Innsbruck as a word reminded me of East Germany for some strange reason. I had seen the railway station a few times and I wasn’t really expecting much. In reality, Innsbruck is a truly beautiful, wealthy and laid back tyrolean city. We promptly bought a tourist orientated “city card” that gives you free entrance to all the important sights and you can use the public transport as well. The ski jumping tower designed by an iraqi architect, an alpine zoo, a few castles and royal residences and last, but not least, Swarowski Crystal World were all worth visiting.
Swarowski is an interesting business. In essence they are turning lead, soda, lime and sand into cold hard cash. They are producing all kinds of crystal creations and they have mastered the art of brand management. You can see official Swarowski crystals in all imaginable objects… nail files, slalom skis and even thongs! The Crystal World is a series of chambers that features art works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Brian Eno. At the end of the dazzling tour (with a surprising amount of mysticism) you enter a shop that is just brimming with sparkling crystal creations and eager sales assistants. You can buy a life sized crystal pineapple for about 4000 euros for example.
There is a subtle element in Austrian society and culture that is a bit hard to explain, but it has something to do with things like official titles, official endorsement and even religious ceremonies. I can see it all over the place. The roadside Jesus statues, “k.u.k.” approved producers (Imperial and Royal) and the way Sacher cakes are packed in a little wooden box with an official “seal”. Centuries ago all government acts took place in the name of “His Imperial and Royal Majesty”: most of the time abbreviated to “k.u.k.”.
These days royal titles are forbidden and all kinds of religious inequality is probably forbidden as well. However, there is a deep need for the ingenious austrians to have a sense of national identity and perhaps to even separate themselves from the immigrated elements of the society. Language and manners are obviously one way to do that. Some are concerned that the turkish have finally invaded the country after having failed twice in the history.
Anyway, my point is, that the austrians seem to enjoy various kinds of symbolic displays of power and approval. Swarowski is exploiting this subconscious need in a clever way by using their brand name much in the same way as “k.u.k.” was used during the times of the monarchy. This attitude really resonates with those citizens that have money to spare.
Well, enough of that… I also managed to get a healthy dose of outdoor life in the form of hiking, cycling and snowboarding in the surrounding mountains. I found really nice Dovo nail scissors in one of the souvenir shops. The chamber of curiosities and the old armors at Schloss Ambras and Kaiserjäger museum were also interesting.
I came back to Vienna to visit my dentist in Hungary and I’m off to Salzburg (the setting of Sound of Music!) today.
Posted by api at 09:53 - 4 Comments »
The final resting place for Bruce Lee and his son Brandon Lee, photographed by Dwyatt1
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
More quotes by Bruce Lee
Posted by api at 08:42 - No Comments »
On Saturday the local audiovisual oasis for film addicts, über cool Alphaville, hosted an excellent 10 year anniversary party at the Gartenbau Kino. Unfortunately I’ve had a streak of bad luck and I’ve managed to break down both my iBook and the brand new ceramic inlay which I had inserted on my first molar about a year ago in Bangkok. I’m heading over to Hungary as a dental tourist to have the inlay fixed and hopefully get a new logic board for the iBook later this week.
Anyway, I missed some of the earlier shows at the party while I was arranging my travel schedule. I did make it to the gala premiere of Life in Loops which is a remix of fresh footage, music by Sofa Surfers and raw footage from another film called Megacities. I especially liked the New York hustler and crack dealer sequences and the dyestuff man in India:
Timo Novotny labels his new project an experimental music documentary film, in a remix of the celebrated film Megacities (1997), a visually refined essay on the hidden faces of several world “megacities” by leading Austrian documentarist Michael Glawogger. Novotny complements 30% of material taken straight from the film (and re-edited) with 70% as yet unseen footage in which he blends original shots unused by Glawogger with his own sequences (shot by Megacities cameraman Wolfgang Thaler) from Tokyo. Alongside the Japanese metropolis, Life in Loops takes us right into the atmosphere of Mexico City, New York, Moscow and Bombay. This electrifying combination of fascinating film images and an equally compelling soundtrack from Sofa Surfers sets us off on a stunning audiovisual adventure across the continents. The film also makes an original contribution to the discussion on new trends in documentary filmmaking.
After the premiere we headed to the pavillion in Stadtpark and bumped into two finns who were on a day trip from Budapest where they were studying to become hotel professionals. They had interesting stories to tell about their work. An older gentleman comes to the hotel with a different young lady several times a week and then visits the same hotel on a Sunday brunch with his family.
After midnight I ended up sitting almost next to one of my musical heroes, B. Fleischmann, while he was busy with his laptop mixing a new soundtrack to an old Buster Keaton movie. The movie was mostly about the american civil war and steam engines. The soundtrack was superbly minimalistic true to his inimitable style and he sipped a well deserved beer after the credits.
I’m off to Innsbruck next weekend. I’ll probably visit the Stubai Glacier to do some summer snowboarding to get some sun and shake off the bad vibes about stuff breaking down around (and in) me.
The all healing Summer is finally arriving and the sun is shining with it’s wondrous warmth and unrestrained luminosity. Take care, brothers and sisters… and remember to enjoy what life and mother earth have in store for you!
Posted by api at 13:24 - No Comments »
Astronautix - Rescue Ball
Before the Challenger disaster, shuttle crews wore no space suits. This presented the problem of how to move them from one shuttle to another - if - it was possible to launch a rescue mission before the supplies aboard the stranded shuttle ran out.
To address this problem, Johnson Spaceflight Center devised the most minimal spacecraft of all time - the Personal Rescue Enclosure (PRE) Rescue Ball. The rescue ball was an 86 cm diameter high-tech beach ball with three layers: urethane inner enclosure, Kevlar middle layer, and a white outer thermal protective cover. Crew members were to climb into the ball, assume a fetal position, and be zipped inside by a space suited crew member. They donned an oxygen mask and cradled in their arms a carbon dioxide scrubber/oxygen supply box with one hour worth of oxygen. The ball would be connected by an umbilical to the shuttle to supply air until the airlock depressurized. The crew member would then be floated over to the rescue shuttle by the suited astronaut. The process would be repeated until the entire crew was moved from one spacecraft to another.
Can you imagine yourself floating in outer space inside a little insulated plastic ball with a tiny window? Astronautix has a page describing dozens of different space rescue vehicles, but this has to be the smallest one ever. It was also apparently used to test the astronaut candidates for claustrophobia.
I have had a special interest in emergency and minimal shelters for a long time. Check out my earlier entries about hammocks, foam homes and kammi shelters.
Steve Roberts, the original technomad, has pioneered a lifestyle that combines outdoor life with electronics and engineering. The problem with going off the grid for a month or two is that you might not a have job when you return. Perhaps innovations in shelter design and other miniaturization techniques will provide a way to carry your own both your office and home tucked away in your backpack in the future. That is a concept worth pursuing, in my opinion.
Posted by api at 10:36 - No Comments »
Smokey the Bear web site has an inspiring Museum section.
The campaign is the longest running public service campaign in history. Tv infomercials have a long tradition of using motion graphics and animation to convey their message. It is interesting to explore the various visual styles and approaches to the subject over the decades.
The flash intro of the site is a little spooky. As several horror movies have demonstrated to us, you can turn almost anything a little spooky by combining it with a children’s rhyme. The intro reminds me of Twin Peaks and the first poster of the museum reading “Death Rides The Forest”. Quite different from the 70’s Remember, there are babes in the forest poster. The new flash intro is a re-using a visual idea from a 1972 tv spot though.
The TV & Radio section of the museum has radio ads by celebrities and artists such B.B. King, Grateful Dead, Cheech & Chong and Dr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Ripe for sampling.
Posted by api at 10:20 - No Comments »
