You know how everyone describes Paolo Bacigalupi’s fiction as bleak, and darkly pessimistic about humanity in general? Well, take a look at his recent writing-music playlist – that explains a lot, I’m thinking^[1].

Personally, I can’t have music on when I’m writing fiction or poetry, because I’m still that unpracticed at it that I require complete sensory focus on what I’m doing. Then again, maybe that’s the problem I’ve been having all along…

While we’re on the subject of music, BoingBoingTV has a video of an interview and live performance by Cafe Tacvba, who Xeni describes quite accurately as “sort of like the Radiohead of Mexico” – though she refers to their approach to music rather than their actual sound.

I saw Cafe Tacvba play live on my travels in 2003; they performed in the baseball diamond at Guanajuato^[2], and I was dancing around like a loon with about five thousand cheerily grinning Mexicans, despite the savage wind that was quite literally tearing parts of the stage dressing off the scaffolds… but enough of my reminiscences. Spare five minutes and check this out, then hit YouTube for more Latino goodness.

[ ¹ - Note for Mr Bacigalupi and everyone else; this is snark, nothing more. Most people want to hang themselves after just reading the spines of my music collection, let alone hearing it. ]

[ ² - Still in my top-three list of places to flee to when this country finally drives me completely Hunter Thompson. ]

Yet another image from the vaults, I’m afraid; my camera is away having its sensor cleaned*. So, let’s travel to Mexico again:

That is the view over the centre of Guanajuato, a former silver town and currently thriving cultural hotbed, located in the state with the same name. A beautiful and unique location; plenty to see, and always something happening. I saw Cafe Tacuba play a gig at the city’s baseball park while I was there, which I can safely say was one of the most extraordinary gigs of my life.

[* Yeah, I know; I haven't had it very long at all. Apparently this is one of the curses of low-end dSLRs; the first shot taken with them may loosen up some small shred of plastic left over from the manufacturing process, which then lodges itself on the sensor and puts a noticable smudge on every image. I know it wasn't a sloppy lens change on my part, because I've not changed the lens since I bought it. Selah.] Continue reading “Friday Photo Blogging: Guanajuato City, Mexico”