Spring is here. Tauben and pigeons beware

OK, so it’s still cold out, but spring is here. Along with blackest humor. “Taubenvergiften im Park” was written by Georg Kreisler, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” was penned by Tom Lehrer. So: Did Lehrer steal the song from Kreisler, or was it the other way around? Lehrer had more chutzpah, and thanked Kreissler for […]

Doitcha shpraka

I hate translating complicated inversions from German into English. German academics love them, probably because it proves that they can juggle an idea in the air for minutes on end. Ok, guys, yes, you are geniuses. Can we go home now? You see, then a poor translator gets it, and those academics need the translators […]

Rebecca Casati is the best

Hey, you English speaking learners of German – read the best German lifestyle journalist around, Rebecca Casati. Just the intro to her interview of Mickey Rourke in today’s Süddeutsche Zeitung is so nice: “Er stemmt sich aus der Couch, bis er seine beeindruckende Bärenstatur erreicht hat. Langsam fährt einem eine Art Hand entgegen. Die Finger […]

Goodbye Peter Rühmkorf

Peter Rühmkorf (25.10.1929-8.6.2008): Idealist, romantic, left-wing ironist. RIP, great poet. Surfing around the internet I’m stunned: Rühmkorf has not been translated into English?! OK, here goes nothing: