The end of the Gérard Dépardieu epic film 1492: The Conquest of Paradise graphically depicts the failure of the Spanish expedition to curb the greed and violence of the Conquistadores. In the midst of a tropical storm whose physical violence matched the inner destruction of the colony, Columbus's faithful translator Utapan once again shaves his … Continue reading Capisci?
communication
Do you speak Christian?
It's that time of year again when I find myself in Llanelli, South Wales, teaching a group of trainees introductory linguistics and language learning skills. I trust that by the end of this two weeks they will have learned a thing or two about how languages work, and how they can best learn one. And … Continue reading Do you speak Christian?
Behold I stand at the door and knock knock
I reckon that Jesus would have made a first-class comedian. He knew how to get a message across, and there are times when humour is the absolute best way. Somehow, humour penetrates the armour that surrounds our thoughts and opinions in a way that engaging people in intelligent debate just does not. Yes, there is … Continue reading Behold I stand at the door and knock knock
“You can observe a lot by just watching” (Yogi Berra)
Last week I was back in Llanelli, South Wales, but this time only via a webcam from home in Spain, teaching a short course on "Tools for Anthropological Research" to the fantastic trainees on the World Horizons Equipping for Service programme. Another reason for a gap in blogs... (What a bunch of willing guinea pigs... … Continue reading “You can observe a lot by just watching” (Yogi Berra)
eating.with.sinners 