Last night reading Josep Rondissoni’s Classes de cuina for the 1930-1 season I came across an illustration of the packaging of one of the various foreign ingredients he uses, Royal Baking Powder. It’s actually called the Droste effect, of course–or at least in Holland. José Rondissoni was a Swiss cook who taught a blend of [...]

Here’s a slightly paraphrased anecdote from Ramon Miquel i Planas’ El llibreter assassí de Barcelona (1928), which his footnote seems to imply was taken from Le livre, vi, 131 (Paris, 1885):
Emile Girardin and Charles Latour-Mézeray are two young literary bohemians running round 1820s Paris. Girardin has just published a novel and is feeling fairly desperate [...]

Another strange French trial: Following his master’s death in 1371, Aubry de Montdidier’s dog showed unremitting hostility to his master’s comrade, Richard de Macaire. Charles V ordered the two to fight, and the dog won, thus proving de Macaire’s guilt. (Cyclopedia of Universal Biography, via Google Books)

Rosemary has already been established as indispensable in combating Asiatic cholera. Here’s the proverb upon which such folk medicine may have been based:
El que pasa por romero y no lo coge,
si le viene algún mal que no se enoje.
Adapted:
If without plucking twixt rosemary you pass,
Don’t bemoan your leaky arse.
Sweeter is to be found in Notes [...]

Fortunately not all the requests I get at follow the baldie are this interesting:
I and my female companoin propose to visit Spain in summer of 2007.We wan to see the following:
1.The popular sites in barcelona during day and night.
2.Nude stage shows where we can see interactive session between male and female and gays.
3.Visit a nudist [...]

Down due to mailbombing of the domain and what appear to be DoS assaults on this blog. Host says I may have to move. Watch this space (I hope I’m not being too literal).

Account of a murder trial at the Old Bailey on January 17 1676:
There were two men drinking, and there arose a dispute between them concerning a Spanish word, one affirmed that it was not properly exprest, the other gave him provoking language for saying so, he reply’d, Sir I know not how to bear that [...]

Account of a murder trial at the Old Bailey on January 17 1676:
There were two men drinking, and there arose a dispute between them concerning a Spanish word, one affirmed that it was not properly exprest, the other gave him provoking language for saying so, he reply’d, Sir I know not how to bear that [...]

In German. I know about various definitions of doublet in English, many of which also work in languages, but in German it also seems to be used by book collectors in a way I don’t understand. I’d be particularly interested if it referred to sharp practices analogous to those in the jewellery trade: “A form [...]

If the ruling Galician national socialists want to redefine the region in their statute of autonomy as the “nation of Breogan” (their leader says their identity is in their genes), does that mean that, like their mythical hero, they’re going to spend all their money building a great big tower and then take the whole [...]

John Chappell quotes a letter from Maria Pilar Pellegero of Ripoll in La Vanguardia as an example of the Catalan ethnocracy’s use of language exams as a means of excluding allochthones–including those from other parts of Spain–from public sector jobs. This fuckoff-ism is sometimes taken to bizarre extremes. An American acquaintance took the advanced level [...]

Bill Poser picks up the London Times story about the Black Mountains Smokery in Powys being ordered by trading standards to rename its Welsh Dragon sausages “Welsh Dragon Pork Sausages” to avoid disappointing lovers of the hot and spicy. God knows what they’d make of the new delicatessen or restaurant or whatever on Margarit in [...]

El Bibliómano covers Alibris’ arrival in the UK. Meanwhile we’re still waiting for Amazon to open a store in Spain. If they need encouragement, here’s a photo posted by Alvy almost two years ago on Microsiervos, concluding that they could generate revenues of up to €30M here.

Check Ernesto Rodera’s cartoon over at Carlos’ Lenguas entrelazadas. Here’s some getting a free holiday in Rome.

Yesterday PRNoticias posted an item (scroll down) about the general lack of interest in the 31st anniversary of Francisco’s death. Unfortunately it’s accompanied by a photo of Antonio Franco, ex-director of El Periódico. (Via Malaprensa)

When I went out this morning onto the Rambla del Raval, a man was standing up on the boom of the 40 metre crane overlooking Calle San Rafael. He gesticulated and shouted at the firemen in the crane cabin and then wandered out to smoke a cigarette at the 35 metre end.
Under the shadow [...]

I’m generally more Macdonald’s, but this might tip the balance. 10 fried eggs in a row sounds like an excellent idea.

Jake Burkle, trombone engineer
A snip at $250K, via Dave. The photo right of Jake Burkle reminds one that, for all their Portuguese ukelele folk hero trappings, Sousa and his people were essentially industrial pioneers. Amusing detail, from William L Bird, “Better Living”: Advertising, Media, and the New Vocabulary of Business Leadership, 1935-1955: Arthur Pryor’s son, [...]

Hadn’t seen this one.

Knew I’d seen it somewhere before but didn’t really think about it till I found this lying around. The PP’s got a bit of a reputation as the geriatric party, but someone must remember what CiU did in 2003.