The Swap

Playlist:

Tunnel of Love - Dire Straits

Hold Yuh - Major Lazer and La Roux

Salina - the Avett Brothers

I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) - the Proclaimers

Maggie May - Rod Stewart

Ocean Spray - Manic Street Preachers

Last day in Espain.

Plane leaves tomorrow at 1o in the am.

Holy shit.

The title of this blog is Una vez en el metro: una lluvia de ideas from across the atlantic.

The part after the colon implies that I've been writing this blog to someone or something on the western side of the atlantic from the eastern side.

Now I'll be switching sides - which, I suppose, means I'll be writing to the east.

Dicho esto, España (y amigos en España), aunque tenemos que separarnos, te escribiré con frecuencia hasta que podamos estar juntos otra vez el año que viene.

Hasta pronto, Quijote.

And friends in the yoosah that I have missed horrendously, see you soon.

beccaniles

T minus 2 days:

Playlist:

Gimme Some Lovin' - The Toasters

Teardrop - Massive Attack

I Want You Back - The Jackson 5

Crazy On You - Heart (this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgFMy0bHqVQ)

Come On A My House - Nasty Tales

Rockin' Horse - The Allman Brothers

Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Hokay, so...

As we enter the red zone of the remaining time before my academic suicide (examen final de "las religiones de antiguedad"), I feel it necessary to share a completely unrelated quote found in a completely unrelated academic article I read a couple weeks ago...while evitando estudiar for a different final.

Some of you out there have already seen this; however, seeing as it has passed the mandatory period of personal subconscious contemplation, os presento a portion of the article "Heidegger on the Connection between Nihilism, Art, Technology and Politics" by Hubert Dreyfus.

"If you can commit yourself unconditionally - in love for instance - then that becomes a focus for your whole sense of reality. Things stand out or recede into insignificance on the basis of that ultimate concern. One does not discover a significance that is already there. there is no basis for this commitment in the cosmos. Indeed, such a commitment is exactly the opposite of belief in an objective truth. You are called by some concrete concern - either a person or a cause - and when you define yourself by your dedication to that concern, your world acquires seriousness and significance."

To give you a little context, Dreyfus was attempting here to explain the thinking of Kierkegaard to a semi-modern academically philosophical audience. Por eso, he does kind of dance around the God factor - which is kind of a necessary element en el pensamiento de Kierkegaard...

Nevertheless, the content of the passage is not necessarily what drew me to it (seeing as Kierkegaard's explanations of his own ideas would be the ideal here...); but rather the form. In the midst of an otherwise dry, verbose discourse on nihilism through the eyes of Heidegger (cue projectile vomiting), Dreyfus seems to channel a completely different speaker - one whose manner of thinking hasn't been rendered completely robotic and mundane by years of academic meandering.

Not saying that Dreyfus is by any means the epitome of prosaic academia - but he certainly has his moments. We all do.

This form coupled with the basic description of a beautiful Kierkegaardian idea definitely took me by surprise while reading the article.

::Please keep in mind that when I read this article I was wandering around in the darkest depths of nihilism for an exam on the topic later that week::

Anyway...one of the many surprises one encounters while hopelessly avoiding the necessary evils.

Sit on this for a while and let me know what you think.

Hope someone else out there enjoyed this as much as I did.

beccaniles

Acabo de darme cuenta de que...

Playlist:

Funk Soul Brother - Fat Boy Slim

Praise You - Fat Boy Slim

Rock That Body -Black Eyed Peas

Steal My Sunshine - Len

Mensajes del agua - Macaco

Paper Planes - M.I.A.

The Downfall of Us All - A Day to Remember

Does the Lion City Still Roar? - Less Than Jake

Kiss Me Deadly - Reel Big Fish

Boss D.J. - Reel Big Fish version

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers

...de que solo me quedan 11 dias en e'paña.

Can I please get a collective WTF!?

...WTF?!

Also, solo me quedan 3 dias hasta el examen de las religiones de antiguedad.

Religiones de antiguedad.

Religiones de...

Ok. Let's discuss this.

Beccaniles (apathetic linguistics major) + 11 days left in espain + WORLD CUP + really awesome weather = religions of antiquity FAIL

The wise of the world would have us believe that we learn from our failures.

That may or may not be rendered completely erroneous in this situation.

I'm really not sure, so let's talk it out:

If I fail the test/class, I really will not have learned anything about religions of antiquity.

...Though I do vaguely remember (from the classes I attended) every puta cosa about "ludi."

(As much as I would like very much to forget the topic and free up some brain space.)

As for the "failing experience:" I've never received anything below a B+...so...I suppose eventually I could benefit from the experience...since life is all about...experiences...? Now I'm just justifying my own laziness.

And really, in my current apathetic state, I'm not sure I'd really learn anything...

Not to mention I could potentially take some other "social and historical" credit back in Bloomington and cross out that little F on the transcript...

This is not helping my ganas de estudiar - or lack there of.

Neither is the guitarra, sitting there in the corner.

Yeah. I'mo just go ahead and coger la guitarra and see what happens.

Saludos from the land of BURNT OUT,

beccaniles

on a scale of 1 to completely irrelevant...

Playlist:

Salina - The Avett Bros.

Pretty Girl from Chile - The Avett Bros.

Tunnel of Love - The Dire Straits

Prologue - Catch 22

Opportunity - Catch 22

Soulchaser - Caesars

Teardrop - Massive Attack

eh, why not, Walk of Life- The Dire Straits

Munchlist: Pan tomaca, un piti y la cerveza preferida

So.

Junio.

Porque has venido tan pronto?

Julio better just back it on up.

This homie's not quite ready yet.

Ha, certainly not ready for the final exams.

Let's do a run through of the remaining exams:

14 de junio: el problema de metodo en marx

...right.

17 de junio: nihilismo y la metafisica

...

no.

29 de junio: religiones de antiguedad

not a damn chance.

good thing that one's pass/fail.

nevertheless, as a friend so bluntly reminded me, pass/fail still leaves FAIL as an option.

so we'll see what happens with those.

at the moment, i'm "studying" for the marx jazz.

i really do find the topic interesting on some level.

however, at the moment, i feel that it simply doesn't matter.

whether social science spontaneously arose from the proletariat masses or was handed down to them by a bored bourgeoisie really has no place in my current life.

i've always been a personal fan of distractions; nonetheless, my current existential state requires a certain amount of focus so as to not fall into basket-caseland.

which brings us to the next final, nihilismo y la metafisica.

this one i find a bit more pertinent to my life - though not because i am a nihilist.

(so you can call off the suicide watch)

sin embargo, regardless of its pertinence and my understanding of the topic, there is a ridiculous amount of memorization to knock out before the 17th.

que Dios me bendiga with that one.

speaking of Dios - religiones de antiguedad.

if there is one topic completely irrelevant and useless to a linguistics and spanish major, this is it.

it's kind of fun to be thrown into the world of latin terms which now have different meanings...

however,

HOWEVER,

the layout of various religious institutions of the roman empire, as well as the various titles and responsibilities of every puto ciudadano is about as relevant to my existence as the invention of the yo-yo.

no.

i have never owned one.

list of things relevant to my life at the moment (and possibly to yours):

playing lots of guitar

really nice weather

really cold beer

really good friends

really amazing books

really awesome music

bastante superb food

the yoosah kicking culo britanico in the copa mundial (june 12 at 20:30 spain-time, for those of you unaware...TOMAAA, INGLATERRA. AMURKAH!)

attempting to aprovechar de todo antes de que me vaya en julio

the magical world of linguistics

constructing a complete thought without losing it

becoming extremely excited about seeing friends, family and the new miniNiles

ponerme melancolica al pensar en separarme de la gente aqui

planificar la vuelta a madrid

reteaching myself how to spell english words (i.e. 'caulk,' 'wholly,' anything borrowed from french, anything ending in -tion or -tial, and anything with diphthongs - it took more attempts than i'd care to mention to spell "bourgeoisie" above.)

questioning the cosmos as to why mark knopfler must come to madrid AFTER i leave

i will see that man in concert before one of us dies.

os lo juro.

oi. that's all i've got for the moment.

the big debate now is:

continue studying until the wee hours vs. sleep soon and wake up at a respectable hour to get a head start

i'll pine over that one a while.

have a wonderful thursday.

beccaniles

la cabeza a punto de estallar. BAAAAAH TROZITOS DEL CEREBRO EN EL MURO

Playlist:

The Downfall of Us All - A Day to Remember (duggaduggaduggadugga duh duh DUH DUH DUH DUH LET'S GO)

My Life for Hire - A Day to Remember (THIS IS A BATTLE GROUND)

Sleep Now in the Fire - Rage Against the Machine (THE COST OF DESIRE, SLEEP NOW IN THE FIRE)

Calm Like a Bomb - Rage Against the Machine (WAH FEEL THE FUNK BLAST)

Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die - Four Year Strong (TEAM UP, TEAM UP)

Would You Be Impressed - Streetlight Manifesto (BAH BAH BAHNANANANA NANA NA NANA NANA NA NANANANA NA NA NA NA WAAAAH)

Mutiny - Set Your Goals

Nuthin' But a GThang - Snoop Dogg (1,2,3 and to the fo, snoop doggy-dogg and dr. dre is at the do', ready to make an entrance so back on up, 'cause you know we 'bout to rip shit up) - yes. i just went there.

...and to be true to my skankin' soul, Shining On - Big D and the Kids Table

and This Gigantic Robot Kills - MC Lars

+ major caffeination and nicotination

Yes. It's paper time.

I've done so well these past few weeks as far as los trabajos finales and such - I even abstained from writing an entry instead of doing my sintaxis paper this semester.

Jo. 10 puntos for self-restraint.

However, I have just one last paper to write - and I cannot for the life of me find the ganas to do it.

In fact, Bonnie Tyler is one of the reasons I can't focus.

If she hadn't written such a ridiculous song with such a RIDICULOUS video, I wouldn't be wasting my time laughing hysterically and then almost peeing my pants.

Case and point:

Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal version

and a personal fave,

A wonderful remake of the original by Hurra Torpedo

Thank you, world of parodies, for never failing to entertain me.

Now, if anyone happens to experience an intense urge to write a dialectology paper regarding the Paraguayan variety of spanish, feel free to shoot it on over.

I can't do this. The internal school year clock, which has been unwaveringly programmed since my 4th birthday, went off around May 5th, signalling what should've been the start of summer.

Of freedom. (...well, of stopping classes and continuing to work - but at least not having to think).

BAH.

LOSING IT.

MUST

HAVE

BREAKAGE

I didn't even get a semester break this year. Not to mention, preemptive senioritis has already kicked in.

HAHA, well, in high school, I'm pretty sure it set in the summer after my sophomore year...so I guess that's kind of an invalid argument.

High-fives to all you kids not in class right now. Have a beer on your porch for me.

And a round of Killian's to all you kids stuck in school until the finales de junio.

I would say 'we can do it,' or something like that; but even I'm not that optimistic.

I suppose we'll have next year to try and repair whatever damage this semester does to our respective GPAs.

beccaniles FAIL.

Right-o. I'm off to grabar some paraguayos para el puto trabajo que he de entregar el martes.

If you have any to spare, feel free to send some karma points my way.

cheers,

beccaniles

no solo otro jueves con lluvia

Playlist:

Life Will Fade Away - Synthetic Elements

Your Pride - Synthetic Elements

Hold On (I'm Comin') - Sam and Dave

Everybody Needs Somebody to Love - Wilson Pickett

Wake Up - Tim Armstrong

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine - The Killers

See the Flames Begin to Crawl - Five Iron Frenzy

Something Like Laughter - Five Iron Frenzy

Calm Like a Bomb - Rage Against the Machine

If you haven't traversed the Facebook today:

EL SOBRINO POR FIN HA LLEGADO! BAAH!! :D

Mission in life: Be the coolest tia ever.

Difficulties: Sister-in-law has about 400 siblings.

Eh, I can settle for being "one of" the cool ones. At least miniNiles is going to have lots of cool tio/as.

In honor of new miniNiles (Isaiah John - 7lbs, 2 oz, 19 1/2 inches, born April 14th at 8:57pm - just in time for the drink specials at several bars, I might add. Smart kid.):

1 8:30 am class skipped.

1 kebab eaten.

1 coffee to be shared tonight.

Drinkage to follow tomorrow.

Maybe that would have happened anyway.

But we'll just chalk one up to the new kid.

He's gonna need all the points he can get - after all, he is a Niles.

Too bad I have to wait three months to see him.

I mean, seriously. He'll be like, 19 by then.

If anyone has gift ideas for a (by my mathematical calculations) 3 month, 19 year old baby boy, please tell me. Clothes are out. They out grow them.

And I mean, if he's already 18, I don't know if he's going to be one of those skinny punk kids who wears girl pants and X-small kid tees or an XXL football player type.

Maybe he'll throw everyone for a curve and be an X-small kid tee wearing football player.

Oh God.

We can only hope.

Maybe we could get a start on his master library or something. It's never too early for a little Schopenhauer.

I'm sure there's a baby edition of Schopenhauer by now anyway.

Something like...

"Music = PRETTY!!"

"Post hoc ergo propter hoc = Mr. Hegel, POOPY FACE BAD MAN."

"Dialectic = STUPID."

"Free will = Eating COOOOKIEEEESSSS at any time of day. Mommy and Daddy can't stop you."

Available in the "Lecturas extranjeras" section of your local Casa del Libro.

A timeless classic for all ages.

Bah. That's all for now.

In the meantime, if you're my friend on facebook, go to mah bro's page (Patrick Niles) and czech out the miniNiles in action. :D

Hasta later,

beccaniles

Limbo: Part Deux - "La technologie peut SUCK IT." (she said in her best french accent)

Playlist:

Fortress - Ace Troubleshooter

Trenchtown Rock - Bob Marley (Or Sublime, your choice. Both superb.)

Bourbon and Division - Firewater

Every Morning - Sugar Ray (Yes, I just went there.)

Cowards Sing at Night - Tom Gabel

A Desalambrar - Daniel Viglietti

Maybellene - Chuck Berry

Shine - Collective Soul

World Gone Crazy - Dub Pistol

Just sent off the last of this group of postcards.

Well, the only group of postcards I've sent since being here.

...8 months.

Sorry, everyone. I suck at all things correo.

They probably won't even get to you anyway given this whole passport situation.

Actually, I've probably just endangered your citizenship by sending you a posty.

Hola from Spaaain!!! (And the CIA)...

Ah well.

At least you'll have a story for the kids.

That really wasn't the point of this blog.

The point of this blog, which is rather pointless, is to express my strong discontent with this whole international IP address deal.

All I want to do is watch season 6 of the office.

Why, NBC? Why? I'm still paying taxes in your country. Why can't I just watch the show?

HOLY FSHAAAH.

Totally forgot about the state taxes.

DAMNIT.

Meh. I've got until Friday.

Dear CIA, please tell the grand, sovereign state of Indiana that I'll get those digits to'em asap.

kthxbye, beccaniles.

So anyway. This was a way to kill a few minutes until the almighty Megavideo would let me watch the rest of an episode after reaching my 72 minute limit.

You've all been there.

No me juzgeis.

I suppose I could fill out my taxes to kill some time?

Notachance.

PACE,

beccaniles