Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.

And, lo, the hunter of the east has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light.

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable – Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain.

NOTE: This will be a ‘short’ post. My atrocious luck with laptops continues. The one I bought only 3 months ago has stopped working because it isn’t charging . . . Fortunately y, I can use the previous one with an external screen and, even more fortunately, I had backed up my files this morning, including a draft of this post. But the process of getting to this point has been frustrating in one way and another and I need to get out and have wine or two . . .

Cosas de España/Galiza

Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas does a great job of reviewing current events here. Feel free to sign up for his comprehensive weekly newsletter. Then you won’t have to read bits of it here.

Not having a car at the moment, I’m using taxis a lot. There was an argument at a taxi rank yesterday, involving a woman who seemed to push in ahead of 3 of us. I checked with a taxi driver last night about protocol but will leave this subject until tomorrow. The keyboards of the laptops are irritatingly different, so new typing is being minimised

The mad, bad world of MAGA

It’s actually a coincidence that I’m reading how the Nazis behaved 1933-39 while Trump is doing what he’s doing in the USA, and am seeing such echoes as these:

• It was clear that Hitler had little use for the modest salary he earned as Reich Chancellor, or for his annual expense allowance; early on in his Chancellorship, therefore, he publicly renounced both salary and allowance in a propagandistic gesture designed to advertise the spirit of selfless dedication in which he ruled the country. 

But I’m guessing these measures would be too much, even for Trump:-

• From 1937 Hitler, claimed royalties on the use of his portrait on postage stamps,
• He also earned fees and royalties paid every time one of his speeches was published in the papers.

As for Hitler’s administration . . . His personal position as as charismatic Leader, effectively above and beyond the law, gave not only him but also others immunity from the normal rules of financial probity. His immediate subordinates owed their position not to any elected body but to him alone; they were accountable to no one but him. The same personal relationships replicated themselves all the way down the political scale, right to the bottom. The result was inevitably a vast and growing network of corruption, as patronage, nepotism, bribery and favours, bought, sold and given, quickly assumed a key role in binding the whole system together. 

I read more echoes today but I will leave these for tomorrow’s post.

In case you have any MAGA friends, consider sending them this video.

Colourful Quote of the Day

A decade’s worth of scandal and broken behavior has turned most of us into frogs boiling in the waters of our national melting pot. We’ve become helplessly inured to the odd and outrageous behavior from Trump that not too long ago might have prompted serious … questions about his cognition — and would have justifiably caused a national meltdown if another president were in charge.

Spanish

• Amiguismo: Cronyism
• Viraje: Turn, turning point, shift
• Cartelera: Billboard, card.

English/Social Media

6-7: Word of the Year for some . . . A purposeless but funny[?] meme—mainly a way of joining in a trend, making peers laugh, and marking generational difference, rather than meaning anything specific. A creation of Generation Alpha* Said to be an irritation for teachers when shouted out in class at random. As if they didn’t have enough problems.

* Born 2010 to 2024/5]. Shaped by unprecedented technology exposure from birth, making them uniquely positioned in a hyperconnected, digital-first world, with substantial influence on future society and economy as they mature.

A relevant article.

Did you know?

From Common Place Fun Facts, 21st century predictions that aged as well as the floppy disk. Very amusing.

You Have to Laugh

When Dr. Warren was informed that Dr. Vowel was dead, he exclaimed, “What! Vowel dead? Well, thank heaven it was neither you nor I”

Finally . . .

Readership of yesterday’ post was twice the average. Previously, I’ve wondered if ‘prostitute’ or ‘sex’ were words which increased traffic and now I wonder if it was ’testicles’ in yesterday’s post. If it was, something similar should happen tonight. I will advise.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .

I can also be read on Facebook.

For new readers: If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.