All Things German In California
HANGING IN THE SWING OF THINGS – THE SECRET SWING
My dear readers, please excuse my absence from this platform! You could quite say I took some sort of a hiatus the past two months. I know I brought up this excuse before that life happens – but boy, did my life happen. But I’ll come back to that in a future post. For now, I am going to let you in on a secret gem I recently discovered in the Los Angeles area.
[Read more…] about Hanging in the Swing of Things – The Secret Swing
100 Years Ago the First World War Ended in 1918. What if…?What if the world had emerged out of devastating World War I with peace negotiations that had helped restore world order, create balance among world powers, and had called for cooperation among nations?
Hitler, Stalin, and WW II might never have happened!
On the basis of real history, Magnus Dellwig is creating a fictional world in his novel “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” and imagines a different outcome in the fateful peace negotiations among the world powers at that time. Follow the account of foreign minister Gustav Stresemann and witness through his eyes how (a different) history unfolds…
Magnus Dellwig’s historical fiction novel is packed with the suspense of diplomatic and political drama. As of now, “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” is only available in German. Get a taste of the book with the following German synopsis.
Vor 100 Jahren endete der Erste Weltkrieg 1918 in einem Frieden, der keine neue Weltordnung schuf, weder Machtgleichgewicht noch Kooperation nach sich zog.
Was alles hätte der Menschheit erspart bleiben können, falls der Erste Weltkrieg mit einem Verhandlungs- und Verständigungsfrieden beendet worden wäre? Kein Hitler und kein Stalin! Kein Zweiter Weltkrieg! Kein Mao Dsedong und keine Volksrepublik China?
Wegen dieser Tragweite der Ereignisse von 1918 entwirft Magnus Dellwig in seinem Roman “1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson” eine Welt, die aus der Realgeschichte um Neujahr 1918 eine Bereitschaft der Staatsmänner zum Frieden erwachsen lässt. Zentren der Handlung sind Berlin und Washington, die Hauptstädte der Führungsmächte beider Bündnisse.
Die Lösung der Gegensätze wird schließlich gefunden in einer Verbindung von Präsident Wilsons Ziel des Selbstestimmungsrechtes der Völker und Reichskanzler Stresemanns Ziel einer Wirtschaftsunion für Mittel- und Osteuropa. Realistisch? Woodrow Wilson selbst sagte am 8. Januar 1918 im US-Kongress zur Vorstellung seines Friedensplans der 14 Punkte: “We have no jealousy of german greatness, and there is nothing in this program that impairs ist.”
Spannung entsteht durch die Ränke von Friedens- und Kriegspartei im deutschen Kaiserreich, durch eine deutsch-griechische Liebesgeschichte am Rande des Berliner Hofparketts und im Finale durch das zwischen Frankreich und Deutschland schier unlösbare Problem Elsaß-Lothringen. Es ist dann die gerade eben in den USA neu entstandene Wissenschaft des Marketings, welche die Lösung bringt.
Der Roman besticht durch seine Nähe an der historischen Realität. Alle Akteure aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Armee sind historische Persönlichkeiten, deren Charaktere nur in Nuancen variiert werden. Die Fiktion nimmt rasant an Fahrt auf, als der Autor Kaiser Wilhelm II. Ende Februar 1918 versterben lässt. Nicht zufällig wenige Tage vor dem deutschen Frieden mit dem bolschewistischen Russland vom 3. März. Auch jene Leser, die sich nicht als Experten zum Ersten Weltkrieg verstehen, werden spätestens jetzt von der turbulenten Handlung mitgeriseen, die in eine große Friedenskonferenz in Washington mündet.
Magnus Dellwig: 1918 – Wilhelm und Wilson, Roman, Verlagsbuchandlung Karl Maria Laufen, Oberhausen,
ISBN 978-3-87468-357-9, Print 24,80 Euro, E-Book 9,99 Euro
Kontakt zum Autor: www.magnus-dellwig.de; magnus@dellwig-ob.de
Also available on Amazon.com or Amazon.de
Credits: Image ©Magnus Dellwig
XPAT Spotlight – Interview with Claudia Tichy, a writer and therapist bringing European therapeutic techniques to Southern California
Claudia Tichy is originally from Steyr in Austria, a small town between Salzburg and Vienna. After deciding to move to California she settled first in Calabasas before finding her final home in Oak Park. She shares her life and home with her husband and their two cats from Austria: Funny and Fipsy. Fridolin, a Golden Retriever just recently joined them as well in the Agoura Hills Area and he instantly inspired Claudia to a new book that will be coming out soon: Fridolin, the Cuddlemonster.
What made you move to California? [Read more…] about Following her Husband’s Love for California – Claudia Tichy, Writer & Therapist (Interview)
How about a spooky science fiction novel for Christmas? Some of us can’t get enough of this kind of stories no matter what the occasion. We just love the suspense of the real or unreal dangers that could possibly expose our planet earth or mankind at large.
So, there you go. Here is the take of Dieter Kermas, long time author for CaliforniaGermans, who has delighted us with his stories and poems over the years and has shared his childhood war memories with us in a series we started posting in 2013. In his new novel, he is taking us on a journey into the unknown future of mankind. Find out for yourself where humankind will end up in his newly published book: “Die Insel der weissen Affen” available on amazon.de
We Asked Him, What Inspired Him to try himself on a science fiction story, after he had just published his historical fiction in 2016 about a WWII romance happening between the enemy lines of Germany and Russia, “Kolja: “Liebe Im Feindesland”.
Dieter Kermas: My ending up writing a science fiction novel was more or less accidental I have to admit. I initially had planned for an adventure novel, that would play out on a South Sea island, but the storytelling suddenly played a trick on me. It seems it almost ‘came alive’ and pulled me into a completely different direction. It took unexpected and unplanned turns and suddenly I was writing a science fiction novel.
CaliforniaGermans: Did you read science fiction as a child? [Read more…] about Xmas Gift Book Tip #2 -“Die Insel der Weissen Affen” (Science Fiction)
Do You Remember Til Schweiger’s Film Honig im Kopf? It was the most successful comedy-drama film in Germany in 2014, albeit discussing a difficult topic: Alzheimer’s.
This week on Friday, November 30th, 2018, Head Full Of Honey, Til Schweiger’s English language remake opens in select theaters in Los Angeles and New York.
“Head Full of Honey” stars multiple Academy-Award® nominee Nick Nolte as Amadeus, a recent widower whose strong personality, charm and sense of humor can no longer mask the life-altering onset of Alzheimer’s. He and his granddaughter Tilda (Sophia Lane Nolte) develop a special bond. Tilda’s patience and affection for her grandfather become his strongest link to life. Tilda tries to help her grandfather, Amadeus (Nick Nolte) navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him.
Among the notable cast are also Oscar nominee Matt Dillon (Amadeus’ son Nick), Emily Mortimer (Nick’s wife, Sarah) as well as Jacqueline Bisset and Greta Scacchi, and others.
Written and directed by acclaimed German actor and filmmaker Til Schweiger and based on his earlier successful German film release, this poignant generational drama marks Schweiger’s English-language directorial debut.
QUESTION: “Head Full of Honey” centers on Amadeus, played by Nick Nolte, who is struggling with the onset of Alzheimer’s and all the frustration and confusion that comes along with it. But his experience is part of a larger story. What are some of the themes and ideas the movie touches on? [Read more…] about Interview with Til Schweiger – Film ‘Head Full Of Honey’ Opens November 30th in L.A.
Life of a German Teen during WW II. From Enduring Hardship to becoming a U.S. war bride – The Memoir “Otti Remembers”
What was it like for a teen to live in Germany during World War II?
Our first Christmas Book Gift Tip tells you all about it. The memoir “Otti Remember” lets you relive those turbulent times as Otti Baulig Ney remembers and allows you to be part of her life’s story.
“Otti Remembers: German WWII Teen Immigrates to America,” offers a rare, first-hand account of those turbulent times. Otti Baulig Ney, 89, from Sutter Creek, Calif., reveals how she endured bombing raids, tuberculosis (TB) and extreme deprivation as a teen during the war years. [Read more…] about X-mas Gift Book Tip #1 – The Memoir “Otti Remembers”
Have you started Christmas shopping yet? 5 Ideas are on its way.
The next five Wednesdays leading up to Christmas we’ll support your Christmas shopping with some unique book ideas that make for a special gift.
We are going to introduce some German or German-related books that are refreshingly uncommon and off the beaten path. Let’s say not all are mainstream literature just yet, but so worth discovering.
Among the 5 books we’ll present, you will find one that’s perfect for children. Two of them make the perfect gift for all the history buffs among you as they deal with German history in quite different ways: One is a memoir of a German expat while the other is a historical fiction novel, packed with the suspense of diplomatic and political drama.
Lastly, we have one book in our gift repertoire for just pure enjoyment and entertainment and another, that lets you dive into the depth of famed German literature.
Curious yet? Stay tuned and check in with us this and every Wednesday until Xmas, and find out what we have in store for you.
You might just find the perfect gift for someone special!
Image: Pixabay.com
(Ein Drabble* von Merrill Lyew)
Die duftenden Blütenblätter schwebten in der Luft. Eigentlich war es einen Tick zu kalt für die sonnenverwöhnten Kalifornier.
Der Heckenschütze platzierte sich flach auf dem Dach des Hochhauses liegend, und brachte sein automatisches Gewehr in Position. Er hatte es aus dem Armory Depot gestohlen.
Konzentriert zielte er in Nicks Richtung. Nicks schneeweißes Hemd war platschnass vom Schweiß. Kniend fing er an, das Vaterunser zu beten, anstatt sich in Deckung zu bringen.
Sirenen von Polizeifahrzeugen heulten plötzlich laut auf.
Nick schlug die Augen auf und drückte auf den Knopf des Radioweckers.
Oh Amerika, diese elenden Amokläufer, murmelte Nick erleichtert zu sich.
©Merrill Lyew 2018
(* WHAT IS a Drabble? – A drabble is a short work of fiction of around one hundred words.)
Image: Pixabay.com
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As a recent retiree, Merrill Lyew Emanuel now has time for his old and new hobbies. Within his hobbies are writing fan fiction in German, solving chess puzzles, repairing things at home that are not broken, doing a little bit of social media, reading every and anything that looks like a book, traveling a little, and taking snapshots with his mirrorless camera.
Having lived in Germany, Costa Rica, and the USA, he is fluent in the languages of these countries. As a professional geographer, he traveled profusely throughout Latin America. He is living in Southern California for over thirty years. Find more of his work at http://www.merrillius.net
It’s hard to believe but we are slowly approaching the end of the year!
First, however, we have all our wonderful traditional German and, of course, American festivities coming up next.
While Christmas season for sure starts with Thanksgiving for the Americans, for us Germans Saint Martin’s Day (Sankt Martinstag) with its festive lantern parades on November 11 rings in the holiday season.
At least that’s how I remember it… Often times the first snowfall covered the city streets in Munich already I recall, when I was walking with my friends in the crunchy snow, our self-made lantern in hands, excitedly singing traditional lantern songs. The air would materialize in front of our mouths so cold it was already, but we knew that a nice hot chocolate would await us at the end of the parade, often together with some delicious cookies and a yummy ‘Weckmann’ as well. Mmmmhhh!
The following Saint Martin’s Lantern Parades are all happening in Northern California this weekend on Saturday, November 10th . Let us know if you hear of any other ones and we can keep adding them to the list.
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Saturday, November 10th:
Bay Area’s Kinderstube has its annual Laternenfest
WHEN: Saturday, November 10 from 4pm-7pm
WHERE: 842 Key Route Boulevard in Albany
Bring your own lantern or buy one. Get your ticket to enjoy German fare from Glühwein, Weckmänner, Pretzels, Spätzle, Bratwurst and more.
Get your TICKETS here
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Saturday, November 10th:
German School in Novato
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th at 5:30 pm
WHERE: Pioneer Park in Novato
German School in Santa Rosa
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th at 5:30 pm
WHERE: School Campus in Santa Rosa
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Saturday, November 10th:
GISSV San Francisco – Lantern Parade & Festival
WHEN: Saturday, November 10th from 2pm-6pm
WHERE: 4 Funston Ave in the Presidio
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Christkindlmarket – Annual Christmas Market At The Phoenix Club in Anaheim
November 25th, 11 am-4pm in the Pavillion
Free Admission & Open to the Public
Enjoy German fare in a Christmas atmosphere setting with music, art & crafts and Christmas gift market featuring jewelry, European gifts and much more
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WEIHNACHTSGOTTESDIENST – Christmas Service
St.Luke’s Lutheran Church in La Mesa
Weihnachtsgottesdienst – German Christmas Carol Service
WHEN: Sunday, December 16th at 3pm , Sonntag, 16. Dezember 2018, 15:00 Uhr
WHERE: St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 5150 Wilson Street, La Mesa
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Image: Pixabay.com
Tomorrow, November 6th is the General Election? Are you going to vote?
If you are an expat, who enjoys dual citizenship, it is your privilege, but also your duty to go out and vote tomorrow! After all, you chose to be a citizen of the United States, as well as your home country, and part of being a good citizen is going to vote in elections.
“But, it’s not the election for the president…!?”, you might say. Yes, that’s true, but the midterms are just as important an election and your vote counts!
In fact, this year’s midterm elections see the largest number of Californians (19 million!) registered to vote in California’s history, according to ABC7news. Especially this year, California’s voice is important.
So, what’s at stake? The control of the Congress and statehouses across the country. And, 36 states will hold elections for governor as well – including California!
On top of voting for our new governor in these midterms, we Californians will have a deciding voice in regards to 7 (!) congressional seats that are up for election. [Read more…] about Go Vote! – The Midterms. A Big Deal for California.