Go-Kart Racing in Teesdorf

I just came back from a little go-kart race in Teesdorf, Lower Austria. Though we were only four pilots (Horsti, me, Norbert and Alexandra), we've really enjoyed the speed. What I didn't enjoy so much was the bad weather - cold, windy, light rain. We had fun, anyway. Especially me! I drove a very passionate race with full energy, but somehow the car didn't do what I wanted it to do. In it's former life my car must have been a lawn mower, rather than a racing go-kart. It's been about three times that I involuntarily slipped off the track, two times I rattled across the meadow and in the last round I nearly bumped into a crash barrier. Still I must say that my lap times weren't that bad. My fastest lap lay by 34.654 seconds. Horsti's and Norbert's top speed were about 34.34 seconds and even Alex made it to 35.344 seconds in her very first kart-race. What I've learned from this experience is: Little less passion, more brains!

Life Ball 2010 - Video Short Cut

As I don't wanna let you wait any longer, here is the video short cut from the red carpet (before the thunderstorm).
Just finished post-production and in case you wonder, who's singing the song "Coole Schwule", well - it's me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR3mDz0WRdw

Enjoy the costumes!!! They are really great!!!

Life Ball 2010 blown away by thunderstorm

Everything started so well, preparation, decoration, organisation and then ...
Well, let's start from the beginning. Yesterday I wanted to film some impressions of the famous Life Ball that takes place every year on Rathausplatz in Vienna. (My next German Lesson will contain a short feature on the Rathaus). I was quiet happy that I've found a good position right beside the official camera teams from all over the world. So I was able to capture some fantastic scenes on the red carpet (costumes, stars, a.s.o., which you'll hopefully see in my next language video).
Due to the thunderstorm warning, the organizers had decided to start the opening ceremony one hour earlier, but in vain. Nature said "no" after about one hour of broadcasting this major event and sent millions of raindrops from heaven. By the way, we really needed the rain after about three consecutive weeks of a tropical heatwave, only the moment wasn't that brilliant. Two hours later and everything would have turned out fine for the Life Ball, but there's nothing that one can do against nature. So, maybe the event will have better luck next year!

Lesson 5 / Lección 5 / Leçon 5 / Урок 5

Hi, everybody! It's not that I'm lazy, but I've simply had no time to blog something, at least, nothing of interest. Besides, right now I'm pretty busy in the office at Kleine Zeitung as my collegue is on vacation, so there's not really much to say. But now I've just finished my 5th German Lesson and I proudly present you the following links:

English version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cMzhd8bxSE

French version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxN3AMx6Ato

Spanish version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__LUYIx3bks

Russian version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPjnUc3LOm8

So, hope you enjoy it.

I've got to update the website of my sister-in-law, Alexandra Reinprecht, a very talented opera singer. She's got her debut of the operette "Zarewitsch" in Mörbisch. So, there's always something to do for me.

Danube Island Festival 2010

Ready! Just loaded up my "masterpiece", a musical short-cut of the Danube Island Festival that took place last weekend. I'm quiet proud of it as I did it with only one camera and it's been a lot of cutting work on the computer. So, here's the result:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVHaIcBnlZk

Hope, you'll like it. Now I can concentrate on my next German Lesson, which will also be about the Danube Island and the Festival. As I'll have to "shrink" the musical short cuts in favour to my German Lesson, I wanted to give you the possibility to watch the full video that I've produced, anyway!

Donauinselfest - Day 3

Crowds of people as far as the eye can see and guess what? Yeah, I actually made it to the very first row!! I really got a brilliant position for my video recordings. I've been there about four hours earlier, waiting for the main act, our local legend Reinhard Fendrich. Everybody in Vienna knows his songs and the crowd sang along with him. It's really been a great atmosphere. The groups before Fendrich were also pretty good - The Dubliners, Die Seer and lots of other not so well known artists. I enjoyed the whole show, though a few steps behind me a man collapsed and fainted away. The securities had quiet some difficulties to lift the heavy weight guy up and carry him over the metal barrier that separated the crowd from the stage. Don't know what happened to him, but I hope he's well.
So, now my real work starts - post production!!!!

Donauinselfest - Day 2

This is Manuel Ortega, one of the many artists that performed on the Danube Island Festival. I tried to film as many bands and singers as possible and hurried from one stage to another. Though the atmosphere is really great, I'm a bit glad that today is the last day. My feet are really hurting and I'm pretty tired. It'll be a lot of work cutting all the acts in post-production. Guess, I'll enter the Guiness Book of Records as the one who filmed (as a single person with only one camera) as many acts as possible.
Sorry, gotta go now, last day of the festival - last torture!