Awesome: Star Wars on Spanish Guitar

Faith, Hope, Love, and FLAMENCO

Check out Spain's dancing priest Father Pepe.

World Cup: Spain's Out

The defending champions are out.  Is there a World Cup curse? Once is a fluke, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern?  

Going Ape in Tenerife

What happens when the zoo veterinarian mistakes you for a runaway gorilla?

Meanwhile the different branches of the zoo staff might want to get on the same page finally, y'think?  Communicate, people!

UPDATE: The zoo has denied that the guy was wearing a gorilla suit.

A Matter of Perspective

Landmarks from different angles!

Blast From the Past (Literally)

Hurricane Sandy is a history-making storm.  Take a look at 6 other tempests that changed history, from the "divine wind" typhoon that saved Japan from a Mongol invasion fleet in 1281 to the storm that wrecked the Spanish Armada and thus saved England in 1588 and more.

The Euro Crisis: "a shabby, demoralising slide into darkness"

Life imitates T.S. Eliot: here are a few thoughts on the slow slide into ruin when we're expecting instant apocalypse.  That doesn't mean the ruin is any real.

Euro Notes: Quote of the Day on the Spain Bailout

Heh (via Samizdata):

Could Brussels have been taken over by saboteurs, a secret army of eurosceptic infiltrators and spies masquerading as officials? 

I only ask because it now almost seems as if Spain’s bailout was deliberately designed not merely to fail but to inflict maximum damage on the Spanish economy and the entire Eurozone. Rarely have I seen such incompetence.

Euro Notes: Credit Rating Downgrades

Uh-oh -- some eurozone countries are getting coal in their stocking this Christmas.  Spain, Italy, Belgium ... you've been very naughty indeed.

Quirky Euro Files: Fun with Stereotypes

Hilarious, if you're not easily offended.

Barcelona's Last Bullfight

The end of a centuries-old tradition as Catalonia bans bullfighting.  The argument continues, of course, about whether this is a good thing or not.

No Room for Dessert: "World's Best Eatery" Closes

Chef Ferran Adria's award-winning El Bulli restaurant in Spain has closed.  Adria specializes in experimental "molecular gastronomy," which is a cool concept, though to me his dishes always resembled abstract art or even performance art (and/or weird science) more than food.  

Friday Fun Video: Coolest Apartment Ever

There's no place like home.

Quirky Euro Files: Spanish Nun Booted From Convent For Too Much Facebooking

Really?

Euro Notes: The Young and the Restless

And the jobless too.  Europe's 20-somethings realize that they're screwed -- especially the well-educated ones.  UPDATE: More here.

Monday Therapy: A Tale of Two UVics

First there was this spectacular lip dub by 900 college students of UVic in Spain back in May.  (Need a reminder what a lip dub is?)

Then, thanks in part to the widespread media confusion between UVic in Spain and the other UVic in Canada, the Canadians launched their own playful (and amazing) lip dub in September with 900+ participants.  Well done, everyone!  (To clarify: the first UVic is the Universitat de Vic in Catalonia, and the second is the University of Victoria in British Columbia).

Extreme Architecture: Spain on the Edge

Do take a look at some amazing land/cityscapes!

Bulls 1, Bullfighting 0 as Catalonia Outlaws the Ancient Tradition

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

World Cup Obsession: The Netherlands Vs. Spain -- It's the Final!

Need I say more?  GO NETHERLANDS!


UPDATE:  Alas, no Dutch Treat this year!  But congrats to Spain.

World Cup Obsession: Germany vs. Spain in Semifinals

It's going to be EPIC.  It better be EPIC.  My beautiful Germans have been on a roll, and I am ludicrously excited about the semifinal match later today.   After the Netherlands knocked off Uruguay yesterday (what a match that was!), I am over the moon.  Those Dutchmen!  The very same who sent Brazil home.  I'm beginning to love these guys.  Can't wait to see them in finals!

As for today's semifinal match.  My buddies are all backing Spain.  Oh, sure, Spain is good, but I have faith in my Germans.  I remember how folks thought they couldn't win against Argentina, and look how that turned out.  I'm a little concerned, though, that Mueller's not playing this match.  Never mind.  Get Klose on the pitch and turn him loose.  On the other side, I expect great things from Villa.

Ooooh, and read this little writeup that says what everybody's thinking: Germany-Spain sounds like a World Cup FINAL.  It describes the Germans with this delicious phrasing: "playing with discipline and a seamless chemistry that makes their plays unfold like a symphony."  OH YES.  They're beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.  I love it!

I'll leave you with this awesome graphic of World Cup champions from Geeks Are Sexy.  Is this the year for German glory?  They came so close in 2006.

UPDATE 1: As Hamlet said, "I defy augury!"  We previously met Paul the soccer-predicting octopus here.


(Note: I am also obsessing, as I do every summer, about the Tour de France -- now in Stage 4!  But there will be Tour blogging later. Oh, and my now-standard caveat remains in effect.)


UPDATE 2:  Thanks to the German side for a thrilling ride in this World Cup!  MM still loves her Germans even as she congratulates the Spaniards on their 1-0 victory.  Spain to the World Cup finals for the first time!  That Spain-vs. Netherlands final is going to be AWESOME.


UPDATE 3: I guess Paul the Octopus was right after all.  Well, dang it.