Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar or honey and almond meal, sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It is also rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday, wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. This use is particularly common in the UK, on large fruitcakes. Marzipan (or almond paste) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season. Traditional Swedish princess cake is typically covered with a layer of marzipan that has been tinted pale green.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, marzipan figures are given as presents to children during Saint Nicholas's Eve. In Germany, it is common to give marzipan in the shape of a bread, which is called "Marzipanbrot" during Christmastime and shaped as small potatoes (Marzipankartoffeln). One traditional new year present is known as a Glücksschwein ("lucky pig"). In Denmark and Norway, it is common to eat marzipan pigs for Christmas and marzipan shaped as eggs for Easter. In Geneva, a traditional part of the celebration of L'Escalade is the ritual smashing of a chocolate cauldron filled with marzipan vegetables, a reference to a Savoyard siege of the city which was supposedly foiled by a housewife with a cauldron of boiling soup. In Tallinn, in Maiasmokk café, there is a small museum dedicated to the history and manufacture of marzipan.
Homestar Runner is a Flash-animated Internet cartoon series created by Mike and Matt Chapman, also known as the Brothers Chaps. Its comedy mixes surreal humor, self-parody, and references to 70s, 80s and 90s pop culture, in particular video games, classic television, and popular music.
While site features originally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner, the cartoon series Strong Bad Email quickly became the site's most popular and prominent feature, with Strong Bad becoming a breakout character. Since 2000, the site has grown to encompass a variety of cartoons and web games featuring Homestar, Strong Bad, and dozens of other characters.
At the peak of its popularity, the site was one of the most-visited sites with collections of Flash cartoons on the Internet, spreading via word of mouth. The site sustains itself through merchandise sales and has never featured advertisements. The Brothers Chaps have turned down offers to make a television series.
After a four-year hiatus beginning in 2010, Homestar Runner returned with a new Holiday Toon on April 1, 2014, for April Fools' Day. Afterwards, co-creator Matt Chapman had announced plans to give the site semi-regular updates starting in the fall, due to the positive reception given to the April Fools' Day cartoon.
The Nutcracker (Russian: Щелкунчик, Балет-феерия / Shchelkunchik, Balet-feyeriya; French: Casse-Noisette, ballet-féerie) is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (op. 71). The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, December 18, 1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera Iolanta.
Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. However, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s, and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in North America. Major American ballet companies generate around 40 percent of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker.
Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions, in particular the pieces featured in the suite. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta, an instrument that the composer had already employed in his much lesser known symphonic ballad The Voyevoda.
(gesungen zur Melodie von Lady in Black)
Ich ess so gerne Marzipan
Es geht nichts über Marzipan
Ich denk den ganzen Tag daran,
Nur dafür schlägt mein Herz.
Ich aß grad einen Pelikan aus allerfeinstem Marzipan
Da plötzlich durchfuhr meinen Körper ein stechender Schmerz.
Aaaaaah....
Aaaaaah....
Verdammt, da war ein Loch im zahn
Das kommt von zuviel Marzipan.
Ich rief sofort den Doktor an uns sprach von meiner Qual.
Der Doktor war ein weiser Mann
Man sah's im an der Brille an
Er sagte: "Na dann öffnen Sie den Mund und sagen Sie mal"
Aaaaaah....
Aaaaaah....
Er brummelte: "Mein lieber Schwan"
Und irgendwas vom Schlendrian
Er fing sofort zu bohren an mit furchtbarem Radau
Es tat jedoch fast gar nicht weh
Ich dachte "Kerl, was biste zäh
Und tapfer". Doch dann traf er einen Nerv und zwar genau.
Aaaaaah....
Aaaaaah....
Ach bitte Doktor sei human
Ich hab doch keinem was getan
Ich sage auch dem Marzipan für alle Zeit ade
Er füllte ihn mit Amalgamden Rest von meinem Backenzahn
dann Fragte er mich: "Na junger Mann, wo tut es denn jetzt noch weh?"
-"Daaaaaa..."
-"Hier?"
-"Jaaaaaah..."
"Den müssen wir wohl ziehen den Zahn.
Haben wir noch ein Termin im Plan?
Brigitte, stimmen sie das mal bitte
Mit dem Herrn hier ab" - "Jaha!"
Das war die Zahnarzthelferin
Die war so schön, ich war ganz hin
Und weg, sie fragte zärtlich, welche Blutgruppe ich hab.
-"Aaaaaaa...."
-"Und die Krankenkasse?"
-"Aaaaaa... AOK!"
Das war ja fast wie im Roman
Verliebt bin ich nach Haus gefahrn
Sie hatte sich für meine Krankenkasse interessiert
Seither verlier ich Zahn um ZahnIch eß noch viel mehr Marzipan
Da jedes Zahnweh mir ein Wiedersehen gerantiert
Und wenn ich jetzt hier sitz und schrei
Dann ist das völlig einerlei
ich leide gern, mein Leid ist durch die Liebe motiviert.
Aaaaaaaaah...