Mis fotos

      Antonio Garrigues Walker has just talked about Spain on the radio.

      He is an old lawyer, who has a very prestigious law firm and he is the President of the World Association of Lawyers and Founder of Transparency International Spain. He also was one of the protagonists of the Transition Politics in Spain.

      Antonio thinks that in Spain we need “Great thinkers and great modernizers”. And he notes the example of Ortega y Gasset –who was a great thinker and a great modernizer, at an intellectual level, at the political level, etc--.

      He thinks that Spanish people are not aware of the isolation that Spain has had the rest of the world during very many years.

      He says that we need great thinkers, who have a great capacity for dialogue and for consensus.

      He also says that Democracy is not living right, but to live in disagreement.That is the trouble in Spain: that we are not able to maintain a dialogue.

      However, he is an optimistic man of Spain, because he thinks that our country is in a great location. He says that we have to be optimistic, because many other countries have troubles with their economy, as Spain do.

      He is agree about that we are living a change of epoch. We will never live as before we did.

      He also thinks that it is possible to create a transparency when funding to political parties. The transparency is a necessary value.

      He also says that all these cases of corruption will bring a better society to Spain.

      And he thinks that the capacity of Spain is very big. For example, the tourist capacity. Also, our energetic capacity. Our capacity in the communications sector, for example in the manufacture of high-speed trains. Therefore, we must recognize that we have many values.

      I hope that you have liked this post.

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

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Adrián, 6 años:

Era el cumpleaños de su padre y su madre le dijo: "Adrián, ¿Sabes lo que podemos regalarle a papá?". Como el niño respondió que no, su madre le propuso: "Como a papá le gusta mucho el cocido, le podriamos regalar uno, ¿Verdad?". Adrián se quedó pensando y dijo: "Vale, pero....hay un problema: "¿Como se lo envolvemos?".

Adrián, 6 years old:

It was the birthday of his father and his mother said: "Adrian, you know what we can give to Dad?". As the child said no, his mother suggested: "As Dad really likes the baked, we could give him one, right?". Adrian was thinking and said, "All right, but .... there is a problem: How we wrap it? ".

Lucas, 4 años:

Lucas probó unas clases de judo en su colegio; y los primeros días, aunque disfrutaba mucho, parecía que le costaba un poquito y se quedaba paradillo. El profesor se lo comentó a su madre y ella, preocupada, le preguntó si estaba contento y si quería seguir: “Lucas, si no te gusta, te borro”, le dijo. Y Lucas, muy serio, miró a su madre fijamente y le respondió: “Pero, mamá, ¿Es que me has apuntado con lápiz?".

Lucas, 4 years old:

Lucas tried a judo classes in their school, and the first few days, but enjoyed a lot, seemed to cost him a little and stayed a little bit stopped. The teacher told his mother and she, concerned, asked if he was happy and if he wanted to follow: "Lucas, if you do not like it, I delete", she said. And Lucas, very serious, looked at his mother and replied:  "But, Mom, what's that I've signed with pencil?". 

Fernando, 4 años:

Fernando le pidió a su padre que lo llevase a hombros, porque estaba un poco cansado. Su padre accedió y, después de chantajearle y hacerle repetir que él era el papá mas guapo y bueno del mundo, se lo subió a hombros, comenzó a hacer de caballo, galopando, frenando, trotando, dando saltitos, relinchando, girando…., mientras él se partía de risa. Entonces, desde las alturas, le acarició la cara y, al llegar al cuelo y tocar la nuez, muy sorprendido, exclamó: “¡Papá, tienes un tobillo en el cuello!".

Fernando, 4 years old:

Fernando asked his father to take him to his shoulders, because he was a little tired. His father agreed and after blackmail him and make him repeat that he was the most handsome and good dad in the world, he went up to his shoulders, began making horse, galloping, braking, jogging, skipping, neighing, turning ...., while he was laughing. Then, from above, stroked his face and reaching the strain and touch the nut, very surprised, said: "Dad, you have an ankle in the strain! ".

Miguel, 2 años:

Su madre estaba rezando con él: “Cuatro angelitos tiene mi cama, cuatro angelitos que me la guardan…..¿Cuales son, Miguel?”, le preguntó. Como no se acordaba, su madre le dio una pista: “Juan…”. A lo que Miguel respondió: “¡Ah! , ¡Ya me acuerdo!: Juan, two, three, four…..”.

Michael, 2 years old:

His mother was praying with him: "Four angels have my bed, four angels that saved me ..... What are, Michael?" she asked. As not remember, his mother gave him a clue: "John ...". To which Michael replied: "Ah! , I remember!: Juan, two, three, four ..... ". Note: He thought that it was:  "One, two three, four....".

I hope that you have enjoyed....

Till soon, kind regards, 

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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Here I want to start to share some recipes of starters from Andalussia –and concretely from Almería--.

      In this case, I want to show you the recipe of the named “Ajo colorao” (“Red garlic”) –because “Colorao” is same that “Rojo” (“Red)--.

      This recipe is for 4 persons.

Ingredients:

1 Kg. of potatoes.

1 onion.

2 cloves of garlic.

2 dried peppers.

A pinch of ground cumin.

 Virgin Olive Oil.

Vinegar from Jerez, as you want.

200 gr. of desalted cod.

Elaboration:

      First of all peel the potatoes, onion and cut into rough dice, put them in a pot covered with water and salt, and cook 20 minutes, then drain them. While the potatoes are cooked, put in a pan heat oil and fry the dried peppers and garlic cloves peeled, take a lot of heat. When everything is ready, we take a bowl and mash the boiled potatoes onions, peppers and garlic fried. Grind all very well, until a thick puree, add a little of the cooking water from the potatoes and, without stopping to move, come pouring oil on linen, as if it were a time mayonesa. Once it is with texture desired, add the cumin, vinegar, add salt, if required, and save the result in the refrigerator at least two hours.

       With a carving knife, very sharp, we take the piece of cod and cut it into very thin slices. We discard the skin.

       Presentation: in four bowls, put the "garlic colorao" cold, place it over slices cod and sprinkle with olive oil.

      Tip: If you have time, it is always better to buy cod salting and desalting at home, because if not used, hold several months in the refrigerator. To desalt the cod, correctly, cold water to cover and leave in the fridge for 24 hours, changing the water every 8 hours.

      I hope that you cook it soon and send me a comment about it.

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       A new discovery in the field of medicine, in Spain, has led the researchers to the conclusion that VAV proteins may provide pharmacological targets for skin cancer.

      Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, which although usually not life threatening in some cases can be aggressive and spread to other organs. So far not known signaling pathways that lead to the formation of this type of cancer.

      A team of Spanish researchers, led by Dr the Cancer Research Center of Salamanca, Xosé R. Bustelo, has found that Vav proteins, some enzymes that determine the activation of signaling pathways related to cell proliferation, may provide drug targets for cancer and other skin diseases such as psoriasis.

      Following a study in mice, have shown that a signaling pathway essential for the emergence and development of skin cancer is jointly controlled by Vav2 and Vav3 oncoproteins.

      To demonstrate the effect of inactivation of these promoters in the disease, the authors used mice genetically modified to delete the expression of Vav2 and Vav3. The results appear in the latest issue of the journal PLoS-Biology.

       For authors, this strategy was intended to simulate the effect of the systemic use of inhibitors against these two proteins would have on the initiation and progression of skin tumors and at the same time, assess the side effects that could result in inhibition normal skin tumor.

       This allowed us to demonstrate experimentally that the elimination of proteins Vav3 Vav2 and induced a significant fall of the induced skin tumors in mice after topical application of various carcinogens, namely agents that induce tumors through mutation induction in the genome of the cells of the skin.

      However, mice lacking these two proteins showed no alteration in the normal development of the skin, indicating that the use of inhibitors against these proteins specifically affect the viability of the tumor cells but not normal cells of patients with skin cancer.

      Squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most common skin cancers both in Spain and in the rest of the world. Unlike other tumors, a correlation between the occurrence and application of certain medical treatments, such as for example the application of inhibitors against oncogenes (B-Raf) in antitumor therapies and procedures with some kind of antifungal drugs or immunosuppressants.

      Therefore, its treatment may be interested not only in tumor therapy but also in prevention. However, much remains to elucidate the signaling pathways and biological processes that determine its appearance and subsequent development.

      Subsequent studies conducted in animals and in their skin cells purified allowed explain why antitumor effect derived from the inactivation of these two proteins. Thus, it was found that the expression of these two proteins was necessary for the survival of tumor cells to agents that, like many of the drugs used in chemotherapy induce cell death through the induction of DNA damage.

      In addition, researchers were able to show that the proteins Vav were also necessary for optimum proliferation of tumor cells and induction of other biological processes, such as local inflammation intratumoral create a ambientetisular favoring the growth and survival of tumor cells a more robust.

      These experiments indicate that Vav3 Vav2 and play an important role in the initiation and development of skin cancers, to promote cell signaling pathways in cancer cells related to DNA damage cell survival, proliferation and tissue microenvironment modification wherein said cells grow and develop.

      Vav proteins could be potential drug targets for various dermatological diseases.

      Many of these programs are activated protumorigenic other common diseases of the skin, such as psoriasis. Therefore, the results suggest that the proteins Vav could represent potential drug targets for various dermatological diseases.

      The researchers warn that these experiments have identified probably only the "tip of the iceberg" of the biological program, since their study has revealed the existence of other biological processes controlled by these oncoproteins that can assist in the process of tumor.

      Thus, current evidence indicates that proteins Vav2 and Vav3 and appear to contribute to widespread reprogramming tumor tissue microenvironment modifying the behavior of various cell types 'healthy' near the tumor.velopment.

      They have also found that these proteins contribute to normal cell functioning 'mother' tumor, responsible for maintenance and progression over time. All these new pathways are still under study by the research groups that participated in this study.

      According to the authors, given the basic nature of this research, further studies are still needed long-term to develop effective chemical inhibitors against these proteins and to check if they actually work in the clinical setting.

      This work was conducted with funding provided by the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the program of Biomedicine and Thematic Network of Cooperative Research in Cancer as part Xosé Bustelo, Jesus M. Paramio and Balbinus Alarcón. The Spanish Association Against Cancer also contributes to joint research and Bustelo and Alarcón.

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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 ABAJO (BELOW)

Sinónimos: Debajo, profundo, subterraneo, bajo.

(Synonyms: Below, deep underground, under).

Antónimos: Arriba, encima, sobre.

(Antonyms: Up, over, over).

ABALANZARSE (LUNGE)

Sinónimos: Atacar, embestir, arremeter.

(Synonyms : Attack, charge, lunge)

Antónimos: Retroceder, retirarse

(Antonyms: Move back, retreat).

ABANDERAR (CHAMPION)

Sinónimos: Dirigir, encabezar, acaudillar, registrar, inscribir.

(Synonyms: Direct, lead, command, register, inscribe).

ABANDONAR (LEAVE)

Sinónimos: Ceder, dejar, renunciar, desamparar, marcharse, irse.

(Synonyms: Give up, quit, relinquish, desert, quit, leave).

Antónimos: Proteger, defender, amparar.

(Antonyms: Protect, defend, enshrine).

ABARCAR (COVERED)

Sinónimos:  Contener, incluir, engobar.

(Synonyms: Contain, include, encompass).

Antónimos: Excluir, separar.

(Antonyms: Exclude,  separate).

ABARROTAR (CRAMMING)

Sinónimos: Atiborrar, colmar, llenar, atestar.

(Synonyms:  Cram, fill up, clutter).

Antónimos: Vaciar, desocupar.

(Antonyms: empty, vacate).

To be continued…….

Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       I knew that Almería has a desert, famous thanks to movies filmed in it; they were the movies belonged to the style named “Spaghetti western”.

      But, I did not know that in Almería there are many plants named “Chumberas” (prickly pear). Yes, this kind of plant does not need a lot of water and it find in Almería a good place for growing.

      A plant which does not seem to be nice for me and, however, it is an important plant, because it is abble to produce a lot of Bioethanol --Could generate up to 96 million liters per year--. This is the result of a study by the Polytecnic University of Madrid (UPM), about this plant, a plant species of the family of cacti. Almería has a maximum area suitable for cultivation of 100,000 hectares.

"Chumberas", Almería, Southeastern Spain, by Fernando, at flickr.com

"Chumbera", Almería, Southeastern Spain, by Paco López, at flickr.com

       The researchers at the UPM have drawn maps theme that could be useful for future business.

      The Agroenergética Group of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM), in collaboration with experts from the Experimental Station of the Palmerillas-Cajamar Foundation has managed to evaluate the full potential of the prickly pear crop and the estimated optimal location of plants processing of this raw material requirements and technical constraints considering, as revealed by the UPM.

      To carry out the research, which has been published in Israel Journal of Plant Sciences, followed a sequential approach methodologies supported by GIS (Geographic Information Systems) for the Andalusian province. They located the current regular crops of prickly pear and related to agro-climatic characteristics.

      Also defined requirements and crop restrictions then work with geo-referenced databases of climate, soil, land use, natural spaces and communication channels, based on field data and bibliographic biomass productivity of prickly pear and yields ethanol.

      The prickly pear is a plant of American origin showing a remarkable adaptation to warm-arid climates where other conventional agricultural species can not be grown extensively. The prickly pear can grow with great efficiency and little water, as their limit humidity is around 40% and requires annual rainfall of 400-600 mm to develop optimally.

"Chumberas", Almería, East of Spain, by JL Palacios, at flickr.com

      It is present in Almeria from the sixteenth century and the area under cultivation rose above the 10,000 hectares in the 50s of XX century. Thus the fruits and stems, blades characteristically thick flattened and juicy-green can be used industrially for the production of bioethanol. Other regions in Spain in which is located the prickly pear are Granada and Malaga, in Andalusia, Murcia, Balearic and Canary Islands.

"Higos chumbos en Albaicin", Granada, by Landahlauts, at flickr.com

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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      Today I want to share with you the saying:

      A otra rosa, mariposa = In another rose, butterfly

      Used metonymically as underlined every action involving term or final statement, although, for a corruption, has replaced the noun in "pink" for "thing".

"Mariposa" (Butterfly), by joseflickrsfe, at flickr.com

"ola" y adios, by Septem Trionis, at flickr.com

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       ¿Do you know where the word “Calendario” comes from?. Well…., it comes from the Roman civilization.Yes, the Romans called Calenda the first day of the month, because the collectors were to the houses with their books pointing debts on the first day of each month.

      Also, the Calendula is a plant with a bloom that lasts many months and hence its name.

      But, talking about the months of the calendar, we know that several months have to do with Roman Deities; for example, Junio (June) comes from the Goddess Juno –who was the main Goddess at Rome--. Mayo (May) comes from the Goddess Maya. Abril (April) should come from Afrodita (the Goddess of Love); but it is not sure. Marzo (March) comes from Mars (the God of War). And Enero (January) comes from the God Jano. ¿Why Jano?...., because, at the beginning, the name was Januarius –that in Spanish is: Genaro. It is a real name that still exists in Spain--. In English: January and in Portugues: Janeiro –the city Rio de Janeiro comes from it--.

      The month Julio (July) comes from the desire of Julius Caesar to have a month of the year with his name.

      The month Agosto (August) comes from the desire of Cesar Augusto to have a month –like Julius Caesar--.Moreover Cesar Augusto changed the days of the month of August, because this month had only 29 days and Cesar Augusto could not accept that the month of July was 31; so Caesar Augusto ordered put 31 days to August.

      Octubre (October) comes from the “eighth Month”, because, now the first mont is January, but formerly the year started in March; then, October is the eighth month, since March.

      Also, Septiembre (September) is the seven month, since March.

      And Noviembre (November) is the Ninth month.

      In Spanish there are some famous sayings about months of the year. For example:

      “En Abril, aguas mil”, “Hasta el 40 de Mayo, no te quites el sayo”, “El sol de Enero, poco duradero”, “En Enero, bufanda, abrigo y sombrero”, “Febrerillo el loco, con sus veintiocho” –February is named “Little mad”, because usually the weather is bad and good, changing a lot--, “Cielo de Junio, limpio como ninguno”,  “Julio caliente, seca al mas valiente”, “Julio normaEl, seca el manantial”, “Agosto, frio en rostro” –“cold on face, but in the night--, “En Agosto, sandia y melón un buen refresco son”, “Septiembre es frutero, alegre y festero”, “Por el veranillo de San Miguel, están los frutos como la miel”, “En octubre, de hoja el campo se cubre”,  “Octubre lluvioso, año copioso”, “Noviembre acabado, invierno empezado”, “En Diciembre, hielos y nieve”.

      About the seasons, we can say for example that “Verano” (Summer), comes from the latin root “Ver, vis”, that means “Fuerza (force), crecimiento (growth)” and from it comes the words “Verde” (Green), “Viril” (Virile).Those month were when hot was coming.

       And the months before Summer were named “Primavera” (Prima-vera), it means: the first summer, the first hot….

      “Solsticio” (Solstice) means the the sun stands still.

      “Equinocio” means that the day lasts as long as the night.

      Well, I hope that you liked this post.

Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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       Coming back to work, after my holidays, I want to share with you a news that came on the radio: they were talking about the Sixth Edition of the Rural Olympics in Los Pedroches (the Valley of Los Pedroches, province of Cordoba, Southern Spain).

      To talk about it, they were making an interview to the Mayor (Bartolomé Madrid Olmo) of the village (Añora), where these Olympics are celebrated every year.

Añora, Córdoba, Southern Spain

      The Mayor explained these Olympics are celebrated in order that many games from that area are not forgotten. This year the Olympics are being celebrated from 5 to 7 of July and the games were:  A piola : It consisted of a boy crouching while others were jumping on his back, until one of them failed and had to replace the one that was bent.

The game "A piola"

Garrote (Bludgeon).

Cucaña (Cockaigne): Several boys have to climb up a stick to catch threads and chickens, as a reward.It was so in the past, but, when I was a child I remember that game using a horizontal stick over a swimmingpool –of course, the stick was slippery.

Mizos:  Is to put 3 wooden dowels on the floor - one after another - and shoot them down with a wooden ball, each dowel down costs its number in points. To place the towels, first of all you have to paint the ground with three horizontal stripes.

Tiraores = Tiradores = Shooters.

Lanzamiento de adoquin = Cobblestone Launch.

Carrera de sacos = Sack-race.

Zancos = Stilts.

Carrera de cintas = Race tapes.

La comba = The camber.

La carretilla = The truck.

Sillita de la Reina = Liitle Queen´s chair.This game consists of the girl who is as a Queen, feel and play as she was a real Queen.The game is composed by three members : two of them are united as a chair and the third member is seated on it.

Pingané: It consists of a stick with tapered ends and another stick stricking the first one.

Sopa = Soup.

Porteo de cántaros = Porting of pitchers.

      If you want more information –in Spanish; if you need my help, please tell me it--, please click the following link:

http://www.olimpiadasrurales.es/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=128

      But….it should be best if you came next year.

      Till soon, kind regards,

Luis.

Sponsored by Costaluz Lawyers.

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