It’s official. The Hermes Project is born.
Hello, world!

I was at Agenda 2000 and, one of the people who was there was Craig Mundie, who is some kind of high mucky muck at Microsoft, I think, vice-president of consumer products or something like that.

“I’m your worst nightmare.”

Eric S. Raymond, in Revolution OS (2001)

Even when I heard the morning news in the radio actually I listened in my mind the fuzzy experiments of Thelonious Monk Himself, and Bill Evan’s Alone too. Yes, alone, having a double cup of coffee and a smoking a Camel cigarette maybe can be a strange way of celebrating my 33th birthday. But, in fact, it was only a moment to think about this point of my life.

It’s simple. A year ago I wouldn’t imagine me studying for the December tests. I wouldn’t imagine me leaving the laptop at home all the day, and trying to forget anything but Civil Engineering (with the exception of the Portiño educational project, of course). Ok, as computer addict I fall in temptations too like creating the Hermes Project (I’ll write about this later). But it’s only an exception.

The best sypmtom that demostrate I’m trying to drive on new highways is my social life. A year ago I easily would get bored in a party in my Civil Engineers School. And I would fear to be alone going out in Coruña. But Thursday night and yesterday I went out until the sunrise and I had no moment of loneliness. Really I met with a great amount of good guys in my School And, thanks to “a new hazard in Milano” Fran, I re-discovered a new temple of non-jazz music, the Playa Club.

So, what is the moment I get the blues? Maybe, thinking about her. My love dances around me, my love walks by my side, my love flies away from me…

“…Sentí el madero crugir:
sacrificada sería
mi vetusta nave
como tributo al mar,
por mi osadía,
de querer llegar más allá
de donde ningún hombre
en su sano juicio se atrevía.

Retaba ya al diablo
el alma mía
cuando brillaron los ojos
del vigía:
enhiesta, de un gigante
antorcha,
una nueva esperanza ardía
trepando lentamente por la costa…”

u.p.m., April 2007

This piece of a poem that never existed was the foreword of a work that Marta, Raquel and me wrote last Spring about remodelling the lighthouses of Roncudo, Laxe and Vilán Cape in the Death Coast. In Easter we travelled down to Finisterre to do the fieldwork.

Well, today Raquel surprised me with a very nice present. She brought me the book “Faros de Galicia” (“Lighthouses of Galicia”) by Jesús Ángel Sanchez García, photos by José Luis Vázquez-Iglesias and drafts by José Manuel Yáñez Rodríguez. It’s the best reference if you want to know the history in details of these pretty buildings in one of the wonderful (and tragic) coasts in the world

Updated October, 5th: I uploaded some photos of the travel. I forgot to do it before.

If you need to smash an addiction, maybe it’s a good idea swap it for another one. Six weeks ago, I cut the ethernet wire to concentrate on September tests. And, of course, jazz was there to help me to forget all the world around.

What did I hear? That’s my playlist in my mp3 player:

• Bill Evans “Alone” (1968): since those bitter June days that’s my leitmotiv. That’s one of the albums that marked me in my life.
• Charles Mingus with Eric Dolphy “Cornell 1964″(2007): A great missing surprise. An orgy of jazz in Dolphy’s latest year.
• Marlango “Marlango” (2004)and “Marlango Automatic Imperfection”(2005): Nice fussion of jazz, pop and rock. You can think it’s only an actress who tries to sing, but Marlango is more than this. The soft, sensual voice of Leonor Watling, the impressionist piano by Alejandro Pelayo, and the urban touch with Oscar Ybarra’s trumpet, make me to lose in the city. You can see a sunset at a desert beach hearing “Every”, then you drop a tear
• Sumrra, several tracks (2001-06): I discovered this acoustic trio last summer. I still didn’t bought any of their CD because I still have not chance, but the tracks in their web page show a great group to discover. I feel an Atlantic style like Abe Rábade’s. First time I heard “Lisboa 5 p.m.” I knew they are great!
• Jon Mayer Trio “Full Circle”(2001), “My Romance”(2005): Bille and me bought these albums after the great live in Ferrol. Jon Mayer (formerly known as John Maher) is a great pianist who played with John Coltrane, Freddy Hubbard, Ron Carter… His personal problems moved away the music along decades, but now he rised stronger than ever. About “Full Circle” I suggest change the order of the tracks: 9-7-8-6-5-10-4-3-2-1. I usually respect the order in the albums, but I accidentally discovered this kind of hearing this CD and I think it’s better
• Thelonious Monk “Underground”(1968): One of the most complete albums by Monk at Columbia Records. Impressive work by tenor sax Charlie Rouse
• John Coltrane “Like Sonny”(1960): This Coltrane’s forgotten album features Jon Mayer. The first track, “One and Four”, will keep in my memory associated to the morning I backed to the Campus walking on foot after a binge, and I took the head photo in this blog
• Charlie Haden “Nocturne” (2001): This album moves among jazz, latin jazz and bolero. I was in the concert at La Coruña when Charlie Haden launched this album and Air France lost his bass. Even with this hitch, Haden was in a good mood, and even he joked with a baby who cryed in the audience during a solo: “Oh, I have a very young fan!”
• V.S.O.P. “The Quintet”(1977): Two sessions recorded at California by Miles Davis’ quintet in the 60’s: Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, Wayne Shorter on sax, Tony Williams on drums, and Freddy Hubbard replacing Miles. Do you need know any thing more?
• Abe Rábade Trío “Playing on Light” (2006): I wrote about this album a year ago and I can’t stop hearing it
• John Coltrane “Live at Birdland” (1963): One of my recent purchases. John Coltrane with his great quartet, the year before A Love Supreme. The fourth track, “Alabama”, make me goose pimples
• John Coltrane “A Love Supreme” (1964): Some years ago I downloaded the mp3, then I bought the CD, this summer a friend gave me in a vynil, and two weeks ago I bought it again in 180 gr. vynil, a recent special edition. Let’s call… obsession