Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Suddenly I Don't See

Hillary Clinton is selecting her presidential campaign song via vote on her website. I'd link to it, but I don't want to make you puke.

Anyway, the current front runner is "Suddenly I See"by KT Tunstall. Are people not listening to the lyrics? The first refrain of the song goes like this:

Her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm

Well there you have it. Hillary is a beautiful girl that will calm and captivate us by her silver pool of light.

Another song in the top 5, "
Every little thing she does is magic" by the Police, is equally absurd. Because remember, every little thing Hillary does is magic, everything she does just turns me on, even though my life before was tragic, now I know my love for her goes on...

Uh huh.
I can envision the commercials already. Please excuse me while I go puke.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Pacha Barcelona

Pacha, "World's Most Popular Discoteca", recently held a special "Music and Show Festival" that included 100 gogo dancers and 8 live performances throughout the night. Yes, 100 gogo dancers. Normally, I save the partying for the weekends, but I could not pass on this opportunity. Pacha was extreemly busy even though it was held on a Wednesday night.

Just when you think you've seen it all, Barcelona finds someway to surprise you. As far as nightlife is concerned, it's unique parties like this that I'll miss most.








Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Sea Side Running

Just got back from my daily mediterranean sea side run. I start at Marbella beach and run until the end of Barceloneta. Along the way, I stop at the beach side gym area and get some pushups, pullups and other resistance stuff in.

What an amazing way to start off the day.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Ads in Europe

Advertisements in Europe are notorious for being more "edgy" than those in the U.S. I don't pretend to be a lawyer, but I'm fairly certain that the ad below, plastered all over Barcelona, would never make it past the lawyers in the U.S. Honestly, what is Kellog's trying to portray? Then again, perhaps I'm just an overly sensitive American. I'll let you decide.

Ibiza???

Ibiza solo 65 euro con Vueling
Julio 11-16th...
Interesado?? Diga mi pronto!
chrisrako@gmail.com

Ibiza only 65 euro w/ Vueling
Interested? Tell me ASAP!!! chrisrako@gmail.com
July 11th-16th



Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The Real Windows to the Soul

Pretty random post, but this is the type of stuff I find intriguing.

As the old saying goes, "the eyes are the windows to the soul". True, yet I think an persons personal space (room/house/apartment, etc) create a much more vibrant and detailed image. Honestly, what’s better than going over to someone’s house and looking at their stuff (or lack their of)? Nothing. Whether you realize it or not, you directly or indirectly send a message with every item in your house. The stuff that people put on bulletin boards and their refrigerator is especially interesting.

What does your stuff say about you?

Friday, May 11, 2007

Motos and Music in Barcelona

Two interesting facts that I recently read in the BCNinside magazine.

First, all street musicians are required to have a license to play. In order to obtain a license, the musician must perform in front of city hall to prove their "musical merit"! Musicians caught performing without a license face fines and instrument confiscation. Ouch!

Second, 410,000 journeys a day are completed via moto in Barcelona. According to the magazine, this equates to roughly 67% of all city transport! This seems a bit high and I'm skeptical, so I would be interested to see the data behind those statistics. My guess is they really mean 67% of all street transportation, not including transportation via the metro. Either way, it's a huge number that is clearly evident by walking the streets of Barcelona.

What else....it's another sunny day here in BCN meaning another day at the beach. DJ Sammy Jo and Ladytron from NYC are at Razz tonight. I'll be there with a large group of friends. Shoot me an email if you'll be there too...perhaps we can meet up.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

A Much Needed Update

A combination of things has caused me to not update with any meaningful content recently. First, I'm a bit bored of sharing my daily happenings and assume that many of you are tired of hearing of them as well. Going forward, I think that I'll post more random thoughts or otherwise interesting activities and events. Second, I've been busy having way too much fun. What has kept me busy?

  • Mom, cousin and family friend (Debbie) visit
  • Spanish studying (sloooowly)
  • Beach and other summer craziness. Summer is here and in full force.
  • Parties. There is no lack of them and often too many to choose from. This past week I was at two particularly crazy parties on the rooftop of Hotel Axel in the center of Barcelona.
  • I currently have friends in from Rome and NYC and have been extremely busy playing host all night and day.
Later this month I'll be heading to Marrakech Morocco with a big group of friends. I'm also planning a visit to NYC the 14th-20th of August. Feel free to email me if you have any tips or suggestions for either cities.

That's about it for now, although more to come soon...

Friday, May 04, 2007

The Naked Man of Barcelona

NowAvailable: Naked Man of Barcelona Magnet!


If you're lucky enough to live in Barcelona, you will no doubt see and become familiar with the famous naked man of the city. If you're very lucky, like my mother, you might see him up close (and personal?) while on vacation.

Mr. Dong, as we'll call him going forward is an older guy who blissfully walks throughout the city nude. Well, not quite. He "wears" tattoo underwear. Mr Dong also sports a Prince Albert on his massive penis (dong). I honeslty believe that he must attach some type weight to his penis while around the house as a dong that size while soft is simply not natural.

Think of the problems that walking around naked would create. For starters, you don't have any pockets to put your everyday items in. Mr. Big Dong solves this by strapping a small pouch around his wrist.














As you can see below, he happened to see a friend as I was taking a photo of him. His friend is weaning a pink skirt and white leggings. More proof that people become friends with others that are similar to themselves. In this case, extremely strange.

This man must be one the most photographed people in the city. Yet he must walk around clothed sometimes, no? I would bet that people don't recognize him clothed.

I could go on and on, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy!





Thursday, May 03, 2007

More Photos

Such an amazing time! I already miss you...










Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Photos

Two quick photos from my mothers amazing 9 day visit. More photos, along with a recap to come soon.

Left to right: Debbie, Mom, Jose, Me, Jeff, Keyan

Left to right: Michael, Me, Mom, Debbie