Author Archives: ce

Salif Keïta – amen

I’m just listening to »amen« (1991) of Salif Keïta (who seems to be related to Aly Keïta). While Salif wrote all of the songs, Joe Zawinul (the guy with the “very short fuse“) produced, arranged and orchestrated all tunes. Zawinul mentioned the recording in one of his interviews (german language) as a “must have”.

It’s a very colourful disk, uniting various styles of traditional music. Besides others, you might find caribbean, french and even greek elements, while the sound remains 100% Zawinul. I already knew »Yele n Na« and »Waraya« as played by the Zawinul Syndicate. The latter one was played at a lower beat than on My People (1996) and is an excellent take. I didn’t know any of the other tunes, but immediately liked »Tono« and »Lony«.

The recording gets spiced up by guest musicians like Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter and Bill Summers. If you are looking for a disk of “world music” at prime quality, choose this one.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Panorama

Here’s a panorama picture I took in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It’s far from being perfect, as I only used the automatisms of Hugin without further interaction or editing. The camera position was approximately here, with camera movement from east over south to west (left to right):

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I took the images in auto mode, thus the variant exposures. I should have used the stitch assistant instead.

Anus Mundi

If you remember a little latin, you might know what »Anus Mundi« means (a vulgar german translation would read as »Arsch der Welt«). Still under the impression of my recent visit to O?wi?cim, Poland, I wanted to get a bit of a clue what life was like in those infamous german concentration camps.

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Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II)

The Birkenau extermination camp (aka Auschwitz II) was built a couple of months later than Auschwitz I. Both are sited in the delta between the rivers So?a and Wis?a. The area is completely flat. An information board provides details about the camp’s site (sorry for the snow flakes). The planned area on the right hand side was never completed, due to the end of the second world war:

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Concentration Camp Auschwitz I

On the first day of my stay in O?wi?cim, I visited the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Though it is wee small compared to the later built mass termination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the main camp remained the administrative center of all Auschwitz camps for the five years the Auschwitz camps existed.

To get into the camp just cross the main entrance building. After a few meters, there’s the zynical »Arbeit macht frei« (»labour liberates«) gate to the camp’s entrance on the right hand side:

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Visiting Oswiecim, Poland

I’m just back from a visit to the extermination camps in Oswiecim. I wanted to do this trip for several years now, but the Xmas holidays usually have been to short to do all my familiy duties and such a trip. As I got some additional days off this year, it was the perfect occasion. This post will provide some general travel information. Other posts will share information about the camps themselves. Continue reading →