The Dock Of The Bay

Science voice

2007-05-02T14:16:00.000-07:00

He appears late at night, to discover the life's enigmas to the audience.

Eduard Punset, and his program Redes in 'La 2', are a drop of water in the middle of the TV schedule desert.

He broadcasts, with his nice catalan accent and his frequently stretched hands and arms when he asks something important, the latest scientific advances once a week for an hour.

He really enjoys with his job. He loves science. You can see he is always keen on learning from his interviewed scientists, although he is 70. He wants the spectators to be involved with the scientific methods.

You feel happy to see someone, with an age to be retired, who wants to learn more and more, who is so interested in science. He's not afraid of technological advances, nor of a future society living with robots. Investigation with stem cells doesn't scare him.

He seems he has found the happiness that he explains in his last but one book. From my point of view, a model to follow.

Here is an interview of him published in La Vanguardia.

Makina music

2007-04-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

This movement was born around lately 80's and early 90's.
The beginnings of this musical movements are linked with Nando Dixkontrol in 'Psicodromo' Barcelona disco and Chimo Bayo in 'Arsenal' Valencia disco. It was (maybe it already is) a cultural movement rooted in Catalunya and Valencia, where it was born, and later exported to other places. From year 1996 to 2000 was its more successful period of time.

Makina music is based in giving beat or rhythm to pop or melodic songs, otherwise are not very dancing, unless that's makina disc jockeys' opinion. So it uses two music styles in order to create a third one. Makina music is usually made of two mixed songs, a melodic one and hard beat one, called base song. Hence a makina disc jockey can become famous or peculiar, since the music quality consists in the skill of making good mixes.

Chimo Bayo is very known for his singles. He created real popular songs. He was not only a disc jockey but a singer.

Nando is considered the promoter or 'father' of the Barcelona and Catalunya makina music disc jockeys. He was the first person to refer to this kind of music as 'makina'. As a disc jockey, he started playing industrial, hard, high beaten sounds. He was a very innovative disc jockey. Afterwards he created his own label.

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Oriol Carrió started a radio show in Ràdio Gràcia in 1993, called 'Lo que más rompe'. Later, Amadeu H. Rodríguez and Xavi Escolano joined him. This show was short, and it was about 'makina' music and humour. It got more and more audience, so in 1996, Flaix FM hired the tree presenters to do the radio show from this radio station.

The new radio show in Flaix FM was called 'El que més trenca' and it was produced by Toni Morell. It was on the air from 21:00 to 23:00 from Monday to Friday.

It became very successful, so successfull that in lately 1998 it was one of the most listened radio shows in Catalunya. In fact, it was the most Flaix FM's valuable radio show.

In 1997, due to its success, they decided to organize once a year an anniversary party. In 1998, the second anniversary party took place in Palau d'Esports de la Vall d'Hebron. Later, Xavi Escolano would leave the radio show.

At the end of 1998 the radio show was getting more and more audience, so in 1999, the third anniversary party was in Palau Sant Jordi, it was called Mega Aplec Dance, and 23.000 people gathered in the biggest disco ever seen. Mega Aplec Dance kept on organized in Palau Sant Jordi every year until 2001.

In 2000, Oriol Carrió left Flaix FM and went to 40 Principales, and his new show was called 'Dance Kontrol'.

During that period of time, several discos where makina music was played became real famous, due to the makina music boom, specially because the popularity of Carrio's radio show.

Disc jockeys became popular, as if they were the music band in the concert. People used to go to these discos to listen to the music the played and to watch them. People were facing the disc jockey cabin and having fun with them. They were demanded from lots of places.

Most of them are from Catalunya or Valencia. Probably, D. Álvarez and D. Pàmies, from a Girona disco, and Marc and Xavi Escudero brothers, from a Terrassa disco, were the most popular.

The greatest success ever got by a makina music LP was in 2000, when Marc and Xavi Escudero's compilation got the Gold Record Award.

From my point of view, I think Carrio's radio show was a very important part in the success of this movement. The best time of this movement matches with the period Carrió's show was in Flaix FM.

Johnny B. Goode

2007-03-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

Next 31st of March, it will be 49 years Chuck Berry released Johnny B. Goode, one of the most famous rock and roll songs. A song about a country boy who could play the guitar just like ringing a bell.

This song is an icon of rock and roll music. It's been versioned by lot of music bands. It was even performed by Michael J. Fox in "Back to the Future" film. Even John Lennon said if you had to use another name for rock and roll, it'd have to be Chuck Berry.

C. Berry was an amateur musician. He started playing in a music band to earn extra money. His first hit was a song called Maybellene.

He has influenced a large number of musicians, and he opened the door to black musicians as he was the first black musician succeed. C. Berry has a funny kind of performance. He made famouse his duck walk, which was really funny, above all because of he is quite tall and thin. His image with his Gibson guitar has became an icon too.

Although Bill Haley and his Comets are considered who started rock and roll, because of their great hit Rock around the Clock (1955), Johnny B. Goode is considered the biggest example of early rock and roll music. It was included in the Voyager I Spacecraft cultural compilation as one of the biggest human achievements.

Bill and his Comets were innovative. They were music jugglers! They were one of the first musicians using electric guitars.

Rock and roll music, come up from American folklore (black music styles), was an incredible musical and cultural movement in late fifties and early sixties.

Another musical artists followed the rock and roll music, as Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Roy Orbison, etc. Musical sixties were starting to be born.

It's worthy of admiration people who enjoy and could earn their living playing music in that years. It wasn't like now. Nowadays, music is a world that moves huge quantities of money. It seems it has lost its essence.

Downshifting

2007-03-09T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hurry up! We get stressed. Faster! It is not enough. Don't be late!

Maybe we are living in a society which is in a hurry, but on the other hand, we want to live longer and longer. We want to be young forever in order to enjoy more. But, do we want to enjoy living in a rush?

Downshifting is a movement started in EEUU. It tells maybe we don't need work so much to earn so much money. It is just we only need to work for living, not living for work.

Free time is living! Quality of life is not working a lot of hours a day to have an Aston Martin, or making extra hours at work to have more money to go farther on holidays. We have got used to a high consumer rhythm (maybe there are some people very interested in we work a lot and spend a lot) and we might buy more things than we really need.

Money isn't happyness. Obviuosly it helps a lot, especially in a consumer society. But it's proved once people reach self-sufficiency money levels, they don't get happier if they increase their amount of money.

It's not about not to work to lying around. It's working a reasonable quantity of hours, so you can enjoy life, your hobbies, your family, your friends... Enjoy is not consuming.

It even seems this "working & leisure time" is not very sustainable. We only have to see wealth distribution is not fair at all. Maybe western people life level is only possible if the most part of the mankind lives in bad situation.

There's another movement, slow food, very similar to downshiting. It is about the same but related to food.

Diary

2007-02-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

February, 31th 2080

Today it's been a hard day. I had to wake up very early in the morning. The car-plane had a little failure with its network connection and it has become slower to deliver packets.

Third packet destination was far, not very visited area. So getting here has turned out a real problem.

Now I'm stuck here, at 10:50 p.m., with a nearly not working car-plane, I haven't found the destination place and my P8000-pet's messing around. At least, listening to Mark Knopfler is still a relaxing pleasure.

Mini-Saga: "Temporal curl"

2007-01-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

Views from flat roof were marvellous. Above all beside Jane. His mobile fell down. He rushed down fast. His mobile was smashed. The worse thing was somebody had pushed Jane down! Ten minutes back on time would be enough. As he ran towards Jane he stumbled and pushed Jane down.

King of Soul

2006-12-09T08:48:00.000-08:00

It was a shame he died when he was only 26, he scarcely enjoyed the success of his most famous song, 'Sittin' on the dock of the bay'.

Otis Redding was a soul singer. Soul is an afro-American music style developed in USA, based on gospel and blues styles, among other ones.

When he was young he won fifteen times in a row a talent show, and they don't allow him to participate anymore. He used to sing Rolling Stones' song 'Satisfaction', and they have always said they like more Otis version rather than theirs.

He had a particular voice, he obviously had black voice (I like them very much), but he had that hoarse voice which made him distinct.

O. Redding became very famous in the sixties, when the soul music was very successful too.

Aretha Franklin was a very famous soul singer in the sixties too. She made of 'Respect' (an Otis' song) a terrible success.
Other black singers as Wilson Pickett or Ray Charles were in fashion. Tina Turner was a soul singer in sixties too.

I like Otis Redding's songs very much, and I like Ray Charles' too.
O. Redding gave off a lot of energy on the scenario, a lot of happiness. I found him very funny when I see videos about him singing in live.

Some of their songs have a lot of rhythm, I think if some of them were played in discos, they would become in fashion again.

Today thirty nine years ago, he got killed in a plane crash.

Miss Pillow's dream

2006-12-03T07:58:00.000-08:00

Last night, Miss Pillow began to tell me she has dreamed about me. She told me that I was....

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...I was crossing an immense desert riding on a giant tortoise, 'I hope we don't find Mr. Sandman here, I have enough with one dream!' I said.
'Oh look' I said, there were a microwave, maybe it was pathfinder's, Eduard Punset was in talking about memes, DNA and happiness travellings, I hope he found them. Sky was becoming purple and nice lines appeared, as GOBLIN use to talk about, 'I think I am getting near light velocity' I said, well, it was not so bad, so I would not get so older.
'See you!' I said, Lucy was in the sky, but she didn't have diamonds, never mind, I will have more chances.
Travelling on tortoise seemed ecological, for sure Zorro would like it. We were reaching a heavenly place, wonderful, it seemed made of chewing gum, 'maybe Red Apple and Aire've been here' I said. Any kind of life didn't keep Fibonacci series, DaDarkestAngel would enjoy this quiet and nice place. Noa, the russian cat, was playing under a candy floss tree, Noa was trying to catch SHANTI's lizard (maybe Elton John would write it a rock), Mr. Tortoise smiled.
Landscape was becoming blue and a little cold, Still Acer would enjoy it. Mr. Tortoise needed a rest, so we stopped and bought a waffle with chocolate in Singularity Stall, but the waffle was so heavy and thick light couldn't escape from it! It was like a singularity, so we threw it very far away, we didn't want a big bang on our stomachs. I will not tell the recipe to Pumuky's & CO's ;-)

Someone was getting closer, oh! It was me riding on Mr. Tortoise!! 'Aha ok' I said, we travelled for a while faster than the light, so they actually were our light, I promised not to tell to Einstein, he would tell me off.
'Look!' I said, Marc Chagall was painting mixing red and green colours, and he got a new real colour! 'Great!' I said, the brain didn't have perceptive problems, if Bluephie were here...
Mr. Tortoise and I carried on with our journey, we were reaching a place which seems we were in an enormous cube with geometrical forms, there was a woman who was shouting she's got the relationship between Quantum Theory and Relativity Theory, Stephen Hawking would get very happy if he knew.

This place looked like space-time were curling, I was a little scared, but it was nice Jeff Buckley was singing there, with his telecaster, as he used to do, you couldn't dance 'dansa del ventre' with his songs, but he looked more pleasant than that boy from Prison Break serie ;-P and the travelling became nicer. These strange places seemed to be very peaceful and fairer than ours, Ladybird would love it.

Eventually Mr. Tortoise got tired, so he landed aside a river with high Tide, and there were a Green Dog swimming! I turned myself and there were another river very close, I was between two waters! If Paco de Lucía could help me...

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...but I ended up telling her I had dreamed about me. I will not go out at night with Miss Pillow again, she doesn't suit me.

Classmates blogs

2006-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

Teacher told us to write a post about the classmate blog we like most, the blog we find more interesting or pleasant.

Currently I don't have a favourite blog, blogs are just starting and they haven't much posts. But I like some blogs, for example Zorro's or pathfinder's. From my point of view, they seem very interesting posts. I like the topic they talk about and their thematic. I like science and technology very much and they are probably going to be nice.

Another blog I find beatiful is aire's, it is very exotic! it tells you curious things about far off wonderful places, it is like an adventure stories, and its pictures are very beatiful. I also like the opinions and thinkings the writer has written in posts, very witty there.

Ladybird's and Pumuky's & CO's are a very active blogs, so you can find a post you like. Ladybird's opinions and thinkings are good too, and with Pumuky's & CO's posts you can learn new things.

The post's GOBLIN's has written are very curious and ingeniuos too.

So that is my opinion.

Abbott & Costello

2006-11-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

They were a comical duo. They started working together in 1936 until 1956. They were very successful above all in the radio, in the 'The Kate Smith Hour' program, although they also performed in Broadway and starred films.

They became more successful on the radio because of their word messings. Costello was the funniest of them, Abbott were more nearer a plump for the situation. Hanna-Barbera produced a cartoon TV serie about Abbott and Costello.

Later, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis comical duo outshined Abbott and Costello. Martin and Lewis were a comical-musical duo.

I have written a post about them to introduce a little made up conversation between George W. Bush and Condoleezza Rice based on an Abbott and Costello's conversation, "Who's on First?". So the next conversation is not written by me. I hope you enjoy it, I find it very funny.

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President George W. Bush: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening

National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice: Sir, I have the report here
about the new leader of China .

Bush: Great. Lay it on me.

Rice: Hu is the new leader of China .

Bush: That's what I want to know.

Rice: That's what I'm telling you.

Bush: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China

Rice: Yes.

Bush: I mean the fellow's name.

Rice: Hu.

Bush: The guy in China .

Rice: Hu.

Bush: The new leader of China .

Rice: Hu.

Bush: The Chinaman!

Rice: Hu is leading China .

Bush: Now whaddya asking me for

Rice: I'm telling you Hu is leading China .

Bush: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China

Rice: That's the mans name.

Bush: That's who's name

Rice: Yes.

Bush: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China

Rice: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir Yassir Arafat is in China I thought he was in the Middle East.

Rice: That's correct.

Bush: Then who is in China

Rice: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir is in China

Rice: No, sir.

Bush: Then who is

Rice: Yes, sir.

Bush: Yassir

Rice: No, sir.

Bush: Look, Rice. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.

Rice: Kofi

Bush: No, thanks.

Rice: You want Kofi

Bush: No.

Rice: You don't want Kofi.

Bush: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.

Rice: Yes, sir.

Bush: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.

Rice: Kofi

Bush: Milk! Will you please make the call

Rice: And call who

Bush: Who is the guy at the U.N

Rice: Hu is the guy in China .

Bush: Will you stay out of China !

Rice: Yes, sir.

Bush: And stay out of the Middle East ! Just get me the guy at the U.N.

Rice: Kofi.

Bush: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.

Rice (picks up the phone) : Rice, here.

Bush: Rice Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we should
send some to the guy in China . And the Middle East. Can you Chinese food
in the Middle East

Hairdresser's

2006-11-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

Some days ago a flyer reached my hands. But I found it very curious. I didn't know there were places like the one advertised on the flyer here, in Barcelona.
The flyer told you could speak English with the hairdresser while you had your hair cut. It is a hairdresser's in which you can improve your spoken English, and it is very funny!
I don't know if I will go to these hairdresser's, but for sure I will pass by there to look around.
It is good to find places or things or situations we can improve our English in, and not only in our English lessons.

Time ago a friend of mine told me about a website you could practise English, and I find it very interesting. I also found a website about English with a curious way of explaining pronuntiation. Of course, watch films in English language, read English books ,talk to native English speakers and spend a period of time in an English-speaking city are very good ways to improve the language learning.

Do you know any other ways to improve our English?

Any Monday morning

2006-11-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

7:45 am

- Hi.
- Hi! Sorry I haven't seen you!
- It doesn't matter, how are you?
- Fine, waiting for the train.
- An odyssey, as always.
- Yes, of course. How are you?
- I am a little cold, weather has changed so suddenly.
- Yes it has. How has it been your weekend?
- Well, not so bad. Problems with a washroom pipe and my cellphone.
- What has it happened with your washroom?
- I don't know, I always get things damaged. I had to spend all Saturday morning in home with the plumber.
- Very boring.
- And expensive, you will not want to know how much it cost.
- I don't even want to know. And what about your cellphone?
- A mistake on my bill. They charged phone calls I never did.
- Don't be so pessimistic, yesterday I was the whole evening on the telephone trying to solve, with my internet provider, an incidence. What a Sunday!
- They, as cellphones companies, should be more carefull with clients. I don't like very much their service. Oh listen, this is a song I downloaded yesterday, I like it a lot, I can't stop listening to it!
- Let's see... Ups, look out!
- Oh No! My mp3 player! It has fallen itself!
- How has it fallen?! Take care.
- I don't know...well it seems to work properly...No, it seems it doesn't work.
- Keep it, we'll have a look at it later.
- Ok ok. What about this weekend sports wagers?
- Bad, Saturday's night it was already in the bin. And yours?
- The same way as yours.
- It is getting crowd, every morning the same situation.
- I prefer not to think about it.
- Oh look! It seems today's train is puntual.
- I don't think so. I think it is Friday's eight o'clock train.
- And tomorrow will be Saturday?

Be water

2006-10-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

Recently it is being screened on TV a commercial including a Bruce Lee interview

Viewing this commercial, films about martial arts have come to my mind.
I liked them very much when I was younger. Now I like them too, but years ago I really liked them more. I remember there were a lot of films about it, like Karate Kid saga, which was starred by Noriyuki Morita. These years this kind of films were in fashion, there were a lot of them to choose between, Chuck Norris', Jean Claude Van Damme's, and several movies whose main characters were kids who knew martial arts. Martial arts TV series appeared too, like Kung Fu, with David Carradine.

Bruce Lee became a very popular celebrity, above all because of his early and strange death, also because in USA, people used to watch boxing battles, but not martial art battles.
Bruce Lee not only was a martial artist, but a philosopher (he studied in Washington University, in Seattle) and became an actor. 'Fist of Fury', 'Way of the Dragon' and 'Enter the Dragon' were his most famous films, 'Enter the Dragon' was screened after he died and was very succesful.
Bruce Lee has been considered one of the strongest men, he was very strong but very agile too, he could knock down a person who was twice his weight with a lateral kick. He even created his own style, called 'Jeet Kune Do'.
Unluckily, when he was 32, he died.

I like martial arts very much, not only because of the art but the philosophy it holds.

Nowadays, maybe Jackie Chan's films are a rebirth in martial arts films fashion again.

Honeymoon

2006-10-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Today it has been a warm day here, in the dock of the bay. I have been reading the newspaper and I have read in twenty years the Moon will be populated by astronauts. Japan, China, India, and USA will send their machines to the Moon and later, they will send astronauts to stay there for long time, and create a moon base. Moon fever is back!

Too much people will think that there are a lot of things to solve here, on ther Earth, but it is
likely there are people who think that it is an oportunity to research and improve our lives.
On the Moon, astronauts will be able to research in new conditions, new astronomical points, there are elements we hardly have here on the Earth...

But it is not only research. There are companies that want to make money, and the problems raise with the question 'Who belongs the Moon to?' Even nowadays there are companies which already are selling lands on the Moon! The business is here, and probably disagreements, so not all is research. They even talk about movie studios, spacial tourims and military affairs.

Maybe between now and hundred years, things as happened on the film Total Recall, will not be so much differents, who knows....

First post

2006-10-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

This is the first post I write in this blog, and my first post ever, because this is my first blog.
So, this is a prove so that I can see how it works.
I am going to insert a picture too, which is related with the title of the blog.

That is all for today, I leave you surf on the internet, meanwhile I will keep here, writing on the dock of the bay, and hoping you visit me again.

See you.