Zorro och jag har ju inte gått något i skogen på sista månaden på grund av hans onda ben. Men idag tänkte vi ändra på det för nu är det ju en månad sedan det hände något sist med hans ben och det verkar hålla för lite längre promenader.  Och jo då, benet höll i dag också.

Men, nog blev vi bra förvånade när vi gick alltid. Där vår fina trollskog har varit, som vi älskat att gå i både Zorro och jag såg det ut så här!

Man blir ju minst sagt förvånad och faktiskt lite ledsen också. Och det var inte bara jag som reagerade starkt. Zorro slog på en tvärnit och bara stod och glodde han också. Han gillade nog inte heller vad han såg!

OPENINGS

→ One Piece – Single OP1 – We Are!

Name: We Are!
Artist: Hiroshi Kitadani
CD Release: 1999/11/20
Tracks:

01. We Are!
02. Music
03. We Are! (karaoke)
04. Music (karaoke)
Download: Click Here (41.03 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP2 – Believe

Name: Believe
Artist: Folder5
CD Release: 2000/11/29
Tracks:

01. Believe
02. Liar
03. Believe (instrumental)
04. Liar (instrumental)
Download: Click Here (39.44 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP3 – Hikari e

Name: Hikari e
Artist: The Babystars
CD Release: 2002/07/24
Tracks:

01. Hikari e
02. Happy days?
03. Hikari e (instrumental)
Download: Click Here (25.23 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP4 – Bon Voyage!

Name: Bon Voyage!
Artist: Bon-Bon Blanco
CD Release: 2004/01/14
Tracks:

01. Bon Voyage!
02. Arigato I Love You, Yet..
03. Bon Voyage! (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (16.56 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP5 – Kokoro no Chizu

Name: Kokoro no Chizu
Artist: BOYSTYLE
CD Release: 2004/11/17
Tracks:

01. Kokoro no Chizu
02. Tomorrow ~Kaze no Michishirube~
03. Kokoro no Chizu (Instrumental)
04. Tomorrow ~Kaze no Michishirube~ (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (25.18 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP6 – BRAND NEW WORLD

Name: BRAND NEW WORLD
Artist: D-51
CD Release: 2006/07/26
Tracks:

01. BRAND NEW WORLD
02. Haisai! SUMMER GIRL
03. Negahare
04. BRAND NEW WORLD -Back Track-
Download: Click Here (23.20 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP8 – X ~Dame~/Crazy Rainbow

Name: X ~Dame~/Crazy Rainbow
Artist: Tackey & Tsubasa
CD Release: 2007/04/18
Tracks:

01. X~Dame~
02. Crazy Rainbow
03. Unmei
04. EDGE
05. X~Dame~ (TACKEY PART VERSION)
06. X~Dame~ (TSUBASA PART VERSION)
07. Crazy Rainbow (TACKEY PART VERSION)
08. Crazy Rainbow (TSUBASA PART VERSION)
Download: Click Here (76.22 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP9 – Jungle P

Name: Jungle P
Artist: 5050
CD Release: 2007/11/07
Tracks:

01. Jungle P
02. Blue Way
03. Jungle P -short edit-
Download: Click Here (22.19 MB)

→ One Piece – Single OP10/11 – Share the World/We Are!

Name: Share the World/We Are!
Artist: Tohoshinki
CD Release: 2009/04/22
Tracks:

01. Share The World (OP11)
02. We Are! (OP10)
03. Asu wa Kuru Kara
04. Share The World (Less Vocal)
05. We Are! (Less Vocal)
Download: Click Here (44.28 MB)

ENDINGS

→ One Piece – Single ED1 – memories

Name: memories
Artist: Maki Otsuki
CD Release: 1999/12/01
Tracks:

01. memories
02. Yoake Mae
Download: Click Here (20.99 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED2 – RUN!RUN!RUN!

Name: RUN!RUN!RUN!
Artist: Maki Otsuki
CD Release: 2000/08/09
Tracks:

01. RUN!RUN!RUN!
02. Summer Time Love Letter
03. RUN!RUN!RUN! (instrumental)
Download: Click Here (31.02 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED3 – Watashi ga iru yo

Name: Watashi ga iru yo
Artist: Tomato Cube
CD Release: 2001/04/25
Tracks:

01. Watashi ga iru yo
02. Interiina
03. Utautau (Studio Live Version)
04. Watashi ga iru yo (Instrumental)
05. Interiina (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (22.70 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED4 – Shouchi no suke

Name: Shouchi no suke
Artist: Suitei Shojo
CD Release: 2001/08/22
Tracks:

01. Shouchi no suke
02. Hajimete no Burajaa
03. Shouchi no suke (Karaoke)
Download: Click Here (33.66 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED5 – BEFORE DAWN

Name: BEFORE DAWN
Artist: AI-SACHI
CD Release: 2001/11/28
Tracks:

01. BEFORE DAWN
02. sayonara no nochi ni miru yume
03. BEFORE DAWN (Instrumental)
04. sayonara no nochi ni miru yume (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (40.48 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED6 – fish

Name: fish
Artist: The Kaleidoscope
CD Release: 2002/02/06
Tracks:

01. fish
02. NEW DAY
Download: Click Here (19.58 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED7 – GLORY ~Kimi ga Iru Kara~

Name: GLORY ~Kimi ga Iru Kara~
Artist: Takako Uehara
CD Release: 2002/05/22
Tracks:

01. GLORY ~Kimi ga Iru Kara~
02. Changin’ my heart
03. GLORY ~Kimi ga Iru Kara~ (remixed by D.M.X.)
04. GLORY ~Kimi ga Iru Kara~ (instrumental)
05. Changin’ my heart(instrumental)
Download: Click Here (77.07 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED8 – Shining ray

Name: Shining ray
Artist: Janne Da Arc
CD Release: 2002/08/07
Tracks:

01. Shining ray
02. MOTHER BRAIN
Download: Click Here (28.15 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED9 – Free Will

Name: Free Will
Artist: Ruppina
CD Release: 2002/12/26
Tracks:

01. Free Will
02. violet flow
Download: Click Here (38.28 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED10 – FAITH

Name: FAITH
Artist: Ruppina
CD Release: 2003/08/20
Tracks:

01. FAITH
02. Thousand Lights
03. FAITH (Instrumental)
04. Thousand Lights (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (24.35 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED11 – A to Z

Name: A to Z
Artist: ZZ
CD Release: 2003/11/12
Tracks:

01. A to Z~ONE PIECE Edition~
02. I’ll be back again
03. A to Z
04. A to Z~ONE PIECE Edition~ (Back Track)
05. I’ll be back again (Back Track)
06. A to Z (Karaoke Version)
Download: Click Here (54.79 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED12 – Tsuki to Taiyou

Name: Tsuki to Taiyou
Artist: shela
CD Release: 2004/03/03
Tracks:

01. Tsuki to Taiyou
02. OVER THERE
03. Tsuki to Taiyou (instrumental)
04. OVER THERE (instrumental)
Download: Click Here (26.94 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED13 – DREAMSHIP

Name: DREAMSHIP
Artist: Aiko Ikuta
CD Release: 2004/08/11
Tracks:

01. DREAMSHIP
02. kimi ni tsutawaru made ha
03. Balance
04. DREAMSHIP (Instrumental)
Download: Click Here (52.07 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED14 – Mirai Koukai

Name: Mirai Koukai
Artist: Tackey & Tsubasa
CD Release: 2005/05/04
Tracks:

01. Kamen
02. Mirai Koukai
03. Romantic
04. Kamen (karaoke)
05. Mirai Koukai (karaoke)
Download: Click Here (31.10 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED15 – Eternal Pose

Name: Eternal Pose
Artist: Asia Engineer
CD Release: 2005/07/27
Tracks:

01. Eternal Pose
02. Asia Engineer Super Radio Show – ONE PIECE Special
03. Eternal Pose (Karaoke)
Download: Click Here (57.71 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED16 – Dear friends

Name: Dear friends
Artist: Triplane
CD Release: 2006/01/11
Tracks:

01. Dear friends
02. you
03. Dear friends (TV Ed you 70 Byou Version)
Download: Click Here (15.08 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED17 – Asu ga Kuru Kara

Name: Asu ga Kuru Kara
Artist: TVXQ
CD Release: 2006/03/08
Tracks:

01. Asu ga Kuru Kara
02. The way U are -Japanese version-
03. Asu ga Kuru Kara (Vocal & Piano version)
04. Asu ga Kuru Kara (Less Vocal)
05. The way U are -Japanese ver.- (Less Vocal)
Download: Click Here (27.28 MB)

→ One Piece – Single ED18 – ADVENTURE WORLD

Name: ADVENTURE WORLD
Artist: Delicatessen
CD Release: 2006/07/26
Tracks:

01. ADVENTURE WORLD
02. Kessen no Hi
03. ADVENTURE WORLD (instrumental)
04. Kessen no Hi (instrumental)
05. ADVENTURE WORLD (ONE PIECE Ending Ver.)
Download: Click Here (31.40 MB)

Som tur är hann Zorro och jag med en hyfsat lång promenad medan det bara regnade måttligt, nästa får nog bara bli “ut och kissa” om det här håller i sig! Just nu bara vräker det ner! Inget nytt på benfronten, men lite rastlös är han allt nu. Zorro är ju van att få skrota runt lite för sig själv ute vilket han inte får nu, och det kommer att dröja ett bra tag. Så idag har Teddy varit extra intressant.

Såg att man tagit ett par som smugglade valpar nu igen. Nio små franska bulldogar fick avlivas. Jag vet faktiskt inte varför man avlivar valparna, men antagligen mådde de inte så bra får jag väl tro. Hemskt är det i alla fall! Fattar inte hur folk kan göra sånt bara för att tjäna lite pengar, ok – en hel del pengar, men ändå.

Här kommer ett gäng bilder på jaktkatten Teddy, en riktig buse och en riktig storjägare är han!

234. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley

Publication: Penguin Classics (August 30, 2005), Paperback, 272pp / ISBN 0143039334

Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical Fiction?

Rating:

Read: November 20, 2009

Source: Library

Summary from Amazon:

Originally titled The Curse of Capistrano in its 1919 debut, this exciting tale achieved immortal fame thanks to Douglas Fairbanks’s 1920 blockbuster film, The Mark of Zorro—a cinematic triumph that inspired Johnston McCulley to retitle his novel and dedicate it to Fairbanks. Set in Mexican California during the 1820s, the story follows the career of Don Diego Vega, by all appearances an effete and foppish aristocrat. But Vega’s timorous reputation is nothing more than a mask to conceal his alter ego: a California Robin Hood known as Zorro, whose swift blade strikes down those who exploit the poor and oppressed. The inspiration for dozens of film and television adaptations, The Mark of Zorro remains a paradigm of swashbuckling adventure.

Review

A coworker of mine is pretty obsessed with Zorro, and after a while she interested me enough to try and read one of the books. I’m familiar with some of the movies, and I like sword-fighting dashing young heroes who always have something witty to say, so I figured it was a pretty safe be that I’d like The Mark of Zorro.

The Mark of Zorro is the first Zorro book, and it was originally published serially. Serialized stories are almost always action-packed, exciting, and rather wordy– think Alexandre Dumas or the Sherlock Holmes stories. Every chapter either ends on a note that moves the story forward and wants to keep you reading. In The Mark of Zorro, the chapters tended to end on a “and then something shocking and/or exciting happened!” note, which meant the book moved like lightning. I was not actually expecting to like that formula, though, so imagine how surprised I was when I found myself eagerly reading chapter after chapter like a pigeon who found a stash of seeds.

It was so exciting! I’m going to use that word a lot, but that’s exactly what The Mark of Zorro is. It’s exciting, and romantic, and it hardly has any of the horrible early pulp fiction problems that I hate.

It was also rather wordy in some places, like I said. That’s because serial novelists got paid by the word (think Dickens), so while some parts are fantastic and energetic, other parts are just too much. I think I skimmed most of them, now that I think back on it. The first page is a real killer in too-much department, but don’t let it fool you– the chapter ends in a really great way.

About Zorro/Don Deigo– was I not supposed to know that they were the same person? There’s a big reveal/explanation at the end of the book, but, like…I already knew all the stuff that’s being explained! Would people reading it for the first time and with no previous knowledge of Zorro not really have figured it out during the course of the book anyway? Hm. No idea.

Anyway, I actually really like Zorro/Diego. Diego I found funny and somewhat campy and he lightened the novel up a lot. Zorro was dashing and exciting and everything I could want in a hero, really.

His love interest, Lolita, was fine for the most part, but whenever the two of them got together there were even more exclamation marks than when they were apart, and it got quite distracting. But I loved how Zorro wooed her, and how Diego kept striking out. I didn’t expect to like their romance so much, actually, since I tend to despair of any strong women existing in a pulp novel. But Lolita is quite strong, and I liked her.

The plot is good, too, with lots of those sword fights I love and lots of vengeance against bad dudes, which I also love. It ends rather abruptly, and in a way that I think meant Mr McCulley wasn’t planning on writing any more Zorro novels. It was a bit surprising, that, especially since the Zorro in the movies is always taking such pains to hide his identity.

Anyway, I really, really liked The Mark of Zorro! I was pleasantly surprised, and I’m glad I read it. I’m definitely going to read some other Zorro books.

And

Find your own copy @ Amazon or IndieBound. Or for free at Archive.org.

Other reviews: Disposable Lit Reviews | Puss Reboots

- Watch The Mark of Zorro 1920 movie with Douglas Fairbanks (IMDB).
- A solution to that bit at the end that I had concerns over: “Due to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote over 60 additional Zorro stories starting in 1922. The last, The Mask of Zorro (not to be confused with the 1998 film), was published posthumously in 1959. These stories ignore Zorro’s public revelation of his identity.” From Wikipedia.
- Here’s a complete list of those stories, by the way.
- A bit of the Zorro anime, with Arabic titles. He reminds me a little of Tuxedo Mask in this, actually.

Morning kids,

Not too sure what I want to post about today, but really struggled to get to sleep last night and thought a few times about getting up and typing something to you guys to see if that would make me feel better and allow me to finally get some sleep. However, I didn’t get up – your mom’s got a ridiculously hectic time at work this week and was up and out the house before 5am yesterday morning and was on the go all day…so she’s absolutely shattered and I knew that getting up and sitting in the office would disturb her much needed rest…so I just lay there thinking for hours and hours. Yup, another SNAIF (Sleepless Night Attributed to Infertility for those who haven’t memorised my super-duper HopelesslyTTC IF acronyms list).

Last night, while I was laying there in the dark, I thought of loads of things I wanted to tell you about, but now I sit here this morning, tired and bleary eyed, and it’s like I’ve become mentally constipated…do you get laxatives for the mind?? You must do, I’m convinced that an awful lot of people are taking them!

I’m in a bit of a funny place again…we’ve got our first appointment with the new FS (albeit at the same clinic) next week Tuesday and it sort of feels like another D-day is approaching…a dreaded DECISION is racing rapidly towards us…ready to knock us off this reed thin emotional tight-rope that we seems to walk during this TTC journey…just when you think you’ve got your balance right and you’re both coping splendidly…something comes along and induces a serious wobble.

I’ve been on these Pregnyl injections for just over 12 weeks now (three times a week) in the hopes that injecting LH into my system will wake my lazy testicles up enough for them to start producing Testosterone. That in itself isn’t the main target…I have after all been injecting myself with T on and off for over a decade (well actually your mom’s been sticking it to me – there’s no way I can reach around and inject myself in my own arse!!). No, the whole point of these injections is to try and give us some idea of whether my testes are developed enough that they would be likely to respond to FSH and produce sperm…because my bloody useless pituitary gland (now named Paris Pituitary as it’s never done an honest days work in its life) hasn’t been producing these hormones…so my testes have been sort of just hanging out, not doing much, just sort of there for decoration really…as much use as a waterproof teabag!

I’ve been for a couple of blood tests over the last few months to see whether there’s been any response, whether my body has started producing its own T – but the results haven’t looked good so far. One more blood test on Friday and I’m pretty sure that if the results are not an overwhelming ‘Yes’, that it’s back to searching for Zorro time…donor sperm her we come…if you’ll excuse the weak pun.

I’ve decided that I also want to do another SA for this appointment (yes, I know, cos life isn’t bad enough I’ll subject myself to that ordeal)…not because I have any real hope that my testes have suddenly woken up and decided to play ball (jeez – bad puns seem to be the flavour of this post…sorry), but because I don’t want to look back in a years time and wonder if we moved on to DS too quickly. I want a resounding NO, so that all the doubts and possible “what if’s” that will creep up on me in the wee hours of the night sometime in the future, are smothered before they can even begin. I need the FS to tell me that my nuts are as useful as ABS on a skateboard, a parachute in a submarine, honesty & sincerity to a politician…whatever. Because, without this absolute No, it’s going to be even harder to give up on this dream of having my own biological kids…something I didn’t know was such an important thing to me until very recently.

Mentally and intellectually, I’ve come to terms with this decision – I know that I will love you kids unconditionally whether you have my poxy genes or Zorro’s hopefully fantastic genetic material. I know that when I hold you in my arms, it won’t matter that much what we’ve had to go through to get you guys – it would have all been worth it…but I also know that given a choice, I would want you to be mine, genetically speaking too. And so, as much as I’ve come to terms with it intellectually, I know that emotionally it’s not that easy. 99.99% of the time, it won’t matter, but there will always be those little moments, those half-seconds, where it’ll still hurt, where a chance remark from some ignorant stranger will have me raging internally at fate/god/karma whatever, that I couldn’t have kids of my own.

I feel like it shouldn’t be such a big deal. I’m in the unusual situation where it looks like I’ll be the house-husband, with your mom returning to her career after her maternity leave. So I will be there 24/7, I’ll get to bond with you guys in a way that the vast majority of fathers don’t. I’ll get to spend that precious time with you, being instrumental in the development of your minds, your personalities, your interests, your hobbies – I will be able to have a greater impact on your ‘non-genetic’ characteristics than most genetic fathers do with their kids…and that should make a big difference emotionally to me. It’s something I’m really looking forward to. I’m longing for the days when I can take you to the beach (or anywhere else you guys want to go) when everyone else’s father is slogging their guts out at work, only seeing their kids for a short while in the morning and an hour or two at night before bedtime and on weekends.

I want to spend summer days throwing you in the pool (after I’ve taught you how to swim I suppose), winters making cards and drawing pictures for your mom, we’ll paint and read, we’ll watch cartoons and Discovery channel, we’ll kick a ball on the field down the road and ride bicycles and plant vegetables (although your mom will want to be the one to do that with you)…and in all of this, the fact that you aren’t my kids genetically, will not make any difference…and that’s what I need to focus on, because when I lose sight of that, and think about not being capable of producing even just one sperm cell for a successful IVF/ICSI, I want to crawl up into a ball and cry.

Maybe I’m just tired…but I miss you guys…wish you were here already…

Jo, vi upptäckte att vi hade en mus i köket, de flyttar in nu de små rackarna. Eftersom Zorro och Teddy kamperar i varsin del av huset nattetid på grund av Zorros benbekymmer, Teddy har inte tillgång till köket då, så ställde vi ut en bur för att fånga musen. För musen var ju naturligtvis inte ute och sprang runt i köket när vi var uppe och stökade runt.

Och se, i morse så satt den arma musen i buren, något som Teddy så klart såg på en gång! Och då såg Zorro detsamma. Kan bara tänka mig den arma musens ångest, en katt på ena sidan som tassade på buren och en gigantisk hund som frustade som jag vet inte vad på andra sidan. Jag släppte ut musen i trädgården, tänkte att hon eller han genomlidit tillräckligt. Två minuter senare kommer en stolt katt in genom sin katttlucka, med en väldigt död mus… Jo han är en riktig jaktkatt Teddy!

Och när man talar om trollen, nu kom kattskrället in med en levande råtta!

Thereby.  And thereby hangs a tale… or, in this case, tail.  We can see it this time.  Last time it turned up, it was invisible.

 Im; thereby, by it.  Let’s have a closer look at the individual signs.  First, i:

 A simple sound, and a simple sign to draw.  I usually start at the top, making a little curve which turns into the downstroke, a bit like a walking stick.  Then I start at the walking stick handle and draw a slightly outward-sloping line which curves back in again to meet the bottom of the first downstroke, and closes off the bottom of the stalk.  And a stalk is what it is, as this symbol represents the flowering head of a reed, like these ethereal beauties:

It’s difficult to capture such fragile beauty in stone or ink, but the originals do retain their purity of line:

Now, we’ve had m before, but it was in brackets because the scribe hadn’t actually put it in to the inscription, as often happens with common symbols in formulae, when you’ve got umpteen to bang out in the workshop and most people can’t read anyway.  M was the invisible owl.  We can see him now:

 There, I told you he was gorgeous.  He’s tricky to draw, but he has four basic characteristics; if you emphasise them in your hieroglyphic hand, he will be recognisable.  They are:  a flat head; a front-facing face (unusual for the Egyptians, who were always presenting their best profile to the observer); a wing that folds right across his breast, as though he’s glaring at you over the top of his arm in his cape, like Zorro, and a square bottom to his tail.  Put them all together, and you’ve got yourself an ancient Egyptian owl.

Back to the drawing board.  I usually start left to right with the flat line of the head, then a sharp turn downwards and a little curve in for the side of the head and neck, and a long curve at about 45 degrees for his back.  Then I come back up to his shoulder and make the deep right to left curve of his wing, swoop it round and just make his wing tip meet the line of his back.  The I go back to my starting-point at the top left of his head and come straight down the side of his head and neck, slope down and in for his body (doing it this way means you get the line the right side of his wing.  If you do the outline first and the wing second, you sometimes don’t leave enough room.)  Do a sharp dogleg in under his belly and a couple of little vees for his feathery legs, then down again for his tail, squaring it off at the bottom.  Then you can draw him a couple of little stick feet emerging from his feathers, and a nice deep v with curly ends for his eyes and beak.  He’s a complicated sign to draw, but he’s worth it.  And look what they could do with him when they had time:

I am so glad we can see him this time.  He’s beautiful!

So there we are, Line 3 of the offering formula well and truly dissected:

khet nebet nefret wabet ankhet netjer im:  “every good and pure thing by which a god lives”.

Nej, det är nog ingen riktigt bra idé det inte. Han är alldeles för glad i folk den gode Zorro, skulle nog pussa sönder dom. Men lite intressant är det allt det där med vårdhundar. Tror att det är en riktigt bra idé faktiskt.

Undrar just om det skulle fungera i vår lilla kommun? Fungera skulle det säkert, men om intresse finns menar jag! Idag kan man i alla fall läsa en intressant artikel om vårdhundar i Expressen, du hittar den här.

Zorro och jag hann med en hyfsad promenad innan regnet kom i dag i alla fall, trodde nästan det skulle bli fint väder i dag också att döma av hur det såg ut när vi var ute. Så fel jag hade!
Inget nytt på benfronten, allt är sig likt vilket är bra. Men som ni ser på bilden så går det utmärkt att “sprätta” även med det skadade högra bakbenet!

Idag har Zorro fått vara ute massor, skönt tyckte han naturligtvis! Man måste ju passa på och njuta av det vackra vädret. Idag har han fått gå två promenader i långlina så han får lite större frihet och dessutom har han fått lufsa runt i trädgården för sig själv (eller rättare sagt under strängt överseende av mej så han inte skulle få för sig att raca runt). Låg och solade och hade det lite bra! Borstad med Furminatorn har han blivit också men nu fäller han nästan inget längre, gissa en som tycker det är skönt!

Men, nu får det bli lugnt och fridfullt en stund, vågar inte låta honom belasta benet mer idag. En bit i taget! Jag är i alla fall glad för varje framsteg vi gör utan att något negativt händer med benet! Dagens resterande promenader blir strikta kortkoppelspromenader för säkerhets skull. Kan förresten upplysa om att biverkningarna efter min vaccinering lyser med sin frånvaro, har endast fått lite ont i armen och det är nästan borta nu!

Har ni läst om Abbe – årets narkotikasökhund. Han är värd sin vikt i guld han. På ett år har han hittat narkotika till ett uppskattat värde av 54 miljoner kronor! Jag måste säga att jag tycker det är alldeles storartat! Jätteduktig hund och framför allt, massor med narkotika som aldrig når gatorna här i Sverige! Förhoppningsvis fick Abbe något extra smaskigt eller kul efter den utmärkelsen!

Idag var jag iväg och vaccinerade mig mot svininfluensan, lika så gott att göra det trots att jag inte tänkte det från början. Åkte hem tidigt och gick en långpromenad med Zorro efteråt, man vet ju aldrig hur man mår i morgon efter vaccinationen.

Benet verkade inte ta någon skada av en lite längre promenad, och Zorro var ju så klart nöjd och glad! Hög tid att ta lite nya foton, nu börjar väl ni som läser här att tröttna på dom här!

Här är det riktigt skitväder, fast det är det väl överallt tycker jag det låter som. Inget nytt med Zorros ben, förhoppningsvis går det åt rätt håll. Tre veckor sedan det hände något smärtsamt nu. Nu sover han utan hasstöd på nätterna och jagar glatt Teddy på dagarna så det verkar ok. Och nu är det dags för en ny tur ut i skitvädret!

Läste om någon som hade 30 katter inomhus i Örebro län. Vanvårdade katter, två så illa så de måste avlivas omedelbart. Ägaren har fått tid på sig till den 10 december att se till att antalet katter i huset blir högst nio. Nio katter är rätt mycket det också. Stackars djur! Och hur det ska lukta! Hemska tanke!

Ja det är inte alla katter som är så bortskämda som den här herrn inte!

Zorro verkar nöjd och glad, självklart efter att mormor varit på besök med både god mat och nya leksaker – kan man vara annat än nöjd och glad då? På benfronten är det inget nytt, ännu en natt utan hasskydd och det verkar som det går bra det också!

Gissar att det är rätt skönt att få lufta benet litegrann i alla fall!

After lunch we returned to the sunny streets and because of earlier confusion retraced our steps a couple of times on our way back to the cathedral.  Kim refused to take charge of the map for fear that her earlier good fortune might be exposed as a fluke and I took over again on the way to the Jewish quarter.  In the past Toledo had changed hands many times and it was renowned for its diversity and religious toleration and we found the synagogues with admission prices that put us off entering and then after walking through a warren of mazy streets came out on the other side overlooking the modern town to the north. 

Every available square metre of this rocky outcrop has been built upon and the buildings are heaped together in a random and haphazard way with cobbled lanes revealing new delights at every twist and turn.  We negotiated the narrow confusing streets and the surprises back towards the Plaza Zocodover and as we did so passed through an area of artisan’s workshops where metal workers were making swords and knives and displaying them in the windows. 

Mickey was looking for just such a place and he was in luck because traditionally Toledo is famous for its production of steel and especially of swords and the city is still a centre for the manufacture of knives and other steel implements.  For soldiers and adventurers a sword made of Toledo steel was a must have item because the quality of the steel and the skill of the blacksmiths combined to make an exceptionally strong and perfect lethal weapon.  The Three Musketeers had Toledo steel swords and so did Don Diego de la Vega who was more famously known as Zorro.  The manufacturing process was a carefully guarded secret and to make such an exceptional weapon they had to select the very best raw materials and then follow a complicated technical process to achieve the right balance between hard and soft steel forged at a temperature of 1454º Fahrenheit for exactly the right length of time then followed by a critical cooling and shaping process.  So complicated was this whole procedure and so perfect was the finished weapon that to achieve this level of precision a master craftsman would typically only be able to make two or three blades in a year.  No wonder they were expensive!

Upon returning to the Plaza Zocodover our circumnavigation of the city was complete so we left the way that we had come and stopped off on the way down at a pavement terrace of a little hotel and had a final rest before returning to the car and taking the hour and a half journey back to Chinchón.  There was no realistic alternative route so we returned by the same roads, passed through Arunjuez, this time without incident, and then through Villaconejos where there was some sort of public meeting that seemed to be getting people excited and then arrived back at the hotel.

Those of us that had a balcony enjoyed an hour in the sun with a glass of wine and those of us that didn’t stayed in their rooms.  Later we assembled again at the bar across the road and then went back into town for evening meal.  It was strangely quiet again but we found a place that was open, the Restaurante Comendador and we had the menu del dia, which was alright but only just because to be truthful we weren’t really that hungry.  It was a very traditional sort of place where the customers had that curious Spanish habit of throwing their litter on the floor just underneath the bar where there was a collection of papers, cigarette ends and other waste that made the place seem most untidy.

There was a sign on the wall that said “No está permitido fumar” but it was next to a cigarette machine and the rule obviously didn’t apply here because the air was thick with acrid smoke.  Anti-smoking legislation became law in Spain on 1^st January 2006 but for small bars and restaurants the legislation offers the owner the choice of going smoke free or not but if it doesn’t it means that customers under eighteen years old are allowed in that bar.  Compared to other European countries, where smoking in the workplace is banned altogether, the Spanish legislation is weak and confusing and it is estimated that smoking continues in 90% of all small Spanish bars.

After we had finished eating we joined the locals in the bar for a while watching what looked like the Spanish equivalent of ‘You’ve been Framed’ with a collection of amusing bullfighting and bull running clips and then we returned to the hotel for a couple of hands of cards and a carton of wine.

Zorro fick ju vara utan hasstödet hela natten och det gick finfint. Så nu får det vara så några nätter för att se hur det funkar i längden innan vi gör något mer.

Annars börjar herr Zorro bli lite rastlös och hittar därmed på lite tok nu och då. Surar på katten ibland, mopsar sig lite och sånt där allmänt småtjafs som understimulerade hundar kan få för sig. Tur man vet vad det handlar om, han är ju hur snäll som helst annars. Får nog försöka hitta på lite hjärngympa till herrn så han håller sig på mattan. Har ju väntat på det här så jag har lite idéer på lager, men tänkte att jag spar på dom tills dom behövs. Och nu behövs dom!

I natt ska Zorro för första gången på väldigt länge få sova utan hasskyddet så får vi se hur det går. Det måste ju rimligen bli skönt för honom att komma åt och klia sig och så som han inte har gjort på flera veckor!

Annars har det inte hänt så mycket nytt förutom att han varit alldeles sjövild här på kvällen. Kastat leksaker vilt omkring sig och härjat runt trots våra vilda protester. Men det verkar funka det med, benet höll, med stöd på i och för sig, men ändå! Under veckan blir det nog lite tid i hundgården också, korta stunder till att börja med – men det är en början på vägen tillbaka i alla fall!

15 November 2009

Olé, olé, olé, olé – wir sind die Champions, olé!

Heute trage ich meinen weißen Pulli (in dem ich normalerweise aussehe, wie ein Riesenschneemann) mit Stolz.

WIR SIND FÜR DIE WM QUALIFIZIERT!!! SÜDAFRIKA, WIR KOMMEN!

Die All Whites, unser Nationalteam, hat gestern Abend Bahrain fertiggemacht und sich damit für die Fussball-WM in Südafrika qualifiziert. Das ist eine Wahnsinns-Sensation, denn Neuseeland hat das letzte Mal in 1982 an einer Fussball WM teilgenommen und Bahrain hätte ein Unentschieden gereicht, um sich zu qualifizieren, wir brauchten aber einen Sieg – und den hatten wir. Es gab ein paar wunderschöne Torchancen und noch in der ersten Halbzeit klappte es dann endlich – und die Bahrais haben ganz schön dumm aus der Wäsche geguckt. Ha!

Mit denselben Bahrais hab ich übrigens am Freitag noch Verstecken gespielt. Als eine Freundin und ich nämlich den Campus verließen, schlenderte die Bahrainische Mannschaft nämlich gerade durch Manners Mall und als wir sie überholen wollten, sprachen uns gleich zwei der Spieler an. Daraufhin suchten wir gleich das Weite, haha.

Überhaupt war die letzten Tage recht promi-gespickt, wenn ich das mal so sagen kann. Angefangen hatte es vor einer Woche, als ich das zweifelhafte Vergnügen hatte, auf dem Rückweg vom Supermarkt Rodney Hide zu begegnen (oder zumindest jemandem, der EXAKT so aussieht). Rodney Hide ist ein neuseeländischer Politiker, der in letzter Zeit ein bisschen Fettnäpfchen-Weitsprung betreibt und mehr negative als positive Schlagzeilen macht.

Als ich am Donnerstag den Campus verließ, lungerte Nicky Hager, ein berühmter neuseeländischer investigativer Journalist, vor dem Two-Dollar-Shop (ein Ramschladen, wie bei uns die Ein-Euro-Shops) herum.

Am Freitag sah ich den Comedian Rhys Darby, der die Cuba St hinunterschlenderte. Und keine zehn Minuten später wurde ich wie gesagt von den Fussballern angequatscht.

Die Stimmung gestern war einfach klasse: die Straßen waren voll von weiß-gekleideten singenden Fussballfans, die sich alle Mühe mit ihren Kostümen gegeben hatten (ich sah mindestens sieben Schafe, drei weiße Zorros und einen Mann, der nen halben Fussball wie ne Mütze auf dem Kopf trug).

Irgendjemand hatte wohl noch Raketen von Guy Fawkes‘ übrig und nach dem Spiel veranstaltete jemand noch ein kleines Feuerwerk. Die All Whites waren sogar „trending topic“ (meist-benutzte Wörter) bei Twitter und das hieß, wie jemand geistreich formulierte, dass Neuseeland endlich mal im Auge der Öffentlichkeit steht OHNE dass es mit irgendwelchen Naturkatastrophen oder Negativ-Schlagzeilen zu tun hat. Juhuu!

Wie ich bereits erwähnt habe: Guy Fawkes‘ Night war auch mal wieder. Wie jedes Jahr am 5. November (dieses Jahr übrigens Bryan Adams‘ 50. Geburtstag!), wurden auch dieses Jahr wieder Feuerwerksraketen abgefeuert, um das Scheitern des Gunpowder Plots, eines Versuchs, den englischen König Jakob I. (am 5. November 1605) zu töten, zu feiern.

Ursprünglich also eine englische Tradition, die aber im gesamten Commonwealth mehr oder weniger übernommen wurde.

In Wellington wurden im Hafen von Booten aus Feuerwerke gezündet und ich ging hinunter zur Waterfront, weil ich mir das Spektakel natürlich nicht entgehen lassen wollte. Es war schön – aber ich sag es mal so: Wenn man einmal in seinem Leben Silvester in Deutschland erlebt hat, kann einen Guy Fawkes‘ in Wellington nicht mehr umhauen. Und ich hab 17 Silvester in Deutschland erlebt (und zwei bisher in Neuseeland und das dritte steht noch bevor).

Trotz allem: da war Feuerwerk und Feuerwerk ruft in mir grundsätzlich eine Neujahrsstimmung hervor, darum wünschte ich allen am nächsten Morgen erst einmal ein frohes neues Jahr und war für den Rest des Tages in Neujahrsstimmung. (Ich hätte ja liebend gern Skispringen und das Wiener Neujahrskonzert geguckt…).

P.S.: Mir ist übrigens gerade aufgefallen, dass Glen Adam (links, 1982, pic: nzsoccer.com), Mittelfeld-Spieler im 1982-All Whites-Team eine ziemliche Auffälligkeit mit Rudi Völler (rechts, 1982, pic: google images)) hat:

~   ~   ~

Olé, olé, olé, olé – we are the Champions, olé!

Today I am very proud to wear my white jersey (in which I usually look like a giant snowman).

WE ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE WORLD CUP!!! SOUTH AFRICA, HERE WE COME!

The All Whites, our national team, smashed Bahrain and therefore qualified for the football world cup in South Africa. That is a terrific sensation, because last time New Zealand took part in a football world cup was in 1982 and last night a draw would have been enough for Bahrain to qualify, but we needed to win – and so we did. We had a few nice chances and then finally, still in the first half, we got the ball in – and the Bahrainis looked pretty surprised. Ha!

We‘re talking about the same Bahrainis here as the ones I played hide-and-see with last Friday. When a friend and I left the campus, the Bahrainian team was just about to stroll through Manners Mall and when we overtook them, two players talked to us. As that, we did a runner.

The last few days were quite V.I.P.-spiked anyway. It started off about a week ago, when I had the doubtful pleasure to encounter Rodney Hide (or at least someone who looks EXACTLY like him) when on my way back from the supermarket. Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who had a lot of foot-in-mouth-disease and happened to make rather negative headlines lately.

When I left the campus on Thursday, there was Nicky Hager, a famous investigative Kiwi journalist, loitering in front of the Two-Dollar-Shop (which is like a One-Euro-Shop in Germany).

On Friday, I saw comedian Rhys Darby, who strolled down Cuba St. And not even ten minutes later, the Bahrainians approached me.

The atmosphere yesterday was stunning: the streets were packed with white-dressed, singing soccer fans, who put a lot of effort in the making of their costumes (I saw at least seven sheep, three white Zorros and one man who wore half a soccar ball as a hat).

Someone must have had some rockets left-over from Guy Fawkes‘ and after the game there was a private little firework-launch somewhere. The All Whites even were a ‚trending topic‘ (most-used words) on Twitter and that meant, as someone stressed out, that New Zealand was finally in the eye of the public WITHOUT being involved in natural desasters or having made negativ news.

I have already mentioned it: it was Guy Fawke‘s Night again. Like every year on 5 November (which was Bryan Adams‘ 50th birthday this year, by the way!), fireworks had been launched to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to kill King Jakob I. (on 5 November 1605). Originally, it‘s an English tradition that many Commonwealth countries adapted.

In Wellington, they launched the fireworks from boats in the harbour and I went down the waterfront because I did not want to miss that spectacle.

It was nice – but let me put it this way: Once you have experienced New Year‘s Eve in Germany, Guy Fawke‘s in Wellington cannot blow you off your chair anymore. And I had 17 New Year‘s Eves in Germany (and so far two in NZ and the third is yet to come).

But still: there were fireworks and fireworks always make me feel like New Year‘s Day, so first thing I did the next morning was to wish everyone a Happy New Year and spent the rest of the day feeling as if it was New Year‘s Day. (I would have loved to watch ski jumping and the New Year‘s Concert from Vienna…).

P.S.: By the way, I just noticed that there are certain similarities between Glen Adam (top picture, 1982, pic: nzsoccer.com), defender in the 1982-All Whites-team, and Rudi Völler (bottom picture, 1982, pic: google images):

Nu har jag ändrat utseende litegrann här på bloggen, mest för att det är kul! Men så klart också för att jag inte var helt nöjd med den förra designen. Här kan ni se headerbilden i sin helhet! Zorro står vid sjön Tämnaren och njuter av utsikten!

Nu har Zorro och jag gått längre än vad vi gjort under de senaste tre veckorna! Skönt! Zorro njöt i fulla drag! Benet verkar inte ha misstyckt heller även om leran numera hänger ifrån hasskyddet. Måste nog ta mig för att köpa ett till tror jag bestämt! Behöver ett att byta med för jag antar att jag inte vågar mig på promenader utan hasskydd på en god stund!

Här är det regn och rusk idag. Zorro bryr sig inte så mycket om det utan går gärna sina promenader ändå. Än så länge håller vi oss till ganska korta sådana, men vi utökar så sakteliga. Nu får han ju umgås med Teddy nästan hela dagarna också, när vi är hemma då alltså.

Inget nytt på benfronten, allt verkar bara bra. Zorro har börjat bli sugen på att härja runt lite och då blir man ju så klart nervös! Men hittills har det hållit i alla fall. Funderar på att beställa ett hasskydd till för det blir ju ganska blött och tråkigt och kan väl inte vara så skönt att ha på sig när det är sånt här väder. Bra att ha ett att varva med. Även om han snart ska slippa att ha det på sig hela tiden så tar det ju en stund att torka det.