Shameful Manipulation

Today D. and I are off to the toy stores with Julian. We already have already know what he is getting, we're just taking him to try and convince him that what is already strategically hidden around our flat and at his avia's is what he really wants.
What he really wants is a Playstation. But D. and I are NOT willing to buy that infernal machine. He's only 6 years old and a rather sedentary child, so a device that encourages him to sit for hours is not something we are considering. If we should succumb to months of unbearable pressure from Julian, we are not at all opposed to the Nintendo Wii. But that would be a birthday gift. So we have six months to listen to a litany of reasons why he can not live without that Thing:
Quiero la Play
My friends have it!
No me quereis.
I'm bored.
Ya he visto todas la películas que tenemos.
I promise I won't ... (fill in the blank) if you buy it for me.
Te prometo que ... (diversas promesas, casi todas ellas sin propósito de ser cumplidas) si me la compras.

And I am sure that he will come up with so many more in the next few months.

Happy Turkey Day

Oh yes, another Thanksgiving away from Mom's house. I miss this holiday soooooo much. CHRISTmas is CHRISTmas anywhere, because He is everywhere. But Thanksgiving... well, that's strictly US.
I can try duplicating the Thanksgiving dinner, (The first time I attempted here in Barcelona I had so saw off half of the drumstick bones because the 12 lbs. bird did now fit into my small oven), but it's not the same. No cranberries here. No pumpkin pie spice. No brown sugar to make most of the desserts that I love. And, I can never make Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day. I must wait until the following Saturday, as I must work on Thursday.
So I've given up trying to make our Thanksgiving dinner authentic. I simply make turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy and a simple apple pie.
What I will do is go to Mass on Thursday and Saturday and give the Lord thanks for the usual things and some that are not so usual. Here's the rundown:
Him
My son and husband
Family
Friends
Health
Job
My little ones
My coworkers
Internet (I can keep in touch with anybody)
My calling plan (I can call Mom and talk to her for 30 minutes each day)
The newsstand guy (he saves a Martha Stewart Living magazine each month and hard to find trading cards for Julian)
All the podcasting priests
All podcasting Catholics
All Catholic podcasts
...

At the end of the day, each day not just Thanksgiving, what really counts is that we recognize how lucky we are that we have so much to be thankful for.

¿Por qué no te callas?

Sí, Hugo Chávez es una vergüenza en el panorama internacional. El problema es que darle importancia a todo lo que vomita este individuo, lo engrandece y sintiéndose engrandecido... pues... no calla.

Ahora, a los que no les toca callar es a los inútiles del Ministerio de Exteriores. Señores, el presidente de Venezuela, que está haciendo todo lo posible por convertirse en REY, ha amenazado a ciudadanos y empresas españolas, ha insultado a políticos españoles (en mi opinion, merecido se lo tienen, pero hay límites) y al Rey (No soy monárquica. En mi país echamos al Rey de Inglaterra hace más de 200 años y no comparto el sentimiento de lealtad a un rey con minúscula, pero si respeto a los que la tienen).
¡Haced algo!
¡Qué mal puestos los teneis!

Vale.
Ahora le quitamos hierro al asunto.

En español

I suppose that this initial obsession with "Wave of Sorrows" will dissipate, if not disappear in due time. For now, I am looking for any and all information on this song. I am THAT obsessive about U2. I'm not a scary, stalking fan, but I DO ENJOY THEIR MUSIC! (and I think The Edge is sooooo handsome, yes, The Edge, not Bono, call me weird).
So searching for all things U2, and "Wave of Sorrows" specifically, I've run across a few translations of the song into Spanish that I do not agree with. So, I've spent time that I should be using in a more productive endeavor, into translating the song into Spanish.

Wave of Sorrow

Heat haze rising
On hell’s own hill.

You wake up this morning
It took an act of will.
You walk through the night
To get here today
To bring your children
To give them away.

Oh, oh this cruel sun.
Is daylight never done?
Cruelty just begun
To make a shadow of everyone

And if the rain came?
And if the rain came now?

Souls bent over without a breeze,
Blankets on burning trees .
I’m sick without disease.
Nobility on its knees.

And if the rain came?
And if the rain came now?
Would it wash us all away
On a wave of sorrow?
Wave
On a wave of sorrow.

Where now the Holy cities?
Where the ancient Holy scrolls?
Where now emperor Menelek?
And the Queen of Sheba’s gold?

You are my bride.
You wear her crown.
And on your finger precious stones.
As every good thing
now been sold.

Son, of shepherd boy, now King
What wisdom can you bring?
What lyric would you sing?
Where is the music of the Seraphim?

And if the rain came?
And if the rain came now?
Would it wash us all away
On a wave of sorrow?
Wave
A wave of sorrow .
Wave...

Blessed are the meek
who scratch in the dirt,
For they shall inherit
what’s left of the Earth.
Blessed are the Kings
who’ve left their thrones,
They are buried
in this Valley of Dry Bones.

Blessed all of you
with an empty heart,
For you got nothing
from which you cannot part.
Blessed is the ego
It’s all we got this hour.

Blessed is the voice
that speaks truth to power.
Blessed is the sex worker
who sold her body tonight.
She used what she got
To save her children’s life.

Blessed are you,
the deaf cannot hear a scream.
Blessed are the stupid
who can dream.
Blessed are
the tin-canned cardboard slums.
Blessed is the spirit
that overcomes.




Ola de dolor

La calina se eleva
de la colina del infierno.

El despertarte
fue acto de voluntad.
Caminas toda la noche
para llegar hoy.
Traes a tus hijos
para regalarlos.

O… o el sol es cruel.
¿La luz del sol, nunca desaparecerá?
La crueldad empieza
a convertirnos a todos en sombra.

¿Y si llega la lluvia?
¿Y si llegase la lluvia?

Almas doblegadas sin siquiera brisa.
Mantas sobre árboles ardientes.
Soy un enfermo sin enfermedad.
Mi dignidad se ha arrodillado.

¿Y si llega la lluvia?
¿Y si llegase la lluvia?
¿Nos llevaría a todos
Sobre una ola de dolor?
Ola
Sobre una ola de dolor.

¿Dónde están las ciudades santas?
¿Dónde los pergaminos santos?
¿Dónde el emperador Menelik?
¿Y el oro de la reina de Saba?

Tú eres mi desposada.
Llevas su corona.
En tu dedo piedras preciosas.
Como todo lo bueno,
ahora te han vendido.

Hijo del pastor, ahora rey
¿Qué sabiduría nos traes?
¿Qué letra cantarías?
¿Dónde está la música de los serafines?

¿Y si llega la lluvia?
¿Y si llegase la lluvia?
¿Nos llevaría a todos?
Sobre una ola de dolor?
Ola
Sobre una ola de dolor
Ola…

Bienaventurados los mansos
que trabajan la tierra
porque de ellos será
lo que queda de ella.
Bienaventurados los reyes
que han abandonado su tronos
Están enterrados
en el Valle de los huesos secos.

Bienaventurados los que
tengan un corazón vacío
Pues no tienesn nada
a lo que no puedan renunciar.
Bendito el ego,
es todo lo que nos queda.

Bienaventurada es la voz
que reta al Poder
Bienaventurada la prostituta
que vendió su cuerpo esta noche
Utilizó lo que ganó
para salvar a sus hijos

Bienaventurado tú
el sordo que no puede oir los gritos
Bienaventurados los estúpidos
que aún pueden soñar
Bienaventuradas
las barriadas chabolistas
Bienaventurado el espíritu
que lo pueda superar.





I encourage any opinions/corrections on the translation.
I would also like ideas or comments on the biblical references found in the song:
holy cities, holy scrolls, Valley of Dry Bones, Queen of Sheba, Solomon, Seraphim, The Beatitudes.

Me encantaría recibir opiniones/correciones en cuanto a la traducción.
También me encantaría que se entablara una conversación sobre los temas bíblicos de la canción:
ciudades santas, pergaminos santos, el Valle de los huesos secos, la Reina de Saba, Salomón, los serafines, las Bienaventuranzas.

The wonder that is U2.

Bono, brilliant. U2, awsome. Joshua Tree, a classic. Wave of Sorrow, amazing.
For me, there will be no better band than U2.
I was left speechless when I fist saw them back in 1984.
I was left speechless when I first heard The Joshua Tree.
I was left speechless (literally) when I met Bono and The Edge in LA during the Achtung tour.
Now Wave of Sorrow...

Not that I'm counting...

We have just 23 more days until the Advent season begins and 44 more days until CHRISTmas! Hurray!!!!
With CHRISTmas shopping done, I'm not going to start shopping for Reyes (Epiphany for all those outside the Latin/Hispanic tradition) until after New Years Day. So... I have a relatively hassle free month ahead of me :)
Now, my conundrum is the following:
When do I start with the CHRISTmas music? Here in Barcelona, all the CHRISTmas lights have been hung on all the major streets. They have not officially flipped the switch yet (we'll have to wait on Corte Inglés for that) but they are there. I see them everyday on my way to and from work. They tease me. I start to hum "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (The Barenaked Ladies version of course) and have to stop myself. Why? Why must I keep all this CHRISTmas glee to myself. I am not going to break out in song as I walk up Mandri Street, mind you, but I am itching to hear HCJr.'s voice beebopping "Mary's Boy Child".
The problem is that here, we don't have Thanksgiving, which back home is our family's official beginning of the Advent/CHRISTmas seasons. So, what is en expat to do?

Ooh La La, Je suis française!

I always saw myself more of a...hmmm...Spanish-type!

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

Who's Your Inner European?