Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
NYTimes article on C/O Berlin Art Gallery
In an Old Berlin Post Office, a Gallery Flourishes
By SARAH MOROZ
Peter Lindbergh “Michaela Berko, Linda Evangelista, Kristen Owen. Comme des Garcons. Pont a Mousson Factory, Nancy, France. 1988” by Peter Lindbergh.
C/O Berlin winkingly acknowledges its location in the Postfuhramt — or (roughly) post office — in its name (“c/o” being postal lingo for “care of”). The space (Oranienburger Strasse 35/36; 49-30-28-09-19-25; www.co-berlin.info) has not been renovated since the days when it was filled with letter carriers. But today, it is filled with communiqués of a different sort: photographs, including, in a current exhibition titled “On Street,” up through Jan. 9, the work of the fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh.
“We try to make the tracks and traces visible, so there’s a historic dimension in the space, to mix it up with contemporary photography. It’s not a White Cube situation,” said the curator Felix Hoffmann, referring to the famed contemporary art galleries. “It’s very Berlin-ish.”
The more symbolic aspect of the “care of” reference — in the sense of commitment to supporting the arts — is very much intentional. Mr. Hoffmann noted that 10 years ago “there was a very big Magnum retrospective and not one space in Berlin was interested in the show.” C/O was thus founded to rectify Berlin’s undervaluing of art photography. A decade later, the scene has since caught up — though C/O remains at the epicenter, having shown the likes of Robert Frank and Nan Goldin.
The pieces by Mr. Lindbergh include black-and-white portraits of supermodels in industrial spaces and grand shots of film sets. The globetrotting photographer’s own artistic roots began in Berlin in the ’60s. He apprenticed to learn how to decorate department store windows, before going on to be a photographer’s assistant and build his reputation.
It’s the pseudo-street photography of some of Mr. Lindbergh’s work that inspired the name of the exhibition, for its sense of movement and improvisation. “You cannot figure out if this is a real photo shoot or not,” Mr. Hoffmann said. “It looks like he grabbed five cameras and took the model downtown in New York, with no team, to use the street as a stage.”
http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/in-an-old-post-office-a-gallery-flourishes/Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Credit Cards w/o Foreign Transaction Fees
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/3-credit-cards-without-foreign-exchange-fees/
My credit union charges no foreign transaction fees on their credit cards while Wells Fargo charges a 3% fee on international debit card transactions.
Whatever credit or debit card(s) you plan to use, be sure to contact your bank at least a week prior to traveling to let them know when & where you'll be abroad so that they won't shut down your account for fraud.
What card advice do you have for your fellow NAFA tour participants?
//Lisa
3 Credit Cards Without Foreign Exchange Fees
By TARA SIEGEL BERNARDAttention international travelers: there are a few more credit cards worth tucking into your wallet before you take off.
Earlier this month, Chase said it would begin waiving the pesky foreign transaction fees on its British Airways Visa Signature Card. And two of its new cards introduced earlier in the year, the Hyatt Card and the Priority Club Select Visa Card, will also waive all foreign transaction fees.
Most American banks levy these currency conversion charges, typically up to 3 percent, every time a merchant processes your credit or debit card transactions outside the United States. You may also be hit with the fees if you’re buying something denominated in a currency other than dollars on the Web. (You also pay conversion fees when withdrawing money from a foreign A.T.M.)
“This is a significant announcement, and could potentially save consumers millions in foreign exchange fees as this is a ‘monkey see, monkey do’ industry,” said Curtis Arnold, the founder of CardRatings.com. “And other reward cards, particularly co-branded airline cards, are likely to follow suit.”
Let’s hope so. Given that these fees amount to a pure profit for the banks (see Ron Lieber’s column, which chronicles the history of the foreign exchange fee), more banks should eliminate these charges, or at least reduce them to the 1 percent that MasterCard and Visa charge the banks.
Capital One doesn’t charge any foreign exchange fees (it absorbs the 1 percent MasterCard/Visa fee). Nor does this card from PenFed. Cards from smaller banks and credit unions may have similar policies.
Chase said it decided to get rid of the fees after having direct conversations with a group of Chase cardholders and Hyatt guests. (Quick aside: The new Hyatt card offers a really sweet deal. After you use the card once, cardholders will receive two free nights in a standard room at any Hyatt in the world. There are no blackout dates, limits on available rooms, and no resort or redemption fees, a Hyatt spokeswoman said. You just need to redeem within one year. The card does charge a $75 annual fee.)
So it may pay to speak up. What other cards should eliminate these fees? (Besides the obvious answer: all of them.) And what cards do you carry in your wallet when traveling abroad?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Plane Tickets
When choosing your seats be sure to check www.seatguru.com. It will keep you from regretting your seat choice on any flight.
Has anyone else gotten their tickets? Are you finding good prices? Please respond in the comments.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Suggested Reading List
I'm posting here a couple of reading and film options for this fall - and maybe even for the long transatlantic flight.
Books:
Brian Ladd's "Companion Guide to Berlin" - as advertised, it is a good guide to the city of Berlin
Wladimir Kaminer's "Russian Disco" - This is a collection of short vignettes written by one of Germany's hippest young (immigrant) writers.
Mary Fulbrook's "A Concise History of Germany"
Peter Schneider's "The Walljumper"
Herta Mueller - anything by her, she's the most recent Nobel Prize for Literature winner
Films:
"Comedian Harmonists" (1997)
"In July" (2000)
"Goodbye Lenin (2003)
"Go for Zucker" (2004)
"The Lives of Others" (2006)
"Sophie Scholl. The Final Days" (2005)
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Avoid a Large Phone Bill When Traveling
http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/travel/01prac.html
Registration is required.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Packing Tips for Germany in January
Germany in January will most likely be cold and damp – a higher chance of rain than snow, however. It can be compared to a typical Midwestern winter. Here are some recommendations on how to pack and some reminders of important things to bring.
1. Don’t overpack! Remember, you will be carrying everything you bring, at all times. This means moving those bags on and off trains, planes, buses, and U-bahns quickly. Last trip, I went with a black and white theme so I could mix and match to make more outfits. You can always wash out underthings, socks and shirts, and most hotels provide a laundry service. As long as you shower and look presentable, no one will care if they see you in the same clothes more than once. Bring one “nice” outfit that you can wear to a reception, dinner, etc. It does not have to be fancy.
It is recommended that you bring items that can be layered. There tends to be a lack of central heating in many buildings and therefore temperatures can vary greatly from one location to the next. You may find yourself freezing one minute and boiling as you move to the next room in the same building.
You should also know that jeans are acceptable attire with German academics, so a couple pairs of those with some nice shirts / tops could get you through the entire trip!
2. Use packing compressor bags like this one from Eagle Creek. They will give you up to 80% more packing space (but doesn’t reduce the weight so watch that).
3. Pack comfortable shoes, and preferably one pair that is waterproof. Two pair should suffice: one dressier and one all-purpose. Make sure they’re comfortable and already broken in as we’ll be doing a lot of walking.
4. Bring an umbrella. Even if it doesn’t rain a day while we’re in Germany, all of us having them might decrease the likelihood of a downpour.
5. We strongly recommend that you have a cell phone and that you provide the planning committee with the phone number upon arrival. You can either purchase a plan through your cell phone provider which may allow you to keep your current number, or you can pick up a pay as you go phone in Germany, which you may find is considerably cheaper. These can be purchased at the airport.
6. Laptops are optional. You are welcome to bring one if you don’t mind carrying it. We believe all the hotels will have wi-fi. If you do bring one, we suggest you download Skype and purchase a headset or microphone. This is the cheapest (often free) way to communicate with family and friends in the US.
7. If you do bring electronic devices such as your laptop, cell phone, hair dryer, etc., don’t forget to bring along the appropriate adapter plug for German voltage (230V 50Hz). Here's an example.
8. Bring a sufficient supply of any prescription drugs you are taking and put them in your carry on luggage. It is very difficult to get a new prescription so far from home, especially since we’re moving to a new city every few days.
9. Business cards are the easiest way to give your contact information to the folks we’ll be meeting. They are often willing to email you their powerpoint presentations if you provide your contact information.
10. Bring a color photocopy of your passport, just in case.
11. Both print out AND save the phone numbers and emails of anyone you might want to contact as a Google document (or equivalent) that you can access from anywhere.
12. A travel alarm clock can be useful even if you’re planning to use the alarm on your cell phone.
13. Shout wipes or a Tide stain pen might come in handy.
14. It can’t hurt to have a couple of band-aids with you in case you need them before you have a chance to get to the store.
If you have other suggestions, please post them in the comments.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tour Participants
Elizabeth Ametsbichler, University of Montana, liz.ametsbichler AT mso.umt.edu
Andrus Ashoo, University of Mississippi, dru AT olemiss.edu
Lisa Broome-Price, University of Kentucky, lisa.broome-price AT uky.edu
Nona Charleston, The University of Tulsa, nona-charleston AT utulsa.edu
Patricia Condon, University of Louisville, patricia.condon AT louisville.edu
Denise Della Rossa, University of Notre Dame, dellarossa.1 AT nd.edu
Dana Dudley, Pepperdine University, dana.dudley AT pepperdine.edu
Lisa Gates, Middlebury College, lgates AT middlebury.edu
Luke Green, Seattle University, greenl AT seattleu.edu
Lisa Grimes, College of WIlliam & Mary, lmgrim AT wm.edu
Steve Hallgren, Oklahoma State University, steve.hallgren AT okstate.edu
Stephen Hill, Northwestern University, s-hill AT northwestern.edu
Hanna Lee, Villanova University, hanna.lee AT villanova.edu
Daniel Lindley, University of Notre Dame, dlindley AT nd.edu
Ruth Mendum, Pennsylvania State University, rmm22 AT psu.edu
Jane Morris, Villanova University, jane.morris AT villanova.edu
James Pletcher, Denison University, pletcher AT denison.edu
Kefryn Reese, University of Miami, kefryn AT miami.edu
Lauren Stolper, California Institute of Technology, Lstolper AT caltech.edu
Cookie Sunkle, Denison University, sunkle AT denison.edu
Wendy Sheets, The University of Tulsa, wendy-sheets AT utulsa.edu
Basic But Important Tour Information
DEADLINE
August 2 is the deadline for payment of the remainder of the $1500 fee. Information on how to do this is in the email confirmation you got when you paid your deposit. If you have any questions about this, please contact Nichole Burruss at nichole.burruss AT louisville.edu
TRAVEL
Start looking for plane tickets now. Remember that we start the Tour in Berlin - Tegel (TXL) is the international airport - and you need to be at the Park Inn hotel for dinner at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 6. You'll have an overnight flight so will leave the U.S. no later than Wednesday January 5. The last event of the tour will be in Munich on the evening of Friday January 14 so you will fly out of Franz Josef Strauss airport (MUC) no earlier than Saturday January 15. You may of course arrive earlier and depart later as long as you're with us on the tour between January 6 and 15. On July 27 a quick kayak.com search produced fares as low as $784.
SURVEY
Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. The information will be useful very for the planning committee as well as for our counterparts in Germany. We'd appreciate it if you'd complete the survey by August 2.
WAIVER AND COPY OF PASSPORT
Complete the attached waiver form and mail along with a photocopy of the photo / personal information pages of your passport (inside front cover) to
Cookie Sunkle
Gilpatrick Center
Denison University
P.O. Box 810
Granville, OH 43023-0810
Original signatures are required on the waiver - no faxes or scanned documents will be accepted. We'd appreciate it if you'd do this by August 16.
BLOG
As you know, since you're here, the planning committee is keeping a blog for tour participants. This is where we'll post useful information like the members of the group & their contact info, suggested reading lists, packing lists, etc. Feel free to follow us if you do that sort of thing, and we'll send an email notification when new content is posted. We'd love to see your input / suggestions / advice in the comments!
Questions? Please email any member of the planning committee.
Denise Della Rossa dellarossa.1 AT nd.edu
Lisa Grimes lmgrim AT wm.edu
Cookie Sunkle sunkle AT denison.edu
Monday, June 14, 2010
Welcome
Planning Committee:
Denise DellaRossa (dellarossa.1 | at | nd.edu)
Lisa Grimes (lmgrim | at | wm.edu)
Cookie Sunkle (sunkle | at | denison.edu)