MetaFilter posts tagged with Germany and france

The Surprisingly Accurately Named Thirty Years War

Kattullus — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:32:07 -0800

The Thirty Years War is a website covers that ginormous kerfuffle that consumed Europe in the first half of the 17th Century from the Second Defenestration of Prague to the Peace of Westphalia. It has a handy map with a place locator which will help you tell your Schweidnitz from your Schweinfurt. Here are some other maps, The Religious Situation in Central Europe about 1618, Principal Seats of War, 1618-1660 and Europe in 1648 - Peace of Westphalia.

Ce soir sera une bonne soirée!

Rhaomi — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:56:54 -0800

On September 10th, to celebrate their initiation week, 172 communications students at the University of Quebec at Montreal decided to put on a show. After weeks of preparation, the costumed and prop-wielding crowd enacted an exuberant, complex, and flawlessly-choreographed performance of the Black Eyed Peas song "I Gotta Feeling" that sprawled through the campus's multi-story Judith Jasmin Pavilion... and they did it all in one continuous take (on their second try). The feat is just the most recent example of "lipdubbing" -- a video phenomenon where a single camera moves through a crowd of highly coordinated lip-syncers in a single seamless take, with the original recording dubbed over the finished product. Though the basic concept was pioneered by viral videos like the Numa Numa Dance and OK Go's "Here It Goes Again", the current model for lipdubbing was conceived by Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick, who coined the term after dubbing a recording of himself singing "Endless Dream" by Apes & Androids. According to technical writer and blogger Tom Johnson's analysis of the video, the best lipdubs appear "spontaneous, authentic, participatory, and fun." Lodwick's video was followed up by a Vimeo business partner's staff doing their rendition of Harvey Danger's "Flagpole Sitta" (previously). The technique soon exploded in popularity -- everything from web magazines to TV studios to hospitals got into the act. But perhaps no group took to lipdubbing better than universities. Following the lead of The University Lipdub Project (original video), colleges from multiple nations adopted lipdubbing as a way to showcase their campus life and school spirit:

School, Nation - Video info - Song Institut Universitaire de Technologie de Rouen, France - 140 people - "Thriller" by Michael Jackson HEC Paris, France - 120 people - "Lollipop" by Mika l'Université de Poitiers, France - 56 people - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by the Scissor Sisters Mines de Saint Etienne, France - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" by the Scissor Sisters IUT Belfort/Montbéliard, France - 353 people (a world record) - "La Confession de Monsieur Connard" by Les Tock'art HEC Montréal, Canada - 150 people - "Mamma Mia" by Abba Institut Notre Dame de la Providence, France - "Toi + Moi" by Grégoire Ecole Polytechnique, France - "Love Is All" by Roger Glover Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany - "LMU" (original song) IHECS, Belgium - 100+ people - "Banana Split" HEC Montréal, Canada - 172 people - "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams European Business School, Germany - "Tell It to My Heart" by Dyane Taylor, "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys ESC Dijon, France - 95 people - "Working Together" by Gonzales Essec Business School, France - 200 people - "Let's Get It Started" by the Black Eyed Peas Emlyon Business School, France - 300 people - "Pop the Music" by Triim, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by Buggles ENSIC, France - 85 people - "Hot N Cold" by Kate Perry Campo Limpo Paulista College, Brazil - 56 people - "Ultramen" by Santo Forte

Bonus one-shot goodness:

Children of Men's climactic 6-minute one-shot scene (spoilers) Honda's "The Cog" (previ-ously) The Way Things Go (previously) Bike Hero (previously) Slydini's Newspaper (previously)

Recession over in France and Germany

malapropist — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:18:13 -0800

The economy is abjectly terrible, right? It's so bad that nowadays, a picture is only worth 200 words. On the other hand, the recession is over in Germany and France, and in the United States, the unemployment rate dropped just a smidgen last month. To be fair, the recession wasn't as severe in France and Germany, and didn't start so early. Still, this seems a far cry from talk of a second depression.

The state of high-speed rail, August 2009

acb — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 19:12:59 -0800

The Guardian ran a series of articles looking at the state of high-speed rail travel today. France intends to double its length of track over the next decade, and China is planning a massive rail-building programme, including a high-speed line which will halve the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to 4 hours. In Germany, domestic air travel is rapidly going extinct, and Spain's network has made day trips between Madrid and Barcelona a possibility. The USA, which has long neglected its rail network, is planning up to 10 high-speed lines. Meanwhile, Britain's only high-speed line goes to France, but there is talk of a 250mph line from London to Birmingham and beyond, possibly by the early 2020s. Meanwhile, the CEO of France's rail operator, SNCF, weighs in on what the UK should do.

The case of Irène Némirovsky

gregb1007 — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 03:15:34 -0800

French Jewish writer Irène Némirovsky's claim to fame rests on Suite Française, a novel that she wrote about the German occupation of France while awaiting death in Auschwitz but which was not published until 2004. Irène may also provoke interest because her early fiction was steeped in anti-semitic stereotypes and serialized in right-wing newspapers. [More Inside]

River Art

tellurian — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 16:15:08 -0800

Ahmad Nadalian's work can be found all over the world. He is an artist that carves symbols on rocks and then leaves them at the site where they were created (sometimes burying them).

I have a rendezvous with Death, at some disputed barricade

greycap — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:54:45 -0800

90 years ago today, whistles blew around the river Somme in France as British troops prepared for an attack on German trenches. By the end of the day they had suffered 57,470 casualties. By the battle's end in November, there were over 600,000 Allied casualties, with perhaps the same number of German casualties. The Imperial War Museum has launched an online exhibition, where you can find out more about how the battle was planned, personal stories of those involved, and myths about the attack. Elsewhere you can find copies of Army reports on the first day, look at film of the attack, diaries and letters home from the troops, go on tours of the trenches, listen to contemporary songs and music inspired by the battle, and see some more modern responses.

Iraqi official says limited German, French help won't be forgotten

Postroad — Thu, 23 Oct 2003 15:23:00 -0800

Iraqi official says limited German, French help won't be forgotten "As far as Germany and France are concerned, really, this was a regrettable position they had," Allawi said. "I don't think the Iraqis are going to forget easily that in the hour of need, those countries wanted to neglect Iraq." And the money owed France? Pehaps no Perier or VW outlets in Iraq.