11 years ago
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
WTF
What in the hell just happened? Does anybody speak Japanese? This is the tamest of the series. If you want to see more of these eff-ed up Japanese vignettes, go to http://www.buildup.co.jp/pq/#
B I Z A R R E .
Monday, October 29, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Criminal Justice? Is that even REAL?
marriedtothesea.com
Majoring in Criminal Justice is like majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology. That shit don't even exIST! Haha. CJ.
Better Bad News
Little-known fact: Osama bin Laden watches "The View" in his Batcave in Tora Bora.
WHERE HAVE YOU GONE, INDEPENDENT MEDIA? A NATION TURNS ITS STUPID EYES FROM YOU... WOO WOO WOO.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Isabel y Fernando: Venture Capitalists
I'm all about venture capital, but... I guess it didn't occur to the inventors of this project that MAYBE--just maybe--not everyone loves the results of Queen Isabel's "venture capital" investments. Christ! What an insult to the people of Native American descent in the New World. Oh, just skim through it. It's impressive...
Friday, April 22, 2005
"Capital hunt challenge for Latinos" Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Robert Mullins
Queen Isabela I of Spain originally rejected Christopher Columbus' pitch for venture capital to fund his three-ship expedition in 1492. But after her accountant told her the amount requested was no more than what the kingdom would spend to entertain a visiting dignitary for a week, Isabela relented and gave Columbus 2,000 maravedis in A round funding.
Columbus' trip lead to the discovery of the New World, generating an incalculable rate of return on Isabela's original investment.
"Yes, the first venture capitalist was a Latina," said Marcela Davison Aviles, of San Jose, founder of the Isabela Project, a program to give today's Latino entrepreneurs a better chance at landing venture capital in Silicon Valley.
The project's two-fold aim is to teach Latinos how to gain access to the VC world and to develop investment products that could help Latino startups grow.
Latino entrepreneurs have difficulty securing venture funding or other investment capital because, despite their growing numbers and economic clout, they have few connections to people in the clubby VC community, those in the Hispanic business community say. VC partners unfamiliar with Hispanic entrepreneurs are reluctant to fund a company that may sail off the edge of the business world. And there aren't enough Queen Isabelas at those firms who can greenlight a fellow Latino's expedition today.
"If we don't engage this population to be part of the innovation economy, that is going to hurt California," says Margarita Quihuis, a Mexican-American venture capitalist who is currently a Reuters Fellow at Stanford University studying innovative business financing.
Latinos made up 14 percent of the U.S. population in 2004, making them the largest minority group, and more of them live in California than in any other state. They are projected to grow to 15 percent of the U.S. population by 2015 and to 25 percent by 2050, according to a 2004 Isabela Project report based on 2000 U.S. Census figures. Minorities are forecast to be the fast-growing part of the work force in the future and most of them will be Latinos.
Further, 87 percent of the new businesses launched in the U.S. between 1992 and 1997 were Latino-owned and 39 percent were Latina-owned, the Isabela report states.
However, only 5 percent of Latino startups were funded with venture capital and only 4.25 percent of U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loans were granted to Latino businesses. Sixty percent of Latino businesses were started with borrowed money, versus only 5 percent to 10 percent of white-owned startups.
The Isabela Project -- funded by the Milken Institute, an economic think tank -- is developing an educational program for Latino entrepreneurs on how to build their businesses to make the best presentation to angel investors, venture capital firms, or other potential investors, says Ms. Aviles.
"What should the PowerPoint look like?" she said, citing an example of some of the ground covered.
The Isabela Project is trying to develop an asset-backed securities product to finance Hispanic startups. SBA loans would be bundled together, just as mortgages are, to securitize community development or small business loans. This would make possible smaller investments in Hispanic startups than VCs want to bother with, and give the entrepreneur more options on how to use the funds than they can with an SBA loan, Ms. Aviles said.
The overhead for a VC firm to perform due diligence, advise the new firm and otherwise manage the investment is basically the same regardless of the amount invested. They would rather invest $20 million in a firm than $1 million to maximize their return, and so would pass on smaller deals.
Private equity funding isn't much of an option for Hispanic startups either, said Richard Leza, founder and managing partner of Azul Venture Partners and founder of A1 Research Corp., a consulting firm.
Silicon Valley VC firms invest primarily in technology companies, and few Hispanic businesses are in tech. Private equity investments are available to a wide range of industries, said Mr. Leza. But private equity (in which individuals, some of whom may be VC partners, make their own investment) is available mostly for "mature firms," that have some solid revenue coming in.
But even for Hispanic tech startups, if they can't get their business plan on a VC partner's desk, the VC will never know about them.
"It's like having a party. If you're never invited, you're never going to find the door and you're never going to find the party," he said.
Angel investors can be another source of startup funding, but since the dot-com crash, "The angels have all gone up to heaven." said Stanford's Ms. Quihuis.
Immigration history works against Hispanics, she added. Many immigrants from India or other Asian countries are "the educated elite," she said, who come from wealthy families to attend graduate school and more easily connect with investors. Some Cubans had a similar advantage, she said, as well-to-do families left Cuba with their financial assets after the Communist revolution in 1959 and settled in Miami.
But Mexicans, who make up 63 percent of all Latinos living in the U.S., immigrated here largely to escape poverty.
Mexicans would have a better chance of meeting VCs if they network with other Latinos, she said, by combining business groups, called "diasporas," from Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico and other Latin American countries to have more collective clout.
There are other efforts of note to bridge the gap between Hispanics and investors, said The Isabela Project's Ms. Aviles.
The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) in November 2004 added $500 million to a $1.5 billion hedge "fund-of-funds" to pursue "non-traditional investment strategies." The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) in January created a $100 million private equity fund-of-funds to be invested in "new and next generation" ventures. Ms. Aviles sees both moves creating investment opportunities for Hispanic entrepreneurs.
Locally, Hispanic-Net, a Palo Alto-based networking organization helps Hispanics find investors.
As successive Hispanic generations build ties to the venture capital community, the disparity should disappear. "It's inevitable," Ms. Aviles said.
But that doesn't mean it will happen all by itself, says Dennis King, executive director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley. If Columbus hadn't discovered the New World, someone inevitably would have, he agreed. But still, someone at sometime would have to take the initiative to do it.
Robert Mullins covers small business, telecommunications, education, retail and media for The Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1829. All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
from: http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/04/25/focus1.html (retrieved 23 Oct 2007)
Friday, April 22, 2005
"Capital hunt challenge for Latinos" Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal - by Robert Mullins
Queen Isabela I of Spain originally rejected Christopher Columbus' pitch for venture capital to fund his three-ship expedition in 1492. But after her accountant told her the amount requested was no more than what the kingdom would spend to entertain a visiting dignitary for a week, Isabela relented and gave Columbus 2,000 maravedis in A round funding.
Columbus' trip lead to the discovery of the New World, generating an incalculable rate of return on Isabela's original investment.
"Yes, the first venture capitalist was a Latina," said Marcela Davison Aviles, of San Jose, founder of the Isabela Project, a program to give today's Latino entrepreneurs a better chance at landing venture capital in Silicon Valley.
The project's two-fold aim is to teach Latinos how to gain access to the VC world and to develop investment products that could help Latino startups grow.
Latino entrepreneurs have difficulty securing venture funding or other investment capital because, despite their growing numbers and economic clout, they have few connections to people in the clubby VC community, those in the Hispanic business community say. VC partners unfamiliar with Hispanic entrepreneurs are reluctant to fund a company that may sail off the edge of the business world. And there aren't enough Queen Isabelas at those firms who can greenlight a fellow Latino's expedition today.
"If we don't engage this population to be part of the innovation economy, that is going to hurt California," says Margarita Quihuis, a Mexican-American venture capitalist who is currently a Reuters Fellow at Stanford University studying innovative business financing.
Latinos made up 14 percent of the U.S. population in 2004, making them the largest minority group, and more of them live in California than in any other state. They are projected to grow to 15 percent of the U.S. population by 2015 and to 25 percent by 2050, according to a 2004 Isabela Project report based on 2000 U.S. Census figures. Minorities are forecast to be the fast-growing part of the work force in the future and most of them will be Latinos.
Further, 87 percent of the new businesses launched in the U.S. between 1992 and 1997 were Latino-owned and 39 percent were Latina-owned, the Isabela report states.
However, only 5 percent of Latino startups were funded with venture capital and only 4.25 percent of U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loans were granted to Latino businesses. Sixty percent of Latino businesses were started with borrowed money, versus only 5 percent to 10 percent of white-owned startups.
The Isabela Project -- funded by the Milken Institute, an economic think tank -- is developing an educational program for Latino entrepreneurs on how to build their businesses to make the best presentation to angel investors, venture capital firms, or other potential investors, says Ms. Aviles.
"What should the PowerPoint look like?" she said, citing an example of some of the ground covered.
The Isabela Project is trying to develop an asset-backed securities product to finance Hispanic startups. SBA loans would be bundled together, just as mortgages are, to securitize community development or small business loans. This would make possible smaller investments in Hispanic startups than VCs want to bother with, and give the entrepreneur more options on how to use the funds than they can with an SBA loan, Ms. Aviles said.
The overhead for a VC firm to perform due diligence, advise the new firm and otherwise manage the investment is basically the same regardless of the amount invested. They would rather invest $20 million in a firm than $1 million to maximize their return, and so would pass on smaller deals.
Private equity funding isn't much of an option for Hispanic startups either, said Richard Leza, founder and managing partner of Azul Venture Partners and founder of A1 Research Corp., a consulting firm.
Silicon Valley VC firms invest primarily in technology companies, and few Hispanic businesses are in tech. Private equity investments are available to a wide range of industries, said Mr. Leza. But private equity (in which individuals, some of whom may be VC partners, make their own investment) is available mostly for "mature firms," that have some solid revenue coming in.
But even for Hispanic tech startups, if they can't get their business plan on a VC partner's desk, the VC will never know about them.
"It's like having a party. If you're never invited, you're never going to find the door and you're never going to find the party," he said.
Angel investors can be another source of startup funding, but since the dot-com crash, "The angels have all gone up to heaven." said Stanford's Ms. Quihuis.
Immigration history works against Hispanics, she added. Many immigrants from India or other Asian countries are "the educated elite," she said, who come from wealthy families to attend graduate school and more easily connect with investors. Some Cubans had a similar advantage, she said, as well-to-do families left Cuba with their financial assets after the Communist revolution in 1959 and settled in Miami.
But Mexicans, who make up 63 percent of all Latinos living in the U.S., immigrated here largely to escape poverty.
Mexicans would have a better chance of meeting VCs if they network with other Latinos, she said, by combining business groups, called "diasporas," from Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico and other Latin American countries to have more collective clout.
There are other efforts of note to bridge the gap between Hispanics and investors, said The Isabela Project's Ms. Aviles.
The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) in November 2004 added $500 million to a $1.5 billion hedge "fund-of-funds" to pursue "non-traditional investment strategies." The California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) in January created a $100 million private equity fund-of-funds to be invested in "new and next generation" ventures. Ms. Aviles sees both moves creating investment opportunities for Hispanic entrepreneurs.
Locally, Hispanic-Net, a Palo Alto-based networking organization helps Hispanics find investors.
As successive Hispanic generations build ties to the venture capital community, the disparity should disappear. "It's inevitable," Ms. Aviles said.
But that doesn't mean it will happen all by itself, says Dennis King, executive director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley. If Columbus hadn't discovered the New World, someone inevitably would have, he agreed. But still, someone at sometime would have to take the initiative to do it.
Robert Mullins covers small business, telecommunications, education, retail and media for The Business Journal. Reach him at (408) 299-1829. All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
from: http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/04/25/focus1.html (retrieved 23 Oct 2007)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Serj Tankian for Prez
What. is. up.
I haven't posted in some weeks. You know; the usual. But I did want to mention something Thomas and I went to see on Saturday. We dropped off the kids at Jo Ann's at 4 pm ish and then went downtown because the University of Louisville's Student Film Committee was showing a film called This Is England (which we didn't see) with a screening of some of Serj Tankian's new music videos first. It was a "viewing party" instead of a "listening party" to mark the upcoming release of his new album, Elect the Dead.
So we listened to the first 5 tracks before the movie began, and it was inCREDible. A lot of fantastic political stuff, along with some other themes (love stinks, etc). The video for the song "Empty Walls" was easily my favourite. The conflation of the idea of "No Child Left Behind" with the war in Iraq was so very powerful. Some really intuitive and distubring imagery is imbedded in the video, the icons of our folly in Iraq jarring against the thematic of "child's play."
Below is the video. And below that are the lyrics.
Serj Tankian - Empty Walls
Add to My Profile | More Videos
"Empty Walls" by Serj Tankian
Your empty walls...
Your empty walls...
Pretentious attention
Dismissive aprehension
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
When we decline, from the confines of our mind
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
Those empty walls
When we decline, from the confines of our mind
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
Want you to be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
The walls
From behind those empty walls
I loved you, yes
Though they be
For you killed my family
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Told you
To see
From behind those empty walls
Want you to be, left behind those empty walls
Told you
To see
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
Those walls...
Those walls...
Here is a news piece about the new CD's release (comes out tomorrow): http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-serjtankian_1022gl.ART.State.Edition1.425fc19.html
I haven't posted in some weeks. You know; the usual. But I did want to mention something Thomas and I went to see on Saturday. We dropped off the kids at Jo Ann's at 4 pm ish and then went downtown because the University of Louisville's Student Film Committee was showing a film called This Is England (which we didn't see) with a screening of some of Serj Tankian's new music videos first. It was a "viewing party" instead of a "listening party" to mark the upcoming release of his new album, Elect the Dead.
So we listened to the first 5 tracks before the movie began, and it was inCREDible. A lot of fantastic political stuff, along with some other themes (love stinks, etc). The video for the song "Empty Walls" was easily my favourite. The conflation of the idea of "No Child Left Behind" with the war in Iraq was so very powerful. Some really intuitive and distubring imagery is imbedded in the video, the icons of our folly in Iraq jarring against the thematic of "child's play."
Below is the video. And below that are the lyrics.
Serj Tankian - Empty Walls
Add to My Profile | More Videos
"Empty Walls" by Serj Tankian
Your empty walls...
Your empty walls...
Pretentious attention
Dismissive aprehension
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
When we decline, from the confines of our mind
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
Those empty walls
When we decline, from the confines of our mind
Don't waste your time, on coffins today
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
Want you to be
Left behind those empty walls
Don't
You see
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
The walls
From behind those empty walls
I loved you, yes
Though they be
For you killed my family
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
Don't you see their bodies burning?
Desolate and full of yearning
Dying of anticipation
Choking from intoxication
I want you
To be
Left behind those empty walls
Told you
To see
From behind those empty walls
Want you to be, left behind those empty walls
Told you
To see
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
From behind those empty walls
Those walls...
Those walls...
Here is a news piece about the new CD's release (comes out tomorrow): http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-serjtankian_1022gl.ART.State.Edition1.425fc19.html
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
By Necessity, a Card-Carrying Member of the DYHFBCIDIB Club
toothpastefordinner.com
This is me for the past few weeks, man. I have been cutting it REALLY close. And I don't think it's for lack of time management, you know? I think I'm just literally DOING TOO MUCH STUFF. But I don't want to let anything go. Like, posting to my blog, for example. I should be reading and creating study questions and preparing for my advising meeting etc right now, but instead I'm catching up on the last few weeks of toothpastefordinner.com comix and marriedtothesea.org comix. Is that wrong? I believe it is not. You've gotta make a little time for fun stuff or you might die and explode, possibly not in that order. Right?
So. That is why I am a card-carrying member this semester of the "Do Your Homework 5 Minutes Before the Class It's Due In Begins" Club. Take that, McCarthy.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Flight Of The Conchords - The Humans Are Dead
Pretty much the best song ever, man.
I can't decide if my favourite part is, "affirmative: i poked one it is dead" or the binary solo....
Sunday, September 23, 2007
What bullshit shall our brains feast upon today?
My, but is has been a while, hasn't it? I am still not REALLY here, as I am amazingly busy with school and home and work. But I was trying to write the proposal for my senior thesis, and one of the sites I was looking at was translated by someone associated with "Tlaxcala, the network of translators for linguistic diversity." I was interested in the idea--and the name, which seemed to be Nahuatl or something like it. So I went to the site and one of the many things there (http://www.tlaxcala.es/default.asp) was a set of cartoons by this guy Kalvellido. I especially liked the one I placed here in my blog.
The word bubble in the panel means, "What do they want us to believe today?"
I often feel like "the powers that be" intend for us to actually stick our heads into the television set like an oven and just broil our brains in the pixels until we have no thoughts of our own left.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Bil’in, Ramallah: June 29, 2007: Two Israeli Demonstrators Arrested
By the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) Media Team
Many internationals and Israelis joined today the Palestinian residents of the village of Bil’in in their weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall and the occupation – and of course in solidarity with Iyad Bornat, who has been arrested since the previous demonstration. As usual, the peaceful demonstrators, among them many children, chanting and holding Palestinian flags, tried to reach the Wall/Fence.
As soon as the first demonstrators arrived at the point of the road where the soldiers had put barbed wire, the soldiers started to shoot tear gas canisters at them. Because of the amount of tear gas, the direction of the wind and the high temperature, the majority of the demonstrators were forced to step back. Two Palestinians, an Israeli and three Internationals managed to stay at the area despite the soldiers bombardment of teargas. A teargas canister nearly hit one of the internationals in the leg.
An Israeli demonstrator, former soldier of Golani battalion, was in the front talking for a long time to the soldiers, through a huge cloud of gas. A Palestinian member of the Popular Committee of Bil’in and an international tried to extinguish a small fire caused by the gas canisters. A few more internationals and Palestinians managed to reach the area. But finally the soldiers attacked the peaceful demonstrators with gas and sound bombs, and they arrested the Israeli demonstrator. Later we were informed that there was also an Israeli woman arrested.
The demonstrators tried several times to step forward again, but they were dispersed with teargas and rubber bullets. Palestinian residents of Bil’in, some of them children, also faced the same treatment while there were trying to collect the gas canisters.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007 with Subtitles
Maybe we should just disband the United States. Kentucky could do all right on its own; we'd just have to repeal that law outlawing hemp cultivation, and we'd be back in the money as our own sovereign nation. That way we can wage war on South Carolina and kill all the stupid people. (except my family, who emigrated there. not native.)
Friday, August 24, 2007
And now for something completely the same
I am trying to cope with the extreme busy-ness of being back in school. I am happy to be here, but for right now, I cannot say anything of Spain, but only put this webcomic up... "entertain us; I feel stupid and contagious."
marriedtothesea.com
marriedtothesea.com
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Home Again, Jiggity Jig
I loaded a few more pics, so see if you can look at these:
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078769&l=a8902&id=38313542
I will write more soon, but for the nonce I am having way to much fun hanging out with my family, loving on my husband, cleaning my house, and trying out my new-found Spanish cuisine on whoever will eat my cooking. I promise to reflect, in writing, veddy soon.
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2078769&l=a8902&id=38313542
I will write more soon, but for the nonce I am having way to much fun hanging out with my family, loving on my husband, cleaning my house, and trying out my new-found Spanish cuisine on whoever will eat my cooking. I promise to reflect, in writing, veddy soon.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Las Fotos de la Vida Española, quizás.
Weeelllllll....
I am almost home, my peoples. I am extremely happy about this prospect, and am sure to write more about Spain in retrospect and in the comfort of my own home, with my American shower and my Mac iBook (baby, I missed you!) wherein I can upload many photos. In the meantime, I had had to stow a few photos on Facebook, who purports to allow public viewings of photo albums. Try it and see. Paste the links below into your browser and see if you can take a look at a few of my photos. Post a comment to let me know if it worked or not, m´kay? Each of the two links goes to a different photo album.
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075252&l=4dbfc&id=38313542
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077498&l=62b95&id=38313542
Yes, you like? Jakshemesh.
I am almost home, my peoples. I am extremely happy about this prospect, and am sure to write more about Spain in retrospect and in the comfort of my own home, with my American shower and my Mac iBook (baby, I missed you!) wherein I can upload many photos. In the meantime, I had had to stow a few photos on Facebook, who purports to allow public viewings of photo albums. Try it and see. Paste the links below into your browser and see if you can take a look at a few of my photos. Post a comment to let me know if it worked or not, m´kay? Each of the two links goes to a different photo album.
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2075252&l=4dbfc&id=38313542
http://louisville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2077498&l=62b95&id=38313542
Yes, you like? Jakshemesh.
Monday, July 23, 2007
La Vida Española Part 4: Barcelona is Catalán for Barcelona
So... I know I said I´d write about Salamanca in this next post, but I think I have to write about Barcelona instead. It´s pretty much the coolest. Well, no, it´s not; it´s really humid and it´s full of people and I had had enough of those 2 things after 48 hours; but the ART! Holy majoly! And, in addition, there was the coolest bookstore I´ve yet seen in Europe. It almost rivals Shakespeare´s in Madison, Wisconsin. Almost.
We--my new friend from the trip, Brittany (from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee) and myself--went to Barcelona Thursday after class (by Renfe train--woo.hoo.) and stayed till midday Sunday, when we headed "home". It´s a curious thing how relieved I was to be back in Segovia; it is home, at least temporarily. At least it´s familiar, and smaller, and friendlier.
Our first full day in Barcelona was spent first at La Sagrada Familia and later at Las Ramblas and the Egyptian Museum. La Sagrada Familia was, without a doubt, the most amazing thing I have seen in Spain, and comes close to being the coolest thing I´ve seen in Europe. It´s absolutely breathtaking. I hope it´s finished before I die so I can go see it. The place was designed by Antonio Gaudí (who is fast becoming one of my most favourite creative minds of all time), who died in a freak trolley (I think) accident shortly after being given charge of the project. The church has now been under construction for 125 years--it is Europe´s Taj Majal, fo´reals. Here are some pictures of the exterior:
This is what the finished church will look like:
Gaudí is known as the master of modernisme, and took his design inspiration from nature. So the inside of the cathedral, for instance, looks like a canopy of trees, when you look up. It´s freaking unbelievable:
We went to the top of the completed spires for an incredible view of Barcelona. Perhaps I´ll be able to post those pictures soon....
We proceeded from La Sagrada Familia to La Pedrera, another building designed by Gaudí that you will all recognize as the emblematic picture of Barcelona (and to some, Spain).
We didn´t go in, but rather continued on down Las Ramblas, which is a series of streets positively FILLED with people, vendors, stores, street performers, music and all manner of diversions. It´s an incredible strip of city. There is an incredible covered open air market popularly called "La Boquería" (Mercat Sant Josep in Catalán, properly) where I actually managed to encounter ORGANIC VEGETARIAN FOOD! Oh happy day! These Arabs ran this booth that sold crepes filled with cous cous, carrots, eggplant, olives, tahini, and every other kind of excellent Mediterranean food you can imagine. It was like being home, eating that stuff again. Ahhh... And at this market there are all these booths selling EVERYTHING, but especially fresh fruit juices (I tried, over the course of two days, Kiwi, Papaya, Mango and Coconut--all fantastic) AND fresh coconut pieces, a whole pack for only €1! It was the best dessert ever. Pretty much. Here´s a picture of the market:
The next day we went to the Parque Güell, which requires it´s own blog entry, fer real. Google-image it and see what happens. It´s freaking unbelievable, and not surprisingly therefore, also designed by Gaudí. We also went to the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona, which was really cool. Outside was a multitdue of skateboard kids making a hel of a racket and using the front of the museum as a skate park, which I thought was pretty cool in a Bohemian kind of way. Inside the museum we only saw the permanent collection, which was inCREDible. Among the highlights were two art films, one Italian and one German, of which I did not watch in their entireties, for fear of driving Brittany out of her mind (not a "contemporary art" kind of gal, but she was very open-minded about the whole thing nonetheless). There was also an incredible slide show piece that was a series of photos from the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Well... I have more to say on Barcelona, but not much money left on my internet time. More to come folks. See you in 11 days!!!!! Woo hoo.
We--my new friend from the trip, Brittany (from Carson-Newman College in Tennessee) and myself--went to Barcelona Thursday after class (by Renfe train--woo.hoo.) and stayed till midday Sunday, when we headed "home". It´s a curious thing how relieved I was to be back in Segovia; it is home, at least temporarily. At least it´s familiar, and smaller, and friendlier.
Our first full day in Barcelona was spent first at La Sagrada Familia and later at Las Ramblas and the Egyptian Museum. La Sagrada Familia was, without a doubt, the most amazing thing I have seen in Spain, and comes close to being the coolest thing I´ve seen in Europe. It´s absolutely breathtaking. I hope it´s finished before I die so I can go see it. The place was designed by Antonio Gaudí (who is fast becoming one of my most favourite creative minds of all time), who died in a freak trolley (I think) accident shortly after being given charge of the project. The church has now been under construction for 125 years--it is Europe´s Taj Majal, fo´reals. Here are some pictures of the exterior:
This is what the finished church will look like:
Gaudí is known as the master of modernisme, and took his design inspiration from nature. So the inside of the cathedral, for instance, looks like a canopy of trees, when you look up. It´s freaking unbelievable:
We went to the top of the completed spires for an incredible view of Barcelona. Perhaps I´ll be able to post those pictures soon....
We proceeded from La Sagrada Familia to La Pedrera, another building designed by Gaudí that you will all recognize as the emblematic picture of Barcelona (and to some, Spain).
We didn´t go in, but rather continued on down Las Ramblas, which is a series of streets positively FILLED with people, vendors, stores, street performers, music and all manner of diversions. It´s an incredible strip of city. There is an incredible covered open air market popularly called "La Boquería" (Mercat Sant Josep in Catalán, properly) where I actually managed to encounter ORGANIC VEGETARIAN FOOD! Oh happy day! These Arabs ran this booth that sold crepes filled with cous cous, carrots, eggplant, olives, tahini, and every other kind of excellent Mediterranean food you can imagine. It was like being home, eating that stuff again. Ahhh... And at this market there are all these booths selling EVERYTHING, but especially fresh fruit juices (I tried, over the course of two days, Kiwi, Papaya, Mango and Coconut--all fantastic) AND fresh coconut pieces, a whole pack for only €1! It was the best dessert ever. Pretty much. Here´s a picture of the market:
The next day we went to the Parque Güell, which requires it´s own blog entry, fer real. Google-image it and see what happens. It´s freaking unbelievable, and not surprisingly therefore, also designed by Gaudí. We also went to the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona, which was really cool. Outside was a multitdue of skateboard kids making a hel of a racket and using the front of the museum as a skate park, which I thought was pretty cool in a Bohemian kind of way. Inside the museum we only saw the permanent collection, which was inCREDible. Among the highlights were two art films, one Italian and one German, of which I did not watch in their entireties, for fear of driving Brittany out of her mind (not a "contemporary art" kind of gal, but she was very open-minded about the whole thing nonetheless). There was also an incredible slide show piece that was a series of photos from the WTO protests in Seattle in 1999. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Well... I have more to say on Barcelona, but not much money left on my internet time. More to come folks. See you in 11 days!!!!! Woo hoo.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
La Vida Española Part 3: La Granja
Soooo... I have been graciously informed by my lovely Spanish professor from UofL that gypsies are rumanas because "many of them come from Romania and their language is Romani or Romany. The theory is that they are originally from India and have migrated westward. That's all Alpha knows on the subject...."
So that´s interesting. P.S., in case you were wondering, this particular professor is
(A) "Alpha" because she is the top-dog (according to her and me and pretty much the whole universe) en cuanto a linguistics and Spanish, and I am the Alpha-in-training, because she was trying to inspire some confidence in me when I took Hispanic Linguistics and was nervous about speaking spontaneously to the class about such a technical subject. She told me to repeat to myself (inside my head) "Who´s the Alpha Dog? I am!" in order to pump myself up and such before talking in front of peeps in Spanish. It has helped, I´ll tell you! and
(B) apparently a reader of my blog (while I´m in Spain at least) which makes me a little chagrined, since I tend to use the curse-words more than a little frequently, with the assumption that the only people reading this already know I´m a pottymouth. Well, now Alpha is in the loop too.
Onwards and upwards... I went to La Granja today. It is a royal palace and gardens that look like this:
Here is a website about it for those of you who read Spanish, and for those of you who don´t, there are still some cool pictures! http://www.rurismo.com/pueblo/pueblo.asp?poblacion=8777
It was incredibly beautiful, and is only about 20 minutes by bus from Segovia--a busride which costs a mere €1.08, I´ll have you know. La Granja is gorgeous: filled with acres of hedges and flowers and statues and statuaries, not to mention the incredible palace--fully appointed--and the breathtaking mountians in the background. The place (yes, I meant place, not p-a-lace) was built in the early 18th century (that´s the 1700s, you guys) by Felipe V (which we say en español "Felipe Quinto," which sounds funny said aloud and amuses me, although not as much as Carlos Quinto. That´s just hilarious. Ah, the alliteration...). This is what his rich, sissy ass looked like:
OMG, I´m so glad the 18th century is over. Except for the gardens, of course, which were so much more amazing than the palace, as beautiful as the palace was. I think I´ll go back for a second gander in the gardens, because there is a hedge maze I didn´t get to see, and lots and lots of artwork in the forest that I didn´t have time for, either. Plus, now I have a bus schedule, so I don´t have to worry about getting stuck and having to walk 20 miles and then getting sun stroke and dying. And all because I wanted to walk in a hedge maze.
In other news, classes are fine. I love my professor (singular, because I dropped the theatre class, but that´s a story for another post), and I love the subject, and I love being able to walk in and around and on and through the subject. It´s good to be here while studying "here" as a topic. Spain has so much history, and so much culture, and it´s just amazing. My señora told me they found human remains from Roman times underneath the city when they were constructing a parking garage a few years ago. And I´m sure it´s not the first time; Spain has had people in it for like at least 4,000 years. It´s freaking amazing. The Phoenicians came here a bajillion years ago and the iberocelts were already like, "Wassup, homies? You want to grow some olives here? That´s cool. We got this whole sheep raising thing going on, but whatevs. Oh, and you have wine! That´s a neat idea. You guys can hang with us, but you have to worship bulls. Okay?" And it just got crazier from there, I tell you. It´s so cool.
Also, next time I´m writing about Salamanca, which--I have decided--is one of the coolest places I´ve ever been. Hope y´all are well. Happy July.
So that´s interesting. P.S., in case you were wondering, this particular professor is
(A) "Alpha" because she is the top-dog (according to her and me and pretty much the whole universe) en cuanto a linguistics and Spanish, and I am the Alpha-in-training, because she was trying to inspire some confidence in me when I took Hispanic Linguistics and was nervous about speaking spontaneously to the class about such a technical subject. She told me to repeat to myself (inside my head) "Who´s the Alpha Dog? I am!" in order to pump myself up and such before talking in front of peeps in Spanish. It has helped, I´ll tell you! and
(B) apparently a reader of my blog (while I´m in Spain at least) which makes me a little chagrined, since I tend to use the curse-words more than a little frequently, with the assumption that the only people reading this already know I´m a pottymouth. Well, now Alpha is in the loop too.
Onwards and upwards... I went to La Granja today. It is a royal palace and gardens that look like this:
Here is a website about it for those of you who read Spanish, and for those of you who don´t, there are still some cool pictures! http://www.rurismo.com/pueblo/pueblo.asp?poblacion=8777It was incredibly beautiful, and is only about 20 minutes by bus from Segovia--a busride which costs a mere €1.08, I´ll have you know. La Granja is gorgeous: filled with acres of hedges and flowers and statues and statuaries, not to mention the incredible palace--fully appointed--and the breathtaking mountians in the background. The place (yes, I meant place, not p-a-lace) was built in the early 18th century (that´s the 1700s, you guys) by Felipe V (which we say en español "Felipe Quinto," which sounds funny said aloud and amuses me, although not as much as Carlos Quinto. That´s just hilarious. Ah, the alliteration...). This is what his rich, sissy ass looked like:
OMG, I´m so glad the 18th century is over. Except for the gardens, of course, which were so much more amazing than the palace, as beautiful as the palace was. I think I´ll go back for a second gander in the gardens, because there is a hedge maze I didn´t get to see, and lots and lots of artwork in the forest that I didn´t have time for, either. Plus, now I have a bus schedule, so I don´t have to worry about getting stuck and having to walk 20 miles and then getting sun stroke and dying. And all because I wanted to walk in a hedge maze.
In other news, classes are fine. I love my professor (singular, because I dropped the theatre class, but that´s a story for another post), and I love the subject, and I love being able to walk in and around and on and through the subject. It´s good to be here while studying "here" as a topic. Spain has so much history, and so much culture, and it´s just amazing. My señora told me they found human remains from Roman times underneath the city when they were constructing a parking garage a few years ago. And I´m sure it´s not the first time; Spain has had people in it for like at least 4,000 years. It´s freaking amazing. The Phoenicians came here a bajillion years ago and the iberocelts were already like, "Wassup, homies? You want to grow some olives here? That´s cool. We got this whole sheep raising thing going on, but whatevs. Oh, and you have wine! That´s a neat idea. You guys can hang with us, but you have to worship bulls. Okay?" And it just got crazier from there, I tell you. It´s so cool.
Also, next time I´m writing about Salamanca, which--I have decided--is one of the coolest places I´ve ever been. Hope y´all are well. Happy July.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Putas Rumanas; or La Vida Española, Part 2
Fucking gypsies.
That´s right; you people all heard me; I got robbed! ROBBED, I tell you! What a bunch o´crap. Don´t you all worry; I´m okay.
I should back up, and tell you what transpired.
So. We arrived in Segovia yesterday (Friday) midday from Madrid, a mere hour bus ride. My señora, Amparo, picked me up at the bus station and took me to her beautiful flat near the Plaza Mayor from which one can see the Cathedral looming large. It is simply perfect. Amparo is pretty much the nicest Spanish woman ever (but then again, aren´t they all?); she lives alone with one very friendly cat named Boni (like as in pretty); she has one son who is in his twenties and lives in London (or Londres, as they say in español). She works in a travel agency and she is just so nice. And she makes great food. For lunch (el comer) she made a salad with just iceberg lettuce and tomato, but then she added little slivers of watermelon, and then salt and olive oil. It was so awesomely awesome.
Aaaaaaanyway, after we ate, I took a little siesta, having had almost no sleep the night before (it´s almost impossible to sleep without my husband). I woke up with the breeze coming in my window, the cat staring at me from my desk, and all seemed right with the world. So I went out and walked down to the aqueduct where I met up with the rest of the group. My professors gave us a great tour of Segovia, from the Alcázar (the castle where Isabel and Ferdinand lived and the real inspiration for Walt Disney´s princess castle--contrary to the popular legend that his castle was inspired by Neuschwannstein (dunno if I spelled that correctly) in Germany) to the aqueduct. It was extremely hot, but in Spain one just sort of ignores the heat in favor of more alluring foci of attention, like refrescos, and frescoes, and old buildings, and synogogues, and churches, and shops, and chocolate, and coffee (which my señora has in abundance, thanks be to God!), and all that.
After the tour, some of the other chicas on the trip that I am becoming friends with and I decided to take a little break and sit in a café. I split a chocolate ice cream with my friend, Brittney, and we just chilled, about 8 of us.
After the tasty break, we took a stroll past this feria de libros, or open air book fair. I was really jazzed because I thought I might find some cheaper books there (books are expensive in Spain, by and large). I was at the booth of this woman who was selling children´s books, mostly. I was asking her a question when this little girl, no more than 13 years old, kind of sidled up to me and bumped into me, trying to look at some teeny-bopper looking shit in the booth. I looked at her when she brushed me, and she turned away. I continued asking my question to the dueña (shopkeeper).
Aaaaanyway, not more than two minutes later, I had turned away from the booth and we were walking back towards the aqueduct. All of a sudden I noticed that my little purse was sticking out a little bit from the top of my bigger purse, and I suddenly had this drop in my stomach with the sudden knowledge that someone had been in my purse. And I checked to see that my wallet was still there and--big surprise--that little gypsy punk girl had stolen it right out of my zipped purse. She had tried to take the other little purse in there too (containing only incidentals--toiletries and the like), but hadn´t been able to fit it through the little opening she had made when she managed to wheedle my zipper open a little. ¡Puta verdadera! In Segovia they call these girls rumanos; I´m not sure exactly why, but it means gypsy/transient. Anyway, all she got was some Listerine breathmints, about €25 cash, my ATM Fifth-Third card, my driver´s license (which is about to expire anyway), my student ID card from UofL as well as the International one. So I borrowed some money from one of the other girls, went to this internet café, found the number of the bank, called the bank, cancelled the ATM card, went back online to get the PIN number for my other (UofL) card, went to the ATM and got out more cash with my UofL debit card. Fortunately, my passport was back at home with my extra credit cards. The only thing truly lost was my international student ID card. So no more museum discounts. Boo. And I´ll have to get a new UofL student ID, which costs $3 or something. And I had to get a new driver´s license anyway, so whatevs.
Anyway. Thus concludes the tale of my first 9 hours in Segovia. How ironic it is that I spent all week in Madrid (gigantic city with more people, crime, danger, whatever) without any problem, and as soon as I get to Segovia, I get my sorry ass robbed. Sonuvabitch. Furthermore, how many freaking countries have I been to, with nary a problem? I guess it was just my time. It could´ve been worse. I´m glad I didn´t lose my passport. Qué será, será, and all that.
Well. Since then, everything has been uphill. (This is funny if you know Segovia, wherein everything literally is either uphill or downhill--great for the gams and thighs, eh? Not to mention the glutes.) As I said, my señora is really wonderful and is going to try to find Brittney (remember: ice cream friend) and me a cheap hostel that is nice and safe in Barcelona when we go on our long weekend right before my birthday (our free travel weekend is July 19-23). Since she´s a travel agent, Amparo has a nice hook-up in Barcelona who can help us out, hopefully. And she likes me a lot because my Spanish is good and she can tell I´m smart. And I like her because I can tell she is smart, and elegant, and motherly. She gave me an umbrella to use today because it rained! How thoughtful. Which was awesome because it was stiflingly hot earlier. I went out with two other friends, Vanessa (from Cincinnati!) and Andrea, at 10 am and we walked all the way around Segovia like three times. At about noon, noon-thirty we stopped to have a Coke in the Plaza Mayor, and it was SO BRIGHT. And HOT. We returned to our homes in time for lunch at 2:30 (I went home a little early) and right after I got home it started pouring rain. The wind was pretty fierce too, and Amparo was late getting home because she got stuck in a store during the downpour. When we did eat at about 3:15, we had these awesome grilled-cheese-sandwiches-crossed-with-french-toast kind of things. I´m totally making them when I get home.
We will have dinner at 9:30, which is actually kind of early for Spaniards. But Amparo likes to go out for long walks at night, so maybe I´ll go with her tonight. Or maybe I´ll stay in and do the copious amounts of homework that I still have. Hmm...
I miss you all so much. I hope you are doing well. I will try to figure out if I can upload pictures at this internet café, so you can see what Segovia looks like.
That´s right; you people all heard me; I got robbed! ROBBED, I tell you! What a bunch o´crap. Don´t you all worry; I´m okay.
I should back up, and tell you what transpired.
So. We arrived in Segovia yesterday (Friday) midday from Madrid, a mere hour bus ride. My señora, Amparo, picked me up at the bus station and took me to her beautiful flat near the Plaza Mayor from which one can see the Cathedral looming large. It is simply perfect. Amparo is pretty much the nicest Spanish woman ever (but then again, aren´t they all?); she lives alone with one very friendly cat named Boni (like as in pretty); she has one son who is in his twenties and lives in London (or Londres, as they say in español). She works in a travel agency and she is just so nice. And she makes great food. For lunch (el comer) she made a salad with just iceberg lettuce and tomato, but then she added little slivers of watermelon, and then salt and olive oil. It was so awesomely awesome.
Aaaaaaanyway, after we ate, I took a little siesta, having had almost no sleep the night before (it´s almost impossible to sleep without my husband). I woke up with the breeze coming in my window, the cat staring at me from my desk, and all seemed right with the world. So I went out and walked down to the aqueduct where I met up with the rest of the group. My professors gave us a great tour of Segovia, from the Alcázar (the castle where Isabel and Ferdinand lived and the real inspiration for Walt Disney´s princess castle--contrary to the popular legend that his castle was inspired by Neuschwannstein (dunno if I spelled that correctly) in Germany) to the aqueduct. It was extremely hot, but in Spain one just sort of ignores the heat in favor of more alluring foci of attention, like refrescos, and frescoes, and old buildings, and synogogues, and churches, and shops, and chocolate, and coffee (which my señora has in abundance, thanks be to God!), and all that.
After the tour, some of the other chicas on the trip that I am becoming friends with and I decided to take a little break and sit in a café. I split a chocolate ice cream with my friend, Brittney, and we just chilled, about 8 of us.
After the tasty break, we took a stroll past this feria de libros, or open air book fair. I was really jazzed because I thought I might find some cheaper books there (books are expensive in Spain, by and large). I was at the booth of this woman who was selling children´s books, mostly. I was asking her a question when this little girl, no more than 13 years old, kind of sidled up to me and bumped into me, trying to look at some teeny-bopper looking shit in the booth. I looked at her when she brushed me, and she turned away. I continued asking my question to the dueña (shopkeeper).
Aaaaanyway, not more than two minutes later, I had turned away from the booth and we were walking back towards the aqueduct. All of a sudden I noticed that my little purse was sticking out a little bit from the top of my bigger purse, and I suddenly had this drop in my stomach with the sudden knowledge that someone had been in my purse. And I checked to see that my wallet was still there and--big surprise--that little gypsy punk girl had stolen it right out of my zipped purse. She had tried to take the other little purse in there too (containing only incidentals--toiletries and the like), but hadn´t been able to fit it through the little opening she had made when she managed to wheedle my zipper open a little. ¡Puta verdadera! In Segovia they call these girls rumanos; I´m not sure exactly why, but it means gypsy/transient. Anyway, all she got was some Listerine breathmints, about €25 cash, my ATM Fifth-Third card, my driver´s license (which is about to expire anyway), my student ID card from UofL as well as the International one. So I borrowed some money from one of the other girls, went to this internet café, found the number of the bank, called the bank, cancelled the ATM card, went back online to get the PIN number for my other (UofL) card, went to the ATM and got out more cash with my UofL debit card. Fortunately, my passport was back at home with my extra credit cards. The only thing truly lost was my international student ID card. So no more museum discounts. Boo. And I´ll have to get a new UofL student ID, which costs $3 or something. And I had to get a new driver´s license anyway, so whatevs.
Anyway. Thus concludes the tale of my first 9 hours in Segovia. How ironic it is that I spent all week in Madrid (gigantic city with more people, crime, danger, whatever) without any problem, and as soon as I get to Segovia, I get my sorry ass robbed. Sonuvabitch. Furthermore, how many freaking countries have I been to, with nary a problem? I guess it was just my time. It could´ve been worse. I´m glad I didn´t lose my passport. Qué será, será, and all that.
Well. Since then, everything has been uphill. (This is funny if you know Segovia, wherein everything literally is either uphill or downhill--great for the gams and thighs, eh? Not to mention the glutes.) As I said, my señora is really wonderful and is going to try to find Brittney (remember: ice cream friend) and me a cheap hostel that is nice and safe in Barcelona when we go on our long weekend right before my birthday (our free travel weekend is July 19-23). Since she´s a travel agent, Amparo has a nice hook-up in Barcelona who can help us out, hopefully. And she likes me a lot because my Spanish is good and she can tell I´m smart. And I like her because I can tell she is smart, and elegant, and motherly. She gave me an umbrella to use today because it rained! How thoughtful. Which was awesome because it was stiflingly hot earlier. I went out with two other friends, Vanessa (from Cincinnati!) and Andrea, at 10 am and we walked all the way around Segovia like three times. At about noon, noon-thirty we stopped to have a Coke in the Plaza Mayor, and it was SO BRIGHT. And HOT. We returned to our homes in time for lunch at 2:30 (I went home a little early) and right after I got home it started pouring rain. The wind was pretty fierce too, and Amparo was late getting home because she got stuck in a store during the downpour. When we did eat at about 3:15, we had these awesome grilled-cheese-sandwiches-crossed-with-french-toast kind of things. I´m totally making them when I get home.
We will have dinner at 9:30, which is actually kind of early for Spaniards. But Amparo likes to go out for long walks at night, so maybe I´ll go with her tonight. Or maybe I´ll stay in and do the copious amounts of homework that I still have. Hmm...
I miss you all so much. I hope you are doing well. I will try to figure out if I can upload pictures at this internet café, so you can see what Segovia looks like.
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