Obama's Dirty Secret

Spain dwellers will probably be surprised to hear that a very common Spanish pastime that Barack Obama indulges in is something that he is desperately trying to conceal from the American people. Smoking.

This is a big deal over in Yanquilandia because many people see smoking as a very nasty habit only partaken in by weak-willed individuals. Presidents don’t smoke, at least not modern day Democratic presidents. Smoking is for shady, back-room dealing Republicans.

Obama says he is trying to quit, or has quit, or something. The Barack-obsessed American media sure isn’t going to out him though. They consistently only have great things to say about ol’ Barack. I bet if Hillary even looked at a cigarette it would be all over the papers about what white trash she is.

One good thing they say the cigarettes do for Obama is they make his voice all maple syrupy and smooth, like some kind of jazz radio disk-jockey. People really do love his voice. If he quits smoking he may lose that rich, resonant, authoritative sound that some people say screams “president.”

Maybe Hillary should pick up a pack of Ducados. Her voice could use some toning down. People may be voting solely on which voice they would have to listen to for the next 8 years.

The Bota - Is there Anything More Spanish?

Well maybe there is, but the Spanish wine skin, or Bota, has got to be one of the most Spanish icons out there. And I'm not talking about the crappy plastic-lined imitations. No, it has to be the real deal, hand made, with tar inside, or pez.

I bought these two at a Boteria in Madrid, kind of a while ago. The workshop was over in the South of Latina area - one of those streets above Puerta de Toldeo. Like most places in Madrid, I knew more or less where it was but not the exact street or address. I tried to find it once again after many years but had no luck.

So, the other day I was looking at my botas, and I did what everyone does now if they are trying to find something, I Googled "boteria" and came up with several things. One of which was a post that I missed from Sal's Virtual Tapas Bar. It seems that Sal is an aficionado of the bota too and he did a great job of laying out the do's and dont's of bota use and maintenance.

Proper Bota Boozing Technique:

Sal also says that as of 2004 the boteria is called:

Botería Julio Rodriguez
Calle Aguila, 12
28005 Madrid
Spain
Tel: +34-91-365-6629

I have to check that out when I am in Madrid next - hopefully this June.

I also came up with this great link to a video - complete with flamenco guitar accompaniment - of the bota fabrication process.

I do have to say that I am a bota snob though because mine not only are authentic hand made piel with tar inside, but they also have tapones made of bull horn (asta de toro), not plastic. Jealous?

Interesting Language Story

The Portuguese have decided to go Brazilian - at least in how they speak and write. They are going to adopt Brazilian Portuguese as their official language.

They've done the math, and came to the conclusion that Portuguese from Portugal with it's 10 million speakers, just can't win in the face of Brazilian Portuguese and their 190 million speakers. So, they are going to change about 2,000 words from "Portugal Portuguese" to "Brazilian Portuguese".

Can you imagine a similar thing happening in Spain? There is no way they would adopt "South American Spanish", not that I'm saying they should. Of course there would be the problem of which brand of South American Spanish to adopt?

How about the Brits? That one is a little more clear cut. We all know they should give up on the "organise" and spell it "organize" etc., and just speak like the Yanks already (wink).

Slacking Off

Well, not really. One thing about vacations - it takes too damn much work to prepare for them, go on them, then recover from them. It's almost not worth it.

My real life has been seriously getting in the way of my pathetic web life. I planned a long weekend in Maui but then had to work my ass off at the day job to be able to leave town, then I get back and have to work my ass off because I was gone. And this is just for a lousy self-made "puente" of four days!

Anyway, That's Maui up there, it was nice, etc.

Freedom From Religion

"Freedom of Religion" is on some people's minds these days in Spain, but I think what Spain needs is a little freedom from religion.

This article from El Pais explains that Muslims in Spain want their piece of the subsidy pie - right now mostly reserved for Catholics. They want the State to pay for religious instruction in Islam (which in fact is what the current law says Spain will do). This is in the name of freedom of religion. So, who's next? the Buddhists, the Hindus, the Scientologists? Of course the answer is there should be no public money for ANY religious instruction.

I feel compelled to mention again that in Yanquilandia, where we are all supposedly a bunch of religious fanatics, there has been no public money for teaching religion for, let's see .... never! And yet, freedom of religion is alive and well.

The More Things Change ....

You know the rest…. All right, it’s, “The More They Stay the Same,” especially in politics. That is a genuine poster from the 1982 Spanish general election when Felipe Gonzalez began his long fourteen-year tour of duty. I was a student wandering the streets, usually after a long night of learning a lot of new information in Spanish bars and pubs. Around 4 AM or so, they would start plastering up the political posters all over the city. I would ask the poster hangers for one of whatever they were plastering that morning. Then, I proceeded to hold on to the damn things for about 26 years. Crazy huh?

I framed one of the coolest PSOE political posters and put it in my Piso - so I don’t have a scan of it now. It is one of the “Juventudes Socialistas”. It's very colorful, and “Movida” looking, with a whole group of very happy and youthful people holding up sparklers. I’ll scan it one day. Update: I found it online. They are selling it for 50 Euros at Todocoleccion.net:

As you can see Felipe Gonzalez’s slogan was “Change”. Hmm, I wonder where I’ve heard that one before? Barack Obama ripped Felipe off!

For you history buffs, here is the predecessor to the Partido Popular. The party head was Manuel Fraga, a former Franco minister. He's the one that made the slogan "Spain is different" popular as minister of tourism. Hey Pedro Schwartz! You don't run into that name too often in Spain.

Check out this guy. Talk about a major-league Facha. It says, "Spain United and in Order." I bet! I actually love this one - it is so military looking although this guy, Blas Piñar, was no military man. He was a notary (kind of like a lawyer/judge). Needless to say this party, Fuerza Nueva, did not have major success at the polls and was soon disbanded. It continued on only as a publishing house for very right-wing writings. I considered framing this one too and putting it up in my house but had second thoughts. Guests may not understand that it is interesting to me only because it is so outrageous. I have enough problems being an American in Madrid without putting this guy on my wall. Besides, this gentleman is not that pleasant to look at.

I saw that Tom over at Simbolos y Senyals likes this kind of stuff, so I thought I would post them. He is welcome to them if he is interested.

Dateline Vegas, Baby

Las Vegas is a trip. You have to check it out at least once if you are ever over on the West coast of the U.S. It’s a Disneyland for adults. I am not a gambling fan but the pure spectacle of the place is fascinating. True, more than a few days in Vegas may drive you nuts.

For the uninitiated, each hotel has a theme that carries through all aspects of design, such as a Venetian theme, Paris theme, New York theme, Pirate theme, etc. That's supposed to be St. Marks Square in Venice up there.

And the place looks like China in terms of how much construction is going on. How the hell are they going to fill up all those buildings?

Lots of Europeans running around there too. All kinds of languages are heard. It’s pretty expensive but if you are spending Euros, you’re in luck.

You don’t have to gamble. There are all manners of ways they get your money. You can hang out at the pool and drink, go out to nightclubs and drink, go to very good restaurants and drink, shop and drink, go to Broadway quality shows and drink, and of course gamble and drink. I think you can see a common thread here.