Monday afternoon blog roundup while listening to Otis Redding:

Here's a profile of my friend Franco Aleman of Barcepundit in Normblog.

Chicago Boyz has a fine tribute to Ralph Harris, someone I should have heard of before.

Davids Mediankritik is spot-on as usual, shredding Der Spiegel.

La Liga Loca has this week's "heroes and zeroes"; Barcelona made it onto the "zero" side of the line with a loss against Real Madrid, 2-0. After the losses at Chelsea and in Madrid, some folks in the press around here are getting all excited. Calm down. It was only one week ago that they soundly beat Sevilla, next weekend they will soundly beat Recreativo, and with regard to Chelsea and Madrid, games played in May are a lot more important than games played in October.

Trevor at Kaleboel explains important facts about vocabulary that Roger Mellie would be proud of, and mentions Barcelona's cemetery problem. Note: People in Spain, when they die, are placed in coffins which are then sealed up inside a niche in what looks like sort of a six-niche-high concrete parking garage.

Here's Pave France on French banlieue rioting and vandalism.

Winds of Change comments on Europe's "demographic death spiral."

Roncesvalles answers a reader's questionnaire on German public opinion, society, and politics. Recommended.

Publius Pundit has extensive info, including photos, on the Panamanian referendum in favor of expanding the capacity of the Canal.

Meryl Yourish tears a new one for a pro-Islam "feminist".

Expat Yank has moved, and is blogging away full-blast.