#but if me and Will Campos have anything in common

[kineticallyanywhere]

Monkey’s Paw pages 148-151 ( START HERE || ao3 || previous || next ) AU after episode 62. The Omega Dads try a more desperate gambit, but   careful what you wish for. Our dads find alternate versions of themselves in a strange dreamscape.Ifyou die in the dream,doyou die in real life?

heeeeeyyyyy I've been through like 3 major life shifts since the last update lol

ANYWAY this Henry and Hen conversation is literally like a thousand words long total. i actually made it longer on purpose. I was like 'hm. this is a lot of talking... but is it enough talking?' and I thought back to the transcriptions of Will's characters' major scenes and said a definitive 'No.'

[thefandom-casserole]

Episode 46 Notes-

- I SAW A SPOILER IM SO SCARED

- WHAT DID SCAM DO

- HERMIE MY BOY

- It’s time to start

- I’m vibrating I’m so scared

- They’re doing a similar opening to when we met Paeden <3333

- OMG THE LAST NAMES I ADORE THIS

- Rock paper scissors 😭

- What was that moan. Omg.

- MATT WHAT

- Why not

- The clussy. Hot clussy autumn

- Taylor RadFact: Taylor’s mom buys Taylor Everything at a Ninja store thing after the incident at the karate thing

- SHE HAS DONE NOTHING WRING YOU ARE SO RIGHT

- “She’s not spending like a single mom” 😭

- What is with their moans wtf they’re so silly

- Linc RadFact: Linc had to sign a NDA (Near Dad Agreement - you have to always be near dad, 2.5 feet) if he wanted to go outside and play with anyone. No fifa if he breaks the rules. They got rid of it when he went to school

- “Hi Will~” me when I talk to my irl bestie wil (not Will Campos I’m not that cool 😞)

- Normal RadFact: He ruined the football game after a botched front handspring. Normal runs Model UN Ecuador and all other countries declare war on him.

- They sound like the hallways I walk down in school 😭

- Scary RadFact: Scary tried to start a petition to make emo music called Black Metal (even though she doesn’t like Black Metal and only likes Emo)

- Daddy Fact: Scam thought it would be funny for Jodie and him <333. He scammed Jodie (straightest man) into falling in love with him

- The real thing here we go 😭

- I’m so scared

- The two genders: Blade pose and whatever the other thing they said was

- INSIDE YOU THERE ARE TWO WOLVES

- hehe

- Wow Shmegan is really smart

- YOU PRETEND TO KILL ME

- THATS SO BAD

- This is going so bad 😭 oh my fucking god

- I ROLL IN

- I ROLL OUT

- A NAT ONE

- A NAT TWENTY

- This is one of their most wild plans omg

- BETH YOURE SO SMART OMG

- Awww poor Hermie

- AHHHH HERMIE

- IM STILL SCARED FOR YOU MAN

- Abraham Lincoln was actually a wrestler I hope Anthony or Freddie or one of them remembers this

- HA TAYLOR LEAVES NORMAL STAYS

- That’s so in character

- “Can I bet on this fight?” SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

- PAEDEN PLEASE JOIN THIS EPISODE IM BEGGING YOU

- The mascot thing again <3333

- 32 damage. Omg.

- NORMAL SINGS THE NATIONAL ANTHEM FOR TEEN HIGH <3333

- Comparing Britain and the US as exes is wild man

- I missed the autism from Normal omg

- NORMALS IN DEATH SAVES

- Wait nvm Linc saved him

- The music 😭

- Nat one from Abe 😭 Pulling a Paeden there

- Lark and Sparrow ohhhh

- JEZZ BALL OMG OMG

- OMG OMG OMG

- AHHHHHHH

- DEATH SAVES NOOOOOO

- Heyyy Normal and Hermie will have something in common now. They’re both burnt.

- Nat one again 😭 REALLY channeling his Paeden

- ABE LINCOLN IS ALMOST DEAD OMFG

- Linc why do you like Shmegan so much dude

- Booped on the schnoop

- LINC’S PULLING A GRANT OMG

- SPIDER BOIZ

- I love how they used to dunk if Taylor for being a useless ranger but now that he’s a rogue literally everything would be better if he were his old class

- HES JUST YELLING

- THIS DOESNT MEAN ANYTHING

- HIS HEAD EXPLODES

- I LOVE HOW IF THEY DIDNT YRY TO ROLL THAT THING TO SEE IF ANYONE WJATED TO BE A KING THIS WOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED AT ALL

- THE STUPID WHIMS OF THE DICE

- He’s no longer dying thank god

- SPIDER BOYYYYYYYY

- He’s lost his mustache nOOOOOOOOO

- Hamilton ayyyyyy

- Heyyyy Grant

- Hide n seek

- Norm pulled a Linc

- He pulled a Henry! Doing what Henry did to Cern

- HA LOSER SHMEGAN IMAGINE HA

- Normal got hit by a bullet omg

- BAD GIRLLLLLLLLL

- BAD GIRLLLLLLL NATTTTT 20

- AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHSHAHAHHSHAHHAHSSHAHAHAHSVS

- OMG I LOVE THIS

- Poor Taylor omg

- Matt did it again 😭 he gave Anthony the choice

- HE WAS SHOT

- OMG OMGOMG OMG AJAVAJBASJJSBAHABDBS

- “For the final time roll performance”

- I’m genuinely crying omg

- “Normal I like you too”

[yegarts]

“I Am YEG Arts” Series: Michelle Campos Castillo

Comics, design and illustration, sculpture, public art—Michelle Campos Castillo does it all, and with purpose. Born in El Salvador, Campos Castillo uses her art to create tributes to her culture and reclaim space by processing her experiences. In doing so, she’s been changing not only the physical landscape of the city, but the mindset of the community itself—and not alone. Along with other artists she looks up to, she’s carving out more inclusive spaces and opportunities she hopes will empower other racialized artists to tell their stories. Equal parts inspiring and inspired—this week’s “I Am YEG Arts” story belongs to Michelle Campos Castillo.

Tell us about your connection to Edmonton and why you’ve made it your home.

Edmonton was one of the cities in Canada taking in refugees in the 80s and 90s, so that’s how my family and I ended up here. We were displaced because of the civil war in El Salvador where we were born. It felt very random for a long time, but after travelling and living elsewhere, there’s no denying that it’s home. The river, the skies, and the people really make you fall in love, and they always seem to pull you back.

What’s the first thing you ever made that inspired your artistic path? Did you know then that you’d unlocked something?

I created a poster in 2007 for a project called looking for love in all the wrong places, curated by artist Anthea Black. It was the first time that I started to speak about my experiences of migration and queerness, and it really scared me honestly. It would take another 10 years or so before I started to speak about migration again; not necessarily out of fear, but because I didn’t have the space emotionally or financially to make personal art at the time.

Comics, design and illustration, sculpture, public art—is there a common thread that you bring to all the mediums you work in?

My life as a displaced person, as an immigrant, and Salvadoran influences everything I do. I’m creating tributes to my culture, one that I tried to dismiss in order to survive life in Edmonton as a new immigrant child.

What narratives are you drawn to as a storyteller?

Right now I’m just concerned with telling my story. I tried to hide anything that made me different growing up, and reclaiming that space has been a long journey. I’m really drawn to unique stories that are not white and male, and don’t focus on romance. I loved Hiromi Goto’s graphic novel, Shadow Life, about this badass senior who literally challenges death.

Terremoto at latitude 53, 2020. Photo supplied.

Tell us about the best advice you’ve ever received and the last time you called on it.

Vivek Shraya will always tell me to apply for every opportunity available to me, to silence the voices that tell you that you’re not good enough or don’t have enough experience. I always return to that.

What does community mean to you, and where do you find it?

Community to me means a group of people working towards the same goals. Right now I’m involved with the arts community to hopefully create more inclusive spaces as an artist and arts administrator. There’s also my Salvadoran and Latin American communities, as well as queer communities; sometimes they feel too separate, and I’m hoping we can work on uniting all these parts.

Who’s someone inspiring you right now?

I have so many personal heroes living in this city: Christina Battle, Tiffany Shaw, Becca Taylor, AJA Louden, Raneece Buddan, Kiona Ligtvoet and Making Space. They are all contributing so much to the city constantly with their talent—and creating inclusive opportunities too.

What’s your relationship like with pressure, and what tips have you learned for managing it?

I work best with deadlines, and I sort of hate it. I get very distracted easily, so I use whatever technology (phone reminders, calendar) to keep myself organized. I also still use notebooks a ton. It takes a village.

Describe your perfect day in Edmonton. How do you spend it?

I’m already dreaming of summer (best one ever) and just want to sit at Paul Kane Park with friends, watching all the cute dogs walk by. I’ll start my day off at Glass Bookshop, grab coffee at Grizzlar, lunch at Acajutla, dessert at Kind Ice Cream or Doughnut Party or Bloom Cookies. We are good at dessert in this city. Also checking out all the galleries in town is a must: Ociciwan, SNAP, Latitude 53, Mitchell Art Gallery, and AGA.

What are you currently working on or hoping to explore next?

I’m working on a graphic novel memoir based on my life in El Salvador before migrating to Canada. It was a time of civil war that is now in danger of being deliberately erased, and it feels really important to keep talking and remembering. It’s a project that’s been in the works for a long time and will also take a long time to complete. I also have a public art project collaboration with Becca Taylor, Tiffany Shaw, Christina Battle, and Shawn Tse going up at Stadium LRT this year, so look out for that.

How do you hope to help shape Edmonton’s arts community?

I hope that my presence can empower other racialized folks to make art and tell their stories. Edmonton is so incredibly diverse beyond the core, and I want the arts to reflect this.

Platanos at Belvedere Station. Photo supplied. 

Want more YEG Arts Stories? We’ll be sharing them here all year and on social media using the hashtag #IamYegArts. Follow along! Click here to learn more about Michelle Campos Castillo and her work.

About Michelle Campos Castillo

Michelle Campos Castillo is a Salvadoran visual artist living in Edmonton. She has been the recipient of several public art commissions from the City of Edmonton, including Platanos, a set of three sculptures on permanent display at Belvedere Transit Centre, and is currently producing artwork for the LRT Valley Line in the west end of the city.

[imaginesonurface]

THE UNTOLD TALE | Chapter III

Draco Malfoy

Summary: brought back to Hogwarts, Sunrise must face the truth about her past while trying to find out the real reason they’re back.

This is my first HP fic, it sets in a world the books were published to hide the whole truth about magic so it’s not chronologically correct, just go with it, please. Excuse my broken English. It’s quite a trip the whole thing and it takes a while before heating up. And if you have read my other stories, YES, I DO USE THE SAME NAME! A LOT.

Sunrise watched her classes with her mind in the past. Questioning if there was something to do with the real reason they were back in school. Meanwhile, Hermione and Ron went back to their nature state of fighting. It was hard, as usual hanging with them. They didn’t have the same classes or shared the same meal table but always made time for each other.  

“So, what are you really worried about?” Hermione asked as they sat by the river.

“Ahn... I guess I’m scared about what they’ll think about me after listening to it all. Also, we never talked about it.” Sunrise answered.

“I see... well, I think you will find out their opinion toward you won’t change a bit. I know ours didn’t. Which is one of the reasons we never talked about it.” the other girl answered.

“So, Miss Celebrity, are you ready for dinner?” said Pansy.

Parkinson, Bullstrode, Campos and Hewitt left their dorms to meet the boys at the common room. Sunrise slowed her steps so she could be left a little behind pulling Malfoy with her.  

“Already, Hewitt?” smirked the man.

“Ha-ha very funny. Listen, I was thinking... Maybe you could lose a few Slytherins on our way to the Room of Requirement. You know, like, Pansy.” the girl whispered.  

“I’d love to help you, indeed, Crabbe and Goyle are not joining us tonight. But I’m afraid your friend insisted Pansy, Emily and Blaise showed up.”

“WHAT? When?”  

“During our break. You know, I keep telling you that you would only benefit hanging out with your fellow Slytherins.”  

“Stop being such an eleven years old Draco Malfoy”  

“What are you guys whispering about? Hope it’s not about me. You know that ship has sailed, Draco. Although, I might make an exception if you ask very nicely.” Pansy got in the middle of them, placing her arms in their shoulders.  

“So... second year...” Sunrise started feeling a little upset by the fact that she couldn’t get rid of Pansy Parkinson “It was the year the chamber was opened again, ‘Enemies of the heir beware’ written on the wall. Harry, Ron and Hermione thought it was all about Draco Malfoy but at this point they didn’t trust me to spy on him.”  

“It’s not that we didn’t trust you.” Hermione started.

“No, it’s just that you guys were also suspicious that I was the heir too.” they didn’t protest the statement Sunrise made so she went on “But I spied anyway because I also wanted to know. I never believed it was Harry because to me the whole parseltongue thing was normal.”  

“Normal? Sunny, as I remember, it was stated that Harry only had this... ability thanks to Voldemort.” added Marta.

Sunrise could feel Ron behind her back, signing Marta to stop talking.

“I’m Parselmouth” she simply added.  

“What? Totally normal. Normality itself. Hahaha” Marta said to her bottle resting her back in the armchair she was sitting, wishing to disappear.

“That’s okay. I know it isn’t normal to the rest but I grew up listening to snakes, I just never told anybody because I thought this was normal. After that year I realized it wasn’t. But back to the story, I spied on Draco and noticed very soon that he wasn’t the Slytherin heir. I tried to warn Harry but they were so paranoid that they didn’t listen to me.”

“To be fair, we were already preparing a Polyjuice Potion.” add Ron.

“Yeah, that was fun to watch. I was kind of sad that day because they were the only friends I had.”

“What about me?” said Pansy.

“Oh, come on, you always made my life a living hell.” Pansy faked an over surprise face. Sunrise ignored and continued “Watching Harry and Ron pretending to be Crabbe and Goyle was fun. Especially because I already knew Draco wasn’t the heir. Of course, I didn’t know who the real heir was and it was killing me that the only three people who could help me find out were thinking I was the heir. It was a very lonely year but it made me start hanging with Slytherins more often. They were sure I was the heir so they wanted desperately to be my friends. I didn’t tell them the truth because, well, it was fun.” the Slytherins were very embarrassed but refused to argue about it. Which just made Sunrise have more fun. “Okay, so Chamber. Wasn’t there.”.

“WHAT?” Raul said, clearly disappointed.  

“I mean, Harry wasn’t quite talking to me, remember? But as soon as I heard about it, I went after them and found them leaving the Chamber. They spent over a month apologizing for wrongly accusing me. There, finished the second year. Let’s get drunk again.”

“Oh, let’s dance today. PLEASE!” said Lorena.

Everybody agreed and music started bursting. Sunrise wasn’t on the mood so she sat down chatting to Hermione about how the classes changed past the years.  

“So... Hewitt, you’re not going to dance?” Draco said loud enough so everybody could hear.  

“Here we go” Sunrise whispered to herself.

“You know, Sunrise was a big dancer back then” Draco added.  

“It’s true, you two used to dance a lot at the meetings” add Crabbe who finally joined them.  

“Meetings?” asked Raul.  

“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t joining us tonight.” Sunrise tried to ignore Raul’s question.  

“I got bored” said Crabbe.  

“We used to dance a lot, indeed. What do you think, Hewitt? Fancy a dance?” he stood his hand to the girl.  

“No”.  

Malfoy swigged his wand and “Say My Name” by Alex and Sierra started playing.  

“Come on, let’s show them” he grabbed her hand forcing her to stand up.  

A little bit contradicted but very excited, Sunrise started following him during the three minutes song. She felt his hand running through her body as they danced a very angry tango.  

“Not ex-boyfriend, right” said Ron.  

“Ronald!” Hermione whispered.

But the dancers couldn’t listen to him. Actually, they were so busy with each other that they couldn’t listen to anything else. Soon enough the music was over and everybody applauded them.  

“Where you... a couple?” said Marta.

“No” they quickly answered.

“We just knew how to dance so why not dance together?” added Malfoy getting himself a drink.  

Nobody seemed to believe in their answer. Not even themselves.  

[dispatchesfrom2020]

2020

What stories was I sleeping on?

So, what stories did I definitely miss before this project? Well, Atlantic Hurricanes and the Belarussian protests, for sure. Here are some of the other news I skipped out on during the year - or my recaps.

Ben Curtis/AP

1. Locusts Swarm 

An unusually wet 2019 led to swampy conditions across the Horn of Africa and western Asia - giving rise to a nearly biblical swarm of locusts. There are photographs where they literally seem to black-out the sun. The culprit? Climate change. The warming waters of the Indian ocean led to stormier weather - essentially more and bigger cyclones. It’s the worst outbreak of the crop-devouring pests in a quarter-century and it threatens food security across the region. The pandemic grinds international trade to a stop - obstructing many countries efforts to buy pesticides, equipment or bring in expert help to curb the infestation. Throughout the year, these swarms ballooned in size, stretching deep into Asia and across the Pacific ocean to Argentina and Brazil. An estimated 20 million people could face hunger and starvation and the UN’s World Food Program estimates that recovery could cost upwards of $9b USD in Africa alone.

Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

2. The Tigray War

For three decades the Tigray people held the balance of political and economic power in the country, tightly controlled through the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), a Tigray nationalist party. In 2018 the Ethiopian election People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, led by Oromo Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, won control of the country’s government.

Animosities boiled over when the Tigray province persisted with the 2020 election, despite government orders to postpone voting until 2021 due to the coronavirus. Prime Minister Abiy cut off funding to Tigray, incising local leadership. In November 2020, youth militias affiliated with the TPLF killed six hundred villagers in the border town of Mai Kadra - and allegedly attacked Ethiopian military bases. 

The government responded by shelling the Tigray capital of Mekelle. Ethiopia’s armed forces quickly took control of the city and surrounding towns, with the militias retreating into the mountains where skirmishes have continued. 

With Tigrayan people facing violent retaliation - they have faced furloughs from jobs, had bank accounts suspended, faced arbitrary raids on their homes, and been refused permission to board airplanes or travel overseas. Many have faced direct violence, especially from non-Tigray militias.

The conflict has seen incursions from Eritrean forces. Abiy was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his work mending the relationship with Ethiopia’s former colony-turned-neighbour. They share a common enemy now - Tigray. Eritrean forces slaughtered church-goers at a religious festival in early December, killing children and elders indiscriminately. These shadow forces of Fano militias and Eritrean soldiers have committed war crimes - including extrajudicial killings and rape. They even looted the church that allegedly houses the Ark of the Covenant.

The Tigrayan refugees have only one option: Sudan. One journalist writes: “Several [Tigrayan refugees] told me that they saw dozens of bodies along the route as they fled their shops, homes and farms and took to the long road to the border... in stifling heat.”

The New York Times series on Tigray was helpful in understanding more about the conflict and its historical and ethnic contexts. But I have to say - I feel unclear about what comes next. Will guerilla warfare between the Tigray militias and Eritrean-Ethiopian forces continue? Will the country face international consequences for their move towards genocide? I guess 2021 will decide.

A SolarWinds banner hangs outside the New York Stock Exchange on the company’s IPO day in 2018 - Brendan McDermid/Reuters

3. The SolarWinds hack

I chose to write about icebergs rather than this story for a reason. I wholly do NOT understand cyber security. Like, at all. My eyes glaze over when somebody tries to explain Wikileaks to me. I tried. I really did - I read like three articles trying to parse the details and make sense of anything and here’s what I got:

Hackers - almost certainly Russian - got into the US government secure networks. For a lot of departments. For months. It’s really, really bad. The government has a pretty blasé response to the disaster. Trump blames China. Agencies are turning directly to Microsoft for answers rather than their own cyber security people. It’s a blazing hot mess.

I’m going to continue to not understand this one, sorry.

Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters

4. Civil Rights in 2020

The expansion of civil rights in Central/South America, with the legalization of abortion in Argentina in December and the introduction of gay marriage in Costa Rica in May, gave us something to celebrate in 2020. These new rights are the result of years - and decades - of organizing by activists in these two countries. 

Costa Rica is the sixth Latin-American country to legalize gay marriage. Argentina joins a short list of places in Latin America where abortion is fully legal - just Cuba, Guyana, Uruguay, and two Mexican states.

Some couples rushed to wed on the stroke of midnight - magistrates stayed up late into the night to marry couples. Marcos Castillo (L) and Rodrigo Campos (R) waited until the following morning - and celebrated with a masked kiss after their ceremony. 

Other notable moments in civil rights? New Zealand officially revoked their antiquated anti-abortion laws (which they’d been effectively ignoring for years anyway), Bhutan decriminalized homosexuality, Switzerland passed legislation that will allow people to change the gender on their government IDs, and Croatia struck down laws forbidding gay couples from fostering children. Albania banned gay conversion therapy - as did the Yukon, actually - and Barbados made discrimination on the basis of sexuality illegal.

Nicky Kuautonga/The Guardian

5. Oceania crushed the pandemic

Virtually all of the countries reported to be COVID-free during 2020 were Oceanic nations and island territories. Turkmenistan says they didn’t have any cases but they’re lyin’. -Tuvalu Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Palau all ended the year with no cases, while Samoa and the Solomon Islands reported a few isolated cases in quarantine facilities as they re-opened the border to repatriate their citizens abroad. 

Some combination of strict travel restrictions, new hygiene rules, curfews, and early lockdowns kept most of these countries relatively untouched. While New Zealand and Australia experienced several flare-ups throughout the year, their targeted lockdowns helped eradicate community spread quickly each time, returning them to schools, workplaces and boozy brunches quickly.

Honourable mentions to Vietnam and Thailand - with 100 million and 70 million citizens apiece both have charted under 100 deaths to COVID - and Taiwan with only nine casualties.

Gulalay Amiri, a pomegranate farmer, surveys his slim haul. Fighting as worsened in many parts of Afghanistan after the United States announced they would withdraw from the country in 2021 - Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times

6. War in Afghanistan

In March the United States signed a peace-deal with the Taliban, promising to withdraw troops by May of 2021. The War in Afghanistan has lasted 19 years - the longest war in American history and the majority of my lifetime.

I don’t know how to feel about it.

During peace talks the Taliban refused to commit to recognizing the country’s elected government, disavowing Al-Qaeda or protecting women’s rights. They support limited education for girls - only up to the sixth grade.

I listened to a few podcasts by the Daily on the ground in Afghanistan with the current government’s security forces. Many of the young soldiers they interviewed were so young they’d never lived in a country governed by the Taliban - and they fiercely oppose the idea. It also appears that the Afghan government were often excluded from peace talks, finding out details of the American meetings with the Taliban through international news reports and Taliban statements on social media. 

Since the Taliban’s deal with the United States, Taliban bombings and attacks have continued, targeting both security forces and civilians. The Afghan government has pointed the finger at the Taliban for mass shooting at a maternity ward in Kabul that killed 24 women and infants. “They came for the mothers”, said horrified eyewitnesses.

For almost two decades, the western world has supported the ‘new’ Afghanistan - but it feels very fragile. Will a withdrawal lead those people that assisted coalition forces vulnerable to retaliation? It feels likely. The fighting between the Taliban and the Afghan government has been fierce - and come with high civilian casualties. The year is punctuated, nearly monthly, with news of new attacks in Afghanistan.

It reminds me of the end of the Vietnam war. America withdrew and two years later the south was retaken by the North. In the final days of the Vietnam war the United States evacuated around 150,000 civilians who had worked with American on the ground. Nearly a million others left the country by boat, seeking asylum at refugee camps in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people who had collaborated with the US-backed South were sent to re-education camps where they were sometimes tortured or starved. Is this what Afghanistan will look like? 

There’s no 'good’ solution - and for now the future of the war in Afgahnistan feels very opaque. I think I under-reported stories in the region as a result - it feels too complex to boil down into daily recaps.

Bobi Wine, 38, was detained by police for allegedly breaking COVID-19 restrictions while campaigning in Uganda’s upcoming presidential election - Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters

8. Ugandan election protests

Western media doesn’t seem to place a lot of importance on reporting in Africa - but what little attention they had for the continent focused on the anti-SARS protests in Nigeria throughout the fall. The attention on police violence in America raised the profile of these demonstrations - and the brutality of the government’s response, shooting at dozens of peaceful marchers gathered at the Lekki toll bridge.

But they were far from the only protests in Africa.

As Uganda prepared for an election early in 2021, the government forcefully cracked down on youthful dissidents - like presidential hopefuls Bobi Wine and Patrick Amuriat who were detained by police during the final campaign pushes in November. 

Wine, a young musician, has been arrested numerous times since he announced his candidacy. One occasion police beat Wine so badly he temporarily lost his vision - they also killed his driver. They raided his offices, confiscating election materials, and arrested supporters. His bodyguard will later be killed after being struck by a military truck while helping an injured reporter escape tear-gas during December protests.

Police record 56 casualties as they violently put down the large-scale protests - though human rights group have suggested the real number could be dramatically higher. 

Ariana Quesada holds a photo of her father, Benito. He died after an outbreak at the Cargill meat-packing plant where he worked. She filed a complaint with the RCMP, asking them to investigate conditions at the plant - Justin Pennell/CBC

9. Meat packing plants become coronavirus hotspots

Meat processing plants become super-spreaders - these often rurally-located factories see massive outbreaks across the United States and Canada. Their floors are crowded with employees working elbow-to-elbow, forced to shout over the loud din of machinery. The refrigeration - necessary for keeping the meat unspoiled - may allow the virus to live longer in the air.

By September of 2020, nearly 500 meat-processing plants had reported at least one case of COVID in the United States. And 203 had died. 

At a Tyson Foods factory in Waterloo, Iowa, staff allege that management placed bets on how many workers would become sick - and die. Supervisors began avoiding the floor, relegating their responsibilities to untrained workers. 

The plant reluctantly closed - by the time they re-opened two weeks later over a third of their 2,800 workforce had tested positive. Five workers died - including Isidro Fernandez, whose family is leading a lawsuit against the company.

In Canada, Cargill faces a similar lawsuit after an enormous outbreak in their High River facility that resulted in three deaths - two employees and one staffer’s 71-year-old father. They were: Hiep Bui, Armando Sallegue, and Benito Quesada. The company offered a $500 “responsibility” bonus for workers who didn’t miss any shifts - and discouraged employees from reporting any flu-like symptoms. Many of the factory’s workers are temporary foreign workers or new Canadians. 

10. The Nazca Lines

I forgot about this and am shoehorning it in now, but Peruvian archaeologists discovered another ancient line drawing in the desert outside of Lima - this time in the shape of a kitty cat.

Of all the archaeology finds this year - remains at Pompeii, a mammoth graveyard in Mexico, and a wealth of sarcophagi in Egypt - this is my favourite.

[pcttrailsidereader]

8 Tips for Preventing Injury and Making the first 100 PCT miles a Success

Originally posted on February 26, 2018 on 2 Foot Adventures  . . . this advice is very wise.  I have seen lots of otherwise strong hkers in agony not far from Campo because they went too far, too fast.  Blisters, stress fractures, and strains can all derail the best plans.

The PCT is a journey, not a race. This can’t be overstated enough as you embark upon the first 100 miles of your 2,660-mile hike to Canada. Injury is among the top reasons hikers leave the trail in the first 100-300 miles. The tips provided below will help you avoid injury and keep you walking happy and healthy well beyond these first miles.

BEFORE THE TRAIL

8. Train - So many thru-hikers neglect this part. Being physically fit before starting the trail is the #1 way to avoid injury on the trail. It’s not a requirement, but it is REALLY REALLY helpful and makes the first 100 miles a little easier. Even if you are fit, the first 100 miles is still tough and will challenge you in ways you never dreamed before. If you live in a place not conducive to training outdoors there are lots of ways you can train indoors. The areas of focus should be:

~ Time on your feet with your backpack fully loaded. One hiker in 2017 told me she lived way up north, almost in the Arctic Circle, and she walked circles in her living room for up to 8-hrs a day to get her body ready. Maddening! But she arrived strong and fit and ready for the trail.

~ Develop strong legs, core, back, and shoulders. When you hike for many hours a day with a backpack on your body gets tired and your body mechanics begin to breakdown. Once your body mechanics breakdown you need to stop hiking ASAP! Continuing on can quickly develop into an injured knee, hip, shoulder, etc. Strengthening these areas ahead of time is better than doing this on trail.

~ Develop a stretch routine that targets all your major muscles. Having a stretch routine before the trail will make doing it on trail much more likely and it’s a very good habit to get into when hiking for 8-10+ hrs/day.

ON THE TRAIL

Certainly not THAT much!

7. Carry just enough water - I know, you’re starting your hike off in the desert. It’s hot. All the books/blogs say there’s no water for the first 20 miles. Have you looked at the PCT Water Report available here? Often times there is water in the first 20 miles it's just a short hike off trail, but there is water. In a wet year there are numerous water sources on trail during these miles. IF you decided you don’t want to walk off trail to get water then consider these items when planning the amount of water you’re going to start with.

~ What is the weather? - If it’s a cool cloudy day and rain is expected (this does happen) then you won’t need to carry the conventional 6L of water at the start.

~ Are you a small, medium, or large guy/girl? - A small female will not need to carry as much water as a large man. Analyze your size and water needs. I am a 120-lb female and started my PCT hike on a day with temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I hiked 15 miles to Houser Creek my first day. I used water in a lunch, dinner, and breakfast before reaching Lake Morena. I began with 4 liters of water and still had some left when I reached the lake. I’m from Southern California and was well acclimated to exercising in the heat.

~ How many miles are you hiking your first day? - There’s no need to hike all the way to Lake Morena on Day 1. You can split it into 2 days. If you haven't be able to train enough, plan to do it in 1.5-2 days and plan on walking the short distance off trail to get additional water so you are more comfortable during the hours and miles you are walking on the first couple of days. You’ll have plenty of time to do this and take numerous breaks.

Water is heavy, weighing approximately 2.2-lb or 1-kg per liter. It’s important that you know where your next water supply will be so you carry just a tad more than what is needed to get there. Be realistic about your water needs and know in many places you can hike a little off trail and get more water if needed. Know where those sources are BEFORE you set out each day and don’t rely on water caches. While 3rd Gate is usually stocked during the season, even if it’s out, there’s a hose a little further off the trail where you can get water.  

6. Reduce your food - Most hikers carry way too much food their first 100 miles. They dump half their resupply box into the hiker box and groan about the wasted money and weight they’ve been lugging around for the past week. When packing your food consider the following:

~ Hiker hunger doesn’t kick-in for a couple weeks, sometimes longer.

~ When it’s really hot most hikers don’t feel like eating a whole lot.

~ When you’ve walked all day in the heat and you’re exhausted, you don’t feel like cooking a hot dinner. Although if you’ve followed the advice above you won’t be exhausted. You will have taken plenty of breaks and not walked more miles than your body was ready for.

~ There are cafes/restaurants and resupply options available every 20-35 miles for the first 100 miles. Make use of those and don’t carry so much food with you to start. Your backpack will be lighter, your body will feel better, and this will reduce the chance of injury.

5. Don’t carry “backup” anything - I can write a book about all the “back-up” and “extra” things hikers carry in their backpacks. You haven’t hiked the PCT before or any long trail so you (or your family/friends) have a long list of “what-ifs” that you feel you need to prepare for. 99.9% of those things will not materialize. You only need the absolute essentials. You don’t need an extra shirt or pair of shorts. You don’t need 2 books. You don’t need 3 flashlights and 2 extra fire starting items. You don't need bear spray or a machete or even a bear canister. What you do need is a backpack that is light enough that you are comfortable carrying your food, water, and essential supplies. You may think that you will have tons of time to do “insert some activity here”, but you’ll be too tired to want to do those things, or you’ll be too busy making new friends, making dinner, napping, or looking at what’s ahead for tomorrow.

4. Take Lots of Breaks - You’re walking far, very very far, almost 3,000 miles! Stop and rest. Take off your backpack. Take off your shoes and socks. Stretch. Eat. Hydrate. Taking frequent breaks helps your body avoid injuries by giving it rest and an opportunity to move in a different way. Overuse injuries are VERY common on the PCT and result in hundreds of hikers leaving the trail. It’s advisable that during breaks you take time to massage your aching feet and legs. Move your body throughout a range of motions that are different from walking. It will feel good, trust me! And this is a great habit to form.

OK . . . not THAT big.

3. Get really big shoes - Shoes are tough. Most hikers start with shoes they consider to be big. They size up a half or whole size and feel like they have lots of room in there for their foot to grow. The reality is your feet are going to swell up to 2 sizes during the desert and here’s why. You’re walking EVERYDAY. You’re walking FAR everyday. You’re walking with more weight than you trained with. You’re walking up and down mountains. You’re walking in 100 deg heat. All these factors contribute to big feet! Do yourself a favor and get really big shoes; your feet will thank you!

2. Leave your ego at home

- Sure, go ahead and laugh. You think you don’t have ego or you won’t fall into the pressure to hike more miles than you set out to do, but it happens…a lot. You’re in a new place. You’ve met a couple of really awesome people that you click with and want to hike with but they walk just barely faster than you. They walk a few more miles than you. Having them “leave you” isn’t something you want to think about so you do just a little more to keep up with them and then it happens….BOOM! You’re injured. Now you’ll get way behind them. Now you’re spending money resting in town trying to figure out if you can keep hiking at all. Don’t let this happen! Know that these awesome people will be in the next town when you get there. You will see them again and again and again. You will meet other amazing people. There’s NO reason to hike even slightly out of your comfort zone and it’s a REALLY bad idea in the first 100 miles. Let the speed demons go by you. You might see them laid up in the next town with a blown out knee or shin splints. HYOH - Hike Your Own Hike! Most importantly, Take Care of You!!!

1. Be a tortoise, not a hare

- What?!? Go SLOW! Take your time and ease into thru-hiking. Thru-hiking is incredibly strenuous especially when you are starting out. Your body isn’t used to the demands of hiking every single day with so much weight, in the heat, and up and down mountains that have trails that are slightly cantered to the left and then to the right. Make a plan for your first couple of weeks on trail. Be super conservative with your miles. Plan a couple of weeks at 10 -14 miles a day, less if needed. Plan to take a zero (no hiking day) at least every 5-7 days. Take several half days if you are near town. You don’t have to actually hike your planned miles every single day. Be realistic about your starting fitness. If you’re really fit, your backpack is light, and you’ve trained consistently, then maybe you can do 15-18 miles a day right off. For the vast majority of hikers, that’s too much. Don’t bother planning every day of your hike though. Things happen on the trail that you have no control over. Despite your best efforts you might have a nagging pain starting. There might be dangerous weather up on the ridge you where you were planning to camp. It’s good to be flexible with your plan, listen to your body, and take additional breaks.  

Keep in mind, the first 100 miles is indeed the toughest! That’s not to say that any single mile after 100 will be easy, but if you follow these tips, you’ll set a solid foundation for your PCT thru-hike that will last for many miles beyond the first 100.

[bisonabroad]

“This experience made me made me think about my own values and how can I change them for the better.”

The Roman Colosseum in Rome, Italy

I had never traveled out of the country before this summer. Italy was the first country I had wanted to visit when I finally got the opportunity to travel out of the country. The reason why I wanted to go to Italy first because that is where my ancestors came from. I wanted to see how my ancestors lived, I wanted to see what the country looks like, and learn about Italian culture. When I learned about the Siena School’s Deaf Studies program through a friend who went there the previous summer, I thought it would be a great opportunity because I would get to learn a new sign language, visit Italy, and experience living abroad. I always go for new opportunities, so I took this opportunity as a unique experience for me, especially because I would be traveling out of the country for the first time.

Duomo di Milano in Milan

When I first arrived in Italy, the bathroom was different from the bathrooms that I was used to in America. The Italians diet is light as opposed to American food. Air conditioning is not common in Italy. It was difficult for me at first since I have never traveled out of the country. However, it taught me a lot of things and made me realize how many things America has that Europe does not and made me appreciate where I live more. In addition, traveling out of the country has taught me how to travel better regarding what to pack, how to get to a destination, and how to prepare myself to be in another country and culture. Last but not least, this whole trip helped me to do a self-analysis. For example, the values the Italians have, such as the importance of family, have made me think about my own values and how can I change them for the better.

Corniglia (one of five villages in a coastal area called Cinque Terre)

In the program, there were a total of 44 students, including students from the University of Arizona, Towson University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Gallaudet University, Italian students from Italy, professionals (who have already graduated college), and the list continues. As part of the program, we got to meet members of the National Deaf Organization in Italy. When we met them, we had already learned some Italian Sign Language (LIS), so our knowledge was put to use. What was interesting is that LIS was not recognized in Italy until the 1980s so many Italian Deaf people rely heavily on using oral communication while signing. We see less of this in America. We tend to see either American Sign Language only or deaf individuals who communicate orally only. It is not as common to see simultaneous communication (simcom).

Siena School Deaf Studies Program with National Deaf Organization in Italy

During our free time, we visited Milan, Cinque Terre, and Rome. It is interesting to see the differences between big cities and small towns in Italy. For sure there are a lot of tourists in the big cities, but there are few in the small towns like Siena, where I stayed for three weeks to study Italian Sign Language, Italian Language, Italian Deaf History and Culture. Because Siena is a small town, it allowed me to immerse myself deeply into the culture there. The Palio di Siena is a several hundred years old tradition in Siena, and we got to watch the Palio di Siena during our stay there. I will not say anything more about this old tradition because if you are interested in this, you should do this study abroad program and find out why the Palio di Siena is so cool to watch and experience!

A view of Siena, Italy

As a Deaf person, if you want to connect with an international Deaf community, the Siena Deaf Studies program gives you an opportunity to learn a new sign language and a few universal signs. After the program, you will be able to communicate with several international Deaf communities, not just the deaf community in Italy because the program will teach you how to communicate with a person who signs another language.

Piazza del Campo in Siena is filled with people to watch the Palio di Siena

[skammovistarplus]

Culture and Translation - S01 E01 C05-12

This post deals with cultural and translation concepts in clips 6 to 12, from episode 1. I also wrote about some things that I forgot to mention in the first post. I think this is it for the first episode, though. Let me know if there is stuff you’re still unclear about.

CLIP 5: Let us discuss ALEJANDRO 

As I mentioned in the first post (just click the tag), in Spain groups are pretty stable through class periods. Therefore, and based on who we’ve seen in clip 3, Eva, Lara, Lucas, Amira, Viri and Alicia all go to class together. Amira may have met Nora in class, or during break. Cris may be part of the same group, since I gathered Viri is her class president as well.

Prior to the show airing, there was some discussion over what kind of vehicle Alejandro would drive. It is EXTREMELY unusual for a Spanish high schooler to drive a car.

You can only get a driver’s license when you turn 18.

It is a somewhat involved process.

A student turns 18 in his or her second year of Bachillerato, AFTER the New Year. This is similar to Norway. Chris Berg (born the 6th of January, 1999) and Sana (born the 24th of December, 1999) are in the same grade.

Even if Alejandro had the money and means to get a driver’s license and a car in as painless a process as possible, finding a parking spot in the heart of Madrid is a fucking nightmare. My high school teachers came to work via public transit.

We find out in clip 5 that Alejandro comes to school on a motorbike. This is fine; you can get a driver’s license for a motorbike when you turn 16. There are some limits on how powerful the engine can be, but it’s still a bike.   

That said, when the profile for Alejandro went up, we found out he’s been held back a year (like Even) and he’s already 18. So he could theoretically show up with a car in the future. This factoid also implies things about Alejandro that weren’t a factor for the other Williams. All the other Williams haven’t had issues education-wise.

CLIP 6: In which Eva’s lineage is besmirched

Eva has already called Lucas a son of a bitch, but in this clip, we get the female form. Daughter of a bitch just doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as the male form, so I settled on fucking bastard.

I could’ve translated it as any number of slut-shaming slurs, but. Given the themes in Eva’s season, I think the actual slut shaming slurs will come out eventually, and I want to make a distinction between those and what Inés calls Eva in this specific clip. Right now, Inés isn’t making an issue of Eva’s sluttiness, but rather her mother’s. Who probably has no idea any of this is happening, but hey. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Inés also tells Eva, “Flipo contigo.” I translated this as the appalled, disbelieving, “I can’t believe you.” The literal translation would be “I’m tripping on [your attitude].” “Flipar” makes reference to the effects a drug has on your consciousness, mainly hallucinations. The construction “flipar contigo” can be positive or negative. They might be appalled with you, as is Inés, or they may think you’re amazing. They might think you’re boasting, or that you’re literally high! So many options!

CLIP 7: Jorge Is Concerned

Jorge has a Slytherin folder! I thought the snake was Lucas. Cute detail, though. 

I know that shippers gonna ship, and you’re not going to want to warm up to a Jonas when Penetrator Chris is coming. Still, Jorge might be the most attuned to Eva’s emotions of all the Jonases. He knows something is wrong and insists that she tell him, over and over in this clip.

Hugo and Dilan are apparently doing some kind of Fortnite meme? They could be doing a Polish traditional dance for all I know.

Hugo congratulates Dilan on a dance well danced by calling him a “cabrón.” Literally, this word would mean that Dilan is being cuckolded. For a number of reasons, I will be translating “cabrón” as bastard or asshole, unless someone actually gets cuckolded.

You can check the shows happening in Madrid on the 14th of September, if you would like to make a guess as to where the boys went that was so packed: here.

CLIP 8: Endorphin hits

I already mentioned this on Twitter, but Eva taking off her jeans to put on pajama pants, yet keeping the top she wore to school, is peak relatable.

Eva ordered a pizza from Telepizza. I find them to be too greasy and prefer other chains, but it’s certainly Spanish as fuck.

Again, I can’t tell what she’s snacking on while she reheats the pizza. Some kind of squared-shaped crackers, yes, but the brand isn’t obvious. She also grabs a few ruffled chips.

CLIP 9: These three dumbasses

I’ve said elsewhere that my top 3 Skam characters are Eva, Isak and Sana. That said, I have a huge weak spot for the Eva/Isak/Jonas trio and their dynamic in season 1. It’s a friend group that starts out seemingly stable—a couple and their best friend—but one of the thorough-lines of season 1 is how it comes to disintegrate into lies, cheating and manipulation. All the ingredients for that eventual implosion are subtly interwoven in this clip, and deployed nicely for a wholly original clip.

Tomás Aguilera is doing some great work here, he genuinely looks and sounds like he’s exhausted. But it also means he’s slurring some of his lines. I have listened to them with headphones, had someone else listen to them with the speed slowed down . . . No dice. I tried for an approximation, instead. The lines that are giving me problems are, “el triunfo está siendo una puta ______ en el campo” and “_____ se lo compró sola, ¿eh?”

I love that both Lucas and Eva are wannabe football commentators.

Jorge calls himself “el puto amo,” an extremely common way of bragging. There are in fact og Skam parody subs kicking around on Twitter, where Eskild tells Isak to say that, “Eskild es el putísimo amo,” instead of a guru. A literal translation would be, “the fucking boss/master.” I think these are both valid translations, but I already used “master” for the first clip for a totally different word. “Boss” is good, but I find “badass” to be a much more common way to brag.

Jorge calls himself a badass, and Eva replies, “Te has flipado muchísimo.” This is, again, about “flipar” or tripping. Eva thinks Jorge’s bragging is so over the top that he’s actually tripping—on the drug that is his own ego. In this case, I did go for the literal translation. Their banter is fairly par for the course. Jorge wants to build Eva up, since he just bailed on her, and he succeeds at least at making her smile.  

Lucas says of Eva’s hat that it “tiene estilo,” i.e. the hat is stylish. I translated it as, “the little hat is something.” I am aware that it loses some of the subtext about Lucas. I definitely wouldn’t fight a literal translation of the sentence. This is where I go full meta. Are the writers trying to say something about Lucas by having him say that? Or is that something any Spanish dude would say to be sarcastic? I’ve met a lot of straight guys who’d say something like that just to be funny, so I picked something that was a bit more subtle. Lucas is still commenting on Eva’s clothes, rather than Eva’s body or any number of things someone who was into girls would find attractive. He’s just doing it in a way an English-speaking straight dude would go about it. But this is a very personal take, so your mileage may vary. AM I STRAIGHT-WASHING LUCAS, especially since the people watching these subs will have probably watched all other remakes and know what’s coming? A question to ponder.

CLIP 10: Ye olde bait-and-switch pt. II

More thoughts on class trips. As I mentioned previously, I went to Majorca when I was 14. These girls will be turning 17 next year. Because of that, I find Majorca to be a bit of a destination for kiddies. When I did Baccalaureate, the class trip was to Prague, Czech Republic. This is still a thing. In fact, the high school where Skam España is filmed organizes a trip to Prague for Baccalaureate first years.

I’m not naming the school here because it took only a couple days for someone to learn where the show is shot, to go and crash the filming. Let’s avoid another Nissen situation, folks.

The fact that Viri wants to go to Majorca comes across, to me, as Viri being more immature than her peers. But, it might also be that she missed out on an earlier class trip at her former school. Or she knows that parents would absolutely not allow a bunch of high school girls to go to Prague without an adult to supervise them. Or that they won’t ever get enough money to subsidize an international trip, and she’s managing her expectations and ambitions. Or the trip is actually going to take place and it’s easier for the production team to film in Majorca.

At any rate, this trip, much like my trip to Majorca, is not supposed to entail any learning. They’re going to spend the whole day at the beach, and the whole night partying. As an aside, when Viri comments on how hot the guys are, she sounds like a divorcee ogling hot dudes. It’s hilarious because she’s so young. I tried to have that come across in translation.

There was some discussion about Cris in this trip. Og Chris Berg was someone who, while colorful in her own way, did her best to avoid confrontation. She’d much rather not say anything, rather than say something that could possibly offend someone. We see here that Cris Soto is a different kind of Chris. I could start rambling about the way the different remakes have adapted Chris, but I’ll keep this to Skam España. My impression is that, because Amira’s actress has been very vocal about the ignorance she encounters as a hijabi, Skam España is making more of an effort from the jump to show that ignorance. (In the og, we only really start to see this ignorance on the part of the whole girl squad when we get to Sana’s season. The previous impression was that only Vilde was ignorant.) I don’t feel that Cris is being intentionally rude, although Amira is certainly put off—and right to be, since Cris is making a joke about a piece of garment.

Cris just seems like she doesn’t know much about what Amira’s life is like. And although she doesn’t get it, particularly, she’s willing to go with whatever Amira feels is right for her.

As in the og, Cris brings Amira into the group. The difference is that it’s Amira who tips Nora. Of course, Noora only joined the bus group to get to know Eva, but also Sana. It works!      

CLIP 11: Madison, Wisconsin

Mr. Wonderful is a Spanish enterprise that takes inspirational/cheesy/corny stuff you’d find on Instagram, puts them on all kinds of merchandise and sells them. As you might’ve gathered from previous clips, Spanish people are a bit more rough and tumble than the Mr. Wonderful products would suggest. So while popular among some, Mr. Wondeful stuff is also hugely backlashed. There’s an instagram account called puterful_es that takes demotivators and slaps them on merchandise, too. Hilariously, Eva follows both Mr. Wonderful and Puterful on Instagram.

I know that people who watched og Skam saw Ingrid and Sara as the popular girls. However, as the show goes on, we learn that Ingrid, Sara, and their crew, are first years, just like Eva. They’re only starting to build their rep at school. The truly popular and feared girls are Maria and her Rad Girls bus crew. This isn’t the case with Inés and Alicia (who earlier was a total idiot about Amira wearing a hijab). These girls are THE girls you want to have on your side, or your projects won’t ever get off the ground.

Amira thinks it’s notable that she was born in Spain, instead of being born somewhere else and moving to Spain. I guess that makes her identity more in turmoil, since she’s constantly moving between two worlds. I think all the Sanas were born in the cities the Skams are set.

Nora is from Madison! I know @lightsandlostbells finds it hugely amusing. So do I! You’d expect someone like the Noora expy to come from someplace glamorous or exotic. Noora, Manon and Mia came from Madrid. Who knows what red-lipped woman of mystery Eleonora has done with her life. Grace is from Dallas, so not that high in the exotic scale. So far, we don’t know whether Liv has spent time anywhere else. There’s some exotism to be mined just from the magic words “Estados Unidos,” but it’s clear the girls don’t find Madison hugely impressive. If Nora had come from New York or Los Angeles, the meeting would’ve gone off the rails because the girls would have so many questions.

In real life, Nora’s actress Nicole Wallace’s father is from the D.C. area, while her mom is Spanish.

Viri’s façade is torn to pieces when she sullenly mutters, “De puta madre.” This would be a sarcastic way of saying, “Fucking great.” I picked fucking hell, but in hindsight, I’d fix that. Subs are a continuous work in progress, I’ve found.

There has also been some discussion regarding house parties. House parties have not been part of my Spanish teenage experience. It is far, far more common to go to “botellones.” I know there’s some confusion over what a botellón is or isn’t, so I’ll explain. There are some public places in Spanish cities (parks, squares, basically any decently-lit place with space to accommodate hundreds of people) where teenies will gather every weekend. They will bring their own beverages and get drunk. They will mingle, perhaps meet someone new and hook up. Botellones are unofficial gatherings. You don’t need to get an invite. It’s a public place. You go there because you know other people are going to be there. You can hit botellones in other neighborhoods for a change of pace, and no one’s going to tell you to stay out.

It is much cheaper to buy some booze at a convenience store, than to buy a drink or several at a bar. Besides, the drinking age in Spain is 18, so the girls wouldn’t necessarily be able to get into a club, and they’d be carded.

I’m not sure whether we will see botellones in Skam España, simply because the logistics of filming one would be really complicated. You’d need about a hundred extras, each with an NDA, the willing participation and silence of a neighborhood, and to make sure no one’s going to wander in and find a camera crew filming everyone. That said, the trailer did contain some videos clearly shot at botellones. Possibly actual botellones, not ones for the show.

But back to the house parties. While they haven’t been part of my experience, I’m told they do happen, in neighborhoods that are way posher than mine. Alejandro and Cristián are implied to be that rich, so I guess it works. More on that in episode 2 commentary.

Amira implies she wouldn’t be successful at flirting, because her hijab would put guys off. This is a departure from the og, where the Penetrators were certainly into the idea of partying with Sana. I’m not sure I believe that plenty of Spanish guys wouldn’t want to hit that BECAUSE of the hijab, too. And let’s be clear, while Amira singles Eva and Nora out as pretty, none of these girls would have an issue getting hot dudes to consider them.  

My parents wouldn’t have been happy to find I’ve been drinking their beer, while underage, and offering it to my similarly underage friends.

CLIP 12: Can’t miss that backpack  

The microphones caught bits of a background conversation mentioning Ramadan, but I don’t think that was intentional. I didn’t include it in the subs. If a random conversation, such as the girl from the og that was hungover on Wednesday, seems relevant, I’ll include it.

Much like Jorge, Nora has caught on that there’s something wrong with Eva. She asks her if she’s fine several times. Also, I guess since Nora just came from MADISON, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES, she’s still not great with the bus system. She did get to the meeting late, after all.

[drinkerrs789]

Rioja Guide: The Most Popular wine

Rioja Guide: The Most Popular wine

Learn about the Spanish wines defined by their fruit-forward taste and aging process in the American Oak Cox. In short this is a Spanish wine; you can’t talk about Spanish without rioja. Wine often embodies the culture of the place where it was made. Like Spain’s long cysts and rich flavors, Rioja wines are also vibrant and elegant. Aged in oak barrels for different periods, Rioja’s signature notes include vanilla and caramel flavors in hardwood. For those of us who have slept in high school Spanish, the word qualified means guaranteed. Only two regions in the whole of Spain have achieved such high marks, and one of them is the Rioja Valley. Rioja is the most favorite drink of drinkers, if you want to drink flavor of rioja then not need to go liquor store, you can order from your phone, you just type on goggle search alcohol delivery nearby me, or you want just rioja then you can type rioja delivery nearby me, and sit relax after 30 to 60 min your order will be at your place. Rioja wines can be red, white or rose; they are the most common Rioja deep red, with grapes like tampranilo and garnacha. No matter what type of flavor you buy, you can expect a lot of fruity flavor and high acidity. It goes well with practically anything, so if you haven’t invented this classic viticulture style yet, you can confidently open the bottle at the next dinner party.

What is Rioja Wine

That’s a question we get asked a lot on our wine tours in Seville. Is it a grape? Is it a place? Or is it a special way of making wine? And the answer? "Merciful to all of them!" Rioja can be hard to catch. But we are promise to you it's worth it. This is the most important wine in Spain and one of them is very tasty!

Rioja Valley

Firstly rioja is not a grape, its region of Spanish; it is much champagne should come from France. The characteristics of the region, such as grape varieties, height and climate contribute to the incomparable taste of the product. Rioja wine is divided into three types: Rioja Oriental, Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. After all, Rioja Alavesa wine from the north has a higher acidity than before. In the Rioja region of Spain, wine culture dominates. Every summer, thousands of locals and tourists celebrate La Batalla del Vino - The Wine Fight. Living in Harrow, a city full of vineyards, wine lovers honor the annual tradition by feasting on one another and beating oxen. Beyond the speech of regional varieties, Rioja wines really differ from each other through the barrel-aging process. Categories include young wines, crianza wines, reserve wines and gran reserve wines. Reserve wines are fickle. Made from only the best grapes in the most preferred growing season, the reserve brews wine in oak for at least one year and must be at least three years old. The wine tastes old and less fruity accordingly. Its dense and dusty flavor profile includes dark cherries and smoky, paired well with roasted coke lamb.

Food Pairing with Rioja

If you are looking for the perfect wine to add to the details then look no further! White Rioja is an ideal companion to brown evenings or Spanish food in general. The Young Rioja pairing is great with grilled fish, shellfish, garlic, gazpacho and fresh zesty salad. The old-fashioned Rioja pairing is great with many flavored fish-based foods like grilled fish, grilled hake, paella, fish stew, and lobster. In addition to fish-based pairings, Rioja also does well with almonds, serrano, asparagus, grilled meat and strong cheese.

Popular But not Pricy

Gran Reserves, of course, has a high price to start at around $40 per bottle, although you can find good generico and crianza rioja varieties below $ 20 per bottle. Once you get out of the reds with the same oak-aging process, don’t overlook the Blanco and Rose wines from this region. Some of Drinkerrs popular Rioja wines come from the Campo Viejo winery and the Marques de Cos winery. Here are the best-selling Rioja from Drinkerrs. Bota Box Nighthawk Rich Red Wine Blend Campo Viejo Rioja Campo Viejo Reserve Marqués De Cáceres Crianza Rioja Marques De Riscal Reserva Rioja CVNE Cune Crianza Muga Rioja Reserva Unfiltered Marqués De Cáceres Reserva Rioja EI Rioja Rosado Wine lovers may not have explored the Iberian Peninsula’s varieties with the same voracity as Napa Valley, France or Argentina. Rioja’s wines are an easy way to begin exploring Spanish wines comes to fruity, sweeter reds. Add another stamp to your wine passport and discover which Rioja wine is your new favorite one. Even if this drink is a favorite of the Spanish, it is still very popular among the American people and in great demand in the United States of America.

[momo-de-avis]

Articles like these is what happens when a city is gentrified, apparently.

I mean, mind you. Foreign artists coming into Lisbon (actually, into Portugal, but apparently the whole country is made of one single city) is a positive thing. It widens perspective, it allows communication between cultures and creates speeches and debate around not only multicultural things but also in artistic view. It also creates a more positive speculation in the market for portuguese artists to be put side-to-side with artists who have a better market value, considering our market value is very low (a good book on it is this on, it might be slightly outdated as it’s from 2013 but it does give you an insight of what the portuguese art market looks like by itself without an outside speculation).

It is a positive thing.

It’s just everything else in this article that, to me, it’s out of this world.

I mean, I am very critical of the art market and the art world these days. Anyone who knows anything about art history knows that art and politics are intertwined heavily, but recently the art market has spread so much that it seems it created to opposite poles: one political and one completely absent-minded from the world. (And take into account that I’m speaking from my own social ground. The kind of artistic work I’ve been watching more closely in america, for example, is very political and insanely good.) And these two spheres seem to be distancing themselves more and more. How one and the other work in the art market is a completely different subject that I’m not qualified to analyze, honestly, but I can put my mind on a thing or two regarding one of these poles. 

And as a portuguese working in Lisbon, while I find it positive that foreign artists are getting more opportunities and attracted to this city, I can also attest that portuguese artists, on the other hand, are not.

And this is not because they do are differently or whatever. It’s because of what everything this article states as “an opportunity”, to us, it’s actually a problem. It was this paragraph that made me grind my gears:

Besides a more clement weather, the picturesque views, and abundant sunlight, Lisbon also offers more affordable rents for housing and artist studios. While an individual studio in Berlin might set an artist back an average of €400 a month, a similar option in Lisbon has a monthly rent of €200-250, which also helps explain the appeal of the Portuguese capital for young creatives

Rent is not affordable. At all. In the last couple of years, rent in Lisbon has gone up to an average of 800€ in a country with a minimum wage of 500€. More people are moving out of Lisbon to the periphery and you can ask any lisboner about it they will tell you that the only people who live in Lisbon are practically foreigners (and I’m sorry, artnet news, quoting Web Summit as an example just makes it worse. A lot of start-ups and foreign companies found their business here - some even acquiring headquarters in Avenida da Liberdade, where the average cost is millions - because of tax benefits. Also there are people coming from countries with an average income of over 1200€ that ran businesses there and have a network estimated in millions, they literally just move it from one place to another. It’s just... not even remotely comparable).

So, yeah, a studio for around 200-250€ a month sounds cheap if you live in it. Also, it’s not really common to find a studio that cheap, and it’s usually not a studio at all - it’s converted garages or even stores. Some portuguese artists do afford studios for less than 200€ a month because they signed up for past programs that promoted these “arts center” in the middle of the city back in the 90s that were eventually left to die (in Alvalade, Campo Grande, for example). If you read this book, most artists who have these cheap studios you mention had to spend more than they asked for adapting the spaces because they are not studios, they are emptied spaces. And they all complain of the same thing: it’s all they can get.

Lisbon is heavily gentrified. A bunch of celebrities are buying houses here. Just this month Michael Fassbender acquired a 2mil € house in Alfama, a district that is known for being the home of Fade and one of the poorest quarters in Lisbon, but for the past few years, because it is “oh so traditional”, entire buildings are being emptied, their inhabitants, who have lived there their whole lives, are being put on the streets and given one year to find somewhere else, to convert these houses into hostels. These are poor, old people who have lived there all their lives and who pay 40€ of rent because they get a 200-300€ pension of which they can barely live of. And they are being kicked out for 2mil houses for celebrities. The touristic boom is ruining the city. Public transportation is worse than ever, complaints filed against it have hit a record, and even last year, as unprepared as the city was, the number of tourists was so large the metro ran out of tickets. A person who takes the train to Cascais or Estoril every day to work can take up to 2h to take a ticket or buy their pass because queues are that long and the subway is impossible to ride, with masses of people at every hour (also attracting muggers).

With artists almost “forced” to believe they need a studio to work in but being portuguese being also unable to afford a simple rent, portuguese artists are in a huge disadvantage. They get less opportunity than one who comes form the outside with a built portfolio and a rented out studio in the city. And for non-artists, like me, who want to work in the field, the only opportunity is non-paid internships, because the market is saturated.

And there’s also another problem that the artists Pier Paolo Calzolari highlights in the article:

There is something about the quality of the light that reminds me of Venice, where I grew up. But there’s something else in Lisbon that reminds me of Venice, which is how much and how fast the city is changing. Growing up in Venice in the 1940s, there was barely any tourism. That changed suddenly in the 1960s, when tourism came to the city and became the biggest business in Venice, forcing locals to move away, as living there had become too expensive. Sadly, I’m starting to notice that the same is happening in Lisbon. It’s like a virus, and I’m starting to see a lot of people trying to make fast money here, with massive real-estate speculation developing here.

(...)  In terms of fabricators and materials, I’ve felt that many artisans have left Lisbon, because of gentrification, and some materials, like wood and metal, have been hard to find due to the crisis first and then because of prices getting higher due to speculation. So on occasions, yes, I have found difficulty in fabricating works.

Yeah.

Also, fuck you Barateiro for saying this:

The art scene is Portugal is less elitist than before, but we still need the creation of a structure that supports artists and all the precarious workers that have made this economic recovery possible.

You mean there are more things happening other than galleries and whatnot, because galleries are pretty much as elitist as ever, if not more. 

Lisbon is a great opportunity for wealthy, upper class europeans. Anything below that, it’s hell. 

[sereics]

under the cut you will find #132 typically female and #115 typically male brazilian first names, as well as #127 last names. i did not include compound names, although they are extremely common around here. brazil is a mixed country, which you should definitely keep in mind when naming your character, however, most (if not all) of the last names i’ve included here are portuguese. a lot of these first names may also not be necessarily of brazilian/portuguese origin, but they’re all names i’ve heard before, even if slightly uncommon. if you have any questions about naming your character, or anything at all regarding brazilian culture, feel free to come to me for help !

typically female

adriana

alana

alessandra

alexia

alice

aline

amanda

ana/anna

andressa

bárbara

beatriz

bianca

bruna

camila/camilla

carina/karina

carla/karla

carmen

carolina

catarina/catharina

cecília

cibele

cíntia

clara

clarissa/clarice

cláudia

cristiane/cristiana

cristine/cristina

dalila

daniela/daniella

débora/deborah

denise

diana

donata

eduarda

eleonora

elisa

emília

erica/erika

ester

eugênia

evelyn

fabiana

fátima

fernanda

flávia

flora

gabriela/gabriella

georgia

giovana/giovanna

gisele/giselle

giulia

glória

graziela/graziella

helena/elena

heloísa

ingrid

isabel

isabela/isabella

isadora

janaina

janine

joana

jordana

júlia

juliana

laís/laísa

lara

larissa

laura

leila

letícia

lívia

lorena

luana

lúcia

luciana

ludmila/ludmilla

luiza/luísa

luma

luna

maiara

maitê

manuela

marcela

márcia

margot

maria

mariana

mariel

marina

marisa

marta

melissa

milena

mirela

mônica

natália

natascha

nicole

olivia

paloma

pâmela

patrícia

paula

pietra

priscila

rafaela

raissa

raquel

rebeca/rebecca

renata

roberta

sabrina

sandra

sara/sarah

sílvia

sofia/sophia

solange

sônia

tainá

taísa/thaísa

tatiana

teresa/tereza

thaís/taís

valentina

valeria

vanessa

vera

verônica

victória/vitória

vivian

yasmin

typically male

adriano

afonso

alan

alberto

alcyr

alexandre

álvaro

amir/amyr

anderson

andré

antônio

armando

artur/arthur

augusto

bernardo

breno

bruno

caio

carlos

cauan/cauã

césar

cláudio

cristiano

daniel

danilo

dante

davi/david

diego

douglas

edmur

eduardo

elias

emerson

enzo

eric/erik

ernesto

fábio

felipe/phillipe

fernando

francisco

frederico

gabriel

Geraldo

gilberto

gilmar

giovani/giovanni

guilherme

gustavo

haroldo

heitor

henrique

hugo

humberto

ian

igor

ivan

jarbas

joão

joaquim

jonas

jorge

josé

júlio

leandro

leonardo

liam

lorenzo

lucas

luciano

lúcio

luís

manuel

marcelo

márcio

marconi

marcos/marcus

mário

mateus/matheus

maurício

mauro

michel

miguel

murilo

nicolas

oscar

otávio

paulo

pedro

rafael

raul

renan

renato

ricardo

roberto

robson

rodrigo

rogério

samuel

sandro

sebastian

sérgio

sílvio

stefan

tadeu

theo

thomáz/tomáz/tomás/thomás

tiago/thiago

ulysses/ulisses

valmir

vicente

victor/vitor

vinicius

vladimir

wagner

william

last names

abreu

albuquerque

almeida

alves

amaral

ambrósio

amorim

aragão

arantes

araújo

arruda

azevedo

bandeira

barbosa

barreto

bastos

boaventura

bonfim

borges

botelho

braz

brito

cabral

cabrera

caldas

camargo

campos

caputo

cardoso

carvalho

castanheira

cavalcanti

chaves

correia/corrêa

costa

coutinho

cruz

cunha

dantas

dias

dimas

diniz

dourado

dutra

estrela/estrella

fagundes

fernandes

ferraz

ferreira

ferro

figueiredo

fonseca

fontes

frota

garcia

gomes

gonçalves

gontijo

gonzaga

guedes

guetierres

henriques

jardim

ladeira

leão

leite

lemos

lima

lins

lopes

luz

machado

magalhães

martins

mato

melo

mendes

mendonça

menezes

meyer/mayer

miller

miranda

mota/motta

moura

neves

nóbrega

nogueira

nunes

oliveira

paiva

parente

pedrosa

peixoto

pereira

perfeito

pestana

pimenta

pinheiro

pires

porto

prado

prata

queiroga

queiroz

rangel

reis

ribeiro

rocha

rodrigues

rosso

ruiz

sales

santana

santos

sena

silveira

souza

tavares

teixeira

torres

valadares

vargas

vasconcelos

veiga

venâncio

villela

xavier

[foursprouthealth-blog]

The Simple Spanish Habits That Helped Me Drop 100 Pounds

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/the-simple-spanish-habits-that-helped-me-drop-100-pounds/

The Simple Spanish Habits That Helped Me Drop 100 Pounds

When I landed in Spain, I was a full 240 pounds, courtesy of the Standard American Diet. Though a lifelong vegetarian, I was carrying the heft of readily available, fast, processed foods. But after three years of living in Madrid, I’ve lost 100 pounds—just by adopting a Spanish lifestyle.

While size isn’t necessarily an indicator of health, I was on a quest to trim down my body, so I began studying the differences in the culture I’m from and the one I was immersed in. Without considerable effort, I started noticing my body changing and my clothes hanging in places they once clung. Soon, my third floor apartment felt closer and easier to get to than the first time I reached the doormat, panting, and hopping on the metro for anything closer than three stops became a thing of the past.

The best part is that everything I learned from living abroad can be applied no matter where in the world you live.

1. Use olive oil—but only the good stuff.

There’s no fear of fat here: Whether dipped, drizzled, or deep-fried, oil is clearly the condiment of choice in Spain. In fact, the country consistently ranks among the top three consumers of olive oil in the world. But it’s not only an issue of quantity; Spaniards are serious about the quality of their beloved aceite de oliva. Like perfume, the idea is to buy the best you can possibly afford.

EDITOR’S PICK

displayTitle

I’m still an American, of course, and so I use a misting sprayer, which allows me to infuse foods with the sharp and pungent taste of olive oil without adding hundreds of calories to each meal (or blowing my paycheck on a bottle that lasts weeks). Of course, on weekends when socializing with friends, anything goes. In Spain, bars full of svelte people holding a beer or wine in one hand and an olive oil-soaked snack in the other is a common sight, after all.

2. Keep portions in check with tapas-style plates.

Tapas themselves aren’t always healthy, but the concept of eating several small plates is. Variety and multiple dishes on the table make for a gratifying meal. Pimientos de Padrón, or mild, pan-sautéed peppers, is my go-to dish when eating out in bars. With luck, there will also be a selection of traditional offerings, such as meaty Campo Real olives, chilies stuffed with garlic cloves, and pickles on a toothpick. Other salty favorites include Marcona almonds, anchovies, and paper-thin potato chips.

At home, I use tea saucers to create the appearance of a feast with the same amount of food I’d typically have on a large plate. It doesn’t make cleanup easier, but it’s fulfilling.

3. Walking is a great way to burn calories…

While Madrid has a vast network of public transportation options, the general rule of thumb is if it’s less than a kilometer, walk it. No matter the hour of the day, people are using the ample sidewalks and strolling arm-in-arm for a paseo.

4. …and relatedly, the stairs are your friend.

Fourth-floor walk-ups are the norm in many cities, with elevators often left for the elderly. In the metro, it’s common practice to skip the escalator in favor of taking the stairs and working up a small sweat. There’s also a sense of community with this: When the person in front of you opts to be healthy, it motivates you to do the same.

5. Eat your five meals.

La merienda is the Spanish term for mid-morning and late-afternoon snacks. Typical dishes are tortilla española (a.k.a. a potato omelet), a small sandwich, or a pastry. La merienda is a great way to keep your metabolism going and avoid exaggerated hunger pangs—which can later cause overeating or poor choices. Personally, I try to pack fresh fruit or a stash of julienned vegetables, as raw foods keep me mentally alert and energized.

6. Indulge in the experience of each meal.

The menú del dia, or daily menu, is a Spanish tradition; restaurants advertise lunch menus consisting of two courses, bread, a drink, and usually a dessert. Portions are kept small, but various courses and beverages can make any meal feel very satisfying. While it sounds like a lot of food, many restaurants offer light options—and dessert can always be exchanged for a coffee.

7. There’s even a word for lingering around the table: sobremesa.

The Spanish have perfected the art of hanging around the table after a meal. Plates are piled up, glasses are in various stages of fullness, and conversations begin to really pick up at the end of the meal. This time allows you to feel full, and a customary glass of wine helps you digest the meal. In Spain, there is no pressure to eat quickly—in fact, it can be tricky to get a waiter to bring the bill when you want to leave!

8. Eat local as often as possible.

Spain is overflowing with fruits and vegetables. This is a country known for its persimmons, custard apples, potatoes, and tomatoes. When summer comes, the nation turns to fresh, juicy foods. One of the most wonderful parts of dining out is the wide variety of gazpacho, a cold tomato soup flavored with cucumber, peppers, and garlic that’s blended to a puree and topped with a thick glug of olive oil to give it a silky, gorgeous texture.

9. Fresh is best.

Around 6 p.m., it’s common to see people walking the streets with a nibbled-on loaf of bread tucked under their arm. Most panaderias, or bakeries, also sell small rolls, which allow you to keep portions in check while participating in this daily carb pilgrimage. And there’s nothing like tearing into a hot piece of bread, is there?

The same goes for buying fresh vegetables at the local fruteria—everyone has their go-to shop that keeps their favorites on hand, so it’s common to pass by the shop on the way home to pick up a single bell pepper, a head of broccoli, or bag of Valencia oranges. On Fridays, it’s customary to visit the pescaderia (fish market) around the corner!

While it’s common practice in Spain, you can adopt the habit of buying fresh fruit and vegetables wherever you live.

10. Start the day with pan con tomate.

Rub a slice of toasted baguette with a clove of garlic, top with blended tomato, splash with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. This traditional Spanish breakfast is an easy way to eat good-for-you foods in the morning. Tip: Blend a few tomatoes at the beginning of the week to have on hand, and you’ve just made this a super-achievable 30-second prep.

After years in Spain, I recently returned to the U.S. for a visit and experienced some reverse culture shock (and weight gain) due to the difference in our transportation and eating habits. The quantity of food served in restaurants was overwhelming, free beverage refills snuck hundreds of additional calories into a single meal, and the sheer availability of processed foods for bargain prices was staggering. It’s possible to eat and live well anywhere in the world, but after eight years of traveling the world, I’m doubling down on la vida Española!

Brandy Bell is a freelance travel writer, housesitter, creative producer, and Spainaholic. Find her writing at ItsOneWorldTravel.com, film collaborations on MadalinT.com, and on Instagram and Twitter as @brandyleebell.

[foursprout-blog]

The Simple Spanish Habits That Helped Me Drop 100 Pounds

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/health/the-simple-spanish-habits-that-helped-me-drop-100-pounds/

The Simple Spanish Habits That Helped Me Drop 100 Pounds

When I landed in Spain, I was a full 240 pounds, courtesy of the Standard American Diet. Though a lifelong vegetarian, I was carrying the heft of readily available, fast, processed foods. But after three years of living in Madrid, I’ve lost 100 pounds—just by adopting a Spanish lifestyle.

While size isn’t necessarily an indicator of health, I was on a quest to trim down my body, so I began studying the differences in the culture I’m from and the one I was immersed in. Without considerable effort, I started noticing my body changing and my clothes hanging in places they once clung. Soon, my third floor apartment felt closer and easier to get to than the first time I reached the doormat, panting, and hopping on the metro for anything closer than three stops became a thing of the past.

The best part is that everything I learned from living abroad can be applied no matter where in the world you live.

1. Use olive oil—but only the good stuff.

There’s no fear of fat here: Whether dipped, drizzled, or deep-fried, oil is clearly the condiment of choice in Spain. In fact, the country consistently ranks among the top three consumers of olive oil in the world. But it’s not only an issue of quantity; Spaniards are serious about the quality of their beloved aceite de oliva. Like perfume, the idea is to buy the best you can possibly afford.

EDITOR’S PICK

displayTitle

I’m still an American, of course, and so I use a misting sprayer, which allows me to infuse foods with the sharp and pungent taste of olive oil without adding hundreds of calories to each meal (or blowing my paycheck on a bottle that lasts weeks). Of course, on weekends when socializing with friends, anything goes. In Spain, bars full of svelte people holding a beer or wine in one hand and an olive oil-soaked snack in the other is a common sight, after all.

2. Keep portions in check with tapas-style plates.

Tapas themselves aren’t always healthy, but the concept of eating several small plates is. Variety and multiple dishes on the table make for a gratifying meal. Pimientos de Padrón, or mild, pan-sautéed peppers, is my go-to dish when eating out in bars. With luck, there will also be a selection of traditional offerings, such as meaty Campo Real olives, chilies stuffed with garlic cloves, and pickles on a toothpick. Other salty favorites include Marcona almonds, anchovies, and paper-thin potato chips.

At home, I use tea saucers to create the appearance of a feast with the same amount of food I’d typically have on a large plate. It doesn’t make cleanup easier, but it’s fulfilling.

3. Walking is a great way to burn calories…

While Madrid has a vast network of public transportation options, the general rule of thumb is if it’s less than a kilometer, walk it. No matter the hour of the day, people are using the ample sidewalks and strolling arm-in-arm for a paseo.

4. …and relatedly, the stairs are your friend.

Fourth-floor walk-ups are the norm in many cities, with elevators often left for the elderly. In the metro, it’s common practice to skip the escalator in favor of taking the stairs and working up a small sweat. There’s also a sense of community with this: When the person in front of you opts to be healthy, it motivates you to do the same.

5. Eat your five meals.

La merienda is the Spanish term for mid-morning and late-afternoon snacks. Typical dishes are tortilla española (a.k.a. a potato omelet), a small sandwich, or a pastry. La merienda is a great way to keep your metabolism going and avoid exaggerated hunger pangs—which can later cause overeating or poor choices. Personally, I try to pack fresh fruit or a stash of julienned vegetables, as raw foods keep me mentally alert and energized.

6. Indulge in the experience of each meal.

The menú del dia, or daily menu, is a Spanish tradition; restaurants advertise lunch menus consisting of two courses, bread, a drink, and usually a dessert. Portions are kept small, but various courses and beverages can make any meal feel very satisfying. While it sounds like a lot of food, many restaurants offer light options—and dessert can always be exchanged for a coffee.

7. There’s even a word for lingering around the table: sobremesa.

The Spanish have perfected the art of hanging around the table after a meal. Plates are piled up, glasses are in various stages of fullness, and conversations begin to really pick up at the end of the meal. This time allows you to feel full, and a customary glass of wine helps you digest the meal. In Spain, there is no pressure to eat quickly—in fact, it can be tricky to get a waiter to bring the bill when you want to leave!

8. Eat local as often as possible.

Spain is overflowing with fruits and vegetables. This is a country known for its persimmons, custard apples, potatoes, and tomatoes. When summer comes, the nation turns to fresh, juicy foods. One of the most wonderful parts of dining out is the wide variety of gazpacho, a cold tomato soup flavored with cucumber, peppers, and garlic that’s blended to a puree and topped with a thick glug of olive oil to give it a silky, gorgeous texture.

9. Fresh is best.

Around 6 p.m., it’s common to see people walking the streets with a nibbled-on loaf of bread tucked under their arm. Most panaderias, or bakeries, also sell small rolls, which allow you to keep portions in check while participating in this daily carb pilgrimage. And there’s nothing like tearing into a hot piece of bread, is there?

The same goes for buying fresh vegetables at the local fruteria—everyone has their go-to shop that keeps their favorites on hand, so it’s common to pass by the shop on the way home to pick up a single bell pepper, a head of broccoli, or bag of Valencia oranges. On Fridays, it’s customary to visit the pescaderia (fish market) around the corner!

While it’s common practice in Spain, you can adopt the habit of buying fresh fruit and vegetables wherever you live.

10. Start the day with pan con tomate.

Rub a slice of toasted baguette with a clove of garlic, top with blended tomato, splash with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. This traditional Spanish breakfast is an easy way to eat good-for-you foods in the morning. Tip: Blend a few tomatoes at the beginning of the week to have on hand, and you’ve just made this a super-achievable 30-second prep.

After years in Spain, I recently returned to the U.S. for a visit and experienced some reverse culture shock (and weight gain) due to the difference in our transportation and eating habits. The quantity of food served in restaurants was overwhelming, free beverage refills snuck hundreds of additional calories into a single meal, and the sheer availability of processed foods for bargain prices was staggering. It’s possible to eat and live well anywhere in the world, but after eight years of traveling the world, I’m doubling down on la vida Española!

Brandy Bell is a freelance travel writer, housesitter, creative producer, and Spainaholic. Find her writing at ItsOneWorldTravel.com, film collaborations on MadalinT.com, and on Instagram and Twitter as @brandyleebell.

[pcttrailsidereader]

FEAR

Michael ‘Pause’ Meyer, a former Newsweek editor and author, is dean of the Graduate School of Media and Communications at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi. This necessitates him periodically leaving the trail and flying back to Kenya and then returning.  Despite the logistical nightmare of a global commute, he is hiking as much of the PCT in 2018 as he can. This is an excerpt from his journal entry from the last day of May shortly before a return to East Africa. 

As you would expect, his writing rises far above most of the accounts written from the trail.  It is a delightful and refreshing read. His blog is:  https://pacificcresttrail2018.com/

Facts versus feelings, science versus psychology.

Ask a PCT thru-hiker where the desert ends and the mountains begin, and the answer will be unequivocal: Kennedy Meadows, gateway to the Sierras. That’s where alpine peaks, glacial streams and pine forests supplant sand, sun and cacti.

Scientists, however, will tell you differently. Geologically, the Sierras begin at Tehachapi Pass, bisected by Highway 58. To the south is the Mojave; to the north, the foothills of the Sierras. We hikers may find they look a lot like what we’ve been walking through for the past 500 miles. But in fact, Tehachapi marks a new beginning, a climactic and geological fresh chapter. Which is great. Because, psychologically, I am done with desert. So is everyone else.

The hike from Cottonwood Creek to the Tehachapi – Willow Springs road is 23 miles. I start a bit after 6 am. In the soft sand beneath Cottonwood Creek bridge, hikers are rousing themselves from tents and sleeping bags, preparing to start the day. As predicted, a weather front has rolled through. Temperatures overnight were in the 40s. They will not rise much above 70, according to forecast. This could not be more welcome.

Like many, I’ve been anxious about this last stretch of desert, almost to the point of not wanting to do it. The heat is one reason, the long carries between water sources another. But none of this is new. There have been hotter days, including the very first from Campo. So why the uncharacteristic jitters?

Maybe I sense it’s the end of something. We are all so eager to have the desert behind us. And yet, it has been wonderful — surprising in its austere beauty, even more in its diversity, from featureless scrub to high alpine meadows and those beautiful oak glades in-between.

There’s also fear of the new. The Sierras are still bound by snow; stream crossings can be dangerous in the spring melt. Trail angel Mary, driving me from the train from LAX to Hiker Heaven just a few days ago, warned me against venturing in too soon. Within the past ten days, she said, there was as much four feet of fresh snow around Mt Whitney.

Last year at this time, she gave rides to a pair of Asian girls, Tree and Buttercup, one Chinese, the other Korean. Both died in stream crossings. “I had a terrible premonition about them,” she told me on the road to Agua Dulce. “They were so small, not even five feet tall.” And they seemed over-confident. “Don’t go alone. Don’t cross those rivers without other hikers,” she told them. As it happened, neither listened. “We’ll be ok,” each said. The Korean girl hadn’t told her family she was hiking the PCT. They learned when informed of her death.

Perhaps this is my age speaking. And I am a father of four. In a long career as a correspondent, I have seen wonderful and terrible things — wars, revolutions, the strength and triumphs of ordinary people in the face of danger or adversity, but also their weakness, their capacity for bestiality or mere foolishness. By nature, we behave as though all will be well, however difficult whatever it is we might undertake. But with years, we also learn how badly things can go wrong, often beginning with the smallest things. Like underestimating the force of a small river, perhaps only ten feet wide and three deep.

Whatever my doubts, they vanish on the trail. A brisk winds blows; hikers are bundled against the chill in fleeces and rain jackets. The land is completely featureless — grass and sparse sage — save for the ubiquitous wind turbines, ghostly in the dawn light. They tower above us, in endless rows, emitting a weird whirring noise, their spikey blades miming the even weirder Joshua trees doing their Joshua tree thing. The mountains to the south are cloaked in cloud.

After a steep 3500-foot climb, six miles along, the trail plunges into Tylerhorse Canyon. Three guys who left Hikertown last night are gathering water from the trickling stream and smoking weed. I quickly camel a liter and refill my bottle. “Man, one guy last night was doing acid,” one says. Another: “At midnight, I just sucked down a beer and kept going.” An older guy with a white beard, soft-spoken Bill, listens off to the side as the other three cough roughly after their hit. One hiked 42 miles yesterday and looks wasted.

That turns out to be the pattern. Up one canyon, down another, repeat. All this through the brown, brown hills of southern California where the tallest bush is scarcely knee-high. And yet: even at mid-morning, the day remains cool. The wind blows atop the ridges. With the Mojave and its wind farms stretching far below, it is like walking on top of the world. I gulp huge breaths of air, drinking it in like water.

At 10 am, about ten miles in, I take a break at the bottom of Gamble Spring Canyon. It’s faintly disheartening to walk down the long switch-backs in full view of another set rising 1500 feet on the other side. At the summit ridge of Burns Mountain, there’s an improbable water cache with eight or ten chairs clustered under a red parasol. It even has a name: the “549” Bar & Grill — Fine Dining with a View.” House specials: Lizard Chips, Jack Rabbit Stew, Rattle Snake and Eggs.

Brandon, Penguin Pants, Ranger and Missing Person are there, along with a few others. The talk is of Odysseus, the sacred weight of hospitality in the ancient world and its echo on the PCT. As the Greek mythic hero was blown around the Aegean, he was taken in by various tribes of the Greek islands, like the Lotus Eaters, after their fashion – much as we are by trail angels. “Contrast that to Cyclops, who ate his guests,” says Yoseki. “And look what happened to him.”

Yoseki is one of the few who trail-named himself, a composite of his three favorite places in the world – Yosemiti, Sequoia and King’s Canyon national parks, all just a skip up the trail at this point. Thinking of my own imminent departure, I mention how hard it is to leave the trail, even briefly, and how I (at least) display symptoms of withdrawal, as if from a drug. “We live in Valhalla, everyday day,” Yoseki replies, still in his mythic meme. “It’s a hard place to come down from.” That’s why he recently retired from his legal practice, he adds. “So I can do stuff like this.”

The trail drops down to Willow Springs Road along pine-speckled ridges and field after field of wind turbines in their thousands. The reason they are here by now is obvious: this is one of the most consistently breezy places on earth. At times, the wind is strong enough to knock you sideways on the trail – bam, Bam, BAM! But it’s exhilarating, as well, and I keep gulping in the fresh gusts like someone who has just emerged from a vast desert into a land of cool and refreshing lakes.

It’s another of those very special days, perhaps uniquely common on the PCT, where all feels well in the world, and that deep within the gods are with you.

Where the trail dumps you at the highway, there’s magic. Rodeo happily offers up sandwiches, apples and ice-cold lemonade; the legendary Coppertone, an angel who parks his camper at trailheads up and down the PCT for as long as a week at a time, dishes out his trademark Root Beer floats.  Neither expects anything in return. For the Wandering Wayfarers that R Us, it is the embodiment of that caring-sharing PCT ethos — and the antidote to fear.

[bisonabroad]

It was the best feeling by far because the attitude was always “the more, the merrier.”

Jared Spinale at Cinque Terre: Manarola

Duomo il Milano: Casey Peck and Jared Spinale

My experience in Italy for Study Abroad was the best part of my journey in my life. I had never been out of the country before, and I'm glad I got to see Italy. My ancestors are from Sicily, Italy. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Sicily while I was there. However, I plan to come back someday to make sure I have a chance to see Sicily. I'm still overwhelmed by Italy because there are so many places to see. Our study abroad program was located in Siena, Italy. While we were there, all of Europe was experiencing a heatwave! It was difficult because several buildings in Siena including the apartments, the school, some restaurants, etc. do not have the air conditioning because it is not common in Europe.

Jared Spinale at Cinque Terre: Vernazza

Cinque Terre: Corniglia

While we were in Siena, Italy, for our Study Abroad, we got to meet many wonderful people in the program. During the program, we learned LIS, Italian Written Language, and Italian Deaf Culture and History. There were 44 students from different schools like Gallaudet University, University of Arizona, University of Iowa, Rochester Institute of Technology, and so many more! One day, we went together as a group from the program and attended the National Deaf Organization in Italy and we got a chance to meet Deaf people outside the program. Since we already had learned a lot of LIS (Italian Sign Language), we were all able to communicate using LIS! It was my favorite part of that gathering!

Siena, Italy: Piazza del Campo

Siena Instituto Pendola per sordomuti (Siena’s Deaf School): Now defunct

Siena, Italy: Duomo di Siena 

On the weekends, during our free time, we visited Milan, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Vatican City. There are so many memories to remember because every single day being in Italy gave me the best feeling ever. In Milan, they have the world's fifth-biggest Duomo (Church). Cinque Terre is made up of five towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso with colorful building and beautiful sightseeing ocean! Rome has so many places to see like the Colosseum, Palatine, Arch of Constantine, and  a Deaf owned restaurant called One Sense. One Sense has waiters who were able to communicate using LIS or International Sign and it was so wonderful to have this communication access! We also saw the world’s largest Duomo called the St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City! For Deaf people, we received free entrance to many places we visited, such as duomos, museums, sightseeing of buildings or towers and anything like that. For example, in Rome, we received free entrance to go up the Colosseum instead of waiting in line.

Jared Spinale in Siena, Italy: Top of Siena Duomo

Siena, Italy: Palio di Siena - Piazza di Campo

My favorite part of my time in Italy was seeing the Palio race on the Piazza di Campo. It’s a tradition in Siena that has carried on since 1701. There are many groups of people called contrades and every year there are two races. The mayor will draw the names and pick 10 contrades to represent out of 17 contrades. Everyone shows up to make it a  full house and it was so surreal seeing a piece of the real culture of Italy and seeing a tradition that happens every year. The contrade that wins would celebrate all night, and the rest of contrades will cry and look heartbroken. This competition is a big deal for the people of Italy.

Siena, Italy: Torre del Mangia

Roma, Italy: One Sense - Deaf Owned Restaurant

Roma, Italy: Inside the Colosseum

After seeing so many beautiful places I realize that there are still a lot of places to see in Italy! The Siena Deaf Studies program includes students who are able to communicate using ASL and LIS. It was the best feeling by far because the attitude was always “the more, the merrier.” My experience participating in the Siena Deaf Studies program through Gallaudet was excellent and I encourage everyone to apply this amazing opportunity!

Jared Spinale in Roma, Italy: Outside the Colosseum

Jared Spinale in Vatican City

Vatican City: Top of St. Peter’s Basilica Duomo

[fmlfpl]

Lineup Lamentations - GW21

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week.

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Prosciutto face Bob Elliot

IN: Adrian del santo domingo del campo de angel di maria de Spanish guy

Am going with a very passive DGW planning move here and getting in Adrian to slot alongside Pope and floating my other free transfer. Lengthy discussion on the pod about my team funneled me here. While it would be nice to begin ripping out United players with Soton rolling up I'm going to give them a stay of execution. It will allow me to bench Pope for the double when he plays Liverpool so it seems impossible to not net me at least a couple of points providing Adrian starts both games in the double. Feels very nervy, that, but at this point it feels a reasonable risk to take. With two frees again for the double I'll reassess the things and see if I want to take a hit or not. Stay tuned.

GK:

Pope obv. Fucking Pope been doing some shit ass shit the last two GWs but finally has a plum fixture. Hope he redeems and gets in there. GK points would be most welcome this GW.

DEF:

Five at the back again for me this GW. Triple Chelsea go with Moses, Azpil, and Christensen. Christensen trained so seems likely he's not sick anymore good BODTKER lad. Conte talking of rest so we'll see if I get all three of these dudes in against the shambles that is Stoke.

Jones goes with Soton coming up. Clean feels pretty good there.

Finally, Lew Dunk master of own goals gets a run at Newc. Good on paper fixture but not really too overly hyped on a clean here. Back against the wall with no better options so he gets a go. I will forever dream of a Dunk goal when I start him in the days hours minutes seconds leading up to kick off. Get in Lewis.

MID:

Salah and Sterling most stable things ever. Nothing to see there.

RLC unfortunately has to start for me again. Not sure he'll feature since he was complete and utter wank against Arsenal but we'll see. Meh.

Fourthly is Pogba. REALLY could use Paul to show up for me this gameweek. His and my future depend on it. Not hopeful since it's hard for CBs to return in open play. Life.

FWD:

Just Lukaku this week as I roll out the ever common 541. Donkey fuck. Blah. My GW arrow will likely come down to my two United attackers. If they come in I'll be good if not I'll be hoping to just maintain rank or some such. Fucking United fuckbois.

CAP:

Salah. No question.

Also for those keeping score at home I've got Dale Stephens and Niasse piece of shit on my bench with Kane this GW. So even though I have some shit ass picks this GW at least I look decently primed to get 11 out with no hits. Small victories.

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Lovren and Chaz Austin

IN (For my first -4 of the season): Otamendi and Quaner

Who wins in a fight between a guy named Austin Lovren vs. a guy named Lovren Austin? I think Lovren Austin beats the fuck out of Austin Lovren but that’s just me. Anyway.........

Loooooooong “OUR TEAMS” section on the pod lead us to some good transfers, I think. I have many doubts and many zeroes in my shit ass squad - removing two of them to get a on paper starting 11 feels pretty good - and finally getting Otamendi in is very important I think. There’s just no one else until Stones is back - maybe soon - to cover his points and bones and goal potential. It’s frustrating to bring in a bandwagon pick, especially frustrating to be late to the bandwagon, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Wagner is raving about insane in the Quane-r and his fitness so let’s just fuck I hope he starts again. All I can hope for. And he’s cheap as fuck which I like for my team structure so here we are... Very tempting to go further and make it a -8 but it felt one step too dumb and desperate in this moment.

GK:

DDG again. 5 total points in the last three GWs combined is not really what I’m looking for when I’m paying 5.6 for a GK but he’ll rebound. Like we talked about on pod we both kinda back Mou to figure it out and United’s defense to bounce back. Maybe too many injuries to go back to cleaning EVERY actual week, but as long as they go back to being a top 5 defense that would suit me. Let’s do it.

DEF:

So yeah here I am with United shitting the bed rocking a double with DDG and Jones. I could really use a bounce-back this GW with the very tasty home Soton fixture on the cards...

Duffy goes for me at Newc. Me and Walsh praying for the Brighton clean. Maybe Duffy and Dunk can assist each other with little flick-ons and both score or something. Hehe.

Christensen should be fine, hope he just goes straight back in because he’s great and Chelsea defense is consistently great. Do it bro.

And lastly Otamendi is in. I’ve said all that I can say about him pretty much... Sure Stoner will be better value once he’s fully fit and playing 90 every week but Ota is still more points potential with his passing, goal threat, bones, everything. He’s a really good pick. C’est tout.

MID:

The midfield starts with RLC home against City which feels really really bad. Even if he plays there’s not much there and if he doesn’t play then I have a 0 on my bench. Whatever fuck me.

Salah / Sterling makeup two thirds of the holy trinity (Kane the other) and everyone should have them both and don’t think twice about it.

And then Richar. Another pretty good performance from him and five pointer - although this is probably his final GW in my squad as Richar to Arny next GW seems fucking amazing to do.

FWD:

Morata with the chance to really fucking come in and carry me this week with the best on paper fixture in the league. Home Stoke is not that dissimilar to training ground exercises for a team of Chelsea’s quality so just have to hope that they’re in the mood and finish their chances. The chances will be there to be finished.

And Quaner. Ok. Duno what else to say about him. If he does anything I’m laughing to the bank. Here’s a picture of him:

CAP:

And Cap. I think easiest Salah cap of life. You could decide to go differential or whatever but just take note -- if you DON’T cap Salah and he outscores your cap you’re in a veeeerrrryyyy bad place. High percent chance of a red... Don’t overthink it. Let your differential(s) flourish outside of captaincy. And go on Mo.