More unexpected birds being forced to go to the Pegnitz:

And here is their devious relative – usual view of little grebe:

Occasional glimpse:

The term McKenzie friend has been discussed here before – here’s the first entry, and later I quoted the OED definition, and finally the original McKenzie friend commented – see PDF.

On Language Log, Mark Liberman has now found a McKenzie friend who seems more dangerous to the understanding of language than many a judge.

The syntax, and I am the judge in 1988 who wrote the mathematical interface on all 5,000 languages proving that language is a linear equation in algebra certifying that all words have 900 definitions through this mathematical algebraic formula and over the course of the past 21 years have developed an accuracy level in the syntaxing of language sentence structure to prove the correct sentence structure communication syntax language is required in a court system.

There is more.

LATER NOTE: see the comments at Language Log on David Wynn Miller, also mentioned in Wikipedia.

This duck is on the Rednitz, which isn’t frozen over, with a lot of others, all from a small lake now frozen. I hadn’t been there for a while so I had missed this one (the female has disappeared, I gather). The Waldmannsweiher did originally have a kingfisher at one end, but it may have gone since the Deutsche Bahn decimated the trees. The ducks are still there, though – although the wood ducks I haven’t seen for a long time.

Günther Oettinger is Germany’s new European Commissioner and he thinks we should all understand English. He doesn’t seem able to pronounce the English speech someone has written for him, though: video.

While I’m at it, for those who speak German, here is the interpreter for La Toya Jackson at the Semper Opernball (rumour has it that the organizers advertised on a website for someone speaking English who had to live in Saxony).

LATER NOTE: I was asked whether I thought people like Oettinger and Westerwelle ought to have interpreters. On reflection, I think the little I have seen of Westerwelle indicated that he was using his own words (such as they were) and was comprehensible. On the basis of one excerpt, a borderline case but possibly OK. Not all listeners notice language mistakes as long as they can follow the content. Oettinger’s now famous video, however, is incomprehensible in large parts, because the intonation is all wrong – incomprehensible to both native and non-native speakers, I think. It was also embarrassing to see him looking at his text so often. There is another video of him first being presented at the EU, where he speaks much better, and then fields questions in German. I think on the evidence of the incomprehensible speech, he definitely needs an interpreter.

(Via Im Namen des Volkers)

January 23:

January 25:

Caution: this may be a work of art, protected for the next seventy years.

So sue me, you artists’ collective of 8 Badstraße!

(Apologies for lack of non-photographic content – unfortunately I’m busy)

Markus at Text & Blog links to a video showing a house in Arnsberg built twelve years ago in the Bauhaus style.

This reminded me that when I was going for a walk in Upminster before Christmas, in the ice and snow, I saw a surprising house in the middle of the garden-suburb-style buildings:

It’s in a road called The Fairway, next to the golf course. I have no idea whether it’s new or refurbished – probably new. In that case, one of the architects’ offices should have pictures. Anyone know? (Not that I think any of my readers are in Upminster).

And here’s a Bauhaus bird house.