A Cyclist's Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

His full name was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Clito Ruiz y Picasso!

By Robert Hughes – TIME magazine art critic

To say that Pablo Picasso dominated Western art in the 20th century is, by now, the merest commonplace. Before his 50th birthday, the little Spaniard from Malaga had become the very prototype of the modern artist as public figure. No painter before him had had a mass audience in his own lifetime. The total public for Titian in the 16th century or Velazquez in the 17th was probably no more than a few thousand people–though that included most of the crowned heads, nobility and intelligentsia of Europe. Picasso’s audience–meaning people who had heard of him and seen his work, at least in reproduction–was in the tens, possibly hundreds, of millions. He and his work were the subjects of unending analysis, gossip, dislike, adoration and rumor.

He was a superstitious, sarcastic man, sometimes rotten to his children, often beastly to his women. He had contempt for women artists. His famous remark about women being «goddesses or doormats» has rendered him odious to feminists, but women tended to walk into both roles open-eyed and eagerly, for his charm was legendary. Whole cultural industries derived from his much mythologized virility. He was the Minotaur in a canvas-and-paper labyrinth of his own construction.

«Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.»

He was also politically lucky. Though to Nazis his work was the epitome of «degenerate art,» his fame protected him during the German occupation of Paris, where he lived; and after the war, when artists and writers were thought disgraced by the slightest affiliation with Nazism or fascism, Picasso gave enthusiastic endorsement to Joseph Stalin, a mass murderer on a scale far beyond Hitler’s, and scarcely received a word of criticism for it, even in cold war America.

No painter or sculptor, not even Michelangelo, had been as famous as this in his own lifetime. And it is quite possible that none ever will be again, now that the mandate to set forth social meaning, to articulate myth and generate widely memorable images has been so largely transferred from painting and sculpture to other media: photography, movies, television.

(más…)

Tags: Inspiration. // Add Comment »

Although I deeply respect Canarian culture, a lot of them are already biased against the new tram that runs from Santa Cruz to La Laguna. I overheard one of them saying it was only okay for people that come home after a late night drinking in Santa Cruz (or whatever). In my opinion the density of traffic in that zone warrants its installation; if that’s where its most needed, then that’s where it should go. Are they jealous because the tram doesn’t stop right beside their apartment? Or would they complain either way?

As usual, in the beginning the media had a field day with all the negative aspects of the new transport system… how only one line was functioning initially and the number of vehicles (both car and bus accidents) that had crashed with the new tram.

They also all seem to be dead-set against the proposed North-South train link. Why do they love cars so much, and seem to despise anything that runs on rails? :-S

Tags: Island Life // Add Comment »

Interesting Internet Statistics:

Click here for a current traffic report of the global internet communications network!

Within the last decade it seems, the internet has grown to contain ~1 trillion pages. There is ~1 Petabyte of total information storage (a billion Gigabytes). What is the size of the internet?

Tags: Science Simplified, That's Business // 1 Comment »

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I’m sure the local Canarians people could cope quite well but I invite your comments!

 

Tags: Mental Anguish // Add Comment »

Boy I must be getting old… I can just picture my future son or daughter responding in disbelief: «You mean when you were a teenager, the internet never even existed???!!». Its funny just how rapidly the internet has infiltrated our lives. We communicate with the internet (email, chat, forum posts, blogs) instead of the old fashioned ways (conversations over the telephone and in person); we do our banking online; we buy and sell online; we make new friends online; we learn new things online; we watch «television» online (youtube videos); we get the latest news and weather online. In other words, we essentially work and play online. A quick look at your favourites folder conveys some sense of the reality.

What people did before the internet ever existed? When we had to write an essay or a homework assignment, it meant a trip to the library (at the university, school or local council library). Or your family was lucky and your home had a full-colour encyclopaedia set! Neither computers nor colour printers were around, so you had to stick pieces of paper with glue… hence the expresson «cut and paste». I’m sure that phrase has been lost on the current young generation! Information simply could not be accessed almost instantly like it can today. We played outside, so there was more chance of being exposed to sunlight for one thing… life, in short, was simple.

I for one would like to see an annual «world without internet day». What do you think about that?

Tags: Mental Anguish // 1 Comment »

BARCELONA, Jan 2, 2004. This is a naming and branding epic.

Spanish candy maker Enric Bernat Fontlladosa died in Barcelona on December 27. He was 80 years old. Born to a family of candy makers, Bernat bought Granja Asturias S.A., a troubled Spanish confectioner, back in the 1950’s. He took the advice of an article in the December, 2003 issue of the Harvard Business Review written by Nirmalya Kumar, Director of the Centre for Marketing at the London Business School. Kumar makes the case for eliminating unprofitable brands and focusing on the clear winners. He points out that many corporations generate over 80% of their profits from fewer than 20% of their brands. And he explains how hard it is for companies to kill their unprofitable brands. 

Soon after he took over Granja Asturias, Bernat made the brave move of axing most of the company’s 200 products to focus on a line of caramel-filled lollipops. Bernat picked a strong brand name that would appeal to kids: Chupa Chups. It comes from the Spanish verb «chupar–to suck.» In English the product name might be «Sucky Suckers.» The lollipops went on sale in 1958, and ten years later his friend Salvador Dali designed the current logo which you can see in the picture. The festive display was an important part of the merchandising, and shopkeepers were told to keep it right next to the register, a fresh idea at the time.

Within five years, Chupa Chups were sold at 300,000 outlets in Spain, and Bernat renamed the company after its flagship brand. The Chupa Chups Group produces four billion lollipops a year which are sold in 40 flavors– including mango, chili and lychee–in 170 countries. Bernat’s three sons are now in charge, and Chupa Chups are the second biggest confectionary product brand in the world after Hall’s, with over $700 million in sales. And it all goes back to having the courage to kill off weak products and focus brand development on one good idea.

Tags: That's Business // 2 Comments »

You can hardly escape the reality of these two graphs:
     

With so much bad news about the environmental & financial crisis the world is suffering, and knowing it is only going to get worse, how can we ever hope to maintain a positive outlook for the future? I am of the opinion that both drugs and religion give us a false sense of «hope» or «faith». People will continue to turn to these methods to maintain their false sense of optimism. But how long can people fool themseves as climate change comes into effect, the state of the environment worsens, society decays, and even the latest stock market crisis comes into effect? When all hope for the future of the world (the environment) is lost, severe conflicts will surely arise the next generation, and the rest will be history. What are your thoughts on this?

Tags: Mental Anguish, Vida Enigmática // 1 Comment »

What is happening to the world? In short, most people refuse to ACT, because they’re be too busy justifying their need for a high standard of living, blaming goverments for the situation, & avoiding the underlying social & environmental crises. This sounds like an inescapable viscous cycle to me.

Yes its all been brought about by greedy 1st world nations. Blatant consumerism- which capitalises on the latest scientific advances and all the while fueled by governments who only think in short term economic gains. The first need is to communicate the problem. The next requirement is change. People are afraid of change, but to me it seems the world is changing for the worse anyway.

Anyone who has read Schumachers book «Small is beautful» will know that over the long term, what we are doing to planet Earth surely must be considered uneconomical. Are people so afraid of change now that they’re willing to bury their heads in the sand about the future repercussions? I think where we’re headed, the changes will be alot more daunting than the thought of giving up our most prized possessions. Chaos will be surely covered in one of my future articles, but who wants to live in a world without nature?

TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC WORKING PRINCIPLE:

• There is a general consensus that a fundamental source of weatlth is human labour
• Businesses & Governments maximise profit, consumption and therefore economic growth
• Employers maximise labour effort (bosses expect their «pound of flesh»)
• Employees minimise labour effort (to work is viewed as a sacrifice of one’s leisure and comfort; wages being a kind of compensation)

BUDDHIST ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE OF WORK:

• Work gives each person a chance to utilise and develop their [unique] faculties
• Work enables humans to overcome their ego-centredness by joining with other people in a common task
• Work provides the goods and services needed for a becoming existence [creativity activity is vital]

The former, in short, tries to maximise consumption by the optimal pattern of productive effort, while the latter tries to maximise human satisfactions by the optimal pattern of consumption. It is easy to see that the effort needed sustain a way of life which seeks to attain the optimal pattern of consumption is likely to be much smaller than the effort needed to sustain a drive for maximum consumption.

It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoment of pleasurable things but the craving for them.

But what can we actually do about it? Firstly, don’t replace things before we need to; repair them if necessary, use them until they can no longer be repaired. Yes, there is some real satisfaction to be gained by owning things that last through time. Do we need the latest 3G phone or mobile electronic device? A phone is a phone for Pete’s sake!

Tags: Mental Anguish, That's Business, Vida Enigmática // Add Comment »

The question that people most often ask me about Spanish culture concerns the siesta. The most significant aspect to be aware of is that the typical Spanish day is split into¨»mañana» (morning) and then later «tarde» (afternoon) or «noche» (night). The distinction between afternoon and nighttime is hazy.

«…researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health … reported that people who took regular 30-minute naps were 37 percent less likely to die of heart disease over a six-year period than those who never napped.»

A SPANISH DAY:

The workday begins at 8:00 or 9:00am depending on the business. Work normally stops around 12:00 or 1:0opm and resumes around 4:00 or as late as 5:00pm. Retail shops remain open until 9:00pm each evening. The exception to this rule is Sunday, when almost all the shops are closed (except the hotels, which obviously remain open). Once again, Sunday is not only a time of rest, but more importantly, a family day to be enjoyed together.

(más…)

Tags: Island Life // 1 Comment »

Once used to be my favourite cycling team. They always had such a big presence at the front of the peleton during the tour de France in days gone by; especially during the team time trial stages, they were always the best-dressed of the bunch. Depending on where you’re from, you may or may not know that Team Once was actually sponsered by the Spanish Once Lottery.

While the lottery is popular in other contries, nowhere is it an INSTITUTION like it is here in Spain. There are tiny telephone-box stalls all over the place. You’ll even see people selling tickets on street corners. Apparantly they can be trusted, because drivers will stop & park their car just to buy a ticket, then continue their journey. Even grandmothers practicing holey catholocism will place a bet each week. The most important time for lotteries in Spain is during the christmas period, when its not unusual for people to spend several hundred euros on a whole run of sequential tickets.

This week, today in fact, is the major summer draw. The person lucky enough to produce the ticket with the winnning numbers pockets a cool €20 million (completely tax free!). Fingers crossed!

*UPDATE* Nope, no such luck. Six Euros down the drain… 😐

Tags: Island Life // Add Comment »

First let me say that I’m not a beginner, I’ve been riding for 8 years (no not all in one go!). Yet this book taught me so so much. Thankyou to both Ed Burke & Ed Pavelka!! I thought I knew a lot, until now that is. I’ve bought other cycling books, before but nothing compares to this one. There is no «filler» in this book.

This book is not just concerned with ultralong distance races, it uses words like «the event» and «personal goals». You can read it and not feel too ashamed that you’re not a pro, if you know what I mean. It caters for everyone. It also has a humurous style, which will make it enjoyable reading. It is very easy to pick up and start reading anywhere.

It has chapters on nutrition, stretching, off-season training, lots on training and technique…and that HYDRATION is the key. Ed & Ed (the authors) give you lots of tips (e.g: about how to maximise your time on the bike when you have other important things in your life; get everything ready for a ride the night before; how to cycle efficiently, etc)

(más…)

Tags: Spoke Bed // 1 Comment »

I’m writing this review  because I want people to know how well-designed this product is. I think this is the best bicycle product I have ever bought – simple as that. I didn’t realise how much difference a comfortable bar would make. It definitely deserves the following detailed review.

(más…)

Tags: Spoke Bed // Add Comment »

This is one of my very own personal beasts I use for daily errands around Tenerife. Here’s my review:

By far the best thing about this bike is the power transfer. This baby has 37.4cm chainstays which are quite possibly the shortest in the industry (for a 57cm frame anyway). Delivery of power through the bike’s rear triangle feels instantaneous. The only down side to this is the extremely limited chainstay clearance; with such short chainstays, you must remember to keep your feet in line with the bike, otherwise the heels of your shoes hit the frame on every pedal revolution. This is an old frame (~10 years old?), which I recently bought new on ebay. It was made when Klein was 100% committed to aluminium, so there is no carbon fibre anywhere on this frame. Compared with a modern-day monocoque carbon frame, comfort is practically non existant, but then I only use this bike for a maximum of 10km (1000m ascent) of climbing.

(más…)

Tags: Spoke Bed // 2 Comments »

Only a small percentage of my time is actually maintaining, cleaning & delivering bikes. The most common chores are inflating tyres, swapping pedals, adjusting rear derailleurs, cleaning chains, truing spokes, and preparing people’s toolkits before a ride.

You wouldn’t think this, but the overwhelming majority of my time is spent networking. Devising & publicising online marketing campaign strategies (especially during this low season). I also do all of the administration & financial work at the computer. Answering emails and keeping the books up to date. Its a full time job to maintain such a web presence. I’m wondering when I’ll be able to go for a bike ride… 😐

Tags: That's Business, Vida Enigmática // 1 Comment »

The mental health crisis in the 21st century linked to excercise? 

I personally think the majority of Personality Disorders and Mental Illnesses are what Alvin Toffler was refferring to in his legendary book «Future Shock», written in 1970. In a nutshell:  when you have a period of rapid social change (in our highly technological post industrial society), with an insufficent adaptation time, this creates overstimulation. Think of it as a type of  «information overload». For example going shopping, have you ever just been startled by the number of cereals to choose from, or been completely overwhelmed by the current global internet communication network? This in turn leads to increased stress levels (despite our best coping mechanisms such as avoidance, disassociation, idealisation, rationalisation, regression, repression, supression, denial, fantasy, etc).

This is speculation on my part, but when your anxiety level is increased beyond normal levels, the resulting stress can lead to a whole host of terrible consequences -violence, illness, depression and other mental diseases. In fact there is a already strong link between anxiety and depression. Violence & depression are perhaps the two worst «coping mechanisms» of all. Suprise suprise, stress is also a major factor in heart disease and strokes. I don’t have to remind you that homicides, suicides and heart attacks are the top 3 killers in most developed nations… and possibly all three are due to too much tension in our lives. Stress is now seen as a risk factor in both cancer and diabetes as well!

I think reducing anxiety is the key to better physical and mental health. In today’s world, we don’t rely on exercise as much as we should. The study at the bottom of this page proves that excerise can reduce the effects of some mental illnesses. But could the reverse also be true; could decreasing our level of excerise in an increasingly stressful world actually be causing our mental health crisis? Instead of teaching our children outmoded concepts, perhaps we should be teaching them how to relax. Heres a short Stress Management Article.

(más…)

Tags: Mental Anguish, Vida Enigmática // 1 Comment »

For me, moving here definitely made this horrible latent condition [depression] rise to the surface. I just want to say I really struggled in the first 6 months. I fell into a terrible state: a huge, long-lasting rut of terrible guilt & self pity, seemingly with no escape. Living in Australia, I was the typical ignorant person who could never hope to truly «understand» depression itself, always relying on 100% positive thinking no matter what the circumstances. And boy have I changed now. Depression is not something you can just spontaneously pull yourself out of. It takes time to become sick in the first place, but it also takes time to recover.

Within 3 months of moving to Tenerife this is what happened to me:

I’d cry all the time, and not know why. I mean I’d cry silently every few days. And normally I hadn’t cried in maybe 5 YEARS. I felt completely useless. I didn’t even feel like making any telephone calls. I was totally reliant on other people. I felt guilty about that too… I basically felt that I was worthless to society.

I’d eat oranges (vitamin C) and take vitamin B, and eventually it felt like I was peeling oranges just to try to stave off this terrible & almost permanent low feeling. It’s like I had this CONSTANT internal struggle, always fighting for my happiness, but not exactly realising what was happening to me. I just now I wasn’t happy, the outlook was bleak, and I wanted to feel «normal» again. (más…)

Tags: Island Life, Mental Anguish // 3 Comments »

 

You may or may not have noticed – with the help of some other foreign cyclists I’ve been translating the Tenerife-Training site into Spanish & German. The first pages to appear are for bike hire… other pages will surely follow, but may take some time. Thanks for your patience.

I’m slowly getting on top of all my work; I haven’t had time to fix the guestbook yet, but I have added a cool visitor map at the bottom of this page. I’m currently figuring out the best way to add some voting polls (either to the site or this weblog).

Also, please be advised that the online bike hire reservation form does not function correctly yet… please send me an e-mail or call for bike reservations in the mean time.

One last thing: Please remember to update your bookmarks!

Thanks, Leslie

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Vida Enigmática translates as «Strange Life». A choose your own adventure story outlining social behaviour, the fight for survival. It is an attempt to understand the behaviour of our lives & society based on concepts like social intertia, overchoice, future shock, the revenge effect, chaos, the butterfly effect, synchronicity, etc.

These mini-essays have not been written in the traditional «linear» book format, merely because that’s not the way the ideas were originally conceived and connected. Since it is very difficult to provide a sequential story of a series of interlinked ideas and concepts, here I’ve made it easy for you to jump from one theme to another. Alternatively, you can read the whole category from beginning to end.

Most importantly, the aim of «Vida Enigmática» is to inform people and generate thought-provoking conversation. Based on these controversial debates, I hope I inspire others to change, and more importantly to not be afraid of change. The only certain thing is that we live in a time of change.

I have continued the vida enigmática blog here.

[poll=8]

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1. You only ever seem to wear out two gears in your rear sprocket: the 25T and the 12T.
2. You realise that you need to replace your brake pads again, but you only changed them less than 6 months ago.
3. The only other bike frames you see are one of the following brands: Orbea, Decathlon, Giant, Scott, Specialised, diTec or Goka.
4. You’re riding within a 10km radius of the Parador Hotel at Altitude and you see professional cycling teams training for the Tour de France.
5. You’re climbing somewhere and people start cheering you and yelling «VENGA!» on the side of the roads.
6. You’ve climbed 1000m already, you can see the Atlantic ocean, and there’s still 1300m to go.
7. You suddenly have to manouvre around a goat-herd.
8. You’ve only cycled 100km at the end of the day, but you feel like you’ve cycled twice that amount.
9. You’re cycling through La Orotava, and some crazy guy in thongs starts chasing you to hand out a www.Tenerife-Training.net business card.
10. You see hard-core downhill bikes in every bike shop which actually get used for more than street-curb-jumping.

Tags: Ride the Volcano! // 2 Comments »

 

• You see people are only just getting ready to go out at 10:00pm.
• Every week there seems to be another weird festival or holiday.
• Everyone at the table rips into the bread with their bare hands and then starts peeling potato skins.
• After the meal, the olive oil dressing gets transported directly to the refridgerator, but the actual food is left on the kitchen benchtop all day long.
• Someone says «pass the Gofio»… but in spanish, and with a thick Canarian accent.
• You can speak speak perfect castillian, but still can’t understand what the spanish locals are saying.
• You’re walking on a pedestrian crossing, and all the drivers switch on their left indicators at the sight of you. 
• You need to attend 30+ hours of lectures just to pass the intitial driving theory test.
• You forget what a messy desk looks like, and everyone starts cleaning spontaneously.
• The only piece of carpet in the entire house is the bathmat.

Tags: Island Life // 3 Comments »