Russia's RT TV channel had some gems last night:-
- Of course, there may be a Crimean application to join Russia but we don't yet know how it will be received.
- We do know no decision has yet been taken - If it is accepted, there'll be a 5 or 6 stage process involving Mr Putin in discussion with members of parliament and others
- Of course, there may be a Crimean application to join Russia but we don't yet know how it will be received.
- We do know no decision has yet been taken - If it is accepted, there'll be a 5 or 6 stage process involving Mr Putin in discussion with members of parliament and others
- In the East of Ukraine 'activists' from the
'local defence units' have stopped Ukrainian military vehicles from
reaching the border with Russia.
- Why is it that everyone in the West knows
about the Crimea desire to leave Ukraine but no one knows that Veneto
is planning to secede from Italy?
- President Putin has signed the decree allowing the accession process to begin but there are many legal hurdles to pass before it's a done deal
- President Putin has signed the decree allowing the accession process to begin but there are many legal hurdles to pass before it's a done deal
Russia's RT channel is still banging on
this morning about the [ludicrous] equivalence between the Crimea and
Veneto. If you don't know anything about this Italian development,
here's Russia Today to fill you in. And here's the BBC.
There were 2 big
surprises in the news this morning. Firstly, the Big Bang theory has
been evidenced (proven, even) by American scientists at the North
Pole. And, secondly, Qatar's award of the 2020 World Cup was gained
by corruption among FIFA members. Well, one of these was a surprise
but the other couldn't be less of one.
I wrote about the
Spanish practice of death a couple of weeks ago. One aspect I
stressed is that of completing the burial or cremation within 48
hours. A letter in yesterday's El País noted that, after the
writer's father had died in a hospital, she and her children were
bombarded at 3am at the Reception on what coffin they wanted, what urn for the ashes,
what flowers and what time they wanted the velatorio ('funeral
wake') the next day. As if this weren't bad enough, they were then
hustled with an estimate of €10,000 while still in deep mourning.
That's the trouble with false deadlines; they give others the chance
to fleece you.
A new Spanish word: - un trolley (trole?).
This is a carry-on bag that has wheels and extendible handle. As well
as a trolley-bus.
An old Spanish word:- Arena. Or 'sand'. Most obviously for a bullfight. Think of this next time you're in a posh arena.
Talking of Spanish words . . . . An article in El
Pais the other day weighed into the practice of archisílabo,
or lengthy words formed by adding an English/Latin prefix. As
with ultraexclusivo, hiperexclusividad, macrolujo and
superpositiva. It's hard not to
sympathise with this view, given that many Spanish words already
contain at least twice as many syllables as their English
equivalents. Actually, I'm sure I've heard supermegaguay,
or something similar.
Finally . . . If it's the crunchy cartilage of a
pig's ear that catches your fancy, hie thyself over to nearby
Lerez this week, where these form the centre of their annual
gastronomic fiesta. Vomit bowls provided free.
No comments:
Post a Comment