Sue Burke's Blog, page 57
March 3, 2016
The Mayor beseeches Madrid
When Enrique Tierno Galván died in 1986, his funeral brought out a million people to say goodbye.
What made that man so loved?
He became mayor in the first democratic elections under the post-Franco Constitution in 1979. A city that had grown grim during the dictatorship was transformed with new movement and freedom under his leadership. In addition to promoting culture both high and low, he initiated some much-needed improvements, such as sewage treatment that allowed ducks to return to the Manzanares River.
“The old Professor,” as he was called, taught at universities, was a political prisoner in 1957, and wrote the preamble to Spain’s new constitution, along with dozens of books. His celebrated mayoral edicts demonstrated his irony and erudition. The one he is shown presenting here addresses the upcoming 1982 FIFA World Cup games.
Residents of Madrid:
Since time immemorial it has been and remains customary among the inhabitants of this honorable Town to observe and assemble on holidays and special occasions in order to attend public performances of great amusement and diversion that captivate the spirit and serve as rest and respite from the many tasks that keep them all, according to their position in life, busy, awake at night, and often enough overwhelmed.
Among all the many public performances that have entertained and enlivened the residents of this Municipality, the primary and most uniquely foremost have been bullfights, in which those who dwell in this Town participate with singular enthusiasm and delight, notwithstanding mishaps and, on occasions, misfortunes.
But, as times are renewed, customs alter or change, and novelties are introduced that, without detriment to the survival of older habits and public performances, give rise to new means of relaxation and amusement, such as so-called “football,” a British expression, which in our common Castilian is equivalent to having eleven skilled and outstanding athletes compete in the endeavor to propel with their feet and head a pliant ball pursuant to the desire, at times disproportionate, of entering it into a location solicitously protected by another squad of eleven athletes, and vice versa.
So great is the enthusiasm this has awoken in all nations and with such notable passion throughout the entire world that the principal minds who direct and arrange the public presentations of the aforementioned entertainment have chosen our Royal Town and Court so that, in its fine stadiums and with the aim of celebrating the games’ grandeur and splendor, the best squads of each nation will compete in their final encounters, which will attract to this honorable city innumerable visitors from the many countries that populate the Earth.
Although it is notorious and of common knowledge that the inhabitants of this Town tend to turn a doorpost-deaf ear to the warnings and admonitions of the Mayor, may I be permitted to recall that among the virtues which make a denizen faultless and consummate, very principal is courtesy, thanks to which we maintain old friendships, earn new ones, accept strangers, no few times turn hostile enemies into close and trustworthy friends, and in addition cause those who visit cities populated by courteous residents to sing their praises, amazed by the agreeableness of its dwellers.
Given that this town, due to the grand and renowned games of “football” of which I have previously spoken, will be visited by innumerable curious and enthusiastic travelers, it is proper and very appropriate that we maximize the aforementioned virtue of courtesy, which commonly among ourselves is forgotten on occasions of worry, toil, or carelessness, or even annoyance and anger.
Thus I beseech Madrid’s residents, as the leader of this Royal Town, to pay especially heedful attention to our visitors, leading the lost, orienting the perplexed, calming the anxious, helping those in need, and consoling those to whom the magnitude, complication, and immoderation of this great city may bring tribulation or disconcertion; indicating our intentions by means of gestures, tracing routes on maps, or accompanying them on their way, necessary actions to undertake when, as can occur with abundant frequency, we lack familiarity with their own native language or any other to which they might resort.
This Presiding Mayor also advises its inhabitants with utmost severity but not without affection that they take pains to maintain the cleanliness of its streets, the tidiness of its buildings, and the impeccable parking of cars in their proper locations, to the awe of our visitors and to our own gratification and contentment.
Among the copious wealth of reasons that urge us to remain vigilant to attend to and care for our visitors in their extreme numbers and very different idioms and homelands, principal is one that cannot help but be keenly discerned by the inhabitants of this Locale: to wit, that a multitude of men, women, and perhaps children, adroit in the art of seizing possessions from others, will come to this Town, taking advantage of the circumstances of such a favorable occasion as the above-mentioned world games, so that the common number of rogues, pickpockets, vagabonds, cut-purses, and many others of dubious condition who already exist in this Municipality will be joined by those incorporated from elsewhere, for which reason we must add to courtesy the most solicitous vigilance in order to avoid thefts, robberies, and illicit and covetous ruses which, were they to abound, would sully our good name and reputation.
Finally, those who dwell in this Town should know that while the motives for virtue may be quite weighty and insistent, so are those for material advantage, which will grow in proportion to the greater diffusion of our honest behavior and merit.
Thus I confidently advise the inhabitants to carry on with fortitude, heedful of the renown and prestige of this Royal Town.
Madrid, June 11, 1982
(Translation by Sue Burke.)
………
Here is a famous 5-second video of the Mayor introducing a rock concert during the Madrid Movida in which, using a play on words, he encourages the audience to either take their seats or get high.
“Rockeros, él que no está colocado, que se coloque, ¡y al loro!”
What made that man so loved?
He became mayor in the first democratic elections under the post-Franco Constitution in 1979. A city that had grown grim during the dictatorship was transformed with new movement and freedom under his leadership. In addition to promoting culture both high and low, he initiated some much-needed improvements, such as sewage treatment that allowed ducks to return to the Manzanares River.
“The old Professor,” as he was called, taught at universities, was a political prisoner in 1957, and wrote the preamble to Spain’s new constitution, along with dozens of books. His celebrated mayoral edicts demonstrated his irony and erudition. The one he is shown presenting here addresses the upcoming 1982 FIFA World Cup games.
Residents of Madrid:
Since time immemorial it has been and remains customary among the inhabitants of this honorable Town to observe and assemble on holidays and special occasions in order to attend public performances of great amusement and diversion that captivate the spirit and serve as rest and respite from the many tasks that keep them all, according to their position in life, busy, awake at night, and often enough overwhelmed.
Among all the many public performances that have entertained and enlivened the residents of this Municipality, the primary and most uniquely foremost have been bullfights, in which those who dwell in this Town participate with singular enthusiasm and delight, notwithstanding mishaps and, on occasions, misfortunes.
But, as times are renewed, customs alter or change, and novelties are introduced that, without detriment to the survival of older habits and public performances, give rise to new means of relaxation and amusement, such as so-called “football,” a British expression, which in our common Castilian is equivalent to having eleven skilled and outstanding athletes compete in the endeavor to propel with their feet and head a pliant ball pursuant to the desire, at times disproportionate, of entering it into a location solicitously protected by another squad of eleven athletes, and vice versa.
So great is the enthusiasm this has awoken in all nations and with such notable passion throughout the entire world that the principal minds who direct and arrange the public presentations of the aforementioned entertainment have chosen our Royal Town and Court so that, in its fine stadiums and with the aim of celebrating the games’ grandeur and splendor, the best squads of each nation will compete in their final encounters, which will attract to this honorable city innumerable visitors from the many countries that populate the Earth.
Although it is notorious and of common knowledge that the inhabitants of this Town tend to turn a doorpost-deaf ear to the warnings and admonitions of the Mayor, may I be permitted to recall that among the virtues which make a denizen faultless and consummate, very principal is courtesy, thanks to which we maintain old friendships, earn new ones, accept strangers, no few times turn hostile enemies into close and trustworthy friends, and in addition cause those who visit cities populated by courteous residents to sing their praises, amazed by the agreeableness of its dwellers.
Given that this town, due to the grand and renowned games of “football” of which I have previously spoken, will be visited by innumerable curious and enthusiastic travelers, it is proper and very appropriate that we maximize the aforementioned virtue of courtesy, which commonly among ourselves is forgotten on occasions of worry, toil, or carelessness, or even annoyance and anger.
Thus I beseech Madrid’s residents, as the leader of this Royal Town, to pay especially heedful attention to our visitors, leading the lost, orienting the perplexed, calming the anxious, helping those in need, and consoling those to whom the magnitude, complication, and immoderation of this great city may bring tribulation or disconcertion; indicating our intentions by means of gestures, tracing routes on maps, or accompanying them on their way, necessary actions to undertake when, as can occur with abundant frequency, we lack familiarity with their own native language or any other to which they might resort.
This Presiding Mayor also advises its inhabitants with utmost severity but not without affection that they take pains to maintain the cleanliness of its streets, the tidiness of its buildings, and the impeccable parking of cars in their proper locations, to the awe of our visitors and to our own gratification and contentment.
Among the copious wealth of reasons that urge us to remain vigilant to attend to and care for our visitors in their extreme numbers and very different idioms and homelands, principal is one that cannot help but be keenly discerned by the inhabitants of this Locale: to wit, that a multitude of men, women, and perhaps children, adroit in the art of seizing possessions from others, will come to this Town, taking advantage of the circumstances of such a favorable occasion as the above-mentioned world games, so that the common number of rogues, pickpockets, vagabonds, cut-purses, and many others of dubious condition who already exist in this Municipality will be joined by those incorporated from elsewhere, for which reason we must add to courtesy the most solicitous vigilance in order to avoid thefts, robberies, and illicit and covetous ruses which, were they to abound, would sully our good name and reputation.
Finally, those who dwell in this Town should know that while the motives for virtue may be quite weighty and insistent, so are those for material advantage, which will grow in proportion to the greater diffusion of our honest behavior and merit.
Thus I confidently advise the inhabitants to carry on with fortitude, heedful of the renown and prestige of this Royal Town.
Madrid, June 11, 1982
(Translation by Sue Burke.)
………
Here is a famous 5-second video of the Mayor introducing a rock concert during the Madrid Movida in which, using a play on words, he encourages the audience to either take their seats or get high.
“Rockeros, él que no está colocado, que se coloque, ¡y al loro!”
February 26, 2016
Women in Translation: Why Does It Matter?
Katy Derbyshire explores the importance of translating literature by women:
"...But I think the publishing and reading community would also benefit in other ways from translating more women. Remember what sparked the current (relative) boom in translated fiction? It was crime writing. Scandinavian detective stories made many readers overcome their reluctance to reach for anything genuinely foreign. The format was familiar enough to act as a gateway drug, paving the way to full-on binge-watching of The Bridge. Readers (and viewers) are now actively seeking out stories written in other languages about other cultures. OK, they may well play on a stereotype of dour sociopathic northern Europeans, but at least they’re written by actual northern Europeans. And many of them are women, as For Books’ Sake point out.
https://www.freewordcentre.com/blog/2016/02/k-derbyshire/
"...But I think the publishing and reading community would also benefit in other ways from translating more women. Remember what sparked the current (relative) boom in translated fiction? It was crime writing. Scandinavian detective stories made many readers overcome their reluctance to reach for anything genuinely foreign. The format was familiar enough to act as a gateway drug, paving the way to full-on binge-watching of The Bridge. Readers (and viewers) are now actively seeking out stories written in other languages about other cultures. OK, they may well play on a stereotype of dour sociopathic northern Europeans, but at least they’re written by actual northern Europeans. And many of them are women, as For Books’ Sake point out.
Before Nordic noir, translated literature was largely the preserve of – how can I put this? – demonstratively intellectual dudes. The DID would boast an apartment full of tasteful furniture and impenetrable foreign tomes. Novels by other DIDs, of course, about philosophy, loneliness and suffering, perhaps livened up by late-life affairs with younger women. Contemplations of other literary DIDs’ deaths, homages to classic DID writing, and so on in an eternal circle-jerk. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a sucker for a good DID, especially in my personal life. But as a hegemonic literary culture, they can get rather dull...."
Read the whole article here:https://www.freewordcentre.com/blog/2016/02/k-derbyshire/
February 22, 2016
What season?
A haiku:
birds and bees and trees
in disagreement about
when to start this spring
I took a little walk in Retiro Park near the Fallen Angel statue. Some almond trees in the grove nearby were in bloom, some had finished flowering, some were still waiting. Usually they bloom in unison. A few bees visited the blossoms, but not enough to pollinate them all. Magpies were building nests, but the European blackbirds (like American robins, but all black) were silent.
This has been a record-breaking warm and dry winter, but we just had a frigid, wet spell – seasonal weather, but late. Is it spring yet? Or is it finally winter?
Those who ought to know, the birds and bees and trees, can’t give me a clear answer.
— Sue Burke
birds and bees and trees
in disagreement about
when to start this spring
I took a little walk in Retiro Park near the Fallen Angel statue. Some almond trees in the grove nearby were in bloom, some had finished flowering, some were still waiting. Usually they bloom in unison. A few bees visited the blossoms, but not enough to pollinate them all. Magpies were building nests, but the European blackbirds (like American robins, but all black) were silent.
This has been a record-breaking warm and dry winter, but we just had a frigid, wet spell – seasonal weather, but late. Is it spring yet? Or is it finally winter?
Those who ought to know, the birds and bees and trees, can’t give me a clear answer.
— Sue Burke
February 17, 2016
Six rules for list stories
We love lists: “10 steps to lose weight” or “33 words the English language should have” or “13 alternate endings for Breaking Bad.” You can tell stories with lists, too.
1. You need a clear plot with rising tension, like any other story.
2. The items need not be numbered, but they must clearly be a list. For example, they can be a series of scenes or events or lessons learned, a roster of ideas, a collection of objects, a schedule or agenda, or entries in a record-keeping system.
3. The title does not have to have an actual number in it, although often it does.
4. You must have enough items to tell a satisfying story, and each item on the list must be strong, not a filler to get enough items. Items can be lengthy or brief. With the right tweaks, the result can be flash fiction, a novel, or anything in between.
5. You can also insert a list into a non-list story as a way to enrich a narrative. For example, the narrator lists the steps that led to the loss of a job, and the story resumes with the new unemployed life.
6. The ending should re-emphasize the story, such as a list of things in a suitcase that become more frightening and the final one is a killer. Or a list of reasons to get married, and the last one or two show that the marriage would be a disaster or unbridled joy. Or a list of imaginary holidays that become significantly specific or broad at the end.
Now try your hand at writing your own list story. Here’s an exercise:
List 10 things that intrigue you or evoke a feeling, for example: a word, phrase, color, event, quote, situation, place, news, person, name, idea, dream, or day.
Arrange that list into a series that invokes a story.
If you can, rearrange the list into a different story.
Here are some ideas for stories, in addition to the ones included in the list of rules:
• A woman has been planning her husband’s funeral for years, each year with a different cause of death.
• A traveler remembers the best and/or worst places ever visited.
• A detective adds up the clues to solve a mystery.
• A series of gifts illuminates the relationship between two people.
• A teacher makes a list of reasons to kick out a student, and one or more reasons to keep the student in class – or vice versa.
• At a wake, friends devise lists of events involving the deceased, which reveal something surprising about that person and the way different friends saw the dearly beloved.
• An elderly man considers other ways his life could have turned out if he had made a series of different decisions.
• These 27 rules will guide you from birth to death and allow you to fulfill your secret destiny.
• This is the perfect escape plan, and it has 12 steps.
• A person facing a loss, which might not be death, anticipates the five stages of loss and grief: 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression, and 5) acceptance. However, what actually happens does not follow that anticipation or those stages.
• A woman lists what she will and will no longer do after she loses weight and becomes sexy and beautiful, and then she does/does not lose weight.
• This story lists and evaluates the rulers of an imaginary realm, recounting its rise and fall – and its surprising recovery and present glory.
………
This article and exercise was originally prepared for a meeting of the Madrid Writer’s Club.
— Sue Burke
1. You need a clear plot with rising tension, like any other story.
2. The items need not be numbered, but they must clearly be a list. For example, they can be a series of scenes or events or lessons learned, a roster of ideas, a collection of objects, a schedule or agenda, or entries in a record-keeping system.
3. The title does not have to have an actual number in it, although often it does.
4. You must have enough items to tell a satisfying story, and each item on the list must be strong, not a filler to get enough items. Items can be lengthy or brief. With the right tweaks, the result can be flash fiction, a novel, or anything in between.
5. You can also insert a list into a non-list story as a way to enrich a narrative. For example, the narrator lists the steps that led to the loss of a job, and the story resumes with the new unemployed life.
6. The ending should re-emphasize the story, such as a list of things in a suitcase that become more frightening and the final one is a killer. Or a list of reasons to get married, and the last one or two show that the marriage would be a disaster or unbridled joy. Or a list of imaginary holidays that become significantly specific or broad at the end.
Now try your hand at writing your own list story. Here’s an exercise:
List 10 things that intrigue you or evoke a feeling, for example: a word, phrase, color, event, quote, situation, place, news, person, name, idea, dream, or day.
Arrange that list into a series that invokes a story.
If you can, rearrange the list into a different story.
Here are some ideas for stories, in addition to the ones included in the list of rules:
• A woman has been planning her husband’s funeral for years, each year with a different cause of death.
• A traveler remembers the best and/or worst places ever visited.
• A detective adds up the clues to solve a mystery.
• A series of gifts illuminates the relationship between two people.
• A teacher makes a list of reasons to kick out a student, and one or more reasons to keep the student in class – or vice versa.
• At a wake, friends devise lists of events involving the deceased, which reveal something surprising about that person and the way different friends saw the dearly beloved.
• An elderly man considers other ways his life could have turned out if he had made a series of different decisions.
• These 27 rules will guide you from birth to death and allow you to fulfill your secret destiny.
• This is the perfect escape plan, and it has 12 steps.
• A person facing a loss, which might not be death, anticipates the five stages of loss and grief: 1) denial, 2) anger, 3) bargaining, 4) depression, and 5) acceptance. However, what actually happens does not follow that anticipation or those stages.
• A woman lists what she will and will no longer do after she loses weight and becomes sexy and beautiful, and then she does/does not lose weight.
• This story lists and evaluates the rulers of an imaginary realm, recounting its rise and fall – and its surprising recovery and present glory.
………
This article and exercise was originally prepared for a meeting of the Madrid Writer’s Club.
— Sue Burke
February 2, 2016
My translation of "Prodigies" by Angélica Gorodischer, recommended by Locus
Prodigies by Angélica Gorodischer, published by Small Beer Press, is on the 2015 Locus Recommended Reading List for fantasy novels.
I translated it from Spanish. It's not quite as good as having my own novel on the list, but it's still exciting.
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2016/02/2015-locus-recommended-reading-list/
-- Sue Burke
January 20, 2016
Spain’s XXXIII Hispacon/GRXcon
What happens at a Spanish science fiction convention? I’ve written a brief report for the Concatenation website. This Hispacon looked forward this year’s Eurocon, November 4, 5, and 6 in Barcelona. It also took a few more steps toward improving the Ignotus Awards, which are sort of like the Hugos, but with a very different (and much nicer) problem.
Read it at:
http://www.concatenation.org/conrev/hispacon2015.html
— Sue Burke
Read it at:
http://www.concatenation.org/conrev/hispacon2015.html
— Sue Burke
January 12, 2016
I know what you’re doing
Sometimes friends and family ask if here in Spain we’ve heard about some item in the news from the United States. The answer is probably yes. To give you an idea, here are a week’s worth of headlines involving the United States from El País, Spain’s leading newspaper. I haven’t included articles that mention the US only in passing. And of course there are other newspapers, along with radio, television, and internet reports.
Tuesday, January 12
The chameleon that made pop an art (David Bowie dies in Manhattan; an analysis of his life and work fills pages 23 to 28 and a few other columns)
Mexico initiates the complex process of El Chapo’s extradition to the US
Six US states want the Sinaloa boss in court
Obama’s last paragraph (an examination of his historical legacy)
Iñárritu is posed for another Oscar after the Golden Globes
Kanye West against the world (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Courtney Love, now a designer (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
VW asks for forgiveness and announces an investment of 825 million in US (in the Business section)
Baxalta puts itself in the hands of Ireland’s Shire (in the Business section)
Playboy mansion on sale for 185 million (in the People section)
Madonna to Sean Penn: “I still love you” (in the People section)
The madness of Marco Rubio’s boots (the Back Page feature)
Monday, January 11
Mexico considers calling Sean Penn to testify about his interview with El Chapo
Obama’s strategy in the Near East gets more complicated
Porzingis, king of New York (in the Sports section)
Bad date with the NBA (in the Sports section)
Sunday, January 10
Mexico is willing to extradite El Chapo (to the US; along with several related articles)
North Korean nuclear test reinforces US influence in Asia
The best series to hear (to learn English, mostly American television; in a special section about learning to speak English)
The big market created by fans (about movie tie-in merchandise, especially US films and Star Wars; in the Business section, with additional related articles)
AMC imagines the movie theaters of the future (in the Business section)
Wall Street runs out of gas (in the Business section)
Bezos, the austere millionaire (in the Business section)
Interview with Mario Kreutzberger (“Don Fransisco,” star of the Miami television show Sábado gigante; in the Weekly Magazine supplement)
For Tarantino, the star is ... Morricone! (about the movie The Hateful Eight; in the Weekly Magazine supplement)
Saturday, January 9
Extraordinary new world: USA and China must face Kim Jong-un’s nuclear provocation (editorial)
This is the technology we’ll use in 2016 (report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas)
John Hughes, the film-maker who dignified adolescence (overview of the late writer-director-producer’s work, such as The Breakfast Club)
World stock markets lose four trillion in capitalization in 2016 (frequent references to US markets)
The next-to-last flight of the jumbo jet (about the Boeing B747)
United States created 2.65 million jobs in 2015
The case of the US missile that wound up in Cuba (the Back Page feature article)
Emotional, not sentimental (review of a short-story collection by US author Stephen Dixon; in the Books section)
The good villain (an 8-page section about superheroes and their enemies, mostly discussing Hollywood movies)
In the US embassy, they don’t eat hotdogs (the ambassador and his chef talk about American food; in the Buenavida magazine supplement)
Friday, January 8
Seul asks the US to activate its strategic arms in the area
Miami prepares for another massive arrival of Cubans
A woman heads up West Point (editorial about Gen. Diana Holland)
The Chinese miracle makes Hollywood happy: the purchase of Legendary studios by the Wanda consortium
As personal as overvalued (review of the movie Joy
My daughter will be a zombie (review of the movie Maggie
China’s slowdown and the iPhone burden Apple
Dinner discount for wearing a gun (about a Houston restaurant that encourages open carry among its customers, and about the new open carry law in Texas; the Back Page feature)
Mythic scenery for John Wayne (a big photo of Monument Valley; in the Travel section)
In Elvis’ basement (about a Spanish actress’s visit to Graceland; in the Travel section)
Heavenly macro-stage: California visit to the birthplace of televangelism, a boundless glass cathedral by Philip Johnson (in the Travel section)
Thursday, January 7
USA defends strategic advances against ISIS
An empty alliance (op-ed piece about political connections between USA and Europe)
Crude oil drops to $35 for the first time since 2004 (frequent references to the USA)
Rocco Richie cranks up the fight with Madonna, his mother (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Janet Jackson suspends her tour due to a tumor (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Amy Shumer supports Obama on gun control (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Wednesday, January 6
Amid tears, Obama urges “don’t accept this carnage”
Arms sales peak sharply in the US
A new transatlantic relationship (op-ed piece about connections between the US and Spain)
Back to Gus N’ Roses paradise: band will lead the lineup at California’s Coachella Festival
Volkswagen sales drop in USA
Tuesday, January 12
The chameleon that made pop an art (David Bowie dies in Manhattan; an analysis of his life and work fills pages 23 to 28 and a few other columns)
Mexico initiates the complex process of El Chapo’s extradition to the US
Six US states want the Sinaloa boss in court
Obama’s last paragraph (an examination of his historical legacy)
Iñárritu is posed for another Oscar after the Golden Globes
Kanye West against the world (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Courtney Love, now a designer (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
VW asks for forgiveness and announces an investment of 825 million in US (in the Business section)
Baxalta puts itself in the hands of Ireland’s Shire (in the Business section)
Playboy mansion on sale for 185 million (in the People section)
Madonna to Sean Penn: “I still love you” (in the People section)
The madness of Marco Rubio’s boots (the Back Page feature)
Monday, January 11
Mexico considers calling Sean Penn to testify about his interview with El Chapo
Obama’s strategy in the Near East gets more complicated
Porzingis, king of New York (in the Sports section)
Bad date with the NBA (in the Sports section)
Sunday, January 10
Mexico is willing to extradite El Chapo (to the US; along with several related articles)
North Korean nuclear test reinforces US influence in Asia
The best series to hear (to learn English, mostly American television; in a special section about learning to speak English)
The big market created by fans (about movie tie-in merchandise, especially US films and Star Wars; in the Business section, with additional related articles)
AMC imagines the movie theaters of the future (in the Business section)
Wall Street runs out of gas (in the Business section)
Bezos, the austere millionaire (in the Business section)
Interview with Mario Kreutzberger (“Don Fransisco,” star of the Miami television show Sábado gigante; in the Weekly Magazine supplement)
For Tarantino, the star is ... Morricone! (about the movie The Hateful Eight; in the Weekly Magazine supplement)
Saturday, January 9
Extraordinary new world: USA and China must face Kim Jong-un’s nuclear provocation (editorial)
This is the technology we’ll use in 2016 (report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas)
John Hughes, the film-maker who dignified adolescence (overview of the late writer-director-producer’s work, such as The Breakfast Club)
World stock markets lose four trillion in capitalization in 2016 (frequent references to US markets)
The next-to-last flight of the jumbo jet (about the Boeing B747)
United States created 2.65 million jobs in 2015
The case of the US missile that wound up in Cuba (the Back Page feature article)
Emotional, not sentimental (review of a short-story collection by US author Stephen Dixon; in the Books section)
The good villain (an 8-page section about superheroes and their enemies, mostly discussing Hollywood movies)
In the US embassy, they don’t eat hotdogs (the ambassador and his chef talk about American food; in the Buenavida magazine supplement)
Friday, January 8
Seul asks the US to activate its strategic arms in the area
Miami prepares for another massive arrival of Cubans
A woman heads up West Point (editorial about Gen. Diana Holland)
The Chinese miracle makes Hollywood happy: the purchase of Legendary studios by the Wanda consortium
As personal as overvalued (review of the movie Joy
My daughter will be a zombie (review of the movie Maggie
China’s slowdown and the iPhone burden Apple
Dinner discount for wearing a gun (about a Houston restaurant that encourages open carry among its customers, and about the new open carry law in Texas; the Back Page feature)
Mythic scenery for John Wayne (a big photo of Monument Valley; in the Travel section)
In Elvis’ basement (about a Spanish actress’s visit to Graceland; in the Travel section)
Heavenly macro-stage: California visit to the birthplace of televangelism, a boundless glass cathedral by Philip Johnson (in the Travel section)
Thursday, January 7
USA defends strategic advances against ISIS
An empty alliance (op-ed piece about political connections between USA and Europe)
Crude oil drops to $35 for the first time since 2004 (frequent references to the USA)
Rocco Richie cranks up the fight with Madonna, his mother (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Janet Jackson suspends her tour due to a tumor (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Amy Shumer supports Obama on gun control (in the Celebrity Gossip column)
Wednesday, January 6
Amid tears, Obama urges “don’t accept this carnage”
Arms sales peak sharply in the US
A new transatlantic relationship (op-ed piece about connections between the US and Spain)
Back to Gus N’ Roses paradise: band will lead the lineup at California’s Coachella Festival
Volkswagen sales drop in USA
January 6, 2016
2015 publications
Most of what I had published last year was non-fiction articles. However, I did translate two fine pieces of fiction:
Prodigies by Angélica Gorodischer, published by Small Beer Press. This moving and subtle novel deals with the women whose lives pass through an elegant nineteenth century boarding house. Considered Gorodischer's best.
“The Dragoon of the Order of Montesa, or the Proper Assessment of History” by Nilo María Fabra, published in the anthology Triangulation: Lost Voices. The remains of a soldier guarding Madrid’s Royal Palace, discovered far in the future, are thoroughly misunderstood.
— Sue Burke
Prodigies by Angélica Gorodischer, published by Small Beer Press. This moving and subtle novel deals with the women whose lives pass through an elegant nineteenth century boarding house. Considered Gorodischer's best.
“The Dragoon of the Order of Montesa, or the Proper Assessment of History” by Nilo María Fabra, published in the anthology Triangulation: Lost Voices. The remains of a soldier guarding Madrid’s Royal Palace, discovered far in the future, are thoroughly misunderstood.
— Sue Burke
December 31, 2015
Refugiado: the Spanish word of the year for 2015
Refugiado (refugee) is the word of the year for 2015 according to Spain’s Fundéu BBVA.
Why? Because the word has been in the headlines and because it has required a careful differentiation from immigrant. Immigrants want to live in another country, while refugees are driven by war, revolution, or political persecution to seek refuge in another country.
“For that reason,” says Joaquín Muller, general director of Fundéu BBVA, “we believe that refugee fulfills the conditions we seek for the word of the year: it’s been in the news and conversations in 2015, and it also holds some interest from a linguistic point of view and is a term common to the entire Spanish-speaking world, not just one country or region. Whether it’s a new term or not isn’t relevant to our decision.”
Fundéu BBVA is a foundation dedicated to helping the news media and public use Spanish properly.
Europe alone has received a million refugees this year, and 3,735 are known to have died attempting to arrive there by sea. Refugees also exist in many other parts of the world and head toward other countries, including the United States, where their acceptance has become an ugly political battle. This word will be important for years to come.
Compare that to the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2015: emoji, in particular the little face with tears of joy, the most commonly used emoji of 2015. It might be especially appropriate for refugees who finally find safe haven.
Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2015 is binge-watch, a first-world problem, perhaps – and a new word to be entered into the online dictionary, which is part of Collins’ criteria. Other new words for Collins are manspreading, dadbod, transgender, contactless, and clean-eating.
Fundéu BBVA also considered for 2015 such words as despatarre (manspreading), clictivismo (clicktivism), poliamor (polyamory), chikunguña (a tropical disease), trolear (to troll), and inequidad (inequality). In the end, the grimmest expression of today’s reality took the prize.
The Fundéu BBVA’s word of the year for 2014 was selfi (selfie), and for 2013 escrache, a kind of protest.
-- Sue Burke
Why? Because the word has been in the headlines and because it has required a careful differentiation from immigrant. Immigrants want to live in another country, while refugees are driven by war, revolution, or political persecution to seek refuge in another country.
“For that reason,” says Joaquín Muller, general director of Fundéu BBVA, “we believe that refugee fulfills the conditions we seek for the word of the year: it’s been in the news and conversations in 2015, and it also holds some interest from a linguistic point of view and is a term common to the entire Spanish-speaking world, not just one country or region. Whether it’s a new term or not isn’t relevant to our decision.”
Fundéu BBVA is a foundation dedicated to helping the news media and public use Spanish properly.
Europe alone has received a million refugees this year, and 3,735 are known to have died attempting to arrive there by sea. Refugees also exist in many other parts of the world and head toward other countries, including the United States, where their acceptance has become an ugly political battle. This word will be important for years to come.
Compare that to the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2015: emoji, in particular the little face with tears of joy, the most commonly used emoji of 2015. It might be especially appropriate for refugees who finally find safe haven.
Collins Dictionary’s word of the year for 2015 is binge-watch, a first-world problem, perhaps – and a new word to be entered into the online dictionary, which is part of Collins’ criteria. Other new words for Collins are manspreading, dadbod, transgender, contactless, and clean-eating.
Fundéu BBVA also considered for 2015 such words as despatarre (manspreading), clictivismo (clicktivism), poliamor (polyamory), chikunguña (a tropical disease), trolear (to troll), and inequidad (inequality). In the end, the grimmest expression of today’s reality took the prize.
The Fundéu BBVA’s word of the year for 2014 was selfi (selfie), and for 2013 escrache, a kind of protest.
-- Sue Burke
December 21, 2015
Victory! Nobody won
Spain had a parliamentary election last night. Four big parties and a variety of small parties were running, and as expected, no party won a majority. In fact, no two parties added together amount to a majority. This is important because it takes a majority vote to elect a prime minister or, obviously, pass legislation.
The BBC has a report here, and the Guardian here. You can see excruciatingly detailed results at El País newspaper here (in Spanish).
Although the news reports make this result sound dire, it was what voters wanted – the polls confirmed this ahead of the election, so the outcome surprised no one. Voters wanted to force the parties to talk to each other, to negotiate and come to agreement rather than one party imposing its will on everyone and everything.
Imagine politicians compromising and working together. If that happens, what a victory Spanish voters have achieved. And what a change.
— Sue Burke
The BBC has a report here, and the Guardian here. You can see excruciatingly detailed results at El País newspaper here (in Spanish).
Although the news reports make this result sound dire, it was what voters wanted – the polls confirmed this ahead of the election, so the outcome surprised no one. Voters wanted to force the parties to talk to each other, to negotiate and come to agreement rather than one party imposing its will on everyone and everything.
Imagine politicians compromising and working together. If that happens, what a victory Spanish voters have achieved. And what a change.
— Sue Burke
