One of the highlights of my mornings here in Madrid is the free newspaper that is disbursed at the Metro entrances in the city. At first I never took one, simply because I usually have a book to read or papers to grade, but after my roommate told me that the papergirl has to stay outside until all of her papers have been distributed, I began grabbing one out of pity on my way down the stairs. Turns out the paper is not only educational, but quite entertaining. While a beacon of journalistic excellence it is not, the local news, information and amusing oddities are enough to start my day with a little glee. I've been saving some of the treasures:
Friday, February 12, 2009-
Good lord what has gotten into the Greeks? Not only are they strike-crazy and broke but they have been reporting false data to the EU about their economy and other *minor* issues. Apparently being the father of modern western civilization is all the money in the bank you need? The following quote will continue to be the joy of my weekend- says biochemist Vasiliki Revithi, "But we gave the world democracy, and we expect the European Union to support us." (This actually came from the NYT Global Edition)
Thursday February 11, 2009-
New streets in a neighborhood in Zaragosa, Spain, are expected to receive names from video games, including Calle Super Mario Brothers. Officials feel that since street names have always been a reflection on the culture it seems normal to jump from Calle Lorca and Calle Cervantes to Calle de The Legend of Zelda. I also read the breakdown by region on Spanish sex lives. Apparently the Basques are the most sincere, the Cantabrians and Extremadurans the most satisfied, the Catalans and Madrid-ers the least satisfied, and the Murcianos are the biggest liars. Good to know?
Monday, February 8, 2010-
Unionized Greek prostitutes went on strike last month to protest unlicensed competition from Russian and Eastern European prostitutes. Also, the Bulgarian Prime Minister has said that he is adding more women to his administration because, " Women are more diligent than men, and they don't take long lunches or go to the bar...Women have stronger characters than men because when they say no they mean no, and they are less corruptible." Sexism in reverse?
Thursday, February 4, 2010-
A giant sand replica of Ghandi was created in India by 50 artists using 19 different shades of sand and it only took about 4 1/2 hours. Also, the Madrid Metro is considering letting dogs ride the train.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010-
Senior citizens may take a free computer class here in Madrid as long as they bring a note proving that they are 'free of infectious disease'. Today is also National Tortilla Day! (Día de la Tortilla)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010-
(Sidenote- Today in my 5th grade class the kids laughed at me when I said the Spanish word 'entonces' without the lisp. In Spain it's pronounced 'en-tohn-thes' whereas in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world it's 'en-tohn-ses'. Awesome.)
75% of Catalan cinemas are striking to protest the new law mandating that 50% of the movies shown in the movie theaters must be dubbed into Catalan (of the cinemas in Catalonia). This would be extremely expensive and according to my roommate from Barcelona, "Nobody wants to watch movies in Catalan!" Equally as fascinating, I learned that Michael Jackson's glove had its gallery debut today in Macao, China, at its new home, a shrine dedicated to all things Michael. The glove was purchased from the US for $1 million.
Monday, February 1, 2010-
Punky Brewster (AKA Sun Moon Somethingorother) lives in L.A., has opened a shop of eco-products for children, had a breast reduction as a teenager due to gigantomastia (which I thought was a made-up Spanish word until I Wikipediaed it), and occasionally still dresses up in Punky wear to take pictures. She also Twitters.
Thursday, January 28, 2010-
81% of young people (15-24) in Madrid consider going out and partying (while not necessarily drinking) one of their most sought-after pastimes. 20% enjoy reading and the theatre. I realize the percentages don't add up.
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