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.
* * *
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)

TV galega

Por algún motivo desconocido ayer, habiendo comido, me decidí a buscar una página de internet, que hacía tiempo había descubierto, desde la que se podía ver (medianamente bien) TVG (bueno, no precisamente la misma programación que en tierras galegas, sinó la de nivel europeo). Tuve suerte y pude encontrar la página en cuestión fácilmente. Y también estuve por la página de la televisión gallega (que por otra parte, desde allí también se puede acceder a la programación en directo online). Estaban aún con los deportes, cosa típica en todos los canales....y también típico fue que se hiciera semi-eterna. Luego un sacrilegio....un culebrón, pero de los míticos, de vete a saber de qué año, "Rubí", cuyo título me suena mucho....ay....pero es que hablaban en galego!!! toda la programación en galega está muy bien y es muy loable...pero un culebrón, cuya gracia reside en una gran parte en el acento de los personajes (muy enriquecedor), si se dobla al galego, pues pierde mucha gracia. Lo que no me dió tiempo a comprobar era si habían traducido también los tan resabidos nombres compuestos telenoveleros. Nada...muy surrealista todo. Hubiera estado casi mejor ponerlo con subtítulos. En fin, siempre hubo una tendencia a traducir nombres de películas, personajes, lo que fuera, ya para bien o para mal.

Y ahora están hablando sobre el voto de los emigrantes gallegos (tema importante) en la argentina. hablan argentinos reunidos con gallegos-gallegos, no gallegos a secas (que vendrían siendo españoles o gentes de origen español para las gentes de la Argentina). Pero en realidad puse ahora, bien pronto la TVG para ver si por casualidad los sábados también emitían "KochiKame"...porque en la autonómica catalana hace tiempo que acabaron de emitir todos los capítulos (sniff)...y quedó un gran vacío, básicamente porque están repitiendo series ya emitidas antes (emisiones cíclicas...KochiKame volverá, digo yo). Afortunados os galegos....porque luego descubrí también que por internet, KochiKame, no entra en la programación.

Lo que hay es un programa de orientación cristiana hablando sobre gente de todo tipo afectada por el problema de las drogas, hecho de una manera respetuosa, lejos del sensacionalismo de diarios de patrícia y similares. Pero no podía faltar un elemento un tanto surrealista....en vez de visualizar teléfonos y animar con algún premio en metálico o algo-digital-de última tecnología, regalan un nuevo testamento a los que llamen...extraño en los días que corren, pero para nada negativo.

Seguiré indagando sobre TVG. Lo que ya no puedo comprobar es el cambio de la tv autonómica antes y después de Fraga. Lo que sí creo que puedo decir es que los contenidos parecen ser mejores que los de las 2 tv privadas principales (con sus programas del corazón que lo inundan todo, tertulias verduleras, es decir, a gritos, y todo tipo de contenidos sensacionalistas y muy escasa programación infantil)...mucho mejores.

HIROSHIMA...60 years have passed

august 6th 1945. 8:15

Secos e molhados/ Ney Matogrosso
(lyrics by João Ricardo and Vinícius de Moraes)
“ROSA DE HIROSHIMA”

PENSEM NAS CRIANÇAS
MUDAS TELEPÁTICAS

PENSEM NAS MENINAS
CEGAS INEXATAS

PENSEM NAS MULHERES
ROTAS ALTERADAS

PENSEM NAS FERIDAS
COMO ROSAS CÁLIDAS

MAS OH! NÃO SE ESQUEÇAM
DA ROSA DA ROSA

DA ROSA DE HIROSHIMA
A ROSA HEREDITÁRIA

A ROSA RADIOATIVA
ESTÚPIDA E INVÁLIDA

A ROSA COM CIRROSE
A ANTI-ROSA ATÔMICA

SEM COR SEM PERFUME
SEM ROSA SEM NADA
**********
Georges Moustaki
“Hiroshima”

Par la colombe et l'olivier,
Par la détresse du prisonnier,
Par l'enfant qui n'y est pour rien,
Peut-être viendra-t-elle demain.

Avec les mots de tous les jours,
Avec les gestes de l'amour,
Avec la peur, avec la faim,
Peut-être viendra-t-elle demain.

Par tous ceux qui sont déjà morts,
Par tous ceux qui vivent encore,
Par ceux qui voudraient vivre enfin,
Peut-être viendra-t-elle demain.
Avec les faibles, avec les forts,
Avec tous ceux qui sont d'accord,
Ne seraient-ils que quelques-uns,
Peut-être viendra-t-elle demain.

Par tous les rêves piétinés,
Par l'espérance abandonnée,
À Hiroshima, ou plus loin,
Peut-être viendra-t-elle demain,
La Paix !

me congratulaaaa

Hey!! thanks to all those who made the effort to read some article on my blog....waa....i'm moved :D. really...thanks a million. I read all your comments and it was really interesting to see the interest some of you had to talk about communism. Danke Lukas, für deine Meinung nach, weil du, wie Deutscher, eine besondere Meinung über das Thema hast...You are closer to the reality of communism in Germany, which is an interesting case.

By the way...i didn't want to make apologia for communism since i believe it's an utopy, unless it's used to rule a small community of the extension of a family or people who can live in a house....or a small tribe. In any case a whooooole State (well, some island, lost in the middle of the Pacific wouldn't be bad). The cases of communism in this world are all quite sad...But the values of communism are not bad themselves. Communism without stalin, fidel castro, kim il sung, kim jong il (worse than his father), pol pot, mao zhedong, jaruzelski (it's written like this, isn't it?), and so many others would have been very different. But anyway...tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the bombing of hiroshima by a democratic state. Even in a war context, i don't think people would really choose massively to drop a bomb like the A-bomb and leave sequels in a population till nowadays. Happy and lucky those who live lost in the middle of out of nowhere, in the middle of a jungle.

About what you wrote, Carles (a.k.a Dr. Karl)...it's true...there's not much change to develop hi-tech in communist countries....well, unless you want to show your country better than capitalist ones, as was the case of the former USSR and the race to space, competing with the USA....or unless the country wants to promote developement for the welfare of the community. Si m'ho permet, dr. Karl, la tecnologia no ha portat cap món millor perquè el progrés humà ha importat a pocs. Potser si que tenim més opcions i drets (sobretot les dones), però en general la societat va per uns altres camins. Llàstima, pq amb el progrés que tenim avui dia, la qualitat de vida és molt millor i podriem tenir la possibilitat de viure en un món superidealdelamuertetelojuro. Politics are quite depressing because the power is given, in most cases, to the wrong people..and economical interests (or of another kind) are more important than the population, but when they're voters. And anarchy isn't the way either. I vote left/green parties, though i don't really like the candidates, nor believe in all promises...but we must vote, to have chances to get the least worse political option.

Yes..here in spain we all heard about that german woman, who killed 9 of her sons. Very sad...but it's not difficult to go mad in a world like the one we have....and the fact that welfare state services are decreasing or worsening in many places (or simply, they don't exist)...i guess many people feel they have no protection in some cases...the Market won't help anybody nor will cover all necessities. Thanks also for the info about Schönbohm. Maybe many people from Ostdeutschland, having lost their jobs after the fall of the Wall, having emigrated to the east with fewer chances that people already living there....and feeling they were less protected than before...they can't feel fine (i've heard such theory and, besides, it's all pretty logical). But that can happen in other circumstances too. And in all cases there are many variables to bear in mind. Besides, human mind is quite fragile and mysterious. Unexpected entrepans, com deia l'anunci aquell del pans & company.

happy digestion.

Ausflug am 22.Juli: Radio+Kunst

Hier schreibe ich eun bisschen über eine Ausflug, die ich mit die Leute im Deutschintensivkurs gemacht habe. Wir sind in einen Radiosender und danach in eines Museum gegangen. Im Museum gab es eine Kunstausstellung der Künstler, die "die Brücke" begrundet haben...d.h. am Anfang des Expressionismus.

Welle, die durch Barcelona fliegen

Unser Treffpunkt war in eines Kleinen Straße direkt an der Plaça Reial, weil eine der Ziele unseres Ausflugs war, eine Radio zu besuchen. Alles war vom Anfang interessant, als wir ins Radio gegangen sind. Da waren überall Plakarde, Papiere mit Parolen, um die Welt zu verbessern. Ein Radiosender, der in einer alten Wohnung —aus dem 19. oder dem Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts— ist, hat einen besonderen Charme. Darin hatten wir die Gelegenheit, an einer Radiosendung teilzunehmen. Das war wirklich eine sehr gute Erfahrung. Die Themen der Radiosendung, die „Niemandsland“ heißt, waren die Ausstellung über die „Brücke“, die wir später besuchen wollten, ein paar Filme, deren Kritiken wir gelesen haben, Ovidi Montllor und was manche Politiker auf Ibiza mit der Natur machen wollen. Wir haben auf Deutsch, Spanisch und Katalanisch frei gesprochen, was alles einfacher gemacht hat.

Etwas Lustiges war die Katze, die frei über Stühle gelegen hat und durch die Wohnung ohne Einwohner frei gegangen ist. Diese Katze hat mich zum Nachdenken gebracht; freie Katze im freien Radiosender.

Farben, die tanzen

Das MNAC hat auf uns gewartet. Dahin sind wir mit der U-Bahn und auch zu Fuß gegangen. Die Ausstellung, die wir sehen wollten, war über eine Künstlergruppe, die am Anfang des letztes Jahrhunderts, Etwas Anderes machen wollte. Der Stil der Künstler, die „die Brücke“ begründet haben, hat eine sehr enge Beziehung mit Expressionismus, Fauvismus, Afrikanischen Kunst, Japanischen Bildern, Puntillismus und noch ein paar mehr Tendenzen. Wir konnten Bilder von vielen Künstler betrachten. Die bekanntesten Künstler sind E. Nolde, K Schmidt-Rotluf, E. Heckel, E.L. Kirschner und M. Pechstein. Die Formen und Farben, die immer reich und dynamisch sind, in den Bilder bringen die Zuschauer in eine andere Welt. Eine Welt, in der alles möglich ist; in der keine Farbe zu keiner Sache konkret gehört; in der alles unabhängig und frei ist, wir die Katze, die wir vorher gesehen hatten. Die Farben da waren wie Katzen.

Ein Teil der Bilder waren Spiegel, in denen man das Lebenstil einer früheren Epoque betrachten konnte. Die Künstler, die die Brücke gebaut haben, sprechen über nackte Frauen, über Musen, wie Fränzi, von den die Maler geküsst wurden, über Häuser, die nur in Träumen von Kindern existieren könten, über legebdige Objekte, über Bäume und Flüße, die aus verrückten Farben bestehen, über das Leben in der Stadt, d.h. über Alles lebhafte. Die Brücke hat Augen, die alles anders sieht. Sie hat einen Mund, die über alles anders spricht.

OST is not Original SoundTrack

Recently i got to know the name of those interesting -to me- old cars which appeared in old movies or in movies referring to the "ostblock",Trabant or Trabi. I can't help loving all kind of old cars, so different from those we have now, although not better. Well, that's relative since maybe a slower car is better than a fast one. There are fewer risks to take when driving up to 100 km/h. I'd like to see all those old cars back, but with their engines improved so as to pollute less. Waaa...imagine a trabi workin thanks to the power of hydrogen or electricity. perfect!

When i was little, the Iron curtain still existed and divided the world. I remember movies and cartoons where "the russian people" were pictured as the evil characters. But i don't remember much, besides that. I don't even have images in my mind about the fall of the Wall in 1989 because i was 7 and i'm sure all things happening then were a bit (just a bit) surrealist to me. Fortunately i saw the images later several times, though it wasn't the same. Spain was taking off in those years, having opened the doors of democracy to people not so many years before...and having had some crisis in the mid 80es (which, obviously i can't remember)...Spain was a bit out of nowhere, though she became a member of the EEC.

I don't think Communism is bad itself...the problem is when some people try to impose it and the leaders or people with some kind of power or links to the power, are corrupt or become corrupt. But the values are pretty positive and could work well if they come out spontaneously or from rational thinking (of what's the best for all) in a small community. Those values of not wanting luxury items, giving a high value to work for the community and belonging to it are much better than those values ruling the society we have nowadays in most "western" countries. The functionality of things is relegated to the background and things such as the image it gives to the society are considered more important in many choices. A trabi or a wartburg were enough....and a seat 600, in Franco times was enough for most families who could afford having their own car, although there were some other models. Now we have too much of everything, but yet people try to follow what is socially better...and homogenisation is not strange despite the diversity of products we have. We grow up feeling we can choose among a wiiiiide range of things and that but also we're thaught, by people around us but also by the media, what is socially desirable. And we end up desiring things because they're socially better, which we don't really need, while the media keeps bombing us with messages tellin us what to do. Happyness? not much, not enough in most cases. Just have a (discrete) look at the expression of the face of people walkin on the streets of big cities, where they can reach all kind of goods, modernity and so on. I can't find many happy expressions in people's faces...and those which aren't sad, look quite bitter or stressed. But i'm not making a call to set up communist values. I don't think either people in communist countries were or are happy, feeling somebody imposes a lifestyle on them, and seeing what lifestyle people in other countries have. But it's all a matter of education and what we get used to seeing...and how we face human impulses (those who make us love possessing things, wanting more, desiring, being better than others and so on).

"have a nice trip with Trabant". Buddhism and other Asian philosophies make me think of communism sometimes...The values they have are not so far away from eachother...and they are all distant from the existing values we have in most western cultures (i'm using "western" adjective but it's not just the west...i should include japan and some other places praising capitalist values). But nowadays people don't really thing about the relationship capitalism-communism (well, Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Il politics are still a hot issue), but about christianity and western culture, facing it with islamic countries. The world keeps changing, but not to better. :( Hey..comments for this post are very welcome. I hope i didn't offend anybody..and please correct any mistake i could have made (i didn't sleep much and morning thoughts can be sometimes a bit weird and clumsy) :)