Saturday, August 25, 2007

When Shall We Know that Fidel Castro Is Dead?

We will know instinctively that Fidel Castro is dead when we wake up one morning and the air is purer, the sunlight brighter, the earth more teeming with life and our hearts lighter.

It is not this morning.

24 comments:

Vana said...

No Manuel, the air sure does not feel crisp and clean this morning, hopefully we will hear something soon.
Miami really believed the rumor yesterday, as I got a call from my cousin, telling me castro was dead, and Val announced it in all it's glory

Vana said...

Manuel:
I noticed a tinge of sadness in your post, are you feeling ok? I certainly hope so, cheer up my friend!

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Vana:

Everything in our situation conduces to sadness. It is despair that we must guard against.

The Wizard said...

Are you sad because Val made 2 million?

the TROLL of all TROLLS said...

well, well, well

The Wizard said...

Oye, Manuel your comments are gettin low. I shall call Fantomas for comments upgrading. You have more comments when me and Fantomas fight. Is like Dead Valley here.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

arrozconmango:

Maybe I should fabricate a rumor about Fidel's death to raise interest and send the sitemeter a-spinning? Sorry, I am a man of principles. I also find it very odd that Babalú got 60,000 or more hits yesterday but only 17 comments on the post announcing Castro's death. Four weeks worth of activity on his blog in one day and only 17 comments! Unbelievable, though not without an explanation.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

arrozconmango:

The circus doesn't come to town every week.

You and fantomas are good for a one-day engagement but nobody is clamoring for a rematch. Be glad with your victory or I am going to start thinking that it is you who is chasing fantomas.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone else find it insulting that at Babalu they post the Fidel is dead as breaking news then say they do it to "not miss the show" then later crow about breaking the 2 million visits mark?

I mean if all you want is hits just open a porn site.

Am I off base here?

The Wizard said...

Me Chasin, C'mon Amigo..Fantomas is his own man...Just like myself. Don't get offended manuel only conversation,Amigo.

The Wizard said...

You know, We bring drama here and ratings. Tu lo sabes,

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

arrozcon mango:

You and fantomas are welcome here, but eruptions such as the last one are not. Really, what else can you call each other? The only thing new that you could do now that would shock everyone is return as friends.

The Wizard said...

Hmmmm, that could be possible...Let's ask Fantomas shall we?

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

arrozconmango:

Fantomas is logged-in. Fantomas is always logged-in.

Vana said...

Manuel:
You are so right we must never sink into despair, even though I must admit, I do despair sometimes

Vana said...

Angel:
Yes I find it insulting, he announced that kagastro was dead, some people belive what they read, without waiting for confirmation

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Vana:

One must first have respect for oneself before one can respect others. The charade that Val has perpetrated at Babalú is unworthy even of him, and his readers have not minced words in telling him. If what appears on Babalú is the mildest criticism he has received, we may well wonder what the comments that he has doubtless deleted said. If he had even one ounce of shame, he would think twice before pulling this stunt again. But he doesn't and won't. We may expect another exercise in proving Lincoln wrong (that all the people can't be fooled all of the time), perhaps even tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I have left a couple of messages over there telling him how I feel, not anything to harsh. I left him a comment when he was doing his "fat lady singing thing" which I found unnecessary and childish.

I am amazed that after all that he decided to go with a "What a night!" title for his next post.

Almost as if he didn't have a clue about what he had done.

Being first is not the important thing here. It is how you handle the post death news. The analysis you provide after the fact is more important than being five minutes early with the news.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Angel:

The sophomoric attempt to be the first to guess the exact time of Fidel Castro's death was something that astrologists were once addicted to, until, with the passage of the years and the astrologists themselves, those who remained came to regard it as a cheap trick since Castro's imminent demise is now one of life's certainties.

Would that the Babalunians had as such sense. But their predictions will not end until Castro's own life has ended, and chances are that they won't ever predict it correctly, though they have shot thousands of arrows in the dark.

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

NOTE:

Many new comments have just been added to the last 4 or 5 threads.

Vana said...

Manuel:
I'm thinking of Babalu nowadays as the Enquirer of Cuban blogs, yellow journalism all the way, hes so crazy for hits, he'll do anything, even if it's underhanded

Manuel A.Tellechea said...

Vana:

That is wonderful: The Enquirer of Cuban blogs! I may just identify it as such in all future posts about it:

"As our esteemed Vana has dubbed it, "The Enquirer of Cuban blogs, Babalú has said that ..."

Anonymous said...

As they say in Cuba, Manuel, "go out early and buy the Granma, keep the TV on all day, and do not go out of earshot of Radio Reloj.... then you will know when he's dead"

Vana said...

Manuel
I'm glad you liked my little moniker to Babalunia..lol