Kangaroo sausage
aka two things they don’t have in Vienna. I don’t know who’s responsible for the sausage misunderstanding; presumably Hormel or Kraft or someone of their ilk. But the Vienese are pretty up-front about the Kangaroo thing. I can’t imagine how it became a big deal, but it must have happened during the short-lived “Dundee” era as it was known here in the US.
Austria has a dearth of famous people these days — entire palaces and museums about empires we were never taught about in school in Temple Texas and Springfield Missouri. Then there’s a big gap. Apparently Ahnold is out of favor here at present, which leaves them with exactly one bragging point: Mozart (well, almost one). And boy do they crank it to eleven on the Mozart. The streets are teeming with hired hands dressed in Mozartlian finery hawking tickets and programs. Though only about one in six seems to go as far as the powdered wig — which I would consider far and away the high point of the get-up. A few sad sacks even hit the street in Court Casual — half costume, half comfort. That is, period jacket and puffy shirt … and jeans. Where I come from, that’s glorified busking.
how delightfully surreal. i bet klimt and wittgenstein are kicking themselves in the afterworld for not having developed a more recognizable style of dress (or coif, for that matter). or maybe they’re not. party on with the wurst.
Comment by alisa — August 9, 2006 @ 4:38 pm
Well, our boy Wolfgang also has a big round anniversary working in his favor this summer. Gustav and pals will probably have their day, too (there were plently of Klimt posters in the U-Bahn), if the wigmakers and fans are patient enough.
Freud, on the other hand, certainly has what I think we’d agree on as a distinct, iconic “look” but has not yet managed to parlay that into costumed imitators. I chalk that up to fear of success.
Comment by Nate — August 21, 2006 @ 7:16 am