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One year ago on Round and Square (7 February 2013)—China's Lunar Calendar 2013 02-07
Two years ago on Round and Square (7 February 2012)—The Emperor's Teacher: Table of Contents
I have something to confess.
You see, I just can't stop thinking about Justin Bieber.
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| [b] Adoration RF |
It's not just that cockatoo shock of frontal hair, or even the news that he and his cronies filled a private jet with so much pot smoke that the pilots donned masks so as not to fail drug tests. Nor is it his Florida arrest and passionate calls for his deportation. And, finally, it's not even his public vomiting on stage last year, for which he blamed a blend of flu symptoms and (get this) milk.
No, it's just that there is a powerful following here in Germany for the ripening child-star. I have donned my ethnographic gear, and have been frequenting the Justin Bieber Germany fan page. I see the adoration there—including one, presumably adult, writer who has created a calendar of what she would like to do with/to Justin every month of the year.* It is a little like Edmund Spenser's Shephearde's Calendar...meeting up with the Jinpingmei.
*If you really need to see this, you need more help than I can give. You'll find it on Feburary 5, for better or much worse...
On a far more tender and less incendiary note, "Tami" wrote the following yesterday: Gute Nacht ♡ schlaft gut und träumt süß ♡. Suffice it to say that she wants him to have a peaceful night.
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| [c] Eager Bieber RF |
Although there are plenty of excellent reasons not to love the ol' star here in Germany, there is much less cynicism in, for example, the Süddeutsche Zeitung... than in, say, the New York Post. Maybe it's the quality of the publication? I'm not so sure.
And maybe it's because the name "Bieber" is everywhere in this land. It's not quite as common as Smith in the United States, 李 in China, 田中 in Japan, or Dubois in France, but it is prevalent, to say the least. No, it's not "Schmidt," but it is more far common than "Merkel" by a long shot.
And maybe it's just because of the meaning of the word/name itself. The embedded idea, behind all of the headlines, is hardworking, industrious, eager-Bieber-ness. Is this even possible?
This post is meant as a little interlude in our "Erlangen 91052" essays. I'm going to leave it here for now. You see, I have taken several aspirin, and my Bieber-fever is subsiding. It is a tremendous relief, and I'm ready to move on...with focus and industry.
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| [d] Look it up "Bieber"...in German RF |
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