Cider is good for you (this week) according to the Somerset County Gazette, which, let’s admit it, is hardly Nature. This is the best YouTube has to offer on the Wurzels, Adge Cutler’ll be revolving in his grave:
So plans for the rest of the week: Translate a huge gert technical manual for cell phones (I think) into espaol… Start researching intangible.com.mx, which will feature pretty flash stuff and a foresty / brazilian colour scheme… See how things are progressing round NuevaEra and shove some more photos up in the gallery… Learn to use a kick-arse SLR Olympus camera before tomorrow morning to take photos at an agave tasting potentially for publication… Wait on another potential gig modifying a Flash / OSCommerce template… Find out when Guadalajara’s scrabble club meets. I remember seeing an ad in Ocio but it’s not there anymore. and much, much more…
Update on the cable: They’ve still not disconnected it and somehow I don’t mind watching it so much if it’s free. Last night I enjoyed Gene Simmon’s School of Rock and The Surreal Life, despite the constant ads and interstitials. Pimp my Ride wasn’t that bad neither. Still when it’s gone it’s gone…
Just finished Gary Benchley- Rock Star which was harmless drivel. Something like a better adjusted 20-something American Adrian Mole. 3 Lulus…
I reckon I barely, if ever, watch TV these days. Really just in the mornings with MTV or VH1 on just to see what LatinAmerican whippersnappers are listening to and to have some background noise. So today I bit the bullet and rang up MegaCable to cancel it. They wouldn’t let me do that over the phone so I had to go to the local branch in the rain to do it… Even then it’s not 100% easy, they asked why I was cancelling the service and I explained because I don’t watch TV, then they asked me to rate the service I’d received out of 10. Eight I said, feeling generous and thinking the questionnaire was over. The next question: What would Megacable have to do to make it a 10? I thought quickly and said well you say you offer 64 channels in the basic package, but one of them just seems to be some nonagenarian nun spouting religious nonsense 24-7 and that really shouldn’t count as one of the 64. Whether there was a box to tick for that or not, I’m not sure, but anyroad, to cut a short story shorter I’m now cableless and I’ve been home for nearly 7 minutes without wondering where Hulk Hogan will take his family next or whether Bonnaduce’s been Broken or not. YouTube, prepare yourself for some higher bandwidth charges…
Ana invited me over for lunch today, she’s a professor working with Sita on all manner of Agave/Tequila related issues so we had a lovely lunch and I got her blog up and running. Spanish-Speaking, Agave-lovers, click here… Next up is cast an eye over a proposal for a Jalisciense cultural activities/cinema type thing webpage and see if it’s doable, then off Chapultepec way to spread glad tidings in the Cala household. Cheers, me dears…
And possibly caffeine too… Anyroad, so as I mention above I didn’t sleep well last night again, whether it was Scrabble on the PDA whilst I half watched Clear and Present Danger or the afternoon coffee in Plaza Terranova or the book I’m reading that I don’t want to like but actually do, who knows? All I know is that after waking up with a mosquito in my ear far too many times I stumbled into the bathroom sprayed my head with repellent, shoved some earplugs in and put my head under the pillow and the persistant little bugger still kept coming at me. Enough of that… anyroad the lack of sleep and relative inaction today led me to to something to wake myself up a bit and that means getting the gee-tar out. I was recording stuff in Audacity then overdubbing and I thought, sod it, i’ll video it and sing and everything, and, though I’m regretting this already, here’s me YouTubed doing my battleworn rendition of Jarabe de Palo’s La Flaca, all about some slim young lady who boozes it up in La Habana without putting on the pounds… All mistakes in lyrics, pronunciation, chords and general appearence are entirely deliberate…
Available for weddings, quinceaeras, bah-mitvahs, etc… I’m here all week, folks…
Just got back from the cinema (I’m thinking of buying a frequent flier discount card for Cinepolis). Have a quick review of Mi Super Ex-Novia:
The high concept for this one is “Imagine your borderline psychotic ex had superpowers…” A sobering thought indeed. Anyroad, I was prepared to give it a chance as the director, Ivan Reitman, is responsible for one of the best films of all time, Ghostbusters. Turns out he’s also responsible for Kindergarten Cop and Ghostbusters II, but, generally, history will be kind to him, I feel.
Luke Wilson (the one with the normal nose) and Uma Thurman are the titular my and ex respectively. There’s no discernable chemistry between them and that’s fine because, as you’ll have worked out from the title, they’re destined to split up. Eddie Izzard puts in a passable turn as the baddie and the creepy bloke out of The (American) Office plays a creepy bloke who works in an office. Everyone, except Wanda Sykes, does a fine job and the results are an unspectacular but sporadically amusing romantic comedy. I reckon this’ll work fine on yer 19-inch telly in a few months time; it’s harmless fun for when you’re really not up for watching that Flight 93 DVD from Netflix that’s been sitting there for 3 months, and just fancy switching your brain off for a couple of hours while young Uma gallavants around in skimpy costumes.
Saturday: Round Ana’s house meeting her family and friends and having a lovely time of it. Excellent food, drink, company… Then Jose picked me up and we went to scope out the barrio he’s thinking of moving to and stopped for a coffee. Then the heavens opened and we barely made it, thanks to Jose’s submarino/WV beetle, to La Matera to catch up with Jeanna y Victor, wine, tequila, beer flowed and kept on flowing till the early hours with V & PF in the house. We also spent an alarming amount of time browsing Jose’s favourites on YouTube. Dodgy 80s videos every one… Might have to instigate some new house rules banning Hall and/or Oates.
Sunday: Nipped into Santa Tere via Starbucks then came home and Jose came round again and we caught up on the latest events in his life that is ‘regida por lo riduculo’ (Governed by the ridiculous). A lot can happen in 24 hrs in GDL…
Monday: Woke up late and got a phone call from Martin and Luis to meet them and Ana in the town centre to go cantina hopping as it’s Martin’s last day and Ana’s area of research. Made it to the centre in odd socks and sandals (blister prevention, and I had hopes of going trainer shopping) and went first to the Velatorio (now called the Jardin Nuevo or somesuch) a v. old cantina replete with pix of old GDL and page-3 girls just behind las Cabaas. A friendly bunch there as ever. Then on to ‘Mi Oficina’ which I’m surprised i didn’t know since it’s not far from Federalismo and I thought I knew that area. Then back to Independencia for El Sin Rival.
Hence the break I need. Not looking for sympathy though, it’s been a grand few days.
I got a comment on my Cars that Resemble Where they’re parked set suggesting I put them to music and shove them on YouTube. Always glad for a new project so here you go:
What else? Well, the site redesign’s coming along nicely. Nowt uploaded yet. And there’s a hefty translation to do at the end of the week so work/pleasure is nicely balanced right now. Righty time for brunch i thinks. Hasta pronto!
I’ve figured out a few more bus routes today with only one major mistake. The 37A is not the 37 just for the record and after leaving the house at 9:30 got back around 15:00ish. Luckily I have my trusty new gadget loaded up with ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ episodes and the hours flew by. I looked into Flash courses, caught up with a translation place, had a coffee at Madokas, perused the ‘Importaciones’ level of San Juan de Dios and checked everything was functioning as I left it 3 wks ago. Some of the areas in town were chock-full of parents and kids buying their school supplies for the new term. Thank diosito I don’t have any teaching hanging over me. (good luck Meg, btw).
The iPAQ camera is 1.2 megapixels, but the quality is far from perfect. It’ll do nicely though for quick snaps rather than full-blown photography outings with the tripod and everything. I even dared get it out in SJ de D, to the right is a barbacoa-style tacos al pastor stand, with fine tasting cheap tacos (3.5pesos each, =30 cents, 18p). Bargains every one… Too early to tell for the usual gastrointestinal side effects, but keep checking back and I’ll give you an update later. Another thing is my new tinted sunglasses make everything look like you’re looking through the orange stuff they put in post office windows/ chemist shops at the world and makes it very difficult to spot cars that look like their surrounding. And doubles the apparent amount of taxis in the road (white cars look yellow too…).
Friday’s Spanish-word-of-the-week day in theory, so let’s have a think… erm… “cotorrear” keeps cropping up. I rarely use it ‘cos I can’t roll my ‘R’s but it means ‘to chat’, natter, put-the-world-to-rights, catch up on stuff, sort of thing. Not so widely used in Spain if memory serves (charlar is more common), but the verb of choice round these parts.
There’s been a fair old hiatus on the film review front so what better time to start from scratch as I reckon I’ll be spending a goodly few hours a week round the local cinepolis. Old mini reviews have been banished to this page. And the new ones will pop up in the Iframe on the right as per normal. Just got back from watching Miami Vice, I was hoping to see Nacho Libre but there was only the dubbed version available. Anyroad, not bad at all once you get over Colin Farrell being in every shot.
Book and music reviews never really did take off so there’ll probably be no more of them. Feel free to ask me what I’m listening to or reading at any point if the comments are slow on an entry. Anybody out there have any recommendations for music? There was a rumour the Russians were going to stop supplying cheap MP3s some time soon and I’m up for using up my credit…
So I had one of the easiest flight and immigration experiences yet and am back settled in Guadalajara querida y linda. The only upset being my fault, as I somehow only packed one trainer, so it’s sandals for me for the next 6 wks… Yesterday was Jose’s birthday and he invited me out with his family for his cumpleanos meal to the Argentine restaurant El Tango in Chapalita which had great food. It was grand to be able to hang out with friends on my first day back, a lovely welcome. I nipped over to Cinescopio today to catch up and all seems well over yonder. I’ll be giving my site (agaveweb) an overhaul today and designing some new business cards and suchlike. I’ve taken over Sita’s office but I’ve been warned not to get too comfortable… I am though. Anyroad, vaguely jetlagged but nothing serious and plenty to be getting on with.
This arrived in my inbox t’other day, and since I’ve no photos to post with this entry, have this vaguely-photo-related “Integrity Test” in its stead.
This test only has one question, but it’s a very important one. Please don’t answer it without giving it some serious thought. By giving an honest answer you will be able to test where you stand morally.
The test features an unlikely, completely fictional situation, where you will have to make a decision one way or the other. Remember that your answer needs to be honest, yet spontaneous.
Please scroll down slowly and consider each line – this is important for the test to work accurately.
You’re in Florida… In Miami, to be exact… There is great chaos going on around you, caused by a hurricane and severe floods… There are huge masses of water all over you… You are a CNN photographer and you are in the middle of this great disaster. The situation is nearly hopeless.
You’re trying to shoot very impressive photos. There are houses and people floating around you, disappearing into the water. Nature is showing all its destroying power and is ripping everything away with it.
Suddenly you see a man in the water, he is fighting for his life, trying not to be taken away by the masses of water and mud. You move closer. Somehow the man looks familiar.
Suddenly you know who it is – it’s George W. Bush!
At the same time you notice that the raging waters are about to take him away… forever. You have two options. You can save him or you can take the best photo of your life. So you can save the life of George W. Bush, or you can shoot a Pulitzer prize winning photo. A unique photo displaying the death of one of the world’s most powerful men.
And here’s the question (please give an honest answer)
Would you select colour film, or go with the simplicity of classic black and white?
Two days of walks in a row for lucky young Atticus. The dog beach in Venice or somewhere and round Wilderness Park in Downey… First skype on the pocket PC to a foreign country landline today. And manana I fly LAX to GDL. And that’s it. Ooh. And I have new sandals and trousers.
It’s news like that last paragraph that keeps y’all a-comin’ back, admit it… 🙂 Certainly can’t compete with my folks who’ve just made a fairly large purchase (happy new house, B & A!)
Spanish word of the week (for last week): ‘tiritones’ from tiriton: a shake of the head as if shivering, a frequently used Chilenismo from Martin who uses this classification system for bad wine. If when you take a sip you shake your head three times it’s a Vino Tres Tiritones. The less tiritones, the better, obviously. He also has a nice adjective for wine that you’ve stolen from someone else’s glass too: vino besado, kissed wine.
how geeky/cool is this? i just turned the tv on with it too! v.v.happy
And back to the joys of real keyboards! Rob and Jon from TopOfThePods did a show on uses for your PDA about a year ago and apparently you can embed them as Flash, here we go:
We got back last night from our Bay Area Tour, Summer 2006… and it excelled in every way. First off we went round Meg’n’Matt’s and sampled the oenophile delights of their trip to Italy and various vineyard visits while learning the ropes of the home version of Dance, Dance, Revolution. There are videos of us jumping around in the living room to Block Rockin’ Beats and Crazy in Love but I neglected to get the appropriate waivers signed so they’re probably not going to on the blog any time soon. Despite the back button on the floor carpet not being too sensitive we managed to give the downstairs neighbours a close approximation of what the next big seismic disruption in Oakland might very well feel like. Day 2 we went to the Bay Area beauty spot known as Kronkite Point (sp?) where we got hitched, and soaked up the views and listened to the Tunnel Singer who sings. In tunnels. Then for a few swift pints and table football and then to Berkeley for our annual bluegrass dose. Afterwards food, drink and dance, dance continued into the early late hours.
Monday was off to Santa Cruz to catch up with mates and some academic stuff too. We had a few ales in Red with some friends and left for Tanya’s before it turned into something variously described as a frat boy meat market / hell hole. things have gone downhill since we left. Luckily Tanya’s was as welcoming as ever and, aided by Liz, we cleaned her out of cheese and beer and went back to the hotel. For day 2 in SC, we did the traditional walk along Westcliff and gawped at surfers. The breeze was in just the right direction to be able to hear those in the water spouting their Keanu-Reeves-circa-1989isms at each other, but they’re fairly photogenic so I’ll let them off. I picked up some orders from downtown (unchanged, but no Umbrella Man), so Victor I’ve got your books and that’s one more thing off of Jose’s list of things to do. Tanya made an unparallelled veggie bbq with all the trimmings including her Torte ™ made to exacting standards and one of the best desserts. Evah. T’was also grand to see Becky, Scott and their kids and Heather & Gayle. T kindly let us stay in her apartment while she slept on the floor. Over and above the call of justice, THANKS!
Next day: I spent the morning relaxing in T’s garden finishing About a Boy again. Very readable especially fuelled by gourmet coffee and then later we went to Piedmont for continued merriment, dog walking and BBQery (far from veggie this time). The whole gang turned up but I left my camera in the car which was down far too many steps so no photos of Jerrod’s mad meat-cooking skillz nor Chili the cat and his ‘paunch’.
Yesterday we had a long drive from SF to Downey. Full of lorries and dim-witted drivers who refuse to change lanes, while listening to the sounds of the latest fall-out from Heathrow on NPR. I understand the no liquids bit (although some airports clearly don’t) but no books seems a bit excessive. I’ll be flying Virgin Atlantic next time if I have to soley rely on the plane’s entertainment as I’m buggered if I’m sitting through another Jennifer Anniston/ J-Lo film marathon to pass the 11 hours with nothing to read.
Other news: last week saw Taladega Nights or some such, the most willfully stupid film I’ve seen in a while with the worst French accent ever committed to celluloid. Thoroughly recommended. I’m intrigued to know what the Spanish title will be…
So on Thursday we had our 4th anniversary and went out for a smorgasbord Italian meal at the new eatery in Downey Landing, just down the road (though, being L.A., we drove…). If you find yourself there, we recommend saving the coupon from your local paper and getting the free artichoke and cheese bruscetta dip thing followed by shrimp and chicken pasta (spicy). Bring the majority of it home in a doggy bag and you’ll have good eats for days. We also went out to Stox for breakfast with Sally famed for its coffee and hash brown (fried grated potato mass). Here’s a cut-out-and-keep guide to how we’ve celebrated so far.
1st Anniversary: Guadalajara, Italian Meal. 2nd Anniversary: On a plane coming back to CA from Amherst MA 3rd Anniv: Went back to Kronkite point where we got married for a wander and then a meal in the restaurant where we celebrated and 4th see above…
We’ve been doing the occasional odd job round the house too even though Sally & Martin have done the lion’s share of moving work… Reorganised the garage, dug up the grape vine, painted bits and pieces in the old house, painted the roof with reflective white paint to try to bring down the ambient temperature, reminded Atticus what walks are and other small stuff. Anyroad, today, which is Sally’s birthday, we’re giving her the gift of having her house back for a few days and are heading North to visit several old haunts and see our mates, back Thursdayish.
Still have some web work to take care of, and also whether to put in a bid on a 100% Flash catalogue site. It’s a bit intimidating but I could learn some new stuff. I have an hour or so to make up my mind. I’m erring towards not quite ready for it yet but we’ll see if some toast and coffee changes all that…
In other news, Sita just forwarded me this article from the SC Sentinel, Teachers continue to flee Scotts Valley… Good to know I’m actually part of a larger tradition…
And since I might not manage much in the way of posts in the next few days. Here’s a link to a a game (click on geartaker) that I pretended to be playing as I kept an eye on the cable installation bloke yesterday. My high score’s nothing to write home about.
I’ve just ordered another all-singing, all-dancing Pocket PC. The plan is to use it for photography, videos, mp3ery, skypery and general messing about on the web. Blogging even. I’m extremely excited about it all. Should arrive in a few days time, end of the week maybe. After my Palm Zire 72 experiences I’m a little wary but I’ll soon get over that. Behold the glorious dawn of: IPAQ rx3715 Catchy name, no?
Got me tickets back to MX too today, Alaska Airlines no less, chosen primarily for the nice, cool, frozen imagery their name conjours up to this sweaty, overheating, ennervated Expedia user… Righty, off to tea… Don’t forget to comment…
Just got back from the cinema (I’m thinking of buying a frequent flier discount card for Cinepolis). Have a quick review of Mi Super Ex-Novia:
