Randomness

I would love to be rich enough to apply paint without thinking about painting thinly cause of the cost.

I love acrylics.  LOVE them.

I miss painting, I am studying too much.

I got a 64% in my Spanish test today, imperatives are HARD.  I was lucky to get that.

Big Catalan writing to submit due on Thursday, I have to ask about which conjugation would be most appropriate..formality wise, Catalan has three levels, (at least) it would seem.  You, as in you singular, you as in you plural and he as in third person singular, in ascending levels of formality, I think, all refering to you, as in you singular.  Got that clearly?  I could call you:  you, y'all or he, each being more formal than the one before.

I have also figured out what complements de regime verbals are!!! I know, few of you out there are excited, and I am about to blindside you with grammar  BUT,  I AM EXCITED!!!!  Complements are kind of like phrases and kind of like objects, as in direct or indirect.

A complement de regime verbal (CRV) (or something like that) is a type of prepositional complement (we might call that a prepositional phrase).  BUT it is a specific type.  It is a prepositional complement that acts as a direct object, specifically for transitive verbs (they must take a direct object, for instance the sentence, "I give" is incomplete, cause it leaves you wondering if I give blood, presents or a damn.)

SO, a CRV is a direct object to a transitive verb that must begin with a preposition (or else it is simply a direct object and I flow another way on the flowchart of Catalan pronouns).  This means that it requires very specific pronouns when it is replaced, (in English we almost always would use that or it, though I oversimplify slightly).  It gets even rougher though, as there are 5 possible prepositions for these types of complement, one of which takes one pronoun, and the other four or which take a different one.

Imagine me, if you will.  About to say a sentence, and I am feeling wild, reckless and ridiculous and you, my dear listener are hopefully feeling patient, because as I wind into this sentence I must decide if the pronouns are to go before or after the verb (depends on the tense), then I must decide what type of complement it is, and if the verb is transitive or not, then I must analyse which preposition is in use in order to discover which pronoun to use, and then I must remember which order the pronouns go in as they generally go indirect object first, and then direct object, but some must always be first in line, and others second and still others before certain ones but after others, sort of like squabbly siblings.  Finally, I must decide which of these pronouns I can and cannot combine into new and different ones, and which ones can or cannot be abbreviated onto the verb or appostrophied onto the end of a different verb.

But what happens now?  I'm middle aged and I've forgotten what the f*ck I was going to say, so instead we go for a coffee.

Sound good?

I had a plan

It was to post about reading to my kids, which I still do, despite their teenager-ness...and I adore reading to them, especially since the books they want to read now are generally ones I like..

but

biiiiing

you remember those old movies

biiing

set in submarines where everyone is silent

biiiiiing

and all you can hear is the sound of the radar echos

biiiiing

coming back and warning of the enemy

biiiiiing

close at hand?

I can hear that now.

For some time too.  The man and I just had a little chat about it

biiiiiiing

a bird?  maybe

we're debating a tree frog possibly.

Either that or we are about to have

biiiiiing

a serious flooding problem!

Oddballs

Went into a local bar today after struggling with taxes for a few hours.  The man needed a beer, and I very nearly did too!

You know, at 4 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon in Catalunya, the only folks in the bars are freaky foreigners (us) and the village drunks (thankfully not us).

Truita de patata is so very yummy!

I love it that the books I am reading to my kids are books that I truly enjoy too.

Deadheading roses is also quite a delight.

Subjunctive in Catalan, not so much.  Should have studied more.

Ho hum

Worked today,

taxes tomorrow.

Finished Friday

Along with two translations, a ton of work, preping for work tomorrow (yes, Saturday, I am a loser)  a HUGE long meeting, making chocolate souffle, gardening, reading to the kids and NOT studying Catalan today  HA!

thinking

Thinking that I'd like to take up the cello.


Also thinking that I am nuts,

though it would be lovely.

Maybe after I finish the Catalan class, no?

Finished, May 3, 2011

Immigration series, pencil, pen, marker, watercolour and acrylic on paper.  96 x 77 cm

The book I am reading

would be better if it did not have sentences like this, "With this dichotomy between the spirits that move the body and a prophylactic 'reasoning', we come to an issue we touched on in the last chapter, the destruction of the esemplastic powers by an overvaluation of analytic cogniton and the related destruction of gift exchange by the hegemony of the market."

I mean, really, is that necessary or could you simply learn to write.

Finished on May 1st...

All three form more of the Immigration series, completed May 1, 2011

Acrylic and paint marker on paper, 95 x 110 cm

Acrylic on paper, 96 x 77 cm

Immigration series, acrylic on paper, 96 x 77 cm

Next day

Some things were the same, walking my nephews to school, pain au chocolate, a delicious sandwich...

Some not, saying goodbye to my sister for instance.

Headed out with time to spare.  Nomad had recommended La Maison Rouge, a contemporary art gallery.  I set off walking.  (no guff)  I fortunately didn't get caught up with the National Police in Riot gear, but had a lovely long walk.  Wandered through the Luxemburg gardens, which were lovely, and into the Saint Sulpice church - escaping rain and having a break for my feet.  Past the Natural History Museum in the Jardin de Plantes, honestly it would be frustrating living in Paris, you would constantly feel that you couldn't keep up with all that was going on.  Anyway, I crossed the river on the Pont Austerlitz and went into La Maison Rouge.  They had a major exhibition on about Cannibalism that rocked Nomad's world, but left me kinda flat honestly, but they also had an exhibit by Chiharu Shiota, she had two installation pieces, the first one took my breath away, five elongated victorian nightgowns enmeshed in a mass or woven webbed strings, with tunnels for the observer to walk through....well, you can see it on the site linked above and there is an interview with the artist, and an amazing video piece that she completed was on view as well.  That was worth the walk and the 5€ alone.

Onwards!!!  I wandered over to the Hotel de Ville, just outside La Maison Rouge though, there is a canal filled with vessels, most of them motor boats but also canal boats all with people living on them.  Now if you know me at all, you know I spent a fair length of time leaning over the parapet gazing at the boats....

La Hotel de Ville had an exhibition about Paris at the time of the Impressionists.  Mostly paintings of Paris and Paris culture at that time, though it was better than I thought it might have been, partially as the Musée d'Orsay is undergoing renovation so some of their work is on loan.  I was meeting Nomad for lunch at 1:45, so I had to move on....I wandered back over to the left bank, and got a crepe sucre, something I HAD to do, then ran out of time and hopped the Metro make it on time.  We had delicious Korean and talked and talked and talked till it was time for me to go.

Trip out to the airport was fine, flight delayed an hour.  Long enough for me to miss the last bus out of BCN, so I took a train to somewhere nearby and missed the last bus from there.  45 min walk from the station and got home well after midnight.

DOG tired, but glad to be home.

Now to send the man!!!!