Where's the spring?

Geez, it March 1st and I am enjoying another day in single digit
temperature. So far, this Michigan winter is everything it was
promised to be. Long, cold and snowy. Mmmm, maybe I should
take a timeout and spend a weekend somewhere warm.
The general mood in Michigan isn't any brighter, either. Seems like
the current economy crisis is hitting hard here
with the automotive companies teetering on the brink of
bankruptcy. Well, the next couple of weeks will certainly be
interesting. I am hoping GM is going to pull through, for the matter
of saving Opel in Germany. My first two cars were Opel's and I have
fond memories driving those junkers around.

Movie review: Taken (3/5)
'Taken" tells the story of a man (Liam Neeson) with a dubious past
quitting his job to be close to his teenage daughter. When she is
kidnapped in Paris he is using his 'unique' talents to get her back.
The plot was very predictable and the movie felt like a 'Bourne'
movie with 'Man on fire' mixed in. I give it 3 stars, because of Liam
Neeson's performance. Otherwise the movie was just too predictable.

Idiocracy

The other day I got to see the movie 'Idiocracy'. It was suppose to be a comedy
about two very average people getting sent into the future through a
military experiment. They arrive in the year 2500 and realize that society as
dumbed down so much, that they are the smartest people in the world.
Despite the fact, that the movie was terrible (1/5), its original premise made
me think. The thought is, that stupid people reproduce at a much higher rate
than smart people and over time, lets say a couple hundred years, the IQ of the
whole society is lower than the score of a baseball game.
I wonder if there is a grain of truth to that. I mean, we are living in a country
where more people vote for American Idol than for the president, where
a TV quiz show gives you money for showing the same intelligence as a 5th
grader. And its not just the US. I just read an article in a German magazine
that students don't finish their engineering majors because its too 'hard'.
So, does that mean we are regressing back into the stone age? Right now,
stupidity is not only tolerated it is encouraged. For example, if you are
stupid enough to buy a house you couldn't afford in the first place, don't
worry, the government will bail you out.
I wish I had a time machine and could jump forward a couple
hundred of years. Maybe 'Planet of the Apes' got it right after all.

On a more positive note, here some local restaurant ratings:
bd's Mongolian barbecue - Novi (2.5/5)
This was your typical Mongolian barbecue. Typical chain place, but they
way overcooked my food and the service wasn't that great either.
2.5 Schnitzelwagen

Mirchi - Indian Restaurant - Novi - (3.5/5)
I forgot the exact name, but it is a small place on the corner of Novi Rd.
and Grand River Av. The food was very good, even for somebody like
me who doesn't like super spicy food. The service was ok. For some
reason I never had good service at any Indian restaurant I've been.
A solid 3.5 Schnitzelwagen.

Winter Wonderland II

With winter holding a steady grip on Michigan, last Sunday was actually
nice with temperatures in the 30's. A couple of co-workers and I decided
to hit the slopes. You heard right I went skiing. Well I strapped 2 long pieces
of plastic to my feet and carefully maneuvered down a hill. Not sure if you
can call that skiing. It was fun, though. I haven't been on a ski hill in a
couple of years and the Ski 'Resort' of 'Alpine Valley' was just the right
amount of difficulty for me. Just to clarify for anybody outside the Midwest,
a 'Resort' is usually a couple of buildings, a couple of ski lifts and some
moderate high hill, and the 'Alpine Valley' has no resemblance of the
Alps or a valley for that matter. It's kinda like calling the sandbox at your
local swimming pool 'Ocean Beach' But, for me it was quite enough.

Winter Wonderland

It's only January and I am already sick of winter. After two weeks of
consistent snow fall and blistering temperatures I am starting to develop
cabin fever. Last week was especially painful with temperatures down to
-10F at night. It'll suppose to get better this week, but I am not holding
my breath. Unfortunately, driving is equally bad. Every trip I seem to
hit snow and ice on the road. Ah well, only 2 more month to go, maybe.

And, tomorrow is Obama's inauguration. Which means that the Bush era
is finally coming to an end and. It will be interesting to see, if there is
really a change in American politics and policies. My guess is that change
will not come as easy as people think. I mean, the USA is just like a big
elephant. You can't just turn it around, you have to nudge it a bit at a time
into a different direction.

Well, good luck President Obama.

Bollywod

There is a movie theater in the middle of Novi that plays foreign movies,
mostly from India. So, on Friday I finally managed to watch my first
Bollywood movie. From what I have heard, Indian movies are a lot
different from the type I usually see. And boy, are they different.
The movie I watched was named 'Ghajini' with a story about a guy with
short term memory loss who is trying to revenge the death of his girlfriend.
Sounds familiar? It basically the same premise as 'Memento', but that where
the similarities end. First, 'Ghajini' takes 3 hours!. It basically combines two
films into one, where the first part tells the story on how the main characters
meet, kinda like a romantic comedy ala 'You've got mail'. The second movie
in the movie is the part when the main character, no more memory, tries
to revenge the death of his loved one. I think it was suppose to be more like
a thriller, but you could spot the story from a mile away, so it comes down
to some fight scenes and weird camera work. The film also contains a
couple MTV style music videos sprinkled throughout the movie.
In the end, it was an interesting experience but I think I stick with the
Hollywood style movies. No rating for this movie, since you absolutely
can not compare the movies I usually watch.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! I hope you welcomed the new year as well as I did.
As the last stop of my travels in Germany I stayed at my sister's in
Cologne and we celebrated with her, my brother-in-law and some of
their friends in a small bar in Cologne. The party was alright and drinks
were plentiful. So, I spent New Years days attending a hangover and trying
to beat everybody at Mario Kart WII. Not very successful I might add.
On Friday it was again time to say good bye. I left Cologne early in the
morning and took the ICE train directly to Frankfurt airport. The train
clocked at 285km/h and I was in at the airport in no time. The flight back
was boring as always and now I am sitting in my living room, watching
football playoffs and finishing the blog entry. Overall, I had a great time
in Germany.

Donaueschingen

After spending Christmas in Warburg, I went on to visit friends in southern
Germany, Donaueschingen to be exact. Of course, I went by train. Although,
it got more expensive recently to use the train, there are really no alternatives.
And it is always fun to take a long train ride. Lots of things to see and even
the slow regional train through the black wood forest offered some great
views.








We spent the next day visiting the castle of Sigmaringen, which is a 1000 year old castle of the Hohenzollern family. The tour was great and offered
a good glimpse at life for the gentry during the days. The castle is still in
good shape, although some parts were rebuilt after a big fire in the 19th
century. It was a cold day and only a couple of rooms in the castle were heated, as it used to be when it was inhabited. No wonder the folks during
the middle ages didn't live too long.
I had to leave the next day, but I always enjoy going south to
visit Michaela, Thomas, and Soeren.