I grew up with two notions to the German word “Ersatz” (pronounce air-‘zuts), that of replacement and that of substitute. I didn’t know that this term had also made it into the English language. And whereas the association of ersatz with replacement is a good one, that with substitute for the same purpose suggests inferiority. […]
Across the Fence
In the Book Nook with … M. Lee Musgrave
Author M. Lee Musgrave lives in White Salmon, WA, in the Columbia River Gorge. He is an artist with numerous international solo and group exhibitions over the decades. As a former professor of art and art museum curator, he has written many essays, exhibit catalogs, text panels, etc. M. Lee’s first published book, “Brushed Off,” […]
Across the Fence: Dachshund
They are longer than they are high. They come smooth or wiry. They all seem to be self-confident, resilient characters, and I was surprised that most people call them Wienerdogs over here. At first, I wondered why anybody would associate the city of Wien, aka Vienna, with the dog. Then, I realized that it is […]
Lakewood Icon Celebrates Special Birthday
He has been making me laugh and ponder and have double takes ever since I came across him for the first time. And that was way before I met him in person on a sunny weekday afternoon at a Starbuck’s in Lakewood in 2019. He was not alone. Ben Sclair, who had introduced us via […]
Across the Fence: Foosball
Submitted by Susanne Bacon. As a kid and young teenager, I loved playing soccer. The boys in my class even let me play on their teams as the only girl during our sports classes until eighth grade (after that we were separated by gender and explored different fields of athletics). Soccer was the game shown […]
Across the Fence: Altbier and Kölsch
I grew up in a German city with a number of big breweries. Their names mean nothing over here, and one got torn down when I was in my early twenties. I don’t remember what happened. It seems they merged with a brewery downtown. A specific area always also had that peculiar smell that goes […]
Across the Fence: Umlaut
Hardly anything is as conspicuous in the written German language as what is even named the German way in the English language: the umlaut (pronounce ‘oomm-lout, meaning changed sound). Indeed, these are a, o, and u topped with two horizontal dots such as in ä, ö, and ü. Apparently, they are not easy to pronounce […]
Across the Fence: Volksmusik
Submitted by Susanne Bacon. Whenever I come across a German festival, store, or restaurant over here, I encounter one thing that – I have to admit this much – makes me slightly cringe. It’s a phenomenon with traditionally Southern German, respectively Alpine roots. But I am not sure how many Germans my age are really […]
Across the Fence: Doppelgänger
Have you ever been told, “I know you from somewhere. Your face is so familiar”? Maybe even followed by the name of a place? If so, you may have wondered whether there is a true, physical doppelgänger of yours, a person who is your look-alike. I keep joking that I have a face in a […]