I have just discovered this sweet singer, Russian Red. Although she is Spanish she writes and sings in English. She is form Madrid and her real name is Lourdes Hernández.
Her dazzling voice makes you stop and listen to her music carefully. Her main song ‘cigarettes’ sounds fresh, original and with the simplicity of few instruments. I am very surprised.
Here you have, I hope you enjoy it!
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Uncanny stories...?
One of the most unbelievable tales that I have never listened is about something related with a fire. This fire happened in a forest, in a natural and protected area in Spain.
To avoid this horrible and ecological disaster, a sort of emergency groups mobilized. Technical and human support, a large number of volunteers, professional firemen, 4 helicopters and a big hydroplane collaborated in the extinction tasks.
This labour of extinction needed one week to control the fire, and three more days to extinct it completely. Afterwards a technical team went to the affected area to evaluate the damage and find out the origin of that fire. Until now everything was normal, but the burned forest had prepared a big surprise.
All of a sudden, when they finally managed to arrive to one of the regions with a high difficult access they found a package similar to a lifeless body. One of the team components turn over the body and all of them realised that it suspect package was the body of a frogman, completely burned by flames, and fully equipped for the practising of scuba diving.
Anybody couldn’t believe their eyes. It was astonishing because the nearest beach was two hundred kilometres from there. What the hell he was doing there, and disguised in that way? The only answer to that unbelievable question was that the hydroplane.
When it flew to the sea to refuelling water for its huge water tank, and then empty it into the woods on fire, soak up the poor and innocent frogman who was practising scuba diving near to the sea’s surface.
I don’t know if it is an ‘uncanny story’ or an
‘urban legend’. In my opinion is more credible the second one, a tale that belongs to the nowadays folklore. What do you think about it?
See you my dear readers.
To avoid this horrible and ecological disaster, a sort of emergency groups mobilized. Technical and human support, a large number of volunteers, professional firemen, 4 helicopters and a big hydroplane collaborated in the extinction tasks.
This labour of extinction needed one week to control the fire, and three more days to extinct it completely. Afterwards a technical team went to the affected area to evaluate the damage and find out the origin of that fire. Until now everything was normal, but the burned forest had prepared a big surprise.
All of a sudden, when they finally managed to arrive to one of the regions with a high difficult access they found a package similar to a lifeless body. One of the team components turn over the body and all of them realised that it suspect package was the body of a frogman, completely burned by flames, and fully equipped for the practising of scuba diving.
Anybody couldn’t believe their eyes. It was astonishing because the nearest beach was two hundred kilometres from there. What the hell he was doing there, and disguised in that way? The only answer to that unbelievable question was that the hydroplane.
When it flew to the sea to refuelling water for its huge water tank, and then empty it into the woods on fire, soak up the poor and innocent frogman who was practising scuba diving near to the sea’s surface.
I don’t know if it is an ‘uncanny story’ or an
‘urban legend’. In my opinion is more credible the second one, a tale that belongs to the nowadays folklore. What do you think about it?
See you my dear readers.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Moleskine ®, a notebook full of history or pure marketing
In my student days I was fascinated when I discovered the history that was hidden behind this simply notebook. A cleanly notebook yes, with a naked eye it seems a normal notebook with the only particularity that you can close it with an elastic rope. But behind this simplicity there was a good story to tell you.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)Notebook No. 53, June-September 1912,9 x 13.5 cmkept in the MuséeNational Picasso of Paris
All of this started when Bruce Chatwin made use of these kind of notebooks in all of his journeys, he always bought them in a stationery store in Paris, who was supplied by a stationer in Tours, France, until the stationer closed in 1986 due to the death of its owner who left bringing with him the secret of its manufacturing.
Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh or Ernest Hemingway used one of these pocket notebooks to write draw, etc. But it is not tested that they used the same notebook, the moleskine, (this word comes from the French spelling of 'moleskin', the cloth covering of it).
Some years later, an Italian company Modo & Modo, registered the name, the brand, and started to fabricate the product thanks to the description on B. Chatwin’s books.
The legend of this notebook probably started when the fabulous marketing campaign of this company, take this legend and started to buy this product more expensive than the rest of the same typology.
I have to confess that I use one of these notebooks. I bring it wherever I go, and I don’t know if it is for the legend or for the marketing effect, probably the second one.
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)Notebook No. 53, June-September 1912,9 x 13.5 cmkept in the MuséeNational Picasso of Paris
All of this started when Bruce Chatwin made use of these kind of notebooks in all of his journeys, he always bought them in a stationery store in Paris, who was supplied by a stationer in Tours, France, until the stationer closed in 1986 due to the death of its owner who left bringing with him the secret of its manufacturing.
Artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh or Ernest Hemingway used one of these pocket notebooks to write draw, etc. But it is not tested that they used the same notebook, the moleskine, (this word comes from the French spelling of 'moleskin', the cloth covering of it).
Some years later, an Italian company Modo & Modo, registered the name, the brand, and started to fabricate the product thanks to the description on B. Chatwin’s books.
The legend of this notebook probably started when the fabulous marketing campaign of this company, take this legend and started to buy this product more expensive than the rest of the same typology.
I have to confess that I use one of these notebooks. I bring it wherever I go, and I don’t know if it is for the legend or for the marketing effect, probably the second one.
Here's the notebook at present, Moleskine.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
The origin of the word spam
Here we are dear readers! We survived Christmas and I am happy to start a new year full of energy. One of the things that you have to do when you returned from a large stage of holidays is to open the mailbox and read your mail. Then you find an old friend, yes I am talking about spam, a large mailing list that you don’t know the author and can’t do anything to avoid it. The only thing you can do is be patient and erase one by one from your mailbox.
Do you know what the origin of the word ‘spam’ is? Well, we are going to find out this meaning or at least we’ll try it.
It seems that spam is a word which came from USA. Around 1930 Hormel Foods’ company launched a new product, a kind of meat with several ingredients. Hormel’s Spiced Ham became Spam. This product was a big revolution because it was the first canned meat without the need to keep it with a fridge. This fact was a revolution especially in the World Wars period. It developed into the main food of the English and Soviets soldiers. And for the rest of people, for many years, it was the only canned meat at a time of food shortages.
Later in 70’s Monty Python started to use this word in different humour sketches and in TV ads, they used to shout the word ‘spam’ very often like in this gag:
This habit was applied to define the ‘rubbish mailing’ or the ‘unwanted mailing’ in the Internet era. Sometimes the origin of words could be fascinating and unbelievable as well.
Do you know what the origin of the word ‘spam’ is? Well, we are going to find out this meaning or at least we’ll try it.
It seems that spam is a word which came from USA. Around 1930 Hormel Foods’ company launched a new product, a kind of meat with several ingredients. Hormel’s Spiced Ham became Spam. This product was a big revolution because it was the first canned meat without the need to keep it with a fridge. This fact was a revolution especially in the World Wars period. It developed into the main food of the English and Soviets soldiers. And for the rest of people, for many years, it was the only canned meat at a time of food shortages.
Later in 70’s Monty Python started to use this word in different humour sketches and in TV ads, they used to shout the word ‘spam’ very often like in this gag:
This habit was applied to define the ‘rubbish mailing’ or the ‘unwanted mailing’ in the Internet era. Sometimes the origin of words could be fascinating and unbelievable as well.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Good advertisement for a Good cause
I don’t know if this story is true or not, but if it’s not I want to believe in, why not.
Have you ever stop to thing about why things happen? Maybe things happen for any reason that we can’t explain or we can’t understand. Perhaps this is a romantic view, the destiny, our providence, our fortune, our luck... But my left brain don’t let me think in this way. Our destiny has not been written by any supernatural power, we can write it every day, every minute an every second by ourselves, by our will.
I would like to finish these thoughts with a good quote, which would be nice to remember:
You always get much more than you get.
Have you ever stop to thing about why things happen? Maybe things happen for any reason that we can’t explain or we can’t understand. Perhaps this is a romantic view, the destiny, our providence, our fortune, our luck... But my left brain don’t let me think in this way. Our destiny has not been written by any supernatural power, we can write it every day, every minute an every second by ourselves, by our will.
I would like to finish these thoughts with a good quote, which would be nice to remember:
You always get much more than you get.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Changes!
On these days of change in Washington, we need someone who pinches us (the expressions that Michael Moore uses on his letter). We need to remember than on the earth there are many problems and some of them could be resolved by politicians. Politicians who waste millions of dollars on clothes, for the campaign (Do you remember Sarah Palin). Politicians who waste lots of money on Television adverting (Obama bought the most expensive campaign ads on the USA's history).
It’s time for hopes and fears, time for being thoughtful about our future and the future of our sons.
Here I have post a remarkable campaign called “No Hunger”. It is an Action against hunger’s movement to collect money for their mission: save lives by eliminating hunger. It is a difficult mission, yes but somebody could explain me why the governments waste money in absurd wars (probably for fuel) and don’t do anything with the real problems.Maybe all I have said it’s true or maybe I have a bad day. I only wish a change for the USA and another point of view for the powerful people who can change things.
http://www.askalgoretomakethismovie.org/
It’s time for hopes and fears, time for being thoughtful about our future and the future of our sons.
Here I have post a remarkable campaign called “No Hunger”. It is an Action against hunger’s movement to collect money for their mission: save lives by eliminating hunger. It is a difficult mission, yes but somebody could explain me why the governments waste money in absurd wars (probably for fuel) and don’t do anything with the real problems.Maybe all I have said it’s true or maybe I have a bad day. I only wish a change for the USA and another point of view for the powerful people who can change things.
http://www.askalgoretomakethismovie.org/
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Etiquette
Sunday morning, it’s raining. I have woken up just a few hours ago. This kind of weather makes me feel melancholic and I have just remembered my teenager time when I was studying at the Etiquette School. Today is a good day to explain you some interesting things.
In the past, a gentleman was much appreciated and being gentlemanly was a noble thing. Here are some things that I learn in my Etiquette School:
Always be polite. Be polite and courteous; show that you are better man. Do not speak loudly. When you speak loudly, you have to transmit serenity.
Do not lose your temper. When you lose your temper, you are showing everyone that you can't control your emotions. If you can't control yourself, then how can you possibly control anything else?
Do not interrupt. Let people finish what they are saying before adding your comments. Interrupting others is a sign of poor etiquette and a lack of social skills.
Respect your elders. As you know you should respect others as you would like them to respect you. Today, young people think they know it all. Well, probably they don't. Just think of yourself five years ago... you're much experienced today, aren't you? Aged people have a lot of experience which can help us.
Do not laugh at others' mistakes. It is not necessary.
Remove your hat indoors. This rule seems outdated nowadays. But there are more people who don’t remove it entering a building. And don't put it on at dinner table.
Always open doors. This is perhaps the most basic rule of male etiquette you know. And it is also one of the easiest to follow. Open the door and also hold it open while she or he is entering into someplace…
Put on her coat. Always help a lady put on her coat or similar. This is a simple but powerful action.
Help with her seat. If an unaccompanied lady is sitting next to you, it is basic that you help her to seat by pulling her chair out for her and gently pushing it back into place, while the lady is sitting of course. Probably this is an outdated rule but anyway we can do it.
Give up your seat. If a lady or an elder arrives at the bus or the subway wagon and there are no available seats, please stand up.
I’m sure that you know more tips to define a gentleman. This is only a little list by some examples. I hope you can follow some of them. It can help to live together with harmony.
In the past, a gentleman was much appreciated and being gentlemanly was a noble thing. Here are some things that I learn in my Etiquette School:
Always be polite. Be polite and courteous; show that you are better man. Do not speak loudly. When you speak loudly, you have to transmit serenity.
Do not lose your temper. When you lose your temper, you are showing everyone that you can't control your emotions. If you can't control yourself, then how can you possibly control anything else?
Do not interrupt. Let people finish what they are saying before adding your comments. Interrupting others is a sign of poor etiquette and a lack of social skills.
Respect your elders. As you know you should respect others as you would like them to respect you. Today, young people think they know it all. Well, probably they don't. Just think of yourself five years ago... you're much experienced today, aren't you? Aged people have a lot of experience which can help us.
Do not laugh at others' mistakes. It is not necessary.
Remove your hat indoors. This rule seems outdated nowadays. But there are more people who don’t remove it entering a building. And don't put it on at dinner table.
Always open doors. This is perhaps the most basic rule of male etiquette you know. And it is also one of the easiest to follow. Open the door and also hold it open while she or he is entering into someplace…
Put on her coat. Always help a lady put on her coat or similar. This is a simple but powerful action.
Help with her seat. If an unaccompanied lady is sitting next to you, it is basic that you help her to seat by pulling her chair out for her and gently pushing it back into place, while the lady is sitting of course. Probably this is an outdated rule but anyway we can do it.
Give up your seat. If a lady or an elder arrives at the bus or the subway wagon and there are no available seats, please stand up.
I’m sure that you know more tips to define a gentleman. This is only a little list by some examples. I hope you can follow some of them. It can help to live together with harmony.
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