africanscar

Txotx!

2011-07-04T16:57:00.007+02:00

Un gran cliché, pero tiene mucha razón y te puede dar un equilibrio cuando no haya. Hay que seguir tus sueños, para siempre. No importa lo que digan los demas, lo importante es que te hagas feliz a tu mismo. Y si viene, un día cuando veas que no estás feliz, sólo tu puedes hacer el cambio, ningún otro. No tienes excusas poder decir que estás deprimido. No tienes excusas poder decir que te aburres. Hoy día hay miles de opciones para eligir, y simplemente el acto de pensar en la variedad que hay, te hará más feliz...espero.

Past it

2011-05-24T22:47:00.000+02:00

It's good to go back to where you come from every now and then, even if it's just to refresh those memories you've got stored back there.

She was...

2010-10-25T19:32:00.000+02:00

...but she doesn't want to be anymore.

El tinto de verano

2010-09-08T00:53:00.000+02:00

It's different every year, but the feelings you get from it are always the same. It keeps that smile stuck on your face all the way throughout it, and I can easily say I wouldn't want to not spend it here for the rest of them.

It's overpowering, el verano, as it owns and guides you for about 4-5 months through your full trip around the sun. Schedules and plans are shot to shit, and made on the spot. Relationships are forged, and others are left. The time is always day, and the hours for sleep take a back seat while you ooze the city out of your pores and dance, drink, shout, smoke, ride and enjoy the dream it offers.

It should be experienced in its moment, while it's still like this.

Taking the sun

2010-03-10T17:44:00.000+01:00

Tomando el sol, a great way to spend an afternoon.

S.O.A.P

2010-03-05T16:38:00.000+01:00

El Born, or Barri de la Ribera

Stop, Observe, Appreciate and Proceed...but take a picture first.

Un año después...

2010-02-26T12:10:00.000+01:00

365 days ago I got on a plane from London, and headed towards my new life in Barcelona. I was nervous, scared, lonely and most of all worried about what was headed my way. Would I make it? Would I get a job? Would I fit in? Would I miss home too much?...loads of questions laid out in front of me, and no definitive answers.

Today, I'm happier than I could ever have imagined. Barcelona is not just a city that grabs you and locks you in its colourful palms, but also exposes you to countless wonders of friends, nature, beauty, arts and imagination. I'm a part of my city now, and I can feel it becoming a part of me.

Thanks Barça, I'm excited and can't wait to see what you have in store for the next 365.

Change, Growth and Accomplishment

2010-02-25T12:32:00.000+01:00

When this life is all we know we have, we have to try get it all in when we can, and regret nothing, as we wouldn't be where we are today with them hanging over our heads.
Don't waste it, enjoy every second you possibly can, no matter the time or the place.

Some thing's in life go by without even being noticed. Sometimes it's life that goes by without being noticed.

Nobody is illegal

2010-02-17T13:49:00.000+01:00

We all come from the same place right? The same big bang, the same planet, the same nothingness. Borders, visas, restrictions...they're all bullshit. All measures used to control, disempower, and deprive us of what is cosmologically ours.

Continental Europe was at war for centuries, then they formed the European Union, and now it's probably the most peaceful region on our planet. I'd like to see others follow this example, wouldn't you?

The freedom to be able to choose where you want to live, raise your kids, enjoy your life must be a human right.

I have friends back home who dream of living somewhere else, but are restricted to short holidays and huge unnecesary payments for visas. Time to buck the system in any way you can.

There are no "should's" in life

2010-02-08T16:01:00.000+01:00

Some say most of our speech is communicated via means of body language, which I have found to be quite true.
Moving to a foreign country and not speaking the language, you communicate with 100% body language, which can be extremely frustrating, but exceptionally funny too.
The internet takes away this variable, and leaves you with only words and images to communicate, which can be manipulated and twisted into many different versions of what you're trying to get across.

I guess what I'm trying to cement is that you can strive and push to be who you want, and who you are, but there will always be things pulling you in so many different directions, almost corrupting you in some ways. But the trick is to see those factors, and deal with them in an honest manner.

It's not easy, but it has to be done.

Across the square

2010-01-29T11:56:00.001+01:00

Taken on a tranquil Sunday morning while heading home from work. Carrer Ample has character, and characters.

Surrealismo

2010-01-20T20:15:00.005+01:00

Miró was quite the colourful artist. His sculptures are massively intriguing, and they make me think of 21st century computer animation/drawing applications.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if artists like Miró et al., were living and creating their pieces now?

¿Ravaleges?

2010-01-08T15:25:00.005+01:00

Ravaleges? Do you raval in The Raval (the best English definition I could make up)? The Raval, Barri xinés (Chinatown), Ravalistan etc, the list of names go on, is one of, if not the most, colourful districts in all of Europe. The people range from heavy speaking Catalan Gitanos (gypsies), to quietly opressed islamic women, and have a wide mix of Western Africans, Morroccans, Chinos, Paquis and loads of youthful bohemians inbetween. A perfect metaphorical example of a human melting pot.

It's one of the best places to enjoy the Barcelona nightlife, with it's cheap and huge drinks (6 euros for a drink that consists of about 200ml run and 250ml coke) it has hordes of students and tourists filling the streets everynight during summer, and every other night during winter. It's favoured amongst a lot of the Barcelones, and it never lets you down by hosting a great night out.

¡Si, yo sique ravalego!

Finding the old in the new

2010-01-06T12:08:00.003+01:00

The Besós River water tower, surrounded by new apartment blocks and high rise buildings.
Is this the future? It all just seems so...so plastic.

Word on the street

2009-12-28T19:35:00.002+01:00

The diversity and freedom of street art is second to none. The seemingly limitless space and canvasses available to those who spread the word(s), catalyse each branch of an ever-evolving style.

It's not always black & white

2009-12-22T12:43:00.004+01:00

There are so many choices. I don't know if it's just nowadays, but they seem to be popping up all over the place. I guess you just have to make sure you choose the correct one...the only problem is, what if they all seem correct? How do you make up your mind, and how do you stop thinking about the choice you never chose?

I still wouldn't have it any other way though...

Your word is your honour

2009-12-19T14:45:00.002+01:00

Across the square that houses a catholic church, a little wedding held at the Municipal Courts. An Islamic pair sharing love and vows of commitment, accompanied by a Mexican wedding band looking for tips.

Is it all necessary? To say those words to someone you love, so you can show them and the rest how much they mean to you? Or can it be as private as you want it to be? Do they even work anymore?

Visca Catalunya!

2009-12-14T12:20:00.002+01:00

Many Catalan's don't like Spain. Alot of those that don't like Spain, kind of hate Spain. Most of this resentment dates back to the Franconian dictatorship and the Spanish Civil war, and some of it even dates back to as late as September 11, 1714, more commonly known as The fall of Barcelona.
During General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the culture of the Catalan was forcibly attacked with laws denying anyone to read, write, or even speak the language. This caused alot of unrest, which can still be seen all around the province.

Yesterday, while illegally riding a bicing to a mate's place for lunch, I came across a public demonstration/protest taking place at Plaza Espanya. I was about to cross the plaza, when I noticed a group of about 100 people holding Spanish flags and banners with the words orgullosos a ser españoles (Proud to be Spanish) inscribed. I saw this as a good moment to take some photos, and turned the bike around and started heading towards the group.
About 2 seconds later I was promptly stopped by Catalunya's own special police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, and asked where I thought I was going. My reply was that I am off to take some photos before going to visit a friend. The disapproving nod of the head whilst looking down, combined with the thumbs firmly tucked into the belt at the hips, painted a scene all too common for me when it comes to run-ins with authoritative figures. I was then asked what I'm carrying in my bag, and I responded saying I've got a few books, and other things floating around. They asked if I could show this to them, so I confidently opened my bag, revealing the harmless mess of books, tobacco, papers, filters, a camera, a leatherman and some pens. They scratched around inside a while, pulling out the leatherman, inspecting it, and then throwing it back in the bag.

I was then asked about the bicing, and if I had a card for it, which I didn't. They wanted to know how I was riding it then if I didn't possess my own card, and I mentioned a friend scanned his card for me and let me use the bike until the next lot of stands, which was a stones throw away. They weren't too impressed with the answer, but understood that people do this all the time.

I was given 2 options: (i) Leave the bike here, and take a walk past the protesters, no photos, or (ii) take the bike, and head back to where I was initially going. Needless to say the latter option was chosen, and I was sternly told to have a good day.

Close call...

The right sun

2009-12-12T12:03:00.002+01:00

It's not really just another star now is it? Our whole world revolves around it. It was worshipped for millennia, and rightly so as it has shown time and time again exactly what it offers us: life, and without it we wouldn't exist.

The size of our cosmic caretaker is dwarfed by his stellar counterparts in galaxies light years away, yet his belly is large enough to cater for over 1 million copies of our own planet.

I like our sun, especially when he wakes up in the morning...although, when he goes to bed at night, he has a much more rewarding send off.

Peace, Love, Unity, Respect

2009-12-10T17:13:00.003+01:00

After a facebook message conversation with a dad of one of my good mates, he had this to say about Ibiza:

I spent 2/3 weeks between Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca when I was 20, enjoyed Menorca the best because was least developed and that suited my pocket at the time. But you're right the beaches on the west coast were calm clear and magically warm and yes Ibiza was crazy decadent even then, the hippies loved that shit and the whole island seemed to me to be populated by American draft dodgers, Brit acid heads and very friendly stoned chicks. Good for the soul!

I might be acting a bit lazy, but I think he summed up perfectly what you can expect from a truly magical island floating just off the coast of Catalunya.

More than meets the eye

2009-12-08T11:34:00.003+01:00

I like many types of art, but I think my first love was graffiti/street art. I remember spending countless hours drawing and scribbling my dirty tags onto school desks, then being caught and spending even more hours sanding them off again.

Coming from a suburban background I didn't pick up the trend/movement until my teens, and at first I looked upon the art as if it was just something naughty kids would do. I soon realised it had nothing to do with that at all, and had much deeper, revolutionary meanings.

Check out Faith47's blog for a lowdown on what's happening in South African street art.

¡Volando vengo!

2009-12-07T13:17:00.006+01:00

Strolling through the Dalt Vila in Ibiza recently I came across a much more modern version of The Penis Rocket. I've got my own idea about its message, and I'm moving along the lines of the penis being man, and that the rocket will take us to space. Yes, weird. I know this.

I think it fits well with evolution and the future of humankind. We're going to destroy this planet one day and all become trekkies.

Find your own way

2009-12-05T11:08:00.001+01:00

I went to the Labyrinth at Horta a few weeks back. Some mates and I had fun getting lost through the maze.

We spotted some wild boar running around the area. They taste great and the ones with the best meat are those that eat hazelnuts. I love eating pork.

My photo shown here is missing the blue sky atop the roof, but I think it came out better in the reflection. I use a Kodak M1063 digital camera...it's shit and I don't recommend it to anyone.