European Trip 32

More pics from Dresden, including this somewhat scenic view of one of the many bridges spanning the Elbe.

There's a nice promenade (I think that's the right word) between the old city and the river. It was kind of chilly, but at least the rain stopped as we were walking around.

That's a real person doing some kind of living statue/performance art piece. To be honest, coming across the mostly still figure was a little unsettling at first. Then I realized it was only a mime.

Another view of the bridge, with a bit different coloring-- I'm not sure what I did to get this effect (I reset something-- maybe the white balance).

Same settings on this shot. It seems to have made the statue stand out a bit more against the background of the buildings (but then I don't have a shot with a different to compare).

More statues in the big plaza (or is it platz) near where we reconvened to get back on the bus for the ride to Prague. I think I've got a few more photos to share from Dresden tomorrow, then on to the last stop on our journey.

More Friday Family Blogging

The original of this shot of Tom and Sara (no, not that Sara) was kind of blurry, so I punched it up a bit with some effects and now I think it looks pretty good. This is too easy for the formal quiz, but anyone want to guess where and when this was taken?

Friday Family Blogging (Get Well Greg! Edition)

This shot was taken at the Powers family reunion a couple years ago, and is intended to remind everyone to keep my cousin Greg in their thoughts and prayers as he recovers from heart surgery this past week. L to R around the table, that's Melissa, Maria, Shawn, Debby, Russ, Marianne, and Greg, with either Theresa or Erin in the background with her back to the camera (it was the consensus of the group that it was near impossible to tell them apart).

Friday's Observation

William Dean Howells (1837-1920) was a very popular writer during the last few decades of the nineteenth century-- an era often referred to as The Gilded Age. There's a reason for that label, and some of it is explained in this quote from Mr. Howells:

“Now I know that so long as we have social
inequality we shall have snobs; we shall have
men who bully and truckle, and women who
snub and crawl. I know that it is futile to,
spurn them, or lash them for trying to get
on in the world, and that the world is what
it must be from the selfish motives which
underlie our economic life.”

Classic Soul Music

I love the soul music of the early seventies, and this is one of the best from that era. The video is repetitious and unconnected to the song, so feel free to close your eyes and just enjoy the song:

European Trip 31

More shots from Dresden, from our afternoon walking around the old part of the city.

Above and below you see a couple of closer shots of the mural on the street leading to the square with the big Lutheran Cathedral. I believe the images are of political leaders associated with the city.

The images look to me like fairly recent drawings, as opposed to something preserved from the middle ages. But they are impressive nonetheless.

You can see the big statue of Martin Luther in the square in front of the cathedral.

This hanging sign caught my attention, though now I can't remember what it advertised. It might've been the sandwich and pastry shop where we stopped for lunch.

And one last shot of the back of the cathedral. Once again, you can see evidence of the restoration work: old bricks are nearly black, while the newer ones are much lighter.

The Last Movie I Saw

I guess it must be a truism that if you approach something with really low expectations, then you can't be disappointed. Last Saturday, I had some time to kill, and went to see The Losers, directed by Sylvain White. I'd seen a couple of ads on TV for the film, but they hadn't really whetted my appetite to see it; mainly, I decided to go because it was only about ninety minutes long and I didn't have anything else to do, nor any more appealing options at the cineplex (that seems to happen a lot lately). I am not familiar with the work of the director, or any of the actors, except Zoe Zaldana, who I remember from the last Star Trek movie. So, all I was hoping for was some easy entertainment (emphasis on the entertainment part)... which is exactly what I got . This might be one of the most comic-booky movies I ever recall seeing. The story unfolds in episodes roughly equivalent in length (and similarly peppered with bursts of action) to the 10-12 page chapters of an old Marvel anthology title (yes, I know The Losers are a DC franchise-- though when I was a kid, the title featured a group of World War II soldiers). The story was kind of simple, but told with some verve and adhering to some rather old-fashioned standards. Not the least of these was painting the good guys as actual good guys, with consciences and a determination to do the right thing. That was kind of refreshing. I was especially struck by how quickly I could differentiate between the five main characters, since in a lot of these group movies they all seem more or less interchangeable. So all-in-all, a somewhat unexpected good time. The thing ends with a narrative promise of a sequel (the bad guy gets away), for which my expectations will undoubtedly be higher: I hope that's not the kiss of death.

Quote of the Day

Today, a wonderful line from the noted paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002):

"The most important scientific revolutions all
include, as their only common feature, the
dethronement of human arrogance from one
pedestal after another of previous convictions
about our centrality in the cosmos."

Cool Canadian Rock

I saw in the Buffalo News this morning that these guys are going to be playing a free concert at Artpark this summer and got all excited-- until I saw that it was a week after I leave WNY. Nerts! I'll have to make do with YouTube (at least for now):

European Trip 30

Here are a few more shots of "old" Dresden, including some nice detail work around the entryways in the main public square.

I'm not sure what these figures are supposed to represent, but they look rather impish to me.

I'm pretty sure the different colors in this building indicate what survived the terrible bombing in 1945, and where the patchwork was done to recreate something like the original structure.

This is the interior court of the royal palace, home of the king of Saxony if I recall correctly. Now it's a museum. That's our tour guide Ivan in the cap and sunglasses.

I have some closeups of the mural on the right that I will post tomorrow. This street led down to another big square with the big Lutheran Cathedral.

Speaking of which...

Battle of the Bands: Final Four

We're getting down to the nitty gritty on the Battle of the Bands airing on Dr. John's Record Shelf, my weekly radio show. You'll recall that our goal is to determine the greatest American rock and roll group from the period 1954 to 1974, and after eight months of competition-- and the elimination of 62 pretenders-- this week will see the semi-final matchups. If you'd like to cast a vote on these two contests, feel free to do so in the comments section, but please, no ballot-box stuffing!

Here are the bands still alive, and the songs that will represent them this Sunday (original bracket seedings appear in parentheses). Remember that the rules of the tourney require a different song in each round:

The Doors (SW 3), "Touch Me" vs.
Creedence Clearwater Revival (NW 1), "Who'll Stop the Rain?"

The Crickets (MW 5), "Peggy Sue" vs.
The Velvet Underground (NE 1), "White Light/White Heat"

Remember to get your picks and comments in before Sunday!

A Literary Quote

Here's a great line, written by Jack London (1876-1916) in his classic novel Call of the Wild:

"There is an ecstasy that marks the summit
of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And
such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes
when one is most alive, and it comes as a
complete forgetfulness that one is alive."

Great Song

I really like this song by the Silver Jews, though the video is a bit stationary (to put it mildly). I guess you can't have everything, and all things considered I believe I'd rather the music carry the weight:

European Trip 29

We spent a few hours in Dresden, on the Monday of our trip. As mentioned yesterday, we started with a bus tour, but then ended up in the old part of the city for a walking tour. Above you see the bridge across the Elbe that leads into the older neighborhood.

I'll be honest, I don't remember what most of these buildings were-- many were government buildings or museums. Virtually all of Dresden was destroyed at the tail end of World War II, so even though these appear to be old buildings, many of them are actually refurbished or even completely rebuilt.

I was actually in Dresden a little over twenty years ago, and even then many of these "old" buildings did not exist yet. That was still in the days of East Germany, and it was only following reunification that the resources became available to once and for all rebuild the city.

There's definitely a pre-twentieth century vibe in this part of Dresden, and it seems like it attracts quite a few tourists. As I said, this was a Monday afternoon in March, kind of a cold and wet day, yet the plazas were quite crowded with sightseers.

Clearly a lot of work has been done to create the attraction, and one wonders what Dresden was like before all the destruction. It must have been an even more beautiful place than it is now.

More pictures from Dresden tomorrow.

This Week's Top Five

I think it's safe to say that Art and I had some fun with this week's Top Five List from Dr. John's Record Shelf. There definitely seemed to be an air of consensus around the studios on these rankings:

Ernie Harwell, RIP

Ernie Harwell was one of the all-time great baseball broadcasters. For years and years, he was the voice of the Detroit Tigers. Although they were never my favorite team, it was so easy on the other end of Lake Erie to pull Ernie's play-by-play in at night over WJR, that his distinctive voice came to represent as much as anyone's the grace and class and the history of the game I love. I was sorry to hear of his passing today; he was definitely one of the giants on the mike, and I'll treasure the memory of his voice almost as much as the most die-hard Tiger fans (one of whom is a very good friend). Here's a little sample for those of you who may not have had the pleasure of hearing Ernie in his prime-- which lasted pretty much the length of his career:

A Quote for Tuesday

Here's a great line from the pen of the noteworthy playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950):

“The fact that a believer is happier
than a skeptic is no more to the point
than the fact than a drunken man is
happier than a sober one.”

Classic Doors

Here's a video of the Doors song that advanced them to the Final Four in the Battle of the Bands playing out on Dr. John's Record Shelf. Frankly, I was pulling for the Byrds, but I can't deny this was a tough one to beat:

European Trip 28

After we left Berlin, we headed south for Prague, but stopped for an afternoon in Dresden. The weather was a little wet when we arrived, so we started the visit with a bus tour around the city. The horse and buggy hinted at some of the "Old World Charm" we were about to encounter.

But first, one of the more modern buildings in the form of the Kulturpalast above. As you may know, Dresden was virtually wiped out during World War II, so the city is mostly new-ish, but a big effort was made to restore some of the older buildings too.

Here's a weird looking house that shows evidence of being a generational hybrid.

The next three shots were all taken from the south bank of the Elbe River looking across at some pretty ritzy houses and castles. They give the appearance of being very old, but mostly aren't (though I gather the families that own them have been planted there for generations).

This was the most impressive looking of the big houses-- I should've used my telephoto lense to get a closer look, but I left in on the bus. Still, it looks kind of impressive sitting up above the river.

These were some vineyards, also across the river. I don't really associate Saxony with fine wine, but maybe that's only because I haven't ever tried any.

Battle of the Bands Update

The Doors

This week on Dr. John's Record Shelf we found out the last two members of the final four in our Battle of the Bands competition. The Velvet Underground (no. 1 seed) prevailed over the Lovin' Spoonful (2) in the Northeast Bracket, while the Doors (3) upset the Byrds (1) in the Southwest.

Velvet Underground

Songs in competition this week included "Rock and Roll" by the VU; "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Spoonful; "So You Wanna Be a Rock'n'Roll Star" by the Byrds; and "Hello, I Love You" by the Doors. So, next week's semi-finals match up this way: the Velvet Underground will face the Crickets while the Doors will go up against Creedence Clearwater Revival. I'll post the songs representing each group in the next couple of days. Remember to tune in to 90.9 KDWG FM on Sunday evenings from 5 to 7 to hear the show (if you happen to be in SW Montana).

Today's Quotation

Herodotus was considered the father of the discipline of history. Writing in the fifth century BC, he had this to share (among much else):

"It is better by noble boldness to run the
risk of being subject to half the evils we
anticipate than to remain in cowardly
listlessness for fear of what might happen."

Cool Song

Here's the song that put songwriter Todd Snider on my radar about fifteen years ago. He's made a whole bunch of great records since, and deserves a lot more attention than he generally receives-- but that's a pretty big club, I guess. Check it out:

European Trip 27

Here's the last set of photos from Berlin (well, the last set I'll be posting here anyway-- I shot about 8 or 10 for every one that I've posted). These were taken during our trip back to the hotel, which involved several train switches and a stop for a bite to eat. Above you see Wes and Bill checking out some of the urban scenery.

Here's an empty station we passed through. I like the effect of the reflected lights and the sense of motion. This is one I may have to play around with a bit on PhotoShop.

This was our favorite doner stand, located on the platform at the Ostkreuz station. Doners are ey are much better in Berlin than any place else one finds them. The guys running htis stand were real friendly, and since we changed trains here several times, there were plenty of opportunities to chow down. Bill ate two during this stop.

Don't let his expression fool you: Ben enjoyed his doner every bit as much as the rest of us.

Sunday Funnies

I wrote about the great Fontaine Fox and Toonerville Trolley once before, but I didn't have any samples of the Sunday version of the strip. So here are a couple to make up for that. The best comics are the ones that create a well-rounded, fully realized little world for their characters to inhabit, which Fox did in spades, and is evident in these samples.

A Thought for Sunday Morning

French philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) took a lot of heat for the arguments he made about language especially in relation to his theory of deconstructionism. But, as someone who takes a lot of photographs, I think he's on to something with this point (which also provides some evidence of the validity of deconstruction):

"Whatever precautions you take so the
photograph will look like this or that, there
comes a moment when the photograph
surprises you. It is the other's gaze that
wins out and decides."

Recommended Reading

I'm on record here as stating that I have never seen a good 3D movie, and I've read about the current push to make it a more standard part of the film industry with some trepidation. Evidently, I'm not the only one who's worried-- and this guy carries a lot more weight than I do on the matter.

Audio of the Day

I consider Fred Allen to be one of the comedy geniuses of all-time, and maybe the greatest to grace the airwaves during the golden age of radio. Here's one of his classic routines, performed with Jack Benny (with whom he conducted a longstanding feud-- for entertainment purposes only, as they were apparently great friends) from about 1937. Enjoy:

European Trip 26

I just realized that the afternoon I took these pictures was over a month ago-- it seems like just a few days. I guess that's a good sign that the memories are staying fresh. Maybe that's what happens when one drags out the process of sharing photos of the experience this way ;-)

After the museum visits, we hooked back up with some of the other guys from our tour group and walked from the Brandenburg Gate through the Tiergarten to the Angel. This shot taken with a zoom turned out pretty good. You can really see the details of the famous statue watching over the city of Berlin.

The statue of Bismarck seen above is a little less impressive, though we were able to walk right up to it to get a closer look.

We were all really beat after a long day of walking, so headed for the train station to catch a ride back to the hotel. We ended up at the brand new Hauptbahnhoff, which services not just the commuter trains, but also high speed trains to other cities (and provides both shopping and eating options as well- McDonald's is almost as ubiquitous in Berlin as it is in the states). We actually waited to see one come through, but I for one was disappointed-- they have to slow down to come into the station, so we really didn't see them at full speed.

Here's a shot of the platform as we waited for the east-bound train. The system was easy to figure out, but occasionally infuriating in that lines shown on the maps didn't always run straight through. So what looked like a single transfer turned into two or three. Still, we rarely had to wait long to catch a ride, so I can't really complain.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

Ricochet Rabbit was one of the cartoons featured on the Magilla Gorilla Show. It's another animated parody of the very popular westerns seen in prime-time (Deputy Droopalong is a dead ringer ffor Chester from Gunsmoke), and almost as good as Quick Draw McGraw. See for yourself:

A Quote for Saturday

Today, some words of wisdom courtesy of Abigail Adams (1744-1818), the second First Lady of the United States:

"Wisdom and penetration are the fruit of
experience, not the lessons of retirement
and leisure. Great necessities call out
great virtues."