Cup of Joe

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For my love

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Lee Ann Womack

Parla più piano

Jonas Kaufmann Wikipedia  

"Parla Più Piano" is an Italian version of the song "Speak Softly Love" and was written for The Godfather by famous composer Nino Rota.

Lyrics

Parla più piano e nessuno sentirà,
il nostro amore lo viviamo io e te,
nessuno sa la verità,
neppure il cielo che ci guarda da lassù.

Insieme a te io resterò,
amore mio, sempre così.

Parla più piano e vieni più vicino a me,
Voglio sentire gli occhi miei dentro di te,
nessuno sa la verità,
è un grande amore e mai più grande esisterà.

Insieme a te io resterò,
amore mio, sempre così.

Parla più piano e vieni più vicino a me,
Voglio sentire gli occhi miei dentro di te,
nessuno sa la verità,
è un grande amore e mai più grande esisterà
Wikipedia

Lyrics

Speak softly, Love, and hold me warm against your heart
I feel your words, the tender trembling moments start
We're in a world, our very own
Sharing a love that only few have ever known

Wine-colored days, warmed by the sun
Deep velvet nights, when we are one

Speak softly, Love, so no one hears us but the sky
The vows of love we make will live until we die
My life is yours, and all because
You came into my world with love so softly, Love

Wine-colored days warmed by the sun
Deep velvet nights when we are one

Speak softly, love so no one hears us but the sky
The vows of love we make will live until we die
My life is yours, and all because
You came into my world with love "so softly, Love"
Wikipedia

"Bilder von Dir" Laith Al-Deen

Photo Credit: Laith Al-Deen/www.fan-lexikon.de

Video Laith Al-Deen singt live im Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg seinen Song "Bilder von dir". Colos-Saal, Aschaffenburg, So., 11.03.2018

[Hook]
Bilder von dir überdauern bis in alle Zeit
Bilder von dir überdauern bis in die Ewigkeit



[Hook]
Pictures of you last forever
Pictures of you last into eternity
[Verse 1]
Meine Worte hüllt in Schweigen
Denn so können sie nicht fliehen
Das was dunkel macht das bleibt
Und lässt das andere ziehn
Ich kann nicht sagen
Und will nicht vergessen
Oh nein nein nein
Wie ich es seh
Wie ich es seh
 
[Verse 1]
My words are shrouded in silence
Because they can not escape like that
That which makes it dark remains
And let the other go
I can not say
And do not want to forget
Oh no no no
As I see it
As I see it

[Verse 2]
Worte sind wie Pulver
Wenn du den Himmel küsst
Ich fühl es in meinem Kopf
Ich fühl es überall hab´s lang vermißt
Ich kann nicht sagen
Und ich will nicht vergessen
Oh nein nein nein
Wie ich es fühl
Wie ich es fühl

[Verse 2]
Words are like powder
When you kiss the sky
I feel it in my head
I feel it has missed everything for a long time
I can not say
And I do not want to forget
Oh no no no
How I feel about it
How I feel about it
[Verse 3]
Tausend Spuren und Gedanken
Nicht das kleinste stück von mir
Du lässt mich taumeln lässt mich wanken
Die Luft ist voll von dir
Ich kann nichts sagen
Und ich will nicht vergessen
Oh nein nein nein
Wie ich es fühl
Wie ich es fühl

Ich kann nicht sagen
Und ich will nicht vergessen
Wie ich es fühl
(fade out)

Bilder von dir überdauern bis in alle Zeit
Bilder von dir überdauern bis in die Ewigkeit
(fade out)

[Verse 3]
Thousand tracks and thoughts
Not the smallest piece of me
You make me stagger makes me waver
The air is full of you
I can not say anything
And I do not want to forget
Oh no no no
How I feel about it
How I feel about it

I can not say
And I do not want to forget
How I feel about it
(fade out)

Pictures of you last forever
Pictures of you last into eternity
(fade out) Google Translate

A Beginner's Guide to Italy’s After-Dinner Drinks By Francine Segan

Italians like to linger at the table, both during and after a meal. Dessert is leisurely and often served in three parts. First the sweet itself, which is accompanied by a dessert wine or liqueur, then espresso or coffee, and finally a digestivo, like grappa or amaro. Dessert wines and little sweet nibbles are brought out as a way to keep guests at the table, to keep conversation going. Unlike here in the States, in Italy coffee or tea are served only after dessert. In fact, it’s considered rude for a restaurant to rush customers by setting down coffee with dessert. For me, one of the biggest differences between Italy and the US is the restaurant experience. In Italy when I sit down to dinner in a restaurant, that table is mine for the night. I am never rushed. The courses are served in a leisurely fashion---not only because the food in Italy is usually made to order, but because they want us to have time between courses to digest to build anticipation and an appetite for the next course. My plate isn’t removed until everyone else at the table has also finished eating. I especially like the after-dessert digestivo tradition in Italy. My favorites are the homemade ones, brought out by the chef himself and poured with a flourish as a final culinary gift. I’ve had all kinds of delicious concoctions and the chefs shared their recipes generously.

Glossary of a few of the many Italian dessert wines and liqueurs
Alchermes
Alchermes, a spicy-sweet bright red liqueur, has been popular in Italy since the Renaissance. Pope Clemente VII considered it healthful going so far as to call it “the elixir of long life.” Alchermes was supposedly brought to France by Maria de’ Medici where it was called “liquore de’ Medici.”
Originally the shell of the cochineal bug was used to color the liqueur, but today it’s made with artificial colorings. It is a classic dessert ingredient in many Italian desserts including zuppa inglese and pesche dolci, faux peach cookies. 
Aleatico dell’ Elba Passito
An exceptional dessert wine with lovely aroma of roses and dark berries awarded the special denominazione d’origine controllata e garantita, DOCG, designation.
Amaretto
Amaretto, “little bitter,” is a sweet almond-flavored liqueur cordial. Amaretto is an ingredient in hundreds of dessert recipes and is also paired with all sorts of Italian sweets, especially crunchy amaretti cookies. One of Italy’s best selling brands of amaretto is Disaronno Originale.
Amaro
Amaro is the term for a general category of bittersweet digestive, after-dinner drinks thought to aid digestion. Amaro, which means “bitter,” are generally made from various spices, herbs, fruits and alcohol. Popular since the Middle Ages, monks originally created these drinks as a medicinal remedy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different types of Amaro in Italy, with each region, city, and even village claiming its own local specialty. 
Asti-DOCG 
Asti, a sparkling dessert wine, is made with the moscato bianco grapes from the Langhe, Monferrato and Roero areas of Piedmont. Asti is a DOCG wine, meaning it is officially certified and guaranteed as to process and origin. In Italian, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Asti, an easy-to-drink wine, has a moderate alcohol content of 7 to 9.5%. In Italy it is served in bowl-shaped glasses, rather than the thinner champagne flutes. The thinking is that the narrow flute exaggerates Asti’s sweetness, concentrating the liquid on the tip of the tongue, where the sweet taste buds are situated. It is classically paired with panettone at holiday time.
Asti Moscato
A dessert wine made in the Asti region of Piedmont using moscato grapes. It’s less bubbly than Asti-Spumante.
Barolo Chinato
An after-dinner digestivo from the Piedmont region, made with Barolo wine that has been steeped with different spices such as cinnamon, coriander, mint, and vanilla. It is a very smooth, aromatic beverage that pairs beautifully with chocolate. 
Brachetto d’Acqui
Red sparkling dessert wine produced in the Piedmont. It is a blend of Aleatico and Moscato Nero grapes.
Frangelico
Hazelnut liqueur in a trademarked bottle shaped like a monk. Great for both drinking and as a desserts ingredient.
Galliano
Bright yellow liqueur, that’s a mix of dozens of herbs and spices. First made in Livorno in 1896 and named for 19th century Italian war hero Giuseppe Galliano. Used in cocktails, and as an after-dinner digestivo, it’s also a terrific flavoring for various dessert recipes.
Grappa  
Grappa is a fragrant spirit, 75-120 proof, made from the grape skins and other solids left-over from the winemaking process. The name, grappa, most likely comes from the Italian for bunch of grapes, grappolo d’uva. In Italy grappa is enjoyed after dessert, served in small, tulip-shaped or short grappa glasses. It is also exceptional paired with Italian chocolates. A splash of grappa is often added to espresso to create caffé corretto.
Limoncello
A lemon liqueur from the Amalfi Coast, Calabria, and Sicily.  Made by steeping lemon peels in alcohol and sugar, it can be drunk at room temperature or icy cold. Wonderful with Italian cookies, pastries, and cakes, limoncello is also an ingredient in many desserts.
Malvasia delle Lipari
An amber-colored DOC dessert wine from Sicily with an apricot-honey taste and lovely aroma.
Maraschino liqueur
A clear cherry liqueur made from northern Italian marasca cherries (not the same as maraschino cherries found in supermarkets).  Used in many traditional Italian desserts.
Marsala
Marsala is a DOC golden-colored fortified wine made with grapes grown in the Marsala region of Sicily. Marsala is made both sweet and dry. The dry is enjoyed chilled as an aperitif, while the sweet is sipped at room temperature as a dessert wine.
Marsala is used extensively in Italian cooking, especially in making sweets such as the classic zabaglione.
Moscadello di Montalcino
A DOC, Denomination of Controlled Origin, dessert wine from the Montalcino region of Tuscany made with aromatic white muscat grapes.
It is produced in three versions: still, sparkling and late-harvest.
Nocino
Nocino is a dark colored digestivo, made from unripe green walnuts. Traditionally the walnuts are gathered on the eve of the Feast of San Giovanni, June 24th, on La Notte delle Vergini Scalze, “the evening of the barefoot virgins.”
Passito
Passito is dessert wine made by pressing partially dried grapes, dried to concentrate their sugar and flavor.
Passito di Pantelleria
One of Italy’s most acclaimed passito wines. In 1971 this fine dessert wine from Sicily became only the 3rd Italian wine to receive DOC status. It has a lovely bouquet and velvety sweet yet crisp flavor.
Sambuca
A colorless digestivo liqueur flavored with star anise. Sambuca is splashed in coffee, or served neat and topped with 3 toasted espresso beans called con la mosca, “with flies”.  Besides giving a little caffeine kick, chewing on the beans highlight Sambuca’s flavor. 
Sassolino
A liqueur from the town of Sassolino in Modena, flavored with star anise, it’s an ingredient in many Emilia desserts.
Strega liqueur
Strega, “witch,” is a yellow liqueur made from over 70 ingredients including saffron, which gives it its color. Used as a digestivo and in dessert recipes. 
Vin Santo
Vin Santo, “holy wine,” is a smooth amber-colored wine made from Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes. Although made in many parts of Italy, it is most often associated with Tuscany where it is often paired with cantucci, the area’s crunchy almond biscotti. Italy Magazine (with photos).

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Prague's BookWorld fair welcomes record number of exhibitors

http://praguemonitor.com/2018/05/11/pragues-bookworld-fair-welcomes-record-number-exhibitors

Prague Daily Monitor

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Irish director invited to Cannes to meet producers By Cahir O'Doherty

Photo Credit: Imelda O'Reilly
www.imeldaoreilly.com

Irish writer and director Imelda O'Reilly has just been invited to the Cannes Film Festival where her latest project We're The Kids In America has been selected for development by the Cinefondation Atelier program

The invitation will allow O'Reilly to showcase her projects to producers and potential funding partners. We shouldn't be surprised. Ireland is having a major film moment, with writers, actors and directors making big waves world wide – to say nothing of the sought after location scenery - and the interest just seems to keep on growing. This week the Kildare born, New York based writer and director heard the welcome news that her latest film, We're The Kids In America, has been picked up for development in the Cinefondation Atelier program which runs as part of the Cannes Film Festival. Established back in 2005 with the aim of encouraging new films and fostering a new generation of filmmakers by helping them to secure necessary funding, to date the Atelier program has introduced 202 projects, of which 145 have already been completed and 28 are currently in pre-production. It's success rate stands at an impressive eighty percent for new features, in other words. Those are encouraging odds for the Irish writer and director. “The feature length screenplay of We're The Kids Of America is based on my short film Eggs and Soldiers (which has already played at forty seven different festivals across nine different countries). It has been accepted to the Cinefondation Atelier, part of the Cannes Film Festival, they accept 15 films internationally and I will representing Ireland in the competition this year. O'Reilly's new feature length screenplay is about three generations of Irish father's and son's. It's set in Ireland in 1950's, Ireland in the 1980's and then New York in the present day, exploring classic Irish themes of identity, exile and in this case abuse in relationship to the legacy of colonization. If she were to describe the film in one word she would say it is about culpability, O'Reilly says. “It's a relevant theme to today's world with the Me Too movement and the question of culpability has an Irish context. In terms of issues being handed down from generation to generation, Ireland still has a long way to go. There's a lot of great storytelling that's coming out of Ireland now and hopefully our generation will tackle thorny issues that have previously been ignored.” O'Reilly is currently working as an assistant professor at James Madison University after teaching at NYU Singapore in their graduate program for three years. “I teach screen writing and film aesthetics and directing down here in Virginia at the moment,” she says. Getting selected for the Cinefondation Atelier program is a big deal, but O'Reilly underplays it. “I think I'm the first Irishwoman to be selected for it. They basically endorse your project and set up meetings with producers for an international co-production. Eighty percent of the projects that go through this process get funded.” O'Reilly has the legendary Barbara De Fina attached as a co-producer for We're The Kids In America (Martin Scorsese's ex-wife and the name behind films like Goodfellas, Casino, The Color of Money, Kundun, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Grifters). “I'm looking for a European co-producer next, so I'm looking forward to the program,” O'Reilly concludes. Irish Central

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa at Louvre Paris

Germany to give additional €1 billion in aid to Syria

Photo Credit: Euro Symbol-EU Flag/
www.shutterstock.com

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced on Wednesday that Germany will donate an additional €1 billion ($1.22 billion) in aid to Syria and neighboring countries who are hosting Syrian refugees. "In Syria alone there are still more than 13 million people who are dependent on humanitarian aid," Maas said as he arrived in Brussels for a humanitarian aid drive for Syria. "We must not leave the people of Syria alone," he added. The Foreign Ministry announced that another €300 million could be tacked on to Germany's pledge once the German government finalizes its budget this summer. Alongside Germany's concerns over the "protection of the civilian population," Maas emphasized that Germany was "strongly committed to the effort" to restart the political process to resolve the conflict. During last year's United Nations aid drive for Syria, Germany was the largest donor and has contributed around €4.5 billion in aid to Syria since 2012. The UN hopes donors at this year's conference will surpass the $6 billion in emergency humanitarian aid that was pledged last year. The heads of UN agencies warned on Tuesday that only $2.3 billion have been received so far. rs/kms (dpa, Reuters) DW-Deutsche Welle

WhatsApp to raise minimum age limit to 16 in EU

Photo Credit: WhatsApp/BBC/Getty Images

Popular messaging service WhatsApp is banning under-16s from using its platform in the European Union. Users must currently be at least 13, but the firm is changing the rules ahead of the introduction of new EU data privacy regulations in May. The app, which is owned by Facebook, will ask users to confirm their age when prompted to agree to new terms of service in the next few weeks. It has not said how the age limit will be enforced. The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May, will give people much more control over how companies use their information. They will also have the right to have personal data erased. It also includes specific rules to protect children from having their personal data collected for marketing purposes, or to create user profiles. WhatsApp, which has faced scrutiny for its data sharing practices in the past, said its move would help it meet the "new high standards of transparency" in the EU. However, the app plans to keep its age limit at 13 in the rest of the world. Most social media apps - including Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Musical.ly and Reddit - are restricted to those aged 13 and over. This is in part because a US law - the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (Coppa) - bans online services from collecting personal information about younger children. Facebook did, however, launch Messenger Kids, which is targeted at children as young as six, last December. It is an ad-free service designed to be compliant with Coppa. BBC

World Penguin Day

Photo Credit: Vienna.Info

Tens of thousands expected to attend as Los Angeles Times Festival of Books kicks off By Brittny Mejia

Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend this weekend's Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the largest event of its kind in the country. The 23rd annual festival, which celebrates reading and storytelling, got underway at 10 a.m. Saturday at the USC campus near downtown L.A. Authors participating in this year's event include Junot Díaz, Reza Aslan, Maria Shriver and Leslie Odom Jr. In addition to the author panels, there are hundreds of booths showcasing the things that make L.A. a great literary city. Campus eateries are open, and food trucks parked at four locations. There is also music, cooking demonstrations and other activities. More than 150,000 people attended last year's event. Novak, an Orange County resident, has been coming to the festival off and on for 10 years. "We're big readers, so we love seeing all the booksellers and what they have on sale," Novak said. "But we also love the opportunity to hear the writers come and talk about their latest books and hear them talk with other writers." Los Angeles Times

Le Big Mac: Emmanuel Macron’s rise and rise By Lara Marlowe

Photo Credit: French President Emmanuel Macron
www.liberation.fr

President Emmanuel Macron likes to convince people. In manner and method, he is unlike his predecessors. Nicolas Sarkozy cajoled and bullied. François Hollande just gave up. Macron fixes interlocutors with his intense blue stare and builds a Cartesian argument. If that doesn’t work, he starts over, patiently, but with determination. The past week has tested the young president’s powers of persuasion. Early in the hours of April 14th, Macron used his constitutional power as commander in chief for the first time, joining the US and Britain in launching cruise missiles against three chemical weapons installations in Syria. The goal, Macron said later, was to convince Bashar al Assad and Vladimir Putin that the international community was more than a “nice” and “weak” body they could push around. In a further exercise in persuasion, Macron volunteered for a combative, 2½ hour live television interview on Sunday night, during which he made the surprising claim that, “Ten days ago, President Trump said the US would pull out of Syria. We convinced him it was necessary to stay for the duration.” The White House later issued a statement saying Trump’s view had not changed, and the French president made an embarrassing climbdown on Monday, claiming he “never said” the US or France would remain militarily engaged in Syria for the long term. Perhaps Macron, whose nickname is “Jupiter”, is threatened by hubris, the sin of pride that afflicted Greek gods. The rest of the week was one long attempt to convince Europeans and the French of the rightness of his positions. Macron – who has become the de facto leader of Europe – received the heads of the three Baltic states who have teamed up with five other northern EU countries, including the Netherlands and Ireland, to thwart his efforts to further integrate the euro zone. Then, before a more sympathetic audience at the EU parliament in Strasbourg, Macron pleaded with proponents of liberal democracy to wake up and oppose the populist authoritarians who deny European values. Macron then travelled to Berlin in yet another effort to enlist German chancellor Angela Merkel’s support for his European reform agenda. On Monday, Macron will go to Washington for a three-day state visit, the first of Trump’s presidential term. Although the two men have clashed on climate change, the Iran nuclear accord, trade protectionism and the rise of Eurosceptical populism, Trump appears to have been charmed by the young president, who says Franco-American co-operation is crucial in the fight against terrorism. The Irish Times

Smyths Toys to buy Toys R Us in Germany, Austria and Switzerland By Mark Paul

Photo Credit: The Irish Times

Mayo family-owned retailing group will almost double in size, adding a further 90 stores to its network

Smyths Toys, the Mayo family-owned retailing group, will almost double in size after agreeing to a huge deal to buy rival, Toys R Us, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The deal will add a further 90 stores to the group’s network of 110 outlets which are located in Ireland and, mostly, the UK. Smyths, which already had group sales estimated at about €600 million, is now among the largest specialist toys retailers in Europe. Smyths is now targeting further European expansion. The Irish Times

Caruso - Luciano Pavarotti & Lucio Dalla

Photo Credit: Luciano Pavarotti & Lucio Dalla
www.apotis4stis5.com

Caruso

"Caruso" is a song written by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, an Italian tenor. Following Lucio Dalla's death, the song entered the Italian Singles Chart, peaking at number two for two consecutive weeks. The single was also certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Wikipedia

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Austrian Max Hollein new head of New York's Met

Photo Credit: Deutsche Welle/Städel Museum

A year-long search for the next director of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art has come to an end; Vienna-born art historian and former head of prestigious museums in Frankfurt, Max Hollein, has been chosen.

New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Tuesday that it had named a new director. In August 2018, Max Hollein, originally from Austria, will take over the reins of the largest art museum in the US, with a collection of over 2 million artworks tracing 5,000 years of art history. Hollein currently serves as director and chief executive of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which comprises the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor. Prior to that, he was director and CEO of three of Germany's most prestigious art institutions, including the Städel Museum, the Schirn Kunsthalle and the Liebieghaus, all in Frankfurt. 

A gifted leader
The Met noted in a press statement that Hollein had been elected at a meeting of the Board of Trustees as he "has demonstrated exceptional skill at building collections, diversifying audiences, and broadening institutional development." During his tenure at Frankfurt's Städel, the museum had notably doubled its exhibition space. At the same time, Hollein oversaw the development of digital strategies and evidenced an uncanny ability at managing exhibitions and collections of artworks spanning centuries, even millennia.

"Max is a gifted leader and is exceptionally well qualified to serve as our next director," said Dan Weiss, the Met's president and CEO. "I am confident that ours will be a strong and fruitful partnership, and that Max will help advance the Met's role as a global leader for culture and the arts."

An appointment during difficult times
Hollein's appointment is the first in 60 years that did not come from within the museum's internal ranks. The 10th person to occupy the Met's top post, Hollein succeeds Thomas Campbell, a British tapestries expert, who had been in the role since 2009. He enters the position in a difficult era; the Met, which has some seven million visitors each year, has had to cut costs and curb hiring after running a $10 million deficit during the 2016-17 fiscal year. Most recently, the museum made headlines for its decision to charge an admission fee for visitors from outside New York state. Previously, the museum's entrance fee was a suggested donation only. ct/eg (AFP, kna) DW-Deutsche Welle

What is Germany’s dual education system — and why do other countries want it?

Photo Credit: Deutsche Welle April 6, 2018
Getty Images/S. Gallup

The German economy is powered by products sold the world over. The strength of Europe's powerhouse depends on outbound shipments. We take a look at one of its latest exports and reveal the secrets behind its success. Charlotte Falke creates technical drawings of power plant generators. The 23-year-old designer, a trainee at German industrial giant Siemens, spent a year at university before opting for a more vocational program. "I left because there was too much theory," she said. "I wanted more practice." Falke is not alone. Over 50 percent of Germans enter dual vocational and educational training programs (VET) as a route into employment. They choose from 326 professional trades that include diamond cutters, aircraft mechanics and even chimney sweeps. The system is widely credited with fueling the German export engine. Outside the country, some tout it as a solution to rising youth unemployment. So how does VET work — and is it worth the hype?
Theory and practice
"The basic idea is duality," said Ralf Hermann, head of the German Office for International Cooperation in Vocational Education and Training (GOVET). "That means integrating school-based learning with work-based practice." Like most apprentices, Falke spends a few days a week at college learning foundation skills, such as math and language, as well as the theory underpinning her work. The rest of her time is spent mainly in the office designing products. The balance means she is able to produce technical drawings to industry standards and interact with her clients in English. "A broader education in school is necessary to provide the soft skills that make responsible young people," said Hermann, who points to the need for flexibility in a rapidly changing digital economy. "Occupations have a broader sense of skills than mere training for one particular job."
Outside interest
Vocational training exists in many countries, but such schemes are rarely as popular as in Germany. More young people follow VET programs than go to university, even though many are qualified for further study. Apprenticeships are standardized across the country — every product designer must study the same textbooks and be familiar with the same design tools — so employment prospects do not vary greatly by college or company. Most join their training company after three years of low-paid work and study. This is important for the German economy, which has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the EU, and also the largest trade surplus. In 2017 Germany exported €1.279 trillion ($1.571 trillion) worth of goods and imported €1.034 trillion. Some countries looking to balance their trade books are keen to learn from the German model. Ivanka Trump, adviser to protectionist US President Donald Trump, has expressed interest in bringing dual vocational training schemes to the US. Speaking to German weekly Wirtschaftswoche last year, Ms. Trump described Germany's apprenticeship system as "a great trailblazer." "The perception of our international partners is quite right," said Hermann. "Part of the economic stability in Germany is due to the core elements of the VET, in that we produce a workforce that is ready for the labor markets."
History of training
One reason for VET's success in Germany is a culture of apprenticeships that stretches back to the middle ages. The practical component of study is so pervasive in German education that many young people even opt for semi-vocational university courses. "This mixture you can't find in any other concept," said Marius Berger, a salesman at a German car manufacturer. The 27-year-old completed a dual study program in automotive retail, alternating 50/50 between three-month stints at university and internships at the company's headquarters. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 2012 and has stayed with the company since. "I searched for the possibility to combine my love for German cars with a good economic study program," said Berger. "For me it wasn't an option to do a normal Bachelor degree without any practical part." But feeding such systems into countries without a culture of vocational training poses problems. While Germany provides technical advice to countries looking to implement VET systems, such as Mexico and Russia, organizations such as GOVET are hesitant to describe vocational education as an export hit. "A system that has grown in Germany under very specific conditions cannot just be exported to another country under very different conditions," said Hermann. DW-Deutsche Welle

Tage Wie Diese

Photo Credit: Die Toten Hosen/bernau-live.de

Die Toten Hosen

Michael Schulte to represent Germany at Eurovision Song Contest

A successful professional pop musician with a convincing rendition of a very intimate song: the northern German was the clear favorite at the country's national finals for the Eurovision Song Contest.

"Our Song for Lisbon" was the title of the show in Berlin on Thursday to decide which of six contenders would represent Germany at the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest on May 12. That song is "You Let Me Walk Alone" and is about the relationship of the 27-year-old northern German musician to his father, who died 13 years ago. The song goes through the head and up and down the spine at first listening, and one finds oneself wanting to hear it again.
Successful pop musician
Michael Schulte may still be unfamiliar to the television public, but he has 1.2 million Spotify listeners each month, and his YouTube channel is also very popular. Schulte has released seven albums and heads his own production company. After his triumph was announced, the singer, composer and producer was hugged by his competitors and the two hosts, television moderators Linda Zervakis and Elton. Schulte seemed to be pleased but not all that surprised at his victory. This year at Germany's national ESC final, three groups were equally represented in the decision-making process: an international jury, a panel of 100 ESC experts from Germany and viewers at home calling in their favorites. All three awarded the highest number – 12 points – to Schulte. DW-Deutsche Welle
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Billy Joel and Elton John

Photo Credit: Barenboim Piano/BBC

Piano Man -- Classic !! 

Annie Leibovitz *MasterClass

Photo Credit: Annie Leibovitz/Facebook

‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ is a charming reminder of what it means to be classy By Ron Charles

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The Washington Post A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery. Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose. Goodreads

Charlie Parker

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Bird's Nest

Tavares

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More Than a Woman [to me]

Elena Ferrante to become Guardian Weekend's new columnist

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www.amazon.de

Author of bestselling Neapolitan novels says she was keen to test herself with the ‘bold, anxious exercise’ of writing regular pieces for the magazine.

Elena Ferrante, the bestselling Italian novelist of the highly acclaimed Neapolitan series, is to write her first ever regular newspaper column, in the Guardian. The pseudonymous author’s return to writing, a year after an investigative journalist controversially claimed to have revealed her real identity, will be welcomed by fans anxious to see her next move. Ferrante has always said that her anonymity was important to her work, freeing her from the “anxiety of notoriety”. Now, in her weekly column for the Guardian’s Weekend magazine, Ferrante will share her thoughts on a wide range of topics, including childhood, ageing, gender and, in her debut article, first love. After the Guardian approached her with the idea, Ferrante said she was “attracted to the possibility of testing myself” with a regular column, and called the experience “a bold, anxious exercise in writing”. The column will be translated by Ferrante’s regular collaborator Ann Goldstein. “I’m thrilled to be working with Elena Ferrante on her first newspaper column – a new adventure for her and for Guardian Weekend magazine,” said editor Melissa Denes. “Every week, she will be writing a personal piece, covering subjects from sex to ageing to the things that make her laugh. We can’t wait to see where she will take us.” Ferrante’s books, particularly her Neapolitan series, have been bestsellers among English readers since the first volume, My Brilliant Friend, was translated in 2012. Narrated by a woman called Elena – or Lenu – the series follows her life and that of her friend Lila as they rebel against the poor and stultifying Naples neighbourhood they grew up in. The three novels that followed – The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015) – have all made bestseller charts around the world. Frantumaglia, a collection of the author’s essays and letters, was released in 2016. She is also currently working on the screenplay for a television adaptation of My Brilliant Friend for HBO. Ferrante was named one of the world’s most influential people in 2016 by Time magazine, and was one of the highest-earning literary novelists in the UK in 2017, despite not releasing a new book that year. Asked in a 2016 email interview for the Gentlewoman why she worked anonymously, Ferrante said she wanted to shield the Neapolitan community from which she drew her inspiration. She was also driven, she wrote, by “the wish to remove oneself from all forms of social pressure or obligation. Not to feel tied down to what could become one’s public image. To concentrate exclusively and with complete freedom on writing and its strategies.” The Guardian’s Weekend magazine has been redesigned as part of the newspaper’s move to tabloid format, with the first new-look issue appearing on 20 January. The Guardian

Franz Schubert

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Marche Militaire Nr. 1

Nelly

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Awards '11
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Hot in Herre

Who will follow in Levina's footsteps? Six acts revealed in Germany

German broadcaster NDR has revealed the six names that will participate in the forthcoming national selection for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. Germany is planning an ambitious search for its 2018 Eurovision Song Contest entry. Three broadcasters will air the national selection, Unser Lied für Lissabon (Our Song for Lisbon) on Thursday 22nd February at 20:15 CET; Das Erste, ONE and Deutsche Welle.100 members of a special Eurovision Panel and 20-member international jury of experts voted for the six participants. The whole selection process began with 4,000 hopefuls. Thomas Schreiber, Head of Entertainment at ARD said: "Congratulations and thanks to our six acts! In a multi-stage process, they were selected by the members of our international jury and the 100 women and men who represent the international Eurovision Song Contest viewers. They found six participants that promise to deliver a very exciting and diverse show. The goal is to find the best song for Lisbon now."

Who is in for 2018?

The following six participants stand a chance of representing Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon: 

Xavier Darcy

Ivy Quainoo 

Ryk
Michael Schulte  

Natia Todua 

The voXXclub band

What happens next?

A three day Song Writing Camp will be held in Berlin during which up to 15 national and international lyricists, composers and producers will develop songs together with the six acts. On the basis of this material a decision will then be made as to which song is right for whom, and how the performance shall be staged.

For additional information about the German national selection go to the official website, Eurovision.de. Eurovision Song Contest Logo