The Dead Pants

I know I've mentioned Die Toten Hosen on this blog before (here's the post to prove it), but I wanted to put up a few of their videos because they're still one of my favorite bands in any language. Their name, as the title of this blog indicates, means "The Dead Pants," but "toten Hosen" can also mean that nothing's going on somewhere (maybe like "the boondocks" in English?).

When I was looking around the internet doing "research" for this post, I also came across this. It's got a good general overview of the band and it's in Spanish. It also seems that they actually came to Costa Rica in 2009! I wish I had known about it, but then again, I'm not sure I'd have gone, since my concert-going days seem to largely be a thing of the past.

Anyhow, here's the video I put up in the other post, for "Steh auf, wenn du am Boden bist," which means "Get up when you're on the ground." It's actually a pretty motivating song, and I played it in my German class this evening. My students seemed to like it:

But wait, that's not all! Here's "Walkampf," a sort of play on words that literally means "Whale-Fight." It's definitely one of my Top 5 German Punkisch-Rock songs featuring a bagpipe. It's not necessarily got a positive message or anything, but it's fun to listen to and the video's pretty cool, too:

This one definitely doesn't have much of a message at all, except for that the Bayern M�nchen football team is crap. Die Toten Hosen are from D�sseldorf and they're big fans of the local team, so the chorus says, "So many things can happen, so many things can occur, only one thing I know 100% for sure: never in my life would I go to Bayern!":

And they even have some pretty good songs in English! This is one of my favorites:

So, there's a very basic primer to this group. If you like the songs, I'm sure you can find more just by following the YouTube links at the end of each video, or you can also go to their website to find more information about them.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

I Heart German, Germany, and Germans

I heart German, Germany, and Germans, but you have to admit that they do often provide fertile ground for some good-natured joking (after all, when most people think of Germany, the first thing that comes to mind is "humor"). Additionally, Blogtoberfest is inherently Teutonic in nature due to its name, so on that note, I wanted to post my two favorite not-necessarily-German "Funny German" videos. I originally saw both of them via my friends Brian and Barbara quite a few years ago, actually, so you may have seen them, too. If not, enjoy:

This one really makes a strong case for Germans' rights. Now, here's another classic, and although it involves German, it's actually more of an English-oriented video:

So, that's it for now... but you can hold off the incredible onslaught of blogging that is Blogtoberfest for only just so long (till about tomorrow, probably). Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

"The Gift That Keeps On Giving": A Play in One Act

Cast of Characters:

Jane: A charming young woman, with tragic taste in Fathers' Day gifts

Pete: A charming young man, swashbuckler

Orange Julius Crier

Beautiful Girl

Mall Patrons and/or Dregs of Society

Scene: "Suburbia, U.S.A."

Act I, Scene 1

As the curtain rises, we see a bench at a mall. There is hustle, bustle, and the sound of the criers at Orange Julius offering their wares. 

Orange Julius Crier (From offstage): Juliuses! Juliuses! Orange and Strawberry Juliuses, now on offer to tempt your taste buds! We also have hot dogs! 

(The voice of the crier fades out, and we see our two protagonists enter the stage from opposing sides. Jane is preoccupied sending a text message, and Pete gets temporarily distracted by a beautiful girl working at the Lady Foot Locker. As they move closer, they finally see each other.)

Jane: Hey Pete! Pete! What's up?

Pete: Oh, hi Jane! Not much. Say, what's that you've got in that bag there?

Jane: Oh, this? It's a tie that looks like a piano keyboard. It's Fathers' Day, remember? I'm going to give it to my dad later today.

Pete: Another tie that looks like a piano keyboard?? I hope you're going to be giving him some sort of alcohol first, to numb his senses and help him forget what a disappointing gift-giver his daughter's become!

Jane: Well, there's no need to be mean about it, but you're right, actually. I know that my father's a traveling magician and keyboard player, but I think he's been faking his enthusiasm about the last couple of keyboard ties I gave him. But I just can't think of anything better! What e'er shall I do?!

Pete: Gosh, Jane, looks like you've got yourself tied up, but I think I just might have the solution for you! 

Jane: Oh, if you could help me, I'd owe you so big time.

Pete: I have the perfect gift for you; why not get your old man a lovely set of German loanwords from the Sitzman ABC Platinum Collection?

Jane: Pete, that's the perfect Fathers' Day gift, obviously, but how will I ever be able to afford it? Will I have to sell my hair to get money to buy those German loanwords? They must cost a fortune!

Pete: Absolutely not--you get to keep that lovely hair right on your head! That's the best thing about the Platinum Collection at Sitzman ABC: It's completely free! So instead of giving your dad some crappy tie, why not give him something he'll use and enjoy? The Platinum Collection from Sitzman ABC has so many wonderful, elegant German loanwords, and they're all gathered together into one convenient package. It's got almost too many words to mention here, but you'll get beautiful words like kindergarten, delicatessen, realpolitik, angst, gesundheit...

Jane (interrupts excitedly): What about schadenfreude?

Pete: You bet your ass you get schadenfreude! 

Jane: I'm sold! I'd better get there soon--but where's there store? The mall maps are always so hard to read! 

Pete: Jane, that's the best part! The German loanwords collection from Sitzman ABC's Platinum Collection is available exclusively online at Sitzman ABC, which means that you won't have to go to the mall and interact with the dregs of society just to get a decent Fathers' Day gift!

(They hold hands, and turn together and walk slowly towards the mall exit.)

Jane: Oh, Pete, that's wonderful! (Pause) And I know you'll make a great father, too!

Pete: A great... a great... whaaat?

Jane (quietly, looking down): A father, Pete.

Pete (perplexed, almost in a whisper): But how can this be?

Jane: I think you know how, Pete.

Pete: I told you that drinking coconut milk and chamomile tea wasn't a form of birth control! Ach, Schei�e!

(As they quietly walk out of the mall, the curtain drops.)