Poor Bastard ...

Of course there are always two sides to every story but ... poor bastard. Maybe he is a wife beating son of a bitch, and I know there are children involved, but since I'm a man I'm thinking he is a poor bastard.

California used to be the center of the "woman takes your stuff" universe. But I have heard many stories like this one in Spain. I think Spain now tops California. In Spain it seems if there are children involved, the house and the kids go to the woman no matter what - and the man pays.

There must be some middle ground where both sides are able to have a life.

A Simpler Metro Time

Take a look at that map. It's a beautiful and simple thing. This is the Madrid Metro as it existed in 1982. Looking at this map, it seems like maybe you could actually visit a good number of the stops - it's just not that complicated. This is how I saw the Madrid Metro when I first came to Spain.

Is it me or does the current Metro Map give you a headache?
Sure, you can go to a lot of places but it's a mess graphically. It also has nothing to do with the actual location of the stops in relation to each other. They need to make a simple "Centro only" metro map - something that can fit on a T-shirt.

Hey, notice how on the 1982 Metro map the stop for "Gran Via" on Line 1 was named "Jose Antonio" (an infamous Fascist). They changed it sometime in the late 80's? Perhaps the very first move for the future Historical Memory Law.

Alright, I will not cling to the past. Change is good, right? But it was a good looking map.

Does Anyone Know What This Means?

Unbelievable Horror

I have a friend in Madrid who was telling me a story about her mother who went into the hospital for a routine foot ailment - I don't know an ingrown toenail or something - she said that her mother got Hepatitis B in the hospital but it was no big deal this happened all the time. Naturally, being from the land of the lawyers, I was kind of shocked by this news and that no one was being sued.

Now this. This is really too much. This guy's wife had swine flu and went to the emergency room at least three times before they finally told her that Oh yeah, you have swine flu. By then it was too late - she died. What else? She was pregnant too. The good news? The baby was born healthy - no swine flu, the bad news? The nurse gave the premature baby milk formula intravenously instead of into the stomach through the nose - Result? Baby dead too.

I can't even begin to understand how this guy feels - but that picture gives me a clue.

What Cops Should Look Like

I once wrote about how Spain seems to have better looking women working in government or doing non-traditional jobs such as security guards, mail carriers, etc. - and was roundly criticized for my trouble in the comment section as being "desperate". Well - no comment on the desperate part - but take a look at that friendly officer and I rest my case.

I'm just saying that L.A. lady cops do not look like that, but maybe they are just hiding their attributes behind bullet proof vests.

End of the Bullfight?

Here is one part of globalization that I don't think the Americans can be blamed for. There are real live Spanish people who want the Bullfight to end and I'm sure the powers that be in the European Union would like to see it gone too.

I personally would still like Spain to be "different" - as the old tourism ad campaign once said. But I recognize that the Bullfight's days are numbered.

I See a Movie Coming Out of This One

Two sixty year old woman partying on a luxury cruise, throwing money around and picking up old guys (or young) - all the while packing 27 kilos of cocaine.

There have to be millions of great plot lines to follow in this scenario for some talented (or hack) writer from Hollywood or Madrid.

I'm telling you there's a bad movie in there somewhere.