A new study focuses on how bilinguals switch between tongues – how come they don't mix up words from different languages?
http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.nl/2007/05/people-who-can-communicate-in-more-than.html

If you’d like to read up on art and architecture in Berlin, you can order this book, "Berlin: Bilder einer Metropole." A bilingual edition, we did the English translations on all 430 pages! The author presents a journey through the most significant stages of Berlin’s artistic and architectural history, from its beginnings to the present day. More than 600 color photographs document the eventful artistic and cultural development of this extraordinary city, which to this day is famous for its pulsating life.

Just finished up some translation work for Lea Pagenkemper's upcoming exhibition at Galerie Jette Rudolph in Berlin. In her new series of paintings, the artist has elevated the role of word and text and transformed them into essential motifs.

This is an interesting BBC documentary with some real truths about British and German culture. A journalist and a writer are on an assignment to uncover the mystery of German success. They’re taking their kids with them and they’re going to live in Germany for a while. They’re going to live and work just like typical, common Germans, because their aim is to become German!

Honigkuchenpferd (“Honey Cake Horse”)
I recently came across this word again, which according to most dictionaries means “to grin like a Cheshire cat.” Having always wondered about the etymology of this word, I asked a relative from Northern Germany how “honey cake horse” came to be associated with smiling. She said it must be a Bavarian word. I hadn’t realized that honey cake is a type of gingerbread. The Wikipedia explains that honey cake was the forerunner of today’s Lebkuchen and that “its history can be traced back to the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans. They believed that honey, the only sweetener widely available to them, was a gift of the deities and had magical and healing powers. Honey cakes were also worn as a talisman in battle or as protection against evil spirits.” Teutonic peoples used honey cakes for the same purpose especially around the winter solstice, which might be the reason Lebkuchen became associated with Christmas. Next time I come across the word, I will think of the rocking-horse-shaped gingerbread cookie with its big frosty smile.

A study suggests that being bilingual protects the brain and keeps it sharper for longer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3794479.stm

This is a great list! The photos are excellent too!

Bavarian science fiction in English! The Last Cowboy (A Las Vegas Short Story) by Miriam Pharo, translated from the German by Cathy Lara & Associates, is now available on Amazon.