Polymer bills: The Canadian Dollar goes plastic

On my last visit to Canada, I saw something rather particular: banknotes made of plastic. They look different, they feel different, they even smell different.  

So acting like the little mountain-girl from the European province I admittedly am, I was quite astonished by this apparently futuristic plastic money. I - frankly - felt like I was catching a glimpse of the distant future.

Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a bit. If I made it sound as if we were paying in kind or that we were engaging in countertrade around here, let me assure you: That is not the case. (Although, who knows, how long good old paper Euro will make it?!)

Researching a bit about the super-modern Canadian bills, I found out, that they aren't even that new: The so-called polymer notes were first issued as currency in Australia in 1988! And before the Bank of Canada introduced polymer banknotes in 2011, quite a few other countries had the same idea, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Zambia, Nigeria, Nicaragua and many more...

The first European country to introduce a full set of circulating polymer banknotes was Romania in 1999, a country that is not specifically known for its role as a pioneer in modern technologies.

:-[==0

The world explained by two cows

SOCIALISM 

You have 2 cows. 

You give one to your neighbour. 


COMMUNISM 

You have 2 cows 

The State takes both and gives you some milk. 


FASCISM 

You have 2 cows. 

The State takes both and sells you some milk. 


BUREAUCRATISM 

You have 2 cows. 

The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other and then throws the milk away. 


TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM 

You have two cows. 

You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income. 


VENTURE CAPITALISM 

You have two cows. 

You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. 
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. 
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. 


AN AMERICAN CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has died. 



A CHINESE CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation. 


AN INDIAN CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

You worship them. 




A FRENCH CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows. 



A SWISS CORPORATION 

You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you.

You charge the owners for storing them. 


A BRITISH CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

Both are mad. 


AN IRAQI CORPORATION 

Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. 

You tell them that you have none. Nobody believes you, so they bomb the crap out of you and invade your country. 
You still have no cows but at least you are now a Democracy. 


AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate. 


A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION 

You have two cows. 

The one on the left looks very attractive. 


A GREEK CORPORATION 

You have two cows borrowed from French and German banks. 

You eat both of them. The banks call to collect their milk, but you cannot deliver so you call the IMF. The IMF loans you two cows. 
You eat both of them. The banks and the IMF call to collect their cows/milk. You are out getting a haircut.



AN ITALIAN CORPORATION 

You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are. 

You decide to have lunch. 

I got this text from a very dear friend. I have no idea who owns the rights to it, but I just had to share it.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

:-[===0

Munich Oktoberfest - warm up follies

Leading up to the 2 weeks and 3 weekends of traditional buzz during the Wies'n, there are quite a lot "Wies'n Warm Up Parties". At those bashes the theme, dresscode, music and food are, as expected, Bavarian Dirndl/Lederhosen style.

Nothing surprising so far, but today I stumbled across yet another pug dog story linked to Oktoberfest and the related Warm Up Parties. Remember, in 2010 a poor little puppy ended up in the lost and found office.

This year a quite fancy Wies'n Warm Up Pug Dog Party was organized. 74 female pug dog owners payed 100 € to enter the event, themselves dressed in rather exotic Dirndl and botox, their dogs in Lederhosen. Makes for an unforgetable group picture! Host of the event was dog "Sir Henry" and his dog-mommy Uschi Ackermann. (The two even have their own homepage.)

During the event some German folk singer performed his new Wies'n hit song called "Scharfe Möpse". For all the non-German-readers here, that translates into either "Spicy pug dogs" or, using more colloquial German language, into "Hot bo*bs". Hmmm yeah, one hell of a classy party entertainment I'd say...

Sir Henry himself

But not enough with the pugs. Her significant other is Gerd Käfer, owner of a successful gourmet food business in Munich and the dog fever in combination with Oktoberfest must have gotten also to him rather severely. While she was organizing the party, Mr. Käfer wrote recipes with Bavarian culinary specialities for - yes, who else- dogs! I'll try to find out if those cook instructions with names like PUG DOG SUSHI (is it just me or does that more sound like a sliced up puppy??)or WOOF PIZZA are bestsellers...

Bavarian pug dog (the gourmet, not the ingredient!) recipes

I can just agree with the author of a southern German newspaper who asks himself, if there is no limit to the lunacy grasping people as Oktoberfest time approaches.

Munich Oktoberfest in numbers

This year's Oktoberfest, or "Wies'n" as the locals call it, is coming up.

For quite a while now it hasn't just been a local thing anymore, people from all over the world come to say "Prost!" and "Mahlzeit!" which results in some crazy numbers:

• 95 gastronomical companies feed the visitors

• Oktoberfest employs 8.000 fixed and 4.000 changing workers

• the biggest tent is the "Hofbräuzelt" with 10.000 seats available (including the beergarden)
• all in all there are 14 big tents and 21 little ones (the smallest has 60 seats available) and together they offer 105.000 seats

 

 2011

• had 6.9 million visitors
• 7.5 million liters of beer (Maß) were consumed 
• 522.821 chicken and
• 118 oxen were eaten
• 4.750 things landed in the lost and found office including a Viking's helmet and some fake teeth

Wies'n Hendl

entrance of a tent called "oxen roaster"

even crazier: in the previous year 2010 the same office had to deal with a pug dog, a bunny, riding crops oh hello Christian Grey! and more hearing aids and fake teeth.

the poor dog found in 2010 - who would even bring one to Oktoberfest?!

 

200 people ask here for their lost phone DAILY!

Flying with Delta part II: Never again

So, we arrived in Ottawa one day later than we had thought. Spend 10 great days there, visiting family and friends, hanging out at cottages, eating, drinking and relaxing.

When the day of departure came, we were driven to the Ottawa airport, which is very nice, clean and you even go through customs there already, so you don't have to do that after your actual arrival in the US, waiting in lines for hours. Super convenient.

You might see it coming: After three hours of waiting, our flight was delayed and then -surprise!- cancelled. Due to a storm in NYC. Well, we were quite bummed out, but at least we knew we could just call family and stay with someone until the day after, for our rescheduled flight in the early morning.

This time, we were smart enough to recheck our flight online in the evening. And again -who would have guessed?!- it was cancelled. At least we didn't have to go back to the airport, waiting there for nothing. Our next flight was supposed to leave the same day at 2 pm, but checking again online on both airport's and the airline's homepages, it appeared to be cancelled on one of them. So we called the airline and the airport but nobody could help us. Nobody knew what was going on. So we went there anyways, but we were pretty pessimistic about the outcome of this anew attempt. We felt like we were just not supposed to go to New York.

And we were surprised again: This time the plane took off almost on schedule. We made it to New York, had two wonderful days there and there was no problem whatsoever with our flight back to Europe.

By the way, asking our cab driver in New York about that storm, that was supposed to have caused the cancellation of two of our flights, he said, that there was one in the morning the day before, but since then the sun had been shining. And other airlines flights had gotten in just fine and on time.

What remains is our declared intention to never fly with Delta Airlines again and an odd allergic reaction hearing the word combination "air traffic problems".

"You talkin' to me?!"

...sounds familiar? 

Spill the beans you movie lovers, whose famous words are these?

Well folks, there are some people in this world who just don't seem to believe in the most basic rules of courtesy. I could list at least 5 names right now. Looking at these people, I'm sure, the reason for this lack of manners is not always a foul character, but sometimes insecurity, arrogance, stress, no education...

...frankly, I don't care.

In my opinion, it should be known to and possible for everyone to greet, say "thank you" and "please" and it surely doesn't matter in which language. Just saying it, will be understood and positively noted. Internationally, overcoming all language barriers, cultural differences and diverse customs.That easy.

Do you agree?

bitte.

1. please; if you please
2. you're welcome
3. excuse me
4. here you are (when offering something) 

danke.

wie bitte?

per favore / per piacere / prego / per cortesia / per gentilezza

grazie / grazie mille

prego?

please/ you're welcome

thank you

pardon?

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.
{Arthur Schopenhauer}

If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world.
{Francis Bacon}
 

The small courtesies sweeten life; the greater ennoble it.

{Christian Nevell Bovee}

 

courtesy pays off

...also here.

easy enough, right?

15 impressions from the Kirchtag in Oberbozen

Lederhosen

One of the music groups taking part in the procession came from Bavaria, Germany.
That's how they were dressed:

Bavarian Dirndl

Bavarian musicians

Some important town personalities take part in the procession with that beauty of a historical carriage:

...pulled by Haflinger horses, a breed originating from South Tyrol.

Haflinger horses

you have to put up with less traditional peace signs in the pics if you know the "stars" :)

The blue apron is typical for Tyrolean peasants.
In the time, when they weren't allowed to wear their traditional costumes (due to the planned "Italianization" of the region by the government), the blue aprons were regarded as a secret backup costume.

traditional costume

A short Dirndl, maybe a little less traditional, but who cares when the legs are this mind-boggling :)

traditional costume Ritten area

traditional costume Ritten area women

Thought.

from

Free Pussy Riot!

Our thoughts are with Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Ekaterina Samucevich. A failure of the international community at saving these exceptional political activists from going to jail would be unacceptable.

Solidarity for Pussy Riot

from

Odd world

I just got home from a two week vacation in Canada and New York. It was a lot of fun and I will report more on it soon. I just wanted to tell you about a strange and highly contradictory event first:

I felt pretty safe on that whole trip, even though I was aware of staying in big cities with a certain crime rate. And coming back home to our little mountain town, we felt very relaxed and happy to be home again. It is this crazily safe world, kids playing all over the town every day, people rarely locking their doors...so you might be able to share our shock, when yesterday our little town's bank was robbed! At lunchtime, right before the employees of the bank left, a guy entered the bank with a gun, shot at a wall to prove that the gun was real and then escaped with about 50.000 €! What an odd world we live in...a bank robbery in a 1.400-people-town!

Anyways, they didn't catch the bank robber yet, even though he escaped on a bicycle, no kidding.

:-[==0

The Olympics 2012

...are over. Did you watch?

here the official medal count:

 

Italy: 28 medals (8 gold, 9 silver, 11 bronze)

Germany: 44 medals (11, 19, 14)

Canada: 18 medals (1, 5, 12)

but what about some stars and stories?

 

• After the German Betty Heidler threw her hammer 72,39 meters were shown but not put into the computer. While her competitors were running the lap of honor, Betty discussed openly with the judges. Finally the width of her hammer-throw was measured by hand: 77,13 meters and bronze!
• Germany's men won Olympic-hockey-gold! The 4th time already! Try and work on the ice-hockey qualitites gentlemen, it's time to challenge Canada.
• Germany's men won gold in the beach volleyball discipline as the first European team ever. Against Brazil the superheroes of beach volleyball.
• The North Italian walker and Olympic gold winner in Bejing Alex Schwazer was banned from the Olympic games in London for being suspected of Epo-Doping. He was tested in June during training camp and admitted to the news that he made a mistake and wanted to be stronger this time (after he won gold at the last games) and that it was wrong. He also said, he got the doping in Turkey. And unfortunatelly in Italy you are prosecuted by the government authorities for doping. Not good.
• Tiffany Foster and her mount Victor were disqualified from competing because the horse had a little cut on the front leg and was sensitive to touch. FEI hypersensitivity protocol states that in that case, regardless of the cause, the horse has to be disqualified. Even if Victor was most probably fit and ready to go, the rule serves to protect horses in general from tormenting procedures used to make horses perform better. Good rule and bad luck for Victor and Tiffany Foster I would say.
• Canadian women are 2012 soccer bronze medallists! Italy? Germany? Soccer nations where are you? Oh ya right, Germany was busy with the men's hockey medal. Hello weird world!

Denmark: last year this time...

beautiful day at the beach in Skagen, Nordjylland, Denmark

... I started to get ready to follow my man to Denmark for the season. All the way up in the north of that already very much northern country. And that me, the sun lover, southern lifestyle fan and coffee culture craver! I found out, that in these lines of latitude I would get my fair share of the famous short, dark days in wintertime and beautiful, lucent long days in the summer. How convenient that I would be there between September and something around March!!

I was lucky enough though, to have the time and to find a cheap flight right around this time in August to visit for some days the town I would later live in (and of course him).

So here are just some things I figured out during my first hours in Danish-landia:

Denmark is flat. Flatter than flat when you're used to live in between mountains.

This insight led to a funny moment right at the end of my stay in Denmark. My friend drove me to the airport and said on the highway, that she gets a weird feeling every time she drives over that hill. Probably the height change... I didn't know what the heck she was talking about, we didnt drive over any hill. Oh yeah, she meant that 5 meter difference over a stretch of a kilometer! Ha, I can't wait for her to visit me here, where you drive 500 meters up and down all the time...

 

Northern Italian and Northern Danish temperatures in August are NOT the same. It's still bright but don't let the picture betray you, it's windy and not really warm. Yay me, I brought a jacket.

The beaches in Nordjylland (that's Northern Denmark) are white, sandy and beautiful. They even plant some palm trees on one!

...which I wanted to show my friend when she came to visit from Italy and looked like an idiot when there were none. They had to bring them somewhere inside for the winter, of course...

Despite all the info, not to expect too much of a warm welcome from Scandinavians, that they're a closed up folk and need some time to open up, I felt right away heartly welcomed. Responsibles from my man's team did their best to help me settle in  and organize everything, people in the town were friendly and helpful.

Where else would they tell you to just go buy whatever is missing in the fully equipped appartment. Should I tell them before and ask? Nope just bring the bill and we'll reimburse you.

 

I was shocked to be in a country where I didnt understand a thing. Well ya, big surprise if you don't speak Danish, stupid! But I take pride in speaking or at least understanding 4 languages and I hadn't been in a country where I wouldn't understand for some time.

Wasn't a big problem though, Danish people speak all very good English and some even German.

(I should have learnt more Danish. I didn't and I didn't try hard. I picked up the words I needed to get by and go grocery shopping. Then I started working in a Danish company which kept me pretty busy and occupied. I learnt some more and had to use all my other languages at work, plus not my first language at home, obviously. But still, now I think I should have invested more time.)

Denmark is windy, especially in the North and close to the beach. Getting out of the mini plane which took me the last 40 minutes from Copenhagen I almost got blown away. Literally.

The huge tankers and ships are cool. I spent at least an hour on my first day there just standing at the window and staring. I've never lived at a harbour and there was one right in front of our doorstep.

***

against firm beliefs...

This won't be the only post about Dirndl.

Because

1. 50 % of The mashup mission is right now on a trip to Canada and New York City. With her Dirndl and she's commited to wear it. We'll see the pictures soon!
2. We live in South Tyrol and I grew up in Munich. Even though - against kept firm beliefs abroad - we're not wearing a Dirndl everyday, we do own and wear them on a regular basis. Mountain parties, traditional festivities, Oktoberfest and other suitable events call for the traditional dress.
3. A friend from Munich is a Dirndl & Accessoire Designer and she's awesome. In fact I love her creative designs so much, that I'm planning a whole post just about her. And no, she's not paying for it. (Her creations were in InStyle and on official Oktoberfest pages.)
4. It's "interesting" to see, what idea North Americans usually have, when they think about a Dirndl. Halloween is all I'm saying.
5. Oktoberfest-season is coming up and we should all be well prepared :)

here's a little sneak peek:

[from] 

and here the shocker
from a Canadian costumes onlineshop, linked on a
 Canadian "quality Oktoberfest costumes" page...

seriously?? [from]

***

breaking (is) bad!

No, this is not a post about crystal meth, guns and murder. But about a crime, which in Italy is worse than that. Which would make the toughest mafioso cringe. The kind, that puts horseheads, still bleeding, in someone's bed.

BREAKING SPAGHETTI! No kidding. To fit them better in the pot. I thought, the defense: "everybody does that in Canada" was lame, but found out later that it's not far from the truth.

evidence

Only in very few cookbooks it actually says "to be careful not to break the spaghetti when you put them in the boiling water". I'm sure all the others simply assume, no one would ever use such a barbaric technique on the longer members of the innocent pasta species. Don't forget, you decided on the "breed" when you chose it in the store, so now deal with it!

Will it change the taste?

Noooo, probably not. But you'll go straight to Italian food hell.

Isn't cooking all about personal preferences?

Do you eat poutine out of the mixer?

Beavertails stonehard and crumpled up?

Why is it almost impossible to break spaghetti neatly in half?

Because it hurts their feelings.  

***  

palatable pesto

pesto - another delicious and simple delicacy of the Italian cuisine.

...and what is pesto? It's a creamy yet flakey green paste, which does not only make an excellent pasta sauce but also refines meat, fish, salad, vegetables and caprese. The best part is: it's easily made of basic ingredients.

You need:

200 gram ( 7,14 oz) fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons pignolia (pine nuts)
3 garlic cloves

100 gram (3,57 oz) Parmesan cheese

                 or 50 gram Parmesan and 50 gram sheep cheese
salt to taste
1 tablespoon pepper (corn)
100 milliliter high quality olive oil

Cut the fresh basil and use mortar and pestle on everything except the oil until you have little flakes. Add the olive oil for a creamy consistence.

Please keep in mind that the fresher and better the ingredients you use, the more delicious your result!

ingredients

[from]

[from]

pesto chicken

caprese

variations like tomatoe pesto soon to be posted, stay tuned!

***