Languages, mankind, empires, the family – Leeds's Singing Organ-Grinder

Alien meets Eroski girl, best 21st century Spanish short film?

Unlike most subsidised official festival crap, it’s fast, funny and real. Well, kind of.

¡Tú imitas tan bien a los animales! ¿No serás … aztor?

A phonological curiosity from coastal Cantabria, with speculation as to the supernatural powers of María Teresa Fernández de la Vega.

Spanish vice-premier María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, laser-eyed owl-bat bird?<br />(Photo CC Agência Brasil via <a href='http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_la_Vega2.JPG'>Wikimedia Commons</a>.)

Bikini vs vikini

Spelling controversies to overtake music/games/dating/porn as biggest online revenue generator?

Nick Clegg’s Spanish

Includes several therapeutic tongue-twisters.

Paradise and town-planning

The Turks and Jews of Istanbul demonstrate that co-existence is not impossible.

“2012 possible predictions”

Three Anno Domino 2010 hints for survivalists in the Pyrenees.

Aneto, just how did it get this big? Photo <a href='http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aneto_01.jpg'>CC by Avh at Wikimedia Commons</a>.

Le Monde ditches Gordon Brown, sticks pig’s nose on him

Bad enough the Guardian throwing in its lot with the Comment is Free mob, but even the French left establishment seems to be deserting the Sheriff of Rochdale, who is heading rapidly down this page. Looks like a superimposed Flash-type console, but ain’t. Strange. Re Mandelson: if someone else can arrange a stake, I’ll procure…

An early candidate for a Darwin Award

David Bar-David, the lemming messiah.

<a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lemming'>Eric Lemming</a> of Sweden came last in the 5,500m at the Paris Olympics in 1900. Photo CC from <a href='http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Erik_Lemming.jpg'>Wikimedia Commons</a>.

Competing Amazigh and Arabic etymologies of “beur”

And “beurette,” of course, this being the Year of Zahia Dehar, who sounds like she may escape from being shagged up the bum by Pierre Woodman.

Beurettes with their backs against the wall in Aytré, Poitou-Charentes, CC by <a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/llansades/4029997524/'>Thierry Llansades</a>.

Samaranch

Check out Liga Loca on silent minutes and Manuel Stimulo on how “a stupid communist French idea about promoting peace among nations through sports events in which their citizens would participate as amateur idiots [was transformed] into a powerhouse steamtrain of propaganda for competition, professionalism, the Triumph of the Will, battering the weak into submission,…