“back to common sense”

From the BBC news website yesterday:

Every school pupil in England is to be taught that domestic violence against women and girls is unacceptable, as part of a new government strategy.

Which is all very well – and I’m glad they got that comma right – but what about domestic violence against men and boys? And what about violence in general?

don’t make me raise my voice!

For years there have been jokes about whether computers are male or female. (There are many variations on the theme, this link shows just one.) But has anyone ever actually tested a computer’s response to the different kinds of violencia de género (gender violence) as the Spanish insist on calling domestic violence?

Yes, computers are delicate mechanisms, and, if you physically mistreat one, it will no doubt break down eventually. But what about verbal abuse?

At last we have a – partial – answer:

You have been warned: don’t shout at your computer (or at least, don’t shout at your disk drive).

Fortunately, I think it’s still all right to make snide remarks.

explosive news?

Is it only me, or does the juxtaposition of these two headlines – from the same page of today’s El País – catch the attention of anyone else out there?

Burning exes, exploding immigrants...

Was it the proximity to the first story that forced the headline writer to use such an ugly adverb as “laboralmente” in the second?

And am I the only person who noticed the flyer which fell out when I turned the page?:

apparently, Sean Connery was right

Decades ago, in a Playboy interview, Connery said something along the lines of, “It’s not the worst thing to slap a woman now and then.” Since then, this has been quoted and mis-quoted, and on many occasions the actor has been made out to be in favour of violence towards women.

I’ve always believed he knew what he was saying.

naming names

From Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest:

CECILY [...] This is no time for wearing the shallow mask of manners. When I see a spade I call it a spade.

GWENDOLYN [Satirically.] I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.

I wonder how different the average Spaniard’s social sphere is from that of the average angloparlante.