Cumbia Callera

About 10 years ago I was attempting to learn Spanish. My attempt was not a complete failure but it was far from a success. I had an inspiration. If I watched subtitled Spanish movies, it might help me "hear" the words better. And actually this technique does work a bit.


The first movie I purchased for this exercise was Cumbia Callera. It's a fun movie, even won a few awards (like Best Independent Foreign Film in the Santa Cruz film festival, or something like that).

Problem was there was no dialog in the movie. In about one hundred minutes of film, there were exactly seven lines of dialog. This wasn't helpful.

But I enjoyed the movie.

Fast forward a decade. As I often do, I Googled myself. Not because I'm vain but because I want to keep tabs on the Internet's impression of me. And, well yeah, I'm vain. And I always check the photos when I Google my name because I actually am pretty vain.

And recently, every time I search I find a few pictures of me (or by me) and pictures of strangers ... and an outtake or two from Cumbia Callera. I don't understand why.

This effect is more pronounced with Bing, which has even more outtakes from the movie.

To my knowledge, I've never blogged about the movie. I don't think I've mentioned it elsewhere. How do they know I watched it? And why make a point of it ten years later?

The Internet is creepy.

Republished from my now defunct second blog, because I'm too lazy to come up with fresh content.

Driving Test

I moved to a new state ... Indiana ... and needed to get an Indiana drivers license.

So I found my passport, my birth certificate, my original 60 year old social security card, my New Mexico driver's license and two utility bills. All of which are needed to prove I'm not a terrorist.
Thought I was prepared and the clerk seemed satisfied but then she said "Now you need to take a test." At first I thought she meant a vision test, but no. She meant a written test. Written as in touch screen multiple choice.
When I moved to California I had to take a written driver's test and in California you actually had to study for it. They had questions like "The speed limit in a school zone with deaf children is (a) 15 mph; (b) 20 mph; (c) 10 mph; (d) 25 mph." Or "When you are about to turn right across an unmarked rail crossing, you must stop (a) 10 feet from the tracks; (b) 15 feet from the tracks; (c) 20 feet from the tracks; (d) 25 feet from the tracks." It wasn't a quantum physics test but you did need to study and retain those details. Several of my friends, very bright newcomers to California, didn't see the need to study and were very embarrassed when they failed the test.
So I was concerned about this Indiana test. I hadn't known it was required for a transfer of an existing license and I hadn't studied. But I tried. 50 questions, mostly like this
17) You are driving and see a body lying in the road ahead of you. Do you

• Take care to maintain control of the car as you run over the body
• Turn around and go the other way
• Stop and call for assistance
• Swerve wildly to avoid the body
  

33) You see a stop sign ahead of you. Does it mean

• State control of the road ends at this point and state and local laws no longer apply
• You should bring the car to a complete halt and verify it is safe to proceed
• You should put out your cigarette and vow to stop smoking like your doctor said
• You can legally stop and park at this location
  

47) To be a safe driver, you should

• obey all traffic regulations
• always be aware of the traffic around you
• never drink and drive
• All of the above
  

I passed the test. I wonder who didn't.
Then an older gentleman (older than me) came in to get his license renewed. He took the vision test. He could see only the two largest letters on the left side and could not see anything on the right side. He was certain there was nothing on the right side. His license was renewed. A few weeks later, Cyndi got her Indiana license and this time an elderly lady who had no idea were she was and couldn't even find the eye test equipment passed the eye examine.
And you wonder why I don't ride my bike on Indiana roads.

Note: This article and several to come were originally published on a blog I maintained at Wordpress. After about 20 blogs with a grand total of 5 views, I decided to shut it down. I want to see if I would do better here on blogger.