Coffee 'n' Cats

 Image: originalcoffeecat

Whenever I think of cats, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling that floods through my body, similar to coffee that percolates through the moka pot. As soon as contact with coffee or cat is established, everything lights up, no matter how excruciating life may seem at that moment. Soaking my body’s every fibre, both transform bad thoughts into no thoughts at all, leaving only but a bittersweet aftertaste. Whereas the thought of cats and their actual presence usually calms me down, coffee has quite the opposite effect: it resurrects me. 

“Internet killed Television”

Kids react to CTFxC by FineBros

In the 21^st century the Internet seems to offer everybody the possibility to become famous. “Broadcast yourself” is YouTube’s slogan, and millions of users are doing just that. They are using the opportunity to express themselves, make their own shows and share their opinions. With creativity and the right equipment, some YouTubers are even able to make a living with their videos. Have you ever heard of Kimmy West, the Hillywood Show, Charles Trippy or Shay Carl? Never heard of any of these names? You’re clearly not part of the new Internet killed television media generation. Don’t be afraid! Not being up-to-date is not a total disaster.

Let me give you a little insight into the world of fans who become celebrities themselves. In my last post it seemed as if there were only fans who would sell their soul for a piece of crappy merchandise. This time I’d like to honor the people who are amazing personalities - equal to the actors who bring the characters of our beloved stories to life.

Learning with the OeBB, Lesson Two: OeBB – Connecting People

"I asked the Bahnhofsvorstand,

I asked the Kassier,
I asked the man who sells the heisse Würstel
I asked the Fahrdienstleiter,

the man with the beer,
I even asked the Putzfrau with the Bürstel,"

sings the Austrian cabaret artist Gerhard Bronner in his famous song Bundesbahn Blues. But when there is no rail-staff present, the tourists are on their own. That’s why I am a part-time tourist guide in summer. Not one of those umbrella-waving guides, mumbling into a microphone and blocking the street. I’m a one-woman company…

GUITARS: THE KEY TO A MYRIAD OF DOORS AND ADVENTURES

On a chilly night, there is nothing more wonderful than sitting around a campfire with your friends, telling spooky stories and baking foil-wrapped potatoes on the hot embers. But still, one thing is missing! The sound of a guitar. It's the guitar that makes this atmosphere really cozy.  

Hyvää Vappua

© MissReads

A short introduction to the Finnish Language: hyvä means good, and Vappu is the Finnish name for May Day (May 1^st). The endings -ä and -a signify the partitive, and in this case it has to be used because Hyvää Vappua is a greeting. (If you want to know more about the partitive or other fascinating aspects of Finnish Grammar go here). Hyvää Vappua therefore means Happy May Day.

Other useful holiday greetings are: 

Hyvää Joulua = Merry Christmas.

Hyvää Pääsiäinen = Happy Easter.

Hyvää Itsenaisyspäivää = Happy Independence Day.                  

Just in case you happen to be stranded in Finland for any of these occasions. The Finns will love you when you're able to say the appropriate greeting (btw. the ä is not pronounced as [ɛː] (like the German ‘ä’), but as [æ]).

But let’s leave the linguistics alone for now. Why am I writing a post entitled 'Hyvää Vappua'? Because Vappu is the holiday for students and workers in Finland.

But mostly for students.

Anti-Pamelism

I’ve often witnessed people throw their hands up in horror when I’ve casually mentioned that over the course of this semester I’ve read Samuel Richardson’s Pamela for the literary seminar I signed up for. Admittedly, before I started reading it, my apprehensions before reading it had been slowly but steadily building. I expected it to be the most insipid story ever written, describing the hysterical fears of a girl that’s virtuous to the point of being kinky. And somehow that’s a pretty apt description of Richardson’s novel. And somehow not quite. What’s certain, though, is that I’ve got a problem with it.

The romance of the road

The term 'bus trip' usually doesn't sound very alluring to me. In fact, it sets my alarm bells ringing, conjuring up a vision of doddery old people being carted from sight to sight on their one-week round trip of Europe. 

And yet, going by bus can prove to be a unique travel experience: When during a stay in the Canadian Rockies two years ago my friends and I decided to sniff some sea air and pay a visit to the Pacific Rim coast, the best option seemed to take a Greyhound bus. A time-honored icon of American travel, Greyhound offers a special bargain seemingly custom-fitted to the needs of undemanding, chronically underfinanced students: the Discovery Pass, valid for two weeks throughout Canada and the United States. Here's what happened on our road trip.