Category Archives: in english

in english

These days, keeping in touch is not so hard

I was reading Batz's Journal, where she comments her views on leaving Barcelona after being there two years, and going away from those friendships she has formed during her time there.

I started thinking that in fact these days it's not so difficult to keep in touch with those you care about.  With e-mail, messenger, skype, blogging and of course text messaging and voice telephony you can still keep in touch.  These days video conferencing is not so difficult either, as many chatting programs have integrated it.

Around a year ago, I was in a very particular situation.  My parents were living in Brazil, my sister in Mexico, my fiancée in Japan and I was in Finland, so there was a minimum of 8,000 km between one member of the family and the next.  Keeping in mind the time differences, these utilities were a godsend, and now that I'm in Belgium I use them to keep in touch, as my friends and family are scattered all over the place.

This is much better than the situation in the Middle Ages, or even 30 years ago.  In that sense I'm glad I was born at a time when this is possible.

in english

My iPod is semi-sentient

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Today I was a little bit blue.  The sky was overcast, with this annoying drizzle that isn't even proper rain but still messes up my hair and my glasses, and it was just the proper mood for being a little pensative.

Even though I have my iPod in shuffle (all 3000+ songs), it played almost exclusively during the whole day songs according to the mood: "My way", "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", "Polly", "Ayer me dijo un ave", "Denial, revisited", "Pennyroyal tea", "The wind cries Mary", "Black hole sun", "Bibo no aozora", "Long Cool Woman", "Ánimas que no amanezca", etc.

Given that when I'm happy, the same shuffle tends to play more rythmic songs, I'm starting to wonder if my iPod is semi-sentient or at least rather telepathic…

in english

24 hours of Flickr

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To my four readers (Catón dixit).

Can you please help me select the best picture in this set?

24 hours of Flickr was an event in which Flickrites from all over the world documented their day in pictures. The best picture from that day is to be added to a pool, whose pictures will be printed in a book.

Given that my day was mostly spent indoors, and frankly I'm not that great as a photographer, I'm not sure which one is really the best.  Can you, dear reader, give me a hand?

in english

Legends and realities of English language skills in Spain

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I guess some of my four readers (Catón dixit) may have heard that people in Spain tend to have very poor skills in languages other than English (and in the west of the country maybe French).  Although I have some Spanish friends who do have a good command of the language, I guess this story shows that the reality is even more extreme than I thought:

  • An American tourist in Toledo fell into the local river, and was shouting for "Help!" for 3 hours before he was rescued.  The locals didn't come to his aid because they thought he was calling for "Pepe" (nickname for José).

So remember, learn some basic Spanish before you venture there.

Via Gwyn's Blog.

in english

Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot, ten years on

I found this great article at Foreign policy magazine about the return of leftist governments in Latin America.

It briefly touches on an issue that has bothered me ever since I moved to Europe: Why is it that almost everybody who is interested in Latin America would like to implement policies there that they wouldn't like for their countries?

That's something I'll never understand…

in english

The RBD phenomenon

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There is a pop band that is famous all over the American continent.  It has filled venues in Brazil, Argentina, the United States, Colombia and Mexico.

Their name is RBD, and they're a marketing offshoot of a very popular opera by Televisa, "Rebelde".

Their music is rather plastic (as is the "band"), but they are a money-making machine.  They have been involved in a series of scandals, such as when 3 people died in an autograph-signing session in Sao Paulo in 2005, and when one of their singers confessed to being gay a few months ago.

Why do I talk about them, if their music (and the overall concept) seems to me rather bad?  Because, firstly, I believe they're a perfect example of the power of telenovelas and the marketing around them as a mostly Latin American phenomenon with an expanding reach.  Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised they would cross-over to the English-language worldwide market, as was the case with Shakira and Ricky Martin.