Michele Cappetta: Photography

What's a beautiful picture? Good eye or an expensive camera? Years of experience or just 1/60 of second? In few slides I introduce different point of view of photography, basic definitions, brief instrumental history, technical details. I will give some tips on which techniques to use to make a good portrait, sports photography or landscape picture. In the end I will show a selection of my best pictures of Munich, Rome, Venice, Paris and Turkey.



The talk will take place in the MPA lecture hall on Friday, December 9 2011, at 5:30pm.

Hannes Grimm-Strele: Franz Liszt – Born to be a Superstar

“Franz Liszt - Born to be a Superstar” was the title of the Burgenländische Landesaustellung to celebrate the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt in 2011. Although little is known today, Liszt was a very important pianist and composer in the late 19th century. In my talk, I want to introduce you to the man who can be seen as a predecessor of today's superstars, and his remarkable life. His influence on modern pop culture will be illustrated by some short film clips and music samples.

The talk will take place in the MPA lecture hall on Friday, October 21 2011, at 5:30pm.

Mike Bell: Free Beer

Free beer!                  

The history, science and art of the world's most popular  alcoholic beverage... and also there will be free beer.

Beer is the worlds oldest, and most popular alcoholic beverage.
In it's simplest form, it is made using only four ingredients - water, grain, hops and yeast - yet there are dozens of distinct varieties of beer to choose from and countless variations even within a particular style. It is this variety that makes beer such a wonderful beverage. That, and it's incredibly tasty, too!

I welcome you to come join me in a celebration of beer.
You will learn about it's history and the fascinating chemistry/biology experiment that is brewing. You will also take a tour around the modern beer landscape, and see that there is so much more out there than Helles, Weissbier, and Pils. At the conclusion of the tour, I will provide samples of a couple of great, and hard-to-find, beers. I also welcome others to bring in examples of their favorite beer.

The talk, by Mike Bell, will take place on September 23 at 5:30 pm in the MPA lecture hall.

Some random facts and pictures about hippopotamuses

This fully illustrated talk will highlight the speakers interest (some may say obsession) in hippopotamuses (aka hippopotami or hippos for short). It will also give some basic facts about hippos and conclude with a famous song about them by English duo, Flanders and Swann.

Peter Cottrell is visiting MPA from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. His interest in hippos started when he visited South Africa as part of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) project, starting in the late 1990s.

 The talk will take place on August 12 at 5:30 pm in the MPA lecture hall.


Video

Robert Yates: Rugby

Britain is famous for many things; tea, cricket, the bowler hat...and
rugby! Although the exact origins of 'rugby football' are unclear, we do
know that it has gone from being a minor past-time played in the boys
schools of 19th century England, to one of the most loved sports
worldwide. Rugby has even played a part in healing the wounds of
Apartheid. In this talk, we explore the basics of rugby, some of it's most
famous players, and how it can provide a sense of companionship and
respect that no other sport can...with the aid of lots of videos!

The talk will take place on May 27 at 5:30 pm in the MPA lecture hall.

#9 Elisabeth Gall: Underwater Hockey

 Underwater hockey is a sport that requires all your senses. Under rather unnatural conditions, both body and mind are demanded in a 6-dimensional environment (ahead, behind, left, right, above, below). Speed, force, skill, and agility are just as important as tactics, position play, fighting spirit, concentration, and a good overview over the game. It is a fast game, where decisions have to be made in a split second: Shall I go up to breathe, or stay down, to help a teammate?

Actually, you have to try underwater hockey yourself to really understand the fascination of this game. Nonetheless I will attempt this impossible task and explain how underwater hockey works, how it is played and hopefully at least give you an idea of why you will never stop playing again, once you've really begun…

The talk will take place on Feb. 25 at 5:30 pm in the MPA lecture hall.

This text was inspired by Anna Joest. The photograph is used with permission of the photographer Stefan Jerg.