Today, Friday the 27th beginning at 4PM, Megaphon magazine is hosting a party at Augartenschloessl to celebrate the opening of their new office. Music, magic show and other good stuff. Should be fun. See you there.

So, I am bugged by those billboards around town with the three black guys and text that reads, very roughly translated: “Eeenie, Minie, moo. I am blacker than you. But not much longer. Iinstead of ‘Black’, say, I am a ‘Tourist’.”

The text is based on a children’s rhyme. The meaning is supposedly playful: if you are black and want to fit in in Austria and be treated fairly, tell people you are a tourist. They are more likely to treat you fairly if they think you are passing through with money to spend, than if you are a person of color who happens to live here.

Is this billboard addressed to people of color who struggle to be accepted in this society, or to white Austrians who discriminate against them? Is it saying to white Austrians: Look how unfairly you act, or is it saying to Black Austrians, good luck, pal, maybe this ploy will help you get good service at K & O. In any case, I feel it a failure; its message is humiliating and ineffective. Bah!

So, it’s only taken me 6 months to discover the public library here in Graz. I don’t feel too bad; my wife, who has lived her entire life in Graz and is an avid reader to boot, still doesn’t have a library card–I’m sure Moser is happy about that.

Anyway, the main branch on Belgiergasse downtown is quite beautiful, with a nice selection of books and helpful librarians. Around the corner is the Media Center with CDs, DVDs, Videotapes and such.

The other day we rented, among others, Bonjour Tristesse with David Niven and Jean Seberg. Trippy, 50s picture with creepy oedipus/electra stuff going on and in which everyone is so manic and artificially upbeat I thought I would scream. Calm down, everyone. But the Riviera scenery was great and the film, based on the book by Francoise Sagan, was memorable.

So, if you want to check it out, here are the libraries’ hours and addresses:

Neue Öffnungszeiten ab 2. Jänner 2007

Stadtbibliothek Zanklhof,
Belgiergasse

Mediathek,
Vorbeckgasse 12

Montag: 10.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Dienstag: 10.00 - 19.00 Uhr
Mittwoch: 10.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Donnerstag: 10.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Freitag: 08.00 - 15.00 Uhr

Stadtbibliotheken:
Andritz,
Grazerstraße 54
Eggenberg,
Vinzenzgasse 20
Geidorf,
Hasnerplatz Kiosk
Gösting,
Wienerstraße 255
St. Leonhard,
Sparbersbachgasse 40

Montag: 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr
Dienstag: 11.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Mittwoch: 11.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Donnerstag: 11.00 - 17.00 Uhr
Freitag: 08.00 - 14.00 Uhr

I’ve just spent the weekend making a hochbeet, which is an above-ground flower or vegetable garden. Here is what it looks like today before we put the final layer of soil in.

I found the plans on the internet. It is simple to make and the total cost for materials was 86 Euros. We bought everything at Baumax. Here’s how it works:
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Welcome Kuala Lumpur to the Metroblogging network! Say hello and see what the life is like in Malaysia.

if you need nothing special but love to finde crazy things you have to go to the flea market

this is what i´ve found, it´s a pepsi add button and it says

“doctor, is the devil in you?” (something like that)

it´s today and tomorrow, enjoy…………

Naturally, being Chinese-American, I’m quite picky with Chinese food. And since I’ve been here, most experiences have been horrendous. I’ve since learned to lower my expectations. Friday night, after discovering Teranga was closed (the 3rd closed African restaurants I’ve tried to visit), we trotted over to Midori, the new place on Sackgasse.
Running sushi never appeals to me, but they had vegetarian dishes that I was keen on trying.

See this?

That was utterly delicious and better yet - it was made from soya. Soya “meat” is the Buddhists’ greatest invention to pacify a vegetarian’s childhood tastes for meat. Highly recommend this dish: schweinsribbchen (at first I thought it was a mistake in the menu to have that listed under “vegetarian dishes”) What was also nice was the side dish called “zongzi”. It’s a little sweet rice/bean/peanut clump wrapped and steam in lotus leaves - one of my favorite flavors. I think I saw them on the running sushi line too.

it´s really fascinating how people decorate their houses…

i´ve seen so many gateways in my live, but for some reason i just love this one
it´s in the Eisteichgasse…

It’s funny that no one here does garage sales, so popular in the States. Where do poor people buy stuff for their homes?–c’mon, IKEA isn’t that cheap. My wife is doing an apartment sale over the next couple of days (Wienbergersiedlung) and so many people have stopped by to ask what she’s doing. It is a strange concept to our neighbors: putting stuff that you don’t want outside your house and having people come by and give you money to take it away. But it works; we made 67 Euros today.

Where do people go for used bikes, lawn mowers, tools, clothes, furniture in Graz?

What a five-year-old sees at the Carnivale parade. [Herrenmgasse]