h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hola Spike! Encantada de conocerte.


Well, we try....

What's the Spanish word for windmill?
What's the Spanish word for tilt?
What's the Spanish word for Quixotic?


~jwf~

you are travieso jwf!

so you know where that English expression of " battling against windmills" come from.

windmills: molinos de viento

tilt: in this context of Don Quijote, would be arremeter contra algo.

Quixotic: quijotesco.

::

Simpático or simpática. You mean pleasant people because they are kind and humorous.

in English sympathetic gives compasivo in Spanish.


and yes, I agree, there are not many personas simpáticas. I think it´s because some try very hard to be witty at the expenses of anything and doing so they end in sarcasm, however they think they are being funny because they are cynical...
Sometimes they say:
we are playing with a serious issue so you can see that we have a great sense of humour...

ranting? moi? pues sí. There are algunos días that I can´t stand those
"witty ones".

witty: elocuente, agudo, ingenioso.

>> Quixotic: quijotesco <<

Makes me wonder which language first created an
adjective from the name of Don Quixote. (Which I
now assume was spelled Quijote in the original.)


~jwf~

dear Mr Fulton, I love your curiosity.

the word quijote comes from Catalán cuixot , and that one from Latin coxa, hip.

A quijote or a cuixot was a piece of the armour of a knight used to protect the thig, also for the horse.

I¨m not sure about the adjetive.
Probably here, since Cervantes´ book was a great phenomenon since the beginning.

Hip.

Wow. That actually makes me appreciate the name
and respect Cervantes even more.



~jwf~ (always hip and sometimes quixotic)

The feeling that María is unlikely to return is growing.

Were she here, I'd ask her to help me translate this song in a suitably poetic style (my Spanish is too poor, and I now struggle to recall even quite common English idioms and expressions):

Me Siento Raton - Daniel y la Quartet de Baño Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsCq1CZUOiI

Letra/Lyrics: http://www.maxilyrics.com/daniel-higi%C3%A9nico-y-la-quartet-de-ba%C3%B1o-band-me-siento-raton-lyrics-8d81.html

Anyone else like a bash at it?

>> The feeling that María is unlikely to return is growing. <<

Yeah, I've been wondering about that.
And now that you point that out here
I have to wonder if it was something
I said.

Her homespace intro seems to have been cleaned out
and it says last posted in October 2012. But I see
nothing else to indicate a planned departure. All
her journals up to Sept and last postings in threads
from around Sept 2012 are still visible.

Considering her passion for political protest, and
knowing she was involved in many Spanish demonstrations
it would be nice to hear she is OK.


~jwf~

I was having the same thoughts, jwf, and I found a thread called "Holding Hands" on her page. She is keeping away because she is busy and doesn't want to get sucked in like most of us are. She is staying away because she likes it too much here, and seriously intends to look in when she has more time to devote herself to h2g2 properly. So no worries: no hard feelings there.

>> staying away because she likes it too much here <<

A wise and enviable strength.


~jwf~