German Road Tunes

During this term, I've been making a regular trip to Oregon State in Corvallis to my home in Keizer four days a week. That is over 44 miles one-way. That leaves me plenty of time to listen to loud music as I sip tea to keep awake on this regular 45-60 minute commute.

Music is a powerful teaching tool so I figured that I would listen to German music to try to get a better feel for the language . It worked for me when I was a kid back in the early days of Sesame Street and The Electric Company, why not now? While I am pretty eclectic with my musical tastes, I do tend to prefer certain genres of music--especially metal.

Rammstein was a no-brainer to add to my list. I've liked their music for a while now and they immediately hit my auf Deutch playlist on my semi-smart phone. They represent the largest share of songs on this playlist mainly due to my previous interest already had me collecting their songs.

Even in LEGO, Rammstein still kicks ass.

No matter how much I like a group, I will still need some variety over time. One band was not enough--I had to add to my list. My German instructor introduced me to a band called Ommph! It was not exactly what I was looking for, but this was one of those bands that do grow on you after a few listenings. While it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, I liked their music so they were added to my playlist. 

I believe that Rammstein listened to these guys.

 This led to some research for more bands. Unfortunately, a lot of bands that pop up when you're looking for German metal seems mainly Black or Death metal. I'm more specifically thinking of what I call a "cookie-monster" band. I don't knock the music for anyone else--I just don't care for it.

Sorry, these vocals really annoy me.

To be honest, as school really kicked in, I did not have a lot of time to do continue my research for new German metal. I did find one final band to make their way onto my phone: Megaherz. I like the overall sound of this group with an almost DEVO-like sensibility to their keyboarding. The guy's voice is pretty bassy, but it is not into the subterranean depths that the "cookie-monsters" sing from. I already plan on getting two of their albums from Amazon.

I love these guys!

I spent a lot of time on that road listening to these groups at a high volume as I sped to and from school.Well over half the time I was listening to this playlist. But even then I had to occasionally take a break with some O.S.I.

One of O.S.I.'s mellower tracks.

or John Arch.

From early Fates Warning to Arch/Matheos, 

this guy can still sing!

With the holiday break coming up, I wonder who else I can find?

Another Good Movie for German 111

In order to complete my cultural experience requirement for my German 111 class I went to see Ludwig II at the cozy Darkside Cinema yesterday. To be honest, if I wasn't limited by the gas costs to travel from Keizer to Corvallis and back, I would have tried to catch all of the movies. I had to be somewhat picky--being a history buff, Ludwig II grabbed my interest.

I had the time of the movie wrong so I arrive a few minutes late. However, I made such good time heading down to Corvallis, I didn't miss too much. I never really knew much about the Bavarian Monarch or much about German history outside of the early history of the Western world. Ludwig II was not really ready or perhaps suitable to be the ruler of his country. He had lofty ideals--ones that perhaps we should reach for. He felt that art, music, and culture were more important than war. He wanted to stay out of the wars that was sweeping Germany and France. Despite his best efforts, all was in vain. It is the classic problem with pacifism--it is a great ideal, but unfortunately, it doesn't do too well when an army invades your home. Between the pressures of ruling, his sexuality, and watching Bavaria lose a war and it's independence. It is no wonder he had mental health issues. The question is did he deserved to locked up like he was for the rest of his life?

This has sparked in me an interest of the history of that region. It is hard to separate one country's history from another in Europe--their proximity ensures that their histories will always be intertwined in some fashion or another. Perhaps I'll need to take another history class.

German 111 project blues and a good Movie.

As a requirement for my BA, I have to take two years of a foreign language. I chose to take German since I had a single term of it in high school, I have relatives in Germany, and I'm interested in reading German literature in its native tongue. Working on my first term, I can say that my German has a ways to go yet.

We needed to get some time doing different cultural things for our class and I wanted to have some fun doing it. My first idea was to organize a German Fluxx game. I had recently ordered this deck from Looney Labs with the idea of using it as part of a project. Unfortunately, my understanding of German is too lacking to read these cards and play the game. The deck I picked up was also based on the Fluxx 4.0 deck and my main Fluxx deck was version 3.0. What's the big difference? Well the card mix is different and 4.0 added two new types of cards: The Metarule and Creepers. So, my first idea had to be scrapped. Add to the issue that there are several different versions of the game--all with different card mixes.

 

Andy shows us how to play Family Fluxx.

I had to rethink what I was going to do and thankfully our instructor gave the class a great answer: The OSU International Film Festival V. Last night I watched the German movie Oh Boy! and it was a blast. The Darkside Cinema was an exceptionally small venue, but we all managed to crowd in to watch the movie.My instructor was there with her boyfriend and I noticed several of my classmates there. The theater we were in was small and it made it a more intimate setting. Having all of these people there did make the movie more enjoyable. Here was my teacher and classmates laughing along with me as we watched this hilarious movie.

One of the impressive parts was the fact that this was a thesis movie made by a German film student--the first thesis movie I could think of before is Cannibal: The Musical. He had somehow managed to convince some famous German actors to play parts in his movie. Shot in black and white, it adds to a darker feel  of the movie as our protagonist  seeks to find his way and to find a cup of regular, black coffee. That last bit adds a small Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle feel, but where  Harold and Kumar is a non-stop hilarious stoner movie, Oh Boy! is more somber between the laughs. With the subtitles allowing me to follow the movie, I was able to lose myself in the story. The movie was great and cuddling up with my wife to watch it again would be fun as well. When my understanding of German improves, it would also be nice to follow along without having to resort to the subtitles.

I still have another movie to watch to meet my requirements for class and I look forward to the next movie. I'll talk about it on here--also a requirement--but I have to admit that is is a fun assignment and not a chore. I'm opening myself to new literature and it seems that I'm starting to open myself up to some films I wouldn't have thought I'd like. I blame my teachers for opening up my mind and exposing me to new ideas and art. I also thank them for the same thing.

Welcome all!

Welcome to the newest incarnation of The Smokin' Deist. I previously had the blog on Wordpress, but I wasn't doing much with it for quite a while. With the blog's new home, I hope to do more with it.

Who am I?  I am happily married to a wonderful woman, Norma. I am a Deist who believes in a Creator, but not in "revealed religion". I am a college student who is currently working on my BA--I'm working on an English Major and a Writing Minor at Oregon State University. I am an OMMP card holder and I'm pro-cannabis. I am an aspiring writer. I am a bit more than all of this, but it's a good introduction so far.

I hope you enjoy my postings as I try to keep this blog more active than my previous one.