Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sun 11/14/10 Club Gancho opens again
Bonnie Belle and Jack are thriving and the Lovely Linda and I recently celebrated 40 yrs. of wedded bliss. Doesn't time fly? We just returned from Waco where we witnessed the disastrous Baylor defeat at the hands of a bunch of farmers from Texas A&M. The first half was great, but unfortunately, the game lasted for 60 minutes and the Bears entered hibernation for the last 30.
I've been trying to cut back on TN watching but I'm finding it very difficult to do. Though I resisted Eva Luna when Dinero ended, I did add India over on Telefutura at 9:00 pm (CST). It is beautifully crafted and I recommend you take a look if you receive Telefutura. It was produced in Brazil so the original language was Portuguese and it is dubbed in Spanish for the US audience. The actors doing the dubbing speak with extraordinary clarity, for those of us learning by listening it is truly wonderful. The Spanish CCs are virtually perfectly timed and accurate and there is an added plus of English CCs available with CC3. It's gorgeously filmed in both India and Brazil with overlapping plots in both venues with the occasional excursion to Dubai. The plots are familiar with all the typical TN cliches (though no coma or amnesia... yet). The characters are very attractive with lots of walkons by cattle in the Indian segments,
very colorful,
and of course a bit of steamy romance.
Some new vocabulary... anybody know what the heck thik hai, are baba, acha, or namaste mean? Those are said a lot in India and the young women in India seem to pray to Lord Ganesha in much the same way and for the same reasons that our Mexican ladies go to the Virgen de Guadalupe. (the Virgen is prettier but Ganesha is kinda cute).
In any event, if you have the opportunity, give it a look, though be forewarned, I was only going to take a peek, and now...
The featured drink this week has no Mexican or Spanish origins, is not particularly suited to winter climate, but was mentioned sometime back by either Sylvia or Jardinera and I remembered that when I was very young, I really enjoyed them. Not even a manly drink, but very refreshing. I'm talking about a Tom Collins:
add
juice of small lemon or 1/2 large lemon
1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin
to
ice in tall narrow glass
top off with 7up
stir and garnish with cherry and lemon slice
A sissy drink to be sure, but memory evoking, tart and tasty, and kinda fun. So drink up and see if you remember this couple:
Carlos
Labels: gancho
I can help with two of your words:
baba: father or grandfather
namaste: a greeting meaning "I humbly bow to you."
Rosemary
Congratulations to you and the Lovely Linda for your forty years!! That's the kind of news that makes my heart go pitty-pat. Jaded cynic that I am, I'm a sucker for a good romance. Glad to hear that Bonnie Belle and Jack are doing well too.
I really wish I had time to watch India but I have deliberately avoided testing the waters with that one because I just don't have the time. It looks absolutely stunning. Maybe I'll watch just one episode...?
Ahhh, Connie and Beto, what a hot and heavy couple they were! Nobody holds a candle to those two.
Go Giants!!
Congratulations to you and the Lovely Linda for your forty years!! That's the kind of news that makes my heart go pitty-pat. Jaded cynic that I am, I'm a sucker for a good romance. Glad to hear that Bonnie Belle and Jack are doing well too.
I really wish I had time to watch India but I have deliberately avoided testing the waters with that one because I just don't have the time. It looks absolutely stunning. Maybe I'll watch just one episode...?
Ahhh, Connie and Beto, what a hot and heavy couple they were! Nobody holds a candle to those two.
Go Giants!!
Are any of u other viewers tired of Duda?? She is so dense she drives me nuts ! Speaking of nuts what is wrong with the young man that plays guitar & hangs out at the beach ? Does he suffer from poor little rich kid syndrome? His dad wants to get him in the family business but he blows his dad off & goes to the beach! His strange sister looks like Marilyn Manson... Creepy.
I have been looking online at saris ... Wow some go for over $700 !! For just 5 yards of unfinished fabric! Best part is.... You can gain weight and your sari will still fit !!
Sorry about Baylor. The OSU game was the mirror-opposite. The Buckeyes looked dreadful the first half and the "loyal Ohio fans" booed them going into the locker room at half-time.
Coach Tressel actually raised his voice somewhat and second half they came out and took over the game. They're good guys. And far better than those nasty fans deserve.
So lovely of you to open up Club Gancho, even on a crisp fall day. It brings a little summer heat, especially those pics of Connie and Beto. :)
India does look beautiful, and I have flipped over to it a few times to see the India parts, not so much the Brazil parts. I mentioned "acha" a while ago when there was a discussion about what "achis" means over on Duena. It's used in much the same way- kind of a throw off exclamation like wow, oh, ok or really. My Indian friends use it all the time without even thinking about it or realizing.
Elle- You don't outgrow the saris, but you can certainly outgrow the sari blouses, which are made to fit as tightly as a bra, so there is not much room for error. I have a sari blouse I will never get into again. :)
Rosemary, I think that you would have enjoyed watching Gancho with us. It was fun to watch and had some of the best ensemble acting that I've seen in a TN. Thanks for the help with the vocabulary.
Sylvia, I'd bet that you'd find India at least tempting. All new (and very pretty) faces, familiar themes and angst, in stunning settings make for an hour that whizzes by.
Genelia, if you're a Bollywood fan, you almost certainly would enjoy India. Last night as I watched the recording of Friday's show, I was dazzled by the frenetic dancing and blazing colors. I've only seen clips from Bollywood movies but from what I've seen, this show displays a strong Bollywood influence.
Elle, I agree about Tarso, the young wastrel. Very handsome, he looks like Rick Nelson (doubtless before your time) but has zero personality. I do enjoy his vapid mom and weird sister however. Actually, with the exception of Abuelo, that entire family is a bunch of rich losers. It sounds like you are enjoying the show, much as I am.
Carlos
Vivi, I miss Coni and Beto so much. I ordered the DVD and though severely butchered, it is still a treat to view. I hope our other old friends drop by.
Carlos
Saturday was a beautiful day, so my wife Fran and I drove to Philadelphia to check out accordions (we couldn't find much in Baltimore). We went to a charming little shop, crammed full of accordions, and I bought a cheap little used one as my starter accordion. To give myself a challenge, I bought the button kind, used a lot in Tex-Mex music (as opposed to the keyboard kind). So now I have another instrument to learn! Maybe in a few months, if I make some progress, I'll post a song.
I saw a few shows of India, but it conflicts with one of my Telemundo shows, so I didn't keep watching. I thought the audio was a little out of sync, never dreamed it was dubbed in Spanish. I thought I recognized a few of the actors, which would mean they can actually speak Portuguese AND Spanish. Wow.
Anyway, nice to hear from everyone, and congrats or condolences, as the case may be, on your football teams.
I haven't been watching India. It looks awesome and I'm sure I'd love it, but fortunately I don't get that channel. I keep thinking I'd like to get the package with like 40 more channels in Spanish...it's so cheap...but I watch too much television already so I've resisted so far.
Is anyone here watching Camaleones? I need someone to talk to about the paranormal stuff that's going on. Was the mysterious policeman murdered at the school years earlier? What is his purpose in haunting the place? On a completely separate note, does anyone else hate Mercedes and her entire family as much as I do? I FF through all their scenes.
Not much going on in my real life. I've just started trying to learn Russian (or relearn what I used to know). Ya nichevo ne znayu. That means "I don't know anything."
Can't help you with Camaleones but sorry you're only getting it once a week on Saturdays.
Anyway. I think the temperature in here went up about 15 degrees when I saw those photos of Beto and Constanza. Whew.
So happy to see your post Carlos. It's been far too long since we all got together and you are all greatly missed. I will have a drink and off all of you a heartfelt toast: "Wishing you sunshine, happiness and the realization of all your dreams".
Carlos, congratulations to you and Linda on your wonderful achievement. 40 years. May you have 40 more...
While so many of the present telenova couples simmer, they don't exude the heat and spark the way Beto and Coni did. One of the hottest romances - ever. Period.
I wish I could say I've been on a wonderful trip or have some exciting news but I don't. Work has actually been even busier than usual. While I've been watching the novelas on and off, I haven't been able to read the summaries and comment the past few weeks. I hope to start again soon.
Wishing you all the best,
Diana
Hombre, have you played accordian before, or is this something new to you? I'm looking forward to hearing what you do with it.
I've been thinking of buying a piano but currently I'm in the phase of being overwhelmed by the number of options.
Julia, wow, Russian. I'm impressed.
Diana, I'm so glad to hear from you again. I've been missing your comments. I hope you've been able to catch LldA. Nobody seems safe in that TN.
Thanks to all for your best wishes.
Carlos
Nothing really exciting to report but I will be visiting my sister next week in the DC area (she's recently moved there). I am really psyched to see her new place and wander around the city.
Diana -- greetings. I was just going to ask if anyone had heard from you b/c I had missed your comments and thoughtful words of encouragement.
I saw a rerun of Mujeres Asesinas this weekend and it had a little Gancho reunion. Laisha Wilkins (Coni) played one of the police detectives, Otto Sirgo (Salvador) played the doctor of the victim and Roberto Blandón (Oscar) played the lover of the killer. María Rojo played the mother of the victim and Alejandra Barros (Ale in La Verdad Oculta) was the killer who, after years of enduring abuse, slowly poisoned her husband until he died. Technically the episode was shot before Gancho but it was still fun to see them again even if they had very little interaction between the.
Jarocha
Jarocha, we left Fri. for Waco so I didn't get to watch Mujeres Asesinas. I hate that I missed it. Until recently I had the TIVO set to routinely record that show. Drat that I missed it. Have you had an opportunity to watch India? It really is a feast for the eyes. LldA is ridiculous but it is just so much fun to watch.
Sylvia, I'm glad that you made it by. Imagine, our very own Gancho accordionist.
Carlos
Julia, learning Russian! I'd love to learn that, as there are many Russian immigrants where I live. But there are so many other languages, too. I think I need a Universal Translator.
Carlos
I don't watch Llena but sometimes I catch an episode here or there if my mom or sister are watching, I can tell it's funny now but I haven't been compelled to watch everyday yet.
Julia: I'm also impressed that you are studying Russian. I've always found it to be a very interesting language and I made some lovely friends from Russia during my visit to Canada. There was somehow so much empathy between the Asian and Eastern European groups and the Latin American gorups, it was interesting.
Jarocha
I think actually Russian is not a particularly challenging language to study. It's very structured with not a lot of irregularities that I can tell, and words are mostly pronounced the way they are spelled, unlike a lot of English words. Judy, did you find that knowing French helped when you took Russian classes? I took French in high school and a lot of the words are the same because the aristocracy in Russia spoke French for so long, but then I found I started mixing up French and Russian a lot.
Carlos
I think Latin Americans tend to form deep bonds at an extremely fast pace. The people I met from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Czech Republic (although that's more central Europe), Turkey, etc. were sort of distant at the beginning but after a while they became very close to us, actually it's quite surprising how close we all became since at the beginning we all thought they were a little icy.
I think there are certain simmilarities in how we view family and they have a great sense of humour, it's different from the western european which is more sarcastic and dry, silly things could make them laugh and that happens to us in Latin America too. They were also more physical in their interactions with us: hugs, linking arms, leaning on each other, etc. But this mostly applied to women. And they loved to dance, whenever we'd go to a club the latinos and the Russian girls especially would be the ones that wouldn't leave the dance floor all night.
Also, I don't know exactly how to say this, they seemed to be as intense as we can be: At the end when everybody went home it was like "Oh my god! I'm gonna miss you, I will never forget you! Why does this have to end? I wanna go with you, if only I could..." instead of "This was a great summer, I had alot of fun, I'll miss you and remember you always, bye!". One guy from Czech Republic actually changed his ticked and went to spend the rest of his vacations in México with the guy he had become best friends there.
I think that from Western Europe we got the closest to the French. Most western Europeans kept to themselves. Germans were very nice but quite serious, same for the Swiss, the Spaniards were mostly nice but only a few were interested in interacting outside their circle, the Italians were having a ball and were always together. Asians and Arabs were also very close to us, we seemed to get on very well with them too.
Jarocha
I'm very impressed that Julia is learning Russian. Wow.
Personally, I'll join up with whatever group likes to dance the most. That's why most of my friends in university were from Venezuela and Colombia and the Caribbean. Several nights a week we would get together for salsa and merengue and such. Good times.
I also used to work at a big resort in the summers, and there were employees from all over the world there. I also found the western Europeans to be the most insular. The French people especially seemed to really keep to themselves.
The Russians I knew at university were very open and very physical. I remember once there was a Russian who wanted to see something in a pond. A young man was sitting there in his way, but the Russian just casually leaned on his thigh in order to see better. The poor dazed American was terrified. What did this mean?l! But after the Russian had a look, he moved on. Natural for him. Horrifying and puzzling to the poor guy sitting there.
And our Russian teacher was a doll. In spirit. In the flesh, rather like an older Lety la Fea. Badly dyed hair. Bulky body. Muddled face. But she had us over to her shared apartment one day for some extra work we needed. I saw just a bit of a beautiful blue sateen robe with blue ribbon peeking out of her armoire. And realized that she had the same pretty girl yearnings as anyone else. A very kind lady.
Thanks, Carlos for opening the club again. And congratulations on 40 years of marriage. Mike and I celebrated our 37th this past Tuesday.
We aren't watching India since we don't get Telemundo. One of the young men in the previews looks like he could be Chef Haut's little brother. Sorry I can't remember his name, he was on Querida Enemiga.
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Mike and I, and our youngest son ate at our daughter's apartment. It was her first holiday 'do' and she did really well. Our newlywed older son and his wife weren't able to come but they had been here the weekend before, so we got to see them.
Hombre, it's neat that you got an accordion. Our youngest has asked for one for Christmas. We're looking on Amazon!
Has anybody heard from Elna June?
Good to see the rest of you. Miss you, Hombre.
Our middle son has a Russian friend, sweetest girl (other than our new daughter in law!) you will ever meet. Sometimes she posts on Facebook in Russian, then all of her Russian pals come out of the woodwork. Wish I knew what they were talking about! Guess I'll stick to trying to learn more Spanish for now.
Emlia, I've missed Elna June as well. I know that she had a lot going n the last time I heard from her. I was hoping that you guys, Elna June, Jeff, and others of the old Gancho gang would drop by.
I'm recapping LldA every other Fri. though we just found someone to take the other Fridays, so I did both of the lst 2 Fridays. Now Kris (who was doing Gancho has volunteered. So now Judy, Sylvia, Kris, and I (all from Gancho) are recapping LldA. Only Hombre is missing, but Maggie is an excellent and very funny writer. Emilia dropped in last week but not this past Friday.
Mike, I know that you have a dreadful commute. I miss our little exchanges. Sounds like you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was very nice and I got to spend some time with my daughter and grandson.
Maybe I'll post another Club Gancho next week.
Carlos
<< Home
© Caray, Caray! 2006-2022. Duplication of this material for use on any other site is strictly prohibited.