martes, 31 de julio de 2012

Closer to Home

The Last Bender Tuesday


I'm getting closer to my home
-Grand Funk Railroad


Playlist:
Alchemy - Dire Straits
Alladin Sane - David Bowie
Pack up the Plantation - Tom Petty
Communique - Dire Straits
Dire Straits - Dire Straits


+The US Postal Service is set to run out of money next year. That won't be problematic.  
+I am returning to my home continent in 8 days. The US government has not informed me that they have any problem with this, to date.
+Much laundry done lately and i am now about to seperate stuff into 2 piles; a) what i will bring b) the much larger what i will donate pile. 
+Have not been sleeping well at all. My mind is tapestry of cobwebs.


I said goob-bye to another student yesterday, one of my 1st private one's who refered me so many people. It was very emmotional. I think August will be a very emmotional month. Good-byes and hellos.





lunes, 30 de julio de 2012

don't look back

Books i read in July:


First Blood - David Morrell
The Naked Edge - David Morrell
After the Apocalypse (short stories) - Maureen F. McHugh
Black Lung Captain (Tales of the Ketty Jay 2) - Chris Wooding
Savages - Don Winslow
Logan's Run - William F. Nolan


Great lunch with Amanda and Ale. Sad to say good-bye to all of these people. But there's really isn't anything left for me here. It's time to bug out of here. The die is cast. There is no turning back.


domingo, 29 de julio de 2012

Let the games begin...

14:04
Creepy Bobby Wenlock                                                            


Sabado



If I were a rich man,
Yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum.
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum.
If I were a wealthy man.
I wouldn't have to work hard.
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
If I were a biddy biddy rich,
Idle-diddle-daidle-daidle man.
-Fiddler on the Roof



I have a list of things to do the size of my schlong. Well, maybe not that big, but fucking long.


Clean. Pack. Sell drums. Get recommendations. Send CVs. 


And i was looking at self publishing sites today. Maybe i'll just ePub it. It may be the way to go given the somewhat hard-hitting yet surreal nature for the novel. Time will tell. I could market it through Facebook, Amazon etc, The Fairfield Alumni Assoc., George Washington U Alumni assoc., viral porn sites. Stuff like that. 


If you should go skating

On the thin ice of modern life

Dragging behind you the silent reproach

Of a million tear-stained eyes

Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice

Appears under your feet.
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice.
-Pink Floyd

I'm such a drama queen!

But seriously, my life is in total flux. Hence lsitening to a lot of Pink Floyd.

Playlist:
A Life Within a Day - Squackett
Message in a Box (disc 1) - The Police
...Laid to Rest - Frequency Drift
The Final Cut - Pink Floyd
The Wall - Pink Floyd

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19015278 The Romulan proves once again that he is a horse's ass!

17:48

I am at J&Js. It was too hot at home. I am editing. Always editing. 


Domingo

It's done. I inserted all the Spanish characters and accents. I fact checked to make sure things are consistent. Houston, we have a novel. I am it declaring done. LET THE MARKETING BEGIN!!! There's a site called www.lulu.com that i might publish it through. This is going to be an adventure. "O brave new world..." I've dreamed about this my whole life. I've devoted countless hours. I've been writing for over 30 years. I finished my first novel in the 90's. It's time to get this done and publish this book, one way or another.

Going to Amanda's and Alessandra's for lunch. Lots of get-togethers this week before i roll out of here.


Acid Flashback: 2,000 Days in Madrid


  • Annie is born April 11, 2007. She is not my daughter but my life changes for the better.
  • Teaching in the MBA Program at the Universidad de Europea
  • Playing in From Lost to the River with Tam and Pete
  • Finished Buying New Soul, my fourth novel
  • Seeing Porcupine Tree twice at La Riviera
  • Atletico Madrid wins 2 Europa League titles and a UEFA Supercup
  • Meeting Vicky (and hiring her as my editor).
  • Bender Tuesday
  • All my friends and students
Okay! Take in laundry, shower, go to lunch. Catch you all later.

The M-Chip

Mariah Scarey is the new American Idol judge. And just in time for me to return to the US. 


Desperate times call for desperate measures. Henceforth, Apple Inc. and i are happy to announce our new prototype - the M-chip. Once you have one of these silicon buggers jammed into you cerebrum, you will no longer be able to watch such moronic shows as, The View, American Idol, America Lacks Talent, Desperate Housewives, Charmed, etc., or anything with Tim Allen, Rob Schneider, Dana Carvey or Bob Costas. The screen will just appear as psychedlic colors and all you will hear is Led Zeppelin, Rush, Pink Floyd and the Who. The New M-Chip: 1/3 Steve Jobs, 1/3 Aldous Huxley, 1/3 sensibility/. 


So get your kids fitted with one today! Watch their grades go up, their setting of bugs on fire go down, and their sense of well being soar!



© M-Chip 2012, all rights reserved (Hands off muther f*%ker!)

viernes, 27 de julio de 2012

Don't point that thing at me







This post is not recommended for hominids under 17


The olympics come to London. This is Wenlock, the official mascot. Yes, he looks like a penis, but then again this is the country that coined the words wanker and wanking (both of which refer to masturbation.) Still, i'm not sure a male member with lobster claws was the best choice to market a global event. 


And just in case there was any doubt as to the phallic nature of this thing, here's Wenlock in a Union Jack condom (we don't want athletes in the olympic village going home with STDs, do we?)


And it's expected to be so cold and dreary the next few days that many female volleyball players have said they might forgo the traditional bikinis. Hell no! That's going to put a real crimp in the wanking


SO good luck, London. And thanks for reminding us that making fun of the English didn't end after 1776 and the War of 1812.


I'm off to get a coffee and some breakfast.

jueves, 26 de julio de 2012

The Construction of Light

Viernes


Puerta del Sol
00:49


It's been a tiring couple of hours. 


Days.


Weeks. 


Soon to be over. It rained tonight for the first time since, ...i have no idea. May? Early June maybe? Something like that.



Listening to:
Led Zeppelin - the Song Remains the Same (disc 2)
Steely Dan - Katy Lied
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Herd of Instinct - Herd of Instinct
King Crimson - The ConstruKction of Light

I am currently reading Acacia: The War with the Mein (Book One) by David Anthony Durham. It's sci-fi/fantasy and it's great. It's monstrous at 784 pages. It's very in depth as far as creating a world. Two age old enemy empires go to war after years of Acacia subduing the Mein. And there are some dirty secrets as to how the Acacians have obtained their power over the years. 

Lightning outside. Lots of it. Kind of like heat lightning. 

I'll go see Spez (the cat) mañana. What an awful name. When i get another cat i'll name him after another great progressive rock guitarist. I don't know. HackettAlex (Lifeson), Gilmour, Belew, (Steven) Wilson? Well, i've got a ways before i have to worry about such things. Soon i'll be living with Mum and Mulligan. It'll be fun to have him around (He will probably think it's fun to have me around, since it's his house.) Cats are fun to live with and he is a very interesting cat. Like his brother, Fripp, he loves music. After all, anything is better to listen to than The View. That show makes me want to poke stuffed animals with a sharpened stick. 

But i digress. 

How weird it will be to be back in the same time zone as all of ye. Good old EDT.

Tired. Actually, i'm just going to tap out right here.

Time out of mind

Everything is surreal. Trying to settle your accounts in Spain is like trying to put a man on the moon. This is something Spain has never done. 


I was at Dave's watching his cat, Spez, so no Internet there. She ate some plastic and had to have an operation 2 days before he left. She has a cone on her head but she is fine. 


It's hot. So goddamned hot.


I think i'm losing my mind. Finally. Really. Totally. For good this time. 


Dream so vivid i swear they were real. Until i realize they were with people from grammar school, high school, Fairfield (when we were still 22), old jobs, etc.


And i am suffering a Welsh Witch hangover. I miss her. I'm somewhat haunted by what could have been. Now, i am normally one to just except things and walk away. It doesn't mean i might not pine over them for a bit, but i move on - just look at what transpired with Sue and i. There is a period of grief and mourning and then you get on with it. 


But at my Good-bye to Me party, her friend Carol (she is English of Jamaican descent so we always talk about Jamaica and have a lot of fun together.) She said "Jay's a great guy. Why don't you just marry him already?" I was fucking floored. 


Her sister got married yesterday in York. She sent me a message saying they were at the wedding dinner and there was utter silence.  And then someone asked "So are you and Jay a couple?" 


Seems she's the only one who can't see it. But it doesn't matter. If she doesn't see it, she doesn't see it. Besides, i am leaving. And a 15 year age difference is a hell of a thing. I'll be fine. 


It's just the stress of leaving getting to me. 


UFO = Unlimited Freak Out


Not to worry. The US has good insane asylums, so i hear. And i'll be helpful. 






"What size straight jacket?"


 "42, sir."


"You look more like a size 40 to me."


"I like loose-fitting clothing." 

martes, 24 de julio de 2012

No Sleep

7:56
Insomnia always makes me feel surreal. Haven't slept a wink and have class at 10:00.


Penn State got slapped hard by the NCAA. As well they should have been. Paterno is no longer the winningest coach. Now he is 12th after losing all their wins back to 1998. They will lose all their players (or key ones.) No Bowl games for 4 years. The program will be decimated. Good. 


15:07


I think i slept an hour and 15 minutes. Ugh! So tired. One more class then maybe a nap at Dave's with his cat. Then BENDER TUESDAY. The spirit is willing but the flesh is O' so weak.



domingo, 22 de julio de 2012

4:09

Night.


Hotter than hell. Again. Night time is the only cool time. This is the point in the summer wear it starts to wear on you. And tear on you. And when it's cool you dance in the streets

Can't drink too much water. It won't hurt you. Hydration is salvation. 


I'm gonna go soak my hair again and go to sleep.


Hasta mañana people.


- */^

Good-bye to Me

Thousands of lemurs off themselves each year


Great night last night. It was my Good-bye to Me party at Barbaroi. It was awesome. So many cool folks showed up to say goob-bye. They said some very nice things about me (of which i could only believe 12.3%.) 


Lots of prog rock - it was just great. 


Then i taught class. Then i had dinner over Monica (student) and Sergio's. That was really nice too. 


I am a lucky man. Mañana; the big good-bye the Welsh Witch. My editor. My dear friend. Yikes. That's probably going to be a way emotional thing. 


And a final Madrid edition of, Jaybo - Cat sitter. I will watch Dave's cat for the week. 


16 days to go. 

sábado, 21 de julio de 2012

Thou Shalt Not Freak Out


  1. The Exile is over, five years have passed, and i am not saved.   


So hot. 


I have lists within lists of things to do before i go.


Everything is the same but everything is different. I leave one group of friends in Spain and go back the USA. This time around i'll be writing a blog for them. How strange life can be. 


2. The law of exponential chaos states that during a time very busy time things may exacerbate to the point of bedlam. 


The key at such moments is don't lose your shit. Try and keep some clarity. Latch on to the things that are stable and consistently are people/ideas that you keep close.


3.  Fear is the mind killer - Dune
   
Things rarely work out to be as horrible as you think they'll be. Just get on with it.



4. Things might go sideways and seem bat shit, but the weird doesn't kill you. You can laugh about it someday, because you'll live. 


5. Everything like this has an expiration date. This too shall pass. It'll be over. And then you're on to the next big, new thing


And then that's it. You are through the wormhole.


The only bad news is that then the whole process starts over. But it's a new start. And how many of those do you get in your life?


I seem to get a lot of them. My life has just been a series of re-starts. Am i fortunate? Cursed?


No. I'm just me.

viernes, 20 de julio de 2012

Savages

I finished SAVAGES by Don Winslow. It was great! An idealistic/California/hippie marijuana grower and an ex-Navy SEAL get forced to take on the Mexican mob. I'll watch the movie if i can find a decent copy. Fantastic writing. Very hip and mod.  recommend it very highly.


It's 00:00 and it's 90F. I miss New England. 


Listening to:
Are You Experienced - Jimi Hendrix
Clockwork Angels - Rush
Shadows and Light - Joni Mitchell
Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin 
Raingods With Zippos - Fish
Remain in Light - Talking Heads
Closer to Home - Grand Funk Railroad




More post-editing manaña. Mostly fact checking and adding of spanish characters, like this fellow; ñ


So hot. 






jueves, 19 de julio de 2012

Pull the Plug

Note to Penn State students having a 'vigil' to protect the statue of Joe Paterno - You are idiots. Morons. How the hell did you get into Penn State? Joe Paterno enabled a child molester, long after Sandusky had retired. Shame on all of you. I am no longer just in favor of killing the football program. Disband the university. State funds go towards this school? Forget it. Let this year's frosh graduate in 2016 and then shut the book on this disgraceful institution's history. And while you're at it, let's just disband Pennsylvania altogether. Let's look at the pieces in this puzzle; Rick Santorum, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Fox, Richard Gere, Bob Saget, Wil Smith, the rabidly obnoxious Phillies, Eagles and flyers fans - do you get the picture? Just pull the plug. Wyoming and Montana have plenty of room. Let them live there. Besides, Jersey needs room to expand.

miércoles, 18 de julio de 2012

DONE!!!!!!

Buying New Soul is done! We finished tonight. I'll do a couple of extra little things and it'll be ready to go next week. Special thanks to Vicky. We just bore down and tore through it! I think it's the best thing i've done so far and i'm quite happy with it. Now to see what all of you think!

martes, 17 de julio de 2012

Unforgivable II

I counted wrong; i will be home in 22 days. Sometimes i get lost in time. Unstuck. Think Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse 5. 


Democracy doesn't work
-Neil Balfour


http://www.gossipian.com/spanish-politician-andrea-fabra-on-the-unemployed-fuck-them-all/ It seems i really need to get back to the Northeast. It's as if sanity itself has come undone. The following clip is of Andrea Fabra, a member of the PP (right) shouting, "Fuck them all!" after President Rajoy announcing devastating cuts for the 5 million unemployed in Spain. 


Andrea Fabra flips off protesters.


She is the representative from Castellon. Her father, Carlos Fabra is constantly under investigation for fraud and spent €300,000 for a 24 meter high statue of himself in front of the Castellon Airport which has never had a plane take off or land there. And they wonder why there's a financial crisis? Alberta Fabra, the of the Valencia said in May that it will open; "when there are guarantees that it will used - it will not open without planes". (tumbit.com)


That's a brilliant statement.


Carlos Fabra also “regularly appears to win Spain’s El Gordo Christmas lottery”, something which has attracted the attention of corruption investigators but has yet to go to trial. (Gosipian)


In summary: the Fabra's are a bunch of corrupt assholes. 


And Spainards, all of them, are fucked (welcome to the monkeyhouse, Andrea.)


Spain has two ghost airports; one in Ciudad Real and the other in Castellon.


It also has giant ghost towns like Valdeluz and Sesena that were built but no one ever bought the houses. 

Note to Self: Having 1/3 of your jobs in the construction sector is a bad idea.




 A statue of provincial president Carlos Fabra, by sculptor Juan Ripolles, is seen at the Costa Azahar airport, one year after its official inauguration, near Castellon April 24, 2012. The airport, whose cost escalated up to around 150 million euros, remains inactive due to construction failures, lack of permits and insufficient commercial interest from international airlines, according local media. REUTERS/Heino Kalis (SPAIN - Tags: TRANSPORT ...)




Kind of reminds me of this statue that Stallone generously gave to the city of Philadelphia. At least he's modest. 



lunes, 16 de julio de 2012

Unforgivable





16:11
i am exhausted today after editing all day yesterday. 30 days until i come back home!


Class at 18:30 and then i'm done. 


Lots of laundry and cleaning today.


On The topic of Penn State, this dude agrees with me:
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8163189/penn-state-cannot-allowed-football-team


Stephen A. Smith agrees with me that Penn State should also get the death penalty and be shut down for the next five years. Let the athletes go play somewhere else and get another year of eligibility.  Then gut the program. Completely clean house.  Let that be Paterno and penn state's legacy.


Even after he retired, Sandusky retained and office and full access to the facilities, also known as access to victims. Is that the price of a national championship in 1982 and 1986? 


Unforgivable. Disband the program - forever.






Disband Penn State Football






Penn State. 





Damning evidence against Penn State comes out in the Freeh report. Janitors saw children raped and were afraid to report it because they would lose their jobs. A Korean War Veteran said it was the most horrible thing he had ever witnessed. At the highest level, it was covered up. Disgusting. Criminal. Unforgivable, to allow children to be raped. And Paterno (ironically referred to as 'Joe Pa') covered things up for Sandusky as well. The NCAA does have a 'death penalty' where a program can be disbanded, but only if you get a violation while also on probation. I think they should invoke it anyway. Penn State has to pay for its failure to protect young boys. And what was done to those boys can never be undone. 


If being disbanded is not possible, then Penn State should be banned from television and Bowl games for 5 years. If they aren't then i seriously will never watch another NCAA sport again. 


UConn is also up to their waist in disgrace.


 If you're a university and education is not your first priority then you are farcical. College sports have become a joke. Children need to be protected. Such behavior cannot be condoned or tolerated, so fuck you, Penn State. Fuck you, Sandusky. Fuck you, Joe Paterno. You are all criminals of the most vile sort. I hope your football program ceases to exist sometime in the not too distant future.

domingo, 15 de julio de 2012

Edited

So much editing this weekend! We hope to finish on Thurs. That will be quite the achievement. 


 It was a fun weekend. Vicky and i had a blast  tearing through the edit and then going out. We accomplished a lot this weekend. 


That is all. Goodnight people!

viernes, 13 de julio de 2012

Amazing things





Let's dance tonight
To a virtual song
Press this key
And you can play along

Let's fly tonight
On our virtual wings
Press this key
To see amazing things

-Rush


Man, saying good-bye to students you've had for three years sucks. Stupid fucking emotionsBeing a teacher is the most rewarding thing i've ever done. And when a grown man from Barclays (who couldn't speak English well a few years ago) gives you a hug on the last day of class, well, it's an amazing thing.


I am doing the quiz at J&J again tonight. The categories;
THE USA
CLASSIC ROCK ALBUMS
ANIMALS
THE END OF THE WORLD (in Lit. and Movies)


More re-writes today! Then class at 19:00. Quiz at 23:00. 


The other night i listened to the soundtrack made up of all the songs quotes from the novel. It was awesome. A very wide range of music. 


Time for lunch. Me voy!

miércoles, 11 de julio de 2012

The Last Days of Pompeii

Madre de Dios!


LINK:miners strike in Madrid


They also raised the VAT tax (Value added tax from 18% to 21%.)


They are talking about closing the Metro at 00:00 (Sunday through Thursday) instead of at 1:30. Luckily i will be gone because that would kill me. It will kill bars and restaurants too. 


I may be going to hell in a bucket
but at least i'm enjoying the ride
-The Grateful Dead


Except this ride will not be enjoyable at all.


* * * 


Saturday, July 21st at 21:00 will be the Good-bye to Me party at Barbaroi. Fun, friends and prog rock. It'll be awesome!


* * * 


0:59 


I'll read a bit and nod off - class at 10:00 manana. 


Books i've read this month;


First Blood - David Morrell (for the third time.) *****
The Naked Edge - David Morrell ***


And i started Logan's Run by William F. Nolan. It was weird movie, and the book is weird too, but gives a lot more background. He actually wrote a trilogy. Nolan has some very visionary ideas. But there is no Carousel, like in the movie where they float up on Last Day and get exploded by lasers. They just go to a Sleep shop and get put down. Freaky, brutal and bizarre. Good for before bed.


JUEVES


76 injured yesterday in Madrid protests.


Most workers will lose their Xmas bonus, which isn't really a bonus (the companies just divide your salary into 14 payments instead of 12 so that you get an extra check in summer and Xmas.)  The IVA increase starts in August. I don't mean to be the harbinger of truth, but Spain is fucked. Maybe someday i'll write a book about Spain's sad decline. 









How to Influence Make Friends and Intoxicate People

11:44


Bender Tuesday
Ahhhhh..., another wild Bender Tuesday. There were very few of us because most of the expats are back home on holiday. It was sausage fest but there was a lot of progressive rock! 


I awoke to see that the NL smoked the AL 8-0 in the All Star game. Wow! Crazy. This means Washington will have the home field advantage if they get to the World Series.






Spain in numbers (from BBC.co.uk)


  • Spain is the eurozone's 4th largest economy
  • One in four people is unemployed
  • House prices have dropped by 25% since 2008
  • The banking sector is highly indebted. Bankia, the country's
 fourth largest bank, recently asked for a €19bn bailout
  • By 2010, one in four Spaniards were at risk of poverty
or social exclusion
And today President Rajoy announced a 3% rise in the VAT tax, as 30,000 miners arrive in Madrid to propose cuts of subsidies that might cost as many as 30,000 jobs. It's going to be a fun day! 


28 days to go!


22:14


Buying New Soul, the Soundtrack
So i believe i mentioned that Jim read Buying New Soul and had a lot of nice things to say about it. He said  that it was like a concept album within a book, and that i should compile all the songs, in order (as quoted at the beginning of each chapter), and make an album. I had toyed with this idea a few weeks back and then thought it was a stupid idea. And then Jimbo mentioned it. And then I told Vicky the idea and she loved it. 


Currently it would be 28 songs, 168 minutes. I might have to snip something so i could make it a two CD set. It would be one hell of a collection of songs (see below.) Okay! Cook some sausage, edit more, go to bed. It is mercifully cool tonight.



Buying New Soul
Porcupine Tree Recordings
Hammer To Fall
Queen Classic Queen
Breathe In The Air
Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon
Here comes the flood
Peter Gabriel Hit (The Definitive Collection) CD1
What You Are
Audioslave Audioslave
Jesus Of Suburbia  Home
Green Day American Idiot
The Real Me
The Who Quadrophenia (Disc 1)
Lawyers, Guns And Money
Warren Zevon A Quiet Normal Life: The Best
Building a Mystery
Sarah McLachlan Surfacing
Pigs On The Wing 1
Pink Floyd Animals
Once In A Lifetime
Talking Heads The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads Disc 2:1980-1981
Freewill
Rush Exit... Stage Left
Love Or Confusion
The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced?
Space Oddity
David Bowie The Singles Collection [Disc 1]
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Warren Zevon A Quiet Normal Life: The Best
In Held Twas In I
Procol Harum Classic Tracks & Rarities – An Anthology
Comfortably Numb
Pink Floyd The Wall [Remastered]
I May Know The Word
Natalie Merchant Tigerlily
Each Small Candle
Roger Waters In The Flesh (disc 2)
Between The Wheels
Rush R30
Home
Roger Waters Radio K.A.O.S.
Gloria
Patti Smith Horses
Easter (Live)
Marillion Made Again
Bravado
Rush Different Stages (Disc 1) [Live]
The End
The Beatles Abbey Road
The Cinema Show
Genesis Selling England By The Pound
I'm Your Captain/Closer To Home (Medley)
Grand Funk Railroad Greatest Hits - Grand Funk Railroad
Buying New Soul
Porcupine Tree Arriving Somewhere

martes, 10 de julio de 2012

The Final Cut

We edited last night til 23:00. And now...., I'm rewriting! Shocker. Then class at 19:30. Then Bender Tuesday. 


It's been cool in my room all morning. The heat will start soon in the late afternoon. High of 88 F today. Not so bad.

lunes, 9 de julio de 2012

Domingo, 3 different ones


14:43

Spirits turned bitter by the poison of envy
Always angry and dissatisfied
Even the lost ones, the frightened and mean ones
Even the ones with a devil inside
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

-Rush


Domingo Uno
Oh, i am so ready to go. Sometimes i expect Madrid will be swallowed up by the maw of hell before i leave. Although i bet Lucifer would spit it out before he got it all down.


The other day Eduardo ate all the sausage i had bought. A half kilo! I saw Maracondes first and he said he didn't eat. Eduardo came in and played dumb and then said he thought he had bought it. I said no because it was in my section of the fridge that i've had for a year. Dickhead. He played dumb again when i said in perfect Spanish "So just leave anything on this shelf alone," Maracondes went apeshit on him and verbally bitch slapped them. He was squealing like a cut sow. I grabbed my bag and ran out laughing. They replaced it later but i still had to go out to eat and then to the store again. He knew what he was doing. Next time he takes something of mine i will break his fucking arm. They know i am going and they have stopped buying everything, so i'll buy it. I had to buy a new sponge yesterday so i could wash dishes. I had to buy laundry detergent, because it was gone.  They live like fucking animals. I fucking hate them so much.


And then, we are only supposed to use the washing machine between 23:00 and 12:00 because electricity is cheaper and they are broke, filthy beggars. I put in a load in at 11:00 and come out at 12:15 (takes 50 min) and find my clothes in a fucking enormous can of dog food that Eduardo (Fred Sanford) had picked out out of the garbage on the street. A) it was dirty B) it had been on the street C) Where you find dogf ood you find dogs!. Filthy muther fuckers. I went apeshit on Maracondes. Plus, i said, "Why can you do laundry during the day when i can't? You have no fucking job? But i have to do laundry at these weird times and i have a job!" He had no answer because he has the intelligence of a barstool. And then i see one of Maracondes friends (A 55 year old Brazilian lady) in her bra and her skirt open exposing her underwear. What the fuck?! Would that i could take my eyeballs out of my head and wash them. But what is done cannot be undone. 


And then i realize, she moved in and the assholes never told me. This is what Spanish people are like. No respect for anyone. They will pay a terrible price when the retribution comes. There's a miners 'strike' up north in coal country, but i've never seen strikers with rocket launchers before. How do i get one? But still, everyone takes their six weeks of paid vacation. Unemployment will soar past 30% by the autumn. It dropped 2.7% in June to about 23% overall, but those are all seasonal workers and that will be over in Sept. Financially, Spain is fucked from now until the day Germany  just assumes control because Spain owes them so much money (figure about 2016.)



Fired up ... Spanish miners launch a home-made rocket at police during a protest against cuts in coal subsidies. Photo: AP
Nouriel Roubini 



But i don't care. New World, here i come!


Time to hang laundry, and the cook onions.

Listening to Rush;
Hemispheres: Them at their most monstrously progressive. My favorite.
Permanent Waves: A move to shorter tunes that are still awesome

Moving Pictures: The height of their commercial success.


Signals: The keyboards take a much larger role and the keyboard driven, 'Subdivisions,' freaks out the general public.


Grace Under Pressure: The keyboards are there but the guitar comes roaring back in one of my favorite Rush albums


Power Windows: A nice mix between keyboards and guitar but still very keyboard heavy


Hold Your File: This was the point where the experimentation with the keyboards was starting to get away from them. 


Man. I am such a fucking nerd. I can smell it coming out of my pores.


16:53
Domingo Dos
I chopped up a kilo of onions and fried them with olive oil, paprika (pimiento dulce: sweet pepper.) It was hot. But i was jamming to the Rush and had a cold beer, so i've spent worse July Sundays. Off to get more supplies for tonight. The Greatest American Barbecuer's work is never done. I forgot the charcoal. I am a boob. I hope i can find some on a sunday or i'll have to cut down a fucking tree. And then dry it out.


I have truly had a lot on my mind lately. But, i guess it's not surprising. Lots of bad dreams too. I don't recall them when i wake up, only that i had an urge to poop myself i was so frightened. Ahh..., we fear nothing like the unknown, we humans. 


Vamos! Charcoal. 




17:29


Not one of the Chinese shops ( the only ones open on Sunday) knew the word carbón or barbacoa. But it was on display at Open Cor, which is like a 7-Eleven. So i snagged some charcoal and some fire-starter bricks. And paper plates, napkins and plastic plates. 


Shit. I forgot to eat since breakfast. Well, i have lots food!


18:56


Alright! I'm off. I don't have to see these two morons tonight and manana after i teach i go to Vicky's to edit. 




Domingo Tres
Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire 


The barbecue was awesome. We were in the basement of their parents house and they had a vent to carry the smoke out. I stoked up the coals. They had a bellows and everything. Everyone loved it. It was hot as hell by the barbecue but it was great. I should not have to live without cooking over an open fire. 


30 days to go.