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The Strong Beer Festival
If you’re a beer drinker that enjoys the lively festivals that are a mainstay of German culture and can’t wait for Oktoberfest to come around, check out the Strong Beer Festival in Munich. This two-and-a-half week drinking event is the second largest beer festival in the city, falling behind only Oktoberfest proper.
The Strong Beer Festival is a tradition that started way back in the 1700s, though it wasn’t officially recognized as a public festival until the mid-1800s. Since then, it has grown and now occupies an important place on beer lovers’ calendars across the world.
This celebration is in honor of Starkbier. Though the word itself means “strong,” the festival wasn’t named because of high alcohol content within the drinks. It actually refers to the thickness of the beer. Often referred to as liquid bread, Starkbier is indeed a heavy drink.
One large stein has an amount of solids equal to around one-third of a loaf of bread and boasts more then 700 calories. But despite the naming tradition, the drinks are indeed strong in other ways, most of them averaging around 7.5 percent alcohol content.
The festival takes place across the many beer halls and breweries in Munich, each celebrating in their own way. The biggest of these take place at the Paulaner brewery (or Nockherberg) and at Lowenbraukeller. The former turns into a giant party, with people dancing on the tables and bands playing traditional German Oktoberfest music throughout. The latter is similar, though geared more toward a mature drinking crowd and therefore it tends to be less rambunctious.
If you decide to attend the Strong Beer Festival, remember to pace yourself. If you try to drink this beer like you might a more common brew, you may just end up passing out and missing half the festival or waking up to discover that you’ve put on 10 lbs. Still, it’s a great event for people wanting to try these amazing German brews and have fun in a traditional German way. The next Strong Beer Festival is coming up in March, from the 1st to the 17th.
Balispirit
Balispirit is a unique festival devoted to spreading understanding of the passions of yoga, dance, music and other Balinese spiritual practices. It takes place in the town of Ubud in Bali, Indonesia during March of each year. For five days and four nights, people come together to share their love of these particular spiritual pursuits, bringing their knowledge and helping others to learn more.
This event is relatively young, having been going on for just over five years and the people who frequent it are a smaller and specialized community. For those reasons, the event only brings in around 6000 guests each year. This makes it an intimate event that lovers of yoga and other Balinese cultural practices can attend without feeling like they’re at some large and heavily produced commercial event. Those who organize the event are dedicated to offering the best experiences in education and entertainment as well as creating a place where Balinese culture can reach an international audience.
Balispirit’s main focus is on yoga and the local culture, though there are several other reasons to attend. Hundreds of people come to teach each year, setting up workshops and master classes to accommodate people of all skill levels. Many of these teachers are the best in their fields and take great pride in sharing their knowledge. There are also concerts held at two different venues and numerous performances that highlight aspects of Indonesian culture. For those that need supplies or souvenirs, the festival offers a marketplace by the name of the Dharma Fair.
In addition to promoting spirituality, Balispirit also helps to raise money for charity, particularly those dealing with the needs of the local Balinese communities and much-needed reforestation projects.
The next Balispirit is coming up from March 20th to the 24th. If you’re a person who enjoys experiencing new cultures through embracing their traditions, this is an event that will teach you plenty within a friendly and helpful community atmosphere.
My best traveling tip
Whenever I go on vacation, I tend to keep everything in my suitcases. Regardless of how nice the hotel looks and feels, I just can never get myself to feel comfortable about placing my clothes into the various drawers in the hotel room.
I am afraid that something sticky or dirty has been left behind by the previous guests. Plus, there is always that fear that I would accidently leave something behind once I have left the hotel. Therefore, I keep all of my clothes in the suitcases that I have brought with me from home.
Normally, keeping clothes confined inside of a traveling bag for a long time can cause the clothes to not smell so great. Luckily, my mom had already taught me how to keep my clothes smelling fresh when on vacation. She told me to stick some dryer sheets inside all of my traveling bags. So I did. And I never once had to worry about my clothes smelling stale from sitting in my suitcases for too long.
The dryer sheets become extra handy on the flight or drive home. Dirty clothes are not usually the greatest thing to smell, and placing them into a traveling bag for a long time can cause the bag to stink for some time after the trip.
However, placing the dryer sheets in with the dirty clothes can help to keep odors under control. For that reason, I never leave on a trip without my dryer sheets. I hope that you don’t forget to bring yours with you on your next trip either.
The ongoing struggle of rights vs. the church
This year saw many great victories when it comes to LGBT rights across both the United States and Europe. The election brought many great changes and progress and promises better things to come as people continue to voice their belief that gay couples should be able to marry freely, regardless of what religions try to preach. As typical, the Catholic Church is resisting that change, even going so far as to issue an official statement from the Vatican to inform the world that they’ll never stop fighting.
This misplaced religious aggression over an ideal that has to do with individual choice has turned into a multi-million dollar effort for the church. This is money that could go to better causes, such as charities, but instead gets funneled into what is essentially a losing battle.
More than $11 million, for example, was spent on fighting gay marriage laws during the U.S. elections, with more than $2 million of this coming from the Catholic Church. And only God himself knows how much more they spend yearly to continue their campaign against LGBT rights by spreading misinformation, guilt, fear and other forms of propaganda.
What’s even worse is that the money spent by the church often comes from the contributions that their followers donate. Those people, thinking they’re giving their money to help people in need are instead giving it to fund Catholic political campaigns. And many of those donating do not know this and would likely protest this waste of cash.
In a way this almost seems like fraud. When a church sends around the collection plate, rarely do they say “This money will help spread our political beliefs.” How much less would they receive if they were honest about their intentions? Not everyone in every church is against gay marriage, after all.
Perhaps the solution lies in implementing a law that prevents this type of funding from being used for political ends? Or maybe churches should be required to give full disclosure on the way they spend their donations? It seems to me like a broken system that is being readily abused and something needs to be done about it.
If people want to run anti-gay rights campaigns, let them do it out of their own pockets, not the pockets of those who merely wish to give money to help the less fortunate. Or better yet, let the church stay out of other people’s business altogether and concentrate on doing things that actually matter.
Featured Artist: Lorena Carvalho
Carvalho’s artwork feels like a little bit of James Jean with a touch of Jim Silke, Adam Hughes, Terry Dodsen, and perhaps some Terry Moore. Her fine line detail is fantastic and she has a great eye for design. Check out more of her work at her website Bats & Stars.
Rabbit Hopping
Rabbit Hopping is an interesting and strange animal tradition that took root in Denmark and has since spread to gain popularity in many places throughout the word. It’s akin to the dog shows that are a bit more common, though the focus is purely on rabbits and their jumping abilities.
It came to light in the early '80s and within 10 years had taken hold of people in many places throughout Europe, eventually reaching overseas to the United States. Today, rabbit hopping organizations are everywhere, as are regional contests, though the championship still remains in the country that founded the hobby, Denmark.
The goal of the Rabbit Hopping Championships is to train a rabbit to run a course of obstacles, leaping over them one at a time. Gates, fences and other barriers all stand in the way of an owner and victory. There are four main events at the championship and thus four ways to gain the title.
The Elite Straight is, as the name implies, a straight line of multiple obstacles. The Elite Crooked is about the same, except the obstacles are placed along a winding circuit. The High Jump tests a rabbit’s ability to gain height and the Long Jump its ability to go long distances in a single bound.
When scoring a rabbit hopping event, the key is that the rabbits are able to navigate the courses with as little human interference as possible. Some lead their rabbits on leashes, prompting them whenever they can’t figure out what to do. Other rabbits are keener to the course and can run it without much help at all. Getting a rabbit to be capable is a serious endeavor, and those who compete don’t take it lightly. There are no big money prizes, so the event is truly a labor of love.
Nowadays, one can find a rabbit hopping event pretty much anywhere in the world, though the city of Copenhagen still lays claim to the championships. If you have a love of rabbits and perhaps a desire to train and compete, check out a local organization for more information. Or if you’re really devoted, try to make your way to Denmark in April and test your bunny’s skills against those of dozens of others.
Disney devours Lucasfilm: ‘Star Wars’ Episode VII is Coming!
The news that seems to be on everyone’s mind as of late is that concerning the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney and their promise that another Star Wars trilogy is on the way. Some greet this change with elation while others are a bit skeptical, albeit justifiably considering the last three Star Wars flicks and how much they physically hurt to watch. But the potential for Disney to turn out some great stuff is there, providing they manage to get together the right team.
Every since the news dropped, people have been compiling wish-lists of directors, writers and actors. As a result, many rumors are flying about, naming people who may or may not be involved in the upcoming projects. So far, pretty much any director that has even a remote shred of geek-cred (and many who have none) has ended up being named as a potential. Most of these people have openly stated that they’re not involved or that they have little interest, some of them have expressed interest while clarifying that they’ve not been approached and still others are simply saying nothing.
As for actors, the names being dropped are all speculation. Episode VII won’t be around for another two-and-a-half years, so casting is a ways off. As for writers, we do have one positive piece of information regarding the presence of Michael Arndt.
For those that don’t know the name, Arndt wrote the script for Toy Story 3. Whether that translates to Star Wars remains to be seen, but I’m guessing that Disney will be keen to bring in more than just one name to oversee what could be a massively record-breaking film.
So long as they stick to crafting the new Star Wars the way fans want, the potential for three very excellent movies is big. They’re already looking to bring back many of the original cast, including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, expressing a desire to place the new film within their lifetimes. Of course, these old actors are… well, pretty old.
There’s nothing glamorous about a pudgy Han Solo or an old and bitter Princess Leia. If Disney tries to make the old-school into the main stars of the new films, they may be in for a load of trouble. As background characters they would work wonders, however, acting as icons for a new cast of Jedi, rogues and rebel leaders.
As the weeks pass by, Disney will no doubt be furiously looking to secure their director and possibly some more writers. Within a year’s time, they’ll have the cast lined up and some synopsis for the story released to the public.
I’m really hoping they listen to the input that fans have to provide about the project, else we risk a disaster of epic proportions. But only time will tell whether Episodes VII, VIII and IX will be masterpieces of the Star Wars franchise or a revisiting of the mediocrity that were Episodes I through III. Cross your fingers folks, for our childhood memories are in Disney’s hands.
China’s Changing of the Guard
This year marks many historic changes in the world, some progressive and others tragic. One of these that may not seem as important as it truly is is the changing of the guard in the Chinese government. A batch of old leaders is out and new ones are coming in and many people are watching to see if some of China’s many problems may get better. Hu Jintao, the previous president, is gone, replaced by Xi Jinping, a man that many have high hopes for in terms of China’s progress.
And Xi has certainly inherited his share of problems from his predecessor. The Chinese economy is beginning to flounder, the citizens of the country are expressing their discontent on many levels, international trade relations are convoluted, Tibet continues to pose a problem and, to make all the others even more complicated, corruption runs rampant within the Chinese government.
Before taking office, the newly appointed powers-that-be made some very pretty speeches, talking all about how much they are going to do for the people and the country. Many political experts, however, don’t think that this will be the case, promises or not.
The biggest problem with the realignment of power is that many of the newly appointed officials are very conservative in nature. This means that change is unlikely to come without a fight or a crisis. They may choose to simply stick to existing policies in hopes of things getting better on their own instead of making the sometimes drastic reforms that are necessary to get the country running in the right direction.
Luckily, there is one appointment that looks positive - that of Wang Qishan to the position of overseer of inner-party discipline. Wang has a reputation for getting things done and may be just the man for the job to clean out some of those who are causing the problems in the first place. Of course, many with similar reputations have tried to fight corruption only to end up being scandalized, victims of those in power who want to protect their prestigious positions at all costs.
Right now China has the chance to clean out the old, dusty methodologies and implement things that will carry them proudly into the future. Or they may simply end up festering again, the same as they did under pure Communism and closed borders. The coming months will no doubt show what the world can expect to see in this super-power’s future.