Further Notes On Ethnographic collection

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Or why Spanish, like birds, isn’t real. Or it’s entirely possible that not having slept in close on to 48 hours I’m tripping…. but…..

Hey guys?

What’s wrong with Spain? No seriously?

I grew up thinking of them as Portugal’s more forceful and organized brother but I just flew to Portugal via Madrid, and something has gone seriously wrong with that country.

Portugal isn’t very organized. I’m used to that. It took them close to two hours to locate the rental car we’d reserved, and then they forgot we wanted a GPS and finally brought us one, I swear, from someone’s personal car. Even though we’d paid for a GPS.

But that’s…. organization, non compliance, and what I decided to call ADD Nation.

The Spaniards seem to not only have lost all their capacity for organization, but also even a vague attempt at making sense. Madrid seemed to be a flux of competing power satraps, in which the ticket girl is at war with the luggage handlers, is at war with the schedulers is at war with the people at the gates is at war…

Caught in the middle of this, mere passengers have no clue if they’re herded towards baggage claim, passport control or, you know, an outdoor entrance. Or of course, their doom. We not only could have left through door to the street in the middle of a supposedly secure place, but conversely anyone could come in, as we opened the door and peered, confusedly, outside.

And everyone yells at you all the time, in Spanish, which I understand just enough to get p*ssed at being treated like a toddler. And there are no signs anywhere.

By comparison our destination airport, in Portugal, was clean and modern, and had signs telling us where to go, even if the customs guys were too busy arguing soccer to actually do their job and just waved everyone through. (We GENUINELY didn’t have anything. We brought gifts for the little kids, but I don’t think anyone cares about dinosaur puppets. Well, other than the kid. But I’m sure other people did.)

So, first question: Is Spanish a real language, or is it a ruse, designed for being maximally annoying, and loosed on the world, and they are behind our backs speaking English like normal people?

Second question: Is Spain having a nervous breakdown? Is it something the EU did? Is Spain an abused spouse. Does the EU go down to the pub, come home worse for the wear?

Does anyone know if Spain has bruises and says it’s just clumsy and it walked into a doorknob?

Come on. Check with your Spain today, and make sure it’s okay.

Also, I’ll write a real post tomorrow, after I’ve slept more than two 20 minute catnap.

Don’t demolish the blog. There will be posts, I swear.

120 thoughts on “Further Notes On Ethnographic collection”

  2. Everything I’ve heard says Spain is seriously messed up. Not sure when it started, but in recent years, it’s gone downhill HARD. Really, really hard.

    Your experience seems to confirm that, sadly.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. They got bad during the CovBS. They nationalized all the Medocal, and where atheletes would go there for treatments, those places now Eff things up. Rider Marc Márquez broke his arm, flew home and the fixed i . . . 35 degrees off of centerline. He also got several infections from the surgeries, finally flying here to have the Mayo fix it.

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  4. Good heavens … Spain was fairly well organized, the last time that I was there. (Of course, that was in the early 1990s…) It was Greece that seemed to be a frantically disorganized, schizo kind of place, in comparison…

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    1. “I could give you my word as a Spaniard.”

      “No good. I’ve known too many Spaniards.”

      “Isn’t there any way you trust me?”

      “Nothing comes to mind.

      “I swear by the soul of my father, Domingo Montoya, you will reach the top alive.”

      “Throw me the rope.”

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  7. Spain is trying to import young and middle-aged professionals and entrepreneurs to quite a number of depopulated towns and cities throughout the country. As are a lot of other European countries. Interestingly enough, they’re not looking for Muslim professionals; but I suspect that the followers of Mohammed may end up taking over those countries entirely.

    On another topic, apparently Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. No word yet on casualties, or how many were intercepted. There was no prior warning of the launch to any other nations. At the same time, apparently some terrorists attacked a bunch of people in Israel itself. I’d be willing to say this is part of what’s left of a combined offensive against Israel, that Mossad’s decapitation of Hezbollah threw a serious monkey wrench into their plans. Whichever it is, it looks like open war between Israel and Iran. And that probably means we’ll either see a mushroom cloud or two, or some radiologic attacks. Interesting times. If you haven’t been praying, consider starting. And this idiot dock worker strike is at one of the worst possible times for people to prep for shortages.

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    1. JPost says no injuries reported as of 15 minutes ago (1435 CDT), injuries from a terror attack by gunmen earlier in the day.

      Haaretz says that Bibi is a crook and crooked, and oh, yeah, missiles were launched at Israel.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Latest is 5 dead 12 wounded … in Iran, when one missile spontaneously disassembled instead of launching, and one West Bank fellow killed near Jericho who could have been hit by falling Iranian diplomacy given timing, still unconfirmed.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. I find Haaretz to be more anti-Likud than is the JPost, but then I tend to focus on the military coverage and human interest than on the editorials and political stuff. I get enough headaches keeping track of the US, Canadian, and German politics, thank you.

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            1. Yeah, Haaretz is “Bibi is evil incarnate”, where JPost seems to be “In today’s news, this and that, while of course Bibi did everything wrong except by accident.” Times of Israel is more along the lines of “This and that, and politics is happening” which reads a little easier to me from way over here some 7,400 miles distant.

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        3. Oh, and in something of a monumental development which will go under most radars, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has publicly stated the Royal Jordanian Air Force shot down missiles heading over Jordanian airspace towards Israel.

          Jordan’s Public Security Directorate says its air defenses intercepted missiles and drones as Iran attacked Israel.

          “The Royal Jordanian Air Force and air defense systems responded to a number of missiles and drones that entered Jordanian airspace,” a statement says.

          https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/jordan-says-air-force-aerial-defenses-intercepted-projectiles-during-iranian-attack-on-israel/

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          1. I’ve been away from news all day, so this is new to me. OTOH, I’m getting the idea that the Abraham Accords aren’t quite as dead as FJB and FKH tried to make them.

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            1. The Suni/Arab neighbors of Israel may dislike the Shia/Persian Iranians more than the Israelis.

              The Iranians are openly scornful of Arab “goat herders”. (and “herder” is often not the word.) Wheras the Israelis treat the Arabs with the respect of taking their military seriously. Sure. Smug “we kick Arab ass”, but they did earn it. The Iranian giant failed to defeat the smaller Arab Iraq, so decidedly lack reasons to disdain them.

              And Israel may actually successfully unite the Arabs against the Mullahs, just long enough anyway, and Hoo Boy that is a game changer.

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          2. Jordan had publicly told Iran they would do that. Jordan seems to be run by humans, and no human wants anything to do with those crazy idiots in Tehran.

            hmm. Obama loves them …..

            Liked by 1 person

            1. The current King of Jordan was educated in California, and was at that time a sufficiently enthusiastic Trekkie to finagle a nonspeaking background role on Star Trek Voyager. His father survived something like forty attempts on his life, including two by Palestinian militants, which is part of why the Palestinians are less than welcome in Jordan.

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              1. “Less than welcome” is putting it mildly. The “refugees” leadership from the West Bank tried to kill the prior King and take over Jordan, which is why the Jordanians have zero refugee camps and all the “displaced” suddenly found an urgent need to displace again and be outside the borders of Jordan.

                Technically since the West Bank was most previously Jordanian sovereign territory occupied after 1967, it would nominally be traded back to them in any deal, but they want absolutely nothing to do with it or its residents, formally renouncing any claim in 1988.

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          1. The report I saw was not only the head of the anti mossad bureau but 20 of its people. Can we trade in our crap CIA for an actual spy agency. Except I’m not sure I trust our politicians with an intelligence agency that actually works

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                1. One joke name for the beeper operation I saw was “Drunken Bris”. Although I believe that Islam favors circumcision for cleanliness reasons so the name is somewhat incorrect :-) .

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              2. I am afraid that E.E. Smith was incorrect and that for a theological reason there are no incorruptible humans. Still, it would be nice although I think Heinlein’s take on the Lensman universe on Number of the Beast might hint it would not be a perfect society. Imagine a busybody Lensman…

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                1. The incorruptible Lensmen was the Major Science Fiction element of that Series. [Grin]

                  I suspect the Lens (or the Arisians) were the major reason that the Lensmen were incorruptible.

                  Note, I got the impression that the Lensmen were not majorly involved in the everyday society of “Civilization”.

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                  1. Note that there was mention of candidates being sent to Arisa for their lenses, and never returning. Considering their vision of the cosmic all, they were fully capable of weeding out any who might, at some point in the future, betray their ideals. So as far as human lensmen are concerned, they really were an incorruptible group of people.

                    And yes, I suspect Smith was heavily influenced by the eugenics movement, since such a thing would be right up the alley for a god-like alien civilization to undertake a million-year breeding programs for humans, and keep it hidden from them.

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                  2. You’re missing the most crucial aspect, though. Nobody can lie to a Lensman — not even another Lensman. That alone would go a long way toward preventing corruption.

                    Imagine if people could infallibly know when politicians are lying. Of course, you’d also have to imagine that most people actually cared about the truth…

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                2. DC animated universe.

                  Alternate earth.

                  Supes is taunted by Luthor, loses his SuperS(HONK!)t, and heat-beam fries Luthor. R.I.P. Bats quips: “I’m good with that”.

                  Justice Lords impose Utopia. They lobotomize Joker and the other superbads. Anyone who gets violent, or just grumbles too much, gets arrested. And probably lobotomized.

                  Donkuloid Paradise. Terrified sheep under Aristo rule.

                  Eventually the “real” heroes put things to right. Mostly.

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            2. I’d be willing to bet that none of them are Mossad agents, not a lot but I’d make a bet. With everything that’s been going on, Israel has to be living in their heads and totalitarian regimes are known to purge for all sorts of reasons. Actual treason is fairly low on the list.

              Liked by 2 people

              1. Well, they all suddenly found urgent out-of-Iran business they had to attend to personally, so at minimum they were all well plugged in and knew they were suddenly on a little list.

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              2. And perhaps Mossad was just propagating the rumor to panic their enemies. Always good strategy as it moves the Iranians into paranoia and own goals :-) .

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          3. The bearded monkeys are also claiming Israel wins battles and wars more often than not because they’re in league with powerful magical genies.

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              1. The Reader believes that to the portion of the human race stuck in the 7th century, brains are magical genies.

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                1. I was watching that recovered video from that guy who was interviewing Palestinians in the West Bank. The young woman shown was supposedly typical of those he interviewed. The total acceptance that all Jews should be annihilated, her belief that the Israelis killed their own people during Oct 7, just, unfathomable. Her very identity is so built around the crazy that it is unlikely any deprogramming will ever have any effect. It would literally take an Act of God to get them to live peacefully with anyone.

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          4. The bearded monkeys are also claiming Israel wins battles and wars more often than not because they’re in league with powerful magical genies.

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    2. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

      But If radioactive fallout suddenly makes a significant fraction of the world’s freshwater undrinkable, you have my encouragement to freak the fork out.

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      1. We should be fine. Review the total megatonnage of nuclear testing before the “above ground” ban. Its… impressive.

        And the fallout is likely to be Iranian nuclear infrastructure that gets shattered and scattered by Israeli HE. Much more localized.

        Israel will likely go after select PooBahs, with great discretion, and not generally target the Iranian population.

        As long as Iran doesn’t use nukes.

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    3. Well, the Dar as Salaam (?) has been hankering to get Spain back for over half a Millenium, looks like the current Iberian crew are inviting them back in. That’s going to work out swell . . .

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  8. Thanks for the heads up; my wife’s nephew and his wife and kids are in Madrid now. He’s American, she’s British, and he left London for work to get away from the chaos a couple of years ago.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Unfortunately, yes. Em’s older sister and her husband went over there in the last year for a long term stay to see the grandkids. I think they’re still there.

        Liked by 1 person

  9. My understanding of recent Spanish history is mostly because two of my favorite filmmakers were Spaniards, Luis Buñuel and Jess Franco (Jesus Franco Manera). Using their lives and careers as a lens, I would say that Spain suffered a decades-long trauma with the civil war, and then the Franco dictatorship. The last decade or so of the dictatorship, they got to be the unwilling playground of the rest of Europe’s elites, and so the 1970s and 1980s were an explosion of liberty, libertinism, and proving that they were just as modern as the rest of Europe. Possibly the formation of the EU brought back the implicit sense of inferiority of the Franco years, since they are neither the major political force, nor the center of attention.

    So the situation you describe now, sounds about right. Mass seething resentment and dysfunction, waiting for another release.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. There was also that part of Spain that attempted to secede some sixish? years ago.
      I’m pretty sure that, and the ham handed response to it, created a lot of cracks that 2020-2021 only exacerbated.

      My memories of it are pretty vague, and I know very little of the culture, so any analysis beyond that is outside my abilities.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Basque have a history of regularly trying to succeed. As to Catalonia and Galicia.

        There is also the Andalusian area which is part of Spain but an autonomous region. The Basque and other areas cannot claim to be autonomous.

        A relative recent law involved Catalonia area.

        What one has been causing problems? IDK

        Liked by 1 person

      2. They’ve been trying to secede since just after Franco. It flares into violence every now and then. From time to time Spain keeps occupation troops there to keep it from turning into a full-blown civil war.

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    2. Probably not that complicated. They have a parliamentary system. Current Prime Minster has been in power for six years, and is head of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, which is exactly what the name sounds like in English. He does have a tendency to refight the Spanish Civil War, for much the same reasons that the hard left in the USA tends to refight the Civil Rights Movement, so that a dictator who died fifty years ago (and three years after Sanchez was born) is somehow responsible for everything wrong with Spain today.

      The Catalonian separatists, on the Mediterranean coast, are the ones you were hearing about a couple of years back. Historically wealthy, snobbish, and socialist from the 1920s down to the present, except when forcibly prevented prevented from expressing socialism. Not a sympathetic lot.

      On a related note, I’ve had the impression that switching to the Euro was not beneficial to the Italian film industry (or at least the Italo-Outsider coproduction section of it) and the same might be true of Spain.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Actually you are hearing Marni Nixon. Ms. Hepburn could sing but was an alto. Eliza Doolitle parts are high soprano and VERY technical. Ms Hepburn couldn’t sing most of them so she was dubbed by Marni Nixon who was THE voice of many of that periods high end musicals (also in singing lead for Natalie Wood in West Side Story).

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          1. Yes the dialogue is all hers. It is not until the singing breaks out that Ms Nixon was used. I am not clear about the brief spoken run ups to the songs, And indeed Ms. Hepburn was doing the Cockney accent for Eliza.

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  12. That seems sad. I love Spain and have spent some time working there over the years. The last time I was there (five years ago admittedly) both Bilbao and Barajas airports were a joy, particularly compared to the horror of Heathrow (flights not matching ticket description, missing buses, no seats, several miles of walking).

    I also love Portugal, although the less said about working there the better.

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  14. I’ve been hearing about attacks on tourists in Madrid, Not robbery, but rather something that seems to be fueled by resentment of the fact that the victim is a tourist visiting Spain.

    I don’t know enough about Spain to understand any rationale for that sort of thing.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Or it could be a version of Parisian Waiter Syndrome: Be rude to everyone (more so if not Parisians), and be sure to stick your thumb in the soup.

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    2. The ones I heard about were in Barcelona (Catalonia province/would-be separate country) and involved young people in their twenties spitting on and verbally abusing tourists because they blamed them for the high cost of housing.

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  16. The Japanese just elected a real corker of a prime minister. (He’s LDP, of course, because Japan really is run by a uniparty.)

    This guy is the great-grandson of, basically, Japan’s answer to Billy Sunday or Billy Graham. (On his mom’s side.) A guy born to a samurai family in 1857, who lived until 1945, named Michitomo Kanamori. (He has books in English as well as in Japanese.)

    His grandfather on that side was a prefectural governor who lived from 1888-1958, and his mom, Kazuko, was a Protestant teacher born in 1918, who married another Japanese politician, Jiro Ishiba.

    They had Shigeru in 1957.

    So basically, he’s a late end baby boomer, but his great-granddad was a Victorian/Meiji samurai preacher.

    And he’s a notorious fan of building models of military ships and planes.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Oh, but he refuses to visit the Yasukuni Shrine while holding any government office, on the grounds that it insults other countries. He’s also advocated for reburial of all Japanese war criminals, away from the Yasukuni Shrine.

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    2. Is he the one that accidentally ended up in a Majin Buu (from Dragonball Z) costume at a public event?

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    3. I have no idea where you commented before that Trump sounds like he’s in RCIA.
      Let me add several disquieting things: He tweeted out the archangel Michael prayer in full. Also, I think all his former wives are now dead and Melania is said to be a devout Catholic. Make of that what you will, and say a prayer for the man. He stands between us and War’s Desolation.

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          1. If he were to petition formally, in an effort at conversion, I suspect “someone” might find a way to accept that particular sheep into the RC flock.

            Before Franklin Grahm gains a new Baptist convert. (Grin)

            Considering what the current Pope has been embracing lately, an annulment seems … trivial.

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          2. Iran has now twice shown that its missile forces need the Little Blue Pill.

            Impotent.

            Israel has demonstrated -serious- capability to snipe (HONK!)heads. Also to wreck major bunkers with “conventional” weapons.

            Israel is -patient- and -stubborn-.

            The Great Grand PooBah of Iran is hiding in a hole somewhere. Not very impressive.

            I suspect Israel will look for ways to pop that weasel, and his presumptive nukes, without glassing anything. And it may very well be “You folks pop him, and we call it square. We blame him, not you.”

            And Bibi already telegraphed it, loudly.

            So some patriot has an ND with 9mm or grenade, or some others paint a big red X on a roof for the IDF to drop bunkers busters.

            They dropped about 20 to get one top HB dog. “Bounce the Rubble” time. Imagine what their whole fleet of F-35s could drop in Iran. If they don’t care to be discreet, add in the F-15s, six per.

            Assume temporary air superiority achieved, and a willingness to take casualties. Assume one can pack a 2000 pound buster with anfo filler. Use the standard ones to punch down and shatter and the anfos to excavate the rubble. Repeat until desired crater depth is achieved. When you stop bringing up concrete and rebar, you got the taproot.

            I suspect that if enough PooBahs hide, the locals may just decide to be done with them. Which is just about the best case outcome.

            Of course, the Israelis may already have thought of another “Grim Beeper” option. Heh.

            “Oh great one! Your favorite toasted almonds have arrived!”

            (munching) “Odd. These seem bitter……”

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    2. Remember that any plastic flamingos will come to life and fly off to the lake — the one you see glittering with distance. You will NOT get your deposit back.

      Meanwhile, Fluffy is doing the BBQ and the sea serpent in the minion pool is providing shrimp for it, and the aardvark various other meats. Also the aardvark put out bonbons. (Do not try to raid the cabinets. You might get his ant bon-bons and then he gets cranky.)

      Liked by 2 people

        1. Orange Flamingo Events are more funny.

          But since it’s from the shrimp they eat, it’s just a matter of letting them eat in those lakes.

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  21. The climate cultists are blocking cruise ships from ports, Barcelona being one of them but two months ago, your Spanish friends went a bit further. They went down the streets and the shops spraying tourists with water pistols. Apparently people bringing business into a port is A Bad Thing ™ because Climate Change ™. You didn’t see this on lamestream news but I follow a couple cruising vlogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIZED868p4o

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  22. Well, the first debate question was idiotic.

    “Do you support Israel making a pre-emptive strike on Iran?”

    Vance just said that Israel’s military decisions are for them to make. True, but doesn’t address the stupidity. I would have said:

    “After years of funding proxy wars, Iran has finally committed a direct, open act of war against Israel, so isn’t it a bit late to be asking that question?. It’s like asking if Poland should make a pre-emptive strike against Germany on September 2nd 1939, or the United States make a pre-emptive strike against Japan on December 8th 1941. Iran has already made the pre-emptive strike. Iran just started a war. The only question is whether we support Israel’s right to fight back.”

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  23. I have not tried to watch the debate (my beloved did, but turned it off to protect his sanity). But I gather the CBS moderators are as biased as you’d expect, Vance is doing quite well and Walz is Walz.

    I gather he actually said he had “become good friends with school shooters.” Assuming he meant to say something else, but boy, do I hope the Trump campaign runs with that.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. What he started with was his 17 year old, at some point, witnessed a targeted shooting. That he’d met with the parents of the victims. Then he slipped and said “become good friends with school shooters.” What he meant was “become good friends with school shooters victims.” Not giving him a pass. If he is going to be vice president, he needs to do better. FWIW Vance did say to Waltz that he had not known about Waltz’s son’s experience, that it was a horrible thing for a child to witness. Which is what Vance should have done. BUT color me jaded. How many times has Waltz lied about something exactly in the same category as this?

      Oh. I turned off the debate when Waltz started grandstanding about abortion. The Trump commercial about the 8 babies who survived abortion/birth and were allowed to die, gets me every time. I’ve had miscarriages. Medically they are called “spontaneous abortions”. Legally they are never considered illegal. They never will be. The demoRAT rhetoric is over the top. DemocRATS like Waltz can stuff it where the sun never shines and it stinks.

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      1. I couldn’t watch much of it either. Walz is a smarmy lying sack of shit and after just a few minutes I couldn’t stand to hear another word. I’ll see what Fox has to say about it tonight.

        And RazorFist. I’m sure he’ll rant about it. :-P

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        1. 10/2 – So far Fox Outnumbered discussions.

          1. Israel being attacked overnight, again. Failure, again, for any missiles to get through.
          2. SW flooding and hurricane damage. Lack of administration’s response.
          3. East coast strike.
          4. UN emergency session, and Iran’s attack. Putting hezbolla aggression on same status as IDF defense and response. (Or how can an a terrorist organization that uses a child’s bedroom for tunnel access, hospitals, and schools, etc., for sheltering terrorists and storing ammunition, Be equivalent to IDF and Israel citizens who are defending against attacks on citizens?)
          5. VP debate. (54 minutes in.) i.e. Vance “won”. Naturally the liberal on the panel focused on “Jan. 6” (duh).

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      2. Hugs. As I said earlier, my mom had at least two miscarriages. I remember one of them, though I was too young to know what was going on at the time. Plus two stillbirths.

        One reason I sometimes call abortion, “preemptive infanticide.” And yeah, the Party of the Dark Mother gets to me, too.

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        1. Until you’ve had a miscarriage people do not confine in you that they’ve had one. I didn’t know mom had a miscarriage between middle sister and youngest sister. OTOH I would have been 3 1/2 -ish. Youngest sister is 4 years younger than I am for 3 months, then I gain a year on her.

          Middle sister’s two ectopic pregnancies were medically listed as “forced involuntary abortions”.

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  25. My mom is Mexican, Spanish is her first language. She says Portuguese sounds “Frenchy” to her. Like if French people with obvious accents were speaking Spanish. She can also understand Italian pretty well. Once she heard some Italians arguing and blatantly listened in and one noticed and said “Oh we better be careful, this one speaks Spanish!” 😆 My knowledge of Spanish is pretty much limited to what I learned in Highschool and the curse words my grandma yells at me.

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