I don't know why it's called a lisp. No one's talking like Daffy Duck. And it has nothing to do with an inbred king talking funny and decreeing that the entire kingdom speak like him.

The truth (or at least the generally accepted theory) is more complicated...

In 1400 A.D., Spanish had a wider variety of s-like sounds:

ç - "ts" as in pizza
z - "dz" ( Read more... )

For the last year I've had a chronic stomach problem. With the help of others, I've been able to nail down a description for it: it's like PMS, except year-round. Bloating, pain, cramps, etc., etc., a couple days a week or more ( Read more... )

Not falling apart like last week anymore, now all I have to deal with is work being hard (boss has sorta gone incommunicado). I can deal with work.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070729/ap_on_re_us/gang_lawsuitsRead more... )

This weekend I drove an SUV 800km, over roads, rocks, and flowers, intruded into bear territory, set up camp in what was once pristine forest, burned the dessicated remains of a once-proud tree, charred the extremities of a tasty chicken, drank water collected near such terrain that was then bottled and plastic and transported to my grocery store, ( Read more... )

Just got back from an industry event in Park City, Utah. Nice place, where the '02 Winter Olympics were... nice views all over the place ( Read more... )

Today I was stricken (struck? strunk?) with a craving - queso tetilla. That beautifully formed ball of soft white cheese, looking like a cross between a dome and a chocolate chip. But large. Larger than the small pleasures of a single chocolate chip ever could be ( Read more... )

My coworker is selling his brown/gold 1999 Nissan Altima. 89,000 miles, very well maintained and driven like a granny (but a few hundred in regular maintenance coming up soon). 2.5L inline-4, automatic, leather interior. Nothing great about that year's Altima but nothing bad either. Should be very good for another 7-8 years, then it'll reach ( Read more... )

I've let this lay fallow for too long. It's probably a forgotten journal by now. But I'm still using the family computer ( Read more... )

On the Spanish news on TV they were showing one of the Carnaval/Mardi Gras festivities in a Galician town. The townspeople collect "furious ants" all year in a box, and on that day they take to the streets and throw them at each other's faces.