Not one, but TWO new mirrorless systems from Pentax (!!)

Too early yet to say whether this is a fake or an authentic image, but mirrorlessforums posted images which are supposed to depict the new mirrless Pentax camera, with two of its lenses. We will see whether this holds truth or not.

Going to the specs, they mention a 14 Mp sensor, enabled for H.264 video recording; lenses will include a prime 8.5 mm f/1.9 and a zoom 5-15 f/2.8-4.5 (the equivalent of 47 mm and 28-80 lenses).

Now the big scoop (if/when confirmed): they say that the above system was designed to be the smallest on the market, BUT THERE WILL BE ANOTHER MIRRORLESS SYSTEM FROM PENTAX, using an APS-C sensor.

If this is true, then we have really BIG news in the field of photography, and particularly big for Pentax users, since this APS-C camera would most possibly be compatible somehow with the huge catalogue of Pentax lenses (both legacy and current).

An iPad 2 for my parents (II): first impressions on the transparent computer

A couple of days ago I brought the iPad to my parents, and it was really nice. I was very curious to see their reaction, and thus I decided to reserve some time in the evening to stay with them in the first minutes.

My parent is more interested in technology than my mother, but she was also curious and quite excited to see the new device, and what it could do. So we opened the box and there it was: a brand new iPad 2, where I had loaded some songs, videos and pictures for them to explore.


I made a short introduction by showing them the main stuff: music & video playing, looking at pictures. My mother was particularly interested in how simple is to see, at different sizes, the pictures, and she was amazed to see that you can put them bigger with your fingers.


At that point we connected the iPad to their wifi network, which had been setup with a few days in advance.


Then we went to one of the main interests for them: to use email, as they have some good friends using it. So we created a new account at gmail. Then showed them how to introduce contact information in the Address Book. And at that point, we made a test mail from my iPod, so that they could see how it arrives to their mailbox. It was like magic, judging from their faces.

I showed them how to find information with google, and how they can see pictures or videos or links from the net. We used the name of our hometown, and it was surprising for them to find so much information about such a tiny village. Then we made, as example, a cuple of bookmarks for the newspapers they prefer.


There are still many things to do, but for the first session, I think it was enough, as I did not want to be too exhausting.


All in all I think they are very pleased, and realized that it is not so complicate to use a computer, after all. And THAT is, in my opinion the very key of this device: an iPad is a transparent computer. As simple as that: they forget about tech and go to the core: to use internet, to watch videos, to see pictures, to listen to music... That's what led me to call it the transparent computer: they are actually using a computer, a fully fledged computer doing more things than many fully fledged computers of, say, 5 years ago. Yet their feeling is that they are just playing with a toy, a simple toy, for that matter.


By the way, it was funny, since yesterday, around 2 PM, I received a call from my parent. They had received already a few emails from their friend. He said the iPad had 3% of charge, and wanted to know if he should wait until total battery exhaustion before plugging it. Since they got the iPad around 9 PM of the day before, it means they had finished a full battery (10 h) in their first day of usage; in other words, it seems they are testing the iPad exhaustively, and I couldn't be happier about it.


On a personal note, this was the first time I had used an iPad, and I fully understood what I have read before: this kind of device needs to be in your own hands, to understand its charm. It goes well beyond the "a bigger iPhone" description: the bigger size, and the feeling of instant response from the device, made it a real pleasure to use, and I am not surprised to see its tremendous worldwide success.


PS A friend, after reading the above post, suggested that an iPad is about the same as a laptop.

This is my reply:


To you and me, yes.

But trust me: a laptop, for my parents, is a no-way. They would never use it. In fact they have seen around many computers at home, and never got interested in using one: it is overcomplicated for them.

This reminds me of the Prince shows discussion: we are a very specialized part of the population, but often we do not realize about that. Let me explain:

In Prince shows: we know his discography and his live history by memory, and we are well aware of his highs (and lows). Thus any new album, or any new show, receives a fair amount of criticism, because we can not avoid to compare with the past. We know, maybe, too much for our own good, regarding purple music enjoyment in the 2010s. On the contrary, general public, and particularly newcomers to a Prince show, are enjoying the full experience without prejudices -either good or bad-; and the usual response is that they get blown away, since Prince remains the master onstage.

Back to technology: we have been using computers for many years; we are used to the windows interface, to the mouse, to the keyboard, to the way of working in the current OS. But all of that is unknown to my parents (with the only exception of keyboards, which they used in the old typewriting machines, in an entirely different configuration).
And this makes the task of confronting an actual computer something frightening for them (and for many people in their situation), they feel they ignore just about everything and could not find their way without continuous external help. Remember, they are almost 80 years old, and they are not exactly in the right time for time-consuming learning periods.

An iPad 2 for my parents (I)

This year, my sister, my brother and me decided to get a brand new iPad 2 as gift for our parents. It just arrived today, and I am including some pictures and videos for them to enjoy. Later in the afternoon, I will go at their home to bring them their gift.

They never used a computer, and they are in the late 70s. So I think this can be a good device for them, who are interested in getting in touch with other friends by email, browsing the net, or looking at digital pictures (they complain all the time that, since purchasing digital cameras, we never give them pictures of their grandsons). Having no previous ideas on computers, I am eagerly awaiting to watch their reaction, and I plant to post here about the process of adaptation to the iPad.

Tamar Davis new album: "My name is Tamar"

Some of you might remember that Tamar appeared in the Prince album 3121, and she had another album that was eventually dropped off before its actual release (although actual copies surfaced in Japan and thus the music is out there).

Well, Tamar continued working and has just released a new album, "My name is Tamar", which appeared yesterday.

I just started to listen, and I think the single, Hearbeat, sounds fresh and interesting. But it is way too early to make an opinion on the album. Yet I keep on saying that Tamar (contrary to common opinion among hardcores) has a lovely voice and is a very talented singer, and I wish her the best with the new album.

You can listen to the full album in soundcloud here.

This is the singlem, Heartbeat, which sounds real nice to me:



And here you have a recent tv performance to promote the new album.

Further information at Tamar's website, where you can also listen to the full album, and order the CD already; besides it is available in iTunes.

Corruption scandals in Spain, on the right & left parties: the Gürtel and ERE cases

During the last months, we are watching a shocking spiral of scandals in the politics of Spain. And much for the deception of any independent observer, they affect the two main parties: socialists (PSOE) and conservatives (PP).

A couple of years ago, the newspaper El País first reported about a corruption network -referred to as "Gürtel"- devoted to make contracts and get substantial, illegal commisions in all kind of events related to administrations controlled by the Partido Popular. Apparently this case had ramifications in different regions, including Galicia and Madrid, but was most prominent in Valencia, where the president, Camps, seems to be directly involved in the network.

And some weeks ago, it was reported that a big number of people who did not meet the requirements had been included in a program (funded by the local government) to retire people from unprofitable companies, called ERE (Expediente de Regulación de Empleo, in Spanish). According to reports, it seems these people included many related to the PSOE, and in many cases, they never had any relationship to the companies recipient of those ERE.

Both scandals have been growing and growing, for several years in the Gürtel case, and for several months in the ERE case.

I got interested to get some kind of comparative quantitation between both cases, and it is quite surprising. Today, Manuel Recio, current counselor of employment at the regional government in Andalucía (called Junta de Andalucía) announced the results of an internal investigation. According to his information, the ERE in Andalucía covered 5982 people, from which 72 are completely illegal (had not relationship whatsoever to the enterprises covered by the ERE) and 111 have other irregularities. In total, the robbed money is around 9 million euros. (Update: this amount seems to be severely underestimated; see further update at the end of this post).

In the case of the Gürtel scandal, quantitation is much trickier, since it involves countless contracts, and commissions, at different administrations, from regional governments to city halls.  Some calculations speak about 2000 million euros, which seems an excessive, biased calculation. The Spanish Vicepresident of the government has recently spoken about "hundreds of millions of euros" when addressing the Gürtel scandal. But having a quick look at humbers reported by specific contracts within the Gürtel network, it seems obvious that the total amount would be, at least, ten times higher than in the ERE case; in fact, some recent estimations speak about 120 million euros.

This rough calculation is helpful to put the whole situation in context. During the last months, the right-sided media are strongly hammering on the ERE scandal (with all reason), but usually they tend to forget, or at least to be overly indulgent, about the Gürtel scandal. Obviously, in the case of the left-sided media, the situation is the opposite.

But beyond political inclinations, the ERE scandal means that thieves got 9 million euros; the Gürtel scandal could well be above 100 million euros. This comparison alone is quite clear.

Update: after digging for more information, I found information at reputable newspapers suggesting that the estimations from Junta de Andalucía might also be in the scale of hundreds of millions of euros.

Therefore I have to conclude that, unless final amounts are given after judgement, both the Gürtel and the ERE scandals have roughly similar proportions.

Interview with James Blake posted at Pitchfork.com

Extremely interesting, in my opinion:

People can smell dishonesty on you. On this album, I felt like I was being totally honest-- so I don't have anything to lose.

Antony, Sufjan, Janelle, James. Four names to follow closely in this decade, if you are interested in quality music.

James Blake in concert at NPR

Some people say he's the big hype of 2011; but in my opinion he's one of the big names in the years to come.

Anyway, feel free to judge by yourself: here you have a live show, available at NPR (both video and audio).

The only existing book on Prefab Sprout, available for free at prefabsprout.net

I had a look today at the Prefab Sprout unofficial page and had the very nice surprise that they provide a link to download, in full, the only existing book on Prefab Sprout, written by John Birch and antitled "Myths, Melodies and Metaphysics: Paddy McAloon's Prefab Sprout". This book was previously available in a paperback edition at Amazon, although it is no longer on sale. I thank a lot to the owner of prefabsprout.net, and also to Jim Birch for kindly providing this book for free.
So, if you are interested, you can download it here.

I have posted a few times about how great are Prefab Sprout; but if you don't have any idea, this book might be a good place to start digging. Mind you: you won't be disappointed, Paddy McAloon, the soul of Prefab Sprout, is a musician apart, great among the greatest.

O(+> and the New Power Generation: 37/2 (4DaFunk)

In another recent smash, 4DaFunk released a matrix version of the birthday gig performed by O(+> and the New Power Generation on January 8th (am), 1995, at Glam Slam Miami. The classic Prince shows from the 80s have received well justified praise, but many fans miss that in the mid 80s, around the release of The Gold Experience, Prince (under the O(+> moniker at the time) experienced a resurgence in energy and creativity, leading to several stunning albums (as Come/The Gold Experience/Emancipation) and to a series of excellent shows, where he ballsy played tracklists of exclusively recent songs.

A period not to forget, and to fully enjoy.

Prince & the Revolution: First Ave' 86 (4DaFunk)

Some fans stated that this is the bootleg of 2011, and something tells me they might be right: Prince & the Revolution in their 1986 line-up, playing one of their most terrific shows ever. This is one of those shows that will let you explain, to anybody non aware of Prince excellence onstage, why he is the best live player in modern music.

Full review of the new Fuji X100 camera at DSLR Magazine

This is a review with soul, one done by someone, Valentín Sama, with deep knowledge and love for photography, and someone who does know what he's talking about; unlike most review sites, may I say. Besides, you will find there a set of full size pictures as examples of the capabilities of this new camera.

The review is here.

DPReview: the iPad 2 for photographers

I found quite unusual that a site devoted to post reviews of photographic cameras, made a review of the iPad 2, but if you read their article, it makes sense. So, is there any serious use in an iPad 2 for photographers? Read here.

From food to porn

This is a book in Spanish, but the important thing here are the stunning pictures of food; it is a catalogue of an exhibition you can currently watch (until March 20) at the Casa de los Capitanes in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Open publication - Free publishing - More arte

"A place we both belong", Scritti Politti in full shape

After a long time trying, I could eventually listen in Spotify to the song "A place we both belong", one of the two brand new tracks included in their recent compilation "Absolute", made in collaboration between Green Gartside and David Gamson.

The samples I had heard sounded very promising, but I'm happy to report that, after listening to the full song, it sounds like Scritti Politti in full shape, which is saying. Their signature production is all over the way, but the inspiration is there too, and if this song is any indication, I would love to see a new collection of songs made in collaboration by the classic lineup of Scritti Politti. Here's hoping, crossing fingers.

Music: the next big thing, the hype/flop

This is a short comment to mention a sharp contrast I am noticing in the world of modern music: if you look at headlines in media, regarding women in music, it is probable you will find often comments about Janelle Monáe and Rumer. Depending on where you are reading, both are receiving high praise.

I took some time to listen to both ladies, particularly to their last albums. And without going to long descriptions, let me say that I see plenty of reasons justifying all the hype about Janelle, whose "The Archandroid" albums is absolutely blinding in quality, creativity and diversity.

On the back of the coined, I had a listen to Rumer's debut, and was deeply disappointed. Beyond the obvious similarities with classics of the past, the worse point is the absolute lack of emotion in her way of singing. If Rumer is the future of the British pop... it is doomed for sure.

Volkswagen Bulli to enter production

These are great news to me: according to recent reports from Motorauthority.com, the stunning Volkswagen Bulli recently introduced, at the Geneva Motor Show, has received already the green light to actually enter production. This report claims the new car will be sold in the US, but obviously I expect (and hope) it will also be available in Europe.

The "apocalypse", broadcasted live from Japan

An European leader stated yesterday that the situation in Fukushima's nuclear station in Japan was "out of control" and qualified it as "apocalypse". And I am less and less convinced he was exaggerating in any way: as anybody else, I am following the news by all kinds of media, and the whole situation looks indeed as if the apocalypse is being broadcasted live from Japan.

I remember, only a couple of days ago, that experts on this topic were stating, without the shade of a doubt, that the situation was in control, and that there was no danger of fusion in Fukushima. Yet the more recent news suggest that Japan's government as well as the owner of the nuclear station are unable to actually get control of the situation, and there are different people openly discussing about the possibility of fusion of the nucleus and release of huge amounts of radioactivity to the open space.

Sad news, mainly for Japan, of course, but also for all humans, who are realizing by facts that the world is no longer a huge place where dangers happening in places located far away can not create harm on us; on the contrary, McLuhan's global village concept is, in days like this, a painfully real concept.

Another smash from Ana Pastor: exclusive, incisive interview with Ahmadineyad

I posted sometime ago about the excellent interview made by Spanish journalist Ana Pastor to Zapatero, broadcasted live by RTVE. Today I am posting about another stunning interview she did to Iran's leader Ahmadineyad, in a scoop which has made loads of rounds in internet. Of course it is in Spanish, and Pastor made many incisive questions addressing topics which clearly were difficult for Ahmadineyad.

You can watch the full interview here.

Spring is knocking on the door

Nature goes on, regardless of natural disasters as the one from Japan. And this year Spring is coming with some advance; just have a look at the plants in our patio:

The Japan disaster

There's little I can add to the loads of headlines speaking about the Japan earthquake. These are terrible news and I just hope they will manage to recover soon, even if it's clear that such a disaster, and the many dead people reported by newspapers, will have long years of painful memories.

Update on Prince shows in Carolina

Well, the previous news were confirmed, and besides new dates of Prince shows have been announced for late March in North and South Carolina; as posted here:

PRINCE COMING TO THE COLISEUM MARCH 30 - TICKETS ON SALE TUESDAY, MARCH 15 AT 10AM!

PRINCE ANNOUNCES WELCOME 2 AMERICA CAROLINA DATES

6 Nights in North & South Carolina

NEW YORK, NY (March 10, 2011) - Prince has declared a string of Purple days in the Carolinas, bringing his extraordinary Welcome 2 America tour to the South for the first time with the announcement of 6 nights in North and South Carolina starting March 21st. The announcement comes on the heels of three Oakland, CA shows and six incredible shows in the New York area that wowed fans and critics with his singular stage presence, leaving them screaming for more each and every night. These shows will mark a homecoming for two members of The New Power Generation, drummer John Blackwell and vocalist/tambourine player Shelby Johnson are both from South Carolina. Tickets go on sale beginning Monday, March 14th at Ticketmaster.com and LiveNation.com, except for Columbia, SC which are available at twctix.com.

The New York Daily News raved, “Prince is worthy of all royal accolades…The hit-friendly show had a kinetic confidence and racing pace that spoke of his singular place in pop history,” while the New York Times said “It’s easy to envision Prince as another Chuck Berry or James Brown, barnstorming for decades to come.” The San Francisco Chronicle raved “spinning, strutting and swaying in his towering heels as if no time had passed since the days he dominated MTV with his angular suits and perfectly sculpted hair… neither his fantastic voice nor his dynamic legs showing any signs of slowing down.”

Prince Welcome 2 America Carolina Show Dates:

March 21st Columbia, SC - Colonial Life Arena On Sale: 3/15 @ 10am ET

March 23rd Raleigh, NC - RBC Center On Sale: 3/14 @ 10am ET

March 24th Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena On Sale: 3/14 @ 10am ET

March 26th Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum On Sale: 3/14 @ 12pm ET

March 28th Greenville, SC - Bi-Lo Center On Sale: 3/15 @ 10am ET

March 30th North Charleston, SC - North Charleston Coliseum On Sale: 3/15 @ 10am ET

Prince to play in Charleston on March 30th, tickets on sale Tuesday (unconfirmed)

Mind you, this is stil unconfirmed, but it was just posted by Chuck FM:

@1017chuckfm101.7 Chuck FM

Prince is coming to Chuck-town on March 30 @ North CHS Coliseum. Tickets go on sale next Tuesday. What's your favorite Prince song???

Rockdelux review of "Sign O the times"

As I posted here recently, the Spanish magazine Rockdelux is making available some selected articles from their back catalogue of issues, and among them, there is the review of Prince's Sign O the Times, originally published in May 1987. In case someone is interested, here you have the translation to English; in retrospective, I find it curious to see the many references to Prince as "genius", or "His Majesty" or even "God", evidencing once more that he was the king of the music world at the time. Yet I think the reviewer is a bit underwhelmed by the album, or maybe it was still too early to appreciate this masterpiece in full. Anyway, this is what he said:

After the excessive sound overabundance of "Parade" (1986), which, closer to the rock experimentation than loyal to his funk roots, supposed the unanymous acknowledgement of critics, the new release from His Divine Majesty of Minneapolis was expected with not little expectation. Disguised for months under that measianic and pervert image that provokes fascination in so many, the cult to sex, without going to the background, is eventually teinted by that religious and mystic touch that is making furor in the US and which is showcased by His Majesty in the scarce interviews he gives. But another double album looked too much. ¿So many things are left to say to Prince? The answer is affirmative. From the baroque cover showing the symbols of the USA system in decadence to the calculated ambiguity of the inlay, Prince has made a musical and social compendium of the (current) State of the Nation (of the Empire, of course) in one of the most complete albums of his career.

But it happens that His Majesty is, besides, very smart. For instance, he used the song "Sign Of The Times" as single of the LP, despite its initial and sober anticommerciality, profiting from the final successful result of the hypnotic vein opened with "Kiss". He knows perfectly that the next revival will be in the music from the first half of the 60s (Philadelphia sound, jazzy melodies with hot sounds for quality erotic film soundtracks...). He has taken all of that and blended it with opaque grooves, with plain drums and a little pronounced bass compared to the standard, whhich break the standard concept of unky and enhance the ambience and the melody, and with that base he allowed himself to play with all the ideas, concepts and sounds that are floating alone in the current music scene.

So, you can find how he laughs at the black AOR from Steview Wonder in "Slow love", or how he does the same on the classic envelope of a George Benson in "Adore". But you also see how he incorporates cool wave ambients in "It" or "Hot Thing", which allow him, in change, to draw guitar or horn breaks to the dance floor; or how, by opposite, he jokes about his own trademark in "You Got The Look", which a banshee and oniric guitar smashing the women voices Family Style, or in "If I Was Your Girlfriend", where a marriage introduction gives place to a declaration of androginy/misoginy explaning what-is-not-done-by-girls to avoid the flourishing of more gays, and which degree can reach the jealousy between these.

Of course there are the concessions to rock guitar in "Play in the Sunshine", with Hendrix touches, in "Firover in my life"", with mid time evocation of the Syd Barret melodies, and in "The Cross", where he follows with unbelievable hippy guitar motifs the routes of McGuinn, Neil Young or George harrison (sitar included). Nevertheless the sould-funk agility of horns in the J.B's or Famous Flames style breaks you in the mighty funky "Housequake" or in the lovely "Slow love".

But there's more, from the hot belodies in ballads, "Dorothy Parker" or "Adore", where the voice of Prince looks from man to woman, til the times of "Dirty Mind" (1980) or "1999" in Michael Jackson style of "Strange Relationship", passing through the very light pop-rock of obvious commercial target in "I could never take the place of your man", unconnected to the rest of the album. This authentic "Sign of the Times" exhales intelligence and maturity in every chord, keeping the shockadelica connection that contributes to grow the mythology and mesianic image of the God. There's even a concession to the fans of the last times with the inclusion, live from Paris, of one of his most celebrated pieces of the show, the unreleased "It's gonna be a beautiful day" with Sheila E. and Susannah Melvoin.

But... ¿where two LP and all these sheets to say all of this? The opposite doesn't look probable, taking into account the disproportionate extroversion of the thousand faces genius, because, even if it does not bring anything new in essence, it combines and seduces so well under my sheets that...

Published by Peter Collinson in Rockdelux, May 1987.

Zapatero to say goodbye?

The Socialist party in Spain announced the cancellation of an upcoming political meeting which they have been doing for years, and the announcement has taken by storm the political discussions in my country. It is being widely speculated that this cancellation is due to the fact that Zapatero will announce his demise in the next internal top meeting of the party, in order to try and save the furniture... given that all forecasts predict a huge fail of the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) in the next local and regional elections.

Honestly I don't know what to think, but certainly it seems it is time for them to turn the page of Zapatero, possibly the more hyped, and the less founded, leader ever in this party.

Real scientific paper: Does Guiness travel well?

This is what I call working on a REALLY interesting research project (no joke, this is an authentic scientific paper):

Does Guinness Travel Well?

Daniel Kotz, Liam G. Glynn, Christian D. Mallen, Jochen W.L. Cals

Journal of Food Science, Volume 76, Issue 2, pages S121–S125, March 2011

Abstract:  This study aimed to test the much-pronounced but poorly supported theory that “Guinness does not travel well.” A total of 4 researchers from 4 different countries of origin traveled around the world for 12 mo to collect data on the enjoyment of Guinness and related factors. The main outcome was measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) from 0 (enjoyed it not at all) to 100 (enjoyed it very much). A total of 103 tastings were recorded (42 in Ireland, 61 elsewhere) in 71 different pubs spread over 33 cities and 14 countries. The enjoyment of Guinness consumed in Ireland was rated higher (74 mm VAS) than outside Ireland (57 mm; P < 0.001). This difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for researcher, pub ambience, Guinness appearance, and the sensory measures mouthfeel, flavor, and aftertaste. This study is the first to provide scientific evidence that Guinness does not travel well and that the enjoyment of Guinness (for our group of nonexpert tasters) was higher when in Ireland. Results, however, are subject to further verification because of limitations in the study design.

After reading this most interesting paper, I am planning to apply for funding of a project entitled "Does Spanish Iberic ham travel well?" and another entitled "Does fino wine from Montilla-Moriles travel well?". Who knows, maybe I could be lucky and get funded...

036, great short movie

I remember more than a similar story from myself:

Perol cordobés

In Córdoba, there is a long tradition of going to the fields to prepare rice in a typical style, called "perol cordobés". Yesterday, we had a yearly celebration with colleagues and friends, and we enjoyed one of those "peroles" which was particularly tasteful.

We started, of course, with starters, including a delicious salad of orange with cod, another classic dish from Córdoba:

Then it was time for the perol:

And if, at the end, it looks like this, it means the perol was GREAT!!:

There was no "Hot chocolate" from Prince at Versace parade

Some fans, including me, have been digging for further information about the supposed new song from Prince, "Hot chocolate", that was announced to be used for the women Fall-Winter 2011-12 Versace parade.

There are two videos available from this parade: the original video file provided by Versace, here; and a live recording posted at youtube:

I just compared both videos side to side, and indeed the music utilized in the "official" Versace video stream has nothing to do with the one utilized in the actual parade. And the only Prince music that, apparently, was used for the parade is a standard version of "Love", which sounds four times with other electronic songs in the middle sung by women that seem to have no relationship to Prince music whatsoever.

So to conclude:

1), the Woman Fall/Winter 2011-12 parade video posted by Versace has no value (for us) at all since the music has been changed, is not the original.

2) The only Prince music actually utilized for the parade (at least clearly identifiable as Prince) is the standard "Love" released in 3121, whith some additions at the last time (which might be from Prince or simply editions from the person responsible of the final audio mix for the parade).

3) Therefore I think that, either this take of "Love" was retitled for the occasion "Hot chocolate", or else simply Prince promised to deliver a new song that was eventually not available for the parade, and replaced by "Love".

Rockdelux

Rockdelux is possibly the only Spanish magazine devoted to modern music & other arts which deserves some respect, mostly because they have been around during the last 35 years or so, and besides they have stubbornly kept on supporting what they consider quality. This alone is something worth to mention, even if I disagreed often with that "quality".

I was subscriber of this magazine for years, until we got divorced: they reached a level of snobbery which I could not stand anymore; on the other hand, for some years I was admittedly less interested in discovering new music than enjoying past classics.

Anyway, this is not the place for a long rant on my opinions about Rockdelux; what I wanted to mention is that, after many years when they had a website almost devoid of content, I just discovered that they have a revamped site including a selection of artices, interviews, album critics, etc, chosen from their long story. And there are many interesting pieces over there, if you can understand Spanish. If you are new, I suggest you to look for stuff written by Santi Carrillo (director of the magazine since the begining) and David S. Mordoh, among others.

Given this blog has a marked profile focused on Prince music often, it is worth noting that these guys considered that 5 Prince albums were among the best from the 80s, and they have online their review of Sign O the Times, published in 1987.

Pictures of the new iPad 2, leaked just hours before its introduction

I found this via Appleinsider: a Chinese web just posted pictures of the new iPad 2, which will be officially introduced by Apple in less than an hour and a half. The Chinese page with the original pictures, apparently called DGtle, is here. The new model is thinner than the original iPad, with the sides curved, getting even thinner (in a way similar to the original MacBook Air). Besides, there are actually the widely expected two cameras (front/back, enabling the device to use Facetime); the size of the speaker seems to be bigger. Apparently the structure is aluminium, or at least with the same aspect as aluminium.

But roughly speaking, the iPad 2 looks quite similar to the original model. Let's wait until the actual introduction of the model to know the full specs.

New Prince song, "Hot Chocolate", for Versace??

Nothing is clear at this time, but some fans found that, according to some Versace announcements, they used a new song from Prince, called "Hot chocolate", for their brand new Fall-Winter 2011-2012 parade. The video is available here, and in theory, the music utilized in it is made by Prince (although this is absolutely unclear by now, so please use many grains of salt until/if confirmed).

Alfa Romeo 4C concept

Introduced at the Geneva Auto Show, isn't this concept an example of pure beauty in the best tradition of Alfa Romeo??

Volkswagen Bulli concept: the actual sucessor of Fiat Multipla?

As a happy owner of a Fiat Multipla, I have posted in depth before about its many virtues, and also about the problem that current Multipla owners are facing: the Fiat Multipla is no longer in the market, and a very similar car, the Honda FR-V, also disappeared one year ago or so.

Well, maybe we could have good news sooner than we expected: while browsing the net today, I found a new concept car introduced by Volkswagen for the Geneva Auto Show. It is called Bulli, and it has the basic features of a Fiat Multipla: very short (4 m lenght), six seats in two rows of 3 places each, a good luggage volume, and overall a very compact car with plenty of space for families of 6 people, like mine.

But the best news is that, according to different reports, the decision to bring this concept car to the market is already taken, and the only pending question is "when". I cross fingers to see this car actually available, and if it can take the task from my beloved Multipla (in, say, a couple of years from now), then it would be the icing on the cake.

You can read the full press release from Volkswagen here, including detailed specifications.

Rumours of Leica mirrorless, and the official reply from Leica

Valentín Sama, often linked before in this blog, just posted a shocking comment on the possible introduction of a new mirrorless camera by... no less than Leica. The original comment (in Spanish) is here.

Interestingly, Leica seems to have found this comment bold enough to deserve an official reply, posted in Amateur Photographer.

All in all, this seems an unexpected possible newcomer to the field of mirrorless cameras, and one which certainly would add all the weight of a legend to the new category of cameras. We will see what eventually comes out from these "stories".

Scritti Politti's new album is out there

The new album by Scritti Politti, "Absolute", is already available. Reading the very nice fansite bibbly-o-tek, I learned that there is a new audio interview with Green Gartside for the Nemone BBC 6 radio show (you can listen to it here),  an article posted by The Guardian here, and also an in-depth article published with the current issue of Mojo.

I would like to thank the guys behind bibbly-o-tek for the fantastic work they are doing, and I hope this compilation reaches the much deserved success. Scritti Politti quality was always stunning, but in the days of Gagas et al, that quality shines much stronger by contrast.