Subject: Spanish Language

• Tan Nguyen Continues to Have Translation Problems

  Just came back from the Santiago Community College District headquarters, and it turns out the Tan Man wasn't interviewing voters, as a voter asserted earlier. Tan Man, in fact, was getting out the vote to the final, desperate hours. More to come, but first: Tan Man was handing out bilingual fliers--this coming from a man who earlier accused opponent Loretta Sanchez of racial pandering. And his translation problems continue: in one section, Tan Man states he picked chiles with his parents in Gil

  November 7, 2006

• One More Time: O Say, Can You...

  Worried that "Nuestro Himino", the new Spanish translation of "The Star Spangled Banner", will bring down the government, causing anarchy in the streets? Or prevent your children from getting that lettuce picking job you've always dreamed they'd have? Or irreversibly pollute the precious bodily fluids of real Americans? Fair enough. Here's what you do: go to the Library of Congress' website and print out the lyrics for "La bandera de las estrellas" , the 1919 Spanish translation of "The Star Spa

  May 1, 2006

• Smart Kids, Not So Smart Adults, and DNA for Dinner

  The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, "School-age children from Spanish-speaking households in San Diego County and throughout California are gaining English fluency at record rates". While this is excellent news, the news for adults is a little dimmer. Meanwhile, English fluency among adult Spanish speakers dropped from 50 percent in 1990 and 2000 to 48 percent in 2005. The census reports a more precipitous decline for those 65 and older.

  August 15, 2006

• The Mexican Invades the Los Angeles Times (Again)

  Latest Los Angeles Times piece: my unperfect Spanish. Awright, pochos and wabs: go at it! And gabachos: how important is it to learn Spanish in these days of reconquista? Also, enjoy an oldie-but-goodie interview in the Utne Reader that appears in this month's edition!

  August 30, 2006

• Tan Nguyen: The New Bob Dornan!

  Much more tomorrow on today's nutty press conference held by Tan Nguyen, the man who proclaimed this afternoon he would defeat Loretta Sanchez and blasted the Republican leadership for abandoning him (Tan Nguyen is the new Bob Dornan--we said it first until someone proves otherwise!). Nguyen and a campaign spokesperson claimed their infamous letter to Latinos in the 47th District warning that illegals and immigrants can't vote was wrongly interpreted--the Mexican Spanish word the world took for

  October 22, 2006

• Why Is La Opinion Changing the Tan Nguyen Letter?

  La Opinión is the dean of America's Spanish-language dailies, dating back to the 1930s. Its owners, the Lozano family, are tireless advocates of Latinos, and the paper's Pilar Marrero is one of Southern California's best political reporters, damn the language. But their coverage of the Tan Nguyen scandal (read previous Blotter posts below) is inconsistent when considering the infamous letter's most infamous passage--that illegal immigrants and resident aliens can't vote. The Spanish-lang

  October 22, 2006

• Tan Nguyen on John & Ken This Wednesday

  Listening to L.A.'s favorite boors and heard that Tan Nguyen will appear this Wednesday--maybe an in-studio appearance. As a preview of what may come, JohnKen spelled out Nguyen's last name to their listeners. JohnKen also praised my earlier post examining La Opinión's translation games, then went on to blast the "activist" who offered his Spanish translation services to Nguyen at yesterday's press conference . Um, pendejos: That was me.

  October 23, 2006

• The Los Angeles Times is Estupido

  Axes continue to fall at the Los Angeles Times, a still-great paper but one that's looking more and more like a mash-up of USA Today and The Orange County Register. The resignation of editor Dean Baquet stole the thunder from new publisher David Hiller's announcement earlier this week that he knows how to save the Times: get more Mexican readers. Except Hiller doesn't call them Mexican, or even the PC term Latino. He calls them Hispanic. Strike uno. But Hiller insists Hispanics are his Hail Ma

  November 8, 2006

• Are Mexicans Leaving Orange County?

  Slate blogger Mickey Kaus (he of the boldface) has an interesting post about disappearing Mexicans where he virtually proclaims anecdotal evidence superior to academic studies. As proof of Mexicans disappearing, he cites the comments of an Anaheim Union High School District English teacher on another blog who says her classes are smaller than ever and devoid of immigrant students. For some reason, Kaus bolds the below passage: "ALL my students, for the first time in my career, have insisted tha

  September 12, 2007

• Bowdlerizing Santa Ana's Past (Canto CXVIII)

  Students of history can only expect so much from Images of America, those slender books of historical photos published by Arcadia Publishing. Most of the people who compile the pictures in this book are well-meaning antiquarians (of the philosophical and age variety), and the people who purchase such tracts are usually of the same ilk. They're not expecting thorough analysis or dredging up the dirty bits of our past; they want photos of parades! This art form is particularly onerous in Orange C

  July 21, 2008

• La Malandrina

  November 27, 2003

• An Etymological Meditation on the Great Almond Cake at IKEA

  "What do you think is better--breakfast or dinner at IKEA," my chica asked while she scarfed down pasta and vegetables with marinara sauce and I enjoyed a slightly-better-than-so-so chicken alfredo."Breakfast," I replied."Why," my best friend, Art, asked."Because it's cheaper," I said, before adding, "Besides, it's better food."He cast me a mocking look. Yes, gentle readers: I'm a cheapskate. But IKEA is better for breakfast--99 cents for a so-so breakfast as opposed to $4 for the cheapest combo

  December 23, 2008

• [Locals Only] Los Fabulocos: It's Spanish for Fabu-crazy!

  January 15, 2009

• Los Posadas

  December 11, 2008

• In San Juan Capistrano's Schools, White Kids Are Painted Into One Corner, Latino Kids Into Another

  September 4, 2008

• [¡Ask a Mexican!®] A Short History of Comics In Mexico

  August 7, 2008

• [¡Ask a Mexican!®] Cherry-Picking César Chávez

  July 3, 2008

• Plow Boys (and Girls)

  June 5, 2008

• Rueben Martinez's Librería Martinez Close to Closing Para Siempre

  May 1, 2008

• !Ask a Mexican!

  February 22, 2007

• Strange Fruta

  April 29, 2004

• !Ask a Mexican!

  'Why do wabs have to use so many goddamn syllables?'

  June 28, 2007

• !Ask a Mexican!

  February 15, 2007

• 'Gay Panic'

  Three men go wilding; the gays made them do it
  

  January 18, 2007

• Cholo-Punk Karaoke, Cabron!

  November 16, 2006

• !Ask a Mexican!

  'Anyone who needs to ask why people dance to Los Tigres del Norte has no soul or is a gabacho'

  November 9, 2006

• The New Bob Dornan

  October 26, 2006

• !Ask a Mexican!

  June 29, 2006

• !Ask a Mexican!

  June 8, 2006

• One More Time: O Say, Can You . . .

  May 4, 2006

• !Ask a Mexican!

  March 23, 2006

• Embrace the Mexican

  October 6, 2005

• !Ask a Mexican!

  September 22, 2005

• !Ask a Mexican!

  June 16, 2005

• !Ask a Mexican!

  December 16, 2004

• Diary of a Mad County

  August 26, 2004

• Corrupted Youth

  June 17, 2004

• Cry of the Lone Wolf

  May 29, 2003

• Leftist Latino

  May 1, 2003

• New Music

  April 25, 2002

• Que Viva la Unidad

  November 22, 2001

• American Dream With a Latino Swing

  September 27, 2001

• Little White Man

  June 7, 2001

• Pete Weelson! Eeeeek!

  November 30, 2000

• Assemblyman Jose Solorio Finally Comes Clean

  Solorio callously spreads flu germs to a child as a Big Germ lobbyist looks on.Shortly after posting what could have been a parental notification about skin symptoms experienced by children infected with the swine-flu virus (if it was not a reference to a youth center birthday party), Clockwork received even more startling news about an event state Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) participated in this morning. Blared the fax:"ASSEMBLYMAN WASHES HANDS WITH CHILDREN IN THE FACE OF SWINE FLU .

  May 1, 2009

• [¡Ask a Mexican!] Missing Michoacan

  May 14, 2009

• [¡Ask a Mexican!] Port-a-Potty Picassos

  July 30, 2009

• [¡Ask a Mexican!] Insurance Omissions

  October 15, 2009

• Break of Dawn

  October 15, 2009

• Workers Rally to Save Jobs of Live Emergency Dispatchers

  ​Before this evening's Santa Ana City Council meeting, union workers will stage a rally in front of City Hall to draw attention to layoffs they claim will lead to 9-1-1 emergency calls being answered by an electronic menu rather than a live dispatcher.

  November 2, 2009