A Short ROWAN ATKINSON Monologue From "HELL" ...
lunes, 1 de noviembre de 2010
Finance&Economics: The Principal Economic Theories Explained With Cows (Part 2) ...
The Principal Economic Theories Explained With Cows (Part 2) ...
(Las Principales Teorías Económicas Explicadas Con Vacas - Segunda parte) ...
British Capitalism: You have 2 cows. Both are mad
(Capitalismo británico: Tienes dos vacas. Las dos están locas.)
French Economy: You have 2 cows. Therefore you declare a strike, organise a violent riot and cut all the roads in the country because you want 3 cows.
(Economía francesa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Entonces te declaras en huelga,
organizas una revuelta violenta y cortas todas las carreteras del país,
porque tú lo que quieres son 3 vacas.)
Americam Capitalism: You have 2 cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of 4 cows. You are surprised when the cow dies.
(Capitalismo americano: Tienes dos vacas. Vendes una y fuerzas a la otra a
producir la leche de cuatro vacas. Te quedas sorprendido cuando ella
muere.)
Japanese Economy: You have 2 cows. You redesign them to a scale 1:10 and produce double the milk. But this doesn´t make you rich. Later, you film the whole process and turn it into a cartoon called “Vakimon” and incomprehensibly you become a millionaire.
(Economía japonesa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Las rediseñas a escala 1:10 y que te
produzcan el doble de leche. Pero no te haces rico. Luego ruedas todo el
proceso en dibujos animados. Los llamas 'Vakimon' e incomprensiblemente,
te haces millonario.)
German Economy: You have 2 cows. Through a process of re-engineering you are able to make the cows live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves. Nobody thinks you have any merit
(Economía alemana: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Mediante un proceso de reingeniería
consigues que vivan 100 años, coman una vez al mes y se ordeñen solas.
Nadie cree que tenga ningún mérito.)
Russian Economy: You have 2 cows. You count them and you have 5 cows. You count them again and you have 257 cows. You recount them to find 3 cows. You stop counting the cows and open another bottle of vodka.
(Economía rusa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Cuentas y tienes 5 vacas. Vuelves a
contar y te salen 257 vacas Vuelves a contar y te salen 3 vacas. Dejas de
contar vacas y abres otra botella de vodka.)
(Las Principales Teorías Económicas Explicadas Con Vacas - Segunda parte) ...
British Capitalism: You have 2 cows. Both are mad
(Capitalismo británico: Tienes dos vacas. Las dos están locas.)
French Economy: You have 2 cows. Therefore you declare a strike, organise a violent riot and cut all the roads in the country because you want 3 cows.
(Economía francesa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Entonces te declaras en huelga,
organizas una revuelta violenta y cortas todas las carreteras del país,
porque tú lo que quieres son 3 vacas.)
Americam Capitalism: You have 2 cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of 4 cows. You are surprised when the cow dies.
(Capitalismo americano: Tienes dos vacas. Vendes una y fuerzas a la otra a
producir la leche de cuatro vacas. Te quedas sorprendido cuando ella
muere.)
Japanese Economy: You have 2 cows. You redesign them to a scale 1:10 and produce double the milk. But this doesn´t make you rich. Later, you film the whole process and turn it into a cartoon called “Vakimon” and incomprehensibly you become a millionaire.
(Economía japonesa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Las rediseñas a escala 1:10 y que te
produzcan el doble de leche. Pero no te haces rico. Luego ruedas todo el
proceso en dibujos animados. Los llamas 'Vakimon' e incomprensiblemente,
te haces millonario.)
German Economy: You have 2 cows. Through a process of re-engineering you are able to make the cows live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves. Nobody thinks you have any merit
(Economía alemana: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Mediante un proceso de reingeniería
consigues que vivan 100 años, coman una vez al mes y se ordeñen solas.
Nadie cree que tenga ningún mérito.)
Russian Economy: You have 2 cows. You count them and you have 5 cows. You count them again and you have 257 cows. You recount them to find 3 cows. You stop counting the cows and open another bottle of vodka.
(Economía rusa: Tú tienes 2 vacas. Cuentas y tienes 5 vacas. Vuelves a
contar y te salen 257 vacas Vuelves a contar y te salen 3 vacas. Dejas de
contar vacas y abres otra botella de vodka.)
Finance&Economics: Spain offers a test case for labour-market reform in Europe
Spain offers a test case for labour-market reform in Europe
WHEN Spain won the World Cup in July, it confirmed its reputation for fluid and efficient football. If only its economy worked as well. GDP growth is sluggish and a fifth of the workforce is unemployed. Two features of Spain’s jobs market share much of the blame: the high cost of firing permanent workers, and a wage system that binds firms to industry-wide pay deals. On June 16th, the day Spain played its first World Cup match, the government set out its plans to cure these ills. The reform bill, passed by parliament on September 9th, falls well short of what was needed but may nevertheless do some good.
Changes were long overdue. Because it is so costly to lay off workers, businesses are reluctant to hire them in the first place. A 1994 measure to promote jobs made it easier to hire temporary workers and led to a sharp rise in their numbers. But only a small proportion of them move on to “protected” jobs. Most are laid off at the end of their contract. The high churn among temporary workers, most of them young, female or migrant, means firms have little incentive to train them.
This has pushed many into low-skilled work. The impact on Spain’s productivity is compounded by rigid wage rules. Last year nominal pay rose by 3% despite the weak economy. Firms have to pay the rates that are negotiated centrally between unions and employer groups, rather than tailor pay to prevailing business conditions. That costs jobs and hurts efficiency. Firms cannot undercut rivals on wages, which limits their ability to grow. Research by Rafael Doménech, at BBVA, a Madrid-based bank, shows that Spanish firms are less productive than American ones partly because they tend to be small.
Ideally the rules would allow wage bargaining to take place locally and promote a good balance between job flexibility and security for all workers. A group of 100 Spanish economists had pushed for a “single contract”, with employment rights that rise gradually with tenure. That would make it cheap and easy to get rid of recent recruits that turn out to be flops (which is an appealing feature of temporary contracts), but firms would also have an incentive to invest in the workers they hold on to.
The reforms fall short of that. A change in the main contract for new permanent workers lowers severance pay from 45 to 33 days’ wages for each year worked. (Existing workers are unaffected.) This could fall to 20 days’ pay for all workers at firms that can show they face large and persistent losses. Spain’s complex wage-bargaining system remains intact but firms can now opt out if their employees agree.
How effective these new rules will be depends on how they are interpreted. “It could take years to clarify under what circumstances firms can fire workers and pay only 20 days’ compensation,” says Luis Garicano, of the London School of Economics. In the past, Spain’s labour courts have taken a dim view of firms seeking to cut jobs. Firms may find it tricky to persuade workers to accept lower wages than mandated by national pay deals. Spain’s jobless benefits are quite generous and are paid for long periods, so many workers may opt for redundancy rather than take a pay cut.
A lot also depends on how actively the government promotes the reforms. A big worry is that the labour ministry seems just as attached to the status quo as labour unions and business groups are. And even if officials support the changes, few economists expect Spain’s jobless rate to plummet. But a fall in the share of temporary employees in the workforce, and weaker wage growth in response to high unemployment, would be promising signs that the reforms are working.
Since only a year ago the possibility of any reform at all seemed remote, even such mild progress has been greeted with relief. “This takes Spain from worst to better,” says Angel Ubide, at Tudor Investment Corporation. But it may not catch up with its football team for a while.
WHEN Spain won the World Cup in July, it confirmed its reputation for fluid and efficient football. If only its economy worked as well. GDP growth is sluggish and a fifth of the workforce is unemployed. Two features of Spain’s jobs market share much of the blame: the high cost of firing permanent workers, and a wage system that binds firms to industry-wide pay deals. On June 16th, the day Spain played its first World Cup match, the government set out its plans to cure these ills. The reform bill, passed by parliament on September 9th, falls well short of what was needed but may nevertheless do some good.
Changes were long overdue. Because it is so costly to lay off workers, businesses are reluctant to hire them in the first place. A 1994 measure to promote jobs made it easier to hire temporary workers and led to a sharp rise in their numbers. But only a small proportion of them move on to “protected” jobs. Most are laid off at the end of their contract. The high churn among temporary workers, most of them young, female or migrant, means firms have little incentive to train them.
This has pushed many into low-skilled work. The impact on Spain’s productivity is compounded by rigid wage rules. Last year nominal pay rose by 3% despite the weak economy. Firms have to pay the rates that are negotiated centrally between unions and employer groups, rather than tailor pay to prevailing business conditions. That costs jobs and hurts efficiency. Firms cannot undercut rivals on wages, which limits their ability to grow. Research by Rafael Doménech, at BBVA, a Madrid-based bank, shows that Spanish firms are less productive than American ones partly because they tend to be small.
Ideally the rules would allow wage bargaining to take place locally and promote a good balance between job flexibility and security for all workers. A group of 100 Spanish economists had pushed for a “single contract”, with employment rights that rise gradually with tenure. That would make it cheap and easy to get rid of recent recruits that turn out to be flops (which is an appealing feature of temporary contracts), but firms would also have an incentive to invest in the workers they hold on to.
The reforms fall short of that. A change in the main contract for new permanent workers lowers severance pay from 45 to 33 days’ wages for each year worked. (Existing workers are unaffected.) This could fall to 20 days’ pay for all workers at firms that can show they face large and persistent losses. Spain’s complex wage-bargaining system remains intact but firms can now opt out if their employees agree.
How effective these new rules will be depends on how they are interpreted. “It could take years to clarify under what circumstances firms can fire workers and pay only 20 days’ compensation,” says Luis Garicano, of the London School of Economics. In the past, Spain’s labour courts have taken a dim view of firms seeking to cut jobs. Firms may find it tricky to persuade workers to accept lower wages than mandated by national pay deals. Spain’s jobless benefits are quite generous and are paid for long periods, so many workers may opt for redundancy rather than take a pay cut.
A lot also depends on how actively the government promotes the reforms. A big worry is that the labour ministry seems just as attached to the status quo as labour unions and business groups are. And even if officials support the changes, few economists expect Spain’s jobless rate to plummet. But a fall in the share of temporary employees in the workforce, and weaker wage growth in response to high unemployment, would be promising signs that the reforms are working.
Since only a year ago the possibility of any reform at all seemed remote, even such mild progress has been greeted with relief. “This takes Spain from worst to better,” says Angel Ubide, at Tudor Investment Corporation. But it may not catch up with its football team for a while.
Finance&Economics: Lessons to be learnt from the Gap logo debacle
Lessons to be learnt from the Gap logo debacle
BBC
Gap clothing company has ditched its new logo after only one week, due to an online backlash. So what are the perils of changing a company emblem?
Cheapy, tacky, ordinary.
Some of the adjectives used by Gap customers to describe its now-axed logo. After less than one week, it has been consigned to the graveyard inhabited by rejected arrows, squiggles and inadvertently offensive corporate emblems.
The clean font, with a small blue square overlapping the "P", prompted such an outcry that the US clothing firm initially enlisted the help of the public in rethinking the design.
But within days it announced, early on Tuesday morning, it was returning to the solid blue box and "GAP" written in a capitalised serif font, a look introduced 20 years ago.
British customers won't have noticed because the change had yet to be implemented in the UK.
But Gap isn't the first company to learn that messing with one's visual identity is a risky business. So what did it do wrong, and what other logo makeovers have come under fire?
Gap, 2010
For a few days, it was goodbye to the 20-year-old solid blue square and the capital letters, hello to Helvetica and a small blue patch.
Last week, unveiling the new design, Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, said it was more contemporary and current, honouring the "heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward".
But after a slew of criticism, much of it on Facebook, the company promised to take on board customers' own suggested logos as it reconsidered the emblem.
Then on Monday evening, the purveyor of preppy fashions folded, admitting its mistakes in not consulting its customers first.
Gap is trying to change its stripes without changing the product offering, says marketing expert Craig Smith.
"Where marketers often go wrong is they think they have identified an opportunity for the brand to evolve and become something else, become more modern, and they think they can shortcut this by changing the visual identity, and carry the customers with them.
"It's a fundamental error because customers may not be ready to go with you. The product positioning has to change first, then the logo should be the last thing."
My personal feelings are that the typeface is fine, says award-winning logo designer Jon Pink of J Pink Design.
"The letter forms in lowercase have an attractive quality to them and the simplicity is refreshing. I think if that was really a complaint, there would be similar complaints regarding other famous logos which utilise Helvetica in their logos, like American Apparel, [US homewares retailers] Crate&Barrel, Jeep, Panasonic, British Gas and 3M.
"However the addition of the blue square seems to be hated on a united front - it just looks cheap, tacky and very dull. So whilst including some connection of the original logo makes perfect sense in business terms, this illustrates perfectly that logic and reason can play second fiddle to gut instinct."
BP, 2000
In 2000, BP unveiled a new greener logo, replacing the shield with a green, white and yellow flower-shaped one. At the same time, it adopted the slogan Beyond Petroleum.
The move cost £4.5m ($7m) in brand research, with tens of millions more dollars to be spent supporting the change. Environmentalists accused the firm of spending more on the logo than on renewable energy.
But it was 10 years later when the dangers of adopting a "green" emblem were clear, says Mr Smith.
"They've only learnt the error of their ways with the Deepwater Horizon crisis, because you can't pretend that a fossil fuel company is in any sense an eco-friendly brand.
"You immediately lay a trap for yourself. Since the crisis, lots of people online have been corrupting the logo."
The lesson there is that you can't pretend to be something that you're not, he adds.
BT, 1991
British Telecom's piper was introduced in 1991 and lasted 12 years, but at the time he was widely ridiculed, both for the £50m price tag and the way he looked like he was knocking back a yard of ale. He was preceded by, and later followed by, more conceptual designs.
"I think BT were trying to visually embody a human, almost personal element through the piper image," says Mr Pink.
"He is listening and communicating at the same time which would bode well with BT at the time. There is no doubt that depicting a human figure would also help the company achieve a more personal image, perhaps with more focus on customer service than it had before, but the style and pose were its failing points."
The colouring, replacing a purple and yellow "T", was trying to reinforce the British element, he says.
"Once a business has established its brand positioning amongst the general public, it is often the logo that is seen to embody that branding and therefore acts as the visual connection between consumer and business much like we connect a person's face with his personality.
"In fact that is a good analogy to logos and brands - if we think of a brand being someone's personality and the logo being someone's face it makes it easier to see why as humans we like familiarity and how breaking that connection can cause confusion and puzzlement."
BBC
Gap clothing company has ditched its new logo after only one week, due to an online backlash. So what are the perils of changing a company emblem?
Cheapy, tacky, ordinary.
Some of the adjectives used by Gap customers to describe its now-axed logo. After less than one week, it has been consigned to the graveyard inhabited by rejected arrows, squiggles and inadvertently offensive corporate emblems.
The clean font, with a small blue square overlapping the "P", prompted such an outcry that the US clothing firm initially enlisted the help of the public in rethinking the design.
But within days it announced, early on Tuesday morning, it was returning to the solid blue box and "GAP" written in a capitalised serif font, a look introduced 20 years ago.
British customers won't have noticed because the change had yet to be implemented in the UK.
But Gap isn't the first company to learn that messing with one's visual identity is a risky business. So what did it do wrong, and what other logo makeovers have come under fire?
Gap, 2010
For a few days, it was goodbye to the 20-year-old solid blue square and the capital letters, hello to Helvetica and a small blue patch.
Last week, unveiling the new design, Marka Hansen, president of Gap North America, said it was more contemporary and current, honouring the "heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward".
But after a slew of criticism, much of it on Facebook, the company promised to take on board customers' own suggested logos as it reconsidered the emblem.
Then on Monday evening, the purveyor of preppy fashions folded, admitting its mistakes in not consulting its customers first.
Gap is trying to change its stripes without changing the product offering, says marketing expert Craig Smith.
"Where marketers often go wrong is they think they have identified an opportunity for the brand to evolve and become something else, become more modern, and they think they can shortcut this by changing the visual identity, and carry the customers with them.
"It's a fundamental error because customers may not be ready to go with you. The product positioning has to change first, then the logo should be the last thing."
My personal feelings are that the typeface is fine, says award-winning logo designer Jon Pink of J Pink Design.
"The letter forms in lowercase have an attractive quality to them and the simplicity is refreshing. I think if that was really a complaint, there would be similar complaints regarding other famous logos which utilise Helvetica in their logos, like American Apparel, [US homewares retailers] Crate&Barrel, Jeep, Panasonic, British Gas and 3M.
"However the addition of the blue square seems to be hated on a united front - it just looks cheap, tacky and very dull. So whilst including some connection of the original logo makes perfect sense in business terms, this illustrates perfectly that logic and reason can play second fiddle to gut instinct."
BP, 2000
In 2000, BP unveiled a new greener logo, replacing the shield with a green, white and yellow flower-shaped one. At the same time, it adopted the slogan Beyond Petroleum.
The move cost £4.5m ($7m) in brand research, with tens of millions more dollars to be spent supporting the change. Environmentalists accused the firm of spending more on the logo than on renewable energy.
But it was 10 years later when the dangers of adopting a "green" emblem were clear, says Mr Smith.
"They've only learnt the error of their ways with the Deepwater Horizon crisis, because you can't pretend that a fossil fuel company is in any sense an eco-friendly brand.
"You immediately lay a trap for yourself. Since the crisis, lots of people online have been corrupting the logo."
The lesson there is that you can't pretend to be something that you're not, he adds.
BT, 1991
British Telecom's piper was introduced in 1991 and lasted 12 years, but at the time he was widely ridiculed, both for the £50m price tag and the way he looked like he was knocking back a yard of ale. He was preceded by, and later followed by, more conceptual designs.
"I think BT were trying to visually embody a human, almost personal element through the piper image," says Mr Pink.
"He is listening and communicating at the same time which would bode well with BT at the time. There is no doubt that depicting a human figure would also help the company achieve a more personal image, perhaps with more focus on customer service than it had before, but the style and pose were its failing points."
The colouring, replacing a purple and yellow "T", was trying to reinforce the British element, he says.
"Once a business has established its brand positioning amongst the general public, it is often the logo that is seen to embody that branding and therefore acts as the visual connection between consumer and business much like we connect a person's face with his personality.
"In fact that is a good analogy to logos and brands - if we think of a brand being someone's personality and the logo being someone's face it makes it easier to see why as humans we like familiarity and how breaking that connection can cause confusion and puzzlement."
Current Affairs: Snoring to success in Spain's first national siesta championship
Snoring to success in Spain's first national siesta championship
CNN
• Spain's first national siesta championship is underway in Madrid
• Contestants have to sleep for 20 minutes
• The siesta in Spain often lasts an hour or more
• Traditionalists blame pace of modern life for decline of siesta
Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- The competitors started off by lying down. On blue sofas. Some in pajamas. Most fast asleep and a few on the verge of snoring.
What is billed as Spain's first national siesta championship is underway in Madrid.
It's something of a wake-up call for a country that's become so fast-paced that many say the traditional siesta is at risk.
"The modern life is a danger that we feel is against the siesta. When you sleep la siesta everyone has the image that your life is calm, you have a good life. And then, the modern life is a direct attack," said Daniel Blanco, president of the National Association of Friends of the Siesta.
His group, which includes about 50 of his friends across Spain, persuaded a shopping center, Islazul, to host and pay prize money for the siesta competition.
Nursing assistant Sara Ruz, 22, was one who stepped up to defend the siesta.
She gobbled down a quick lunch of fried chicken from a shopping center stand, not mentioning that it's just that kind of rushing which is blamed for hurting the siesta.
Ruz then went to the competition area. A doctor attached a pulse meter to her chest so the judge, sitting in a lifeguard-type chair overlooking the five sofas, could tell whether she's really asleep.
In this competition, the siesta is limited to 20 minutes, a duration which the organizers and some doctors say is optimal; a quick nap after lunch to get refreshed, without entering a deep sleep cycle.
But the traditional siesta in Spain often lasts an hour or more.
Hundreds of contestants are expected in the siesta championship which began October 14 and continues through October 23.
The intricate rules award points to contestants depending on how long they sleep during the 20-minute competition time, any unusual positions they sleep in, eye-catching pajamas they might be wearing, and yes, a lot of extra points for snoring.
The bustling shopping center where the siesta championship is being held is a prime example of the changing times in Spain. The stores don't close at lunchtime -- which is what used to happen with Spanish shops -- so instead of sleeping the siesta, people are working or shopping.
Siesta lovers complain that Spain's frenetic push to compete in the global economy means longer, more pressure-package workdays, even if some Spanish workers still get a two-hour lunch break.
But Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist for CMC Markets of London, said on a visit to Madrid, "The Spanish are basically trying to have their cake and eat it too. They're trying to be very Europeanized and at least in part keep some of the traditions."
"This is 2010," Laidi continued. "We're talking about the potential of a collapsing euro. We're talking about surging debt, and people are still wanting to preserve the tradition of sleeping while the rest of the world is working?"
Spain's 20 percent unemployed might reluctantly have more time for siesta right now.
But not Fermin Lominchar, a construction masonry worker who rarely takes a siesta, although he won the first round in the siesta competition.
"The Spanish siesta is in danger. Because you have to work a lot to earn money here."
Back at the couches, the doctor woke up Sara Ruz from her siesta. She said she did finally fall asleep, despite the shopping center noise and onlookers, because she's accustomed to siesta time.
A grand siesta champ will be chosen by October 23 by the public, including internet voting.
The first cash prize is €1,000, about $1,400, in credit to purchase goods at the shopping center. Spanish media have given a lot of attention to the championship.
But will it be enough to save the Spanish tradition of the siesta ?
CNN
• Spain's first national siesta championship is underway in Madrid
• Contestants have to sleep for 20 minutes
• The siesta in Spain often lasts an hour or more
• Traditionalists blame pace of modern life for decline of siesta
Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- The competitors started off by lying down. On blue sofas. Some in pajamas. Most fast asleep and a few on the verge of snoring.
What is billed as Spain's first national siesta championship is underway in Madrid.
It's something of a wake-up call for a country that's become so fast-paced that many say the traditional siesta is at risk.
"The modern life is a danger that we feel is against the siesta. When you sleep la siesta everyone has the image that your life is calm, you have a good life. And then, the modern life is a direct attack," said Daniel Blanco, president of the National Association of Friends of the Siesta.
His group, which includes about 50 of his friends across Spain, persuaded a shopping center, Islazul, to host and pay prize money for the siesta competition.
Nursing assistant Sara Ruz, 22, was one who stepped up to defend the siesta.
She gobbled down a quick lunch of fried chicken from a shopping center stand, not mentioning that it's just that kind of rushing which is blamed for hurting the siesta.
Ruz then went to the competition area. A doctor attached a pulse meter to her chest so the judge, sitting in a lifeguard-type chair overlooking the five sofas, could tell whether she's really asleep.
In this competition, the siesta is limited to 20 minutes, a duration which the organizers and some doctors say is optimal; a quick nap after lunch to get refreshed, without entering a deep sleep cycle.
But the traditional siesta in Spain often lasts an hour or more.
Hundreds of contestants are expected in the siesta championship which began October 14 and continues through October 23.
The intricate rules award points to contestants depending on how long they sleep during the 20-minute competition time, any unusual positions they sleep in, eye-catching pajamas they might be wearing, and yes, a lot of extra points for snoring.
The bustling shopping center where the siesta championship is being held is a prime example of the changing times in Spain. The stores don't close at lunchtime -- which is what used to happen with Spanish shops -- so instead of sleeping the siesta, people are working or shopping.
Siesta lovers complain that Spain's frenetic push to compete in the global economy means longer, more pressure-package workdays, even if some Spanish workers still get a two-hour lunch break.
But Ashraf Laidi, chief market strategist for CMC Markets of London, said on a visit to Madrid, "The Spanish are basically trying to have their cake and eat it too. They're trying to be very Europeanized and at least in part keep some of the traditions."
"This is 2010," Laidi continued. "We're talking about the potential of a collapsing euro. We're talking about surging debt, and people are still wanting to preserve the tradition of sleeping while the rest of the world is working?"
Spain's 20 percent unemployed might reluctantly have more time for siesta right now.
But not Fermin Lominchar, a construction masonry worker who rarely takes a siesta, although he won the first round in the siesta competition.
"The Spanish siesta is in danger. Because you have to work a lot to earn money here."
Back at the couches, the doctor woke up Sara Ruz from her siesta. She said she did finally fall asleep, despite the shopping center noise and onlookers, because she's accustomed to siesta time.
A grand siesta champ will be chosen by October 23 by the public, including internet voting.
The first cash prize is €1,000, about $1,400, in credit to purchase goods at the shopping center. Spanish media have given a lot of attention to the championship.
But will it be enough to save the Spanish tradition of the siesta ?
