C.O.N.T.R.O.L. mourns...K.A.O.S. too, probably

Last Sunday (but i didn't hear the news until today) Don Adams passed away (13th April 1923 -25th September 2005) . Maybe he's not very well known for most readers of this blog...but at least, those living in Catalunya have more chances than those in the rest of Spain (except for Castilla y León) to know who he was since the series "Get Smart" is, since over a week, back on tv (as "superagent 86"). I had the chance to watch it again last summer in a regional tv channel from Castilla y León (Canal 4 Castilla y León), with the original dubbing into spanish, with some kind of southamerican accent (in spanish, the title is "superagente 86")

I've always liked the series and today i was surprised and sad to know the starring actor had died. Not so long ago i had looked for more information about "get smart" on the net, after seeing the series was back. I wouldn't have expected then to get such sad news today. Now it feels different to watch the series...

Characters and series don't die and will keep among us some actors and actresses worth to be remembered, some actors and actresses, like Don Adams, without whom some characters and stories wouldn't have been possible. Agent 86 can't be imagined in any other way now but interpreted by Adams...the same with 99, and with the Chief. Those who have Canal 33 tv channel are lucky ones, being able to watch once more this series (i don't know whether it's still on Canal 4 Castilla y León...), sometimes, depending on the chapter, able to watch the original voices, but always with the option of an excellent dubbing.

I have no doubt that many people of different generations will remember Don Adams and his Agent 86 role. Better than other words, it's to watch some chapters. All are good, all full of intelligent humour and parodies, surrounded by the aesthetics of the 60es.

jazz, life and coming across Tete Montoliu's music

Jazz!!! For a long time i had been looking for some cd with music by Tete Montoliu, a well-known Catalan jazz musician (Barcelona 1933-1997), especially since i knew he played Jazz on piano (i prefer jazz played on piano). And this week i managed to borrow some CD from the local library and right now i'm listening to it (i had to wait for a moment to play it at my PC, since all CD players we have at home appear to be still dead). Today i looked for some information on his life and works on the net. It was nice to read that jazz, a music style closely linked to freedom, could find talented people and develop lively, but timidly seing the music scene as a whole, in the kind of Spain we had in the 50es and 60es, with Franco ruling the country, the early stages of the tourist boom, spanish pop music of that time...

What a wonderful thing! naughty musical notes, full of colours dancing across all imaginable spaces, reaching every nook and corner of one's mood (yes, i believe it has corners....the mood could be dimensional)..filling them up with some energy, and colourful dancing shapes, just like the visualisations in windows media player or musicmatch :) It's the same feeling i got when i started listening carefully to all songs i found by Thelonious Monk, although his style is different (Most of Monk's compositions belonged to bebop style within jazz). It's a pity i didn't find his music before...It'd have been really great if, in the 90es, when he was still alive, i could have heard him in some concert. But the fact is that i wasn't really into jazz at that time. Musical taste is always evolving and we become more demanding as we grow older. Jazz came to my life relatively late, a couple of years ago, i'd say, but it's remained by my side, staying closely to me, becoming a part of several memories and a tool to change things in life, to make moments different. And knowing some friends (too few) who love that style, and thus being able to share this interest it keeps very alive and i could get to know more jazz musicians (hey! thanks again Arief for the info on Indonesian jazz musicians!). It's really a pity that we reach some things maybe-too-late, but it's indeed better, when things seem to arrive at the moment when we'd likely enjoy and appreciate them better. Actually it doesn't happen always...but as years go by we learn to appreciate things we come across along our path.

Going back to Thelonious Monk, it's rather curious, that i got to know him thanks to a not-so-famous German movie i watched in July 2004, as one of the activities in the German course i was taking. The movie, "nach fünf im Urwald" (1995) wasn't especially interesting, but one of the "characters" was an old vinyl record of Thelonious Monk. Curiosity made the rest...i looked for information on that musician and got some cd by him. We shouldn't underestimate any kind of movie.

Then i went on (and still go on) looking for some other jazz pianists...and the one i can't find anything from is Takehiro Honda...But it's a matter of having patience, searching and moving forward...and having luck; just how life seems to work.

other possibilities within Catholic Church

Yesterday i had the chance to watch again an interview to the former bishop of São Félix do Araguaia (Mato Grosso, Brazil), Pere Casaldàliga Pla. I have know the figure of this man for a long time, but it wasn’t till several months, when I first heard him talking in a TV report about his actions.

Personally I don’t really agree with Catholic Church and its hierarchy, and it’s slow adaptation to the changes taking place in society, not to mention what happened in the past promoted by catholic church. But the members of such hierarchy are not inherently bad, of course, like what can happen within some big or powerful organizations. Something is the organization as a whole, and another very different thing are the members and people who agree with the ultimate causes of the existence of the organization and its role. However, we can find examples, such as the one of Mr. Casaldàliga, who take a path along their faith and beliefs, but not necessarily being closely tied by the Vatican orders and idea of what’s right and what’s wrong. I admire the works Casaldàliga, together with some other people close to him, as he said (he shared his merit with other people, because otherwise it wouldn’t be fair) carried out for over 30 years in that region of Brazil and his ideas and arguments making them even more solid. He devoted his life (and still does so) to improve the lives of many people, to make things better, facing many powerful people and institutions. He fought for the respect of the rights of indigenous population, and to help poor people in the region to have somehow more strength and life better, in a world and country where they play no important role but that of victims.

His point of view regarding religion is very interesting. I must say, that he follows the so-called Theology of Liberation, very popular in several countries in South America. I’m not going to describe this philosophy but the ideas of Casaldàliga because I’ve not read much on the topic. But I’m sure there are many points I’ll mention, which coincide with the very Theology of Liberation. Casaldàliga, I would say, has quite a progressist view of Christianity, and quite left-winged. In fact, Christianity, as other religions, could be interpreted as thoughts and values placed in quite a left-wing position, in the sense of protecting individuals, families, the community and helping those with fewer possibilities. That willingness of helping and giving real help is nothing but words in the case of many churches. Well, in fact, religion is different in developed countries than in countries with fewer resources...here the new religion, capitalism+liberalism have been changing people and the way to see religion. Even the way to give communion to those attending the mass, he performs it following his ideals: seeing all people inside the church as equals, he lets the parishioners get themselves the consecrated wafer, instead of giving them himself, so as not to feel different. Casaldàliga admitted not needing power, and had no problem when he stopped being bishop, although he remains in the region. Unlike many people who say that they do not want power, nor that they feel it’s important for them and then act in an hypocrite way, Casaldàliga seems to be consequent in all his thoughts. That’s really praiseworthy, either because of the commitment needed as for the difficulties to act this way in this world full of contradictions. I was surprised when i heard what he thought about homosexuality, wanting respect for them, and about women and Catholic church. He didn't say nothing directly about this last topic, but indirectly, his words were towards progress and giving women more chances in the Church.

Recently, I got to know more on an Indonesian scholar, Nurcholish Madjid (also known as Cak Nur), thanks to my friend Arief. And I just remembered my feelings after reading his article. Maybe Casaldàliga played a similar role as that Cak Nur played in Indonesia, but within Islam. Moderation and willingness to be closer to the people and adapt to changes in society seems to be the best and the most desirable thing nowadays.
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You can read some articles and interterviews on the following website: http://servicioskoinonia.org/pedro/textos/index.html most of them are in Spanish or in Portuguese.

txipirones/as y kulebras

Pues esto va a ir de la figura del pelanas. El pelanas es, para quienes desconocen tal personaje, una criatura de las gentes del vaya semanita (Oscar Terol ha fichado por TVE1, verdad?). Una criatura con su mundo, su lenguaje, su estética (que por lo que leí en su momento, hizo furor en los pasados carnavales por las tierras vascas), sus muletillas...bueno, y la portu. Sí, La portu, con ese lenguaje tan rico, esa elocuencia, ah! y siempre muy educada ella siempre y sonriéndole al prójimo. No son personajes dignos de muchos elogios pero la labor que hay detrás hay que destacarla. De acuerdo que los guiones no sean lo que se dice ricos, vale....pero cada episodio resulta ser una parodia de alguna situación que se da en la realidad (bueno, el pelanas también es una realidad desde que sus pautas han alterado comportamientos en el “exterior”..antes era una pura ficción): tanto en política, como en deportes como en sociedad.....ah! y en publicidad también. Puesto que no se trata de un humor que se base en el insulto o la burla directas (a no ser que sea la de los personajes hacia sí mismos), como suele pasar en muchos casos, no se hace indigesto. Bueno, todo hay que decirlo; el lenguaje no es muy agradable a veces aunque siempre, el tito Pelanas —como él se hace llamar en ocasiones—, utilice metáforas e imágenes alegóricas, no demasiado poéticas ni finas, pero con su ingenio y surrealismo. Como el asunto de las culebras en sus juramentos.

Ya no sé cuántos episodios (si así se les puede llamar) sobre el pelanas y la portu he visto hasta el momento. Qué grandes los de “el partido pelanas, por un extrarradio mayor”, “ el pelanas de farrero ronchón” (parodia del anuncio de ferrero rocher que, digo yo, que algún año lo cambiarán), “otxarkoaga 2012”...”los trucos de la universidad de la vida” (muy bueno) y también destacaría el “una vez soñé...” (parodia del megane que anunciaba Alonso pero mucho mejor). Las parodias y sátiras son en todos los casos ingeniosas, aunque a veces el lenguaje del sujeto Pelanas no sea agradable...pero siempre acaba teniendo su gracia, bien por la percepción que se tiene de él en su globalidad como por el acento y los errores programados que tergiversan las cosas y crean otros mundos: anarosaquintero, el nikis de redecillas (y tantas otras cosas acabadas en “s”, Sodoma y Andorra, el Don Simón del 85, Gariñano (que no Arguiñano), estrellas Milechín, la chavalería. Lindakari, los Benidores, la fregoneta, la eskurriña, kingüis (que no kiwis...porque supongo que se refería a los kiwis ya que en el la frase hablaba de invernaderos)...

Vive tus sueños, kulebra

KochiKame is back!

Normally, all Sundays in the afternoon there's never anything special happening (nor anything special we should expect to happen). Pretty dull days....but today, i happened to discover that KochiKame was back into catalan tv tomorrow. I just wanted to check the time of something....and i got a nice surprise (that happens to me quite often). It's already a very well-known series (not as much as pokemon and so on), so many of you might already know Kochikame. I'm not a fan of anime nor manga...but i'm really keen on KochiKame and it's surrealism. It really makes me laugh. It's curious that suddenly, some day in june (i think), there were no more KochiKame chapters.....ooooh. I thought there were no more chapters, but in fact, it's normal that some series disappear temporarily on summer and come back in september, when life goes back to normal in Spain and many other places. September is like some kind of re-birth, even more than New Year, i'd say.

uhm...i missed ryotsu's ideas and actions, honda's personalities (yes, it should be plural in his case), Ohara's daily challenges...and all strange, weird and so on characters that pop in from time to time....oh..i'm moved .... ^^! And it's also a good thing to practice japanese and learn new useful things or good-to-know-things.

those you also like it, enjoy it!! (it's more fun than counting the amount of brackets i use when writing....indeed)