Mercy mercy mercy

Aquesta setmana tenim la Setmana del Jazz a Tortosa, una de les activitats culturales més interessants de l'any, per a mi! Per anar fent, o pels que no podem anar-hi, aqui tenim el Gran Cannonball Adderley.
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Jazz festival this week in Tortosa, for 18th year running - it looks and sounds like a great programme this year, as usual. To get us in the mood, Cannonball Adderley

Al diablo

Noticies fresques; la nostra impresora ha mort. 10 anys fent-nos costat i ara ho fotrem als contenidors de reciclatge al poligon. Ho reciclaran o acabar omplint un forat a la Ribera de l’Ebre. Tornem a parlar dels bous a les Terres de l’Ebre, oblidant de que ni a la Ribera ni a la Terra Alta se’n fan, ni al capital Tortosa tampoc. Referendum ja! L’indignació va en augment, i només un bon estiu ens ho farà oblidar. Comença a fer massa calor per a protestar, ni que sigui des del teclat. Sembla que hi ha dos móns o dos realitats entre natros i el sistema politic. No s’enten com s’estan atrevint a fer les coses que fan, sobretot en els serveis publics.

I disparat damunt de disparat, aquest cientific es fa creus amb els continus debats sobre la velocitat. Tots els mitjans plens de enquestes “creus que és una mesura eficaç, tal i qual ...?”. No cal cap enquesta perquè no és cap qüestió d’opinions. Són fets cientifics. Que parlen els experts i que es deixen de tonteries els politics i els tertulians. Si estalviem benzina, ajudem al mediambient, reduim els casos de astma, segur que algu que altre accident menys etc, pos, ja està clar. I si no és aixi, pos, també.
En fi, alguna cosa de música: 2 punts si ja coneixieu aquest grup, Los Dug Dugs (Mexicans, dels 60/70).

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Odds and ends from local news. Our printer has died shortly before its 10th birthday. Bulls are once more in the public debate as many local villages have bull-related activities (to call it something printable) in their summer “festes”. Outraged folk continue protesting in and around Catalonia, and our Outrage is growing day by day thanks to the crazy neo-lib ideas of the Catalan government. Are they even living on the same planet as the rest of us mortals?
Spanish government reduced the national speed limit from 120 km/h to 110 a few months back. It has apparently saved a lot of petrol and money, reduced pollution and accidents, but since people like to drive real fast, this week it has been changed back to 120. Pedal to the metal!
Only the summer can save us!
Anyway, hands up who knows Los Dug Dugs, Mexican band from the 60/70s?

El cosi ebrenc de Homer

- Ei, Homer, a migdia sortim fora a fumer, o que?
- No cal esperar, si vols anem aquí darrera, hi ha un lloc que podrem fumar i no ens trobaran.
- Però ...
- Tranqui, aquí no va ningu, que estan tots atemorizats - és el magatzen de l'urani.
- Però, no és perillos?
- Va, deixa't de tonteries i agafa la caixa dels Duffs ...

El CSN halla tabaco y colillas en el edificio de combustible de Ascó I

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Cigarrette ends, and other junk found in the "Inflammable materials - Strictly prohibited" nuclear fuel store room at our local nuclear plant!! And no, it's not Springfield - it just feels like it!
Fukushima here we come!

Do you really want to hurt me?

Avui, 14 de juny, Boy George dels Culture Club compleix 50 anys! Felicitats!
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Boy George is 50 today. Happy Birthday!

Nothing ever happens - Del Amitri

Post office clerks put up signs saying position closed

And secretaries turn off typewriters and put on their coats

Janitors padlock the gates, For security guards to patrol

And bachelors phone up their friends for a drink, While the married ones turn on a chat show

And they'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow

Gentlemen time please, you know we can't serve anymore

Now the traffic lights change to stop, when there's nothing to go

And by 5 o'clock everything's dead, And every third car is a cab

And ignorant people sleep in their beds, Like the doped white mice in the college lab

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all

The needle returns to the start of the song, And we all sing along like before

And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow

Telephone exchanges click while there's nobody there

The Martians could land in the carpark and no one would care

Close-circuit cameras in department stores shoot the same video every day

And the stars of these films neither die nor get killed. Just survive constant action replay

Bill hoardings advertise products that nobody needs

While angry from Manchester writes to complain about all the repeats on T.V.

And computer terminals report some gains, On the values of copper and tin

While American businessmen snap up Van Goghs for the price of a hospital ring

Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all

They'll burn down the synagogues at 6 o'clock and we'll all go along like before

And we'll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow.

Stand and deliver

Fa 30 anys, el 12 de juny 1981, Adam & the Ants estaven al numero 1 de les llistes d'exit anglesos.

Metal Guru

11th June 1972, number one in the UK, Metal Guru dels T-Rex :)

Meat is murder - The Smiths

És evident que cada u és lliure de menjar el que vol, però de vegades val la pena saber l'historia que hi ha detras del menjar. I és evident, per mi, que han d'haver-hi limits. I el foie gras, al meu entendre, passa de la ratlla, però molt! Si no sabeu com es fa, aquí hi ha un parell de videos interessants!

Hi ha coses que es poden canviar, però, si volem. Per exemple, l'ajuntament de York - ciutat principal de Yorkshire, Anglaterra - ha prohibit la seva venta a la ciutat.

No cal - si no voleu - arribar al vegeterianisme dels Smiths, però petits canvis com deixar de menjar aquesta crueltat no estaria malament!

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I was very pleased to hear a couple of years back that York city council had banned the sale of foie gras - and surprised that some people still buy and eat it. Why do I say that? Check out these videos! While it may not be necessary to become a vegetarian as the Smiths propose, small changes in our consumption choices can make a lot of difference to animal suffering.

Kuluna

Ara feia dies que no prestava gaire atenciço al bloc i han passat un munt de coses que podria comentar, i potser comentaré en futurs apunts. Han matat al Bin Laden, el Barça són Champions, el PxC ha entrat a l'ajuntament de Tortosa, hem deixat de menjar cogombres i ens hem tornat a menjar-los, s'està retallant tot el que haviem guanyat en serveis publics, la gent s'ha indignat, s'ha format el Club d'Hoquei Patins a Tortosa, i he descobert un nou grup de músic.

Els Staff Benda Billi són un grup que viuen, i tocaven (abans de guanyar una mica de fama), als carrers i als voltants del zoo de Kinshasa al Congo. Tots tenen problemes greus de salut, encara que quan m'els van recomanar a mi ningu m'ho va avisar i ja em van agradar molt. Vull dir que crec que els "pobrets, malalts, i encara aixi saben tocar" no és el motiu per la seva fama, sino que sencillament toquen de meravella.

El jove amb l'instrument fet per ell amb una llauna i un fil (es diu un Satonge) només té 18 anys en aquest video. De fet als 13 anys es va apuntar al grup quan li van trobar també vivint al carrer. Ara, el lider diu que a aquest jove la fama li està afectant - "no només ha comprat una tele amb els guanys, sino a més a més un matalas!"

Aqui estan al Eurockeennes Festival a França, any 2009 tocant una peça que es diu Kuluna.

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Many things happened since I last wrote seriously, or half-seriously, in this blog but maybe I'll get round to commenting on them in later posts ... I have also just found about this group. Staff Benda Bilili. A group of disabled street musicians from Congo, here they are playing live in a French Rock Festival. I first heard about them, and heard their music, without knowing they had various levels of disability, and so can vouch that their fans are not in it for the sympathy vote, we love them because they simply Rock!!

They say the young guy on the left with his home-made Satonge (tin can and wire) has let fame go to his head. He has actually bought a mattress ...

Conta-contes en anglès, aquest divendres a la Biblioteca

China Girl

Fa uns dies vam preguntar sobre aquests bitxos. Ja tenim el guanyador, un tal Mr. B. Laden, acutalment residint amb una illa petita juntament amb Elvis Presley i Marilyn Monroe on es dediquen a falsificar videos sobre "viatges" de la NASA. En pocs dies, rebrà el seu premi. I que són - pos, si esteu llegint això, no cal explicar-ho, veritat?

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Well, a few days back we asked if anybody outside of Catalunya knew what these creatures were. Todays photos show them at a later phase, having spent a few weeks gouging on our mulberry tree leaves, they eventually weave themselves a nice cocoon - made with silk! Hence the name, silkworms. It is a very common hobby here in Catalonia where kids then keep the eggs till next year to start again and everyone has a mulberry tree in their garden.

Anyway the winner of the competition who was the first person to get their postcard to me is a certain Mr. B. Laden, with a rather vague residential address on a remote island in the Pacific. According to Wikipedia, who knows everything, he lives there with Elvis Presley making videos for the NASA.

Anyway, silk comes from China as every schoolkid should know - and so do China Girls ....

Prou retallades en serveis públics

Jornada d'Escoles d'Hoquei Patins

Voleu vore els xiquets que d'aqui uns anys estaran jugant en l'equip nacional de Catalunya (independent!) ? Veniu i xalareu, el diumenge de 9 a 14.30, partits amb equips de hoquei escola d'arreu de Catalunya (edats entre 4 i 8 anys, approx.).

La "estrena" local del nou Club d'Hoquei Tortosa!!