Spain Won the World Cup: Yet Another Post About It

I'm an American, so I'd call it the soccer World Cup. Whatever it's called, the World Cup 2010 seems to be a global cultural phenomenon. Since it looks like a fair fraction of Earth's 6,830,586,000 or so people are talking about it, here's my 'me, too:'

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Final fever fiesta as victorious Spaniards party on"
The Sydney Morning Herald (July 13, 2010)

"Spanish men may have a reputation for machismo but there were plenty of hombres with tears running down their cheeks in the city's Spanish Quarter when Spain won its first football World Cup.

"More than 200 boisterous fans, most draped in red and gold, crammed into the Spanish Club in Liverpool Street to watch the game, which La Furia Roja won 1-0...."

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"World Cup 2010: Spain return to rapturous welcome"
BBC (July 12, 2010)

"Spain's victorious World Cup squad have returned to Madrid amid scenes of joyous celebration in the capital city.

"Team captain Iker Casillas, carrying the trophy, led the team down the steps of the plane as they made their triumphant return from South Africa...."

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"Spain World Cup heroes fly in, prepare for celebrations"
Barcelona News (July 12, 2010)

"Spain's World Cup heroes flew into Madrid Monday, carrying with them the World Cup won with 1-0 victory against the Netherlands Sunday.

"The Spanish victory flight from Johannesburg had been delayed for three hours...."

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"Spanish media hails spirit of golden generation"
Reuters Africa (July 12, 2010)

"Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta's dramatic extra-time winner against Netherlands in the World Cup final was the crowning moment for a golden generation of players, local media said on Monday.

" 'Our Spain... From Here to Eternity,' daily El Mundo wrote on their front page, while El Pais led with 'Champions of the World' over the top of a photo of captain Iker Casillas lifting the trophy above his head in Johannesburg on Sunday.

"El Pais continued: 'The national team consolidated the leadership of a dazzling generation.'..."

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What more can I say?

Spain won. Fans of the Spanish soccer/football are happy about that, and are celebrating. And it looks like a fair number of Spain's fans aren't in Spain.

Here in America, we see pretty much the same thing happening with the Super Bowl. Minus the global hoopla, of course.

Salvador Dali: Anarchist Who Embraced Catholicism, Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock

"To surreality, with love"
The Australian (June 9, 2009)

"SPANISH artist Salvador Dali was a master of image. He adopted many poses throughout his long career, from the only anarchist in his Catalan village to the face of surrealism, but what you saw was not necessarily what you got, according to Dali scholar and art historian Elliott King.

" 'It's hard with Dali because you don't know where the persona ends, and what is sincere and how much is for show,' he says.

"King will be in Melbourne for Salvador Dali: Liquid Desire, a retrospective opening at the National Gallery of Victoria this week. It draws on work from the collections of the Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali in Figueres, Spain (Dali's birthplace), and the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida. ..."

For people who may not have heard of Salvador Dali, this quote from the article gives (I think) a pretty good idea of what he was like: "...He often made enigmatic or egotistical public pronouncements, used contentious political figures such as Mao Zedong and Adolf Hitler in his work, and embraced Catholicism, Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock..."

The article includes a pretty good mini-biography of a man who "embraced Catholicism, Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock" - and may be best known for a painting of melting clocks.

Salvador Dali was also a sculptor and jeweler.

I'm something of a fan of Dali, partly for his art, and partly for the flamboyant way that he created "his own brand", as the article put it.

Charles II of Spain and a Seriously Messed-Up Family

"Inbreeding Was Major Cause Of Fall Of Spanish Habsburg Dynasty"
Science Daily Press Release (April 16, 2009)

"The powerful Habsburg dynasty ruled Spain and its empire from 1516 to 1700 but when King Charles II died in 1700 without any children from his two marriages, the male line died out and the French Bourbon dynasty came to power in Spain...."

Inbreeding: Good For Keeping Power in the Family; Not so Good for the Family

Sounds like the Hapsburgs were in the habit of marrying cousins - and, two times, an uncle and niece - to keep political power in the family. In the short run, it worked. Just one problem: after a while, the family died out.

More, at:

"Inbreeding brought down Spain's Habsburgs: study"
Reuters (April 14)

"Rare inherited genetic disorders worsened by repeated inbreeding may have brought down the powerful Spanish Habsburg dynasty, Spanish researchers said on Tuesday.

"Checks of genealogical charts and analysis of King Charles II's reported health problems suggest he may have had two rare conditions called combined pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis, the researchers speculated in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE...."

Charles II of Spain was a mess. He did learn to speak: when he was four. And, the monarch was able to walk: starting at age eight. He died when he was 39, leaving no children.

No wonder he was called El Hechizado ("The Hexed")

Earth from 20 Miles up - by a Couple of Kids

"Teens capture images of space with £56 camera and balloon"
telegraph.co.uk (March 17, 2009)

"Teenagers armed with only a £56 camera and latex balloon have managed to take stunning pictures of space from 20-miles above Earth...."

There' a very impressive photo that goes with this article.

And, Kudos to those kids.