Archive for November, 2007
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
A Turkey Sandwich on Turkey Day
Today is my eighth consecutive Thanksgiving that I spend without my parents. As a matter of fact, until 2000, I had never missed a single Thanksgiving (during my lifetime) with my parents, whereas my parents’ other two children have missed the event on numerous occassions. In the past few years, I have had the occassional […]
No Comments » - Posted in Digressions, Friends / Family by eric
Thursday, November 22nd, 2007
Beyond the Veil
I have already expressed my views on what almost became a controversy in Spain with respect to Muslim girls sporting the veil at public schools. Now I just came across an article by Laila Lalami in The Nation, entitled “Beyond the Veil” on the prohibition of the veil in France. Laila Lalami is a Moroccan […]
No Comments » - Posted in Essays by eric
Wednesday, November 21st, 2007
Spain and Kyoto
Everytime the U.S. decides to NOT sign an international treaty, I take a lot of crap here in Spain from my friends and co-workers. Without having to enter into the merits of whether the treaty in question should or should not be signed, I always make the following statement: The U.S. is a country of […]
3 Comments » - Posted in Essays, Living la vida española by eric
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Recycled Post of the Week: En Español para Hysidro
Today my friend and co-worker, Hysidro, told me that he would read Grave Error more often if I wrote more frequently in Spanish. I still recall having asked him for his advice. Nevertheless, I decided to throw the dawg a bone, and for this Recycled Post of the Week, I am giving you one in […]
No Comments » - Posted in Digressions, Living la vida española by eric
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007
Palmeritas
In general, I don’t consider myself a selfish man. I try to be generous and kind. But there are times when I have to draw the line, and that line is often drawn with palmeritas. Why should I share my palmeritas? I often think that my co-workers want one of my palmeritas simply because they […]
2 Comments » - Posted in Digressions by eric
Monday, November 19th, 2007
Suicide Epidemic Amongst Iraq War Veterans
I have just seen this op-ed piece entitled “Pentagon Cover Up: 15,000 or More U.S. Casualties in Iraq War“, and this CBS article, “Suicide Epidemic Among Veterans” that show some remarkably disconcerting numbers on the death rate by suicide of our veterans who return from the battle fields of Iraq. Should the government include these […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Essays by eric
Friday, November 16th, 2007
If My Job Were to Make People Happy
Last night I went with some friends to hear the Joshua Redman Trio at the Festival de Jazz de Madrid 2007. Opening for Redman was a quartet lead by Carles Benavent. Benavent, a veteran who has played alongside Paco de Lucía and Jorge Pardo, was pretty good, but the contrast between the first and the […]
No Comments » - Posted in Jazz by eric
Friday, November 16th, 2007
Dilbert on Usability and In House Counsel
If you’ve ever worked in an internet company, then you’ll definitely get this comic strip.
It is also reminds me of what I have seen during the last seven years as the fundamental difference between the practice of law in the U.S. and Spain. In Spain, lawyers tell you want you cannot do, and in the […]
1 Comment » - Posted in Digressions, Living la vida española by eric
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
A Premature Mid-Life Crisis
I have had absolutely no regrets about how I have lived my life (to date), with possibly the sole exception of consistently taking jobs that pay less than the previous ones. Furthermore, I am only in my early mid thirties (a euphemism to say the least) and it’s not even the Friday after Thanksgiving yet, […]
6 Comments » - Posted in Digressions by eric
Monday, November 12th, 2007
Crustaceans Aren’t the Only Ones
I was recently forwarded a news article on how crustaceans suffer pain when we crack their little backs to extract their meat or when we boil their clawed little bodies. I did some more research to verify this story and the original source proved real.
The problem is that we’re all forgetting how, for example, an […]
