Friday, February 24, 2006

The Frauenkirche again!?!

As if you haven't heard enough about her in the past year, I'm about to write some more. And I surely won't be the last either, as Dresden's big birthday party is coming up this summer, which is also sure to bring about more on this very topic.

In my quest for information about Baroque Dresden (I have to teach something about Baroque art and was looking for ways to incorporate Dresden in order to also schedule a field trip), I came across an interesting picture. Here it is:








My Dresdner readers (if I have any) are probably saying "yeah, I got to look at that pile of rocks for about 50 years, what's the big deal?" The big deal is, this is the first time I have ever seen this particular state of the Frauenkirche. I've heard lots about it, how it stood in this form as a sort of ruin as war memorial, but the only Frauenkirche I know is scaffolding and a basement from 2001 and now the completed version, so this view is pretty impressive to me. It's just hard to imagine that that mammoth construction that's now standing once (and for a long time) was just this pile of rocks. Some people say that the above state of the church is a more effective reminder of the horrors of war, and therefore is a more effective memorial, and even think it was incorrect to rebuild the church. Though I do see validity in this argument, and am quite fascinated by ruins like the St. Pauli Kirche and the Trinitatiskirche here in Dresden, I also think the finished Frauenkirche is just magnificent, and that it's the perfect completion to the Dresden skyline.

Here she is finished, from a similar angle (you can see old Martin Luther there in the lower part of the picture, as you can see him in the foreground above):





















It's a Lutheran church, in case you were wondering what the deal with Martin Luther was.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

More bunny adventures




















What's this, nature friends? That's right, bunny tracks in the snow. And these weren't made by any old wild hare, they were made by the one and only Waboose.




















Doesn't he look strapping in his matching coat and harness?

My only complaint is that people's IQs seem to drop when they see a bunny on a leash. Some people are shocked and horrified to see a bunny on a leash, many make comments that are Easter related, and one incredibly charming dog owner mentioned how it's not very safe to take a bunny out for a walk with all the dogs around. I know it's unusual, but I think it's nicer to take these guys out for some fresh air once in a while instead of keeping them cooped up in an apartment all the time. As for the dogs, it is a law that they should be on a leash, too. And just because my bunny is smarter than your dog doesn't mean you have to threaten his life.



















Support bunny freedom! Which would you rather see, a bunny outside safely frolicking and having fun on a comfortable leash, or sitting around an apartment like a living knick-knack?

Saturday, February 18, 2006

The truth comes out.
















I'm sick and tired of somebody else taking all the credit. I'm the real writer around here. These people I live with can't even spell, let alone skillfully handle not one but two mice. I founded this blog to show what kinds of things we have to go through with these illiterate imbeciles, being put on a leash, in the oven, bathed, etc. This may be the last time I write, they'll probably make me into rabbit stew when they read this. But wait, they can't read!
old news
















































Here are a couple of pictures from my last trip to the Czech Republic. They had quite a lot of snow there, more than we had in Dresden. This was at the end of January. Now we have no snow left, the last days have actually even felt like spring! This is a much needed change from the ugly gray winter weather we'd been having.

Friday, February 10, 2006








The Life Pursuit

Has everyone heard this new Belle and Sebastian album? I just picked it up about an hour ago from my friendly neighborhood record man who used to have his shop in the same house where I used to live and where I used to pick up all of my packages that were delivered when I wasn't home, and it had me dancing in the kitchen while I was making my nachos for lunch. This is a rare occurence, especially on a dark snowy day like today. This music is like the sun! It will make you feel good. Apparently, it's sort of a follow-up to their last regular album, which was all about breakups, and is instructions on how to live your life further. I haven't quite gotten that out of it yet, but we'll see.

Speaking of the life pursuit, mine is going well, I guess. In between eating bon bons and playing around with my weblog on the internet, I go to work, which is pretty much like sitting around and eating bon bons and playing around, which isn't so bad. My new job, while frustrating during the first few weeks, was super this week! My different groups are working on linoleum printing, surrealistic collages, and nature collages with pen and ink details. Even the students I was told were difficult were really engaged when we were doing some practice exercises with pen and ink yesterday. And today I even learned something new as part of this whole thing: the English name for these particular types of pen: nib and holder. (Feder und Federhalter) All right!

In other news, I rewarded myself after dragging myself down to the inhabitant registration place this morning (here in Germany you have to register your address with the gov'ment so the man knows where to find you when you make trouble, as I often do). I went shopping! In addition to my new CD, which also came with a bonus DVD, I got 2 new hip shirts to suit my expanding form (you know what all those bon bons will do to a girl!), and went and wandered around the big art store, only to kick myself for buying some nibs and a fancy holder at the expensive art store yesterday. They are way cheaper at the big art store (49 cents compared to 1.60!!), and the big art store is much more entertaining. You can stumble around aisles of giant sketchbooks and every kind paint, ink and whatever else your heart could desire and drool without getting stared at by the hipster expensive art store workers. I behaved myself, though, and only got some holders for my art classes, just as I had planned. Somehow, we have an overabundance of nibs at school, but only 4 intact holders, and one that's missing its insides, so it doesn't work. So this should alleviate the complaints of my students that "God, this place gets so much money every year and you can't even have enough holders for all of us!" I wasn't aware of our lack of holders...I had found the supply of nibs and mistakenly thought "Where there are nibs, there are holders!" But there weren't. Another lesson learned.


Wednesday, February 08, 2006











Meet my new bunny, Tigs.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Finally I'm posting some new pictures of my new house...




















This is that big hallway when you come in the door...




















At the end of which you find the...um...bunny jungle.




















Second to the bunny jungle, I think these mirrors are my favorite part of the hallway.




















The sleeping chamber.




















Check out our cool doorframes!




















Here's a look in the kitchen.




















And the living room. The other bedroom is not depicted, because at the moment it's stacked from floor to ceiling with boxes, and the bathroom is not yet finished...okay, the shower curtain is hung, there are some plants, but no fish or octopus yet!




















Waboose's mischievous bunny ways haven't changed in his new home. He got into some blueberries and needed a bath a couple weeks ago.













Needless to say, he didn't enjoy the experience.