In linguistics, noise is any interference, barrier, or disturbance that distorts, alters, or prevents the correct transmission and reception of a message between sender and receiver. In a way, we can say that noise is an alteration of the communication channel, so that the message cannot reach correctly from the sender to the receiver. A door in the middle of two rooms is noise. Lack of phone coverage when we are in Son Macià is noise. A parallel conversation at a table of people dining that sounds louder than your own is noise. Cataracts in the eyes that make it difficult for us to read a message on a screen could even be considered noise.

In discussing linguistic landscape, we refer to the language –or languages– present on street signs, shop windows, restaurant menus displayed outside, or ephemeral signage, such as announcements of cultural events or papers stuck on street furniture offering domestic services. The study of the linguistic landscape was inaugurated in 1997 with the English article by Landry and Bourhis, which in Catalan would be Linguistic Landscape and Ethnolinguistic Vitality: An Empirical Study. These authors use the term to analyze the visibility and relevance of languages in shops and advertisements, based on the observation of written linguistic uses in the public space of Quebec. Their fundamental contribution was to consider geographical space as another domain of linguistic use, that is, as a platform for the sociolinguistic study of languages. Subsequently, the study of the physical landscape was joined by the sound linguistic landscape, which expands the concept to encompass everything that is heard in urban centers. Who among us has not stopped to listen, walking through the streets of Palma or our town, to notice which languages are spoken there? Sometimes, you smile inwardly with joy when you hear young people speaking good Catalan on Sant Miquel street.

A few days ago, the parliamentary majority decided to repeal the Democratic Memory Law, which I had the honor of drafting in my final days as a member of parliament. This text enjoyed broad consensus at the time, including the support of the People's Party (PP) on many points, as had previously occurred with the Law on Mass Graves. It's hard to accept that laws that come late, but which nevertheless seek to provide truth, justice, and reparations, as the memory movement has always demanded, can be overturned so easily. I also find it difficult to accept these changes in position by parties that aspire to govern for a social majority, in less than a decade.

Ordering a Glovo, a matcha tea, and having brunch are some of the typical phrases you'd never use if you weren't from Palma. This is according to the Ximbomba Agency's account, whose video encourages people to share sayings that aren't commonly heard in smaller towns.

It's two in the afternoon. In Plaça del Tub, in the center of Palma, hundreds of students leave the Ramon Llull and Joan Alcover high schools almost simultaneously. It's a moment that repeats itself every day and has become a ritual. Since the Ministry of Education banned the use of mobile phones inside schools, many young people carry them hidden in their backpacks and, as soon as they cross the threshold, they hurriedly turn them on. In a few seconds, their eyes are glued to the screen to check dozens—or hundreds—of notifications. They walk in groups, but with their phones in hand and their eyes glued to their devices. Perhaps, in a few weeks, this scene might cease to be so common.

It's two in the afternoon. In Plaça del Tub, in the center of Palma, hundreds of students leave the Ramon Llull and Joan Alcover high schools almost simultaneously. It's a moment that repeats itself every day and has become a ritual. Since the Ministry of Education banned the use of mobile phones inside schools, many young people carry them hidden in their backpacks and, as soon as they cross the threshold, they hurriedly turn them on. In a few seconds, their eyes are glued to the screen to check the dozens—or hundreds—of pending notifications. They walk in groups, but with their phones in hand and their eyes glued to their devices. Perhaps, in a few weeks, this scene might cease to be so common.

Every week, when I sit down to write this section, I do so with the latest article still fresh, recently published. I share it, and my personal torture begins. We are healthy children of the internet and social media, so I can't help but measure my effort by clicks, messages, likesShares. I analyze my work through the eyes of others. And I make an effort to ensure this doesn't stifle my writing; that it doesn't dictate the rhythm of the keys in the next installment. I write each new article as if it should be the last. Every week, I start with a clean slate. And yet, I survive another week. Without remembering that the previous week was exactly the same.

On this straight, arrow-shaped line that is life, any invitation to stop and look back becomes a disturbing experience. We rush so fast toward the future that we forget it's with that same speed that we move away from the present and leave the past behind. And I no longer know if it's deliberate: to avoid having time to consider whether we've made a mistake, because we don't know exactly who we are or what we want, for fear of having taken the wrong shortcut at some point and not knowing how to retrace our steps. Or perhaps this is the only pace to get there. The fact is, at least for me, my relationship with time is becoming increasingly dysfunctional.

Saint Honorat is the patron saint of Algaida. We don't know if it was the erroneous speech by the parish priest of Llucmajor last year at the solemn mass for Saint Honorat's Day, in which he confused Saint Honorat of Amiens with Saint Honorat of Arle, the patron saint of Algaida. But the fact is that these days an Instagram account has appeared with the title Sant Honorat Patró (Saint Honorat Patron) that aims to promote, publicize, and provide information about the figure of Algaida's patron saint and the winter festival itself.

If everyone fulfills their balance sheets and goals ofNew YearIn 2026, we'll be lonelier than ever. "This year, I've decided to prioritize myself," "I want to take care of myself," "I've resolved to learn to say no." I listen in amazement to this litany of mantras that floods my own mind. feed From Instagram. 2025 has been the year of the word 'narcissism,' a concept that until recently was banished from our vocabulary and which has been a godsend for finding a substitute for 'toxic.' If in 2024 everything was toxic, in 2025 everything has been narcissistic. And this abuse of the term is starting to stink, especially on the part of those who decide to put themselves first, above all else.

New Year's Eve is quite a commotion. It has nothing to do with ChristmasThose of us who feel uncomfortable during this time of year do so for other reasons, not because we have to share a table with people we only see briefly every 12 months, all wearing the same winter clothes (What do their arms look like? Maybe they have a hideous tattoo and we don't even know it). It's a jarring pause that, at least for me, always catches me off guard. The whole year is right there, on December 31st. And yet, I still feel like I'm late (like with everything else in life, for that matter). It's a passive time: it does nothing, it simply runs out, marking a countdown. And, when it does, it suddenly gives retroactive importance to everything that's happened to you that year.

I'm hesitant to write about it. I'm not sure where this thread I want to pull will lead me: whether it will unravel everything or if it's just a loose end. I'm also hesitant because this topic has already been discussed enough. And quite well (my colleague Claudia Darder, in fact, reminded us that "We have the power to be happy", in a Substack publication on this subject).

ARA Baleares has opened a new account on X (formerly Twitter) after permanently losing its previous profile due to a cybersecurity incident that required the platform's intervention and, ultimately, the account's deletion. Despite exhausting all possible efforts with the company, it has not been possible to recover the profile. Given this situation, and with the aim of continuing to provide regular news coverage and maintain contact with the online community, the newspaper has launched a new account on X: @diariARABalears.

Surprised by the outage of ChatGPT and X for hours. A massive failure in the infrastructure of Cloudflare, one of the leading internet network and security providers, caused a widespread shutdown affecting thousands of users worldwide. Among the most affected services were ChatGPT, the social network X, and various digital platforms that also rely on Cloudflare to manage traffic and protect themselves from attacks. According to Cloudflare, the incident originated from an "unusual traffic spike" that triggered internal errors in its global network, resulting in the inability to access services hosted or protected by the system. OpenAI, for its part, confirmed that ChatGPT was experiencing "high error rates" and that its websites and services were partially inoperative. The company attributed the outage to the external failure and indicated that it is working with Cloudflare to restore normal service. The incident had a widespread impact, as Cloudflare is a key element in the operation of a significant portion of global internet traffic. Platforms like X, as well as other everyday digital services, experienced outages or intermittent service while the company deployed a solution. After a few hours, Cloudflare reported that the service was beginning to recover and that error rates would gradually decrease, although some users would continue to experience anomalies. Investigations to determine the exact cause of the traffic spike and prevent future incidents are ongoing.

National Police officers in Palma arrested a man on Wednesday as the suspected perpetrator of online threats after he posted a comment on a popular social network targeting a group of underage girls in connection with a school bullying case. According to the Balearic Islands Police Headquarters, the post was directed at minors involved in an alleged bullying case that reportedly resulted in the death of another minor. The message, written from an anonymous profile, was posted as a comment on a news story that received significant media attention. The events date back to the second half of October, when the National Police's Technological and Economic Crimes Unit launched an investigation following a report of threats made via social media.

He Instagram profile Bean head with ears A social media profile has published a list of terrifying things to do in Mallorca during All Saints' Day. Taking advantage of the Halloween craze and the spooky theme of this time of year, instead of the traditional cemetery visits, this profile has used irony and humor to offer social commentary and highlight some of the most difficult things to do or see, or that residents of Mallorca have to endure.