Marty Kaplan's Blog

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Today is the day of the general strike in all of Spain.  The unions will exaggerate the level of participation and the government will minimize it.  It is sort of like the estimates for the number of people who watch the Rose Parade.  I guess that, in both cases, if you average out the two estimates, you get close to reality.  Looking out the window I can see that the electronics store across the street is open and so is the café/restaurant on the corner.  We will check to see if the Central market is open, but I doubt that it is.  There is not a lot of foot traffic at that intersection.

Yesterday morning Susan and Brian went shopping for a number of kitchen utensils so that we can cook next Thursday’s turkey.  She found the all-important roasting pan and a baster.  She picked up a number of other things, also.  While she was shopping she received a call from El Corte Inglés telling her that her cranberries had arrived and had been set aside.  Success!

We had lunch at home.  Susan and Brian had made a stop at Carrefour – think Super Target ­ – and Susan picked up some brochettes and a loaf of bread and that is what we had for lunch.  Around 4:00 we put on our rain gear and headed out to El Corte Inglés to pick up the cranberries.  We headed back home directly afterwards and since it was a cold, rainy and dreary day we stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

I caught up with our upstairs neighbor the other day.  Pepe and his family live directly above us.  He has two children and the oldest is five.  He and Susan had a brief conversation the other day.  Pepe had just taken his dog for a walk and as Susan and he waited for the elevator she asked Pepe what the dog’s name was.  He told her that the dog was called Kiti.  Susan burst out laughing and then explained that I used a dog puppet in my kids’ act and that my dog’s name was Kitty.  Pepe then asked if I did magic shows here in Spain and Susan judiciously replied that he had best ask me that question.  Well, the other day he asked and I said yes.  I finally have an entrée in the world of colegios here and if all goes well I can use the recommendation of the head of this particular colegio as a means of getting access to others.  There is no fixed date for the show, but we are talking Christmas time.

The good news is that all our stuff should be delivered next week and that means that I will have all the ingredients for my kids’ show in house.  Now I have to give some thought as to how I can include my fellow magician, Sofi, into the act.  There certainly is sufficient time to think about that.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The rainy season has started and since we continue to walk everywhere our umbrellas are getting a good workout.  We did manage to get our exercise in.  Susan made it to La Petxina and I made it to Neogym.  On my way to the gym I stopped off at a computer repair shop and had them up the RAM on my MacBook Pro to 8GB.  I am hopeful that doubling the RAM will make the computer run a bit faster.  It cost me 57 Euros for the two memory modules and the installation.  Installation is fairly easy.  You unscrew the base of the computer, remove the old modules and slide in the new ones.  It took all of three minutes.  The Apple Store in town wanted 200 Euros for the RAM plus a charge for installation.  I also would have had to leave the computer with them for two or three days.

We had lunch at home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.  I had a CIVAC meeting where the topic for the evening was The Torn and Restored Card.  There were several interesting presentations.  Afterward eight of us went in search of a beer and a sandwich.  We talked about things magical until 11:30 and then we headed our separate ways.

It appears that our ship will come in this week.  For the last week or so we have been in constant touch with the moving company that will deliver our goods.  It appears that they will arrive at customs on Thursday or Friday and once they clear customs they will be delivered to us.  So next week we will get to stuff the turkey and un-stuff the boxes.  It should be fun.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Yesterday we slept in until about 10:15.  Since it was Sunday, a bagel with lox and cream cheese seemed appropriate.  After breakfast we went about doing whatever we tend to do in the morning and a little after 1:00 we showered and dressed.  We had made a reservation at A Nou for their second anniversary celebration.  In addition to lunch, there was to be a concert after lunch.  The group is called La Ronda Borda and their repertoire, for the most part is mad up of traditional Valencian songs.

When we arrived at 2:00 the restaurant was filled to capacity and we were the only table for two in the restaurant.  All the other tables were filled by large groups and as it turned out, the very large group behind us was made up of the members of the singing group and their families.  This was a typical Sunday scene here in Valencia where it is not uncommon for three generations of a family to be seated around a table.  Javi showed us to our table, gave us a copy of the menu and soon after delivered two glasses of sangria de cava.

Our meal started out with a salad of lettuces, tomato and cucumber, some julienne of ham and a cream of garbanzo dressing.  Next came two crujientes – one was filled with sea bass, creamed spinach, raisins and pine nuts.  The other was filled with slices of cooked egg and an array of vegetables.  We chose a paella for our main course.  It was filled with a variety of mushroom and a half dozen cigalas, which are comparable to crayfish.  Our wine glasses were never empty and the Verdejo that was being poured was quite nice.  Dessert was a brownie with almond ice cream.  We finished our meal with coffee and Javi served us a round of cava to sip while we listened to the music.

At 4:00 PM tables were moved out of the way and the group began to warm up.  In addition to a flute, two guitars, a five-string instrument called a tiple and a variety of percussion instruments.  The group sang for an hour.  Each song was preceded by an explanation and there was one recitation.  The recitation of a poem was done in Spanish, but everything else was in valenciano.  Our understanding of the language is improving to the point that we could understand or thought we could understand most of what was being said.  The concert lasted until 5:00 at which point we paid our bill – 50 Euros for the two of us – and we made our way back home.

We took things easy for the rest of the day.  We did watch an episode of Inspector Lewis and afterwards we read for a while.  It was a little after midnight when we made it to bed.

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Yesterday was a fairly quiet day for us.  Susan made a trip to the market to pick up a few necessities and we stopped by Carosel to invite Jordi and Carol to Thanksgiving dinner.  Jordi will come later in the afternoon after the lunch rush at the restaurant is over and Carol, we hope, will arrive with the rest of the guests.  On our way back home, we stopped off at the bakery and picked up four different empanadas and we warmed them up when we got home and they became the basis for a light lunch.  Brian and Ofelia had invited us to have dinner with them and we knew that there would be an abundance of food in the evening.

We headed out a little after 7:00 and it took us about twenty minutes to walk to Brian and Ofelia’s.  Ofelia had been out of town for a bit visiting with friends and family in Belgium.  As always, it was good to catch up with her again.  We caught up with each other over a drink and Brian excused himself now and again to check on the progress of dinner.  The recent election was a topic of our conversations, also.  When Brian called us to the table, we all took our seats and watched the buffet fill up with all the goodies that Brian had prepared for us.

Brian prepared a turkey curry with rice, green beans and all the traditional goodies that accompany a curry.  Brian had also baked some Naan and there was also a plate piled high with papadams.  The curry had the right amount of heat and it was so good that I had to go back for more.  Dessert was fresh mango, which is now in season here in Spain.  We chatted a bit more before we opened a bottle of cava to celebrate Obama’s reelection.  Then it was time to clear the table and do some magic.

Last night, in addition to doing a couple of my old favorites, I had the chance to try out a few new effects that I have been and am still working on.  The effects played well and there was also a learning experience for me.  In setting up things for the evening’s performance I had neglected to check one important detail and, true to the laws of magic, it rose up to bite me in the ass.  The good news is I know what I did wrong and that, mistake aside, the presentation is spot on.

The festivities ended around 11:30 and Brian very kindly drove us back home.  We did not get to bed until after midnight.  Today we head out to A Nou for a special event.  I will tell you all about it tomorrow.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Yesterday we followed what has become our typical Friday morning routine.  Susan went to her Pilates class and I got to my gym.  I leave later than Susan because her class starts at 10:30 and my gym is less crowded after 11:30.  I did not get home until 1:45 and we decided that since we were going to symphony in the evening, it would be easiest to have lunch out.  Our choice was A Nou.

Yesterday’s menu was particularly enticing.  The appetizers included a scramble with fresh asparagus and ham, goat cheese with caramelized onion and a croqueta de bacalao.  We chose a seafood fideuá as our entrée and it was spectacular.  Talking with Javi we discovered that Sunday is a special day at A Nou.  They are hosting a food and wine luncheon that starts at 2:00 followed by a concert that will focus on traditional Valencian songs.  The cost is 25 Euros per person and it sounded so attractive that we made our reservations there on the spot.

We finished our meal with dessert – a homemade membrillo topped with queso manchego and a chocolate mousse – coffee and a chupito.  By the time we got back home it was already 5:00 and we were heading out again in another two hours.

At 7:00 we took the elevator down and when we opened the elevator door we discovered that it was raining or perhaps I should say it was RAINING.  The rain, of course, was not in the forecast, and it took most people by surprise judging by the number of people that were hunkering under any available awning.  Armed with our umbrellas we walked to the taxi stand and, surprisingly, made it to the Palau a good ten minutes before the concert began.  We took our seats in the third row and listened to the orchestra as they tuned up.

Last night’s concert was most impressive and consisted of the following: Eduard Toldrá: La filla del marxant, Felix Mendelssohn: Concierto para violín y orquesta en mi menor, op. 64, Paul Hindemith: Metamorfosis sinfónicas sobre temas de Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Strauss: Muerte y transfiguración, poema sinfónico, op. 24 . Last night’s soloist was Benjamin Schmid and he was outstanding.

The concert ended a little after 9:30 and when he left the concert hall we discovered that the rain had abated.  We walked over the bridge in hopes of finding a place to have a drink and a tapa, but every bar and café we passed was filled to the brim.  We caught a cab home and stopped in at a bar around the corner from our house, had a quick drink and then went back home.  We read for a while and went to bed a little after midnight.

Friday, November 9, 2012

It seems like the Republicans in analyzing the why and how of their losses have sunk to a level below pathetic.  The approach seems to be to blame everyone and everything else and not look at the fact that they, in their current state, do not speak to the needs of young people, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and women.  As I said the other day, the party on the right has become the party of the white and the complexion of the American electorate has been slowly evolving to the place where it stands now.  Those who call themselves conservatives are really faux conservatives because they refuse to acknowledge the importance of community and the greater good, two staples of true conservative thought and philosophy.  The harsh reality is that whites are no longer the majority and it appears that, at least this time around, large sums of money were unable to buy a victory.  As a result the formerly powerful are less powerful and the less powerful are more powerful.  One last word, I am thrilled  to see that three days after the election the media are already speculating on who will be the candidates in 2016.  Could we, just for once, focus on the here and now and find a way to solve the very serious problems that confront us.  If the press devoted more space to important issues, I promise not to complain when there is less ink devoted to Miley Cyrus, the Kardashians and Snooki.

Our guest list for our Thanksgiving dinner continues to expand.  We may have as many as fifteen people around the table.  The quest of the moment is to find fresh cranberries.  A vendor at the market can get them, but we would have to but the entire flat and that would cost 100 Euros.  We are searching for other solutions.

Wednesday I made it to the gym and got in some cardio and some weight training.  When I got home, Susan was busy preparing a new recipe.  It was chicken in an almond and garlic sauce and it was delicious.  She served it with fresh green beans, some bread straight out of the oven of the bakery downstairs and a bottle of Perro Verde.  That was the grand activity of the day and we basically goofed around the rest of the day.

I have been in constant phone and e-mail contact with the company that will escort our goods through customs and then deliver them.  They need a number of documents so that the process can be completed as efficiently as possible.  We had most of the documents asked for, but we needed to register with Hacienda, which is the Spanish equivalent of our Internal Revenue Service.  In this case it is necessary in case there are any duties that need to be paid.  If so, they know where to find us.  We are hopeful that since everything we shipped qualifies as personal belongings that there will be no duty to pay.  However, life is filled with surprises.

Yesterday we went to Hacienda and filled out the necessary forms and since we were out we went to A Taste of America to see if they had cranberries.  No luck!  We then went to the Corte Inglés.  No luck!  When we stopped to look at a clock it was almost 3:00 and since we were near The Ginger Loft, we stopped by for lunch.  Susan had a bowl of carrot, apple and lentil soup.  I had the pork and shrimp wontons served in a very tasty broth.  We shared a very tasty and spicy dish made with langostinos and we gave in and had Mike’s autumnal dessert.  It is a pumpkin, walnut and cranberry tart served with pear ice cream.  Delicious!

Yesterday evening there was a meeting of the veteranos.  We enjoyed a spirited discussion about a variety of topics and I did two effects that I am working on.  Afterwards we went out for a sandwich and when Gurrea dropped me off it was 11:30.  I was beat after a day when we walked over five miles, so I headed for bed almost as soon as I got through the door.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

I did not get much sleep last night as I was up and down all night checking in with various election sites.  I was happy that Obama won because I think it bodes well for students, women and, hopefully, a revitalized middle class, which is key for both economic recovery and continued progress.

Yesterday was a momentous one in Spain, also.  The Constitutional Tribunal by a vote of 8 to 3 ruled that the 2005 law that allowed gays and lesbians to marry was indeed constitutional and rejected the Partido Popular’s challenge to said law.   The processes took seven years and, in the interim 22,000 couples have been married and their union is called a marriage just like all others.

Spain is once again strike happy.  Buses and metros are providing minimal services, pharmacies are open every third day because the Valencia government has yet to pay the pharmacies the money that is owed them.  The government says that they just don’t have the funds.  A general strike by all workers has been called for on November 14.  The government to date has been unable to do anything to improve the unemployment picture and people keep getting evicted from their houses for lack of payment.  Things are not predicted to improve until 2014.

I have finished translating the articles for the first issue of The Manuscript, which will be published in 2013.  It took me two weeks to translate the six articles and it took a lot of time and effort.  There was an increase in my anxiety level because I wanted to get things done right and there were a number of impediments along the way, prime among which was sloppy editing of the originals.  I have informed the group that my first issue would be my last, but they are trying to convince me to change my mind.  They were thrilled with the quality of my translations and they want me to stay on the job.  I told them I would think about it.

We have been staying close to home and eating in.  We needed a break from eating out.  The weather has not been conducive to culinary excursions.  That’s the abbreviated word from here.  See you again soon.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

In less than twenty-four hours we will know the outcome of the election.  It seems like the campaign has gone on forever and the truth of the matter is, it has gone on forever.  In Spain, the campaign is much shorter because the process is less complex.  The head of each party becomes the Prime Minister if that party obtains a parliamentary majority and the party itself elects its own head.  Barring any changes in leadership the next contest will be between Mariano Rajoy, the current PM, and Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the leader of the PSOE.  Also, no campaigning is allowed the day before the election.  It is called the Day of Decision.  Lastly, I have never seen a political ad on Spanish TV.

Not much has been happening here in Kaplanland.  Sunday we went to the movies to see “Skyfall”, the new James Bond film.  I was surprised and dismayed to discover that this is the 50^th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise and that I was twenty-one years old when I saw my first Bond film with the best Bond ever, Sean Connery.  We very much enjoyed the film, although I thought the opening credits were overdone.  Javier Bardem as the villain was disgustingly creepy.  The writing for this film was much stronger than previous Bond films and there were the requisite number of car chases, fights and explosions.  The film lasts more than two hours.

We walked to the theater and we walked back for a total of four miles.  On our way home we stopped of at El Molinón and snacked on some buñuelos de bacalao and albóndigas.  We then headed back home and stayed put for the evening.

Yesterday Susan went to her Pilates class and I made it to the gym.  We tried out a new place for lunch, El Balconcillo and it was a very enjoyable experience we will pay a return visit.  Yesterday we had a tomato salad topped with chunks of tuna, artichoke hearts cooked with ham and a shrimp and mushroom scramble.  We shared a piece of carrot cake for dessert.

After lunch we paid another visit to the Corte Inglés in search of the elusive fresh cranberry and they agreed to give us a call and let us know whether they will be available this November or not.  I final tracked down a bottle of Chinchón, an anise flavored liqueur and that made my day.

There was a lecture at the CIVAC last night given by a professional magician from Valencia who goes by the name of Magnolo.  He demonstrated a number of effects and then sold his lecture notes and other things after the lecture.  The gang set down for a light supper at 10:00, but I decided to head back home and have supper with Susan.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Well, the weather forecast was spot on…somewhere, but not here in Valencia.  Instead of rain we are enjoying a sunny day with an expected high of 82.  I am sure we will be able to deal with it.

Yesterday morning saw us making our way to the Corte Inglés with a number of stops along the way.  We were hoping to find fresh cranberries so that Susan could make her cranberry relish for Thanksgiving.  However, we did not find any.  We did find them there last year, but it may be a bit too early to find fresh cranberries.  It did not occur to us to look in the frozen food section, but we will certainly check there during our next visit.

We decided to have lunch at Carosel and it turned out to be a good decision, as it always is.  Yesterday’s appetizers consisted of a broth – caldo de puchero – with a traditional meatball, a cream of queso fresco topped with a foam of escalibada, a small casserole of octopus, pork bits and garbanzos and a delightful fried treat made with lomo.  Our main dish was a stew made with alubias blancas – white kidney beans – and clams.  It went very well with a bottle of Albariño.  Dessert was a chocolate cream topped with a raspberry foam.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

It was close to 5:00 when we got back home and although we gave some thought to going out again, we decided to be lazy and just lounge around.  We read for a while, played on the computer and watched a little TV.  We gave in at 11:30 and went to bed.

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Saturday, November 3, 2012

The past few days have been rather uneventful.  I have been working on my card magic and making a list of the various effects that do with a normal deck.  Susan has been busy with exercise, shopping, visiting with friends and reading.  Thursday she caught up with Zahava and went to the movies.  They Saw Ruby Sparks, which they enjoyed.  The film just opened here, although I did notice that it is available on iTunes.

We have been eating at home, for the most part.  Thursday we did make it to La Fórcola for lunch.  We had a twofold purpose.  We wanted to have lunch there, and that was our primary reason.  However, we also wanted to deliver the two suitcases that we were giving to Marta.  Our belongings are arriving in the near future and we are trying to make as much room as possible before they get here.

Susan and I shared a salad to start our meal and Susan chose the pasta special for her entrée – ravioli stuffed with goat cheese and fig marmalade, topped with a brown butter sauce and topped with red pepper corns.  The taste was amazing.  I chose the calzone, which was enormous.  I ended up taking half of it home and it morphed into last night’s supper.  We passed on dessert, but we did have coffee.

Here in Valencia November is the month of the gota fría.  It is the rainiest month of the year and the rain is a cold rain.  When a cold front dips to the south it picks up the warm water from the Mediterranean and converts it into a cold rain.  It is similar to the lake effect snowstorms that are generated by Lake Erie.  It is supposed to start raining tomorrow and the forecast is for it to rain off and on all week.  We shall see how accurate the weather forecast is.  The most reliable forecast seems to be looking out your window to see what’s happening.

The papers here are focusing on the US elections.  It is abundantly clear that Obama is a favorite with Europeans for a variety of reasons, one of which is the fact that he is a known quantity.  Mitt is a mystery and the newspapers have not failed to notice that he has positioned himself all over the map.  Given the fact that the polls see the race as extremely close, we shall just have to wait and see how this political drama turns out.