Owner: Life and Stuff URL:http://homepage.mac.com/ciaranbrewster Join Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2007 16:13:25 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog by an Irish guy living in Spain with topics that range from travel, photography, language, the internet, science, culture, stereotypes, software, tips,life hacks, Ireland and all things Irish. Site statistics:Click here
Frappr Map 2007-08-22 02:42:24 I've added a Frappr map to website (find link in the navigation bar above) that will allow you to add your location to the map. The other map which just works off users' ISP details can be now found at here. I hope that this new map will allows users to be more interactive with the webpage.
No title 2007-08-21 13:54:27 Does anyone remember the days when reading email used to be a pleasurable activity? Now we have to swim through the ocean of spam that occupies our inboxes everyday. RTÉ just reported that 85% of Irish emails consist of spam. So is spam just an unavoidable part of having an email account? Not necessarily. Or at least there are some measures that you can take to minimise the amount of spam in your inbox. When you sign up for a new email account the first thing you notice is a spam-free, albeit empty inbox. This is because at this stage only you and your email provider know of this account's existence. How this email address is distributed is the key to determining the amount of spam you'll get. I remember my very first email account (nowadays it's not uncommon for a person to have fi
Idioms 2007-08-18 06:51:50 One of the most difficult things to learn in a foreign language are the idiomatic expressions. These are phrases, words or expressions that lose their meaning when translated literally into another language. Some common examples from English are: It is raining cats and dogs or in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Below I have listed some of my favourite Spanish idioms alongside both their literal translation and their meaning in English.Spanish IdiomLiteral TranslationMeaning¡Narices!Noses.Rubbish! Damn!¡Qué te den Morcilla!That they give you black pudding.Get stuffed!Tener más cojones que el caballo de Santiago.To have more balls than Santiago's horse.To have balls.Costar un huevo.To cost an egg.To be one hell of a job. To be tough going.Hacerse el sueco.To become the Read more:Idioms
Manuel 2007-08-16 09:18:43 If one show has created a negative stereotype of Spanish people it has to be Fawlty Towers. Andrew Sachs, a German-born actor, played the role of the loveable but hapless waiter from Barcelona, Manuel
. The combination of Manuel's pigeon English and Basil Fawlty's flailing temper created a number of uncomfortable and often surreal situations. An interesting titbit is that due to the demeaning presentation of Manuel's character his name was changed to Paolo in the dubbed Spanish version and his nationality changed to Mexican in the Catalan one.
Little Children = Juegos Secretos!? 2007-08-01 15:08:20 When we think of small talk one of the first topics of conversation that comes to mind is movies. However, anyone who has every tried to talk to a Spanish person about films will very quickly fall upon a stumbling block. You might be forgiven for thinking that a movie title such as the Sound of Music would have the logical title La Sonida de Musica. Makes sense right? Well as it turns out this film has been alternatively called Sonrisas y Lagrimas (Smiles and Tears) and La Novicia Rebelde (The Rebel Nun). It is not just this movie that has undergone this title-makeover but the vast majority of movies and TV programmes. I have compiled a list below of just a sprinkling of my favourite film and TV show translations.Movie Title in EnglishMovie Title in SpanishLiteral TranslationA Nightmare be Read more:Children
, Little Children
And the winner is... 2007-07-10 15:57:55 And the winner
s of the much hyped New Seven Wonders of the World are: The Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum, the Taj Mahal and... the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. Huh! Somehow I suspect that the majority of votes for the latter probably originated in Brazil. Some of the notable exceptions to the list include the Eiffel Tour and the Acropolis. The Taj Mahal, which at one stage wasn't even in the running just needed a little last-minute publicity push to get it onto the list. This competition to find the new Wonders amounts to little more than a farce, highlighting the problem with Internet polling. There was absolutely nothing to stop people from voting multiple times. Furthermor
The running of the bulls 2007-07-07 16:47:56 One of the first words anyone learns in Spanish is fiesta; and for good reason. If anyone knows how to party it's the Spanish. The running
of the bulls
in San Fermin is one of the best known festivals in all of Spain. The running, which began yesterday in Pamplona attracted some one million visitors this year. The festival involves revellers, loaded to the eyeballs on both adrenaline and alcohol running through the cobbled streets of Pamplona, trying to keep ahead of the six fighting bulls that are pursuing them. This year around 2000 people took part in the run. The bull run has been heavily criticised by animal activist groups such as PETA. On Thursday, Pamplona saw the "nude run"; a demonstration by animal rights activists who run the same course stark naked in order to highlight the cr
How to get in touch 2007-07-03 14:14:56 On the sidebar on the right there is a Meebo IM chat that lets you chat with me from the website if I am signed on. Also, in the sidebar you have a Skype button that allows you to view my Skype status and to see if I'm available to chat. A second button allows you to leave an Odeo voice message provided you have a built-in or external microphone. Of course, you can still get in touch
the old fashioned way by clicking on the contact me link at the bottom of the page to send an email. You can also comment on any of the blog entries by leaving a comment. Finally, you can subscribe to both the blog and comments RSS feeds.
Slob Evolution 2007-07-02 16:43:41 A parody of the Dove evolution commercial (see video below). Read more:Evolution
El Camino de Santiago 2007-06-27 04:36:08 It's impossible to live in Burgos for any length of time without knowing about the Camino
de Santiago
. Sometimes translated as the Way of St. James it is more often referred to by its shortened Spanish name, el Camino. At this time of the year hundreds of pilgrims pass through the city of Burgos with their rucksacks and walking sticks. The legend goes that the bones of the apostle James were brought to Santiago de Compostela and buried there. Santiago de Compostela, located in the north-western province of Galicia, is the final destination for many pilgrims as all the routes funnel to an end here. Where you start the pilgramage is up to you. Many people take the Camino frances which starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, although you can start anywhere you like on the route. While ma
Real beauty? 2007-06-25 14:38:26 This is the award winning video from the cosmetics group Dove. Dove made a risky decision when they decided to embark on their Campaign for Real Beauty. What this videos serves shows that the old idiom "seeing is believing" is not so cut and dry. However, It comes as no shock to anyone that the advertisement agencies may have been trying to deceive us. The question we should be asking is what constitutes deception and whether there is a level of fraud that is acceptable? Deceit is a common facet of the human psyche that manifests itself on both conscious and subconscious levels. You would be naive to think that the goal of advertisement is not to present a product in the best light possible, but rather to simply show the product for what it is; warts and all. Some people would argue that t
I beg your pardon? 2007-06-24 14:03:38 Over at yourdictionary.com there is a list of the most commonly mispronounced words in the English language. I was bowled over by the number of words that I personally mispronounce. Here are my top ten list. Find many more examples at
Spanish stereotypes 2007-06-24 05:33:26 What one realises very quickly when you live in Spain for a while is that many of the stereotypes we hold about the country are either false or ill-founded.1. Sun & BeachMaybe I should have known better when I arrived in Spain for the first time with a suitcase packed with shorts and t-shirts. Like many of the stereotypes that we'll see this one relates to south of Spain. Anyone who has spent anytime in Burgos outside the summer months will note that the temperatures can be baltic. In fact, it is considered to be one of the coldest cities in all of Spain. Rather than being a negative the Spanish
climate has the up side of offering a wide range of landscapes from the rain soaked hills of Asturias and Galicia (the Ireland of Spain in more ways than one), the dry heat of the central plain, an
Losing the art of speaking 2007-06-22 11:27:44 It's amazing how somethings that should be second nature change so dramatically by living in a foreign country. Today I was getting into a car when I had to stop and think about what side of the car I had to get into. This may sound ridiculous but having living my life between Ireland (where we drive on the correct side of the road) versus the United States and Spain (where they drive on the right side of the road - here I use right in the directional sense of the word only) getting into whichever side of car is no longer a no-brainer.You really know when you've lived in a country too long, not when you speak that other country's language, but rather when you start forgetting your mother tongue. Having lived in the US for so long I have moments where I need to stop and think. . . hmmm do w
Fiesta! 2007-06-19 14:45:33 Fiesta. It's one of the first words you learn when you set foot in Spain. Burgos is getting geared up for its annual festival - Los Sampedros. The festival kicks off on Friday the 22nd with the Gigantillos, giant puppets that look like over-sized Punch and Judy characters. Throughout the week there is music from the likes of Dover, Antonio Carmona, Ricky Martin, Miguel Bosé and Julieta Venegas. Not quite Glastonbury, but hey it's Burgos and nearly all are free. Of course, it wouldn't be Spain without Bulls, and there are bullfights everyday. Finally, what's any festival worth its salt that doesn't have fireworks. Burgos has gone all out on this one, having organised an international pyrotechnic competition. However, the tapas (small bar snacks) competition is the one I'm most lookin Read more:Fiesta
Madrid win La Liga 2007-06-19 07:54:03 Unless you've been living under a stone you will have seen that Real Madrid
won the Spanish League. It's the Hollywood style ending that Beckham was looking for before he heads off in that direction. The end of a season was a thriller with Barcelona, Sevilla and Madrid all having opportunities to close the deal in the penultimate game. After going a goal down Madrid came back to finally win 3-1 against Mallorca. It seems like a Rangers-Celtic type of deal here in Spain. Even if you come from a place that is neither Madrid nor Barca you still have to have a preference for one or the other. From the celebrations in the streets of Burgos you would swear that Burgos C.F. had won the league. Speaking of which, it looks like Burgos C.F. after defeating Sevilla Atlético are going to get p
Miss Spain to allow transsexuals and mothers to compete 2007-06-15 18:53:09 In what seems to be a direct reaction to the dismissal earlier this year of Miss Cantabria for being a mother, the organisers of Miss Spain
have decided to allow mothers to compete. The dethroned Miss Cantabria appeared on TV last night stating that she was taking legal action in an attempt to get reinstated. Even if she manages to do so I imagine that the pageant organisers will not look to fondly on the fact that she appeared nude in the latest edition of the Spanish magazine Interviú.The competition has also set a precedence by allowing transsexuals to enter the competition for the first time. This follows from a law passed earlier this year allowing for transsexuals in Spain to change their legal gender without having to undergo surgery.The way I see it, if a transsexual can win
The follies of the football faithful 2007-06-15 17:28:01 Why are some people Catholics while others are Protestants? And why are some people Buddhist, while others may be Hindus, animists, Jains, Baptists or any of the other hundreds of religions we have in the world. Why do some people vote Republican rather than Democrat, or Conservative, or Centre, or even Centre-Right, while still others vote Red, or Green or some other colourful political line. Moreover, how come some people think abortion is wrong while others profess that it is the right of the mother to choose, or how do you explain the cultures that dicate that adulteresses should be stoned to death, while others believe that killing even a bug is wrong. I propose that our beliefs for the most part are the product of our environment and sheer happenstance, since as someone so poetically
Understanding and being understood in Spain 2007-06-15 06:29:36 I arrived in Spain
for the first time in the summer of 2005, not speaking a word of Spain beyond the compulsory hola, adiós, siesta, and arriba, arriba, ándale (the latter isn't even used in Spain –– damn you Speedy Gonzalez). I was here as an anthropology student studying at the world famous Atapuerca archaeological site.From the moment I set foot in Barajas Airport in Madrid the communication problems began. Armed with phrase book in hand I asked a passer-by in my very broken Spanglish for directions to the bus station. Since, my first attempt was a stillbirth I decided to ask again –– "Downday aystaw la station day awtobus?" This time I got a reaction but it scared the bejeezus out of me. The words coming out of this person's mouth sounded like rapi Read more:Understanding
France 2007-06-08 15:28:11 I enjoyed my few days away in the south of France
with my brother Fintan, his wife Michelle, my niece Emma and nephew Adam. One of the days I decided to visit Perpignon city. I had forgotten how difficult the easiest of tasks can be when you don't speak the local lingo. I tried ordering myself a steak and lemon flavoured coke at one restaurant and ended up with a burger and a coke with quarter of a lemon it in. While rambling around the city I managed to get lost and ended up in the Arabian quarter of the town –– a quite rundown neighbourhood but at the same time full of character with lively streets. While I was still trying to find my bearings a young lad asked me something in French, which of course I didn't understand whatsoever. Of course, he could clearly see that I was a
ETA end ceasefire 2007-06-05 11:03:52 The Basque separatist group ETA have announced an end to their year-long ceasefire stating that "the minimum conditions for continuing a process of negotiations do not exist” and that the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has responded to their ceasefire "with arrests, torture and persecution.” In December Zapatero broke off talks with ETA after a bombing in Madrid airport. The ending of the ceasefire means that ETA are currently the only major armed political group within the EU. ETA want an independent Basque state for the more than 2 million people who live in the Basque regions in north of Spain and south of France.
Okupas 2007-06-02 13:49:45 One of the problems facing Spain at the moment is that of Okupas (squatters in English). Over the last few years, Spain has become a global centre for Okupas with Barcelona being Spain's squatter capital. Since its beginnings in the 1960's Spain has not been the only country affected by this movement with London, Paris and Berlin being old hands in dealing with this issue. There is a large imbalance in the distribution of squatters throughout Europe, due in large part on the severeness of each country's policies.The squatter movement began in Britain in the 1960s as a consequence of the hippy movement. From there it spread across Europe under various labels: crackers in Holland and Besetzers in Germany.Okupas are often associated with the most radical movements of the left, particularly an
Flamenco 2007-06-01 12:12:00 I purport that what makes stereotyping offensive not so much the content of what is said but rather the person who is saying. I thoroughly believe that there is nothing more that we love than stereotypes about ourselves. The popularity of shows such as Father Ted and Ballynaskully all attest to this truth. But when someone even attempts to mock of cultural institutions like Riverdance or beating the bejesus out of a bodhrán, we launch a venomous diatribe leaving the offender drenched in a gooey layer of saliva. Similarly, the same goes for the Spanish. Two great Spanish institutions are sport (arguably a Spanish phenomenon) and Flamenco (Ok, we'll them have that one). As luck would have it Nike have decided to pull these two things together in the following TV advert.
Immigration in Spain 2007-06-01 11:39:34 Being an immigrant in Spain
has motivated me to write a few words on the subject. First, let me clear about one thing; there are immigrants and then there are immigrants. Being an Irish in Spain doesn't mean the same thing as being Romanian, Moroccan or Chinese. I feel like I myself am viewed as something between a tourist and an foreigner. The loaded word immigrant somehow doesn't quite seem to capture it.On the other hand, the Spanish would consider the African immigrants arriving everyday to the southern coast and islands as true immigrants. Spain's proximity to Africa means that it is the favoured landing ground for many Africans. These immigrants arrive to Spain and the Canary Islands in their thousand, often in makeshift boats, typically with many moralities from the crossing.To comp
The absurdity of English spelling 2007-05-29 11:21:57 Most of us don't sit around considering the ins and out of the English
language. It is only after all that thing that we speak. That is of course if you are not an English teacher. One thing that you realise when you take a closer look at our mother-tongue (or the language of the oppressor for all you nationalist out there) is that our pronunciation make very little sense whatsoever. For those of you who have studied a language such as Italian or Spanish that has a phonetic pronunciation you will already have learned to appreciate the logic of their orthography. For example, the pronunciation of -iel in Spanish is always the same, whether the word is fiel, piel, miel, etc. On the other hand consider the pronunciation of -ough in English, which is pronounced "oo" in the word through, "ou" i Read more:spelling
Axturias 2007-05-01 08:09:11 Well, just got back from a bridge (literal Spanish translation of a long weekend) in Asturias, that oft forgotten part of Northern Spain that has been the misguided destination of many a deslexic backpacker on their way to Austria. The bus ride itself from Burgos to Oviedo is breathtaken, with a lot of mountains, lakes and an overabundance of green. The colour green is not the only thing that the Asturians have stolen from the Irish. Other things include:Music - which is really Irish trad music with cheap imitation uilleann pipes.Cider - Bulmers should sue.Language - More than once I overheard people saying "eres un crack" which of course translates as "you're mighty craic."Pointless scultures dotted throughout our cities - It's a toss up between Dublin's Spire, a.k.a. The Stilleto in the
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