Sunday, November 23, 2008

Preparing for My Second German Test

I've got a record to maintain.

German Test Score

Last time, I got twenty-eight points out of thirty. Better than anybody else. My classmates pretend not to care when I make a point of reminding them of this accomplishment even weeks afterwards, but I know they've taken note. And tomorrow we have our second test. It's their chance to take me down. (Provided anybody cares to show up).

They might have a chance.

I haven't done homework for weeks. I can't motivate, and I'm also really busy. But I have shown up to almost all the classes. Tonight I have to study like a daemon and comfort myself that nobody cares as much as I do.

I also just ate a ton of chocolate. Supposed to be good for memory. Also bananas, because potassium is killer for tests. I've memorized all the irregular verbs. From binden (bindet --> band --> hat gebunden) to geniessen (geniesst --> genoss --> hat genossen).

But that's only the beginning (beginnt --> begann --> hat begonnen). Also on the test is a bunch of separable prefixes, special modal verbs, plus verbs with prepositions that switch cases from dative to accusative depending on the context.

This is gonna be a bitch. Wish me luck!

UPDATE: I'm starting to feel nauseous from all that chocolate. I'm also braindead tired. These sub-freezing temperatures are killing me. I just popped an ibuprofen and I'm done for the night, I'll briefly review the worksheets tomorrow before the test, and see what happens.

(How's that for lowering expectations!)

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Sunday, November 9, 2008

70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht in Austria, Photos



Today and tomorrow mark the 70 year anniversary of Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass" when Nazi gangs rampaged on Jewish properties, killing 92 and deporting tens of thousands to concentration camps.



The SF Chronicle reports how the Jewish population in Austria has never quite built up its previous numbers. The article provides a brief history of Jews in Vienna, including an informative time line.



Click here to read the article now.

Also here's another article about Kristallnacht.

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