Deutschfreunde für Dezember: German Games Night, Flimmerkiste (Das Wunder von Bern)

Grüße an alle!

This note is to advise you of the activities I'll be hosting at the German Canadian Cultural Association-Edelweiss Club (108 Niagara Street in James Bay) during the month of December.

German will indeed be spoken, whether you've come to improve or keep up your German, or just to make new friends through the German language.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Besuch!

NB: A note to that you are attending is appreciated--it helps with arranging for refreshments.

German Games Night
Friday, December 11 ••• 7:00 PM until late
Friday, December 18 ••• 7:00 PM until late

Join us for some board games. New this month are Team Work and Gambit 7, and they join other modern classics like Die Siedler von Catan, Auf Achse, Zug um Zug Märklin, Bohnanza, Scrabble, Tabu, Thurn und Taxis and 6 Nimmt!

Play a favourite, or try something new! A great way to socialize!



Flimmerkiste

Wednesday, December 9 ••• 8:00 - 10:00 PM (Doors open at 7:00)

Das Wunder von Bern (2003)
German with German subtitles

Come down to the club to watch German-language TV, films, documentaries and other programming. You'll find us upstairs in the Hubertus Klause pub in front of the big screen.

This month's presentation is Das Wunder von Bern, an award-winning film which tells the post-war story of a German family and the surprise victory of West Germany in the 1954 World Cup final held in Switzerland.

Other programming will continue with the football theme including the 2010 World Cup Draw show of December 4 from Germany's ZDF and an episode of WDR's Zeiglers Wunderbare Welt des Fußballs. Current news programming will also be on hand, as always.

Come to watch, come to socialize!

--

Mit freundlichen Grüßen Michael Poplawski Victoria, BC Canada http://deutschfreunde.blogspot.com

250-882-1239

Deutschfreunde für November: German Games Night, Flimmerkiste, Amazon.de

Grüße an alle!

This note is to advise you of the activities I'll be hosting at the German Canadian Cultural Association-Edelweiss Club (108 Niagara Street in James Bay) during the month of November.

German will indeed be spoken, whether you've come to improve or keep up your German, or just to make new friends through the German language.

Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Besuch!

NB: A note to that you are attending is appreciated--it helps with arranging for refreshments.

German Games Night
Friday, November 6 ••• 7:00 PM until late
Friday, November 20 ••• 7:00 PM until late
Wednesday, November 25 ••• 7:00 PM until late

Join us for some board games, including modern classics like Die Siedler von Catan, Auf Achse, Zug um Zug Märklin, Bohnanza, Scrabble, Tabu, Thurn und Taxis and 6 Nimmt!

Play a favourite, or try something new! A great way to socialize!

Flimmerkiste

Wednesday, November 11 ••• 8:00 - 10:00 PM

Dr. Seltsam oder: Wie ich lernte, die Bombe zu lieben (1964)
German with German subtitles

Come down to the club to watch German-language TV, films, documentaries and other programming.

This month's presentation is Stanley Kubrick's classic cold-war farce (known to most by its original title Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) synchronized in German, with German subtitles.

Other programming will continue with the Cold War theme: documentaries include ARD's Jahresschau 1989 & 1990, Der schönste Irrtum der Geschichte: wie die Mauer wirklich fiel, and Mein Mauerfall: Prominente erzählen Zeitgeschichte.

Come to watch, come to socialize!

Amazon.de ordering
If you are interested in ordering German books, calendars, compact discs, board games, puzzles, DVDs or any other items that amazon.de sells, please contact me at by e-mail or 250-882-1239.

Joining together to place larger orders saves money on Canadian taxes and shipping charges!

I will be placing an order the evening of November 2nd in advance of the Christmas season, with perhaps a second order on November 9 if there is sufficient interest.

--
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Michael Poplawski
Victoria, BC Canada
http://deutschfreunde.blogspot.com
250-882-1239

Flimmerkiste, October 21 (moved from October 14)

On Wednesday, October 21 I will be presenting Die Simpsons Der Film (2007) in German with German subtitles at the Victoria Edelweiss Club, followed by a pair of episodes from the 2009 ARD documentary series 60x Deutschland.

Come to enjoy the programming and to socialize.

(My regrets if my moving this program from October 14 caused any inconvenience.)

Fußballfreunde Deutschland

As a fan of football and the game in Germany, I'm interested in getting together pretty much anywhere to talk and watch anything about the Bundesliga, Nationalelf, DFB-Pokal and the UEFA competitions.

I have been following German football since 1982 and have quite a collection of books, magazines and football films and videos from Germany.

While the Fußballfreunde Deutschland program is currently on hiatus, my plan is to organize a week of programming at the Edelweiss Club, or elsewhere, around the time of 2010 World Cup, including video and audio from German football history.

If you're a fan of German football, too, or want to learn more about German football and the amazing culture of the sport in Germany and Europe, I'd love to hear from you!

Fall Dates at the Edelweiss Club, and a Duden screensaver

I hope you're enjoying your summer!

I will be back at the Edelweiss Club in the fall presenting German Games Night and television programming under a new title "Flimmerkiste" which will expand beyond my previous offering of TV German Aktuell. It's going to be more fun than before, and I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, anyone wanting to expand their German vocabulary without thinking too hard about it might want to download a screensaver from Duden which includes some of the 5000 words added to the 25th edition of the Duden Rechtschreibung. These words, being new, are of course topical!

--

Ich hoffe dass Sie ihren Sommer genießen!

Ich komme wieder im Herbst zum Edelweiss Club zurück und präsentiere German Games Night (modern deutsche Gesellschaftspiele) und Fernsehprogramme unter den neuen Rubrik "Flimmerkiste", eine Ausweitung von meinem bisherigen Angebot TV German Aktuell. Viel Spaß erwartet uns, und ich hoffe dass wir uns treffen!

Inzwischen, jeder der Ihren Wortschatz aufbauen will, ohne sich zu viel zu bemühen, kann sich einen Bildschirmschoner von Duden, der 125 von den 5.000 neuen Wörter aus dem 25. deutsche Rechtschreibung vorstellt, herunterladen. Diese Wörter, die neu sind, sind natürlich aktuell!

Deutschfreunde for June & July 2009

Grüße an alle!

This is a reminder of the activities I'll be hosting at the Edelweiss Club (108 Niagara Street in James Bay) during the month of June. German will indeed be spoken!

Wir freuen uns auf Ihren Besuch!

A note that you are attending is appreciated--it helps with arranging for refreshments.

Please note that between July 4-30, I will not be hosting any events at the Club. My schedule will return in August.

German Games Night
Wednesday, June 17 ••• 7:00 PM until late
Friday, June 19 ••• 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Friday, July 3 ••• 7:00 PM until late

Join us for some board games, including modern classics like Die Siedler von Catan, Auf Achse, Zug um Zug Märklin, Bohnanza, Scrabble and others. New this month: Tabu, Thurn und Taxis and 6 Nimmt!

Play a favourite, or try something new!

Fußballfreunde Deutschland
Wednesday, June 24 ••• 7:00 PM until late

This presentation about Germanfootball will include a look back at the recently completed Bundesliga season and UEFA tournament, a selection from the D:SF series "Bundesliga Hits", as well as the feature film: Der Triumph von München, a documentary about the 1974 World Cup in Germany. Skandalen, "Total Football", Die Wasserschlacht, und nicht nur die fußballerischen Höhepunkte, auch die wichtige politische und kulturelle Ereignisse des Sommers 1974.

Fußballfreude pur!

TV Aktuell
Wednesday, June 17 ••• 8:00 - 10:00 PM

The TV in the pub will be showing short German-language TV documentaries and other programming. For June, expect, among other programming, a selection of German quiz shows and news programs, along with more episodes of ARD's Jahresschau, a special series of documentaries featuring 60-year history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Come to watch, come to talk!

--
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Michael Poplawski
Victoria, BC Canada
http://deutschfreunde.blogspot.com
250-882-1239

Activities Report for the 2009 Edelweiss Club Annual General Meeting

As you may know, I have been coordinating activities at the Club and have had challenges having my activities promoted by the club on the web site and in the newsletter. I'm happy to say that things are improving in these areas, and those who have been attending have had a good time, but I would like to see more people give the activities a try--they just might be surprised to learn what the activities really are about.

German Games Night

This activity has been successful in bringing a diverse group of people together three times a month throughout the winter and early spring, with German speakers both native and learners. Everybody who has come has made new friends!

A typical evening includes playing two games--usually a board game which takes 2-3 hours, and then a shorter game to wind things down.

I've been pleased that Germans visiting Victoria have discovered this activity. A little disappointing is that attendance by German learners has been low, meaning that there is indeed room for growth. I would like to see more German students from UVic and the German school give game playing a try as means of using the language they are learning and have fun doing it.

I plan to continue organizing this activity throughout the year, and I would like to see more people give the activity a try--there is more to German board games than "Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht"!

Fußballfreunde Deutschland & Football Friends Germany

Participation in this event has been low and I've reduced the frequency to once per month, down from two. I am continuing presentations on the bar's screen from my significant library of football-related films and I've also recently been able to present current football programming from German television. Fußballfreunde Deutschland is a great opportunity to watch and discuss current and past events in German football!

TV German Aktuell

This program has seen little participation but I plan to continue it once a month on Wednesdays. I present entertaining and informative documentaries and news programs, and occasionally a short film, giving us a chance to hear German spoken and also to discuss the program during and afterwards. Something I have in mind for the future is to show movies which have been dubbed into German, with German subtitles, in order to give people more opportunities to practice their German in the company of other speakers.

Amazon.de Ordering Group

During the year, sometime in advance of Christmas, I will be placing an order from Amazon.de for books, CDs, DVDs, calendars, board games and other things Amazon.de sells, and anyone interested is welcome to take part in an order. This is not a business venture--the aim of making the order larger is to save money on shipping, and ordering via Amazon.de is quite economical once an order gets over 100 € or so. This is a great opportunity for people to get a nice item from Germany who aren't able to find it via other means. Amazon.de has a huge selection--have a look!

German Games Night Update

I'm glad to say that German Games Night is going strong, with 3-5 people attending regularly. We've recently played games of Zug um Zug Märklin, Ausgerechnet Buxtehude, Die Siedler von Catan-Deutschland, Anno Domini, and a couple very interesting sessions of Das Große GEO-Quiz.

I'd like to thank Larissa, Hermann, Ingrid, Ian, Tessa, Ronny, John, Stefan and Laura for their enthusiasm playing and helping me set up and clean up afterwards. I'm really enjoying teaching the games and having the chance to speak German, and I hope you're having as much fun playing the games as I am.

I've been busy obtaining more games via a friend in Germany, and I will be writing about them once they're on their way here.

Mit spielerischen Grüßen
Michael

Fußballfreunde Deutschland 10. März

Tonight's feature presentation was the documentary Im Westen ging die Sonne auf, featuring interviews and footage about football in the Ruhr region of Germany. At 84 minutes, I found it a little overlong, but it definitely described the passion that Germans and Ruhr residents in particular have for football.

Interesting, of course is the contrast between the pre-Bundesliga 1950s and today, with the 1950s being the glory days, and how the sport reflects social and economic conditions of the times. Interesting to learn was how the Währungsreform in the early days of the Bundesrepublik may have helped lead to the decline of football in the Ruhr region.

Im Westen ging die Sonne auf is part of a series of football films I'm presenting at Fußballfreunde Deutschland, I hope you'll make an effort to attend a film in the future.

GottaCon German Games Night Workshop

To help promote German Games Night, I will be at the GottaCon gaming convention February 6-8 at Pearkes Arena (near Tillicum Mall). I'm looking forward to introducing people to the idea of practicing their German, and experiencing a bit of German culture, through board and card games.

Spread the word!

German Games Night Workshop at GottaCon times:

Friday, February 6 1900-2300
Saturday, February 7 0900-1300
Sunday, February 8 1400-1600

German Games Night Notes for January

Three good games sessions this past month!

Ingrid and I spent an enjoyable Friday night playing Zug um Zug Märklin followed up with a introduction to Anno Domini - Deutschland. The Wednesday session had Tessa, Ronny, Ingrid and me playing a full game of Das Große GEO-Quiz. It was nice to play this game to its conclusion! Lastly, the Tuesday session was a good introduction for several UVic students, Nate, Ivan and Anita, to give Ausgerechnet Buxtehude a try.

As you can read here on "Deutschfreunde", more games are coming soon, and with it, more enthusiastic players! I hope to see you all again soon.