viernes, 29 de junio de 2012

Howling and Drooling



The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me down to lie
Through pastures green he leadeth me the silent waters by
With bright knives he releaseth my soul
He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places
He converteth me to lamb cutlets
For lo, he hath great power and great hunger
When cometh the day we lowly ones
Through quiet reflection and great dedication
Master the art of karate
Lo, we shall rise up
And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water
-Pink Floyd


  • Germany crashes out of the Euros to Italy and i lose €10 - Boo.
  • The new health care law is found constitutional. - Woo hoo! Teddy Roosevelt tried reform healthcare and make it universal in 1912. FDR tried again in 1933. Clinton tried in 1993 but that was about as popular as receiving a blow job from an intern in the Oval Office. And in 2012 Obama has finally done it. Thank you Mr. President. I can return to my country now. + The fucking Mitt-Witt says he will repeal it when he is elected. Fuck, Mitt Romney. Don't you have to go beat up on some defenseless gay teenager teenager? Yeah, that's who i want as our president. 
  • It's only 88 F today. It feels so cool!

miércoles, 27 de junio de 2012

Hotter Than Hell

14:23
Too hot! Too hot! My dear sweet internal organs have liquefied. It'll be 100 F by 17:00. Make it stop! I've already had 3 bottles of water or Gatorade, a cup of coffee and a glass of OJ. Cry me a river cuz i'm floating away....

Safe-Wording Out

Martes
14:38


An artist's rendition of Madrid at 19:00 this evening






It's going to be 104F today. 2 classes canceled. Vicky and i could have edited had i known. Stick a fork in me cause i am done. 6 weeks. I believe the safe word is "USA." 


Music to melt by:
Clockwork Angels - Rush
A life within a Day - Squackett
Oceania - Smashing Pumpkins
The Incident - Porcupine Tree
Misplaced Childhood - Marillion
Somewhere Else - Marillion


Way to go Spain fans! They've just been cited by FIFA for racist behavior, which has been an enormous problem this Euro Cup. FIFA preaches about "Zero tolerance for racism," and then they let two countries with notoriously racist  supporters (Poland/Ukraine) host the Euro Cup. And more than half of the matches have been played in the rain. Good job FIFA!


from ESPN; 
The charges follow reports that monkey noises were directed by Spain fans at Italy forward Mario Balotelli.


Seriously? Could you imagine if that ever happened in the US?!


I'm thinking that Europe hopeless. I love Europe but they just don't get it. Maybe FIFA will have to start hanging signs at stadium entry gates;


No Alcohol
No Weapons
Before Entering, Please Remove Your Head from your Ass
Compliance with the following is mandatory




lunes, 25 de junio de 2012

Hell on Earth / Bilbao / San Sebastian

Hell on Earth






When i got home at 22:15 it was 33C in my room. That's 91.5F. It was 20C when we left Bilbao at 10:00. The bus had showed the outside temp. It kept rising until outside of Madrid and it was 37C  (98.6F.) It's 23:05 and it's 95F. The high was 102F. Manana 104F. Just kill me now. No AC, just a fan.


So i got off the bus at 15:10 and ran home and then taught class at 16:00 and at 17:30. Then I stopped by J&J's cause i can't be in my room from 16:00 to 22:00 when it's like this cause that's when the sun hits the windows. I had one beer. Agua is the way when it's like this. 


Bilbao
It was so much cooler up north. It was great. SO GREEN! We went to the Guggenheim Museum which was fantastic.


We watched Spain beat France (it was an ass kicking.) Spain scored and Vicky and i cheered. We were the only ones. It was bizarre. This is the Pais Vasco (the Basque Country.) They don't consider themselves Spanish. It is a very complicated story and frankly, quite odd. 


San Sebastian




We took a day trip to San Sebastian on the Atlantic Ocean! We took off our shoes and walked along the beach in the water. It was beautiful. San Sebastian is just gorgeous. I've now dipped at least my feet in the Atlantic from North America, Africa and Europe. It's a big freaking ocean. 


The Welsh Witch and i had a great time. It was just amazing. And now i can say good-bye to Spain. And to her, i guess, as well, in a way. We have another project mapped out to work on after the Buying New Soul edit is done, but it'll be different. We see each other a lot. She's become my best friend here. 


All that you can do is wish them well
-Rush

jueves, 21 de junio de 2012

Burnin' for you

20:15






Leroy Neiman died today. He was a great painter of sports figures. I remember Burger King giving out posters of his during the Olympics in the 70's.


Does anyone still watch the Olympics? I don't like prepubescent girls in sexual poses. Swimming is boring as hell. Maybe they will actually show soccer because i am in Spain. They don't in the US. And they NEVER show fencing. A**holes


It's hotter than hell. I can't stay hydrated. I can't eat. Just Gatorade and water. I know it's hot in the Northeast too, and i feel your pain, i do. 


I'll pack later. I am looking forward to the coolness of the north. We'll take the bus. It takes like 4 hours. 






I'm going to be out of the blog loop til i come home on Monday, most likely. Good food. Just hang out with the Welsh Witch and chill for a bit. It's been a very long school year and will be a hectic summer. But finally, after what seems like forever, i am coming home. I am so ready to come home. 


I hate summer here. 

like any other day

Cut off my fingers in the door of my car
How could I do it?
My wife is proud to tell me
Of her love affairs
How could she do this to me?

My wife has burned the scrambled eggs
The dog just bit my leg
My teenage daughter ran away
My fine young son has turned out gay
And it would be O.K. on any other day
And it would be O.K. on any other day

-The Police


  • Spain's borrowing costs hit an all time high
  • UConn is banned from tournament play because their players can't read. Well done, UConn.
  • The state of CT just started a 3 year Norwalk highway project 7 weeks before i move to CT.
No more, please! I think the safe word is kangaroo. 

Kangaroooooooooooooooooooooooooo!


miércoles, 20 de junio de 2012

Hoping Brazil gets crushed in the next world cup



Hot as hell. I hate summer in Madrid. All i do is sweat. 


Today i turn my ire towards South America, and Brazil. Maracondes is from Brazil. He's so loud and speaks like a 7 year old in the worst Spanish imaginable. He talks out loud to himself. There is no doubt in my mind that Annie, at this moment,  is already smarter than he and Eduardo put together. He was supposed to have moved to London by now to work, but i have come to the conclusion that it is all a lie. First he told me June. Then he said, "no, July." Now it is August. Both he and Edward are compulsive and pathological liars. I don't think the moron is ever going to England, even though our house has been flooded with clothing and glasses that all have the Union Jack on them. How could someone with no education and no marketable skills get a work permit for England? To do cleaning work? They are the strictest country in the whole EU. And he can't speak a single fucking word of English. The only reason i wish they were heterosexual is that then i would be justified in offing them in the name of strengthening the gene pool before i leave. But once again, i am out of luck.


Friday, my Editor and i are off to Bilbao in the north for the weekend. Basque Country. 52F at night. I can't wait!

martes, 19 de junio de 2012

All's Queasy on the European Front...

New Democracy won in Greece. They are pro-bailout. Now if they can finally form a government and get a majority, Greece will have a government. For fuck's sake! Are you kidding me? Europe is a disaster area. Then we find out what happens with Spain and Italy (the real five letter swear word in this charade of financial incompetence.)


Laura, Tim and i were watching the Euro games on Sunday. UEFA has a new tie-breaking system which is baffling and there were several different opinions on who would advance if either x, y or z happened. I turned to Laura and said "Is it any wonder the Euro Zone is a wreck when they can't even come up with a clear tie-breaker for the European Cup."


"No." She said. "It's not a surprise at all. It's just sad."


What has Europe giving to the world?



  1. Colonialism has destroyed the world. See the Caribbean, Africa, South America, Asia, etc.
  2. Two World Wars. A botched Treaty of Versailles that ensured another world war. The rise of dictators and radical governments (Mussolini, Hitler.) These two conflicts are seen by some historians as one 31-year war, often refered to as the European self-mutilation.  Certainly these 2 conflicts define the 20th century. I often consider myself fortunate that we all won't be around to see the 22nd century. Excepting, of course, the party that will be 2112!
  3. And now the Euro currency debacle. 

Kim Stanley Robinson wrote a book called The Year's of Rice and Salt, where the black plague has killed 99% of Europe and it is the East that influences the world. Sometimes it doesn't sound like a bad idea. But i suppose that pretty much the same thing would have happened. The Japanese rape of Nanking and suppression of Manchuria and Korea were horrifying and despicable. 

But 7 weeks from manana, i retreat back to the New World. And not soon enough.

Ugh! Too serious. Most stop my brain from thinking. Hello Bender Tuesday!

domingo, 17 de junio de 2012

broken-hearted

Prometheus was horrible. It was hard to follow. There was so much secrecy about the plot before it was released. There is a plot, but it went nowhere and answers nothing. You broke my heart Ridley Scott, you broke my heart.


Meet my editor at 14:30. Then football at 20:45.

sábado, 16 de junio de 2012

Quiz Bastard

Well, I was the Quiz Master (quiz bastard) at J&J on Friday, for the first time ever. It was a blast. The categories were international football, rock and roll, film and lit. and history. When Carla heard i was doing the quiz she started studying up on progressive rock and it helped her get the question about Robert Fripp being in King Crimson. It was a very fun night. I got home at 7:00am


Yesterday was Frippy's Bday. He would have been 13. Happy birthday boy. And happy birthday to his brother, Mulligan. 


Vicky and i edited a lot on Friday. More manana. We are 38% done. Woo hoo!


Now i am going to start watching Prometheus. I loved Alien. Scared the pee pout of Mel and i. I think we called her Missy back then.

jueves, 14 de junio de 2012

Euro Cup, round 2

All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
Of a miracle too good to be true
All I know is that sometimes the truth is contrary
Everything in life you thought you knew
All I know is that sometimes you have to be wary
’Cause sometimes the target is you
-Rush

Euro Cup 2012 - Poland/Ukraine
Germany beat the Netherlands and should be moving on in their group. I put €10 on them to win the whole thing. Sports betting is legal in Europe. 

Spain must win tonight vs. Ireland or they will be in danger of not advancing. 

Lastly, the new Rush album is mind boggling.

miércoles, 13 de junio de 2012

here's looking at you...

No class til 15:30 manana. So i will say hola to all of ye. I am listening to Pink Floyd at Pompeii.  It's brilliant. Influenced me in a lot of ways. I felt more able to experiment but keep to the basics; and always keep good time. 


But all is well. It was cool the last 3 days so that is glorious. The high yesterday was 73F! At some point it will get hot and never stop until September. 


The new Rush album is amazing. Dense and heavy. It will take a lot more time for me to digest it, which is what i love about great progressive rock. 


Mel and i have been seeing Rush together every tour since 1983. We've been going to shows for 29 years! And we'll go again this October. 29 years? How did my sweet baby sister get so old, while i've aged hardly a day?

martes, 12 de junio de 2012

the simple things

A rare Bender Tuesday post. It was very small, since last week was insane, but those are often the best. And now my pants are off, so all is well. 

lunes, 11 de junio de 2012

Squackett


I can't stop thinking big
I can't stop thinking big
In a world where I feel so small
I can’t stop thinking big


-Rush


13:41

I am listening to the new Squackett album, A Life Within A Day, The first collaboration between Steve Hackett (Genesis) and Chris Squire (Yes.) I am pleasantly surprised. I don't expect much of new Hackett stuff these days, just because the production sounds the same as it did in 80's. And while it's not very proggy, there's some interesting stuff. 

Also cool is Neil Young's Americana, which is he and Crazy Horse re-working old classics such as O' Susannah, Clementine and She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain. It's in your face, grinding rock and roll. I like it. 

So just a slew of interesting releases here in early June. 

Wow, some of this Squackett stuff is quite interesting. It's a bit edgier than Hackett's last few albums. And of course it doesn't hurt to be playing with one of the best bassists of all time. 


The Fucket List 

Finish editing Buying New Soul with Vicky 

Ride the Teleferico  
Lunch by the lake at the Uruguayan Barbecue
Watch my last Euro Cup while i live here
Beers by the statue of Ángel caído
Visit North of Spain

domingo, 10 de junio de 2012

The Fucket List





Edited for a few hours with Vicky on Fri. Then i went to a going away party for some Canadian friends who are moving back to Canada (Alberta.)


I have created a Fucket List, the things i need to do before i leave Madrid. i crossed two things off the list yesterday with the Welsh Witch. We went to Casa de Campo and road the Telefrico, a tram that goes over the park and gives you a great view of the city. Then we had lunch by the lake (lago.) Fried murcilla (blood sausage) and then a great steak. 


Then watched DEN upset HOL in the Euro Cup. That was huge. And Germany beat Portugal, 1 - 0. Tonight Spain plays Italy. The Ireland plays Croatia. But first, more editing.


Editing the novel is number 1 on my Fucket List. 


I am listening to the new Rush album, Clockwork Angels, even though the release date isn't until the 12th. Welcome to the brave new world of the Internet. I've listened to it this weekend and i like it. It's massive and dense and there are a few songs that i can't even grasp yet. That's a good sign for a progressive rock album. Watch can be baffling at the beginning can later still hold my interest years later after dozens of listenings. This new album covers a lot of ground. It's the 1st time they've told a story over an entire album. 





Thank your stars you're not that way 
 Turn your back and walk away
 Don't even pause and ask them why 
 Turn around and say goodbye 


 All that you can do is wish them well 
 All that you can do is wish them well 
 All that you can do is wish them well
-Rush

jueves, 7 de junio de 2012

Earthshine

Over 15,000 page views. Mierda Santa (holy shit!)


Work at 9:00 til 14:00. 


Then edit with the Welsh Witch. 


Then it doesn't matter.


























Has anyone seen my f#*king pants???!!!!

And the days go by....

She said luck is what you make it
you just reach out and take it.
Now let's dance a while.

She said nothing ever happens
if you don't make it happen.
And if you can't laugh, then smile.

But after a while
you realize time flies.
And the best thing that you can do
is take whatever comes to you.
'Cuz time flies.

And laughing in the summer showers
that's still the way I see you now.
-Porcupine Tree


As you might have guessed, the world did not end. Apologies to all my Mayan friends for calling them out and questioning the date. Perdona.


The Bender Birthday was epic. There were streamers, a cake made of pastry, at least 40 people in and out. It was great. Then we went to Barbaroi where we hung out for another hour and a half and listened to some prog rock.  


It was as Kevin wrote me "..worthy of being chronicled in a 20 minute anthem by Rush" which is said by Bender in an episode. 


They made me a card and everyone wrote something inside. It was really cool. It's like a little timecapsule. 




RIP Ray Bradbury. Farenheit 451 was amazing. Truly amazing. Way the f*^k ahead of it's time. 


The Euro Cup starts on Friday. 


Kevin's birthday is on Saturday


I will be two months away from leaving. 


Time flies. 

lunes, 4 de junio de 2012

The Apocalypse in 6/5

The game was great. Real Madrid won 3-2 and Figo had a killer goal that was buried in the upper right corner. 


Gonna have drinks with John King and Norman tonight. Got to swing by and say good-bye to Carolyn beforehand. Busy, busy. And then manana is Bender Birthday. The police have let me know that they will have police in riot gear out in Mala Sana for Bender Tuesday Apocalypse. Could it be that the Mayans had the right year but the wrong date? Priests and nuns are keeping a 24 hour vigil. Mahou has stocked with J&J's with twice the number of cases of beer. If it's the end of the world, i am ready.

domingo, 3 de junio de 2012

Abre la Puerta

15:57




Abre la puerta niña
Que el día va a comenzar
Se marchan todos los sueños
Que pena da despertar.

Por la mañana amanece
La vida y una ilusión
Deseos que se retuercen
Muy dentro del corazón.

- Triana


Translation: 
Open the door girl 
That the day will begin 
They leave all the dreams 
It's time for awakening. 

Morning dawns 
Life and illusion 
Desires that twist 
Deep within the heart.


I saw John King and his friend norman. They are in Madrid this weekend, so John, Norman, Vicky and i all went out. It was great to catch up. Today they are in Toledo. 


Last night was Carolyn's big good-bye party. It was fun. Crazy, as always. Jesus was there looking like a statue. He looked very uncomfortable. I found it amusing. 


Tonight Vicky and I are going to the Corazon (Heart) for Africa match between Real Madrid and Manchester United. An old timers game with Zidane and Figo. Two legends. 


It's June. The busy season. I will be 44 on Tuesday. This is will be my 6th birthday in Madrid, and the last for a while. Five and a half years. I was telling John King about how Sue and i lived in Northern VA and and how i got my MBA in 2004. And then i thought, that's almost ten years ago! Crazy.

viernes, 1 de junio de 2012

Now i roast me down to sleep...





Hot, hot, hotter than hell
You know she's gonna leave you well done
Hot, hot, hotter than hell
Burn you like the midday sun

-Kiss


Books I read May 20121

The Lifeboat - Charlotte Rogan
Kill the Dead (Sandman Slim 2) - Richard Kadrey
Tik Tok - John Sladek
The Postman - David Brin
The Dead and the Gone - Susan Beth Pfeffer (last survivors 2)
This world we live in (last survivors 3) - Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Lifeboat was good, about survivors at sea after a shipwreck in 1914.) It's fiction. Quite good.

Tik Tok is about a robot who rebels. Futurama's Bender was influenced by this character. It was awesome. "Kiss my copper-plated ass, you shitbag."

The Postman is oustanding. Post-apocalyptic. Way better than the idiotic film Kevin Costner did in 1997. 

Also post-apocalyptic and gripping as hell were the last two books of The Last Survivors trilogy.  I read the first one a few weeks ago. I cannot say enough about them. Deals with some terrifying things, but the fact that it's written for young adults means it doesn't go too far. Kind of like The Hunger Games

I ♡ my Kindle. I can find anything i want even though i am in Madrid. 


€ Watch
Spain is now considered the epicenter of Euro crisis. Has something to do with Bankia asking for €30B .I knew it was coming. I am leaving at the right time. Adios Espana. Que casi no te conocí (good-by Spain, we hardly knew ye.) Is it really any wonder my reading list has been full of post-apocalyptic novels?

And it's hot. Broiling hot. It's 93F. It's only June 1st!