Category Archives: culture

5 books that changed your life

17 Saturday Feb 2007

Posted by in books & writing, culture, life stuff

≈ 31 Comments

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In any way at all, big or small …

  • Fifth Business (Robertson Davies). It was the first book that really opened up new worlds for me. I was about 17 at the time and it was responsible for piquing my interest in subjects such as magic, philosophy, religion, mythology. It was also the first book I admired for the sheer intelligence and wit of the writing.
  • The Salmon of Doubt (Douglas Adams). It wasn’t the book itself that changed my life, but rather that it led me to the h2g2 site where I met Nog four years ago. If I hadn’t read that book I doubt I ever would have ever found h2g2 … or Nog (eep!).
  • Night Watch (Terry Pratchett). The first Discworld book I read. Got me started redeveloping my laugh-out-loud muscles. I’d forgotten that I could laugh so much. 🙂
  • Mother Tongue (Bill Bryson). It showed me just how fun the English language can be and helped me to teach better, with humour and relevence.
  • Foucault’s Pendulum (Umberto Eco). Made me feel clever and thereby warned me of the dangers of becoming an intellectual snob. 😉

Okay, your turn now. List any five books that have made a difference to your life and also explain why or how they did so.

This is also entered in engtech’s 5 things contest.

superstitions

13 Tuesday Feb 2007

Posted by in culture, life stuff, miscellany

≈ 10 Comments

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Are you superstitious?

Today is martes trece or Tuesday the 13th … the Spanish equivalent of Friday the 13th (though I’ve never been able to find out why). I always joke that it doesn’t affect me because I’m not Spanish, and Friday the 13th doesn’t either because I live in Spain. But deep inside something niggles, like a wee part of me maybe isn’t joking, you know?

So while I don’t think I’m particularly superstitious I do think twice before walking under ladders – though of course I don’t think black cats are unlucky in the slightest. Quite the opposite, but then isn’t that also being somewhat superstitious?

And so, just curious as to how many of you out there are superstitious, and also if you know of any cool and unusual superstitions other than the typical ones: broken mirrors, the number 13, black cats, etc. f_blackcat.gif

barcelona

16 Tuesday Jan 2007

Posted by in art, culture, holidays, photos, trips

≈ 21 Comments

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It was the best birthday present ever!

Not only that, but also the best holiday either Nog or I have ever had. We got home last night about 12.30 am, totally exhausted and footsore but also very very happy.

We took tons of photos … the Barcelona albums are still under construction and will be ‘unlocked’ as soon as they have been edited and organised.

This is a recap of our fabulous long weekend … Continue reading →

day trip to Carmona

29 Friday Dec 2006

Posted by in culture, life stuff, photos, trips

≈ 10 Comments

bus_trip.JPG We finally made it!

As some of you may remember, Nog and I had planned to go to Carmona a couple of months ago but the weather was a bit dodgy that day and so we put it off.

Well, today was the day! I only had one class this morning, the weather was gorgeous (bright sunny skies, temperature got up to 18º) and so we decided to get on the bus and go to Carmona for the afternoon. It’s only about half an hour away by car (takes a bit longer by bus) so we left around 12.30 and we were back home by about 7pm.

When we arrived in Carmona the first thing we needed was a snack (I had skipped brekky and Nog hadn’t had his elevenses) so we found a little bar in the main square, sat out in the sun and had a couple of tapas. We also met a very friendly and chatty bar cat – totally shameless girl! She went around from table to table getting tidbits from everyone and even stood on her hind legs putting front paws on the table to get attention. 🙄

After our snack we strolled around the town for a couple of hours, ending up at the famous Parador Hotel there. Then we made our way back to the centre of town around 4pm and by then we were ready for lunch. We chose a different bar in the main square and sat out in the sun once again . . . and found our friendly neighbourhood bar cat there as well! 🙂

Anyhow, it was a lovely day and here are some photos we took …

Carmona photos

happy new year!

11 Monday Sep 2006

Posted by in culture, musings

≈ 22 Comments

leaves.jpgAutumn has always felt more like the real ‘new year’ to me.

It is not only marked by a definite seasonal change but also a change in lifestyle habits. People coming back from summer holidays and resuming their regular work-a-day lives, perhaps starting new courses or activities. Also a change in what people wear as well as what they do in their free time, which may include either more or less indoor or outdoor activities.

The official New Year – January 1st – happens in the middle of either winter or summer, depending on where one lives. But aside from being told that this is the New Year, as in the beginning of a new calendar year, there is little that actually makes it feel ‘new’.

But September is the time of the autumn equinox and you can actually feel things changing. The weather is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter … you can feel it in the air. Shop windows start showing winter clothing, kids are going back to school, and there is almost a feeling of exquisite melancholy as we prepare for even shorter days ahead … getting ready for the next cycle.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel this too? The January 1st New Year thing leaves me cold. All the hype of having to celebrate this somehow when to me it just feels like yet another winter day. No big deal.