Well, on the old board I realised, that I was complaining about a dying thread in exactly this thread, which I thought would have died.
A little thread in English is definitely required in the kitchen as well. So someone has to start it...me...
But what talking about? All real topics are already covered with the other boards.

One topic was Björk, wasn’t it? Has someone already listened to her new album? How is it?

A couple of days ago I watched some Videos with ST Voyager episodes, which I haven’t seen yet. It was in English and I thought wow. What about Captain Janeway/ Kate Mulgrew? What a voice! And how she can modulate it (and manipulate other people with it)! Gorgeous! I never realised what a talented actor she is.
Has onyone else seen Voyager in the original version? The synchronised version is really lacking.

Bye bilana

I haven't seen Voyager in the original version, but I experienced that movies are always better and much more fun to watch with the actor's voice instead of the dubbed one. Sometimes there are jokes in the dialogues which cannot be translated into German so that they leave them out altogether What one can also notice is that some dialogues have a completely different meaning in the original version. Very often the translation seems quite strange and silly...

Edit: typing error...

Well normally I watch a movie in English or German, so it's hard for me to tell exactly. The only English film that I watched in both languages was Charlie’s Angels. I only remember minor changes, but I think this film hadn't so much sense at all, so it wasn’t problematic.

In my opinion the thing is, that the people who speak the synchronised version are sort of failed actors, that’s why they do synchronising, not on-screen acting.
I also experienced this with TNG and The A-Team (don’t beat me, ok?). There some actors appear also much better in the original. But with Janeway's voice it was really stunning. She transporting so much emotions, just with her voice, which has such a wide range. It all is lost in the German version.

I enjoy watching films in English with German subtitles. It means I can get the original sound and still make sure I understand everything even if the movie is in some strange dialect. I also watch English-only originals, of course, but I can remember some dreadful examples (eg "Driving Miss Daisy") where I just couldn't make sense of the dialogue - one of the cases where I would have gladly swallowed my pride and resorted to a German version!

I do think that films lose a lot in their dubbed version though. An example is my favourite, "Fried Green Tomatoes", where you just need Idgie's and Ruth Southern drawl to get properly into the atmosphere.

Anyway, my favourite example of a subtitle is from "Das Boot", which I watched the other way around, ie in German with English subtitles (this was on UK TV a long time ago). There was one scene where the crew was getting ready for their buffet dinner, and one of them said to the others "Dann mal ran an die Buletten!" Meaning, of course, that they wanted to move over to the buffet and get started. The subtitle, however, said, in a faithful translation: "Let's attack the meatballs!"

Thanks @bilana for reviving the English thread!

have you ever listened to gillian anderson's original voice? it sounds really freaky high. in the german translation her voice sounds much better.
kate mulgrew is one of the talentst actors, i've ever seen. but you're right. in contrast to gillian anderson, she is better in the original edition.

that's what i'm talking about!
movies translated into german always seem somehow mutilated to me... that's why i like dvds - i dig the language selection option ;o)

I really don't like subtitles. Even if I can understand everything very clearly I have to look at the subtitle, even if I cannot read it! It irritates me a lot.

Of course “Scully” is an infamous example for a German voice which is much better, than the original, but that’s just the sound. BTW I think the “market” for speaking German documentaries is completely in the hands of the voices of “Scully” and “Captain Picard”, but Patrick Stewart is still better in the original.

Kate Mulgrew’s voice is very unique. I needed 2 episodes or so to accustom, but then I found it quite powerful and sexy. Especially when she is speaking in this husky low voice it makes me sitting on the edge of my seat. And these glances, she can initiate a warp core meltdown with it.

Sometimes the use of “Sie” is irritating. It gives relationships rather different meanings, compared to the original. It is cooling down things.

In Berlin we have a store where you can rent out videos, that is specialised of original versions only. That's a luck, because I refuse to sit in front of my computer, when I'm supposed to enjoy a good movie. And very old ones, like Repulsion you wont get on dvd.

hey there!

in times of dvd i watch everything in english (naturally) but i remember times i watched star trek on german tv, synchronised. then i didn't mind, but now i just can't listen to it anymore...

(please, can anyone tell me in three sentences what happened to the old forum, whether it's gonna be back and, if so, when?

greetings

the dragon

yeah...thanks to the dvd
i'm not too fond of sub-titles...i always tend to read along, even if i understand enough to get the meaning...in my opinion each translation loses some of the humor and the 'flow' of the language. i'm also lucky enough to live close to a cinema where they show a lot of movies in the original version (as long as it's english..that is).
apart from that...is anybody also enjoying getting english literature (not least of all lesbian fiction ) via amazon? one of the greatest advantages of the www...

guess what I just read... did you know??

Rachael Stirling, who played Nan Astley in "Tipping the velvet", is the daughter of Diana Rigg, the famous Emma Peel in "The Avengers" - and if you look at the pictures they can't deny it either that they are mother and daughter.

Just yesterday I wanted to order some books for my upcoming holidays. Only one book out of ten was awaylable within a week. The others would take more than 2 weeks. I was quite disappointed, especially after I tried without success to buy some good English books in the Dussmann store.
What is it all about? The book shop around the corner is closing and everywhere else, where I try there is only the same stuff to buy. Marion Zimmer-Bradley, Terry Pretchet and silly cheap novels for women.

hey, don't insult bradley and pratchett!

@ time: yep!! I think Amazon is a really GREAT advantage of the www.!!!
I tend to order too many books there but it is a) always nice to receive packages and it is always nice to brush up your English with "good" and comparatively cheap literature! I really like to browse through their pages and see what kind of bargain offers they have - and there it goes again! I always buy at least one book!!! :-( But well - I can always try to tell myself that it is a good excercise and that it is worth the money

As blue moon mention in another thread a while ago, try also www.abebooks.de for cheap books. They might be cheaper in some cases. Useful sites for English books are also www.alibris.com, www.booklooker.de and www.strandbooks.com (have you ever been to The Strand in N.Y.C.? A huuuuuuge book store full of rare out of print books).

@ revelo: have been there a couple of times, although i'm not sure if i liked it or not...so many books (great!) but kind of confusing to find your way around. i preferred some of the smaller bookstores like the 'oscar wilde memorial bookstore'

i always tend to order more than i wanted, too... it's too bad that amazon sometimes takes so long to send the books. haven't tried the other sites yet, but i think i'll take a look around (and probably end up with some more books again *g*).
why is it that even the huge bookstores don't have sections with lesbian/gay literature? it's not that they wouldn't sell.

Well I always think I have to order only one specific book, but once I'm logged in I also find this and that interesting and end up ordering several books.
There was a Kiepert store with a rather big section of gay and feminist literature, but they are bankrupt now.

@TiredDragon:
Don't mind, I'm just no big fan of fantasy and think it’s a pity that the glorious times of Scifi are somehow belonging to the past.
Once I read The Colors of Space from Bradley. At the end I was crying! Such a great story, so well and lovely written. Everything explained logically without to much techno babble. I was keen on reading more from this author but was quite disappointed. Couldn’t make much sense out of this Avalon stuff.

ok, well, i too do prefer scifi, but i don't mind reading fantasy as well!

it's a shame the english-tread is about to die out...

indeed it is, it is...

Hi there!

I'm kind of a "mainstream"-reader, meaning mostly thriller. I found that bookstores in all big train stations (e.g. Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hannover, Berlin) have a pretty good selection of english books available.

As far as I know there's an English bookstore in Berlin somewhere close KuDamm. I think it's calles Marga Schöllers, but I'd have to ask my mum who's a regular there (English teacher). Forget that I just looked it up: Marga Schöller, Knesebeckstr. 33, 10623 Berlin, phone 030/ 881 11 12

Greetings,
rainbowgirl

could this be called the "lesbian thread-death" ...?

Why can't we just revive it?
Or is there absolutely no hope for the patient to make it through the night?

There is a ...certain ...chance to keep this thread alive, but I needed some kind of subject to talk about!
Good ideas around??

English films? English books? English music?

does anyone of you like "the streets"? i really dig this singer with his accent, though i sometimes have to listen very closely to understand him...

What's Beuteschema in English: Is it only prey-pattern or also booty-pattern? I mean if you use it in a suggestive, nasty way.
Prey sound like hunting in the woods. At least fette Beute machen can be translated as capture a lot of booty (if we speak about bank looting or so.) Am I wrong?

Well, you see I'm puzzled about Beute, may someone is willing to help?

I'm sure that "Beute" in this context is "prey". It is, after all, about hunting. However, I'm not sure that "prey pattern" exists, and Google also seems to find it mainly on pages by non-native English speakers. I'd probably translate "dem Beuteschema entsprechen" as "be someone's typical prey" or some such... but I'd be interested to see what native speakers say.

Yeah, that's why I'm asking. LEO and my big fat Pons don't know the word Beuteschema in English. And what I googled sounded quit scientific, biological.
Probably the word really don’t exist in English. At least I found it in a translation, so I wonder what the American original is.

Hi, millicent,

sounds like a very good idea to me...
Unfortunately 9 years ago I did not have any idea about being lesbian, so I probably won't be able to really contribute to this. (But then again - maybe at least by keeping this thread alive a little longer? )

I have been living "open" for about one year now, and I have to admit that I had expected it to be more difficult. I was rather scared of how people would react to a lesbian couple and was surprised that here - which is in the middle of Berlin - people usually couldn't care less.
But I don't know too much about the scene, never mind about it being separatist or political - I would prosume it is less political than nine years ago?

How about living in the UK? Or, as far as you can tell, where are or were the differences between living in the UK and in Germany?

Hello Lisabeth!

You know, I'm not sure if I am really qualified to contribute - it's not as if I ever got to go on the scene when I lived in Germany.
I've been out (to myself) since I was 16 - I came out to my friends and family about two years later. I grew up in a small Catholic village in Northern Bavaria and it was quite difficult - there was nobody to talk to - and there certainly were no pubs or clubs to go to.
I met my first g/f in an all girl language school - we decided to go to the UK for 12 months to brush up on our English and then come back and go to Uni.
We rented a flat in Brighton together (by that time we'd split up) and six months later I met the love of my life (who's English), so I'm still here.
When ever I did go out on the scene, I have to admit that I did find it quite seperatist. Sometimes I went out with my best gay male friend and we often couldn't find a venue that was mixed.

I am also not sure if I am qualified to talk about life as a lesbian in the UK, because I don't know how representative Brighton is for the UK. (My g/f says - not very.) Brighton is apparently the gay capital of Britain - it is also quite cosmopolitan (lots of different nationalities - Spanish, French, Italian, German, Australian, Austrian,...) which gives the place a nice vibe. And because there are so many gays and lesbians, being queer is not an issue, really.

I love it. It's the first place I've felt really at home. It's a city, but it's quite compact, so you can walk everywhere and don't need a car. And it's 45 minutes by train to London (if I feel like a REALLY big city).

I don't go out on the scene much now (I've gone all married) but I find that on the whole dykes seem to have more fun over here. By that I mean that they seem more relaxed with things like butch/femme/drag kings being fun and not some sort of dodgy political statement. And there are quite a few mixed places.

(But probably I just went to the wrong parties when I lived in Germany! I'm sure Berlin is NOT like where I grew up.)

Then, again, people seem a lot less political here - we went to Munich Christopher street day last year and it felt very much like a demonstration, a proper march. I SO enjoyed it!
Here, Pride is FUN (in capitals!) and yes, it's great, and there are bands and a fun fair and market stalls, but it is very much a "parade", not a march.
It's very much about getting dressed up and dancing your socks off.
With pride, of course.


Gay marriage has been legal in Germany for a while now, hasn't it?
How is that going? Is it a really big thing? (Gay marriage will be legal here in December and already lots of businesses are springing up targetting the Pink Pounds of the soon to be married gays and lesbians.)
Have there been any divorces yet?

Hello millicent,

Brighton sounds like a wonderful place to live..
(I haven't been there for ages, must have been more than .... 20 yrs ago? With my parents?)

I have only been out (to myself and within a few weeks to my friends and family) for about 1 1/2 yrs now. It did come as a big surprise, luckily I had made the decision to leave a small, catholic town in Baden-Württemberg and move to Berlin years ago.
Live is a LOT different here - I suppose there it was not so very different from living in a Bavarian village..
I really cannot imagine to live there anymore..

Since I was married with children at the time of my CO there also aren't too many experiences with going out on the scene.. But you might be right concerning the fact that it IS rather "separatist". But then again, maybe I purposely picked the places with "women only" - I don't quite remember.
(I WAS feeling a little strange in the beginning.. So I was glad there were only women. )
Actually last year, my first year of "being out", was the first year I did NOT go to any CSD.. But here in Berlin I remember it to be more like a big parade rather than a demonstration? (I have to admit I left Munich at the day of the CSD last year.. Which did not really have to do with the CSD at that point! )

But as I wrote before, I am very glad people are rather relaxed here, I was able to talk to the teachers of my sons and there haven't been any difficulties at that point.

A little over a year ago now I fell in love with my girlfriend, another reason I don't go out on the scene as well..
She lives at the other end of Germany, more or less, and we spend a lot of time getting back and fourth.. The rare times we are able to spend together we do enjoy so much more to just be able to be "together".
And between her and my children and all the other little things one has to deal with in everyday life there is just not much room left for "being on the scene". Besides I love spending time with my friends, more like having a nice breakfast or cooking dinner together.

Quite a few things I probably just don't know so far, for instance how "serious" all the things about butch/femme/ drag king are?

As I said, it hasn't been that long, but I am learning!

Yes, you are right, gay "marriage" has been legal for a while now. But if you look around a little you will find some threads here concerning this so-called "Verpartnerung". Unfortunately rights in gay marriage still differ from rights for hetero-couples, therefore there is not too much enthusiasm (yet?).
I have no idea about divorces?
How about in the UK? will it be comparable to the marriage of hetero-couples?

Oops, I've got to go...
Have a wonderful day!

It's dead Jim.

Oh no, I'm in the wrong movie and I'm not Bones.

Anyway, the thread looks dead. Is it worth to take out the defibrillator or shall we bury it six feet under?

Burying this would be a shame I think!

On the other hand there really is quite a lack of topics, which are not already covered by any other thread. So that's the difficulty I presume?!

Anyone any other suggestions concerning topics?
Something from normal day-to-day life?
Or shall we rather talk about books and films (as did here before) anyone read or viewed in English?

Last thing I read in English was... Harry Potter - and there already is a thread about that so...??

Anyways: have a nice evening and probably let's just try chatting along

Uhm, well I know….
Recently I saw the latest Jim Jarmush movie. The interesting point is, that Jarmush don’t want his movies dubbed, so you have to watch it in English. (For the reason we discussed in this thread.)
Unlucky me saw in a cinema with subtitles and they always distract me. The movie, Broken Flowers, was really nice, if you like this kind of movie. Reminded me of Lost in Translation, not only because of Bill Murray.

Since I was forced to make my DVD player work I discovered it’s a nice chance to watch movies or tv shows in English. To bad my DVD player is only for Region 2.

Oh and I’d like to say that it really seems like prey-pattern or booty-pattern is not existing. I asked an Irish man lately. Just in case someone is still interested in the booty-question.

Have a nice day.

Sorry but I don't know at all what this movie is about; like to tell a bit more about the story behind it??

As for the subtitles: I just know what you are talking about; whenever there are subtitles in German I get distracted immediately and even though I don't want to look at them and read them my eyes are simply drawn to them and I can't help it... Sigh!
But as also said here before: English subtitles with an English film are better in a way! This way you have to read the English text and listen to the English words and even though I am still a bit distracted it is much better that way. But normally I just stick to the audio part without switching on the subtitles. Even if I don't get the whole movie I try to figure out the main parts (which I might miss) from the context.

Well then. And now I suppose I might just check which DVD I can watch as I am hooked to talking in English or watching a movie!

You too have a nice evening!

So I suppose the reason why he visits all 4 or 5 of them then is that he doesn't exactely know WHO wrote this letter? It was an anonymous one then? Sounds quite interesting.

I am planning on going to the movies to watch the new Jodie-Foster-movie next week. Anybody else planning to watch it? I am already looking forward to it.
I think it might be quite suspenseful though at the moment I am a bit torn because I don't know if it really might be reasonable?!? Sounds a bit weird that the girl is "lost" or hidden on the plane... but we will see (and then again I don't really care that much about it )

Which was the "best" movie you watched so far - or better the movie you liked the best?

Yeah, the letter was anonymous.
But you really have to like Jarmush’s way of story telling and Murray’s acting.

I’m not sure about Flighplan yet. I can only stand a certain amount of tension in a movie. Think this one has lot of tension.

Yes, I know that the question concerning "your favorite movie" is a tough one (which I coulnd't answer by the way ) but anyways... do you have special movies that you really, really like and wouldn't wanna miss? Or that are your all-time favorites?
I think I wouldn't wanna miss movies like 'Fried Green Tomatoes' for example; or even 'Bridget Jones' and 'Love eventually'.. There are some movies that I am really fond of (for different reasons, feelings, occasions), which I can watch over and over again and never get tired of...

What kind of movies do you prefer by the way? Action, Thriller, comedy...? I suppose it always depends on the mood one is in but anyways...?

I think I am a kind of comedy-lover (but not too slapsticky, if you know what I mean; but I DO like a good laugh every now and then - though I think it is hard to watch a movie all on your own and laugh - this only seldomly happens...) Can you laugh on your own or are you also more like a person who needs others to laugh at special situations in a movie for example?

So, if you love Comedy you should really watch Banger Sisters with Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon.

I have no special genre preference, but what I do not like are cheesy love stories. I adore movies like Dancer In The Dark, Million Dollar Baby and Festen – Das Fest. But these are not movies that I like to watch over and over again; on the contrary, they’re too much depressing for that.
Indochine was great. In this movie you just don’t know what to adore more: Catherine Deneuve, who never looked better, or the marvellous shots of Vietnamese Landscape, including Halong Bay.

What I can watch over and over again is Star Trek. Some TNG and VOY eps are just great. These days they’re airing all the movies and I’m waiting for the really interesting ones, Nemesis and Resurrection. We have a cinema here that is having Star Trek marathons now and then.

I think I haven’t watched the “Banger Sisters” with G.Hawn yet. Thanks for the info.
I do like most of the movies with Goldie Hawn (I liked her in “The First Wives Club” ;-)

What a shame: I didn’t watch any of the movies that you mentioned so I don’t know what they are all about (though I did hear about some of them but I always like to see on my own and make up my own mind about it
Though I think “Dancer in the Dark” was the one with Bjoerk, right?

Oh – right!!! @shark: Ellen definitely is one of the comedies that I can fully enjoy on my own and find myself laughing out loud She IS great and funny!

I liked to watch Star Trek when I was little (I still remember that; I think they showed it Saturdays or Sundays back then and it was really cool ;-) And a co-worker is a real Trekkie – with special “uniform” and he sometimes goes to conventions – and hearing him talking about that is fun!
But nowadays I don’t really watch much TV – I don’t have that much time for it and then I also find it hard to concentrate on TV – there are no real eye-catchers for me, that can hold my attention long enough…

I love going to the cinemas but haven’t been often lately. I am not a fan of those big movie theaters though. I like small ones, that have an atmosphere – but unfortunately due to all the big theaters and the competition on the market all our small movies had to close. We do have one cinema though that only shows not-so-common films and one that shows all movies in the original language – so I prefer to go to those movies.

@bilana: do you ‘never’ like romance movies/love stories? Or do you just don't like the ones that are too 'greasy' so to say?

Yeah, Dancer in the dark is with Björk and Catherine Deneuve. Since both are no English native speaker and are portraying immigrants they speak in such a cute accent. I seriously love that.
I thought I’m grown out of Star Trek, but I still love it. Especially since there is still hope that Voyager with Captain Janeway and Seven of Nine is going to warp on the big screen. I have missed most of Voyager and DS9 on TV and now I have a lot of fun watching it in the original Version.
I know several people who go to conventions. It’s always fun to watch their pictures and listen to their stories.
I think I even would like to see Tea at Five with Kate Mulgrew. Oh sister, that would be great, to see her in London and on top of that to see Patrick Stewart in the Globe Theater as this gay guy or whatever he’s playing at that time, hopefully Shakespeare.
Years ago I watched Stewart in his one man show in London with classmates. Our English teacher lured us into the play, by pointing out that we sure wished to see “Picard” in person. It was defiantly worth it. We also saw a musical in London.
True, I don’t like greasy love stories, so that means I don’t like most of the Hollywood love stories. I like to see complicated relationships.
Have you seen Nochnoj Dazor, this Russian movie? I found it interesting.

Hey, is that supposed to be a two women show, here?

@Bilana: no – I didn’t watch it. If I recall right (or better the right movie ;-) I think it might have been a bit too heavy for me; wasn’t that some sort of thriller with quite a few murders?

@Lempicka: (by the way: really nice that you also joined the conversation!)
So: did you go and watch the Jodie Foster movie? And what do you think about it (without spilling the beans for those who want to go watch it – quite a difficult task

Well I went and I liked it; time flew by and I didn’t feel bored or wished for the movie to end on the one hand; on the other hand I still have some loose ends in my mind that I need to tie up – some things bothered me a bit about the plot; but nevertheless it was worth going I think. I had a nice time! (not only because Jodie Foster )

Thanks also for your info on ‘Ladies in Lavender’; I checked the papers yesterday and they are showing it here. So my next trip to the movies may end with me watching that one!

Oh yeah! Catherine Deneuve was really great in “8 femmes”; I liked that movie as well. It was different and also kind of unexpected.

As for the other movies that have been mentioned here: I didn’t watch “Goldfish Memory” or “Chtuney popcorn” (can you let me know more about them? Are they worth watching?) but I also liked “Fried green tomatoes” or “Two girls in love”.
Also – with non-lesbian-themes – I liked “Love actually”. Sometimes I get a fit and have to watch that movie for x-mas – puts me right into the mood!

And years ago when I was younger I also liked to watch movies with Meg Ryan.
And I have to admit that I enjoyed the one with Jack Nicholson and Dianne Keaton – let me think about the title…. – I think it was ‘Something’s gotta give’. I sometimes really like that sort of Hollywood love story and I think in that one the dialogues were quite funny from time to time!

Anyway: have a nice Sunday and enjoy watching TV and tell us about it

Hi there! If ist`s allowed to join this conversation... .. (it´s seems of a quite high standard) ..I`d like to ask:
Why are you so interested in watching the movie with Jodie Foster, only because of her? The story seems to be very dramatic in an arduous way..searching for a lost child on an airplanetrip...much to heavy for someone like me (I am such a coward ).
I heard it even was planned to be a movie based on terrorism, but then the topic became to difficult to tell these times.

My kind of movie rather is romantic, adventurous topics are my choice too, like science fiction movies...Alien is one of the best realistic sf-movie I ever saw yet...and it`s also unrealistic enough to not frighten me....hope you know what I mean.

So long , good night...

Great you joined, Lempicka.