Boat Lift Henrichenburg

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Fordiebianco

The best ever girlfriend and myself had some time during the primary gifting season to visit one of the most glorious industrial monuments in West Germany, the Boat Lift (Schiffshebewerk) in Waltrop. There are actually 2 of them, one next to each other. The glorious one on the picture was built in 1899 and opened officially by that old war horse Wihelm II.

Beautiful, innit?

Icons of the decade

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Fordiebianco

Yesterday G2 -The Guardian’s magazine – featured their ‘Icons of the decade’. It was a rather ecclectic (‘weird’ would probably be more accurate) mix: David Beckham, Osama bin Laden,The Obamas, Madeleine McCann, Carrie Bradshaw (the one with the long nose from ‘Sex and the City’ for my male readers), Google, Tony Blair, Jamie Oliver, Harry Potter and, er, Britney Spears. I think the Guardian and I differ on the the definition of an icon. G2 must have literally meant the optic aspect of the word. They obviously chose the most depicted people of the last ten years. Whether they have ‘iconic status’ is a different matter. For me an icon represents an ‘important and enduring symbol’. Whether most of G2’s choices fit into that category I have no idea. But hey, this is ‘citizen journalism’,

so let’s try that again:

Fordiebianco’s 10 icons of the decade.

Hu Jintao: for turning China into the most powerful nation in the world by skilfully mixing a free economy with an oppressive one party state.
Helen Clark: for instilling some sorely needed reforms in this ultra-capitalist country and turning it into a diplomatic powerhouse.
Dick Cheney: for turning Washington D.C. into the ultimate evil empire and getting away with it.
George W. Bush: for being the moronic posterchild of Dick Cheney’s antics
Tony Blair: for squandering the good will of an entire nation and not having anything to show for it in the end
Angela Merkel: for proving that female geeks are better world leaders
Brian Cox: for proving that you can be cool, sexy and a good communicator with a PhD and a professorship in Physics
The Williams Sisters: for dominating a white elitist sport for a decade.
The Obamas: for instilling hope into a frazzled humanity
Terry Pratchett: for attempting to dissiminate a positive view of humanity and tackling Alzheimer’s in public

A pretty mixed (and depressing) bunch, but then the noughties weren’t a particular ‘good news’ decade. It’s two decisive moments, 9/11 and Copenhagen, will be remembered as the moments when things started to go pear-shaped. It’s hard to be optimistic about the next ten years, but what’s left to do then hope for the better.

So, in the spirit of the season:

Merry bloody Christmas

Winter in Essex

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Fordiebianco

It. Has. Arrived.

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Fordiebianco

Today I was having a beer with a friend at Indo’s, contemplating about the state of pre-Christmas time, when, through the glass cabinet of the fridge, I saw a dark green bottle with a familiar font. I gently asked the lovely bar attendant:

‘I am sorry, but is this normal Steinlager or Steinlager Pure?’

Oh, I think it’s the normal Steinlager. No, wait: It is the pure stuff.’

I carefully took ownership of the container, checking for the details: Indeed, it was labelled as brewed in Auckland. Imported by a place in London. After trying to get hold of a bloody bottle for two years, there it was, in my own local.