INTERESTING ORIGINAL POKÉMON NAMES

• Umbreon is Blacky in Japanese. That's it, Blacky, as obvious as the Pope is Catholic.
• Aerodactyl is Ptera, which is perfect for a pterosaur... if the Japanese language could not use two consonants together (unless one of them is an N) without a vowel in between. Thus, they pronounce "Ptera" as "Putera", which means "bitchy" in Spanish.
• Oddish, that adorable Prussian blue mandrake I hatched from an egg while borrowing Malin Nilsson's smartphone, is Nazonokusa, literally "Strange Grass/Weed": almost the same as "Strange Fruit."
• Oddish's eldest evolution, Vileplume, is called Rafflesia in Japanese. Just like the reeking tropical flower that inspired the Pokémon. Obvious enough?
• Tentacruel: Dokukurage, i.e. "Poison Jellyfish," another name as obvious as Blacky for Umbreon. Its pre-evolution Tentacool is Menokurage, i.e. "Jellyfish with Eyes." Duh.
• The same can be said of Spearow, AKA Onisuzume, i.e. "Ogre-sparrow." And its evolution Fearow, whose original name is Onidoriru, i.e. "Ogre Avian Drill."
• Mandibuzz is called Vulgina. The "gina" part is for "regina", canonically, but the shape of the feather collar of this avian Pokémon suggests a more sexual meaning...
• The Hitmons are an interesting case: Hitmonlee (for Bruce or Jet Lee in the West) is originally called Sawamular, as in world's first kickboxer Tadashi Sawamura; Hitmonchan (for Jackie Chan) is Ebiwalar, as in flyweight champion Hiroyuki Ebihara; and Hitmontop (for spinning top) is Capoeilar, as in... well, capoeira, that Brazilian dance/martial art.
• Likewise the Abra family, named for several famous mystics: Abra's Japanese name is Caycey for Edgar Cayce; Kadabra's is Ungeller for Uri Geller (which caused a lawsuit from the Israeli esper, not amused that his name was used for a Baphomet-like creature with SS-like wave markings); and Alakazam's is Houdin for both Robert Houdin and Harry Houdini.
• The corresponding Macho family of fighting pokémon become the Ricky family, punning on the nickname of Richard and a Japanese word for strength: Machop is Wanricky (a pun on "One Ricky," "Arm Ricky," and "wanriki" meaning literally the same as "Armstrong"), Machoke is Goricky (a pun on "Go Ricky!" and "góriki", i.e. "Herculean strength"), and Machamp is Kairicky (pun on "Kai Ricky" and "kairiki", i.e. "superhuman strength").
• Farfetch'd is called Kamonegi, literally "Duckscallion." Now this is more than meets the eye. Obviously, we've got a duck carrying a scallion. But, on a side note, this must be quite a twat of a duck to carry its own seasoning all the time. The kill would ensure both roast duck and garnison at one fell swoop. Hence the Japanese expression "kamo negi", "a duck carrying a scallion," which refers to a patsy, the victim of a deception.
• Dunsparce's original name is Nokocchi, an anagram of "tsuchinoko", the cryptid (a thick snake with a pair of tiny wings) that inspired this Pokémon.
• Magmar is Boober. Head looks like a pair of flaming tits, nuff said. Its infant form Magby is called Booby (head full of flameless red spherical protrusions), and its evolution Magmortar is called Booburn (flaming spherical tit shapes for epaulets). Long story short, he whole Mag family is the Boob family in Japanese. Somewhere, Lieutenant Grüber is choking as he laughs. So. Many. Boobs.
• Articuno (Artic1) is Freezer. Not the Freezer in DBZ, but still it surprised a lot of fans, including me. Furthermore, Zapdos (Zap2) is called Thunder and Moltres (Mol3) is called Fire.
• The Clefa line: Cleffa is Pi (as in 3,14); Clefairy is called Pippi (as in Lângstrump); and Clefable is Pixie (as in either the sprite or the haircut).
• And the Jigglypuff line: Igglybuff in Japanese is Pupudding (a stuttering pudding?), Jigglypuff is Pudding (round and soft, so sweet, no bones...), and Wigglytuff is Pukudding ("Pukupuku" means puffed up, so literally "puffy pudding").
• To close the trilogy with the third kawaii pink family: Happiny is called Pinpuku (from "pink" and "pukupuku", ut supra); Chansey is Lucky in Japanese, and Blissey is called Happiness. Audino, the new nurse Pokémon, is originally called Tabunne, from "tabun ne", "maybe."
• To close with more Eeveelutions, since we began this list with Umbreon/Blacky, we finish it with Vaporeon, AKA Showers; Flareon, AKA Booster; Jolteon, AKA Thunders; Leafeon, AKA Leafia; and Glaceon, AKA Glacia. The way all of these names sound.

¿POR QUÉ EL POLLO CRUZÓ LA CARRETERA?

¿POR QUÉ EL POLLO CRUZÓ LA CARRETERA?

"¿A quién le importa?"
Alaska y Dinarama

"Cruzar o no cruzar, he aquí la cuestión".
Hamlet

"Lo que carece de belleza es inútil, según afirmo".
El profesor de Estética de la Universidad

"Era históricamente inevitable".
Karl Marx

"Hallo René! Hier bin ich!"
Teniente Hubert Grüber

"Nosotros somos pollos, y la vida es la carretera que hemos de cruzar sin que nos atropellen".
Yago... ¿o era Tyrion Lannister?

"Eshcánshiame otra, Lanshel... eshta de tinto dornienshe... ¿qué posho y qué cafetera? Que me sheven a la cama, que no puedo másh..."
Cersei Lannister

"Se había buscado su propia muerte, por débil e irreflexivo".
Tywin Lannister

"RAAAARGH!"
El león de la Metro

"Mud. Kip. Mud. Kip. Mud. Kip".
Un mudkip cualquiera elegido como pokémon de inicio

"Hodor. Hodor hodor hodor hodor. Hodor hodor. Hodor".
Hodor

"Yo soy Groot. Groot. Soy Groot".
Groot.

"ldai30piangpnmñai".
BB-8

"Porque había visto gamusinos al otro lado".
Luna Lovegood

"¿Que por qué el pollo cruzó la carretera? Hay división de opiniones y todas difieren entre ellas. Yo misma aún estoy pensando en la mía".
Sandra Dermark

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - REVIEW

The Grand Budapest Hotel, the best inn in all of Rurit-... Zubrowka,

a fictional country in the former Habsburg Empire.

You know... The old country-esque land 

with picturesque environments and a Germanic/Slavic culture.

This place lives up to its redoubtable name.

(I mean, the GBH, not Zubrowka.)

And Gustave, its concierge, a legend

endowed with the French flamboyance of Lumière (from BatB)

and the queer flamboyance of Renly Baratheon.

He even writes epic poetry.

Long story short:

More than just a gentleman of wealth and taste.

And Zero (his name IS Zero!), the new bellhop, a stateless young foreigner 

and orphan of war, who looks up to Gustave and will become his sidekick...

...though Zero prefers the company of the other gender.

Like Agatha at the local bakery.

She's his fiancée.

The most loyal regular at the Budapest 

is the elderly Dowager Countess Céline, a good friend of Gustave's.

However, when she dies of strychnine poisoning,

the French concierge is unjustly accused and arrested.

And subsequently imprisoned in a fortress that serves as internment camp...

With the aid of Zero and Agatha,

Gustave succeeds in breaking prison, but, upon his return,

he finds the hotel occupied by Nazi High Command.

And behind it all is the sinister, elusive Dimitri,

the son and heir of the late Countess

(and a collaborator with the occupants),

in pursuit of a painting his mother had bequeathed to Gustave...

When I first heard of this film, I thought: I HAVE TO SEE IT! And here is a list of the reasons why I perused this magnum opus and why I recommend you to see it (and surely relish this masterpiece):

• A cultured, French, queer hero for a change.
• A young sidekick who sticks to more than one sidekick trope (orphaned? Check! eager? Check!), yet somehow eschews many of them, and even shares the spotlight with the older leader.
• The setting is Rurit-... Latver-... Syldav-... Slovetz-... Borograv-... I mean, Zubrowka, a small fictional country in the former Habsburg Empire. The old country-esque land with picturesque environments and a Germanic/Slavic culture.
• Nazis.
• Strychnine.
• High society.
• Fine Arts.
• Concentration Internment camp. In a FORTRESS PRISON!
• Prison break.
• International secret society. Of CONCIERGES at five-star hotels!
• Slapstick comedy.
• Art Nouveau and Baroque architecture.
• Thrilling action scenes.
• A painting as a McGuffin, coveted by everyone.
• The heroes need to take this painting from the Nazis...

Some elements (the cultured French hero, queer issues, Third Reich occupation, the McGuffin painting) sounded straight of my favourite WW2 comedy, the British masterpiece 'Allo, 'Allo. Gustave is basically René and Lieutenant Gruber mixed thoroughly together and sprinkled with a dash of Renly. Plus magnifique? Impossible.
Zero is no zero. Rather, he's pretty much the Loras to Gustave's Renly. The younger more than sidekick to the flamboyant leader. Get used to the picture. Except that it's Zero who has got the girl, Agatha. Don't let the fair-haired, sugar-incrusted pâtissière fool you: she's got skills beyond your ability to guess them.
I would also compare Zero to a male Arya Stark, for more than one good reason. I also see his name as a reference to the Fool on Tarot: an innocent child who is coming of age and whose eyes are being opened to the world gradually.
Dimitri, on the other hand, is a pretty convincing villain. Love to hate him and his cronies. He might as well be a Death Eater, with that sinister, gaunt look and those expressions of his. No surprise he is allied with the Reich. However, he also conspires against Gustave for more personal reasons...
Long story short:
Setting: wonderful. Characters: a cast to admire. Plot: hooks instantly, and unable to shake off.