It was a challenge to find and pull, but I did and posted the video of Cayetano’s cornada from Huesca on Sunday 8/10/08. This interest of course is not the goring but the action he will miss leading up to his date in Ronda in early September. The ill timed cornada will have him out 2 weeks, but he should be fit in time to debut his much talked about and anticipated traje Goyesca from Armani.

Glamour boy Matador Cayetano Rivera Ordoñez will be pulling his strings and using his high profile connections to don a new traje de torerar designed by Armani for the Goyesca corrida in early September. In celebrating his anniversary of his Alternativa from last year in Ronda, Cayetano is going all out to blend his fashion persona and rising Torero stock. The news of the high profile collaboration has been covered in the media and all over the internet. This is another postive step towards positive coverage of La Fiesta Brava. Of course with the good come the bad. Do gooder Animal Rights protesters have already started their campaign against Armani’s venture into designing trajes de torerar. Hopefully if Cayetano’s Goyesca traje lives up to the hype, we’ll see more designers come out of the P.C. closet and lend their talents to the bullfighting world and erase that nightmare Cesár Jimenez wore last year in Las Ventas (see video below).

An interesting article I found today. The Wine Fraud Detective, 31 July 2008. An electronic tongue that can ‘taste’ the grape varieties and vintages of wine has been created by Spanish scientists. Cecilia Jiménez-Jorquera from the Barcelona Institute of Microelectronics, and colleagues, created a multisensor device and trained it to distinguish between different wines and grape juices. When speaking with specialists of the wine industry, the need for a rapid route to obtain valuable information about product quality was noticed, explains Jiménez-Jorquera. It takes a long time to send samples to a centralised laboratory for analysis with complex equipment. Jiménez-Jorquera’s electronic tongue combines an array of six ion-sensitive field effect transistor-based chemical sensors, with cross-sensitivity to multiple ions in solution. The data is then analysed with an appropriate chemometric method. ‘This system enables the rapid and simultaneous measurement of different analytical parameters related to the quality control of wines and grape juices,’ says Jiménez-Jorquera. The electronic tongue is small and robust, Jiménez-Jorquera explains, and it is portable - which is essential for field measurements. She adds that the device could be used to detect frauds committed regarding the vintage year of the wine, or the grape varieties used. The advantage of this device is that it is ‘fast, easy and relatively cheap’ says Sue Ebeler from the University of California, Davis, US, who has studied wine flavour chemistry. ‘One of the most interesting aspects,’ Ebeler adds, ‘is the ability to predict sugar, acid and alcohol content using sensors that are not specifically sensitive to these components but respond to cations and heavy metals.’ The next step, says Jiménez-Jorquera, will be to extend the number of samples analysed to get more precise results, and give the best training for this electronic tongue. Other kinds of chemical sensors can then be incorporated to broaden the field of applications to other beverages and foods. Rachel Cooper, Royal Society of Chemistry.

It had been billed as the Corrida del Año. José Tomás and Morante de la Puebla faced each other in Puerto de Santa Maria in a mano a mano pitting the two maestros against an encierro from Nuñez de Cuvillo. With a capacity crowd of enthusiastic Moranistas and Tomistas, the Cuvillos who showed up failed to be convinced by the hype and brought the festive and anxious afternoon to a crashing halt. The afternoon was marred by bad toros, another José Tomás violent and bloody tossing and multiple goring, continued Tomás performance while bleeding from his wounds and Morante having to be treated in the infirmary for respiratory problems. Both toreros completed their obligations but the biggest loss was the aficion. With the right toros, this could have been a great afternoon. BTW, isn’t it sad how normalcy has the Spanish crowds being disappointed at an afternoon without triumph despite José Tomás being injured and completing his obligations. The bar has been raised.

Toros de Núñez del Cuvillo, bien presentada, seria y astifina aunque exentos de raza y varios desarrollaron complicaciones. 1º, a menos y bajo de raza. 2º, orientado. 3º, con genio y complicaciones. 4º, noble aunque a menos. 5º, sin clase. 6º, sin raza.

José Tomás: ovación con saludos tras leve petición, silencio tras aviso y saludos.Morante de la Puebla: ovación con saludos y ovación con saludos tras aviso y silencio.

“Don’t fuck with me, I’ll mess you up old man”

How hard can it be? I’ve posted about this before. You walk up. You order. They ask your name. Bada bing. If its noisy and they are courteous, they’ll ask your name again. The danger there lies within. The baristas at Starbuck’s have provided me with plenty of laughs in the past. They never seem to get my name right. Bruno. B-R-U-N-O. Not Brun, not Bernal, or even not Bernard. I’ve had Bernice. The best and probably most outrageous was last year, Prune. Well, coming in a close second was one I got last week. Barone. Well, I am part Sicilian

Video de Canal Cuatro

Test

Video de Canal Cuatro

Unlike 2005 when the big and well armed Jandilla bull reeked havoc on the cobble stone streets in Pamplona by goring a record eight mozos, the 2008 vintage of Jandilla ganaderia sprinted through the streets of Pamplona and huried into the corrals once in the Plaza de Toros. In the days corrida Pepin Liria and El Fandi each cut an ear.

Video de Canal Cuatro

An American was knocked unconscious while a Spanish man was plucked from a monton and gored in the thigh by the debuting El Ventorrillo toros. Other than those details, it was a lackluster run for the 4th Encierro of the 2008 Fiesta de San Fermin in Pamplona. In the day corrida the Ventorrillos toros performed well where Salvador Cortés was the only matador to cut an ear.

Video de Canal Cuatro

The Fuente Ymbro toros who ran on the third day didn’t cause havoc but did manage to gore the second mozo of the 2008 version of the San Fermines. Marcus Wolf, 22, of Bakersfield California failed to negotiate the curve onto Estafeta, fell onto a monton of other mozos and was promptly gored in his upper butt cheek. It was the most serious injury of the morning but not the most spectacular. Seconds before Wolf met his faith, an unidentified mozo hurdled a fallen mozo but was bumped by an on rushing toro. The momentum of both runner and toro caused the mozo to roll over the back of the toro bravo, legs in the air. It provided for great pictures and video below. Another bull did break from the herd and cause moments of concern in the on Telefonica and in the Callejon. In the days corrida, Sebastian Castella received a violent voltereta an was injured in the scrotum. El Cid cut an ear while Miguel Angel Perera cut one as well with petition for a second.

Video de Canal Cuatro

Pretty much an uneventful Encierro in Pamplona this morning. The toros from Cebada Gago injured 5 mozos, one of them a 31 year old Spanish man with a puntazo on his right thigh.

Video de Canal Cuatro

Last year the rights to televise the Encierro in Pamplona were muscled away from Television Española (TVE) by the French network Canal Plus. Where the quality of the broadcast lacked was TVE’s inability to televise the toros entering the plaza and eventually the corrals of the Plaza de Toros. Despite the coverage being bad last year, it was however the only method to watch the Encierros live in my living room. Well, suffice to say this year’s TVE’s coverage has gotten worse. Besides losing the video feed at the start of the run, TVE’s coverage is plagued with drunk interviews, run on commentary and panel conversations full of “who cares” opinions. So beyond that, the first Encierro featuring the Conde de la Corte ganaderia featured 9 to 10 injuries, one of which was a goring and a lone toro who turned back on the crowd a couple of time and tossed one or two mozos in the plaza before making it into the corrals. Lets see if TVE can get their shit together on day two. In the mean time enjoy the superior coverage of Spanish network El Cuatro and compare it to the catch up job of the pobres from TVE. Its funny what a lack of funding will get you.

Video de Canal Cuatro

Y los pobres de TVE…

Today being July 6th means tomorrow is the 7th and with that starts the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. In this day and age, if you can’t be there the next best thing is the internet. DBB will post all the Encierros as I did last year (only to have YouTube pull the plug, ¡Bastardos!). Please take a look at the video retrospective below from Television Española on the history of Los Encierros.

We took some time off away from work, school, bulls, life and went to Hawai’i to relax. I actually worked a couple of days but after that we hit all the tourist spots along with driving the rental to off the beaten path discoveries. Good times were had snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, eating shrimp at Punalu’u’s Shrimp Shack and Mango Pancakes at Diamond Head Market Grill in Waikiki.

The taurine world was left reveling after José Tomás’ historic afternoon in Madrid yesterday. Many are saying this was JT putting his stamp on the Number one spot as the best Matador in the world. His triumphant return to Madrid after a six year absence confirmed his campaign around Spain, Mexico and South America in the past year to solidify his top status. It was a performance to remember. 27,000 aficionado were present and fortunate enough to witness the magic which took place yesterday in Las Ventas. It was an afternoon legends are made of. Below is a colection of quotes and videos appearing on the web a day after the historic performance.

ABC - ““José Tomás es el toreo. José Tomás es el toreo puro y absoluto. José Tomás convirtió su reencuentro con Madrid en una antología, en una página de oro de la Historia. Vomitar ahora toda una marea de sentimientos y pasiones con la exactitud del escribano se torna en un ejercicio vano. Nada puede igualar la experiencia de 24.000 almas unidas en un solo grito de aclamación: «¡Torero, torero, torero!». La Monumental rugió como un volcán; la Monumental se desbordó por la Puerta Grande como la lava ardiendo. Las Ventas se rindió al toreo grande, a la tarde más redonda y pletórica de los últimos veinticinco años”.
El Mundo - “Apoteósico. José Tomás llegó a Las Ventas seis años después de su último paseíllo y cortó cuatro orejas tras una soberbia actuación, dejando para el recuerdo una tarde que pasará a la historia de la Tauromaquia. Sin exageraciones. El diestro de Galapagar desorejó a los dos toros de su lote completando dos faenas plenas de torería por ambas manos. Además, rayó a gran nivel con el capote, realizando cuatro quites que pusieron de acuerdo a todos los aficionados”.
El Pais - “Enmudecieron los intereses, callaron los mercaderes del falso templo. Triunfó la verdad eterna del valor sereno, consciente y cabal de un torero privilegiado, capaz de asustar al mismo miedo y de imponer sin hablar la desnuda realidad. Su clamor es el de los hombres de verdad, el de quienes además de enfrentarse a un toro se enfrentan en los despachos al miura del conservadurismo, al victorino de los mediocres, al pabloromero de los que prefieren vetar que retar, medrar en vez de rivalizar y levantar falsos testimonios antes que aceptar que el toreo ha sido y será siempre esto. Valor de verdad, arte para dejarse ver en los cites, en los remates, y dejar en el cielo azul de Madrid el imborrable recuerdo de una tarde histórica”.

Videos of José Tomás appearing on the net. Disfruten.
El Pais:

Rosa Jiménez Cano, José Tomás con el toro Dakar:

y con el toro Comunero

From viesques on fucking Youtube:

Without words, the greatest Torero at this time. José Tomás is on top of the Taurine World after cutting four ears in front of King, country, world.

Javier Conde, de blanco y azabache. Pinchazo, media y descabello (bronca). En el cuarto, pinchazo y descabello (silencio).
José Tomás, de azul añil y oro. Estocada que se queda en media (dos orejas). En el quinto, estocada al encuentro. Aviso (dos orejas). Salió por la Puerta Grande.
Daniel Luque, de verde manzana y oro. Media desprendida y descabello (silencio). En el sexto, pinchazo, otro hondo y descabello. Aviso (ovación).

Antonio Ferrera: silencio (pinchazo y estocada) y silencio (media y dos descabellos).
López Chaves: pitos (bajonazo) y silencio (estocada)
El Cid: gran ovación tras aviso (metisaca, media estocada y un descabello) y una oreja (pinchazo y estocada)

El Fundi: Silencio (estocada corta caída) y oreja (gran estocada).
Diego Urdiales: Gran ovación con saludos (media lagartijera) y silencio (metisaca, dos pinchazos y media).
Alejandro Talavante: silencio (estocada) y gran ovación con saludos, tras aviso y leve petición (pinchazo, estocada corta y dos descabellos).

Luis Miguel Encabo: protestas (media defectuosa) y bronca tras aviso (estocada y tres descabello)
Sánchez Vara: silencio (estocada trasera) y silencio (estocada)
Luis Bolívar: ovación con saludos (estocada en los bajos, pinchazo y estocada) y ovación (bajonazo)