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.

Cosas de España/Galiza

Depressing to see Galicia cited – inevitably – in this article. Be warned: powerful spiritual energy translates to overrun by tourists, a few of whom might be religious.

But good to see that Valencia will soon boast a museum devoted to the wonderful artist Joaquín Sorolla,

Well, my friend and I didn’t manage to get into the Feroz awards event in Pv city last night but we did make it into the kitchens and we were able to join the folk – 80% teenage girls – alongside the red carpet taking the invitees from their cars to the entrance. At one point, the girl next to me screamed in delight as one of the stars came over to her and kissed her hand. After she’d stopped whooping, I asked her who he was, ‘I’ve no idea’, she replied. Which made 3 of us.

The USA Watershed

See my earlier post today, on the latest state-sponsored murder.

The ‘chilling’ MAGA attitude . . . ‘Who cares about truth any more?’

Maria’s comments today:-

Words can be pinpricks, leaving little points of blood. Words can be daggers, plunging and wounding. Words can be rose petals, caressing gently.

Words can be powerful, yet there are times when they feel as useless as a dried leaf from the summer before. Right now, they feel less than useless. What can be said that hasn’t been said too many times before?

Again, an innocent person has been executed on the streets of Minneapolis. Again, those responsible are being defended by the government that has sworn to protect its citizens, as having done the correct thing. Up is down, down is up.

We are beyond the beginning of a fascist, authoritarian regime. It doesn’t matter that the majority of people haven’t been affected, yet. Everyone is being clearly warned that they could be next. Not everyone who lived in Nazi Germany was directly affected by the regime’s police arm. But they lived with the fear that they could be, at any moment, by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or by being overheard by the wrong people. Americans, citizens and residents, are now living with that fear.

Years from now, what will people say? That we had the opportunity to stop this, but let it slide, wilfully? Will our grandchildren ask why we let this regime take power, knowing what OUR grandparents had lived through?

It seems that, to remember our past, we have to live it in our present. Otherwise, complacency sets in, and we feel that the past can never repeat itself. We rest on our laurels, not realizing that they dry and wither if they are not renewed.

The time has come when Americans in the street cannot back down. This means they could very well give up their lives, like Renee Good and Alex Pretti. But there is no other way of remedying what we let happen in November of 2024. Before, even, in November of 2016. We knew we were electing an egotistical, paranoid, narcissistic jackass, yet we did it, anyway. Why did we let this happen? Because we thought with our frustrations, not our intelligence. Now, we have to sacrifice ourselves to tear out the jackass and his MAGAts. And we will lose many more from our ranks of intelligent, selfless, courageous American compatriots before this is done. And this is without mentioning the pain and miserable conditions so many are going through in ICE detention centers. Without mentioning the children ripped from their communities and family, all because they either don’t have the right papers, or they have the wrong skin color or language skills.

Words are all I can offer, but I send them out with all my heart, that they may wound the wrong, and caress the wronged. A prayer for all this to end quickly, and that right prevails.

Classic Leavitt:-

Is she the most dishonest – or just the most stupid – of a sorry lot of US performers masquerading as politicians?

In Nazi Germany, it was – of course- the Jews. At least at first.

Some pending good news on tariffs?

Russia v Ukraine

Another interesting viewpoint . . . Once Putin saw Trumpian chaos as an opportunity. Now he’s worried. The US president has been seen as friendly towards Moscow. But, with a Board of Peace invitation in his inbox, the Russian leader is wary of being isolated.

China

And another . . . A great war for global hegemony is looming. Could China win?

Spanish

• Fulminar: To fulminate, strike down, zap, smite, etc.
• Incautar: To capture.
• Abeja: Bee.
• Abejar o no: To bee or not to bee.

English

What you learn when you read the instructions for a dishwasher . . .

• Pawl: A movable lever that engages a fixed component to either prevent movement in one direction or restrain it altogether. A type of latch.
• Dog pawl: A type of mechanical device that engages with a fixed component to prevent movement, often used in various applications like ratchets and automatic transmissions. It functions similarly to a latch, allowing movement in one direction while restricting it in the opposite direction.

• Owning the libs:(Often shortened to ‘to own the libs’)is a slang phrase popular in US conservative circles, meaning to dominate, humiliate, or provoke strong emotional reactions from liberals left-leaning individuals through rhetoric, actions, or memes It emerged around the Trump era as a trolling tactic to rally conservatives by mocking perceived liberal sensitivities. Critics, including some Republicans, argue that it prioritizes provocation over persuasion. The phrase fosters in-group cohesion but is often derided as divisive or counterproductive, substituting ideology with cruelty for its own sake

Did you know?

That little pocket in your jeans . . . Not for money or your keys. It was originally created to hold a pocket watch securely. So, it was a functional solution to a very real problem.

Finally . . .

For more than 20 winters, I’ve wondered why my fingers and nose were cold despite the underfloor heating keeping the room temperature at 20-21 degrees. I’ve suspected a draft but never traced one. Well, not until last night when, by accident, I discovered that the fireplace cassette that I installed 23 years ago has 22 small ventilation vents shared between the top and bottom of it it. Perfect for allowing a cold north wind to descend the chimney and emerge via the fireplace I sit right next to. Better late than never, I guess.

Finally . . . Finally . . .

Only another 11 months to Xmas . . . And 8 to Xmas ads on British TV.

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 there.

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