Tram

To entertain the tourists in Brno, a historic tram service was resumed on one short line, connecting the railway station and the St. Jacob's church through the main square. The cars, leased from a museum, are from 1940s. To compare the past and the present, I am posting another picture from the same city:

Guerra por el comedor

The cafeteria/dining room in our institute is a battlefield now. On the 1st of May, a contract with a private (!) company was renewed and immediately followed by a price increase. A cup of coffee is now 75c (previously 62) and the lunch price went up for the whole 1 euro. This move immediately ignited a response from the syndicate and also from the graduate students. Today, we've boycotted the comedor to support the syndicate. The trigger was the letter from the director - I think that to be in charge of such an institution should require some social skills, but what this guy replied to the open letter of the syndicate was outrageous. What is completely ridiculous is that our institute is in the middle of nowhere (40 minutes by train from the centre of Madrid) and the CSIC doesn't even subsidize the price of the lunch for its own employees.

The Greatest Bands, Pt.1: Suede

Suede was the brightest diamond of the Britpop movement. The first success came in 1989, when Suede won Gary Crowley's GLR "Demo Clash" competition with "Wonderful sometimes":
"I've heard of happy ever after
It was just a joke, but you could die laughing".
In 1993, they recorded their debut album with cryptic tracks such as "The Drowners", followed by "Dog Man Star" in 1994, the last record with Bernard Butler, including two beautiful ballads: "The Wild Ones" and "Still Life". The following album is my all-time favourite, "Coming Up" was released in 1996 and each song was so good that it could be easily a single. This video promotes "Positivity", the first single from their last album, named "A New Morning", which was released in 2002 when nobody cared about Britpop anymore.



This song came to my mind when I was walking from the train station through campus full of beautiful green trees. Spring is so beautiful.

Fortress Europe (2003)

While reading more details about the French désastre, I suddenly remembered this song by the Asian Dub Foundation.

A fragment of the lyrics:
...
2022 -A new European order
Robot guards patrolling the border
Cybernetic dogs are getting closer and closer
Armoured cars and immigration officers
A burning village in Kosovo
You bombed it out now you're telling us go home
Machine guns strut on the cliffs of Dover
Heads down people look out! we're going over
Burnin up! can we survive re-entry
Past the mines and the cybernetic sentries
Safe european homes built on wars
You don't like the effect don't produce the cause
The chip is in your head not on my shoulder
Total control just around the corner
...

Dani

Why is it so great to live in Spain? This video will be my answer next time somebody asks me why I moved here from the Land of Opportunities (and Freedom for All?). I know the music is pretty bad and the video itself is kind of amateurish, but as long as something like this can be made and aired nationwide here, there is a hope for this little part of the world.

Mucho más...

... allá de mi ventana. Today I woke up with some filmmakers yelling under my window. My street is a movie star!

Ready?!

These ads make me sick to my stomach. Yes, the boys are hot and the photographer did a good job, but c'mon, "Global warming ready"? Diesel, Diesel... you have to be kidding me. What we will really encounter are weather extremes and a spread of diseases that we don't want to hear about such as malaria and dengue fever. Yeah... cool stuff, indeed.

For Children In Need (1997)

1° de mayo

A bee mystery

It looks like the cell phones might be innocent.
LA Times reports:
>>A fungus, a single-celled parasite called Nosema ceranae, that caused widespread loss of bee colonies in Europe and Asia may be playing a crucial role in the mysterious phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder that is wiping out bees across the United States. But the results are "highly preliminary" and are from only a few hives from Le Grand in Merced County, UCSF biochemist Joe DeRisi said. "We don't want to give anybody the impression that this thing has been solved."
Historically, bee losses are not unusual. Weather, pesticide exposures and infestations by pests, such as the Varroa mite, have wiped out significant numbers of colonies in the past, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.
But the current loss appears unprecedented. Beekeepers in 28 states, Canada and Britain have reported large losses. About a quarter of the estimated 2.4 million commercial colonies across the United States have been lost since fall, said Jerry Hayes of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville.
Besides producing honey, commercial beehives are used to pollinate a third of the country's agricultural crops, including apples, peaches, pears, nectarines, cherries, strawberries and pumpkins. Ninety percent of California's almond crop is dependent on bees, and a loss of commercial hives could be devastating.
"For the most part, they just disappeared," said Florida beekeeper Dave Hackenberg, who was among the first to note the losses. "The boxes were full of honey. That was the mysterious thing. Usually other bees will rob those hives out. But nothing had happened."
If N. ceranae does play a role in Colony Collapse Disorder, there may be some hope for beekeepers. A closely related parasite called Nosema apis, which also affects bees, can be controlled by the antibiotic fumagillin, and there is some evidence that it will work on N. ceranae as well.<<
Let's hope.

Mi Vida con La Manzana, Pt.3: Hell

In January 2001, I moved to deep-frozen Michigan. In my lab and also in a general computer lab at the department, one could find both Macintoshes and Windows PCs. Sadly and somehow not surprisingly, the PCs were constantly occupied and the Macs were usually available, reflecting the general disillusion with the platform. In March 2001, I attended a seminar focused on a new operating system developed by Apple and based on a recently purchased NeXT/OpenSTEP. Looking at the screenshots during the presentation, it struck me that the Mac just got resurrected through the fusion of a visual beauty of the new GUI and the old Mac feel, which is, maybe more importantly, based on a solid UNIX-like kernel technology. Unfortunately, the lack of native applications and missing support for other languages forced me to get a PC laptop - the one-way ticket to Hell. The notebook came with the ill-fated Windows ME and entertained me with Blue Screens of Death for 3 years. In the meantime, I moved to California and started to notice that the ugly and somehow crippled duckling called MacOS X 10.0 started to turn into something usable (Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar) and later even into something solid and very stable (MacOS X 10.3 Panther). Together with the system speed improvements and stability, Adobe and Microsoft delivered crucial applications like Creative Suite and Office, respectively and Apple itself came with a bunch of applications focused on music and video. It was time to "think differently", again.

Mi Vida con La Manzana, Pt.2: Purgatory

At the end of 1990s, the Windows world was significantly changing and once-Mac-unique GUI features were being shamelessly copied. Trying to move the Mac project forward, Apple was internally experimenting with a new operating system code-named Copland, which was to be released as MacOS 8. Its sad history can be found here. In a moment of desperation, some of the parts of the Copland project were implemented into OS 7 and subsequently released under a moniker of MacOS 8. For the average person the need of a new OS was not so obvious, as the GUI and many features were still among the best available, but the system was crashing too often to make users happy. In a common scenario, when one application crashed, the whole system followed. Even though the Win9x releases, especially the disastrous Windows ME were also crashing a lot, they couldn't be considered as an excuse. At that time, Microsoft implemented a preemptive multitasking, while the Mac community was still stuck with a cooperative one. Memory protection management was missing, while Windows NT introduced protected memory. Extension conflicts were also a nightmare. Apple realized that if they couldn't come with their in-house developed system, they had to buy one, which lead to a short flirt with BeOS and ended by a purchase of NeXT Computer in 1997. NeXT Computer, a cute baby of Steve Jobs and the renegades from Apple that joined him on his crusade after he resigned at Apple, was developing not just breathtaking computers but also a platform-independent, object-oriented and multitasking OS called NeXT/OpenSTEP. In 1999, MacOS 9 was released, being a more mature sibling of MacOS 8, but without any significant improvements in system stability. The only really useful feature were user accounts with privileges and therefore we didn't have to install AtEase anymore. Simultaneously, MacOS X Server (as a first hybrid between OpenSTEP and MacOS 8.5) was released, a clear sign that a purchase of NeXT would hopefully bring its fruits soon. In 2000, I accepted a Research Associate position at the MSU.

Mi Vida con La Manzana, Pt.1: Heaven

I have decided to put together some memories of my first experience with Macintoshes. When I started my PhD, I joined a newly established plant molecular biology laboratory. My boss just returned from a post-doc in Germany and received a gigantic starting grant. Being ones of the first employees/students, my colleague and me were responsible for the computers in the lab. My boss was totally obsessed with a Macintosh and therefore we started to design a lab network based on Apple machines. In a couple of months, we were running three PowerMacintoshes 8200 (with PowerPC 601 chips), two PowerMacintoshes 7600 (with a PowerPC 604 chip), with one of them controlling a sequencing machine and one PowerMacintosh 8500 (also with a PowerPC 604 chip), which was connected to a densitometer and a fluorescence scanner through SCSI ports and later was replaced with then newly released PowerMacintosh G3 (code named Gossamer). In addition to the computers, we also purchased some original Apple accessories, including a brilliant flat-bed Apple Color OneScanner 600/27 with SCSI implementation (it was 11 years ago!) and one Apple LaserWriter 12/640, which was, at that time, an absolutely stunning network (!) laser printer. All computers were sharing files and printers through OpenTransport-implemented EtherTalk (one of the Mac features that instantly left the Win users in awe). PowerMacintoshes all had SCSI ports by default, so a backup of documents on ZIP or JAZ drives could be done in a blink of an eye (again, for Win users something unbelievable; considering that at that time, the ZIP drive was usually connected to a PC through a parallel port). When we got them, the machines were running MacOS 7.5.5. and in 1998, we upgraded to MacOS 8.1, shortly after Steve Jobs returned to Apple as iCEO.

La Coronita

I am back from the dentist appointment! Everything went well and the lost crown is back on my tooth. The doctor was great and he was even making jokes how small my teeth were (which is true, unfortunately). Thanks to Gloria from Servicio de Genómica, I know where to go with dental problems in the future.

Reduta

The building of the Reduta Theatre in Brno is thought to be the oldest theatre building in Central Europe (first built in the 16th century). Newly reconstructed and subsequently awarded the Grand Prix of the Society of Architects of the Czech Republic.

Retreat

Just got back from a departmental retreat in Cercedilla. We spend a night there, so it was nice to see everybody out of Madrid. The retreat was taking place in a conference centre of Politecnica and the residence was actually pretty good, except for the showers that were not working well: the cold water was oscillating so much that we got either burnt or frozen. Yesterday in the afternoon we made a 3-hour walk in the hills to find wild-type Arabidopsis plants. In the night, we played bingo and of course, we also socialized a lot. I was practicing my Spanish and in fact, it was better than the class. Unfortunately, on the way to the mountains, one of my dental crowns got loose and now I have to find a dentist... totally stressful.

Shiira

Shiira is a promising browser for THE Mac (only, unfortunately for the Win users), based on the Apple Webkit and written in Cocoa. It's still a little bit buggy, but some features are stunning (the Tab Exposé feature, for instance). Check it out, if you are running OS X, the best operating system in the world.

Airport in Brno

A new Departure hall of the Airport in my city. The walls/roof are covered by TiZn scales that evoke a snake skin. Brno is best known for its international style buildings from the 1930s and this particular structure was meant to break this tradition. The new building won the competition under a code name of ANTIBOX and its aerodynamic shape should resemble an airship.

A sweet exile

Having couple of drinks with "El Pintor" yesterday, I realized how lucky were the inhabitants of this country. The phenotypes that reflect the gene pool are simply breathtaking here. "El Pintor", for instance, is taller than me, with a tiny waist and wide shoulders... When I walked through Chueca today, I saw many more examples of this "peninsula phenomenon". Actually, I wasn't walking around to perform these phenotypic studies but to buy a digital camera. I knew what I wanted (Canon IXUS 70 retro) and then in fnac, even though they had the camera on display, they had none (!) in stock. Unbelievable for a capitalist country, a big disappointment... I have to find another place to get it from and I am just hoping that I won't have to go to Alcobendas...
I also realized who "El Pintor" reminded me of. He looks like Jeremy Davies in Solaris but without those obsessive-compulsive moves:

"Pasados" and "pronombres"...

... drive me crazy. It's impossible to explain to my Spanish colleagues that in checo, we have only one pasado and we can also express ourselves without a problem. Unfortunately, there are either Italians or French in my class. For them, préterito imperfecto, pluscuamperfecto, indefinido etc. all make perfect sense! They even look at me like: "But they are derived from LATIN!", in a way that means: "L-A-T-I-N, you know, you retard from Barbaria, the language that rule them all!". C'mon guys, there ARE other language groups!

We are not all Hokies

I am constantly surprised how pathetic some people can be. Even though I really like to read some gossips from Trent, his new article about the Virginia Tech tragedy left me in shock. For instance the first sentence: "I know that the shooting at Virginia Tech has greatly affected many people all across the country and the world ...". Well, I don't know whether it should affect people more than reading about 200 dead Iraqis on Wednesday. Trent continues: "... and we can never forget the lost". I am afraid and deeply concerned that those 200 innocent Iraqi citizens will be forgotten as early as tomorrow.

Waiting for the night to fall...

... when everything is bearable
and there in the still
all that you feel
is tranquility...

Ten Storey Love Song (1994)

I was in love with Ian Brown back then (but unfortunately, I was not living on the 10th floor).

Everything's Ruined (1992)

This might be the craziest video ever made! The Angel Dust was released just when I was graduating from high school. Faith No More rock!

Io cammino mentre dorme la citta'

Ora ragazzo solo dove andrai
La notte e' un grande mare
Se ti serve la mia mano per nuotare
Grazie ma stasera io vorrei morire
Perche' sai negli occhi miei
C'e' un angelo

El Viernes Santo en Toledo

For Good Friday, my communist friend Marco and me, a syndicalist-atheist, decided to experience the catholic face of Spain and went see the processions in Toledo. Originally, we wanted to go by train, so we met at the Atocha station at 11:45 to buy a ticket for a train at 12:20. Shockingly, all Madrid-Toledo trains were sold out. Therefore, we decided to get a ticket for a bus leaving from the Estación Sur - Méndez Álvaro. It's a great idea, because shortly after we were sitting in an express bus to Toledo. Sky of Castilla - La Mancha didn't look very promising, but I have been reassuring myself that if we had such luck with the transportation, we would have the same or better luck with the weather. Well... We arrived to Toledo at 13:30 and we followed the "what-to-do-in-Toledo" recommendations/suggestions that we got from Isabelita. The idea was to do a version of Via Crucis, in our case not a Way of the Cross, but a Way of the Jarras. The first stop was a great little pub called El Enebro, serving a good beer with big free tapas. Unfortunately, it was also a time when the first rain arrived. Around the fifth stop, the rain changed into hail. We were just sitting in one pub when the hail broke the glass roof and the rain started to fill the place, it was simply amazing (and scary, too). Because of the rain, there were no processions, even though we saw some preparations. On the way to the last pub, we heard some drums and, finally, we saw a little procession, but without any statues. Our final beer was in a pub called Livingstone, where we successfully finished our Via Dolorosa.

Helvetica

Felicidades! The Helvetica sans-serif typeface was first introduced 50 years ago as Neue Haas Grotesk. How to distinguish the original beauty from the cheap pathetic rip-off called Arial:


"Widely considered the official typeface of the twentieth century, Helvetica communicates with simple, well-proportioned letterforms that convey an aesthetic clarity that is at once universal, neutral, and undeniably modern." Exhibit on Helvetica opens tomorrow at the MoMA.
Update: The Metro system in Madrid uses Helvetica on the station signs. However, the bold weight of Helvetica "a" doesn't have the tail, so it's mildly confusing. Following another lead, the shape of the letter "t", I found out that the signs on the station entrance door were in Arial. What a fucking inconsistency!

Knuteness

Knut, das Eisbärbaby.

Una copa más

The full moon pill's got me out on the streets. Another borracho night out with "El pintor de vivienda". First, we did Why not? and then Polana. Watching him work the room. I got back home at 6 in the morning. Today I pay the price, LOL. The (after) life of the party.

Gemstones

A beautiful photograph of a gemstone by Bill Atkinson, one of the original developers of the Macintosh computer. It reminds me of a Japanese art. More here.

El Universo devolvido

The balance of the Universe is restored. Today, I have seen "the man in black" on the train again. It made me really happy, because I haven't seen him for a couple of days.

Společně od 1957

¿Trescientos?

Oh, my... The whole last week I was looking forward to see "300". Semi-naked men in leather skimpy speedos... Rodrigo Santoro... based on a Frank Miller comic book... I've seen it today, but what a pathetic piece of crap! What a waste of 7€! Apparently, the Iranian government denounced the movie. I am not surprised, it's full of racist (but also homophobic) stereotypes. It seems to be made by some ultra-right or nazi group to "celebrate" white supremacy. The pronunciation of Greek names by the Americans made me constantly laugh. The language of the main character, the Spartan King Leonidas, would be more appropriate for a 17-year old white trash from a trailer park. What a shame... and what a waste of an opportunity.

Weekend warriors

I checked my astrology forecast for March and it freaked me out, again. I don't know whether it might have gone anywhere, but I had a special encounter with a "teacher of español" (a.k.a. "El Pintor de vivienda") on March 17th. Since I haven't heard from him for several days, it was likely just an episode, but still, these stars are pretty freaky! Voy a salir de copas.

El Reino Mágico

One of the gifts that I got from my labmates was also a giftcard to the fnac hyper-ultra-megastore. I bought the Unplugged CD/DVD by Ricky Martin and also a DVD of "El Laberinto del Fauno". This movie totally blew my mind! The imagination, the stellar performances and the craftsmanship are amazing, spectacular and out-of-this-world... If you have a chance, please, don't miss it on the silver screen or at least get/rent a DVD, you will never regret.

Café con leche

Today, I have received some gifts from my labmates. ¡Más vale tarde que nunca!, as they wrote on the card. Among the gifts, there was a dictionary of Spanish slang! 99% of the entries are sex related (of course). "Café con leche", for example, is a gay man with a feminine side. Interesting, isn't it? It has few other, not so easy-to-explain, meanings, though. A great gift, very useful... One word a day sounds like a good resolution.

Don't quit 'til 47

I celebrated my cumples with Antonio and JM in Why not? (not surprising, LOL). A great night out, a lot of attention. I won't quit 'til 47 (and then I'll turn it up and I'll play a little faster). Got back home around 5am and woke up at noon to find a felicidades e-mail from the "train man". Cute. To refresh myself a little bit, I went to the Real Jardín Botánico, hoping to see some plants flowering. Well, there were not so many... some camellias, magnolias and hyacinths. Nothing spectacular (yet), I guess it's still early for them, even though the days are getting significantly longer and warmer.
Many thanks for the wishes from Carlito, Jacky, Miguelito, Marco, Gabriel, Tonito & JM (+ the gifts), Mar, Govi, the "train man", Adrian, Clair, Mélissanne, Steph and Mien, I love you!

Rabiosamente divertido

33 años … La edad de Cristo! Nací el domingo 10 de marzo de 1974 al mediodía.
Gente que nació el mismo día que yo:

• 1452 - Fernando II de Aragón, rey de Aragón y rey consorte de Castilla.
• 1920 - Boris Vian, escritor francés.
• 1928 - James Earl Ray, asesino de Martin Luther King.
• 1957 - Osama bin Laden, multimillionario saudi y fundador de Al Qaida.
• 1958 - Sharon Stone, actriz, modelo y productora estadounidense.
• 1964 - Príncipe Eduardo, Conde de Wessex.
• 1973 - Eva Herzigova, modelo y actriz checa.
• 1977 - Matt Rubano, músico estadounidense (Taking Back Sunday).

What a company!

The Sky Is Alive

The boys are coming...
that look.... William...
Gabe...

The Academy Is... WONDERFUL

And William Beckett is the God of Perfection. His vocals are featured in the Cobra Starship's Snakes on a Plane (Bring It) and he is also the coolest in the video:

Hattrick

Roman Šebrle, a Czech Olympic champion, wins his third European Indoor heptathlon title. Šebrle was hit by a javelin in training in January, making his latest triumph even more remarkable!

Sweetest perfection

Mario Lopez starring as Greg Louganis in "Breaking the surface". Speechless.

Europe triumphs

Rosetta, a European space probe has successfully completed a close fly-by of the planet Mars in a crucial manoeuvre on its 10-year journey to land on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet. A true-colour picture of Mars by the OSIRIS instrument.

Sábado gigante

Shopping! Movies! Copas! That was my Saturday. In the morning, I decided to go therapy shopping: Zara first, I bought a wonderful jacket there (go to check their website, the photoshoot with Will Chalker is amazing). I have also realized that when I see something nice there, I have to buy it at that very same moment. Last weekend I saw a nice black sweater there and they were all gone after just week! Well, I know how it works now. Then I wanted to get the same cologne that the "train man" was wearing, so I visited Sephora on C/ Fuencarral, simply the best perfume store so far. In the afternoon, I went to see Inland Empire by David Lynch. On the way there, I stopped by in a shoe store and got great looking shoes, surprisingly made and designed in Spain (thinking of the avalanche of shoes made in China these days). The movie was very strange, though. It lasted 3 hours! Almost unbearable, many people actually left the movie theater before the end. Similar to Mulholland Dr. in the atmosphere, but significantly more cryptic. I still don't know what to think about it. In case of Mullholand Dr., I had to get the DVD to see it couple of times to understand the meaning of many scenes. In case of Inland Empire, I am afraid there might be no simple explanation available whatsoever. It's an ecclectic mix of "film-about-film" scenes (or is it "dream-about-film-about-film"?), Polish prostitutes, rabbits cooking dinner and talking on the phone... For the night I needed some fun, so I went to "Why not?" and it's really my favourite bar here.

Man of Science, Man of Faith

Today, I have accidentally visited a Monthly Forecast for Pisces, and I am pretty scared:

SUPER NOVA DAYS
Feb 8 - 10: Heights and Depths
The life-giving Sun conjuncts dreamy Neptune on Feb. 8 and puts a slow-moving opposition with Saturn into motion on Feb. 10. A quick trip from fantasy to reality can darken moods and create melancholic moments if your aspirations seem out of reach. However, a Venus-Jupiter square on Feb. 9 prefers excessive play now to worrying about what tomorrow may bring. Moments of pleasure can provide a needed break and enliven your spirits. But overindulgence can be a temporary physical fix for a long-term malaise of the soul if deeper needs are not addressed.

I contacted him on Feb. 8 and we had that ill-fated date on Feb. 10! I cannot believe it, but it's simply amazing.

Cute & Funny

Rodrigo Revisited

It's never enough.

Modulus

Today, I have visited a permanent collection in the MNCARS. I have discovered several works that I really like: "Sur" by José Guerrero, "Dentro" by Esteban Vicente, "No. 179" by Luis Fento and "De Somnis XIII" by Pablo Palazuelo. Walking home on the sunny Paseo del Prado, I was thinking how regular everyday decisions shaped one's life. Would my life be the same if I grew up in another place than a socialist country? Would it be the same if I hadn't accepted a job in the US where the events dragged me to spend five years in the Southern California? Would it be the same if I hadn't met my current boss in Michigan and later decided to apply for a job in his lab in Madrid? How do we make decisions? Can one play the old "if...then..." game?

Rodrigo Santoro

Rodrigo Santoro is now a regular on Lost. Even though you see him wearing a sweaty and dirty T-shirt there, I have no doubt: God must be Brazilian.

Dangerous waters

I wish I could turn back time. One week would be enough and then I would need to miss the train or metro that morning or to forget my pen at home. I need my safe waters back.

Fuori orario

After that Saturday afternoon débâcle (preceded by several hours of happiness), my plans for the night changed and I went to see an Italian band called Bandabardò in Sala Heineken with Marco, Mar and Juan Manuel. Those guys were totally crazy! They play combat rock (as I was told, but who knows) and their name is apparently a homage to Brigitte Bardot. It was a total madness and I guess it was just what I needed.

ALCOB-SSREYE

A good time (for a change),
but can you see?
The luck I've had
can make a good man
turn bad.

So please, why you didn't
let me get what I wanted
this time?

I was a stitch away from making it.
Now I will get away with a nod
and a wave of my hand.
How cruel is the golden rule.

(Intertextual collage, lyrics
by the Smiths and the FOB)

C.W.M.C.F.O.T.

Conversations with my Cuban friend on a train
(A dictionary)

• The Animal (a unique specimen from the CNB groundfloor)
  
• The Cuter, the Faster (a unique specimen from the CNB firstfloor)
  
• From the bottom of my heart (desde el fondo de mi corazón)
  
• The Substrate (short, cute and dark skinned)
  
• The hips don't lie (the way they walk)
  
• A feather boa (musculocas)
  
• Manhattan/Queens (Nuevos Ministerios/Recoletos)
  

Infinity on High

Yo, FOB! Let's go!
I like the FOB's "Infinity On High" new CD so much. Patrick's voice is totally haunting and Pete's lyrics is... well, Pete's lyrics. My favourite songs:

• The (After) Life Of The Party (watch you work the room)
• The Take Over, The Break's Over (seasons change but people don't)
• Thriller (fix me in 45)
• I’m Like a Lawyer With The Way I’m Always Trying to Get You Off (bulletproof and loneliness at best)
• I've Got All This Ringing In My Ears And None On My Fingers (now press repeat)

Land of a Thousand Words

How do they treat guiris?

"El Jueves", July 1998

One near perfect thing

And far away somebody read the letter
He condescends to read the words I wrote about him
And if he smiles, it’s no more than a genius deserves
For all his curious nerve and his passion

I’m going deaf, you’re growing melancholy
Things fall apart, I don’t know why we bother at all
But life is good and “It’s always worth living at least for
a while”

If I could do just one near perfect thing I’d be happy
They’d write it on my grave, or when they scattered
my ashes
On second thoughts I’d rather hang around
and be there with my best friend
If she wants me

If you think to yourself “What should I do now?”
Then take up the baton, girl, you better run with it
There is no point in standing in the past cause
it’s over and done

(Belle & Sebastian, If she wants me)

El Síndrome de Estocolmo

On Friday, I attended a fabulous party for José Manuel. It was a reunión sorpresa! Together with Enrique, Maite, Marco, Gloria, Roberto and others I had dinner in a taberna first and then we went to a bar called El Barbu, where we met Andrea and Bruce and we were all waiting for José and his better half to show up. He was really surprised, it was great. Estanis had coupons for free drinks for us, the ambience in the bar was magical... oh, what a wonderful life! To make it even more marvelous, I am posting my all-time favourite fashion pictures.

Etro, Spring/Summer 2007

Sex in the city

Pro jedno nevychované hovado:
Today I have participated in a ménage à trois, with a guy from Wisconsin and one sailor.

The Water Cube

I am totally in love with the Beijing National Aquatics Center, one of the venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. A little excerpt from Wikipedia: "The entire structure is based on a unique lightweight construction and derived from the the structure of water in the state of aggregation of foam. Behind the apparently random appearance hides a strict geometry as can be found in natural systems like crystals, cells and molecular structures. By applying a novel material and technology, the transparency and the apparent randomness is transposed into the inner and outer skins of ETFE cushions. Unlike traditional stadium structures with gigantic columns, beams, cables and backspans, to which a façade system is applied, in the Water Cube the architectural space, structure and façade are one and the same element. Conceptually, the square box and the interior spaces are carved out of an undefined cluster of foam bubbles, symbolizing a condition of nature that is transformed into a condition of culture."

Jan the Sentimental, part 2

I have just received an e-mail from my soulmate and I am crying over this damn keyboard...
The Smiths once made a song called "Still ill" and it goes like this:
But we cannot cling
to the old dreams anymore,
no, we cannot cling
to those dreams.
Does the body rule the mind
or does the mind rule the body?
I dunno...

Samurai & the Wild West

John Galliano, Spring/Summer 2007
(Oh, the bottom right corner...)

Real fashion

After reading about a fashion faux pas of Mr. Wolfowitz, I have decided to post some real fashion.

Dsquared², Spring/Summer 2007

deARTed

Today, I have visited an annual art fair called DEARTE Contemporáneo that shows collections of modern art that are carried by participating Spanish galleries. This year, it was its Sixth Edition. The artists represented there should have illustrated various tendendencies in a contemporary art. Unfortunately, the whole place was just too money-oriented to truly appreciate the idea behind the whole project.

I miss Interpol

El truco final

Today I went to see "The Prestige", another movie about magicians. The cast was stellar: the Tesla character was portrayed by David Bowie and the two competing and obsessed magicians were played by Christian Bale (who is getting cuter and staying hot) and Hugh Jackman.

One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula

Burak Özçivit

















Some music worth considering:

• The Good, The Bad and The Queen
• Vega4
• Dengue Fever
  
• Cold War Kids

THE warmest jacket

Madrid, Spain. Minus 6 degrees on my way to the lab today. We had some snow yesterday. Why, oh, why? I had to dig out the world-famous warmest jacket from my closet this morning. Joder.

X-man

Today I saw a very cute guy on a train. Shaved head, business outfit, around 30 years old... all you can ask for. We exchanged some smiles and then he reached for his bag and took out a copy of an X-men comics magazine. It was so funny and unexpected that it makes me smile even 5 hours after.

What do I miss (a.k.a. Jan the Sentimental)

• stopping by at the girls' house after Sunday swimming for a cup of coffee and finding Stef in her pyjamas talking to her aunt
• getting home from the Menagerie with Tonito and Paskalin and popping some B12
• raging the University Ave (or the 91) with Ramontxe to get to the Menagerie (or the VIP)
• getting drinks from Dean at the front bar to get fucked up early or from Bradley by the dancefloor because he is so damn cute
• going for a double espresso to the "New Starbucks" to see Adrian working at the ice cream place
• going to see the French movies on Mondays because it so intellectual
• kissing strangers in the Menagerie's "darkened underpass"
  
• getting crispy fish tacos at 4 in the morning with Ramontxe and eating them in the mountains behind Massachusetts Ave
• making coffee at the BPS in the morning and pushing Stef to drink it with me when she doesn't have any time
• making out on the Menagerie stage with Adrian
  
• shopping with Mel, Stef, Paskalin and Tonito at the Ontario Mills
• ...
  

New obsession

Chad White
ETRO Milano 2007

Games

I should be studying for my Spanish exam, but I am having fun instead... Yesterday, I called Marco and together with Alicia and Govi we tried to go to see an exhibition of M.C. Escher in Centro de exposiciones Arte Canal, but unfortunately the only thing we saw was a gigantic queue. If art was not meant for us that night, then at least some booze surely was. Ana and Willy joined us for beer and dinner in Lavapiés and later we hit a funny café close to Tribunal, where people go to play board games! We've played the Trivial Pursuit and the Pictionary and even though they were in Spanish, I had a lot of fun.

Wise men

¡Felices Reyes! The two-week-long Spanish Navidad is over. Yesterday, we celebrated the last day of Christmas with a traditional Roscón de Reyes in the house of Alicia and Ana. Marco was finally back from Italy and the usual suspects included also Mar, Govi and Willy. The Ecuadorians were also preparing some punch-like hot drinks from strange fruits with even weirder names like naranjillas. On Sunday, I went to see Marie Antoinette, a new movie by Sophia Coppola. I was impressed by the avant-garde preview trailer, unfortunately, the actual movie is pretty conventional and the 80's music is mixed with classic tunes to an uninspirational mess. The acting performances were surprisinly good, though. Yes, I did like Jamie Dornan, of course I did, LOL.

Doce Uvas de la Buena Suerte

New Year's Eve! I was invited to spend this precious night with Antonio and José Manuel. It was one of those last minute arrangements, but they are usually the best. I was on the phone with Stephaninounette when A. called me and I had to hurry up, because the subway was supposed to be out of service at 21:30 and I was meeting Rubén and Jesús at the Alonso Martínez Metro station in less than 20 minutes. We had a wonderful dinner and then I experienced that special Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes, one on each chime of the clock. Cool! Apparently, the "tradition" goes back to 1909 (only), when smart grape growers in Alicante found out what to do with their over-production. Then we watched some TV (I wanted to see Jesús Vázquez, but no luck) and I was getting more and more drunk, but because the wine was really good, I didn't have any headache the day after. On the 1st of January I went to see Quinceañera and I almost cried in the cinema when I saw LA and all the stuff I left behind. For a good recovery from such trauma, I am posting a picture of Jesse Garcia from that movie.

Correspondencia con...

"Próxima estación: Nuevos Ministerios, correspondencia con líneas 6 y 8 y Cercanías Renfe." I am back in my daily commute. Today, both the lab and the swimming pool were deserted. It's sunny and warm here, we had our after-the-lunch coffee outside and I was wearing just a T-shirt. Amazing, the temperature at the airport in Prague was -8 centigrades.

El Viaje Navideño

¡Feliz Navidad! What a crazy week. On Monday, we celebrated Christmas with 317 and Genomics in the mountain village close to Madrid with roasted cabrito for madrileños and chuletón for guiris. Tuesday and Wednesday, frantic days, filled with DNA preps and genotyping before my Christmas trip. On Thursday, at 5am, on my way to Barajas; at 10am, landing in Prague; and finally at 3pm, arrival to Brno. Today, a little shopping: Il Vangelo secondo Matteo by Pier Paolo Pasolini. What a gem.

My first celebrity

I met José Antonio from Operación Triunfo. You can see him singing here, here and here. His departure from the show is here.

Route of the Caliphs

Wednesday, December 6
A long weekend again - to live in Spain is truly miraculous! This time we made a trip to the south, particularly we followed what is called the Route of the Caliphs that runs between the two most important towns of Hispano-Muslim history, Córdoba and Granada. Two great cities and two great centuries. Between them, a land of legends, watchtowers and castles, of amazingly beautiful towns, people, food and angels, as you will find out later.
We left Madrid very, very early, around 7am in the morning, taking A-4 and later N-323 to get to Granada, where we arrived around 1pm. We booked tickets to Alhambra approximately three weeks ago, because it's impossible to get there without a reservation. The Alhambra Palace and the Generalife have been awarded a status of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Winter is definitely not the best time to visit Alhambra. Even though we really enjoyed the architecture, the gardens and the fountains were already shut down, unfortunately. In Alhambra, I met my first Spanish celebrity! Recently, I became obsessed by the Spanish version of the Pop Idol contest, here it's called Operación Triunfo and my favourite singer was José Antonio. To my surprise, I recognized him with his boyfriend there and I asked Marco to take a picture of us. After visiting the palace, we had some tapas and beer and later, when the night fell, we crossed the city to Albayzín, where it's possible to see Alhambra from a mirador by the Plaza de San Nicolás. Later we had a dinner in the city on c/ Navas. When we arrived to the camp site, there was no electricity, no heating and no hot water. I slept in all clothes I took with me as the trip was becoming truly adventurous.

Thursday, December 7
Still in Granada, we spent 2 hours trying to find a place to park. We visited the cathedral, gigantic building with two organs, something unbeliavable, and later the Real Capilla de Granada with the Cripta de los Reyes Católicos, where they buried Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. We had lunch in a Lebanese restaurant and later a tea in a tetería. Later in the afternoon we got to Alcalá la Real, where we booked a hotel. In the night, we played card games: burro and mentiroso and got completely drunk, as it became a habit for the rest of the trip.

Friday, December 8
In the morning, we made a visit to the La Mota fortress in Alcalá la Real. This was the place from where Isabella and Ferdinand rode out in order to receive the keys of Granada. It has two distinct spaces, the alcazaba and the abbey church. The citadela has three towers and one can see the ruins of the old Moorish military quarters there. From Alcalá we followed a road 336 to Priego de Córdoba with a splendid walkway on the cliff surrounding the Barrio de la Villa with the olive trees bellow. We had not so splendid lunch there, unfortunately. Later in the afternoon we arrived to Zuheros, in my opinion, the most beautiful castle we visited. The fortress is from 9th century and it's perched on the top of an enormous rock. Next stop was Luque, the city I refer to as "La ciudad de los Ángeles" now. The tank of Marco's car was getting dangerously low when we arrived to the main square of Luque with no gas station in sight. Then, an angel arrived on a motorcycle and join us in the car to show us a hidden gasolinera in a polígono industrial approx. 5km away, which we would never found without him. I am sure he helped us again in the latter so-called "San Pedro accident". In the night, we had a wonderful (truly!) dinner back in Alcalá, in an unexpectedly good cervecería serving delicious jamón asado. In the night another round of card games with even more drinks.

Saturday, December 9
We had to wake up very early to be on the road by 8am, as we had to drop Carlos at the AVE railway station in Córdoba. We took the northern branch of N-432 through Alcaudete, Castro del Río and Espejo, arriving to Córdoba at 9:45am with the train departing at 10:00am. On the way from the station we stopped in a cafeteria to replenish the caffein blood levels and I asked Govi what was the name of the hotel we were staying in Córdoba, as the name of the hotel next door sounded familiar to me. Amazingly, we accidentally parked in front of our hotel! Was it an act of the angel from Luque? Shortly after moving our luggage to the rooms, we mistakenly left our parking spots to find ones closer to the city and at the end, after 1 hour in the car, circling around, we parked on the other side of the old town. It might have been actually much better, if we had left the cars by the hotel. In Córdoba, we visited Alcázar and the Mosque, both stunning works of art of all times, awarded as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Later in the afternoon, we walked through the old city, visited the synagogue and later a romanesque church of San Pedro. We refreshed ourselves in a small cervecería across the church plaza and continued through the Plaza de la Corredera and around the ruins of the Templo Romano towards our hotel. In a hotel room, Marco realized he couldn't find his insulin applicator and we walked back to the San Pedro pub together, where the waitress knew what we wanted even before we told her. The angel from Luque struck again. Then we watched a football game while having a dinner and later ordinary cards and tequila.

Sunday, December 10
Taking the A-4, we arrived to Madrid at 5pm. My short nap at 7pm actually stretched to 12 hours. I guess one can fight the sleep deprivation only for a short time.

Therapy?!

A shopping therapy weekend. On Saturday, I stormed Pull and Bear, Zara and Often to get a jacket, because the temperatures are getting dangerously low and I left all my winter clothes in Brno. No success, but I've got at least a bottle of Burberry Touch that I missed so much since I left So-Cal. In the evening, I saw the new Bond movie with Marco and Mar in IDEAL Cinemas. Before the movie, we went for a beer to Alhambra, one of the very first cervecerías I went to after my arrival to Madrid. The film was almost 2,5 hours long and we got so thirsty that we needed more beer and we ended up in a German pub on Plaza de Santa Ana. On Sunday, my hunt for a jacket continued. In between Bershka and H&M attempts, I sent a desperate message (or better, a cry for help) to G., but I guess it was too early for him, so I had to make a decision by myself. Finally, I've got a black nylon one from Sfera and I am guessing that Sfera will become my new Guess, because I liked many, many things there. I hope that G. will like the jacket, because I do!