as the japanese ask: how did the japanese innovations of the 20th century come into being?(via chris, via sofablog, via .. ??) in spain they are asking the question slightly different this weekend: how did science and innovation happen or not in non-democratic regimes, such as the former german DDR or francoist spain. ... studying the interaction of science and non-democratic power and comparing the life of science under capitalist and socialist dictatorships.

ciència i política a la perifèria europea durant la guerra freda.

if it goes on like this, i will become a specialist in identifying military airplanes. except of yesterday, they are flying over barna twice per day and night or even more often. nothing to add. only something maybe: to read human rights watch.

in front of the screen again. after a nice, dry ride on the back of a tdm to barcelona, we fell right away into four days of fiesta en barcelona: fiesta de mercè. no way to get back to work. i don´t know any other country but spain, where it is possible that a city has a day off, while even the rest of catalunya has to go to work.

fiesta de mercé means a lot of people in the streets, music everywhere, endless fireworks and these castellers

solamente the great correfoc, a riotous fiesta of sparklers, firecrackers and roman candles, where colles de diables, devils and dragons, dance threateningly to the strains of an accompanying percussion band was canceled because of rain.