To while away the time while I finish my job, here is some German music from the 1960s, at WFMU’s Beware of the Blog:

For Labor Day, here is a perennial WFMU favorite of socialist propaganda songs from 1960s West Germany, the compilation “Lehrlinge halten zusammen” (“Apprentices stick together”). Released in 1969 on the Pläne label, it has never been officially reissued, as far as I know. Most of the lyrics are somewhat failed attempts at sarcastic humor, pointing out the exploitation of German apprentices by evil capitalists, and the virtues of organized resistance against the system. The back cover contains a summary of Karl Marx’s position on the question of youth in capitalistic societies, in six easily digestable points.

Why hasn’t this faded into total obscurity, you ask? First of all, the music and delivery on many of these songs is original, to say the least, and in addition this has been featured on the famous Nurse With Wound list for the contribution of mysterious Lerryn & dadazuzu, Lehrlings-Machtgebeat. Also, who can resist obscurities from Germany or Japan anyway? Here is the whole album for your enjoyment.

Thanks to kalebeul

Friday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

As a result of pressure of work, this blog may have to descend into photography for a day or two.

That’s an imperial cup and teaspoon, is it?

Just because we have popcorn on the brain, we thought we’d share one of our favorite popcorn recipes. It’s sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy…and in imperial units. Sorry about that, but it’s from the archives and not yet in metric measurements.

Spiced Honey Popcorn
4 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup wildflower honey
1/4 t salt
1 T Matouks West Indian Hot Sauce

I can certainly confirm that they aren’t metric. But there’s too much to this:

U.S. customary units, also known in the United States as English units or Imperial units (in reference to the British Empire)[1] (but see English unit for British standards) or standard units, are units of measurement that are currently used in the USA, in some cases alongside units from SI (International System of Units — the modern metric system). All units are defined in terms of SI base units, but at ratios inconvenient for conversion.

I suppose that means even Butterstick has an imperial element.

Kanute/Kanutin – canoeist – nothing to do with Knut or Canute.
Wasserball – water polo – makes more sense, I suppose, since there are no horses involved.
Turmspringen – (high) diving – German distinguishes between Tauchen for underwater diving and Springen for diving into water
Springreiten – show jumping
Vielseitigkeitsreiten – eventing
veredeln – Edelmetall means noble metal, and a highjumper, for instance, who is sure to win the bronze medal but then improves and gets silver or gold is said to have “veredelt” the bronze (turned it into silver or gold).
das Treppchen verpassen – to miss the podium
Speerwerfen – javelin
Fünfkampf, Siebenkampf, Zehnkampf – pentathlon, heptathlon, decathlon
but Triathlon – triathlon
Florettfechten – foil fencing
der Turnfloh – the gymnastic flea (Florian Hambüchen)

I reported earlier on criminal investigations against Americans with doctorates who dared to call themselves Herr or Frau Doktor in Germany.

Now it appears the Kultusministerkonferenz has got its finger out and relaxed the rules. I may call myself Frau Doktor Marks instead of the previously permitted Frau Doktor (London) Marks.

With the criticism building up about the destruction of London for the 2012 Olympics, this could be a great benefit.

This is now binding in most German Länder.

TransatlanTicker has an entry – scroll down to Nachtrag for the 01.07.08 update (I think that is July, not January, since the entry is in German):

Inzwischen ist der Beschluss der Kultusministerkonferenz bezüglich “begünstigender Regelungen” bei der Führung ausländischer Hochschulgrade offiziell in Kraft und hier nachzulesen (PDF). Für die meisten Bundesländer ist der KMK-Beschluss bindend; in einigen müssen nun noch die entsprechenden Durchführungsverordnungen geändert werden. Neben den Wissenschaftlern, die an einer auf der Carnegie-Liste geführten US-Universität (siehe hier und hier) promoviert haben, dürfen nun auch Absolventen australischer, israelischer, japanischer und kanadischer Universitäten ihren dort erworbenen Doktortitel in der deutschen Abkürzung „Dr.“ ohne fachlichen Zusatz und Herkunftsbezeichnung führen. Die Zeiten, in denen das deutsche Doktorat dem Gesetzgeber als das einzig Wahre galt, sind nun also endlich vorbei.

Interestingly, the person who made criminal complaints against 40 academics who were using their titles was not a stickler for law, but one Herbert K., who had a 1970s doctorate from Toronto and had failed to have it recognized. He decided to change his tactics. It was only the Americans among the 40 academics who had the guts to protest and publicize the issue in the international press, so we must be grateful to them and Herbert K.

“Leider brachten nur die amerikanischen Wissenschaftler der MPG die Zivilcourage auf, sich zu wehren und an die internationale Presse zu gehen.” Der gewünschte Effekt trat trotzdem ein: Peinlich berührt ob der negativen Schlagzeilen konnte die KMK die Grundsätze zur Führung ausländischer Hochschulgrade nun plötzlich ganz fix ändern. Und da neben amerikanischen auch kanadische Universitäten als gleichwertig anerkannt sind, darf sich K. nun endlich so nennen, wie er es schon immer wollte. Hut ab vor diesem genialen Coup und noch einmal vielen Dank für den Anruf.

Here is the KMK document (German PDF).

(Thanks to a comment under my earlier entry)