WotD: the day before

1. der Vortag, der vorherige Tag, der Tag zuvor
2. de vorige dag, de dag tevoren
3. el día anterior, el día antes
4. el dia anterior, el dia d'abans
5. la veille, le jour précédent
6. y dydd o'r blaen
7. an lá roimhe
8. przedwczoraj
9. 전날
10. 前天 qiántiān

Example sentences:

1. Jeder Tag schlimmer als der Vorherige.
2. Elke dag erger dan de dag ervoor.
3. Cada día peor que el anterior.
4. Cada dia pitjor que l'anterior.
5. Chaque jour pire que la veille.
6. Pob ddydd gwaeth na'r dydd o'r blaen.
7. Gach lá níos measa ná an lá roimhe.
8. Każdy dzień gorzej niż przedwczoraj.
9. 날마다는 전날보다 더 나쁘다.
10. 每天比前天更坏 měi tiān bǐ qiántiān gèng huài

Lame-bada

My first opportunity to travel around Europe came in the spring of 1991 during a break between semesters at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg. Later, one of my standing jokes was that in every city I went to, I passed an Andean band playing the "Lambada" on a street corner. (In fact, that's not quite true; in some cities I passed a couple of them.)

What made this joke so amusing to me is that I couldn't think of a less "authentic" tune for a group of "traditional" musicians to play than one that owed its popularity to the conscious attempts of a French producer to create an international dance craze by means of a pop band he assembled and promoted. Turns out that the joke was on me, since the song in question was actually an unauthorised translation of the Bolivian hit "Llorando se fue", which incorporates Andean folk melodies. Here it is from the men in ponchos who first made it famous, Los K'jarkas:

I confess, part of me is relieved to discover this, since I'd always reproached myself a bit for enjoying something so cheesy and faddish. You'd think by this point I'd long since moved beyond such hopelessly pre-postmodern concepts as "authenticity"--particularly in the realm of popular music--but what can I say except that old prejudices die hard?

How to tell there's a major front across the Midwest

It's 41℉ in Chicago right now. Just north of here in Milwaukee, they're predicting snow for tonight.

In my hometown of St Louis, 300 miles to the south, it's 71℉. The cherries are in bloom at the Botanical Gardens.