Weest noch, wa still dat weer, Jehann?
Dar röhr keen Blatt an Bom
So is dat nu ni mehr, Jehann
As höchstens noch in Drom
Och ne, wenn do de Scheper sung
Alleen, int wide Feld:
Ni wahr, Jehann? Dat weer en Ton!
De eenzige op de Welt

Mitünner inne Schummerntid
Denn ward mi so to Mod
Denn löppt mi’t langs den Rügg so hitt
As domals bi den Sot
Denn dreih ik mi so hasti um
As weer ik nich alleen:
Doch allens, wat ik finn, Jehann
Dat is – ik sta un ween

It was a beautiful view flying into Milan, Italy.

Col de Platzerwasel

The next day we watch the start of the 14th stage in Colmar. Great atmosphere, beautiful wheather. I can only recommend this to soak up the TDF feeling.

Start of stage 14 in Colmar

And I got my own personal shot of Lance…

Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the 44th president of the United States and the nation’s first black commander in chief.  “Change has come to America”

Even though I’m living in the middle of the country and, as a fish, I miss the ocean terribly, I love being in the mountains. The more time I spent their the more I enjoy being there. I like the remoteness and the simplicity of life, I guess.

Im Moment durchlaufen wir eine Phase, in der alles dick ist – Menschen, Autos, Brillen, Lippen, Titten. Alles ist aufgeblasen.

-Tom Ford, Designer

Yet another reason to love Madison: The1oth annual Wisconsin Film Festival presented again a broad choice of excellent films, 4 of which we had the privilege to enjoy.

My two favorites are ‘Garbage Warrior’ and ‘Bon Cop, Bad Cop’. One an inspiring documentary about New Mexico based architect Michael Reynolds’ quest for sustainable, energy-independent housing, the other an hilariously funny, Starsky& Hutch-gone-Canadian type cop and buddy movie. Both films I would and I will watch again and can only recommend to everybody.

Rounded up by ‘Big Man Japan’, a sort of surreal documentary-style, CGI mix Japanese super hero versus monsters experimantal film with definite cult potential and by ‘Prague’, from the danish cinema, a film that you will find in the late night program of European public television stations, with a good portion of interpersonal drama, a slightly too sober melancholy and irrevocable determinism for my taste.

Thanks to the Wiscosnin Film Festival for a great movie weekend!

http://www.garbagewarrior.com

The movie ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ is a great adaptation of Patrick Süskinds novel ‘Das Parfum’. The book is certainly a master piece of opening the olfactory world by means of intense and dense narrative. I was very curious to see how this could be portrayed in a motion picture and I am impressed how this movie translates the sense of smell into a beautiful concoction of sound and image that captures the essence of the novel. Certain passages of the movie might appear out of context without having read the book, yet this doesn’t take away from the experience and, in fact, even adds to the mystique of a world that is explored outside of its own perimeters.

Despite being undertrained I had a really great and enjoyable race. It was a beautiful day, started out a little chilly but warmed up to about mid 50s. The course is smooth and scenic and the race organizers put on an overall great event. I can only recommend this race and I’m sure I’ll be back.

Just before preparing for landing in O’Hare. It’s nice to be coming home….

A perfect race day for 2000+ athletes. Watching the swim start already made we want to sign up again.
Well, I didn’t but it was a fun day regardless.

We went to see the Madison Mallards in their last game before the play offs. Well, the Mallards blew it and lost, but since I don’t understand the game to well anyway, it was a great day out nonetheless. They even had  post game fireworks. You don’t need to understand the sport to have a great time!

As pretty as they are and as much as I admire their natural beauty these nasty little buggers are determined to feast on our roses to the end of their days. All of our four rose plants are being battered by these Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica) and they attack my beloved plants in groups, as soon as the sun is out and start munching away on the flowers that are trying to open up.

My initial frustration has meanwhile progressed through an utter dislike to a solid grudge and it starting to turn into a personal vendetta of mine. Armed with a spray bottle of a water and Dr. Bronnner’s soap mix every morning and evening I embark on a spritzing crusade, sneak up to them behind my rose bushes and squirt like there’s no tomorrow.

So far the bugs have kept the upper hand but I’m determined to prevail…

I’ve been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I’ve cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways.

The latest confession of retired danish pro cyclist and current manager of Danish Team CSC Bjarne Riis, admitting to EPO doping during the 1996 Tour de France that he won, is just another dose of reality in regards to the use of performance enhancing drugs in professional cycling.

_{image courtesy of Reuters}

The history of pro cycling is also a history of doping:

Doping timeline ()

Thanks guys, I hope you stay just the way you are.

Für mehr zum Rennen habe ich hier eine kleine extra Seite eingerichtet. Ich versuche nach und nach, meinen Bericht zu ergänzen, wann immer ich ein wenig Zeit finde.

I can tell whether or not I like a book by its first sentence. “Call me Ishmael.”, “Her gynecologist recommended him to me.”, “Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.”, just to name a few of my all time favorites, pretty much map out the illustrous future of everything following. I am generally sold on a great opening line hence I wanted my first headline in my first blog ever to be somewhat memorable. So I’ve decided to quote David Letterman as he responded so very befittingly to Bill O’Reilly in tonights Late Show. I think it appositely reflects my still existing scepticism about the worthiness of free floating online opinions and I really appreciate the public embarrassement to which Mr. O’Reilly was exposed.