Thar’ be Giants

I’ve had a busy month of July.  I took an intensive Catalan class, four nights per week, which was grueling but mostly beneficial. I had a houseguest with me for five days, which was delightful. I completed a major revision of a school handbook for my client in Coachella, and I found a Catalan teacher who has agreed to an intercanvi with me, which means we’ll have one-on-one conversations where she’ll correct my Catalan and I’ll correct her English.

And I met some Giants.

Els Gigants de San Jaume (the Giants of King James) have been around for at least six hundred years, and they occasionally parade through different areas and then dance together. They are accompanied by human dancers and singers, and the show is impressive. I’m glad that my adventurous guest discovered this event.

The heat has been intolerable, so I’ve had to use my air conditioning, which is quite expensive. The humidity has forced me to change shirts three times a day. Did you know that some old people sweat more easily and sometimes can’t stop? I do, now. Which only adds to my appeal, I’m sure.

Proud scholar that I am, I watched Masters of the Universe, the He Man origin story, which I found quite silly. All of the characters make self-deprecating jokes, as is common in comic-book movies, aimed at adult viewers. But the humor is juvenile, for example, with repeated unfunny references to fisting. (One fighter is called Fisto, because he can punch through walls. Get it?)

My guest caught me watching this, so the next day I had to prove to her that it had been an intellectual exercise in analyzing cultural messages. However, passionately screaming at her in the metro that Skeletor can’t do self-mockery because one can’t humanize pure evil failed, I fear, to impress.

Oh well.

During a recent therapy session, it occurred to me that, for someone who has always suffered from being misunderstood, I have not made life easier by spending a lot of time in places with languages which ensure that I will be literally misunderstood. And now, I can be misunderstood in four languages!  Way to go!

I’ve read several short novels, none of which were memorable, except for one called Beggars in Spain – a really awful title for a Hugo and Nebula Awards – winning novella from 1991 about engineering superior human beings. Spoiler alert: Everybody hates them.

So, on to the Zoom meeting I have in an hour. Then to the gym to lose some of the weight I’ve gained after instituting my daily afternoon ritual of coffee and pastries. Did you know that one reason for back pain is pants that are too tight because you’ve gotten fat and can’t admit it?

Enjoy the hot summer. Stay hydrated.

A Note: In the video below, I believe the instrument being played is authentic. The Chubby Checker tune, however, is undoubtedly not. To view it without the banner across, click on the Full Screen icon.