Here comes Halloween!

The end of October is almost here, and with it comes that spooky-ooky time of year, Halloween. I use it as my excuse to dress my house with witches and fall leaves and pumpkins, and if I had children, I'd make them make me some chestnut-and-matchstick animals, too! But I won't dress up and I won't give out candy (I admit it, it's because I'm cheap and don't see why I need to stuff kids I see once a year with chocolade I might as well enjoy myself); instead, I will light a candle, play some soft music and listen to the ghosts outside the door.

There are two things one needs to know about me to understand why I love Halloween as a spiritual holiday: one, I am not a party animal, not even when dressed up as Miz Kitty, and two, I am a neo-pagan. Coincidentally, I was raised in Germany, where November 1 is also a religious holiday, All Souls' Day, the Christian church's concession to those pesky pagans who wouldn't be deterred from celebrating the night when the veil between the worlds is thinnest and the dead may well walk the earth.

Depending on whom you read, we're told this used to be the old Celtic New Year, another turn of the wheel. Certainly other cultures have their new year's night associated with ghosts and goblins, perhaps as a chance for a last goodbye or last words of wisdom from a long dead relative, as fortune-telling and communing with the dead are two typical activities. One very nice tradition in a circle I used to go to for a while was the Silent Supper, a ceremony held in total silence, from blessing and invocation to feasting and farewelling. A plate was set aside to remember those who have passed on. The entire event was very touching and peaceful.

My candle, wine and music is the mini version of this ritual that helps me ease into the season of darkness, a kickstart to contemplation, if you will. This year, I will remember my grandparents and great-grandparents whom I was fortunate enough to grow up with, my favorite uncle who always supported my love of books, my younger cousin whom I never got to know well, my aunt's son whom I never even got to meet, Jeremy Brett, one of my favorite actors who brought so much life to the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes, as well as my assorted pets who allowed me to spend time with them for a while. I will express my gratitude for another year without a death in the family. And I will go to sleep knowing that on this special night, we got to share one of the great mysteries of the universe: we are all one.

New views on (partly) old things in a new context

On thursday last week I've been to the 'Neues Museum' ('New Museum') or shortly 'nm' in Nuremberg. There is an exhibition about German design, called "design deutschland. case study 08" ("german design. case study 08") which will be displayed there until 5th October 2008. Now I, personally, think that this regional fixation sounds a little odd at the first moment. The guide (a guidance through the exhibition was included in the visit) told us that he also finds this name a little distracting for the visistor in first place. Thing is: There is no such thing as 'typical German design'. The curator's idea was to find objects and goods from our day to day life, which are designed by people living in Germany or are being produced by German companies. Another criteria the specific objects had to fulfil to get enlisted was that they are still being produced and
sold.

Start of the tour was at about 6:30 PM. First there were some words about the 'nm' itself, the building being designed by architect Volker Staab and built in 1999, so it is a fairly new building as ist the design. Our guide explained some facts about the building, like how it acutally was designed and that the basic geometrical element the architect used are two cubes, one up in the air and a second one going down into the ground, resulting in the building being as tall as deep. One thing I relly like about the architecture of the 'nm' are its really big front windows. The front of the entire building is fully transparent glass, allowing passing pedestrians to take a peak inside the museum from the outside. At the moment there is also a really big picture (about three or four meters high) of a girl by Julian Opie in the second floor window looking outside at you! Quite impressive. Pictures of the great architecture can be found on the museums website.

Once you entere the exhibition you find out that the name 'case study' is a wordplay. The different objects displayed are being presented in big wooden cases, each about six or seven meters long and about 3 meters in width. The exhibition contains a total of five of these cases, each one displaying different objects from certain parts of our daily life. The five different cases are divided in 'tools', 'position', 'function', 'material' and 'system'. Sadly you were not allowed to take pictures.

There were products of all kinds, chairs, lamps, a table, a hammer, a wineshelf and so on. I really enjoyed these random looking arangements of objects. Another thing that surprised me, that there were designs from really different epochs. There was a brand new chair, it's design is from 2008 sitting next to a salt & pepper shaker set by WMF which dates back to 1953 (remember this ist still being sold!). There also were really artistic designs, like a chair by Konstantin Grcic, letting the product look more like a piece of art whether a day to day furniture and other designs being not artistic at all, but were included into the collection because they integrated themselves so perfectly into the daily vocabulary. One good example for this is the high-pressure steam cleaner by the German company 'Kärcher'. It's design is nothing special, actually it is just a boxy thing, but its presence is so pmnipresent, that the company name has become a synonym for high-pressure steam cleaners.

Of couse the visitors' impressions where quite different. Some praised the objects displayed and said how much they liked the look of them. Others said things like "well this is no really well designed thing" or "this is no art", immediately leading to a discussion about the difference between design and art, but that is another story. I really enjoyed the exhibition and I also collected all of the leaflets with the manufacturers' homepages. I'm afraid thogh, they are all in German only, but maybe you can find something about it here. This page is credit of the German Design Council, who is responsible for the exhibition and already has an entry for case study 08, just the link is offline at the moment I am writring this.

Well, I'll check a few prices of these highly regarded peaces, maybe I will furnish up my flat with some famous designer objects shown in the museum.

Photos Uploaded - Hungary

Photos of Hungary trip are available in my Travelogue.

Another year, another Ganesh festival

Yesterday, we celebrated the last day of the 10 day Ganesh festival. There were the usual celebrations, sweets, bands playing drums. And it was also raining!

My friend has taken some nice pictures this year
















The Ganpati at 'Hanuman Galli



The famous 'Nashik Band'



At 'Khetwadi'



At 'Khattar Galli'. The idol is known for its beautiful eyes



The crowd waiting in the rain for the famous Ganpati at 'Lalbag'



The 'Lalbag' ganpati



the grand set-up at 'Ganesh galli'



The idol in my friend's house

TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT

I visited an exhibition on Sunday:
TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT-MOSCOW CONCEPTUAL ART 1960–1990
The exhibition offers a comprehensive survey of conceptual art in late and post-Soviet Russia for the first time which is still only little known in the West. Moscow Conceptualism already emerged in the Soviet underground in the late 1960s, its performances, installations, and texts reflecting the existential experience of being part of a political concept. Since the world of art was subject to strict ideological censorship in the Soviet Union, the Moscow Conceptualists’ activities turned political and critical because they claimed the privilege of interpretation reserved to the Communist Party alone. Presenting artists like Erik Bulatov, Ilya Kabakov, Komar/Melamid, Alexander Kosolapov, Igor Makarevich/Jelena Jelagina, Andrej Monastyrskij, Boris Mikhailov, Dmitri Prigov, Leonid Sokov, and Vadim Zakharov, the exhibition connects with the Schirn’s show “Dream Factory Communism” dedicated to the world of Soviet art under Stalin’s regime.
It is shown in Frankfurt until Sep 14th and will then be at Madrid from Oct 10th to Jan 11th.

Cultural Differences...

Thank you, Maike, for inviting me to participate in "A New View".

As a North American, the differences between the hundreds of cultures in the world sometimes takes me by surprise. But then there are other times that we are so similar that it's hard to tell the two apart.

For instance, recently while watching the Olympics a commentator mentioned that the Romanian Gymnast team are very different then they used to be. Between events you could find any of them text messaging their friends and using their cell phones. Very western-ized (for lack of a better word) says the commentator.

I would have to agree. Seems a bit odd to me that Romania of all places is that western-ized. I was in Romania in 1994 and that comment just really seemed out of place.

But why is that?

Maybe because I just don't see the rapid growth of technology over there as it is here. Or maybe because I think the U.S.A. to be far more advanced then the rest of the world?

Ha! I know that is not true. Boy, are we behind in the organic sense. I think the U.S.A. wants to kill off some of its people with the over processing of foods and chemicals they are putting in everything... But that is another post all together.

Anyhow, off of that whole bunny trail. I actually started this post to talk about the differences or similiarities in advertising in other countries.

Yesterday, at the Colorado Mills Mall in Denver, CO I noticed a vast amount of advertising circled around lust.

Oh yes, I said it... lust.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not just talking about sexual lust here... I am talking about human lust of everything. Maybe a better term would be greed... but I call it lust.

We, as American's, lust after the bigger, the better... the best! All the advertising in the mall screamed, "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY unless you have this fabulous item in question... it won't due to have LAST YEARS model... you must have this one."

Give me a break.

When did this happen? When did we become a country that needs it all? When did we allow Baal to step into our lives and claim our worship (if you know what I mean)? How come we are not satisfied with having our needs met?

This country is in such an economical crisis because everyone wants better then they have. And are willing to go into debt to get it.

Sometimes, I wish that I lived in another country to escape this marketing plot that is being shoved down my children's throats. "You must have more!"

It's similar insanity.

When will American's be happy with what they have? Probably never.

I love my country very much, but I wonder when will enough be enough?

So in this regard, I hope none of the other cultures try to western-ize like the American's have. It is claimed that they all want to be like American's. Does that mean they want to be greedy and lustful too?

Lord, I hope not.

So speak up, what is going on in your culture and country? Is America the only culture who is advertising to have the best at any cost? And do you see it effecting your life, your children, the way you live, etc?

Curious.

"dutch" sunset pictures

Zeeland, the Netherlands

Vacation

Mumbai (Bombay) is a small, congested, polluted, tiring place. People need a break. Consequently, holiday destinations near Mumbai make big bucks :)

People usually go out during summer and the monsoons, since its the most unpleasant time to be in Mumbai. I went to Mahableshwar and Lonavala last week. It rains a lot there, and its quite pleasant. The area is practically barren during other times of the year, but its completely green in the monsoon.

(December)


(August)

Its not the same place, but thats the general view during these 2 months. Its amazing how much the landscape can change in a single year!

Photos Uploaded – Italy & Vatican City

The photos of this trip have been uploaded to my Travelogue. I'm not really satisfied with these photos… I'm sure I will dispose my Sony F717 soon and look for a new camera.

Mangoes!!

People in India love to freak out and go crazy during festivals. They also love to do the same during other times. In fact, they just need an excuse to freak out, go crazy and celebrate...And mango season is one such time of the year.

Mango season generally starts in April, and lasts until June, until the rains begin. We get raw mangoes since late February, and people use it in cooking. Once the actual ripe mangoes come in, I get sick of them within a week or two. But people never seem to get tired of them. You see mangoes wherever you go. Old shops that have been closed down since ages suddenly open up and start stocking mangoes. (And no one seems to rent these shops during other times of the year)...

Summer vacations also coincide with mango season. People go to their native villages, where they own farms, and get their very own mangoes. I don't know why, but these mangoes are much sweeter than the ones we usually get. I guess they know how to pick them.

"If you don't like mangoes, you are strange. You are supposed to like mangoes. Mangoes are good."

-Anonymous mango fanatic

Its hard to describe the mango mania, you have to live here during mango season to find out. But seriously, I've had enough mangoes this season :)

(PS: the word mango(es) occurs 17 times in this post)