tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87505922024-02-19T12:39:32.577+01:00Wise Woman's WordsSemi-anonymous blog of an Expat in Germany calling herself WiseWoman.WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.comBlogger861125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-14184025769591383652023-03-08T22:24:00.004+01:002023-03-08T22:24:22.779+01:00Der Schwarm / The SwarmWell, that was a waste of time. All sorts of broadcasting companies and film boards across Europe collaborated to pour money into making an 8-part series out of Frank Schätzing's wonderful book, "Der Schwarm", that was published in 2004. The book itself was a fascinating bit of science fiction that contained lots of real science, which made it believable. And scary.The "ecological thriller" TV WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-52913194321646513582022-09-10T14:17:00.000+02:002022-09-10T14:17:07.622+02:00Kalaallisut Nunaat DaysGoodness, the days visiting Kalaallisut Nunaat (Greenland) have just flown by! I also picked up a nasty cold (no, not Covid, they tested me for that) and have been barking like a seal for days. I wear a mask to keep others from catching my cold. It was grand fun, getting on the Zodiacs and zipping around, getting a closer look at glaciers and moraines, learning what nunataks and cirques and WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-6318509647467448172022-09-06T12:53:00.000+02:002022-09-06T12:53:17.687+02:00On board the MS Fridtjof NansenOur friend drove us into town so that we could get our outrageously expensive lateral flow tests at the Harpa. A test kit costs 2 € in Berlin, a test at a test center 3 €. They charged us 50 $ per person for the tests! I got my results within the hour, WiseMan‘s didn‘t come at all, so we trudged back and had them re-send it and print it out. Luckily, both of us were negative, so on with the WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-5092709789738053772022-09-05T00:28:00.003+02:002022-09-05T21:11:03.397+02:00Reykjavik, Day 4Seeing as it was Sunday, we picked up the mother of my friend and took her to church. She was so thrilled to be able to see old friends. The church was quite full, with lots of children and a small choir. I was able to follow along and sing, as I knew the melodies. I really hate that Lutherans don‘t print the music in their hymnals - people need to learn how to read music!After church and lunch WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-76990474030006116202022-09-04T15:30:00.001+02:002022-09-04T15:30:22.036+02:00Reykjavik, Day 3 I slept late this morning, so I missed everyone else out jogging or for a walk. It is 15°C and very sunny! The look out the window where I am writing is stunning:We went for a walk downtown with about 10.000 other people! The place was packed with tourists, partially of course because there was a big cruise ship in the harbor. We first went to see the Harpa opera house and wanted to go to WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-16996107237041721002022-09-03T11:49:00.000+02:002022-09-03T12:51:54.248+02:00Reykjavik, Day 2After a very healthy breakfast (green smoothie) we set out for the local library in Seltjarnarnes. It is located right above the grocery store, very practical! It was quite windy, I was very glad to have a good jacket and hat on! The sun came out on the way back, but it was still very windy. We checked the local newspaper, Morgunblaðið just to see if they were reporting on the book presentation. WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-44859842634537621442022-09-02T11:15:00.004+02:002022-09-02T14:52:10.578+02:00Reykjavik, Day 1The flight to Keflavik was not until early afternoon, so we were able to get up at a normal time, have breakfast, pack last things, clean the place, take out the garbage, and we still had time to spare. The taxi company called to see if the car could come early, so we said “Sure!” and were on our way.BER was, of course, packed with people. But I had insisted on doing the check-in the night beforeWiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-29268358408397310032022-08-31T23:03:00.006+02:002022-08-31T23:03:59.035+02:00The adventure beginsI was first planning on retiring the end of September 2022, so the month of September was to be dedicated to a Nordic adventure: Iceland, Greenland, Labrador, Newfoundland, New England. Except that I was easily convinced that I need to stay on another semester, not just as an adjunct, but as a full professor. So I will come back to the utter chaos that is a normal semester start. And I will be WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-23894800623178641422021-11-27T22:53:00.003+01:002021-11-27T22:53:57.404+01:00FuriaWell, with movie theaters closed we broke down and subscribed to Netflix. We've watched all sorts of series there, or started them at least. Then the German ZDF broadcast the series Furia that can be found in their Mediathek since the beginning of November 2021. It is not for children (minimum age 16) or the faint of heart, as there is a lot of brutality in it. There is a German-language WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-33136401198296714752021-11-22T18:47:00.001+01:002021-11-22T18:47:19.592+01:00Time fliesGoodness, seems that I only blogged once last year and not at all this year. Must catch up, as there have been things I want to record here. I just read my posting about my father's funeral, as a friend's father just died. And all sorts of memories came rushing back.It's dinner time and I don't have much time to write, just a few things: The blue car is still going strong, there's a new grandson,WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-28778619127528785882020-09-03T20:41:00.000+02:002020-09-03T20:41:02.287+02:00Master ChengOoooh, haven't written much. Not too much happens when you are sheltering in place, except binging on Netflix. I've seen 1 1/2 seasons of the Gilmore Girls, it's kind of funny but wearing thin.When the movie theaters opened back up, we went to see Parasite. Strange film, weird that it won all those Oscars, nice to see a Korean film. And WONDERFUL to be back watching a movie. There ware five of usWiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-33414103430072614772019-07-27T22:49:00.000+02:002019-07-27T22:49:04.476+02:00Plane vs. TrainWiseWomanGrandkid spent her first week's holiday away from her mom with us in Sweden. She had a ball and didn't want to go home, but I had already booked a flight 2 weeks earlier. I decided to fly to Berlin with her, but take the train back so that I can compare plane vs. train travel for such a long distance.
On Wednesday we started out from Skåne in the afternoon at 1:15 pm after a bit of WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-73029102024867463572019-05-25T23:08:00.002+02:002019-05-25T23:08:37.130+02:00WonderWomanAs WiseWoman, I recently purchased a WonderWoman T-Shirt because I liked the WW. I knew nothing about the comic book character, but was given a DVD with the WonderWoman film. It's been on one of my get-to-someday piles for a while until today WiseGrandchild found it.
She immediately wanted to watch it, although she is just shy of 6 and the film is rated 12+. I decided we would watch a bit of it WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-80571215855305186602018-12-28T22:12:00.000+01:002018-12-28T22:12:09.957+01:00ShopliftersWe went to see Shoplifters this evening, a film that won the Golden Palm in Cannes this year. In Japanese. With Swedish subtitles. And the film was just lovely.
Okay, I enjoyed picking up the odd word in Japanese (I had a semester's course decades ago). But there was not much in the way of words that we needed in order to understand that we were rather voyeuristically watching a presumed family WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-74793633686191314592018-07-08T00:25:00.001+02:002018-07-08T00:25:58.779+02:00Ocean's EightSo there were lots of bad reviews about "Ocean's Eight", but I assumed that this was because all of the leads were played by women and anyway, Sandra Bullock was playing in it and I need to see all of her films. So the usual suspects gathered and we managed to find a theater showing the film in English (and German and a few other languages I couldn't identify) with German subtitles.
My WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-83963903557119953482018-05-06T12:55:00.002+02:002018-05-06T12:59:26.717+02:00#BadStockPhotosOfMyJobThe Twitter hash tag #BadStockPhotosOfMyJob has me in stitches at the moment. These stock photos are trying to transmit visually what we as scientists do all day. It is boring seeing people think or write, so they try to come up with some ideas - and of course, this gives the general public a rather strange view on the world.
I surfed over to Shutterstock to have a look. "female computer WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-91175958708070418982018-04-02T23:38:00.000+02:002018-04-02T23:38:14.898+02:00The Shape of WaterAs a reward for finishing our taxes today we went to see the Oscar-winning "Shape of Water" film.
I probably would have left after 20 minutes, if it had not won all those Oscars. I mean, best film and all, surely something wourd turn for the better.
In my opinion: not. It was trite. Lots of clichés that I didn't find amusing. Woo-hoo 60s science fiction. Continuity errors (light outside while WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-41772167505203055412018-03-15T00:10:00.003+01:002018-03-15T00:10:35.727+01:00The PostWiseMan saw that "The Post" was being shown in English for the last time this evening at the nearby Odeon Theater, so we gathered the usual suspects for a nice film evening.
This is a must-see movie for the current "post-truth" times.
It is the story of the publishing of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 by the New York Times and the Washington Post, and also about the Post metamorphosing from a WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-41829403044315106692018-03-01T00:27:00.001+01:002018-03-01T09:41:30.540+01:00Three BillboardsEven though it was the middle of the week, we gathered the usual suspects to see "Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri," mainly because this was the only night one of the crowd had time. And then he got sick and thus missed a glorious film!
You have to see it in the original, German dubbing just will not work here. The subtitles are nicely translated according the the slang meaning, not WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-85118397768329904232017-09-16T21:59:00.002+02:002017-09-16T21:59:25.916+02:00The Trials and Tribulations with Air BerlinFor the past couple of decades Berlin has had its own rather successful airline company, Air Berlin. They would tend to mirror many of the Lufthansa routes, but at a bit more unpopular times for a bit less money. They still offered free soft drinks where the El Cheapo airlines wanted 3,50 € for a bottle of water. And you always got a chocolate heart when you deplaned :)
A couple of weeks ago theWiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-87115471738653437472017-08-04T09:52:00.003+02:002017-08-04T09:52:51.860+02:00But what do the tourists do?You pretty much have to have a credit card (or two) in order to stay in Sweden anymore. They are trying hard to get rid of cash, theoretically because it might get stolen, but more likely so that the government can have more control of revenue streams. So I make it a point to withdraw cash from an ATM and pay cash for everything.
Except when I can't.
We were in Lund, planning on WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-36907088183009548752017-04-02T23:10:00.001+02:002017-04-02T23:10:13.721+02:00Here Grandpa, let me show you![Okay, little time and a lot of difficulty convincing Google to let me log in here. I know, excuses, excuses!]
Wisegrandkid is now 3 1/2 and a lot of fun to play with - and hand back over to Mom & Wisekid when the day is over. We were driving her home from a handball game last week, Wiseman was sitting in the back with her. She wanted him to play something on his mobile phone. He didn't knowWiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-72243736188692011982016-08-28T00:01:00.001+02:002016-08-28T00:01:11.720+02:00Summer reading, 2016Oh dear, summer is almost over, it seems. Anyway, I got three good books read this summer, to wit:
Tod in Breslau (Death in Breslau, Śmierć w Breslau) by Marek KrajewskiSince we spent a weekend visiting the European Culture Capital during the summer break, I wanted to read this thriller that takes place in Breslau in the 1930s. We had a lovely weekend in Breslau, but I was unable to placeWiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-69685328380770328982016-08-27T22:04:00.001+02:002016-08-27T22:04:23.044+02:00The holy personnr, part IIIn 1998, after we bought the house in Sweden and I was spending my sabbatical at Malmö högskola, I wrote this article called "The Holy personnummer" about the run-around you get when you attempt to live in Sweden like a Swede, something that should be normal in the EU.
It is now 2016, and a few strange things happened in the past year. For example, some mail sent to us got returned to sender. WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8750592.post-55113002260946699072016-05-16T18:23:00.001+02:002016-05-16T20:05:03.150+02:00El Capitan and the insanity of trying to obtain a handbookMy last MacBook Pro was purchased in 2012 and was starting to really age. Not only were the keys worn down on the keyboard (letters scratched off), it was restarting itself at inconvenient times and disk space was getting rare. Also, since I was running Mountain Lion on it ("Never change a running system") it was so outdated, that many applications were refusing to cooperate with it. So it was WiseWomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12602417509163028818noreply@blogger.com0