Cateto blog

First samples of pictures taken with Fuji X-Pro 1

2012-01-31T20:02:00.003+01:00

As reported today by The Online Photographer, the first full size pictures taken with the Fuji X-Pro camera, the mouth watering camera par excellence, are already available.

Pity about mortgages and plenty-of-other-stuff-to-spend-money-in... as otherwise I would heavily invest in this system, for sure.

Crematorio, a masterpiece tv series

2012-01-31T17:29:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I watched the two first episodes of a Spanish tv series which excellent reputation, entitled "Crematorio". And I was truly blown away by its quality, to the point it reminded me of "The Wire" due to the realism and interest of the stories.

The core of the series is focused on the story of Rubén Bertoméu, a rich man who made fortune by using all kind of dirty methods in order to make business. But this, which is a fairly standard topic, is exploited in a talented manner, mixing personal relationships and crime affairs, all in a convincing way and far from moralities. Furthermore, the quality of interpretations is stunning, beginning with that of José Sancho (Rubén Bertoméu) and following with a top-notch team of actors.

All in all I am extremely pleased after starting with it, and I'm sure this is going to become another personal favourite, this time from my own country.

New song from Bebe, "Sabrás"

2012-01-31T14:00:00.001+01:00

My impression is confirmed: Bebe has a clear identity, and that is about the best thing you can have in the world of music. She just released a new song from her forthcoming album "Un pokito de rokanrol", entitled "Sabrás", and if the previous one (K.I.E.R.E.M.E.) was all about rhythm, in this one she goes towards quieter sounds.

I'm all anxious to hear the full album.

President of Canon to step down, after overall decrease in sales

2012-01-31T13:19:00.001+01:00

Imaging Resource reports about the president of Canon stepping down, after overall sales decrease in 2011 (mainly due to sluggish sales of compact cameras).

Some people point out to smartphones being the replacement of compact cameras, as the main reasons for such decrease. I think that is only part of the problem.

Canon remains one of the two big gorillas in photography, together with Nikon. But if you look at the market of photography cameras in the last 10 years, there are clear conclusions:

- First of all, it is true that there are today many serious contenders in the world of compact cameras, both from traditional photography camera makers, but mainly from smartphones, which have been continuously eroding the low end of compact camera sales. It is widely reported that the best seller, among compact cameras today, is the iPhone. I have made some quick back-to-back comparisons between a good compact (Fuji Finepix F30) and a mid smartphone (Sony Xperia Neo V) and I was shocked to see the results.

But there are a number of additional aspects, which should be taken into account:

- Canon made the strongest debut with their low-end dSLR models at very affordable prices, getting a significant advance over competitors in the mid 2000s.

- Nikon took a while to react, but then they smashed with a series of dSLR models which received both rave reviews and unanymous acclaim of photographers, both amateurs and professionals (D300, D3, D700...).

- Canon had very serious problems with his flagship model (EOS 1-D), with a number of longstanding issues that damaged their reputation among professionals (autofocus, stains, etc). Nikon profited of these flaws to convince many top-notch photographers to switch to their flagships, the D3 and D700.

- Last but not least, Canon is the only big player in photography who remains, as of today, without any system of mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. All others, including the pioneers of Olympus, Panasonic, but also later competitors, as Samsung, Sony, Ricoh, Pentax and eventually even Nikon, have joined the mirrorless market, making a bold impact and getting significant sales in some markets, as Japan and the UK.

Canon is said to be developping such a system in the last years, but fact is that there is nothing in the market, in early 2012.

All of these issues add up and have changed the image of Canon, from an almost impregnable leader in the early 2000s, to a strong but troubled player in 2012.

Pentax K-01 to be introduced on February 2nd in London

2012-01-31T11:50:00.002+01:00

The site Stuff-review.com has posted a scan of an invitation to the official introduction of the new Pentax K-01, to be held in London on February 2nd, from 11 to 13 h. Besides, they post a few pictures, including two drawings of the camera, and two pictures which are supposed to correspond to small parts of the camera.

D'Angelo is back (for real, this time!)

2012-01-30T18:49:00.001+01:00

After years of rumours on the forthcoming return of D'Angelo to the world of music, he is actually back this time. Some days ago, he played his first show after a long hiatus, in Stockholm, and later another one in Paris, and the reports are quite good. For instance, Pitchfork has published this article.

And now, a few videos from D'Angelo in Stockholm:

Devil's Pie / Chicken grease

The Charade

Sugar Daddy

RIP Clare Fischer

2012-01-27T11:38:00.000+01:00

For anybody interested in Prince music, and for music lovers in general, the talent of Clare Fischer needs no further introduction.

Unfortunately he died on January 26, 2012. This is a great loss for the world of music, and those of us who have enjoyed countless of his beautiful compositions and arrangements, will never forget him.

RIP Clare Fischer.

Watching Apple win the world

2012-01-26T22:27:00.000+01:00

This article pretty much defines how I feel about Apple these days, from the perspective of an oldtime user, often ridiculed years ago for using toys instead of real computers; but my perspective is much longer than this guy, as he switched to Macs in 2002, once OS X had been released; while I pretty much started using computers with Macs (after just a few months using-and-hating a DOS-powered PC), back in 1990, watching Mac OS 6 to 9 and then the birth of Mac OS X, of which I was a beta user.

Camps and Costa declared non guilty by jury

2012-01-25T20:04:00.002+01:00

Further on my recent comment of "is there justice in this country?", maybe I should reply to myself a resounding "No":

a few minutes ago, the jury responsible for considering the claims against Camps and Costa, the two leaders of the Partido Popular de Valencia, has declared them "non guilty".

And this, despite plenty of ashaming evidence showing they were having all kind of inculpatory conversations with people who made very expensive gifts to get their favours.

No, definitely there is no justice here: there are political games, that's all.

Specs of the new Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera

2012-01-25T16:07:00.001+01:00

Valentín Sama, who needs no further introduction, has posted in his tweeter account some specs of the new mirroless Pentax camera:

The new CSC from Pentax will use the classic "K" mount compatible with their current lenses of their reflex. It won't have optical viewfinder.

And then:

The new CSC from Pentax will be a bit smaller than a Kr, and it is not sure it will -immediately- win a beauty contest.

All in all it seems we have an interesting camera coming, and besides, one that will ensure a very prolonged lifetime for the K mount lenses, regardless of the continuation of standard reflex cameras produced by Pentax.

Besides, Pentaxforums posted a summary of the rumoured specs:

"921,000 dot" 3-inch, VGA LCD screen from the K-5
K-5 image processing and sensor (16.3 Mp)
1080p HD video at 30fps
1/4000s-30s shutter speed range
Contrast-detect autofocus (81 metering points)
Built-in flash
12.1cm wide x 7.9cm high x 5.9 cm deep (compare to Pentax Q at 9.8cm x 5.8cm x 3.1 cm)
560g loaded with battery (compare to 200 for the Q)
New DA 40mm kit lens
Available in 3 lens kits
3 different colors
Electronic viewfinder

Adam B., leader of Pentaxforums, made also what seems a drawing to illustrate the possible look of the forthcoming K-01:

Record results of Apple, posted yesterday

2012-01-25T12:24:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, Apple's results of the last quarter were posted and honestly, they start to look frightening; this chart was published by MacRumors.com:

For owners of Apple stock this has to be more than excellent news.For consumers out there, the need for a company enabled to compete face to face to Apple is becoming bigger and bigger; or else their dominance could be similar to other dangerous monopolies in the past. And no, I'm not joking.

Heaven must be near

2012-01-23T22:30:00.001+01:00

For weird reasons, I found today this video of an old favourite of mine: Heaven must be near, from the adorable Ingrid Chávez when she was around Paisley Park; Michael Koppelman has many reasons to feel proud of his work on this album:

New Pentax K-01, mirrorless camera with APS-C sensor and K mount

2012-01-20T10:09:00.001+01:00

This scoop was originally posted at digicame-info.com, and the summary posted by Mirrorless Rumors: Pentax is planning to release a new mirrorless camera, with a large sensor (APS-C size, in fact the same used in the Pentax K-5) and based on the K mount.

Not sure what to think of this, since the K mount does not seem to have been optimized for a mirrorless camera; but on the other hand, it would provide compatibility with a huge back catalogue of old and new K-mount lenses, which seems very good news for old Pentax users.

We will see how this unfolds, but anyway, it seems hard to understand that a single brand (Pentax-Ricoh) will keep three mounts running in the current context.

Garzón on trial, Valencia in bankrupcy

2012-01-19T18:27:00.001+01:00

These days, a controversial judge, Baltasar Garzón, is on trial for supposedly breaking the rights of people subjected to trials he supervised. He ordered phone interventions to check whether lawyers were collaborating to evade money from Spain. And the same lawyers accused him of breaking the law for such intervention.

In the mean time, the people accusing Garzón of breaking the law are responsible of grabbing money from official actions of the government in Valencia for their own profit, by getting commissions, and in other ways, under the pleased regard of the regional leaders, who were, in turn, receiving expensive gifts to stimulate their lack of vigilance.

Is ther justice in this country?

If Forstall is "CEO-in-the-waiting", it spells doom for Apple

2012-01-17T15:57:00.001+01:00

I was surprised today when reading this report posted at AppleInsider, where they mention that a book entitled "Inside Apple" calls Scott Forstall "CEO in the waiting".

Having no idea on the accuracy of this report, I guess it's time to hold horses. But if this report holds true, then I'm plainly convinced that it spells doom for Apple.

Time will tell, but from the times I've seen this guy participating in Apple keynotes, I would say his vision is nowhere near Ive or Cook, let alone Jobs.

It's the end of the world as we know it II

2012-01-16T18:46:00.002+01:00

For evidence, just look at the most recent cover picture of the magazine Interviú. This lady used to be the trendiest girl in town in the 80s, before becoming a ridiculous clown starring a reality show on Spanish MTV, in company of her, ahem, husband:

Fraga died

2012-01-16T17:13:00.000+01:00

Manuel Fraga died yesterday.

He was one of the most relevant politicians during the early years of Spanish democracy, and among his many positive sides, he was responsible for the integration of the extreme right in the Partido Popular. He is also remembered because, back in 1977, he introduced a conference of the leader of the recently legalized Partido Comunista de España, Santiago Carrillo. Both are shown in the picture above.

Fraga, as any other human being, had both positive and negative sides in his long and bold biography. But I think all Spaniards are in debt with him for his contribution to the change from the dictatorship of Franco to the democracy that happened in 1975 in Spain.

Ricky Gervais mocking about the accent of Hayek & Banderas

2012-01-16T13:34:00.004+01:00

In another great demonstration of his lack of taste, here you can watch Ricky Gervais during his introduction of Salma Hayek & Antonio banderas, and stating :

They're ridiculously gorgeous specimens, they're extremely talented and probably very interesting. I'm not sure, as I couldn't understand a fucking word they said.

Unsurprisingly, the last part was censored from the audio stream.

Surely Gervais can speak nicely countless languages, so that he feels qualified to mock about the accent of other people when speaking English.

What a nice joke. And more coming from such a polyglot guy.

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Golden Globes 2012 Martin Scorsese , Antonio Banderas Salma Hayek , Sofia Vergara ROCKS

By TheCrudeTruthAboutIt

YouTube

← Replay

Big surprise from Olympus around the corner

2012-01-15T20:59:00.000+01:00

The scoop was posted by 43 rumors, and they have all credit of showing this page; whether this means a new digital OM camera from Olympus, is open for speculation:

The iPhone was introduced five years ago

2012-01-09T10:05:00.000+01:00

Five years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone.The impact of this product in technology was hard to guess at the time, even if those of us watching this keynote live were blown away. But it went far beyond all expectations.I've posted this video before, but I think it is worth to have a look again, today, with five years of perspective:

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[HD] Steve Jobs - 2007 iPhone Presentation ( Part 1 of 2 )

By UG3Genki

YouTube

← Replay

↵ Use original player

[HD] Steve Jobs - 2007 iPhone Presentation ( Part 2 of 2 )

By UG3Genki

YouTube

← Replay

The second bomb is here: Nikon D4

2012-01-05T22:55:00.002+01:00

In yet another leak from Responses Photo, here you have full discusion of the new Nikon flagship, the D4. This time, the scan was posted at Petapixel. With the camera news disclosed recently, we have plenty of stuff to keep on drooling for a long while:

The bomb is here: Fuji X-Pro 1

2012-01-05T22:51:00.004+01:00

After countless speculations, here we have the real deal: the new Fuji X-Pro 1, as discussed in a scan of the French magazine Responses Photo; it was posted at dpreview.com forums:

I remember reading somewhere that the most feared contender in the field of mirrorless cameras was Fuji; and knowing what they have done in the past with the X10, or earlier with the F30, I can fully understand such fears.

The best way to start 2012 in princeland: Parade demos (4DaFunk)

2012-01-03T22:25:00.001+01:00

No words required, as it is obviously mindblowing stuff from 4DaFunk:

For the record, no questions regarding where to obtain this set will be accepted. Just remember the old moniker: "from fans, for fans, no money involved". DO NOT BUY this set from any of the vultures who use to profit from free fan releases.

My dream camera is around the corner: Nikon D800

2012-01-03T21:05:00.003+01:00

With dream camera I mean the one that seems more attracting to me, yet I will never purchase for many reasons: beyond its probable price, the capabilities of this camera far outcompete me. But still, this bug makes me drool big time.

Nikonrumors.com has all the specs, and also front and back pictures of the camera. The only missing information is the announcement date, and the price of the new beast.

As far as I'm concerned, the Canon 5D Mark II can fly off the shelves and I would not care: If I suddenly became rich, or if I suddenly decided to become a professional photographer, the D800 would be the one.

In the mean time, I will stick to my old trusty Pentax K10D.

Happy 2012

2011-12-31T15:02:00.000+01:00

These are family days and as you can imagine, I have little time to blog; but I wanted to post a little picture made some weeks ago, to wish all readers of the blog a very happy 2012.

Camera vs phone comparison: Fujifilm FinePix F30 vs Sony Xperia Neo V

2011-12-26T13:45:00.002+01:00

Since this week we received new phones at home, I was curious to compare the image quality of shots taken by the Sony Xperia Neo V versus my old beloved Fujifilm FinePix F30. This is no scientific comparison whatsoever, just a trio of similar shots made at the same time with the Neo V and then with the F30, taken at our patio.

All shots were done in automatic mode, and as you can see, the F30 has a tendency to get shots more exposed than the Neo V. But if you look at the overall quality of the images (and taking into account that the F30 has 6 megapixels, while the Neo V has 5 megapixels), I would say they are perfectly comparable.

So going to my initial goal, does it make sense to consider the Neo V as a good alternative for taking pictures on the fly?, I'd say the answer is a resounding "yes", even if it has a number of limitations regarding a proper camera like the F30: besides the lack of manual controls, it has no zoom (as it uses digital zoom only). But certainly the quality of pictures is nothing to be ashamed of, and for the times when you have nothing else but your phone in your pocket, it can clearly be used for casual snapshots and for occasions when you have a good picture waiting to be taken, but no time to get your camera.

Fighting the computer-like frenzy in the world of photography

2011-12-23T10:07:00.002+01:00

Many fields, in the world of consumer electronics, are getting more and more similar to the world of computing: we are getting fast replacements of former models, and the new ones are often small variations with a number of improvements which might, or not, justify the jump.

The manufacturers are always selling their new models as a significant replacement, one which deserves the expense. And every year, users are confronted to new models tempting their credit cards.

Computers have been suffering this situation for a long time. But in the world photography, prior to the arrival of digital cameras, you could be fairly sure to use SLR model for many years without significant drawbacks.

And something tells me that, looking quietly, it might still be the case, despite the manufacturer's propaganda.

Let's use my personal example for description.

In 2005 I got a Fujifilm Finepix F30, after reading extensive information on its capabilities in the net. At the time, its main quality was a peerless reply to low light, and a ver high image quality in most situations, for a compact camera. It is a 6 megapixels model, and it is limited to jpeg, no raw shooting.

In 2006 I got a Pentax K10D, for many reasons, the main being the very good image quality, the large number of features, and the huge compatibility with all kind of Pentax lenses. The problems were a somehow spotty autofocus, and a less than stellar response to low light.

Since those dates, both kind of cameras, compacts and digital SLR, have made tremendous advances, so that today you have compacts which blow away the F30 and K10D. Furthermore, a new category of cameras, the mirrorless models with interchangeable lenses, has appeared in recent years, mixing the best of both worlds.

But if we go to the key question: are those new advances significant, so that I should replace those cameras? Moreover, are the prices of the new cameras going to be compensated by their better features?

I honestly am unsure, and rather I would say "no".

I am an amateur photographer, who works in different matters for a living. I shoot as often as I can, usually on weekends when we do trips to other cities, or doing sight-seeing in the countryside. Under those conditions, both the F30 and K10D keep on doing a fine job for my needs.

6 megapixels are more than enough for most of my casual pictures, taken on the fly while walking around. And the F30 really shines in low light, even if there are current models that far outcompete it. It is a pleasure to use, the focus is nailed most of the times, and it is a simple, no brainer camera to make a quick, great shoot without any further consideration. It still leaves you some manual controls, and I have done some truly stunning shoots at night using them with attention.

Something similar happens with my beloved K10D: 10 megapixels seem ridiculous in front of today's crazy contest for more megapixels in every generation. But to me it is largely sufficient, and if you add the countless possibilities of this camera, I have plenty of opportunities to play and have fun. I swear I have not yet discovered all its capabilities, despite having utilized extensively since its purchase. But for an advanced amateur, I think it easily exceeds your expectations. I could obviously do with a better autofocus, and also with an improved sensor for very dark shots. Yet I managed to make some absolutely terrific shots with it and, most importantly, it has been great fun to use and learn how to use the Pentax K10D. The picture of the Mezquita on top of the Guadalquivir river, in Córdoba, which illustrates this post, is one of my best shots and it was done on a rainy night with the K10D. Furthermore, thanks in significant part to the articles posted by Mike Johnston at The Online Photographer, and to the back catalogue of inexpensive prime lensees from Pentax, I started playing with primes and I think I have been hooked for life.

In short: the camera manufacturers will keep on trying to hook up users to switch to their very last impressive model. But yours truly is planning to contradict them and keep my cameras for a long time, before switching.

An Apple fan going Android: Sony Xperia Neo V

2011-12-22T23:09:00.002+01:00

In a move that might surprise more than one reader of this blog, yours truly has just ordered a couple of Android phones (specifically, the Sony Xperia Neo V shown above).

Yes, that was me. Of course I dream about an iPhone 5, but their prices put the iPhone out of reach for me, and I've been using an iPod Touch for everything except phone calls. And to make phone calls, I've used a down-of-the-line potato from the Samsung brand.

But this week I learned about an offer from my phone company which basically allowed me to keep the very low mobile expenses per month I always had, and besides to get an Xperia Neo V at a very low price (39 euros). And I decided to switch.

To put this price in perspective, I just looked at the cheapest iPhone 4S (16 Gb), available with the same company, with the same kind of contract, and its price is 379 euros. Which means 330 euros more than the Neo V: that is definitely a no way for me (now).

So there you have it: an Apple fanboy just became an Android user... ah, the ironies of life!

Having said all of that, I asked the Three Wise Men to convince the Apple executives to sell their models at more reasonable prices for the time of the iPhone 5 release... who knows, maybe I am a very good guy in 2012 and get some prize.

The phones arrived yesterday, and I started using mine today. Very quick first impressions:

It was the very first time I used Android, and overall it feels better than I expected. I think it is less polished than iOS, but still very capable, although sometimes I feel it intends to overwhelm the user a bit with plenty of pre-installed apps which are not necessarily useful. Anyway you have all you need right there and I guess it is more than sufficient for 99 % of users.

I tried wifi, and it works great; I tried videos from youtube and it loads and plays fine (using home wifi). I made a few pictures with the 5 megapixels camera and they looked also better than I expected (on the phone screen: we will see when I load them on a computer for closer inspection). Thus far I did not record any video, but the Neo V can get mp4 videos at 720, which is quite impressive for the price (another question is the memory required to hold an average lenght video).

That goes for software. Going to hardware, it is light, and well designed, although a bit crowded for those like me who are used to Apple designs. What I can't avoid to perceive is a sensation of lower quality stuff, compared to my iPod Touch. It is plastic all the way and the feeling of solidity seems much stronger in the iPod.

So to put it very short: roughly speaking, I think that this phone lacks more in hardware than software. But these are very quick impressions as I told above, we will see what is my opinion after a few weeks of daily use.

For a detailed review of this phone, you can have a look here.

BTW did I say it can make phone calls?? :P

Always look at the bright side of life

2011-12-22T12:39:00.002+01:00

Today, reading some newspapers, I discovered this beauty of tv ad. For people out of Spain, the meaning is hard to explain: there is a bunch of the best Spanish humorists from the last 50 years, paying homage to one of the best, Miguel Gila, and to his capability to put a good face in tough times. Quite a fitting message at the end of 2011.

I admit I was in tears after watching it.

And I thought this could be the best illustration for a message wishing happy holidays and all the best for 2012 to the readers of this little personal blog.

Microsoft kicked out of CES keynote

2011-12-22T10:28:00.002+01:00

The hell has frozen:

Mystery: who kiled the Microsoft CES keynote?

Said one company insider: “Microsoft didn’t pull out of the keynote — they were kicked out. Big difference.”

Olympus: prosumer micro4/3 camera and continuation of the E series of SLR cameras

2011-12-21T17:04:00.003+01:00

In the same Digital Camera Magazine article I linked before, dealing with Pentax news, there is also a part devoted to Olympus. Valentín Sama has posted an article in his site DSLR Magazine, in Spanish, explaining in some detail the contents of this article. The boldest news is that apparently, Olympus plans to produce a successor to their Olympus E-5 dSLR camera, which is somehow unexpected, as it was previously understood that the E-5 would be the last in the line. Besides, they announce the development of a new, mirrorless camera of the µ4/3 series with a "revolutionary" viewfinder and addressing the prosumer photographers. It seems this camera would make "good use" of the lenses available for the 4/3 system.

Saab files for bankrupcy

2011-12-19T20:00:00.000+01:00

When a motor company with a bold personality is about to die, it is always bad news. Saab is one of those companies, with a small size but a clear signature in their products. Unfortunately, since General Motors announced they planned to sell or close down the company, the affairs have not gone the right way for Saab. And today, I just learned that Saab filed for bankrupcy.These are bad days for small companies, no matter how good their products are, or how personal are their designs.

Pentax announcing new cameras in Japanese magazine? (updated)

2011-12-19T13:46:00.000+01:00

Since I have no idea on Japanese, I can't confirm or deny, but it seems this article published in Japanese magazine Digital Camera Magazine includes hints from Pentax representatives, indicating that new SLR cameras are around the corner, and that full frame under the form of mirrorless is also considered. The pdf file I linked was kindly provided by a member of DP Review forums, Couscousdelight.

Update: a kind member of Pentaxforums has translated the interview, so here you have the content in English.

Lana del Rey: the next big thing or the next big flop?

2011-12-19T12:03:00.001+01:00

Judge by yourself; this is her new single, and the hype is growing bigger and bigger:

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Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

By LanaDelReyVEVO

Music websites in Spain: Rockdelux vs jenesaispop

2011-12-19T11:51:00.003+01:00

As a long time follower of music, and specially modern music, I have been reader of music magazines for more than two decades, and for years I was subscriber of the best one in Spain: Rock de Lux, which later became Rockdelux. They were not perfect but still managed to make an interesting monthly magazine, including good articles and good critics, although often getting too close to meaningless snobbery, and with an excessive tendence to follow the very last hype from the UK.

With time (and other important stories happening in my life, leaving little time to quiet reading), I stopped reading them.

So I saw with interest that their homepage online, www.rockdelux.com, started moving after many months being basically an empty place with a couple of links. And they had been posted mostly old articles from their extensive catalogue, along with some brand new reports of shows, articles, or album critics. All in all, I think it is interesting to browse their page now, and sometimes you find jewels as this very old interview with Alaska y Dinarama, a band who shamelessly went from the hypest guys in town to their current, ridiculous and ashaming show on MTV.

Another magazine I follow lately is strictly available online: jenesaispop.com, and they are, in sharp contrast to rockdelux, vigorously current: their page is much more active, there is no archive content (because they did not exist in 1984, as did Rockdelux) and have no problem in dealing with all kinds of music, from Lady Gaga to Tindersticks. All in all, I think they offer a very interesting mix of articles and possibly are more adapted to the modern internet than Rockdelux, even if Rockdelux seem to be learning on the fly.

Anyway, despite their almost opposite approaches, I wish the best to both sites. Modern music is devalued enough and we all should try to help in order to bring back quality and dignity to its world, in days where many teenagers think that music is, by definition, for free.

I can't make you love me, by Bonnie Raitt and by Prince

2011-12-19T10:23:00.000+01:00

In 1996 I discovered this beautiful song, in the version made by Prince for his triple CD Emancipation, where for the first time, he published several versions of songs written by others. But the original was written by Bonnie Raitt:

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Bonnie Raitt - I Can't Make You Love Me

By BonnieRaittVEVO

YouTube

← Replay

And here you have the excellent version made by Prince:

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Prince - I can't make you love me

By TheMichaelsounds

YouTube

← Replay

Some people complain about Prince making versions of others' songs, having such an extensive catalogue of songs by himself. But in some cases I think it is fully justified, in this is one of that occasions.

The top 50 albums of 2011, according to Pitchfork

2011-12-18T21:27:00.000+01:00

Time for more lists; this time, the very influential Pitchfork selected their top 50 albums from 2011, available here.

Jesse Johnson to leave The Original 7ven?

2011-12-18T21:18:00.000+01:00

Recent news, based on a message from Jesse himself, suggested that he might leave the current formation of The Original 7ven, which is the same as the original formation from The Time. I have no clue on what are the reasons for this, but given the quality of their new album "Condensate", and given how tight have been their public performances thus far, I hope this is finally not true and fans can attend a future tour with the original seven members, as planned. They spent far too much effort on the new projects to forget about it suddenly, just like it might seem.

The most desirable cameras on the planet, according to The Online Photographer

2011-12-18T21:16:00.001+01:00

We are reaching the end of the year, and so we are in the perfect time for "best of" lists of all categories: music, cameras, songs, cars, etc etc.

So The Online Photographer just decided to continue the paused listing of their list of most desirable cameras on the planet. Today, they have summarized up to number 4, and the remaining top 3 will be posted tomorrow. Fun, entertaining and interesting read.

Two new songs from Scritti Politti, performed live

2011-12-18T20:14:00.000+01:00

As reported in the fan site bibbly-o-tek, Green Gartside played recently a couple of new songs at the Victoria venue, during a show held on December 8, 2011:

Overcoats
Slow deceit

Chirac condemned for corruption

2011-12-16T10:35:00.002+01:00

First it was Giscard d'Estaing and his diamonds scandals.
Now is the turn of Chirac, for contracting people in the Paris city hall as a way to pay political favours.

Presidents of republics don't seem unaffected by corruption scandals. But it seems that monarchies are playing in the same league, according to recent news in our own Spanish kingdom.

Best albums of 2011 according to jenesaispop

2011-12-15T18:23:00.000+01:00

After the list of best songs, now is time for the best albums of 2011, according to jenesaispop
. Hint: Kate bush at 15.

Shameless politicians in Spain

2011-12-15T09:36:00.000+01:00

These days we are seeing on tv in Spain images of the judgement of two leaders of the Partido Popular in Valencia, who are confronted to their own conversations with other people deeply involved in corruption. Yet they pretend to have nothing to do with them and keep no relationships whatsoever.

They must think we people are stupid.

Or they simply have no shame.

But one thing I tell you: people are not stupid. And someone at the top of that party should take notes and react to avoid the shaming spectacle these guys are providing for free.

Best bootlegs of 2011: poll at DaBang

2011-12-14T14:20:00.002+01:00

The blog DaBang319 has posted a poll to select the best bootlegs of 2011 in Princeland. It seems people is quite interested as there are already quite a few votes made, and I must say that the choices available represent possibly the best material being released in this year.

Yet some of the questions seem quite hard to answer, as when people asked "who do you love more, dad or mum?". But overall, polls like this are the best evidence that the quantity & quality of sets released lately are truly stunning, and as some people say, 2011 was possibly the best year ever for fans of unofficial Prince releases.

Interview with Ivo Watts, founder of 4AD, in Tentaciones

2011-12-13T17:55:00.002+01:00

Tentaciones, a magazine published by El País focused on modern culture, has published an interview with the founder of the legendary label 4AD, Ivo Watts. It is available in two parts, here and here.

If you know nothing about 4AD, suffice to say they were the home of Cocteau Twins and Pixies.
'Nough said.

First authorities named by Rajoy

2011-12-13T13:05:00.001+01:00

These days, the main gossip in the political world of Spain addresses the possible names of ministers and other authorities to be named by the just elected president of the future government, Mariano Rajoy.

I am no fan of the Partido Popular, but among people from that party, I think that Mariano Rajoy and Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría belong to the most reasonable and best part of it (as opposed to the most extremist and worst part of it, led by Jose María Aznar, Esperanza Aguirre and others in the same line). Hence I was not surprised to read yesterday that the first authorities known, the presidents of the Parliament and Senate, will be Jesús Posada and Pío García Escudero, two people who also belong to the reasonable guys. Hopefully the new government will be composed by people of the same spirit.

Top 100 songs of 2011, according to jenesaispop.com

2011-12-13T12:58:00.002+01:00

jenesaispop.com, a website devoted to modern music with open tastes and shameless (in the good meaning of the term) to mix unknown bands with sacred cows, just published their list of the best 100 songs of 2011, with links to them in youtube. Lots of stuff to discover there, and by the way, in a smart movement, they have no separate category for Spanish songs.

If you would like to have a look, its' here.

Europe to move forward without the UK

2011-12-09T10:22:00.001+01:00

As expected, the European Union summit of last night decided to move forward, imposing new conditions in the financial operations, which were not accepted by the United Kingdom, which will not participate in the new structure agreed by 23 European countries.

I'm not sure whether this is the beginning of the end of the euro crisis, but at least it seems that the leaders are finally doing something for real. Yet there is a clamorous lack of democracy in the decisions taken, and I wonder what is the role of the European parliament and the European Comission in all this story.

In homage of the informative services of RTVE

2011-12-09T00:59:00.001+01:00

Now that the government is going to change in my country, and that, according to some vulgar hints, they are going to change upside down the informative services at the public radio/tv, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE), I'd like to express my admiration for the work they have been doing during the last 8 years.

Zapatero has done things right and wrong, as any other president, but one thing he did right is to give full independence to the informative services at RTVE. They have been a model of balanced, critic journalism, where you could see accurate, really objective information, and in some programs, a mixture of journalists from left and right. It was a huge contrast with respect to the same information in the years 1996-2004, when the right party was in the government in Spain. And sadly, I smell we will see the same kind of biased, pro-right information in the coming months, returning to RTVE and demonstrating that many things did not change in the Partido Popular, despite the clear change in leadership.

Hopefully I will be proven wrong... but something tell me it won't be the case.

European banks received 1,6 billions euros from states in 2008/11

2011-12-01T13:28:00.001+01:00

European banks received 1,6 billions euros from states in 2008/11

Now, of course, there is no money and you have to make cuts in public budgets from states, who were wasting money.

But my friend, for the European private banking, no problem: they received 1,6 billions euros from states between 2008-211. Yet they did everything right and generate no inflation or budget problems.

Now, obviously, in order to give that money to banks, the rest of us got in debts (since we are the people who supports the states with our taxes). And now, in many countries we are paying very high interest rates, which surely will be much higher than those applied to banks in those 1,6 billions.

So there you have it: when our salaries get reduced, that is the only way to move forward, to avoid wasting.

This is really shocking... long life to liberalism, as obviously, full freedom of markets allows everything to work wonderfully.

Carrier IQ: You have no privacy on your phone or the net

2011-12-01T12:19:00.001+01:00

I've written a few times before on this, so that people on valium wakes up and realizes that, when we are using the net, or when we are using a phone, we are not in a private domain. Furthermore: we are being closely monitored.

Some years ago there was Echelon.

This week, Carrier IQ has been put to shame.
There's plenty of information out there, and John Gruber is doing great coverage. For a quick summary, look here.

In short: if you want something to remain truly private, don't do it on your computer while browsing, or on your phone. As there you are in a completely public place.

Jose Luis Sampedro receives the National Literature Prize in Spain

2011-11-30T09:48:00.001+01:00

One of my most admired writers ever, Jose Luis Sampedro, has received one of the biggest literature awards in Spain, the National Literature Prize, second only to the Cervantes Prize.

I am very happy for him: this is a most deserved award, and one which pays homage to one of those people who not only do an excellent work as writer: he's also someone with a deep personal compromise in social and ethical issues.

All congratulations to Sampedro, from another humble follower.

Some light on the Olympus scandal, provided by Valentín Sama

2011-11-29T20:48:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I replied to a comment by Valentín Sama at his blog, and he replied as well, including a message he had received from someone. Since it is public, I reproduce it here (you can find the original in the comments to this post at Sama's blog), because in my opinion, it puts some needed light on the Olympus scandal that threatens to destroy the company:

"In a perverse way, this makes me think that Olympus might be okay, and
also explained to me why they were so pissed off at Woodford.
If the stories are correct, Olympus a long time ago made some really
bad investments and took a huge loss: this was back when the Japanese
economy was collapsing after a real estate bubble, much as ours did
three years ago.
In an effort to avoid admitting a disastrous mistake (and taking the
full hit then, which might have been the end of the company), they hid
the loss, and then, using what otherwise would have been profits, they
slowly over the years replaced the lost money: it didn't go out too the
Yakuza, it wasn't some huge transfer of money to the families of the
board members.
It suggests that Olympus is capable of making quite a lot of money,
enough to replace those losses, and still show enough profit to keep
the shareholders around.
If Woodford hadn't blown the whistle, they might have pulled it
off.
Now that it's out in the open, nobody knows what will
happen. By the way, I'm not defending Olympus, I'm just
saying that for the first time, we might be starting to understand what
happened, and why."

Prince in iTunes

2011-11-29T20:44:00.001+01:00

(Sorry if this was obvious for everybody, but it was not for me):

After the release of Extraloveable in iTunes, I posted here that it was the first iTunes release from Prince (regarding songs owned by him, not WB), with the only exception of F.U.N.K. But actually I did not check it.

So I just had a look at the Spanish iTunes Music Store and was quite surprised because I found much more stuff than I expected:

First of all, of course, all of the WB albums. But here comes the first surprise: there are some maxis available to download, such as Purple Rain (at 1,99 €) or Sexy MF (at 2,49 €) or Let's go crazy or Raspberry beret or Sign O The Times or I wanna be your lover or Gett off or I would die for you or 1999.

Then you have two versions of Symbolic Beginnings, released in 1995 and 1999 respectively, and another 2 sets under the title of "Prince - The Early Years" released both in 2006. I am somehow shocked to see that Prince does not allow the use of The Family or The Time, yet allows Pepe Willie to release four digital versions of the same stuff promoting them as "Prince" stuff. Does not make sense in my book.

BUT what was really surprising to me is to discover that in fact there are quite a few items whose masters belong to Prince. And this includes (title and year of release in iTunes):

Fury 2006
Guitar 2007
Planet Earth 2007 (two versions seemingly identical, priced at 9,90 and released on 12/07/2007 and 19/07/2007)
Dance 4 me (David Alexander Icon remix) 2009
When will we be paid? 2011
U make my sun shine 2011
Extraloveable 2011

So, contrary to what I believed thus far, Prince has been using iTunes in the past, including recent releases of both singles and albums owned by him.

I don't know how this escaped my radar until now, and if it has escaped others' as well. But it evidences that, possibly against his propaganda of full independence and all that bullshit, he has decided (or has been convinced to by any means) to use the main channel to sell music these days.

Now I wonder if we will see the forthcoming album by Prince in iTunes as well; and I also wonder why Planet Earth is in iTunes but not 20TEN (although possibly the "exclusive release with magazine" moniker is the reason).

Extraloveable, first commercial release of Prince in iTunes

2011-11-29T14:02:00.001+01:00

Princeland these days has been the subject of hot controversies on a new song from Prince, "Extraloveable", which is in fact a re-recording with Andy Allo of an old favourite from fans, which had been circulating in bootlegs for years. I personally think the original is much better, but other people disagree: tastes, tastes...

But beyond the quality of this new recording, I was surprised to see that this is the first commercial release of Prince in iTunes, when he seemed thus far allegic to this pathway to sell his music. It is true that he sold the song "F.U.N.K." in iTunes sometime ago, but that song was released in response to the PFU initiative from fans, and consequently it was more an isolated effort than a proper commercial release.

But now, to see "Extraloveable" in iTunes, being released worldwide, as it seems, makes me think that maybe Andy, besides pushing Prince towards some of the best live performances in years, might also be able to convince him to change his marketing ways, and who knows, maybe this is very good news in the making.

In the mean time, patience and popcorn.

Mecano returns?

2011-11-29T13:45:00.001+01:00

The music rumour of this week in Spain has been the supposed scoop, in ABC Radio, announcing the return of Mecano, the most popular pop band in Spain ever.

The driver of the show "Abellán en punto", the journalist Jose Antonio Abellán (with long experience in the world of music, although he is currently working in sports), announced that Mecano will reform in order to do a world live tour with more than 80 dates.

This news did all kind of rounds in the net, prompting a reply from the management office which might be in charge of this stuff, RLM, which said that nothing is confirmed yet and that this scoop could delay the negotiations. The relationships between members of Mecano have been not excellent in last years, so I am quite unsure on what to think. On the other hand, their independent careers have also been less than successful, so a world tour would allow them to get big cash with little effort, and therefore I think it must be quite tempting.

Anyway, I will get a few bags of popcorn to follow how this story develops.

Fugazi to release 800 live recordings online

2011-11-29T12:05:00.001+01:00

Something to dream about:

Fugazi Live Series to Launch December 1, 2011 - Now Up in Beta

The Fugazi Live Series website officially launches on December 1, 2011. The site is currently up and running in beta form but is only visible to Dischord account-holders (this "user-only" restriction will be lifted and a menu link from the Dischord home-page will be added in the coming days).

Fugazi played over 1000 concerts, covering all fifty United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and many points in between. Over 800 of these shows were recorded by the band's sound engineers, often on high quality recording gear.

The Fugazi Live Series is a complete online archive of these concerts. Show pages will feature data from the concerts and (when available) related photos, flyers and MP3 downloads. The goal is to make the shows available to browse for free or to download for a small fee. Initially the band will release 130 downloads (101 new shows plus 29 of the shows released on the now out-of-print Fugazi Live CD series). Additional downloads, photos, flyers, etc. will be added regularly until the entire archive is available.

In keeping with the band's philosophy of keeping music affordable, the suggested price of a concert download is $5. However, we also offer a sliding scale option where you can set your own price. Additionally, we offer an All Access option that will allow you to download every show on the site - that would include all 130 presently available downloads as well as all subsequent shows that will be added to the site over time.

Fugazi Live Series is a wing of the Dischord Records website and utilizes the secure Dischord online store for payment and delivery of the downloads. The site was designed and produced by Dischord's Alec Bourgeois and was developed by Jerrod Blavos of RecCenter. All shows were mastered by Jerry Busher except the 30 shows initially released on CD, which were mastered by Fugazi. Thanks to Peter Oleksik, Lindsey Hobbs, and Amy Breesman for their expertise and help organizing the Fugazi archive. And a special thanks to the many photographers who have generously shared their work.

Now, if you are fan of Prince music as I am, replace "Fugazi" by "Prince", update the places of gigs, and start daydreaming if you will...

Dance for you, great new video from Beyoncé

2011-11-29T11:57:00.001+01:00

This song will only be included in the deluxe edition of the current Beyoncé album. And the video is beautiful and hot at the same time:

New single from Bebe: K.I.E.R.E.M.E., from the new album Un pokito de rokanrol

2011-11-29T11:20:00.001+01:00

As I've said previously, Bebe is in my opinion one of the best and most creative musicians in Spain. This is the new single from the forthcoming, third album: K.I.E.R.E.M.E. Thanks to jenesaispop for the scoop:

↵ Use original player

Bebe - K.I.E.R.E.M.E

By emimusicspain

YouTube

← Replay

After a first listen, all I can say is that it sounds different from previous Bebe efforts, and that it might be maybe too commercial for its own good. But this requires further listening of course.The new album is called "Un pokito de rokanrol" and has been produced by Renaud Letang, the same guy who produced "Clandestino" from Manu Chao, as reported by El País. These are promotional days and one has to take statements like this with a grain of salt or two; but they seem to be very excited about the new album, and from previous comments published by jenesaispop, it seems Bebe and Renaud Letang have done a truly stunning collection of songs.I personally am waiting the new album with loads of interest, since Bebe has deeply shaken the panorama of Spanish commercial music, for the better, in the last years.

Two new songs from Amy Winehouse: Halftime & Procrastination

2011-11-28T19:48:00.001+01:00

Another song from the album; apparently it was recorded in 2002 with Salaam Remi:
Halftime

And this song, which according to Island executives would never see the light of day, seems to have been leaked longtime ago:

Procrastination

Tired of browser plugins draining your battery? Install ClicktoPlugin

2011-11-28T17:14:00.001+01:00

I have been using, until recently, the plugin Click2Flash to avoid automatic loading of Flash content, which had been reported to significantly drain the battery life of Macintosh portable computers. However, it had stopped working with the recent updates of Safari.

So I found a replacement, which besides Flash, also blocks all plugins of dynamic content unless you click on them. I think it is quite useful, so if you are interested, you can download it here.

Europe debt: who owes what to whom

2011-11-24T11:13:00.001+01:00

Stunning graph published by the BBC. Many myths are falling down after watching it.

Gruber does not see same things are the same

2011-11-23T13:00:00.001+01:00

I've been a longtime Apple supporter, and I think that John Gruber (who besides being a high profile technology guru, is also a longtime Apple supporter) writes often very interesting stuff.

Yet in this post, he finds differences between the new tv ad of the Samsung Galaxy SII, shown above, and the old ads from Apple discussing about Mac and PCs. According to him, Apple mocked about PCs, while Samsung mocks about Apple users.

Sorry John: no difference whatsoever. They use exactly the same strategy. The only difference: once upon a time, Apple was the underdog. In this case, Samsung is the underdog.

Other than that, the new Galaxy SII ad is a rip-off of the old Apple adds. They both mock about competitors users. And I find it funny in both cases.

El País claims for the resignation of Zapatero as leader of the PSOE

2011-11-22T17:33:00.001+01:00

After listening some striking comments in the radio, I have read the editorial published yesterday by El País, after the results of the elections on Sunday, 20 November. And I couldn't be more surprised, since despite their point issues with the government of Zapatero, El País has always supported the socialists in Spain.

But this time they posted a devastating article with very harsh critics on the government actions by Zapatero, plainly asking him to resign so that socialists can choose a new leader.

While I would cosign most of the critics explained in this editorial, I think it is published in the worst possible moment, when the defeat is perceived as humiliating for socialists. I think El País is being unfair in this article and they are smashing right at the time when their "enemy" is the the worst possible condition. While it is obvious that El País has been deeply annoyed by Zapatero's support to their competitors (the group behind the tv chain "La Sexta" and the newspaper "Público"), but that is no excuse for hammering like this one day after the elections.

Zapatero has always been, in my opinion, a mediocre leader leading a strong party, and a mediocre president of government who managed to surf the waves of the good years. The problems evidenced his limitations, and now what remains of him is the best demonstration of such limitations. But these critics should have been posted when he was still surfing the waves, not now, when there is nobody to deffend him.

The victory of the quiet man

2011-11-21T12:45:00.001+01:00

Rajoy won the elections yesterday.

And while the Popular Party is far from being my favourite option in politics, his figure seems to me among the best in that party. He was called "the fireman" when he was part of the governments led by Aznar, due to his abilities to solve tricky conflicts. And he was elected the sucessor of Aznar against the expectations of many experts, possibly due to his personal talent in politics and his capability to avoid enemies. Or in other words, to his moderation.

Rajoy has previously lost two elections in Spain, and in the second time, back in 2008, he received angry responses from his colleagues, to the point that many theoretically supporting media promoted a campaign to achieve the resignation of Rajoy, as he was, they said, not the right candidate.

Four years later, it seems he was a good candidate after all. Now I am quite curious to see what kind of government will he deploy: these are very difficult times in economy, and he will need everybody's support in order to suceed. I am also curious to see whether he will remind his old enemies and subject them to the appropriate treatment, now that he's got an almost absolute power in Spain; or if he will decide to forget past offences and move on.

In one way or another, the next years promise to be fascinating, for those like me interested in Spanish politics.

Eulogy of the loser

2011-11-21T12:16:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, the Partido Popular won the elections in Spain, with absolute majority. Whether this are good or bad news remains to be seen.

But now I would like to express my admiration for the candidate who lost the elections: Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba. He was nominated successor of Zapatero as candidate from the Socialist party, in the understanding that he would help to minimize the loss of votes in these elections. Obviously he did not succeed, as socialists had the lowest result ever in the modern Spanish democrazy.

Yet Rubalcaba is, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant minds in Spanish politics, and his contribution to the socialists governments has been nothing short of astonishing. The disappearance of ETA is, in no small part, due to the efforts of Rubalcaba. And his input in the overall strategy of socialists has always been recognized as outstanding. The fact that he could not avoid the catastrophic results obtained yesterday by his party, is possibly the best evidence of the very poor consideration of socialists, now, for the masses in Spain.

The picture of Rubalcaba, yesterday, announcing the results in front of media, with nobody from the high levels of the party to support him, was really sad. Maybe it was intended, so that he would swallow all consequences of the defeat. But I think it was undeserved, and if only for the sake of coherence, the prime leaders of the party should have been around, in solidarity.

I don't know what will be the future role of Rubalcaba in socialism. I hope his acute mind and intelligence won't be lost, since there are not many of this caliber in any party.

An early discovery: The Blue Nile

2011-11-17T20:14:00.001+01:00

Unlike my last post, this one deals with a band which hooked me very longtime ago, in the mid 80s. They did some of the finest, most elegant and moving pop songs I have ever heard, and have always been far away from massive success. To top it all, they have released only 4 albums since their debut, A walk across the rooftops.

This is one of their best songs: The downtown lights, released in their second album, Hats.

A late discovery: Pablo Alborán

2011-11-16T17:09:00.001+01:00

One of the problems derived from the fact that I stopped listening to commercial radio years ago, is that sometimes good musicians escape my radar when they enter into those channels.

Pablo Alborán is one of them. I discovered him two days ago by watching the news on tv, where they announced a forthcoming concert. And then I learned that he had been several years preparing his first album and, before its release, he posted at youtube several videos of songs played on guitar at home, which became hugely popular. Then, when the album was released, it was an instant smash, leading the top of the charts for several weeks.

Pablo Alborán is only 22 years old, and from his look you can quickly infer he will be very popular among teenager girls. But beyond that fact, if you forget about the hype and the promotion and the awards (he recently appeared at the Latin Grammys gala), there is a young musician who wrote all songs of his first album, a good singer, and a bunch of good songs with an andalusian air which, unlike many cases, do sound nice and catchy and moving.

Lyrics-wise he's reinventing the wheel of love, as you could imagine for someone this young. But it does not preclude the fact that I see a clear music talent, someone capable of writing, playing and singing beautiful, moving songs. And there are not too many people enabled for so doing.

I hope he will manage somehow to preserve that quality of moving music, deep inside, so that it will survive the success years he seems to be entering.

Here you have a live performance of Pablo Alborán & Diana Navarro of the first single of his eponymous album, "Solamente tú", broadcasted on the regional tv "Canal Sur" in the show "El loco soy yo", driven by Jesús Quintero:

"50 words for snow" stream to listen in full

2011-11-14T12:34:00.001+01:00

The much awaited new album from Kate Bush, "50 words for snow", is available to listen in full at a stream in NPR.

Hallellujah, Berlusconi é dismesso

2011-11-14T10:01:00.001+01:00

The rise and fall of Olympus

2011-11-10T10:35:00.000+01:00

As an amateur photographer, I became very interested in digital SLR cameras back in 2006 or so, when I had the perception that technology was advanced enough to make the jump. So I first purchased a compact Fujifilm FinePix F30, which was very expensive but has proven an excellent choice along the years.

Then I started digging for information on a 10 megapixels dSLR camera, which ended in another fine purchase: my beloved Pentax K10D.

Yet during those years, I remember reading plenty of articles and some conclusions were clear:
One, I would not buy a Canon or Nikon, even if most people suggested to so doing.
Two, there were some smaller dogs around offering excellent products with a much better quality/price ratio than Canikon.

One of them was, and is, Olympus. They were offering the Olympus E-510 at the time, and I was on the verge of purchasing it several times, until I finally settled on the Pentax K10D. Reviews were unanymously good, the reputation of their lenses was absolutely top-notch, and finally they had a clear focus on quality, not on gimmicks.

So these days I have been following with some dispair the recent Olympus saga, where a top executive was suddenly fired for disclosing very ugly stuff in Olympus accountability.

Unfortunately the saga has continued unfolding, and the last week has offered plenty of bad news for photographers interested in this brand. There are sites with the information, but there is a good summary by The Financial Times, conluding that Olympus used takeover fees hide losses.

If the small brands had not enough problems, this is an ugly final straw, and I'm afraid that the future of Olympus (at least in the field of photography) is not bright.

Update: another recent article summarizing the situation, spotted by The Online Photographer, and posted by The New York Times.

Looking after music back in the day... and now

2011-11-07T20:34:00.000+01:00

This is just a reflection I make due to recent happenings at home:

When I was a kid in primary school, I had no access to music at all. We had no turntable or cassette player, let alone any kind of hi-fi music system. Then, in 1981, I moved to a small town where there was actually FM radio. That was like discovering El Dorado for someone as me, even if at the beginning I was restricted to commercial, mainstream radio. Then, in 1984, I moved to Córdoba, and discovered independent FM radio stations. A year later we purchased our first hifi system at home. That was several universes beyond El Dorado to me, as I suddenly discovered Prince, The Smiths, Trevor Horn, Scritti Politti, Prefab Sprout and on and on and on...

Those years I heard on a daily basis a radio show focused on good new music. I always had a cassette tape ready to record any song that sounded interesting to me. Still I keep a large library of those cassettes, which I know by memory. They constituted the vocabulary of my music tastes. It was all pretty artisanal, including often awful drafts of recordings later released in albums. Besides, I had also many recordings of local bands who were promoting their music in order to get a contract and an album published.

By the time, I had made a few friends with similar music tastes to me (with some exceptions: I never had a purple pal to share my love for Prince music...). And we were often purchasing LPs, which were then recorded onto tape to share with friends. So whenever we were planning to buy an album, it was kind of a shared effort, resulting in access to a number of albums which would be impossible on a personal basis. At the time, an LP costed the equivalent of 6 euros, and I remember saving every penny I could in order to get a brand new LP every couple of months or so. Take into account that my teenager "weekly salary" was the equivalent of 3 euros at the time...

That situation provoked a feeling of cherishing every album or tape. We were very cautious before purchasing a new LP, as when most songs were not good enough, it meant wasting a good amount of money (for our standars, that is). Furthermore, every new album was heard many times, and after just a few days, I knew every bit of it. That applies for countless classics from those years, including SOTT. And exactly the same happened for tapes of albums I could not purchase: they received the same attention, and if the albums was very good, I quickly tried to buy it in vinyl.

Music at the time was serious business, it costed big bucks taking into account the budget of a teenager, it was difficult to listen to good, minority music, and it required a strong effort to discover and get that good music at home. Bear in mind many of my favourite albums were released only as import or locally by small labels. For instance, the first LP I purchased from Cocteau Twins was a truly awful edition by a small, independent Spanish label, and still it was a priceless treasure to me. I remember listening music at home at loud volume, with my parents looking at me with the gesture of "what have we done to deserve a crazy son like this".

And why I am writing all this?
Well, as I wrote recently, my first daughter seems to be so interested in music as I am (with rather different tastes, may I say...), and so I am witnessing in first row what happens today in her situation. She's almost 13 by now, has got her own computer, and a second hand mobile set enabled for music playback. Besides she's got a small music system (simple but with good audio quality). And besides she's got access to our home music system, which is old but still sounds excellent.Well, I tell you what happens.

First, besides the point music discoveries due to her father, yours truly (such as Gothye "Someone I used to know" or The Original 7ven "Trending", to name two recent examples), her music findings come from school friends (awful music in the vast majority), the even more awful music promoted by Disney (the likes of Justin Bieber etc) and videos she watches on MTV, including good and bad stuff. She listens to commercial radio but not very often, and I have the feeling that she does not find new music there.

When she wants to listen to music, she does not think in buying the CD, or a download; furthermore, she does not download illegal copies of the album (although sometimes she asks me to do so): surprisingly (to me, at least), all she does is to look for the music video in youtube and listen to it in the crappy computer speakers, where calling it "can sound" would be an overstatement. Furthermore, even in albums she has got on CD, you will see her very seldom using her personal CD system. It's either the video on youtube, or what's even worse, the same song transferred to the mobile device and played ON THE CRAPPY MINISPEAKERS OF IT... that truly makes me angry, as the audio quality is well bellow miserable.

As you can imagine, the kind of attention she spends on music is quite different to the one we used, thirty years ago. I'm not saying it is worse: I realize she reflects my own behaviour at her age, only that it is updated by thirty years. She's got free access to pretty much any song she would like to listen, and that would be a dream for myself at her age, when you had to wait for many months before getting an album.

But on the other hand, the attention they spend on music is nowhere near ours, because it does not require work or effort or attention to get it and appreciate it. She is not saving money to buy albums. And whenever she gets a new album, it is no big deal whether it is a collection of mostly excellent songs, or only a bunch of filler around a good single. That's a huge contrast for me. But then again, even if she gets a good album, she will focus most attention on one or two songs, rather than spending loads of time to explore and enjoy the rest.

The second contrast is that, having different audio playback devices of different audio qualities, she uses most the worst of all (the mobile phone), and I guess the reason is that it is a trendy touch screen one. And this is, I think, quite a general situation. Weirdly she does not give a shit about its phoning capabilities: she uses it almost strictly to listen to music. And this is, I'm afraid, not a general situation.

The third difference (although I realize this might be due to her age) is that she's not tried yet to go beyond the most commercial stuff. Although she seems to be interested in those: I was delighted when she asked, a few times, about "daddy how did you discover this song?", addressings songs from, for instance, Sufjan Stevens which never appear on the radio or MTV. But still, I have the feeling that "rare music" (meaning simply music that is out of the radar of the commercial channels) is far from the interest of most teenagers now.

Anyway, I just wanted to stress how different it is the overall experience of a music lover who is entering the teenager years, in 2011, compared to another who was in the same situation in the early 80s. And I see both good and bad sides in the comparison, of course, although one conclusion is clear to me:

The perceived "value" of music is much lower now. And I'm not speaking only about economic value: the fact that "music is for free" and that it requires no effort to listen what you want, means that you give it low appreciation, even if you are a music lover. Or at least, that is my perception of the current situation.

And that is an unexpected outcome, since in principle, if you explained the current situation to myself in 1981, I would say it was plain paradise for music lovers. Yet it's not exactly "paradise".

The new Panasonic Lumix GX1 is out there

2011-11-07T12:34:00.001+01:00

Well, these are no longer rumours: the new Panasonic Lumix GX1 is already officially out there. Plenty of information at different sites; but I recommend you to read, as usual, the fine article posted at DSLR Magazine by Valentín Sama.

The true Citroën hold now the badge DS

2011-11-07T11:19:00.000+01:00

For car lovers, the essence of the brand Citroën has been slowly but continously fading since it was purchased by the group Peugeot, even if some traces have been conserved in the last decades. However, all the basics (air-cooled engines, hydroneumatic suspension, advanced two bodies design rather than three...) have been progressively restricted to the higher models, or plainly removed.It is therefore surprising to see that the current responsibles of the brand decided, somehow, to revive some of the old signs of distinction in Citroën and are now deploying them in the luxury DS range. And I think they nailed it with the design of the new Citroën DS5, which is in my book how the C5 should look. The current C5 looks as a Peugeot or an Audi; it is an excellent, bold design, but it does not look as a Citroën: just compare it to the previous generations in that category: the Xantia, or the BX. However, the DS5 fits perfectly in that line of car design, and if I was looking for a car of those features, the DS5 would certainly be high in my list of options.

Further information on the DS5 is available here.

Amy Winehouse new songs: "Body and soul", "Like smoke" and "Our day will come"

2011-11-03T12:28:00.001+01:00

Here you have the full video of the song performed by Amy & Tony, the only song recorded recently to be included in Amy's forthcoming album (and also in Tony Benett's "Duets II").The other songs which have leaked are Like smoke, featuring NAS, and Our day will come.

Melkweg Visions: The selected cuts

2011-11-03T09:46:00.002+01:00

The readers of this blog are surely aware of the fantastic shows performed by Prince last summer at Melkweg (Amsterdam), and specifically the second night was mind blowing. That night was recorded and released in the Melkweg 2Night set, which is in my book the best show performed by Prince in many years.

Well, today I'm happy to report, for those interested, that the icing of this cake is out there: it is a selection of videos from both Melkweg shows, edited by Uci and released in a joint venture by Love or Money / Free Boot Generation.

Test of Fufijilm X10 at DSLR Magazine

2011-11-02T21:43:00.001+01:00

As usual, this test of the brand new Fujifilm X10 compact camera by DSLR Magazine is a must-read. If I was shopping for this kind of camera these days, I'm pretty sure it would be at the top of my shortlist, and after reading this test, I would be even more interested.

Amy Winehouse posthumous album announced for December 5th, 2011

2011-11-02T20:20:00.001+01:00

Recently, we have seen the announcement of the forthcoming, posthumous album by Amy Winehouse, entitled "Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures". According to Pitchfork, it

was assembled by producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, working with her family, management, and label.
A tracklisting posted on Winehouse's offical website notes that the album will include a number of one-take demos, unreleased collaborations, and new compositions. There's a track with Nas, one with the Dap Kings, and Winehouse's final recording, a cover of "Body & Soul" with Tony Bennett from Bennett's recent duets album. "Tears Dry" is the original ballad version of the Back to Black track "Tears Dry on Their Own".According to the BBC, £1 from each record sale will be donated to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, established by her father in September.

This is the tracklist of the new album:

01 Our Day Will Come [Reggae Version] 2002
02 Between the Cheats 2008
03 Tears Dry 2005
04 Wake Up Alone 2006
05 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow [ft. the Dap Kings] 2004
06 Valerie 2006
07 Like Smoke [ft. Nas] 2008
08 The Girl From Ipanema 2002
09 Halftime 2002
10 Best Friends 2003
11 Body & Soul [ft. Tony Bennett] 2011
12 A Song for You 2009

In short, this is an album made of rehash; possibly not what many fans expected, although it will sell like hotcakes for sure.

In the article written by Diego A. Manrique after Amy's death (available in Spanish at El País and very interesting, as pretty much anything written by this guy), these are the last paragraphs, translated:

During the worst crisis of the music industry, she was one of the pillars of the Universal multinational. The company made what was possible for elongating her smashing success, releasing extended editions both of Frank and Back to black. Somehow, the general consensus among her circle was that it would be a good therapy to push her to make an album. Both of her producers, Slaam Remi and Mark Ronson, tried it but the inspiration had evaporated -Amy could participate in collective homages, performing other's songs- and the motivation was lost.
Through the pathway she opened, other British singers with education in soul and reggae entered: Lilly Allen, Duffy, Adele. They avoided the mistakes of Amy, a thin girl who was selling herself as a flamboyant sex symbol, with strong wishes of fun and impenetrable for critics. It is her misfortune that she died a few weeks before getting 28 years old, what puts her fully in the urban legend of the club of 27, the club of rock stars who disappear when reaching that age.
In reality, Amy belonged to another club: she was more the continuator of singers as Billie Holliday, Dusty Springfield, Nina Simone or Etta James. Some of them had habits as dangerous as those of Winehouse, but lived many years. In no book was written she had to die now, after doing only two albums: each drama has its reasons.

IMHO this article is completely spot-on, and two main conclusions are: first, we better forget about hopes for a proper third album being ever released. Second, whether we like it or not, her talent was huge, even if she was properly exploited by record companies to sell her way of living besides her music.

You can like her music or not, but the impact she had in the world of music, and in many music critics and music lovers (yours truly humbly included), transcends the case of "scandalous lady selling music". When I listen to her stunning interpretation of "There is no (greater love)", I am blown away, every time. And it has nothing to do with her consumption of prohibited substances, or to the fac that whe became a miserable star in tabloids. It has all to do with a gift for singing that appears very, very seldom.

All my opinion, of course.

The new Panasonic GX1: pictures and specs leaked

2011-10-29T19:50:00.000+02:00

Further in the usual leaking parade of new cameras information, today we have the case of the brand new Panasonic GX1, the top model in the micro4/3 range of Panasonic. Apparently it's designed to please the advanced amateurs.The pictures appeared at the forum mobile01, the specs were posted at Digicame-info, and both were spotted by Amin Sabet, member of the mu-43 forum.

New video of Jessica 6 for "Prisoner of love"

2011-10-27T17:38:00.002+02:00

In a logic world, this should be a worldwide smash hit, regardless of the fact that Antony collaborates in it with Jessica 6:

Jessica 6 'Prisoner Of Love' feat. Antony from Jessica 6 on Vimeo.

What's virgin mean

2011-10-26T11:15:00.002+02:00

I guess more than a few people of my age and with kids will have a wide smile after watching this:

The hole in Europe's bucket, by Paul Krugman

2011-10-25T16:58:00.001+02:00

This article, published in The New York Times, does not smell good, although Krugman has a reliable track record of not being a euro-basher.

I hope that either he is wrong, or else the European leaders (does such a thing exist in 2011?) manage to find a credible way out of the crisis in the near future:

The Hole in Europe's Bucket

Jony Ive's speech during the Celebrating Steve event

2011-10-25T16:51:00.001+02:00

On October 19th, Apple made an event called "Celebrating Steve", of which a full video has been posted at their website. From it, I found particularly interesting the participation by Jony Ive, shown in this video:

An iPad for my parents (IV): updating to iOS 5

2011-10-25T16:49:00.000+02:00

It's been a long time since I last posted on this series, so there I go:

Last weekend I updated the iPad 2 to iOS 5. In the process, I inadvertedly lost a couple of apps and the pictures that were already there, so I had to put them back. Besides, I showed to my father the new Newstand app, and we installed a couple of sample magazines for him to check. I stressed the importance of not providing any credit card information, unless he wants to actually purchase this stuff (which is not probable at this time).

This updated served me to realize how hooked is my father on using the iPad:

Before the iPad arrived to their home, my father was a heavy consumer of pastime magazines, from crossed words to sudoku (and in recent years, he was doing tons of sudoku). Once he got the iPad, he's transformed into an almost power user internet (considering he is almost 78 years old), browsing newspapers often, watching tv series online (when they miss an episode) or sending emails to close friends. It is a nice spectacle to see him enjoying his new capabilities and realizing that, contrary to his own expectations, he is very much able to get into the "modern world of internet". At this time, he stopped buying sudoku magazines, and is spending much less time in pastime magazines in general. On the contrary, he's got the use of visiting many newspapers pages on a daily basis, getting information for his favourite discussions on politics (a topic on which we disagree big time, of course!).

My mother, on the other hand, keeps on looking with curiosity to the iPad, mostly to videos and pictures, and specially old pictures of the family I scanned for them. But she has never been too interested in new technologies, and therefore she considers this is a kind of "toy for my husband".

Honestly, this gift achieved a success we did not expect and is the best demonstration of the potential of the iPad for people who were previously excluded from the world of computing.

"Un país para comérselo" special tv documentary on Córdoba

2011-10-21T20:16:00.001+02:00

The public Spanish tv is broadcasting a series of documentaries focused on the gastronomy from different parts of Spain, entitled "Un país para comérselo" ("A country to eat it"). I have been following them from scratch, as they are extremely well done, entertaining, beautiful to watch, and very interesting for people who love good food & good wine, as me. Besides, they show plenty of beautiful views on cities, monuments, fields... brief, it is an amazing series, well worth to watch.Furthermore, lately they are broadcasting these documentaries in HD, which is really the icing on the cake (pun intended).

Well, yesterday I had the pleasure to watch the last in the series, devoted to Córdoba and its province. And it was really fantastic. Obviously you need to understand Spanish to enjoy it completely, but even if you don't, you will enjoy the video showing many of the typical features of Cordoba, including salmorejo, flamenquín, berenjenas con miel, and jamón ibérico.

Finally, the documentary showed the restaurant where we celebrated our marriage 14 years ago, Bandolero, and also the owner of one of my favourite restaurants in Córdoba: Miguel, from Casa Pepe de la Judería.

You can watch the video online here.

The soul of Apple lives in Jony Ive

2011-10-21T18:42:00.002+02:00

Longtime ago, when the succession of Jobs was still far away in the future, I predicted -as oftentimes, strictly based on my guts indications- that Jony Ive was the natural successor of Steve Jobs.

Since that date, plenty of people have discussed this matter, and many stated boldly that the only possible successor was Tim Cook. And indeed, Tim Cook is the current CEO of Apple.So it was with a certain positive surprise that I've read a recent article dealing with the forthcoming biography of Steve Jobs, where Jobs is quoted by saying this:

He called Jonathan Ive, Apple's design chief, his "spiritual partner" at Apple. He told Isaacson that Ive had "more operation power" at Apple than anyone besides Jobs himself -- that there's no one at the company who can tell Ive what to do. That, says Jobs, is "the way I set it up."

And I'm surprised because this comment, atributted to Jobs himself, completely reflects my own feelings.

I've watched many times product introductions where Jony appeared describing some design features, and it was completely obvious that he was fully immersed in the Apple design philosophy: powerful, delicate, simple, clear, bold, astonishing. Apple products are the best example of their "Think different" theme, and Jony is the uberdefinition of such a designer.

Possibly Apple gurus are right and the influence in the company of Cook or Schiller, or others, might be bigger at this time.

But the Apple spirit, the thing that always made Apple special, the thing that left Apple with Jobs and returned to Apple with Jobs... that thing lives within Jony Ive, and nobody else. He incarnates all the features that allow a designer to draw an Apple product. And he's consistently delivered the very best: you just need to look at the list of Apple products in the last years.

So comin back ot my initial reflection: Cook might be the perfect CEO; Schiller might be the perfect marketer; Forshall might be the perfect supervisor for iOS; Mansfield might be the perfect hardware supervisor... and on and on.

But all of that stuff can be found in other companies.

The soul of Apple, what makes them different from any other computer company (or any other products company, for that matter) is elsewhere.

The soul of Apple died with Steve Jobs.

And now it lives in Jony Ive.

Long life Jony.

The crisis in a nutshell, by Calvin & Hobbes

2011-10-20T21:52:00.000+02:00

By Calvin & Hobbes, published long ago (via Daringfireball, published in The sly oyster):

Great day for Spain: ETA ends

2011-10-20T21:19:00.000+02:00

Not many words required: the terrorist organization ETA announced today, after 43 years of violence, that they stop definitely their actions.

Second video for "Out of my mind" from Erykah Badu

2011-10-20T10:16:00.003+02:00

Ms. Badu has released a second video of this song, which corresponds to what she calls the second movement:

The first movement is called ‘Recovering Undercover Over-lover.’ It actually sums up the whole album, because I’m talking about love and emotion – ‘I need you to do this,’ ‘I want you to do this,’ ‘You make me feel like this,’ ‘Why don’t you feel like this?’ It’s typical of how you feel in relationships. The second movement is called … ‘Easier Said Than Done,’ and it’s about how hard it is to change after you’ve been in a relationship for so long. And then the third movement is called ‘But Not This Time,’ because even though I’ve done things a certain way for so long, I won’t do that this time.-EB

OUT MY MIND JUST IN TIME 2 from Creative Control on Vimeo.

Towers in Écija

2011-10-19T22:36:00.000+02:00

Last week we visited a town, Écija, we crossed many times when going to Sevilla, but which was unknown to us thus far. They call it "the town of towers" and I truly wonder why.

Prince signing for three albums with a Swiss label... (?)-update

2011-10-18T11:45:00.000+02:00

I'm not holding my breath, honestly; but for what it's worth:

The Swiss newspaper 20 Minutes published this article dealing with Prince:

Prince signe pour trois albums sur un label suisse

Fabrice Aubert

Le kid de Minneapolis veut donner une nouvelle couleur à sa musique. Cela se fera grâce à un DJ alémanique.«C'est un rêve qui devient réalité, on a encore de la peine à y croire!» Arnold Meyer, responsable promo pour Purple Music, ne cache pas sa joie en nous annonçant la nouvelle en primeur: Prince a signé pour sortir ses trois prochains albums sur le label de house suisse, créé en 1997 par DJ Jamie Lewis et son épouse, Manuela de Pasquale. Lors de sa venue à Zurich en août dernier, l'auteur de «Purple Rain» est resté quelques jours en Suisse, après son concert au Hallenstadion. Il a travaillé dans un studo local et a demandé à son management de lui trouver un label pour ses sorties futures.

Bon référencement Google «Comme ils étaient en Suisse, Purple Music est arrivé en tête des pages dans le moteur de recherches de leur ordinateur», nous explique Jamie Lewis. Son passé de DJ funk et l'impressionnant catalogue du label (plus de 400 titres dont ceux de Cerrone, Imagination ou Jocelyn Brown) ont séduit la star américaine qui désire donner une direction plus «club» à sa musique. L'entourage de Prince a alors tenté de contacter Purple Music par téléphone dans leurs bureaux de Winterthur: sans succès. Et pour cause, le DJ et sa femme étaient en vacances à l'étranger. Manuela a reçu un e-mail émanant du management de la star qui lui demandait son numéro de portable puisque celui du bureau ne répondait pas. Pensant d'abord à un spam, elle a tout de même envoyé son contact, sans grand espoir. Quelques jours plus tard, les managers de Prince rencontraient les responsables du label alémaniques. Et après quatre heures de discussions, les contrats étaient signés.

Un premier single en novembre «Prince enregistre en ce moment, dans son studio de Minneapolis, des nouveaux morceaux mêlant funk et house, précise Arnold Meyer. Nous avons déjà reçu les deux premiers singles: «Dance 4 Me», prévu pour le mois de novembre et «2 Nite qui suivra». Sur ce dernier, Prince a convié sa protégée, chanteuse et mannequin, Bria Valente. Le premier des trois albums paraîtra l'année prochaine.A la demande du kid, ses sorties seront disponibles dans le monde entier en digital mais aussi en vinyl. Sur chaque single, Jamie Lewis remixera les chansons de Prince.Et côté financier? Les Alémaniques reconnaissent avoir payé une avance à Prince mais refusent d'en divulguer le montant. «C'est top secret! Nous ne communiquons pas à ce sujet», disent-ils

I've seen all kind of weird happenings around the purple guy; now, looking for a record label by googling would certainly be a scoop. And releasing three albums with a label found this way, would be even more of a scoop. And stating that the new singles are in fact songs included in the Lotusflow3r project released in 2099... well this suggests that either this Fabrice Aubert is completely lost on Prince discography, or else Purple Music is lost, or maybe all of them are lost. But one thing is clear, this does not look promising.

Not sure if it's time to start expectations on new music from Prince, or maybe to buy several bags of popcorn, just in case.

Update: this news has been corrected by Dr. Funkenberry, stating that in fact there is a distribution deal for remixes. No new material is included in this deal.

Pink & green: bougainvilleas in our patio

2011-10-17T21:30:00.001+02:00

When we moved to our new house in 2008, we planted a bougainvillea in the sunnier corner of the patio. Apparently it enjoyed the place a lot, as it's been growing like crazy from scratch. And this October, it is particularly magnificent. A couple of days ago, I decided to pay it homage, since it is possibly more beautiful than ever.

Interview with Fiat's design head, Roberto Giolito, on the new Fiat Panda

2011-10-17T13:52:00.000+02:00

Roberto Giolito is the current head of Fiat design. In his brilliant CV, you can find the design of the original Fiat Multipla of 1998, and more recently (and with much more commercial success, although less brilliant on design grounds IMHO), the new Fiat 500. In this interview he discusses the design of the all new Fiat Panda of third generation:

Nissan Evalia, or how to put 7 people with 900 L of luggage in 4.40 m

2011-10-17T13:26:00.000+02:00

As I've described before, families of 6 people like mine face a tough challenge when looking for cars enabled to transport them and their luggage on a regular basis.I mean there exist plenty of alternatives of 5 seats + 2 smaller seats that can be seldom used, only for occasional needs. You can bring 5 people with plenty of luggage, or else 7 people with no luggage. But not both.

Yet the choice becomes really small when you need to bring 6 people and loads of luggage often. If that's the case, you need to look for big multipurpose vehicles, such as the Grand Space, or the Grand Voyager, which equals to a huge car and also a huge price. Or, until recently, you had the possibility to get a Fiat Multipla, or its carbon-copy the Honda FR-V, which managed to put six people (in two lines of three seats) plus a good luggage space in a reasonable length.

As I described in an earlier post, these alternatives are a no-go for me, as of now, 2011: our budget does not allow to consider a price in the range of 40,000 € (as required for the Grand Space or the Grand Voyager), and besides their size (over 5 m length) is too big when you live in the old part of a city like Córdoba, where streets were not planned for cars, but for horses.And on the other hand, the reasonable alternatives that were my beloved Fiat Multipla (my current car) or the Honda FR-V, are no longer available, due to their lack of commercial success.

So it is with great interest that I learned this week about a new alternative: the Nissan Evalia, based on an industrial van, the NV200, but with a design specifically made for people transportation. I have been digging for information, including brochures and tests, and much to my surprise, I discovered that this car, with a lenght of 4.40 m, is capable of transporting 7 people and 900 liters of luggage (!!). Unsurprisingly, it was chosen last May to be the next taxi in New York, which makes sense given its possibilities. But what is more shocking to me is to find that it can make such prowess with a traditional positioning of seats (2 + 3 + 2), which usually meant that the luggage space disappeared when used for 7 people (i.e., the Fiat Scudo, Citroën Jumpy, or standard Renault Espace or Chrysler Voyager). How the Nissan engineers managed to design this wonder, I don't know, but I do know it is the best alternative for us, when the time comes to replace our Multipla.

The only possible bad aspect of the Nissan Evalia is that, at the time of writing, it is only available in diesel with a relatively small engine of 1.5 liters, providing 110 CV. This might look like enough on first regard, but I have my doubts about its performance on motorway, when running with full charge. Our Multipla can run at speeds well over 120 km/h fully charged, and our minimum requirement would be to get comparable performances when we get a replacement.Anyway, I am very happy to see that a new possibility is in the market, and that car makers are realizing that not all families have one or two kids.

Expecting in awe the new Kate Bush album

2011-10-13T17:21:00.001+02:00

Although I posted a couple of days ago the link to listen the new single from Kate Bush, "Wild man", only today I found time to listen properly.

And you know what?I remember some discussions, years ago, about the supposed contradiction of the expression "instant classic".Well, let me tell you that, in my book, the new single, "Wild man" is exactly that: an instant classic.

It shows all the personality of classic Kate Bush tracks, it is involving, fresh, and very elaborated. It's pure Kate Bush in essence, and it promises all the best for the new album.In all honesty, I considered very difficult to see another album from Kate in the same (huge) quality vein of "Aerial", but I am starting to believe it. Crossing fingers here.

(And now I will bite my tongue to avoid posting the very hurting comparison with the purple guy... ).

As a reference, just in case somebody don't know what the "Aerial" album was about, it included such a masterpiece as this; and BTW it seems this is a fan made video (!!!!!), which is astonishing considering the quality:
A coral roomThis song deals with the death of her mother:

A coral room

There's a city, draped in net
Fisherman net
And in the half light, in the half light
It looks like every tower
Is covered in webs
Moving and glistening and rocking
Its babies in rhythm
As the spider of time is climbing
Over the ruins

There were hundreds of people living here
Sails at the windows
And the planes came crashing down
And many a pilot drowned
And the speed boats flying above
Put your hand over the side of the boat
What do you feel?

My mother and her little brown jug
It held her milk
And now it holds our memories
I can hear her singing
“Little brown jug don't I love thee”
“Little brown jug don't I love thee”
Ho ho ho, hee hee hee

I hear her laughing
She is standing in the kitchen
As we come in the back door
See it fall
See it fall
Oh little spider climbing out of a broken jug
And the pieces will lay there a while
In a house draped in net
In a room filled with coral
Sails at the window
Forests of masts
Put your hand over the side of the boat
Put your hand over the side of the boat

And what do you feel?

New album from Manolo García, "Los días intactos"

2011-10-11T23:07:00.001+02:00

Manolo García was for years one of my favourite Spanish musicians, when he was part of El Último de la Fila. Then they disbanded and Manolo continued alone releasing albums. The level has not been the same, but I keep on having a soft spot for his music.Recently he released in youtube two songs from his new album, "Los días intactos". Here you have both.Un giro teatralLa sombra de la sombra de tu sombrero

"Wild man", new single from Kate Bush

2011-10-11T10:04:00.004+02:00

Taken from her forthcoming album "50 words for snow", the site naiveté has published the full new single, "Wild man". And it sounds really good to my ears.

United for global change

2011-10-11T10:03:00.001+02:00

Another world is possible: let's spread the word.United for global change

A walk for shopping and the wonders of Córdoba

2011-10-10T19:58:00.001+02:00

I often say that people living in a beautiful city are somehow immune to the charms of the place, since they are walking everyday in between amazing buildings, monuments, etc. And therefore you need, from time to time, to stop and realize about the wonders that are surrounding you, even if they are there everyday.So a couple of days ago, I decided to take this approach and started making pictures during a walk for shopping. Mind you: we walked to the center of town and back home, we didn't go to the fanciest part of the city. These are some samples, taken as usual with my good old trusty Pentax K10 D and the standard 18-55 zoom lenses.

When coming back home, we had a coffee in what is a really special bar, located in the stables of a very old house; old enough so that the columns are from Roman origin, which is saying:

Jobs at the top: iPhone introduction

2011-10-06T16:11:00.002+02:00

I'd like to close my little personal homage to Steve Jobs with a video showcasing him at his best. He had the fame of producing a "reality distortion field" to convince you of the superiority of Apple products, and besides the joke, there's some reality in the statement. But regardless of distortion fields, he was truly peerless to make keynote introductions of new products. And among the many I have watched, the one he did in 2007 to introduce the iPhone is the best. So let's remember a fully fledged genius excelling onstage: