donderdag, augustus 31, 2006

Tomatino Festival!



Deelnemers aan het Tomatina-festival in het Spaanse plaatsje Buñol gooien woensdag tomaten naar elkaar. Ongeveer 40 duizend Spanjaarden hebben zich verzameld op de laatste woensdag van augustus voor het jaarlijkse tomatenfestival, waar ongeveer 100 duizend kilo tomaten naar elkaar wordt gegooid.

EN:

woensdag, augustus 23, 2006

Sentimental



The light has traveled unthinkable thousands of miles to be
condensed, recharged, and poured off the white white pages
of an open Bible the country parson holds in front of this couple
in a field, in July, in the sap and the flyswirl of July
in upper Wisconsin, where their vows buzz in a ring in the air
like the flies, and are as sweet as the sap, in these rich and ritual minutes.
Is it sentimental? Oops. And out of that Bible the light continues
to rush as if from a faucet. There will be a piecrust cooling
out of its own few x’ed-out cuts. And will it make us run
for the picklier taste of irony rolled around protectively on our tongues
like a grab of Greek olives? My students and I discuss this
slippery phenomenon. Does “context” matter? Does
“earned” count? If a balled-up fidget of snakes
in the underbrush dies in a freeze is it sentimental? No,
yes, maybe. What if a litter of cocker spaniels? What
if we called them “puppydogs” in the same poem in that same hard,
hammering winter? When my father was buried,
the gray snow in the cemetery was sheet tin. If I said
that? Yes, no, what does “tone” or “history” do
to the Hollywood hack violinists who patiently wait to play
the taut nerves of the closest human body until from that
lush cue alone, the eyes swell moistly, and the griefs
we warehouse daily take advantage of this thinning
of our systems, then the first sloppy gushes begin . . .
Is that “wrong”? Did I tell you the breaths
of the gravediggers puffed out like factorysmoke
as they bent and straightened, bent and straightened,
mechanically? Are wise old (toothless) Black blues singers
sentimental?—“gran’ma”? “country cookin’”? But
they have their validity, don't they, yes? their
sweat-in-the-creases, picking up the lighting
in a fine-lined mesh of what it means to have gone through time
alive a little bit on this planet. Hands shoot up . . . opinions . . .
questions . . . What if the sun wept? the moon? Why, in the face
of those open faces, are we so squeamish? Call out
the crippled girl and her only friend the up-for-sale foal,
and let her tootle her woeful pennywhistle musics.
What if some chichi streetwise junkass from the demimonde
gave forth with the story of orphans forced through howling storm
to the workhouse, letting it swing between the icy-blue
quotation marks of cynicism—then? What if
I wept? What if I simply put the page down,
rocked my head in my own folded elbows, forgot
the rest of it all, and wept? What if I stepped into
the light of that page, a burnished and uncompromising
light, and walked back up to his stone a final time,
just that, no drama, and it was so cold,
and the air was so brittle, metal buckled
out song like a bandsaw, and there, from inside me,
where they’d been lost in shame and sophistry
all these years now, every last one of my childhood’s
heartwormed puppydogs found its natural voice.

Albert Goldbarth. Across the Layers: Poems Old and New (University of Georgia Press, 1993).

dinsdag, augustus 22, 2006

Tom And Jerry Smoked Out



Now here's a PC news item that makes sense.

A cartoon depicting a cigar-smoking cat will now be censored to eliminate scenes in which the cat is smoking.

A spokesperson for Turner Europe has stated that they will be reviewing the entire catalog of 1,500 Hanna-Barbera cartoons with the possible result of removing scenes that glamorize smoking. The effort was launched in response to a complaint to British media regulator Ofcom from a viewer who stated that smoking scenes in the Tom and Jerry cartoons "Texas Tom" and "Tennis Chumps" "were not appropriate in a cartoon aimed at children." A statement from Ofcom stated, "The licensee has ... proposed editing any scenes or references in the series where smoking appeared to be condoned, acceptable, glamorized or where it might encourage imitation."


Nevermind that Tom & Jerry are historically the most violent cat and mouse game in town, it's the bloody smoking that's driving the kids mad.

To review: smoking cat bad, mouse and cat with guns, ok for kids.



Fucking idiots.

zaterdag, augustus 12, 2006

donderdag, augustus 10, 2006

Our nation’s population is expected to reach 300 million the later part of
this year. To help spotlight this occasion, the Census Bureau steps back in
time by comparing contemporary life and statistics to those in the time
periods in which the nation reached other noteworthy population milestones
— in 1967 (when the population reached 200 million) and in the year 1915
(when it reached 100 million). America, how you have grown and changed.


Note: If data are not available for the specific year highlighted, we have
provided data available closest to that year.


President
2006: George W. Bush
1967: Lyndon B. Johnson
1915: Woodrow Wilson


Price of a new home
2006: $290,600
1967: $24,600 ($149,147 in 2006 dollars)
1915: $3,200 ($64,158 in 2006 dollars)


Cost for a gallon of regular gas
2006: $3.04 (as of Aug. 7)
1967: 33 cents ($2.00 in 2006 dollars)
1915: 25 cents ($5.01 in 2006 dollars)


Price of milk
2006: $3.00 gallon
1967: $1.03 gallon ($6.24 in 2006 dollars)
1915: $ .36 gallon ($7.22 in 2006 dollars)


Cost of a first-class stamp
2006: 39 cents
1967: 5 cents
1915: 2 cents


Notable Events
2006: The 20th Winter Olympic Games take place in Turin, Italy.
1967: Dr. Christiaan Bernard performs the first heart transplant;
the first Super Bowl is played.
1915: World War I continues in Europe.


Pop Culture
2006: iPods and “American Idol” reign supreme and cell phones are the
rage.
1967: Color TV is the rage. “The Lucy Show,” “Andy Griffith” and “Gomer
Pyle” are
the top-rated television shows.
1915: The “Model T” and silent movies are the rage. Raggedy Ann,
aspirin in tablet
form and processed cheese are introduced. The milk carton is
invented.


World Population
2006: 6.5 billion
1967: 3.5 billion
1915: 1.8 billion
(Sources: World Population Clock at Data pertain
to 2006. Data pertain to
1967. Data pertain to 1910.)


Tying the Knot
Median age at first marriage for men and women, respectively.
2006: 27.1 and 25.8
1967: 23.1 and 20.6
1915: 25.1 and 21.6

Data pertain to 2005.
Data pertain to
1967 and 1910.


Coming to America
2006: 34.3 million
Number of foreign-born people. They comprise 12 percent of the total
population. Mexico is
the leading country of origin. (Source: American FactFinder) Data pertain
to 2004.


1967: 9.7 million
Number of foreign-born people. They comprised 5 percent of the total
population. Italy was the leading country of origin.
Data
pertain to 1960.


1915: 13.5 million
Number of foreign-born people. They comprised 15 percent of the total
population. Germany was the leading country of origin. Data pertain to
1910. (Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times
to 1970)


From Desert Outpost to Major Metropolis
The growth of Phoenix symbolizes the nation’s movement South and West.


2006: 1.5 million
Population of Phoenix, making it the sixth most populous city. Data pertain
to 2005.



1967: 439,170
Population of Phoenix, making it the 29th most populous city. Data pertain
to 1960.


1915: 11,134
Population of Phoenix. It was not among the 100 most populous cities. Data
pertain to 1910.




The Rise of the Sunshine State
Since 1915, Florida has been transformed from almost an afterthought to our
nation’s fourth most populous state.
2006: 17.8 million
1967: 6.2 million
1915: 923 thousand
(Sources:
006142.html> Data pertain to 2005. Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the
United States 2007; data pertain to 1967 and 1915.)


Our Incredible Shrinking Households
Average household size.
2006: 2.6 people
1967: 3.3 people
1915: 4.5 people
006840.html> Data pertain to 2005.
Data pertain to
1967. ,
1999 edition,
Table 1419. Data pertain to 1910.


Tuberculosis
Death rate from this disease per 100,000 population.
2006: 0.2
1967: 3.5
1915: 140.1
(Sources: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007; data
pertain to 2003 and 1967.
, 1999
edition,
Table 1420. Data pertain to 1915.)


Homeownership . . . the American Dream
Percentage of the nation’s householders who owned the home in which they
lived.
2006: 68.9%
1967: 63.6%
1915: 45.9%
Data
pertain to 2005 and 1967.
Data
pertain to 1910.


Our Aging Nation
Number of people age 65 and older.
2006: 36.8 million
1967: 19.1 million
1915: 4.5 million
Data
pertain to 2005.
Data pertain to
1967 and 1915.


Median Age of the Population
2006: 36.2
1967: 29.5
1915: 24.1
Data
pertain to 2005.
Data pertain to
1960 and 1910.


Living Longer
Life expectancy at birth.
2006: 77.8 years
1967: 70.5 years
1915: 54.5 years
, Table 96. Data
pertain to 2005.
(Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
; data pertain to 1967 and 1915.)


Working Women
Percentage of women in the labor force, age 16 and older (10 and older for
1915).
2006: 59%
1967: 41%
1915: 23%
, Table 585. Data
pertain to 2004.
(Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970
; data pertain to 1967 and 1910.)


Education
Percentage of the population, age 25 and older, who had at least a high
school diploma.
2006: 85.2%
1967: 51.1%
1915: 13.5%
Data pertain
to 2004 and 1967.
Data pertain
to 1910.


Earnings
2006: $33,459 and $22,472
Median wage and salary income for male and female wage and salary workers,
respectively.
Data pertain to 2004.


1967: $5,974 and $2,295 ($33,787 and $12,980 in 2004 dollars)
Median wage and salary income for male and female wage and salary workers,
respectively.


1915: $687 (Constant dollar figure not available.)
Average annual earnings for workers (excluding farm labor). (Source:
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970)


Names
The most popular baby names for boys and girls, respectively.
2006: Jacob and Emily
1967: Michael and Lisa
1915: John and Mary
(Source: Social Security Administration, at
Data pertain to 2005, 1967 and 1915.)


Our Love Affair with the Motor Vehicle
Number of motor vehicle registrations.
2006: 237.2 million
1967: 98.9 million
1915: 2.5 million
(Sources: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007; data
pertain to 2004 and 1967.
, 1999
edition, Table 1439.)


Safer on our Roads
2006: 42,643
Number of traffic fatalities in 2003. This amounted to 1.5 fatalities per
every 100 million vehicle miles traveled.


1967: 51,559
Number of traffic fatalities. This amounted to 5 fatalities for every 100
million vehicle miles of travel.


1915: 6,779
Number of traffic fatalities. This amounted to 35 fatalities for every 100
million vehicle miles of travel.


(Sources: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007;
, 1999
edition,
Table 1439, ,
Table 1086.)


The Military
Active-duty military personnel.
2006: 1.4 million
1967: 3.4 million
1915: 174 thousand
(Sources: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States 2007. Data
pertains to 2005.
, 1999
edition,
Table 1444. Data pertain to 1967 and 1915.)


Down on the Farm
Number of farms.
2006: 2.1 million
1967: 3.2 million
1915: 6.5 million
(Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service at
, data pertain to 2005, 1967 and 1915.)


Sources for introductory facts:
,
,
,
, and
.


“Special Editions” of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Facts for Features are
issued to provide background information for lesser known observances,
anniversaries of historic events and other timely topics in the news.


Editor’s note: Some of the preceding data were collected from a variety of
sources and
may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
Questions or comments
should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office

woensdag, augustus 09, 2006

Holiday


via Lonely Planet

Moscow has its collective panties in a bunch over Lonely Planet's unflattering if accurate portrayal of the city as a where "criminals, Aids and mites are raging in Moscow and shops are full of fake vodka."

St Petersburg gets a better review: "St Petersburg's streets are as safe or dangerous as any European city - most say safer."

What we wondered is how a dung heap like Mexico City compared:

"The main risks to travelers to Mexico are food-borne diseases, although mosquito-borne infections can also be a problem. Most of these illnesses are not life-threatening, but they can certainly have a significant impact on your trip. Besides getting the proper vaccinations, it's important to take simple precautions like using a good insect repellent and exercising enormous care in what you eat and drink."

Sounds like fun.

*****

In time, summer travel to the Mediterranean will be a distant memory as the climate warms further still and the need to go south to stay warm will wane.

"More people will stay in their home country, particularly Germans and Brits," said Richard Tol at Hamburg University. Germans are the most travelled nation with 72m international tourists and the UK is third with 53m. Both are rich with unreliable weather and close neighbours. But as the weather heats up, the model predicts more will stay within our borders."

Blackpool 2012, anyone?



Somehow, fish n chips in 35 degree heat don't seem appealing.

*****

Wooden houses in Vilnius:


via The Guardian.

*****

Meanwhile, between Poland and the Ukraine, travelogue Easy Rider notes:

"Upon arrival at the border between Lithuania and Poland, it's the same old routine. Rummage around for passport, find passport, then find the wedge of unused banknotes from the country you are leaving.

Apologise to border guard, get passport back, turn around and head for the nearest place to spend aforementioned cash."

dinsdag, augustus 01, 2006

My Middle East



my middle east begins in lower cases
trombones for the mothers and children
trumpets for the lust of killing

every last one of them.

And when they say it's because of my neighbours
my neighbours my neighbours
don't like my attitude.

I get along without you very well.

I want my Middle East in hamburgers
with toasted buns,
maybe an onion here or there
for the tears
but beef, nonetheless.

I want my middle east in beef.

So when they tell me
I love the spotlight,
I'll die for the spotlight,
I'll live for the spotlight,
I'll listen until the next commercial,
I don't know
what the fuck they are talking about.

What is it you want?

The burger, the pickle, the bun?
The salad bar, the weight watcher's chicken?

What I want, if anyone cares,
is a stripper. Maybe two strippers.
A shot of rye and a beer to chase.
I don't know what love is.

Nor do you.

What we know is pain, our game
of making right.