London 2012

INSPIRE A GENERATION

This year, the Olympic Games came to London. After the negative publicity of the city recently due to the riots, the Olympics were a hope for Londoners to reconnect and for the place to find itself again. There was pressure on Great Britain to perform well in front of the home crowd but this seemed to do the athletes some good as they, undeniably, delivered.

To start the Games and set the tone for the following weeks, the Opening Ceremony was designed to depict the development of agriculture, industry and modern culture of Britain. At first, I found the opening scenes with the fields and farms a little underwhelming, but as the stage began to change, the grass being rolled away and the chimneys rising, I realized how much time and effort had gone into making this ceremony a spectacle, and I began to enjoy it.

The tribute to Great Ormond Street Hospital and J.K.Rowlings’ readings were charming, although the large hooded figure that rose up didn’t resemble Voldemort in the slightest. All the countries and their athletes arrived with strange copper petals, and it was a lovely surprise to see that they all formed the Olympic Cauldron, which was then lit by the torch that had travelled to London from Athens, the birthplace of the Games. The unique design and the flames were beautiful; it was an inspirational symbol of the unity and strength of the weeks to come.

This year was a year for records, Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time, Bolt cementing his position as worlds fastest man, and even the first year that female athletes from every country competed!

For me, the highlight of the Games was Usain Bolt. Bolt has an aura of confidence, if it was anyone else he would be too cocky, but, for the fastest man alive, you can see how that would go to your head. His ease of running, his trademark gestures before a race, the way he slows down in front of the finish line, all make him electric, and he’s pretty easy on they eyes too. You somehow find yourself wishing you were his best friend.

Michael Phelps comes in at a close second, when he walks up to the pool you know a legend is in the house, and he is simply amazing to watch in the water. It was such a historic moment to see him become the most decorated Olympian of all time, the ultimate champion of a Games that were started as chariot races in 776 BC as an honour to Zeus! However Ryan Lochte made a point this year, that he was on Phelps’ heels the whole time and, when Phelps retires, Lochte will be the swimmer to watch.

Of course, Team GB shone this year, with stars such as Sir Chris Hoy, Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis an unknown athlete who most refer to as ‘the ginger one’.

I will always remember Mo Farah’s double victory at 10,000 and 5,000 metre track, the camera flashes, the noise, the pure joy as Mo showed off his Mobot. I would have given my right arm to be in the stadium.

Coming third in the gold medals table is no small feat, especially for a small island up against giants like the USA, China and Russia. Being in London really was a confidence boost for the athletes. Personally, my favourite races were Bolt and Mo Farah, who were just sensational.

The Closing Ceremony brought an end to the sporting spectacle, and handed the Olympic flag over to Brazil.

Frankfurt am Main

Frankfurt ist die Stadt in der ich geboren bin. Ich habe da gewohnt als ich ein Kind war, bevor wir nach England gezogen sind. Ich besuche die Stadt oft und jedes Mal wenn ich dort bin, denke ich darüber nach wie mein Leben sein könnte, wenn wir dort geblieben wären. Frankfurt ist eine große Stadt, zwar nicht so groß wie London, dafür sauberer und gemütlicher meiner Meinung nach. In London muss man überall hetzen und man atmet nur Autoabgase ein, dass einzig bessere ist das Zugsystem in London. In Frankfurt kann man laufen, Fahrradfahren und man ist nie weit weg von eine ruhige Straße mit schönen Wohnungen. Für mich hat Frankfurt zwei Persönlichkeiten. Auf einer Seite ist es eine schöne Stadt zu wohnen und um mit einem Hund spazieren zu gehen. Aber es gibt auch die spannender Seite. Frankfurt ist schnell. Nirgendwo wird ein höheres Tempo angeschlagen als in der Bankenmetropole Deutschlands. Dass ist so unvergesslich und interessant dass ich da unbedingt irgendwann arbeiten will, und mit der berühmte Frankfurt Flughafen fliegen will (der drittgrößte Flughafen in ganz Europa). Für viele ist London natürlich automatisch die bessere Stadt, aber Frankfurt hat Sachen die es bemerkbar macht. Die Gebäude, die endlosen Straßen mit Cafes, die kreative Statue von einem Schlips, die Magie die auf jedem Bürgersteig liegt. Die Geräusche, die Gerüche und die Gefühle von Frankfurt machen alle dies aus und es ist überwältigend ein Teil dieser Stadt zu sein.

App Store

Over the years Apple has produced infamous products such as the iPhone, iPod, Mac computers and iPad, becoming the largest technology company in the world, with more revenue and profit than Google and Microsoft combined. In 2001, iTunes was created, and in 2008 the App Store was introduced as an update. As of March 2012, 585,000 applications were available with over 25 billion downloads. Every app imaginable is available on the App Store , either for free or for a price. I have only ever paid for one app (Harry Potter Spells) because you can get a lot for free. Some apps have been particularly successful, the standard Facebook, Twitter and Skype, and then games such as Temple Run and Angry Birds have also recently been hugely popular and addictive. But with all these clever apps at our fingertips, it's hard to envision a time without them. Maybe it's becoming too easy to let someone else do the thinking for us. When certain apps become essential to everyday life we lose the ability to carry out those functions easily on our own. Our devices start to think for us, holding our notes, calculations, schedules and every thought. But that's the technology we have nowadays, and we won't stop thinking of ways to push it further because as humans we have to see how far we can reach. It may not be the best situation, but it won't go backwards, it can only evolve.

Kpop - Girls' Generation

Ok, so Korean pop music might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I recently discovered it (Kat Graham from TVD mentioned it in an interview) and since then I can't stop listening to it. Asian pop music in general is very preppy, bubblegum pop with fast-paced squeaky songs, mostly in an annoying way. My favourite k-pop band is Girls' Generation (SNSD, SoShi), and I think they got the balance of enthusiasm and good songs just right. They are one of the most successful artists in their genre and are signed in Korea, Japan, the US and France. They have 9 members; Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun.

Their best song, in my opinion, is Gee (over 69m views on YouTube), other great songs include The Boys, Genie, Mr. Taxi and Run Devil Run. They're incredibly catchy and I like to pretend that I can understand what they're saying and that I can dance as well as they can.

Super Junior, 2NE1, Big Bang are also k-pop groups, but their music is more edgy and not really to my liking. However, Girls' Generation are awesome, and they should definately become more popular in the UK.

Kony 2012



Kony 2012 campaign poster

Kony 2012 is a viral video that soared to worldwide recognition in a matter of days, aiming to spread awareness about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, leader of the rebel group L.R.A., who allegedly kidnapped over 30,000 children and forces them to become sex slaves and child soldiers, mutilating people and to kill their own parents, in the belief that he is doing the work of God. His influence spreads Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan and he has been committing these crimes for over 20 years. The charity Invisible Children Inc. are striving to raise money and support so that Joseph Kony can finally be arrested.
Now the question is, can we trust everthing we hear? My first instinct when I see campaigns for charities and such is to sympathise and want to help them without a doubt in my mind. But Kony 2012 has initiated critiques over the validity of the statements made in the video. First of all, the video has been criticised of oversimplifying the situation. Apparently it exaggerated the scale of the L.R.A. abductions and murders and that remaning forces are now only in the hundreds. Claims have also been made that Joseph Kony himself is no longer in Uganda, and that he is in fact in the Central African Republic and the L.R.A. have spread into neighbouring countries. The Ugandan prime minister Amama Mbabazi posted a response on YouTube attempting to correct the false impression that Uganda is conflicted and that Invisible Children Inc. portrays it wrongly and there is no problem in Uganda. There were also some rumours circulating that Kony has been dead for 3 years, but there are no reliable sources to back up this information. I found an article on metro.co.uk that said Jason Russell, the creator of the video, was taken into psychiatric care after he was found running half-naked through Californian streets. He was diagnosed with brief reactive psychosis, brought on by extreme exhaustion, stress and dehydration. This was due to the immediate worldwide success of the Kony 2012 video, and Jason Russell was catapulted to stardom which inevitably affected his personal life. His family are certain he will make a full recovery, but there are other question marks about criminal activities and arrests.
Taking everything into consideration, I think that if the Kony 2012 video was made with the best intentions and there were no deliberate lies to generate compassion, the cause should be recognised and people everywhere should do what they can to proactively remove Joseph Kony. The idea that we can connect with anyone, anywhere and share an idea to better the world we live in is an appealing one, and I find myself willing it to be innocent. There are many hurtful things in this world that we could prevent, but we have to start somewhere and a Ugandan warlord is as good as any. Perhaps it will encourage others to start up organisations towards further issues. As to the whereabouts of Kony, he seems to be very elusive, so maybe someone got their facts wrong. And if Uganda is actually peaceful and Kony-free, then I'm glad, but he will still be inflicting terror in another country. The health of Jason Russell doesn't really affect the reliability of his cause, and as for the arrests, well, what he chooses to do in his own time isn't any of our business. Until any concrete proof is found that the video is false, I will continue to support, help and wish Invisible Children Inc. all the best in their endeavours.

Creating my Blog

So, I decided to create a blog. I will discuss things that interest me personally, interest others that I have an opinion on, and events from around the globe. It's important to share ideas and viewpoints, if we don't analyse and consider, what do we really understand? Perhaps ignorance is bliss, but it's a chance I'm willing to take. I am a keen linguist, some posts may be in German or another language I'm trying out. In our day-to-day lives we observe our world through a cramped window, enlarged slightly by the Internet and the media. I want to fling open that window and breathe in the air. I want to spend my life travelling, immersing myself in diverse cultures. And I want to do it forever.