¿Adónde vas?

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the Mexican.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well, my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like and enjoying your friends."

The moral is:
Know where you're going in life...
you may already be there.

Moscatel and 'Moscatel'.

Blogging intermittently - still busy.

That calendar job was done; then came ID for a new company; and now a newsletter's to be done. So I'm still buried - today with a bottle of Moscatel* - and, for full immersion, listening to 'Moscatel', sung by Juanito Valderrama.

I can't find the song 'Moscatel' on the internet, but you can hear Valderrama's 'El Emigrante'.

These are the first few lines:

Tengo que hacer un rosario
con tus dientes de marfil
para que pueda besarlo
cuando esté lejos de ti,
sobre sus cuentas divinas
hechas de nardo y jazmín
rezaré pá que me ampare
aquella que está en San Gil.

I was interested to note that the word 'nardo' appears here. This flower name is used frequently by Lorca, and appears variously translated as 'tuberose', 'lily' and 'spikenard'. I plan to post again on Lorca's 'tuberoses'.

* a liqueurous wine.

Un viaje a la feria.

A journey in stereo across Barcelona: from El Liceu to Tibidabo by metro, foot, tram and funicular.

Hear the street sounds of the city: the traffic, passers-by and performers; the journey and, when you get to the top, the fun at the fair.

Take the second train that comes; walk across the Plaza de Cataluña; another train and a tram, coast in on the funicular, and we're there - at the fair. (All journeys are much shortened here.)

It's about 24 minutes in all, and it gets noisy at times.
It's all loud anyway (first I've done): please adjust volume accordingly.

Listening might be a bit risky if you are in motion, as some of the sounds will confuse with live street sounds.

Visit the Tibidabo site (in English, Spanish and Catalan).

Escucha: Play mp3

Keep trying.

I've had no time to post here lately. I got busy. I'm locked in my room, only going out for absolute essentials (tobacco and food and ice lollies!). I've been commissioned to produce graphics for a 2006 calendar. I prefer to work in total immersion. Switch off from the outside physical world, research and cram for ideas, then let whatever's there flow, working from dawn 'til the small hours, days running into weeks, until it's done. Great fun.

This is an image from last (this) year's calendar. The theme was old masters montaged and manipulated by computer. This one represents November in the UK. I started with the portrait of Donna Isaabel Cobos de Porcel by Francisco de Goya (royalty-free image), because she represented for me the dark mood of the month and time of year. Her pink hair is a thistle flower, representing Scotland (St Andrew's Day). The bare trees and lowering skies represent autumn; the fireworks, Guy Fawkes' night (that's the annual burning of an effigy of a man who tried to blow up parliament in 1605 - yes, 400 years ago: barbaric, isn't it?); the scorpion represents Scorpio; and the poppies and crying figure, Remembrance Sunday (remembering war dead). (The figure, Sorrow, is one corner of a statue in Arnhem War Cemetery, Holland.)