Just checkin' in...

First of all, a huge RIP to the best of the best, Mr. Jimmy-Jams James Brown. A sad day in music history.

That being said...tell me this isn't pretty eerie: do you remember the last time a great, legendary African American performer died? Two years ago, Ray Charles? At age 73, same as James...

And who died w/in a week of Ray? Ronald Reagan, age 93 (he was sixty-freakin'-nine when he was elected president!)...and who just died today? Yup, that's right. Gerald Ford. 93 years old.

The best we can hope for now is some combination of 50-cent and Dubya, am I right?

Language update: I think I have progressed to the point of a small child...or a really really smart dog. I say this because, when I'm out walking around the city, I can often understand the elderly (who usually speak slower than their descendents) when they chat w/ their grandkids or dogs.

I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm not at the level of one of those super-smart four year olds or something. No, the kids I'm on par with will most likely end up in that 1^st grade classroom behind the furnace, with construction paper taped over the window in the door. I haven't seen any short-buses on the roads here, but if there are... then the kids I am at the same level of verbal understanding with would definitely be riding them.

At the same time, that's one hella clever dog I'm comparing myself to. That's like some Lassie or Rin Tin Tin kinda smart dog.

Speaking of dogs...did I mention that this city is a dog city? Just about everyone here seems to have at least one dog. Sometimes they are the big mamma-jammas, but for the most part it's those little ankle-biters. I always feel bad for them; it's such a big busy city and, even more than usual, these little guys just seem freaked out all the time. Hell, I understand how they feel.

Question: is there anything more uncomfortable-looking than a dog being forced to take a crap in the middle of the sidewalk? You can just see the look on their face: "I've been trying to hold this in until we at least got to some grass so I could hide it somewhat...but I can'ts holds it no mores!" You know they're thinking: "damn it! Every predator and prey within 10 miles of here now knows exactly where we are...and what I ate for damn breakfast! We're totally screwed!" They even fruitlessly try to scrape some sidewalk up with their back paws to try to bury their shame. Then, when their owner picks up the pile with a plastic baggy, the dog looks somewhat relieved (no pun intended): "Ah, good idea! If we take it with us, we'll at least confuse them some! Cause what loony-bin asshat would PICK UP AND CARRY HIS OWN FECES WITH HIM??? Smart master. Very smart."

Went out for a long walk yesterday, not aware of the fact that Catalonians also get the day after Christmas off...and it was a nice sunny day to boot...so people were EVERYWHERE. But it was cool, everyone seemed to be in a good mood. And I saw what I think is the coolest street performer I've ever witnessed. The genre of street performance that is most popular here is the "fake statue": people dress up as some sort of statue and usually, just, well, they usually just stand as still as possible. Statue-imitatin'. But yesterday people were pulling out all the stops. I saw a really cool Don Quixote and Sancho Panza team. They were actually interacting with the audience too. But the definite winner of the derby was the woman who was dressed up like a tree.

First of all, she was standing up on some kind of platform, so she was probably 8 feet tall. And her dress was made out of some kind of foam-rubber looking material, painted up brown and green, so it really looked like a trunk. And she was wearing this crazy headpiece, with branches and leaves all over it...and, I swear to god, she had dreadlocks running down the back that reached the ground. No kidding. I mean, it's possible they were just attached to the headpiece or whatever...but I don't think so. And there's no way she had 8 frickin' foot dreadlock-extensions. No, I think this woman really did just have 8 foot dreads. And if you know how dreads are formed, that's about 20 feet of undreaded hair. You know, come to think of it, it just doesn't seem possible. They would have broken off or something, and she certainly didn't look 70 years old (which is about how long it would take to farm dreads that long). Okay, you've really turned me around on this one; she was just going for the mossy look and they were attached to the headpiece.

In any case, it was really cool. She was just standing there, playing with one of those crystal orbs; you know the kind, where people roll them all up and down their arms and whatever? So she was going for some sort of tree-nymph look. And, of course, I didn't have my camera with me. Sorry...