Reading in Spain

Whenever I'm in Spain, I try to get to know the work of a novelist. Yesterday I finished a very long, difficult, but fascinating (and decidedly grown-up) novel by Alvaro Pombo called Contra Natura. It is a kind of roman a these, deliberately reminiscent of some fifties existentialist novels, like those of Simone de Beauvoir. I found it both exquisitely written and sometimes maddening in its exposition of philosophical ideas, but the characters are compelling, and the examination of the experiences of male homosexuality under Franco and today are intelligent and compassionate even as they hold nothing back. The novel must be read in relation to the commercialization of certain versions of gay life as well as the legalization of gay marriage in Spain. Paradoxically the two most despicable characters are in some manner the most true to themselves, although they are not held up as models. Lots of Nietzsche, but also a fine ear for contemporary pop culture.

My daughter read the entire Harry Potter book yesterday. I made her promise not to tell me anything about it so I can read it myself without spoilage, but I can't start it until I finish Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, very enjoyable, but not terribly demanding. We will be having tapas with some friends this afternoon, so I'll have to wait until this evening to start it.
After digesting this challenging work, I'm happy to romp through the fantasy worlds of Gaiman and Rowling.

"Mapas abiertos"

Today we went to La Lonja (one of my favorite buildings in Zaragoza) to see a photography show called Mapas abiertos. Fotografía latinoamericana 1991-2002. The show opened simultaneously in Madrid and Barcelona, and is on tour throughout Latin America over the next few years. The show is magnificent, as is the book that includes much more material than could be displayed. Some work by Marcelo Brodsky, the creator of Buena memoria, is included in the show. Brodsky became a photographer in Barcelona while in exile from Argentina during the military repression. He sought out the classmates in the picture and interviewed them, photographing those who were willing, and documenting their stories as well as the complex relation to memory and commemoration after the end of the dictatorship. When the show was displayed in Buenos Aires, he also photographed the people who came to see the images, often capturing their reflections in the glass covering the image of the class photo.


Interestingly enough, in Zaragoza when a few viewers made complaints about one of the images, the program organizers did a little preemptive censorship to avoid polemic, although the image had been seen in the show in Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastian.

In 2005, the Foro Latino organized this conference in Mexico City around the theme of the collection, photography in Latin America in the last decade of the millenium. If you go the conference site and click on the names of the panelists, you can read their conference presentations! Very cool.

Nuestros vecinos

I have just discovered Entrenómadas and Chesús Yuste the two lovely blogs of our neighbors here on Conde de Aranda in Zaragoza!

Hey Nanners! Happy Birthday!

Pick your favorite birthday song:
A. The Ramones serenade Mr. Burns

B. Maz Jobrani belly-dances!:

C. Sesame Street classic by Sally Cruikshank: Jake baked a cake

The Wild Parrots of Barcelona

I really loved the documentary movie The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, because it gave me a a glimpse of my home town, San Francisco, as an ecosystem including interactions between people and birds. Mark Bittner told his story in a book, and the film gave rise to a new partnership between him and the filmmaker.

When we were in Barcelona, I saw similar parrots in the parks, nesting in palm trees, flying about, and I thought they were wonderful: colorful, cute, charming. But when we were at dinner, Blas mentioned that they are in fact an invasive species and that their aggression was causing harm to the local ecosystem. This made me realize that I had been looking at them from the perspective of a tourist and that the locals might have a different point of view (just as they might see the tourists as an invasive species with a negative impact on their ecosystem!)

This BBC story about the wild parrots of Barcelona here tells how the population of Quaker Parrots (cotorras, as they are commonly called in spanish) has grown to a couple of thousand since the seventies. One problem is that they eat every kind of plant, and have devoured some farmers' tomato crops! Apparently the "urban parrot" phenomenon (birds native to South America establishing colonies and thriving in New Northern climes) has been observed in San Diego and Los Angeles, Brooklyn, London, and many other cities. Some are worried about it because they compete with native birds, but others see this new niche as a way some parrots, which are threatened with extinction in their native lands, might survive in new places

A very informative site about urban parrots is City Parrots, which documents the survival of the very showy Scarlet Macaw in Holland, as well as collecting stories about parrots from around the world. I'll try to put up some pictures later.

One year bloggiversary

I have had limited access to internet over the last week or so, due to travel and having too much fun. I found myself at times thinking, "Oh, I must blog about this!" and started wondering about why some events or experiences fall into that category and others don't. I certainly want to write about the wild parrots of Barcelona and how they are like the tourists, extremely picturesque and also an invasive species that is causing great concern to the locals. I have, however, realized that Safari is not the best browser for posting to Blogger for various reasons, so I'll have to do that later.

I started this blog just a little over a year ago, to learn how to do it and about blogging for teaching and by writers. One of the things I've learned is about why I'll still use Mozilla instead of Safari, even though I've switched to Mac.

I have been to Barcelona four or five times since 1975. I always enjoy myself, and I always remember that Barcelona often smells like a port city: the salt air, and the whiff of sewage, urine and vomit.

Je m'en vais!

First stop Amsterdam. Then on to Barcelona, Zaragoza, possibly Valencia.
Mr. Meow will be comfortably lodged in Northfield.
ETA: Leo at the farm. Is he not handsome?

Leo has a lolcat

This lolmemehas contaminated the entire universe, as reported by Scott Beale over at Laughing Squid. One of my favorites is Loltheorists, but I have to say I also like Lolbrarians.

Remembering Beverly Sills

Beverly Sills died of cancer after a long, rich life as a singer and creative promoter of opera. I was fortunate enough to see her perform when I was young. My mother took me to see her sing along with Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's bel canto historical opera Maria Stuarda at the San Francisco Opera. I think it was in 1971-2, so I must have been about 12-13. My mom impressed on me that we were going to see two of the best sopranos in the world at that time, so even though I had not yet heard much opera, I tried to pay attention to see why they were supposed to be so great. We went standing room. I actually sat on the floor for a lot of it, just listening. At that age, I had just as much fun looking over the balcony in the lobby at what all the rich people were wearing, because in those days people dressed UP to go to the opera. I would hear a lot more opera while standing many years later when I lived with an aspiring opera singer.

I've discovered this fabulous site, Parterre Box presents La Cieca: Unnatural Acts of Opera, a queer opera zine. Thanks to La Cieca, here, assembled in Sills' honor, links to audio and video performances.

Here is a clip of a very young Sills performing an aria from a Handel opera as Queen Cleopatra, showing how her singing brought baroque opera back to public attention.

Run away!

I can has cheezburger meets Disapproving Rabbits. We all know what can happen when the killer bunny attacks.

Online communities, map of

Originally posted at xkcd, a web comic by Randall Munroe. Click on the image for a larger view.

For map key, see here

Great Blue Herons on the Mississippi

The little stretch of the Mississippi River that runs through downtown Minneapolis has such a fascinating history.
Yesterday the weather was perfect for a walk along the river. We saw the usual ducks and geese, but were also lucky enough to spot a group of cormorants lounging on some snagged trees just above the dam's spillway. There were at least two, maybe more Great Blue Herons fishing around the power plant. We saw them wading, flying, and perching in a tree where we suspected they had a nest.
We didn't get a close view, but here's a videoclip of a heron fishing in near a street after a flood:

An absolutely lovely clip with a heron in flight:
Here's a video of a Great Blue Heron who has just swallowed a great big fish.