My understanding is that for the Premier League in general, and big clubs like Chelsea in particular, the stands have become a much more family-friendly place in recent years. I think it has to do with a push to raise ticket prices and rip out bleacher sections -- which used to be cheaper, more fluid and packed with bodies.

Those have been replaced with assigned, fixed seating with actual chairs instead of benches, like what you'd see in a U.S. baseball park. The higher... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:52 PM on July 22, 2008

A section from the book I mentioned, Chapter 4: How Soccer Explains the Sentimental Hooligan:

After an incident in 1989 in which 95 people died asphyxiated against fences at a stadium in Sheffield, "a government commission demanded that stadiums turn their standing-only terraces into proper seats, like the ones you might find at a theater. Policing at stadiums would finally become a serious business, with video cameras documenting every fight and song. ...... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:08 AM on July 23, 2008

Seconding the sarge. Italy leaps to mind for many, many people as an example of a side considered a bunch of divers. A classic spoof: Italian soccer training camp. More (though club play, not international).
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 4:07 PM on June 22, 2008

Aranjuez is served by the Renfe Cercanias regional trains, which I used almost daily when I lived there and found lightning quick. See this map, it's at the end of the C-3 line which will take you directly to the central Atocha station. At Atocha you can get on the blue No. 1 Metro line and go right into the center of the city. I expect it would take you about an hour between the two forms of transportation and with transfer times to get pretty much anywhere worth going. It's a simple, pleasant... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 7:17 PM on June 21, 2008

Take the gorgeous ferry trip to Gedser, Denmark. If you want to go farther, you can find calm beaches with shallow waters around Nykøbing Falster.

Or, yeah, head south to Berlin. Might be a little far, but worth it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:31 PM on May 24, 2008

I lived in Madrid for a year and have nothing bad to say about the city. Cosmopolitan atmosphere and beautiful avenues, buildings and museums. The food is fantastic, and the nightlife is something you really can't imagine until you experience it. I wish like all hell I could go there for three days.

But ... I remember that when I arrived (in August!) it was indeed unbearably hot, as in 35 degrees C likely and hotter temps not at all unusual. And yes, everything was... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:20 AM on May 9, 2008

Have this guy be your secret body double.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:53 PM on April 6, 2008

Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is for my money the second-best foreigner-in-Spain book, after The Sun Also Rises. He was a Brit, however, if that rules out consideration for your purposes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:00 PM on April 6, 2008

Off the top of my head ...

Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose. Multiple priest characters qualify.
Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter. "Naughty" reverend fathers illegitimate child.
Brown, The Da Vinci Code. Crappy novel; creepy albino monk.
Elizabeth (movie, with Cate Blanchett). Priest assassin out to do the Pope's dirty work.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:53 PM on April 5, 2008

Especially during that time of the year bug spray will indeed be very useful. I haven't been to Guatemala during the rainy season, but assuming it's like ours here in Mexico you can plan on big storms that blow in pretty much every afternoon or evening and just dump for an hour or so. I imagine that in rural areas that could flood some roads or turn them muddy and maybe difficult to pass. Of course even while it's pouring, it'll still be quite hot in many parts of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:23 PM on March 27, 2008

For what it's worth, hurricane season is officially from June 1 to Nov. 30.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:45 PM on March 27, 2008

If you have a Fast Pass, maybe take BART down to Embarcadero and then eat at Justin Herman Plaza or Pier 7. Probably just as fast as anywhere worth walking to. Me, I loved Pier 7 when I was working down in that area.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 2:46 PM on October 12, 2007

In case you pass again through these musty old corridors, you might find some solutions in this article. Don't miss this map of sites.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 10:19 AM on March 23, 2008

If you can believe it, my grandfather used to sing me this song when I was a young(!) boy. Maybe not sad, but kinda bleak from a certain perspective.

Faster horses
Younger women
Older whiskey
More money.

And an enthusiastic seconding of BitterOldPunk and j-dawg's recommendation of Dwight Yoakam's "It Won't Hurt":

Chorus:
It won't hurt... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:14 PM on March 7, 2008

As an addendum, recommend you grab the slower, acoustic version from the dwightyoakamacoustic.net album for the saddest.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:20 PM on March 7, 2008

William Shatner? Was doing total crap gigs until a recurring role on "The Practice," and then the same role on "Boston Legal."
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:04 AM on February 25, 2008 marked best answer

See also: Krusty's Komeback.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:08 AM on February 25, 2008

more on the "i deserve this" element?

Maybe Sinatra's "My Way" strikes the self-congratulatory note you're looking for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 10:47 AM on January 14, 2008

Brewers Crocs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 6:17 PM on December 12, 2007

If money is truly no obstacle, the best views of any restaurant in San Francisco are at the Cityscape 46 stories up at the top of the Hilton, off Union Square. Reserve ahead and tip the maitre 'd as necessary to get a windowside table, it's worth it. The food is quite good as well.

(Caveat: I have never actually paid for this myself, my folks used to take me there on their dime when they'd come into town.)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:15 PM on November 26, 2007

It would be easier to answer this question if you clarify what you want to or like to shoot -- crowded street scenes? architecture? etc.? All good suggestions above, i'll try to add.

You could go up to Plaza Garibaldi on a weekend night when mariachis hang around waiting for someone to hire them. (Warning: This neighborhood can be a little sketchy, though I think you'd be fine on the plaza itself.)

If you take clearlydemon's advice and head for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:05 PM on November 26, 2007

If you're willing to consider something more recent (from the last couple of years), check out RBD's "Rebelde." Wildly popular telenovela-turned-pop-sensation-spinoff that spawns fan stampedes in places from Brazil to New Jersey. For a while you couldn't avoid hearing the song 10 times a day down here, without even turning on your radio. Instantly recognizable and, in my view, fits the cheesy requirement.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 3:04 PM on November 3, 2007

The first time I lived abroad was a year of university exchange during which I was heavily immersed in the local language and interactions with English speakers accounted for only, oh, maybe 5 percent of my daily life. There were definitely times when it was hard to find a particular word in my native English.

Now, 10 years later, I'm once again living in another country (it'll be 2 years as of Monday). I find I rarely if ever experience that phenomenon, and attribute... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:40 PM on October 27, 2007

Depending on her sense of humor, maybe a wacky poster, homemade card, or photo collage of Diego Maradona (or some other celeb who's had the surgery).
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 5:24 PM on October 17, 2007

Seconding chococat and Janta on this. My brother and his (brand new) wife announced at the first *clink* that they would only kiss (and they did so rather modestly) whenever someone had the guts to stand up and sing a significant part of a song with the word "love" in it.

The result: Cut down on the demands, plus a few very entertaining renditions from the invitees, including an almost barbershop quartet-like performance of "Muskrat Love" that just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:26 PM on October 3, 2007

Forgot to mention, I believe (but am unsure) that it maxes out at 512 MB. (?)
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 1:48 PM on August 9, 2007

5+ years is well beyond the life expectancy of a consumer laptop

... In the last year, I've already spent a few hundred bucks on a new logic board and the power adapter. And for what it's worth I live in Mexico, where repairs and hardware for Macs are ridiculously expensive. I waited until a trip home to replace the logic board, and saved $800.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 1:56 PM on August 9, 2007

Thanks all. mkultra was spot-on about which model I have. Think I'll wait a few months and buy a shiny new compu. It's time.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:12 PM on August 14, 2007

The Zapatista movement is not what it was in 1994, and Subcomandante Marcos these days is usually traveling the country trying to build support for a broader movement outside even making common cause with potential allies such as the PRD's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

When I was in Chiapas in January, the only real evidence I saw of the rebels was wall graffiti and postcards of a hooded Marcos smoking a pipe, or Zapatista children. That is to say, it's already been... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 3:56 PM on August 11, 2007 marked best answer

Unsure whether Bersuit Vergarabat meets your criteria? Rather famous in Argentina and marginally so in other Spanish-speaking countries, but in my experience mostly unknown otherwise. YouTube video of one of their best-known songs, La Argentinidad al Palo.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:26 AM on August 11, 2007

Forgot to mention, that song is from the quite popular 2004 album "Se Es," which was issued in tandem with its sibling album, "Lo Que Se Es."
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:56 AM on August 11, 2007

When choosing your route, I recommend you factor out snow entirely. As someone who has driven over Donner Pass on I80 in California hundreds of times, I can say that snow between Memorial Day and Labor Day is as rare as Halley's Comet. If you get caught in one in August, I donpedro, will personally send you a dollar.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:53 PM on July 20, 2007

In Latin America, many countries (such as here in Mexico) have laws on the books barring foreigners from engaging in political activity.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 5:45 AM on July 15, 2007

Citation. Also I may have overstated: Probably better to say "some" countries have these laws, since I can't really say with authority which or how many.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 6:14 AM on July 15, 2007

bunyip has it. Though even without my muddling around in the preferences section, a single instance of opting for "Google.com in English" makes Google default to that (unless I purge my browser's cookies).
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 5:55 AM on July 15, 2007

Wow GB. Them doods is drunk.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 10:37 AM on June 29, 2007

I went to that American neighborhood in Bonn in 1996, and amf describes it well. It was very strange to walk through Bonn and suddenly find myself in a neighborhood where the streets, homes, everything looked the same as in Anytown USA. At something resembling a strip mall, I ate a fantastic burger and paid in dollars for it. The school looked like a U.S. school, and all the cars were Toyota Camrys with North Carolina plates.

Today, in Mexico, San Miguel de Allende is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 9:43 AM on May 8, 2007

You're in luck, Mexico City totally cleared out starting as of a couple of days ago and this evening is completely calm and relatively smog-free. Being here for Holy Week is almost like vacationing in a normal city. To your questions: On the Zocalo, especially around sunset, I think it's pleasant to have a coffee or cocktail on the top floor of the Hotel Majestic.

A lot of places are already closed, and I would hate to predict what will or won't be open on Sunday... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 6:14 PM on April 5, 2007

Can only find the first page of the relevant article online, but one historian has argued that perhaps much anti-Semitism can be blamed on the introduction into the Bible of a comma that was not present in previous versions. Essentially it laid blame for the killing of Jesus on all Jews, instead of a few:

"The Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their prophets."

It's been a while since I read it, but I think he argues that the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 4:18 PM on February 28, 2007

More on the 12 grapes mentioned above. One of my favorite traditions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 5:00 PM on December 27, 2006

From my memory of the movie, it's accurate though -- agree with occhiblu here -- a certain view of it, that of a student. The city itself is fantastic, and made far more of an impression. If the movie is accurate, the city is much more than what it shows you. (FWIW, I was there last in 1998.) If you want another cinematic representation, rent Whit Stillman's Barcelona. Shows an entirely different city, one you may fancy (or hate).
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 12:08 AM on December 13, 2006

I quaffed a couple of those not two weeks ago at Walzwerk! If you're willing to trek over to SF (Noe Valley), you might try calling Lehr's to see if they carry it.

By the way, it's actually Köstritzer Schwarzbier -- the "tz" combines in the script to look very much like a "k." I only mention to possibly ease your search, not to be a pain. Good luck!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:47 PM on December 2, 2006

Also, I'd try Trader Josef's.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:51 PM on December 2, 2006

Is Saturday Night Fever along the lines of what you're looking for? (Plot, with mild spoilers.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 6:08 PM on October 13, 2006

Here's the previous question mmascolino was probably referring to?
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 9:08 PM on October 12, 2006

An addendum to mynameismandab's comment: Currently you do indeed pay for incoming long-distance calls. I learned this the hard way my first month here, fielding a ton of calls from the States. Monthly bill was $100 more than it should have been. The legislature passed a bill a couple of months ago giving cell carriers 6 months to make all incoming calls free, but I lost track of the story and am unsure whether it's taken effect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 1:37 PM on September 14, 2006

Have never tried it & it's not quite "Mexican," but some expats recently opened the California Burrito Company in downtown BsAs. That is, if self-styled San Francisco burritos tickle your fancy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 8:40 PM on August 19, 2006 marked best answer

Zidane loses his head.
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 2:21 PM on July 10, 2006

Sorta native here, I think it's one of the most amazing places anywhere. What I miss most about it are the stunning vistas from hundreds of streets in the city, the changing character of neighborhoods in the space of a few blocks, the natural air conditioning during the summer (I like fog -- sue me!), and lots of interesting, tolerant, good-hearted people. The self-righteous types exist too, and in droves, but they're part of what makes the place tick. Driving can be an adventure, parking even... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 11:49 AM on June 27, 2006

You're right, "the city" is the most common way to refer to it among city-dwellers. Was advising the OP not to use either "San Fran" or "Frisco." It's a minor thing in any case, just a little tip to blend in.

The intolerance you speak of -- of anything not toeing an orthodox liberal line -- I find much more pronounced in Berkeley. And as a pretty left-leaning individual, it drove me nuts. That's why I'm down on the place. I found it less... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by donpedro at 3:37 PM on June 27, 2006