Sword of Xanten

I'm going to leave part 2 for tomorrow but so far, it isn't that bad, actually, if you discount some rather blatant liberties they took with the Nibelungenlied.
The cast isn't bad, the acting is quite good, sets and costumes are adequate (if a bit too fantasy-like), I even quite liked Fafnir, the Lindwurm as it was quite close to the way a dragon in Nordic/Germanic myth is usually described and they did some good work on the CGI. For a film made for TV, it's not too shabby at all.

One thing, though, Julian Sands (Warlock) as Hagen doesn't quite work. I've always figured Hagen as a big hairy brute, not a cowardly, conniving bastard (although he was that, too, but less of a Wormtongue character). Might just be the version of the Nibelungenlied my gran used to read me when I was little (I need to have a look if I can find it when I'm home again, it had wonderful etchings as illustrations). Like with many sagas, there are always variations.

(Lack of) German sense of humour explained

While I disagree with some of it (I do like very little classic German humour and a only a few of the modern acts, most of which are actually stand up comedians), this article makes some very good points about the perceived lack of humour my compatriots are supposed to display (and the difficulties translators face).

ETA: The related articles at the bottom are quite interesting, too and some of the most accurate I've read about Germany recently.

Vegbox lottery

Remember, the vegbox lottery poll is still open until about 7pm tonight when I get home.
Prace your bets now!
Hm, I need a more attractive pic...

They say there's an LJ community for anything

and it's true:

lordigirls