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2012-05-20 - ahahahamuhmuhmuhmuh!

i got my new all-year-ticket for the zoo and been there twice over the past week. i found out that it's a brilliant idea to go after work. almost nobody's there because it's late and the middle of the week and at that time most of the animals are quite active. which in turn gives you the chance to take some really nice pics.

the brilliant weather also allowed for spending lots and lots of time outside over the weekends and the first BBQ of the year at Micha's with the kids. and this weekend i visited the gardens at wörlitz with my parents. the rhododendrons were blooming like mad and there were super-cute fluffy baby swans.

somewhere inbetween i had been watching "the avengers" together with matti. it's a totally over-the-top super hero movie but it's really fun to watch.

and on thursday i did one of my extremely rare theatre-visits, watching the premiere of "grimm's märchen" by rainald grebe. basically it was re-telling, re-interpretation or simply a wild mash-up of well-known fairy tales, sometimes put in a modern context and with lots of local references for the people of leipzig. most of the time it was absolutely hilarious although with some serious subtext at times if you cared to think a little about what you've just seen.

and since i am currently reading "das känguru manifest" i should probably give a shout-out to marc-uwe kling and his his insanely funny chronicles about living together with a communist kangaroo. and there's so many things in there that you can apply in everyday life :)

2012-05-04 - all the way from vienna

it's summer! it happened basically over night, it is warm, everything is green, flowers are blooming and bees are humming. it did a lot of gardening and am still not remotely done. last weekend theresa did a little late birthday party thingy and birgit was there for a few days which was nice.

also, the unlikeliest of things happened: i updated my pics of the week again! i have been working the past few days on selecting contemporary pics for 2011 as well as new ones and closing the gap as good as possible. there still is a huge break over the winter/spring months when i simply didn't take any pictures. first, because there wasn't any time with what was happening and later because once i had stopped photography i never got around to take it up again. in fact, i kind of "rediscovered" my camera about three/four weeks ago and am currently relearning some thing i'd known for years. it's a strange thing when you come to think about it.

fortunately, i had two days in this week alone where i had ample time to practice:

on wednesday i was at the soap&skin concert at the centrealtheater in leipzig. this was already my third show and basically the same set as the one in february in berlin (give or take a few songs). but it was still as intense and mesmerising as before. and as mentioned before, this time i was allowed to bring my camera and took a few really nice pics of anja.

and yesterday i was at the zoo again for pretty much to whole day. the weather was perfect and it was a lot of fun. the whole things got increasingly better towards the evinging when the tigers had fun bathing and some of the birds at the tropical house got really close and trusting. also, fruit bat action!

and finally, i am a book chapter author now for the first time in my life. it's a highly specialised thing on THMC processes in porous media, but who cares! i don't, that's for sure.

2012-05-04 - all the way from vienna

it's summer! it happened basically over night, it is warm, everything is green, flowers are blooming and bees are humming. it did a lot of gardening and am still not remotely done. last weekend theresa did a little late birthday party thingy and birgit was there for a few days which was nice.

also, the unlikeliest of things happened: i updated my pics of the week again! i have been working the past few days on selecting contemporary pics for 2011 as well as new ones and closing the gap as good as possible. there still is a huge break over the winter/spring months when i simply didn't take any pictures. first, because there wasn't any time with what was happening and later because once i had stopped photography i never got around to take it up again. in fact, i kind of "rediscovered" my camera about three/four weeks ago and am currently relearning some thing i'd known for years. it's a strange thing when you come to think about it.

fortunately, i had two days in this week alone where i had ample time to practice:

on wednesday i was at the soap&skin concert at the centrealtheater in leipzig. this was already my third show and basically the same set as the one in february in berlin (give or take a few songs). but it was still as intense and mesmerising as before. and as mentioned before, this time i was allowed to bring my camera and took a few really nice pics of anja.

and yesterday i was at the zoo again for pretty much to whole day. the weather was perfect and it was a lot of fun. the whole things got increasingly better towards the evinging when the tigers had fun bathing and some of the birds at the tropical house got really close and trusting. also, fruit bat action!

and finally, i am a book chapter author now for the first time in my life. it's a highly specialised thing on THMC processes in porous media, but who cares! i don't, that's for sure.

2012-04-11 - just the annual easter update

i had a few days off for the easter holidays. the weather wasn't as good as i hoped but i did some relaxing and reading and stuff. on monday was theresa's birthday, once again with great food en masse and her little one stealing everyones attention.

but it seems as if i am getting presents, too: the rewards for the kickstarters i have been participating in have started shipping: the cd set for "an evening with neil gaiman & amanda palmer" is being send out and i am downloading the digital package as i am typing this. appearantly it's a 4cd-set now instead of just three. how lovely! and the non-digital goodies of the order of the stick reprint drive (fridge magnets, etc.) are also finished and will start shipping over the next few days.

i haven't been playing games that much over the holidays but most of the time i did spend gaming i was fighting zombies in lone survivor. the game is insanely good. destructoid did an extremely charming review on the game.

also, a new game by yahtzee croshaw has been released: "poacher" is a fun but hard retro-style jump'n'run game. get it here for free!

2012-03-28 - seaons in the sun

with spring here and the days being warm and sunny i find myself more and more drawn out into the real world. lots of cycling, talking walks and the odd table tennis match. and every morning when cycling to work my hands almost fall off because the nights are still awfully cold.

anyway, i had quite the busy weekend. matti had a birthday and did a party. there was a lot of good food and tasty drinks and it got quite late (well, at least what passes for 'late' at my advanced age). and on sunday my parents were visiting (for the first time in i don't know how long!) and we did the first visit to the zoo this year with my parents seeing the "gondwanaland"-hall for the first time (which - as i learned just now - is the largest tropical house in europe with an area of over 16.000 m²).

and yesterday i got lone survivor, which has got to be the most lovely survival horror adventure ever. so far i haven't seen too much of the game but it reminds me a lot of "dreamweb" back in the old dos-days. it is not afraid to be funny at times and the music is just really good.

2012-03-21 - call of valor

i am a little sad to say that i am pretty much done with skyrim for now. i am sure i have not done everything in the game, but after more than 200 hrs i finished all the questlines and about 400 other quests. i have got all achievements, learned over 60 spells and maxed all shouts, have ten out of eighteen skills maxed. i am pround owner of five houses and have not killed a single rabbit.

but not all is lost: two days ago i finally got morrowind overhaul installed and so far the return to vvardenfall is turning out to be a lot of fun. also, the baldurs gate enchanced edition has been announced last week!

and in the real world the winter is gone, too. it's getting increasingly warmer, so i have started to do some sports again. and as every spring i feel like the most sluggish person all over town. but things are getting better each day.

2012-02-19 - tear a kiss into a lie of bliss

a week ago i went to see soap&skin at the volksbühne in berlin. i've already seen anja in 2009 but this time was very different from the last. the music was still as intense and brilliant as before, but see seemed much more mature this time (yeah, she's whooping 21 yrs old by now), still quite excentric but much more open to the audience. and she ended the show with a very emotional cover with the doors' "the end" (although played very much like nico's version). needless to say i got the new ep "narrow".

and i also obtained some new cd racks last week so i could replace the old crappy ones and get rid of the multiple chest-high stacks of cds at my desk at the same time. i would be lying if i said all looks nice and tidy now but at least the cds do. and the rest of my living room has at least improved a little.

i also finally had a bit of time at my hands to play some other games a bit besides "skyrim". i now got a few hours in "bastion" as well as "trine 2" under my belt and i have to say that both games are awesome. i also got "dear esther" at the weekend. it's very short (my play-though took less than two hours) but stunningly beautiful. i should probably say that it is not really a game. very hard to describe. some call it an interactive movie, some say it is simply a piece of art and one of the reviewers over at rockpapershotgun called it a "lonely, guilt-stricken man simulator". and all of that is completely true.

and while i am at the subject of games: doublefine, tim schafer's game company, wants to fund their next adventure via kickstarter. they've already got much more money than they aimed for, but it's still worth partaking if you're into these kind of games. every additional dollar will - according to tim - make the game bigger and better (voice actors, etc.).

until three month ago i had never done anything at kickstarter but over the past few weeks so many people i like have started projects that i find worth backing. meanwhile rich burlews "order of the stick"-drive is coming to an end (less than two days to go) and was wildly successful. he aimed for 60.000$ and got about a million. he also did intesting updates and comics regarding the drive every day which - at least for me - made it very worthwhile following the whole thing. and with him constantly adding rewards i am now updated from "one pdf-bonus story and a fridge magnet" to more bonus prizes than i care to name here (wallpapers, five bonus stories, patches, monster mineatures, etc.). it's really nice to see him care so much about his project and his fans!

whoa, this was the longest update in month! even if i didn't really say much. i think i need some sleep now!