Un gran amigo mío, un encantador de serpientes nativo de las Rías, ha confirmado que entre el parlez-vous y el putiferío solo hay un paso, el paripé. Son las tres Ps. Se empieza con el parlez-vous, después viene el paripé, y al final todo acaba convirtiéndose en un putiferío. ¿Qué se le va a hacer? Es la P.P.P. La misma historia de siempre.
Filed under Digressions, Living la vida española
Me acaba de ocurrir algo surreal. En estos tiempos de tecnología y de globalización en que vivimos, acabo de tener una experiencia totalmente castiza en un taxi. Me meto en un taxi para acercarme a casa en Madrid. El taxista está hablando por el móvil y está encargando un chorizo y un salchichón. Después escucha un rato y cambia de idea. Pues, no, prefiere un jamón, de pata negra. Dice que tiene que colgar porque tiene un cliente (ése soy yo). Cuelga el teléfono y me explica que su familia se ha bajado a Extremadura y por eso les ha encargado un jamón. En realidad, él prefiere el chorizo al jamón pero como se presenta en casa con un jamón de pata negra, su novia . . .
Filed under FON, Friends / Family, Living la vida española
He ido conociendo a Beatriz Russo desde Formentera sin realmente llegarla a conocer aún. Es poeta (o poetisa dependiendo del siglo en que te apetece pertenecer) y escritora (entre otras cosas). Y en este post quisiera usar la metáfora de Sócrates de “being and becoming” para resaltar las diferencias entre Beatriz y yo y la ontología (o quizás cosmología) de nuestra amistad emergente. Por ejemplo, fijaros en Marcelo y como mira a Beatriz y como ella pasa del pobre. Me recuerda a mis problemas con las actrices. La diferencia es que ella está pasando y yo pareciendo pasar. ¿De qué estoy hablando? Me explico . . .
Filed under Digressions, Friends / Family, Living la vida española
No sé que hacer con Natalia Verbeke. Siempre me pasa lo mismo. Me enamoro de alguna actriz pero por las razones que sean, nunca acaba de cuajar la cosa. Me explico . . .
Filed under Living la vida española
There is something about movies that makes my life more difficult and frustrating. First of all, movies set unrealistic expectations of men. Did you ever notice that all of the male protagonists in every movie always have one or more of the following: cool car, cool apartment, or cool job? I have none of these. I have an “Abono Transportes de Cercanias“, which translates roughly as a second rate lamenated photo of myself that permits me to travel on the metro and bus in Madrid as many times as I want in any given month. Wow!!! But, there’s no shot-gun on my pass for passengers. It’s not like you walk around to the other side of the bus to open the door for her.
Filed under Digressions, Living la vida española
Most people love the Spring. In Washington, DC, Spring means cherry blossoms, beautiful flowers, and the first days of wonderful weather. Unfortunately, I have always suffered from allergies to pollen. This means flu like symptons, itchy eyes, asma at night, and a total aversion to being outside and to Spring in general. My solution? I moved to dry, desertified Madrid. The pollen count is much lower, and I barely notice any of the allegry symptons. But not this year.
In Europe people are moving toward using diesel. Diesel is more fuel efficient, less expensive, and less agressive when it comes to Global Climate Change. But, with all things environmental, there is a cost, and that cost is human health. Diesel fuel emmits tiny particles into the air, and when we inhale, these particles stick to our lungs. In Spring, the pollen in the air is inhaled and sticks to diesel particles in our lungs. The result is more people with allergies and greater allergy senstivity, all of this at shocking levels. To make a long story short, for the first time since I moved to Madrid 5 years ago, the pollen has found its way into my lungs.
Filed under Essays, Living la vida española
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the tale of two protests. At once they were happy, and then they were rioting. Over the weekend in both Spain and France, young people, students gathered in the cities to protest. In Spain, it appears that the macro “Botellón” was planned as a protest. I am not sure yet what was being protested. In France, students gathered to protest a new law that would make it substantially easier for companies to fire employees. Both protests resulted in isolated instances of violence, burning, vandalism, and a whole lot of trash.
Am I missing something? Spanish kids are protesting for their right to drink in open public places and to not clean up after themselves. And French students are protesting about being fired from jobs they still do not have. Continue reading
Filed under Essays, Living la vida española
Pinchos are good. They are tastey. But, pinchos are NOT lunch, and they are definitely not a meal. In Spain, Pinchos are essentially the delicious Basques tapas. You take something yummy and put it on bread, and then top it off with an anchovy. Pinchos should be accompanied by a caña (beer) or a glass of wine. But, for the life of me, please do not expect me to survive off pinchos and some runny potato omlett and a lone croqueta. (Imagine trying to live off of “pigs in a blanket”). That’s fine for my weekends, but without the aid of an hourly dose of digestive cookies, I would already be a total skeleton, a starving, fragile router jockey.
Filed under Living la vida española
Grave Error 