Bench Love Poem

In Islantilla, the place where the hotel was where we had the missions conference, there was a walkway by the beach that had palm trees and benches lining it. On nine of the benches was a poem in a series. I'll do my best to translate it.

It all began almost eleven months ago
and that day saw the...(i can't make it out)
that neither thought that they would live the most beautiful love story that any one had ever imagined.
he found in her the girl of his dreams
Yes, this is a dream from which I never want to wake.
This is like the fairy tales but you and I are the characters and the story has no end.
I love you, my Nipa
I only care about you
we said we would always be together
if you would want it, it would be so
forever and ever
you are my life

Tavira, Portugal

I know! Ridiculous.  We took a day-trip to Tavira, Portugal.  Nothing much to say, all of the people who came to help out with the missionary kids took a trip and walked around the town.  Very sleepy, right near a river.  The tiles on the buildings were ridiculous.  I found out that my broken spanish is workable when ordering from a lunch bar/cerveceria-type place.  

At the Palace in Madrid

Sharon and I went on a tour of the palace, and our tour went around a courtyard, which this is a picture looking out onto. The rooms were all garish, with everything covered in gold. One of the rooms had a quartet plus one, all of Stradivarius instruments. The beautiful thing about many of the historic spots in Spain that we went to was that they often had a student price, usually about 1/3 of regular cost. Awesome. Sharon was good and didn't take my old Mizzou student ID.

Madrid: questions answered, part 1 of many

Sharon and I were told to meet our friend Marc by the Bear statue in Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Our friend, via facebook, helpfully gave us the spanish phrase "donde esta el estatua del oso?" - not knowing our vast knowledge of the spanish language, based on my "advanced conversation" course in spanish at mizzou - securing me conversational ability with a second grader. well, we found it, and those madrinellos love that bear. por que?

"Why the bear and the madroño tree are the symbols of Madrid? -- You see them everywhere -- from the small bronze statue in the Puerta del Sol to the insignia on the side of city taxis: A squat bear on its hind legs attempting to eat the berries on a equally squatmadroño, or so-called strawberry tree. They are the official symbol of Madrid. But why? Opinions vary. The practical theory is that the bear standing on its hind legs with its front paws on the tree trunk represent possession and ownership of wood necessary for constructing buildings. The sentimental theory is based on the fact that bears love sweet things and constantly try to extract honey from beehives. According to legend, because they suffer from sore eyes, they get stung and bleed from their wounds to such an extent that it relieves them of some of the pain. Next, they grope around desperately for a madroño tree and start gobbling the fruit, whose bitterness belies its rich red exterior (it only looks like a strawberry) and shocks the palate into further reducing the pain by virtue of sheer distraction. So, masochistically, they rid themselves of their discomfort. The first theory makes sense as a metaphor for how Madrid has grown. The second is rather cute but doesn't seem to have any particular relevance. Take your pick.

from Frommers, the guide book we should have brought to Madrid.

From NYmag

what's the text acronym for 'mouth gaping in shock'?

from youshouldhaveseenthis.com

Department of: "That Sucks" - Brad Renfro

I remember Brad Renfro as the "slightly too old for me to have a serious crush on" celebrity of the JTT era.  He was in Tom and Huck, a classic with JTT.  His career has kind of sucked lately (IMDB that) and then he landed a role in the upcoming the Informers (the trailer has a lot of Bret Easton Ellis-y lines, reminds me of American Psycho) - which looks AWESOME by the way.

But...poor Renfro died of an overdose of heroin in January, before the movie has even come out.   Sucktown.