Monday, December 31, 2012

GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE 2012

From this blog we want to wish each and everyone of you, faithful followers, all the best for this next year. May you have a Most Happy 2013; and forget about supertition: 13 is just another number.

See you next year

Thursday, December 20, 2012

THE END OF THE WORLD

 Click on the image for full screen
 
''Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do'' (David Bowie's Space Oddity).
I don't know whether tomorrow will be its final day. Make the best of it today just in case. And I hope all of the borders, wars, famine and stupid things we seem to enjoy so proudly and that can't be seen from a distance in this blue picture will fade for good. Let's pray to our respective Gods, brothers and sisters.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Dave Brubeck

The jazz Master would have turned 92 tomorrow. He published the solo piano CD 'A Dave Brubeck Christmas' last month. The 32' video, filmed in Belgium in 1964 will give you quite a good idea of what a great musician he was. I dare suggest you listen to it as you work on something else: the music will slowly get into your body.

http://www.davebrubeck.com/live/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/arts/music/dave-brubeck-jazz-musician-dies-at-91.html?pagewanted=all

Sunday, December 02, 2012

On World AIDS Day

On World AIDS day here is a dramatically beautiful Lou Reed's song many people may not remember or even know. It's called 'The Sword of Damocles', from Lou's album 'Magic And Loss' (1992).


http://www.worldaidsday.org/
http://www.thefix.com/content/world-aids-day90976

Saturday, December 01, 2012

Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs - Bo Keeney

Charlie Boyer and the Voyeurs: http://youtu.be/K-K-wxjJebQ

Here's another highly touted new guitar band worthy of at least some of the hype they've been getting. (...) I Watch You is one of those debut singles that promises much but also delivers enough to make you worry that they will never quite match it. The riff, highly redolent of Jonathan Richman's Roadrunner, is one of those crudely simple two-chord affairs (with a third for the chorus) that reduces rock'n'roll to its basics but does so with intelligence, not dumbness. It's boogie with brains, basically. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/30/new-band-charlie-boyer-voyeurs
http://charlieboyerandthevoyeurs.bandcamp.com/

Bo Keeney: http://youtu.be/1SUM270EeJE

He is a 23-year-old who makes music that sounds like a jazzy nightclub entertainer warbling soulfully over dubstep or drum'n'bass. Think Michael Bublé guesting with Magnetic Man, or Jamie Cullum jamming with Joy Orbison. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/29/new-band-bo-keeney
http://bokeeney.com/

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

BEAUTIFUL CHILD (Universal Children's Day)


World Children's Day is observed every year on the 20th of November. In 1954 to protect children from having to work long hours in unsafe conditions and allow all children to have access to learning, the UN General Assembly recommended that all countries should establish a Universal Children's Day on an "appropriate" day. World Children's Day is celebrated every year in honor of children and also as an annual global fundraiser to benefit branches of Ronald McDonald House Charities around the world. Today, World Children's Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries.
http://www.childrensdaycelebration.org/history.html

http://www.un.org/en/events/childrenday/
http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/files/EdFirst_G29383UNOPS_lr.pdf
http://www.globaleducationfirst.org/289.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day

Thursday, November 15, 2012

World Philosophy Day


"In celebrating World Philosophy Day, UNESCO reaffirms the power of philosophy to change the world, because it can help us to change ourselves – by giving weight to our indignation before injustice, lucidity to ask the right questions, and conviction to defend human dignity."
http://www.un.org/en/events/philosophyday/

Philosophy, said Socrates, is a state of awareness – “I know that I know nothing”. Faced with the complexity of today’s world, philosophical reflection is above all a call to humility, to take a step back and engage in reasoned dialogue, to build together the solutions to challenges that are beyond our control. This is the best way to educate enlightened citizens, equipped to fight stupidity and prejudice. The greater the difficulties encountered the greater the need for philosophy to make sense of questions of peace and sustainable development.
http://www.un.org/en/events/philosophyday/messages.shtml

Sunday, November 11, 2012

November Rain

After a never-ending drought here's come the rain and it seems it wishes to stay for a while.

Friday, October 19, 2012

SYLVIA KRISTEL (Emmanuelle)

There can be few film actors so closely associated with one role as was Sylvia Kristel, who has died of cancer aged 60. The title role of the sexually adventurous housewife in Emmanuelle (1974) became a reference for every part she played subsequently. This was not surprising, as the Dutch star did play a character called Emmanuelle, with few variations, many times over.

In the original film, Kristel portrayed the bored wife of a French embassy official in Bangkok, urged by her libertine husband to explore all the possibilities of sex. Thereupon, she finds herself in bed with, among others, a lesbian archaeologist and an elderly roué. Directed with some grace by Just Jaeckin, this glossy soft-porn package, dressed up as art-house erotica, was a huge international hit, becoming the first X-rated film to be released in the US. Lushly photographed and with a certain level of character development, its appeal went beyond the raincoat brigade. The success was also put down to Kristel's underestimated performance.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/oct/18/sylvia-kristel?CMP=twt_fd

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

LISTEN TO HILARY MANTEL

Hilary Mantel has made Man Booker prize history by becoming the first woman and the first British writer to win the literary award twice.

Receiving the prize, Mantel joked: "You wait 20 years for a Booker prize and then two come along at once." Bring Up the Bodies, the blistering and bloody second instalment of her trilogy charting the life of Thomas Cromwell, was also the first sequel to triumph in the prize's 43-year history. The first instalment, Wolf Hall, won three years ago.

The chairman of the Booker judges, Sir Peter Stothard, called Mantel "the greatest modern English prose writer" working today, and said she had "rewritten the book on writing historical fiction".
"We are very proud to be reading English at the time she is writing. I don't think I've read any English novelist in recent years who has such complete control over the way she uses prose to do what she wants to do, like a singer or a pianist," Stothard said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/oct/16/hilary-mantel-wins-booker-prize?intcmp=239

Saturday, October 13, 2012

LISTEN TO SYLVIA PLATH

Plath’s poetry is often associated with the Confessional movement, and compared to poets such as her teacher, Robert Lowell, and fellow student Anne Sexton. Often, her work is singled out for the intense coupling of its violent or disturbed imagery and its playful use of alliteration and rhyme.

Although only Colossus was published while she was alive, Plath was a prolific poet, and in addition to Ariel, Hughes published three other volumes of her work posthumously, including The Collected Poems, which was the recipient of the 1982 Pulitzer Prize. She was the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize after death.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/11
http://www.sylviaplath.info/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4379.Sylvia_Plath
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath

“Mad Girl's Love Song
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan's men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you'd return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)”
Sylvia Plath

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Canadian Thanksgiving




Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals. A common image seen at this time of year is a cornucopia, or horn, filled with seasonal fruit and vegetables. This represents the "Horn of Plenty", which was a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece. Turkeys, pumpkins, ears of corn and large displays of food are also used to symbolize Thanksgiving Day.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/thanksgiving-day
http://blog.oup.com/2012/10/canadian-thanksgiving/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)

Friday, October 05, 2012

International Teacher's Day

“Take a stand for teachers!” is the slogan of World Teachers’ Day 2012 (5 October) which UNESCO is celebrating along with its partners, the International Labour Organization, UNDP, UNICEF and Education International (EI). 

Why take a stand for teachers? Because the profession is losing status in many parts of the world. World Teachers’ Day calls attention the need to raise the status of the profession - not only for the benefit of teachers and students, but for society as a whole, to acknowledge the crucial role teachers play in building the future.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/world-teachersday/

http://www.5oct.org/2012/index.php/en/
http://www.unesco.org/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_96880E82D5299CDDD3F1DFE31B20F56D3F960000/filename/teachersday2012.pdf
http://www.teacher-appreciation.info/

Thursday, October 04, 2012

World Animal Day

World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October 4 was chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.
Since then, World Animal Day has become a day for remembering and paying tribute to all animals and the people who love and respect them. It's celebrated in different ways in every country, with no regard to nationality, religion, faith or political ideology.

http://www.worldanimalday.co.uk/
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/world_animal_day_2009.html
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=855715&publicationSubCategoryId=64
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Animal_Day




Monday, October 01, 2012

BOOKS WE MUST NOT READ? WHY?


I must admit I have already read some of them and I feel fine. No evil side effects.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Banned and challenged classics: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedclassics

"All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship."
(George Bernard Shaw) http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/George_Bernard_Shaw

"Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others. Their fear is only their inability to face what is real, and I can’t vent any anger against them. I only feel this appalling sadness. Somewhere, in their upbringing, they were shielded against the total facts of our existence. They were only taught to look one way when many ways exist."
(Charles Bukowski)    http://bukowskiquotes.com/

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/10/01/literary-icons-on-censorship/

Famous Authors’ Funniest Responses to Their Books Being Banned:
http://www.flavorwire.com/333790/famous-authors-funniest-responses-to-their-books-being-banned?all=1

Saturday, September 29, 2012

TEEN


They're not teens, they're named after frontwoman Kristina "Teeny" Lieberson, formerly of Here We Go Magic. Comprising Lieberson, her two sisters and a friend, they're in the vague, general ballpark of Haim – also sisters – only with extra effects pedals, and Warpaint, particularly the latter's forays into psychedelia. They're not quite as krautrocky as Warpaint, and describe what they do as "psychedelic gospel". To achieve that sound on record – they have only played a few shows together – they enlisted the help of Pete Kember, who knows a thing or two himself about psychedelic gospel and spectral droning via his work with Spacemen 3. (...)  (guardian.co.uk).               

http://soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/teen-sleep-is-noise-peaking
http://soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/unable
http://soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/huh

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/sep/26/new-band-teen

Monday, September 17, 2012

Paul Banks, Rachel Zeffira, Deptford Goth

I hope you like these 3 acts. Cheers!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

DEATH VALLEY, the Hottest Place on Earth

World Record Temperature of 56.7ºC in 1913.

Death Valley National Park is a National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. Parts of the park are in southern Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County in Eastern California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in Nevada. In addition, there is an exclave (Devil's Hole) in southern Nye County. The park covers 5,262 square miles, encompassing Saline Valley, a large part of Panamint Valley, almost all of Death Valley, and parts of several mountain ranges. Death Valley National Monument was declared a U.S. National Monument in 1933, placing the area under federal protection. In 1994, the monument was redesignated a national park, as well as being substantially expanded to include Saline and Eureka valleys.

It is the hottest and driest of the national parks in the United States. The second-lowest point in the Western Hemisphere is in Badwater Basin, which is 282 feet below sea level. The park is home to many species of plants and animals that have adapted to this harsh desert environment. Some examples include creosote bush, Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, and the Death Valley Pupfish, a survivor of much wetter times. Approximately 95% of the park is designated as wilderness. Its wilderness area covers 4,774 square miles, making it the largest in the Lower 48 states, and the sixth largest in the United States overall. Death Valley National Park is visited annually by more than 770,000 visitors who come to see its diverse geologic features, desert wildlife, historic sites, scenery, and clear night skies.

Mining was the primary activity in the area before it was protected. The first documented non-Native Americans to enter Death Valley did so in the winter of 1849, thinking they would save time by taking a shortcut to the gold fields of California. They were stuck for weeks and in the process gave the valley its name, even though only one of their group died there. Several short-lived boom towns sprang up during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to exploit minor local bonanzas of gold. The only long-term profitable ore to be mined, however, was borax, a mineral used to make soap and an important industrial compound. Today, borax is an essential component of high-temperature resistant boro-silicate glass products, for example Pyrex cookware. Twenty-mule teams were used to transport ore out of the valley; helping to make it famous and the subject of books, radio programs, television series, and movies.

The natural environment of the area has been shaped largely by its geology. The valley itself is actually a graben. The oldest rocks are extensively metamorphosed and at least 1.7 billion years old. Ancient warm, shallow seas deposited marine sediments until rifting opened the Pacific Ocean. Additional sedimentation occurred until a subduction zone formed off the coast. This uplifted the region out of the sea and created a line of volcanoes. Later the crust started to pull apart, creating the current Basin and Range landform. Valleys filled with sediment and, during the wet times of glacial periods, with lakes, such as Lake Manly.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

CATALAN INDEPENDENCE

Barcelona was a sea of red and yellow Catalan flags as more than 1.5 million people brought the city to a standstill on Tuesday at a mass rally called to demand independence for the Spanish region. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/11/catalan-independence-rally-barcelona

Supporters of Catalan independence have taken to the streets in Barcelona to protest against economic policies adopted by the Spanish government, saying that they want to control their own economy.
On Tuesday, tens of thousands of demonstrators chanted slogans such as, “Catalonia, a new European state"and called for a split from the rest of crisis-hit Spain. (...)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/11/261029/catalans-rally-for-econ-independence/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19564640#TWEET224275

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/09/11/spain-storming-the-streets-and-web-on-catalonias-national-day/

http://www.expatica.com/es/news/spanish-news/crisis-hit-catalans-rally-for-independence_243404.html

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Literacy and Peace

The theme of International Literacy Day 2012 (September 8) is Literacy and Peace. This theme was adopted by the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) to demonstrate the multiple uses and value that literacy brings to people.
Literacy contributes to peace as it brings people closer to attaining individual freedoms and better understanding the world, as well as preventing or resolving conflict. The connection between literacy and peace can be seen by the fact that in unstable democracies or in conflict-affected countries it is harder to establish or sustain a literate environment.

Friday, August 31, 2012

SPECTOR

http://spector.co.uk/

(...) Having consistently confessed his love for the early 2000s indie disco and its stock components of The Strokes, The Killers and Razorlight, Spector’s debut sounds like a lost gem from exactly that time. So go on, think back to 2004. To when choruses were anthemic, riffs were simple and catchy, singers pouted around singing about being young and drunk and getting laid (or not). It was a simpler time. (...)
http://www.nme.com/reviews/spector/13562

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Walking On The Moon

The death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has prompted a bout of soul-searching about America's national destiny as well as mourning for an icon of the 20th century.
As tributes continued to pour in on Sunday for the former astronaut who died aged 82 there were also expressions of regret that no human has been back to the moon since 1972, just three years after Armstrong set foot on it and gave his famous "giant leap for mankind" speech. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/aug/26/neil-armstrong-passing-us-yearning-glory



(...) The Apollo 11 mission capped a tumultuous and consequential decade. The ’60s in America had started with such promise, with the election of a youthful president, mixed with the ever-present anxieties of the cold war. Then it touched greatness in the civil rights movement, only to implode in the years of assassinations and burning city streets and campus riots. But before it ended, human beings had reached that longtime symbol of the unreachable.

The moonwalk lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, long enough to let the astronauts test their footing in the fine and powdery surface — Mr. Armstrong noted that his boot print was less than an inch deep — and set up a television camera and scientific instruments and collect rock samples. (...)
 

LIFE ON MARS

Travelers of the Future, Beware! Mars is no place for the faint-hearted. Arid, rocky, cold and apparently lifeless, the Red Planet offers few hospitalities. Fans of extreme sports can rejoice, however, for the Red Planet will challenge even the hardiest souls among us. Home to the largest volcano in the solar system, the deepest canyon and crazy weather and temperature patterns, Mars looms as the ultimate lonely planet destination.

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/index.cfm?v=82

Friday, August 03, 2012

Gore Vidal, a Must-Read Writer

"Gore Vidal was a lover of truth, the Constitution & the Republic. With courage and wit he inspired, challenged and entertained. We’ve lost an important voice and I will miss his big heart". (Susan Sarandon)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/gore-vidal-dead-best-man-cast_n_1730762.html
http://www.gorevidalnow.com/
Gore Vidal: "loved him. As a guest, as a writer, as a friend. Balls like beachballs. Google him on monotheism. A giant who stands alone". (Bill Maher)

Friday, July 27, 2012

POP IS EATING ITSELF

Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same.
A Spanish research team analysed pop songs recorded between 1955 and 2010 by delving into an extensive archive called the Million Song Dataset. After applying algorithms to the music in the archive, they found that pop songs have become "intrinsically louder" and less varied in terms of chords and melodies. (NME).

http://www.huffingtonpost.es/2012/07/26/canciones-parecidas-_n_1706313.html?utm_hp_ref=spain
http://labrosa.ee.columbia.edu/millionsong/
http://revista40.los40.com/blog/2012/06/top-ten-canciones-que-se-parecen-a-otras-canciones/
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/us-science-music-idINBRE86P0R820120726
http://www.nature.com/srep/2012/120726/srep00521/full/srep00521.html
http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/65153

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

PATTI SMITH - 'BANGA'

Patti Smith records are as much about proto-rap poetic ritual as verse-chorus rocking. Her first set of new music since Just Kids – the 2010 memoir that found her dancing barefoot into the literary mainstream – has some sweet moments of song. But the real magic happens when words start flying off the grooves. "We'll break all the rules," she sings on "April Fool," a beckoning single that breaks none but boasts exquisite guitar by Smith's old pal Tom Verlaine. He also illuminates "Nine," a gleaming folk-rocker that imagines the sort of extended collaboration that might've been had the two not taken separate roads. Bowing to the Russian filmmaker who also inspired Geoff Dyer's recent tour-de-force Zona, "Tarkovsky (The Second Stop Is Jupiter)" spaces out in Sun Ra soul-jazz territory, while "Seneca" is a mourning waltz that floats on accordion and fiddle. The incantatory peak is "Constantine's Dream," an extended anthem to art-making which replaces the snubbed Jesus of her signature "Gloria" with a snubbed St. Francis and makes the painter Piero della Francesca sound like an awesomely rock'n'roll dude. On a lovely coda of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" featuring her kids Jesse and Jackson, Smith instructs "look at mother nature on the run in the 21st century." She's a mother who still ain't runnin' from nothin'.

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/banga-20120605#ixzz210UgxTJ6
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16693-banga/
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/14/155014549/on-banga-patti-smith-pays-homage-to-friends
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jun/03/patti-smith-banga-review
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banga_(album)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Hugh Hudson's 1981 Oscar-winner gets a deserved Olympic rerelease: a bold, intelligent, romantic film with all the lineaments of a classic, and a score by Vangelis as instantly hummable as the music for Jaws. As the British team prepare for the 1924 Paris games, we follow two underdog outsiders: Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) is the devout Scot who won't run on a Sunday; Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) is the Jewish runner who faces casual antisemitism at Cambridge University. Screenwriter Colin Welland was a vigorous socialist, but the movie was nonetheless adored by Ronald Reagan for the individual striving and patriotic glory. Hugh Hudson's stylish candlelit college dinner scene at Cambridge may well have inspired the Hogwarts dining-hall scenes in the Harry Potter movies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jul/12/chariots-of-fire-review

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

SWEET SPAIN at Little Big World

Joerg Daiber has released his newest tilt-shift – Sweet Spain Viva España. Shot in record time in Seville, Madrid and El Chorro (Málaga) in Spain this is the newest addition to the Little Big World tilt-shift series.

http://vimeo.com/joergdaiber/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBigWorld
http://thrashlab.com/sweet-spain-tilt-shift-joerg-daiber-2494/
http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2012/07/16/daily-timelapse-sweet-spain-by-joerg-daiber/

Desfiladero de los Gaitanes (El Chorro, Málaga)

Saturday, July 07, 2012

San Fermín 2012

The fiestas of San Fermín are celebrated in Irunea/Pamplona, in the region of Navarra, every year from the 6th to the 14th of July. They have become internationally known because of the running of the bulls, where the bulls are lead through the streets of the old quarter as far as the bull ring by runners.

The fiestas are celebrated in honor of San Fermín, patron saint of Navarra, although the religious aspect would seem to have taken on a secondary role over the last number of years. Nowadays, the fiestas are seen as a mass gathering of people from all the corners of the world and where the partying, the fun and the joy of it all are the most outstanding ingredients. (...)








Sunday, July 01, 2012

Euro 2012 Final

                                             Eddie Keogh/Reuters

All the criticism seemed empty now, silly. This was classic Spain, inspired and precise and piercing with its passes, impenetrable on defense, unsurpassed in this golden period of international soccer.
With a 4-0 rout of Italy on Sunday, Spain won its second consecutive European championship and third major title in a row, along with the 2010 World Cup. (...)

“I think Spain deserves the compliment,” said the United States Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, a former star forward for Germany. “It speaks of outstanding class and the marriage of hunger and desire. To win the title, at the end of the day, you need to be a total giver for your team. You need to be able to suffer through the difficult moments and to put your ego totally on the side. What they’ve shown in the past few years, now playing without a striker, is that they find ways to confuse, to create chances, to make everyone else look not capable. I think this is the team of the century.”



Friday, June 29, 2012

Spain´s Burning Forests

The sun half hidden behind the smoke

Every year, man-made blazes destroy thousands of hectares of precious forest in Spain. Many of these fires are started deliberately.

A Heavy Price
When we consider the hypothetical and actual aftermath of such deliberate acts of destruction, it is shocking to consider that the majority of such perpetrators are fully aware of the potentially terrible consequences of their actions.

Forest fires endanger the lives of local residents and the brave men and women entrusted by society to tackle these fearsome blazes, and they destroy property, livelihoods and communities.
They also wreak grim destruction on the environment. Although many forest ecosystems around the world have evolved in conjunction with periodical fires, in the Mediterranean region the increasing frequency of such events is placing an unsustainable burden on these fragile habitats.

Countless small animals and scarce plants are killed outright by the flames, which also destroy the important, organically rich upper layers of the soil. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, and mineral nutrients are leached out of the denuded soil by the elements.
In addition, the European Environment Agency, in its report on the effects of forest fires in southern Europe, highlights the resulting habitat fragmentation which isolates plant and animal populations, thus reducing genetic diversity and putting endangered species at risk. Also, in a country where drought and water conservation are of perennial concern, any loss of tree cover and disruption of water catchment areas is a grave matter. (...)
http://suite101.com/article/spains-burning-forests---fire-raising-and-pyromania-a405886
http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2012/06/28/valencia/1340912241_327973.html

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

GOTYE

http://gotye.com/

"There are days when I'm sick of 'Somebody That I Used To Know'' (Gotye).
http://www.nme.com/news/gotye/63473

http://www.rollingstone.com/search?q=gotye&x=25&y=19

Friday, June 22, 2012

World Music Day (June 21)

The Fête de la Musique, also known as World Music Day, is a world wide music festival that takes place around the summer solstice. On that day, sidewalks, parks, community gardens, stores and more become impromptu musical stages for both amateur and professional musicians to showcase their talents. All concerts and performances are free and open to the public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%AAte_de_la_Musique
http://www.topperlearning.com/junior/news/view/do-you-know-why-world-music-day-is-celebrated
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/World-Music-Day-When-music-became-a-language/articleshow/14328114.cms
http://www.facebook.com/events/119146048224728/
http://www.newera.com.na/articles/45759/Artists-welcome-World-Music-Day
http://www.meraevents.com/event/world-music-day-event

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

MADRID'S 3h 48' BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S CONCERT

June 17 / Estadio Santiago Bernabéu / Madrid, SPAIN
Notes:
The booty-shakin', earth-quakin', love-makin', record-breakin' E Street Band! Tonight in Madrid, they played their longest show ever, at three hours and 48 minutes. Southside Johnny was there to help raise that bar, guesting on "Talk to Me" and the closing "Twist and Shout." And as we hoped, the live world premiere, from The Promise, of "Spanish Eyes."
http://www.backstreets.com/

http://blogs.elpais.com/ruta-norteamericana/2012/06/bruce-springsteen-dio-el-concierto-m%C3%A1s-largo-de-su-vida-en-madrid.html

Monday, June 18, 2012

Welcome To the 1930s

PAUL KRUGMAN
(http://www.stargazete.com/yazar/paul-krugman/english/welcome-to-the-1930s/yazi-610546)

Welcome to the 1930s

Martin Wolf is shrill (and rightly so). "Before now, I had never really understood how the 1930s could happen," the Financial Times columnist wrote in an op-ed published on June 5.
"Now I do. All one needs are fragile economies, a rigid monetary regime, intense debate over what must be done, widespread belief that suffering is good, myopic politicians, an inability to co-operate and failure to stay ahead of events."
Right on cue, the European Central Bank declined to cut interest rates, or announce any other policies that might help. Because what possible reason might there be to take action?
Survey data suggest that the euro area economy is really plunging now, plus Spain is on the brink. What about inflation? It's falling fast -- which is a bad thing under the circumstances.
I don't think there's any conceivable economic logic for the E.C.B.'s decision. It can only, I think, be understood as some kind of refusal to admit, even implicitly, that past decisions were wrong.
Like Mr. Wolf, I'm starting to see how the 1930s happened.
The Urge to Punish
I've been hearing various attempts to explain the E.C.B.'s utterly bizarre refusal to cut interest rates despite soaring unemployment, sliding inflation, and on top of all that the special problems of a monetary union that probably can't survive unless overall demand is strong.
The most popular story seems to be that the E.C.B. wants to "hold politicians' feet to the fire," letting them know that they won't get relief unless they do what's necessary (whatever that is).
This really doesn't make any sense. If we're talking about enforcing austerity and wage cuts in the periphery, how much more incentive do these economies need?
If we're talking about a broader fiscal union or something, what is it about the imminent collapse of the whole system that the Germans supposedly don't understand?
Is there any conceivable way that cutting the repo rate by 50 basis points will somehow undermine actions that would otherwise happen?
What does make sense, maybe, is a two-part explanation.
First, the E.C.B. is unwilling to admit that its past policy, especially its past rate hikes, were a mistake.
Second -- and this goes deeper -- I suspect that we're seeing the old Joseph Schumpeter "work of depressions" mentality: the notion that all the suffering going on somehow serves a necessary purpose and that it would be wrong to mitigate that suffering even slightly.
This doctrine has an undeniable emotional appeal for people who are themselves comfortable.
It's also completely crazy given everything we've learned about economics these past 80 years.
But these are times of madness, dressed in good suits.
RATES STAY UNCHANGED
Officials from the European Central Bank announced on June 6 that the bank's benchmark interest rate would remain at 1 percent, despite calls in Europe for more economic stimulus measures to help nations struggling with the sovereign debt crisis.

However, Mario Draghi, the bank's president, assured the public that policy tools are available if Europe's economic situation continues to deteriorate. "We monitor all developments closely and we stand ready to act," he said at a press conference in Frankfurt. But Mr. Draghi also stressed that the E.C.B. could not substitute for European governments that have failed to provide a sufficient policy response. "There is no horse trading here," he said.

As the euro zone's debt crisis threatens to destabilize Spain's economy (which is seeing its borrowing costs rise) and push Greece out of the monetary union, some economists believe that the E.C.B. may soon have little choice but to cut interest rates -- which are already at historic lows -- to make it easier for banks to borrow. Another way the E.C.B. can provide a monetary boost for European economies is by cutting the deposit rate, sometimes called the "repo rate," which acts as a floor for lending rates between banks. The deposit rate is currently at 0.25 percent.
Earlier this year, the E.C.B. launched three-year "long-term refinancing operations" programs that pumped about 1 trillion euros into Europe's banking system. However, according to an analysis published June 6 by Sakari Suoninen, a reporter at Reuters, the benefits have faded as borrowing costs for troubled nations have increased. "The bank's dilemma is that if it does too much, pressure for government action falls," Mr. Suoninen wrote. "Yet if it does nothing, troubled sovereign debtors could find it harder and harder to finance themselves or maintain confidence in the banks that have bought much of their debt."

Estonia's Not-So-Successful Success Story
Since Estonia has suddenly become the poster child for austerity defenders -- they're on the euro and they're booming! -- I thought it might be useful to have a picture of what we're talking about. Below is a chart showing the real gross domestic product, from Eurostat.
So, a terrible -- Depression-level -- slump, followed by a significant but still incomplete recovery.

Better than no recovery at all, obviously -- but this is what passes for economic triumph?

Why the Baltics Matter
Some readers have urged me not to spend time on Latvia, Estonia, etc., on the grounds that they are too small to matter. Sorry, but that's not true. For one thing, every economy -- even a small one -- is potentially a "natural experiment" that teaches us more about how economies in general work. Beyond that, the Baltics now loom large in the imagination of austerity's defenders, particularly since Ireland keeps refusing to play along and become a success story.

Jörg Asmussen is Germany's man at the European Central Bank, which means that what he says matters. Read his speech in Riga, Latvia, from earlier this month (available at ecb.int), asserting that the Baltic experience shows that austerity and internal devaluation actually do work. Notice that his evidence comes entirely from one year of fairly fast growth after an incredible decline. So it's important to say that this proves very little.
Troubling Business Cycles

My mild observations that a partial bounce back from a severe slump are not exactly an economic triumph are apparently already eliciting rage in Estonia. The Oxford economist Simon Wren-Lewis, writing about Latvia in his blog, is more caustic: "An extraordinary success story: after an 18 percent decline in G.D.P. in 2009, and flat G.D.P. in 2010, we now have 5.5 percent growth in 2011," Mr. Wren-Lewis wrote on June 7. "Isn't the 5.5 percent growth last year just the beginning, with the economy achieving a new dynamism? Mr. Asmussen does not provide any additional evidence on this. Perhaps wisely, as the I.M.F. are predicting 2 percent growth this year, and 2.5 percent next year. So the 5.5 percent growth last year is all we have."

He continued: "Earlier this year I wrote that when growth returned, some would say this proved those pessimistic Keynesians had been all wrong. I must admit the 'some' I had in mind were politicians and journalists, not senior central bankers. By this logic, an even better strategy is to close the whole economy down for a year. The following year we could get fantastic growth as the economy starts up again."
While I'm at it, let me address another issue. Quite a few people say that it's wrong -- or, as some say, "dishonest" -- to look only at the decline since the peak. After all, didn't the Baltics have very good growth in the years preceding the peak?

Yes, they did.

So did the United States before the Great Depression. Long-run growth and business cycles are different things: long-run growth represents rising economic potential, slumps reflect a shortfall of output below that potential.
Since the austerity/stimulus debate is about slumps, not long-run growth, talking about growth before the crisis is just irrelevant.

Anyway, I'm for the Wren-Lewis proposal: let's collapse the economy for a year, so we can have great growth the year following.



Sunday, June 17, 2012

World Water Day

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that producing enough food to feed the world's rapidly growing population will require the international community to ensure the sustainable use of the world's "most critical finite resource," water.

"Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability," warned Ban in a statement read at the start of World Water Day 2012 ceremonies taking place at FAO. (...)
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Water_Day

Saturday, June 09, 2012

Jools Holland ('s) WONDERS

Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze (1974-1980 & 1985-1990) and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine and Bono.
Holland is a published author and appears on television shows besides his own and contributes to radio shows. In 2004, he collaborated with Tom Jones on an album of traditional R&B music. He currently hosts Later... with Jools Holland, a music-based show aired on BBC2, on which his annual show Hootenanny, is based.[1]   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jools_Holland)

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Of Monsters and Men

http://soundcloud.com/island-records-uk/of-monsters-and-men-dirty-paws

(...) It obviously hasn't done them any harm that they are currently being touted as "the new Arcade Fire" – and not just by anyone, by Rolling Stone magazine – which is fast shaping up as this era's version of "the new U2". They use melodica, glockenspiel, accordion and horn alongside traditional rock band instruments, an affirmation of the idea that this is a supercharged, lusty and loud brand of folk, the songs invariably starting out like campfire singalongs before building to the sort of epic middles and codas that would make more sense being sung along in stadiums. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/may/29/new-band-monsters-men

Saturday, May 26, 2012

LAST DINOSAURS

Last Dinosaurs are a four-piece whose debut album has been described by one magazine as "a strong contender" for best Australian album of the last two decades. (...)
Zoom, the opening track, is such an irresistible surge (the clue's in the title) you'll assume it's a one-off. Really, you must stop doing that. Track two, I Can't Help You, has the rhythmic propulsion and funky poppiness of Phoenix but goes on a minute too long (we are available for editing at cut prices) whereas Sunday Night doesn't last nearly long enough with its stunning key and chord changes and scruffy take on Afrobeat worthy of Foals if not Friendly Fires. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/may/09/new-band-last-dinosaurs
http://lastdinosaurs.com/home/
http://www.myspace.com/wearelastdinosaurs/radio

Saturday, May 19, 2012

INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM DAY (MAY 18)


This day is an occasion to raise awareness on how important museums are in the development of society.
ICOM Advisory Committee organises the theme of this event that, given the high number of countries involved, lasts a day, a weekend, a week or even a month.
From America to Oceania including Africa, Europe and Asia, this international event has confirmed its popularity.
These recent years, International Museum Day has been experiencing its highest involution with almost 30,000 museums that organised activities in more than 100 countries.


Friday, May 11, 2012

LAURA WELSH

Laura Welsh (soundcloud/twitter) has been writing pretty tunes under the guises of Hey Laura and Laura and the tears for the last few years, but now it’s back to simply her own name. And with that comes a new focus on penning rich and powerful pop ballads like Ghosts  – and it’s breathtaking.
http://www.thebluewalrus.com/2012/03/20/introducing-laura-welsh/

http://laurawelsh.tumblr.com/
http://soundcloud.com/laurajeanwelsh

Tapas

Tapas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtapas]) are a wide variety of appetizers, or snacks, in Spanish cuisine. They may be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or warm (such as chopitos, which are battered, fried baby squid). In select bars in Spain, tapas have evolved into an entire, and sometimes sophisticated, cuisine. In Spain, patrons of tapas can order many different tapas and combine them to make a full meal. In some Central American countries, such snacks are known as bocas.
The serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them. Also, in some countries it is customary for diners to stand and move about while eating tapas.

http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/indexin.html
http://www.tapas-recipes.com/
http://www.spain-recipes.com/spanish_tapas.html
http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/popular-dishes/tapas-recipes

Monday, May 07, 2012

LEONARD COHEN'S OLD IDEAS

Old Ideas is not all about death, betrayal and God, juicy as these are. As the title suggests, it is more of the stuff that has made Cohen indispensable for six decades: desire, regret, suffering, misanthropy, love, hope, and hamming it up (here's a line from "Banjo": "There's a broken banjo bobbing on a dark infested sea"). (...)

The musicianship throughout is uncluttered and swinging – a relief for those still rueing Cohen's lengthy synth phase. A bodyguard of angelic female voices (longtime collaborator Sharon Robinson, the Webb Sisters) wafts about, adding to songs like "Different Sides", and not distracting overmuch elsewhere.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/22/leonard-cohen-old-ideas-review

Thursday, April 26, 2012

World Intellectual Property Day

Behind every great innovation, either artistic or technological, is a human story – a tale in which new pathways open as a result of the curiosity, insight or determination of individuals.
The Wright Brothers’ boyhood fascination with flight leads to a flying machine and travel by air. Louis Pasteur’s inquisitive mind advances the science of disease prevention. Tu Youyou’s dogged analysis of herbal remedies results in a malaria treatment that saves millions of lives. Steve Jobs’ ambition to make digital technology simple and accessible to everyone gives rise to personal computing and – three decades on – a new paradigm for the delivery of entertainment.
The list of visionary innovators is long. It is a catalogue of human ingenuity and creativity. It includes the many artists, writers and musicians who changed the way we see and hear things: Rembrandt and Turner, Picasso and Kandinski, each reshaping our perceptions of light, shape and form; Chekhov and Tagore, Neruda and Mafouz, their writing giving new insights into the human experience; Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, Hendrix and Rostropovich – musicians who challenge the status-quo, and endure.
http://www.wipo.int/ip-outreach/en/ipday/2012/
http://www.youtube.com/user/wipo?ob=0&feature=results_main
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Intellectual_Property_Day
http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2012/04/26/today-world-intellectual-property-day-2012-celebrates-visionary-innovators.html

Monday, April 23, 2012

World Book Day

La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalan pronunciation: [ɫə ðiˈaðə ðə ˈsaɲ ˈʒɔrði], Saint George's Day), also known as El dia de la Rosa (The Day of the Rose) or El dia del Llibre (The Day of the Book) is a Catalan holiday held on 23 April, with similarities to Valentine's Day and some unique twists that reflect the antiquity of the celebrations. The main event is the exchange of gifts between sweethearts, loved ones and colleagues. Historically, men gave women roses, and women gave men a book to celebrate the occasion—"a rose for love and a book forever." In modern times, the mutual exchange of books is also customary. Roses have been associated with this day since medieval times, but the giving of books is a more recent tradition originating in 1923, when a bookseller started to promote the holiday as a way to commemorate the nearly simultaneous deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare on 23 April 1616. Barcelona is the publishing capital of both Catalan and Spanish languages and the combination of love and literacy was quickly adopted.
http://www.barcelonareview.com/cat/temps.htm
http://www.worldbookday.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Day
http://www.un.org/en/events/bookday/

Sunday, April 22, 2012

EARTH DAY 2012

Our planet, our home is being neglected. Climate change continues unabated. It seems there's a new ecological disaster happening almost daily. This Earth Day it's time to mobilize the planet from the ground up to send a message that the Earth won't wait!
http://www.earthday.org/
http://clubpenguin.wikia.com/wiki/Earth_Day_2012
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/earth-day

Friday, April 20, 2012

What Happened the Year YOU WERE BORN?

http://whathappenedinmybirthyear.com/
(Type your birthday and wait for a great deal of information to appear on your computer screen).
As an example. Were you born in 1992? Read what happened:
In 1992, the world was a different place. There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo.
In 1992, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Aladdin. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster. (...)

The 1990s were indeed a special decade. The Nineties saw the beginnings of the World Wide Web, originating at CERN. Email becomes popular. The Soviet Union dissolved. Living standards in East Asia and Europe generally improved. The Cold War ends. Iraqi forces invade Kuwait. A UN coalition force led by the US was sent to the Persian Gulf, and aerial bombing of Iraq began. The Kosovo War took place. The Ethiopian Civil War ends. Dolly, a sheep, is cloned. The Global Positioning System GPS becomes fully operational. Genetically engineered crops are developed for commercial use. Intel develops the Pentium processor. The Java programming language is created. Microsoft released Windows 95. In Los Angeles, riots occur after the police brutality case involving Rodney King. Great Britain hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to China. East Timor breaks away from Indonesian control. US president Bill Clinton was involved in the Lewinsky scandal. Dogme 95 becomes an important artistic movement in European film. Teen soap Beverly Hills 90210 has its long run. Baywatch becomes the most watched show in history. On MTV, reality television makes its beginning. Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa. Germany was reunified. The prediction of computer bug Y2K spreads fear.  (...)       

Thursday, April 12, 2012

PURITY RING - MEG MYERS

http://soundcloud.com/purity-ring

Purity Ring are so buzzy and bloggy that Pitchfork, the home of blog buzz and buzzy blogging, has already named them Best New Band of CMJ 2011 and Best New Band of 2011 and featured them in lists of SXSW 2012's Must-Sees and 2012's Most Anticipated LPs. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr/05/new-band-purity-ring

Meg Myers: She's not quite goth. We're not sure what she is, which is a good sign, because we spend all day, every day trying to come up with pigeonholes for musicians and this time we're flummoxed. We were almost fooled by the pretty features and long flowing hair into assuming she'd be a winsome Laurel Canyon throwback, but she's not quite that, either. (...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr/04/new-band-meg-myers

Saturday, March 31, 2012

EARTH HOUR 2012

We only have one planet. You can help protect it. Participate in the world’s largest single campaign for the planet: Earth Hour. It starts by turning off your lights for an hour at 8:30 pm on March 31, 2012 in a collective display of commitment to a better future for the planet. Think what can be achieved when we all come together for a common cause.
http://www.worldwildlife.org/sites/earthhour/index.html

"Earth Hour 2012 is a celebration of people power; the world's largest mass event in support of the planet," WWF official Dermot O'Gorman told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120331/annual-earth-hour-lights-out-climate-change-campaign-120331/20120331/?hub=EdmontonHome

Thursday, March 29, 2012

SPAIN GENERAL STRIKE

Flights and other services in Spain face disruption Thursday in a general strike against labour reforms and spending cuts that the conservative government says are needed to save the economy.
http://gulfnews.com/news/world/other-world/spain-faces-general-strike-amid-budget-pressure-1.1001340

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/mar/29/eurozone-crisis-spanish-general-strike

While Rajoy’s measures have angered unions and undermined support for the party in a regional election on March 25, the government is still struggling to convince investors its policies are enough to restore the public finances and reduce a 23 percent jobless rate. Spanish 10-year borrowing costs have surged almost 50 basis points since the start of March.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-28/spanish-general-strike-looms-as-rajoy-cornered-by-deficit-crisis.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17545174

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/03/201232944838517412.html

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/03/27-3

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

World Theatre Day

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day International Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau (France) in 1962.

Message of the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day
"I'm honored to have been asked by the International Theatre Institute ITI at UNESCO to give this greeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of World Theatre Day. I will address my brief remarks to my fellow theatre workers, peers and comrades.
May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candor, and grace. May you overcome adversity, censorship, poverty and nihilism, as many of you will most certainly be obliged to do. May you be blessed with the talent and rigor to teach us about the beating of the human heart in all its complexity, and the humility and curiosity to make it your life's work. And may the best of you - for it will only be the best of you, and even then only in the rarest and briefest moments - succeed in framing that most basic of questions, "how do we live?" Godspeed."
- John Malkovich

http://www.world-theatre-day.org/en/index.html
http://w3.bcn.cat/V01/Serveis/Noticies/V01NoticiesLlistatNoticiesCtl/0,2138,1653_1802_3_1732999145,00.html?bcnAccessible=true&accio=detall&home=HomeBCN
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=33393&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html