caught the bug

I'm getting into German football (soccer). European soccer, like the airline industry, has a high entry price and requires a good amount of capital to gain any traction. But now that I'm in I've gotten swept up by both the quality and quantity of play. Here's a summary of my (elementary) understanding so far:
The most confusing part is the heinous amount of leagues. Here's a simple breakdown:
On one level you have the Nationalmannschaft: they national team. They play in the World Cup and the UEFA Eurocup, and are collected as the cream of the German Fußball citizenry. During off years (odd numbered years) without the WM or EM they play qualifying matches sporadically. While playing for this team is a high honor, it is is not a directly lucrative honor: every player on the national team is a member of another team, a team that's based in a city and part of the worldwide open market for football players.
These teams make up the thousands of teams in Europe and play in the handful of leagues. In Germany, teams compete in the Bundesliga (1, 2, and 3), the Champions League, the UEFA Cup and the DFB-Pokal. Most important for most of the teams is the 1. Bundesliga- the top 18 teams in Germany play to be German Champs. The 2nd and 3rd leagues are proving grounds for younger, less experienced clubs: but if a team wins the 2nd league, they're invited to play in the 1st, and if you're terrible (schrott) in the 1st league you can drop down. Kind of like the Washingtion Nationals getting demoted to AA where they belong. This system allows for some amazing Cinderella stories, like that of Heidelbergs local team 1899 Hoffenheim- two years ago they were buried in the 2nd league and have risen to lead the standings in the first league.
The Champions League is an international tournament of the best clubs from UEFA countries (basically Europe). Bayern München represents Germany almost perennially. The UEFA trophy is the highest honor a team can recieve.
Just below Champions League is the UEFA Cup, where slightly poorer teams compete to get into the Champs League.
The DFB-Pokal is the second most important German competition, and it's also interesting because it allows all 32 1st and 2nd league teams to compete, as well as the best 3rd leaguers and some top regional teams. This as well allows for upsets and surprises.
So most important, beyond who's playing and when, is to see under the auspices of what tournament or league the game is taking place. In context it all makes sense.
People take this stuff seriously here- it is without question the national sport. And now that I understand what it all means, I'm excited to enjoy the next few months of it.
Now to figure out which team I support...



Listening to Oh Lonesome Me by M. Ward

Fotos von Karneval

Some highlights...
From our perch above the parade.

Plus a stop in Bonn on my way home yesterday- this is the room Ludwig Van was born in!

listening to: Canopy Glow from Anathallo

kölle alaaf!

sorry it´s been a while- i've been celebrating Karneval in Köln! I don't have time to write up a complete review, but ganz kurz: it was a blast. a very very overwhelming cultural shock, thousands of scary clowns and all other sorts of creatures, candy being thrown from tractors and poor old ladies in wheel chairs and everyone loving every minute. i'll put up pictures when im back in romantic heidelberg.

Best, Alex

new music!

I've written less music then I'd have liked to have in the last couple years. But I've been making more attempts recently and I came up with one today. I literally wrote it in the last 20 minutes, it's very very incomplete and rough, but I recorded it so I don't forget it. That's my biggest issue most often- that I come up with a cool jam or words or something, but don't write it down or record it and the idea is lost. I am going to make more of an effort to sit and write songs, as well as to record some version of them for future work.
I was kind of inspired to write today by a band I stumbled across: I saw them twice in Chicago in 2007, once at an acoustic open mic (which I played as well) and again at a coffee-shop/restaurant setting with a full band. I'm happy for their success- but at the same time it makes me think I really ought to write more songs and crash the Chicago open mic circuit next year. Who knows what could happen?
Here's the song I recorded today: again, rough, but enjoy anyway-



Also, high speed rail in the United States? 8 billion is headed toward building its infrastructure in the stimulus plan.

take it to the man, man

As a requirement to study in Germany as an international student, you need to pass some sort of German language test, to prove aptitude. I did this last summer during my frantic attempt to apply and get accepted at a University here. My grades on the TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) were not quite sufficient, but I asked for special permission and they let me in, on grounds that I retake the test in March of this year.
Well at the beginning of the year I recieved a letter, letting me know I had been enrolled in the DSH (another form of the German test) and that, unless I took and passed the test, I would not be allowed to study here the next semester.
I had absolutely no interest in taking that test.
So, after a bit of persuasion from my roommate and landlords, I wrote a letter to the office for international students (in proofread and perfect German) asking to be freed from the required test.
I waited a couple weeks and had received no answer. I counted my losses and accepted that I'd have to stick around in little Heidelberg during my semester break to take the dumb test. But then on a whim I sifted through my junk email folder and came across the answer- I needed only to provide a letter from an advisor or professor confirming my proficiency and I'd be free!
So I asked a professor to write a letter for me, he returned it to me in two days, and I went this morning to have it looked over. The administrator lady read the letter once through and told me I was free to go, no requirement to take the test anymore. She said it makes them happy to run into international students who can actually speak German well. Ahh.
So it goes to show- show some initiative and ask for what you want, and you may get it sometimes.
I'm flying to Rome, then Athens, and back instead of taking a dumb test. Life is good.