Category Archives: Fun

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Aventuras en Español

So, my friend Lucas had to listen to me wax obnoxious about Español while we classed up Amato’s on a friday night. The Tufts volleyball team rolled in, several of the women wearing uncomfortably short shorts, giving me goosebumps just at a glance (we’re in Maine mind you, and we’re definitely in the thick of a cold snap).

I am in the midst of a personal journey to learn Spanish, something I never thought I’d bother with. I recall the agony of watching Aladdin’s awkwardly dubbed voice-over while we watched Disney movies in Spanish class during high school. I also remember when a perfectly lovely multi-cultural high school alumn came to talk to us about her daring career as a flight stewardess that called upon her ability to speak Spanish, Portuguese, and English (probably all at the same time. las salidas están aquí y aquí?). However, it  probably did not speak to our linguistic ability when the head of the Spanish department stood up and translated in response to the sea of blank stares blanketing our faces. At that point, I started to consider myself part of the language dis-advantaged: I may be good at a lot of things but language just isn’t one of my “things”. After all, the farther I get from the ennui of my teenager years,  the less elastic my brain becomes, and the less liable I am to pick up a new tongue.

However, I suppose the recent trip to Costa Rica re-kindled a desire to take second look at Spanish, as I start to think about how to travel and spend more time in South America and among the tropical paradise and rainforests.  I also realize that I take some interesting job prospects off the table by limiting the ways I can communicate (including some amazing teaching positions with Ecology Project International, leading student groups to study sea turtles in Costa Rica, or ecology in the Galapagos.)

Thus has started my journey. So far, I’ve been listening to Spanish podcasts on almost a daily basis during my 40ish minute commute to work in the morning. My favorite so far is the Discover Spanish podcast w/Johnny Spanish (y Christina!). They’re a soothing pair that make me feel secure as I repeat the Spanish phrases at their urging while bewildered motorists pass by observing me animatedly talking to myself. I’ve listen to one or two episodes of Coffee Break Spanish which seems to capture the Castillano lisp, as they focus on Spain’s version of the language, while Johnny and Christina cater to the Miami crowd. One other option is the “Survival Spanish” podcast, a more low-fi production with Spanish instructor David Spencer. The first few episodes are brisker, brusquer vehicle than what I’m used to, with a less welcoming tone, and a demand to “escucha y repeata!”, but as the series develops,so does Spencer’s delivery, with useful ways to internalize vocabulary, including spry little songs on the guitar.

I waltz into work and subject at least one of my co-workers to the new phrases I am learning that have no useful context in my current day to day. Quiero cambiar cinquenta y cinco dolares a euros, por favor (I want to change fifty five dolars into euros, please).  ¿cuánto cuesta este anillo (How much does this ring cost?). Tengo un pez de colores (I have a goldfish… This is decidedly untrue.) Tonight I spent a few minutes browsing the web on my phone searching for marine biology terms in Español as Lucas pointed out how absurd it was that I wanted to learn Spanish for marine science job prospects but didn’t know how to even say “ocean” in Spanish. (Ocean is simply “océano”, and sea is “mar.”)so, I now know a whale is a “ballena”, probably in relation to the word “baleen” and have decided that Mi Caballito de Mar (My little seahorse), is my new pet-name for those unfortunate enough to spend too much time with me while I practice my unwieldy new language skills.

So I will keep you posted in how I fare. Right now I am figuring out how to explain to my Costa Rican penpal that my kitten recently broke his leg (dont’cha worry folks, kitty is on the mend and well on his way to being his old, crazy-like-a-fox, self) and is still sporting a slightly medicinal smell. Not exactly covered in the Spanish basics…

I will keep the interested masses (by which I mean all two of you) posted as I wind my way through this new great adventure.  Hasta Pronto todos!

By the way, I will not be offended if anyone corrects any of the half-informed Spanish contained here within. (Save me from my overzealous self!)

Watch your step around the linkage:

http://www.spanishdict.com/ – a useful spanish dictionary site with good translation tools

http://discoverspanish.com/podcast.php – Here’s hoping Johnny y Christina don’t like anything like their animated counterparts

http://radiolingua.com/shows/spanish/coffee-break-spanish/ – Coffee Break Spanish. I like that the girl in the first couple episodes seems to have trouble repeating the pronunciation of words the same way twice. I can relate.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Languages/Spanish/Learn-Spanish–Survival-Guide-Podcast/20124  – I now know the days of the week thanks to your catchy little song. Thank you sir, or should I say “Muchos gracias, senor!”

 

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Say it in a Shade of Succint: Cell Poems

You can buck the system and resist the un-filtered verbal onslaught of a new and frighteningly social world, or you can embrace the fascinating and fantastic possibilities it may create.

Take for example a site I heard mentioned in a recent Poetry.com podcast: Cellpoems.org

I love the idea of super-condensed poetic license  where the poet is constrained by but flourishes within 160 characters.  Also adding to the appeal is the amusing addition of poem notes and author bios that far, far exceed the length of any of the works themselves.

Below are the two most recent submissions to the site:

I do it the old-fashioned way
tie string around the finger
except instead try rope-to-throat
though the last word’s still “remember.”

 

And the moon

Erika Meitner

shut in cold blue light,
in blown snow, my son’s
breath a forgiveness a road-
side x a windshield a
tunnel a handful of pebbles.

 

Sign up for the poems as an RSS feed or to of course receive via your cell phone…

 

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Don’t Have Time for a Movie? Watch a Short!

So, I love movies in that I can take in a complete story line in the period of 1 1/2 – 2 hours. I’m a woman on the go and I have a hard time sitting myself down long enough to take in a show every week with regularity.  But, squeeze that gratification in under 20 minutes? We have a winner!

Futureshorts, a website that hosts international short films, bears an extensive collection to choose from. Check out their hoard of short clips on youtube.

They boast gems like “Tell it to the Fishes” a ten-minute(ish) short featuring the talents of Dylan More, of snarky Bristish Comedy “Black Books” fame.

Short film makers learn to distill down the action, the striking moments of a film so they fit into the shortest of time frames.  Check out this short film coming in at under three minutes:

Hope you enjoy!

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Make it Count

So someone just posted this incredible proposal on reddit:

I managed to track it down to the blog it was originally posted on: http://www.angelaandithyle.com/blog/2010/07/26/me-and-you-and-you-and-me/ which appears to belong to the wonderfully artistic couple pictured above. Just a little browsing has left me intrigued and addicted which I suppose is a reasonable state. I mean, check out their bio:

the inevitable bio

angela likes to paint.

ithyle likes to sing.

angela likes #6699CC.

ithyle likes #FF9900.

angela is an over gifter.

ithyle is a good package wrapper.

angela paints her toenails pink.

ithyle paints his toenails black.

angela startles easily.

ithyle relishes the fact that angela startles easily.

angela likes road trips.

ithyle likes bicycle trips.

angela likes what ithyle orders at dinner.

ithyle eats whats left of angela’s dinner.

angela likes to eat more than her fair share of tofutti cuties.

ithyle laments this.

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So do YOU have a psychic octopus?

Paul the psychic octopus,currently residing at a German zoo, apparently has a thing for the footie. He’s correctly predicted wins and losses in the current soccer world cup. He is not consulting his magic eight-ball (although, he might be thrilled if someone were to offer one. Octopuses are notoriously smart and love new objects to check out.), but rather choosing mussels between two containers upon which the zoo staff has pasted the flags of teams playing in the cup. He’s drawn the ire of some who are blaming the cephlapod for the losses, but mind you it’s nary a stable person who gets mad at an octopus… Check out an article with more information including the fact Octopi have nine brains (they must be sitting in their tanks laughing at us).

Check him out in video form:

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Re-post from BBC: Bionic Feet for Amputee Cat

I got such a kick out of the video, I thought I’d share:

Original link here

A cat that had its back feet severed by a combine harvester has been given two prosthetic limbs in a pioneering operation by a UK vet.

The new feet are custom-made implants that “peg” the ankle to the foot. They are bioengineered to mimic the way deer antler bone grows through the skin.

The operation – a world first – was carried out by Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon based in Surrey.

His work is explored in a BBC documentary called The Bionic Vet.

The cat, named Oscar, was referred to Mr Fitzpatrick by his local vet in Jersey, following the accident last October. Oscar was struck by the combine harvester whilst dozing in the sun.

The prosthetic pegs, called intraosseous transcutaneous amputation prosthetics (Itaps) were developed by a team from University College London led by Professor Gordon Blunn, who is head of UCL’s Centre for Biomedical Engineering.

Professor Blunn and his team have worked in partnership with Mr Fitzpatrick to develop these weight-bearing implants, combining engineering mechanics with biology.

Mr Fitzpatrick explained: “The real revolution with Oscar is [that] we have put a piece of metal and a flange into which skin grows into an extremely tight bone.”

“We have managed to get the bone and skin to grow into the implant and we have developed an ‘exoprosthesis’ that allows this implant to work as a see-saw on the bottom of an animal’s limbs to give him effectively normal gait.”

Professor Blunn told BBC News the idea was initially developed for patients with amputations who have a “stump socket”.

“This means they fix their artifical limb with a sock, which fits over the stump. In a lot of cases this is sucessful, but you [often] get rubbing and pressure sores.”

The Itap technology is being tested in humans and has already been used to create a prosthetic for a woman who lost her arm in the July 2005 London bombings.

“The intriguing thing with Oscar was that he had two implants – one in each back leg, and in quite an unusual site,” Professor Blunn told BBC News.

He said that the success of this operation showed the potential of the technology.

“Noel has some brilliant ideas,” he added. “And we’re continuing to work closely with him to develop new technologies.”

The Bionic Vet is on BBC 1 at 2245 BST on Wednesday

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Apparently it takes two for some badassery

For the record,the first dictionary entry for badassery in  the urban dictionary is:

Engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck.

“Did you see that badassery? He just took down a whole battalion with nothing but his hands!”

(However, it should be noted, the urban dictionary is basically an open source slang dictionary, which while it’s an interesting source of colloquialisms, doesn’t mean they have to be known to anyone except the person who wrote the entry)

Anyway, on to my main point. Apparently two is the magic number for creating some rock magic, a la the White Stripes or even the sugary garage pop Ting Tings. While they’ve been around for some time, the Black Keys seem to be gaining some stronger momentum as of late. It can’t hurt that they just released the stellar new album “Brothers” in May of this year.

The sound tends to be simple and lo-fi, but reeks of old soul reminiscent of screaming jay hawkins and other greats. These boys evidently have a good sense of humor as well as evidenced in some of their videos. Check out a few below and prepare to be hooked…

buy badassery mugs, tshirts and magnets
Engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck.
Did you see that badassery? He just took down a whole battalion with nothing but his hands!