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Bullfighting in Spain - the cloning debate
Reliving that Death Time and Time Again
If you are horrified by a single bull being slaughtered with heartless bravado, get ready to multiply your horrification: that same bull can now be killed ad infinitum thanks to the miracle of cloning...
Photo of the day
How Many Times Will this Bull Die?
Should we clone exceptional bulls so that they can fight to the death more than once? See article for details.
Spanish politics - the immigrant contract
The Immigrant Contract: Integrate or Vacate
By John Kernis
Madrid – Mariano Rajoy’s new electoral promise to institute an “integration contract” for all foreigners in Spain has brought froth to the political...
Alterna Blogs on Madrid
Madrid Me Mata - Alternative Blog Extraordinaire
If Madrid kills you, Madrid Me Mata (MMM) might be just the blog for you. Reporting on everything from alternative cinema to politics to massive...
politics and art
Anne Frank Spanish Musical Sings of Holocaust - the Happier Version
It's easier to hide from Nazis while wearing a buttercup yellow dress and belting showtunes. Or so Madrid’s own Teatro Calderón...
Blog - Politics
Spanish Elections: How Much for a Vote?
The Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) headed by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has come under fire recently for proposing a very unsocialist one-off...
Clubs - Ocho y Medio
Alterna-Club or Couples Counseling? You Decide
Can’t agree with your sweetheart on some of those vital issues - like where to go on a Friday night? Two friends of mine, we’ll call them T and K, feel your pain. T likes to knock back his beers to punk/alternative music in hipster joints where people wear square-rim glasses and carry sketch books in their messenger bags. K loves hip hop and salsa while sucking...
art and bar - collage fest
Art Attack in Madrid
You never know what you’re going to find next in Madrid. Walking home last night through the multi-cultural maze of Lavapiés, I wandered by Traveling, one of Madrid’s hippest bars and best kept secrets. The street outside was strangely silent and not so much as a ray of light escaped the door. “Closed? On a Wednesday? Am I not in Madrid?” I had no intention of entering, but as I passed I...
blog - the pharmacy
Will That be an Extra Large Condom?
Fixated on the flashing image of the red man, I sprinted into the intersection. Still blurry-eyed in the gray January dawn, I asked myself if the post-holiday re-entry into work would be as painful as it seemed. The cars revved with anticipation; the drivers stared at me lifelessly. In seeming response to my question...
review of December
While You were Out...
Welcome back! Madrid’s international population dipped a bit during December as everyone flew here or there to do this or that. We truly hope your livers and your bank accounts survived the season. Ours did - more or less. Come on, what’s a bit of sclerosis and debt, it’s the f%&king holidays! Anyway, the elves at MAP were busy the whole while happily writing away. Here is a quick update. Spanish current events were...
Blog
Anyone for an "Armpit Dinner"?
I was totally lost. What do I bring? A bocadillo? A kebab? But how do you share that? Are we meant to share the food we bring? Is it a potluck? Felt stupid to ask so initially I thought I'd take a bocadillo, but then thought it would be embarrassing if we were meant to put our food in the middle to share. Didn't have time to prepare anything for 20 people, so I decided to eat a bit at home and not take anything.
Blog
'Pipa' Culture
In Spain, people eat pipas - sunflower seeds. They have a cover that you need to crack open to get to the seed; the seed is miniscule and tastes like...umm...nothing...
Blog
Nicknames Spanish vs. Indian – Whose are more confusing?
I was always under the impression that a nick-name is a short form for a name, for example, Frederic = Fred, Philip = Phil, Matthew = Mat. But in Spain they are on bit of a different wavelength. And how did the whole of Spain or the Hispanic world come to a unanimous decision?...
Languages Open Doors
Salsa Dancing or Saving Lives – Tough Call!
"Translators needed: Pakistani/Hindu to Spanish", read the ad on a notice board in town. I pick up the phone to call the number, if nothing else but to explain to these dudes that Pakistani is not a language; Pakistani's speak Urdu.