Estrambotica.com

Finish what you start; at least, ONE of the MANY things you start!

I have signed a commitment. Important stuff, really. I'm already trembling.

Sworn virgins and gender-bending in rural Albania

Thanks to The New Gay, one of the collective blogs I've been reading the most lately, I've discovered this article: Albanian Custom Fades: Woman as Family Man (NY Times). It's very interesting - especially the parts when these women (virgin, and fully treated as men) state their point of view, and complain about women of today "not knowing their place".

I've always been fascinated by certain gender-bending "traditions" in societies which are otherwise homophobic and misogynous. In this case, women are allowed to take over the role of the patriarch only IF they're willing to fully give up their femininity (focused in, and symbolized in this case, by her sexual availability).

I remember when we studied the hijras in India, and how someone could become one of them. Of course, it's not like these sworn virgins or the hijras are what the average person amidst these societies would aspire to be - but some of them do enjoy their role, and I believe these are the ways in which a too-rigid societal structure gets rid of tensions that may otherwise be disruptive...

Of course, only if you agree. If you don't, someone else will.

This morning, we were checking out the world news before work and some team mate stumbled across this. For those of you who can't read Spanish: the European Ministers of Labour have finally accorded to regulate temporary work and to give temporary workers (more than one third of the total labour force in Spain, if I recall right, and a big fat problem for all) the same rights as their "permanent" colleagues. Wow! Oh, and additionally, now anyone will be legally able to work up to 60-65 hours per week "if (s)he wants". SAY WHAT?

The Girl of Ye-Ye

I know that sometimes, some of you think me crazy because of my love for retro sex, vintage girls and either hippie coloring or pre-punk looks. What can I say, I'm not a girl of the present, and I'm a late bloomer indeed.

But today, at least the Spanish readers (almost all of you ;)) who are curious should take a look to this entry at Spiked Candy and download the following song: "The Girl of Ye-Ye", by Zoe & the Stormies.

Yes, it's probably what you imagine. But no, I hadn't thought there'd already be a version of it... Schade! :( I'd already made a first draft of a translation for a possible appearance of the song in a future and Very International Gaylands musical! XD

And, as the author of Spiked Candy says:

"On 'The Girl Of Ye-Ye', the lyrics stay true to the original's tale of a girl who knocks back the boy she loves because her heart belongs to rock 'n'roll, but a little more detail is added (again necessary in English to fill out the vocal melody), including a cute line about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The lyrics don't entirely make sense ("you're in love with moonlight glow"), though this only adds to the song's charm. Even the title phrase "Girl of Ye-Ye" is in slightly-off English, making the song's title a succinct summary of why the song itself is an interesting artefact from the annals of European pop: that it's a song from Greece in English referring to a Spanish term for rock borrowed from the French!"

Der kleine Vampir und die letzte Verwandlung (2)

So I got the book from Amazon and have already finished it. It was a very easy read -- I'm already accustomed to the series' own (limited) terminology, and I've always been better at reading/writing than listening/speaking in any language. :P There were some words I didn't know, but most of the nouns were at Pons, and the verbs could be deduced by the context.

Some thoughts about the book (with big SPOILERS of course).

Résumé

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

-- Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)