Don't You Hate Sean Penn, and other thoughts

First of all, happy birthday to Hoosier Lush who turned 21 today...and the world trembled. Oh how I wish Bloomington and Madrid were adjacent to each other.

Some things I've noticed in Spain that are slightly amusing but I haven't detailed here yet:
1) The Lush always makes fun of Puerto Ricans for dying their hair jacked up shades of orange and red, but I can assure you that the mother country has this in common. I haven't quite figured out how this caught on. It's like that horrible highlighter hair craze that American jocks had for a while in the late 90s, only it's primarily among middle-aged women. So take that! If anything, I've seen more bad dye jobs in Madrid than in San Juan...but I like Madrid way more, so there.

2) Fur coats have never gone out of style. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in an episode of I Love Lucy. I can just hear the Senoras whining to their husbands about how Ena got a new stoll, and how her old one just can't keep up appearances. Baby Huey even saw a man in a fur coat, but I, unfortunately missed it.

3) I received the nicest compliment in my entire life yesterday. I was talking with my Senora yesterday about I don't remember what, but she told me that I have an excellent accent and could pass for Spanish when my ability to string a sentence together kicks in. We talked again how this must be due to my Spanish blood and hearing my grandparents talk in Spanish from an early age. I must have conquered the elegant Castilian lisp on my own. Needless to say, I had crazy Spanish pride the rest of the day.

4) I'm going to Istanbul for spring break where everything is cheap. Dan found a hostel with a private room for us for 7 euro or less than 10 dollars a night. I think we're gonna spring for a hotel which will probably be what, like 11 dollars a night? People make fun of me for going to Istanbul, like Schnocone, but they've obviously forgotten their 4 years of high school Latin and the glory of the late Roman Empire. Sure, Constantine probably made one of the biggest mistakes in abandoning Rome, but the city was a cesspool anyway, and he did buy the empire a few more centuries...a millennium by the outlandish 476 estimate, but at least 750 by the more conservative 700 estimate. Remember, Constantinople didn't fall until 1453. Sure, our Greek friend likes to talk about how the Turks turned the Hagia Sofia into a shithole, but it still looks nice from the outside. My only fear is that I'll have to grow a terrible mustache before I go to fit in a little bit more.

5) DON'T YOU HATE SEAN PENN? God, I didn't even see the Oscars this year, a fact that I'm a little peeved about, but what a dickwad. I've never liked him, although I think he's a fairly strong actor. However, I'm really peeved that his shameless showboating and primal screaming in Mystic River bested the more controlled, subtle beauty of Bill Murray last year. Honestly, have you never heard of a joke, Sean? Don't you find it slightly ridiculous that Jude Law was in practically every late-released movie last year? I swear he's the new Russell Crowe, although I guess he was Russell Crowe before Russell Crowe was Russell Crowe. If I never had to see another movie with these stuck up, bad-boy, blowhards, my life would be so much better. I hear Chris Rock didn't really do too well, though. That's depressing.

I suppose that's enough for now. Until later.