More bitter
On false friends, false hares and others
Web 2.0 is the phrase on everyone's lips these days. Exactly what it means is not so clear: technology, society and/or commerce – or perhaps just fewer rough edges? The old expression – website – is much easier.
After all, "website" is composed of two quite simple English words: "web", as in a sort of network, and "site": a place where something happens. So a website is a place on the world wide web, giving rise to expressions such as web presence and web appearance. Unfortunately, "site" sounds very much like "Seite" in German, meaning a piece of paper... so "website" in English is often wrongly translated as "Webseite" in German ("web page"). Linguists refer to such pitfalls of translation as faux amis or false friends. For in fact a "Webseite" is a single document on the world wide web that can be accessed by means of a browser. And it is only the sum of all of these "Webseiten" in a domain that forms the web presence: the website.
Things are less complicated when it comes to a false hare. This is not an artificial bunny created by genetic researchers in a test tube. Oh no: it's a kind of meatloaf popular in Germany, Austria and some other places.
And this is how you make it:
Soften a bread roll and crumble it up. Melt three teaspoons of butter, add a chopped onion, a kilo of mince meat (half beef, half pork), two eggs, the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and a clove of garlic. Mix thoroughly and shape into a longish form (the back of the hare?). When it comes to spices you can let your imagination run riot:
perhaps a spoonful of mustard, or some thyme... and two or three boiled and shelled eggs can be cunningly concealed in the middle of the hare's back. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top and bake evenly in a medium oven for about an hour. It should be basted frequently. Sour cream or sherry can be added to the gravy, along with salt and pepper to taste. The false hare should then be left in peace for a while, so it can easily be sliced later and served on a bed of rocket salad or lamb's lettuce, with a baguette.
I have seen other hares in the streets of Berlin recently, too:
Inlaid crouching, running and jumping rabbits (rabbits being closely related to hares, remember) as a memorial to the no-man's land where rabbits roamed at the checkpoint between East and West Berlin in Chaussee Strasse, back in the days of the Berlin Wall – the "Rabbit Field" by Karla Sachse. (Description)
And what about Web 2.0? It's not a bad idea to get some comprehensive information about it, to make sure you're up to speed. A few of the buzzwords – harnessing collective intelligence, lightweight user interfaces – indicate the wide range of ideas behind Web 2.0. And knowing what they mean will make the designers of tomorrow stand out from the crowd.
Your Otto Christhard Landgraf
Design, my bread and butter!
Cooking is in vogue, why bother with bread and butter? There are recipes all over the place. Lavish and opulent, exotic and erotic, whatever you fancy. The range on offer is enormous, confusing, beyond human comprehension, enough to make you dizzy. Faced with all this, can you still remember one single inexpensive dish, or the typical taste of mother’s Sunday roast? It’s pretty hard. Isn’t it similar with design? Sophisticated technical equipment lets you do almost anything you can possibly imagine. The second dimension has been overtaken by the third. Transparencies have defeated gradients. Multi-colored is cheaper than monochrome. Typography isn’t done these days. That typical design, that distinctive taste - what happened to it? So - bread and butter! Today I recommend this restrained but no less exciting delight. It starts off with that loveliest of all activities: shopping. Leave the car at home and set off with your shopping bag under your arm to a baker you trust (whether male or female). It really has to be the right baker, who mixes, kneads and bakes the dough right there and then. Choose a fine loaf and take it home. The butter is more complicated.
But the local bio shop is your best bet. The butter there isn’t always made by hand, but it’s a good compromise. Arrange your favourite chair in the light of the setting sun. Put the bread, butter and salt on the table. Pour a glass of light red or fruity rosé. Lean back, the bread and butter in your hand, and dream away with your nearest and dearest. Black olives, a bowl of cherries and some goat’s cheese in the background will provide the necessary pleasant surprises. That evening will stick in your mind. Let us, as designers, learn from this. Let us provide enchantment by means of restrained, handmade, individual efforts - spiced with wit and genius.
Let’s leave the technological fun and games to the manufacturers of industrial-scale bread, processed snacks and packet soups.
In every way
Christhard "Otto" Landgraf