. I'm not familiar with the price politics of the car market in the U.S., but it's confusing.

An main influence could have the USD exchange rate. Compared to EURO the USD is very weak.
Right now for 1 EURO we can receive 1.46 USD which makes the life in the U.S. very comfortable for us.....

Iorek Byrnison

Finally, Lyra startet her journey to the North with enthusiasm and anticipation. I was very amused about Lyras
seasickness in the first few days on board. Let me mention, that I can imagine how Lyra felt!

For me it is unclear how all the people Lyra met know about her and her relationship with Lord Asriel and also the alethiometer. She is the child of prodigy an all the hope of the people burden on her. But still, she is a very taff girl with a clear idea what she want and how she has to arrage it, so that she can reach her targets.

I like the description of "Iorek Byrnison", the armored bear. He wants to fight, and that remains us that the journey to the North is not only an expedition; it's a journey in a war. To have such an powerful support like the icebear is for sure very helpful for the success of the trip. Because the bear seems to be very dangerous, Lyra has a new challenge to keep him peaceful until that time he should use his power to fight against the Dust hunters. Hopefully, we will also see the rusty armor in the film!

In my life, I'm still glad not to have a dæmon. I wouldn't be surrounded by anybody/anything my whole life. I think I don't need an entertainer or someone who takes care of me. If I want to talk to somebody, I have the choice.
However, what I to have is an unseeable armor to protect me from all the dangerous situations in life. So far, such a armor hasn't been discovered. I will postpone thinking of it.

The backward banking system in the U.S.

New York has the biggest and most important stock exchange in the world.
It is a trans-shipment center for money from all over the world. The biggest banks
and the most important banking system is domiciled there.

However, if you leaving New York you are in the provincial backwater concerning the banking system. International money transfer is difficult because the banks not even have an "IBAN" (International Bank account number).
It is the same thing as your city wouldn't have a ZIP code, so it' s really confusing.

The banks also didn't offer convenient, modern banking methods:

1. It is not possible to open a standing payment order for your account!
That means, every month you have to fill in your cheque for your rent and bring it P E R S O N A L L Y to your
lessor. And by the way, the lessor wouldn't accept a standing payment order.

2. The companies which you have to pay your bills every month don't offer debit balances!! You also have to fill in
a cheque an mail it (for every little bill you will need a stamp) to the company or go online and fill in a form.
It takes hours every month to get trough that paperwork and it's so annoying.

3. For a money transfer inside the U.S. you have to pay fees, although you have the same currency.
That is more standardised in Europe and not as complicated.

4. There is no option to arrange a power of attorney for an account. To add somebody to an account without having
a social security number is nearly impossible and the bureaucracy is unimaginable!

Anyhow they offer online banking, how modern they are!

I should think about a career as a bank manager to improve these things, but probably I would also work in New York because you can earn much more money there.

Lyra's Escape

In the story Lyra learned at lot from and of Mrs. Coulter. At the cocktailparty she found out that she is involved in the kidnapping of the children. Even worse, it is her project! I think everybody would be afraid in those a situation.

So Lyra ran away with no idea where to go. I admire that she is not afraid of anything and at least I will remember the story she told the man in the snackbar. The next time when I will be invited for a drink with a nice guy and I won't to blame him maybe I should use my imagination and tell a story like Lyra did. Maybe I'm too truthful for that, but what about a white lie? I only have to make sure to have enough make up on my face, so that nobody can see how I get red.

The "gyptians" took care of Lyra, and they protected her as she needed help. That is most important: To have someone whom you can trust and rely on. Even if the person is not always on your side and protect your body. That's the basic idea our society is built on. The better your network are the more advantages you have. Hopefully, Lyra will furthermore be protected by her friends and can go for a walk on the wild side. I'd like to be surprised by her next adventures.

For Lyra for sure it's helpful to have the "alethiometer". For me it is questionable if I would also like to have something like that. Would I really like to know the right answers to any question? If I'm thinking of it for a little while.... no, I don't want to possess a compass which is telling the truth. I don't have to protect the human beings all over the world and for my decisions there must be room for wrong things. And by the way, I also don't want to know if somebody is lying to me (which would come out with an "alethiometer")

Even it is a phantasiebook, there might be some descriptions and scenes in the film about the north. I'm really interested in traveling into northern countries like Norway, Island or Alaska. I've heard that Alaska is a beautiful place where I should have been while staying in the U.S. Has anybody of my readers been to such a "cold country"?

The written body language

The article of Russell Baker about punctuation is an interesting essay about such a boring theme. It is a very interesting thought that punctiation is a kind of a written body language. Despite the article is very helpful for understanding the complex rules easier, it is hard to follow all these rules while writing. Sometimes the rules
of punctuation print a ? in my head. The best part of the essay is the end: Keep cool. That' s what I will doing.

I also have the feeling, that I now know the rules of punctuation in Englisch better than in German. We have a lots of rules in German and I can' t remember them. Because of the fact we had so much of these rules, they were changed (should be easier) a couple of years ago. The result is the confusion of everyone including me.

Campared to my native language English uses almost no commas, so the sound in my head speaks with more pauses than it should be. I have to work on the tuning of my "brainvoice" immediatly.

The article brought up another idea: It must be worthwhile to rob the Bank of England. If anybody has a good idea or a plan, tell me! I will share the money with you and maybe I visit you in prison ;)

In addition, I' ve found other useful things what to do with punctuation signs besides there important role in the language, e.g:

Sports

Sport events are an exciting thing all around the world. It' s very interesting that the kinds of sport are so different.
The most popular sport in the U.S. which is football is not common in Germany. If would like to watch to the big event "Super Bowl" I had to stand up at 3.00 p.m. to watch it. I tried one time to watch to such a game, but I couldn' t understand the rules. I was very surprised to find in each bar or pub a TV (or several TVs) where I watch to different sport events while hanging out. The other very popular sports games in the U.S. are baseball, basketball etc. In Germany
this kinds of sports is nearly not recognized. The only thing about basketball I know is that "Dirk Nowitzki" is a famous basketball player in the NBA at the "Dallas Mavericks" and he is very successful.

The "real" football: Soccer is the most popular sport in Germany. The biggest stadium in Germany can not contain as much viewers as the stadium in Tuscaloosa. Nevertheless, we also have a great atmosphere in the stadiums and it is also shown on TV where many people watch it. Last but not least, we have "Sports bars" where you go in a bar and watching TV collectively.

In 2006 there was the soccer World Cup in Germany. The weather was excellent, the games were interesting and our team was successful. We had visitors from all over the world and the spirit was great. For all the games (not only for the games with the German team) we had places with big screens, foot and lots of beer called Public viewing places.

I watched a few games on places like that an it was really fun. I have never been to a football game in the US nor to the tailgating. It must be interesting too but at least I will miss the good German beer.......

The Gobblers

Mrs. Coulter was introduced to Lyra and she recognized her Dæman, a golden monkey. Could she have something to do with the "Gobblers". The group of people, who are responsible for the disappearence of little children in the UK, are called so. To gobble means "to eat some very quickly or to wolf down". Look this woman like a person who eat little children?

However, criminals often look different from what would you expect. I' m very anxious to the film and how the technique can show the golden monkey and also the other dæmons. I could not imagine, how the disappeared children can be involved in Lyras World. Maybe they have to travel to the northpole in this new discovered city?
We will see.....

The book discribes that children who are very poor are catched by a woman with nothing else than a chocolate.
In our modern world the difference between rich and poor is unfurtunatly very big. It could be true that there are
people (especially children) from poor/developing countries abused for organ trade. That means that those children/people were killed to deliver their organs to rich people who need it and pay a lot of money therefor.
The people disappear and sometimes nobody cares or it couldn' t be found a sign of the disappeared people anymore. I heard this especially from Russia and countries in Latin america.

In newspapers you can also find report from children who disappeared or get killed. Often there is a sexual motive
the reason therefor. For this reason every child in Germany is told and will be told again, again and again: "Don' t go
with anybody or enter his car. If you don' t know them and whatever you are offered, don' t go with him/her."

It' s unthinkable who are able to do those criminal things with other humans. It doen' t matter if this happens for
mentally illness or for money both is unacceptable and make me sad.