This or That
From Christine, for this week:
1. Holland or Netherlands? It was new year's eve in Amsterdam and I was walking along the WhateverStrasse with some friends. Some guy tried to rob money from a friend and I jumped to defend her. Unluckily for me, I started an argument, whereas the guy just broke my jaw. It is Netherlands. But hey, now I have a cuter chin.
2. Emu or Ostrich? There is an animal of the Argentinian pampas, the ñandú, similar to the ostrich but, as I understand, much more intelligent. The gauchos use boleadoras to hunt it down. That it was all I read in Billiken, a long forgotten magazine for children with curious dispositions.
3. Biff or Happy? The cultural reference totally escapes me. Biff, from “Back to the future”? Happy, as in the Seven Dwarfs? Happy as in the smiley – but then, which smiley would be biff. On a more darker note, anny political references to GW would refer to Biff, you know, meat eating texan, so happy seems to be a better answer. Peace and all.
4. Quincy or Braintree? There was this evil villain, Brainiac, who would fight Superman, and who will always fail due to a technicality. Quincy was the predecessor of CSI, Jordan and the rest, but I don't remember much about it – only that this was a good guy with a lot of interesting questions. And that you shouldn't sing in the hot tub, you may die. Culture by TV, what do you expect.
5. Cassius Clay or Muhammad Ali? M Ali could have been the most hyped one, but George Foreman is alive and kicking and selling. Sad but true. Somebody was telling me, “life is an endurance event, not a speed one”. They were right.
6. Instabul or Constantinople? Constantinopla. Colombian historian Mauricio Obregón said that the West never understood fully how much we all lost when Constantinopla fell into the hands of the Mahomet II. Regardless of its name, it is one city I want to visit before Bush decides to recapture it for the West. By the way, the description of the battle sounds pretty much a “Shock and Awe “ strategy, complete with pleads for peace and help, the bizantine discussions over help or war, and the siege of the city. Nothing changes.
7. Pig or Swine? Ping or Swing? Too much time blogging, I think. Nevertheless, were I to own a porcine pet, I would certainly prefer Babe, the shepherd pig. On food, though, it has to be lechona tolimense.
8. Barf or Puke? The Barf and Puke was a very famous pub in medieval London, the one that served the most potent ale in all the kingdom. So strong was it that all its patrons left intoxicated, their discomfort and pain explained to their friends like so: “I have just been to the Puke” or “To the Barf”, which then quickly became synonyms for what occurs when you have too much to drink. Of course, the pub disappeared, but its legacy continues with us til this day. I am feeling sick, though.
9. Potatoes or Spuds? Papas rellenas, papas fritas, papas chorreadas, papas con queso, papas cocidas, papa sabanera, papa tocarreña, papa de la que deshace, papa criolla, papa en ajiaco, papas si pontifices no, papa yo quiero saber de donde son los cantantes, papa salada, a pelar papas, asi fue que empezaron papa y mama. Papa.
10. Squeeze Box or Accordion? ¡¡Acordeón, ay home!! Have you heard Carlos Vives, or Shakira, even Bacilos? Acccordion, my dear friends. “Ya tiene su diosa coronada”.