Incoherent Scribblings

I am familiar with the concept of the Christmas Tree, but what is it with the “Easter Tree” here in Germany? I have noticed many trees in town decorated with Easter eggs! For example, my downstairs neighbor has one. She has decorated her pussy willow with plastic (I think, I haven’t looked up close) eggs. Is this some sort of German tradition I am not aware of?

Update @ 8:40pm
I did a little surfing to see what I could find out about the Easter Tree in Germany. Apparently,

The making of an Easter tree is an old custom in Germany, Holland and some other European countries. They brought this custom to the United States when they came. Days before Easter, these Europeans would bring in bare branches and put them in a pot filled with earth. The children will then decorate them with decorated empty eggs. They did this by emptying the eggs, dyed them and then used ribbons to tie and hang them on the bare branches. The bare branches symbolize death while the eggs are a symbol of life.

– from Kiddyhouse, Easter customs

More information about Easter in Germany can be found here:

• German Embassy of Ottawa, Easter
• German Information Center, Student’s Corner, Ostern

Oh well, I guess if you can have a Christmas tree, why not an Easter tree too?

This has to be one of the best blonde jokes I have ever heard… and I think I have heard about all of them.

A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. She says she’s going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.

The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Mercedes Benz SL 500.

The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the title and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.

The bank’s president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $110,000 Benz as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Benz into the bank’s underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.

The loan officer says, “Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?”

The blonde replies…..”Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”

Yes, A. and I are both big Harry Potter fans. Yesterday, as A. started reading the first Harry Potter book for about the 6th or 7th time, I again asked myself the question I had asked myself ever since I learned that in Britain the first Harry Potter book is called Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, while in America, it is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone… Why the difference?

A. made some snide comment about Americans not knowing what a philosopher was. I chuckled and agreed that might be a possibility, but was not happy with the answer. So, as a reference librarian, I did what reference librarians always do when confronted with such a question… I did some research!

The first thing I decided is that I needed a proper definition of “philosopher” or perhaps “philosopher’s stone” as that was obviously where the answer lay…

According to The New Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a philosopher is 1.) a reflective thinker: SCHOLAR 2.) a student or specialist in philosophy 3.) one whose philosophical perspective enables him to meet trouble calmly.

(I must say, I just about busted a gut when I read the last definition… I think it is hilarious! But I digress…)

OK, so much for the American definition of “philosopher” helping me out… I then decided I needed a British definition, but alas, I don’t have a British English dictionary. However, I knew where I needed to turn… The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)! In case you are unaware, the OED is the biggest, baddest, English dictionary ever produced. It has a history dating back over a hundred years, is over 20 volumes, and is accepted as the definitive source of the English language. Unfortunately, it is also only available online via subscription. However, there is also a site that is called AskOxford.com, which allows you to search The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, so I decided it would have to do.

According to it, a philosopher is “[noun] a person engaged or learned in philosophy.” (Boy, that wasn’t very helpful either.) But there was also an entry for the philosopher’s stone, which is “[noun] a mythical substance supposed to change any metal into gold or silver.” Of course, I already knew that much since I too have read Harry Potter 5 or 6 times.

I felt a little discouraged. I still didn’t have an answer to my question. So, I decided on another approach. I would look for information on Harry Potter and that particular book. But there are so many Harry Potter sites out there, I barely knew where to begin. Upon browsing through my Google list I spied one entitled, “The Harry Potter Lexicon.” I thought it sounded very promising and it turned out to be just what I needed. I also have to plug this site. It has to be one of the best Harry Potter sites I have ever seen.

According to the HP Lexicon, Scholastic (the HP publisher in the States) changed the title because they thought that no American kid would buy a book with the word “philosopher” in the title. (click here for the complete information)

So I guess A. wasn’t that far off after all when he deduced that no American kid would know what a philosopher was. They might know, but I guess for American kids, the term philosopher doesn’t conjure up the kind of image Scholastic thought would sell books!

Isn’t it amazing how a great pair of shoes can give you a whole new attitude?

Normally, I wear tennis shoes (a.k.a. sneakers) or Birkenstocks because I am a casual kind of gal who does a lot of walking everyday that demands a comfortable pair of shoes. And usually I have a casual, laid-back attitude to match.

But I do have a bunch of funky shoes and every now and again, I wear a pair of them. And when I wear them, I get a funky attitude (and usually blisters) to match.

Well, today was one of those days. I wore this fantastic pair of leather boots that make a statement when I walk down the street… and today, I felt that I was radiating an attitude that also made a statement: firm, confident, and a little bit bitchy.

Of course, now that I am home and relaxing, my feet are making the bitchy statement in the form of blisters… Oh, the price women pay for a little attitude!