Competitions

I love competitions! I regularly search though all the portals I know to find out whether there are new and interesting ones I would like to take part in. Because I take part in so many of them, I sometimes win really cool prizes. Last year, for example, I won a return flight from Vienna to any European city of my choice. Together with my brother and his girlfriend we flew to Paris for New Year’s Eve – it was awesome. For another competition I had to write a poem about sweets and then won a big box full of chocolate!!

                           My brother and me in front of the Eifel Tower

                                                                            

My last prize took place about two weeks ago. On Facebook I read that a travel agency raffled a diving course with the Austrian world champion in freediving, Christian Redl. I was fascinated. I knew that I had to take part because I love scuba diving and snorkeling and all other sorts of water sports. I filled out the application form and waited…and waited…and waited, but nothing happened. On Facebook the travel agency congratulated the winners but unfortunately I was not one of them. 
A few days later I received an email where they informed me that one participant cannot take part and asked me if I had time and would like to come. Of course I had time! Two days later I met the other winners (about 10 people) at the “Therme Wien” in Vienna. When Mr. Redl arrived some of the participants were really excited and nervous and took pictures with him. He turned out to be a really nice guy, talked to all of us and told us the agenda for the next four hours. Then we started. At first, we had to hold our breath as long as we could and he timed us. I managed 1 minute and 5 seconds. 

Afterwards he showed us how to relax and concentrate on our body and breath. Moreover, Mr. Redl taught us how to breath correctly. I now know that it is important to have positive thoughts because they need less oxygen then negative ones and that it is essential to relax your body and to slow down your heart rate. Finally, we did the same exercise from the beginning. Everyone had to hold his or her breath and our teacher timed us. I nearly doubled my time with 2 minutes and 5 seconds! This was a great experience and I learned some very useful techniques. 

The Austrian world champion in Freediving - Christian Redl

EU individual paragraph

In class I heard about the “European Year” for the first time. I was not aware that the EU set up this project in 1983, with the year of craft industry, in order to raise awareness of specific topics. The years focus is chosen by the European Parliament which makes sure that the topics are of general interest and major concern to the EU member countries. This year’s focus is important and interesting for all of us – 2013 is the European Year of citizens. The European Parliament chose to focus on citizens in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty is responsible for the creation of the EU. It was signed by the members of the European Union in order to work towards a unified foreign policy. Common rights for citizens is the aim of the European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA). The EYCA is planning to mobilise society throughout this year to promote active citizenship. To do so, the alliance is active in various fields like education or youth work. To sum up, this year's focus is about the most important part of a country – their citizens. 

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Brainstorming

Feedback 1 (topic sentence):

My colleagues Orsolya and Lisa did a good job! They pointed out that I used the word "years" as well as "year's". We did some research and found out that "year's" is the correct form. Orsolya suggested some ideas for my topic sentence whereas Lisa advised me to capitalize the word "citizens". 

In class I heard about the “European Year” for the first time. The attention of the European Year 2013 is on the citizens. I was not aware that the EU set up this project in 1983, with the Year of Craft Industry, in order to raise awareness of specific topics. The years year’s focus is chosen by the European Parliament which makes sure that the topics are of general interest and major concern to the EU member countries. This year’s focus is important and interesting for all of us since 2013 is the European Year of cCitizens. The European Parliament chose to focus on citizens in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty is responsible for the creation of the EU. It was signed by the members of the European Union in order to work towards a unified foreign policy. The aim of the European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA) is common rights for citizens. The EYCA is planning to mobilise society throughout this year to promote active citizenship. To do so, the alliance is active in various fields, like such as education or youth work. To sum up, this year's focus is about the most important core part of a country – theirits citizens. 

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Feedback 2:

This time, Orsolya took a closer look at my text. She helped me a lot, had many good ideas and also found some mistakes. She pointed out, that I should not use “I was not aware” because it sounded informal and not very professional. When we read through the text we realized that I used the word “focus” five or six times in one paragraph, which was clearly too much. Orsolya is great at paraphrasing sentences, so we used “centre of attention”, “spotlight”, and “chose to concentrate” instead of “focus”. We also replaced “the most important part” with “the core part” because it sounds more formal.
Orsolya, thank you for your help!

The attention of the European Year 2013 is on the citizens.The EU set up this project in 1983, with the Year of Craft Industry, in order to raise awareness of specific topics. The year’s focus is chosen by the European Parliament which makes sure that the center of attention is of general interest and major concern to the EU member countries. This year’s spotlight is important and interesting for all of us since 2013 is the European Year of Citizens. The European Parliament chose to concentrate on citizens in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty. This treaty is responsible for the creation of the EU. It was signed by the members of the European Union in order to work towards a unified foreign policy. The aim of the European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA) is common rights for citizens. The EYCA is planning to mobilise society throughout this year to promote active citizenship. To do so, the alliance is active in various fields, such as education or youth work. To sum up, this year's focus is about the core part of a country – its citizens.

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Final Paragraph Nr. 2:


The attention of the European Year 2013 is on the citizens. The EU started this project in 1983, with the Year of small business (SMEs) and the craft industry, in order to raise awareness of specific topics. The year’s Focus was chosen by the European Parliament. The Parliament makes sure that the centre of attention is of general interest and major concern to the EU member countries. This year’s spotlight is important and interesting for all of us since we are all European citizens. The European Parliament chose to focus on citizens in honour of the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty, which was responsible for the creation of the EU. It was signed by the members of the European Union in order to work towards a unified foreign policy. Since the European Unions slogan is "United in diversity", the EYCA, an EU wide network of society organisations, is aiming for active citizenship and civil society engagement throughout 2013. The European Year of Citizens Alliance (EYCA), an EU wide network of society organisations, is aiming for active citizenship and civil society engagement. In order to achieve this goal, the EYCA is active in various fields, such as education and youth work. planning to mobilise society throughout this year. To put in a nutshell, this year's focus is about the core part of every country – their citizens.

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My five EU paper titles

Hello and welcome to my blog! These are my five favorite EU topics for the academic paper.

• The difference between getting a driver’s license in an EU member state and a non EU member state (e.g. Ukraine) for deaf or hard of hearing people
•  I am really interested in this topic because I study sign language and am always amazed how good and carefully deaf people drive. I think its unfair that in some European countries deaf people are not allowed to drive while in EU member states they are.

• The abortion law in Austria compared with Ireland
• This is an interesting topic because in Austria abortion is allowed in the first 16 weeks of pregnancy whereas in Ireland abortion is strictly forbidden. The EU has established so many laws but unfortunately they are not able to state a rule for this very important topic.

•  Gay adoption right in Austria compared with the UK
• At first I wanted to compare the “normal” adoption rights but then I saw the LGBT website. LGBT is the short form for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. Before reading the website I was not aware that there are different adoption rights for these people in the EU. While in some EU member states (including Great Britain) LGBT adoption is allowed, in Austria it is still forbidden. Again, I think this is an important topic and we all should have the same rules in the EU.
• The European Prize “For youth employment in the Social Economy”
•  I learned about this prize at school and I think it would be a good topic for a scientific article because it could affect all of us. Youth unemployment in the EU is very high and continues to rise everywhere. Therefore, the European Network of Foundations for Social Economy (OMG, who thinks of all this long names?) decided to establish this European prize. The jury is looking for a company, which was set up by young people and has created employment for young jobseekers in the EU. The winning company will receive € 5,000 . Not bad, huh? 

• How Innocent smoothies influenced the European juice market
• This is my favorite topic but obviously also the most difficult one. I thought of something I really like and am interested in and suddenly Innocent came to my mind. I love their smoothies, their advertisements and how carefully they design their bottles but I couldn’t think of an EU-related topic. My study buddy Anita suggested I write about the European juice market and how Innocent influenced it.
• Did you know:
• that Innocent Innocent is over 90% owned by The Coca-Cola Company?
• that Innocent Drinks are Europe’s number one smoothie brand?

What do you think about my topics? Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Please comment J

Culture Presentations

I went to see ten presentations on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Most of these presentations were very interesting and well prepared. 

The Secret language of Irish travellers – Kristina Tandl

Kristina did a good job and chose a very interesting topic. I was attracted by the title but couldn’t imagine what it is about. She told us about “Shelta” – the academic name for the Travellers’ language. “Travellers” are an Irish ethnic group with their own language and history. I learned that they live a nomadic life.

This is Fritz – Sandra Lang

Now I know who Friz is J. Sandras topic was Marian Noone – an Irish artist who is better known as Friz. The presentation was about Friz’ life, her typical style of painting and how she influences Ireland with her art. Noone has an interesting live and founded for example the street art collective SPOOM.

Tornado Alley – Anna Agabani

“Why on earth would anyone live in Tornado alley?” was one of the best presentations I saw on these two days! Anna was self-confident and I really liked her way of presenting the topic to us. I can understand now why people live in an area where tornadoes are most frequent.

The history of Irish Sign Language – Lisa Moder

I was particularly interested in this presentation because my second foreign language at the ITAT is ÖGS, short for Austrian Sign Language. Lisa mentioned some very interesting facts and told us about deaf people in Ireland and about their problems. I liked the fact that she showed us two sign-language videos.

When Irish eyes are smiling – Cornelia Kaiser

Cornelias presentation was great – I really liked it and my eyes smiledJ. “When Irish eyes are smiling” was about poetry in Ireland to be more concrete about which poems children have to learn at school. We got to know some famous Irish poets and also poems nearly every Irish child has to learn. I was surprised by the fact that students have to learn poems for their school leaving exam.

Drugs Scene in Dublin – Lisa Marie Vido

I wasn’t aware that the Irish drug scene is so different then the Austrian. Lisa presented the topic very well and talked about drugs which were taken during the 60s and 70s. She also informed us about head shops where you could buy legal stuff but also drugs and equipment for consuming drugs until 2010.

Deaf Art in the U.S. – Sonja Haunschmid

“Deaf Art in the U.S.” is a very interesting topic. Sonja Haunschmid told us about De’VIA short for Deaf view image art. I know now that De’VIA was founded at Gallaudet University – the only university with special programs for deaf and hard of hearing students. Artists of the De’VIA movement express their experiences with their deafhood. It is interesting that you do not have to be deaf to be part of De’VIA - it is also possible for a hearing person to produce De’VIA.

How the Columbian Exchange changed the world – Alexandra Haunold

I had no idea what the Columbian Exchange was about and I am sure that many other “visitors” had the same problem. Now I know that it refers to the exchange of animals, humans… in the years after Christopher Columbus arrived in America in 1492. From my point of view, Alexandra did an excellent job and presented the topic very well. I was shocked to hear that almost 90% of the Native Americans died after Columbus arrival because the sailors brought influenza, malaria and many other diseases with them.

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann – Sabrina Michelitsch

I have never heard of this festival before. In my opinion Sabrina did great because she knew how to pronounce all the difficult Irish names. I really liked the Irish music she played at the beginning and all the facts she mentioned. It was interesting to hear that artists have to compete in qualifying rounds to be allowed to take part in the festival. I liked the fact that she mentioned “Scoil Eigse” (I have no plan how to pronounce it but I am sure Sabrina doesJ) where foreign people but also locals get the chance to learn about traditional Irish music.

The Cliffs of Moher center and its charges – Leclere Blandine

From my point of view it was a bit tricky to understand and follow this presentation. Blandine told us that she has been to Moher and showed us some of her pictures of the Cliffs, the local animals and the visitor center. She also talked about the entrance fees you have to pay and how to avoid paying them.

The five Irish presentations/topics I liked most and therefore chose to be tested on the KGP are:

• ·        The Drugs Scene in Dublin – Lisa Marie Vido
• ·         When Irish eyes are smiling – Cornelia Kaiser
• ·         The history of Irish Sign Language – Lisa Moder
• ·         This is Friz – Sandra Lang
• ·         The secret language of Irish travellers – Kristina Tandl

By the seat of one's pants

Do you know what these two guys have in common? Apart from being handsome… J

Their names are Jeff Dunham (from America) Sascha Grammel (Germany) and they are both ventriloquists. You think you don't know what a ventriloquist is? I am sure you do. According to Wikipedia "Ventriloquism is an act in which a person changes his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a 'dummy'".

Dunham has various of these dummies such as Walter, the grumpy retiree; the furry and manic Peanut and José Jalapeño from South of the border; but he is best known for his character “Achmed the Dead Terrorist” who is an incompetent suicide bomber. Achmed became famous for his yelling “Silence! I kill you!” to Jeff Dunham. The video where Achmed is introduced has more than 160 million clicks on You Tube, but that’s not all. Dunham’s TV series on Comedy Central have the highest audience ratings; he has sold more than seven million DVDs and his videos have half a billion views on You Tube. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? No wonder Forbes Magazine ranked him in its list “100 most powerful entertainers” and Time Magazine wrote that he is “the most popular comedian in the United States”. 

Jeff Dunham has earned much money but his success has also a negative side. His characters have been accused of being racist, sexist and homophobic. In 2008, a TV commercial featuring Achmed was banned by the South African Advertising Authority after people complained about the ad because it was offensive to Muslims and portrayed them as terrorists. Dunham defended himself against the complaints and pointed out that he is a stand-up comedian and that it is his job to make people laugh. From his point of view comedy is the last true form of free speech.

Sascha Grammel, on the other hand, is well known in Germany and Austria but not as popular as Jeff Dunham is in America. Grammel created his own unique ventriloquist-style which is called “Puppet-Comedy” and combines comedy, magic, puppet show and (of course) ventriloquism. Like Jeff Dunham, Sascha Grammel has plenty help-on-stage: “Josie”,

a turtle that works as a cash machine, “Frederic Freiherr vom Furchensumpf” a cheeky eagle-pheasant-mix who is extremely self-confident; and “Dr. Peter Hacke”, a burger and nutritionist. Grammel’s previous show was called “Hetz mich nicht” (Don’t rush) which he performed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I had the occasion to see him live on stage in Vienna - it was absolutely amazing! He performed “Don’t rush” for more than three years but now he has a new show – “No plan”. 

Grammel has got new characters (for example “Rüdiger”, an alien; or “Huhn, a blue chicken), new jokes AND is coming to Vienna in November 2014! I am really looking forward to seeing him again on stage.

„Mozart Music Makes You Smarter“…

…titled the Los Angeles times a few years ago. Have you ever heard of the Mozart-effect? The idea is that if babies or children listen to music composed by Mozart become more intelligent. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Just buy your newborn baby a CD or, if you are more ambitious, stimulate the unborn child with classical music and it will become super intelligent.

Where does this idea come from?

Neurobiologist Gordon Shaw tried to illustrate brain activity on a computer and found out that nerve cells adopt specific rhythms and patterns. He decided to turn the output into sounds and found realized that these sounds sounded familiar with some of the characteristics of baroque music. In 1993 he joined two other scientists and created together with them the study “Music and Spatial Task Performance”. The three scientists from the University of California divided college students into three groups. The subjects were given a series of mental tasks to complete. All of the tests were designed to measure spatial intelligence. The participants had to, for example, mentally unfold a piece of paper that has been folded over several times and then cut. The test looked like this:

If you know the answer please leave a comment J

Before each task they listened either to ten minutes of silence, ten minutes of a tape of relaxation instructions or ten minutes of Mozart’s sonata for two pianos in D major. The students who listened to the sonata increased their IQ by eight to nine points. For a short time they were better at spatial tasks than their colleagues. These findings made front-page headlines (the heading of this post is an example).

This sounds great so far but before you a CD collection of classical music to improve your intelligence -  read on.

Gordon Shaw and his colleagues made clear that this effect lasts only for about fifteen minutes – the time it took to take the test. Although the effects were temporarily and the Mozart-effect is a myth, the findings caused public interest. In 1998 the Governor of Georgia set aside state budget so that every newborn baby could receive a CD of classical music.

In 2001 Carlo Cignozzi set up speakers throughout his vineyard in order to keep pests away from his vine. He began playing a selection of classical music to his plants 24 hours a day and noticed that the grapes ripened faster.

Farmers in America and Italy play Mozart’s music to their cows to help them produce more and better milk.

I really like the idea that listening to Mozart makes you smarter and although I know that it is a myth, I could imagine listening classical music with my unborn baby. What do you think of this topic?

About hummingbirds and cupcakes

Do you like cupcakes and other desserts? If yes, here is an inside tip for you - Hummingbird Bakery in London. On my birthday on March 21st I received “The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook” from my roommate and am a fan of them since then.

Hummingbird Bakery was founded by Tarek Malouf in 2004. He loves American-style baking but could not find a place in London to enjoy the food. So he decided to found a company where you can buy cupcakes and muffins as well as brownies and cakes. His courage paid off because Hummingbird sells more than 20,000 cupcakes per week in their five bakeries. The first one opened on Portobello Road in Notting Hill – a very exclusive area. Doesn’t it look awesome and trendy?

Why is Hummingbirds so exceptional for me? The main reason I like it more than my other cookbooks are the recipes. They all sound great, there is an appetizing picture for each recipe plus there are many innovative and exciting flavors inside the book. I have never heard of “Strawberry Milkshake Cupcakes”, “Jam Doughnut Cupcakes” or “Tiramisu Cupcakes” before. I tried the “Tiramisu Cupcakes” for my mum’s birthday and she really liked them. It was a bit tricky because you have to hollow out the cupcakes, sprinkle coffee on them and then fill the hole with

mascarpone cream. It took me one hour but it was worth the effort. I am not sure whether it is allowed to post one of their recipes, but let’s risk it :).

…

Unfortunately I could not find the “Tiramisu Cupcake” recipe on the internet (and my cookbook is at home in Lower Austria) but I found a recipe for “Vanilla Muffins”. I have tried them and modified the recipe a bit so that it is easier for you to understand and to follow.

• 120g plain flour
• 140g caster sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 40g butter, at room temperature
• 120ml whole milk
• 1 egg
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170°C

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl. Use a hand mixer and beat on slow speed until you get a sandy consistency and everything is combined.

Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until the milk is incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla extract and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until it is incorporated. Continue mixing for a couple more minutes until the mixture is smooth.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray until two-thirds full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until the muffins are light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched.

 Leave the muffins to cool slightly in the tray before turning them out to cool completely.

Another fact I really like is that the cookbook clearly tells you not to change anything. It is really important to stick to the recipe in order to get delicious and beautiful cupcakes.