PEACE OUT!

I really like the blue and white tile.  (Thanks to the Times for the picture!)

At any rate, Intelligentsia's space was designed by a woman named Barbara Bestor.  I found that she had also designed the interior of a quirky wine bar / restaurant called Lou, which happens to be in a seedy strip mall--sandwiched between a Thai massage parlor and a 24-hour laundromat--off of Melrose and Vine in Hollywood.

I did some more reading on Lou and liked what I read: a fair-sized and eclectic wine selection?  Check.  Hip interior?  Check.  Good food?  Check.  All I needed was to actually go.

A friend and I went earlier today and, man, the outside was as seedy as I had read online.  The marquee sign in front of the strip mall has the names of each establishment therein, and for the restaurant the sign was all of three letters: LOU.  We thought the place was closed on account a full-length floral curtain that covered the entire front side of the restaurant; luckily, it was far from closed.

(Thanks to Lou for the pictures!)

We sat at the communal table in the middle.  The only negative is that it's a bit cramped, though this turned out to have its charms as it's easy to strike up simple conversation--as I did--with some neighbors.  Found out that the roasted fresh figs with Tilston blue cheese, almonds, and grapes were a good bet, as was the salad of farro, heirloom tomato, Dante sheep cheese, Bermuda onion, and pistou.  To be safe, we also ordered a bowl of sweet corn and avocado soup.

I think the best part about Lou is the wine.  They had two beer selections and twenty-nine wines to choose from.  Each of the wines were available by the two-ounce taste, glass, or bottle.  The bottle prices were pretty darn reasonable, with the most expensive bottle going for $64 and the majority falling within $40 - $50.  Tastes were average $6 and were surprisingly generous.

The menu had different categories of wine: for instance, it started with "Sparkly" and went on to "Fresh, light-bodied whites" and a few others, then ended with "Fuller-bodied, meaty, and earthy reds", "Sweet muscats", and "Other sweeties".  The varietal or appellation was listed first for each wine, then the prices, the country or state, winemaker and vintage, then brief a description.

And, for you health- or environment-conscious out there, Lou lists identifies "organic" and "biodynamic" wines on their menu!

We started off with tastes of the 2006 Beausejour cabernet franc rosé and the 1989 Domaine Prieur Brunet chenin blanc.  I like the setup of the menu in that it lists a few descriptive words on each wine.  For instance, the Beausejour was described as tasting like "white peaches", whereas the chenin blanc was advertised as a "fabulicious aged chenin, mellow-sweet but not sticky, perfectly balanced."  The rosé was decent enough--I've had better--but the chenin blanc, a demi-sec from the Vouvray appellation of France, was truly "fabulicious."

I brought the glass to my nose and took a whiff: I could smell the oxidation--heck, it was almost 20 years oldd!  It was off-dry, for sure, with hints of honey and a viscous mouthfeel.  It truly was mellow, though with a green-apple pucker that skirted dangerously to unpleasantness.  It avoided this pitfall with really nice acidity that basically saved this wine from itself.  The acid was not overbearing at all; there was fine balance, as advertised, between the acid and the sweetness, the texture and the body.  Tremendous, and well worth the $7 taste and even $56 per bottle price.  It even went well with the figs, grapes, and almonds, which were cooked slightly in what I felt was a port reduction.

For our second round of tastes, she had a Beaujolais (made from the gamay grape) cru, the 2006 Piron Chenas to be specific.  This was billed as having hints of "black cherry".  I'm a fan of Beaujolais, so I was all for it.  I tried a strange Austrian varietal, the blaufränkisch, a varietal I had been meaning to try ever since Eric Asimov profiled it and its cousin,  in the Times.  The specific wine I tried was the 2005 Moric blaufränkisch.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the blaufränkisch.  As Mr. Asimov notes, blaufränkisch can make full and delicious wines, but many examples of this varietal are clumsy and poorly executed.  I felt this to be the case with the Moric.  There was a fair amount of acidity and a bit of a tannic bite, which could have been balanced with some good body--but the body never developed.  It felt a bit flabby and overly acidic at the same time, which is not a combination one should ever see in a wine.

But I was quite happy with the results of the wine "tasting".  I got to try a 20-year-old chenin blanc--one of my favorite white varietals--and blaufränkisch, a strange wine I had been meaning to try now for a while.  I also got acquainted with a nice rosé from a varietal--cabernet franc--I had never before experienced as a rosé, and got reacquainted with a lovely, light Beaujolais.

Lou: a hidden gem.  Wonderful service, wonderful atmosphere, and a serious, serious wine list that has something for everyone.  A must-try for any budding oenophile!

BAMAKO (AFP) — One of the two Austrians kidnapped by Al-Qeada in February is "doing very poorly," a Malian source close to the negotiations to free the hostages said Friday.

"One of the two hostages is doing very poorly. He should be placed under medical supervision urgently," a Malian official who wanted to remain anonymous told AFP.

He would not say which one of the hostages was ill or what his ailment was.

One of the kidnap victims, Wolfgang Ebner, 51, told his son he was suffering from cholera and malaria when he spoke to him on the telephone in mid-June. The phone call was the first sign of life of the hostages in 110 days.

Ebner and his companion Andrea Kloiber, 44, disappeared on February 22 from Southern Tunisia. On March 10, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for their kidnapping.

Source

Well, well, well.  I am sure your fingers are tripping over each other, trying to write your comments on this one. 

It will be interesting to see if Elisabeth's lawyers head to court to stop this story from being sold by Fritzl, or having him involved in any other attempts to make some money off of this tragedy.

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/07/06/evil-fritzl-is-selling-his-story-98487-20633428/

Dungeon monster Josef Fritzl is writing his memoirs in prison - to the horror of the daughter he held captive and raped.

Elisabeth, 42, who gave birth to seven children, is aghast at the thought of the world reading 74-year-old Fritzl's account of her 24-year or deal in Amstetten, Austria, which he plans to sell to the highest bidder.

Frizl spends hours writing as fellow prisoners shout "Come out Satan - we want to play".

A source said: "Elisabeth is appalled. It is like being violated all over again. He knows his story is worth a lot because she has made it clear she does not want to sell hers."

 

Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy. (Lazarus Long)

Children play soldier. That makes sense. But why do soldiers play children? (Karl Kraus)

Children enjoy the present because they have neither a past nor a future. (Jean De La Bruyere)

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either. (Dick Cavett)  8)

por Luis Francisco Castillo Rodríguez

Al poco tiempo de proclamarnos campeones de Europa, el buscador Google cambió dos de sus letras por un jugador enfundado en la 'Roja' golpeando un balón, lo cual simbolizó la entrada de nuestra Selección en la era del fútbol moderno. Y es que ahora los goles se celebran de la mano de millones de SMS, se graban en DVD, se cuentan a través de la radio, se ven por la tele... Antes no. Por fin hemos dejado a un lado el recuerdo rancio de la copa del 64, un triunfo manchado por el franquismo. De hecho, muchos periodistas ni le daban legitimidad a aquella conquista. Además, el NO-DO nos tuvo engañados durante décadas con un montaje en el que el pase a Marcelino lo daba Amancio, del Real Madrid, en lugar de Chus Pereda, del Barça. Cosas del franquismo. En fin, en este mes de junio hemos dado un salto de 44 años: hemos pasado del NO-DO al campeones punto com.

De la mano de Google y del fútbol total hemos entrado en el nuevo siglo del fútbol. Hemos pasado de ser el patito feo, de pensar que nunca ganábamos nada, a plantarnos con dos Eurocopas, a sólo una de los alemanes; o sea, de ser unos fracasados de toda la vida a convertirnos de pronto en la segunda potencia continental del fútbol. Hemos pasado de no sacar las banderas a los balcones de los ayuntamientos a verla en cada balcón; de no creer en la 'Roja' a invadir plazas y fuentes; de la maldición de los cuartos al cielo de la final; del 'jugamos como nunca y perdimos como siempre' al 'jugamos como siempre y ganaremos así siempre'. En efecto. Todo eso y mucho más ha cambiado entre el gol de Marcelino, en blanco y negro hace 44 años, al gol de Torres, en technicolor y en DVD. Ha cambiado la Historia.

Nos tocó por el lado más difícil; el tronco por el que cayeron Holanda, Italia o Francia. Para Alemania el camino era de rosas, pero los teutones no deslumbraban. Como siempre, la delgada línea que separa el optimismo del pesimismo estaba en los maléficos cuartos de final. El partido ante Italia nos hizo creer en esta Selección, porque aunque éramos pequeñitos también éramos mucho, muchísimo mejores. Y al final lo conseguimos. El sueño de millones de españoles de ver a su equipo nacional ganar algo se ha hecho realidad. Tantos años esperándolo y al final la Copa ya está aquí; muchos ni se atreven a pellizcarse para no despertar del sueño. La historia tuvo un final feliz. No faltará quien cuente a sus nietos la hazaña como si de un cuento se tratase.

"Mira hijo, yo vi a España coronarse campeona de España", le diremos al niño mientras le arropemos en la cama antes de dormir. Y le contaremos lo difícil que fue vencer a los italianos, porque siempre nos ganaban ellos y el día 22 nos daba muy mala suerte. Y trataremos de narrarle lo que sentimos cuando Casillas detuvo el penalti decisivo; "todavía está por nacer alguien que iguale todos sus récords". Y Cesc, un futbolista fenomenal que se movía por todo el campo y encima tenía gol. Y Xavi, Iniesta y Silva, tres jugadores pequeñitos que movían la pelota a todo trapo y a los que era dificilísimo robarles el balón. Y por detrás de todos ellos, un negrito de nombre Senna que jugaba por tres y contenía al rival como nadie. Y el jefe de todos ellos era un señor de casi 70 años en quien nadie prácticamente confiaba antes del torneo, pero que terminó haciendo historia. Y finalmente diremos con nostalgia eso que tanto dicen nuestros mayores: "Ya no hay futbolistas como los de antes".

Parece que el niño ya se ha dormido. No nos ha dado tiempo a hablarle del show de Reina, del manteo de Luis, de Marchena y Puyol, Ramos y Capdevila, Villa y Torres, y así un largo etcétera. En fin. Otra noche le contaremos al niño el cuento en el que España se coronaba campeona del mundo.

Lo que España no vio

Recibimiento de la Selección en Madrid

El 'show'  de Reina

"In the South, while the question of slavery no longer had a place in the front-page news, it had hardly died away. Southerners needed only to look to the Northwest and Indian Territories, where most of the immigrants were settling, see the sort of states that would be formed from them -- most of them admitted with constitutions banning slavery. How long would it be before they were overwhelmed, in Senate and House? Right now, one of their own, indeed their champion, was imposing his will on the North -- how long before the shoe was on the other foot? Jefferson's embargo was hurting them, too; countless bales of cotton remained piled on the docks and levees, with no place to send them. Something had to be done...'

'By the grace of God, literally, the republic stayed together. The nation stumbled on, with Jefferson's protege, James Madison, now at the helm. But the situation was not improving. On the Continent, Napoleon appeared to be invincible. The Austrians fell to him, and the Spaniards, and the Italians, and now he was turning towards Russia; it appeared he was about to add the Bear to his list of conquests. The greater his success, the greater the threat he posed to the island race to his west. And the greater measures Britain took to protect herself. Now any American ship found on the high seas was likely to be taken and her crew impressed. As A. L. Burt put it:"

"The independence of the United States was being frittered away. The country was losing its self-respect, the most precious possession a nation can have, as it failed to command the respect of the belligerents. More and more the feebleness of the American government's policy had been teaching these embattled giants of the Old World that they could trample with impugnity upon American rights, American interests, and American feelings."

Marshall and Manuel take up the narrative again, "Finally, by the Summer of 1812, there had been too many ignominies, too many outrages; it was reported that more than 6,000 American citizens had been kidnapped and forced to serve in the Royal Navy, which had to replace some 2,500 deserters a year and simply refused to curtail impressment. If America was to retain any semblance of honor, she had no further alternative but to fight. Crying 'Free Trade and Sailor's Rights', the War Hawks in Congress won the vote for war seventy-nine to forty-nine, and on June 18, President Madison proclaimed that a state of war existed between Great Britain and the United States. The American cause was summed up by the commander of Western Tennessee Militia:"

"We are going to fight for the re-establishment of our national character, misunderstood and villified at home and abroad; for the protection of our maritime citizens, impressed on board British ships of war and compelled to fight the battles of our enemies against ourselves; to vindicate our right to a free trade, and open the market for the production of our soil, now perishing on our hands because the 'mistress of the ocean' forbids us to carry them to any foreign nation. ANDREW JACKSON"

There are times we must fight. One of them is when we have been attacked. Definitely we have been attacked again. From the book FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA pp. 131 & 132 paperback

Lets go to baghdad

instead of wet walls

see some warhalls

So lautet der Text des Songs Baghdad. Supernachmittag (SNM)  ist eine Band aus Graz, bestehend aus Anita Mörth und Sol Haring, die sich Bärtchen aufkleben und Gernder Country spielen. Besser gesagt eine Mischung aus Post-Punk, Electro-Trash und Indie-Pop/Rock. Die Grazer Fem-Rocker spielen nur so mit Geschlechterrollen in ihrer Musik und ihren Performances.

Auftritte sorgen bei dem Duo meist zu Verwirrung. Anfangs nur unter FM4 Hörer- und innen bekannt, aber nun auch schon einige Amerika Gigs hintersich. Supernachmittag! Und wer sich denkt, ob die jetzt schwul, lesbisch, oder queer sind, und zu keiner Antwort kommt, der sollte einfach die Musik genießen.

Leider gibt es keine Musik Videos, darum hier ein kurzer Clip einer SNM-Show:

CD kaufen kannst du hier

K.E.N. gefällt mir persönlich am besten.

Saint Private macht vor allem die wunderbare Stimme von Valérie Sajdik aus. Nach dem Debüt Album Riviera (2004) folgte 3 Jahre später Superflu, das mehr auf "echte" Instrumente als auf Elektronik setzt. Welches Album besser ist hängt vom jeweiligen Geschmack ab.

Hier eine Coverversion von somebody to love:

Rudolf Hundstorfer, President of Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (OeGB)

In October 2003 Rudolf Hundstorfer became vice president of the OeGB (Austrian Federation of Trade Unions). After resignation of Fritz Verzetnisch as president of this organization in March 2006 because of the BAWAG scandal, Hundstorfer took the presidency provisionally.
On September, 8th 2005 as a representative of all BAWAG stockholders he signed an agreement, that the OeGB will adopt the BAWAGs debts of 1.53 billion Euros. Hundstorfer kept this fact in secret until June 2006. When he was asked by journalists for reason doing so, he told he didn’t know, what he had signed.

Translated by Werner Braun and Galina Toktalieva

Managers found guilty in Austrian BAWAG trial

Vienna - All nine defendants in the BAWAG bank were found guilty on Friday in the trial on Austria's biggest banking scandal on Friday, as the bank managers were held responsible for high losses arising from speculative investments.

Former BAWAG CEO Helmut Elsner, 73, and other bank managers were deemed guilty of having hidden losses around 1.7 billion euros (2.7 billion dollars) from off-shore investments between 1995 and 2000.

US-based investor Wolfgang Floettl, 52, had carried out the unsuccessful financial deals in the Caribbean on behalf of Austria's fourth largest bank.

The scandal reverberated beyond the financial sector as the losses of Austria's fourth-biggest bank severely weakened one of its former owners, the Austrian Trade Union Federation.

In December 2006 the ailing BAWAG was sold off to the US-based hedge fund Cerberus.

All nine defendants face prison sentences of up to 10 years, as most of them were accused of breach of confidence and balance sheet fraud.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Domani alle 21.15 al Castello di Casacco, in provincia di Udine, concerto di un gruppo danese con ingresso libero; alle 19.30 al Dinzischloss (castello di Dinzi) di Villach, in Austria, esibizione dei bravissimi e veramente consigliati fratelli Mancuso (Enzo e Lorenzo dalla siciliana Sutera, in provincia di Caltanissetta). Con loro la Nica Banda del palermitano Ruggiero Mascellino e, in un'altra esibizione, il gruppo Val Resia, dal Friuli. 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42419&l=8318c&id=731281502

Conspiraţia s-a prelungit ceva dar a luat sfârşit, iar eu îmi iau tălpăşiţa spre o lume mai bună. Spre Vest, că e mai aproape. O iau aşa: Budapesta -Viena - Klagenfurt - Udine şi dacă toate merg bine dimineaţă ajung în Nordul Italiei la Pordenone. Între mare şi munte. Câteva zile o să mă răsfăţ sub soarele Adriaticii, iar alte câteva mă voi ascunde la umbra Dolomiţilor italieni, la Piancavallo. Asta e prima săptămână, în care nu voi prea avea acces la internet. Se pare că nu a ajuns RDS-ul pe acolo. Dar promit să caut din când în când un internet-caffe. În a doua săptămână mă voi relaxa în sudul Austriei, în Klagenfurt. O zonă cu munţi înalţi şi multe lacuri, pe care o ador. Dar nu vă spun mai multe căci nu o să am ce scrie după. A, era să uit, acolo este net pe toate gardurile :)))

Oana a deschis o listă de cadouri, cei care doriţi vă puteţi spune doleanţele la ea sau aici, cu subiect şi predicat :D

I love the country of my parents - it is my soul and my pride

I love the country of my birth - it is my sweetness and memory

I love the country of my life - it is my cosyness and beauty

I love the country of my dreams - it is my spiritual home

I feel like a patriot of each of them-

Russia, Lithuania, Austria and India

And yet I know that I am above that.

`cause I am the Spirit.

 poem by axinia

image by vova

By Christina Reihill

Sunday June 29 2008

If last week's documentary on the unspeakable acts of Josef Fritzl left you feeling nauseous, get ready to throw up. Because, when I heard Fritzl's line of defence -- "I was addicted to abusing my daughter" -- a chill went up my spine.

As unacceptable as this rationalisation might be, the truth is that anyone familiar with the unconscious mapping of addictions knows he could link a cogent argument here.

And the legal commentator interviewed knew this. "Addiction is not a defence!" he erupted.

Addictions are not an acceptable defence for criminal behaviour, but lawyers know that crimes committed by those in addiction can win leniency, and many think Fritzl knows this, and is already on the case.

As a master manipulator, Fritzl claims his motives were good, while he cast a powerful spell of denial around him.

Behind a mask of unholy deception, this architect of darkness robbed the hopes and dreams of so many, including the ultimate innocents -- his children.

How they survived this ordeal will add significantly to exisiting psychological theory.

Meanwhile, Fritzl's extraordinary cunning and capacity to beguile those around him will be testing the psychiatrists and lawyers preparing for the trial.

And while many will want him convicted as a criminal, with the promise that he will never be free to act out his sadistic primitive urges again, there is no guarantee of this.

The Austrian State has already proved itself to be the primary colluding force in allowing Fritzl's savage behaviours to go uninvestigated -- the Justice Minister admitted his officials had been "gullible" in accepting Fritzl's reasons for the disappearance of his daughter -- so we have no reason to believe that it won't continue to indulge him, or fall prey to his deep narcissistic wounding.

There is a strong mental health argument outside the obvious Freudian one. (He has said that he lusted after his mother -- which is the case for addiction.)

If the defence succeeds in defining his behaviour as an addiction, it could claim he had no control over his impulses, which could mitigate any possible charge against him. The defence could argue that Fritzl's powerful desire to sleep with his mother began as a compulsion, which led to a sex abuse addiction. Addiction counsellors know that when a compulsion becomes an addiction, self-will runs riot in the unconscious mind of the addicted person.

The key for the prosecution will be to prove Fritzl was aware of what he was doing and knew that it was wrong. Meanwhile, Fritzl's defence team will be studying the complex definition and nature of addictions.

Patricia Casey, the psychiatrist interviewed on the same programme, stated Fritzl will have trouble defending an insanity plea because his behaviour fails to exhibit the chaotic presentation of a psychosis eg: schizophrenia/ bi-polar disorder -- which is true, but she was not asked to comment on the addiction argument. Or maybe she was, and wisely stood back from commenting on it.

Because Fritzl's behaviour can be framed in the context of an addiction.

Of course, his repeated abuse of his daughter bears no comparison to the addictions we're used to dealing with -- alcohol, food, drugs and/or gambling -- but that doesn't mean his behaviour is not an addiction. His crime doesn't even compare with the behaviours of serial killers, but in terms of the unconscious pathways that addictions travel, there is a pathological map Fritzl's lawyers can, and will, undoubtedly use.

As unsettling as this is, I'd say Fritzl has already researched this subject and knows what boxes need ticking to flag his defence and has already laid the foundations for this argument.

In his limited statements so far, he's told reporters that he had a difficult childhood, with a dominating mother who regularly beat him.

This statement prepares the ground for a "learned sadistic behaviours" defence.

Addictions are defined by thought patterns. Fritzl's legal team could find experts to map their unconscious pathways to their client's pathology.

In terms of the definition and nature of addiction, the jury could well be presented with some version of the following: Addictions are sophisticated systems of denial requiring subtle but sustained attention for the addicted person -- Fritzl's highly organised attention to detail beggars belief.

Another definition states addictions are unstable states of being marked by a compulsion to deny who we are in favour of a new or desired experience. If the defence does its homework, they'll note that addictions focus on issues of control. Addictions, however harmless, make us feel in control, however illusory or momentary that is. Every "fix" soothes us with the statement "all is well" whether it's a hit of heroin or a high from hoping -- our drug of choice is only the vehicle we use to fast track its good feeling.

Fritzl's team could argue that, as a result of his experience of powerlessness under the sadistic reign of his mother, he unconsciously sought power by controlling all around him.

This argument should lose weight, as he seems to have been aware that what he was doing was wrong (the elaborate planning to hide his behaviour and a host of other arguments will support this), but the addiction argument has grounds.

More theoretically, Fritzl's behaviour is striking in its stunning metaphor for addictions. Our addictions hold the secrets of our most primitive desires in the cellars in our minds, and to keep these yearnings alive requires incredible planning and attention to detail, however unconsciously that is. The keys, the locks, the steel doors and dungeons we build, make up a labyrinth of unconscious locking systems which protect and propel our bad addictions, however hidden and harmless they may seem to be.

Indeed, some therapists would argue that some of these spaces are necessary to protect what is precious, as well as unhelpful to us. At the end of the documentary, the commentator remarked on the irony that Fritzl's years of imprisoning his family now had him under lock and key, which is the ultimate metaphor for addiction.

A Japanese proverb relating to alcohol addiction and how it imprisons the alcoholic states: The man took the drink, the drink took the drink, then the drink took the man.

- Christina Reihill

Por si alguien no se ha enterado España ha ganado la Eurocopa 2008, lo recuerdo porque es imporante que no se olvide, que para una vez que ocurre, y que puedo escribir sobre ello que quede bien clarito.

Estábamos hartos de llorar, y de sufrir, y de que siempre terminase ocurriendo lo de siempre, pero esta vez no, esta vez se ha echo justicia, porque ya tocaba, hemos conseguido hacer historia y hemos ganado la Eurocopa 2008 de fútbol de Austria y Suiza.

Hemos sido los que mejor fútbol hemos realizado durante toda la Eurocopa, hemos ganado con los suplentes a la Grecia campeona de europa, a la patética Italia campeona del mundo, dos veces a la Rusia sensación que eliminó a Holanda, y a la todopoderosa Alemania en la final, y también hubieramos ganado a quién se nos hubiese puesto por delante, por penalties, con el arbitro en contra o como hubiese sido, por fín el fútbol a nivel de selección nos da una alegría a los que nos gusta el deporte, y este gran triunfo no debería ser algo aislado, de aquí deberían sacarse los cimientos que nos lleven a ser una selección de primer nivel en la mayoría de citas internacionales. La calidad de España ha sido bastante superior, a nivel de equipo, de jugadores, de técnicos, y me alegro sobretodo por Luís Aragonés, porque ya ha demostrado porqué él es el Sabio de Hortaleza, aún recuerdo cuando era severamente criticado por la prensa, recuerdo varias encuestas on-line en distintos medios, y también recuerdo ser yo de los poco que votabamos a favor de la coontinuidad de Luis, creo recordar que en ninguna de dichas encuestas superaba el 10% de apoyo nacional, sin embargo ahora para todo el mundo es un dios, en fin... ¡qué país!

Me alegro también por Fernando Torres, injustamente tratado por muchos, y más en lo que a juzgarle en sus actuaciones con la selección se refiere, marcó el gol que nos dio una Eurocopa y con eso ya ha callado muchas bocas, es un grande y ahí lo demostró, ya ha escrito su nombre con letras de oro en la historia de este país.

Y este trinfo es un triunfo de todos, porque España es un país con una tradición futbolística y una afición a este deporte como en pocos lugares del globo, por eso me alegro, por todos los que como yo deseábamos ver cumplido este sueño, y que por fín nos hemos visto recompensados, me alegra también por que este triunfo a escocido (quieran o no reconocerlo) a muchos indeseables y descerebrados que hay en España, y ahora se le puede dedicar a gente como Urkullu o Puigcercós que por no entender no entienden ni de fútbol, o a los que niegan la existencia de una nación española, que hasta en Euskadi o Catalunya se celebró el triunfo, y también a los que en su cerrazón tampoco entienden, ni estan dispuestos a reconocer la importancia que tiene el fútbol, y que por supuesto es cultura.

Otra cosa que no hay que olvidar tampoco, porque era algo que al menos para mí era evidente desde hace ya muchos años, y es que Raúl no ha jugado la Eurocopa, ¡vaya! y es la que hemos ganado, qué pobre jugador y qué sobrevalorado ha estado siempre, a ver si esto sirve por fín para abrir los ojos a muchos.

La pena es que todo esto haya terminado ya, por mí podía ser "cuando ganamos la Eurocopa" todos los días, ha sido un sueño muy agradable que nunca olvidaré.

P.S: Por cierto, un último apunte, que una cosa es el sentimiento, otra el fútbol y otra el hacer las cosas porque sí (por decirlo de una manera suave) y tiene que ver con una corrección, me parece muy mal que a la selección española se le apode "la furia roja" o "la furia española" ya que"furia española" es un apodo despectivo que viene de antiguo, de la guerra de flandes y que utilizaron los rebeldes de las provincias unidas cuando los tercios españoles, cansados de no cobrar lo que les correspondía saqueron la ciudad de Amberes, después de eso el apelativo alcanzó una mayor repercusión en europa.

Un Saludo.

Image by arneboell via Flickr

Από σήμερα (4/7) μέχρι τις 17/7 το blog θα παραμείνει κάπως αδρανές, επειδή φεύγω με το κλιμάκιο της εθνικής ομάδας αλπικού σκι στην Αυστρία και συγκεκριμένα στο Hintertux για προπόνηση. Μπορεί να υπάρξουν μερικά posts αλλά όχι συχνά. Το σίγουρο είναι ότι θα υπάρξουν πολλές φωτογραφίες στο Flickr μου. Τα άλλα networks που είμαι μέλος μάλλον και αυτά θα μείνουν κάπως αδρανοποιημένα. Συμπεριλαμβανομένου του Twitter. Μπορείτε όμως να με βρείτε στο e-mail σίγουρα για αυτό το χρονικό διάστημα. Ευχαριστώ.

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From today (4/7) until 17/7 the blog will remain a bit "hibernated", because I am going with the greek national alpine ski team to Hintertux, Austria for summer training. There's a possibility to write a few posts but not so sure and often. The defacto way of communication these coming days will be Flickr, in which I will post lots of photos from Hintertux and the trip, so stay tuned. Other social networks will remain "hibernated" too. Including Twitter. You can, however, contact me at my e-mail which I will answer for sure in the upcoming days. Thank you.

Forse non vi dico niente di nuovo, affermando che le birre provenienti da Austria e Germania sono sicuramente tra le migliori in commercio.

Tra i pregi di questa deliziosa bevanda non si può non citare l’adattabilità a vari piatti, quindi non solo würstel e crauti, ma anche pizza (bella scoperta!), ma anche pasta o qualcosa di tipicamente mediterraneo.

Nulla vieta poi di approfittarne dopo cena, anzi.

L'ideale sarebbe sorseggiare questa birra sdraiati sul bordo di uno dei tipici ruscelli di montagna Austriaci, invasi dall'odore del letame delle mucche, all'ombra di una meravigliosa baita in legno, dopo aver pranzato con dei gustosissimi canederli allo speck.

Oh, and if you haven't heard of our choir, it's basically an all-male ensemble with guys (and variations of such) from 7 to 20-something. Kilyawan means Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), a bird w