My Harley

OK, so my Papa told me to stay away from the boys and men with motor bikes. Fine with me, I will just follow my grandmother's steps and ride my own bike.





By the way in the background you can see the Berlin fence. It used to be a Berlin wall which was supposed to keep me from going up the stairs - but one day I decided that the Berlin wall has to go and I tore it down. The historian noted that it was October 4, 2008 when this Silver Spring version of the wall fell.

The Future

People keep nagging me about the elections. In two weeks, people will decide about my future - the Hawaiian surfer dude or the old man. But I don't have to wait, I took a look at the crystal ball. I can see the future, and it's not like Leonard Cohen saw it "Give me absolute control over every living soul [...] Give me back the Berlin wall" - Leonard was wrong, I tore down that wall and it ain't coming back, but more on that later.


Anyways, I see the future of America, for America and by America: Ich sehe schwarz.

Miss Pumpkin 2008

It's that time again - Pumpkin Time.


The day the Silver Spring Wall fell (more on that later), I went to a Pumpkin Patch with my parents. First, I needed to refresh myself with some water.







Then I was ready for some apple picking. My Mama's favorite Fuji apples, Cameo and Sun Crisp.


While walking back, I finally understood what Peter Maffay meant with his "Sieben Brücken" - He actually talked about Ziegen Brücken.

And finally - I showed off the little pumpkin that I picked:

Vamos A La Playa

Hello,

We went on vacation to beautiful Massachusetts, my almost home state. I put some pictures in a slide show.

Woran es nicht lag

Oh well,

It's over, Spain won and we want to know: why?

I was up to speed, having done my research in advance (while Papa was still trying to wake up).


Not sure, but maybe there wasn't enough enthusiasm - I was very very enthusiastic, so it ain't my fault:



For those of you out of the loop:

Spain won against Germany in - what is already called a Klassiker. Well almost. Anyways, the sport is called Fußball, the competition, Europameisterschaft and the place Switzerland and Austria.

And the Austrian Embassy in our nation's Capital organized a fantastic party to watch the final. Before the game started, I tried to practice a little bit and I showed those Europeans how to kick a ball.

It wasn't all sunshine for my Papa though, but he got over it fairly quickly - with this smile of mine.

Whatever it was, it's over and we have to move on. And I can assure you, I don't want to open start this Torhüterdebatte - never mind, my friend Kneeri already did so. Anyways, here is my suggestion for Australia 2018.

My Second Spring Is History

Summer is there and I am back. My spring has been very busy and it’s time to tell you more about it.

After I turned one in April, I took off the month of May to prepare for my big day: my christening on June 7. It took place at Trinity where my Mama went to College. It was hot, very hot but I think I behaved well.

Below is a picture of the christening, more pictures are here.

And then a couple of days later, I was inducted the great American pastime called b-a-s-e-b-a-l-l. I attended a game of the Nationals against the San Francisco Giants. It was still very hot, but I had a ball anyways.

I decided to do my seventh inning stretch in my bed though since it had been a couple of busy weeks before then – and I think my Mama and Papa did not complain too much about that.

1 Year of Happiness

Today was my birthday - I turned 1.


Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday. Vielen Dank für alle, die an mich gedacht haben.

I'm walking on sunshine

Don't mess with Texas

Hola,
Que tal? Wir sind zurück. Von Gründonnerstag bis zum Samstag nach Ostern waren wir in Texas gewesen. Erst in San Antonio für vier Tage, dann das so genannte Hill Country, dort wo sie deutsch reden.

Diesmal ist der Blog ein wenig anders: erst kurz Text und dann ein Link auf die Bilder.

San Antonio
Die berühmte, oder nicht ganz so berühmte, Alamo ist das Highlight, und böse Zungen behaupten, einzige, der Stadt. Insgesamt fühlt sie sich ein wenig wie die heruntergekommene Schwester Melbournes an.
Die Geschichte ist sehr militärisch, fünf Bases sind rund um die Stadt nagesiedelt und jeder erinnert sich an die Alamo und wie Crocket mit Konsorten den Mechiganern Gegenwehr leisten wollten. Leider ging das für die Texaner dort weniger gut aus, und das einzige was wir tun können, ist uns an sie zu erinnern.
Andere lobenswerte Punkte der Stadt sind der Riverwalk, bei dem die Geduld des Herrn Papa als er den Kinderwagen schob doch arg strapaziert wurde, sowie der Botanische Garten.

Hill Country
Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts gab es noch Platz in Texas, und so wanderten Deutsche dorthin aus, die es in Europa zu kühl fanden. Die Städte heißen nun New Braunfels oder Fredericksburg. Die Geschichten sind traurig, aber dann auch nicht ganz überraschend. Bis in die 50er und 60er Jahre wurden diese Gemeinden von den "echten" (sprich: englisch-stämmigen) Texanern geächtet, weswegen sie sich selbst am Leben hielten und auf Deutsch unterrichteten. Man kann mit den Leuten unseren Alters und älter auf deutsch reden, als sei man irgendwo in der hessischen Pampa. In der Zwischenzeit hat man sich auch die Hispanics eingeschossen, so dass die Deutschen dort in Ruhe gelassen werden. Dadurch ist der Drang zum Selbsterhalt geringer und die Dörfer (das sind sie eher als Städte) werden doch eher englisch-sprachig (oder gleich spanisch).
Lyndon B. Johnson (oder LBJ, wie er dort genannt wird), kommt von dort (ist aber englisch-stämmig) und seine Library ist deswegen in...


...Austin
- der Hauptstadt Texas. Zugleich Wohnort von Jan Ullrichs Albtraum Lance Armstrong. Die Stadt ist am besten mit cool zu beschreiben: UT (University of Texas) ist in Austin und die Longhorns, das Maskottchen der Uni, ist allgegenwärtig. Die Uni ist eine Religion hier und ich kann mir gar nicht vorstellen, was los ist, wenn die Football-Season wieder loslegt. Der einzige drawback der Stadt sind die Allergene und Mama und Papa sind gleich mit einem dicken Hals umhergestapft während es mir prächtig erging.

Hier nun als die Diashow.


Hola,
Que tal? Finally, I have updated our blog from my first trip to T-E-X-A-S. I changed the blog slightly this time: just a little text and then a slide show.

San Antonio
We went to see the Alamo - the one we need to remember, not the rental car company. Then, of course the Riverwalk, and the Botanic Gardens. That was it - almost. We missed my first Final Four, but that's ok, UConn didn't show up either.

Hill Country
This is where the Germans are, well at least they (almost) talk like Papa.

Austin
Cool, dude. Just like my sun glasses.

And here is the slide show.

Just a little bit of me

Hello Dear Friends,

I am tired of the primaries. It is not that I find them uninteresting, rather, I am just overwhelmed by the amount of reading I have to do in order to keep-up with all that is being said by and about Obama and Clinton. I think that we ought to give ourselves a bit of a break and remember that it is important to stop and smell the flowers, or, as I like to remind my Mama and Papa - just stop and enjoy cutie Emily. So, on that note, I decided to share some of my favorite moments from recent times when I have been hanging out with my Mama and Papa. Enjoy.

I have been quiet for awhile but not idle. For the last month, while Clinton and Obama have been duking-it-out in primary after primary, I have been diligently developing several key skills: walking and cleaning. The value of the first, walking, is quite clear; I can't compete very well with either Clinton or Obama if I am not able to stand-up and speak directly to them, debate with them, and show everyone how much cuter I am than either of them. (By this point, I don't think the latter is something that needs evidence so I will just consider it a fact.) Please review the video below to see how much progress I have made on the walking front. I think the progress I have made is rather impressive. The other, cleaning, may not, at first mention, seem relevant and/or necessary, though it is. You see, in order to survive in politics, it is necessary to either have a clean closet, be able to clean one out or hide the dirty laundry in one's closet. As you can see from the video below, I know how to clean-out my dresser drawers, and there is nothing dirty in there after I do. I don't know whether Clinton or Obama can say the same thing. (I will leave Bill out of this one.) (Heck, let's face it, with a German papa and a pretty anal mama, it is not possible to have dirty laundry in any place other than the laundry basket.) So, those are the key skills I have been working-on since I last visited with all of you. I hope that all of you are doing great.

WOEIH?

Port's Mouth , New Hampshire, January 7, 2008:

Question to Hillary: "As a woman, I know it's hard to get out of the house and get ready. My question is very personal. How do you do it? How do you, how do you keep upbeat and so wonderful?"

Response from Hillary: "It's not easy, and I couldn't do it if I didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country just don't want to see us fall backwards. Some people think elections are a game and they think it's like who's up or who's down. It's about our country. It's about our kids; futures. And it's really about all of us together."

EXCUSE ME? Maybe I am missing something, but I thought we need a person of action, somebody who gets up every day with a smile on her face, ready to face the challenges that are ahead. Somebody who is ok with doing the dirty job, who can take the dishes out of the dishwasher without a complaint. And yes, somebody who doesn't fall backwards!

I am ready

Andy Warhol's 15 Months

Oh well,

If Andy Warhol were still alive, he would extend his 15 minutes of fame to 15 months - this is what New Hampshire had. The primaries are over and the nomads continue on their way south, the path that has been cleared by other famous people like E-M-I-L-Y. I am still considering to run, I still have all options, I have great pollsters in my family. My key areas are: immigration (Papa, stay here), food (free milk for everybody), education (no parent left behind), and of course change (we are down to four diaper changes a day).
But most importantly, I would finally clean up with this mess




Johannes asked about the rules of the game. They are pretty easy: make up a number and declare this is what you got. This is the easy way. The hard way is: collect $50 million and blow it in a caucus and a primary - maybe you are still in the race, maybe you are not (also known as the Chelsea way - pun intended, if you guess right, you get a free Emily for President button). And then there is the middle way: each party in each state (not the state government) can decide when to have their caucus and primary. New Hampshire decided since they don't have Ben&Jerry's, decent coastline, or 987897 universities, it needs some fame, so they have a law (or is it part of the constitution??) that mandates they need to be the first state with a primary (suddenly the small government state is big in the game), so if another state moves forward, they do the same. There was a serious threat this time around that the first primary would have been held in July of 2005. They did realize at that point that it was already November of 2007 and that 2005 is a bad idea, so they bribed party officials in other states (namely Michigan) and alas, their primaries was moved after NH. Wyoming's Republicans (that would be the extended Cheney clan) thought they are sole warriors and ignore common sense (granted, you can't ignore what you don't know exists in the first place). So their primary actually was last Saturday. All 15 people voted for Romney. Sounds confusing? Just you wait until they vote for the real president and see what happens then - I would guess it will be the easy way as outlined above.
Sodele,

Andy Warhols 15 Monate (oder waren es Minuten??) sind vorüber und morgen weiss wieder niemand wo New Hampshire liegt. Die Karawane zieht weiter südlich und folgt meinen berühmten Fußspuren. Ich weiss noch nicht, ob ich auch kanditieren soll, ich habe schon meine Themen gefunden:
Einwanderung (Papa, bleib hier), Essen (Freimilch), Bidlung (no parent left behind), und latürnich Wechsel (wir haben nur noch vier Windelwechsel pro Tag). Ich würde aber auf jeden Fall mal so richtig aufräumen (s. Bild).

Johannes wollte wissen, wie's geht, es ist einfach, prinzipiell gibt's drei Möglichkeiten:
1) Der einfache Weg: wünsch Dir eine Zahl, die isses dann.
2) Der Chelsea-Weg: Nimm $50 Mille und hau sie in einem Caucus und einer Primary raus.
3) Der komplizierte Weg: Die Partei in jedem Tag darf festlegen, wann die Primary oder Caucus ist. So ganz stimmt das auch nicht, weil NH zum Beispiel ein Gesetz hat, nach dem sie immer die ersten sein müssen. Nachdem Michigan drohte, vor NH zu sein, beschloss NH im Juni 2005 ihre Vorwahl zu haben. Da war es leider schon November 2007 und somit mussten die MI-Heinis bestochen werden und jetzt sind sie wieder nach NH. Wyoming dagegen hatte am Samstag für die Cheney-Republikaner am Samstag schon die Vorwahl und wurde auch parteiintern abgestraft. Insgesamt können aber auch die Demokraten an anderen Tagen die Vorwahl haben als die Republikaner. In South Carolina ist das der Fall.
Es kommt auf den Staat an, wie Du wählen kannst. In NH zum Beispiel kannst Du entweder bei den Republikanern oder Demokraten mitmachen und Dich auch erst vor Ort entscheiden, was Du willst. Dazu musst Du aber als Independent eingetragen sein und dann vor Ort als Demokrat eintragen. Du kannst dann direkt danach wieder austreten. Ich habe keine Ahnung, wie üblich das ist, zum Beispiel wäre es in Wahlen sehr attraktiv, wo der amtierende Präsident amtiert. Solltest Du z.B. ein großer Clinton Fan 1996 gewesen sein, hätte Deine Stimme bei den Demokraten eh nichts gebracht, weil er alleine angetreten war. In anderen Staaten (z.B. Florida) musst Du Dich ein paar Wochen vorher entschieden haben.

Klint verwirrend? Warte nur ab, bis die Präsidentschaftswahlen sind.....

Phase 68364

Es ist geschehen, Phase 68364 der Präsidentschaftswahlen ist eingeläutet worden: Der Caucuas in Iowa gestern und dann am Dienstag folgt die Vorwahl in Südkanada. Obama gewann für die "Demokraten" angeblich maßgeblich, weil er ein neues Gesicht sei. Wenn's darum ging, hätte ich einen anderen Vorschlag:




Anyways, ich bin ein paarmal gefragt worden, wie das hier in meinem halben Vaterland so sei und wie ich das alles sehe. Deshalb hier eine Zusammenfassung:

Obama: Halb schwarz, halb weiß, unerfahren und hat außer einer Rede 2004 bisher nichts gebracht, außer ein neues Gesicht zu sein. Meine Meinung: Ich bin halb amerikanisch und halb weiß, unerfahren, habe den Blog und bin noch frischer.

Hillary: Sie ist weiblich und die Frau eines Menschenfängers. Meine Meinung: Ich bin weiblich und die Tochter eines Menschenverscheuchers.

It happened: Stage 68364 of the Presidential Elections has been launched: the caucus in Iowa. Obama won for the "Democrats" largegly because he is a fresh face. If that's enough to qualify, I have another suggestions: (cf picture above)



My folks in Germany want to know who is running, so here is my summary:
Obama: Half black, half white, no experience, the only thing he did was holding a speech in 2004 and he is a fresh face. My opinion: I am half American, half white, have no experience but this blog and am an even fresher face.

Hillary: She is a woman and the wife of a man who attracts people. My opinion: I am a woman and the daughter of a man who annoys people.

Edwards: Lost in 2004 the primaries and the election and smiles as if he is the big winner. My opinion: I am a big winner and I smile like a big winner.

Kucinich: Nobody can pronounce his last name and he believes in UFOs. My opinion: nobody can pronounce my last name and I believe in milk bottles.

Huckabee: Changed his opinion on immigration by 180 degrees. My opinion: Lord, let braun come down on earth, he needs it. Romney: Is a mormon and takes his dislike for his gardener very personally. My opinion: I am not an Evangelical Christian and still a nice person.

Giuliani: Fortunately his ex-wife watches TV, otherwise she would have never known that she was upgraded to ex-. My opinion: I don't watch TV.

Jaws aka Der weiße Hai

Liebe Mitbürgerinnen und Mitbürger,

Eigentlich wollte ich hier meine Neujahrsansprache halten, aber bei unserer Probeaufnahme habe ich in bester Weißer Hai Manier die Kamera und den Kamermann aufgefressen. Zum Glück war er mit mir verwandt und er hatte eine Lebensversicherung zu meinen Gunsten abgeschlossen.




Bevor ich aber mein Werk verrichtete, gab es noch das obligatorische Weihnachtsbild der Familie (und nein, es ist nicht die Heilige Familie, und nein, es ist nicht das Bewerbungsphoto für das Weiße Haus, Papa darf ja nicht und Mama ziert sich noch).

Auf ein gutes Jahr 2008, mögen die Jungen Wilden ihre Aufholjagd starten und erfolgreich beenden. Ich bin bereit.


My People, Originally, I wanted to post my State of the Union address but as a matter of fact, we had a Jaws experience and the camera as well as the camera man did not make it. Fortunately_1, the SD Card could be recovered, and Fortunately_2, the camera man is related to me and I am a beneficiary on his life insurance.

Before this incidence, we could however take a Christmas picture (and no: it is not the Holy Family and no: we do not run for the open slot in the White House, remember: Papa follows the rule of Taxation without Representation (and he gets good quality tea, so no need for throwing it over board).

Happy New Year 2008.

BTW: Yes, Erin registered to vote. Papa will count her vote and make sure that the Montgomery Board of Election is aware of the order of 1 - 2 - many.