Typical Declaration of Personal Independence
Posted by Raul on May 16, 2011
Chirr-chirr-chirr-chirr (Sound of a cricket)
I know…sometimes I can be really sarcastic!
Raul
It’s Shopping Time!
Posted by Raul on May 3, 2011
It can be an empty fridge; it can be just being bored; or maybe tiredness of finding the same clothing in the closet; the thing is…it’s shopping time!
When I was a child, one of the games we had was to make a small hole in a box (like a shoe box) and from a set distance trying to get little crystal marbles in the box by giving them a little impulse, just enough to get them rolling to, and inside the box through the little hole.
Now, when remembering those times, I feel I was playing “Publicity Expert”
Like a superior being, watching from above, finding a way to make those little marbles roll to, and enter the store to shop.
But the rolls have inverted…now I am the marble slowly rolling to, and inside the box. How the hell did they do that?
I suppose to be the superior being with amazing capabilities, controlling the game of my life? How did I become the tool they use, to make me do whatever they want?
Practice makes perfect, or at least better. I got good enough at getting those little marbles inside the box. Now I am the marble being good enough at getting inside the store!
Shit!
A society of marbles, slowly rolling by the gentle impulse given by…
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody controlling this thing?
Are we, small marbles, being gently pushed? Or are we just “suggested”, so we fall. Like inclining the surface on which the marbles stand, and letting them roll on their own to their happy demise.
Like a crystal marble that prides itself in its shiny composition, yet is externally controlled by unknown forces, denying with it its own power to float in space, magnificent, unmovable, amazing.
When I was a child I used to play getting little crystal marbles through a small hole in a box. Little I knew I was witnessing society from the eyes of a publicity expert in the world of adult life.
Raul
Microcar’s Dreams
Posted by Raul on April 26, 2011
1958 Messerschmitt KR200
Are microcars making a comeback?
From the 40’s, and during the 50’s and 60’s there was a full line of manufactures creating all sort of very small, cheap cars. The intention was to reach a market of people who didn’t have the money to buy a “normal” car and to pay for the highly priced fuel in Europe.
These so named microcars were part of the scene in cities and roads of the European world, and some of them even made it to the US. But while fuel prices here were low, and roads long, microcars didn’t stand a chance against the big, luxury local vehicles of the time, so those little examples of basic transportation became simply curious toys, if not the target of all kind of jokes.
"Yes officer, it IS a car!"
Now we are faced with increasing fuel prices and crowded cities, so many people look at European models that might have something to offer for the local roads. So far the VW Beatle made a comeback, together with the Mini (under a different manufacturer), the Smart Car, and now it seems the Fiat 500 will be roaming American roads by 2012.
These are not the same as they used to be of course. These are updated models that meet all the requirements for new cars to be legal in this country, so what once was a small, simple, affordable transport vehicle, has become a luxury; highly technological device that reflects modern’s times.
My 1957 BMW Isetta 300
I’ve always been fascinated by small cars, to the point that I own a little Isetta 300, so when I heard of the Fiat 500 comeback, I had to go and see it with my own eyes.
It was a pleasant surprise to see that little car among the other “monsters” at the showroom. Retaining the simple lines inside and out; small but roomy enough, and even with some luxuries included such as electric sunroof and power windows.
I was ecstatic for the availability of the vehicle in a short time, and even the crazy thought of eventually buying one in the future did cross my mind…until I saw a picture of both; the old and the new Fiat 500 standing side by side.
Fiat 500 "New vs Old"
What happened to the little car concept?!
If you take a look at the picture of both cars, you’ll see that there’s nothing small about the new one, well, in all fairness, the original one was classified as a “microcar” so I guess the new one could still be considered a “small” car. But for someone like me, that like the original concept of the microcar (think of a scooter with a body for rainy days), the excitement of a brand new microcar available for purchase in the present, dissolved like the colors of the picture under a heavy rain, and floating down the street drain it disappeared once more.
I guess is still about restoring the little one to make it shine once again in the presence of others; those who remain in the race of incorporating more and more elements, size and weight, as the way of natural growth nowadays.
So no…microcars are not coming back… 
Raul
(Sigh!)
Bits
Posted by Raul on March 8, 2011
And then the old syndrome of: “Someday I’ll be able to stop saying someday”, just to drag life on another year. Who will subscribe?
“Spring is coming! Spring is coming!” -The inner voice raced across the city with the news.
The frozen lake is no more…instead seagulls feed at will with madness, flying all over the place.
Some say life is like a roll of toilet paper…the closer to the end, the faster it goes.
Some say life is like a cigarette…a pleasure at the beginning but stinky at the end (and only a bad smell left…Yikes!).
Some say life is like getting drunk…laughing and dancing with abandon at first, to end up unable to stand and walk by the end…Aw!
New technologies = easier life…incommunicado!
Facing the unknown from the comfort of an internet terminal at home equals little experience in facing life for the growing child. The art of physical interaction become lost.
Nowadays, and for more and more people, the number of minutes used on the cell phone seems to be inversely proportional to the amount of company felt.
A mirror shows just the machine, but not the driver.
Getting lost in the requirements of survival and their luxury extensions, that brings enhanced pleasures to the instincts. Starving souls leaving the physical plane?
All the spirits gather in the ether and conform the thinking and deciding entity that controls the cosmos…God is a Union!
Thinking in a bi-dimensional plane there are only two options to the problem. In a tri-dimensional plane there are six. (At least it becomes an “intelligent” confusion!)
I guess I’ve spent too much time without writing, and the thoughts fly around like small, winged demons, making fun of the driver!
Raul
The Joke of The Lone Ranger
Posted by Raul on February 17, 2011
There was this joke from a Chilean comedian who was really frustrated because every time he told the joke nobody laughed…because nobody understood it, even though is about the concept Chileans have about themselves.
“So there were The Lone Ranger and Tonto, hiding behind a small boulder while shooting to the Indians all around them. Then they run out of bullets and the Indians started to approach them, knives in hand, ready to kill them.
“We are doomed” Said the Lone Ranger.
“You might be doomed” Answered Tonto.
I’m just curious how many people will get the joke. Let me know in the comment section.
Raul
