The precedents for, and some possible implications of, the Catalanisation of Barcelona’s cinemas. Plus some crowd-pleasing video of the Quebec language police in action. (Allez! Allez! Allez! And the hell with the economy!) All in somewhat fevered response to an article by Martin Dahms in the Tages-Anzeiger.

It does have its advantages. Ants are not one of them.

Between-wars texts about Zaragoza by Germans who appear never to have visited the place.

Link love for 05/06/2009.

Just as reincarnationists invariably turn out to have been princesses in earlier lives, so mad, sad Jordi Bilbeny is incapable of retrospectively assigning any but worthies to the Glorious Catalan Nation. His work on Columbus demonstrates a basic ignorance of historical sources and method–Mr Ockham let loose on Mr Bilbeny would make Sweeney Todd look [...]

“There could only be one. In the line of Spanish princesses like Ingunda and Brunequilda and Gelesvinta and Eugenia…”