Pushing up daisies

Spanish Radio Stations for iTunes

Published on August 22nd, 2008 Leave your comment (4 so far) »

I’ve mentioned that I’m learning/re-learning Spanish language. To get me used to hearing it I’m also listening to Spanish internet radio stations through iTunes. It’s not easy to dig these up as most of the stations listed in iTunes are Latin Spanish and not European Spanish stations— makes a big difference depending on the pronunciations you need to become familiar with.

Many stations exist on the web but don’t outwardly advertise their compatibility with iTunes. With a little digging you can play loads more European Spanish stations than you thought possible. You won’t be able to use iTunes to play Windows Media or Real Player (or OGG, if you’re finding a few of those too), but any WinAmp stations should open up nicely. Look at the streaming links for files ending in or containing .m3u, .mp3, or .pls - you can use those. Copy that streaming url link to your clipboard*. Now in iTunes, go to the Advanced menu. Choose Open Stream and paste in the url. iTunes should bring that station into your main Music area where you can then drag it into a custom playlist to organise your added radio stations.

Paste the streaming URL from your clipboard in the Open Stream box

If you’d like a group of (mostly) European Spanish stations to start with, here’s a list I’ve put together for use in iTunes. To make things even easier, you should be able to simply click one of my links below and it will automatically load into iTunes. Call it my gift to you.
Several were obtained though ListenLive.eu. There’s a variety of stations in the list below and sometimes the music may not be your (or my) preferred style, but the important thing is to get your brain hearing Spanish by native speakers. Even if you keep it at a low volume whilst you work, you’ll start soaking it in. You will still have to learn the language on your own (see my last post) but it can’t hurt to listen to the local radio. Good luck!

RADIO KOSTA LATINA 107.7 FM
3D RADIO VALENCIA
SKY.FM CLASSICAL AND FLAMENCO GUITAR
ASCAP LATINO
RADIO FUENLABRADA
XTRA FM (EXPAT RADIO)
A-6 RADIO
RVK RADIO VALLEKAS
ONDA CIEZA
PUNTO RADIO

*You may have to View Source to see the real links. Go to View > View Source and skim through till you see the url you need. (or use a Find command to jump through quickly)

Technorati Tags: iTunes, language, radio, regularjen, Spanish

Posted in regular, tout le fromage | 4 Comments »

preparation through cheese

Published on August 20th, 2008 Leave your comment (6 so far) »

Any time we travel, I try to - at the very least - have a minor grasp of the language spoken in that region. Our trips to Portugal and Madeira were back-to-back and gave me an excuse to continue practising a handful of useful Portuguese phrases. Malta was a different story as there are no phrase books or lessons readily available for their difficult language, so I’m still at a complete loss for Maltese communication. (Not so bad, as they have nearly everything in both Maltese and English.) This year we go to Spain. A couple of years of dabbling with Portuguese has kept me familiar with similar word structures and spellings, but the practise of speaking Spanish was a skill I’d all but lost over the years…

Now I’m re-learning with the goal of improving my Spanish vocabulary and skill. It’s been almost a couple of decades since I studied Spanish in school but thanks to a healthy Mexican population in Wisconsin (sounds strange, but it’s true), I had some exposure to the language at work every day. The company I worked for also did contract work for the government and part of my job was to type lengthy forms in several languages— one of which was Spanish. Over the years, all of this has worked to my benefit and I can feel an increasing comfort with my progress. Currently, I’m using a little “Spanish in 15 Minutes a Day”-type of book with a Michel Thomas audio course (introductory) and working through the BBC’s superb (and FREE) interactive language lessons online.

This brings me to Neil’s involvement. Our bargain thus far has always been: I learn to communicate and he drives the rental car. Works pretty well. For example, in Madeira, where there is much less English spoken that in Portugal by comparison, he pulled into a petrol station and I asked the service attendant to fill the tank. I also order in restaurants and Neil typically handles the money. Easy. But for some reason, he’s showing a little more interest in Spanish… So last night I thought I’d start him with a few words before bed. For example, though not as a full sentence, he can now ask for a coffee with milk. I figure it makes the most sense to teach him words for things he likes; it seems logical that those words might be more meaningful and therefore more memorable. Which is why the next thing I taught him to say was that he’d like a bucket of cheese. Perhaps next we’ll work on squirrels, toiletries, and trousers. Should make for an interesting order in the restaurante.

Technorati Tags: language, Madeira, Malta, Neil Dixon, Portugal, regularjen, Spanish

Posted in regular, tout le fromage | 6 Comments »

It’s like she knows

Published on August 18th, 2008 Leave your comment (2 so far) »

Martha Stewart is testing me. I just sat down to get back into my outlining process (for the novel I’m working on) and fleetingly thought about how I’m getting tired of all the “Organizing” silliness Martha keeps sending me. I thought about how it’s similar to getting forwarded emails from that one co-worker or relative that everyone has— the one that forwards you every (fake) missing child alert, a dozen photos of huggably-snuggly puppies and kittens doing nauseatingly cutesy things, and animated gif greetings for every national holiday. All while exposing your email address to 53 of her other closest friends. (At least Martha manages that part properly.)

So while I was thinking about annoying aunty Martha (sending me emails I signed up for - I guess I only have me to blame), she sent me a “Whole Living” email with natural allergy remedies! As with all of her email tips, this has valuable information, and so I skim it, decide on my action, and then hit delete. But she was in there fast. Perfect timing. So a point to you, Martha Stewart. Just while I was still cursing your earlier email with a clever re-use of a fabric placemat as a custom art supply organiser, you hit me literally between the eyes with home-made allergy remedies. Bravo!

And I’m still not unsubscribing. I’m not sure why, but I’m not.
I think that means she’s won…

Technorati Tags: Martha Stewart, regularjen, silly

Posted in regular, tout le fromage | 2 Comments »

A ramble around Horspath

Published on August 16th, 2008 Leave your comment (5 so far) »

We often discuss the lack of ‘us’ time and ‘out’ time we get due to Neil’s obligations with work. The company is based in San Francisco and that makes for outrageously long days for him. He has no need to go into the London office anymore since his duties have shifted away from what that team does. This means he’s here at his desk every day for twelve hours or more (mostly more). It’s crazy and starting to wear on us both. We popped into town for a coffee (and work from the Costa Coffee free wifi) earlier this week and made a quick stop into Waterstone’s. I chatted to someone I know and he found the local walks books and maps. He picked two and we promised ourselves that even if the weather wasn’t ideal (and goodness knows the English weather has been anything but ideal this summer) we’d head out for a ramble. You see, even on weekends we’re at our computers with writing projects, so this promise was a big one.

Promise kept. We picked a loop around Horspath— a respectable little 3.5 mile hike through some muddy, uphill, woodsy trails that got our blood moving, our sweat beading, and our appetites building. The weather held and the mostly cloudy skies parted for the odd photo opportunity. We’ve sworn to get out like this more often — perhaps even next Saturday — as we used to enjoy rambling quite a bit a couple of years ago. I’m even a little braver these days when it comes to the outdoors: I don’t scream and run nearly as much when I see a bee/wasp/bumble AND (Mom, you’ll not believe it) I ate blackberries from the vine. This probably doesn’t mean anything to most of you, but let me put it into context: I’VE NEVER HAD A BLACKBERRY BEFORE. Ever. And like hell I’d normally eat something that I couldn’t wash first. But these were perfect, untouched, unsprayed, wild blackberries by the thousands. At first, I resisted as Neil ate his way down a path. Then I inexplicably decided to be a big girl and try them. And what do ya know— THEY’RE DELICIOUS!

As I said, the day was mostly cloudy, so I didn’t take a lot of photos, but there are a few on my flickr page. Including this one of the cows we met at the start of the path.

Cows near Westhill Farm, Horspath, Oxfordshire.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing place we had lunch after the ramble. It’s on the outskirts of Henley on Thames and is called The Old White Horse. They do this thing where you pick the sausages of your choice (we had vegetarian), the mashed potatoes of your choice, and the gravy of your choice for an absolutely astounding plate of quality food. They even make the gravies veggie-friendly if you’re having the vegetarian sausages. Awesome stuff. Each item has up to fifteen varieties! It’s a very classy place and they also serve a fine espresso. An instant favourite. Their website is under construction, but the post code is RG9 2JN.

Technorati Tags: cows, Neil Dixon, regularjen, UK

Posted in regular, tout le fromage | 5 Comments »

It’s coming together

Published on August 14th, 2008 Leave your comment (2 so far) »

Though my attention span hasn’t been at its best over the past week, I believe fear is partly to blame. I’ll explain.

My novel outline is coming along really well. New ideas, plot twists, and understanding of structure have come to me more through this process than by ‘going it alone’ with a blank page (digital or Moleskine)— a rather hit and miss ‘process’ that has failed me several times over. Progress can be a scary thing. If it’s going well, it’s got to keep going well, right? But what if it doesn’t? This is where the lack of focus and attention span are finding strength and doing battle against me. (Like I need more of that!)

Every writer, I’m certain, goes through some measure of what is putting the buzz of fear in me right now. Even the cocksure, inebriated, and drug-laced writers (past and present) will have doubt. That’s a comforting thought. To a certain extent, a very positive thing. Keeps me understanding this is hard work; I have to earn it. Everyone with an honestly crafted title to their name earned it.

Progress is a tiny bit slower than I’d like, but I’m doing what I can.
And it’s working. That’s the important bit, isn’t it.

Technorati Tags: fiction, regularjen, writing

Posted in Writing, tout le fromage | 2 Comments »