Kobe Bryant turns to German doctor

http://www.thelocal.de/sport/20111225-39733.html

Fussball: Kiel upset!

Lingro

Are you serious about leaving high school proficient in the language you are taking?

Nikolaus-Meteor über Deutschland?

http://www.thelocal.de/national/20111225-39731.html

Ein Monat ohne Eltern!? A Month Without Parents?

Die Jungs-WG:
http://www.tivi.de/tiviVideos/beitrag/1525442?view=flash

Die Mädchen-WG
http://www.tivi.de/tiviVideos/beitrag/1525442?view=flash

Church made out of Snow?

http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111226-39745.html

DFG Science TV -- DFG?

http://dfg-science-tv.de/en

What does DFG stand for?  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft: German Research Collective.
http://dfg-science-tv.de/en/about-the-dfg/

Even if you are not a "science buff" or "history buff", I bet you will still find these videos interesting.  And they will also give you a feel for what kinds of projects the German government finds funds for or assists with.

Wallwisher

Here's a cool site that we will use for brainstorming and gathering a lot of opinions and experiences in one place.

http://www.wallwisher.com/

German roots of the Christmas Tree

Umwelt Tannenbaum_1282030323.jpg

ulo-comics.de

[Was meint ihr: Was ist dem Tannenbaum passiert?

What do you think?  What happened to the Christmas Tree?]

There are a number of origin stories for the Christmas tree tradition.  But according to the article below, Germans are to be given the nod for starting the tradition recent times.

http://www.thelocal.de/lifestyle/20111223-39685.html

This article from Young Germany deals with that utter madness which assaults the logical mind when a person realizes that Germans actually say: "How faithful are your leaves[sic]" in "O Tannenbaum".  Gasp!  I still think that there are a number of students who just didn't believe me this year...

http://www.young-germany.de/index.php?id=1268&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=2981

If you click the link below the comic, you will find the website of the creator of the comic.  On the original website, you'll read under the comic: Illustration aus „Land aktuell“ zum Thema „Baumsterben“ .  So the comic was made about the topic of "Baumsterben" = Tree Death.  Climate change [Klimawandel] does wreak havoc on everything, including aspects of our traditions which should remain forever "treu" like a Tannenbaum, but eventually won't be able to survive.

ZDF TIVI -- News, "Kids TV Shows", Spass!

http://www.tivi.de/tiviVideos?view=flash

At any point when you are at a loss for what to do for homework [let's say: you've done some practice online, but you haven't done any "work" based on your own interests or discoveries], then you can go to this link and poke around.  News at a basic level, kids/teen Reality TV, shows similar to Schwammkopf Bob or Veggie Tales -- You'll have quick access to a variety of material, and a lot of it will be *just* accessible enough for you that it's comprehensible.  [And don't let me sell your progress short!  Perhaps you'll find a lot of materials which  you are able to "access" with the German you have now.]

World Site Guides - Excellent Free Resource

http://www.worldsiteguides.com/

http://www.worldsiteguides.com/europe/germany/neuschwanstein-castle/

Gingerbread Houses Due Monday!

Are you baking and building a Gingerbread House for Monday?

http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/kids-make-lebkuchenhaus

Christmas Traditions Mindmap

This is a mindmap I created over the past two holiday seasons.  I am not sure about keeping up with it -- it seems to me that there might be better ways to organize this information.  Nonetheless, there are a lot of reference points here for further study--  (Click on the full-screen button to actually be able to read anything!)

Oh Tannenbaum! Designer Christmas Trees

Sure, there are more important things to accomplish this holiday season.  But these trees are still neat:
http://www.ohtannenbaum.org/

PIONEERS TURNED MILLIONAIRES - GERMANS WHO CHANGED AMERICAN INDUSTRY

Check out the webpage for this new documentary-series:
http://www.pioneers-turned-millionaires.com/front-page?set_language=en

Krampus for the Holidays: Meet the Anti-Santa

The holidays are a wicked good time for a German teacher.  So many traditions are replete with connections and contributions from German-speaking areas.


And it's in German-speaking lands where the figure[s] of Sankt Nikolaus's companion[s] take their most fascinating shape: the Krampusse, or Klausen, or Perchten.

Here's a recent story from NPR about efforts to reawaken the Krampusse in our backyard!

I've embedded the same video on the NPR page below.  It's professionally shot, and shows that these Krampus-Parades are really family affairs (or can really be family affairs) and fun for one and all.

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/10/143485735/naughty-or-nice-krampus-horror-for-the-holidays?sc=fb&cc=fp

Undergrad Study Abroad Opportunities in German (with Funding!)

To give you an idea where continued pursuit of proficiency in German can lead you, I would like to share these opportunities available to talented and hard-working undergrads at any university all over the country:

http://www.daad.org/?p=undergrad

German Advent Calendars Online

From the German publisher Hueber: http://www.hueber.de/adventskalender2011/index.php?
         --You have to negotiate this in German, which will be hard for a beginning student, but there are a lot of prizes in the drawings!

French Advent Calendars Online

I will add more as I come across them.

http://www.jeannedelalune.co.uk/advent/Advent_Calendar_French.html