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Agnes and Anastasia
Martyrs in the Diocletian Persecution
Martyred 303 A.D.
While Diocletian was noted as an organizer and ruler, he became notorious as the instigator of the “tenth persecution.” By his order, in 303, churches were torn down, sacred writings were ordered given up and destroyed, all assemblies of Christians were prohibited, Christians in public office were removed from their positions, and all were subject to torture. The emperor’s purpose was to exterminate the Christian religion.
Agnes and Anastasia were two of the many who suffered death as a result of the bloody edict. Agnes was a young maiden of wealth and beauty, and many of the young noblemen sought her in marriage, but she refused them all on the ground that she devoted her life to the service of Christ. Her suitors accused her to the governor, expecting that threats and torture would cause her to give up her religion. She was entreated and threatened by the judge, and the instruments of torture were shown to her. She was then commanded to sacrifice to the idols, but she steadfastly refused. The enraged judge then ordered her to be beheaded.
Anastasia’s father was a pagan, but her mother was a Christian. The death of her mother was a sad blow. Her father compelled her to marry a pagan. Her husband, finding that she was a Christian, treated her cruelly and squandered her property. In a few years he died, and Anastasia devoted herself to works of charity, using what remained of her fortune in relieving the poor Christians, many of whom were in prison. Her works excited suspicion. She and three female servants were arrested, and commanded to sacrifice idols. This they refused to do. The servants were executed at once. Anastasia was banished for a time, but subsequently was brought back to Rome and burned alive.
Christians died, but Christianity lived on and grew under persecution. Diocletian abdicated in 305 A.D. In 311 was issued the edict of universal toleration.
Reference: Woman: Her Position, Influence and Achievement Throughout the Civilized World. Designed and Arranged by William C. King. Published in 1900 by The King-Richardson Co. Copyright 1903 The King-Richardson Co. | English | NL | b4ad78359664f030e7bbf23cd1b4b49306aed1aae60c584c53acdcb1cf789ac4 |
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Romantic Suspense
Published by Carina Press
Released on January 26, 2015
This was one that caused a few blinks of surprise in the beginning because I had certain expectations going in. I read the first book in the series, liked it, and so I picked this one up without reading the blurb. Yeah, that might have helped me see that setting, character backgrounds, etc were going to be vastly different. First book focused on a military special forces guy who is really an Immortal Viking because you know- what better career would an Immortal Viking excel at? Well…how about a professional thief and long-con guy with a conscience and a heart. Yep, pretty different story path there already. I had to peek once to see if I accidentally made a mistake thinking this was part of the same series. No mistake, but hey, I went with it and a good time was had by all.
The first book was pretty hard to top for excitement, danger and high-octane thrills and this one didn’t try. It offered a lot of those things, but had its own panache. No cookie cutter stories here. I loved how it took a whole new approach while still maintaining continuity with the series. I always enjoyed those classic cat burglar and long con capers like To Catch a Thief, How to Steal a Million, The Hustler, Mission Impossible, Entrapment etc so to see the latest Immortal Viking, Stig, running a con and partnered with a beautiful woman with secrets of her own then having to go on the run together because it seems everyone once a piece of them for one reason or another, I was all sorts of tickled to death and settled in for some good entertaining stuff. Probably a good idea to read them in order because lots of the trouble starts in the previous book, but the reader would do alright getting them out of order too.
Story opens with wine seller Christina Alvarez Mancini arriving in London for a wine auction planning to upset the plans of a fake who is using her company to do his scam. She created a persona of a business partner when she opened her business because the wealthy wine lovers won’t put their trust in a lone woman hence the creation of a fake male boss while she goes around pretending to work for him and follow his instructions. However, she is shocked to learn that someone is now pretending to be her boss and is selling off quantities of rare wine that doesn’t exist all in the name of her business. She knows that she must be careful because even a whiff of scandal will make her persona non grata in the international wine community. Her first encounter with the imposter leaves her gaping. If she hadn’t known better even she would believe him because he is just that good, attractive, and oh yes, associated with some seriously dangerous people who snatch them both on the orders of someone else.
Stig was named a thief when his connection with the other Vikings began over a thousand years ago. One of the Vikings acts as surety for him so he isn’t punished for the crime in exchange he is indebted to serve the man for a few years- that stretch into eternity when their group are changed into Immortals on one fatal venture. He became the butt of their derision when he proved to be reticent about fighting and battle. He lives by his charm and wits. He is heartsore and guilt-ridden over a human woman that he could not save and now the monument commemorating her death is in danger of being removed. He needs money fast to preserve this last bit of Nora’s memory hence his scheme to lighten a few wealthy pockets. All is going well until the one weak point of his scheme shows up ready to expose him as a fake. He admires the fiery Christina and enjoys the game of toying with her until his past catches up and puts her in mortal danger because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time with him. He can’t afford to let her loose with all she knows and the fact that others know she is close to him and would use that so he drags her on the run with him. Along the way, they both learn a lot about each other and themselves. In the end, Stig’s life comes full circle. He is confronted with a fiercesome terrifying situation and he can either run to safety or prove he has honor in him.
The story takes some time setting things up even while providing some thrilling escape sequences. It seems to have little connection with the series story arc until well past the mid-way point, but then it ties in neatly. I found the distinct differences in this one that matched the new Viking hero really cool on the author’s part and I appreciated the vastly different hero personality and background too. Wulf was this huge, larger than life character in the first book and I had no trouble believing in his Viking-ness (it’s a word Scrabble people, swear!), but Stig is someone else entirely. He has charm, wit, a degree of macho and all that, but under these layers he sees himself as a timid man lacking in honor. Not a warrior like the others. He doesn’t believe in the brunt, direct approach if slipping around in the shadows will work just as well and keep his skin intact. But this story shows Stig that he doesn’t know himself as well as he thinks. I loved that Wulf recognized the strength in him and never looks down on Stig like some of the other Vikings do. I have a feeling that more will come out in future in regard to the truth of Stig’s past so the others will see how they’ve wronged him.
Now the heroine is different too, but very likeable and one I could cheer for. Christina is a hardworking woman with plans. She has a few secrets that keep her from fulfilling all her dreams and keep her from outing Stig in the beginning like she wants. At first, she smugly sees herself as better than Stig because the ends justify the means, but then she realizes that his motives aren’t simple greed. She also discounts Stigs honesty especially when he tells her fantastic things about himself because she likes to keep things and people neatly categorized. Stig wiggles out of each pigeon hole she puts him in, but then she surprises him too. Their escape adventure is not just a geographical one, but one of self-discovery too.
Oh and the passion that sparks! The sexual tension ratchets up to the same degree as the danger element. I was ready when they finally came together. Stig knew how to work Christina into a lather and she figured out real fast how to torment him too. That Paris restaurant scene was fun, but then so was the incident on the sports car’s hood (bonnet for you Brits).
The ending was explosive and the confrontation between the two Immortal Viking groups who approach their immortality differently built up the turmoil even tighter. A few surprises were revealed and I look forward to seeing where things will go next in the quest for the artifacts and with a new Viking getting his story. The presence of Wulf and his lady doctor and a few others from the first book was a welcome sight.
All in all, strong continuation of the series and a really good story all in its own right. The caper-style story with its danger, twists, passion, strong characters and variety of settings was fantastic. This is a paranormal romance, but I would also recommend it to romantic suspense lovers too because of the tone of the story.
My thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. | English | NL | b8c37a99295271093be7bb25c10599d665b5a6a619179a66dc0aaf97010311ce |
- Edward's fondness for the company of the lowborn is demonstrated by the entries revealing that he invited sailors, carpenters and the like to dine privately with him reasonably often, such as Adam Cogg, captain of Hugh Despenser the Younger's barge, who ate with the king on four days in June 1325.
24 June, 2009
Random Moments in the Life of Edward II
Here are a few entries from Edward II's chamber account of 1325/26, which I've transcribed and translated from the original manuscript in the Society of Antiquaries library at Piccadilly. Edward's chamber accounts are a fascinating glimpse into his private world, detailing presents he gave out, whom he dined with and what he ate, minstrels who performed for him, names of the men who served him closely and thus knew him best, and so on - hence my willingness to ruin my eyesight by spending many hours, weeks and months peering at tiny, faded handwriting in medieval French.
- a fisherman called Cock atte Wyk - seriously - gave Edward a present of a "great eel," a barbel, dace and other fish, and received a gift of two shillings in return, in October 1325.
- in October/November 1325 Edward paid various men, including his squire Thomelyn de Haldon and the Dominican friar Thomas Dunheved, for bringing him letters from his chamberlain and favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger, "who is in the parts of Wales," and returning to Hugh with the king's letters. This is very interesting, given that Hugh had successfully persuaded Edward a few weeks earlier not to go to France without him in the belief that he would be killed in the king's absence, but evidently was happy enough to set off for Wales by himself while Edward (and Hugh's very pregnant wife Eleanor) remained in the south-east.
- Edward also paid five shillings on 23 February 1326 to one of his messengers "sent out of court secretly with letters of the king to Sir Hugh [Despenser]," and a pound on 21 March to Hugh's squire Janekyn de Sufford, "who is sent from Kenilworth to London with letters of the king to the said Sir Hugh, on private business." So it seems that Edward and Hugh were apart far more than I had ever realised, which changes the mental picture I had of their relationship.
- in August 1325, Edward gave a gift of ten shillings to Robert Traghs, porter of his chamber, whose wife had recently borne a daughter. Robert got permission to travel to London to visit his wife, Joan, and their child. (Ten shillings, half a pound or 120 pence, was a pretty generous gift to a man of Robert's rank, who only earned one and a half or two pence a day - so was the equivalent of at least two months' wages.)
- Edward gave twenty-five shillings to Will Shene, another porter of the chamber, about to marry a woman whose name the king's clerk recorded as 'Isode'. The money was intended in part as a gift and in part to cover the expenses of their wedding, celebrated at Henley-on-Thames on Sunday 20 October 1325.
- on his way from Walton-on-Thames to Cippenham on 17 October 1325, Edward bought a pike, two barbels and a trout from Jack Fisher ('Jak Fyssher', as his clerk wrote it) of Shepperton, also giving Jack four shillings as a gift. The entry makes it clear that it was Edward himself, not one of his servants, who bought the fish from Jack: achatez de lui p’ le Roi mesmes. Edward also bought quantities of fish from four other people the following day, which were carefully recorded as having been purchased by the king himself.* That is soooo Edward.
* les queux choses susditz furent achatez en lewe de Tamyse p’ le Roi mesmes.
- there's a nice fishy entry in the account for the period when Edward was staying at Langdon in Kent, the end of August 1325, while he and his advisers debated whether or not he should travel to France to pay homage to Charles IV for his French lands - you know, the time he didn't stupidly fall into Isabella and Mortimer's Oh-So-Cunning Trap as so many writers like to claim he did. He, both Hugh Despensers, the earl of Arundel, Edward's friend the abbot of Langdon, the chancellor Robert Baldock, Robert Mohaut and unnamed "other magnates" sat in the garden at the abbey of Langdon and dined on large quantities of fish and seafood bought for them in Dover, Sandwich and other places: bream, cod, whiting, sole, salted herring, crabs and so on. There's a nice image, I think - the king and some of his great magnates sitting in an abbey garden enjoying the late-summer sunshine*, eating platters of fish and seafood.
* presumably - though I don't actually know what the weather was like then. There was a drought in England the following summer, 1326, according to Annales Paulini.
- Edward had chamber staff called Litel Wille, Litel Colle and Grete Hobbe.
- it has been known for many years that Edward gave two and a half pounds or the equivalent of a year's wages to his painter Jack of St Albans for dancing on a table and making him laugh uproariously. What is usually missed or ignored is that Edward intended the gift for Jack to support his wife and children - en eide de sa femme et ses enfauntz, the entry says - and that he gave Jack the money with his own hands, a great honour for the painter. Nor is it ever stated that this pleasant little interlude took place on 11 March 1326, when Edward was expecting Isabella and Mortimer's invasion at any time - but evidently hadn't lost his sense of humour.
- Edward gave a pound to one Alis Coleman for brewing ale for him in late 1325. He seems to have been fond of that particular drink: in February 1323, he gave five shillings to another Alis who had travelled from York to Pontefract to bring him ale as a present from her mother.
- Edward also gave a pound in November 1325 to a woman named Luce, who had brought him a gift of bread, chickens and ale (again!) while he was staying at Cippenham. Maybe she thought his cooks weren't feeding him properly. A pound each to two women of humble birth - very generous.
- The king spent five pounds on food for the poor to celebrate St Katherine's Day, 25 November 1325, and somewhat mysteriously, gave ten shillings to a woman called Anneis "for that done at the gate of the Tower" of London to mark the day. Presumably this had something to do with the church of St Katherine's by the Tower, next to the Tower.
- contrary to popular belief, there is nothing in Edward's chamber account to demonstrate that he didn't enjoy the company of women. For example, he dined alone with Lady Hastings on or shortly before 8 August 1326 and with his sister-in-law Alice, countess of Norfolk on 30 January that year, giving presents of ten shillings to Lady Hastings' valet and the same each to Henry Newsom, harper, and Richardyn, citoler, who "made their minstrelsy" before Countess Alice and himself as they ate. Not to mention his enormous affection for his niece Eleanor Despenser, who, with her husband Hugh, was arguably the most important person in Edward's life in the last eighteen months or so of his reign.
- Alison Weir, in her biography of Queen Isabella, points out that men named Wat Cowherd, Simon and Robin Hod and others appear in Edward's chamber account of 1322 and received what she calls "substantial" sums of money (though she doesn't specify the amounts) from the king for spending time "in his company." She speculates that Edward "was being promiscuous with low-born men" and that Isabella must have heard about it and been angry. In fact, Wat, Simon and the others were pages and porters of Edward's chamber and crop up extremely often in the accounts, accompanying the king on his travels and receiving their wages. There's no way of proving that Edward didn't have sex with them, of course, but there's no reason at all to think that he did. Sadly, reality proves far more mundane than speculation.
- Edward's scribes sometimes referred to his chamber staff by nicknames in the account - for example, the Simon Hod mentioned above (not the king's bit of rough but one of his porters) was often called 'Syme', short for 'Symond', the usual spelling then, as was Syme Lawe, a valet of the chamber. Hugh de Greenfield and Hugh Smale were often called 'Huchon'. Edmund Fisher and Edmund Quarrell, valets, were called 'Monde', short for 'Esmond', the usual contemporary spelling. Monde Fisher's wife Isabelle was sometimes called 'Sibille'. Men called John were often called 'Janekyn', men called Thomas 'Thomelyn' and the name Richard was sometimes written 'Richardyn'. Wat Cowherd's name was spelt 'Watte Couherde' (or Couhierde).
- One especially interesting piece of info I've found is the approximate date of the marriage between Sir Richard Talbot - a Lancastrian knight captured at the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, who pragmatically switched sides and joined the Despensers - and Elizabeth Comyn, daughter of the John Comyn, the lord of Badenoch murdered by Robert Bruce in 1306, and niece and co-heir of the earl of Pembroke. Richard and Elizabeth married in secret, at Pirbright in Surrey, shortly before 10 July 1326: an entry in the chamber account on that day giving Richard a gift of ten marks says that he avoit espouses p’uement la dame de Comyn, 'had married secretly the lady Comyn'.
I'll post soon about entries from Edward's accounts relating to his niece, Eleanor Despenser. | English | NL | 49be88922e8706e7979773cf73ffa7d0f09dcddbd2c492b9aa16e037f2370630 |
I was a child plagued by respiratory illness and nearly every winter endured a tough bout with bronchitis. When the worst was over, and I was in a recuperating stage, my mother returned to her teaching job, and I sometimes spent a few days at my Aunt Mildred’s house one street over.
Mildred Henderson Hall was not really my aunt. She was my grandmother’s first cousin, daughter of her uncle Jesse “Jack” Henderson. During my grandmother and father’s childhoods, Uncle Jack and his children were the only nearby Henderson relatives. By time I came along, Mildred, her youngest sister Doris Henderson Ward and some of their children were the only other Hendersons left in Wilson. Mildred’s youngest daughters were still at home when I was child, and I grew to know them and the younger of their two brothers best.
I loved my brief stays at Aunt Mildred’s, wrapped in blankets and installed on the couch in her wood-paneled den, drowsing before the television while she handled calls related to the family business. Occasionally, I got a glimpse of the teenaged Patricia, impossibly glamorous in my eyes, leaving for school. More often, Aunt Mildred’s husband, Louis Hall, would stop at home between jobs. He was not a tall man, but he seemed to me a big one. In later years he had a belly, but I think my impression came more from his persona than his actual size. He had a warm smile and a ready laugh, and I, who had no living grandfathers, was drawn to him.
Louis and Mildred Henderson Hall at home, probably mid-1960s.
Years later, as I researched a thesis examining the involuntary apprenticeship of free children of color, I grew familiar with all the free families of color in Wilson and Wayne Counties. I came upon a set of Halls from the Stantonsburg area and, curious, traced them forward. I was delighted to find that Uncle Louis was descended from this very family. Years after that, I was even happier to be able to provide my Hall cousins with rare documentation of their antebellum forebears’ births.
The family’s earliest known ancestor was Eliza Hall, a free woman of color born about 1820, probably in what was then the heel of southwest Edgecombe County. How she met James Bullock Woodard, a prosperous white farmer and slaveowner, is unknown, but by Eliza’s early 20s they had begun a relationship that would last at least a decade. A sympathetic relative of Woodard’s, perhaps feeling that blood is blood, recorded the births of James and Eliza’s children in her family’s Bible:
Ages of The children of Eliza Hall
William Henry Hall was born Feb the 11th 1844 Patrick Hall was born October the 6th 1845 Margaret ann Hall was born Feb the 12th 1847 Louiser Hall was born April the 9th 1849 Balam Hall was born Feb 7th 1851
William H. Hall lived and farmed near Stantonsburg, Wilson County, most of his life. He married three times — to Lucy Barnes, Annie E. Smith and Mamie Artis — and had at least nine children. His fifth, more or less, was Robert Hall, born 18 July 1886. When Robert was about 4 years old, his father sold to trustees the quarter-acre of land upon which Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was founded. William H. Hall spent his last years living in his son Robert’s household and died 23 June 1925.
On 7 January 1908 in Wilson County, Robert Hall married Katie Farmer, daughter of Robert and Marenda Bynum Farmer. (And Katie’s sister Ida married Robert’s brother Thomas Hall.) Robert supported his large family as his father had done, by farming. Uncle Louis, born in 1920, was Robert and Katie Hall’s fifth child. He and Aunt Mildred reared six children on Queen Street in Wilson as they built East Carolina Vault Company, a family-owned business that now employs third-generation Halls.
Wilson County is a small world of criss-crossing family lines, and Uncle Louis was not the only descendant of Eliza Hall that I knew. Once, I saw my cousin (his daughter) hugging my geometry teacher at the mall. They, in fact, are first cousins. Another of their first cousins was the assistant principal at my high school. And as I prepared this blogpost, I ran across a marriage license for a daughter of William H. Hall’s brother Balam and one of my cousins, Snow B. Sauls.
William H. Hall is buried in the cemetery of the church he helped establish.
Photographs from collection of Lisa Y. Henderson; excerpt from Lewis Ellis Bible courtesy of Henry Powell; sources include birth and death certificates, World War I draft registration, deeds. | English | NL | a484f89df0317075f0d2da2937b81ba212e76e5fc6b9f56494c3420f9d8bd5c3 |
This Former Slave Helped Teach America How To Cook
On September 25, 1939, an 82-year-old man named Rufus Estes died in Los Angeles after a brief illness. Nobody at any of the major L.A. newspapers wrote a eulogy or remarked on his passing but Estes left behind a remarkable legacy. Much of it can be found in Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus, considered by most culinary historians to be one of the first cookbooks written by a black chef. (Robert Roberts, Malinda Russell and Abby Fisher, who wrote earlier cookbooks, were home chefs who, in some cases, owned food businesses.)
His long life had begun across the country, before the Civil War. "I was born in Murray County, Tennessee, in 1857, a slave," he wrote in Good Things to Eat. "I was given the name of my master, D. J. Estes, who owned my mother's family, consisting of seven boys and two girls, I being the youngest of the family."
Estes was five when the Civil War began. His older brothers scattered, as did most of the men he knew, leaving, "us little folks to bear the burdens." After the war, Estes moved to Nashville with his mother and was able to attend school for one term, learning to read and write.
As a teenager, Estes got a job as a cook's assistant in Hemphill's Restaurant in Nashville, which served gourmet European-style food. According to David S. Shields, author of The Culinarians: Lives and Careers from the First Age of American Fine Dining, Hemphill's was Nashville's premier eatery, the "most cosmopolitan kitchen his native region possessed."
In 1881, Estes moved to Chicago, along with thousands of other former slaves who were heading north in the late 19th century. He soon found a job as chief line cook for chef Charles Martell, who ran a celebrated French restaurant in Chicago. Here, Estes perfected his gourmet cooking skills, which included the art of saucing. In Good Things to Eat, he includes a whole section on sauces, including gooseberry sauce, lobster butter, royal sauce and sauce tartare.
Only two years later, at age 26, Estes was employed by the Pullman Company. Founded in 1867 by George Pullman, it built and operated luxury rail cars that contained parlors, dining rooms and sleeping chambers. Pullman was most famous for his "palace cars," private rail cars kitted out in full Gilded Age style and attached to normal commercial trains, with a retinue of porters provided. If Elon Musk were a robber baron from America's original Gilded Age, this is probably how he'd travel.
Pullman employed many former slaves as porters and chefs, leading to the popular quip, "Abe Lincoln freed the slaves and George Pullman hired 'em." A job on a Pullman car not only offered decent wages and steady employment, it was an opportunity to see the United States.
Pullman porters were exclusively black until the mid-20th century, as were most of the company's maids, chefs and waiters (he conductors were white). Pullman employees "were highly respected within the community," historian Spencer Crew told Smithsonian.com. "They became in many ways the middle-class of the African-American community." It wasn't all marbled chicken and duck consommé. Pullman employees faced an enormous amount of racism and they worked punishing hours serving predominantly white guests who often treated them in a demeaning manner.
In Los Angeles, many porters lived at The American Hotel, which opened in 1905 as a small, well-appointed establishment catering to black residents. It was at 303 South Hewitt Street, near the end of the rail lines in what is now the Arts District of downtown L.A.
Estes' talents as a chef quickly made him a star on the Pullman line. From 1883 to 1897 he perfected his craft. He served three meals a day to many of the Victorian era's most famous luminaries, on private cars that ferried them around the country. He wrote:
I was selected to handle all special parties. Among the distinguished people who traveled in my care were Stanley, the African explorer; President Cleveland; President Harrison; Adelina Patti, the noted singer of the world at that time; Booth and Barrett, Modjeski and Paderewski. I also had charge of the car for Princess Eulalie of Spain... In 1894 I set sail from Vancouver on the Empress of China with Mr. and Mrs. Nathan A. Baldwin for Japan, visiting the Cherry Blossom Festival at Tokyo. In 1897, Mr. Arthur Stillwell, at that time president of the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gould Railroad, gave me charge of his magnificent $20,000 private car.
Stillwell eventually lost the car to businessman John Gates, who Estes worked with for eight years before tiring of the traveling life. He settled in Chicago, where he became the corporate chef at the Illinois Steel Company.
According to Shields, Estes, known affectionately as "Captain Rufus," was one of Chicago's best-known chefs. He was also active in the city's large black community and was a member of the Republican Appomattox Club, where he catered club events.
Estes's former employer and good friend, John Gates, encouraged him to write a cookbook to preserve his recipes. In 1911, Estes published Good Things to Eat. Only 11 original copies of the book survive but it has been reprinted and is also available online. In the preface, Estes wrote:
That the average parent is blind to the faults of its offspring is a fact so obvious that in attempting to prove or controvert it time and logic are both wasted... The author, however, has honestly striven to avoid this common prejudice. This book, the child of his brain... is far from perfect; but he is satisfied that, notwithstanding its apparent shortcomings, it will serve in a humble way some useful purpose. The recipes given in the following pages represent the labor of years. Their worth has been demonstrated, not experimentally, but by actual tests, day by day and month by month, under dissimilar, and, in many instances, not too favorable conditions.
The cookbook includes common sense cooking advice and 591 recipes, which Toni Tipton-Martin, historian and author of The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, writes, "illustrate a sophisticated and intelligent style."
These recipes combine French and American cooking with some of Estes's Southern favorites — green tomato pie, Brunswick stew, corn fritters, macaroni with apricots and maple parfait. Other dishes — jellied cucumber, baked milk, peanut meatose, pig's ear lyonnaise, whole wheat pudding, chestnut soup — are relics of a bygone time.
Some of the recipes don't include specific baking times or cooking temperatures. Many were developed during the years Estes spent in a crowded rail car, working in tight quarters with limited ingredients.
"The contents," Shields explains, "were shaped to a large extent to the larder available on the railroads, (more root vegetables than leafy greens, more stockyard beef than saltwater fish). The dessert section was canted to pies rather than confections and cakes; the breakfasts featured eggs and griddle cakes."
Here's Estes's recipe for a dessert he calls Aunt Amy's Cake:
Take two eggs, one and one-half cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, one-half cup of butter, two cups of flour and one teaspoonful of soda. Spice to taste. This is a good cake and one which is also inexpensive in baking.
Soon after the publication of Good Things to Eat, an aging Estes, tired of Chicago winters, moved to Los Angeles, which he had visited over the years. Many former Pullman employees end up living here. Lee Gibson, thought to be the oldest surviving Pullman porter, died in Los Angeles in 2016, at the age of 106.
By 1920, census and voter records show that Estes, a widower, was boarding at 449 Ceres Avenue in Los Angeles. In 1930, he had moved to 3813 Central Avenue and was employed as a chef at a restaurant. He moved several times and was employed as a chef until 1938, a year before he passed away. We know woefully little about his life in Los Angeles, the places he cooked while he was here and the people he fed.
"One of the pleasures in life to the normal man is good eating," he wrote in Good Things to Eat, "and if it be true that real happiness consists in making others happy, the author can at least feel a sense of gratification in the thought that his attempts to satisfy the cravings of the inner man have not been wholly unappreciated by the many that he has had the pleasure of serving — some of whom are now his staunchest friends." | English | NL | 3524bd43e555ddaf8d1f3e022f722778e97f53e16d701a926cb48eba58e0db10 |
As of this month Meredith Wisner is Barnard's full-time Art & Architecture Librarian and the library's copyright, fair use, and scholarly communications guru. But when Meredith was part-time, she had a few side gigs, including serving as bestselling author Jennifer Egan's researcher for her forthcoming novel Manhattan Beach.
Going down, Pardner image from the Brooklyn Public Library
Here is a mini-interview with Meredith about her experience working with Ms. Egan.
How did you meet Ms. Egan? How did you get the job?
I met Jenny at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where I worked as archivist and registrar for the Navy Yard museum, BLDG 92. She had been involved in a longstanding oral history project with Brooklyn Historical Society, which documented women who had worked on the Yard during WWII, so our connection really came from that her early research for the book. My first assignment related to what would become Manhattan Beach happened while I was still at the Yard in fact. Jenny had some preliminary questions about how the Yard functioned during the run up to the US involvement in WWII, and I pointed her toward primary and secondary resources that I typically consulted as part of my job. Based on my responses she asked if I would be interested in helping her with this research in a more official capacity. I am not sure if she was looking for a librarian or archivist specifically, but I will say the skills I honed as a librarian earned me that job! The great synchrony of my research with Jenny was unearthing the stigma faced by working mothers at in the 1940s after having experienced some of those same challenges as a working mother myself. Of course I took this job because it was an opportunity to contribute to an amazing project, but I also took it because Jenny offered me a great deal of flexibility, and demonstrated real appreciation for the work that librarians do. I am so grateful for having had this opportunity, and saddened by how little has changed in the last 75 years.
How did you do the work?
Almost all of the work I did for Jenny was done remotely. We corresponded via email and through a shared drive. She would send me topic specific questions and I would go about answering them in narrative form and then provide citations for her to follow up with if she needed or wanted to. I conducted a little readers advisory as well when I came across a book that I felt captured the question at hand in a concise or readable way. I also put Jenny in touch with folks who could better answer her questions (as all good librarians do!). David Favaloro, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Tenement Museum is one that comes to mind. There were so many experts involved in this process, and so many large and small archives that helped along the way.
Can you share an interesting tidbit you learned while researching the book?
The overarching challenge of doing research for a novel is not only getting the facts down, but finding the texture of life around a particular question. So, without spoiling anything, one of Jenny's questions concerned how women in this period balanced work and motherhood, and the ways in which American society was forced to adjust with so many fathers out of the picture. I tackled this question a number of ways, but among my favorite resources was Louise Zabriskie's Mother and Baby Care in Pictures from 1941. I loved it so much I bought a copy for myself, which I keep in my office at Barnard. Zabriskie was a practicing nurse, and the Director of Maternity Consultation Services in New York City in the 30s and 40s. Who better to turn to with questions about childbirth and motherhood?
Manhattan Beach will be released on October 3rd. Spoiler alert: Meredith gets a mention in the acknowledgments! | English | NL | ca4c9a2ccfda96fea0b66f7f8bd2be831f7d423454dc12f40f958fdc1d22e8a5 |
This all started with a well thought out plan for revenge. For months I plotted against the Linscotts, and I vowed to avenge my twin brother and father’s death. I had Tatum Linscott kidnapped, and held her prisoner in a room with nothing but an old bed, and a cold cement floor to piss on.
The plan was simple—kidnap the golden girl of the Linscott family, then lure her father straight down to the hell I had specially prepared for both of them. And once I had my fun, extracted every last drop of revenge I craved from them, they would pay the ultimate price with their lives.
I wanted to watch them bleed on the tiled floor of my dining hall, witness the life drain out of their bodies. I wanted to slice the blade of my knife through Tatum’s skin, to see her body weep tears of crimson. But little did I know that her blood would feed the monster inside me. That her innocence marred with desires for the darkness would make me want her in ways that were completely forbidden.
She was the daughter of my enemy, and the blood my family demanded flowed through her veins. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from being captivated by the blue eyes that seemed to plead with me to set her free from the prison society had put her in.
Her body called out to me.
The scars on her skin seduced me.
And ultimately…Tatum Linscott ruined me.
A few weeks ago I was kidnapped by an enemy I didn’t even know I had.
I was beaten.
I was starved.
I was humiliated.
My life held no value to my enemy, and death was promised with venomous threats of hate. Every minute that went by was a minute spared. I knew it was only a matter of time before a knife got driven through my heart.
But then something happened, and it changed everything. Somehow the line between captor and prisoner had been crossed, and I found myself in a world I never knew existed. A world where family and loyalty were everything, yet lies and deception were used as weapons against blood.
The Fattores built their hate, and their war against me and my family based on lies told by a man that I trusted once. A man I welcomed into my life, and into my bed. In the end it almost cost me my life.
While I was held captive I never could have predicted the outcome. What I never expected to find within the walls of lies that surrounded me was freedom. That was why I had to run…because Castello Fattore freed me.
Blood & Vows is the second and final book in my Twisted Duet series,
and should be read after Blood and Lies.
I’m sad to let Castello and Tatum go, but I loved every minute I spent with these characters. Telling their story has been the best part of my writing career so far.
Please be aware that this novel contains scenes of violence, and sexual situations that may be triggers, and make some readers uncomfortable. For some readers there may be scenes that are just downright disturbing. But you’ve been warned.
To all the readers who have fallen in love with the dark and twisted romance between Castello and Tatum, thank you for loving these characters as much I do. | English | NL | 3269733bab2850e12d6e29da0bf857adc86c5d5162cbc9f0d25f28aca27732b6 |
Millcreek Hundred, 1827
I climbed the stairs as quietly as I could, stepping over the third from the bottom to avoid the squeak. I held my knife ready in case Mistress was awake and I had to move fast.
As soon as I saw her I knew something was wrong.
Mistress lay on her back, eyes closed. She was quite dead. Her skin was cool but not cold. Her hand, when I lifted it to find a pulse, flopped back onto the counterpane. She had been dead only a short time.
I pulled back the bed clothes and found bruises around her neck. Someone has strangled her and then straightened the bed clothes to hide any struggle.
My first thought was that poor Mistress had been sent to her maker; then I realized that was why I was there myself.
I slipped my now useless knife into my pocket and left the room.
To my knowledge Mistress and I were the only people in the house. That was why I had chosen it as the perfect time to kill her.
The final indignity had come early yesterday afternoon when I packed my belonging and left the farm.
She had smiled at me, wished me well and handed me the letter I was to give to my next employer. I was not supposed to open it, but I did.
December 23, 1827
Ella is conscientious but slow witted. It takes her a great deal of time to grasp the simplest situation.Once she finally learns a chore she performsit with moderate skill. She reads poorly and does simple sums. How was I to give such a letter to anyone considering taking me on? It was bad enough that she had sent me packing for no reason two days before Christmas, but this letter would be better used to warm my hands than to convince an employer to hire me.
I had kept Master’s account books for the last five years and I knew a few things about where his money went. Mistress had been extravagant and impulsive. She liked silk and fine china. Her kitchen held more exotic spices than any of the ships docked in Newport. She was adept at explaining away these expenses. The dress was cut down from an old one, the china bought from a neighbor.
I was so angry when I read the letter that I vowed to come back Christmas afternoon when Master always visits his mother. I knew the other servants would disappear as soon as the phaeton with the flashy chestnut headed for the turnpike.
I had intended to do the deed and leave the way I had come, through the snowy woods along the creek.
I didn’t think I was in any position to cry out against the person who had done my job for me.
Angry as I was, I had decided when I picked up the knife that no one would die for my sin. If someone were falsely accused, I would come forward with my story. If I were discovered, I would face my punishment with grace.
I was curious to know who might have done it. I sat down on the top step to think.
I heard the back door creek open. Someone was coming across the court yard from the kitchen.
I stood up and snatched my spare handkerchief from my pocket.
Lucy came up the stairs with a porcelain tea pot and bone china cup on a tray.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when she saw me.
“I left my kerchief.” I held it in front of her face. “And you?”
“Mistress will want her tea when she wakes.”
“No chance of that,” I pointed to the still form on the bed. “Someone strangled her.”
She looked at me as though she thought I had done it. I held up my hands in protest, hands that were too small to have made the marks on Mistress’ neck. “Let’s go back to the kitchen, drink the tea ourselves, and figure out what to do next.”
She handed me the tray and touched Mistress’ cheek, perhaps to make sure she was really dead. I would have expected her to be more upset, but she looked relieved. She opened the window and poured the tea into the herb garden below.
“I don’t think we would have enjoyed the tea,” she said once we were settled in the kitchen. “It might not have killed her but it would have made her wish she were dead.”
“That’s three of us,” I said. While she brewed another pot of tea, I showed her the knife in my pocket.
“If you didn’t do it who do you think did?” she asked.
“It was someone with large hands, most likely a man. Joshua may have done it. He hated us calling him her pet. He did it as a Christmas gift to the rest of us.”
Lucy chuckled. “Many’s the time he sat in this very kitchen and told me how much he abhored her.”
“But Joshua is always so quiet. I thought he liked going out with her all the time. If he didn’t like it, how come he didn’t tell us?”
“I think I am the only one he told. He would come back and sit in this kitchen and list all the stupid things she had done, how he had to fetch and carry for her. If something went wrong, it was always his fault. Though how he could have been at fault if a merchant charged her more than she was willing to pay, I’m sure I don’t know.”
We were silent for a few moments as we sipped the tea. “Maybe the Master himself did it and has gone to tell his mother.”
I thought about her suggestion for a bit. “Or Carl, because she sold his favorite horse. He had begun to pay Master a bit from his wages. She said there was no record, and she refused to give him back the money. I myself made the note each time he gave Master the money, but the horse was gone.”
“Do you think she let you go because you kept the books and knew too much about her?”
"I reckon so.”
“Maybe it was Jenny,” she said. “Mistress made sure Joseph Dixon would never call on her again. Jenny has big strong hands.”
We were silent again as we finished the tea and set the fine china cups in the dishpan to be washed later.
“What should we do?” she asked at length.
“Summon the master.”
The tall case clock in the front hall was striking ten when we finally heard the clop clop of shod hooves in the lane. Lucy hid in the kitchen with the excuse that Master would want to eat something since he was called back so suddenly. I took him up the stairs to the chamber and pulled back the bed clothes so he could see the bruises on Mistress’ neck.
“Send Lucy for the parson. Can you wash her and dress her for burial? Something fine with a high neck.”
“Yes, if you wish me to.”
“This, then, will be her final lie, that she died naturally in her sleep.” | English | NL | 7ac7b4cb369a22fe3588fdab552a8281caea90790b33d789b324817b69dcbbc1 |
Have you ever thought an artist was just so good they were destined for stardom, especiallly when they seemed to have a major label behind them, but then watched as … nothing actually happened? They had the voice, sometimes their own songwriting ability or musicianship, great material, a label which seemed supportive, and yet it just didn’t work out. Over the years I’ve been listening to country music that’s often happened to me. Here are a few of my favorite ‘stars in the making’ whose careers never really got going over the past 20 years, organised chronologically. I’ve limited it to artists who were signed to a major label which invested at least enough time, money and effort to release an album, but who never achieved more than one top 30 hit single.
Donna Ulisse had a beautiful alto voice and released a fine neotraditional album, Trouble At The Door, on Atlantic in 1991. None of the singles reached the top 60 on Billboard. After she lost her deal, Donna moved into bluegrass, and I reviewed her recently released second bluegrass album here earlier this year.
One of the best albums of 1992 was Between Midnight And Hindsight by Joy White on Epic – Joy’s strong, distinctive voice and intense approach was matched to some great material, but the singles (which included ‘Cold Day In July’, subsequently covered by the Dixie Chicks) all flopped. She moved to Columbia and rebranded herself as Joy Lynn White for 1994’s Wild Love, another strong set which failed to produce anything approaching a hit. She has recorded sporadically since for independent labels, but her later music is less commercial and less immediately appealing. I think she may have been a little ahead of her time, as her style would have appealed to Dixie Chicks fans.
Rhonda Vincent may seem like a strange choice for this list, but technically she qualifies. After a string of bluegrass albums for Rebel in the very early 90s, Rhonda spent several years trying to make it as a mainstream country artist. She released two excellent albums, Written In The Stars on Giant Records in 1993, and Trouble Free on Warner Bros in 1996. The singles made no impact whatsoever, and in 2000 Rhonda returned to her first love, bluegrass. She has gone from strength to strength since.
I have always been surprised that Bobbie Cryner‘s career never took off. She had a beautiful voice and wrote and picked some fine material to record, but two different labels tried and failed to make her into a star. Both her self-titled debut on Epic in 1993 and Girl Of Your Dreams on MCA in 1996 are well worth seeking out, even though none of the singles reached the top 50. She continued to write for other artists through the 90s.
Neotraditionalist Ken Mellons, had a promising start when his ‘Jukebox Junkie’ (one of the poorer songs on his self-titled debut album) was a top 10 hit in 1994. His hopes of stardom were dashed when none of the other singles from his two Epic albums hit the top 30, and he then made the serious mistake of signing to Curb. Six years later, after a handful of singles and one further album, the good but misleadingly titled The Best Of (it was actually all new material apart from a horrendous dance mix of ‘Jukebox Junkie’), he escaped. He released an independent album in 2004.
Another of the 90s hat acts who I really liked was Wesley Dennis, who released a very good Keith Stegall-produced record on Mercury in 1995, which was spurned by radio. That was the last we heard of him. Keith Whitley soundalike Keith Perry had a very nice record on Curb in 1999 whose singles yet again failed to make an impact; I understand he also recorded an inspirational album for the same label a few years later, but I haven’t heard that.
Elizabeth Cook‘s distinctive voice was probably too country for country radio, as she had no hit singles from her excellent Warner Bros album Hey Y’all in 2002. She has gone on to garner critical esteem from her independent releases, most recently Balls, making her another artist to do better without a major label.
Two of my favorite singles in 2004 came from artists on this list. After I heard Australian Catherine Britt‘s top 40 hit ‘The Upside Of Being Down’ I waited anxiously for her RCA debut album. And I waited. And waited. It was eventually released in 2006, I believe in Australia only, and she is now based back home in Australia. Julie Roberts‘ debut single ‘Break Down Here’ is still her only top 30 hit, although her label Mercury released two good albums, the first of which has been certified gold. She is still on the label roster, but as no new material has been released since 2006 one doubts she will stay there much longer.
The last name on my list is Bobby Pinson, who had a top 20 hit with ‘Don’t Ask Me How I Know’ in 2005. Sadly, none of the other singles from his excellent Man Like Me on RCA did as well, and he was soon cut loose. I suspect his problem was that he was too similar to Eric Church, another new artist at the time, although I preferred Bobby’s work. He subsequently released an independent album, and seems to be doing well as a songwriter, co-writing extensively Toby Keith and the members of Sugarland.
Which artists can you think of who you expected to be stars, who never made it? | English | NL | 6c7d50c2b10e2b53d7bc5e525e797d06e85d717a1921f9a156c100a4a2f862a3 |
Saturday, February 24
It seems obvious, no?
Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Daniel D. Maurer from Clergy Stuff.
At this point, I'm left wondering who—if anybody—believes in Jesus at all! Perhaps that is what makes Jesus today most convincing. You see, I don't believe he was trying to curry favor with anyone back then. He simply told the truth, as it was. The truth hurts; often those in power are the ones who feel the most hurt by the truth when it's staring them in the face.
It's hopeful to me that Jesus was more blatantly obvious to embody that truth. More, perhaps, than we even realize nowadays.
It makes you begin to question our own authorities and those who would like to tell you the "way things really are." And it makes me believe that the "way things are" most probably are not the way things really are!
Narrative Lectionary Text: John 7:45-52
Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’ Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’ | English | NL | 937e739d9d47116450a6ac2bf34bb900283532f57713fb96d3d6756859ccf2f4 |
When I was little and we lived on Edwin Avenue in Toronto – we are talking kindergarten age – I threw some paint cans into a coal furnace to see what would happen. A licking is what happened. Not recommended. I think I learned that trick from my 1st cousin 3x removed Florence Louisa Jane Chilcott. Here is the story as related by the West Somerset Free Press of 23 Dec 1899.
Spaxton – Explosion
On Tuesday last, an occurrence of a somewhat alarming character took place on premises in pretty close proximity to the water works in this parish, and in the occupation of James Chilcott, labourer, in the employ of Mr. Kidner, of Swang Farm. It appears that during the temporary absence of her mother, Florrie Chilcott, a girl of about eleven years, found some gunpowder in a small tin canister on the mantelpiece and threw a portion of it into the fire. The flash occasioned by the ignition of this seems to have frightened her, and she dropped or threw into the fire the remainder of the gunpowder, which also exploded, the result being that the girl was badly burnt about the face and legs, &c. Two other younger children in the room were also similarly injured. The window was smashed, some of the ceiling injured, and other damage to the room and contents resulted. The girl’s injuries were found to be so severe that it was deemed necessary to remove her at once to the Bridgwater Infirmary, where she was detained, and it is feared that her eyesight may be permanently injured.
Now what the heck was gunpowder doing on the mantle? I don’t know about her eyesight, but Florrie, who was born 6 Oct 1889 at Cannington, Somerset and was the oldest of nine children, was married in 1915 to Frederick G. Short. She died in Somerset in 1973.
Florrie’s parents were James Chilcott (born 1864) and Sarah Type (born 1867). They were married 16 Mar 1889 at St Mary’s in Bridgwater, Somerset.
St Mary, Bridgwater, Somerset
Attribution: Robert Cutts, Bristol
In 1940 they celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary as noted in the Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser of 16 Mar 1940.
Sixty-four Years on one Farm
Spaxton Couple’s 51st Wedding Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. James Chilcott, of 196, Currypool, Spaxton, will celebrate the 51st anniversary of their wedding to-day (Saturday).
Mr. Chilcott is nearly 75, and his wife is two years younger. They were married at St. Mary’s Church, Bridgwater, on March 16th, 1889, by the Rev. W. G. Fitzgerald.
For most of their married life, they lived at Swang Cottage, Charlinch. They are now living with their son Mr. Alfred E. Chilcott at Currypool.
Mr. Chilcott started work at the age of nine, earning 3s for a seven-day week. He was employed as a carter at Swang Farm for no fewer than 64 years, serving under three farmers namely Messrs. Stuckey, Kidner, and W. L. Roe. the present occupier, he worked 26 years.
Mr Chilcott is still hale and hearty. During the past week he has been busy digging his garden. He is found of shooting pigeons &c., and while talking of the war, remarked: “I’ll bet I can carr’ a gun'”
He is able to walk the five and a half miles to Bridgwater in an hour and a quarter, and still does a day’s work for Mr. Roe occasionally.
Mrs. Chilcott has been bedridden with rheumatism for the past six years. At the time of her marriage, she was in the employ of Mrs. Roe, of Rexworthy, mother of MR. W. L. Roe. Mr. and Mrs. Chilcott had nine children, four sons and five daughters, who were brought up on 10s a week. One son, Mr. Ernest Chilcott, was killed in the Great War while serving with the Coldstream Guards. Another son, Mr. Alfred E. Chilcott, served in the Rifle Brigade during the war, and was awarded the Military Medal for capturing 28 Germans single-handed. He was later commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Eleven of the 16 grandchildren are living, and tow of the grandsons are serving with the Forces, one with the Canadians.
Western Daily Press 25 Jan 1917
See Alfred Edward Chilcott on Lives of the First World War
Register of Soldiers Effects – Ernest Chilcott
Ernest was killed in action on 27 Nov 1917 at the Battle of Cambrai – between the Capture of Bourlon Wood (24 Nov 1917) and the Recapture of Gouzeaucourt (29 Nov 1917). | English | NL | 70e7ba7e06a6d992471a5f32c6d62478efc7da2c745f3f16ab51f1250053a8a5 |
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
To listen to the sermon PRESS THE ORANGE BUTTON!
Grace and peace to you all from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Whenever Jesus tells parables they are so pregnant with a meaning that we can talk and talk and talk about different thoughts and perspectives that Jesus teaches us. This time our Gospel reading contains two of Jesus parables, both of them probably among the most well know. The parable about the lost sheep and the parable about the lost coin. The first one should be very well known to you.
We’ll limit our today’s meditation with three questions. What do these parables teach about us? What do these parables teach about Jesus? And what is the reason for us to come together here in the Lord’s house? Thus we’ll talk about us, about Jesus, and about the reason why we are here.
Luke describes the setting in which Jesus told these parables wiht the following words. „Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.” And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Here Luke describes two groups of people, or better two ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, the tax collectors and sinners. On the other hand the Pharisees and the scribes. The tax collectors and the sinners, they were drawing near to hear what Jesus was teaching. The Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling because Jesus was receiving sinners and was eating with them.
Let us talk a little bit about these two groups, two ends of the spectrum, because we need to understand the context for these Jesus parables. The Pharisees and the scribes were the best people in that society. I mean it. They really were. Why, you may wonder?
Because they really believed the Word of God. They read it, they studied it, they meditated upon it, they discussed it, and they truly tried to live according to it. They were not hypocrites in a sense that they just pretended to be pious people, when in fact they cared much more about other things. No!
They believed the Bible and they tried to live accordingly. They worked so hard not to sin. We could learn from them a lot. There are testimonies telling that the Pharisees seeing beautiful women could move to the other side of the street and if it didn’t help, they could even hit their heads against a wall just to get rid of their seductive thoughts.
They took the Word of God seriously. For them it was a matter of life and death. What they didn’t understand was the depth of our sin. They thought that by doing their best they have done enough to have God’s favor. That they are righteous if they works look righteous. They forgot about their hearts.
What were these sinners and the tax collectors? Don’t be deceived! They were real sinners. Not some nice people who were just laughing saying that ‘O, I have sinned, I ate too much of ice cream, or, I slept till the noon, or, yesterday I had too many beers.’
They were real sinners. Talking about women the word ‘sinner’ often meant a prostitute. The tax collectors were despised by everyone. They usually were man from among the Jews, but they served Romans collecting taxes from all who wanted to sell their produce. It wasn’t a noble profession. They were stripping their own brothers, because of their greed, and did it under the protection of Roman occupants. Decadent, greedy, selfish, sexually immoral… these are good adjectives to describes those sinners.
No surprise that that the Pharisees were grumbling. The reason is the fact that Jesus not only accepted invitations from this kind of people and ate with them, but He also, as we can understand from this text, extended His hospitality to them.
We know that to have a meal together is much more than just to have a food together. We don’t invite anyone to our meals. We invite those whom we respect, whom we treat as our friends, to whom we want to show our appreciation. Jesus was not partial, he ate both with the Pharisees and with the sinners. For He saw their hearts and there was no difference between the one end of the spectrum and the other.
It was very difficult thing for the Pharisees and the scribes to swallow. But don’t rush to judge them, just think for a moment, how would we look upon someone who would associate with this type of sinners? What would be our reaction? Joy or rather annoyance?
And here we come to Jesus answer to their grumbling, to these two parables: the parable about the lost sheep and the lost coin. They explain Jesus actions, why He went to all – to those with a good reputation and to those with a bad.
Jesus portrays this situation where a man, having a hundred sheep, has lost one and now leaves other ninety nine in open country and goes after this one, until he finds it. Then he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing, brings it home, where all his friends and neighbors rejoice. Another parable is about the woman who had lost one of her ten coins and then lights a lamp, sweeps the house and seeks diligently until she finds it.
What do these parables tell about us? Who are we in these parables? I guess, that’s quite obvious, – we are the lost sheep and we are the lost coins. But what it tells about us? I’m quite sure you know much more about the sheep that I do. You should be explaining all the details to me. But here is at least a little bit.
The sheep are not too smart. The sheep don’t have a good eyesight. Their hearing is good, and they try to listen where others are, or in Jesus times, they tried to listen to the voice of their shepherd. What happens to a sheep when she gets lost?
When a sheep gets lost, when she is alone, she falls into despair. She tries to run around and bleat, but because of the enormous stress she rapidly loses her strengths. Soon the only thing she is capable of doing is to lay on the ground and bleat, hoping that someone will come and find her. Sometimes predators come first… But sheep doesn’t have any strength left to resist.
This is our condition before the Son of God, the Good Shepherd comes to rescue us. We are totally hopeless when it comes to our salvation, to our rescue from the power of sin and death. Without our Good Shepherd, we have neither ideas what to do, nor abilities to do anything for our salvations.
What a shame, we all are created for so much more: to rejoice in God’s presence and to enjoy His blessings, gladly serving all people in our lives, as God’s coworkers, as His beloved children. What a shame the we have lost it!
When we look at the parable of the lost coin the situation is similar. Is there anything that this coin could do to be found? No, of course not. Put it differently, does coin even knows that it is lost? No, of course not. When Jesus replies to the Pharisees and the scribes He makes it very clear what is our condition. For entire spectrum. We all are like the lost sheep. Before we are found by our Good Shepherd, we are lost and doomed to death.
What is significant, those who try to be a good people, according to their own standards, who belong to the good end of the spectrum, they usually don’t even realize that they are lost. They seem to be doing pretty well, and there is no need Savior. To save them from what, or from whom? From good and more or less moral life?
But as almost everyone has experienced, and it happen with your pastor this week, there comes a situation, when suddenly we are tested and we fail. We sin, we make choices and do things, we clearly know are not acceptable.
As apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1Co 10:12) We slip even not noticing how and why it did happen. But suddenly we are not anymore at the good end of the spectrum, but among the sinners. I guess we all know the feeling.
These are at least few things we can learn about us in the context of Jesus mission. What can we learn about Jesus? What does this parable teach about Him? He is the one who is looking for the lost sheep, He is the one who is looking for the lost coin.
The man leaves the ninety nine to go after this one. It is not surprising. It is not the case that He doesn’t care about others. Usually with a flock this big there were more than just one shepherd. Even if this is not mentioned in this parable, Jesus listeners would assume that there were others who stayed with the flock and brought it back home.
We are used to see particular depictions of shepherds and the lost sheep in Western art. Can you recall what are they? Nice, young lad with a little lamb, like a pet, on his arms, or sometimes on His shoulders. Smiling and bringing it home. How much does this depiction correspond to reality? It seems quite obvious that these artists knew a little about sheep. Or that reality didn’t matter for their art.
Then imagine another picture, man trying to carry a mature sheep. Let’s pray it’s not a Merino ram! How heavy would she be? 40kg, may be even 50kg or 60kg? The landscape in Palestine was very similar to what we have here in Barossa. Hills and valleys, at some places hillsides were quite steep and rocky.
We read that “when he has found it, namely, the sheep, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” When the man found the lost sheep, she probably was already without the strength. How to get her home? Trying to persuade? Trying to tell how good sheep behave? Trying to command her to move? She is laying and is unable to walk. The only solution is to lift her up and to carry her to home.
He lays her on His shoulders, rejoicing. We can easily imagine that this wasn’t an easy task. To carry a sheep from far away in hill country back to home, whatever far it was, few hundred meters or several kilometers. It was a difficult and demanding task. It required strength and determination.
It is similarly with us, when we lay down, overcame by our sin and unable to do anything to make things good with God. We have lost the wonderful glory God had given us. Now it is not enough for us to know that God’s law expects us not to sin. It is not enough to tell us what is the right way to live. All prisons are full with people who know what is right and what is wrong. And what?
Almost every person in our society of sexual promiscuity, cohabitation and divorce knows what is right and what is wrong. So what? What does it change if you know it, but if you are not able to live this way. We can’t change our hearts. Only the Son of God, Jesus Christ, can rescue us. Only He can sacrifice Himself to bring us home, and only His love can change our heart. Not instructions for a good life.
So what do we learn about Jesus? If we are the sheep and He is the Shepherd, what does this parable tell about Him? He is ready to go after every single lost sheep. After each of us. He is ready to search for us, as the woman searched for the coin. He is ready to rescue us, even if it is difficult and costly.
When He founds the sheep, when He finds you, He rejoices. Yes, you, whatever lost you may be. You can never be too lost for Him. There is no way too far or too difficult for Jesus if only He can bring you home. He is not afraid or hesitant to carry you. He rejoices about every lost sheep, or lost coin that is found again.
He said: “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” It’s not the case that these ninety nine don’t need to repent, but that they think that they don’t need. Therefore, of course, there is a larger joy over one, who finally acknowledges that there is a need for repentance and a need for Savior. For only when we understand it, we are willing to accept the help of God.
One more question remains: why are we here in the Lord’s house? For what purpose? It is very simple. To rejoice! Yes, to rejoice and celebrate. We all are like the sheep from the parable, or like the lost coins. The only reason we are here is that our Good Shepherd has found us. He did it. We didn’t find Him, we didn’t find our way here. We all were found and brought into the Lord’s house for the heavenly feast.
He went out and found us where we were laying. He lifted us up when we were lost, and He carries us to our ultimate home. Don’t be fooled. We are not walking into God’s Kingdom on our own. Not even now. We are being carried. Daily, and it is not easy task for the Son of God. But He rejoices.
Sometime we can be like little children; we can’t walk on our own yet, but we can wrestle furiously again this one who tries to carry us. We often do. But we are here in spite of it. That’s a reason for our joy and celebration. Jesus has found us, He has carried us, and He wants to have this meal together with us.
He is our Shepherd, He is your Shepherd. He has rescued us, He has rescued you. He is our host and He welcomes us at His table, whatever we are according to our own opinion, the Pharisees or the sinners. He is not partial. He has brought you here, just come and celebrate! | English | NL | 0b80eaa6947c098c754626f6445d9fe40985e5ede48fd4c5a7f24c81b0100db8 |
This biography appears on pages 1659-1660 in "History of South Dakota" by Doane Robinson, Vol. II (1904)
DAVID ROBERTSON, an able member of the bar of the state, who has
served several terms as a representative of Spink county in the state legislature, comes of staunch Scottish lineage and inherits the sterling
characteristics of the canny Scotchman sterling integrity, marked pragmatic ability and tenacity of purpose, with strong mentality and
mature judgment. He is a native of the state of Wisconsin, having been born in Rock county, on the 21st of August, 1855, and being a son of
Peter and Helen Robertson, both of whom were born and reared in Scotland, the father having been a native of Glasgow and the mother of
Edinburgh. They were married in their native land and shortly afterward,
in 1854, immigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Rock county, Wisconsin, where they remained until 1863, when they removed to
Freeborn county, Minnesota, becoming pioneers of that section, where the
father improved a good farm, and there both passed the remainder of their lives, secure in the respect and esteem of all who knew them. Of
their five children all are yet living. They were consistent members of the Baptist church, and in politics Mr. Robertson espoused the cause of
the Republican party.
David Robertson, the immediate subject of this sketch, completed
the curriculum of the public schools at Mitchell, Iowa, and was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm. In 1881 he was matriculated
in Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota, where he completed the scientific course and was graduated as a member of the class of 1885,
with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He had in the meanwhile been reading law, and after his graduation continued his technical studies in
the office of Hon. Calvin L. Brown, of Morris, Minnesota, this able preceptor being now one of the associate justices of the supreme court
of that state. Mr. Robertson read law under the direction of Judge Brown
for one year, and was then admitted to the bar of Minnesota, in July, 1886. In January of the following year he came to South Dakota and took
up his residence in Conde, where he engaged in the practice of his profession, and in the real-estate business, in which he has since
continued. In politics he is a staunch advocate of the principles and policies of the Republican party, in whose ranks he has been an active
and valued worker. In 1890 he was elected to the legislature, making an excellent record. Mr. Robertson also takes an active interest in school
work and is president of the board of education of Conde. He is an appreciative and popular member of the Masonic fraternity, being
affiliated with the following named bodies of the same: Conde Lodge, No.
134, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; and South Dakota Consistory, No. 4, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, at Aberdeen, having attained to
fourteen degrees in this branch of the order at the time of this writing.
On the 21st of February, 1887, Mr. Robertson was united in
marriage to Miss Priscilla V. Herman, who was born in Glenville, Freeborn county, Minnesota, on the 3d of November, 1857, being a
daughter of Philip and Augusta Herman, who are now living at Glenville, Minnesota, her father having been a farmer by vocation. Mr. and Mrs.
Robertson have three children living, namely: Len D., who was born on the 17th of December, 1887; George V., who was born on the 14th of
February, 1893; and Erskine H., who was born on the 14th of July, 1894. Their only daughter, Vida P., was born October 24, 1890, and died of
scarlet fever at the age of fifteen months. Mrs. Robertson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes special interest in Sunday | English | NL | 0652e36981dacaf21778876a7b1ba3dee4363eafb174d2b96416014fe05ec4cc |
“In a city swollen by refugees but still mostly at peace, or at least not yet openly at war, a young man met a young woman in a classroom and did not speak to her.”
As war and unrest is slowly taking over their country, Saeed and Nadia meet in a night class, each equally drawn to the other. They strike up a friendship that leads to romance, and as the situation in their country becomes more and more perilous, they begin to seek a way out. Amid rumours of secret doors that lead to places far away they decide to take a chance on an uncertain future, as their reality becomes one of danger and desperation.
“Rumour had begun to circulate of doors that could take you elsewhere, often to places far away, well removed from this death trap of a country. Some people claimed to know people who knew people, who had been through such doors. A normal door, they said, could become a special door, and it could happen without warning, to any door at all. Most people thought these rumours to be nonsense, the superstitions of the feeble-minded. But most people began to gaze at their own doors a little differently nonetheless.”
Exit West is a novel that both surprised and greatly impressed me. I came across it by chance and was quite taken by its premise. As I read through the story it delivered on so many levels, the main one being the way in which it captures the reality and emotions of those caught up in conflict situations; the desperation, despair, fear, and the loss of humanity.
“What she was doing… was for her not about frivolity, it was about the essential, about being human, living as a human being, reminding oneself of what one was, and so it mattered, and if necessary was worth a fight.”
In the midst of everything we have our two main characters and the subtle yet significant ways their circumstances and journey affect them as individuals, and in turn their relationship. There is a slight fantasy element to the novel in the idea of doors that lead to a different and far away place, which is subtle and adds a charming element to the overall story. A beautiful and thought-provoking novel.
“… decency on this occasion won out, and bravery, for courage is demanded not to attack when afraid.” | English | NL | e0ecba767ff0ef775d729fa4eda3fbe67bda70ebd2d106a9a89bcbe2462cc101 |
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Ribot studied law and rose to be director of the Department of Criminal Affairs at the Ministry of Justice. He was elected in 1878 to represent Pas-de-Calais in the Chamber of Deputies. Ribot was a moderate republican, and he specialized in financial matters. He lost his seat in October 1885 but was returned for Pas-de-Calais in 1887 and thereafter held the post until his election to the Senate in 1909. As minister of foreign affairs from March 1890 to February 1892, he initiated the rapprochement with Russia that was to ripen into alliance in 1894. He resumed the portfolio of foreign affairs when he became premier on Dec. 6, 1892, but his government fell four months later in the Panama Canal scandal. Premier again and also minister of finance from Jan. 26, 1895, Ribot sponsored the expedition to establish a protectorate over Madagascar, but he once again was forced to resign over a financial scandal.
Ribot was in the opposition from 1896 to 1914. He became a member of the Académie Française in 1906. In 1909 he was elected senator for Pas-de-Calais; in this role he specialized in foreign policy. In June 1914, he served very briefly as premier. After this government fell, he was appointed minister of justice; and in August of that year, after the outbreak of World War I, he again became minister of finance. He held this post for more than 2 years. He was again premier and minister of foreign affairs in March–September 1917, his most important act being to make General Philippe Pétain commander in chief of the French armies in May of that year.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Philippe Pétain, French general who was a national hero for his victory at the Battle of Verdun in World War I but was discredited as chief of state of the French government…
Saint-OmerSaint-Omer, town, Pas-de-Calais département, Hauts-de-France région, northeastern France. It lies along the canalized Aa River and is 22 miles (36 km) southwest of the Belgian frontier. The town grew around a monastery and a chapel, founded in the 7th century by St. Omer and his companions. The…
FranceFrance, country of northwestern Europe. Historically and culturally among the most important nations in the Western world, France has also played a highly significant role in international affairs, with former colonies in every corner of the globe. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the… | English | NL | b5283f81cc24391384b8f5dc55e233571add168b391b3bdadc40e0faff2888d2 |
An accomplished American actor, Bryan Lee Cranston rose to the mainstream in the movie industry as a result of his sensational portrayal of Walter White in the TV series, Breaking Bad, from 2008 to 2013. His excellent performance on the aforementioned series earned him the Primetime Emmy Awards for three consecutive times in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama Series – in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively.
His work ethic and drive for success was obvious in his amazing depictions of United States President, Lyndon B. Johnson in a stage production, as well as TV drama series that bear the same name, All the Way. The play earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor. More background details about the multi-talented American actor below.
Bryan Cranston’s Biography (Age)
The highly-esteemed actor was born in the beautiful city of Hollywood, California, on 7th of March 1956, to Joseph Louis Cranston – who dabbled into acting and boxing and his mother, Annalisa Cranston, a radio presenter. He was raised together with his elder brother, Kyle and a younger sister, Amy in a Canoga Park, California. Due to his father’s unsuccessful entertainment career, he was unable to fend for his family which made him abandon them when Cranston was 11 years old. Shortly, they lost their family house because they were unable to pay the mortgage in 1968 and this forced Cranston and Kyle to live with their grandparents for some time.
Cranston was an alumnus of Canoga Park High School, which he later followed up with graduating from Los Angeles Valley College with an associate degree in Police Science. While in college, he had a dream of becoming a police officer but chose acting as an optional course and suddenly developed a great passion for theatre and acting. Upon his graduation from college, the brilliant director went on a two-year motorbike tour with his elder brother, Kyle and after the tour, they both settled down in California as actors.
Bryan Cranston put his career to a start in the early ’80s at Granada Theatre in California where he picked up small roles and advertisements after briefly working as a security guard, waiter and truck loader. He made his first professional acting debut in Hollywood in the 1980 TV series To Race the Wind, playing the role of a Quarterback. He has also made appearances in much fantastic television series such as CHiPs, Loving, Cover Up, One Life to Live, Airwolf and others.
In addition, his unique acting qualities can be seen in the movie titled, Trumbo, where he was cast to play the character of Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter. His outstanding performance in the aforementioned biographical movie received critical acclaim and earned him his first Academy Award nomination in 2015. The movie star has had a busy acting career as he has been featured in a couple of animated movies such as Kung Fu Panda 3, where he lent his unique voice.
Other movies he has graced his talent with include Amazon Women on the Moon, The Big Turnaround, Corporate Affairs, Last Chance, The Upside as well as providing a voice in Isle of Dogs, Madagascar 3, Batman: Year One, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and several others.
Working as a producer, Bryan Cranston has produced an educating digital video disc titled, KidSmartz, which he designed to enlighten families on how to protect themselves from child abductors and internet bullies, he also worked on the movie, Last Chance.
What Is Bryan Cranston’s Net Worth?
Family – His Wife And Daughter
Bryan Cranston had his first marriage with Mickey Middleton, a writer in 1977, which, unfortunately, packed up five years later. After a while, he dated and eventually married Robin Dearden, an actress, whom he met on the movie set of Airwolf in 1984. Their union produced a daughter, Taylor Dearden Cranston, on 12th February 1993. Taylor earned a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Southern California and has flexed her acting skills in a good number of movies and TV series, including an episode of Breaking Bad (No Mas) which was directed by her father.
Bryan Cranston is not the tallest person you would ever come across as he is only about 5 feet 10.5 inches (1.79 m) tall which is quite impressive by the way. His height perfectly complements his accumulated body mass of about 76 kg (167.5 Ib). | English | NL | c5baf2ee3c9b1d5c809cffb064df894a834ec7707b115dbaf0a6c3f8ada19844 |
Writing has long been a favorite subject in our homeschool. I feel that it goes hand-in-hand with reading. Personally, I have been an avid reader all of my life and that did not end simply because I married, had children, and began to homeschool. I still find time to read on a daily basis, even if it is during the last five minutes of my day before going to sleep. It is that important to me. The same goes for writing. I simply must do it. I rediscovered my love for writing back in 2008 when I began my first blog, and it has developed since then into several contributor positions, many guest posts, some lesson-writing in the past, and other projects that are still in the works. I am passionate about encouraging women as they live out their lives in their marriages, as mothers, and as they homeschool their children! And these are the things that I write about.
In regards to writing and homeschooling, I have learned that children learn about, and often become excited about, the things that they are exposed to. If a parent enjoys painting, it is likely that her child will also learn to enjoy painting. Children whose families cook together often develop a very special love for food and preparing delicious meals. Parents who clean obsessively will many times discover that one or more of their children are also clean-freaks. They pass on the baton so-to-speak. The same has happened in our home.
My eldest two children, now in their teens, have developed an affinity for writing. Since I am a blogger, I have allowed them both, as they have expressed interest, to begin blogs of their own over the years. My daughter has stuck with hers, but my son has found that he prefers to write
for others more than for himself at this point. Perhaps that will change in time, or perhaps not. If you’re interested, you may see samples of my daughter’s writing and photography at Darkroom Diva, and also over at Homeschool Encouragement. My son has written mostly fan fiction about a favorite toy, and his writings can be found here.
I would like to encourage you as you endeavor to get your own kids writing, and to develop a love for and strong ability in the subject, that there are many resources and ideas available to you. The list below names just a few that we have utilized in our homeschool.
Oh, and before we get to the list I need to tell you that our philosophy is simple, and it’s this: Writers write.
We have spent a lot of time reading throughout our homeschooling years. I believe this has been the number one influence in my children’s lives and an important key to how they have learned to love the subject of writing. Reading good books, and possibly some that weren’t so good, has helped them to understand what great literature is, how it sounds, and how to create it, though they are still a work in progress, as are we all.
The ability to create and maintain a blog has given my daughter, in particular, many opportunities to develop her passions and to share them with others. This in turn creates the motivation to increase her knowledge and skill wherever necessary, such as in the areas of spelling, grammar, and creative writing.
The above two points have been a catalyst for this third one. My daughter first became interested in writing her own novel after reading the Truth Seekers Mystery series written by Christina Gerwitz and Felice Gerwitz. My daughter was enthralled with the idea that a teen had written a novel and then been published, and she found even greater motivation for writing. She has read book after book about the mechanics of writing, writing styles, traditional publishing, self-publishing, creative writing, and more. She has learned a lot! I am excited to say that she has recently completed her first novel and hopes to self-publish early this year.
Doing life with other writers
Writers, as with other ‘tribes’, build communities. Hailey is a part of an online community of writers through her blog, her guest and contributor post opportunities, as well as an in-real-life community of like-minded children and adults who are starting a writing club locally. These associations help her to develop her writing skills through conversations, collaborations, and opportunities to share her talent and knowledge on the subject, all of which ‘count’ in her homeschool education.
Developing God-given talents
I truly believe that writing is a God-given talent. We each have a ‘bent’, and one of my daughter’s happens to be writing. However, in order for this bent to become more than an interest, more than just a wish, a student must work on the development of her skills. Hailey did not become a good writer or complete this first novel simply because she wanted to. She has done lots of reading, writing, researching, and talking with others about her craft. She has considered her ability and whether she was willing to commit to the work it would take to accomplish her goals. She’s not done yet. I believe that God will continue to work in and through my daughter as she continues to develop new writing goals and increases her knowledge even more in this area. I’m excited to see how everything develops!
A few suggested resources for developing writing skills:
- Writing Fiction for Dummies
- How to Write A Book: & Sell it on Amazon
- Writing Vivid Settings (Writer’s Craft)
- About Writing : Planning and Executing a Fiction Project
Do you have a child who is interested in writing? Perhaps you could try some of these ideas I’ve shares with you to get him or her started along the path to becoming a writer. Do you have other suggestions for developing writing skills? Please leave them in the comments for us!
Click the image below to see all the posts in The ABCs of Homeschooling Series
Wendy is a homeschooling mama to five and happily celebrates 20 years married to her high school sweetheart this fall. She is passionate about encouraging women in marriage, mothering, and home education. You will find Wendy offering encouragement to women in these areas over at WendyWoerner.com, as well as offering helpful articles, printables, and recommended resources for your youngest learners over at Homeschool Preschool. Be sure to visit and connect with Wendy on Facebook and Twitter, too. | English | NL | 410d2a8fe128a552295b8c3b6fb84ea2dd1051351e78dd8a2553cfccbd5a9fdf |
There’s a new study that suggests men carry more bacteria and germs in their beards than dogs have on their fur. A team of researchers found that every beard that was sampled in the small study found to have at least one strain of bacteria in them, and that half of the bugs were bad for human health. The dogs tested in the same study had half the amount of germs of what the humans had.
According to the Daily Mail, the research was conducted by a team at Switzerland’s Hislanden Clinic. The team found that many dogs are just as clean as the men that participated in the study, if not a little cleaner.
During the study, researchers looked into whether or not humans posed any risks from picking up dog-borne diseases from an MRI scanner that was also used for examinations by vets. The study took samples from the beards of 18 men and the neck hairs of 30 dogs. The MRI results proved that dogs had a significantly lower bacteria count compared to the men in the study.
Lead researcher Andreas Gutzeit said this in a statement, “The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men's beards compared with the dogs' fur.' The study found all of the bearded men, aged from 18 to 76, showed high microbial counts, but only 23 out of 30 dogs had high counts. The remainder had moderate levels.”
However, critics are casting doubt on the report, arguing that it’s almost impossible to find out just how dirty one’s beard or even the hair on their head can be. Critics say that a simple swab test with a swab can easily find many unpleasant things on the heads of both men and women, regardless of how often they shower or what their hygienic habits may be.
For those looking to keep their beard or scruff a little bit cleaner, there are several steps men can take. Hair stylists and experts suggest trimming their beards on a regular basis to get rid of split ends and to keep their facial hair from growing excessively long. Also, men can wash their beards just like they wash their hair with a mild soap or cleanser or even a softener once a week to keep germs and bacteria at bay. | English | NL | f847cd12df4073bdd068490361e66f427a7e9cfaa3b4d9e1be832442528614e8 |
My wife Vivian and I are so delighted to have returned to the Northwest to continue our work in ministry. Vivian is the new pastor at Washougal United Methodist Church. The picture of the two of us was taken while vacationing at Glendalough, Ireland, last spring. Let me tell a little bit about myself. First of all, since it is asked frequently, my last name is pronounced “Hee-stand.” I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have two brothers, both of whom now live in Washington State, and a sister who lives in California. At an early age I became interested in music, playing the trumpet in the school band and later teaching myself to play guitar. I eventually went to college as a music major, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Music, then later a Master of Arts in Music from the University of California, San Diego. Although I grew up in a nonChristian family, as a musician I was able to find employment as a soloist and choir director in churches, and that was how God was able to work on me over the years. I met Vivian in the early 1980s (in a musical theater production, of course) and we married in 1985. Our first son Jonathan was born in 1986, and our second son Jeffrey in 1988. We realized that having careers in music and raising a family at the same time was not very practical, so I became a software engineer with music as a sideline. In 1989 we moved out of the Bay Area to Snohomish, WA. It was there, while working as Music Director at a Presbyterian church, that I was finally baptized. After leaving that position, Vivian and I joined a Methodist church and never looked back. In pursuit of my career in software we moved about a bit: five years in Snohomish, four years in Colorado Springs, and then nine years in Forest Grove OR. While in Oregon I perceived a call to move beyond the music stand and in to the pulpit, encouraged by Rev. Gwen Drake at Hillsboro United Methodist Church. Vivian had been pursuing this as well as a Spiritual Director, and in 2008 we moved back to Colorado to attend the Iliff School of Theology, where we received our Master of Divinity degrees in 2011. We have served churches as United Methodist pastors throughout the state of Colorado. Recently, because of a difficult family situation, Vivian and I decided to move back to the Northwest. Thanks to the help of Bishop Elaine Stanovsky (who had previously been our Bishop in Colorado) and District Superintendent David Nieda, we were able to receive excellent appointments near Portland where our son Jeffrey and our grandson Elliott now live. We feel truly blessed! We have with us our two dogs (a 10 lb. Bichon Frise named Bam-Bam and a 75 lb. British Cream Retriever named Pippin), many great memories of friends and places in Colorado, and a sense of gratitude that God has answered our prayers so that we may start this new chapter in our lives. I look forward to meeting you soon, and to the great work we will do together for the glory of God.
copyright © 2018 Salmon Creek Church - all rights reserved. | English | NL | 4f0f8b8a941ef54d19f4ed1874d9268a1fa412820f0d567458ad75f13e90968c |
The worst royal marriages in history also happen to be some of the most bloody, heartbreaking, and shocking. From royal cousins who got married to love-matches that soured quickly, some royal marriages were downright disastrous. More often than not, royal husbands and wives lived unhappily ever after.
Part of the problem for many royals was that marriages were typically business transactions. The expectation of marrying for love is actually a relatively modern phenomenon, and most royals throughout history entered into arranged marriages. Whether it was to consolidate territory or build alliances with rival houses, royals relied on parents and advisors to find a suitable spouse and plan a wedding - and consequently they often followed their heads instead of their hearts into marriage.
The stakes were often high for royal couples. Kings and queens could dispose of their spouses for political reasons - or because a marriage between strangers could easily be a mistake. Rocky marriages sometimes meant warfare, and royal marriage rules meant that kings and queens were under increased scrutiny. Since monarchs needed to produce the next generation of rulers, the royal marriage bed was a political matter, and the royal bedding ceremony was a way for courtiers to be sure that newlywed kings and queens consummated their marriage and made things official.
Even though people around the world have fantasized about marrying into royalty, the history of disastrous royal marriages shows that dreaming about marrying a prince is often better than actually marrying one.
Before he became a British king, George I was the Elector of Hanover in what is today modern Germany. In 1682, George's mother arranged for him to marry the very wealthy Sophia Dorothea of Celle, a Germanic noble. The marriage was unhappy from the start, especially since George felt it was totally within his rights to have mistresses, whom he flaunted in front of his young bride.
But things got worse when Sophia tried to find her own love story and began a relationship with Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, a Swedish count.
When George confronted his wife about the relationship, things got heated, and he actually physically attacked Sophia and began beating her. When brutish George left Hanover to assume his new role as King of Great Britain in 1714, he did so without Sophia at his side: he divorced her in 1694 and virtually imprisoned her for the rest of her life.
The fact that Königsmarck was murdered for his love for Sophia only makes the story all the more tragic.see more on George I of Great Britain
Queen Isabella of France was around 12 years old when she married King Edward II of England in 1308. Though the relationship had happy moments in the beginning, Edward's obsession with a number of male favorites - first Piers Gaveston and then Hugh Despenser - put a strain on the marriage.
Isabella began an affair with Roger Mortimer, and with his help she launched a successful coup against her husband. Edward was soon imprisoned, and in 1327 died mysteriously. No one knows for sure how he died, but one rumor claims that, under Isabella's orders, Edward died by having a red-hot poker stuck up his royal derrière.see more on Isabella of France
Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain - George III's youngest sister - was married off to King Christian VII of Denmark at the tender age of 15 in 1766. But she found no happiness in her new kingdom. In fact, Christian was suffering from severe mental instabilities that pushed their fragile relationship to the edge.
Among Christian's behavioral problems was his cruel streak - including the time he let Caroline Matilda know what he thought of her by mounting his new wife's portrait prominently in the bathroom.
He was also known for his sexual addictions and paranoia. Though Dr. Johann Friedrich Struensee was called in to treat the king, he instead took the reins of government, enacted Enlightened reforms, and even began a relationship with the young queen.
Things did not end well for either of them: Struensee was ousted and executed and Caroline was sent into exile and died at the age of 23.see more on Christian VII of Denmark
If there was any royal who could never figure out the secret to marital bliss, it was Henry VIII, the King of England from 1509 to 1547. He divorced two wives, killed two more, and lost one to the ravages of early modern childbirth. Of his doomed marriages, perhaps the most tragic, was to Catherine Howard.
Henry married Catherine when he was 49 and she was only 16 or 17. The huge age discrepancy mirrored a discrepancy in lifestyle, too.
By the time he married Catherine, Henry was a shadow of the golden prince he had once been: he was now obese and inactive, thanks to an old jousting wound. Catherine, by contrast, was in the prime of her youth and allegedly looked elsewhere for romantic fulfillment. After being accused of having an affair with Thomas Culpepper, Catherine Howard's downfall was swift and decisive - the teenaged queen was beheaded on February 13, 1542.
Catherine wasn't the only one of Henry's wives to end up on the chopping block. He had his second wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded only a few years earlier.see more on Henry VIII of England | English | NL | 51e5e7502c76e8aeb74fe6aa80321dba2a2cc1a1c3fab03454e908cc33904209 |
Even as a child, I was fascinated by the natural world. I made friends with a willow tree, the apple tree in our back yard, the creek that ran through our park. My parents thought it was so cute that I ascribed personalities and feelings to these nature spirits. My grandmother taught me to do so.
Like many kids, I was also obsessed with natural history. Books on dinosaurs, giant mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers sat alongside the planets and crystals on my shelves. I read through all the Little House on the Prairie books in weeks, my interest captured by the romantic notion of the wide open plains, the buffalo and wild horses, the land as it was.
The wild horses were my first ancestral nature spirit contact. They are gone from here in Nebraska, exterminated nearly 100 years ago, but herds of mustangs still exist in the western US. I would run through the fields near my home as a child, tall grasslands that spoke to me of a never-ending sea of prairie. I felt the spirits of these horses running beside me, wild and free to run the plains. I named a few of them, spending my days talking and running with them. In my experience, they still saw the plains as they were when they were alive.
In middle school, my connection to water expanded, and I began to feel a strong affinity for the ocean. Living in the middle of Nebraska, this was a bit strange. I had always known that millions of years ago, Nebraska was part of a huge inland sea. But it was only then that I began to connect with the spirit of that sea on a more spiritual level.
During the Cretaceous Period, when many lands were covered in dinosaurs and early mammals, the land under my feet was covered in water. It was home to giant sea turtles, and terrifying sea monsters that look as if they could be Jormungandr’s children. At 12, I visited a museum in the Black Hills displaying an Archelon Sea Turtle, the largest sea turtle ever discovered. He fascinated me for years, becoming my link to the ancient oceans of my home. He was my first experience with any kind of journeying, as I lay in bed at night flying through the seas.Recently, I’ve become interested in the three-toed horses that roamed these plains before the last ice age. Many were probably driven to extinction by human hunting, and I am unsure how contact will go when and if I do attempt it. For now, I am enjoying learning about them and the land and ecosystem that sustained them.
With my sporadic experience, I haven’t been able to arrive at any solid conclusions concerning ancestral nature spirits. I can say for certain that some animals, plants, and land spirits maintain a presence in the landscape after their death or destruction. Some do so even after the extinction of their species, for millions of years.
When I worked with the Archelon spirit, it was very much an archetypal sort of being, containing the overall experiences of many Archelons. I first encountered him in South Dakota, but was able to connect with him in Nebraska as well. But the mustangs I knew were very much their own personalities, and were strongly tied to the specific piece of land I lived near at the time. I’m not sure if this was due to their relative ages – millions of years vs a hundred or so – or if it was a quirk of experience on my part.
I do know that these spirits have fascinating perspectives to impart. I was young when I experienced them, and knew them mostly as friends and tour guides. The horses imparted to me their love of the prairie, the wind and the endless horizon. Archelon taught me little, but the calming and yet terrifying presence of such a large being in a huge ocean was an experience I will never forget.
When approaching these spirits, my first step was learning about them. Whether through books or museums, there are many ways to encounter what may have lived near you in the past. Extinct species and landscapes that are no longer visible have a disadvantage; you cannot simply go out and experience them. But through learning, we can begin to get a sense of what they were like, much as you would through direct experience. After that, I didn’t find it difficult to approach these spirits when journeying. | English | NL | 977ac0ddd5a031ff27a33790b99d9d352e65dd9c9b8fe0992c7f34c71cbc1f10 |
Members of the Karabük University Archeology Department in Anatolia, in northern Turkey, have announced the discovery of the remains of one of the oldest churches in Anatolia
The news was published by the newspaper Sabah on February 2, 2018, after a dispatch from the Anadolu Agency (AA) explained that the discovery was made during excavations in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis, situated in Karabük’s Eskipazar district.
Estimates say the structure that was unearthed could be about 1,500 years old, which would make it one of the first churches on the Anatolian peninsula.
Edirne was once an important pilgrimage site where St. Alypius the Stylite, a 6th-century monk and miracle-worker, was venerated.
According to Professor Ersin Celikbas, the church was about 65 feet long and was decorated with a floor mosaic representing a bull that is still visible; the construction took place during the same time period St. Alypius lived in. | English | NL | 4f8463945febfd5f1698d1bbbdb63cee73a36a007e1024170bb5fed6e90fd2c4 |
Prepared for Launch
I’ve been quite busy these days wrapping up my daughter’s last year & planning for her graduation party!
Is my daughter ready to spread her wings? Did I prepare her for launch? Some may say I sheltered her by homeschooling her. No, I protected her during the impressionable years.
By the time I graduated from high school I had many scars due to the “herding mentality” that goes on in the public schools not to mention the lack of Godly teaching.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom & instruction. Proverbs 1:7
My daughter however has grown up under the watchful eye of the Almighty & she’ll continue to be in His care. She has been kept from many of the things I dealt with not to mention the violence that is increasing in the public schools.
She has much discernment, wisdom, & maturity more so then her mother had at her age. To God be the glory! | English | NL | 62254a8c727f0596c00f5143329142e3e8a5e4f220d322da0e3a461cafcd64a6 |
While French sea captain Auguste Duhaut-Cilly may not have become wealthy from his around-the-world travels between 1826 and 1829, his trip has enriched historians interested in early nineteenth-century California. Because of a poor choice in goods to trade he found it necessary to spend nearly two years on the Alta and Baja California coasts before disposing of his cargo and returning to France. What was bad luck for Duhaut-Cilly was good luck for us, however, because he recorded his impressions of the region's natural history and human populations in a diary. This translation of Duhaut-Cilly's writing offers today's readers a rare eyewitness account of the pastoral society that was Mexican California, including the missions at the height of their power.
A veteran of the Napoleonic wars, Duhaut-Cilly was an educated man conversant in Spanish and English. He was also Catholic, which gave him special access to the California missions. Thus his diary allows the reader an insider's view of the padres' lives, including their dealings with the military. Through his eyes we see the region's indigenous people and how they were treated, and we're privy to his commentary on the behavior of the Californios.
This translation also contains Duhaut-Cilly's account of the Sandwich Islands portion of his voyage and provides an authentic rendering of life at sea during the early nineteenth century. In the spirit of Richard Henry Dana's Two Years before the Mast, Duhaut-Cilly's reflections are a historical gem for anyone with a love of personal narratives and original accounts of the past. | English | NL | c7bc44f43ace8b76f85ecd35a5c042c19cbf7df2e3fef796a4126178978b185c |
|Brig. Gen. John Nicholson FIBIwiki|
Native of Northern Ireland and privately educated in Delgany and later attended the Royal School Dungannon, with the help of his maternal uncle, Sir James Weir Hogg, a successful East India Company lawyer and for some time Registrar of the Calcutta Supreme Court, and later a Member of Parliament, Nicholson joined the British company's army in Bengal (the 41st Native Infantry at Benares) in 1839. As part of his job, he gained considerable language skill in Urdu (1845). He saw action in Afghan war 1840 and also Angelo-Sikh war in Punjab. He came under the influence of Henry Lawrence who was strict military officer and was held in great esteem by the Afghan tribes.
During the siege of Delhi in the Sepoy Mutiny, with fine strategy and tactics, he stormed into the city and surprised the rebels. Once he walked into the British Mess (in a tent) in Jullander city and coughed to get the attention of the fellow officers, etc. He told them about the reason of his late arrival, "I am sorry, gentlemen, to have kept you waiting for your dinner, but I have been hanging your cooks." He had been told that the regimental chefs had poisoned the soup with aconite. When they refused to taste it for him, he forced them to feed it to a monkey. Upon consuming it the monkey died on the spot. Having no other way, he went ahead to hang the cooks from a nearby tree without a trial".
|Col. Nicholson cemetery, 1880. Delhi kunzum.com|
Nicholson had close rapport with his fellow Punjab administrators Sir Henry Lawrence and Herbert Edwards and the later was almost his own brother like and he won't mind riding hours together to spend time with him.
|Col. Nicholson cemetery.1880 Delhi www.thequint.com/|
When he died, he was just 35 - too young for a man to lose his life to save his country' honor and name. Brigadier-General John Nicholson's tombstone, in Delhi's Kashmiri gate (no. 4) which was once a Mogul garden. His great services and untimely death while on war duty are commemorated on a white marble memorial plaque at the 1857 Memorial on the Ridge in New Delhi. Prior to independence, there a big state of Nicholson showing him with a naked sword in hand and surrounded by mortars, but was removed to his old school where one of the houses (yellow) is named after him. | English | NL | 98fcdd0e66a74603e87709a5f80473c1b05c5b4b52f97b5f8dc1b0afec45ea66 |
Appointed to the board in January 2019.
Ian is a qualified Chartered accountant. Prior to joining Hortons' he was an Audit Partner at KPMG Birmingham. Ian specialises in working with privately owned businesses across a wide range of sectors. He holds non executive director or advisory positions with a number of private businesses. | English | NL | 5fb04fda7caaa12d0037b779b11589098fc993972e7c16aaf5480e48db7d4d17 |
Anyone who owns and loves a dog knows it becomes hard to live without their consistent and utter devotion to you. And even though they may love you at least partially because they literally rely on you to do things like eat, it's a two-way road when you own a dog. You may keep them alive by feeding and taking care of them, but they are also taking care of you. Numerous studies have shown that owning a dog benefits a person's physical and mental well-being. So thank your dog for making your life so much better.
Walking your dog helps you stay more active than people who don't to walk the dog. A found that dog owners were more likely to participate in moderate physical activity than those who didn't own a dog. They walked an average of 300 mins per week, compared with non-dog owners, who walked an average of 168 mins per week.
A found that people who have strong connections to their pets also have social and relationship benefits. The researchers surveyed 500 18-26yr-olds and found that those who had "strong attachment to pets reported feeling more connected to their communities and relationships." They also found that the more attached a person was to an animal as a teenager and young adult, the more empathetic and confident he or she was.
A black lab named Marine could save your life. The specially-trained eight-year-old dog 91% of the time just by sniffing the person's breath. And if she smells stool, she can detect whether the person has colorectal cancer with 97% accuracy. It's estimated that a dog's sense of smell is up to a million times better than a human's.
Pups trained at the Florida Canine Academy . This comes especially handy for people who have intense peanut allergies. These dogs are so good that they can detect peanuts in a cookie or in a candy bar that is wrapped in a lunch bag. In Texas, provides trained dogs to people who are suffering with severe peanut allergies.
A found that one's level of oxytocin (the neurohormone that elicits feelings of happiness) raised intensely after interacting with their dogs. And the only interaction they needed was to stare into their dog's eyes. Those who looked longer into their dog's eyes had the bigger dose of oxytocin. Fun fact: A dog's willingness to meet eyes with humans is one of the things that separates them from wolves.
Homans writes that Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz, - meaning that its "high forehead, big eyes, short snout and floppy ears might have evolved to take advantage of human's innate responses." The features are known as "social releasers" and can elicit a human caregiver's response.
Karen Walker, a psychology professor at the University of Buffalo, . She wired volunteers to blood-pressure monitors and had them count rapidly backwards by threes from a four-digit number (a task that seems simple, but is actually pretty challenging. Just try it.) She found that the subject's stress response was significantly lower if there was a dog in the room.
Dogs have been . One army veteran, Robert Soliz, a former army specialist who served in Baghdad, found that engaging with dogs in a program called "Paws for Purple Hearts" helped him get his life back to the way it was before he left for war. When he returned, Soliz was so traumatized that he couldn't show any affection and struggled to even hug his kids. After spending 6wks with a golden retriever, Soliz began to feel more comfortable with his family.
In 2010, that children who were allergic to dogs but lived with at least one of them during their first year of life had a lower risk of developing the chronic skin condition eczema by age four. Interestingly, the complete opposite is true for cat ownership. Researchers found that children with cat allergies were 13 times more likely to develop eczema if they lived with a cat within their first year.
Loneliness . Studies have shown that in people 60yrs of age and older, owning a dog were . "The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interactions: Benefits and Responsibilities" . The study proved that, compared with non-owners, pet owners made fewer medical visits over the course of a year.
When you own a dog, you are forced to interact with people because you have to walk that dog in public. to stop and say hello to you because you have a cute pup bouncing alongside you. In some cases, these interactions could change the rest of your life.
According to , the United Kingdom's largest dog welfare charity, when they surveyed 700 people, 60% said that owning a dog can make people more attractive, while 85% think people are more approachable when they are with a dog. Even more, it could matter what of dog you own.
Homans presents one of the best arguments for why a dog is a great asset to one's life: The dog "takes us back to simpler modes of interaction." Homans writes "In a world of email and texting and videoconferencing, a relationship with a dog is unmediated by technology." Couldn't we all use a cuddly canine to tear us away from our smartphones? | English | NL | f8510fb489c3ce1270b57ba84fe2064afb281b5b579963fc4a6d2cdef5433002 |
This week’s episode features a chapter from Lord of the Inferno, Volume Two of War of the Fathers. War of the Fathers is available as a free ebook if you sign up for the Dan Decker Newsletter. Here is an excerpt from the show:
The ship door closed and Adar lowered his blaster, wondering what kind of damage a blast would do to the hull of the ship. He wasn’t willing to risk taking a shot just to see what happened, but it was difficult to watch another ship slip through his grasp even though it was part of his plan to let exactly that happen. Once two more ships were gone, it would be time to make his move, but as each one disappeared, he would become more anxious about their chances.
Adar’s mouth formed a thin line when he took in the wounded man who had died within a step or two of the door. As Adar had thought, his hand and lower forearm had been taken off by a blast as well. If only the man would have ducked down. He would have blended in with the other bodies, and the Hunwei would have walked right past him.
Adar examined the distance from the man to the house.
Just that much further and we would have had a real mess on our hands, Adar thought. He wasn’t glad for the man’s death, but he was happy he hadn’t had to fight the Hunwei. The shooting would have drawn the attention of the others, and with only Barc for support, Adar didn’t think that they would have survived. He was glad he didn’t have to find out what would have happened.
It is a dangerous game I play, and so far I’m not winning it either. If I had returned directly to the Arches, I could have handled Tere and had the tablet in my hands to take care of the Hunwei. He pushed away the thought to calm his nerves. There were always ways to have done things differently.
The whine of the engines disappeared as their volume increased to a roar. The ship lifted up into the air, hovering a few feet off the ground. After a minute or so, it gained altitude at an ever-increasing rate. The sound of its departure was loud enough to make him wonder if they were at risk of hearing loss.
A grim smile crossed Adar’s face. Maybe I’m getting too used to all this. It isn’t any louder than what I experienced outside the entrance of the Arches. If anything, that was worse because it was a much larger ship. He slung his blaster over his shoulder and covered his ears with his hands still the same, trusting his eyes to warn him of any approaching danger. | English | NL | 0e28f25e173f9445914c0c452bdb1b49c7813c8be3d3952730460ab7c3b35134 |
Blue's Way: Part Two
Ten minutes later, Rei and Fura were seated in the blue Gelert’s classroom, but their thoughts were far away from the teacher’s announcements.
“BluesKing? Is BluesKing here?” the teacher called out. There was silence.
“Er... I think there was an emergency and he had to leave, Mrs. Bloom,” said Fura hesitantly. The teacher glanced her way and nodded before moving on to the next name.
Fura felt a nudge and something was pushed into her paw from behind. She glanced at the crumpled piece of paper there, and unfolded it to read: We need find out more about this guy. There’s something not quite right. Let’s follow him tonight. Meet you at the tree at six o’clock.
Fura swallowed hard, and nodded slowly so that Rei could see. Her friend was right. Something fishy was going on, and they needed to figure out what. Suddenly she became aware that Mrs. Bloom had called her name.
“Here! I’m here,” she called. She stuffed the note deep into her backpack, and resolved to not think about the plan for as long as possible.
* * *
At three o’clock that afternoon Fura opened the gate in front of her Neohome, trudged up the pathway, and opened the front door.
“Mono! I’m home!” she called out. There was no answer, and she frowned. She had expected Mono to be waiting to greet her and ask her for every little detail about her second day back at school. Mono was just that kind of owner. She walked into the kitchen and spotted a note sitting on the table. She grabbed it and read,
I have to be gone from Neopia for a few weeks. I know this is sudden, but the ‘rents said I have to go on vacation with them. I’ve left lots of money; just check yourself into one of the nicer Neolodge hotels and you’ll be fine.
Love you lots,
Fura blinked, startled and a bit nervous. After a moment she slowly folded the note and picked up an envelope that also lay on the table. She opened it and gasped at the amount of money inside. Why, Mono must have expected her to check into the AstroVilla and get all of the extras besides! She shook her head in slight consternation before settling down to do her homework. She worked quietly and became quite involved until eventually she glanced at the clock. Immediately she jumped up; she had just over an hour until she was to meet Rei in the schoolyard. She hurried over to the Neolodge and purchased a month’s worth of nights at the quiet and rather pleasant Mountain Lodge. She ate a quick dinner at the restaurant there before hurrying off to the school.
* * *
Meanwhile, Rei had entered her Neohome and thrown a ball against her ceiling for two hours. At a quarter of six she informed her owner Joshua, a Neopian Times writer, that she was going on a ski trip.
“Ski trip? In the summer?” Joshua had asked, mildly confused.
“Uh-uh. On Terror Mountain. It’s a school trip, and we’re going to learn how the natives live there.”
“Oh, I see,” said Joshua rather absentmindedly. “Well, have fun.” He immediately turned back to his typewriter and continued to pound away at the keys.
“Bye, Dad,” the Acara said as she opened the front door and left the Neohome.
“Hm? You’re leaving now? Oh, the ski trip...”
* * *
Rei had been waiting impatiently in the schoolyard for nearly five minutes before Fura rushed up.
“Sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I lost track of time doing my homework...”
“Shh,” Rei hushed. “He’s right over there, in his tree. He hasn’t seen us.” And so he hadn’t. As Fura glanced over, Blue’s Weewoo landed on his shoulder. The Kougra whispered something to his pet, and immediately the white beauty shot off again. Blue stretched casually before jumping off the tree branch and strolling away. Fura and Rei watched him until he exited the schoolyard, turned a corner and vanished from sight.
“Let’s go,” Rei hissed. The two pets hurried after BluesKing, trying to keep him in sight while not letting the Kougra hear them. They turned the corner and Rei almost ran into Blue, who was sitting and cleaning his paws. The Wocky and Acara hurriedly made shushing motions at each other and dashed back around the corner.
“Whew! That was close,” Rei gasped.
“We’ll have to be more careful,” Fura breathed.
Rei peered around the corner. “Okay, he’s moving on,” she whispered. “Wait for it... now he’s entering the woods. Let’s go!”
“You- you mean the Haunted Woods?”
“Of course, Fura! What other woods are there on this side of Neopia Central?”
“None,” Fura admitted with a tremulous, reluctant sigh. She cautiously followed Rei down the street and into the forest.
“He’s over there,” Rei murmured, pointing away to her left. “C’mon.”
“Careful where you step,” Fura warned, avoiding a Snake Rose that was thrashing about at her feet.
Suddenly, Blue sat down and began examining his paws again. The girls halted and held their breath, though Rei did hiss impatiently under her breath. After a moment Blue traveled on again.
They walked for nearly two hours, with Blue stopping occasionally to wash his paws. The girls’ spirits began to lag and they became very tired. When Blue sat down and began cleaning his claws for the umpteenth time, Fura decided to suggest that they try again another day. Before she could say anything, though, Rei spoke.
“We’re just wasting our time,” Rei hissed. “Blue’s not heading anywhere. He’s just going in circles!”
Fura was about to agree when Blue chuckled. “Correct!” he announced, sounding pleased. He turned his head and looked over his shoulder at them. “Come here. I was wondering when you would figure it out.”
“You mean... you knew we were following you? But we were being really quiet!” Fura protested as she and Rei sheepishly approached him.
Blue shook his head. “Actually, you were being fairly noisy. Also, I was indeed leading you in circles... look; here are our paw prints from when we came around here before. Didn’t you see your paw prints, or at least recognize some of the trees?”
“We were-ah, more intent on not losing track of you,” Rei replied with some embarrassment.
“Hmm” was the Kougra’s only reply. There was a lengthy pause during which Blue stared at the two girls intently. Just as they were beginning to shift awkwardly, he said, “Would you two like to know a secret?”
Fura and Rei exchanged confused glances. “Like what?” Rei asked suspiciously.
Blue answered slowly. “Let me think about how to say this... In the past couple of days, I’ve talked with you two once or twice. Since I first became aware of you, I’ve been watching you closely.”
The Kougra hesitated again, searching for words, and the girls looked at him nervously. Why on Neopia was Blue so interested in them?
But then the Kougra was speaking again. “As I said, I have been watching you, and I think that you two could be of great help to me. In fact, I would be delighted if you two decided to help me. However, you must not tell anyone of what I am about to tell you- that is, if you agree to my proposition.”
Fura’s brown eyes steadily met Blue’s yellow ones, and she saw sincere earnestness in them. When she glanced over at Rei, however, she saw skepticism painted all over the Acara’s face. Turning back to Blue, she stated quietly, “My friend and I need a moment to discuss this. We’ll just go over there,” -she pointed to a spot about one hundred feet away- “and come back to you with our decision in a moment.”
Blue nodded, and Fura showed more impetuousness than was normal for her by dragging Rei over to the depicted spot.
The Acara wrenched her arm free of the Wocky’s grip and spat, “Fura, what are you doing?! We can’t trust him!” At Fura’s frantic motions she allowed her voice a little, but not much. “We met him, what, two days ago? And now you mean to follow him on some cybunny-brained scheme, even though he won’t even tell us anything about it? Either he’s crazy, or he’s somebody evil! And-”
The use of her full name brought Rei up short. Fura had never used it before, and Rei looked uncertainly at her friend now.
“Rei, listen to me. Why shouldn’t we trust him? No, listen! I always have followed your judgment; couldn’t you please listen to mine for once? Rei, I know that I am usually very shy around other people, but Blue is different. I know that we can trust this pet. I know it.”
Rei looked at Fura and nodded slowly. “You’re right. I know he’s not crazy or evil; I can feel it. You’re right. We need to join him; it would be wrong if we didn’t. I’m sorry for screaming at you.”
Fura shook her head with a tiny smile curving her lips. Suddenly she punched Rei lightly on the arm. “Silly! What do you think friends are for? Of course I forgive you! Now let’s go tell that massive excuse for a Kougra what our decision is.”
Linking paws, the two best friends skipped back to where the Kougra waited.
To be continued... | English | NL | 54630d2874cb8e3354eff2d9b510633446a5a6bf9f3a6b7903697b245cc6cffe |
The laser cutter came with another lens that we were totally unaware of its existence. Why would such expensive machine be missing one of its main parts? Looking through an accessories box of the laser cutter, I came across a little box that contained something wrapped in white paper- it was the other lens! The lens that we were using would only cut when it was in the metal-cutting position, even though we were not cutting metals. This new lens can cut in the non-metal and metal positions.
The very first thing that I tested was if it could cut in the non-metal-cutting position. After that, I proceeded to test cardboard, plexiglass, and foam.When cutting foam we were getting beveled cuts. This was the main reason we considered buying to new lens to get better cuts.
We can observe that the new lens can cut straight down the foam without creating a bevel. This is exactly the type of quality we need and expected from such a laser cutter. With our old lens it was really hard trying to get a straight cut; we got pretty close but nothing compared to this new lens. | English | NL | 7fd7d722c427abd3c4a8876b88f01e4632cb9f48d49a8de7ad522e1d29b101bd |
Risen Hope Ministries | What are you feeling? | Impatience
"Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper." Psalm 37:7
"Now as for you, dear brothers who are waiting for the Lord’s return, be patient, like a farmer who waits until the autumn for his precious harvest to ripen. (8) Yes, be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near." James 5:7-8
If we were to be honest with ourselves; there can be times, when we grow impatient with God. All that seems to be on our minds; is that we want our problem resolved and right now. Do we realize that a delay, in an answered prayer, could mean that God has plans and in order for those plans to be carried out; He has to have a little more time?
When I look back on my own life; I now can see moments, when I was in a hurry to have my problems resolved and that was due to what I wanted and what I was viewing at the moment, which wasn't a pretty site but now that those moments are behind me; I can see the reason for the delays and why God didn't always answer my prayers right away. In fact, I was just recently telling my husband; that in order for me to do all that God has me doing right now; I had to learn a lot and grow in Him; in order for me to be at His level and do the work that He has called me to do. In fact, when I look back on my life; I see a life that had to be broken...repaired and complete in Him; so that Diane wasn't in the picture...only God; so when you feel as though you are growing impatient with God; take a look beyond the problem and you will find the reason for the delay. | English | NL | ce968e68b25aa7a5d0b7c1458be12e0a3d1d716ff3df286a0bff20622ca6b695 |
The noni plant, also known as “Indian Mulberry” is believed to be one of the original plants brought to the Islands in the canoes of the Polynesians. It was highly prized by the culture for its medicinal uses as well as that for dyeing fiber.
This shrub or small tree stays under about 20 feet tall depending on its growing conditions. In the lowlands, it tends to be much closer to shrub size of just a few feet tall.
Noni plants prefer areas that are wet and will grow up to about 1500 feet above sea level. It tolerates brackish water with salt. It will thrive in just about every type of lowland climate and soil condition. It is even often found growing up through cracks in lava flows as it is not picky about where it grows.
The most popular culinary use for the noni tree fruit is that of its juice. The fruit is edible and was used as a foodstuff during famine but it is the juice that is so sought after today. Many health benefits are thought to come from drinking noni juice including weight loss and energy boosts.
The noni tree has gained a nickname of “The Painkiller Tree” for the analgesic properties found in the juice. A poultice made from mashed ripe fruit was a common remedy for various ailments and skin problems or wounds. It is also touted as an antidepressant, antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral plant. Helping to block the absorption of cholesterol aids in protecting the memory and encouraging heart health.
Noni has an astringent, insecticidal quality which is why it was once used as a hair dressing. People applied it as a bug repellant. Some fans still use it in hair and skin preparations to aid against eczema and ringworm.
All parts of the plant were used in some manner by the ancients. From the roots to the tree tops, nothing was left to waste. The stems were used for canoe building and other construction or tool needs. Noni tree bark and roots were prized for their use as a dye. The bark provided a red pigment while the roots were responsible for a yellow color.
There are many reasons to learn more about this interesting and unusual tree. | English | NL | 83706c24de05eb077f0b762a577019a7f2e65e056e0531bca370e127f2a64c76 |
William Lawrence Garvin, 94, died peacefully on Sept. 15, 2018 in Eastsound, Washington.
Larry and his twin brother Bob were born in Steubenville, Ohio on Sept. 1, 1924. He was a cheerleader in high school and an enthusiastic student. He received a scholarship to Washington and Lee University where he spent his freshman and sophomore years before joining the Navy.
Once his service was complete, he continued his undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, with the help of the G.I. bill. While at Ohio State, he married Sylvia Malcolm Graham and together they moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to start a family while he earned his masters in architecture at MIT. Following graduation, his career as an architect took him to Clemson, South Carolina, Boston, Massachusetts, Berkeley, California, Lubbock, Texas and finally to Manhattan, Kansas, where he retired at the age of 74.
Always a Navy man, he was an avid sailor. He collected many entertaining stories of getting lost, misidentifying lighthouses, capsizing, perpetual seasickness and boats that all but fell apart beneath him, which he told with a good-natured tone and a gleeful grin. Along the way, he visited and sailed around Orcas and fell in love with the island. In 1999, he followed his dream of retiring in the San Juans and moved to Eastsound.
Perhaps it was because he was one of the older residents, or perhaps it was his blue cap and silver Mercedes coup, but Mr. Garvin became known to many on the island. He loved the arts and was often found attending events of music, theatre, musical theatre, joining in with any opportunity to sing and dining at many of the fine restaurants of Orcas. A cultural omnivore, he was always eager to participate and enjoy.
Larry is survived by his brother Phillip Craig Garvin of Steubenville, Ohio; son Timothy Carl Ish of Ponte Vedra, Florida; daughters Victoria Garvin Davis of Carlisle, Massachusetts, Catherine Miller Garvin and Elizabeth Carter Garvin both of New York, New York; and grandsons James Corliss Davis of Carlisle, Massachusetts and Ellis Scot Palmer of New York, New York. You may contact the family via email at email@example.com. | English | NL | 275004caafbef0daf01b9d6f96a3767f69472ef71ecf26756f92c4716d2c16e3 |
It is useless to go squirrel hunting with a cannon, and it is useless to level the guns of serious criticism at anything written by Mr. Hoyt . Mr. Hoyt is not a scheming villain, or a corrupter of public morals; he is simply a very pleasant, clever, brainless man who is exceedingly wise in his generation. Mr. Hoyt does not know a great deal, but he knows the American public better than any other man connected with the stage. The one thing about him worthy of respect is his staunch Americanism. He is really and sincerely American. He is really the exponent of the average American's taste in the matter of comedy. Of course the public taste will some day outgrow "A Trip to Chinatown" and "A Hole in the Ground." It will some day be able to feel the more delicate humor which cuts cleaner and deeper, but at present it certainly is not. One charm about Mr. Hoyt is that he is so very unpretentious, anything will serve him for a theme, any little existing annoyance that we have all felt and fretted over. His plays can't last long because their interest is entirely local, but he is not writing plays for posterity, but for the living present and the box-office receipts of the living present.
The "Green Carnation" is both a clever and an inane book. Clever in that it is a bright satire, inane in that it devotes itself to parodying a school almost wearisome to parody. It is not immoral as the publishers for business reasons have advertised, mere epigrams cannot be immoral. The book is a collection of epigrams on and off the subject. It certainly ought to succeed in disgusting people with Mr. Wilde's epigrammtic school once and for all. It turns and twists those absurb mannersisms and phrases of Wilde's until they appear as ridiculous as they really are. The hero thinks jam must be immortal because it is so good; his friend thinks deviled kidneys must be wicked because they are so beautiful. So the books strings on from driveling effeminacy to maudliness. In a sense it is a timely book for the English speaking world needs prodding in the matter of epigrams. There are a number of really talented young writers who are sacrificing the strength, vitality and common sense of their style in straining after the epigramatics. So far as the writer remembers no really great English author has ever been epigramatic. It's not in the blood—or the climate. The Frenchman is born with an epigram on his lips. He uses them unconsciously. When he is a child and fights over his marbles he disputes in epigrams. The peasants speak in epigrams. But the English were made for slower, heavier speech. The Frenchman cuts like a rapier, but the Englishman crushes like a sledge. If he studies French word fencing he only makes a clown of himself. He can never apply his power through a slender blade and he is at best only a poor imitation. The affectation poisons his style, his vigor and his whole personality. He loses not only his art but his manhood. The Anglo-Saxon must be content to plod heavily along as his fathers did before. He can be good or wicked or great whichever he chooses, but be cannot be all three at once. He cannot discuss art and vice in the same breath. The Frenchman may live en concubinage with his muse, but the Englishman must live in wedlock, chaste and holy and devoted, "forsaking all other and clinging to her only." He may be basely, sordidly, contemptibly wicked if he wishes, but he can never be gracefully or artistically wicked.
In all that dreary b ok there is one refreshing character, Lady Lock's little boy Tommy . He is lively and healthy and eats strawberries instead of making aphorisms about them. We hope that he grew up to be a big English trooper, and that he drank scotch whisky and smoked Turkish tobacco and swore only as an Englishman can, and that he never even learned the meaning of that despicable word "artistic."
It is not customary to praise existing institutions, that is generally reserved for the institutions of the seventeenth century. But the present condition of the state penitentiary can be praised with all fairness. It would be hard to find a better kept prison anywhere. Warden Beemer has humanized the whole place and made it like a dwelling place of men. There are window plants in every window of the big work shop, there is a greenhouse and a fish pond in the yard, the convicts now eat at long tables instead of having their food thrown to them in their cells. The dirty old flagging of the old cell room has been removed and new laid. The whole place is as clean and trim as the army barracks. The old sullen discontent has died off the prisoners' faces and many of them seem to be receiving an actual education there. The old idea that a prison is a place of punishment is one of the most barbarous. It is generally conceded that as a rule the men who are there are there because they lack the finer distinction between right and wrong, and because one seems to them quite as good as the other. If prisons are to do any good beyond keeping the more dangerous element of society away from the less harmful, it must be in cultivating whatever aesthetic sense its inmates may happen to have.
"Yes." said the leading man with a sigh, "I played two years with the Kendalls , and I have the warmest admiration for their acting. Personally? Oh, 'Willie' is a finefellow, but he is of course somewhat the worse for long years of subjugation. Originally he was the greatest actor of the two. You don't think he has done as much as his talents warranted? Good heavens! he has lived with Mrs. Kendall , what more do you expect of one man? I don't believe there is another man in England who is artist enough to have done that. All a lie about temper? Well, I guess not. He doesn't dare to say a word at rehearsals, she assigns him his parts and his stage business and he meekly carries them out. The public will never know the price that man has paid for his wife's good name. Her temper is no better than Lillian Russell's , only Lillian never found so patient a man. Time was when William Kendall promised to be the greatest emotional actor in all England, now he will go down into history as Mrs. Kendall's leading man. You see it's the subjection that has done it. No artist can stand subjection, it kills all his best possibilities. He has cared more for her work and fame than he has for his own. He has endured all her violence, gratified all her whims, and because he has endured, because he has prostrated himself completely, the world calls Mr. Kendall good. Thralldom like that always seems wrong to me even when it's legal and has been sanctioned by a parson. It has hurt him just as it has ruined poor Bob Mantell , though his is of the respectable kind and Mantell's is shocking. The only difference is that Kendall is slated for life and Mantell might some day shake Berrens off. Willie Kendall had the chance to be known as a great artist—is known as a very amiable husband. Well, that's one way of using talent. I hope he has enjoyed it. He is one of the men who wasn't selfish enough to be great. Ah, well, it's all in a lifetime. It's one way of spending 'a fire God meant for other ends.' I see by your smile you know the preceding line of that quotation. No reflection on Madge at all. Good night."
Mrs. Burton Harrison is writing on etiquet for the Ladies' Home Journal . That is exactly where Mrs. Harrison belongs and we rejoice that she has found her level at last. Her novels are discussions on gowns and table manners, interspersed with dialogue. If she omits the dialogue and confines herself to etiquet proper she may do some good in the world and will certainly cause less pain.
The Nineteenth century is rich in mechanical inventions. Pictures, music, statues are made by machinery, as well as the more practical things of life, but Dr. Owen is the first man who has made literature by machinery. For the benefit of those who may be fortunate enough to be in ignorance of Dr. Owen and his so-called Baconian cycles, it may be stated that he has invented a wheel which he runs over the pages of the works of Shakespeare , Marlowe , Greene and others, and which selects certain words on that page arranged with mathematical precision which tell a story of their own. These cipher productions Dr. Owen has published in several volumes and is still busily at work grinding out poetry. Dr. Owen interprets that Lord Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Greene, Burton and several others, besides the twenty odd stout volumes that are accredited to him. In short he claims that Lord Bacon was the author of the Elizabethan age. In the first volume of the cipher Bacon tells his own story. He claims that he, and, indeed, a goodly share of the rest of the population of England, are the sons and direct heirs of Elizabeth . Then his lordship proceeds to speak in a very naughty and unfilial way of his mamma and calls her all the unpleasant names which Shakespeare, Marlowe, Greene and all the rest of them ever called women, and they all could be pretty hard on the ladies when they felt so disposed. The list of sins which he assigns to the queen is remarkable and unique: the only difficulty is that no one woman's life would be long enough to accomplish so much wickedness The meter in which these startling revelations is set forth is also remarkable; there is none which can equal it in lameness and faultiness unless it is that of the awful epic on America entitled " The Columbiad ," which was perpetrated somewhere about the beginning of this century.
Dr. Owen is now at work unraveling " The Tragical Historie of Mary Queen of Scots ." The play thus evolved is a string of meaningless, high sounding words without action, without deeper meaning, utterly unfit for the stage and very unpleasant to read. The scene between Mary and Elizabeth which Shakespeare would have filled so full of action is but a long tirade of ugly epithets. Here is a sample of what Mary says to Elizabeth: Oh! Inspeakable injustice! Oh, monstrous, miserable, moth eaten judge! Dame Atropos to thee resigns her fatal knife— Although, no doubt, the murd rous knife is dull and blunt Till it be whetted on thy stone-hard heart— To revel in the entrails of tender lambs! False to thy God, thy father, and thy brother; Conspirant against thy sister; well I wot, Whoever got thee, thou has thy mother's guilt! Had but thy father, Henry, Match'd according to his state, Thou hadst been an anointed queen; But when he took a beggar to his bed, And grac'd thy mother with her bridal day, His honor then he cast away. If ever lady wronged her lord so much, Thy mother took into her blameful bed, Some stern, untutor'd churl; and thus her stock Was graft with crab-tree slip, whose fruit though art.
That is as queenly and as elegant as her language ever becomes. Compare it with this: Such an act That blurs the grace and blush of modesty, Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose From the fair forehead of an innocent love, And sets a blister there, makes marriage-vows As false as dicers' oaths: O, such a deed As from the body of contraction plucks The very soul, and sweet religion makes A rhapsody of words: heaven's face doth glow; Yea, this solidity and compound mass, With tristful visage, as against the doom, Is thought-sick at the act.
This last, which is by no means in Shakespeare's best style, has nothing in common with the first, it is true, except that they both call hard names and are rather unpleasant reading. The man who could contently and continuously write in the style of the first passage quoted could not write the last. The man who wrote "Mary of Scots" could not have written " Hamlet " or " Lear ." The end stopped lines, the grotesque exaggerated figures, the false force, all make the passage ring hollow. The only resemblance it bears to anything ever attributed to Shakespeare is to some parts of " Henry VII. ," which it is generally conceded Shakespeare did not write. His lines betray the absurd mixture of Shakespeare diluted by inferior dramatists.
According to Mr. Owen's theory Bacon's real object in writing at all was to set forth his history and "The Tragical History of Mary Queen of Scots" and the rest of them. The so called Shakespearian plays are merely disguises to hide what at that time Bacon feared to tell plainly. Then Bacon certainly made the disguise of his work infinitely more beautiful than his real work. He lavished more care, art and imagination on the straw in which his marbles were packed than on the statues themselves. This alone is absurd. A man's best work goes where his heart is, where his purpose lies. If the "Tragical History of Mary" were better literature than Hamlet then we might believe Hamlet is only wrapping paper. If we are to believe Dr. Owen, " Cymbeline ," " A Winter's Tale ," " Romeo and Juliet " are merely dominoes, flimsy masquerade suits in which Lord Bacon's plays have been disporting themselves through the centuries. If so, we are the more deceived. It is an appalling practical joke on the world that its greatest literature should be a sham.
The proofs of the genuineness of Shakespeare, like that of the New Testament, are internal, not external. Shakespeare is a truth, a law, not to be influenced by external circumstances or discoveries. The one invulnerable proof that the plays were written for themselves is their high seriousness and earnestness. The fact that for three hundred years these plays have wrought the great minds of every nation up to the highest pitch of intensity and emotion, is proof positive that they were written at the white heat of intensity by the greatest mind of all. They are the most serious product of the most serious of races, the highwater mark of the literature of the world. Whatever they may conceal they reveal more of the highest triumph of human art, more of the deepest reading of human life than any other of the works of man. As to Shakespeare himself it doesn't matter much. "One will say he is in the desert, come forth, and another he is in the inner chamber." It is immaterial. But the plays will stand till the judgment after the name of the builder is forgotten, enduring throughout time, the admiration of all generations past, the wonder of all generations to be.
It is a peculiar fact that Signora Duse has never allowed her daughter to enter a theatre or to see a play. It is another evidence of how vastly Duse differs from all other women of the stage. The love of admiration, of homage, of publicity, the warm fellow feeling for others of the same profession, the genuine affection for the very outside of the theatre which are the almost inevitable accompaniments of an actress' life, seem never to have touched her. She has moved through the crowd of babbling Thespians without seeing or hearing them, she has worn the motley as though it were a nun's hood, she has gone from theatre to theatre as though she were going from shrine to shrine to perform some religious worship. Of her own personality, of her private life, the public has never had a glimpse; we know as little of it as we know of Shakespeare. The most enterprising reporters have never been able to interview her, her answer has always been the same, "I cannot see what the public wants of one off the stage, I am not beautiful and I am ill." Even the most imaginative newspapers cannot say what wines she drinks, what books she reads, or who are her friends. In this respect she is greater than any other woman who has ever been before the public. She has kept her personality utterly subdued and unseen and spoken only through her art. It is like the music one hears in a convent where the tones awaken and thrill, but the singer is hidden behind the veiled grating of the choir. No one knows what manner of woman it is that this music comes from. Apparently she has no confidential friends, there is no man whom she loves, no woman whom she trusts. She is utterly alone upon the icy heights where other beings cannot live. She is an actress, yet not of "the profession." In a calling that is the least austere she leads the life of a nun. One wonders what great sorrow or what hidden joy it is that Signora Duse guards so closely.
She is the only actress for whom the public never has a word of contempt or a sneering jest. She has kept her own life so completely secluded that even the newspapers feel an awe of her. She come and goes "one fall form, companionless." One night she is as wicked as the wickedest French comedy, another night she is sublime as the sublimest tragedy. Beyond this we know absolutely nothing except that this woman is great and ill and unhappy, and wants neither the world's ridicule nor its sympathy.
Charles Hoyt: Charles Hoyt (1860-1900) was born in New Hampshire, moved west to a cattle ranch in Colorado, became a newspaperman, then wrote his first play and had it produced in 1883; he became one of the most successful producer-playwrights by the late 1880s, perfecting the style of Broadway musical in which a farcical, light-hearted plot gives opportunities for songs and specialty features.
A Trip to Chinatown: In Charles Hoyt's musical "A Trip to Chinatown", Mrs. Guyer, a widow from Chicago, comes to San Francisco and fosters romance among several young couples with the help of a rich man's lost wallet. The song, "The Bowery" (music by Percy Gaunt, words by Charles Hoyt), was one of the first big Broadway show tune hits. Later the song "After the Ball" was added; the two songs came to exemplify two dominant strains of the 1890s stage, the slightly naughty and the overtly sentimental. This was Charles Hoyt's biggest success. It toured the country for nearly a year before opening on Broadway in 1891, where it ran for a record-breaking 657 performances—a record that would not be broken for nearly thirty years. It toured the country for years after.
A 1912 musical, A Winsome Widow, was based on the play, and later commentators have seen many echoes of the plot in the mid-twentieth century hit, Hello, Dolly!
Oscar Wilde: Writer and wit Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was born in Ireland, and educated at Oxford University, where he first began to make his name not only as a writer but as a representative of and spokesman for the aesthetic movement in England. His style—in dress, life, and writing—was satirized by the humor magazine Punch and by Gilbert and Sullivan in Patience. In 1882 he made a lecture tour of the United States. Wilde married Constance Lloyd in 1884, and had two sons; he was then working as a journalist in London. He published essays, including "A Defence of Lying;" a collection of allegorical fairy tales, The Happy Prince, in 1888; a novel, The Picture of Dorian Grey in 1891; and then the first of his witty, satirical society comedies, Lady Windermere's Fan in 1892. It was followed by A Woman of No Importance in 1893, and An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest in 1895.
Wilde had met Lord Alfred Douglas, son of the Marquess of Queensbury, in 1891. Queensbury objected to their relationship, calling Wilde a sodomite. Wilde sued for criminal libel, but the jury upheld Queensbury and Wilde was arrested. After two trials, he was condemned to two years hard labor in jail in May 1895. Out of this experience came his most famous poem, the "Ballad of Reading Gaol" (1898). On his release in May 1897, Wilde went to France to live.
Warden Allan D. Beemer: Allan D. Beemer (1842-after 1904) was born in Pennsylvania, and served four years with the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War. He came to West Point, Nebraska, in 1868, engaging in real estate and livestock, as well as serving as sheriff of Cumming County for six years. In 1886 he founded the town of Beemer and its bank. He served as warden of the Nebraska State Penitentiary from 1893-95, and again in 1902-1904. He was preceded by James P. Mallon (1893) and D. H. Hopkins (1892). The Nebraska report in the 1895 Report of the Conference of Charities and Correction noted that the prison had made steady progress in the improvement of conditions under Warden Beemer.
Beemer married Belle Akerley in 1873.
Kendals: Madge (née Margaret Robertson) Kendal (1849-1935) was born in an established English theatrical family (her brother Tom Robertson was a well known playwright), and was made a Dame of the British Empire in 1929. Her husband, William Hunter Kendal (1843-1917) was less celebrated than his wife; as a shrewd actor manager, he produced plays to showcase his wife.
Lillian Russell: Lillian Russell, born Helen Louise Leonard (1861-1922) in Clinton, IA, was educated in Chicago, and then in New York, where her mother took her to study in hopes of an opera career. Her first appearance on the New York stage was in the chorus of a production of Pinafore in 1879; Tony Pastor, owner of one of the best variety theaters in New York, gave her the new name, Lillian Russell, and billed her as "The English Ballad Singer." Her blonde beauty, lovely singing voice, and fashionable figure quickly made her a star, one of the highest paid in America. She starred at the Casino Theatre from 1888 to 1891, when she headed her own company at the Garden Theatre. In 1899 she joined the Weber and Fields company, staying with them until 1904. Her voice had suffered over the years, so she toured in comedy from 1906-1908.
Russell was famous for the number of her husbands and for her long liason with "Diamond Jim" Brady. Her first husband was the Pinafore company's orchestra leader, Harry Graham. Her second husband, composer Edward Solomon, was arrested for bigamy in 1886, after two years of marriage. She married her third husband, John Chatterton, known as Giovanni Perugini, in 1894; they were divorced in 1898. Russell retired from the stage after marrying her fourth husband, Alexander Moore, owner of the Pittsburgh Leader. She wrote columns and articles on love and beauty for women, and advocated woman suffrage.
Lillian Russell epitomized the stage beauty of the 1890s. A movie was made of her life in 1940, starring Alice Faye, with Henry Fonda as her fourth husband. Her character also appears in various other movies about the theatrical life of the time.
Image available at New York Public Library Digital Gallery.
Robert Mantell: Robert Bruce Mantell (1854-1928) was born in Scotland and educated in Belfast, Ireland, where he apparently got his first training for the stage. He came to the U.S. about 1878, and joined Modjeska's company for a time, before starting his own company. He was a popular exponent of Shakespearean roles, as well as the standard romantic dramas, but never achieved much critical success in New York or London. He was popular elsewhere, however (his portrait appeared on cigar bands), and he toured with considerable success well into the twentieth century; he appeared also in some silent films before his death.
Mantell was married five times, the last three to his leading ladies, one of whom (Charlotte Behrens) is said to have died in suspicious circumstances in 1898. By his last wife, Genevieve Hamper, he had a son, Robert B. Mantell, Jr. (1912-1933), who was apparently married briefly to 1930s film star Marian Marsh.
Charlotte Behrens: American actress Charlotte Behrens (1866-1898) was born in New York but grew up in San Francisco, where she made her theatrical debut at the age of sixteen. By 1882 she was a leading lady with Frank Mayo's touring troupe; at about the same time she married theater manager Edwin E. Hume. She made a success in Zitka and toured in that with Gustave Levick, and also toured with William Gillette in his Civil War drama, Held by the Enemy in 1888. She became a part of Robert Mantell's company soon after; by December 1891 her husband was threatening to kill Mantell for alienating her affections. Behrens and Mantell were named as co-respondents in divorce suits brought by Mantell's first wife, actress Marie Sheldon, and by Hume in 1893. They were married in March 1894, the day after the divorces were finalized. Behrens continued in Mantell's company until an undiagnosed illness led to her death in 1898.
Mrs. Burton Harrison: American writer Constance Cary (Mrs. Burton) Harrison (1843-1920) was born in Virginia of distinguished families: Lord Fairfax of Virginia was one of her ancestors and her father was a great nephew of Thomas Jefferson. She married lawyer Burton Harrison (a relative of both presidents Harrison) in 1867. One of her first successful stories was Golden Rod, an Idyll of Mount Desert (1879), set in Bar Harbor, Maine, where the Harrisons had a summer place. Mrs. Harrison wrote mostly stories of New York society life and stories of the old South. She also wrote a few plays; one of them, The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch (1901) was made into a silent film (1914) starring Henrietta Crossman.
Mrs. Harrison's story Crow's Nest (c. 1892) may have inspired the title of Cather's short story, "The Count of Crow's Nest" (1896).
William Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-on-Avon, in Warwickshire, England. Documents of the time show his father, John Shakespeare, to have been a well-respected tradesman who held office in the town. His mother, Mary Arden, came from an old land-owning family. He was probably educated at the grammar school in Stratford; at the age of eighteen he married Anne Hathaway, by whom he had three children. Not until eight years later, in 1592, does his name start to appear connected with the London stage. By 1594 he was a part of the Lord Chamberlain's company, which by 1598 had their home at the Globe theater. His plays were successful with both the public and royalty, enabling Shakespeare to buy various properties in London and Stratford. He retired to Stratford about 1613, where he died.
Many anecdotes and legends grew up in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries about Shakespeare's life, whose authenticity cannot be now be proven, but some of which have been widely accepted: that his father was a butcher, that Shakespeare as a youth got into trouble poaching deer, that he held horses at the stage doors when he was trying to break into the London theater, that he was lame, or that he caught the fever of which he died in a drinking bout, for instance.
Some of his fellow actors collected his plays in 1623 in what is now known as the First Folio. The only works Shakespeare himself seems to have published are the early poems Venus and Adonis (1593) and The Rape of Lucrece (1594), both dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, a young nobleman who may also have been the subject of many of Shakespeare's sonnets, apparently written over the decade from 1593-1603.
Shakespeare's authorship of the plays ascribed to him began to be seriously questioned only in the late eighteenth century, largely on the ground that he was too humbly born and poorly educated to be capable of writing such great works. The most serious alternatives—and the question was warmly debated in the nineteenth century—put forth were Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, and the Earl of Oxford.
Elizabeth Tudor: Elizabeth Tudor (1533-1603) was the younger daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Although Henry declared the marriage invalid after beheading Anne for adultery and treason, Elizabeth was declared third in the succession when her half-brother Edward was born. She survived a childhood and youth of plots by others under Edward and her elder half-sister, the Roman Catholic Mary I, before ascending to the throne in 1558 at the age of twenty-five. The rigorous education, self-control, and political skill she had learned as princess, in addition to her choice of wise and loyal counselors, enabled her to lead England to a place as one of the major powers of Europe. Nonetheless, she had to contend with plots against her at home and abroad, some of the most dangerous of which centered on Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, whom Roman Catholics saw as the legitimate heir to the throne; Elizabeth reluctantly signed Mary's death warrant in 1587. Despite the many offers for Elizabeth's hand in marriage, she remained "the Virgin Queen," and as a symbol of her country, gave her name to England's golden age of literature and power.
Mary of Scotland: Mary Stuart (1542-1587) became queen of Scotland when her father, James V, died six days after she was born. Her French mother had her brought up at the court of Henri II and Catherine de Médici, whose eldest son, Francis, she married in April 1558. When Elizabeth Tudor became queen of England in November 1558, Henri claimed the throne on Mary's behalf—she was the great-niece of Henry VIII and was next in the succession, though Elizabeth refused to admit that claim. Henri died in 1559 and Mary became briefly queen consort of France before her husband died in 1560. Mary returned to Scotland in 1561, the French-bred Roman Catholic queen of a fractious Presbyterian country. She married her cousin Henry Stuart, earl of Darnley in 1565. The following year Darnley had her secretary, Rizzo, murdered in her presence. She was accused of having an affair with James, earl of Bothwell, and plotting the death of Darnley in 1567. After that Bothwell abducted her and forced her into marriage, but the Scots rose up and imprisoned them both, deposing Mary in favor of her one-year-old son, James. Mary fled to England, where Elizabeth kept her a prisoner for the next eighteen years. Discovery of a Roman Catholic plot in 1586 to put Mary on the English throne convinced Elizabeth that Mary would always be a danger. Mary was tried by an English court and condemned to execution, a fate she met with great dignity.
False to thy God, thy father, and thy brother...thy sister: Because Elizabeth I was a Protestant, Cahtolics accused her of being an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church and thus to God. Henry VIII, Elizabeth's father, named her an heiress to the throne, after her half-brother, Edward VI, and her sister, Mary I.
thy mother: Anne Boleyn (c. 1500-1536), second wife of Henry VIII, was the mother of Elizabeth I. After miscarrying in a later attempt to bear a son to Henry, she was accused of adultery; this led to later claims that Elizabeth was not the daughter of Henry and thus had no claim to the throne. Anne was executed for treason in 1636.
such an act...: This passage is from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 3, scene 4, where the Queen asks Hamlet, "What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue / In noise so rude against me?" He replies with the speech Cather quotes here: "Such an act . . .".
Hamlet: Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (written 1599-1601), a five act tragedy, is widely considered the greatest play in English. It was apparently based on a 12th century history, or on a preceding play on the same subject, possibly by Thomas Kyd. The play deals with murder, revenge, madness, and man's will. It contains some of the most famous lines in English, especially Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be" as well as such famous scenes as Ophelia's mad scene, and Hamlet with Yorkick's skull.
"Henry VIII.": Shakespeare's play, The Life of Henry VIII (1612 or 13), was printed in the First Folio (1623), but some scholars ascribed in it part to John Fletcher. King Henry must deal with the machinations of the greedy, ambitious Cardinal Wolsey; at the same time he begins to fall in love with Anne Bullen. Wolsey tries to foment a divorce between Henry and his wife, Katherine of Aragon, so Henry can marry a French princess. The Protestant Archbishop Cranmer and other judges declare the divorce legal and Henry's marriage to Anne valid. Henry defends Cranmer against various plots, in the end making him godfather to the infant Princess Elizabeth, for whom Cranmer predicts a great future.
A number of plays have been attributed to Shakespeare; scholars in the early eighteenth century attributed various anonymous plays to him on what they considered to be internal evidence. The play Henry VII would seem to be one of these, seeming to fit neatly between the three parts of the early plays of Henry VI and the late Henry VIII.
Bacon wrote The History of the Reign of Henry VII (1622); the similarity of an image in the play and the history, of parasitic ivy on a tree, has been used as an evidence of Bacon's authorship of Shakespeare.
Cymbeline: Cymbeline (c. 1610) is a romance or tragicomedy from Shakespeare's late period. Cymbeline, king of Roman Britain, marries a second time; the new queen has a loutish son, Cloten, by her first marriage, whom she plans to marry to Cymbeline's daughter and heiress, Imogen (Cymbeline's twin sons had been kidnapped as very young children and are believed dead.) However, Imogen has secretly married her childhood sweetheart, Posthumus, and she warns him to flee to Rome. There he makes a bet with Iachimo on Imogen's fidelity. When Iachimo brings him false proofs, Posthumus joins the Roman army then invading Britain, but helps to rescue Cymbeline before being taken prisoner. When he and the other Romans are brought before Cymbeline, villains confess, disguises and false identities are discarded, and truths are revealed; Imogen and Posthumus are reunited and her missing brothers are restored to their father.
Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare's early romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, was written c. 1594-95. Romeo and Juliet come from families feuding with each other, the Montagues and Capulets, but fall immediately in love. They are forced to meet in secret—the balcony scene being the most famous in all of Shakespeare—and try to marry in secret. The friar gives Juliet a potion that simulates death, and Romeo, in despair, kills himself. When Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead, she kills herself.
Eleonora Duse: Eleonora Duse (1859-1924) was born into an impoverished Italian acting family and began performing at an early age; when her mother became ill, Duse had to take over her roles. Her first success was as Juliet in 1873, though her career did not take off until 1879, after performing in Zola's Thérèse Raquin. She toured Italy and by 1885 was acclaimed as Italy's greatest living actress. After a tour in South America, Duse formed her own company in 1886, with a large repertoire ranging from classical and contemporary French drama to Shakespeare and Ibsen. She met with great success in Paris, where she was considered Bernhardt's only rival. In 1893 Duse came to the U.S., where the restraint and naturalism of her style (for many years she wore no makeup on stage) were also acclaimed. She became the type of the actress who subsumes herself in her art. Her health was fragile, and she retired from the stage in 1911, returning to it in 1921; she toured Europe and then the U. S. in 1923. She collapsed and died in Pittsburgh in April 1924; her body lay in state there and then was taken to be buried in Asolo, Italy.
Duse became known for her love affairs, both with men and (perhaps lesser known at the time) with women. She was married to actor Teobaldo Checchi in 1881, with whom she had a daughter; they were divorced in 1885 after an affair with another actor. The most famous affair was a tempestuous one with Italian poet and playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio, whom she met in 1895; he wrote several verse dramas for her.
Image available at the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. | English | NL | 32a4b3ecab0803907c1062c961d6356db2020814cb657ef14561b05bdc7d8fc0 |
(Read the previous parts of the series here.) “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done . . . And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. . .” (Genesis 8:20-21, 9:1). Following Noah’s exit from the ark, while his family watched, he immediately was led to offer up the first burnt offering recorded in Scripture. God’s response was one of compassion, mercy, and blessing.
Dads, do we want to intimately know and commune with the holy, righteous, living God Almighty? Do we love Jesus? Do we want God’s blessing on our lives and families? Here is a test to see if our answer is from our heart (a committed way of life) or our head (the way we know it should be, but we don’t live it).
What has it taken in the past for us to neglect our personal and family devotions? If the answer was from our heart, it would have taken a crisis, but if it was from the head, it hasn’t taken much. Also worth noting, some will confuse the consequences of not having devotions as the crisis causing them to be missed.
Of course we don’t have a real “altar” in our home as found in the Old Testament. The altar was the place to meet with and get right with the Lord. It was where sin was dealt with. It was a place of repentance and sacrifice. It was also where Abraham proved that God was first in his life. Just how easy is it for you and me to make something else a higher priority than meeting with our Lord?
This time with the Lord is not an outward religious act of seeking to appease an angry God. Rather, it is a time of meeting and of laying hearts bare before the Living Word. It is an opportunity to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1). How can I say I love my Lord and want Him to vibrantly live through me, if I don’t cherish time with Him? Wouldn’t you question my sincerity if I claimed to be a Christian and yet didn’t love to spend time with the One I say is my Lord? Wouldn’t you doubt that I had a Christian home if I were not daily bringing my family before the “altar” of the Lord to examine Scripture together?
We read in Leviticus 6:12-13 that the altar fire was never to go out. Someone had to cut and carry the wood, then place it on the fire before it went out. It took effort and diligence. One could not wait until he felt like checking on the fire or for a convenient time, but he had to devote willful, constant attention. I see that as a perfect picture that the cleansing, purifying work of the altar is to be a continual process in our lives. It will take diligence on our part to make sure it happens. As my heart is exposed to God’s Word each morning, He convicts me of my sin. I’m able to confess it and repent of it. Praise God that He is faithful to forgive us of our sins when we ask.
Some time ago, I had deceived myself in misplacing priorities. I was consistently working so late on Saturday nights that I did not get up on Sunday mornings early enough to have time with my Lord Jesus. At church one Sunday, a dear brother, who seldom has much “fluff” to say, told me what a glorious time he had during his quiet time that morning. He mentioned his magnificent time of confession and worship in preparation for worship at church. He shared how his Sunday morning quiet time was consistently the best of the week. God used that dear brother to convict me of my wrong priorities. I had believed the lie that my personal devotion time was not all that important prior to church, since I was going to worship anyway.
Also note in Exodus 40:29 that the altar was near the entrance to the tabernacle. The acknowledgement, confession, repentance, and restitution for sin had to occur before one could enter the temple and worship God. Even though I meet with another brother and pray prior to church, it isn’t the same as special private time alone with my God while the home is still quiet. My time of corporate worship is much more special when I adequately prepare my heart.
I will also confess that having a Saturday morning quiet time is a constant challenge for me. Since my routine is different every Saturday, it takes extra effort to make sure I have allowed time to meet with my Lord. However, once God convicted me that it was my pride that caused me not to make time with Him the highest priority, I have been able to be consistent in meeting with Him.
Most dads are busy, but if that were used as an excuse to neglect time with our wives, it would lead to an unhealthy relationship. In the same way, if we neglect time with our children, they will quickly seek love and acceptance from others. Truly, how we spend our time reflects our priorities.
If we slight our time with the Lord Jesus, individually or as a family, it reveals the most serious character problem we could have–our pride. It shows whom, deep down in our soul, we are really depending on. If we truly believe God is responsible for every aspect of our lives, we would seek to spend time with Him. We would want to get direction from Him, to lay out the problems we are encountering before Almighty God. Some will wait until they are in the middle of a crisis to call on the Lord, after they have been neglecting Him. He desires to lead us, as His flock, to places of pasture and away from danger.
Frequently, while I’m speaking with a brother, he acknowledges struggles in his Christian walk and does not know God’s direction. I will ask if he is having daily personal and family devotions. I’m never surprised to learn he is not having a quiet time with the Lord in the morning. We cannot have fellowship with God, know His direction for us, and bypass the “altar.”
May we be zealous for loving, serving, and spending time with the Lord Jesus. May we be the heads of Christian homes. | English | NL | ea03f37587776a943fa3438ed5ee92356c60bd2043c03e0cb9fabf1bb2510551 |
Hi, I'm Shannon and this in my first blog post about The Witness. I'm currently the only 3D artist working on the game and this post is about game trees... both the ones I'm making and game trees in general.
I've worked on trees for games over the years, and I've come to a conclusion: There's no good way to make them currently. Trees reject the idea of low poly versions of themselves by their very nature, and what you're left with is many unsatisfactory ways of making them. It's up to the artist to pick which one of these techniques to use and to do their best to make it work. That choice depends on a lot of things. Does it have to be real-time, or can it be pre-rendered? Where will the player be when he sees the tree? Up close, far away, underneath, from above, or (in the worst case) all of these? Will there be a few trees or a forest of them? Then there's the engine constraints. Overdraw, poly counts, texture space, LOD systems, lighting and light maps; all these affect how the trees need to be created. And none of that is even scratching the surface on the style you want the trees to have.
Still, I like a challenge as much as the next person.
Here's an early visual mockup of the game that contains some trees. I didn't actually make this, but it did give me some direction is where to go. As you can see, the trees are very colorful and full of volume. I wasn't sure how close I could get to this, but I was going to give it a try. The problem with most low-poly game trees is that they are made with large sheets of polygons with branch and bough textures on them...and while this is certainly a way of making game trees, they usually can't be considered volumetric.
The current trees I have right now started from a lucky accident. Early on the engine couldn't handle alpha maps, so I want to make a bough structure that would look vaguely leafy without being too many polys and without using opacity maps. That's how I came up with this.
It's basically a ton of triangles sitting in a bowl. The bowl is there to simplify the bottom and hide the triangle nature of the triangles. It worked fine for the time I needed it. Recently I started adding a bunch of trees to the world and I wanted something fairly lightweight for even the large trees (the one I had done just before that was 40,000 polys, which was way too big). So I went to the old non-opacity tree, added some opacity maps and tried it out. And, surprisingly, it worked really well. It was giving me a volume I didn't expect, and it looked really good at a distance.
Not only that, I took a look at them with only the lightmaps on and the structure looked really nice...especially the branches underneath.
They were still too heavy though, being 12 thousand polys. Worse, they looked really bad up close and you could see that, what read as a nice, thick foliage from a distance, was really a mess of triangles.
So the past few days I've been trying to make the trees look better from a close distance and be lower poly without losing what I liked about the previous ones. After a bit of struggle, I got something that seems to do the trick. Ignacio helped a lot, making a shader that made polys disappear when they became too edge on to the camera, which eliminated many ugly artifacts. The foliage is half the polys of the other trees, plus it looks a lot better close up. Here's a close shot of it, plus a comparison shot with an older tree.
I still have a bunch of other ideas I want to add to these to make them look better, but I think we're on the right track to getting trees that really do have a nice amount of volume and harken back to the early mockups. | English | NL | 5b48f9033194918d2f58b74d9892b5c15f862708700ac255615ba1bf2c208e5a |
1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
3Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”
4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.
7Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”So she named him Gad.
12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”
“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” 24She named him Joseph,and said, “May the Lordadd to me another son.”
Jacob’s Flocks Increase
25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the Lordhas blessed me because of you.” 28He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31“What shall I give you?” he asked.
“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: 32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”
34“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. | English | NL | c08d74209906b51c9073c419046b6edc4f73b7875731332137920290d4ba5dd6 |
Ellen Louks Fairclough (born 1905) was Canada's first female Cabinet minister. Preferring example to preaching in advancing women's rights, she was her country's outstanding example of a woman successful as wife, mother, businesswoman, and public servant.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, on Jan. 28, 1905, Ellen Louks was the daughter of Norman Ellsworth Cook and Nellie Bell Louks. She was educated in Hamilton public and secondary schools, graduating at the age of 16. After a brief stint as a stenographer, she became an accountant. In 1931 she married D. H. Gordon Fairclough, owner and operator of a printing company.
Attracted by Politics
Fairclough's interest in politics dated from the time she and her husband helped organize the Young Conservative Association of Hamilton. In 1935 she started her own accounting firm and continued to operate it until becoming a member of the government in 1957. After World War II she decided to seek municipal office. She was defeated in her first attempt for the office of alderman of Hamilton. However, when the sitting alderman resigned within a few months, she was elected to fill the vacant post, in which she served from 1946 to 1949. In 1950 she served as municipal controller and deputy mayor.
In 1949 in the general election Fairclough won the nomination as the Progressive Conservative candidate for a seat in the House of Commons from the constituency of Hamilton West, but she failed to unseat the incumbent. When he resigned, she won his seat in a by-election in 1950.
As the new member of the opposition party, Fairclough soon made her mark as an informed and constructive critic of the government. Representing a riding, or electoral district, in a large urban industrial city, she had a compelling interest in labor matters. In the fall of 1950, she served as a member of Canada's delegation to the United Nations. In 1951 she was named chairman of the Labour Committee of the Opposition caucus and chief spokesperson of her party on labor matters.
Sought Equality for Women
Fairclough's efforts in the House of Commons, however, were not confined to one area. She had fought from her earliest political days for equal pay for equal work for women and was delighted when the St. Laurent administration enshrined the principle in federal legislation. She was never a strident feminist but deplored the waste of womanly talents in business and public affairs. She knew that the traditionally conservative attitude of men, and particularly of women themselves, militated against full participation.
In 1953 and in 1957 she was reelected to Parliament. The latter was the election that brought John Diefenbaker to office as prime minister. He had promised, if elected, to name a woman to his Cabinet, and Fairclough was named Canada's first female Cabinet minister as secretary of state. In the landslide government victory of 1958 she was reelected and was named to a new post as minister of citizenship and immigration, in which position she also had responsibility for Indian affairs. In the general election of 1962 she held her seat, and shortly after, she became postmaster general of the new Diefenbaker government.
Away from Politics
In 1963 Fairclough met defeat in the election that turned out the Progressive Conservative administration. After leaving politics, she returned to Hamilton and private business. She first occupied a senior executive position with a trust company, moving from that job to the chairmanship of Hamilton Hydro. Before her retirement, she served as treasurer of the Zonta International women's group.
She has been the recipient of a number of honors during her political career and also during her retirement years in Hamilton. The Canadian Blackfoot Tribe and the Six Nations Indian Band Council have recognized her efforts on the behalf of native Canadian peoples. The Canadian Council of Christians and Jews awarded her its Human Relations Award. The former Cabinet member received the Coronation Award in 1963, the Centennial Award in 1967, and the Jubilee Medal in 1977. In 1985, Fairclough was invested Dame of Grace in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaler. Among her honors, perhaps the most gratifying was her investment in 1992 with the title "The Right Honorable" in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. In the fall of 1996, she received the Order of Ontario, the highest honor awarded by the province of her birth.
Further Reading on Ellen Louks Fairclough
For material on Canadian politics and Fairclough's role see Peter Charles Newman, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1964); Blair Fraser, The Search for Identity: Canada, 1945-1967 (1967); and Patrick Nicholson, Vision and Indecision (1968). For further information on Fairclough, see The Canadian Encyclopedia, Second Edition, Vol. II (1988) and "The Right Honourable Ellen Louks Fairclough, PC" at http: //www.cmhf.on.ca/fairclou.htm. | English | NL | 673a5d2142fbb283c5aed23f14afa7b221d6d5ed6b6460db90be14c09b0cdfbc |
We are proud to exhibit this rare 2,500 year-old bronze figure of a tapir that miraculously survived a turbulent period of ancient Chinese history. The tapir is a pig-like mammal now classified as an endangered species. This bronze figure of a tapir, exquisitely inlaid with gold and turquoise, is just 10ins tall and 17ins long and was made in about the 4th century BC as a wine vessel. A lid with a ring on its back can be removed to fill the interior with wine that is then poured out through the mouth.
The figure was produced for a wealthy and powerful man. It is inlaid with spiral motifs of gold and turquoise, which would have been extremely expensive, and is also portrays a creature which became extinct in China about 10,000 years ago, long before the zun or wine pourer was made. It is known that Chinese rulers collected rare animals from overseas and the endearingly rotund and gentle tapir, which then, as now, came from Malaysia, would have been the perfect addition to a private zoo. This one appears to be wearing a decorative collar and may have been a royal pet.
The figure’s survival is miraculous. It was made during the Warring States period in China, which lasted from the 5th century BC until the unification of the country by the Qin Dynasty in 221BC. It was an era of chaos and brutality when regional warlords annexed smaller states around them and competed for supremacy with one another. The tapir is one of only two bronzes with such extensive and beautiful inlay known to exist, the other being in a museum in Taiwan.
All that is known about the tapir’s history is that it was in a European private collection by the 1920’s and was exhibited in Berlin in 1929. | English | NL | 033e903bcbb1dd2b6b23df597cc089da115b47f338ad94b734ba17aa2cd8b55b |
SeriousFun Children’s Network, a Westport-based nonprofit, has named Justin Fusaro as its new chief financial officer. He will also serve as the treasurer for the SeriousFun board of directors.
Fusaro was previously senior director of budget and planning at New York University, where he was responsible for the central office of budget and financial planning. Prior to that, he was a financial specialist at Accenture.
SeriousFun Children’s Network was founded in 1988 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman. The organization operates a global community of 30 camps and programs for children with serious illnesses and their families. | English | NL | ae6d69faf99998ef1a9b708c6e29498fe331ef3398ac1bfba0a57b04d5809b77 |
I have no important news to report. Enjoy this continuation of the story if the power resides in you so to do.
“I think he thought our shrine held a weapon, but whatever secrets it kept they died with my family.” Julius explained. “I wasn’t old enough to learn them. He had already killed most of the town before he thought to ask anyone what you were supposed to activate the shrine… and I didn’t know. He beat me nearly to death trying to get me to tell him, but I couldn’t.”
“I’ve been to that shrine.” Alina said. “The alter is still there, intact.”
“Yep… I still don’t know how to open the damn thing.”
His words hung there for a moment. The sincerity of his replies making even Regalius rethink his beliefs. The person known as the Skeleton King had become legend in the few short years since he had appeared. His bloody hand reaching into the lives of every person on the continent and a few beyond. His origins were unknown, his motives, virtually everything about him was a mystery. The only widely known truth was that he gave battle to every nation and gave it freely and well. Every altercation increased the size of his forces as the defeated warriors simply got up and followed him away. He was lord of purification. Many people had claimed to have seen him, but there was no way to prove it. Being alive was as much as anyone needed to suspect a lie. And yet… the words Julius spoke rang with the sound of someone burdened with the truth.
“There was nothing for me there. It was as though he meant to grind the memory of the town from the soil.” Julius continued when no one else moved to fill the silence. “Except he couldn’t destroy the shrine. Not the altar at least. But it’s a useless to me as to he. So I moved on.”
The others looked at one another. Even the oppressive darkness seemed pushed away by their racing thoughts.
“It still… seems hard to believe.” Regalius offered.
“Indeed.” Julius replied. Regalius suddenly found it hard to meet Julius’s gaze.
“I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.” He stated shakily. “I’m going to sleep.”
Somehow the girls knew that the evening’s conversation was over. With a little idle chit chat they made ready for sleep. Being mindful to keep combat essentials on hand. Julius made no move. His gaze was fixed someplace beyond the torchlight, beyond the walls, and it remained there long after Niona put out the light.
None of them could be sure if it was actually morning when they woke. Alina had simply risen, lit a torch, and the others followed. What rest they each had was not quality, but it was a full measure of it. When all was ready Julius carefully released the chamber lock and moved cautiously outside. The pale light was only slightly less bright than the torchlight, but it bathed the walls evenly, unceasingly. Dread seemed to hang over them all as they moved still deeper into the temple.
They were 11 levels down by Julius’s reckoning. Now past the most detailed portions of the map. Things were beginning to no longer sync between their reality and the parchment. Soon they would be moving blind. The floors had been becoming more complex and maze like the further they went and number 12 was the worst yet. Even as Julius and Niona attempted to construct a more complete map it seemed as though the walls were shifting. Perhaps this was the fate of the original team. Lost in a still worse floor, no opposition besides starvation and navigation. Julius wondered if the others had considered this. In his opinion a death in battle would be a mercy compared to wandering endlessly until your body gave out.
It seemed like hours before they found the stairs to the next floor, but it was hard to tell time properly. Neither Niona or Julius were satisfied with the accuracy of their map, but going back now didn’t seem like a better option than going forward. The four of them desecded again, but instead of another open room they found massive doors. Much higher than the ceilings of the previous floors. After they were checked for traps Alina swung the perfectly balanced doors apart. They swung silently, as though they were untouched by time or decay.
The room that spread out before them was unlike any they’d enountered so far. It was vast, empty, and stone pillars were placed at widely spaced, but even intervals. It was lit with the same eerie light, but only in a band around the pillars, and even then only a few at a time. The room seemed to know where they were and adjusted the light accordingly. It was like looking into a dark, stone, forest. Blackness filled in beyond the limit of the light, making it seems as though the room spread out forever. The doors closed so quietly behind them that they didn’t even realize they were trapped until the heard the sound of many somethings clattering closer and closer. | English | NL | 2ecdd675500d3d35f609923c7c5b2ff5605155bafed2824d63a31a15493d6382 |
Voices of Americana : Joe Medwick
Certainly among the finest songwriters Texas ever produced, Joe Medwick nevertheless died in obscurity and poverty in 1992. The man whose credits included Eric Clapton's "Further On Up the Road," Bobby "Blue" Bland (who originally recorded "Further On") "I Pity the Fool", "Don't Want No Woman", "Call On Me", "Skid Row Blues, “Yield Not To Temptation", "I Just Got To Forget You" and "Cry, Cry, Cry", and Junior Parker's signature "Drivin' Wheel", passed away all but forgotten even in his hometown of Houston. How this came to pass is a tragic and all-too-typical tale for musicians and especially songwriters of his hue and generation.
The tracks here date from the mid- to late-'60s, after Teddy Reynolds had left Houston for California. The pianist here, although uncertain, is in all likelihood Willard "Piano Slim" Burton. Though a little sloppy, I think they rate as some of the very finest deep soul recorded anywhere. Medwick's gospel background (and affinity for Sam Cooke) shines through on sanctified numbers like "I Come A Long Ways" and "When A Boy Becomes A Man".
James Brown's "Outta Sight", which the Godfather of Soul later credited with being the catalyst for the funk movement, here is given a creditable Medwick treatment. Other covers, like Robert Parker's "Barefootin'" (see note - ed.) also are safe in Medwick's hands. As surprising a cover as is the one of Hank Williams "Wedding Bells", it is not half so astonishing as the one of "A Poem As Lovely As A Tree", which sounds as if it was ripped from the Barbra Streisand songbook. Rockers like "Brought Down", "After Hour Man", and "Somebody Tell Me Where" balance out this tender tune, while "Your Sweet Love" and "When A Boy Becomes A Man" rank as some of the best slow-simmering Southern soul to have ever wafted out of Dixie.
Editor’s note: “Barefootin’” and “Fat Man” were released as the A- and B-side of a Pye International single in the UK in 1966 (pictured in this booklet), credited to ‘T.V. and the Tribesmen’, and apparently licensed via Hanna-Barbera, of all people! The record lost out in the UK chart stakes to the Island Records release of Robert Parker’s own version.
Joe Medwick Masters was born June 22, 1933 in the Third Ward section of Houston. Apparently his parents had been baseball fans, as his namesake Joe "Ducky Wucky" Medwick was a sensational St. Louis Cardinal outfielder. Even today Medwick the ballplayer ranks as one of the all-time greats, as well as possessing one of the more outlandish nicknames in baseball history.
In addition to being baseball buffs, Medwick's family was very religious, and it was in the church that Medwick did his first singing, often with Big Robert Smith, who re-enters the story much later. By the late '40s Medwick was singing professionally with The Chosen Gospel Singers.
Early in the '50s, Medwick hooked up with Teddy Reynolds (destined for fame as Bland's principal pianist) at the legendary Third Ward boite-de-nuit Shady's Playhouse. Shady's in the '50s was as fertile a blues breeding ground as any in the country. In addition to Medwick and Reynolds, other regulars there included Albert Collins, Johnny Clyde Copeland, Joe "Guitar" Hughes, Johnny "Guitar Junior" Watson, Pete Mayes, Clarence Holliman, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and his brother "Widemouth", Elmore Nixon, Jewel Brown, and Joe Tex, all of whom lived at the time within a mile of the club.
Seduced by the "Devil's music" to be had at Shady's (as well as the Demon Rum that claimed him in the end), Medwick set aside his gospel yearnings in favor of the blues. Not that he wasn't completely shorn of his halo, as Reynolds recalled. "He used to sing 'Silent Night' every Christmas at Shady's Playhouse," Reynolds told the Houston Chronicle at the time of Medwick's death.
One of his first co-compositions with Reynolds ("Don't Want No Woman") scored with Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Duke-Peacock mogul Don Robey quickly snapped up both of the youngsters for his burgeoning record company. Reynolds related the story to Alan Govenar in Meeting The Blues: "I'd be on piano, he'd come to me and say 'Hey Teddy, I got some songs I want to put on tape. Let's go over to Mr. Robey'. So we'd catch the Dowling bus and go over to Erasmus and Lyons Avenue. Joe would hum the melody. He'd say, 'Teddy go like this here', and I'd play the melody along with him and he'd start putting words to the song. From the arrangements he'd hum to me I took it on form there and put the songs on tape. Next we hear them, it'd be Bobby Bland singing them or Junior Parker".
"Rent songs", Medwick called them. All he wanted in the way of royalties was enough money to pay the rent and keep the good times rolling. Robey, Medwick stressed years later, had always offered standard contracts on his creative output, but Medwick had demanded cash in hand. Interviewed just before his death about Robey's business practices, Medwick told a blues historian, "Don't you go writing no mean things about Don Robey".
Nevertheless, Medwick's willingness to part with his material so cheaply was dismaying to some of his songwriting partners. Johnny Clyde Copeland, starved of material for his first Duke session, turned to Medwick for some fresh tunes. "I didn't know nothin' about writing at the time", Copeland related in Meeting The Blues, "so I get (Joe) and we sit down after hours one night. We started writing a song called 'Further On Up The Road'. We finished the song that night and Joe went out to the studio the next day to submit the song to Mr. Robey because that was what Mr. Robey told me to do.
I said, 'You take it out there, I'm not going with you', because at the time I was married and I had little kids and my wife was working in the daytime. Well, when Joe got to the studio, Bobby (Bland) was cutting an album and they needed one more song, and that was it. I'm not identified on the record because Joe tied the record up with Mr. Robey, just as he did with every song. Joe sold Mr. Robey maybe five hundred songs, ten, fifteen dollars apiece, and he cut maybe five, but they were big hits. You understand what I'm saying?"
Some twenty years later with Eric Clapton's recording of that song, the "royalties" which in all likelihood had been consumed in a single Saturday night, could have provided Medwick with both extensive name-recognition and a substantial nest egg, for himself and Copeland both. But, alas, such was not to be.
In addition to his duties as a very-unofficial Duke staff songwriter, Medwick's chores also included singing demos for the functionally illiterate Bland. But Bland, fellow Duke writer Oscar Perry told me recently, fell out with Medwick for some now-forgotten misdeed so viscerally as to find himself unable even to listen to Medwick's voice. Those duties, the writing and the singing, fell then to Perry, and Medwick's run of luck with Duke was over by the late-'60s.
Medwick and Reynolds had a sideline going across town at Crazy Cajun studios, where Huey Meaux bought Medwick songs and released them under a bevy of aliases on an array of fly-by-night imprints. Thus Medwick's considerable vocal talent came to be as obscured as his songwriting career. It seems in retrospect to have almost been a deliberate course for achieving anonymity. It's hard, to say the least, for a musician to get the ball rolling if none of his songs or performances are ever released under his own name.
Drinking took its toll during the '70s and '80s, and Medwick languished in complete obscurity through the disco years. In the mid-'80s former Little Richard sax titan Grady Gaines came out of retirement and launched The Texas Upsetters, an old-school R&B band that still plays today. Medwick was tabbed as one of two lead vocalists for the combo, with his old friend from the gospel days, Big Robert Smith taking the other slot. Gaines signed with Black Top Records and released two albums, “Full Gain”, and “Horn Of Plenty”, on which Medwick and his songs could at last be heard identified correctly. Fate seemed to finally be smiling on Medwick but then he was stricken by liver cancer and passed away in 1992.
Another Houston bluesman sings Medwick's praises in unqualified terms. "He was right up there with Doc Pomus, Willie Dixon", said guitarist and Houston institution Jerry Lightfoot. "He'd just reach up in the air and pull a song out for you. We were sitting in Etta's Lounge one night and I had an idea for a song, 'Lost In The Shuffle'. I tore my cigarette pack inside out, and we wrote it in five minutes". "He was a nice man, but he was his own worst enemy", said Gaines at the time of Medwick's passing. "He just died from hard livin'".
John Nova Lomax, September 1999
Re-issue CD produced by John Nova Lomax | English | NL | 9682571d58597323bc0f0698d9bdc59b2e5c4c55b0be9260e31f44e803611fca |
Samuel Cook, known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as The King of Soul for his unmatched vocal abilities and impact and influence on the modern world of music. His contribution in pioneering Soul music led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularizing the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown. Cooke is widely recognized as a strong influence on Rod Stewart, including by Rod himself.
Cooke had 29 top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964. Major hits like "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", and "Bring It on Home to Me" are some of his most popular songs. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.
On December 11, 1964, Cooke was shot dead by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California at the age of 33. At the time, the courts ruled that Cooke was drunk and distressed, and the manager killed Cooke in what was later ruled a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been widely questioned.
Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He later added an "e" onto the end of his name, though the reason for this is disputed. He was one of eight children of Annie Mae and the Reverend Charles Cook, a Baptist minister. He had a brother, L.C., who some years later would become a member of the Doo Wop band Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents. The family moved to Chicago in 1933. Cooke attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, the same school that Nat "King" Cole had attended a few years earlier. | English | NL | 47d3a4b01d6640ea5f16e20f4b59d87107c96ad4688826349e88acedc61bb433 |
Posted on: July 6, 2016
Kristen Hudson is a commercial litigation attorney who began her legal career in 2003 as a PILI Graduate Fellow at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS). Since then, she has stayed involved with CVLS as a volunteer and board member, recently finishing her term as Board President.
“I credit CVLS with making me the lawyer that I am today,” said Kristen. “The hands-on experience I received early prepared me for the challenges of a career in commercial litigation, and gave me the foundation I needed to begin my legal practice.”
Prior to attending law school, Kristen taught high school Drama and French. She then attended The John Marshall Law School. Kristen was a summer associate at Altheimer & Grey before its dissolution in 2003, and Altheimer sponsored her Fellowship.
“If I had not been a PILI Fellow with CVLS, I would not have been ready to hit the ground running with my legal practice,” said Kristen. “I know my way around the Daley Center, I know how to file documents in every division, and I know how the Sherriff’s office works. That is not the kind of behind-the-scenes access or training that I would have received in a law firm.”
Kristen also found the work she did as a Graduate Fellow extremely rewarding, and her clients left a lasting impact. One of her most memorable Fellowship cases was when she helped a couple adopt their eight grandchildren, whom they had been taking care of since the children’s mother had passed away. “As a PILI Fellow at CVLS, I was able to help a number of people get the life-changing legal services they needed,” said Kristen.
Kristen is now a principal and General Counsel at Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. She continues to volunteer with CVLS and is also co-chair of the Coalition of Women’s Initiative in Law’s Community Outreach Committee.
Earlier this year, Kristen was honored with the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women 2016 Alta May Hulett Award, which acknowledges one outstanding woman lawyer who has significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the legal profession or other areas, and whose career exemplifies the highest level of professional achievement, ethics and excellence. In 2014, Kristen was named one of “40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch” by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. She has also has been selected as an Emerging Lawyer, a distinction earned by fewer than two percent of all Illinois attorneys under 40 years old, and Super Lawyers magazine has honored her as an “Illinois Rising Star” for eight consecutive years.
“My experience as a PILI Fellow has created my lasting belief that lawyers have the responsibility and duty to provide pro bono legal services to support the community’s needs,” said Kristen. “PILI and CVLS taught me how important it is as a lawyer to give back.” | English | NL | 4eeed2b69f1db99c312a8ae5c23a98dabacb3135aea321e409fbf063a40cabeb |
Reflections of Caspian
GHS Exhibit at the Vermont History Expo June 21 – 22, 2014
The Vermont Historical Society's Vermont History Expo 2014 was held at the Tunbridge Fair Grounds on June 21 and 22. The theme for 2014 was Artists and Artisans and more than 150 historical societies and museums from around the state brought exhibits, demonstrations, music and talks to the fair. The Greensboro Historical Society's exhibit featured Caspian Lake in historical photographs, postcards, watercolor and oil paintings. The high point was a mounted Lake Trout from Willey's Store.
Kenneth Condit (1888 - 1974) Dean of Engineering at Princeton University, spent many summers in Greensboro in a home overlooking Caspian Lake. It was here that he pursued his art. He was particularly noted for his etchings, but also for watercolors such as the one seen here.
Babette Eisner (1891 - 1975) who painted in oils, was described as a tiny dynamo of energy who raised five children, entertained peers of each, introduced the outdoor cook-out to Greensboro (with the aid of her husband, Noonie), and served as mentor to several younger Greensboro artists. She had her painting hideaway but could be sighted on back roads and in pastures painting in oils and usually surrounded by cows. She was noted to be adept at sliding under barbed wire fences if she wanted a particular view.
Richard Hannibel was a Pennsylvania hardware store owner and avid sailor. He painted this watercolor from a photograph of Black's Point.
Harold S. Lindquist (1887 - 1968) studied fine art at Cornell University and the NY Fine Arts League. He worked in oils, pastels and watercolors, and exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum in Ogunquit, ME, and the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, NY. He developed a special technique combining watercolor and pastel in creating beautiful landscapes. Although his special love was snow scenes, he also was lured by the beauty of Caspian Lake.
Frances Day Lukens (1897 - 1961) documented the colors and shapes of the landscapes and buildings of the Greensboro community before and after World War II. Born in Philadelphia, Frances graduated at the top of her class from Bryn Mawr and went on to study architecture at MIT. She and her husband began their annual summer sojourns in Greensboro in 1929 and her children and their families continue that tradition today. During the summers she often painted with her friend Babette (Bobsie) Eisner.
Henry Merrill (1918 - 2012) came to Greensboro in 1950 after serving as Chief Meteorologist for Pan American Airlines. In Greensboro, he operated a large dairy farm, partnered with his brother in his construction and building firm and was active in the Greensboro community. In his retirement he took up photography. Many of his photographs featured Caspian Lake in all seasons.
Margaret Olmstead came to Greensboro as a bride fresh out of art school. She said that Greensboro artists were very kind to her, and Bobsie Eisner really took her under her wing, familiarizing her with good places to paint landscapes and views worth recording. The painting exhibited here shows Caspian Lake from Barr Hill which is now managed by the Nature Conservancy of Vermont.
Helen Jackson Parker (1939 - 2004) became known for both her watercolors of Caspian Lake and for note cards sold at Willey's Store, the Miller's Thumb and local inns and hotels. She was originally from the Bronx, New York.
Professional photographer Charles Sawyer took photographs in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont mainly in the 1920s and early 1930s. He had a studio in Concord, NH, where he had colorists who hand-painted the black and white photographs which were then signed, framed and sold. This photograph was taken of Caspian Lake from the same point as several paintings and many of the postcards, some of which are also hand-colored.
J. Sydney Stone is most likely the photographer who took this picture of sailboats on Caspian Lake in 1962. The large Flying Dutchman which he had given to his son John is seen prominently front and center, surrounded by many Sunfish.
Elizabeth Urban was one of several painters and photographers who chose the Northwest part of Caspian Lake, called Campbell Corner, for their artistic creations. Elizabeth's son, John Urban, was a highly regarded photographer.
John Urban, son of Elizabeth Urban, was a professional photographer who summered in Greensboro for many years.
Postcards selected from the Greensboro Historical Society collection.
The Greensboro Historical Society thanks the contributors to the exhibit:
Andy and Judy Dales
The Willeys Store
Tom and Barbara Woodward | English | NL | 0ecb3e51899b247ef336ed7794e598808fea700b2184a93bf7fdbdf27bba3f6e |
Everything was green. The way the sun shone down made everything seem brighter than it was. The arch of trees above my head should have provided a veil from the warm spring sunshine, but it didn’t. The sun still managed to shine on everything, even the tiny black ants scampering at the base of the trees. They gathered specks of dirt and pieces of splintered bark left over from the storm the night before.
The path was hidden, and if you didn’t know where to look, then you would never find it, which I found to be a shame because everything about it was beautiful. Only one other person knew about it. When we were seven we agreed to keep it a secret, and ever since then I struggled to keep my lips closed tight. I was never good at keeping secrets. He was, though.
I stared at the dirt, counting the roots as I walked. I concentrated so hard it was almost as if my feet weren’t moving at all.
A breeze blew through the trees, and I closed my eyes as my hair fell in front of my face, but I didn’t stop walking. I was never very graceful, even with my eyes open, but still I kept my eyes closed. I could hear the faint sound of the creek up ahead, and I let the running water guide me like I knew he would if he were here beside me.
When I opened my eyes, a speck of copper brown caught my eye through the trees, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. It had been only a few days since I had seen the sparrow out on the path. I knew it was the same one because the patch of black on his breast looked like a heart. He perched on a low branch a few feet to my right, and if my arm were a foot longer I probably could have touched him. I knew his presence, so buried in the forest, was rare because sparrows, as far as I could remember, preferred the city and the presence of people. There were no people here, except me. He blinked once, and when I took a step towards him, he flew away.
I never quite understood why people wanted to kill the dandelions growing in their gardens. Each fluffy, snowflake weed was as good as a free wish, and I’d learned years ago never to waste an opportunity to make a wish.
Right before the path opened up to the bank of the creek, I cut through the trees like I always did and scoured the small field for the patch of dandelions that had been there for as long as I could remember. I never quite understood why people wanted to kill the dandelions growing in their gardens. Each fluffy, snowflake weed was as good as a free wish, and I’d learned years ago never to waste an opportunity to make a wish. He’d taught me that.
I’d been wishing on stars and weeds ever since.
I bypassed the empty stems that had been left naked by the wind and plucked the first fully round wishing weed I could find. I shielded its perfect seeds as I walked back through the trees and onto the creek bed.
Maneuvering through the soppy dirt, I sat down on the large rock as I always did and watched the minnows swim past. Sometimes I wondered where they were going or imagined how great it must feel to always be surrounded by the water.
I twirled the dandelion between my fingers and inhaled a breath before raising it to my lips and blowing the seeds into the wind. Some of them landed in the water and were carried with the current while some of them floated into the sky and disappeared. I closed my eyes and listened to the creek, the wind, and the birds. I was alone, but when I came down the path and sat by the creek, it never felt that way.
His voice appeared out of nowhere like it always did. There were hardly ever any rustling leaves to signify his presence. I smiled and my eyes fluttered open. “Hi.”
He leaped off the rock on the opposite side of the creek and waded into the middle of the water. His shoes, classic black Converse, and favorite blue jeans, dark wash and straight legged, didn’t get wet. “Anything exciting happen today?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not really.” I tied the stem left over from the dandelion into a small knot. “Isn’t the water freezing?”
“No,” he said. “I can’t feel it.”
I set the stem onto the rock. “I went to your house yesterday.”
“Why’d you do that?”
“Your mom and I still talk sometimes.” I watched as he retreated back onto the dry dirt. “I think she wishes you could come home.”
“She and I both.”
“I was thinking, what if I brought her here? You know, maybe—”
“Because this was ours,” he said.
“But I just thought that maybe she’d be able—”
“If you bring her, I won’t come back.”
I blinked once, then again. “Okay.”
“I mean it.”
“I know. I won’t bring her here.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to see her,” he whispered. “I just can’t do that to her. She’s finally moving on.”
“But I’m moving on, and I still get to see you.”
He shook his head. “At this point, you wouldn’t move on if someone paid you.” He smiled and raised his hand in a small wave as he disappeared through the trees.
I took a deep breath and held it until I was certain I would pass out, and then let it out slowly. The water ran clear over the pebbles, and all I could hear was the trickling of the creek, filling the section of forest around me.
What if he was right? What if I wasn’t moving on at all?
What if he was right? What if I wasn’t moving on at all? I played miniature golf with some friends last weekend, and his mom told me I looked better, but I always tried to look better around her, whatever better was.
A small tickle on my arm distracted me. I quickly smacked the mosquito and flicked the insect onto the ground.
A few moments later, I felt my phone vibrate inside of my pocket. By the time I wedged it out, it stopped. ‘1 missed call’ flashed across the screen, but before I could see who it was, it rang again, my mom’s name appearing. I pressed the button to ignore the call and started the walk back home.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to talk about today?” Rose, my therapist, asked.
I shrugged. Her office was stuffy and bright red. It hurt my eyes and caused my vision to blur if I focused too long on any one portion of the walls. She had a small wooden giraffe sitting on the edge of her desk. I’d never told her, but giraffes were my favorite animals. The patterns painted across their massive bodies fascinated me, and I could spend whole afternoons thinking about those long necks and the muscles it took to hold up their magnificent heads.
“I don’t know,” I said. I always said I don’t know when she asked me that. I spent every Tuesday afternoon in this office for almost two months now, and I still hadn’t figured out where to begin.
Rose pulled open the bottom desk drawer and rummaged around before coming up with a black and white composition notebook. She flipped through it, stopping to tear out a few pages that had writing on them, and handed it to me.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s for you to write in. Take it home and maybe try and write down something you want to talk about next week. It can be anything at all.”
I flipped through the pages and noticed just how dry they made my fingers feel. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like this because next week, no matter how hard I fought it, I was going to have to talk. “Okay,” I said. I stuffed the book into my backpack and gave her a half smile as I walked out of her office.
“You’re later than usual,” he said, perching himself on the biggest rock near the creek.
“I know.” I placed my backpack onto the ground and tossed the stem from the dandelion I had picked into the water. “I had therapy,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Yup.” I sat down where the dirt was dry and began drawing circles in the brown dust with my finger.
He smirked. “Did you talk about me?”
“I don’t talk about anything.”
“Well,” he paused, jumping down off the rock, “maybe you should. I mean, maybe it’ll help you.”
“Help me what?”
“Just, I don’t know, get over all of this.”
“Get over all of what?”
He sighed as he walked over and sat down in front of me. “Doesn’t this make you feel crazy?” he asked.
“Of course it does, but why does that matter? I’m here. You’re here. I’d say it’s more miraculous than crazy.”
“I just want you to live the rest of your life, and not here at the creek, down this path. Out in the world, doing whatever it is you want to do.”
“But I like it here.”
“I liked it here, too,” he said. “But I had to move on.”
“Why do you keep telling me to move on?” I picked up a pebble and tossed it into the water.
“Because I think you need to.”
“You want this to end?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why are you trying to make it end?” I looked up into his eyes, and they were nothing like I remembered. It was eerie, almost as if I could see straight through them.
“I don’t want you to be stuck here anymore.”
I could see her looking at me out of the corner of my eye. She always did this when she wanted to talk. Small talk was all it ever amounted to anymore.
One night, while I was watching TV, Mom sat down next to me. I could see her looking at me out of the corner of my eye. She always did this when she wanted to talk. Small talk was all it ever amounted to anymore.
“How was your day today, sweetie?”
I turned my head to look at her. “Fine.”
“You got home from school pretty late.”
“I was down at the creek.”
She leaned forward to grab the remote from the coffee table and turned the volume down. “You spend so much time there.”
I shrugged. “It’s peaceful.”
“You’ll have to show me sometime.”
I gave her a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah.” Not a chance in hell.
“Do you remember that time you came to the beach with my family for my birthday? Mom put the cake on the railing so she could unlock the door, and the wind blew it off. It splattered all over the driveway.” I smiled and pulled my knees into my chest.
“And the ants were so bad the next morning your dad spent an hour trying to hose them off.” He smiled at the memory. “How are they doing?”
“Who?” I wasn’t sure if he meant the ants or my family.
“Oh. They’re fine.” I picked up the dandelion stem from beside me and twirled it between my fingertips. “What about the time you tried to ask Sara to Homecoming, and you left the note on the wrong car.”
“The football player.”
“Or the first time our parents let us ride our bikes farther than the cul-de-sac by ourselves, and I broke my arm. They didn’t let us do that again for at least a year.”
He spoke so calmly it startled me more so than if he would have shouted. The dandelion stem fell to the ground. “Stop what?”
“You’re living in memories.”
“They’re good memories.”
He slid down off the rock. “But they’re not all that’s out there. The world is so much bigger than memories.”
“I wish you would stop trying to push me away.”
“How can I push you away? I’m not even real. This isn’t real.”
I jumped down and stood in front of him, closer than I ever had before. “It’s real to me.”
“You can’t keep wishing for me on weeds.” He reached out to grab my shoulder; it was the first time he’d ever tried to touch me. I couldn’t feel the pressure, and there was no warmth in his touch. The hair on my arms stood straight. I took a step back and, for the first time, realized that maybe he was right.
Something had changed since yesterday. The trees and the ants were just where I had left them. The sun still made the green brush glow, but there was something different about the path that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Birds chirped like they always did, and a breeze blew through my hair. The closer I got to the clearing of dandelions, though, I noticed the strong smell of fresh cut grass. I closed my eyes and breathed in the scent, cherishing the familiar smell in a new place.
When I emerged from the dirt pathway into the small clearing before the creek, my heart sank. Every single dandelion was mowed over. For the first time in years, the grass was short and tidy.
My eyes clouded over as I ran to the creek. Just because the dandelion was missing from the equation didn’t mean he wasn’t going to show.
I waited for an hour. He never came.
By the time I got to the cemetery, the sun was beginning to set. I walked to the spot I had tried so hard to forget and sat down on the prickly grass.
“They mowed the field,” I said, my voice unsteady. I picked a blade of grass and tore it to pieces. “No more wishing weeds.” I looked up, his name etched in stone staring back at me.
I’m not sure how long I sat there, but when I got up to leave, there was a sprinkling of stars emerging across the sky.
The notebook from Rose sat on the corner of my desk, and before I even realized what I was doing, I wrote down everything. I wrote about the day we found the path.
I skipped dinner when I got home. I kicked off my shoes and locked my bedroom door behind me. The notebook from Rose sat on the corner of my desk, and before I even realized what I was doing, I wrote down everything. I wrote about the day we found the path. I wrote about the time we snuck out of our houses and watched the stars from the rocks by the creek. I wrote about the sixty-one encounters I’d had with him after he died.
I didn’t plan on showing Rose what I had written, not yet. I grabbed the scissors out of the top drawer and carefully cut away the pages. I folded them and hid them underneath a small pile of CDs in the bottom drawer of my desk.
Before stuffing the notebook into my backpack, though, I wrote one simple word on the front page for Tuesday: Giraffes. | English | NL | 1379efda3a9a5712b49eb01532a0706dd5ff98c89fe3d1d548cc465feaebdbef |
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[d]
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” | English | NL | 798c4630466f550dc273f968096a1db566592f7b16f0532f2eb0d3f17a321051 |
The Crane Arts Center is holding its “Victory for Tyler: Victory for All 2013” alumni art exhibit between March 27 and April 13. The exhibit, founded in 2007 to the Tyler School of Art, will display artwork of all types – paintings, photographs, sculptures and more, all from Tyler alumni.
The exhibit is free and open for anyone with an interest in art. The public will have a chance to walk around and examine the different pieces of work from 38 different artists, which are diverse, from recent graduates of Tyler’s program to graduates from the ‘80s, ‘70s and ‘60s. There will also be an opening reception that will take place on April 6 from 6-8 p.m., which is also free and open to the public.
There is a large variety of artwork being displayed in the exhibit, including artwork to work that’s more extravagant, such as a giant, pink man standing in the center of a room. Lines are painted on the body, so it looks like it’s displaying the muscle system of the human body.
Photography is also a part of the exhibit, like a picture of a man’s hand on the steering wheel and a truck in front of him on a highway, crafted by James Maiello and called “20/20,” named for the numbers on the back of the truck.
Rebekah Callaghan, one of the artists showcasing her paintings and a 2008 alumna, speaks highly of the exhibit and Tyler.
“I think it really speaks to Tyler, that it has such a strong program that people are keeping up their practice long after they’re in school for it,” Callaghan said. “It also speaks to the strong community that the school has.”
Callaghan also explained that the exhibit is open to any Tyler alumni if they want to apply and showcase their work. A few of the pieces being shown are from students who have graduated very recently, including in 2012.
The paintings that Callaghan had done for the show, titled “Clouder” and “Untitled (jk),” were abstract works, made from mixing different pieces of color.
“They come from parts of previous paintings,” Callaghan said. “It’s almost like I zoomed in on one portion of what was a pretty representable painting, and zooming in that one moment, repainted it, and it became abstract moments. They’re all deriving from and building a history of its own.”
John Costanzo, a 1949 alumnus from Tyler who graduated in 1949, had one of his sculptures on display, titled “Terpsichore #3.” It looked like a connection of disks, moving in an uneven line. Costanzo said he made it by combining Apoxie, a sculpting compound, and gravel to “give it its textual effect.” He then sprayed it with automobile paint.
Dona Nelson, a professor at Tyler for painting, was at the exhibit, observing some of the work done. She spoke about her thoughts on the exhibit and the relative fullness of the room given its large size.
“It’s interesting to see how people make art after they graduate,” Nelson said. “To see the art change … it’s interesting to see that mature.”
Callaghan expressed her excitement, seeing former students keep up with their process so long after Tyler.
“I would say it’s a really nice representation of the community that Tyler supports,” Callaghan said.
She explained how the program always has a different curator. The one for this show is Paulina Pobocha, an assistant curator in the department of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art.
“That’s was really exciting to have someone from New York looking at the images and choosing the show,” Callaghan said.
The exhibit is a credit to Tyler’s program, Callaghan added.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Tyler and what it taught me,” Callaghan said. “It also speaks to how art can continue to grow and connect people from different areas of life.”
The Crane Arts Center is located at 1400 N. American St., and the exhibit is being held in the back of the center, in a space called the Ice Box Project.
Matthew Hulmes can be reached at email@example.com. | English | NL | 7e90007acf138cd56bab8cf91b47697e74840df59c82e1fbad955456f7edd5d2 |
Dothan (Not Alabama) is where two men of God prayed. Both prayed to the same God. Both were in trouble when they prayed. One was delievered, the other was not.
Genesis 37:17-24 with Genesis 42:21-22. When Joseph was stripped by his brothers of all his clothes and thrown into a pit in Dothan, they ignored him. It seemed that God ignored him too because he was not delivered from the pit, but sold into slavery… thus began about a two decade span of difficulty for Joseph.
2 Kings 6:13-18. Elisha and his servant were surrounded by a large army. The servant was afraid so Elisha prayed for God to open his eyes. All around him there were angels in chariots of fire. Then Elisha prayed and the army was blinded, thus Elisha and his servant were delivered.
Two men… two prayers prayed to the same God… one is answered, the other is denied. Elisha was delivered, Joseph was not delivered but rather sold into slavery.
Something similar occurred in the New Testament. The Church was praying for Peter to be delivered from prison (Acts 12:5-11) and he was. Another time John The Baptist was in prision and his followers prayed for him. But John was not delivered (In the way they expected) because he was beheadded.
Two men in prison… both faithful servants of God… one is delievered, the other is killed.
The answer? God is God and we aren’t. Just because we don’t see how something can be good doesn’t mean it isn’t good (Tim Keller). God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are above our thoughts.
When we pray we are saying to God… “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” whether we realize it or not. The Spirit prays for us with groanings too deep for words and when He prays it is always according to the will of God (Ro 8:26-27). We don’t know how to pray… we don’t know what to ask for… we always pray selfishly. But God is sovereign and will bring about His will… every time… in every situation.
That doesn’t mean we will always understand. But it does mean that Jesus has promised never to leave or forsake us in the midst of our difficulty. One day we will understand… we will see as God sees. Till then we live by faith. Till then we continue to pray.
As David said about his prayer for his child to be delivered from death (The child died) in 2 Samuel 12:21-23, “Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?‘ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” ESV
THAT is why we keep praying… we don’t know God’s will. Thus we pray… we hope… we believe… we have faith… and we trust God for WHATEVER the outcome is that it will glorify Him and be for our ultimate good! | English | NL | ddce8f43f08c5238795278dc3fc86037f5cd5da91c34b087d7a36764b41c5b5e |
I don't usually share eulogies here. They are personal, and this blog is public. But this is an unusual situation, and I think the eulogy might be helpful to others, so I've removed identifying material in order to share the essence of what I offered at a funeral a few days ago. If these words are useful to you, you are welcome to adapt them.
If you got here by googling Canavan's Disease, please know that there are informational links at the bottom of this post.
When a child is born, we rejoice. We imagine possibilities. Our minds run away with us, providing us with dreams and imaginings of wonders we hope the child's life will hold.
When this child was born, no one imagined that his life, and his parents' lives, would be circumscribed by a neurodegenerative disorder... nor that he would come to be such a ineffable presence in the lives of those who knew him, cared for him, and loved him.
Because of the dangers of Canavan's, this boy was never alone. His parents, and later his nurses, took constant shifts in caring for him. He communicated with his eyes and, for a time, with sounds. When he was in his parents' arms or enjoying therapy his smiles and laughter brightened the room.
His was not the life his parents might have dreamed before he was born, but it was his own, and he lived it wholly. He experienced love in the touch of caring hands and the attention diligently paid to the apparatus of his care.
His parents, and his caregivers, experienced a deep connection with him. And they knew that connection was reciprocated, and they knew that connection was real. Every time he fought his way back from another illness, another hospitalization, they knew that -- in his mother's words -- "he still wanted to be here."
His parents knew him without words. They teach us that we can know each other beyond words, and listen deeply past the words we do hear, to something deeper, more ineffable and more lasting.
The same was true of his nurses, his caregivers, physical therapists, music therapists, those who lovingly massaged his body to help preserve his muscle tone, the teachers who came to offer him a window into the wider world. When he lay on his bed in the sun, his parents called it "his beach." Once his health became too poor for him to risk the trip to these hills, his parents preserved his room here intact, a place for their son in this town they called "the home of their hearts."
I was blessed to spend an afternoon with this young man and his family last month. I sang him the lullabies I sing to my own son, and his eyes stayed on mine. I experienced his quiet presence in the room, and the sweetness of his neshama -- his soul -- was clear without any words at all.
I am humbled by this child's life, and by the boundless well of love and compassion which his parents and his caregivers expressed every day through a million acts of caring and nurturing.
He lived, and struggled, and was loved. He experienced the world from his own unique vantage. In the wake of his death, there is grief. Nothing we can offer will soothe the empty place where he used to be.
May his soul soar free, no longer fettered by limitations or by suffering. And may those who loved him find comfort in the knowledge that his suffering has ended, and that in caring for him so lovingly, they epitomized some of the best of what humanity can be.
For more information:
About Canavan Disease
National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases
Center for Jewish Genetics: Canavan's Disease
Jewish Genetic Disorders
Support for Families With Canavan's | English | NL | 419a2669c13652e6cad9b885bd8ef97927571e4b2698e1a67184eca627597196 |
The girl was normal and lived in a normal world... or so she thought. Grass only existed in books and stories, and a blue sky remained a fairy tale. The sky was grey, smog covering the Earth, encasing it in its promise of death. Houses were only sturdy in nursery rhymes, cars only in deterioration, plants only a work of fiction. Roads were the outer layer of the ground, covering every inch anyone could see and being the platform they walked upon. Everyone knew those things because that was normal.
During the Bearable Season, when The Color sometimes cracked through the clouded sky and shone what legend called sunlight, the pavement would warm a fraction and burn their feet, the heat almost unbearable. The Death Season would always arrive too soon into their break, killing all with its freezing heat or melting cold.
Atropos knew of these things just as every other human did, believing as though they had a complete understanding of how the world was and had always been. "Car" was a term for junk, "house" was a tarp you lived under, "hut" was a large enough tarp for others to Gather (although Gathering had long since been banned, huts from ancient times still existed to remind people of the dangers of community).
Her life was miserable, but lacking the knowledge to compare it meant lacking the knowledge of it being miserable. Her life was normal. Everything was normal, and normal had always been that way and always would be. That was the Normal, the all-consuming fate of everyone and everything.
Or so they thought.
Her cycle (what history used to refer to as a "day," but since the sunlight was so rare, cycles were determined by one's sleep schedule rather than a set time) was normal, until her last one. Everyone knew the last cycle was different and difficult, as everyone died from the Black Breath at one point or another.
But not her.
It started out as a low rumble, something that was soft enough to be a person's snore, until it crescendoed into a loud and ferocious roar, making the Earth tremble and many of their structures fall down, the ancient method of sturdy building long since forgotten but desperately needed now more than ever. Her heart pounded, a feeling that left her gasping for air and clutching her chest as she grasped for the words to describe her current condition. Words to describe feelings were long forgotten.
Next came a loud thud. She turned and saw The Tower, the last thing from a time long forgotten that had always and would always stand proudly, visible to everyone from everywhere, falling as though it was not sturdy, fading into the horizon as though it had not been a beacon of hope in Normal, failing the last of humanity as though it was destined to do so.
Color followed the fall of The Tower, this Color different from the sunlight. In the back of her mind, she felt some remembrance—water—of what it was, but that nagging feeling also felt another word more strongly than the other: danger. She watched this New Color, bearing a resemblance to the sky's grey but also a hint of something else, something calming and yet now dangerous. It was beautiful, a concept she had never learned but still somehow could recognize. Her eyes felt wet and something fell down her cheek, but she could not look away.
The New Color was getting closer.
She ran. Her feet moved of their own accord, an ingrained thought of run, never look back, keep on running flashing through her mind even as her feet began to tire from the pounding on the pavement and her will to run was wiped away as the New Color approached her, poised to pounce and plunder the Earth. The flood consumed all in its wake, the haphazard houses and barely-put-together huts for community, the poles of light-long-left and the crust of previous humans' pollution, the water executing its long-overdue purge of humanity on the Earth.
She tried to escape, her body a blur of terror and confusion and pain, but She cared naught about the human's suffering, because they cared naught about Hers. It was Time for humanity to be eradicated, treated like the threat they have always been, with their nuclear weapons and pointless wars and endless hatred. Finally, it would be the era of plants and animals again, with the harmful Pests in their rightful place: not here, with Her. She would finally be valued again, because the simpler creatures rightfully worshiped Her, not as a god, but as something worth loving.
The girl tripped and fell. She had caught up. Her last breaths grated, ragged and fearful, until her eyes closed in acceptance. It was Time, not just hers, but everyone's. Her last thoughts were of a lesson humanity had long forgotten:
If you cross Mother, Nature will wipe you away. | English | NL | 4374e33b82fdfb1963b087dc9883bfea4414a86c53054b10c345bed6a661a74a |
From drugstore cowboy to award-winning mathematician
A look into the 48-year-career of an Auburn mathematician, Curt Lindner
The story of Curt Lindner’s life and career as a mathematician is on full display in his office. Stacks of books and papers cover everything from his desk to a small sofa pushed against a wall. No surface is left untouched. Even the walls are adorned with photographs, notes and drawings, each one a memento of his life and career.
Lindner is Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University, and the material in his office represents 48-years of service at Auburn.
Featured prominently on his office walls is his best friend, fellow mathematician Alexander Rosa, professor emeritus at McMaster University in Canada.
Lindner and Rosa met for the first time, face-to-face, in 1970 at a mathematics conference at the University of Montreal. The two immediately hit it off and began a life-long friendship and working relationship.
They published their first co-authored paper in 1975 titled, “Steiner Triple Systems Having a Prescribed Number of Triples in Common.”
Lindner located a copy of the scholarly work buried within a stack of papers on the sofa in his office. Its pages now yellowed with age, the paper represents the beginning of a career-long collaboration between the two mathematicians who have more than 40 published, co-authored papers.
“When we first began working together, he would come to Auburn or I would travel to Canada,” said Lindner. “Neither of us had any money at the time, and when we got together, I would sleep in the basement when visiting him, and he would sleep on the sofa in the living room when visiting me, and we would work on mathematics 24-hours a day.”
Lindner and Rosa were both awarded the Euler Medal at the 48th Southeastern International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory and Computing. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the Institute of Combinatorics and Applications.
“The medal is a high honor, a lifetime achievement award that they give only when they think you are about to croak,” laughed Lindner. “The fact that Alex Rosa received the medal at the same time is wonderful. To receive it alongside my friend means more to me than getting the medal.”
When asked if he always knew he wanted to be a mathematician, Lindner pointed to a photo hanging on his office door. The image shows a 16-year-old Lindner hanging out with three of his friends at a drugstore in Decatur, Georgia, called “Reddings.” They are each donning either letterman or leather jackets and 1950s slick hairstyles.
“Back when I was a drugstore cowboy, I never dreamed I would be doing what I am doing now,” said Lindner. “I failed Algebra I and Algebra II in high school, and I had to take it in the summer to make up for it. I did very well the second time around because I didn’t have football or track to distract me. I didn't study in high school. All I cared about were girls, football, and track and field. I didn't give a damn about school. I had to take an IQ test to get into college. In college, I found mathematics came naturally and easily, so I studied it.”
Immediately after high school, Lindner served in the Army before starting school at Presbyterian College, where he had a half scholarship in track and earned a bachelor of science in mathematics.
He was accepted at Emory for graduate school, but before beginning work on his master’s, Lindner spent a year in Jacksonville, Florida, teaching at Duncan U. Fletcher High School.
After a year as a high school teacher, Lindner continued his education at Emory University, where he received a master’s in mathematics. It’s also where he began dating his wife, Ann.
Lindner pointed to a photo of his wife enjoying a day at the beach with their sons. As he looked at the image, he explained how he and his wife went to high school together in Decatur but didn’t start dating until their paths crossed again at Emory.
Ann is a registered nurse. She and Lindner have three sons together, and Ann has traveled all over the world with Lindner during his career.
Their first stop after Emory was Coker College, where Lindner accepted a teaching position.
“What an experience!” said Lindner. “It was a women’s college in South Carolina and the best four years of my life. The social life! There was an endless round of cocktail parties on the old plantations. It was a wonderful time. We had small children and no money, but it was a wonderful experience. Those were also the days when I really fell in love with mathematics. I realized I wanted to do research in mathematics.”
Lindner returned to Emory and pursued a doctorate in mathematics.
“When I got my Ph.D. in mathematics, I was very lucky to be getting in on the ground floor of a certain area of finite mathematics that turned out to be fundamentally important,” said Lindner. “I met world-famous mathematicians like the late Marshall Hall, Jr., a leader in the Naval Intelligence effort to break Japanese codes during World War II.”
Lindner looked at a photo of Hall hanging on his office wall and recalled hours spent with him, drinking martinis, discussing discrete mathematics, specifically combinatorics and design theory, a field Lindner described as an abstract form of geometry.
Lindner’s office also features photos of mathematicians like Elizabeth Billington, a retired professor from The University of Queensland.
“The University of Queensland is one of my favorite places,” said Lindner. “I am an honorary professor over there and spend a month there almost every year.”
Lindner also travels to London once a year, but it’s not a work-related trip. A photo in his office of James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy gives away his passion for the theater and provides a clue as to why he travels to London.
“I am a big theater buff,” said Lindner. “Every year I go to the West End in London and see seven shows in six days, mostly musicals. It’s great. It’s the best theater in the world. That's what I wish I could have been—a performer, singing and dancing my way into the hearts of all America—but it didn't work out that way.”
“I love mathematics. You get to solve problems. It is all esoteric. There is no money involved. What can I say? I just love mathematics."
Although Lindner harbors a desire to be an actor, he readily acknowledges he made the right choice to pursue a career in mathematics. He appreciates that his work has taken him all over the world, including Italy, Kuwait, Iran, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic, Turkey, Australia, Poland, Thailand, England, New Zealand and more; and that he has developed lifelong friendships with colleagues both at Auburn and abroad.
“I love mathematics,” said Lindner. “You get to solve problems. It is all esoteric. There is no money involved. What can I say? I just love mathematics. And writing papers is my life. I dream at night of getting to the point where I can just write papers. Mathematics is great. You can sit around and think about it, and you have close colleagues you can get together with and drink whisky and talk about mathematics. I have had a good career, and I don’t know what I would have done if I actually had to work for a living. I couldn’t do it.” | English | NL | f6214829ededbe1e821d785585229c01d68325963466740fd5e7bd5c715a602c |
Sabbath, December 1, 2007
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” 1 Corinthians 9:16, 17
• To study how Paul worked in the large cities
• To learn from His example of engaging in manual labor to support himself, instead of burdening his hosts
• To examine alternative strategies used by Paul when public outreach was too difficult.
The gospel in Corinth
1. During Paul’s visit to Corinth, one of the major cities in the world at that time, who were his hosts? What occupation enabled Paul to support himself?
Acts 18:1-3 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
“Among the Jews who took up their residence here were many who were innocent of the wrongs that prevailed among them as a people. Of this class were Aquila and Priscilla, who afterward became distinguished as believers in Christ. Paul, becoming acquainted with the character of these excellent persons, abode with them; and having in his youth learned their trade of making tents, which were much used in that warm climate, he worked at this business for his own support.” –Sketches from the Life of Paul, pp. 99, 100.
2. What was a special attribute of the city of Corinth? What was the cultural and moral conduct of its dwellers, about which Paul later admonished the believers in his letter?
1 Corinthians 5:1, 2, 9-13 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you… I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
1 Corinthians 6:8-11 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
“… Corinth was now more prosperous than Athens, which had once taken the lead…. Athens was the acknowledged center of art and learning; Corinth, the seat of government and trade.
“This large mercantile city was in direct communication with Rome, while Thessalonica, Ephesus, Alexandria, and Antioch were all easy of access, either by land or water. An opportunity was thus presented for the spread of the gospel. Once established at Corinth it would be readily communicated to all parts of the world.
“Yet the apostle saw on every hand serious obstacles to the progress of his work. The city was almost wholly given up to idolatry. Venus was the favorite goddess; and a great number of dissolute women were employed in connection with the worship of this reigning deity, for the purpose of attracting the devotees of popular vice. The Corinthians had become conspicuous, even among the heathen, for their gross immorality.” –Sketches from the Life of Paul, pp. 98, 99.
Another plan of labor
3. How did Paul’s method of preaching in Corinth differ from that which he followed in Athens? What is the most successful way to win souls for Christ?
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
“At the very beginning of his labors in this thoroughfare of travel, Paul saw on every hand serious obstacles to the progress of his work. The city was almost wholly given up to idolatry. Venus was the favorite goddess, and with the worship of Venus were connected many demoralizing rites and ceremonies. The Corinthians had become conspicuous, even among the heathen, for their gross immorality. They seemed to have little thought or care beyond the pleasures and gaieties of the hour.
“In preaching the gospel in Corinth, the apostle followed a course different from that which had marked his labors at Athens. While in the latter place, he had sought to adapt his style to the character of his audience; he had met logic with logic, science with science, philosophy with philosophy. As he thought of the time thus spent, and realized that his teaching in Athens had been productive of but little fruit, he decided to follow another plan of labor in Corinth in his efforts to arrest the attention of the careless and the indifferent. He determined to avoid elaborate arguments and discussions, and ‘not to know anything’ among the Corinthians ‘save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.’ He would preach to them ‘not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’ 1 Corinthians 2:2, 4.” –The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 243, 244.
“Here the apostle has given the most successful manner of converting souls from ignorance and the darkness of error, to the light of truth. If ministers would follow more closely the example of Paul in this particular, they would see greater success attending their efforts. If all who minister in word and doctrine would make it their first business to be pure in heart and life, and to connect themselves closely with Heaven, their teaching would have greater power to convict souls.” –Sketches from the Life of Paul, p. 103.
Paul’s first letter from Corinth
4. When Silas and Timothy joined Paul, what encouraging news did they bring about the church in Thessalonica, which inspired him to write the letter which is considered to be the very first of his epistles?
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come…
1 Thessalonians 3:6, 7 But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you: Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith.
“The arrival of Silas and Timothy from Macedonia, during Paul’s sojourn in Corinth, had greatly cheered the apostle. They brought him ‘good tidings’ of the ‘faith and charity’ of those who had accepted the truth during the first visit of the gospel messengers to Thessalonica. Paul’s heart went out in tender sympathy toward these believers, who, in the midst of trial and adversity, had remained true to God. He longed to visit them in person, but as this was not then possible, he wrote to them.
“In this letter to the church at Thessalonica the apostle expressed his gratitude to God for the joyful news of their increase of faith.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 255.
5. How did he clarify two issues which caused the believers in Thessalonica great concern and sorrow?
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-11 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
“The Thessalonians had eagerly grasped the idea that Christ was coming to change the faithful who were alive, and to take them to Himself. They had carefully guarded the lives of their friends, lest they should die and lose the blessing which they looked forward to receiving at the coming of their Lord. But one after another their loved ones had been taken from them, and with anguish the Thessalonians had looked for the last time upon the faces of their dead, hardly daring to hope to meet them in a future life.
“As Paul’s epistle was opened and read, great joy and consolation was brought to the church by the words revealing the true state of the dead….
“While laboring at Thessalonica, Paul had so fully covered the subject of the signs of the times, showing what events would occur prior to the revelation of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, that he did not think it necessary to write at length regarding this subject. He, however, pointedly referred to his former teachings. ‘Of the times and the seasons,’ he said, ‘ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” –The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 258-260.
6. What was Paul’s great desire for his people Israel?
Acts 18:5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
Romans 9:1-5 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
“Paul ‘testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.’ From the Old Testament Scriptures he showed that according to the prophecies and the universal expectation of the Jews, the Messiah would be of the lineage of Abraham and of David; then he traced the descent of Jesus from the patriarch Abraham through the royal psalmist. He read the testimony of the prophets regarding the character and work of the promised Messiah, and His reception and treatment on the earth; then he showed that all these predictions had been fulfilled in the life, ministry, and death of Jesus of Nazareth.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 247.
7. In spite of Paul’s great desire and efforts to reveal Christ Jesus to them, how did the Jews of Corinth react to his message?
Acts 18:6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.
“But the Jews of Corinth closed their eyes to the evidence so clearly presented by the apostle, and refused to listen to his appeals. The same spirit that had led them to reject Christ, filled them with wrath and fury against His servant; and had not God especially protected him, that he might continue to bear the gospel message to the Gentiles, they would have put an end to his life.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 248.
8. Did Paul’s labors in Corinth bear fruit? Acts 18:7, 8. As he was considering leaving the city, how did the Lord encourage him to continue proclaiming the message?
Acts 18:7, 8 And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
“As he was planning to leave the city for a more promising field, and seeking earnestly to understand his duty, the Lord appeared to him in a vision and said, ‘Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.’ Paul understood this to be a command to remain in Corinth and a guarantee that the Lord would give increase to the seed sown. Strengthened and encouraged, he continued to labor there with zeal and perseverance.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 250.
9. During his prolonged stay in Corinth, were Paul’s efforts confined to public speaking? How did God use the civil authorities to protect His servant?
Acts 18:12-17 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.
“The apostle’s efforts were not confined to public speaking; there were many who could not have been reached in that way. He spent much time in house-to-house labor, thus availing himself of the familiar intercourse of the home circle. He visited the sick and the sorrowing, comforted the afflicted, and lifted up the oppressed. And in all that he said and did he magnified the name of Jesus. Thus he labored, ‘in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.’ 1 Corinthians 2:3. He trembled lest his teaching should reveal the impress of the human rather than the divine.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 250.
For further meditation and study
• Paul focused his ministry on the large cities as an effective strategy of reaching many nationalities. This helped to spread the gospel rapidly.
• Although his health was not strong, Paul “… labored during the day in serving the cause of Christ, and then toiled a large share of the night, and frequently all night, that he might make provision for his own and others’ necessities.” –Sketches from the Life of Paul, p. 101.
• In Corinth, in addition to public evangelism, Paul spent a lot of time in house-to-house labor. | English | NL | df9bbfc646b8e999bc9b42e28f67e4ceffa272a0a11479e9a0748c26ab486aab |
First Lesson: Isaiah 9: 1-4
Responsive Reading: Psalm 27: 1, 4-9
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 1: 10-18
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 4: 12-23
Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
When I was visiting Grandma on New Year’s Eve, we were playing cards when we come across two ladies that I’ll call Phyllis and Eunice. 7 O Clock at night in the nursing home, Phyllis wants to go to bed. Eunice was going to stay awake for a while, so she has the lights on in her side of the room. Phyllis was going to have none of this. So Phyllis storms out of the room in a tizzy, complaining to the nurses about how she can’t live with Eunice because of how inconsiderate that she is. Phyllis goes back to bed and turns off all the lights. Grandma and I keep playing cards.
7:30 comes around Eunice wheels into the room once again, turning the lights back on. Phyllis is really mad at this point since the nurses aren’t going to listen to her. She decides that Grandma and I would be a captive audience to her problems. Now Grandma is no stranger to roommate problems at the nursing home. The nursing home has since decided that Grandma is better off with a private room. Grandma has one way to resolve conflict: yell then yell some more, then hope the other person gives in.
So when Phyllis is complaining about Eunice, Grandma declares that she is going to fix everything between Phyllis and Eunice. My hand is on my head, dreading what I’m going to see next. Grandma rides her scooter into Eunice’s room and tells her it’s time for bed.
Eunice just ignores Grandma’s demands that she goes to bed. Grandma then decides that things need to get physical. So Grandma proceeds to push Eunice’s wheelchair towards the bed. Grandma though quickly gets tired, and Eunice’s wheelchair probably moves one foot forward at her efforts. Now did Grandma accomplish anything mediating Phyllis and Eunice’s conflict? Not really. Did the Nurses find a way to bring Phyllis and Eunice together? No, based on what I saw I doubt Eunice could hear either Grandma or Phyllis’s yelling.
But our question for this morning is this: Do we have similar cycles of seemingly continual conflict in our life? That as in the case of Phyllis and Eunice these conflicts are not easy to resolve.
Today’s lesson comes to us from 1st Corinthians 1. Corinthians tells the tale of a church in conflict. The Corinthian Church is founded by the Apostle Paul, people in the Corinthian Church were always going to have a special place for Paul because of this history. Paul was a good organizer, but he had his weaknesses. Paul was self-admittedly not a very dynamic speaker. Paul wasn’t a rah-rah people person. Paul wasn’t all that much to see. I picture him as an older gentleman with a bit of a pot belly. Paul eventually moves on, and the Corinthians get a new preacher named Apollos. Apollos seemingly had it all. Apollos was probably tall, muscular with long, wavy hair. Apollos was energetic. Apollos made people laugh during his sermons. People would hang on every word during Apollos’ preaching. People were flocking to the Corinthian church seemingly because of Apollos.
Everyone should have been happy except they weren’t. Some of the original members of the Corinthian Church were seeing things change way too fast before their very eyes. Some of the people joining the Corinthian Church would seem more acceptable at a Monster Truck Rally rather than a Church. People often lash out at change, so Paul’s followers (The Church’s founders) began lashing out at Apollos. They accused Apollos of being “soft on sin.” They started clamoring for Paul to come back to fix their church. What was going on in Corinth can apply to all sorts of conflict, Insiders vs. outsiders, change vs. stability, with all sorts of dueling personality types in the mix.
So what does Paul say to his former followers?
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”-1st Corinthians 1:10.
Paul wanted the Corinthians to focus on a much more important question than who was a better preacher between Paul and Apollos but rather why does the Corinthian Church exist? Paul wanted the Corinthians to unite around a common purpose within this relationship. Now here’s the thing about Paul. Paul knew that sometimes finding common purposes can be hard.
I have a friend that I’ll call Heather. Heather’s a good employee responding to work requests nearly 24/7. Heather’s department recently came up for contract negotiations. Heather had been long time friends with her manager. They would frequently get together socially. Heather considered her manager a good friend. The problem with contract negotiations or wills or many other things in life is there a fixed amount of money to spend. So Heather was feeling disrespected by the contract offers. The manager recently invited Heather to a Christmas party at her house. Heather didn’t want to go because her feelings were hurt. So Heather asked me what she should do?
I said to Heather it depends on our goal for the relationship? Do you want to throw away the friendship? What in your mind is the best scenario for this relationship? Three months from now, Three years from now, or thirty years from now.
People can certainly tell of their seemingly former friends or feuding families members, but probably in all likelihood, the short term feeling of satisfaction can distract from one’s ultimate long term goals.
I was listening to a sermon by Andy Stanley where he said: “Conflict might take years to sort out, but harsh judgment will inevitability boomerang.”
So where do we find common purpose with those with whom we are in conflict? Back to Paul and Apollos.
Here’s what Paul proclaims to his followers in the Corinthian church.
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God-1st Corinthians 1:18.
The Corinthian Church exists to save sinners. It exists to proclaim the Cross of Christ to broken people. The important thing is not Paul or Apollos, but rather why do they gather as Church.
We must never lose sight of our long-term purpose in the midst of any divided household. Let me tell you a story about another family member in my dad.
Dad grew up in Lindstrom, and other than his four years at the University of Minnesota has lived there all of his sixty-seven years. Dad since 1982 has been either on the City Council or serving as mayor for every year but two. About a decade ago, Dad faced a political controversy that could have brought him down.
Lindstrom had been having traffic problems for years. The traffic problems were two-fold. 1. The sheer volume of traffic passing through town from the Twin Cities to Wisconsin over 20,000 cars a day was more than the town could handle. There were weekend days when it would take 30-45 minutes to pass through a 2 mile stretch of town on Highway 8. 2. Highway 8 also had the nickname of being “The Highway of Death” due to the sheer number of pedestrian and traffic fatalities that had taken place in the last twenty years. A big part of the problem was a lack of stoplights and pedestrian crossings.
So the Minnesota Department of Transportation proposes a seemingly radical solution to Lindstrom’s City Council to divide the town in two. The proposal was for split pairs lanes to go through Lindstrom making Lindstrom a four-lane with the former main street as the divider. Residents were up in arms; I sat in public hearings where people would accuse Dad of trying to destroy the only town he had ever known.
Now, this issue was complicated on all sides as conflict often is. This project would require a good period of construction, along with the risk that businesses wouldn’t see as much traffic. Now my Dad can also have a quick fuse, like Grandma. But at every one of these hearings, he restrained himself and listened to person after person tell him how wrong that he was. What Dad did during the Highway 8 standoff was some of the most impressive leadership that I’ve ever witnessed precisely because his actions were so contrary to his nature. Dad ultimately voted what he thought would be best for the town. Years later, Dad has former opponents come up to him, commending him on how his convictions were what was best for Lindstrom.
Dad could have very easily done nothing. The Highway was the town’s difficult situation.
As pointed out again by Andy Stanley “Love will constantly require you to deal with difficult situations in life.”
Love will require as in the case of Heather and the contract negotiations ask what do want in the long run? Love will require as in the case of the members of the Corinthian Church often cause you to admit all sorts of people with different sins than you into your previously small, little church.
You see the simplest advice that Paul could have given the Corinthian Church is to start your own church, where you get to call all the shots. Paul believed that fighting to preserve one’s relationships is the most important struggle that we often endure as Christian people.
Now some of you might be, hearing all this and say this might sound good, but you don’t know my family. I’ve had people more than once say that their family is the most messed up family ever. They might yell no different than Grandma in the nursing home and make as much headway as pushing the wheelchair six inches towards the bed. We must never lose sight of God’s reasons for putting people in our lives.
Let me close with a story told in the book Crucial Conversations how even in the most heated of relationships in life there is hope.
Bobby was about to be deployed to serve in Iraq. Bobby was nervous about what he was about to see at war. Bobby’s father was against this idea. Bobby’s dad lets him know this and Bobby blew up. Pretty soon everyone in the family had taken sides: siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandchildren. Further communication between Bobby and his dad only led to more brokenness. They didn’t talk to each other for five years. Bobby’s dad wasn’t around for the birth of two of Bobby’s children. Finally, Bobby decided that the past was the past and wanted to attempt to rebuild the relationship he once had with his father. Both men agree to meet; the initial conversation was difficult threatening to boil over several times. Bobby and his dad never lost sight of their purpose: being in a relationship with each other even in the midst of their disagreements. Bobby like all people in the relationship came to see how much his brokenness had contributed to their prior split. Bobby’s mom had previously been so hurt by Bobby’s behavior that she wanted nothing to do with him, yet Bobby’s dad vouched that their relationship was worth saving. Slowly but slowly, Bobby’s family began to piece itself back together.
My point for this morning is this: We often need to ask ourselves what’s really important in this world? Do we believe that our God possesses the ability to raise even the most broken of relationships from the dead? Do we believe that God might possess plans for our church, our town, our life that go even beyond our imagination?
The great struggle that we face as Christian people is the finding the right balance between truth and grace in this world. Bobby could have let the truth of his politics destroy his relationship with his family, but he came to see the need for grace to sustain all human relationships. The Corinthians had all sorts of truth regarding how the church should look, but they lacked the grace to see that God might have different plans. We need to continually struggle with the question as Christian people in what do we really believe: “Do we believe in hope?” “Do we believe in healing?” “Do we believe in resurrection even from the most broken of relationships?” Amen
Lesson is 1st Corinthians 1:10-18. The subplot between Paul and Apollos along with conflict within the Corinthian Church is the theme of the book.
2 Corinthians 10:10.
2 Corinthians 10:10.
The inspiration for this week’s sermon comes from Carey Nieuwhof’s article titled “5 Stupid Things The Church Needs to Stop Doing to Make Progress.” Published on his blog on July 13, 2015.
Stanley, Andy. “The N Commandments: Judge Not”. North Point Church. Atlanta. May.9.2015. Web. 16.Jan.2017.
1st Corinthians 1:18.
Stanley, Andy. “The N Commandments: Judge Not”.
Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler. Crucial Conversations. McGraw Hill Publishing. New York. 2012. Print. P.29-30.
The continual struggle between grace and truth can be found in Stanley’s book: Deep &Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend.on pages 72-83. Nieuwhof’s article also touches on this theme.
Pastor Stew Carlson
These are all Sunday sermon's written by Pastor Stew. | English | NL | 2541dbb6d43433d8b37b76c885a463f253bc4ddf4defb1539f0ffa495d0fba92 |
Intermission: Fluttershy’s Song - Part 1
In the darkest of hearts and the blackest of pits, there is always a light to shine the way. Sometimes the light comes from the least likely of source.
Sometimes, there are those who wish to snuff the light completely. This is Fluttershy’s story of growth in a dark world. This is her story in the Pony Age.
The Solar Divine opened her eyes to the light of dawn, as was dictated by the tenants of old. They said the Divine could only look upon the light of her respective goddess, and so the Solar Divine could only see the world basked in the light of Celestia. She had never questioned the tenants, but it also meant she had never seen the stars in the sky, nor the moon. It was a depressing thought.
Since being declared Celestia’s representative for the world by the former Divine, she had taken many vows in line with the tenants of the Chantry to fully convert herself from a simple pony to messenger of the heavens themselves. She was young compared to the Divines of yesteryear, and was still being instructed by those more familiar with her duties and responsibilities. One such rule was that she could not see her nocturnal counterpart, save for only a few rare instances when the moon and the sun shared the sky.
As the Solar Divine looked out into the clear blue, she saw not only the light of the sun, but the shape of the moon as well. Such a rare occurrence marked that today was going to be a day of omens.
The sound of hoofsteps could be heard past her chamber doors, her chosen attendants knocking on the door with careful raps. With a sigh, she lowered her veil over her head before covering her eyes. The tenants said that the Divines could not look on normal ponies with their gaze, lest they feel the wrath of the alicorn sisters for millennia of sin. Never had she burnt anything to a crisp with divine heat vision, yet it was what the ponies believed. Who was she to go against centuries of doctrine and myth?
“Enter,” she said, turning to the direction of the door. Three ponies entered her chamber; her attendants, the unicorn White and the earth pony Scroll, as well as one other guest whom the Solar Divine had never seen before. When both Divines had heard of how much the two had suffered during their pilgrimage bring the Chant to the world, she and her counterpart had rewarded the duo with the positions of being the attendants to the Divines.
“The Lunar Divine wishes to see Her Radiance,” Scroll announced. The Solar Divine simply inclined her head, standing perfectly still as the two attendants left to busy themselves in another part of the Cathedral. As the large immaculate doors closed shut, she was able to remove the veil and see the chosen placeholder of Luna for the first time.
She was quite surprised at the pony that she now saw standing before her. The usual image of the Lunar Divine was a pony with a coat and mane of cool colours, not one of vibrant green like the leaves on summer trees. The Lunar Divine raised her own veil, revealing a pair of amber eyes. The Scion of the Moon smiled with a coy mirth as the Solar Divine attempted to hide her surprise.
“The sisters work in mysterious ways,” the green earth pony stated as she stepped towards the balcony. Like herself and her apparent need to see only the light of the sun, the Lunar Divine could correspondingly only see the light of the moon as was decreed in scripture. To be able to bask in the warmth of daylight was an exceedingly rare treat.
“I have been having dreams,” the Lunar Divine said, walking through the Solar Divine’s chamber and taking a seat on a cushion, “Recurring dreams of a most curious nature. I see a wave of pink, amidst a sea of yellow going in the direction of Equestria, a land covered in shadows. Tell me, what do you know of the going-on outside of the Cathedral, Sonnenschein?”
The golden maned earth pony gasped at the name the Lunar Divine had just called her. The doctrines demanded that the Divines were to relinquish their mortal names, to submit their very lives in servitude to the alicorns directly. To actually be called by the name her mother had given her so many decades ago was blasphemous.
Sonnenschein did not care. She was still getting used to the idea that she was one of the two most revered ponies in the entire Chantry, second in status only to the goddesses themselves. She tossed aside her veil and looked at the Lunar Divine. “I am woefully uninformed of the workings of the world beyond the Cathedral,” she replied. The green mare continued to smile as she too set aside the veil used to shield her eyes from the so-called “unworthy”.
“You may call me Artemis, if you so wish.” Artemis sat upright and headed back to the balcony, motioning for Sonnenschein to follow. “There was an uproar heading to the Hall of Justice. Last night, well over fifty ponies were arrested on suspicion of treason against the Empress. They will all be tried and likely to be executed.”
“We do not interfere with the realm of politics,” Sonnenschein rebuked as she again sat on her haunches next to Artemis, reciting the lessons imparted to her by the former Solar Divine while she was on her death bed, “All we can offer are our prayers that they may find mercy at the Sisters’ hooves, and avoid damnation in Black Canter.”
The new name for the fallen city of Canterlot, former seat of the Sisters, was meant to strike fear and guilt into the hearts of ponies, and even thinking the name of Black Canter was supposed to do the same. It was the corruption of the city that brought upon ponydom the wrath of Celestia, and their sin had created the first ponyspawn out of the bodies of the magisters. The Chant was clear; ponies who held sin and vice in their heart would be sent to damnation in Black Canter, to become toy things for demons.
That was what scripture had said. Far be it for her to go against the very words of the Chant of Sun and Moon.
“There are also tales coming from Equestria and her Grey Wardens,” Artemis continued, promptly ignoring the words of the Solar Divine, “Ponyspawn incursions have been reported all across the countryside. Small in scale, but their veterans say this is only the beginning of a complete Blight.”
“Excuse me if this sounds rude,” Sonnenschein interjected, catching Artemis’ gaze with her own, “But what does this mean for your dream? And how do you know all this?”
Artemis chuckled as she laid a hoof on Sonnenschein’s shoulders. Another blasphemy was even touching the Divine, though was it heretical if the offending party was a Divine herself? “I forget you are still new to the being Solar Divine. There are some ponies I would like you to meet.”
The Lunar Divine pushed gently for Sonnenschein to turn around, and as she did, the Solar Divine gasped. Kneeling before them were four ponies, two pegasi, an earth pony, and a unicorn, adorned in leather armour emblazoned with the markings of the sun and moon. They all wore masks hiding their faces. How did they enter without anypony noticing? Sonnenschein thought, the templars would be in hysterics if they ever found out about this incursion.
“These are the Seekers of Truth,” Artemis explained, “They are the eyes, ears, and sometimes the hooves of the Divines. Sometimes I like to call them the “Divine Intervention”. Of course, they obey only us, and are to be our tools to maintain harmony across the world. They are how I know so much about the world outside the Cathedral.” The Lunar Divine seemed to enjoy her nicknames for the armoured ponies, who were as still as statues. Sonnenschein could honestly say they unnerved her.
“In any event, I feel we must intervene in this case regarding the Halls of Justice. While it is regrettable that we cannot save them all from their wrongful fate, we can at least save the one who will have a hoof in preserving the world from the darkness that looms over Equestria. A pink maned pegasus pony with a yellow coat will be executed unless the Seekers rescue her from her fate. There is one problem, though.”
The Solar Divine turned to her contemporary in askance. “And that would be?”
“They need the command from you,” Artemis answered, “I have commanded them since the death of the former Solar Divine, but they will no longer obey my command until you have ordered them enough to restore the balance of power between us. The sun and moon must be equals, as you of course know.”
Sonnenschein looked over the Seekers who awaited her command. Before she could speak, Artemis held her shoulder with a hoof once again. The Solar Divine looked into her eyes, which no longer held happiness, but an iron will.
“They require your blessing, but know that they will conduct unpleasantness in our names. This must be done in good conscious, without doubt in your heart. I wish there was more time to explain everything before you make your decision, but a pony necessary for the survival of the world hangs in the balance. Can you make the decision? Can you give the Seekers your blessing?”
Unpleasantness? Was the Lunar Divine telling her that these Seekers committed murder in her name? Were the Exalted Gallops not enough bloodshed in the name of the Chantry?
What would be the fate of the world if the Artemis was right? If there is a threat, it was her duty to lead the Chantry to ease the suffering of ponies everywhere. If only there was more time to think about the decision.
Instead, she closed her eyes and turned to the blue sky, silently praying to Celestia to give her guidance. Sonnenschein looked back to the Lunar Divine, doubt still marring her features. “How come we cannot expose the framing of innocent ponies and the guilty parties behind them?”
“Many nations in the world are devout in their worship to the Chant, yet they are also very adamant that the Chantry must not become a powerful theocracy like the Unicorn Imperium. While we do not have the blood magics and the strength of ancient dragon gods behind us, I can see the ripple effect that interfering openly here would undoubtedly cause. That is why very few ponies know of the Seekers of Truth, and why they protect their secrecy fiercely.”
“It all seems so… clandestine.”
To this Artemis chuckled. “You were a Mother Superior in the Yokalach, far to the north near the borders of the Imperium. I understand you are still not used to how things are done in Filais. Still, the Solar Divine before you saw great promise in you, especially in a mare so young. So do I. Needless to say, time is short, and a decision must be made quickly.”
Sonnenschein turned to the Seekers who had not moved an inch since she had first laid eyes on them. They all seemed so taciturn, but she simply assumed this to be reverence for the Divines and the two goddesses they were meant to represent. There were always tales of fervent followers who formed rather brutal orders in the name of Celestia and Luna. Never mind that the Chantry endorsed one such order in the templars to keep unicorns and their magic in check.
It went completely against the message of Luna and Celestia to have ponies fight ponies, yet kings and lords would always find some excuse in the Chant to call the other a heretic or an abomination. With the constant strife against the ravenous ponyspawn, the wars with the foreign invaders of buffalo, known as Followers of the Buf, and the resurgence of dragon worship in the remnants of the ancient Unicorn Imperium, war would surely plague the world and the lessons of harmony would be quickly forgotten.
The ponies of the world made their own discord. They did not need monsters from the depths of the Dark Tunnels to aid them. With a motion of her tail, the Solar Divine grabbed the veil and lowered the decorated cloth over her eyes, blocking her sight to the Seekers. If they served the Divines with complete devotion, she may as well look the part.
“You will find this pegasus pony Her Luminousness has mentioned, and you will bring her La Maison du Soleil. I ask that you keep the unpleasantness also mentioned to a minimum, if you can avoid it.”
The masked ponies stood tall, bowing to both Divines before leaving. The pegasi taking wing from the balcony as the unicorn and earth pony followed, descending from the high chamber using the unicorn’s magic to levitate them all to ground level. As much as Sonnenschein wanted to ask for an increase in security around the Cathedral, something inside told her that it would only raise alarms. There was also the fact that they would not stop the Seekers even if they knew of them.
“La Maison Du Soleil?” Artemis questioned, tilting her head as she rolled the Filesian word with her tongue, “A good choice. That temple is near the border to Equestria, where the yellow pegasus is needed.”
“It is also where I will be,” the Solar Divine responded as she moved through the room blindly, though knowing that she was approaching the door to her chambers, “I wish to meet this dream mare for myself.”
“What will you do then?”
Sonnenschein stopped as she lifted a hoof to the door. Too many questions ran through her mind, but she would have the answers soon enough. If there were Seekers that Artemis was using to learn of the world, it was only fair that she use them as well. For now all she could do was the most basic of all tenants for the Seekers, for the pegasus, and for all those bards wrongly sentenced to death.
They had placed a black hood over her head as they pushed the massive cart carrying Fluttershy and the rest of the bards into the Hall of Justice. The sounds around her were not muffled by the hood, as the shouts of anger from the Filesian peasantry called all manner of insults at her and the other bards. Over fifty ponies of earth and pegasi descent had been captured after their supposed leader, Artistic Finish, had betrayed them to the guards. Now they awaited the arrival of the High Justice, a member of the Empress’ court and one of her first cousins, who would surely sentence them to be executed.
Under the black hood, Fluttershy could feel warm tears stream down her face, which distracted her from the shackles binding her hooves to the massive cart. Not less than eight hours ago, she was with two adorable fillies who loved her singing. She had been given a beautiful Filesian couture dress as a gift from the Lady Elegant, wife of chevalier General Puissant. The Bardmaster had called the yellow pegasus, who was spying on the general, to return. There, all the bards were betrayed and captured.
Bards all around her shouted their innocence, curses at Finish, or prayed to Celestia and Luna to show them mercy. Fluttershy could only whimper as the cart hit a bump and the guards began to usher their prisoners into the courthouse. The Empress was a vindictive mare who saw only one proper response to treason or even rumours of such: death.
The sound of hoofsteps on wood grabbed Fluttershy’s attention as the hood was ripped away from her head. The sight of the Hall of Justice was as terrible as it was grand. The great hall was adorned in statues of Filesian heroes, such as the legendary chevalier Bon-Bon. Despite their visages, there were also highly decorative murals of ponies being punished for their crimes, including burning and beheading, as the sinful were sent to Black Canter and the good were welcomed with open hearts into the Seat of the Sisters.
Fluttershy swallowed hard as she tried to ignore the paintings. Filais was known not just for its art and culture, but also for its wide arrays of executions that it dispensed on its own ponies more often than others. All were made apparent by the frescos in all their gory glory.
Soldiers lined the massive wooden cart as the bailiff called for silence in the Hall. High above the prisoners and the assembled gallery of spectators was the bench where several officials had taken their seats, Including the bailiff, High Justice Froussard, and many other members of the nobility. Seated with the rest of the justices was Artistic Finish, who merely smiled as the bards had their hoods removed. The blue earth pony still hid her eyes behind magenta goggles.
“Let us get this over with,” Froussard said, waving a hoof for one of the attendants to place several sheets of parchment in front of him, “These ponies assembled before us all share the following charges, laid against them by Justice Artistic Finish. The charges are as follows: murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aiding and giving comfort to the enemy, perjury, counterfeit, slander, loitering, conspiracy to incite war with our allies, and of course treason and conspiracy to commit treason. I am sure you will all plead innocent, so for the sake of expedience we will move on to the evidence provided by the prosecution.”
Fluttershy balked as the High Justice spoke as though they were all guilty of the list of charges by default. While she was no expert on law, she knew that the bards should have been defended by some sort of council. There hadn’t even been a holding for questioning before the trial. It seemed to be that they would be caught like rats and sentenced to hang, or worse, within the span of a day.
No lawyer would dare try to defend a group of accused traitors as this, not when their livelihoods and names would be tarnished. Since gaining status and recognition from the Empress was everything in Filias, this would seal the bards’ fate; every moment without true legal counsel was just another nail in their collective coffins.
Thankfully, the General was not in attendance. What would Fluttershy say to a pony who had placed so much trust in her, despite that her entire purpose was to spy on him and his family for Artistic Finish? She would not have been able to face the disappointed gaze from the General’s eyes.
There was also the fear the yellow pegasus held for Lady Elegance and her daughters. Artistic Finish still had some sort of force, not only within the real traitors of Filais, but also with soldiers and likely the famed assassins from Pura Raza. The Bardmistress would know how fond Fluttershy was of the family, and would move to hurt them if she was not satisfied by the proceedings of this corrupt trial. This was likely the story of every bard here, knowing that their families were under threat from hidden blades and that only silence and acceptance of their fate would act as their last defense for loved ones.
Many of the bards shouted insults and pleads of innocence to the High Justice, while others created a chorus declaring Artistic Finish as the true traitor. The attendant to Froussard pounded the gavel for his master as the noble ignored the rabble, propping up his large curly mane and straightening his immaculate moustache.
“The court will be silent,” the bailiff barked. Only with the encouragement of swords from the guards did the bards eventually quiet. Fluttershy shrank to her knees and hid half her face with her mane, refusing to watch any more of this mockery of justice. Her ears, on the other hoof, made no such effort to stop hearing the proceedings.
“Tank you, High Justice,” Artistic Finish said as her attendant brought forward several documents, “Lords and Ladies of ze Hall of Justice, I have acquired many evidences connecting ze bard society of Filais to ze charges listed. Among zem were several false battleplans discovered by ze soliders under my command that were meant to be captured by the military of such nations as Equestria, Pura Raza, and the Yokalach. Needless to say, as wunderbar as Filesian might is, ve vould not be able to stand against a three-pronged war and not bring suffering to the people under the Empress’ vatchful gaze.”
“The Bard Society of Filais vas paid handsomely to betray their nation. Who vould suspect that a group of minstrels and poets vould be capable of bringing down all of Filais? Who indeed vould put such doubt in those travelling ponies who moved between city to city, without fear of being questioned or sought after, or those bards who served high ranking members of the nobility, many even having their ears to the wall to overhear sensitive information?”
Artistic Finish drew herself up to appear bigger, as she looked down on the assembled prisoners below. “I saw ze signs. I made ze right moves, and vas able to capture the majority of such a traitorous order, including who zey call ‘Ze Bardmaster’. I am, of course, speaking of Fluttershy of Equestria.”
I want you to play ze role of… ze patsy. Fluttershy whimpered, wishing she could hide her head with her forelegs to hide from the accusing eyes. The shackles hobbled that idea.
Instead, all she could do was endure the insults now being flung at her. The most damning of them all was the call to execute the traitor leader. She wept openly as she looked around the gallery, the angry nobles stomping their hooves in fury.
“I have heard enough,” Froussard announced as the gallery went silent once again. “The information has been reviewed carefully and critically, and it has been determined that no defense you could possibly mount would stand against such damning evidence. As such, a sentence has been decided. While all the crimes are heinous, treason against the Empress will warrant capital punishment.”
“The fifty ponies tried and judged fairly here in the Hall of Justice are to be sentenced to death! They will spend the remainder of their days banished and imprisoned in La Détention Criminelle, with one execution per day by means of guillotine. As each day goes by, each execution will be a reminder to all in Filais what the penalty for even thinking of bringing harm to the Empress is, and it will remind all of you that you are damned to spend eternity in Black Canter!”
Thus “justice” was dispensed as the bards knew it would be. As the cart was pushed out of the massive hall, Fluttershy looked up to the center balcony to see Artistic Finish receiving accolades and praise from Froussard and the other nobles. Those who still held fury in their eyes and venom on their lips shouted curses and damnations to the bards.
One soldier, whether he was incensed by the accused betrayal or wanting to earn a name for himself, did not wait for the massive cart to leave the Hall before leaping onto the mobile platform. “Vive le Empress!” he rallied, before slicing a bound pegasus pony’s neck wide open. The pegasus tried to get away, but could only flap his wings helplessly as the soldier struck.
The murder did not go unnoticed, as several guards held the soldier back. There were no charges laid against him though, not even words condemning a lack of discipline. Just the guards telling the pony in plated armour, “The bards would soon meet their fate at the guillotine’s blade. No need to send them to Black Canter early.”
The cart was rolled to the main plaza of the Capital, which would lead to the Hall of Justice, the Empress’ Palace, and the Cathedral to Celestia. Peasants, as far as the eye could see, were crowded there to join in the collective anger aimed at the traitors. Several carts filled with rotten fruit and vegetables were lined and ready for ponies to fling at the accused.
So they did, rotten produce hurled by hoof and tail, smashing against the bards and covering them in foul muck. Fluttershy was not safe in the center as a blackened tomato struck her cutie mark, while a soiled squash smashed against her head, the contents of the legume dripping down her face and into her mane.
“Behold!” shouted a peasant pointing at Fluttershy’s flank, “The cutie mark of traitors! Rotten! Disgusting! Foul! Vive le Empress! Vive Filais! Death to traitors!”
Fluttershy tried to hide again as her fellow bards were pelted by produce. This was surreal, a bad nightmare that she was going to wake up from at any moment, and be told to bring the morning tea for the General and take care of the menagerie on the estate. The rabbits needed their carrots, the otters their fish, the birds their seeds. This isn’t happening this isn’t happening, please Celestia, please let this be a bad dream…
The smack of a rock against her head startled Fluttershy from her prayers. The peasants had apparently ran out of vegetables and began throwing rocks. Rubbing the wound with a hoof, she looked at the telltale red of blood as it trickled down her face, mixing with her tears and the rotten muck of the squash. Lowering herself as small and as unnoticeable as possible, she wept until she had no more tears to shed, and unconsciousness drifted over her until only the shouts of blame acted as an impromptu lullaby.
The roar of thunder awoke Fluttershy as she felt heavy rain wash over her. She looked up to the looming shadow of a fortress on the horizon, belonging to La Détention Criminelle, the largest prison complex known in the world. It was said to be impossible to escape from, in addition to being an impregnable stronghold. The prison was a sight of doom for any pony who was unfortunate enough to be sentenced there. Ponies with life sentences, prisoners to be interrogated, and those awaiting executions were sent to La Détention Criminelle. No prisoner had ever left there with a heart still beating.
Ponies around Fluttershy shivered in the cold from the thunderstorm or, more likely, from the sight of the prison. Many recited prayers and pleadings to higher powers for mercy, knowing that the guards would show them none. The great wooden cart came to a halt near the outskirts of La Détention Criminelle, until a detachment of soldiers emerged from the great gate to meet the prisoners’ escort.
The sound of turning gears underneath the bards alerted them that they were being released from their bindings. As she watched the shackles fall from her hooves, Fluttershy dared not move until given the command from the guards. Many of the soldiers were angry enough that they were escorting traitors; the bad weather was not helping their moods, as many were gripping weapon-bits tight in their jaws.
From the stronghold came a troop of guards, with a very large earth pony leading the group. Covered head to hoof in plate armour with a greatsword strapped to his back, the warden of the stronghold appeared to be a match for the great structure he commanded. He looked over the large group of prisoners with a disdainful eye before turning to the officer in charge of the escort.
“One’s dead already,” the warden observed, looking at the slain bard who was not moved since the city.
“One of ours did that, I am proud to say. A bit of zeal isn’t so bad, warden captain,” replied the officer, “They are going to die anyways. In any event, I hand over the responsibility of the prisoners to you. As per the High Justice’s orders, they are to be executed, one per day by guillotine.”
“I accept the responsibility.” The warden of the prison looked to the assembled huddling mass as the escort marched them towards the prison. He barked marching orders to both his soldiers and the prisoners as the guards kept spears trained. Fluttershy was pushed to keep pace as the rain continued to pour.
Unlike the Capital, La Détention Criminelle was devoid of any sign of Filesian culture. There were no etchings on the stone, no words from poems or stories, not even a menacing gargoyle or two. It was, in relation to other structures, a rather plain castle surrounded by equally drab high stone walls. However, this only added to the intimidation of the complex: a pegasus pony would have to fly a great distance to make it over the wall, and with several veteran archers keeping watch, they would be skewered by arrows in short order.
The storm did not lessen the image of a brooding monster that the prison rather aptly resembled. Fluttershy wondered if old pegasi magics were at work to create a permanent storm here, and that this was why the place had been chosen for the fortress. Rumours always abounded of the stronghold, the most prevalent was that the clouds never drifted away, and that the La Détention Criminelle had never seen the light of the sun nor the moon since the first execution here during the occupation of Equestria.
Celestia and Luna condemned this place, Fluttershy thought as she looked up to the sky, but do they also condemn the ponies sent here as well? Is it foolish to ask for mercy for a crime we did not commit?
The courtyard of the prison was also filled with guards watching the prisoners file in. They sneered and spat at the bards but were otherwise silent. One tried to shout a curse, only to be cut short by the quick gaze of the warden.
In the center of the courtyard stood the guillotine, the blade appearing eager for necks to sever. Fluttershy whined at the sight of the execution device as the bards were forced to a halt. The ground around the guillotine was stained with blood, the basket that awaited heads even more so.
The grinding of metal behind them signaled the main gate closing shut. Flutterhsy watched the warden approach the guillotine, nodding at a guard to bring a prisoner forward. With a shove, the guard brought an earth pony forward towards the block. She looked at the edge of the blade with terrified eyes as the warden raised his voice.
“As the gate closes behind you, know that none of you will ever leave this place, the Black Canter of the World, before you enter the damnation of the Black Canter in the Fade.” As he spoke, the guards forced the mare into the wooden yoke of the instrument, securing the yoke in place as she wailed for mercy and innocence. The executioner, a mare under a black hood, nodded to the guards as she locked the yoke in place and took the pull-cord in her teeth.
Fluttershy tried to look away, to avoid seeing yet another of her fellow bards beheaded in front of her. A guard drew his blade and pressed the flat side against her throat, forcing her eyes towards the guillotine.
Her knees buckled as she watched the preparations and heard the words of the prison’s master. Never had the yellow pegasus shook with fear as she did now. This was to be her fate the torture was wondering when she would be sent to the block. Tomorrow? Next week?
“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” the warden continued, “Pray that your name comes next on the morrow, for death is swift and painless. Life will bring you pain, the likes of which you will beg for the executioner’s blade before long.” With a nod, he signaled to the executioner, who smiled with the cord in her mouth.
With sadistic glee on her lips, the executioner pulled the cord, allowing the blade to fall. The screams of the bard were quickly silenced as the blade passed through flesh and bone like they were butter, the head rolling into the basket with a light thud.
Fluttershy froze in place. She did not know the mare personally, as many bards did not have much communication with another, but the sight of the body still standing upright, only to fall to the side, headless and bloody as the executioner lifted the wooden yoke, was enough to haunt her dreams forever. Her throat and lips were dry, despite the rain. She wanted to cry, but shock stole her tears. She wanted to shout, but horror silenced her scream.
Celestia, Luna… why did you abandon us? Fluttershy could not avert her gaze from the guillotine as she and the others were pushed into the fortress. Everything she had known, from being a bard, the memory of the General and his family, to even the trial in the morning simply ceased. All she could recall was the smile on the executioner and the sound of the blade severing the head: a fate she would soon share.
Thankfully, she was unable to see the severed head, but her imagination filled in the missing image quickly. She retched at the thought, only to be pushed into the waiting castle prison by the guards with the pommel of their swords.
The inside of the stronghold was no better than the outside. Dark and dank, the only light came from torches and candles which barely illuminated the halls of crafted stone. One by one, the bards were escorted to their cells throughout the castle, with Fluttershy being led to her cell in the upper levels. The stone was cold under her hooves, and a cold draft blew through the halls of the prison, chilling her to the bone.
The cells were worse than she imagined. Several aged prisoners were already in the tight, closed-in alcoves, many sickly and moaning either from disease or hunger, and very possibly both. The guard escorting Fluttershy pushed her into a cell with an emancipated earth pony, who weakly lifted a hoof to the guard as if begging for something to eat.
The room was cramped and smelled of rotten corpses, but at least there was a window she could look through. Unfortunately, it overlooked the courtyard and, most prominently, the guillotine. The guards mentioned that this cell was specifically requested by Justice Artistic Finish. This was a cruel “gift” for the falsely accused Bardmaster of Filais. How would she wrench herself away from the sight of the executions when they happened right outside her window?
The guard closed the door with a powerful slam, leaving Fluttershy and her sickly cellmate alone in the cold quarters. With a heavy sigh, she looked over her new accommodations. There were two small piles of straw to sleep on, with the sickly blue earth pony writhing on one. On the floor was a small bowl filled with grey gruel that appeared more like sludge than anything even remotely edible.
Fluttershy looked at the bowl and then back to her cellmate. Carefully she sat on her haunches and lifted the bowl up with both hooves towards her fellow prisoner, offering a small smile as raised the gruel to his face. Even if I’m in this awful place, Fluttershy thought as she waited for a response, I can bring some level of kindness to this place. I won’t be a monster like what Finish framed me as.
The prisoner opened one blood-shot eye, looked at the food offered him, and quickly dug in, burying his muzzle into the bowl. He ate with surprising gusto and not so surprising messiness, with portions of the gruel splashing out of the bowl and onto Fluttershy’s forelegs. The mess did not bother her; working with animals and foals made her accustomed to the sloppy eating habits.
Once he was done, the prisoner laid back against the straw stack as the yellow pegasus wiped her legs against her own bedding. As she was about to sit down and rest for the night, her cellmate coughed, then spoke in a low, raspy voice.
“What are you in for?” he asked, turning his head towards Fluttershy. The lack of proper light made it difficult to see, but she could tell that the circles under his eyes were heavy and black, trophies from years of poor sleeping habits. Fluttershy recounted the short, unfair trial and the trip to the prison, all while her new acquaintance nodded along to every word.
“Sounds about right,” he muttered, closing his eyes. “Nobles send ponies they don’t like here, not just criminals and war prisoners. Political dissidents, artists, a pony who cut them off or bought the last sweetroll they wanted. Empress fuels it all with her Game, to see who was the most intelligence or the most cunning. Filais will gut herself if they keep playing.”
“Then there are ponies like you, pawns of the Game for the players. Don’t do anything wrong, but still considered an expendable piece.” Talking sent the prisoner into another coughing fit with loud hacking from his throat causing Fluttershy to wince at the obvious pain he was in. She moved to his side and patted him, rubbing the bony back of her cellmate until he was in control of his cough again.
“If you don’t mind my asking, why are you in here?” She looked away as she asked, not wanting to offend him. He chuckled in between small coughs as he turned to contemplate the stonework of the floor.
“Officially, I’m here for murder,” he explained, “Though it was a framing, just like you. Didn’t have an alibi though… what I did commit was treason to my best friend. Couldn’t say anything at the trial because he was there, and on the night of the murder I… knew his wife. In the Chantry meaning of the word.”
Fluttershy nodded as she stepped back to her straw bed as she curled up best she could to get into a comfortable position. It was unfair for a pony to be framed for a crime he did not commit, but it seemed he had sentenced himself as much as the courts had. Every pony had their own way of judging themselves for the crimes they perceived that they had committed. All the same, they also had their own ways of punishing themselves when the guilt was great enough.
She did betray the trust of several ponies by acting as their caretaker while she was a spy. The family of General Puissant was in danger because of her. If anypony had the right to punish Fluttershy for the years of deceit, it was the General. More than anything though, all Fluttershy wanted was to see the faces of unicorns and earth ponies who trusted her and wanted her near.
“I’m sorry,” the cellmate said as he closed his eyes, “You seem like a nice pegasus. Shouldn’t be in a place like this. I’m sorry it had to end this way. Watch out for the black hood.”
Fluttershy closed her eyes as he spoke, trying to let sleep come over her. As her cellmate gave a long, drawn-out sigh, she shed more tears of sorrow for lives unfairly lost to the cruelty of ponies. Celestia and Luna protect us, she prayed, please redeem our souls. We don’t deserve this fate.
The iron door of the cell swung wide as three guards moved in. One carried his sword in his mouth and motioned for Fluttershy to move to the corner of the room. She stood still, expression blank as the two others checked on the body of her cellmate. Sure enough, they announced him dead and carried the body with little ceremony, more like a dirty old sack than a pony.
He wasn’t a bad pony; he just made a bad decision. “Wait,” Fluttershy said, only to be met by a brandished blade and a sour guard, “What about his last rites?”
“Are you joking, traitor?” ridiculed one of the guards, “Why would Celestia want any criminal like this scum to have any rites at all? Besides, we have no Chantry priestess here. None would ever come to a light forsaken place as this.”
“She’s right, though,” spoke another. “The Chantry speaks that all ponies should be treated well after death, and be sent to Celestia for judgment. He should be given his final rites, lest we take another curse upon ourselves.”
Even though she had only known her cellmate for such a short time, Fluttershy knew she had to do something for him. As they debated and all admitted not knowing the proper words of the Chant to give final rites, Fluttershy stepped forward, once again met by the hateful stares of the guards.
“I know the Chant,” she explained, “My mother taught me every morning and every night. I can help ease his passage into the Seat of the Sisters.”
The soldiers looked at one another in confusion. It must have seemed quite unusual for a known traitor to also have such intimate knowledge of the sacred text for ponies everywhere. Still, to them, it was the best and only solution they had. Stepping back to the doors, they laid the body on the ground as respectfully as they could while they waited for Fluttershy to begin the rites.
She had always found groups rather awkward, even if there were only three guards and a dead body. Still, for her new friend, Fluttershy would do the best she could. Closing her eyes and shutting out the world around her, she focused solely on her cellmate. I don’t even know your name, Fluttershy lamented, but I’ll try to give you what peace I can. It is the right thing to do. I hope you have forgiven yourself.
“…and so spoke Luna, after the deaths of a thousand ponies following her, and the deaths of the thousand ponies who served the false ones, ‘Know not fear for thy fate, for We extend Our light, forgiveness, and love to all who seek it. In this truth, lay thy fears to rest as thy body is laid to rest, for We wish harmony for all ponies who repent in their wickedness, and know that I seek to bring harmony to all under Our Sun and Moon.”
Fluttershy laid a hoof on the forehead of the deceased prisoner as she bowed her head. “Reposez en paix,” she whispered, then opened her eyes and slowly stood back from the body, so as to not alarm the guards..
“Reposez en paix,” the guards muttered back solemnly. Fluttershy could hear some hesitation in their voices, though she did not blame them. They believed what they were doing was right and in the best interests of their Empress and their nation.
“Let’s get him to the graveyard. Bury him properly.” They lifted the body much more respectfully now, the corpse being laid across the backs of two of the guards as they sidestepped out of the cell. The third guard, the one who had threatened Fluttershy with his sword earlier, stepped towards her, though did not make eye contact.
“I will speak with the prison warden,” he said, after clearing his throat, “but the dead do need their rites. Perhaps we can work out an understanding where you give their souls ease into the next world. You are still a traitor but now I… I should go.”
Fluttershy said nothing as the guard left. She looked around her empty cell, already missing the company of having another pony with her. It was awfully lonely in the cell and it no longer seemed so cramped, instead appearing too large and menacing as she heard the sound of water dripping from the cracks in the stone and falling to the floor below.
The next day, the iron door opened and the guards pushed a new pegasus mare into the cell. She was cursing at the guard in what sounded like a variety of dialects, from Filesian and Common to something sounding like the harsh language of the Yokalach. From what Fluttershy could catch, the white pegasus with the wild, stormy mane was making several lewd comments about the guards’ mothers and how much she apparently enjoyed certain bawdy activities.
“Mmm, mmm! Can’t wait to see your mothers again! Maybe I’ll do them all at the same time! Wouldn’t that make for a story?” The white pegasus laughed as the guards resisted the urge to beat her, simply yelling back as they closed the door and locked it shut. Once her laughing died down, she began to scan the room, pressing her hooves against every stone she could.
“Not here, not here, not there,” she muttered as Fluttershy moved out of her way, “This is going to be tougher than last time. Less time to do it all in as well. I do love a challenge though.” Fluttershy looked at her new cellmate, taking note of the whirlwind for a cutie mark on her flank, wondering what sort of special talent a tornado could specialize in. Her hooves were covered in large metal casings, each locked by small padlocks that rattled as she moved. Her wings were also bound by leather straps held together with their own padlock.
What stood out beyond the scars and the shackles, however, were the tattoos painted across the new prisoner’s face. Red ink marked her features, making her appear more bestial and savage. Fluttershy had heard of pegasi marking their faces with war paint, but tattoos and the application of them in such detail were the property of the Pegasi of the Eastern Dales.
Fluttershy kept her distance as the white pegasus searched the room. The dozens of scars lining her body were matched only by a few choice markings on her face. Every once in a while she would look at Fluttershy, only to scoff and begin her search anew.
“Spit and damnation, no loose stones.” Taking a deep breath, she turned to Fluttershy, eyeing the imprisoned bard with a critical eye as she moved to her haystack. She tossed herself on the bedding, still keeping watch of the yellow pegasus as she nestled herself against the hay.
Fluttershy was finding it hard keep her heart steady as it hammered her chest. This pegasus, whoever she was, looked the part of the hardened criminal who had been to La Détention Criminelle on more than one occasion. For all she knew, her new acquaintance was a real criminal who deserved to be locked up for real crimes.
Now Fluttershy, no need to make judgments so quickly, she chided herself; maybe she got those scars in an unfortunate farming accident. Or maybe she’s a political prisoner and all those scars were from a long career as a soldier, or maybe…
“Thirteen counts of murder, if you were wondering,” the white pegasus said, causing Fluttershy to squeak and hide her face under her pink mane, “At least that’s how much they know. They also only know of twenty-five counts of arson, one hundred and thirty-three counts of burglary, counterfeiting, vandalism, and impersonating a Chantry sister. That was a good time. The sisters in that chapel agreed.”
Oh Celestia and Luna on high, she is a criminal. Fluttershy turned away from the pegasus and focused all her attention on the wall. The guards had placed a dangerous offender of the law in the cell with her; what was the criminal going to do to her when she got bored? Fluttershy tried to shut out all her thoughts on the criminal and the prison, focusing on brighter memories as she heard the iron clods clang against the stone as the pegasus moved closer.
Think about the sun. The sun is nice in a bright blue sky, with only a few fluffy clouds overhead.
Oh! Don’t forget the birds flying high, with so many different coloured feathers. When they sing, they create such a lovely melody.
The flowers on the ground are nice too, with all their colours and aromas. All of the critters playing and running through the green grass like the bunnies and the…
Oh Celestia she’s coming closer, why won’t she leave me alone why won’t she turn around and just sit in her hay.
Please don’t hurt me, please don’t touch me, please just leave me alone and turn around, please please oh please…
Fluttershy looked up to find she was face to face to the white pegasus. She let out a small mewl as she stared into the grey eyes of her cellmate. The criminal opened her mouth in a wide leering grin.
“Hey there, Sunshine,” said the criminal, “I’m Twister. Looks like we’re gonna be great friends, aren’t we? We’ll be eating meals together of delicious grey slop, bunking together in piles of stingy straw under the cold oppressive stone. Real romantic like. Cuddle up real close as I figure out how to get out of here. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
Fluttershy could only tremble as she felt the breath from Twister rush to her face. This was it, then. She was going to die in prison under the guillotine but, before that, she was going to suffer the humiliation of being Twister’s plaything. There was no point in resisting or putting up a fight; she was too weak and helpless, and Twister would just hurt her more.
All she had to do was think happy thoughts, and get through each day and each night, and every morning with such a pony like Twister. All she had to do was endure, and be strong, and pray that Celestia and Luna would give her some measure of protection.
Fluttershy closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable.
Then… there was nothing. No ravaging, no pain, no force. Fluttershy opened one eye to see a rather bored Twister sitting on her haunches as she looked over one of her manacles. “Didn’t you hear me the first time? I enjoy the challenge. You? You ain’t one.” Twister plopped herself against the hay as she tapped her forelegs together, the sound of the iron clods clanging against one another, waking Fluttershy from her stupor.
It took several moments of waiting and watching Twister pout on her straw bedding for Fluttershy’s heart to stop racing. As she sat on her own straw, Fluttershy took note of the tattoos once again, seeing how they snaked down from Twister’s eyes down her neck until they ended in sharp edges across her flank, just before the whirlwind cutie mark.
“So you don’t want any but you’ll stare at my flank,” Twister commented, causing Fluttershy to blush and hide away again, “You confuse me, Sunshine.”
“It’s your tattoos,” Fluttershy replied, though barely above a mumble, “They’re… nice.”
“Dal’nel’nier,” Twister replied, “‘Markings of the Sky Ponies.’ After the Dalish Sky Kingdoms fell to the Unicorn Imperium, those free Dalish pegasi marked their bodies with ink to show they were still free from Imperium oppression. Red ink like mine means ‘warrior’.”
“So you are Dalish?” Fluttershy was legitimately curious. She had never met a Dalish pegasi before, only hearing of them from other winged ponies who wished to join them and their roving bands across the land. Fluttershy had no desire to join the Dalish, knowing they were looked upon as marauding bandits, thieves, vagrants and worse: heretics who worshipped nature and animal totems instead of the Alicorn Sisters.
On more than one occasion, battles were fought between the Dalish and armies of the nations across the world, and there was an Exalted Gallop against the Dalish shortly after the second Blight recorded in Chantry histories. That horrific event all but ended Dalish power, turning the pegasi into the migrants they were now.
To meet a Dalish like Twister seemed to only reinforce the negative stereotypes the Dalish had endured, while adding a few more, like depravity, to the list. Twister nodded as she turned to look at Fluttershy, who broke eye contact. Twister could only sigh in frustration.
“Yeah, I’m Dalish,” explained Twister, “Born and raised along with my clan, as we travelled the countryside, from Equestria to the Yokalach to Filais. Wasn’t welcome most anywhere by earth ponies. Kept calling us thieves and squatters. I guess after a while you get angry enough, and you become what you are called. Then it’s just one hop, skip and jump right off the slippery slope.”
“Do you regret anything?”
“Hay no!” Twister pounded a metal clod hoof on the ground, causing the floor to crack. She looked at the cracked floor in surprise for a moment before turning an angry look at Fluttershy. “I don’t regret a damn thing. All those ponies I made kick the bucket deserved to be. Corrupt nobles, soldiers who tried to kill me, ponies who were going to hurt my clan. Sure the Keeper didn’t like my ‘aggressive negotiations’, but I kept the clan alive and safe. No stone prison or army of Filesian soldiers is going to keep me tied down. Not for long anyways.”
It was too much to hope for, but she was going to die in the prison anyways. If Twister had a plan to escape, Fluttershy knew she had to take it. Staying here and listening to more executions of her fellow bards would prove maddening until it was her turn to face the executioner’s guillotine.
Before she could ask Twister if she even had a plan, Twister laid down on the straw matting. “Sleeping now, escape later,” she said, “You can always join me if you like. Ha!” Sighing, Fluttershy curled herself up in a ball on the straw bedding near the cell window and waited for another fitful night of sleep to come.
The warden had agreed that Fluttershy would give last rites to the executed and the deceased to ease their souls into the next life. This was fine by her, as it allowed her to leave the confines of her cell and go into the outside world. All she had to do was obey the commands of the soldiers, recite the words of the Chant, and then follow them back to her cell.
Her new duty led her right past the guillotine, and the sight of the death machine was still frightening. More often than not, the guards had to make sure she did not faint. This proved difficult thanks to the sight of the blade, the smell of freshly spilled blood, and the black hooded mare who watched Fluttershy walk past as they headed to the graveyard. Every time they passed, the executioner smiled at her with a wide, toothy grin as she sharpened a large, brutal-looking axe.
“Hey there,” she cooed on a cold morning, “Time’s running out, pretty pegasus. One little grain of sand at a time. That’s what those ponies before you are. Little grains of sand. Chop. Chop. Chop. Maybe I’ll take your pretty neck with Choppy here. Been a while since he had a nice little neck to chop.”
Fluttershy recoiled as the executioner laughed, only to be pushed towards the graveyard by the guards. They seemed just as unsettled as she was, though, with several of the guards looking back at the mare with the black hood turning away, dragging the giant axe behind her in her teeth. Having never met such a deranged pony before, Fluttershy couldn’t help but wonder how the executioner came to be, and what sort of decisions she made to become this way.
After reciting the last rites to yet another executed bard and watching his remains become buried in an unmarked grave, Fluttershy was escorted from the path back to the prison by two new guards she did not recognize. Instead of returning to her cell, they took her behind a wooden shed. Without another word, they struck her with heavy armoured hooves.
No pony could have been ready to receive a beating then and there. Unready for the strikes, Fluttershy crumpled to her knees, sobbing as each hit caused another bruise, another open wound. They kicked dirt in her face as they laughed, their accents thick with the tongue from Pura Raza.
“This is a message from Artistic Finish,” sneered one of her assailants, “You are going to die here, slowly and painfully. We are here to make sure of that.”
For well over ten minutes the beatings continued. Thankfully that was all they did, and Fluttershy was strangely grateful they were not the creative kinds of torturers. They forced her back to her hooves and marched her back to the cells. Every time she fell, they beat her more until she became almost unconscious from the pain. She did not make it to the first staircase.
Fluttershy awoke in her cell a short while later, with several rags tied as bandages around her wounds. One of her eyes was covered in cloth, and her body ached all over. She looked up to see the concerned look of Twister, still dressing her wounds with red poultice.
“They gave half a bottle, and I’m pretty sure the stuff is older than I am,” Twister explained. “Did what I could. Had to cut up some of your clothes to make bandages. Hope you don’t mind. Nice legs by the way.”
Too weak to protest, Fluttershy turned away from her cellmate instead of talking to her further. She had never been spoken to like that by anypony, especially not a crass mare like Twister. Sure, there were the catcalls by drunken ponies who had lost their wits in wine jugs and tankards of Equestrian cider, but she could ignore those stallions and move on quickly. Having wings helped, even if she was not the strongest flyer.
This was just too close for comfort and entirely inappropriate. Granted, so was the giant guillotine that she was doomed to face. All Fluttershy could hope for was facing the executioner with some sort of dignity, but Twister kept challenging that every day and every night.
“How do you do it?” Twister looked over at Fluttershy, who in turn directed her good eye back to the scarred pegasus. “How do you keep being so meek and nice to everypony in a hellhole like this? Ponies who come here either go mad, give up on their lives, or become hardened. You? You go out and give last rites, then get beaten. Not once have I heard you complain. Not once have I seen you get mad at the guards, at me, at the world, at Celestia, anypony!”
“No use getting mad at something I can’t change,” Fluttershy replied, “They are not bad ponies. They just make bad decisions. I can’t be mad at the world. Maybe somewhere there is a place where life is peaceful and happy, but that’s not the fault of the world, just the ponies who make those bad decisions. I can’t be mad at Celestia either. She left ponies to make their own decisions, good or bad. She has no hoof in our lives, because she wants us to grow on our own.”
“They hurt you!”
“I know.” Fluttershy sighed as she looked up to the ceiling of their cell. “I forgive them. If I lash out at them, if I get hateful and hurt them, I’m just helping the cycle. Somepony has to stop the hurt.”
Twister looked away, contemplating the masonry of the floor before speaking again. For whatever reason she could not place, Fluttershy found the silence more awkward than whenever the lewd mare spoke. “Are you afraid of death?”
“Yes. I don’t want to die.” Fluttershy bit her bottom lip as memories of death announced themselves in full force. It was painful to remember, yet the pain eased away, as she felt comfortable talking about it with Twister. “I saw what happened to my mother during the plague in Filais ten years ago, when we lived in the pegasi alienage. She was in constant pain and delirium. I was with her every night, with no help from healers who were already overtaxed from helping the city’s earth ponies. What was one pegasus worth to them? I tried to bring her Luna’s Tears flowers every day. They were her favourite, and she always smiled when I brought them to her.”
“Then one day I came back home, and she was gone. No pony would tell me what happened. Some say that some corpse wagons came by and other pegasi in the alienage loaded her onto the cart. Others said she got up and left, not wanting me to see her suffer anymore. I don’t know what to believe, but I am very afraid of death. Of suffering.”
Fluttershy remembered the plague all too well. How it hit the alienage the hardest, reducing pegasi numbers in the capital city drastically. Several pegasi, she included, were somehow immune to the plague. Some said it was the work of the ponyspawn, others placed blame on dragon worshippers trying to attack the spiritual capital of the Chantry. Whatever the reason, Fluttershy did not care. Her mother died and she did not, and she was powerless to prevent it.
It was for this reason that a young filly off the streets made her way to the bard society, and found herself under the tutelage of Artistic Finish. Fate, as random and unpredictable as it was, had a sadistic streak when she looked back in hindsight.
Twister remained silent as Fluttershy closed her eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep away the aches and pains of the day. Her body screamed for some sort of respite, and she was going to comply, even if her legs burned and her stomach felt like it was simultaneously performing backflips and somersaults.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little flank, Sunshine,” Twister said, though Fluttershy was barely listening, “We’ll get out of here. Maybe I deserve to be locked up, but you don’t.”
Fluttershy tried to stay awake as Twister spoke, but the pain from the beating was too much, and her consciousness was slipping. As Fluttershy closed her eyes, she could hear Twister speak one last time.
“Fal’aniel du masare, Fluttershy. I’ll get you out of here.” | English | NL | 172c7ea00dba95d748d8319f672955f7ee7abc0295843420db3acd6bddacd342 |
The Searat Shows her Chops (open)
((Righto, here's a little dealio to test drive my new searat character. I'd like to point out that despite the location, this fight is equally open to woodlanders as it is to other vermin. Please don't smack me with any exceptionally powerful characters, thanks. Vorna was made to be a highly competent vermin warrior, not to take on wolverines or badger lords or great raptor birds and the like. Thanks.))
The seedy bar, catering to anyone mean enough to enter and tough enough to handle the poisonously cheap grog, was hardly without its history of fights and bloodshed- to be frank, brawls happened at least twice a week, and serious duels were far from uncommon. Vorna Scarclaw knew this, of course, but didn't let it deter her- she fit in with this rough crowd and almost nowhere else, and even if the grog was terrible, at least it was cheap and there was lots of it. Blowing on the bowl of indeterminate stew before her while her horribly scared right arm firmly clutched the tankard of grog (as if expecting imminent attempts at theft), the burly searat attempted to concentrate on her repast and not on her simmering anger from the day, that threatened to boil over and would be assuaged only by choking it with food and a well-deserved stiff drink. That became difficult with the arrival of a near-drained tankard that sailed through the air to clonk the back of her head, spilling grog dregs on her tunic. With an impetuous roar, she stormed up, hurling her chair aside and slamming the table with a clawed fist as her scarred arm reached for her cutlass' hilt.
"Arright then yeh pile of inbred, flea-bitten, knock-need, frog-fondlin' cowards, which o' ye's got a deathwish!"
ooc- I thought I'd try something incredibly unconventional here.
bic- A random grinning stoat suddenly stood and and started waving his arms. "I do! I do! Pick me! Over here!"
Whatever his intentions, either he was extremely unwise, or crazy, or he knew something that the rat didn't. Maybe it was all of the afore mentioned. Whatever the case, things didn't look so good for him anymore.
ooc- I you want me to delete this, or if you had something specific in mind for this thread and I just messed it up, just say so. lol
With a snort, Vorna stomped over to the stoat, who she pegged as being unable to handle his grog. Drawing her cutlass with a dramatic ring of steel, she flourished it and seemed about ready to strike, a blow fit to cleave a beast in two judging by her burly frame and expert grip. At the last second however, she shifted as if appearing to reconsider, and instead punched out- sending a punishing knockout blow from the cutlass' heavy brass basket hilt soaring right towards the grinning stoat's face. Fight finisher or not, that should wipe the stupid expression off his gob… Teach him a lesson in manners, too.
The stoat's eyes went wide the instant before the brass cutlass hilt caught him a hefty blow to the snout. He flipped backwards and landed belly-first on a small table directly behind. The table gave way, crashing to the floor and spilling several tankards of ale.
The burly and not comparably intelligent-looking crowd on vermin stood up, shouting curses and drawing their swords all at once. The stoat on the floor lifted his head slightly, just enough for the group to see he silly grin return before his face fell into a bowl of soup.
Finch calmly took a sip from his tankard, which he just managed to save. "Keep your tempers in check, ladies. He is a friend of mine, after all." The remarkable young ferret turned to Vorna and winked. "That goes for you, too, Brunhilda. Nice punch, though."
Vorna snorted at the cocky ferret in front of her and sheathed her cutlass. She wasn't old, but she was old enough that Finch came across as an impudent child. "Poor choice in friends, then, if they go down so easy. An' my name's Vorna Scarclaw; call me 'Brunhilda' again and I'll give yeh the same lesson I gave t'yer buddy." Striding over to the adjacent table, she booted a drunken rat out of his chair and promptly sat down in his place, resting her booted feet on the head of the unconscious stoat. "Unless you were th' one witha deathwish?" the searat asked flatly, sipping the grog of the rat she'd displaced.
"I'd say sorry, but that would be lying."
At Vorna's second question, Finch shrugged. "Nah, I wouldn't have wasted a tankard of grog like that. Even as poor as it was." He lifted his tankard slightly. "See? Still got mine. It wasn't me. It wasn't the stoat, either, but it doesn't look as though that is a fact that will change his state much." He turned his back on her and walked over the broken table, then stepped over the fallen stoat. He resisted the urge to kick Vorna's paws out of the way and sat down in his own seat.
"Out of curiosity, Vorna," The ferret made a point of getting it right this time. "What's a searat doing this far inland?"
The stoat under Vorna's footpaws groaned as Finch stretched out his own paws, making similar use of the downed vermin.
"What a searat's doing inland's her business, but let's say she was a lot better at not drowning than some cowards thought she'd be, and leave it at that." Stomping the head of the stoat with her boot, she chuckled as his cut-off groan and turned to the ferret beside her. "So where'd you dig this worthless trouble-borrowing garbage up? Hired expendable on some caper you've got a mind to?"
Finch shrugged. "Perhaps. He's dumb enough to follow my orders, but smart enough to sometimes be helpful. But, as I have no right to your business, you likewise have no right to mine. So I will leave to caper-question unanswered."
He settled back in his chair in an -overly-relaxed fashion. "So, you obviously ran on some ill-fortune, by the look so it. I have a lot to offer. Mainly, I'm a tradesbeast, a mercenary or assassin. Or strategist, if there's difference. I'm in a position to help you in whatever ways you need, if you are interested. Name it, and I can do it, for a price."
ooc- Sorry I took a while getting back to you on this | English | NL | c6e156a1cb1a4b4759abb80d84ba906c318ef332af13d4747569f705935d3e7b |
The New Yorker, July 15, 1974 P. 62
A CAIRO GIRLHOOD about writer's adolescence, spent in Egypt, where her Jewish family moved in 1937. They, lived in Zamalek, & the writer went to secondary school there. The chief language among foreigners was French; describes an evening at the Comedie Francaise. Tells about the reception at the Egyptian Officers Club for the Crown Prince of Iran on his engagement to Fawzia, King Farouk's sister. Writer still has a small gold coin from the handfuls that Farouk threw like confetti during his sister's wedding ceremony. Describes the position of most women, for whom the primary obligation was beauty, the second money, with education last. This was not the writer's upbringing, & although WW II prevented her from studying abroad, she attended Fuad-el-Awal Univ. in Cairo, then the American Univ there. She took private lessons in Arabic. Her parents had been born in Palestine, of Zionist pioneering families, & held open house for Palestinian Jewish soldiers who had joined the British against Hitler. Writer's brother brought home friends from Cambridge, including John Kendrew & Aubrey Eban (later to be her husband). The children of Misrahy Pasha, the King's lawyer, were also family friends. Later the Pasha took refuge in France, after his property was taken away. Some of the many refugees from that period cannot bear to talk about what happened to the Jews in Egypt, others remember the luxury & pleasure of life then. Some recall the feeling of bright promise when young Prince Farouk was called back to Egypt after his father's death, in 1936. | English | NL | c5451e7a2301138d5665903dc98b3d2ffce3c801bf1835caca0815988838ad4a |
Leckford Primitive Methodist, Hants
Built in 1872
George Wallis was appointed by the Primitive Methodist Shefford Circuit (Shefford is now Great Shefford, near Newbury) to undertake evangelism in the Andover area, beginning in the spring of 1833. Leckford was one of the villages where he preached.
George Watts was born in Leckford, Hampshire, on 2nd January 1815. He was converted at the age of 18 under the Primitive Methodists at Leckford, in the year 1833, and immediately began to engage in public prayer and exhortation. Very soon he became a local preacher, most of his preaching being in the open air. He entered the regular ministry in 1836, and began to preach nearly every night, and visited from house to house. On Sundays he often walked 15 to 20 miles and preached three or four times. In 1851 he left England as an evangelist to Australia, with his wife and three infant children.
This chapel was built in 1872. | English | NL | f4af4b26901e661fd580445912cb2490aafd76800ae41e39c87ff2e347a07e86 |
Ruskin Park, the newest of all the parks, is not very far from Camberwell, and has been formed of a cluster of houses, with grounds of their own, on Denmark Hill, known as the Sanders' Estate. The name, which has an "Art Nouveau" sound about it, and raises an expectation of something beautiful, was given to it because John Ruskin for many years lived in the neighbourhood. From 1823, when he was four, to 1843, his home was 28 Herne Hill, and there he wrote "Modern Painters." From then until 1871 he lived even nearer the present Park, at 163 Denmark Hill. Describing the house, Ruskin wrote of it: "It stood in command of seven acres of healthy ground... half of it meadow sloping to the sun- rise, the rest prudently and pleasantly divided into an upper and lower kitchen - garden; a fruitful bit of orchard, and chance inlets and outlets of wood walk, opening to the sunny path by the field, which was gladdened on its other side in springtime by flushes of almond and double peach blossom." Such might have been the description of the houses and grounds now turned into a park. Some of the lines of the villa gardens have been retained, and some wise and necessary additions and changes have been made to bring the whole together; but even the inspiration of Ruskin has not kept out the inevitable edges and backbones of uninteresting evergreens. Some of the green-houses have been kept, but six dwellings have been demolished, and one of the two retained will be used as a refreshment room. The outside wall of the garden front of one, covered with wistaria, has been left, facing its own little terrace and lawn and cedars, and soon after the opening, in February 1907, many people found it was possible to get sun and shelter and enjoy the prospect from the seats in front of the ruined drawing-room windows. The dividing wall of two houses has been cleverly turned into what will be a charming pergola, and below, the ground has been levelled to form a bowling-green. The terraces and steps from one level to another are a pleasing feature in the design. The ground is not yet finished, and it is greatly to be hoped that the usual clumps of evergreens will not be multiplied, but Ruskin's description borne in mind, and let there be almonds and double peaches to gladden the spring, and not drooping, smutty evergreens, or "ever blacks," as they might be more fittingly called, to jar on the picture of fresh young growth. The pond, a stiff oval, has had to have the necessary iron railings, and the trees near it have been substantially barricaded with rustic seats-a most important addition. The avenue of chestnuts which crosses the open part of the ground has been left; and there are other good young trees growing up, and a fine old ilex and mulberry. There is already a question of adding a further 12 acres to this Park, which is 24 acres at present, but the scheme is still under consideration. | English | NL | e192b9922a95f5970c8dd7332dff5bae6180bdae07d05cf8c74a46a74e7440dd |
Pritchett’s early life was rich in the juxtapositions of banality and oddity which characterize his fiction. His father was a con man and Christian Scientist, and Treglown suggests that Pritchett’s talent for storytelling owed something to his father’s habits of fabulism. Certainly his father was the source of much of his best material. As a child, Pritchett moved often because of his father’s debts; as an adult, to write travel pieces and avoid his own. In midlife, with expanding success, he had affairs while his wife typed his manuscripts and drank. Treglown is an enthusiastic and scrupulous biographer, although much of Pritchett’s long life was so uneventful that only Pritchett, you feel, could have made it dramatic.♦
The Gall of Ghislaine Maxwell
Denmark Offers to Buy U.S.
No Wonder the Economy Has Trump Spooked
Annals of the Former World | English | NL | b48c0dfe0cfeff8cd7f110c990cdf2ec62c5767f662ec597935571d24e0907e4 |
DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE:
DISEÑO DE UNA ESTRATEGIA DE AGRICULTURA URBANA CONSIDERANDO SU IMPACTO SOCIO-AMBIENTAL
[English version]
Introducción
A continuación se presenta el desarrollo del proyecto "Diseño de una estrategia para la implementación de programas de agricultura urbana considerando su impacto socio-ambiental". Comparación de experiencias en Tomé (Chile), Niagara (Canadá) y Rosario (Argentina).
Este proyecto ha sido cofinanciado por la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA), y las instituciones ejecutoras Environmental Policy Institute (EPI)- Brock University Canadá , el Centro de Educación y Tecnología (CET), Chile, el Centro de Estudios Ambientales (CEAV) Fac. de Cs. Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR); y el Centro de Desarrollo Rural (Fac. Cs. Agrarias/ UNR) a partir de diciembre de 1997.
Su implementación ha permitido producir un intercambio entre las instituciones participantes tanto como con los pobladores beneficiarios del proyecto. Esto ha originado la posibilidad de reflexionar a la luz de su ejecución en torno al tema del Desarrollo Sustentable y su dimensión local .
El trabajo posibilitó construir un canal de diálogo entre la disponibilidad de información al respecto y el contexto espacio-temporal característico de las manifestaciones locales de la problemática de la pobreza. La participación de los pobladores involucrados es considerada un motor interno del proyecto que fundamenta el desarrollo de alternativas exógenas. La autogestión determina la expectativa de éxito respecto a los objetivos planteados.
1.- El contexto.
La atención a los problemas emergentes de la pobreza en vastos sectores de las ciudades de América es una preocupación que exige tratamiento prioritario desde diferentes estamentos de la sociedad.
La entrega de alimentos o elementos a modo de respuesta a esa situación, ha constituído tradicionalmente uno de los mecanismos más aplicados con vistas a contener las necesidades insatisfechas de dichos grupos sociales, configurando un esquema de asistencialismo, cada vez mas arraigado en los diseños de políticas sociales a corto plazo y con escasa participación de los interesados, que en la mayor parte de las veces quedan relegados a una situación pasiva de recibir.
La inmediatez de la demanda induce a la adopción de ese tipo de respuesta coyuntural, que no constituye la solución del problema estructural, sin duda complejo y de origen multifactorial.
El desarrollo de estrategias alternativas constituye un desafío que se contempla en el presente proyecto que pretende detectar y evaluar la validez de indicadores de orden económicos, sociales y ambientales conducentes a comparar la mayor efectividad y eficiencia de programas de agricultura urbana respecto a los tradicionales programas asistencialistas.
Debe considerarse que ante la posibilidad de efectuar tareas de tipo productivo, los pobladores manifiestan predisposición favorable, lo que induce a repensar el tipo de asistencia a brindar en el sentido de reorientar los recursos disponibles a los efectos de desarrollar potencialidades que eventualmente quedan enmascaradas e frente a la situación pasiva de ser solamente un "receptor".
En tal sentido, la agricultura urbana constituye una alternativa para amplios sectores de bajos recursos en muchas ciudades. En particular, Latinoamérica posee numerosas experiencias al respecto. ++Cuando los proyectos de agricultura urbana son encarados desde un enfoque amplio (interinstitucional), interdisciplinario y sistémico, pueden transformarse en una poderosa herramienta para el desarrollo local . El caso de la ciudad de Tomé en Chile es un claro ejemplo de esto: partiendo de la idea de atender a la seguridad alimentaria de la población de bajos recursos, se llegó a un proyecto de desarrollo urbano sustentable
Desde las reuniones preparatorias para la reunión en Río de Janeiro(Brasil) de la llamada Cumbre de la Tierra de 1992, el desarrollo sustentable se viene constituyendo en una alternativa respecto a enfoques tradicionales en numerosas disciplinas. Las publicaciones: Nuestro Futuro Común+ y el Informe de La Haya+ marcan hitos en este sentido, en cuanto han constituido documentos que caracterizan los lineamientos fundamentales de esta nueva corriente de pensamiento.
El desafío que enfrentan la mayoría de los países de A. Latina es la implementación de los compromisos contraídos en la Cumbre de Río, como por ejemplo la Agenda 21, tanto a escala nacional como a nivel local.
En un contexto como el actual, con una crisis financiera a escala global, donde la figura del Estado-Nación es cada vez más borrosa, la brecha que separa a los más ricos de los más pobres es cada vez mayor; algunos autores imaginan a las ciudades como los núcleos donde deben surgir nuevas alianzas estratégicas para el diseño de políticas innovadoras.+
Según el Grupo de Lisboa, estas alianzas deben surgir del consenso entre las autoridades municipales, los científicos e intelectuales, representantes de las pymes, instituciones intermedias, y las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entre otros actores sociales.
Es desde este enfoque, donde se lleva adelante la ejecución de este proyecto, intentando demostrar que los recursos destinados a impulsar la organización comunitaria, la participación, y el fortalecimiento de las iniciativas locales; pueden iniciar procesos de desarrollo sustentable.
2.- Impactos logrados en agricultura orgánica urbana.
Se cuenta hoy con información de distintos lugares del mundo, donde se encuentran en marcha proyectos de agricultura urbana, pero son muy pocos los casos donde se encuentran analizados y sistematizados los resultados.
La experiencia desarrollada por el CET en Chile, en espacios de alrededor de los 60m2 en las que se puede producir con tecnología orgánica, hortalizas, frutas, huevos, carne de ave, carne de conejo y elaborar pan , demuestra que familias en condiciones de pobreza logran satisfacer niveles crecientes de nutrientes al año.
Desde otro punto de vista la propuesta de seguridad alimentaria ha significado una contribución a las estrategias económicas tradicionales de las familias que permiten superar su pobreza. Estudios realizados por el CET, demuestran que estrategias de seguridad alimentaria asociadas a iniciativas microempresariales contribuyen crecientemente en el tiempo al mejoramiento del ingreso per cápita. Durante un primer año de implementación del modelo, el aporte alcanza sólo al 3,2%, sin embargo a partir del tercer año comienza a tener mayor significación (21,3%) constituyendo al octavo año un tercio (31,6%) de los ingresos. De esta manera, la estrategia posibilita que una familia reduzca su pobreza en un 35,7% entre el tercer y octavo año.
Todas estas acciones se han desarrollado produciendo sustentabilidad de los sistemas productivos urbanos, lo cual es evidenciable a través de la medición de los indicadores de impacto utilizados como índice de diversidad, cambios ocurridos en el suelo, erosión y reciclaje.
En otro sentido, el desarrollo de este tipo de proyectos impacta favorablemente en los cambios de condición y posición de la mujer, favoreciendo la participación, el afecto, la creación, la identidad y la autonomía. Crea un espacio para el desarrollo individual y familiar a través de la actividad productiva individual o grupal, favorece los vínculos con la comunidad y además eficientiza la aprehensión de conocimientos a través del intercambio de experiencias.
3.- El proyecto desarrollado.
3.1.- La situación del Barrio Empalme Graneros.
Para la implementación de las unidades demostrativas y experiencia a campo se decidió escoger un amplio sector de la ciudad de Rosario, en el barrio "Empalme Graneros", que ha sido uno de los espacios urbanos de esta ciudad que se constituyó en polo de atracción para innumerables familias de otras zonas de nuestro país, y países limítrofes, que pauperizadas en sus lugares de origen optan por trasladarse a las grandes ciudades en busca de mejores perspectivas que en general no se concretan.
De este modo, este gran espacio que hace alrededor de 10 años era un descampado a las orillas del arroyo Ludueña, se fué poblando paulatinamente, llegando hoy a percibirse los primeros problemas derivados de la presión y deterioro de su suelo. Sin embargo constituye un asentamiento con cierta disponibilidad de terrenos que permiten instalar pequeños emprendimientos productivos, a diferencia de otros asentamientos de esta misma ciudad en el que prevalecen el hacinamiento extremo y la falta de espacio alarmante. Son numerosas las familias que tienen un origen rural, del N-E Argentino (Chaco y Corrientes).
Desde su origen, aproximadamente del año 1990, el barrio se fue formando en diferentes etapas con colonización progresiva desde las tierras mas habitables hacia los bajos inundables de la costa del arroyo. Estos constituian vaciaderos informales de basura, lo que requirió un arduo trabajo de limpieza, relleno y nivelación efectuado manualmente con notable esfuerzo por parte de los nuevos habitantes.
Este proceso, desde su inicio fue acompañado por el Departamento de Huertas Comunitarias de la Municipalidad de Rosario, el Pro-Huerta INTA, y otras instituciones públicas y privadas. Se desarrollaron huertas familiares y grupales, se organizó un comedor comunitario y numerosas actividades tendientes a promover la organización comunitaria que desembocaron en la materialización del actual Centro Comunitario 17 de Agosto.
Este Centro constituyó la herramienta que permitió canalizar distintas inquietudes de la comunidad tales como: el Centro de Salud. Iluminación para uso particular y público, el ordenamiento para el uso del espacio urbano, etc.
En la actualidad aunque de difícil mensura, la zona del barrio que abarca este proyecto, constituye un conjunto de viviendas en las que viven unas 5000 personas.
El presente trabajo pretende sumergirse en el conocimiento de esa problemática, considerando su organización social, capacidad de liderazgo y de la posibilidad de intervención de los pequeños espacios existentes a través de tecnología de base orgánica.
3.2.- El modelo de desarrollo propuesto.
La implementación de la estrategia de agricultura urbana se enmarca en el desarrollo de iniciativas que mejoren la condición económica, es decir el ingreso, sin descuidar aspectos relacionados a la seguridad alimentaria de los mismos. Por lo tanto se desarrollan experiencias que generen productos comercializables y productos para el consumo. Dado el nivel de precariedad de las condiciones de vida de los pobladores, obliga a una intervención que arroje resultados en plazos relativamente inmediatos. Para esto se desarrollan experiencias probadas y exitosas que tengan posibilidades de enfrentar el mercado con tecnologías orgánicas que constituyen una alternativa desde el punto de vista comercial tendiente a cubrir franjas del mercado que los sistemas tradicionales dejan vacantes.
Este primer eje económico debe incluir la participación activa de los pobladores de manera que desarrollen capacidades asociadas a la gestión económica y ecológica.
La sustentabilidad del proceso también dependerá de lo que pase con las personas. En este sentido se privilegia un segundo eje sobre desarrollo humano y social. El desarrollo humano de cada participante será producto de la capacidad del proyecto de estimular la identidad, la capacidad de creación, la autonomía y al mismo tiempo se generen espacios afectivos. El desarrollo social será el producto del crecimiento de capacidades que permitan consolidar una organización con capacidad para llevar a cabo sus propios proyectos, de aprender de los mismos y de elaborar nuevas propuestas.
En la medida que este proceso cuente con una participación activa de los pobladores y arroje resultados exitosos en cada uno de los proyectos desarrollados , permitirá observar cambios sostenidos en la condición material y al mismo tiempo producir cambios significativos en su posición social y económica. Se considera que las soluciones en tal sentido deberán emerger de los factores internos determinantes del cambio con carácter permanente. El andamiaje exógeno deberá en consecuencia considerarse como un elemento circunstancial que facilite aquel proceso en la gente, además de evitar que se genere dependencia.
En la Figura se explicitan estos contenidos e indicando la acción de este proyecto en el cuadrante del desarrollo humano y sustentable.
3.3.- Los objetivos planteados en el proyecto.
El proyecto ha planteado obtener un modelo operacional que permita su implementación en los estados miembros de la OEA, aplicable a la superación de pobreza crítica, atendiendo principalmente a las relaciones entre el contexto social, el género y el ambiente, mediante la evaluación de tres experiencias de agricultura urbana(AU) que ya se encuentran en desarrollo en distintos países de América.
En este sentido interesa desarrollar cuatro aspectos:
3.4.- Sobre el método.
El proyecto contempla el desarrollo de diferentes aspectos ligados al intercambio de experiencias entre lugares con realidades diferentes que motorizan la extrapolación de tecnologías y la unificación de criterios generales con adaptaciones a cada realidad local.
Como sitio para la ejecución a campo de las experiencias a llevar a cabo con la comunidad, se escogió el barrio denominado "Empalme Graneros" de la zona Norte de la ciudad de Rosario.
En el mismo se restablecieron los vínculos con la comunidad, que conocían antecedentes de trabajo en común con profesionales del presente proyecto y otros. Se procedió al desarrollo de mecanismos para favorecer la organización social tendiente a la implementación de tareas de entrenamiento y formación de recursos humanos que permitan fortalecer la capacidad de los habitantes del asentamiento.
Desde el punto de vista técnico se establecieron líneas de trabajo basadas en el conocimiento propio de la gente y el asesoramiento de los profesionales en un mecanismo de intercambio de experiencias conducentes al fortalecimiento de los vínculos por medio del conocimiento de técnicas a ser desarrolladas en conjunto persiguiendo objetivos comunes. A tal efecto se fortalecieron los trabajos existentes, se reorientaron o comenzaron diferentes tareas en: huertas grupales e individuales, vivero de plantas aromáticas y medicinales, plantines varios, y prácticas de lombricultura para el tratamiento de residuos y producción de humus.
Para el intercambio de experiencias se adoptaron las modalidades de charlas abiertas, talleres, instancias de entrenamiento y traslados entre lugares de trabajo para el intercambio de experiencias tanto entre los profesionales como con miembros de la comunidad.
. En tal sentido, la vinculación entre instituciones y personas se utilizó como herramienta para el trabajo de capacitación tanto a nivel de los grupos de trabajo de los tres países intervinientes como entre los profesionales, los líderes comunitarios y la comunidad, en un camino de doble circulación de la información.
La complementación con actividades anexas afines tales como la construcción de hornos para el mejor aprovechamiento de lo producido, manejo del recurso agua, uso de especies alternativas y desarrollo de mecanismos de comercialización constituye un eslabón entre las actividades productivas y el enfoque ambiental.
Otro aspecto de este ultimo enfoque, se desarrolla a través de la introducción en la comunidad del manejo de computadoras para el acceso a información. Para ello se dispuso la compra de equipos y la implementación de (en principio) cursos de formación que fueron dirigidos básicamente a los jóvenes que son quienes poseen mayor inquietud y apertura para este tipo de actividades, aunque se espera, como en el resto de los componentes del proyecto, que se constituyan en multiplicadores de la experiencia dentro de su comunidad.
3.5.- Los primeros resultados.
Si bien el proyecto se encuentra aún en ejecución, resulta posible enumerar los resultados de las etapas cumplidas.
3.6.- Discusión.
Resulta posible afirmar que la experiencia desarrollada dentro del marco de este proyecto conduce a nuevos horizontes para el tratamiento de problemas sociales como los descritos.
La activa participación de la comunidad no sólo en el hacer, el producir, sino también en lo que respecta al diseño de lo que se debe hacer, la formulación del proyecto mas adecuado, e inclusive la toma de decisiones en uno u otro sentido, otorga a las personas una posibilidad de reconocer las propias capacidades y limitaciones para encontrar instancias de capacitación que constituyan una vía de entrada a la superación de los problemas irresueltos.
La orientación hacia formas alternativas de producción ha constituido una herramienta de valor para introducir el concepto de sustentabilidad que además induce a efectuar planificaciones a mediano y largo plazo.
El enfoque interdisciplinario constituye un elemento prioritario para el desarrollo de este tipo de propuestas que involucran múltiples factores de realidades tan complejas.
La introducción de conceptos relacionados al sostenimiento y cuidado del ambiente favorecen el mejoramiento del entorno induciendo a la comunidad a efectuar mejoras en terreno que se reflejan en un mejoramiento de la calidad de vida general.
La difusión de los resultados del presente proyecto, para ser tomados como elemento de discusión y/o análisis para su aplicación en otros puede ser una vía de entrada para el abordaje de esta problemática generalizada, tomada desde otro enfoque.
volver / return | Spanish | NL | 99fb5c87bc6a2e7d527de4516c684d1817692c21c0bc78dd7112eff2b8d23ec0 |
Escape to Canadá para ver online en la videoteca de Cannabis y más.
Escape to Canada (2005) de Albert Nerenberg es un documental ligeramente distinto a los demás por su valor sociológico y por aunar distintas controversias morales. Nerenberg es un reputado director de cine independiente que crea películas con el fin de mostrar la estupidez humana y en esta cinta crea una comparativa entre los avances políticos de Canadá y USA. Mientras el primero -durante el año 2003- legaliza los matrimonios homosexuales y el uso de la marihuana; el segundo emprende una guerra absurda contra los países islámicos por la explotación del petróleo, amén de otras consideraciones como el atraso social de este continente. Una escapada hacia Canadá puede ser el bálsamo perfecto para un tipo inconformista.
Info obtenida en Monstruos invisibles.
Versión en inglés. | Spanish | NL | 5a13cd71ac176ce1f530ba342a0dd7256358db95cced4951070e00ceda901b67 |
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La mente de Quentin Tarantino, ganador del Oscar por mejor guión original, es desbocada, irreverente y trasgresora. Hablar con él sobre su obra es parecido a subirse a una montaña rusa: lo único seguro al final del camino es el asombro. Práctico en sus respuestas y de singular sentido del humor, Tarantino habla sobre su nueva aventura Django Unchained, una cinta que se adentra en las entrañas de uno de los géneros favoritos del cineasta: El Spaguetti Western, el cine de vaqueros y pistoleros que vivió sus mejores glorias en los años sesenta.
Una constante en tu obra es el sentimiento de venganza. Django Unchained cuenta la revancha de un esclavo (Jamie Foxx) al querer recuperar a su esposa (Kerry Washington) de las manos del terrateniente (Leonardo DiCaprio). ¿Por qué esa fijación?
El germen inicial de la idea de esta cinta consistía en contar la vida de un esclavo que se convierte en un cazador de recompensas y luego se va de capataz que se esconde en las plantaciones. Primero era un esclavo común, pero luego se continuó revelándose ante mí con mayor personalidad hasta que creció como un héroe. La cuestión de la venganza es un tema que abordo en Kill Bill o Inglorious Bastards, es algo inconsciente. En cada una de esas cintas la venganza es diferente, en una es colectiva y en otra es muy personal. La venganza viene acompañada de una traición, de una injuria o una violación. Siempre me han fascinado las historias de venganza porque tienen referencias filosóficas y sociales muy profundas y antiguas. Los mejores relatos de la historia y de la imaginación provienen de proverbios como “ojo por ojo”, “la ley del talión” y cosas por el estilo. La historia de la humanidad reside en la traición y venganza.
Esta cinta tiene los elementos de esa lucha interna entre el bien y el mal, de la víctima y el victimario, pero también es una analogía del racismo en Estados Unidos, ¿no crees?
No puede ser más espeluznante de lo que sucede en la vida real. Es una historia más surrealista de lo que puede lograr la vida real. Es imposible pensar en el dolor y el sufrimiento que ha pasado en este país, por lo que es perfecto para una interpretación del género Spaghetti Western. La realidad encaja en el mayor lienzo que te puedas imaginar para esta historia.
Ignorancia, odio, racismo, venganza, muerte, parece un círculo que nunca acaba.
Abordé el tema dentro del mismo género Western. Era una línea muy delgada entre esa parte emocional y de memoria de una sociedad con lo violento y sanguinario que puede ser. Traté de abordar el tema con un toque de acción y humor con el fin de hacerlo menos solemne y violento.
¿Qué es lo que te atrajo de Jamie Foxx para convertirlo en un sanguinario vaquero?
Fue simplemente increíble, Jamie entendió la historia desde la primera vez que se la mostré. Debía de ser un tipo rudo, poco piadoso y con esos ojos hambrientos de venganza. Es un actor increíble y se ve perfecto para el personaje. No es un vaquero cualquiera, es temerario y poco predecible en su papel. Cuando lo vi enfundado en él, pude ver a un Jamie dueño de la situación. Él se ve bien en un caballo, y no le pide nada a otros famosos vaqueros blancos de la historia del cine.
¿Cuál es el futuro para Kill Bill 3?
No hay nada seguro, a pesar de todos los rumores en Internet. El personaje de la hija de Vivica A. Fox debe de alcanzar la mayoría de edad para vengarse de Uma (Thurman). Es una historia que necesita madurar y replantear algunas ideas. | Spanish | NL | afa47ec5267e80e6ea6167089d1a44c92b17fc784daf3f4b19c0a6cf1d146cca |
viernes, 17 de agosto de 2012
viernes, 27 de julio de 2012
lunes, 23 de julio de 2012
sábado, 19 de mayo de 2012
viernes, 18 de mayo de 2012
Autores varios. Las mil caras del monstruo. Sevilla, Bracket Cultura, 2012. Edición y prólogo de Ana Casas. 168 pp.
martes, 15 de mayo de 2012
jueves, 10 de mayo de 2012
Miguel Ángel Vallejo. La elefanta Flor conoce a la elefanta Phūla. Lima, Ediciones Altazor, 2012. 112 pp.
Miguel Ángel plantea, sobre la base de un conjunto de conocimientos y prejuicios que el lector —grande o chico— maneja acerca de los elefantes, una historia relativamente verosímil y tan fantasiosa como imaginativa sobre cómo superar una pesada enemistad. La elefanta Flor, que habla y razona con un nivel muy sobre el promedio que el de un político de esos que llegan a calentar asientos a nuestro Congreso, tiene el don de transformarse voluntariamente en flor, y presenta, además, la graciosa particularidad de decir «nu» en lugar de «no». Una historia para niños debe encantar a su público objetivo justamente por la historia, la cual tiene que ser fluida, en realidad, lo más fluida posible sin llegar a ser ligera ni banal, y estar salpimentada por anécdotas, gags, chispazos filosóficos que no parezcan chispazos filosóficos y disparates al desgaire que aporten a la trama de fondo, pero sin caer en el vicio de que sostengan el desenvolvimiento de los hechos. Miguel Ángel sabe de estos artificios para enganchar narrativamente a su público, para no distraerlo en asuntos adjetivos y accesorios, pero en La elefanta Flor conoce a la elefanta Phūla, además de cumplir con estas pautas narrativas y lúdicas propias del código infantil, se percibe cierta atmósfera como una suerte de valor agregado, que acerca particularmente al lector (u oyente) a la historia. El empleo de una primera persona plural, un nosotros muy sutil que aflora con cierto ritmo en clave de complicidad, refuerza el nexo entre el narrador y el lector (u oyente). Por medio de este nosotros algo chismoso y deslenguado nos enteramos de ciertas incomodidades de la elefanta Flor ante la elefanta Phūla. Lo cierto es que la elefanta Phūla es un personaje engreído, soberbio y vanidoso. Un perfecto antagonista que perturba la paz y armonía que irradia la elefanta Flor. Phūla es una exitosa actriz de Bollybood, una diva de armas tomar. Se las sabe todas para mortificar a la elefanta Flor, a quien conoce en circunstancias un tanto ridículas para esta, pero que serán determinantes para el final de la historia, en un remate muy dramático en el que convergen casi todos los conflictos de la narración para una solución de amplia base y muy satisfactoria. Resulta interesante como Phūla empieza a cambiar. Ella, que también tiene el don de transformarse en flor (en loto, la flor sagrada de la India, de ancestrales resonancias simbólicas), consigue hacerlo, además, internamente. Es decir, se convierte en mejor persona animal, o sea, elefanta. Pero su cambio no es completo ni absoluto porque las personas y los elefantes no cambian de un día para otro, aún le quedan ciertos tics de antipatía, de peligroso veneno femenino. (No hay que olvidar que el cerebro de un elefante pesa cinco kilos… así que cuando utilizan su inteligencia para asuntos no muy santos más vale estar lejos.) Lo importante es que Phūla reconoce su falta y es capaz, al menos, de pedir disculpas. Digamos que aprende a ubicarse. Y la elefanta Flor, por su parte, también cambia: aprende a defenderse y a poner en su lugar a la pesada de Phūla, de hecho, consigue controlar mejor su transformación física en flor, lo que redunda en una mejoría emocional y viceversa. Y tras todo esto el lector sospecha que hay algo más que se escapa, que es inasible y que tiene que ver con chispazos filosóficos y místicos muy bien camuflados. Miguel Ángel se ha preocupado en mostrarnos, sin efectismos ni rimbombancias, por medio de pistas y guiños varios, la vastedad metafísica de los indios y de la cultura hindú, sin que suene a lección que uno debe aprender para un control de lectura. La información y las reflexiones son pinceladas sutiles que van delineando las acciones, los personajes, los escenarios y, sobre todo, las ideas narrativas. Y aquello que se escapa a nuestra razón, que resulta inasible a nuestro entendimiento, consigue agazaparse como una doctrina profundamente humana que trata de restablecer las relaciones entre los individuos y su entorno cultural y natural. Casi se oye el susurro de la revelación: a la naturaleza no hay que maltratarla ni dominarla… sino comprenderla, amarla y saberla transformar para restablecer el único orden que puede hacer de la humanidad una carga menos pesada para el planeta.
viernes, 9 de diciembre de 2011
martes, 29 de noviembre de 2011
miércoles, 7 de septiembre de 2011
Julia Wong ha convertido los actos más anodinos en estampas estremecedoras. Ha delineado probablemente bajo extrañas influencias astrales imágenes de inusual factura, utilizando palabras elementales, sencillas y de sospechosa cercanía. Para esta poeta, la vida es una narración cuyo pivote creativo permite giros verbales que en una plana percepción serían escrituras automáticas o cadáveres exquisitos. Pero las corrientes subterráneas de su poética revelan que no hay lugar para palabras escritas fortuitamente ni temas echados al azar, pues tras cada figura hay una razón; tras cada razón, un símbolo; y tras cada símbolo, una figura denudada por descubrir o descifrar.
La construcción de sus versos —por momentos accidentada, a veces insidiosa, casi nunca malversada— supone cierto enrarecimiento que nos obliga a torcer la boca, a paladear con temor algo que aún permanece vivo aun al entrar en contacto con nuestra lengua, mientras los dientes están a punto de partir aquella existencia huidiza y crocante, cuando no sedentaria y coloidal. Y hay una extraña sombra en todo este constructo estético y los títulos poco ayudan. Por el contrario, son como los letreros de los cuentos de hadas que envían a los niños buenos a la casa del ogro y a las chicas malas a ser plenamente felices en una comunidad de liliputienses, o viceversa, para no pecar de sexista.
Wong es una escritora que de manera difícil se conforma con una explicación poéticamente inteligente, extravagantemente ligera, arbitrariamente efectista. Lo obvio es la verdad incómoda que la obliga a buscar la otra respuesta, el esclarecimiento inverosímil que le da sentido a su mundo al revés, a su lecho de aclaraciones urticantes o a la magnífica constelación de recuerdos robados, aunque para ello tenga que arrancar clavos con su propia boca y torcerle el cuello a alguna metáfora sobre la muerte o el amor. Wong lucha contra su misma piel, ataca sin piedad nuestros ripios de inocencia, se enfrenta a las tiranías de la naturaleza, y lo más grande: hace de sus rasgos una estela magnífica de su información genética. Ella sabe muy bien quiénes son sus enemigos ancestrales, quiénes son los asesinos futuros que irían por sus órganos y su sangre mientras duerme y vive el irrefrenable desapego que ello implica. Pero no es vulnerable mientras escribe. Limpia sus armas mientras lima sus uñas y se prepara para dar el arañazo definitivo. Y no es una mujer fatal con un cursi manto de rosas o una coraza de fragancias. Nada más grosero. La fatalidad está hecha por otros hilos e historias. Con ella van los claveles, y las claves de una mirada que llueve sobre orquídeas y ciudades en el vaivén de una historia que no se anima a desplegar por entero o a despuntar por partes.
Sus fantasmales demonios penden de la indiferencia que nace en el exilio mismo. Y Wong se levanta desde los andurriales y arrabales de su memoria, incluso desde las guerras de su misma sangre, para mirarse en los espejos del mundo y oírse en los idiomas que la construyen como mujer real, encarnada desde sus dudas y contradicciones hasta su más enrevesada capacidad de contemplar y transformar por medio de la palabra. Pero se parte, fracciona y divide para hurgar en malas ideas, para desvanecerse en penitencias y respuestas que la revivan justo en los bordes que la hieren.
Y Wong no se detiene en su marcha hacia su secreto centro. Cambia de rostros y de máscaras, e insiste, reescribe y reitera sus dramas en espiral. Una trascendencia en ascendente humo que expone pero no necesariamente explica porque solo el deleite es suficiente. Wong es una poeta sin miramientos, por eso avasalla con su carga de enumeraciones y sostiene el tiempo hasta el gesto irremisible, el que delata suplicios, dolencias y atavismos. Y su repertorio es un hábitat con palabras en peligro de extinción, vocablos amenazados por dedos venenosos y gramáticas que obligan a deshojar margaritas.
La poeta se impone para salir del laberinto. Los taxis podrían ser la mejor solución para escapar de los minotauros, pero sus conductores pueden ser más bestiales y fieros en el ejercicio de sobrevivir, en el arte de la supervivencia, donde todo es posible, incluso embaucar a Dios en el careo ante la nada. La poeta se impone y se realza, pues tiende y sigue el hilo, teje y desteje su espera fiel, así como su eterna y desleal llegada. Pero el laberinto son sus ciudades amadas, con sus personas convertidas en mariposas, los fonemas germánicos, los olores que persigue y la magia con que cura sus heridas y rencores. El laberinto es ella en la dimensión de su deseo, es ella y otra en el ámbito de su asombro, es ella y nadie ante el espejo que la afirma como escritora original.
Wong se toca a sí misma y se transforma en una memoria de las cosas inservibles.
Wong mira hacia atrás y se salva de ser estatua de sal.
Wong permanece en silencio porque sus versos parecen bullir.
Entonces su libro se pliega desde su transparente ombligo y todas sus palabras cobran un nuevo sentido que obliga a una relectura. La poeta arriesga su cordura, apuesta por sus raíces y juega a los dados con su doble. Pero la poeta también quema sus naves, ajusta sus clavijas y se rasga las vestiduras. Y, no obstante poner los puntos sobre las íes, hace también todo lo contrario, hasta exudar patrañas, exorcizar ángeles y demonios, y fabular grandes nimiedades.
Sopesar una obra de naturaleza tan imbricada es casi tan complicado como cazar lagartijas con aviones de papel. Pero, al menos, el título se decanta de tanto insistir e incitar la imaginación. Se trata finalmente de intervenir sobre una trama sin el trasfondo del presente. Lo insignificante es decisivo en este horizonte indesmallable (sic) y todo indica que Wong nos propone una carta sobre una mesa vestida. Este es el detalle que distraería nuestro rito del hacer o del actuar, pero que le da un completo sentido a la quietud que se desliza hasta invadir cada miembro y pensamiento. La vergüenza es el plano que arremolina, la miel que atrae las moscas. Pero la vergüenza puede ser también el pretexto, la referencia que se filtra a través de los cinco o más sentidos. Y bordar es un viejo arte. Es poesía sobre tela y sin usar palabras ni otro código lingüístico. Arte puro en solitario y en intenso diálogo con uno mismo. No monólogo sino soliloquio. Y Wong sabe del misterio tras cada puntada de color, forma y textura. Sabe que esta turbación del ánimo anida cerca de nuestros ojos para horadar sin piedad como la peor andanada que nos censura hasta deshacer nuestros huesos. Sabe qué preguntas formular, qué verdades responder, qué mentiras exhibir. Y sabe que escribir es reinventar el mito que la sustenta desde su más absoluta debilidad. Y cuando calla, todo este saber, toda esta sabiduría la fortalece hasta el punto de cambiar de piel, de transformarla en una Julia Wong con una mirada más penetrante y osada, pues denota el alivio de padecer menos inquietudes. | Spanish | NL | 77fb8626827cd48ecd5897173dcf18c21cd169cd817bea5393ab27691f9dc4fd |
La Henna y los tatuajes
Mientras que los tatuajes se definen como dolorosos por naturaleza a partir de la palabra tahitiana "tatau", que hace referencia al sonido que producian los instrumentos que usaban para tatuarse, algunos tatuajes son aplicados sin dolor y duran un lapso de tiempo corto.
Henna es un tinte natural de pelo (color rojizo) que además se emplea en una técnica de coloración de la piel llamada mehndi. Se hace con la hoja seca y el pecíolo de Lawsonia alba Lam. (Lawsonia inermis L.). Este tinte se emplea en India, Pakistán, Irán y África del norte. Los patrones del mehndi son bastante complejos y en algunas culturas se emplean como ornamento nupcial. En Occidente se puso de moda en los 90.
Para hacer la henna, se hace un polvo verde parduzco con los extractos vegetales y se mezcla zumo de limón y aceites esenciales para liberar el tinte de las hojas y azúcar para dar consistencia. Cuando se aplica a la piel el tinte se vuelve naranja pálido y para oscurecerlo se le añade café o té. La henna penetra sólo las células muertas del estrato córneo cutáneo, la duración del tinte varía en función del grosor de la piel, pero es sólo de días.
El color de la Henna, el color de tu tatuaje temporal
Según la procedencia de la henna el tinte varía: de la India y del Rajastán suele tener tono más rojizos; la Yemení y Marroquí tiende a tonos marrones muy oscuros.
El tinte no penetra de igual modo en todo el cuerpo, los colores más oscuros y duraderos se obtienen en las zonas de cuerpo con la piel más gruesa y menos grasa, como son las palmas de las manos y los pies. En segundo lugar están el resto de las manos, antebrazos, pies y piernas: el color sigue siendo llamativo y oscuro, pero comienza a desaparecer antes ( a partir de 10-15 dias). En el resto del cuerpo la henna deja un hermoso tono naranja u ocre, visible pero nunca igual de definido. Para asegurarse el tono más oscuro posible y una larga duración del tatuaje se ha de dejar la pasta por lo menos 6 horas, exponerla al sol u otra fuente de calor ( asi se activa el tinte ), humedecer la pasta, si es necesario, con zumo de limón y no mojar la zona en las primeras 12 horas.
La henna nuca es negra, sólo se consigue este color añadiendo un tóxico, la Para-phenylenediamine o PPD. Este elemento químico puede causar alergias, dermatitis, quemaduras y cicatrices. Existen botes de henna preparada con tintes naturales de varios colores, sin riesgos, pero la capacidad del tinte se ve muy afectada, apenas durará el dibujo un par de dias. La única forma de obtener un tatuaje temporal negro es mediante la tinta que procede de un fruto peruano llamado Huito o Jagua. se aplica con pincel y tiñe la piel del mismo modo que la henna, desapareciendo en unas dos semanas
Los tatuajes Solares
Puedes leer el articulo sobre Tatuajes Temporarios de Luz Solar | Spanish | NL | b3c9b2f71d54561233e762a7f6089e827696f3f99b142254249e95281171df14 |
La Enciclopedia Libre Universal en Español dispone de una lista de distribución pública, email@example.com
Jacques-Louis David
Datos biográficos
Inició su obra en París con obras de tema mitológico e histórico. En 1775 obtuvo el Prix de Rome y se trasladó a Roma. En Italia se interesó por la pintura boloñesa desde los Carracci a Reni y por el clasicismo renacentista. Más tarde se convirtió en el pintor por excelencia, y convicción, de la Revolución Francesa. Tras la derrota de Napoleón y la restauración fue exiliado a Bruselas.
Es el mayor representante de la pintura neoclásica. Fue un pintor defensor de la Revolución Francesa y posteriormente del régimen napoleónico. Su obra está al servicio de su ideario político y lo utilizó como propaganda de los ideales revolucionarios. Su neoclasicismo es visible tanto en la temática como en la representación del movimiento contenido o congelado tan característico del clacisismo grecolatino.
Obra
Dentro de las obras de temática histórica clásica destacan El juramento de los Horacios (1784) y La muerte de Sócrates (1787). En ambos casos, aunque hace alusión a episodios de la antigüedad, David los conecta con la realidad del pueblo francés que lucha contra el despotismo de la monarquía. Así, en los Horacios hace hincapié en el patriotismo y el sacrificio, mientras que en La muerte de Sócrates alude a los mártires inocentes de la Revolución Francesa. Este mismo tema, aunque referido a un episodio real y coetáneo, es el abordado en su obra Marat asesinado (1793), en el que representa a este destacado revolucionario asesinado (mártir) en su bañera.
Entre sus retratos destacan Madame Recamier (1800), que guarda mucha similitud con el posterior Paulina Borghese Bonaparte del escultor Canova y el Retrato ecuestre de Napoleón cruzando los Alpes. También pintó el gran lienzo de La coronación de Napoleón (1805-1807).
Otras obras son:
- Antíoco y Estrátonice 1774.
- Belisario reconocido 1781.
- El dolor de Andrómaca 1783
- Las Sabinas 1799.
- Retrato ecuestre de Napoleón pasando el puerto alpino del Gran el San Bernardo 1800.
- El retrato de Madame David 1813.
- Cupido y Psique 1817.
- Marte, Venus y las Gracias 1824.
Referencias
Notas | Spanish | NL | c1553a518804cf983b70e074db6758e87b1d7aeeaef8a4bc570248e299f5fd94 |
StartupSelector es una pequeña aplicación que os permitirá guardar y cargar diferentes tipos de configuraciones de inicio del sistema, con esto se busca que el sistema operativo esté preparado para afrontar y realizar cualquier tarea con las herramientas adecuadas.
Entre otras cosas, StartupSelector permite guardar las diferentes configuraciones de inicio como perfiles separados, en teoría esto debería facilitar la gestión de diferentes perfiles para el inicio del sistema, así no habría que editar las aplicaciones que se quieran al inicio; pero desafortunadamente StartupSelector aún no tiene una herramienta integrada para hacer eso, así que para modificar las aplicaciones que se quieran al inicio tendrás que usar algo como msconfig (se accede desde ejecutar tecleando msconfig) o bien programa aparte como TuneUp Utilities o similares.
Quienes lo usen deberán guardar su configuración actual para evitar problemas, posteriormente habrá que crear una nueva incluyendo el conjunto de aplicaciones que se quieran al inicio usando su gestor de arranque. Así sucesivamente, hasta que se hayan terminado todos los perfiles necesarios para satisfacer vuestras necesidades. Una vez que tengáis todo esto, podréis utilizar StartupSelector para elegir una de las diversas configuraciones de inicio que se crearon anteriormente.
Recalcamos, lo malo de la aplicación es no tener un editor de programas ejecutados al inicio. Para activar la nueva configuración no es necesario reiniciar sólo hay que cerrar la sesión actual de Windows. Aunque si funciona bien, un programa como este merece algunas características un poco más avanzadas.
StartupSelector se puede descargar gratuitamente y sólo está disponible para Windows. | Spanish | NL | adab3de6ded6529610fe0de0585d3c47cf7589c420ef529229c3848c3a2ce1b9 |
Mi SciELO
Revista Cubana de Cirugía
versión On-line ISSN 1561-2945
Rev Cubana cir v.38 n.1 Ciudad de la Habana ene.-abr. 1999
Centro de Iinvestigaciones Medicoquirúrgicas (CIMEQ)
Ligadura del conducto cístico. Colecistotomía y exTracción de cálculos vesicularesDr. Emigdio Collado Canto,1 Dr. Eliot Martínez Pérez,2 Dr. Juan C. Collado Otero3 y Dr. Raúl A. Rodríguez Sánchez 4
ResumenSe realizó la ligadura del conducto cístico y extracción de cálculos en un paciente operado de urgencia, en el cual habían grandes dificultades técnicas para el abordaje de la vía biliar. Esto dio lugar a un estudio en animales, cuyos resultados fueron satisfactorios. Una vez sacrificados los animales se comprobó atrofia de la vesícula biliar sin complicaciones. El informe anatomopatológico destacó fibrosis. Se escogió un grupo de pacientes sintomáticos, que requerían colecistectomía y presentaban cirrosis hepática. Se les operó con aplicación de esta técnica por vía normal y laparoscópica. Los únicos requisitos técnicos fueron la ligadura del conducto cístico, extracción de cálculos y adecuada aspiración de la vesícula biliar. Se obtuvieron buenos resultados con un mínimo de disección, sin complicaciones, con una anestesia y tiempo quirúrgico mínimo y con una técnica fácil y asequible a cualquier cirujano y en cualquier medio. Este proceder beneficiaría a los pacientes cirróticos.
Descriptores DeCS: CONDUCTO CISTICO/ cirugía; COLELITIASIS/cirugía; COLECISTOTOMIA/ métodos; LIGADURA/ métodos.
En 1980, operábamos a un paciente con heridas por arma blanca, una de las cuales interesaba duodeno y vesícula biliar; el derrame de bilis nos dificultaba la visibilidad para el cierre de la herida duodenal, por lo que procedimos a la ligadura del conducto cístico y aspiración de la vesícula.
En el seguimiento por consulta externa, el ultrasonido nos reveló la ausencia de vesícula biliar lo que nos sorprendió y motivó.
Conversamos con el doctor Rodríguez Sotelo,* director del Centro de Cirugía Experimental, el cual se interesó y procedió a realizar el proceder en 12 curieles y 6 perros. Estos animales se sacrificaron al mes y 2 meses respectivamente y laparotomizados y se les halló atrofia de vesícula biliar las que se enviaron a patología. En todos los casos sólo se informó gran fibrosis de las muestras.
Con estos elementos decidimos realizar este proceder en pacientes enfermos de cirrosis hepática con litiasis vesicular, en los cuales habitualmente se producen sangramientos difíciles de cohibir al separar la vesícula del hígado. Según Paquet1 la litiasis vesicular es 2 veces más frecuente en cirróticos que en pacientes sanos.
MétodosSe escogieron 3 pacientes con litiasis vesicular sintomática y cirrosis hepática clasificados como Child A, los cuales fueron operados por el método descrito en este trabajo y los resultados que se obtuvieron fueron satisfechos y sin complicaciones.
A otros 3 pacientes se les realizó proceder de urgencia con el diagnóstico de impacto del cístico y también evolucionaron satisfactoriamente.
Los 3 últimos pacientes fueron operados por vía laparoscópica por presentar litiasis vesicular y también evolucionaron satisfactoriamente.
Técnica quirúrgicaA los pacientes operados convencionalmente se les realizó una pequeña incisión subcostal derecha, ligadura del conducto cístico con material absorbible e incidió la vesícula por el fondo; el contenido de ésta se aspiró y se extrajeron los cálculos; el fondo vesicular se dejó. Es necesario aspirar bien el contenido de la vesícula para evitar la presencia de barro biliar.
En 3 pacientes operados por vía laparoscópica se efectuó lo siguiente:
- En el primer paciente se procedió a ligar con un clip el conducto cístico próximo al colédoco, se aspiró por punción la vesícula y se extrajeron los cálculos por una pequeña incisión subcostal. La vesícula se abrió por el fondo y se extrajeron los cálculos con una pinza de anillo.
- En el segundo previa ligadura del cístico con clip y aspiración de la vesícula, se procedió a incidir ésta en el bacinete y se extrajeron los cálculos con la pinza de disección por laparoscopia, los cuales se colocaron en un dedo de guante, tal como expone Zucbect.2
- En el tercer paciente se ligó el cístico y aspiró la vesícula con trócar de 10 mm por su fondo y a través de él se aspiraron los cálculos.
DiscusiónDesde que Alexander Trillan describió en el siglo V la litiasis vesicular, el tratamiento para ésta ha sido el mismo, pero no ha sido así en el caso de la coledocolitiasis que ha evolucionado desde la coledocoduodenostomía hasta procederes como la CPRE y esfinterotomía endoscópica y esfinteroplastia.
En 1980 efectuamos la ligadura del cístico y aspiración de la bilis vesicular en un paciente. Se revisó la literatura médica ante la posibilidad de realizar este proceder. El doctor Rodríguez Sotelo nos ayudó al realizar esto en animales, pero quedaba por vencer el escepticismo de algunos cirujanos que planteaban la posibilidad del desarrollo de un carcinoma de vesícula en una vesícula litiásica. Otros planteaban que todas las vesículas litiásicas debían ser extirpadas. Al respecto, Kosall3 informó que en 1874 en autopsias hechas se mostraron 634 cadáveres con cálculos silentes, o sea, el 34 % y Glen4 afirmó que sólo halló 1 % de carcinomas de vesícula en pacientes de más de 50 años.
De todos modos en nuestra serie los cálculos se extirparon y éstos son invocados como factor litiásico. Mediante este método la disección requerida fue mínima, al reducirse enormemente el riesgo anestésico y quirúrgico, no se produjo sangramiento en ningún caso y la evolución fue satisfactoria.
Los ultrasonidos posoperatorios informaron ausencia de vesícula sin otras alteraciones, con lo que creemos se cumple lo esperado. Sobre todo en pacientes en los que otro proceder sería prácticamente imposible o a expensas de un gran riesgo. También se evitaba una segunda intervención en los pacientes en que hubiese sido necesario hacer una colescistotomía.
Creemos que la técnica puede ser usada en pacientes cirróticos y de alto riesgo quirúrgico, pues disminuye notablemente el sangramiento y acorta considerablemente el tiempo quirúrgico y la anestesia. No obstante, el tiempo señalará las indicaciones precisas.
En conclusión podemos decir:
- La colescistotomía, extracción de cálculos y ligadura del cístico es un proceder que puede realizarse en pacientes con mal estado general y afecciones asociadas que tengan indicación quirúrgica.
- Es un procedimiento fácil de efectuar con un mínimo de disección y que evita una segunda intervención y aparición de complicaciones, en pacientes a los que sólo se les realizó colecistotomía.
- Puede ser llevada a cabo también en pacientes que van a ser operados electivamente, con las siguientes ventajas:
- Nunca provoca lesión del colédoco, ya que sólo se realiza la ligadura del conducto cístico.
- Disminuye el tiempo quirúrgico y anestésico tanto en la técnica convencional como en la laparoscópica.
- Su práctica en pacientes cirróticos, no los expone a sangramientos, pues no se extirpa la vesícula de su lecho.
- Disminuye las complicaciones de la colescistectomía laparoscópica, como son: hemorragia del lecho vesicular, deslizamiento de clips y lesión del colédoco, para ser éstas las más frecuentes según Karl A. Zucher.
- Pone al alcance de todos los cirujanos la colescistectomía laparoscópica al disminuir el campo que se disecará.
- No impide la práctica de la colangiografía transoperatoria y extracción de cálculos por vía transcística.
SummaryThe ligation of the cystic duct and the extraction of gall stones were performed in urgently operated patient with great technical difficulties for the approach of the biliary tract: This led to conduct a study of animals with satisfactory results. Once the animals were sacrified it was observed gall bladder atrophy without complications. Fibrosis was stressed in the anatomopathological report. A group of symptomatic patients who required cholecystostomy and suffered from liver cirrhosis were chosen and operated on by using this technique by normal and laparoscopic pathway. The only technical requirements were the ligation of the cystic duct, the extraction of gall stones and the adequate aspiration of the gall bladder.
Subject headings: CYSTIC DUCT/surgery; CHOLELITHIASIS/surgery; CHOLECYSTOSTOMY/methods; LIGATION/methods.
Referencias Bibliográficas
- Paquet H, Lazar K. Cholecystectomy in cirrotic patients with portal hypertension. A challenge or an impossible procedure? XXVIII World Congress of the International College of Surgeons. Abstracts 1992;43.
- Karl AZ. Tratamiento laparoscópico de las colecistitis agudas y crónicas. Clín Quir Norteam 1992;5:31.
- Kosal H. Pathogenic correlation of gallstone. A review of 1 847 autopsias. Am Arch Surgery 1959;79-514.
- Glen FK. The age factor in the mortality of patients surgery of biliary tract. Surgery Ginecologic Obstetric 1955;100-11.
Recibido: 12 de septiembre de 1996. Aprobado: 11 de septiembre de 1997.
Dr. Emigdio Collado Canto. Centro de Investigaciones Medicoquirúrgicas (CIMEQ). Calle 216, entre 13 y 15, Siboney, municipio Playa, apartado 6096, Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba.
1 Especialista de II Grado en Cirugía. Profesor Titular del Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de La Habana.
2 Especialista de II Grado en Cirugía. Asistente.
3 Especialista de I Grado en Cirugía. Instituto Nacional de Oncología y Radiobiología.
4 Residente de 3er año de Cirugía. CIMEQ.
*El doctor Rodríguez Sotelo, ya fallecido, en ese momento ocupaba dicha responsabilidad en el Centro de Cirugía Experimental, y llevaba a fase de terminación su libro de Cirugía Experimental (N. del E). | Spanish | NL | 3071d022f837b860344a1491e175fa427609521867bc06786cfe3ca5e1b3c9c2 |
Microsoft Word 2007 es uno de los procesadores de texto más populares disponibles para usuarios de computadoras. Gran parte de esta popularidad se debe a las gran variedad de opciones que ofrece para diferentes diseños y opciones de escritura. Un área de opciones para las cuales MS Word 2007 es particularmente apto involucra la manipulación y configuración de los objetos mostrados en pantalla. Esto puede lograrse a través del uso de una cuadrícula, la cual garantiza un posicionamiento preciso de los objetos relacionados entre sí. Por fortuna, estás líneas de cuadrícula pueden ser dibujadas.
- Nivel de dificultad:
- Moderadamente fácil
Instrucciones
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1
Haz clic en el menú "Inicio" de Windows ubicado en la esquina inferior izquierda de la pantalla, haz clic en "Programas". Desplázate hacia abajo hasta encontrar Microsoft Word 2007 y selecciónalo.
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2
Haz clic en la pestaña "Vista" en la parte superior de la pantalla, después selecciona la caja junto a la opción "Cuadrícula" que puede encontrarse en la sección "Mostrar / Ocultar".
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3
Selecciona la pestaña "Insertar" en la parte superior de la pantalla, después haz clic en el ícono "Formas" en la sección de "Ilustraciones".
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4
Haz clic en la parte izquierda de la cuadrícula y arrastra la línea hacia el lado derecho de la cuadrícula de modo que quede alineada con la cuadrícula del documento. Presiona "Ctrl+C" para copiar la línea y después "Ctrl+V" para pegarla en la página. Configura la segunda línea para que se ajuste a la cuadrícula del documento. Continúa copiando y pegando líneas hasta que tu cuadrícula tenga el tamaño deseado.
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5
Haz clic en la parte superior de la cuadrícula, después arrastra la línea hacia la parte inferior de la cuadrícula de modo que quede alineada con el documento. Presiona "Ctrl+C" para copiar la línea y después "Ctrl+V" para pegarla en la página. Configura la segunda línea para que se ajuste a la cuadrícula del documento. Continúa copiando y pegando líneas hasta que la cuadrícula esté completa.
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6
Haz clic en el botón de "Office" en la parte superior izquierda de la pantalla, después desplázate hasta la opción imprimir y selecciónala. Elije la impresora correcta, y después haz clic en el botón "Aceptar".
Consejos y advertencias
- Si deseas insertar objetos o texto en tu cuadrícula, espera hasta que la hayas completado para evitar problemas de posicionamiento. | Spanish | NL | c6dd663cc4ef689cfbe433f3a07af692874606e274bc063c09fe008ec0389dd1 |
Nicolas Bouvier, nació el 6 de marzo de 1929 en el Grand-Lancy y murió el 17 de febrero de 1998, fué un escritor, fotógrafo, iconógrafo y viajero suizo.
Hijo del bibliotecario Auguste Bouvier y de Antoinette Maurice, Nicolas Bouvier pasa una parte de su infancia en soñar con el mundo, hipnotizado por los colores de los atlas de geografía. Horas de lectura clandestina acaban por darle, las ganas de ir a ver otros sitios. Apoyado por su padre que viajó, de alguna manera, por poderes a través de su hijo, Nicolas Bouvier sale hacia su primer viaje, solitario, en Noruega, a los 17 años. Es encargado de traerle sellos a su padre, para su colección. Realiza cursos de historia medieval y de sánscrito en Ginebra.
En 1948, es enviado a realizar un reportaje a Finlandia por el periódico La Tribune de Genève, después en 1950, viaja al Sahara argelino para el diario Le Courrier.
En 1951, efectúa su primer gran viaje, con Thierry Vernet y Jacques Choisy, de Venecia hasta Istanbul. Después en junio de 1953 se marcha en su Fiat Topolino con Thierry Vernet de Belgrado a Kabul a través de Yugoslavia, Turquía, Irán y Pakistán. Un año y seis meses más tarde, se separan después de Kabul, Nicolas Bouvier continua solo su carretera a través de India con el fin de alcanzar China. La carretera permanece cerrada por razones políticas, alcanza Ceylan, donde enferma y deprimido se queda siete meses. Describirá esta estancia dolorosa en su libro Le Poisson Scorpion publicado en 1982 cerca de veinticinco años más tarde. Acabará embarcando en octubre de 1955 en un barco francés de las Mensajerías Marítimas que lo conducirá a Japón, donde seguirá viajando durante un año, que redactará en artículos para los periódicos y revistas japonesas. Regresa en barco a Marsella a finales de 1956.
En 1958 se casa con Eliane Petitpierre, hija del consejero federal Max Petitpierre y sobrina de Denis de Rougemont, en Neuchâtel y se instalan en Cologny. De 1958 a 1963 (año de la muerte de su padre), efectúa trabajos de iconografía para la OMS y la Nueva Biblioteca Ilustrada de las Ciencias y de las Invenciones de Éditions Rencontre.
Al hilo de sus trabajos constituye abundantes archivos personales constituidos sobre todo de estampas populares y de tablas técnicas. De 1964 a 1965 se quedarán en Japón con sus dos hijos. Realizará otros viajes por Asia (Japón, Corea del Sur, China..) o por Europa (Irlanda, Islas de Aran).
A raíz de un cáncer, Nicolas Bouvier muere el 17 de febrero 1998. Es inhumado en Cologny.
(texto extraído: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Bouvier)
... | Spanish | NL | a7d09e20c42ae27f296c0eef33b917aaae8c9d2cc54610d9b5751608fe42643f |
Éste es el escrito en el que el extraordinario escritor inglés explica su conversión al catolicismo:
«Aunque sólo hace algunos años que soy católico, sé sin embargo que el problema `por qué soy católico´ es muy distinto del problema `por qué me convertí al catolicismo´. Tantas cosas han motivado mi conversión y tantas otras siguen surgiendo después… Todas ellas se ponen en evidencia solamente cuando la primera nos da el empujón que conduce a la conversión misma. Todas son también tan numerosas y tan distintas las unas de las otras, que, al cabo, el motivo originario y primordial puede llegar a parecernos casi insignificante y secundario.
»La «confirmación» de la fe, vale decir, su fortalecimiento y afirmación, puede venir, tanto en el sentido real como en el sentido ritual, después de la conversión. El convertido no suele recordar más tarde de qué modo aquellas razones se sucedían las unas a las otras. Pues pronto, muy pronto, este sinnúmero de motivos llega a fundirse para él en una sola y única razón. Existe entre los hombres una curiosa especie de agnósticos, ávidos escudriñadores del arte, que averiguan con sumo cuidado todo lo que en una catedral es antiguo y todo lo que en ella es nuevo. Los católicos, por el contrario, otorgan más importancia al hecho de si la catedral ha sido reconstruida para volver a servir como lo que es, es decir, como catedral.
»¡Una catedral! A ella se parece todo el edificio de mi fe; de esta fe mía que es demasiado grande para una descripción detallada; y de la que, sólo con gran esfuerzo, puedo determinar las edades de sus distintas piedras.
»A pesar de todo, estoy seguro de que lo primero que me atrajo hacia el catolicismo, era algo que, en el fondo, debería más bien haberme apartado de él. Estoy convencido también de que varios católicos deben sus primeros pasos hacia Roma a la amabilidad del difunto señor Kensit.
»El señor Kensit, un pequeño librero de la City, conocido como protestante fanático, organizó en 1898 una banda que, sistemáticamente, asaltaba las iglesias ritualistas y perturbaba seriamente los oficios. El señor Kensit murió en 1902 a causa de heridas recibidas durante uno de esos asaltos. Pronto la opinión pública se volvió contra él, clasificando como «Kensitite Press» a los peores panfletos antirreligiosos publicados en Inglaterra contra Roma, panfletos carentes de todo juicio sano y de toda buena voluntad.
»Recuerdo especialmente ahora estos dos casos: unos autores serios lanzaban graves acusaciones contra el catolicismo, y, cosa curiosa, lo que ellos condenaban me pareció algo precioso y deseable.
»En el primer caso —creo que se trataba de Horton y Hocking— se mencionaba con estremecido pavor, una terrible blasfemia sobre la Santísima Virgen de un místico católico que escribía: «Todas las criaturas deben todo a Dios; pero a Ella, hasta Dios mismo le debe algún agradecimiento». Esto me sobresaltó como un son de trompeta y me dije casi en alta voz: «¡Qué maravillosamente dicho!» Me parecía como si el inimaginable hecho de la Encarnación pudiera con dificultad hallar expresión mejor y más clara que la sugerida por aquel místico, siempre que se la sepa entender.
»En el segundo caso, alguien del diario Daily News (entonces yo mismo era todavía alguien del «Daily News»), como ejemplo típico del `formulismo muerto´ de los oficios católicos, citó lo siguiente: un obispo francés se había dirigido a unos soldados y obreros cuyo cansancio físico les volvía dura la asistencia a Misa, diciéndoles que Dios se contentaría con su sola presencia, y que les perdonaría sin duda su cansancio y su distracción. Entonces yo me dije otra vez a mi mismo: `¡Qué sensata es esa gente! Si alguien corriera diez leguas para hacerme un gusto a mi, yo le agradecería muchísimo, también, que se durmiera enseguida en mi presencia´.
Publicaciones anticatólicas
»Junto con estos dos ejemplos, podría citar aún muchos otros procedentes de aquella primera época en que los inciertos amagos de mi fe católica se nutrieron casi con exclusividad de publicaciones anticatólicas. Tengo un claro recuerdo de lo que siguió a estos primeros amagos. Es algo de lo cual me doy tanta más cuenta cuanto más desearía que no hubiese sucedido.
»Empecé a marchar hacia el catolicismo mucho antes de conocer a aquellas dos personas excelentísimas a quienes, a este respecto, debo y agradezco tanto: al reverendo Padre John O Connor de Bradford y al señor Hilaire Belloc; pero lo hice bajo la influencia de mi acostumbrado liberalismo político; lo hice hasta en la madriguera del «Daily News».
»Este primer empuje, después de debérselo a Dios, se lo debo a la historia y a la actitud del pueblo irlandés, a pesar de que no hay en mí ni una sola gota de sangre irlandesa. Estuve solamente dos veces en Irlanda y no tengo ni intereses allí ni sé gran cosa del país. Pero ello no me impidió reconocer que la unión existente entre los diferentes partidos de Irlanda se debe en el fondo a una realidad religiosa; y que es por esta realidad que todo mi interés se concentraba en ese aspecto de la política liberal. Fui descubriendo cada vez con mayor nitidez, enterándome por la historia y por mis propias experiencias, cómo, durante largo tiempo se persiguió por motivos inexplicables a un pueblo cristiano, y todavía sigue odiándosele. Reconocí luego que no podía ser de otra manera, porque esos cristianos eran profundos e incómodos como aquellos que Nerón hizo echar a los leones.
»Creo que estas mis revelaciones personales evidencian con claridad la razón de mi catolicismo, razón que luego fue fortificándose. Podría añadir ahora cómo seguí reconociendo después, que a todos los grandes imperios, una vez que se apartaban de Roma, les sucedía precisamente lo mismo que a todos aquellos seres que desprecian las leyes o la naturaleza: tenían un leve éxito momentáneo, pero pronto experimentaban la sensación de estar enlazados por un nudo corredizo, en una situación de la que ellos mismos no podían librarse. En Prusia hay tan poca perspectiva para el prusianismo, como en Manchester para el individualismo manchesteriano.
»Todo el mundo sabe que a un viejo pueblo agrario, arraigado en la fe y en las tradiciones de sus antepasados, le espera un futuro más grande o por lo menos más sencillo y más directo que a los pueblos que no tienen por base la tradición y la fe. Si este concepto se aplicase a una autobiografía, resultaría mucho más fácil escribirla que si se escudriñasen sus distintas evoluciones; pero el sistema sería egoísta. Yo prefiero elegir otro método para explicar breve pero completamente el contenido esencial de mi convicción: no es por falta de material que actúo así, sino por la dificultad de elegir lo más apropiado entre todo ese material numeroso. Sin embargo trataré de insinuar uno o dos puntos que me causaron una especial impresión.
»Hay en el mundo miles de modos de misticismo capaces de enloquecer al hombre. Pero hay una sola manera entre todas de poner al hombre en un estado normal. Es cierto que la humanidad jamás pudo vivir un largo tiempo sin misticismo. Hasta los primeros sones agudos de la voz helada de Voltaire encontraron eco en Cagliostro. Ahora la superstición y la credulidad han vuelto a expandirse con tan vertiginosa rapidez, que dentro de poco el católico y el agnóstico se encontrarán lado a lado. Los católicos serán los únicos que, con razón, podrán llamarse racionalistas. El mismo culto idolátrico por el misterio empezó con la decadencia de la Roma pagana a pesar de los «intermezzos» de un Lucrecio o de un Lucano.
»No es natural ser materialista ni tampoco el serlo da una impresión de naturalidad. Tampoco es natural contentarse únicamente con la naturaleza. El hombre, por lo contrario, es místico. Nacido como místico, muere también como místico, sobre todo si en vida ha sido un agnóstico. Mientras que todas las sociedades humanas consideran la inclinación al misticismo como algo extraordinario, tengo yo que objetar, sin embargo, que una sola sociedad entre ellas, el catolicismo, tiene en cuenta las cosas cotidianas. Todas las otras las dejan de lado y las menosprecian.
»Un célebre autor publicó una vez una novela sobre la contraposición que existe entre el convento y la familia (The Cloister and the hearth). En aquel tiempo, hace 50 años, era realmente posible en Inglaterra imaginar una contradicción entre esas dos cosas. Hoy en día, la así llamada contradicción, llega a ser casi un estrecho parentesco. Aquellos que en otro tiempo exigían a gritos la anulación de los conventos, destruyen hoy sin disimulo la familia. Este es uno de los tantos hechos que testimonian la verdad siguiente: que en la religión católica, los votos y las profesiones más altas y «menos razonables» —por decirlo así— son, sin embargo, los que protegen las cosas mejores de la vida diaria.
»Muchas señales místicas han sacudido el mundo. Pero una sola revolución mística lo ha conservado: el santo está al lado de lo superior, es el mejor amigo de lo bueno. Toda otra aparente revelación se desvía al fin hacia una u otra filosofía indigna de la humanidad; a simplificaciones destructoras; al pesimismo, al optimismo, al fatalismo, a la nada y otra vez a la nada; al «nonsense», a la insensatez.
»Es cierto que todas las religiones contienen algo bueno. Pero lo bueno, la quinta esencia de lo bueno, la humildad, el amor y el fervoroso agradecimiento «realmente existente» hacia Dios, no se hallan en ellas. Por más que las penetremos, por más respeto que les demostremos, con mayor claridad aún reconoceremos también esto: en lo más hondo de ellas hay algo distinto de lo puramente bueno; hay a veces dudas metafísicas sobre la materia, a veces habla en ellas la voz fuerte de la naturaleza; otras, y esto en el mejor de los casos, existe un miedo a la Ley y al Señor.
»Si se exagera todo esto, nace en las religiones una deformación que llega hasta el diabolismo. Sólo pueden soportarse mientras se mantengan razonables y medidas. Mientras se estén tranquilas, pueden llegar a ser estimadas, como sucedió con el protestantismo victoriano. Por el contrario, la más alta exaltación por la Santísima Virgen o la más extraña imitación de San Francisco de Asís, seguirían siendo, en su quintaesencia, una cosa sana y sólida. Nadie negará por ello su humanismo, ni despreciará a su prójimo. Lo que es bueno, jamás podrá llegar a ser DEMASIADO bueno. Esta es una de las características del catolicismo que me parece singular y universal a la vez. Esta otra la sigue: Sólo la Iglesia Católica puede salvar al hombre ante la destructora y humillante esclavitud de ser hijo de su tiempo. El otro día, Bernard Shaw expresó el nostálgico deseo de que todos los hombres vivieran trescientos años en civilizaciones más felices. Tal frase nos demuestra cómo los santurrones sólo desean —como ellos mismos dicen— reformas prácticas y objetivas.
»Ahora bien: esto se dice con facilidad; pero estoy absolutamente convencido de lo siguiente: si Bernard Shaw hubiera vivido durante los últimos trescientos años, se habría convertido hace ya mucho tiempo al catolicismo. Habría comprendido que el mundo gira siempre en la misma órbita y que poco se puede confiar en su así llamado progreso. Habría visto también cómo la Iglesia fue sacrificada por una superstición bíblica, y la Biblia por una superstición darwinista. Y uno de los primeros en combatir estos hechos hubiera sido él. Sea como fuere, Bernard Shaw deseaba para cada uno una experiencia de trescientos años. Y los católicos, muy al contrario de todos los otros hombres, tienen una experiencia de diecinueve siglos. Una persona que se convierte al catolicismo, llega, pues, a tener de repente dos mil años.
»Esto significa, si lo precisamos todavía más, que una persona, al convertirse, crece y se eleva hacia el pleno humanismo. Juzga las cosas del modo como ellas conmueven a la humanidad, y a todos los países y en todos los tiempos; y no sólo según las últimas noticias de los diarios. Si un hombre moderno dice que su religión es el espiritualismo o el socialismo, ese hombre vive íntegramente en el mundo más moderno posible, es decir, en el mundo de los partidos. El socialismo es la reacción contra el capitalismo, contra la insana acumulación de riquezas en la propia nación. Su política resultaría del todo distinta si se viviera en Esparta o en el Tíbet. El espiritualismo no atraería tampoco tanto la atención si no estuviese en contradicción deslumbrante con el materialismo extendido en todas partes. Tampoco tendría tanto poder si se reconocieran más los valores sobrenaturales. Jamás la superstición ha revolucionado tanto el mundo como ahora. Sólo después que toda una generación declaró dogmáticamente y una vez por todas, la IMPOSIBILIDAD de que haya espíritus, la misma generación se dejó asustar por un pobre, pequeño espíritu. Estas supersticiones son invenciones de su tiempo —podría decirse en su excusa—. Hace ya mucho, sin embargo, que la Iglesia Católica probó no ser ella una invención de su tiempo: es la obra de su Creador, y sigue siendo capaz de vivir lo mismo en su vejez que en su primera juventud: y sus enemigos, en lo más profundo de sus almas, han perdido ya la esperanza de verla morir algún día». | Spanish | NL | b902e811132b9f9582c008f823e853fe66b08e6e2cf54d332a36834fa88b1812 |
Si en vida no visitaste este santuario, en el que la tradición popular cuenta que desembarcó el Apóstol San Andrés, cuando llegue la hora de tu descanso eterno deberás ir de muerto para poder alcanzar el paraíso, bien como un alma en pena de la “Santa Compaña” o bien reencarnándote en el cuerpo de algún insecto, lagarto, sapo, culebra o cualquier otro animal ponzoñoso, arrastrándote desde tu propia tumba por veredas y caminos desconocidos.
Aprovechad esta magnifica ocasión que os brindo, bajaros este track y cargadlo en vuestro GPS para caminar desde Viveiro a San Andrés de Teixido, pues mas allá de la leyenda, conoceréis espectaculares lugares cargados de historia, mitos, ritos y leyendas de la Galicia mas profunda, dignos de ser disfrutados en vida. Y recodad que no debéis pisar ningún animal del camino, podría tratarse de algún alma en pena que va hacia San Andrés.
El Camino de Santiago del Mar o Camiño do Mar
Después de recorrer toda la costa cántabra por el “Camino del Norte”, los peregrinos pisan tierras gallegas por Ribadeo. En esta villa tienen la posibilidad de elegir dos caminos para llegar hasta Santiago de Compostela. Uno es el trazado oficial del “Camino del Norte”, algo mas corto y que discurre por la Galicia interior. El otro es el denominado “Camino del Mar”, algo más largo y que va por la costa gallega hasta El Ferrol, donde se incorpora al Camino Inglés.
Los peregrinos que se decanten por esta última ruta jacobea, descubrirán los encantadores y mágicos paisajes de la mariña lucense y la costa ártabra, a lo largo de un itinerario de incalculable valor y riqueza patrimonial, histórica y medioambiental.
Se cree que la peregrinación a Teixido (lugar poblado por tejos), comenzó a partir de la Edad de Hierro, durante la cultura castreña (siglo IX o VIII antes de Cristo). El primer registro histórico de la existencia de peregrinación a San Andrés de Teixido aparece en el año 1391, en el testamento de una señora de Viveiro, que dice así: “Hago ir por mi en romería a San Andrés de Teixido, porque se lo tengo prometido, y que le pongan en el altar una vela del tamaño de una mujer de mi estado”.
Para llegar a Teixido, se empleaban los caminos y vías de comunicación tradicionales, pero también se diseñaron senderos específicos. En estos caminos primaba la rapidez, por lo que solían ser tramos rectilíneos, que atravesaban zonas de monte duras, evitando los rodeos precisos para llegar a las villas y ciudades.
Uno de esos caminos es el que lleva de Viveiro a Teixido. Fue empleado por muchos de los romeros que venían de Asturias, de la Mariña Lucense o de la Terra Cha. Su trazado coincide con tramos de viejo Camino Real del Ferrol a Viveiro, la gran vía de comunicación del norte de Galicia durante el antiguo régimen.
Como la mayoría de los caminos que perdieron su uso y función, esta ruta se abandonó hasta tal punto que hoy es muy difícil reconstruir su trazado original. El trazado actual aprovecha en la medida de lo posible, el antiguo camino real, adaptado a las nuevas circunstancias y realidad geográfica.
Se trata de un itinerario de 50 kilómetros de longitud, que atraviesa parte de los ayuntamientos de Viveiro, O Vicedo, Mañón, Ortigueira, Cariño y Cedeira. Por su longitud y el grado de dificultad media recomiendo hacer esta ruta en al menos dos etapas.
Etapa 1: De Viveiro a la parroquia de Cuiña (Ortigueira)
Aunque este tramo forma parte del Camino de Santiago, y más concretamente al denominado “Camiño Do Mar” que se inicia en Ribadeo, nuestro punto de partida se ubica en Viveiro, al final del puente Mayor. Allí se eleva la capilla y el pazo de la Misericordia.
Antes de partir, es recomendable visitar esta capilla. Llamará nuestra atención los ocho paneles al óleo que decoran su cúpula y que representan la vida de la Beata Constanza de Castro, ascendiente de los Bermúdez de Castro titulares de este pazo, hoy municipal.
Debajo de esta cúpula se venera la imagen de Jesús atado a la columna, el popular “Santo Ecce Homo”, que es sin duda la advocación de más raigambre popular de toda la tierra de Viveiro. Cuando el mar llegaba hasta esta capilla y los barcos atracaban al muelle de Viveiro, al salir a pescar, el patrón realizaba una maniobra orientando hacia allí la proa para pedir buen tiempo y buena pesca al santo.
Salimos de la capilla y recorremos la avenida de la Misericordia hasta Cantarranas, donde atravesaremos el Paque de Pernas Peón para recorrer el paseo marítimo de la playa de Covas.
Al final del paseo contemplaremos una serie de islotes llamados “Os Castelos” donde se encuentra el monumento a los náufragos, se trata de un monolito en el que podemos leer “Vivero”, con un ancla, un cañón y una placa que recuerda a los 550 marineros de la armada española fallecidos en el naufragio del Bergantín Palomo y la fragata Santa María Magdalena que se hundió en 1810 en la ría de Viveiro cerca de estos islotes.
Tras pasar el arroyo de Loiba comenzaremos un ascenso de 5 kilómetros que nos llevará a la parroquia de Riobarba (O Vicedo). En la rotonda que hay frente al complejo hotelero las Sirenas veremos una flecha amarilla del “Camiño do Mar” que nos envía por la poco transitada carretera LU-P-6603 hasta Riobarba, allí encontraremos la iglesia de San Pablo del siglo XIV, en la parte superior de su fachada podremos ver las figuras de un lebrel y un jabalí. La puerta principal tiene dos columnas con capiteles de animales fantásticos y motivos florales.
Pasado Riobarba encontraremos diversas cruces de granito, restos de un antiguo Via Crucis.
Siguiendo las flechas amarillas del Camino de Santiago descenderemos rápidamente por una pista asfaltada y de pronunciada pendiente hasta el tramo medio del río Sor, donde veremos las Capilla de las Angustias, de gran devoción por los lugareños. La imagen de la Virgen era trasladada a O Vicedo cuando el mar estaba muy embravecido para que lo calmara, luego volvía a la capilla después de lavarla los pies en las aguas del río Sor para asegurar la lluvia suficiente y que no viniera sequía.
Cruzaremos el río Sor por el “Ponte do Porto”, un puente medieval compuesto de tres arcos de medio punto. En el medio de este puente hay un marco que señala la división de las antiguas provincias de Mondoñedo y Betanzos y que hoy divide Lugo de La Coruña.
Pasado el puente encontramos un cartel informativo del camino de Mañón a San Andrés de Teixido. Nuestra referencia ahora, además de las flechas amarillas, serán los mojones de granito que nos indica los kilómetros que quedan hasta San Andrés de Teixido y unas sardinas rojas pintadas en el suelo, en los árboles y en los mojones de granito.
El camino ahora asciende alternando sendero con asfalto, he de decir que cuando realicé este recorrido el sendero estaba recién desbrozado de zarzas. Si no se lleva un mantenimiento periódico o no hay un transito regular de peregrinos mucho me temo que este sendero se volverá a cubrir de zarzas. Si lo veis complicado podéis seguir buena parte del ascenso por la pista asfaltada.
Tras un bonito recorrido entre eucaliptos, castaños, robles y bojes llegaremos a un conjunto de casas con horreos llamado Malvide (PK 37,1).
Seguiremos el camino pasando por diversos conjuntos de casas que aquí llaman “lugares”. Pasado “Os Barcos” cogeremos un camino que nos ofrece a nuestra derecha hermosas vistas de Estaca de Bares la punta más septentrional de España y kilómetro cero del mar Cantábrico.
Antes de llegar mojón de granito que nos indica el PK 34,2 encontraremos la ermita de San Pedro, seguiremos las indicaciones hasta llegar a la carretera CP-4402 desde donde divisaremos Cariño, la ría de Ortigueira y el Cabo Ortegal.
Abandonaremos dicha carretera para seguir por un bonito camino con vistas a la sierra de Coriscada a nuestra izquierda.
Y a nuestra derecha y entre árboles Cariño y la ría de Ortigueira.
Descenderemos hasta llegar al valle de los arroyos que bañan a Couzadoiro, una parroquia ortegana de montaña.
Saliendo de Couzadoiro nos encontramos un mojón de granito que nos indica el PK 28,1, cogeremos el camino asfaltado donde esta el mojón y ascenderemos hasta encontrar una senda que discurre entre eucaliptos hasta el coto de Meixón donde veremos un vértice geodésico.
A unos 340 metros llegaremos por carretera a un conjunto de casas conocida como O Burgo y aquí abandonaremos dicha carretera para coger a nuestra derecha un sendero que desciende hacia la parroquia ortegana de Cuiña. Cuidado en este punto, porque yo no ví señalización ni de sardinas ni de flechas amarillas, sin embargo unos metros mas abajo hay un mojón de granito que confirma que vamos bien. Es una bajada incomoda pues en el momento que realizamos esta ruta, habían cortado eucaliptos y el sendero tenía muchas ramas atravesadas que había que ir sorteando.
En el descenso podemos contemplar a nuestra derecha Ortigueira.
Seguimos bajando y nos encontramos con una autovía que en el momento en que yo paso esta en construcción. Seguiremos las flechas amarillas del Camino de Santiago y deberemos cruzar dicha carretera por un puente.
No muy lejos esta la parroquia ortegana de Cuiña, que es atravesada por la carretera de Ferrol AC-862.
Al llegar a la carretera de Ferrol, si la cruzamos veremos el mojón que indica el PK 21,3, esta justo al lado del bar Comidas Casa Cedeira. Llegados a este punto deberemos ir pensando en acabar nuestra primera etapa, pues si no han surgido contratiempos, llevaremos andados 29,4 Km.
¿Que opciones tenemos cuando llegados al mojón que indica el PK 21,3?
- Buscar alojamiento y dar por finalizada la etapa. Si seguimos la AC-862 dirección Ortigueira, a unos 300 metros del encontraremos la pensión Giz. Ortigueira esta a unos dos kilómetros de este mojón, allí la oferta de alojamientos es mayor.
- Cruzar la AC-862 y seguir el camino hasta pasar Rio Maior, al llegar al cruce de caminos, seguiremos rectos, abandonaremos en este punto el camino de San Andrés que sigue por nuestra izquierda. A no más de un kilómetro encontraremos el apeadero del FEVE desde donde podremos regresar a Viveiro y retomar otro día el camino en el punto que lo abandonamos.
Etapa 2: De la parroquia de Cuiña (Ortigueira) a San Andrés de Teixido (Cedeira)
Independientemente de la decisión que tomemos, retomaremos nuestra segunda etapa desde el punto donde la finalizamos. La etapa se inicia con pocas pendientes y pasamos por diversos lugares de la parroquia de Senra entre los que destacan Sa e Igrexario.
El camino sigue hasta llegar a la parroquia ortegana de San Claudio, allí podemos verse algunos de los cobertizos de los vendedores de la primera y más destacada feria ortegana.
Atravesaremos San Claudio, pasando junto a su iglesia (PK 17,1).
El camino nos lleva a Carballo de Boi donde contemplaremos bonitas vistas de la ría de Ortigueira.
Seguiremos a nuestra sardina hasta divisar la estación de FEVE de Pote Mera, y aquí mucha atención, pues la señalización del Camino de Santiago se aparta del camino a San Andrés. Nuestra será la decisión de seguir una u otra indicación, mientras las flechas amarillas nos llevan a la Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago de Mera y por la orilla de río Mera, el camino de San Andrés acorta mucho más, atravesando el río Mera por un bonito parque conocido como la Isla de Mera equipada con mesas para comer y descansar y donde veremos un cartel del Camino a San Andrés igual que el que vimos en “a Ponte do Porto”.
Seguiremos hasta Ponte Mera (PK 13,2), cruzaremos la carretera de Ferrol y siguiendo las sardinas iremos hacia Veiga, siguiendo la desembocadura del río Mera.
El camino es bastante llano y muy bonito, especialmente en primavera, cuando están en flor los manzanos, los cerezos, los rododendros, las margaritas...
Salimos de Veiga y tras cruzar la carretera encontraremos el mojón que marca el PK 11,4.
Comienza aquí un ascenso de 8 kilómetros que se endurece tras pasar Casón.
A algo menos de dos kilómetros de comenzar el ascenso de Casón, encontraremos un par de carteles que nos invitan a desviarnos a la izquierda.
Si el día esta despejado y no hay niebla, merece la pena desviarse al yacimiento arqueológico de O Casón, que esta a algo menos de 350 metros desde el cartel. Sobre este abrupto lugar se asentaba un castillo del alto medievo (siglos XI-XII), del que quedan algunos restos. Las vistas desde aquí son espectaculares, su estratégica situación permitía controlar la ría de Ortigueira desde Estaca de Bares hasta Sismundi.
En el mojón que marca el PK 8,4 hay un cruce de caminos en el que encontraremos una desviación que nos lleva a la base de la cascada “Pozo do Inferno”, especialmente bonita en primaveras lluviosas. Está a unos 300 metros de este cruce. No obstante aunque no nos desviemos, a medida que subamos veremos a nuestra derecha entre los pinos la cascada.
La pista de tierra nos lleva a otra de asfalto para entrar en el Concello de Cedeira por Lámelas y Biduido (en castellano, lugar de abedules o abedular) un precioso paraje con una ermita (PK 6,5).
Tras pasar la ermita tomaremos el camino que sale a mano derecha que nos lleva entre robles y eucaliptos a una casa de piedra conocida como “A Candocía”.
Por aquí seguiremos la carretera hasta Meizoso.
Aquí deberemos girar a la izquierda en busca de la carretera que baja desde Garita Herbeira a San Andrés de Teixido (PK 3,7).
Tras unos metros por esta carretera, la abandonaremos para seguir por camino hasta el cruceiro dos carris.
Allí nos encontramos un cartel y una placa dedicada al actor de Hollywood Leslie Howard, conocido por su papel de Ashley, en la película “Lo que el viento se llevó” y que murió muy cerca de este cruceiro cuando una patrulla de 8 Junkers de la Luftwaffe derribo el avión en el que viajaba, con 17 personas a bordo, que cubría la respetada ruta Lisboa-Bristol, a su paso por “A Capelada”.
El ataque estaba dirigido contra Howard por haber sido considerado por los názis un espía británico. El motivo del viaje del actor a la Península pudo ser transmitir un mensaje del Gobierno de Winston Churchill a Francisco Franco: si España no entraba en la Segunda Guerra Mundial para apoyar a Adolf Hitler, los Aliados no tomarían represalias. El Ayuntamiento de Cedeira, recupera así la memoria de Leslie Howard y pone en valor el papel que jugó para neutralizar España durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Desde el cruceiro descendemos a San Andrés por un camino duro, ya que esta lleno de piedras sueltas y debemos mantenernos atentos a donde pisamos.
Antes de llegar a los aparcamientos de San Andrés veremos una pequeña laguna.
Nuestra estapa llega a su fin, estamos llegando a la capilla del Santo, donde podremos sellar nuestra credencial.
Desde aquí el Camino de Santiago sigue por Cedeira hasta Ferrol donde se une al camino Inglés.
El contenido de este diario, esta redactado conforme a las noticias que se están recogiendo en los distintos medios de información en las fechas mencionadas. Poco a poco iré actualizandolo e ilustrandolo. Estoy desbordado con tanta información.
Martes, 19 de Julio de 2011
Soy un volcán, y la más joven de las islas Canarias está embarazada conmigo. Hoy mi corazón ha empezado a latir en las entrañas de “El Hierro”.
Martes, 2 de Agosto 2011
Mi corazón sigue latiendo y de vez en cuando pataleo. Ellos aun no lo saben y de momento me llaman “crisis sísmica”, pues ya he provocado más de 1000 terremotos.
Viernes, 23 de Septiembre de 2011
Los herreños están muy atentos de mí. Buscan referencias mías en la radio, la tele e Internet, ya que el Gobierno de Canarias ha establecido el semáforo amarillo, dicen que estamos en fase de preemergencia por riesgo volcánico.
Martes, 27 de Septiembre de 2011
Cada vez, mamá se resiente más de mis pataleos. Ya tiene buena tripa, y los científicos dicen que he deformado la isla en 5 cm.
Mis temblores han afectado a la mayor parte de la isla de El Hierro. Las autoridades han decidido desalojar a 300 personas de “La Frontera” por riesgo de desprendimientos y los colegios han suspendido sus clases. También han cerrado el túnel de los Roquillos que une el Valle de El Golfo con Valverde.
Jueves, 6 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy el Mar de las Calmas, no ha hecho honor a su nombre. He golpeado fuertemente su fondo marino.
Sabado, 8 de Octubre de 2011
Sigo golpeado fuertemente la tierra bajo el mar, produciendo fuertes terremotos, el mayor ha sido de 4,3 grados en la escala de Richter.
Domindo, 9 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy mama ha tenido fuertes contracciones, creo que estamos de parto.
Lunes, 10 de Octubre de 2011
Son la 4:18 de la madrugada y acabo de nacer en la dorsal meridional, la parte más joven de la isla. Suelto lava a unos 900 metros de profundad bajo el Océano Atlántico y a unos 5 kilometros de la Restinga. Los científicos oyen mis latidos y tratan de localizarme.
La información que llega a los herreños es muy confusa. Por una parte, tanto el presidente del Cabildo de El Hierro, como el alcalde Frontera han hablado de posible erupción volcánica submarina, pero los helicópteros sobrevuelan tierra y mar y no me ven.
Martes, 11 de Octubre de 2011
Después de haber provocado unos diez mil terremotos, los herreños empiezan a saber algo más de mí. Han aparecido múltiples peces muertos que flotan en superficie a pocos kilómetros de la costa, en la zona en donde produje los últimos terremotos.
Los navegantes no pueden acercarse a cuatro millas alrededor de mí.
Mi nacimiento en el fondo marino ha producido gran alivio a los habitantes de la Restinga, hartos de tanta incertidumbre, pero los científico, que andan continuamente auscultándome, se han asustado mucho, pues han oído demasiado cerca de la Restinga el fluir de mis venas, al cual llaman “tremor”, y han subido el semáforo de alerta volcánica a rojo ordenando la evacuación del pueblo de la Restinga.
Miércoles, 12 de Octubre de 2011
Estoy empezando a perder fuerza, tanta presión oceánica me esta ahogando y necesito respirar a menor profundidad. Intento huir de la columna de agua de casi un kilómetro que tengo sobre mí, así que estoy abriendo dos nuevas bocas, esta vez a 500 y 750 metros de profundidad y más cerca de la costa.
Ahora los herreños ya me pueden ver. He provocado dos manchas verdes en el mar, con fuerte olor a azufre y algunos peces muertos.
Jueves, 13 de Octubre de 2011
Diversos satélites fotografían desde el espacio la mancha que estoy dejando
Viernes, 14 de Octubre de 2011
Como si de una gran mancha de petróleo se tratara, los herreños han estado pendientes de como la gran mancha de azufre con restos de mi erupción llegaba sobre las 3 de la tarde a la costa, arrastrada por las corrientes.
Sábado, 15 de Octubre de 2011
A mediodía de hoy he producido una nueva boca a 2,5 km de la costa, y a unos 150 metros de profundidad, aseguran que soy un problema, ya que a menos de 100 metros podría empezar a producir explosiones freatomagmáticas. Por esta razón han ampliando el perímetro de seguridad de la Restiga a 2 km.
He comenzado a expulsar fragmentos de lava humeantes que flotan sobre el agua y han prohibido sobrevolar la zona donde me encuentro. El barco de investigación que me estudia ha recibido la orden de retirarse urgentemente. En la Restinga, han pasado el semáforo rojo ha al nivel 1 de emergencia.
Los científicos del Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) y de Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), ya me han clasificado, tengo una erupción de tipo surtseyana, compuesta por cuatro fases.
Domingo, 16 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy he vuelto a abrir las noticias en varios telediarios, afirman que produciré una nueva isla. Esto sería una buena noticia para mí ya que crearía nuevos fondos y ecosistemas, incluso podría ampliar la Reserva Marina del Mar de las Calmas. Además haría crecer a España y con el tiempo atraería a muchos turistas que querrían ver y pisar la tierra más joven de España, que ahora pertenece a mi promo hermano el “Teneguia” y también serían las tierras más meridional, ya que mi isla estaría a poco mas de dos kilómetros al sur de la tierra más al sur de España que se ubica en la “Punta de los Saltos” de la Restinga.
Que bonito es soñar, pero aún no se si seré capaz de tal proeza, ya que mis últimos hermanos han producido erupciones moderadas y con una vida corta de no mas de un mes. Eso si, no debo olvidar a mi tatarabuelo “Timanfaya” que estuvo 6 años activo haciendo crecer a Lanzarote.
De momento soy muy pequeño, pero estoy más activo que en días anteriores. Mi boca apenas tiene un metro de diámetro y he conseguido hinchar a mama unos cinco centímetros.
Dicen los científicos que la culminación de mis 4 fases dependerá de la cantidad de magma que puede expulsar.
Ahora estoy en la primera fase, he empezado a enrojecer la mancha verde del mar.
Sigo produciendo burbujeos en el agua y expulsando piedras humeantes que los científicos llaman “lava balloons” o “globos de lava”, que formo mezclando la lava con mis gases eruptivos, y cuando pierden el gas se hunden.
Si llego a la segunda fase, empezaré ser visible cuando me encuentre a unos 60 metros de profundidad. Empezaré a expulsar columnas de vapor blanco que darán paso a la tercera fase en la que los científicos dicen que produciré unas explosiones de color negro conocidas como colas de gallo.
Si aun me quedan fuerzas, regalaré a los herreños una nueva isla donde expulsaré una fuente de lava tipo surtidor.
Los satélites de la NASA han vuelto a fotografiar la mancha que estoy dejando en el Océano Atlántico y ya es casi tan grande como mama.
Algunos científicos calculan que seré capaz de escupir 40 millones de metros cúbicos de lava, el equivalente a 40.000 piscinas olímpicas.
Lunes, 17 de Octubre de 2011
Llevó ya una semana en este mundo. Mi burbujeo es constante y definido y rujo más fuerte. Los científicos quieren escuchar mis rugidos bajo el mar y han colocado hidrófonos.
También han cogido muestras de mis piedras flotantes, son gases solidificados que se deshacen al recogerlos.
En su interior son como cocos.
Mi mancha en el mismo muelle y la percepción de ciertos olores molestos ha obliga a aplazar el regreso de los vecinos a la Restinga.
Los juristas hoy han hablado sobre quien se quedaría mis tierras, si es que llego a formar una isla. Aplicarían en mí, la figura jurídica Ínsula In Flúmine Nata, del Derecho Romano, por la que se decidiría mi estatus. Pertenecería a la provincia de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Han hablado de otras dos posibilidades, que yo ni siquiera contemplo.
Si surgiera en aguas territoriales españolas pero fuera del perímetro, y hasta tres millas mar adentro, sería del Estado Español y el decidiría mi estatus, por proximidad, pertenecería a la comunidad canaria.
Si formo una isla en aguas internacionales, algo que de momento me resulta imposible, mi estatus se decidiría en la ONU. España tendría las de ganar, pero si tía Lanzarote engendrara hijos en aguas internacionales entre Canarias y Marruecos, habría problemas con mis primos, pues la frontera marítima está sin definir al no reconocer Rabat Canarias como española.
Martes, 18 de Octubre de 2011
Esta noche rugí fuerte, pero por el día estuve bastante tranquilo, rugiendo menos y con poco burbujeo en la superficie del mar. También he reducido mis pataleos y por eso, esta tarde han vuelto a abrir el túnel de los Roquillos para los vehículos pesados, también han reanudado el acceso controlado de los vecinos a La Restinga pero se ha descartado el realojo de todos sus vecinos ya que huele mucho a azufre y mi mancha sigue cubriendo la costa desde la Restinga ( punto mas meridional de España) hasta el mítico faro de Orchilla (punto mas occidental de España), que según me han contado fue durante muchos años el punto de referencia para los navegantes por ser el auténtico extremos occidental del viejo mundo, por eso allí tenía su origen el meridiano 0, hasta que fue sustituido por el de Greenwich.
Los científicos me llaman “1803-02”, me gustaría tener un nombre mas bonito, como “volcán de las calmas”, pero los científicos son demasiado cuadriculados para esto de los nombres, estoy seguro que si algún día llego a ser visible los herreños me bautizaran con un nombre mas bonito. Algunos tienen tantas ganas de verme, que dijeron que ya expulsaba columnas de vapor, no hagáis caso, que si llega el momento lo veréis bien.
Han hecho nuevos cálculos sobre mí, dicen que tengo más magma que mi primo hermano Teneguía, que parió tía “La Palma” hace ya 40 años. Él vivió 24 días y expulsó cuarenta millones de metros cúbicos de material magmático al exterior. Los que me estudian, dicen que seré capaz de arrojar 50 millones de metros cúbicos de lava y me dan una esperanza de vida de mes y medio.
He dado tal publicidad internacional a mi madre, que están llegando turistas de todas partes del mundo para verme.
Miércoles, 19 de Octubre de 2011
Pierdo fuerza, ya no burbujeo y rujo menos. Mamá se empieza a desinflar. Los científicos son prudentes, pero piensan que poco a poco me estoy apagando.
Los niveles de gases como el dióxido de azufre, el sulfuro de hidrógeno y el dióxido de carbono triplican los valores normales a un kilómetro de mi mancha. El nivel de acidez del agua del mar (pH) es de 6,4, un valor de acidez catastrófico para la fauna marina. Soy responsable de todos esos peces muertos que flotan a la deriva. Algunos han muerto por descompresión, tienen los ojos fuera de sus órbitas, debido a una rápida huida a la superficie.
Entiendo que estéis enfadados conmigo, ya que el impacto negativo que he producido ha sido inmediato pero habrá un impacto positivo aunque largo plazo. Afortunadamente el mar se recupera mucho más rápido que la tierra y no quiero que me veáis como un destructor de vida, todo lo contrario, soy origen de la vida primigenia.
¿Sabíais que la parte de la mancha verde originada por mis emisiones volcánicas está experimentando una fertilización masiva de fitoplancton?. Esto es debido al dióxido de carbono y los minerales que expulso.
En mi mancha hay ya bacterias que crecen y sintetizan materia orgánica gracias a mis emisiones de lava y minerales, en estas condiciones tan extremas, y asociadas a estas bacterias están creciendo infinidad de organismos. Por esta razón, los científicos están viendo en mí, una oportunidad única de estudio.
Jueves, 20 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy espectáculos pocos. Estoy tranquilo, esta mañana amanecí adormecido, tengo menos fuerzas y doy menos señales de vida. Los científicos dicen que duraré pocos días o semanas, pero eso no lo se ni yo.
Han anunciado que los vecinos de la Restinga que lo deseen podrán volver mañana a sus casas. Han reabierto el túnel de los Roquillos para todos los usuarios de 8 a 20h.
Viernes, 21 de Octubre de 2011
La calidad del aire ha mejorado en la Restinga y los vecinos vuelven por fin a sus casas. Algunos manifiestan su enfado conmigo, especialmente los que viven del mar, ya que mis precipitados de hidróxido de hierro, aluminio y silicio afectan ya al 80% de la costa que tiene unos 107 kilómetros de perímetro.
He pegado un buen susto al buque oceanográfico que se encontraba estudiándome, ya que se he vuelto a formar el remolino marino con burbujeo y he expulsado mas material a la superficie que no han podido recoger por razones de seguridad.
Sábado, 22 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy mis rugidos han aumentado, el magma fluye en mi interior y vuelvo a las andadas con más pataleos. Desde las 12 de ayer y hoy he liberado la misma energía que los seis días anteriores.
Domingo, 23 de Octubre de 2011
Anoche pataleé bastante y produje 40 nuevos terremotos, alguno de ellos fueron sentidos en “El Pinar” y “La Frontera”. Mi energía sísmica vuelve a subir, especialmente en la zona de “El Golfo”.
Vuelvo a mostrar nuevos signos de activación, eso si, inferiores a los de los primeros días. Mi mancha marina ha vuelto a cambiar de color y produzco burbujeo y turbulencias en la superficie del mar. Algunos ya me dan por extinguido, pero lo cierto es que mi magma sigue buscando nuevos lugares por donde salir y por eso no dejo de patalear. Todos piensan que si abro una nueva boca será en el mar.
Lunes, 24 de Octubre de 2011
Tras mi primera erupción, la sismicidad fue decreciendo en actividad, pero desde hace tres días mi actividad sísmica ha empezado a subir, ayer sin ir mas lejos produje 62 terremotos. Mirad la gráfica de energias sísmicas que he liberado:
A esto los científicos lo llaman “función de Carnot” o “escalera del diablo”, y es justamente lo que dibujé antes de mi primera erupción submarina. Con esto los científicos han confirmado mi segunda reactivación volcánica, con un nuevo frente en “La Frontera”, donde se han concentrado mis últimos pataleos. Algunos piensan que estoy intentando abrir una nueva boca al norte, por la zona de “El Golfo”, y apuestan, que si lo consigo volveré a salir en el mar. Están todos pendientes comprobando si estoy deformando a mamá.
Esta foto que os dejo es de mi mancha marina. La ha tomado el satélite Deimos 1, y en ella podéis observar su tamaño y como se aleja de mamá en dirección sur a través del Atlántico.
Aunque sigue siendo preocupante, ya que la ha resultado ser una catástrofe natural y económica en toda regla, los científicos piensan la recuperación de las aguas puede ser más rápida de lo que se pensaba.
La Asociación Vulcanológica de Canarias ha propuesto que las rocas que he expulsado sean bautizadas como “restingolitas”, en alusión “La Restinga”, debido a su rareza y singularidad.
Martes, 25 de Octubre de 2011
Los científicos y técnicos han localizado y levantado la primera cartografía de mi cráter. Han utilizado ecosondas de alta resolución.
He expulsado un volumen de lava importante, formando un cono de 12 hectómetros cúbicos en dos semanas, el equivalente aproximadamente, a una decena de grandes estadios de fútbol enteros.
La lengua de lava, se extiende varios kilómetros y tiene dos hectómetros cúbicos. Mi cono esta mas profundo de lo que pensaban, en concreto a 300 metros de profundidad, su diámetro en la base es de unos 700 metros, su altura de 100 metros y mi cráter mide 120 metros.
Mi lava en el fondo marino se va solidificando, formando una costra en la superficie, pero por debajo sigue siendo viscosa, aunque acabará solidificándose toda.
Miércoles, 26 de Octubre de 2011
Hoy quiero felicitar a mi primo hermano “Teneguía”, y es que tal día como hoy, hace ya 40 años, empezó a escribir su propio diario, recordando a los canarios que viven sobre volcanes. Mucho han cambiado las cosas ya que en 1971, las instituciones científicas españolas se enteraron por la CIA de que algo extraño le pasaba a mi tía “La Palma”, a pesar de que sus habitantes llevaban semanas sintiendo terremotos, y los primeros vulcanólogos llegaron a la isla al día siguiente de que naciera mi primo hermano Teneguía.
En aquella época, el despliegue de protección civil consistió en una pareja de la Guardia Civil, encargada de que la gente no se acercase mas de la cuenta, en cambio, par mí han hecho una evacuación preventiva de los vecinos de La Restinga, siguiendo lo previsto en los planes de prevención y se han movilizado todo tipo de medios, incluida la Unidad Militar de Emergencias.
Yo soy el primer volcán del siglo XXI en territorio español, y he sido monitorizado al minuto desde que nací. Desde mediados de julio, tengo movilizada a la elite científica del país, cuando mi corazón empezó a latir en lo más profundo de mamá.
Además puedo presumir de ser el primer volcán submarino que se cartografía directamente en su nacimiento.
Ahora intentan observarme con cámaras de vídeo de alta resolución con focos para iluminarme ya que en el agua, a partir de cien metros de profundidad, la oscuridad es total.
Lunes, 31 de Octubre de 2011
Durante estos últimos días mis pataleos han producido una actividad sísmica moderada-alta, que ha ido al alza en la zona del Golfo. Los herreños notan algunos de mis golpes y andan preocupados. Ayer hice templar la tierra en 92 ocasiones y sigo disparando la gráfica de energías sísmicas que he liberado, menuda “escalera del diablo” estoy dibujando
Los científicos estan preocupados por mis emisiones de dióxido de carbono, ya que ha vuelto a subir el valor, que ya esta en 914 toneladas por día, cuando el valor más alto que se considera normal es de 860 toneladas, en la erupción del 10 de octubre lo subí a 990 toneladas por día.
Miércoles, 2 de Noviembre de 2011
Sigo expulsando piroclastos humeantes, eso si, ahora son mucho más grandes de lo habitual, lo que provoca una coloración más oscura en el agua.
Los científicos han dicho que la mezcla de magmas de mis piroclastos tienen un potencial explosivo mayor de lo que pensaban. Se componen de un producto negro que es una roca básica (basanita) y, otro blanco (riolita alcalina).
Mientras que desinflo a mamá por el sur, en el norte mama se infla y los habitantes de “La Frontera” se preparan para una gran evacuación. La Unidad Militar de Emergencias ha trasladado a la isla un albergue de campaña con capacidad para alojar a 2.000 personas.
Hoy mi tasa de emisi ón de dioxido de carbono ha registrado máximos, alcanzando las 1044 toneladas diarias, el mayor valor observado desde que nací.
Mis sacudidas al norte, en “La Frontera”, han sido las mas fuerte hasta la fecha, habiendo despertado esta mañana a mas de uno con un terremoto de 4,4 grados de magnitud. Ha sido también el día que mas energía he liberado desde que empecé a expulsar lava.
Guadalajara proviene del vocablo árabe “Wad-al-hidjara”, que significa “río que corre entre piedras”. El nombre de la ciudad española le fue prestado a la ciudad de Jalisco en honor a su conquistador que era de Guadalajara (España). Lo cierto es que con el tiempo la hija se hizo mas grande y famosa que la madre, hasta tal punto que cuando uno viaja y dice que es de Guadalajara rápidamente es asociado a Méjico y no a España. Ahora la Diputación de Guadalajara se ha cobrado el préstamo del topónimo a cambio de coger prestada la música típica de la ciudad mejicana, así ha nacido la nueva campaña promocional de nuestra Guadalajara, a ritmo de ranchera. Aquí os va el video con bonitas imágenes de esta provincia.
Ataros bien las botas porque ponemos rumbo a lo que en breve será el “Parque Natural de la Sierra Norte de Guadalajara”. Este Parque Natural, cuyo proyecto de ley fue aprobado hace apenas un mes, posee un amplio patrimonio que refleja, sin duda alguna, el transcurrir de la historia de los 46 núcleos urbanos, pertenecientes a 35 términos municipales.
Este Parque Natural abarcará tres espacios naturales ya incluidos en la Red de Áreas Protegidas de Castilla-La Mancha: el Parque Natural del Hayedo de Tejera, la Reserva Natural del Pico del Lobo-Cebollera y la Reserva Fluvial del Río Pelagallinas.
El relieve de la Sierra Norte de Guadalajara es muy accidentado, conformando un conjunto montañoso que incluye diversas sierras y macizos, como el macizo del Pico del Lobo-Cebollera, la Sierra de la Tejera Negra ( La Buitrera ), la Sierra de Alto Rey, la Sierra de la Bodera , el Macizo de La Tornera-Centenera (Sierras de Concha y de La Puebla ) y la Sierra Gorda.
En este relieve están presentes las tres cumbres de mayor altitud de Castilla-La Mancha: el Pico del Lobo (2.273 m), el Cerrón (2.199 m) y la Peña Cebollera Vieja o Tres Provincias (2.129 m).
Nuestra ruta discurre por el sur de este privilegiado espacio natural.
Distancia recorrida: 25,2 kilómetros
Altitud min: 837 metros, max: 1.054 metros
Desnivel acum. subiendo: 594 metros, bajando: 620 metros
Tiempo: 7 horas 18 minutos
Un bonito manto de nieve cubrirá gran parte de nuestra ruta. Salimos de Retiendas y abandonaremos el pueblo por el GR-10 que nos conducirá en ascenso por un bonito Robledal-Quejigar hasta Tamajón. La belleza de este lugar, la abundancia de leña, aire y aguas de buena calidad, así como canteras en las proximidades con las que se construyó el Palacio del Infantado de Guadalajara, hicieron que Felipe II estudiará la posibilidad de construir su Monasterio de San Lorenzo en Tamajón. El final de la historia ya la conocemos, la proximidad de El Escorial a Madrid y su accesibilidad, concluyeron con la elección final del emplazamiento de la hasta hace poco, octava maravilla del mundo.
Tras saborear los paisajes del que pudo ser panteón de reyes, nos dirigimos a Sacedoncillo. Un buen amigo me enseño ya hace tiempo este bello enclave, un pueblo en el que el tiempo se paró hace más de 70 años. Las ruinas de una veintena de casas y su iglesia asoman en un bello paraje que invita a la contemplación.
El GR-10 nos lleva a cruzar el arroyo de Sacedoncillo para poner rumbo a Muriel, un sencillo pueblo serrano en la cola del embalse de Beleña, y que en verano acoge a multitud de bañistas que buscan el frescor de las aguas del Sorbe.
Una montería nos impiderá seguir el sendero de Muriel a Arbancón teniendo que proseguir por carretera.
Tras reponer fuerzas en Arbancón nos dirigiremos a Cogolludo, su nombre original fue Cugullent, del latín cucullus, capuchón, que alude a su ubicación sobre un cerro y el apiñamiento de sus casas que parecen formar una piña o cogollo, por comparación de forma con el brote o remate de hortalizas como la berza o la lechuga. La iglesia y el castillo nos dan la bienvenida. Como colofón final de nuestra marcha, llegaremos a la Plaza Mayor presidida por el Palacio de los Duques de Medinaceli.
Aquí va un video de la ruta con las fotos de Tomás, Ricardo y las mías.
Hoy viajamos a Galicia con “Corpos Arbóreos”, un documental de Andrés Victorero que recorre nueve árboles singulares de Galicia. Ellos fueron testigos de nuestra historia y tradiciones y siguen estando junto a nosotros para formar parte de nuestra vida.
Os presento a sus protagonistas:
En el Monumento Natural “Souto de Rozabales” de Manzaneda (Orense), encontramos al Castaño de Pumbariños (Castanea sativa), el árbol de mayor perímetro de toda Galicia, ni más ni menos que 12,15 metros.
Su edad es una incógnita, pero supera con creces los 500 años.
Pumbariños es un superviviente de la tinta del castaño, una enfermedad causada principalmente por el hongo Phytophthora cinnamomi que ha ido acabando con nuestros castaños mas emblemáticos.
De momento, y esperemos que por mucos años, él nos sigue dando otoño tras otoño su dulce fruto, como cuando la castaña era tan necesaria para el sustento antes de la llegada de la patata del nuevo continente.
En Carballedo (Lugo) encontramos al Roble Grande del Pazo de Cartelos (Quercus robur). Sin lugar a dudas uno de los árboles autóctonos más sobresalientes de España por sus dimensiones y único en su especie a nivel europeo.
Sus medidas son de escándalo con sus 36 metros de altura y 11,21 metros de perímetro es capaz de proyectar sobre el suelo una sombra que supera los 600 metros cuadrados.
En 1932, Don Luis Taboada de Zúñiga, dueño del Pazo y sus robles recibió una oferta económica muy tentadora de RENFE para convertir este y otros robles de la zona en “traviesas” para la línea férrea Benavente-Orense.
Pese al delicado momento económico que atravesaba, renunció a la prosperidad de un futuro próximo, para continuar conservando este robledal que, como él decía, no es nuestro, sino patrimonio de los Siglos y de la tierra que nos soporta.
En La Estrada (Pontevedra) encontramos al Alcornoque de Balboa (Quercus suber). Es este el árbol más antiguo de Galicia datado bibliográficamente, pues en tiempo de los Reyes Católicos ya era conocido.
Este árbol, más típico del clima mediterráneo que de su entorno atlántico, alcanza un perímetro de 9 metros y con sus más de 500 años ha sobrevivido a algún que otro incendio.
Su característica abertura en el tronco le confiere aspecto de cueva.
En Pelete - A Lama (Pontevedra) encontramos el Roble del Vino (Quercus robur), y es que la fiesta del vino en Pelete no se entiende si no es con la participación de este Carballo.
Todos los años los habitantes y numerosos simpatizantes que se acercan a la fiesta del vino, empiezan su particular etílico festín brindando con el árbol, como si esperaran el permiso del centenario ejemplar para comenzar el jolgorio.
La primera jarra siempre va para el roble.
La fiesta del vino en Pelete tiene un origen muy curioso y antiguo. En el siglo XVIII, el hijo de un arriero que cubría la zona recibió un día una coz de una mula quedando malherido. El arriero rezó a la patrona del lugar, la Virgen de los Remedios, prometiéndole que si salvaba a su hijo regalaría todos los años un “pelexo de viño” hasta su muerte.
Desde aquel momento se celebra la fiesta del vino el 7 de septiembre, día de la patrona de la localidad. De esta historia, de ser cierta, seguro que fue testigo este anciano roble, pues se encuentra muy cercano a la ermita de la Virgen de los Remedios, en donde se supone que oró el arriero.
Su espectacular tamaño y su estupendo aspecto de abuelo centenario, dicen los del lugar, que se lo da el vino tinto que se toma cada año en la fiesta, que le cura de todo, de los bichos y de los hongos que le hayan podido atacar a lo largo de su dilatada vida.
En Mourente (Pontevedra), encontramos el Roble de Santa Margarita (Quercus robur), sin lugar a dudas el árbol de mayor legado etnográfico de toda Galicia.
Este ejemplar es el único vestigio que queda de un antiguo bosque de robles que los druidas consideraban sagrado. La mayoría de ellos fueron talados para leña y construcción de barcos, entre ellos la famosa carabela “Santa María” que fue realizada en los astilleros de Pontevedra.
Bajo este roble las parejas se juran amor eterno ya que la tradición nos cuenta que los juramentos que se hacen debajo de este árbol son garantía de que se van a cumplir.
La supervivencia del roble se encuentra unida a la presencia de una fuente cercana, considerada milagrosa, en donde se dice que los invidentes y los leprosos sanaban con solo bañarse en ella. Una dama portuguesa tras curarse de una enfermedad de la piel, como muestra de agradecimiento, construyó una ermita al lado de la fuente y del árbol, que es la que todavía hoy se puede contemplar.
Por su cercanía a la fuente de los milagros, al carballo siempre se le ha considerado sagrado y ha sido respetado por todos los habitantes desde antaño. Se dice que en el año 1740 cuando un ladrón quiso talarlo, los vecinos se lo impidieron de forma violenta y sólo la intervención de un sacerdote, que pasaba por allí, impidió su linchamiento.
En Carballo (La Coruña), encontramos el Roble de San Antonio (Quercus robur). La tradición popular cuenta que San Antonio, cuando peregrinaba hacia Santiago de Compostela, celebró una misa en un pequeño santuario, situado en Vilar de Francos. Durante el oficio se dice que debajo del altar nació un pequeño roble, que fue creciendo con tanto vigor que terminó por derribar la ermita, la cual fue construida de nuevo al lado donde posteriormente se edificaría el Pazo del Marqués de Atalaya.
Desde siempre los habitantes del lugar han considerado al árbol el representante de los favores de San Antonio y, por tanto, un ser vivo al que se le atribuyen abundantes milagros. Entre ellos, se cuenta que no se le puede cortar rama alguna, ya que el árbol derrama un jugo parecido a la sangre, además aquel que pudiera dañar al árbol está sentenciado a multitud de males de por vida.
Cuando un ganadero perdía alguna cabeza de ganado, se acerca a este roble y rezaba un responso a San Antonio, después pensado en el lugar donde podría encontrarse el animal perdido, el ganadero se dirigía a ese sitio y encontraba al animal.
Se dice que si se logra atinar siete piedras dentro de un agujero del tronco, San Antonio te da lo que le pidas. Si estás soltera, un marido y si estás casada, un hijo.
En el Monumento Natural “Souto da Retorta” de Viveiro (Lugo), encontramos al Abuelo de Chavín (Eucalyptus globulus). Este ejemplar de eucalipto blanco, ha sido recientemente premiado como árbol del año 2010, supera los 70 metros de altura y con sus 75,2 metros cúbicos de madera, esta considerado el árbol más grande de España.
El bosque de eucaliptos del Soto de la Retorcida esta considerado el eucaliptal más monumental del continente europeo. Este eucaliptal que se encuentra en la parroquia de Chavín, a cuatro kilómetros de Viveiro fue plantado entre 1880 y 1912 para drenar los terrenos bajos que encharcaban los arroyos tributarios del Landro. El empresario catalán Jaume Bassols se afincó en Chavín y montó una central eléctrica que abastecía a dos fábricas de su propiedad, una de hilados y a otra de carrocería.
En ocasiones estas fábricas se veían perjudicadas cuando la crecida del río inundaba la hidroeléctrica. El complejo industrial pasó años después a manos de la familia Barro Rebellón, que plantó eucaliptos en las inmediaciones para que hicieran de presa natural y ayudasen a drenar los terrenos.
A finales de Enero de 2009, el ciclón Klaus lo sacudió hasta las raíces. No fue capaz de tumbarlo, pero le dejó secuelas, porque hubo que talarle una gran rama y le quedó el muñón por el que perdió altura.
En O Corgo (Lugo), encontramos el Aliso de A Fervenza (Alnus glutinosa). Se trata de un ejemplar con una edad estimada 150 años, toda una vida para estos árboles que rara vez sobrepasan los 100 años.
A Fervenza es un bosque muy singular junto al río Miño. Las inundaciones periódicas del Miño han propiciado un bosque sin igual con lagunas interiores de gran belleza que forman un conjunto único junto a estos árboles. En este lugar existen ejemplares bellísimos con cepas muy grandes pero este aliso destaca por su tamaño y porque forma un único tronco, puesto que la mayoría de los ejemplares que le acompañan presentan varios fustes.
En Baamonde (Lugo), encontramos un peculiar castaño (Castanea sativa). Este curioso castaño se encuentra al lado de una preciosa iglesia románica del siglo XIII.
El Castaño de Baamonde se salvó de convertirse en astillas gracias a la intervención de Víctor Corral, un afamado escultor que se encerró dentro del hueco que albergaba el ejemplar, al enterarse de su inminente corta debido a la ampliación de la carretera nacional.
El escultor limpió y saneó su interior dejando en el hueco interior del castaño su impronta, un bonito altar en el que esculpió a la Virgen del Rosario, patrona de Baamonde. Los medios de comunicación se hicieron eco de esta curiosa hazaña y fue tal el revuelo que se organizó, que el castaño no pudo ser cortado, quedando como un auténtico monumento vivo digno de toda admiración.
Corral lo sigue cuidando y en cada una de sus arrugas que ha formado el tiempo, esculpe con gran cuidado pequeños detalles de animales, como ardillas, pico picapinos, etc.
El inmenso y centenario Abuelo de Chavín (O Avó), recibió el pasado viernes, 19 de noviembre de 2010, el premio “Árbol del año 2010” en la categoría “Árbol Gigante”.
Este voluminoso ejemplar de Eucalyptus globulus, que con sus 75,2 metros cúbicos de madera esta considerado el árbol más grande de España, se ubica en el Monumento Natural del Soto de la Retorcida (Souto da Retorta), nombre que hace referencia al cambio pronunciado que hace el río Landro en este lugar.
El abuelo de Chavín fue plantado en 1880 y la reciente medición de su altura (noviembre de 2010) nos ha sorprendido con sus 71,40 metros, frente a los 68 metros que media en 1998. No es el más alto de esta masa, pues junto a el hay un ejemplar que bebe de las aguas de río Landro y le saca algún metro, pero si es el más grueso y voluminoso.
Este anciano presenta algunos achaques de la edad. En su base crecen diversos hongos saprófitos que se alimentan de su vieja madera, a lo que hay que añadir la plaga de Gonipterus scutellatus, un voraz coleóptero, que defolia sin piedad sus hojas. Pero también nosotros estamos debilitando a este gigante de la Mariña Lucense, ya que el continuo pisote del suelo que lo rodea, por parte de sus visitantes que se acercan a abrazarlo y rodearlo, compacta la tierra donde se alimenta dificultando la aireación de su sistema radicular, por eso, parte del dinero de este premio será destinado a construir una pasarela alrededor de los árboles más cercanos al sendero y al Abuelo.
Los premios Árbol y Bosque del Año son concedidos por la ONG Bosques sin Fronteras y la Fundación Biodiversidad entregándose en la sede del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente.
De las seis categorías en que se dividen los Premios, estos han sido los árboles y arboledas reconocidos este año:
Árbol Gigante: El Abuelo de Chavín (Viveiro – Lugo)
Árbol Histórico: El Olmo de Layos (Layos - Toledo)
Árbol Longevo: La Encina de Ambite (Ambite – Madrid)
Bosque Amenazado: Souto de Santa Eufemia (Folgoso do Courel - Lugo)
Árbol o bosque cuidado: La Morera del Huerto del Remedio (Alcira – Valencia)
Árbol y Bosque Emblemático: Premio compartido por el Hayedo de Montejo (Montejo de la Sierra , Madrid) y el Castaño Santo (Istán - Málaga)
Por la festividad de Todos los Santos, llevé a mis padres y a mi abuela a Illana (Guadalajara), la tierra de mis ancestros maternos. Pasé los veranos de mi niñez campeando por estos páramos de la baja alcarria y siempre que podía, me iba a pasar el día con Casiano y Félix, dos de los pastores de dicha villa.
Mucho ha cambiado aquella Illana de los 80, cuando esperaba con entusiasmo el paso de los rebaños de vacas y ovejas por la puerta de casa, cuando el rebuznar de los burros y el canto de los gallos te despertaba por la mañana, cuando el pregonero hacía sonar su trompeta para anunciar el mercado en la calle de las parras, cuando aquel carro tirado por dos borricos pasaba a retirar los cubos de basura, cuando los muchachos echábamos de comer a aquel hermoso gorrino de San Antón que andaba a sus anchas por las calles de la villa… desaparecidas estampas de Illana y de otros muchos pueblos de España únicamente presentes en nuestros recuerdos de infancia.
Desafortunadamente, la mayoría de las veces que Illana aparece en los medios de comunicación de difusión nacional, es para informar de alguna mala noticia. Asesinatos, accidentes mortales, robos, amenazas de muerte… se asocian siempre al nombre de Illana. Siempre mala prensa que deja en esta villa y en sus gentes una inmerecida mala imagen.
El siguiente video es un homenaje a la gente y tierra de mis ancestros, para que cuando alguien escriba en “sir” Google: “Illana” pueda ver algo agradable como su peculiar patrimonio arquitectónico o sus paisajes.
Muchas de ellas están, en su mayor parte, ocupadas por campings, carreteras y urbanizaciones que lenta, pero inexorablemente, reducen el ritmo vital de sus humedales. En los siglos XIX y XX sufrieron el porfiado impulso de la industrialización y del desarrollo socioeconómico.
El principal objetivo de este pequeño rincón de la red es la difusión de la naturaleza. Y es precisamente este objetivo su razón de ser y de existir. Como herramienta de divulgación, aquí encontrareis diversos artículos, tanto formativos como informativos, de temática medioambiental.
Nuestro entorno natural, el paisaje y su paisanaje son sus principales protagonistas. Todo ello a través de diversos artículos, audiciones y videos relacionados con la naturaleza, el mundo forestal, nuestra fauna y flora, los espacios naturales, las energías renovables y un largo etcétera.
Feliz lectura y para cualquier opinión, duda o aclaración podéis usar los comentarios de cada post o contactar directamente conmigo. | Spanish | NL | 315b137b2a14b75d20b299d69199c07c6ff2033bc3b943c50cf38828cfe56a65 |
ESTO NOS CUENTA ALGUIEN QUE HIZO E.J.E.
Hola, yo soy Andy y quiero compartirte algunas cosas que me tocaron
vivir.
Yo era una persona a la que consideraban como segura, firme y siempre de-cidida . Recuerdo que en una charla con amigos y amigas del secundario , intercambiábamos qué era lo que cada uno admiraba del otro y casi todos me dijeron que me veían como una persona segura de sí misma y con mucho autocontrol, que siempre sabía lo que quería. Sin embargo, esa era sólo una imagen. Una imagen que pretendía defender al Andy inseguro y dubitativo que había adentro y que no quería ser descubierto ni expuesto. Esa gran insegu-ridad que tenía era producida por la falta de respuestas satisfactorias a pre-guntas que me hacía y que me hago: ¿quién soy? ¿qué quiero? ¿para qué vine
a este mundo? ¿estamos solos en el universo? En busca de esas respuestas comencé a estudiar antropología. Duré 2 años y creí que el panorama comen-zaba a aclararse. Sin embargo las teorías y paradigmas no contestaban mis preguntas. Después estudié para profesor de educación física. Pero ni bien me recibí las dudas y las inseguridades empezaron a aflorar. Claro que para todos yo me seguía mostrando como una persona segura. Segura no sé de qué, ya que por dentro me sentía solo, en una cueva fría y oscura. Hace unos años atrás mi esposa y mi hermano comenzaron a ir a la iglesia a donde iban mis viejos. Empecé a ver que ellos sí tenían respuestas a las preguntas que yo me hacía. Sin embargo yo siempre creí que mis respuestas las encontraría en un sabio, erudito o filósofo, y no en Dios. Cada vez que alguien tocaba el tema de Dios
en mi casa, me encargaba de refutar y tirar abajo todos sus conceptos. Estaba tan engañado que hasta me convencía a mi mismo que lo lograba. Al poco tiempo me invitaron a hacer E.J.E. Al principio dije que no. Pero luego acepté
el desafío. Les dije que viviría el fin de semana sólo para tener datos y pruebas concretas para argumentar contra ellos y así poder seguir ocultando mis inseguridades. Yo ya había hecho varios campamentos con dinámicas de grupo y esas cosas, pero nunca había sentido lo que sentí esos dos días. Jesús me amaba sin que yo me lo mereciera. Mis preguntas comenzaban a encontrar respuestas en una persona que había dado su vida por mí, en una persona que tiene la verdad, el camino y la vida. Hoy esas inseguridades se han ido. Hoy sé quien soy: un hijo de Dios. Sé qué quiero: alabarlo de día y de noche. Sé que vine a este mundo para dar testimonio de la gloria de Dios. Y sé que no estoy solo, porque Jesús vive en mí y yo vivo en él. | Spanish | NL | b28f6a46da7ee17cadd55ee6bc906d7d9b1c899a92eb60750e34f21afdd8fe2a |
Entendemos por consulta el acceso a un registro del DDD, o la descarga si ésta no se hace desde el registro completo.
Entendemos por descarga el acceso al fichero que contiene el texto completo de un documento, imagen, audio o vídeo. En los registros que contienen más de un fichero se suman conjuntamente todas las descargas.
Eliminamos de las estadísticas los accesos de los robots y del personal de gestión. Definimos como robots aquellos ordenadores que consultan al menos una vez al año el fichero de robots o el servidor oai, u otros detectados por nosotros. Los ordinadores de gestión son aquellos que han accedido a páginas privilegiadas de gestión.
Para determinar las consultas por país se usa el API de GeoIP. | Spanish | NL | bdf3ae7671a912c433c7ccc970030f0ef5977ad70fa45197236da56df77c9099 |
Stellar Phoenix DBF Recovery es una aplicación de reparación de bases de datos amigable para el usuario que sirve para reparar archivos de bases de datos corrompidos o dañados creados con las aplicaciones MS Visual FoxPro 6.0, 7.0, 8.0 o 9.0, dBase III, dBase IV y dBase V que se corrompieron durante una situación que ha provocado daños lógicos, incluyendo daños en la cabecera del archivo, funcionamiento incorrecto de MS Visual FoxPro o dBase, corrupción del sistema operativo o daños en el sistema de archivo.
"DBF Doctor" es una valiosa adición a su paquete de herramientas IT. "DBF Doctor" permite restaurar datos importantes de aquellos archivos de bases de datos dañados o corruptos en unos cuantos minutos. La sofisticada máquina analítica examina el archivo de base de datos y los restaura con exactitud. En tan solo un par de minutos se puede ver nuevamente su contenido. Disponible para Dbase III/IV, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro.
Si tus archivos DBF ha sido dañados o se encuentran corruptos, los lectores DBF estándar no funcionarán. Recibirás un mensaje de error o verás tonterías en lugar de tus valiosos datos. Sin embargo ¡Puedes tener suerte! DBF Recovery de HiBase Group puede restaurar tus datos. A diferencia de la mayoría de los competidores, DBF Recovery no sólo repara los encabezados sino que también analiza las estructuras de datos actuales e intenta repararlos también.
El programa usa tecnología QFSCI para reparar archivos .DBF corruptos o dañados. Es uno de los programas de reparación de bases de datos dbf más ampliamente utilizados por Usuarios de Hogar, Técnicos en Computadoras, Administradores de Sistemas, Institutos de I y D, Instituciones Académicas, Establecimientos de Defensa, etc.
El programa DBF to MDB (Access) le permite convertir sus archivos dbf al formato MDB (Microsoft Access).
EL formato MDB es el formato usado con más frecuencia, pero, algunas veces, Access no puede abrir los archivos DBF o los que están dañados.
Por otro lado, MS Access no entiende los campos largos de caracteres (más de 255 caracteres).
El programa DBF to MDB (Access) decide sobre estos problemas.
El programa soporta los formatos de dBase III, dBase IV, FoxPro, VFP y dBase nivel 7.
CDBF es un poderosos visualizador y editor que soporta todos los tipos de campos memo y tiene la habilidad de reparar los archivos de bases de datos dañados. Las características del programa incluyen un editor interno de encabezados hexadecimal y una herramienta de informes que permite crear informes de aspecto profesional basados en lso datos contenidos en el archivo de la base de datos. Otras características inlcuyen la capacidad de imprimir tablas de la bases de datos, exportar datos a una variedad de formatos, filtros flexibles y más.
FileMakerRecovery es un poderoso software de recuperación de datos para archivos dañados de base de datos de FileMaker Pro(FP5, .FP7 y FP8)Recupera tablas y tablas de datos. Guarda la información recuperada en el formatoDBF común, compatible con muchas aplicaciones de base de datos. Soporta base de datos de FileMaker Pro 5.5, 7 y 8. Fácil de usar, no se requieren habilidades especiales.
DBFRecovery es un programa de recuperación de datos para archivos dañados de Microsoft Visual FoxPro (.DBF). Los archivos corruptos de bases de datos creadas con dBASE y FoxBASE también pueden arreglarse con DBFRecovery. Recupera la estructura de la tabla y los datos. Crea una nueva base de datos con los datos recuperados en el compatibleFormato DBF. Fácil de usar, no se requieren habilidades especiales. Disponible para todas las plataformas modernas, incluyendo Servidor Windows 95/98/ME/NT/XP/2003.
El software de recuperación rápida de DBF recupera y repara los archivos de bases de datos DBF corruptos, dañados debido a las siguientes razones y si se muestran mensajes de error tales como - apagado inesperado del sistema, corrupción de virus, corrupción de software.
Recuperación de Bases de Datos Avanzada (ADBR) es un poderoso conjunto de programas de recuperación de bases de datos. Incluye las herramientas de recuperación Reparación Access Avanzada (AAR) y Reparación DBF Avanzada (ADR). AAR puede reparar bases de datos Access corruptas. Funciona con bases de datos MS Access 95, 97, 2000, XP y 2003. ADR puede recuperar archivos DBF corruptos. Funciona con todas las versiones de bases de datos DBF, incluyendo dBASE, FoxBase, FoxPro y Visual FoxPro. ADBR es su solución ideal para recuperar desastres de bases de datos. | Spanish | NL | d6743dcb5a86f9874a839b0d2befcbb9196ba1acf1db1dd90d55fdf1376efd1b |
Sobrarbe
Casi toda la riqueza de esta comarca reside en la belleza de sus paisajes en todos y cada uno de sus rincones.
El más conocido sin duda es el Parque natural de Ordesa, uno de los más importantes a nivel Europeo, por los valores geológicos, botánicos y turísticos.
Lo mas nombrado de Ordesa es la Cola de Caballo y Monte Perdido.
Al Sur Oeste linda con otra joya del Sobrarbe Parque natural de la Sierra y Los Cañones De Guara.
Al Este podemos ver el Embalse de El Grado, hablaremos de el en la sección de pesca.
Ainsa Medieval, con el templo románico de la Asunción y del templo de San Martín de igual estilo. También podemos ver restos del castillo Medieval.
En el Municipio de Abizanda esta la torre del Siglo XI y en el de Boltaña la Iglesia Colegiata del Siglo XVI; en Bielsa la Casa Consistorial de época renacentista.
La ermita de San Blas en Broto y Muro de Roda, templo románico en la Fueva.
Dos de los monasterios mas antiguos de España son San Vitoria en la Espuña y en Plan la Casa Ballarin de escuela renacentista.
Volver a Principal | Spanish | NL | 7866b63ecf45f183c4511edf97d2f317afc477f9698e71f82930675b6c43b155 |
Queen
Banda de rock británica formada por Freddie Mercury (voz), Brian May (guitarra), Roger Taylor (batería) y John Deacon (bajo). El grupo gozó de gran fama a finales de los setenta y durante toda la década de los ochenta, y sus discos fueron superventas incluso después del fallecimiento en 1991 de Freddie Mercury, víctima del SIDA.
Sus orígenes se remontan al inicio de los sesenta, cuando el joven guitarrista Brian Harold May (nacido en 1947) comenzó a tocar en un grupo semiprofesional llamado 1984. Brian, experto conocedor de varios instrumentos de cuerda, diseñaba incluso sus propias guitarras, conocidas posteriormente como el modelo May.
Brian May pasó después a formar parte de otra banda, llamada Smile, con la que editó un single. Inesperadamente, Tim Stafell, el cantante de la banda, abandonó el grupo; para buscar su sustituto, los miembros de Smile decidieron hacer una prueba al cantante de Sour Milk Sea, que no era otro que Freddie Mercury, y fue rápidamente admitido.
Por aquel entonces Freddie Mercury ya estaba acostumbrado a aparecer en público y sobre el escenario con vestimentas llamativas y atrevidas. Freddie contaba con una prodigiosa voz y sobrados conocimientos de piano. A esto se unió una base rítmica firmada por John Richard Deacon (nacido en 1951) al bajo y la batería de Roger Meadows Taylor (nacido en 1949).
El grupo comenzó a grabar maquetas y la compañía discográfica EMI, después de verlos actuar en el Marquee de Londres, se interesó por ellos. Ya en 1973, Queen se encerró por primera vez en los Trident Studios de Londres para grabar, bajo la supervisión de Roy Thomas Baker en los controles, su primer trabajo, Queen I, demostración de un rock agresivo, con el sonido que en adelante caracterizaría a la banda. Le siguió, a principios de 1974, Queen II, en plena evolución y búsqueda de madurez.
A Sheer heart attack, de 1974, fue para muchos un álbum de transición. Incluía temas como Brighton rock o Now I´m here. El siguiente, A night at the opera, sería el disco que llevaría al estrellato a Queen. En 1975, el single de lanzamiento Bohemian Rhapsody fue un éxito mundial. La diferencia más notable respecto a trabajos anteriores radica en la intervención de todos los integrantes del grupo en la composición de los temas que integran el álbum, que anteriormente estaba en manos de May y Mercury.
Al año siguiente editaron otro elepé que fue la continuación del éxito anterior: A day at the races. En News of the World (1977), en cambio, se aprecian nuevos elementos; la capacidad compositora de cada uno de los componentes llegó a su punto álgido en canciones como We are the champions, que sería en adelante un tema imprescindible en todos los conciertos de la banda.
El álbum Jazz (1978) vino a iniciar una época de transición en la que las giras vinieron a salvar el grupo de lo que parecía una crisis creativa. En 1979 se editó el directo llamado Live killers. La marcha de Roy Thomas Baker de los controles contribuyó en 1980 a que prosiguiese la evolución del grupo, tal como se evidencia en The game (1980). Ese mismo año Queen tuvo su primera experiencia en el cine, componiendo la banda sonora de Flash Gordon de Dino de Laurentis.
Tras el recopilatorio de 1981, se editó Hot space, en el que compartieron el tema Under Pressure con David Bowie; el álbum fue criticado por sus más acérrimos seguidores. Tres años más tarde, en 1984, se editó The works, el disco que devolvería al grupo la popularidad perdida. El éxito comercial volvió de la mano del elepé A kind of magic, que contiene el célebre tema Who wants to live forever. El álbum se utilizó en las bandas sonoras de las películas Iron Eagle y Los inmortales. Después de una macrogira saldría el directo Live Magic, y el grupo decidió tomarse un respiro.
En 1989 se lanzó The miracle. El último elepé en estudio editado con anterioridad al fallecimiento de Mercury llevó el título de Innuendo. Tras la muerte de Freddie, Brian May comenzó a editar en solitario, y en noviembre de 1995 se publicó su álbum Made in Heaven, grabado en los estudios de Montreaux, en cuyas proximidades residía el líder del grupo en sus momentos de descanso.
En 2002, May y Taylor proyectaron la puesta en marcha del musical We will rock you, un espectáculo para trasladar a los escenarios de medio mundo los temas más populares del grupo. Por otro lado, May anunció en diciembre de 2004 que la banda se embarcaría durante 2005 en una gira mundial en la que el lugar de Mercury sería ocupado por Paul Rodgers, el que fuera cantante de Bad Company (antes se habían barajado otros nombres, como George Michael).
|Inicio Buscador Índice alfabético Recomendar sitio Añadir a favoritos| | Spanish | NL | 3a5583168acabc0f163a7a3b5ce802ead7575a3a8d5cf6859328d6f3556c118f |
Mortero para Fachadas
Morteros para fachada, tipos, usos, características, aplicaciones, en que se soportes usar, componentes de los morteros para fachadas.
Se trata de Mortero para fachadas prefabricados, comúnmente llamados morteros monocapa, su fabricación es industrial, su preparación y aplicación es muy fácil, es mortero para fachadas previamente dosificado.
Tipos de mortero para fachada
- mortero liso: es un mortero para fachadas, con el que se busca una superficie totalmente lisa, viene en muchos colores.
- mortero raspado: el revestimiento que se desea es con efecto raspado, también viene en varios colores, el efecto raspado se obtiene al raspar la superficie una vez que empieza a endurecer.
- mortero piedra proyectada: se consigue al proyectar el árido una vez la capa de mortero se ha aplicado sobre la superficie.
- Mortero rústico: dependiendo del tipo de efecto visual que se busque, se hará la terminación, a la tirolesa, gota chafada etc.
Usos de los morteros para fachadas:
- Pueden ser utilizados en muros y techos de cerramientos, las fachadas a revestir pueden nuevas
o de rehabilitación o reparación, el comportamiento de este clase de morteros es optimo, especialmente
recomendado en restauración y rehabilitación de fachadas.
Composición de los morteros para fachadas:
Son variados los componentes de los morteros para fachadas como se trata de productos prefabricados de formulaciones preestablecidas, pueden variar de componentes, en general algunos de ellos son:
Cemento pórtland y cales hidratadas, arenas silíceas y calizas, además de algunos aditivos como resinas, hidrófugos, fibras etc.
Características del mortero de fachada
Las principales características de estos morteros son:
Durabilidad: si están bien preparados y aplicados suelen ser muy duraderos.
Permeabilidad al vapor de agua: dejan respirar los soportes sobre los que se aplica.
Impermeabilidad: forman una barrera física impermeable de fuera hacia dentro, protegiendo el muro del agua de lluvia.
Aplicación:
Los morteros para fachadas se pueden aplicar sobre la mayoría de los soportes tradicionales, la superficie debe estar previamente limpia, presentar buena resistencia, cierto grado de rugosidad y humedad para evitar que el soporte absorba la humedad del mortero y presente fisuras por mala aplicación. Puede ser aplicado por medios manuales o mecánicos.
Aplicar con temperaturas entre 5 y 35 grados o según indique el fabricante.
Aplicar por paños separados con junquillos, vigilar el espesor de la capa.
Algunos de los fabricantes de mortero para fachadas
Alternativas:
- mortero para fachadas
- morteros para fachadas
- colores de mortero para fachadas
- cemento para fachadas
- clases de morteros rsapados
- mortero liso
- tipos de morteros para fachadas | Spanish | NL | a030da73357e24905308b250cf447353fdaf107d9214389a70b314ca8e909c9e |
Por Nora Bär
Mientras las revistas del corazón difunden presuntas "dietas mágicas" y los especialistas no logran ponerse de acuerdo sobre "la" fórmula para mantener un peso saludable, datos locales de 57 trabajos realizados en 13 provincias trazan un mapa preocupante sobre el crecimiento de la obesidad en las etapas de la vida que más pesan en la calidad y expectativa de vida de una persona: la niñez y la adolescencia.
"Los estudios abarcan a alrededor de 120.000 chicos y la mayoría se hizo en los últimos dos años -explica el doctor Esteban Carmuega, director del Centro de Estudios sobre Nutrición Infantil (Cesni)-. Los analizamos con la metodología propuesta por la Organización Mundial de la Salud y vimos que el 24% de los preescolares, el 37% de los escolares y el 27% de los adolescentes están excedidos de peso. Esto en algunos casos podría atribuirse a una mayor corpulencia..., pero la observación más importante de este análisis es que la obesidad afecta al 10% de los preescolares y adolescentes, y al 18% de los escolares. En estos casos no hay duda de que tienen un exceso de grasa corporal y tienen que iniciar cambios en su alimentación y su estilo de vida."
El estado actual de la obesidad infantil en el país será hoy el tema central de una jornada científica organizada por Cesni y la Sociedad Argentina de Obesidad y Trastornos Alimentarios (Saota), y antecede el congreso anual de esta última entidad que se realiza entre mañana y el jueves.
"Del mismo modo en que no podemos construir un atlas completo obteniendo imágenes individuales por la ventana del auto, no podemos pretender que éste sea un mapa exhaustivo de la situación nutricional de los chicos argentinos, porque estos estudios se hicieron en forma individual -subraya Carmuega-. Pero estos 57 trabajos son otras tantas fotos que nos permiten tener una idea de qué está pasando con la obesidad infantil de la que no teníamos mucha información, porque la Encuesta Nacional de Nutrición incluye a chicos de hasta cinco años y mujeres en edad fértil."
Los últimos estudios con que se contaba en este tema datan de la década del ochenta y fueron hechos sobre conscriptos adolescentes. Mostraban prevalencias de obesidad de alrededor del 5%. Aunque la obesidad es más difícil de medir en los chicos que en los adultos (porque hay distintos puntos de corte, para cada edad y cada sexo) los índices de obesidad y sobrepeso pueden haberse duplicado o triplicado según los grupos. Y aunque hay poca información sobre algunas zonas del país, puede concluirse que la prevalencia es muy distinta entre provincias y muy parecida entre ambos sexos.
Tendencia mundial
"Esto confirma que aquí también se da la tendencia que de toda América latina al aumento de obesidad infantil, temprana -dice Carmuega-. Es una historia que tiene muchos culpables, presuntos «asesinos», pero no podemos endilgarle a uno solo la responsabilidad central, porque tienen que ver algunos con la dieta, otros con la genética, otros, con la actividad física..."
Y si el exceso de peso tiene efectos adversos a cualquier edad, son aún peores en el comienzo de la vida. Un chico obeso tiene cuatro veces más riesgo de ser un adulto obeso y, según explica la doctora Rosa Labanca, directora del Centro de Docencia, Asistencia e Investigación de la Saota, y docente de la UBA, la tasa de curación o remisión completa libre de enfermedad es más alta en prácticamente en todos los cánceres que en la obesidad.
"Lo importante es no engordar, porque después es muy difícil volver a bajar", dice la especialista.
Al contrario de lo que se cree ("después en la adolescencia pegan el estirón y..."), la prevención de la obesidad debe comenzar sin dilaciones... antes del embarazo de la madre. "Hoy las cifras de obesidad en mujeres en edad fértil en la Argentina son preocupantes -agrega Carmuega-. Esto implica mayor riesgo de complicaciones durante el embarazo y el parto, mayor tasa de cesáreas, mayor dificultad para iniciar y continuar la lactancia, que es la única vacuna efectiva, probada, contra la obesidad. Está demostrado en metaanálisis, aunque los mecanismos por los cuales esto sucede no los sabemos."
Otros factores que inciden en los riesgos de obesidad infantil son nacer con alto o muy bajo peso. "Los niños que nacen con un peso normal o bajo, y que aceleran su crecimiento tempranamente, tienen mayor riesgo de obesidad tardía y con más complicaciones -dice Carmuega-. El crecimiento saludable es la mejor defensa para prevenir la obesidad. Y eso no significa no estar obeso y no estar desnutrido. Hemos interpretado mal la obesidad durante mucho tiempo pensando que en un lado estaba la obesidad y en otro, la desnutrición. Cuando en realidad ambas formas reflejan un desequilibrio en la nutrición. Ambas muchas veces se dan juntas en la misma familia y hasta en la misma persona." Según múltiples estudios, los chicos que nacen con desnutrición y luego engordan a los diez u once años tienen hasta seis veces más riesgo de presentar diabetes tipo 2 e hipertensión.
"No es lo mismo engordar a los once años que a los cuarenta", subrayan los especialistas. | Spanish | NL | a92086a4e4112061b5c63053c76cc7a14f94906120aafbb87c30c40e73b12fb1 |
¿Es ilegal llevar medicamentos contra el TDAH?
Nota: Esta pregunta frecuente surgió a partir de preguntas que recibimos sobre interacciones que algunas personas jóvenes han tenido con la policía y otras agencias del orden. Los miembros de las fuerzas del orden se mantienen atentos al abuso de medicamentos recetados, sobre todo entre adolescentes y adultos jóvenes. Si alguien llama la atención de la policía por otro problema, como una infracción de tránsito o una alteración del orden público, y lleva medicamentos para el TDAH en un recipiente que no especifica el contenido, podría estar en mayor riesgo de caer bajo sospechas de uso ilegal de una sustancia controlada.
¿Qué es una "sustancia controlada"?
Se define "sustancia controlada" como cualquier sustancia química o su precursor químico cuya producción, posesión o uso son regulados por la ley.
¿Qué es la Ley de sustancias controladas?
La Ley de sustancias controladas (Controlled Substances Act, CSA; Título II de la Ley general para la prevención y control del abuso de sustancias de 1970, 21 USC Sec. 812) identifica las sustancias que se consideran como "sustancias controladas" en los Estados Unidos, y que están sujetas a una estricta regulación. La CSA tiene una "Lista" de 5 niveles que identifica cuáles drogas o sustancias se consideran como "sustancias controladas", y por tanto caen bajo la autoridad de esta regulación. Las sustancias se clasifican en uno de los niveles de la Lista (de I a V) según su potencial de abuso. La CSA identifica muchas sustancias, entre ellas las que se consideran "drogas ilegales" o "drogas callejeras", además de varios medicamentos que tratan afecciones médicas y psicológicas, pero que también pueden ser usados indebidamente. (Para más información, vea Apartarse de los medicamentos.)
La CSA es una ley federal y provee un conjunto básico de estándares que se aplican en todo el país. Cada estado puede haber expandido las listas de medicamentos, las reglas sobre a quién se suministra un medicamento, en qué forma y cómo se puede llevar, o tener mayores penalidades por la falta de cumplimiento.
¿Se consideran los medicamentos para el TDAH como "sustancias controladas"?
Sí. La mayoría de medicamentos que se usan para tratar el TDAH, entre ellos varias formulaciones de metilfenidato y de anfetamina, se consideran sustancias controladas. Ese es el motivo por el que la mayoría de las recetas para medicamentos contra el TDAH tienen un periodo máximo de validez de 30 días. La mayoría de los medicamentos para el TDAH se clasifican como sustancias Controladas II (consulte la Nota a continuación). (Entre otros criterios, una sustancia se clasifica como Controlada II si el "abuso del medicamento u otra sustancia puede llevar a dependencia física moderada o baja o dependencia psicológica alta").
¿Es ilegal llevar medicamentos para el TDAH?
No, por lo general, llevar medicamentos para el TDAH no se considera ilegal, siempre y cuando la persona que tiene el medicamento sea la persona a quien se le recetó de forma adecuada. Sin embargo, según el estado en que se viva (como en Nueva York), la ley estatal podría exigir que el medicamento se lleve en el frasco original de la receta con una etiqueta no vencida que identifique a la persona que recibirá el medicamento.
En otros estados, por lo general, se considera suficiente tener evidencia de la receta médica.
Si estoy preocupado al respecto, ¿qué debo hacer?
- Conozca la ley de su estado (actualmente las estamos investigando, y pronto proveeremos recursos).
- Para fines cotidianos, salga de su casa con el medicamento solamente si es absolutamente necesario.
- Si necesita llevar el medicamento con usted, es mejor llevarlo en el frasco original de la receta que identifique claramente el nombre del paciente y la fecha de la receta.
- También podría ser aconsejable llevar una copia de la receta más reciente de su médico.
- Si viaja, sobre todo a otros países, asegúrese de llevar el medicamento en el frasco original, llevar sólo la cantidad de medicamento que necesitará, y una copia de su receta no vencida.
Nota: Aunque fueron clasificadas como sustancias Controladas III en la legislación original de 1970, el metilfenidato y las sales mezcladas de anfetamina se reclasificaron como sustancias Controladas II en 2001. La DEA tiene la autoridad de cambiar la clasificación de cualquier sustancia en cualquier momento a través del proceso de regulación. | Spanish | NL | b19a2b4eb2005855f8dbbc413a86f636f96f7bd929aa92106a6965c0048dba0f |
Con este libro resulta sencillo comprender las causas y consecuencias de los distintos desequilibrios posturales y aprender el modo de corregirlos. Todos los ejercicios se acompañan de instrucciones exhaustivas y de ilustraciones anatómicas detalladas que muestran con exactitud los músculos que se utilizan y cómo lo hacen, también se presentan las pautas para el entrenamiento junto con las modificaciones de los ejercicios para adaptarlos al nivel del practicante, ya sea principiante o avanzado. | Spanish | NL | 02062800a1c08fe54a43ccb8a53949a8808134b5c8f3d48acf65a4e1092d67f0 |
Aftas o Candidiasis
¿Qué son las aftas o candidiasis?
La candidiasis (llamada a veces moniliasis o infección por honguillos) es una infección provocada por un honguillo en la piel o las membranas mucosas. Cuando dicha infección ocurre en la cavidad bucal se la denomina afta. Si un bebé tiene aftas, existe la posibilidad de que el bebé tenga un infección por honguillos también en la zona de la piel que está en contacto con los pañales.
¿Cuáles son las causas de las aftas?
La causa de las aftas es un hongo llamado Candida albicans. Se presenta con más frecuencia en los recién nacidos y en los bebés. Los siguientes son algunos de los factores que pueden aumentar la probabilidad del desarrollo de aftas en el bebé:
Los antibióticos
Los antibióticos pueden producir la proliferación de honguillos, porque
destruyen las bacterias que se encuentran normalmente en los tejidos y, como consecuencia, los honguillos se multiplican sin freno.
Los esteroides
Los esteroides pueden debilitar el sistema inmunológico del niño y la capacidad de luchar contra las infecciones normales.
El sistema inmunológico debilitado
Si el niño tiene el sistema inmunológico debilitado y una incapacidad de luchar contra la infección de otra enfermedad crónica, es propenso a desarrollar aftas.
¿Cuáles son los síntomas de la candidiasis?
A continuación se enumeran los síntomas más comunes de la candidiasis. Sin embargo, cada niño puede experimentarlos en forma diferente. Los síntomas pueden incluir:
En la cavidad bucal (aftas):
La lengua se vuelve blanca
Aparecen manchas blancas en las mejillas o en la garganta (estas lesiones blancas no se eliminan fácilmente
En la zona del pañal:
Lesiones de color rojo intenso con bordes bien definidos (las lesiones pueden ser protuberantes)
Llagas con pus
Las infecciones por honguillos en la zona de la piel que está en contacto con el pañal suelen tener lesiones adicionales más allá de esta zona (como por ejemplo en el estómago o en los muslos). El escroto de un niño también puede ser afectado.
Los síntomas de la candidiasis pueden parecerse a los de otras afecciones dermatológicas o problemas médicos. Siempre consulte con el médico de su hijo para un diagnóstico.
¿Cómo se diagnostica la candidiasis?
El diagnóstico de la candidiasis lo realiza el pediatra mediante la historia clínica y un exámen físico minucioso. Luego de examinar las lesiones, el pediatra puede realizar cultivos de las lesiones que sirvan para verificar el diagnóstico y para seleccionar el tratamiento más adecuado.
El tratamiento para la candidiasis
La candidiasis es fácil de tratar con pomadas medicamentosas y otros tratamientos. El tratamiento depende del sitio en que se encuentra la infección. El tratamiento específico será determinado por el médico de su hijo basándose en lo siguiente:
La edad de su hijo, su estado general de salud y su historia médica
Qué tan avanzada está la enfermedad
La tolerancia de su hijo a determinados medicamentos, procedimientos o terapias
Sus expectativas para la evolución de la enfermedad
Su opinión o preferencia
El tratamiento puede incluir:
En la cavidad bucal (aftas):
Medicamentos antimicóticos que se aplican sobre las lesiones de la boca
Medicamentos antimicóticos orales
Una madre que esté amamantando también puede necesitar un tratamiento si tiene una infección fúngica en las mamas. Esto ayudará a disminuir la probabilidad de que el bebé vuelva a infectarse.
En el área que está en contacto con el pañal utilice una crema antimicótica para el pañal
Mantenga limpia y seca el área de la piel que está en contacto con el pañal. Deje a su bebé con la cola al aire aproximadamente durante 15 minutos, varias veces al día. | Spanish | NL | 1ea84ab97ee304d509b7ab3d42f423f8525405332f48cc62709d9f9a8983d098 |
Por ahora aquí tenéis el análisis.
06Z del 2-4-11 a 06Z del 3-4-11
Durante las próximas horas una vaguada se irá aproximando a la península desde el oeste. El jet alcanzará velocidades superiores a 40 m/s a 300hpa en amplias zonas de la mitad W peninsular a partir de la tarde del sábado. En superficie, justo por delante del frente que irá penetrando lentamente hacia el interior se colocará un penacho de aire subtropical con una humedad absoluta más elevada que junto al calentamiento solar provocará el desarrollo de unos 200-400J/kg CAPE por la tarde en ciertas zonas de las cuales hablaremos a continuación. Además modelos como el gfs y el hirlam ven una pequeña ciclogénesis cuya posición todavía es indefinida, si esta se profundiza más de lo esperado, en caso de formarse algún núcleo el cambio en la dirección de los vientos en capas bajas podría favorecer la aparición del riesgo de tornados, que por ahora es muy pequeño.
En el NW peninsular, especialmente en áreas de montaña, desde primeras horas de la tarde surgirán algunas células de manera aislada, ayudadas por la convergencia en superficie. Algunos núcleos, debido a la cizalladura 0-6km superior a 20m/s y por el forzamiento dinámico se podrían unir causando fuertes rachas de viento principalmente en áreas de montaña, posteriormente llegarían a la costa del Cantábrico occidental en forma de precipitación estratiforme, allí las tormentas son menos probables. El gradiente térmico vertical en niveles medios no será favorable para el granizo grande.
Especialmente en el SW de Francia podría aparecer alguna supercélula, ya que la helicidad 0-3km alcanzará valores superiores a 200 m2/s2, en cuyo caso, el mayor riesgo será el de granizo grande junto al de fuertes rachas de viento. En el Cantábrico Oriental y zonas del norte del S. Ibérico será más difícil ver tormentas, ya que el nivel de equilibrio será bajo, pero no se descarta alguna estructura parecida a una SP.
En la mayor parte del cuadrante suroeste peninsular el CAPE que se forme no se podrá liberar, pero a partir de la segunda mitad de la tarde del sábado y durante la madrugada del domingo, aunque el cape sea residual podrían aparecer algunos núcleos, especialmente en la provincia de Cáceres donde podrían adquirir carácter rotatorio (sp) con un riesgo de fuertes vientos. De manera aislada también pueden aparecer tormentas en los montes de Toledo y en ciertos puntos de Castilla y León. Las tormentas en las demás regiones de España serán poco o nada probables.
Y añado los mapas:www.seguimeteo.es/alertasconvectivas | Spanish | NL | 272a49e489c19c894f8019f843cc0ce0ba3e97eb6c1f8751fb3c797a5242c22c |
Un nebulizador es un dispositivo electrónico que funciona con corriente eléctrica pilas o baterías que sirve para transformar el medicamento para el asma de su hijo en un vapor o partículas muy finas a fin de que su hijo lo inhale a través de los pulmones. Los nebulizadores se suelen utilizar con niños pequeños porque requieren poco esfuerzo por parte del niño. Pero éste debe permanecer sentado en el mismo lugar y cooperar. Y si usted tiene un hijo de corta edad, ya sabrá lo difícil que puede ser conseguir que se esté quieto.
La mayoría de los nebulizadores vienen provistos de una mascarilla facial (aunque también los venden con boquilla). El niño se coloca la mascarilla y respira normalmente durante 5 a 10 minutos hasta que se acaba el medicamento. Si el niño no se está quieto o no coopera, es posible que no obtenga la dosis adecuada de medicamento. Por ejemplo, si la mascarilla se coloca a 1,30 centímetros del rostro del niño, la mitad de la dosis de medicamento no le llegará a los pulmones. Si aumentamos la distancia a 2,50 centímetros, se perderá el 80% del medicamento.
Puede dar la impresión de que, cuando un niño está llorando, hace inspiraciones más profundas, lo que puede llevar a un padre o a una madre a pensar que su hijo inhalará el medicamento más profundamente mientras llore. Pero ocurre justamente lo contrario. El llanto es una larga exhalación seguida de una inhalación muy rápida, que no permite que llegue suficiente aire a los pulmones. Si el medicamento se administra mientras el niño está llorando, apenas llegará nada de él a los pulmones del niño.
Si su hijo es todavía un bebé, puede utilizar el nebulizador mientras el pequeño esté durmiendo, o es posible que su hijo coopere mientras usted lo coge en brazos. Pero, ¿y con bebés mayores o niños de pocos años? Es posible que la mascarilla les asuste y tenga por seguro que se resistirán a quedarse quietos.
He aquí algunas sugerencias para que el uso del nebulizador resulte más fácil y más divertido:
Haga que el uso del nebulizador forme parte de la rutina diaria. Utilice el nebulizador a la misma hora (u horas) cada día, para que su hijo sepa qué puede esperar.
Si a su hijo le asusta la mascarilla, puede contarle que es una "máscara de submarinista" o una "máscara de piloto de avión". También puede comprarle un vídeo sobre la vida submarina o sobre viajes espaciales y utilizar una frase especial para crear ambiente, como "pongamos el motor en marcha" o "iniciemos la inmersión" antes de conectar el nebulizador. También puede comprar mascarillas con forma de dragón o de otros animales.
Deje que su hijo decore el nebulizador con adhesivos.
Pruebe a sentar a su hijo en una silla alta. Si eso no funciona, tal vez prefiera sentarse en su falda.
Haga que el tiempo durante el cual su hijo tenga que estar sentado sea lo más divertido posible. Léale cuentos, cántele canciones o saque algún juguete especial reservado sólo para cuando utilicen el nebulizador.
Vean juntos un vídeo o un DVD corto.
Si su hijo es lo bastante mayor, anímele a que le ayude, por ejemplo, colaborando cuando le coloque la mascarilla, sosteniendo el tubo o encendiendo el dispositivo. | Spanish | NL | b8e24457cd0c33a3f2ef1af4776d5a56f0242634ab9aab88bec2568f3e612e87 |
Comentario publicado en Gestión Clínica y Sanitaria 46, pàg 108, 2011
http://www.iiss.es/gcs/
Hochman M, McCormick D
Characteristics of Published Comparative Effectiveness Studies of Medications. JAMA. 2010;303:951-8.
Objetivo
Analizar las características de los estudios de efectividad comparada publicados recientemente en revistas con elevado factor de impacto.
Datos y método
Revisión sistemática de ensayos clínicos aleatorios, estudios caso-control, estudios de cohorte y meta-análisis publicados en las 6 revistas médicas con mayor factor de impacto (New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ y Archives of Internal Medicine) desde el junio 2008 hasta septiembre 2009. Se definió como estudios de efectividad comparada aquellos que comparan un medicamento existente frente terapias activas (estudios con comparadores activos) en lugar de comparar una terapia activa con un control inactivo como el placebo.
Resultados
104 de los 328 (31,7%) estudios identificados presentaban resultados de efectividad comparada. De éstos, el 43% comparaba distintos medicamentos y 11 medicamentos con intervenciones no farmacológicas. Los estudios de efectividad comparada tenían una probabilidad menor que el resto de ser financiados sólo de forma privada (87% de los estudios fueron financiados con fuentes lucrativas, 63% con financiación pública). Únicamente 2 de los 104 estudios seleccionados presentaban ratios coste-efectividad. Entre los ensayos clínicos, la probabilidad de presentar resultados estadísticamente significativos favorables a la intervención evaluada es significativamente inferior en los estudios de efectividad comparada (39% vs. un 63% en el resto de estudios). El 24% de los ensayos clínicos aleatorios que emplean comparadores activos tienen como objetivo demostrar no-inferioridad.
Conclusiones
Sólo un tercio de los estudios publicados en revistas “top” aporta evidencia de efectividad comparada, siendo muy escasos los que comparan con alternativas no farmacológicas, o los que analizan seguridad o coste. Su financiación es mayoritariamente por organizaciones públicas y sin fines lucrativos.
Financiación: Ninguna declarada; Conflicto de intereses: ninguno declarado; Correspondencia: email@example.com
Comentario
La efectividad comparada o relativa es la medida en la cual una intervención contribuye a mejorar el estado de salud respecto a una o más intervenciones alternativas (1). Se trata de un concepto similar al de valor terapéutico añadido (2), esencial desde el punto de vista del valor social de las innovaciones y un input previo, e imprescindible, para la estimación de los ratios coste-efectividad (coste incremental por unidad de resultado incremental que se consigue con la intervención evaluada respecto de sus comparadores).
El enfoque de la relación coste-efectividad incremental es el adecuado a las decisiones de cobertura de un determinado tratamiento por las aseguradoras públicas, del precio que se está dispuesto a pagar por él, y de las situaciones clínicas y grupos de pacientes en que se recomienda (esto es, de las guías farmacoterapéuticas, las recomendaciones informáticas, y los sistemas de indicadores de prescripción asociados o no a incentivos).
La medida de la efectividad comparada (alcanzando o no la estimación de los ratios coste-efectividad) es un factor clave para que las decisiones de financiación adoptadas por los aseguradores sean eficientes y contribuyan a maximizar la mejora de la salud. Lejos de la desafortunada traducción de los conceptos de efectividad comparada y ratio coste-efectividad como cuarta barrera (después de las “barreras” regulatorias de eficacia, seguridad y calidad), la investigación sobre la medida de estos conceptos es la garantía imprescindible para la maximización de los objetivos de salud en presencia de restricciones financieras. Adicionalmente, el empleo esta cuarta “garantía” en la toma de decisiones a través de agencias independientes y comités de expertos es condición para defender el valor de las innovaciones eficaces y efectivas de las políticas “ciegas” de contención de costes y asegurar que los limitados recursos disponibles por los sistemas sanitarios se destinan a tratamientos que valen lo que cuestan (3).
La revisión publicada por Hochman y McCormick tiene una lectura positiva (casi una tercera parte de los estudios publicados por las 6 grandes revistas se refieren a efectividad comparada) pero también debería servir para hacer emerger el debate sobre las condiciones de realización y de financiación de estos estudios. La medida de la eficacia comparada requiere menos estudios de no-inferioridad y más estudios de superioridad; requiere ensayos más complicados, con más pacientes y más caros. Si las principales autoridades regulatorias mantienen la atención alejada de la efectividad comparada se emite una señal clara a favor del desarrollo de innovaciones de escaso valor terapéutico añadido y se deja la efectividad comparada en el terreno de la negociación con los financiadores. Si se mantiene el status quo actual, los innovadores tienen pocos incentivos para desarrollar estudios de efectividad comparada de alta calidad metodológica y la producción de esta información requerirá de la intervención pública o no lucrativa, especialmente cuando existe incertidumbre sobre la eficacia/efectividad de la innovación.
El ejemplo de Reino Unido, Australia y Canadá en el uso de la efectividad comparada y el ratio coste-efectividad en las decisiones de cobertura aporta evidencia no sólo de que es factible su empleo en estas decisiones sino de que han incentivado la producción de información sobre eficacia comparada por el propio mercado (4).
1. Eichler HG, Bloechl-Daum B, Abadie E, Barnett D, König F, Pearson S. Relative efficacy of drugs: an emerging issue between regulatory agencies and third-party payers. Nature Reviews. 2010; 9:277-91.
2. Puig-Junoy J, Peiró S. De la utilidad de los medicamentos al valor terapéutico añadido y a la relación coste-efectividad incremental. Rev Esp Salud Pública. 2009; 83: 59-70.
3. Mushlin AI, Ghomrawi H. Health Care Reform and the Need for Comparative-Effectiveness Research. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(3):e6.
4. Clement FM, Harris A, Li JJ, Yong K, Lee KL, Manns BJ. Using Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness to Make Drug Coverage Decisions. JAMA; 302:1437-43. | Spanish | NL | 4979aba0f5332881fc63459d2ccf231b8b0688aa20ce513cf9d00345c282a992 |
Instrumento para la Evaluación de Laboratorios
Resumen
El Instrumento para la Evaluación de Laboratorios ofrece orientaciones para evaluar los laboratorios y los sistemas nacionales de laboratorios. Está destinado a cualquier persona u organismo que realice evaluaciones a laboratorios: autoridades sanitarias nacionales, agencias multilaterales, organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG), directores de laboratorio, etc. En este documento se describe un proceso general para la evaluación de los laboratorios y se proporcionan dos cuestionarios para ayudar a evaluar tanto los sistemas nacionales de laboratorios (Anexo 1) como los laboratorios individuales (Anexo 2). Los evaluadores pueden utilizarlos tal como se presentan o adaptarlos en función de los requisitos o especificidades locales para que se adecuen mejor al contexto en que se realice la evaluación. Los cuestionarios se suministran como archivos Excel, que permiten calcular automáticamente los indicadores de los módulos cuando se contestan las preguntas, así como analizar los datos. En el formato Excel, los cuestionarios se encuentran ya disponibles en cuatro idiomas: español, inglés, francés y ruso. Es muy fácil cambiar de un idioma a otro mientras se utiliza el archivo. | Spanish | NL | 53e02d8f870fabbc19e4cf7b0a5c4cf8e1d0899d1fec73528856d9a5f3508af4 |
Cuando se realiza un cambio en la vista (vista: vistas que le proporcionan distintas formas de ver la misma información de una carpeta colocándolas en diferentes formatos y organizaciones. Existen vistas estándar para cada carpeta. También puede crear vistas personalizadas.) de una carpeta de correo, por lo general, sólo se aplica a esa carpeta en particular. No hay forma de realizar el cambio de forma "global" (para todas las otras carpetas de correo al mismo tiempo). Esto se aplica a cosas como agregar columnas, usar la vista previa automática de tres líneas (en inglés), agrupar y ordenar.
El Panel de lectura o "vista previa", que se encuentra activado de forma predeterminada, tampoco puede activarse o desactivarse de forma global. Si opta por desactivarlo y no desea verlo en ninguna de las carpetas de correo, debe desactivarlo para cada carpeta.
Nota Los cambios en los otros dos paneles de la ventana de Outlook, el panel de exploración (panel de navegación: columna que proporciona acceso a las carpetas usadas para organizar la información. Haga clic en una carpeta para mostrar los elementos que contiene. También incluye la sección Carpetas favoritas y botones para cambiar entre Correo, Calendario, Tareas y otras vistas.) y la Barra Tareas pendientes, funcionan de forma distinta: el cambio que se efectúa en una carpeta de correo se refleja en todas las demás.
Link
El Panel de lectura, resaltado en rojo, permite una vista previa de los mensajes sin tener que abrirlos.
Volver al principio | Spanish | NL | 84a3d3d2335abf5606c7715ad10a611c5a08692e168a22a8688f8565ba5c86a6 |
Para poder disfrutar de los distintos sistemas, aplicaciones y servicios del hogar digital accesible son fundamentales los interfaces de usuario, es decir la forma de interactuar con ellos. El concepto interface del usuario incluye todas las formas y procesos de interacción con el sistema, la definición física del aparato o el equipo, el diseño gráfico de los menús, el método de navegación por las pantallas, etc. Un buen interface debería ser fácil e intuitivo de visualizar, comprender y memorizar. Dependiendo de la discapacidad de la persona, y de los sistemas con los que va a interactuar, hay que diseñar y elegir el interface y/o los interfaces más adecuados. Una persona con discapacidad intelectual necesita, en general, interfaces cognitivamente muy sencillos e incluso automáticos, mientras que una persona con movilidad limitada en las manos puede manejar un sistema complejo con interfaces de voz, aunque como complemento puede necesitar un mando con pulsadores de tamaño y ergonomía adaptados. Algunos de los interfaces más comunes se detallarán a continuación.
Mandos y Teclados
La mayoría de los sistemas del hogar digital (sistemas de domótica, seguridad, telecomunicaciones, etc.) permiten o incluso demandan algún tipo de acción para interactuar sobre ellos, y la forma más común es el acceso con mandos, teclados y otros interfaces que hacen la función del mando, tipo teléfono móvil, web, pda, etc. Los mandos pueden ser de teclado y/o con pantalla. Los mandos con diseño sencillo disponen de un número muy limitado de teclas, donde cada una de ellas esta asignada a una única acción, por ejemplo la tecla "Lámpara Salón" actúa exclusivamente sobre este elemento que se apaga o enciente al pulsarla.
Una tecla puede también activar una serie de elementos, por ejemplo, la tecla "Noche" puede apagar todas las luces de la vivienda, apagar la televisión, bajar las persianas, activar la alarma de intrusión y bajar la temperatura a 18ºC, es lo que se denomina "Escenarios" (ver más abajo). Los mandos más complejos suelen iniciarse en un menú principal, desde el cual se puede acceder directamente a distintos escenarios, o profundizar en las distintas aplicaciones como luces, grúas, o electrodomésticos. Para avisos de alarmas y mensajes de auxilio, sobre todo para personas mayores, los colgantes o pulseras con un solo botón son interfaces muy comunes. Y al lado de la cama también se puede disponer de un teléfono con una sola tecla de gran tamaño que realiza una llamada directa a un número predeterminado, por ejemplo el servicio de teleasistencia.
Posicionamiento
La utilización del propio cuerpo del individuo para interactuar con los sistemas del hogar digital es algo más habitual de lo que puede parecer en un principio. Por ejemplo, con un detector de presencia se puede detectar la entrada de una persona en el baño y de forma automática encender la luz, y al poner las manos debajo del grifo el agua, este se activa automáticamente, igual que la jabonera y el seca-manos. Cuando la persona sale del baño y el detector de presencia no detecta a nadie en un periodo de tiempo, se apaga la luz automáticamente. Otro ejemplo es que al acercarse a una puerta, esta se podría abrir automáticamente, bien con la presencia de cualquier persona que se encuentre en el hogar o sólo para aquellos que lleven un emisor concreto. O al pisar la alfombra situada a los pies de la cama entre las 22.00 y 8.00 horas, se enciende la luz del dormitorio, pasillo y baño de forma automática hasta que la persona se vuelve a acostar y si no se detecta presencia en cama durante más de 30 minutos dentro de la misma franja horaria, se puede realizar una llamada de aviso de la incidencia, para que se tome la acción necesaria.
Voz
Los interfaces de voz son válidos tanto para la introducción como para la recepción de información en los sistemas. Se pueden clasificar los interfaces de voz en tres tipos según la funcionalidad básica del sistema: interfaces de introducción de voz, interfaces de mensajes de voz e interfaces bidireccionales. A continuación se describen en detalle:
- Interfaces de introducción de voz, sólo interpretan la voz y la traducen a un lenguaje informático. Los sistemas de control por voz permiten el acceso y control de gran diversidad de sistemas y servicios del hogar digital sin tener que realizar ningún movimiento excepto la vocalización.
- Interfaces de mensajes de voz, son interfaces que emiten información sobre el estado o comandos solicitados de sistemas, aparatos y máquinas. Otra familia de aplicaciones son los escáners que traducen documentos o información escrita a voz hablado.
- Interfaces de voz bidireccionales, permiten tanto la introducción como la recepción de la información oral, como por ejemplo algunos sistemas de contestación automática de telefonía donde se puede introducir respuestas a preguntas, o preguntas mediante la voz.
Los interfaces de voz son de interés tanto para personas con discapacidad visual como personas con discapacidad intelectual, que no son capaces de interpretar comandos de texto u otro tipo de información más abstracta.
Programación horaria
Dependiendo del deseo y las necesidades del usuario, son numerosas las acciones de gestión de la vivienda que pueden ser automatizadas, es decir no necesitan una interacción proactiva, ni por parte del usuario, ni por una tercera persona. Por ejemplo la climatización se puede programar para un ciclo de temperaturas que varíe a lo largo del día. La climatización, la iluminación, y algunos aparatos predeterminados, pueden ser desconectados al encontrarse vacía la casa, hecho indicado por la activación total del alarma. También se puede, por ejemplo, programar que las luces de los dormitorios, pasillos, baños, sólo se enciendan al 50% de su potencia entre las 24:00 y 8:00 horas para no deslumbrar a la persona en caso de levantarse por la noche.
Escenarios
"Escenarios" es un concepto que se refiere a configuraciones predeterminadas que, con la realización de un único comando (la pulsación de un botón, el acceso a una habitación o según la hora), cambia la configuración de uno o varios sistemas simultáneamente. Por ejemplo, podemos programar nuestro sistema para que a las ocho de la mañana, en días laborales, el sistema automáticamente encienda la luz al 50% en el dormitorio, abra las persianas de toda la vivienda, la calefacción alcance los 22º C, etc. O podemos hacer que al cerrar la puerta desde el exterior, automáticamente, o apretando un botón "Fuera de casa", se conecte la alarma de intrusión, se bajen las persianas, se reduzca la temperatura a 16º C, se apague toda la iluminación dentro del hogar y se desconecten todos los enchufes de los electrodomésticos en la cocina, excepto el frigorífico. El número de escenarios es indefinido y debería adaptarse a cada situación específica.
Diseño para Todos
Un concepto de diseño basado en las necesidades específicas de las personas con algún tipo de discapacidad se denomina "Diseño para Todos". Esto significa que al diseñar un sistema, un servicio o un producto, se debería tener en cuenta que tiene que ser fácilmente utilizable para personas también con discapacidades físicas e intelectuales, porque entonces será utilizable para todos. Otro concepto es la Inteligencia Ambiental, que tiene como objetivo integrar la tecnología dentro de los equipos y elementos constructivos de nuestro entorno, para que estos mismos y los espacios funcionen como interfaces y que el entorno automáticamente se pueda adaptar a las necesidades de los usuarios, avisar de fallos, etc. sin su interacción directa. | Spanish | NL | 7882dfb557d1f6fd339bd177c8a74d024a4abb39bfda9778b5d0d072cecffbf7 |
Juan Luna
Juan Luna y Novicio (Badoc, Filipinas, 1857-Hong-Kong, 1899) es el principal pintor hispano-filipino del siglo XIX, y su obra, asociada al periodo de independencia filipina, está influida por el realismo plástico y por la obra de Eduardo Rosales.
Biografía [editar]
Estudió pilotaje en la escuela naval de Manila, pero pronto comenzó sus estudios como artista, a las órdenes de Agustín Sáez pintor español radicado en Manila . En la década de los setenta del siglo XIX se trasladó a Madrid, y allí entró en contaco con Eduardo Rosales y a la muerte de éste, fue discípulo de Alejo Vera. Con este último marchó a Roma, donde realizaría una de las obras que le convirtieron en una celebridad, Spoliarium (actualmente conservado en el Museo Nacional de Filipinas).
Estilo [editar]
Influido por el peso de la obra de Rosales, su obra puede definirse como realista, aunque sus pinceladas, amplias, deshechas e indefinidas, le acercarían al esteticismo fin de siglo, al menos en la última parte de su carrera. Al llegar a Roma con Alejo Vera se interesaría por la iconografía de la Antigüedad clásica, aunque después, durante la década de los noventa y coincidiendo con su estancia en París, preferiría asuntos 'del día'. | Spanish | NL | 5c20f4a34a6644530fbc943f030bbafa7580e7daadcd4bece2de5e920b2ff21f |
Bonito mensaje explicando la apertura de energía que se producirá mañana miércoles 9-9-9 y que reseña momentos similares para el 10-10-10 y el 11-11-11, las fechas en las que, de acuerdo a mi propio “insight” deberían producirse:
10-10-10 Manifestación Planetaria Decretando el Final de los Secretos de Estado
11-11-11 Día de la Sublevación Planetaria; celebración del último día de esclavitud de la raza humana.
Más info a continuación
Graciela Dattoli ~ Portal 9-9-9
Se abre un portal hacia el interno, cada Ser Humano tendrá la oportunidad de reconocerse tal cual es. Se activan nuevos códigos produciendo una energía cristal. Nada será como antes, porque el 9 marca el final de una etapa. Y el comienzo de la propia Maestría.
Ese día busca tus momentos de calma, únete a tu Ser Multidimensional, únete a la vibración de Gaia, que la sentirás en tu chakra de plexo, y a la rejilla cristalina del planeta, lo sentirán en su chakra cardiaco.
Si se agrupan, realicen una plegaria o meditación, sientan esa fuerza de Amor y envíenla hacia el planeta y la humanidad. Expresen su gratitud. Tomen el tiempo de sentir, porque ese día, la energía de Amor, compasión, armonía, dará la vuelta al planeta y volverá a Ustedes amplificada.
No se preocupen por las formas, cada Ser encontrara el método de conexión adecuado, aunando así en el conjunto.
El día 18 podrán unir vuestra energía a la de Gaia, honren la Tierra, celebren a través de ceremonias en las que recibirán la energía de los cristales maestros ya activados el día 9 en todo el planeta.
Este portal traerá cambios y trasmutaciones, sean consientes de Ustedes Mismos, porque es el llamado a la Ascensión. Será el despertar masivo que produzca el Gran Cambio tan esperado por Ustedes. Abran paso a la salud, física mental y espiritual.
MEDITACIÓN SUGERIDA:
En este día, en esta hora, en este momento, abro mi corazón a recibir esta energía Cristalina, amplificada en mí, emanando corriente de Amor, compasión y gratitud, desde mi Centro Partícula Divina.
Permito que esta energía fluya en mi multimensionalidad, impregnando todas mis partes.
Me abro a mi conciencia Universal.
Aligero mi carga de pensamientos negados, desapegándome de los temores.
Elijo ser Libre de toda manipulación, nada ni nadie me dará la negación, porque estaré conectada a mi propio Ser.
Seré consiente de mi despertar, asumiendo mi propia Maestría.
El Gran Consejo de Ancianos. (Erks)
6/9/09
Canal: Graciela Dattoli.
www.auden.com.ar | Spanish | NL | a668e0636f89e18475f9d321a14287203fe80efe041bf21dc19c041887c307b1 |
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El visitante de la Necrópolis
El aire frío del invierno de una tarde que fenecía un día 23 de diciembre, bajo los árboles del Campo Metropolitano, arropaba mi cabeza intensamente, dejando en mi rostro una imagen pétrea, en la que mis ojos y mis cabellos eran lo único que no era inmóvil dentro de ese lugar de eterno descanso.
Tras de mi estaba el camino empedrado que llevaba cómodamente a los visitantes hacia cada uno de los recintos donde sus allegados, familiares o conocidos, les esperaban en eternidad con su nombre labrado en la piedra. Hoy no era un buen día para visitas. La temperatura estaba por debajo de los -5 grados y había caído una gran nevada la noche anterior que había dejado su marca indeleble sobre el paisaje así como también la triste tonalidad gris de la niebla que empezó a bajar al comienzo de la tarde.
Estaba de pie frente a una lápida de granito cubierta casi hasta su tope de nieve, que estaba adornada por dos moribundos ramos de rosas que no resistieron el embate de la naturaleza la noche anterior. Hacía frío, mucho frío, y mi gabardina no bastaba para contener la intensidad del aire gélido que daba contra mi cuerpo. Observe hacia ambos lados de mí y note que no más de 10 personas estaban de visita en el cementerio. Todos luchaban, por no dejarse amilanar por el clima, para quedarse ahí más tiempo, junto a sus seres queridos, pero cualquier tiempo que hubiese disponible siempre sería insuficiente para aquellos que tienen una eternidad por delante o los que tienen el resto de una vida que afrontar.
Yo, en cambio, contemplaba aquella lápida con entereza, con profunda tristeza pero sin doblegarme, como aquellas otras veces lo había hecho, en las vísperas de navidad desde hacía tres años.
En la víspera de aquella fatídica navidad, el trueno de una corneta, el patinar de cuatro llantas, la luz cegadora de dos faroles y el golpe seco de un vehículo descontrolado, marcaron el fin de la vida de mi ser querido. Ese fue el comienzo de mi sufrimiento, y el principio del fin de mi propia vida. La Muerte de forma atropellada y repentina, en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, me había quitado lo que yo más amaba, a mi ser más preciado. Me había arrebatado la vida en sí misma.
Yo le amaba, yo le quería, y jamás me perdoné el dejarle salir esa noche. De haber sido todo distinto, hoy habría estado conmigo en otro lugar, y no a mis pies. Yo habría estado junto a él en otro lugar y no frente a su tumba.
Una señora de mediana edad llegó desde el camino y se aproximó. Me pareció conocida pero no pude recordar donde le había visto. Se detuvo a mi lado y se puso a contemplar la lápida cubierta de nieve. Llevaba un gran ramo de rosas nuevo.
- Estas son para ti, cariño – dijo mientras se agachaba a colocar las rosas en la base de la lápida.
Me enterneció profundamente el gesto de la señora, que miraba junto a mí la lápida cubierta de nieve y las flores marchitas.
- Gracias, es un gesto muy amable de su parte – le dije.
- No hay de qué, cariño – dijo mientras se arrodillaba y sin quitar la vista de la lápida – vamos ahora a quitarle estas flores marchitas y a mandar a barrerle un poco el piso para que no se vea el sitio tan descuidado.
Me quedé observando con ternura a la señora en su labor, tan concentrado en ello que no me percaté de que un señor se había acercado también a nosotros a contemplar el lugar.
- Buenas tardes – dijo
- Buenas tardes señor – respondimos la señora y yo casi al unísono
- Lindas rosas señora –
- Muchas gracias, bien sabía yo que con la nevada de ayer, las otras flores que le había puesto estarían hoy marchitas.
Comprendí por qué me parecía conocida la señora. La había visto visitar la tumba en los años pasados, sin embargo, no le recordaba porque yo solo visitaba el cementerio en la fecha del aniversario. Yo temía reavivar viejos dolores, culpas y heridas que aún, hasta el día de hoy, no parecían sanar. Deambulé por muchos lados buscando apaciguar mi dolor, pero no fue posible.
- ¿Le ayudamos a arreglar el sitio? – le pregunté a la señora agachándome
- No, no no se preocupe – respondió la señora apartando al señor de las rosas que había tocado – de esto me encargo yo. Es mi responsabilidad y puedo hacerlo sola. Gracias.
- Muy bien, no se preocupe – respondió reincorporándose
- Solo queríamos ayudar – dije extrañado.
- No es necesario, de todos modos gracias. Esto es parte de mi rutina – respondió sin voltear
- Cosas de la edad – susurró el señor echando una vista al cielo
- Ni que lo diga – le respondí.
Durante varios minutos ambos observamos a la señora arreglar y colocar las nuevas rosas. Nos arrodillamos a su lado mientras ella mandó a llamar a un jardinero para que limpiase los restos de nieve de la lápida y del suelo de la tumba. La oscuridad de la noche había cubierto ya al cementerio, y unas pequeñas lámparas colocadas a ambos lados del camino empedrado, se encendieron para dar luz a los visitantes.
- ¿Cuánto tiempo tiene aquí su familiar? – preguntó el señor
- Tres años – le respondí
- Hoy se cumplen los tres años de aquel accidente – dijo la señora
- ¿Falleció en un accidente?
- Sí, señor, muy trágico. Un accidente de tránsito. Lo atropelló un autobús. – respondió acongojada.
- Lo más triste es que haya sucedido en vísperas de Navidad – continué diciendo
- Dios, y justo antes de la Navidad, es una pena de verdad – respondió el señor
- Si, mucha pena, muchísimo dolor – respondió la señora gimiendo levemente y girándose hacia nosotros – Dios, qué mala educación la mía. Me llamo Martha.
- José, mi señora, José Garcés para servirle – contestó el hombre
- Federico Alberti, señora, mucho gusto – le respondí.
- Un placer. Pues sí, toda la familia venía en camino y… – respondió la señora volviendo a mirar la lápida con un nudo en la garganta y el preludio de una lagrima en sus ojos – no entiendo cómo es que…cómo es que.
En ese momento, la señora rompió a llorar desconsoladamente, escondiendo su rostro bajo sus brazos y tapando su cabeza para que no la viésemos sufrir. El sufrimiento de la señora alcanzó la fibra más sensible de mi ser y tuve que retirarme por un segundo y recostar mi cabeza en el tronco de un árbol cercano para tomar aire.
- Mi señora por favor, ya no deben haber más preguntas – respondió José en tono conciliatorio – ya nuestro finado debe estar en paz con el señor.
- ¿Será eso posible? – refutó la señora llorando – ¿será posible que en verdad él esté con nuestro señor?
- Por supuesto Martha – respondí desde el árbol y acercándome nuevamente a la lápida – El fue un buen hombre.
El viento arreciaba con mayor fuerza, y el frío se hacía más intenso, el aire más denso y pesado. La niebla amenazaba con cubrirlo todo penetrando el perímetro de luz que los diminutos faroles del camino dibujaban
- Estoy seguro que nuestro Señor Jesús lo tiene en su Gloria, y todos sus pecados han sido perdonados, como debe ser – respondió también José
- ¿A pesar de cómo sucedieron las cosas? – sollozó terriblemente la señora tomando de las manos a José quien, arrodillado junto a ella, le sostenía para que no se derrumbará.
- Martha, debe usted tranquilizarse – le dije – Dios, tiene un plan divino para todos nosotros que…
- ¿Y cómo sucedieron las cosas Martha?, ¿cómo ha pasado? – interrumpió José
- El se suicidó Padre José! – respondió envuelta en lagrimas y gritos de dolor – Él se lanzó justo frente al autobús que venía por la calle. El se mató!
<<Suicidio>>. Eso no era lo que yo recordaba, lo que yo daba por sentado. Me negaba a asumir tal cosa como cierta. Sin embargo, al escucharle, mis ojos se cerraron en un profundo dolor, tan intenso, que una lágrima infinita se derramó por mi mejilla y cayó al suelo de grama, justo detrás de los dos señores.
- ¿Pero cómo pudo pasar eso? – respondió José consternado – ¿Por qué razón haría él semejante cosa?
- Su hijo, su hijo murió a principios de ese año de una enfermedad fatal. Leucemia. – respondió Martha en llanto – Él no soportó la pérdida de su único hijo. Abandonó a su familia, esposa, a todos. Y perdió la vida porque no tuvo las respuestas terrenales que buscaba.
Leucemia. Su hijo tenía tan solo 11 años cuando la enfermedad acabó con él. Parte de su vida se había ido con la pérdida de su hijo. Su esposa, incapaz de conectarse nuevamente con él, perdió la batalla para librarle de sus culpas, y tuvo que dejarle para no desvanecerse ella también ante sus propias penurias.
- Por Dios. – respondió José – Martha, no sé en qué lugar se encuentre él en estos momentos, pero oro con todas mis fuerzas porque allí, donde quiera que esté, encuentre o haya encontrado las respuestas que aquí no encontró.
Los dos señores se hundieron en un llanto mutuo que no pude evitar. Con lágrimas en los ojos, me levante del suelo detrás de ellos y puse mi mano sobre la cabeza de la señora. Le dije antes de retirarme:
- Martha estoy seguro de que él, en ese lugar, aún está buscando esas respuestas.
Martha lloró con aún más fuerzas mientras yo empecé a retirarme sin dejar de mirar la lápida y a los dos señores llorar frente a ella, hasta que la niebla no me permitió ver nada más. Me fui, tal cual llegué, de aquel cementerio en el cual yacía mi ser amado y su pequeño hijo, en búsqueda de paz y calma para mi dolor.
El jardinero, con pocos ánimos, se acercó a la pareja de señores para limpiar el suelo de la tumba y su lápida. Los señores se levantaron para permitir el trabajo. El jardinero, con un rastrillo metálico, arrancó de la lápida una capa dura de hielo que tapaba casi todo su frente. Esta se desprendió casi completa dejando limpia la cara frontal de la misma la cual rezaba:
Aquí yace:
FEDERICO ALBERTI
* 13/10/56 + 23/12/2003
Y
DANIEL J. ALBERTI
* 6/01/1992 + 12/02/2003
“Un Padre amoroso y abnegado. Un hijo maravilloso y valiente. Les amaré por siempre”
Recuerdo de su amada esposa/madre
Martha
“Que sus almas descansen en Paz…”
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Relato cedido a T.E.M por Jesús David Guerra.
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Lo cierto es (y si alguien tiene pruebas fidedignas de lo contrario le animo a que nos informe de ello) que nunca se han podido verificar tales cosas. La supuesta capacidad de doblar cucharas con el poder de la mente de Uri Geller era un truco bastante sencillo que viene explicado de forma gráfica en este blog; y durante la segunda guerra mundial se intentó utilizar la presunta habilidad de los zahoríes para encontra agua con sus palitos en forma de Y sin ningún exito. Se han llevado también a cabo experimentos en los que un grupo de personas tenía que adivinar el número y palo de una carta de una baraja puesta boca abajo: en efecto, algunos presuntos clarividentes consiguieron adivinar un número significativo de las cartas que se les presentaron, pero no tardó en encontrarse una solución poco sobrenatural al fenómeno: o bien simple estadística, porque si se les hacen las pruebas a muchas personas siempre tendrá que haber alguna que acierte, igual que la lotería siempre le toca a alguien, pero en ese caso el supuesto vidente no será capaz de repetir los resultados de forma sistemática, o bien engaño deliberado, puesto que los científicos no son especialistas en detectar a prestidigitadores o a gente con habilidad en este tipo de juegos de manos.
Frente al tópico de que los investigadores se cierran en banda a la posibilidad de que puedan darse fenómenos que ellos no pueden explicar, es más bien la realidad la que se encarga de desmentir la verosimilitud de los fenómenos paranormales y son los crédulos los que muestran cerrazón al seguir creyendo en ellos. Y la excusa de que los poderes del medium se alteran ante cualquier intento de registrarlos o probarlos .... En fin, evidentemente a ver quien puede demostrar que sea mentira que cuando estoy solo y nadie me mira yo me convierto en Letizia Ortiz; las leyes de la ciencia siempre se cumplen, tanto para el que las conoce como para el que no cree en ellas, y funcionan en cualquier tipo de circunstancia, si los fenómenos paranormales fueran científicos debería de poder aplicárseles estas máximas y parece que no es así. Eso no significa que no haya hechos sumamente curiosos e imposibles ante nuestro sentido común que puedan tener base científica; otro día me detendré en ellos. | Spanish | NL | 763da6bf37d5bb871c014b5f89cd01811c9ec983f28d945d56983073ca6c5602 |
Mizuguchi no parece querer establecer sus diálogos a través de historias porque siente que lo que el lleva dentro no va a poder comunicarlo así, siente que los medios narrativos le enclaustran, porque vienen acompañados de una metodología y unas emociones muy amortizados y ligadas a procesos muy establecidos. Si Mizuguchi entra en el mundo de los videojuegos a través de Sega Rally es imposible que eso no le marque, construye un puente (a través de la velocidad, del gusto por la ingeniería, del diseño de físicas :D ) para sus emociones. Y a partir de ahí es normal que se dedique a algo tan poco explorado pero con tanto potencial como es la sinestesia. Porque si se pueden extraer emociones de lo mecánico, ¿como no se va a poder extraer tecnologías de lo emocional? Y siendo así, por qué no hacer lo mismo con la división que hacemos de nuestros sentidos. De la dificultad Mizuguchi extrae facilidades. Hace de tripas corazón y aprovecha su jaula para crear nuevos códigos dentro de ésta y lanzarlas al mundo para contrastarlas y depurarlas.
Porque los códigos de jugabilidad que establece son universales, transmiten ideas en cuanto a un proceso de gestión de la información sensorial, pero el establecimiento personal del control sobre esa dinámica utiliza así herramientas que los juegos no suelen utilizar y que no son personalizables. Es difícil explicarle a alguien que no ha jugado a Lumines cómo se juega : *, porque el mensaje es el contenido, es la técnica utilizada para desarrollarlo, es la técnica utilizada para jugarlo. En realidad no muchos creadores nos exigen tanto en sus obras. Por eso Lumines duele. Establece movimientos no lineales, se apoya en la emocionalidad, se basa en la polarización en dos (dos colores), coge la cuantificación tétraica (tetráica, tetral, tetris, tetromino, parte de un constructo imperecedero (4) que así nos enclaustra) y la convierte en un binomio. Y si ese binomio parece aburrido es porque por si solo lo es, pero Mizuguchi y su gente te dejan respirar por otras vías, quizás porque es por donde han aprendido a respirar al desarrollar el juego: el espacio horizontal :S y el encadenamiento de combos que éste permite. No sería entonces una coincidencia que la skin final del primer Lumines contenga un paisaje plano, con un horizonte absoluto del cual surge el Sol en todo su abrumador esplendor. :?
No quiero cometer el error de confundir ese Sol, ese símbolo de esperanza, con la autoría de Mizuguchi ni el mismo Mizuguchi. Si él y la gente que trabaja con él han conseguido controlar el deseo de contar su historia mediante una trama, ¿por qué no podemos nosotros controlar nuestros deseos equivocados desarrollados a partir de esa obra? Quiero decir, bastante tengo con enfrentarme a la cadencia de caída de bloques, a la fluctuación de la fuerza gravitacional como para encima tener que andar pensando en palabras. Ahora ya sólo tengo que preocuparme de bloques de cuatro cuantos que me ayudan a dominar la potencialidad basada en dos colores que apela a mis dos hemisferios. Y eso me ofrece tanta libertad como conducir libremente por Vice City escuchando Fever 105.
:D la nueva carne, la transgresión de las oposiciones simples (sobretodo las firmes); palabras que nos dicen más sobre procesos y complejidad que los aún vigente viajes iniciáticos del héroe o los héroes redentores. No cansan, pero no nos dejan respirar otros aires.
: * dale un palo a una persona... y pídele que marque su vida sobre la arena. Escribirá una linea recta, quizás una espiral descendiente, a lo mejor un interminable zigzag (visto así el solsticio de 2012 no es más que un ángulo cerrado que los Mayas dejaron caer entre líneas), pero algo dibujará.
(4) "Lumines es como un Tetris, pero con música"
:S sincronizar tu construcción de combos ajustándote a una barra vertical progresiva sincronizada a las emociones que te provoca la música, música que a su vez dirige a la barra de borrado de combos. Sientes que la barra y tú estáis atados a algo que, como humano, difícilmente puedes rechazar y eso ya te está diciendo algo: deja de prestarle atención a la barra, céntrate en la música. Los dos venís del mismo sitio y por lo tanto os uniréis en el destino, sea cual sea, finito o no. (6)
:? Lumines no tiene fin. 9.999.999 puntos y la partida sigue. No te quedes con los dato extraídos mediante Search Engine Marketing (SEM), haz algo con ellos. | Spanish | NL | ddfd7d01507ae945a676cadd85dd27dc13e677912a1159fe636d3d12e5df092b |
Angela Mendoza de 3ro A de Comercio Exterior de la Facultad de Filosofía de la Universidad de Guayaquil.
COMPAÑÍA EN NOMBRE COLECTIVO
a) En esta compañía rige el principio de conocimiento y confianza entre los socios.
b) No admite suscripción pública de capital.
c) El contrato de compañía en nombre colectivo se celebra por escritura pública;
d) La escritura pública de formación de la compañía será aprobada por un Juez de lo Civil;
e) La compañía se forma entre 2 o más personas;
f) El nombre de la compañía debe ser una razón social que es la fórmula enunciativa de los nombre de todos los socios, o de algunos de ellos, con la agregación de las palabras “y compañía”.
g) La Ley no señala para esta compañía un mínimo de capital fundacional;
h) Los aportes de capital no están representadas por títulos negociables.
i) Para la constitución de la compañía se pagará no menos del cincuenta por ciento del capital suscrito;
j) Por las obligaciones sociales los socios responden en forma SOLIDARIA E ILIMITADA.
k) No esta sujeta a la superintendencia de compañías.
COMPAÑÍA EN COMANDITA SIMPLE
a) La compañía tiene dos clases de socios y se contrae entre uno o varios socios solidaria e ilimitadamente responsables llamados socios comanditados y uno o más socios suministradores de fondos, llamados socios comanditarios, cuya responsabilidad se limita al monto de sus aportes.
b) La compañía existe bajo una razón social que consiste en el nombre de uno o varios de los socios comanditados, al que se agregará las palabras “Compañía en comandita”.
c) Para esta compañía no existe un mínimo de capital fundacional.d) La administración está a cargo de los socios comanditados.
e) La compañía en comandita simple se constituirá en la misma forma que una compañía en nombre colectivo.
f) No esta sujeta a la superintendencia de compañías.
COMPAÑÍA EN COMANDITA POR ACCIONES
a) Al igual que la compañía en comandita simple, esta compañía se constituye entre dos clases de socios: comanditados y comanditarios.
b) La compañía existirá bajo una razón social que se formará con los nombres de uno o más socios solidariamente responsables llamados socios comanditados, seguido de las palabras “compañía en comandita”.
c) El capital de esta compañía se dividirá en acciones nominativas de un valor nominal igual. La décima parte del capital social, por lo menos, debe ser aportada por los socios solidariamente responsables (comanditados).
d) La administración de la compañía corresponde a los socios comanditados.
e) Respecto a lo no contemplado en las anteriores características, esta compañía se rige por las reglas de la compañía anónima.
Análisis al Mandato Constitucional Nº 8: Según el mandato expedido por la Asamblea Constituyente conjuntamente con su secretario, del 30 de abril de 2008, se elimina y prohíbe la tercerización e intermediación laboral al igual que la contratación laborar por horas, y que únicamente se podrá contratar en actividades complementarias como vigilancia, seguridad, alimentación, mensajería y limpieza, en consecuencia la empresa que desee realizar contratos con empresas que se dedique a actividades tales como vigilancia, esta no podrá tener ningún tipo de vinculación con la empresa a la que va a prestar sus servicios.Empresas que tienen contratos civiles o de servicios profesionales, van a tener que cambiar de contrato, salvo el caso de que estos servicios sean técnicos especializados ajenos a las actividades propias y habituales de la usuaria tales como: contabilidad, publicidad, consultoría, auditoría, jurídicos entre otros.Ahora bien, las empresas que se encontraban con los trabajadores tercerizados prestando sus servicios por más de 180 días en sus empresas, estas tendrán que asumirlos de manera directa, siempre y cuando las instituciones sean del sector público, empresas públicas estatales, organismos seccionales y por las entidades de derecho privado, que tengan participación accionaría o aportes de recursos públicos. Si los trabajadores tercerizados tienen menos de 180 días laborando para la empresa, está podrá o no hacerse cargo de este personal, según el mandato.De las instituciones antes mencionadas se garantiza la contratación colectiva para los trabajadores. Los trabajadores que se encontraban trabajando bajo la modalidad por horas en una empresa, esta tendrá que contratarlos bajo la modalidad de jornada parcial, la misma que el salario básico unificado lo fijará el Ministerio de Trabajo.Los trabajadores que se encontraban trabajando bajo la modalidad por horas con más de 180 días serán contratados de manera obligatoria.Autor: Dr. Francisco Sánchez Farfán
Hace aproximadamente 2 años hubo reformas en cuanto a la tercerizadora, esto es que se dividio en Tercerizacion de Servicios Complementarios y de la Intermediacion Laboral, cada una para un fin especifico y distinto. La primera la que realiza una persona jurídica legalmente constituida conforme a la Ley de Compañías, esto para la ejecución de actividades complementarias de otra empresa, por lo que la relación laboras sería de la entre la empresa tercerizadora y el personal; en cambio la Intermediación Laboral consiste en emplear trabajadores con el fin de ponerlos a disposición de una tercera persona puede ser natural o jurídica llamada usuaria la misma que determina tareas y supervisa su ejecución.
COMPAÑIAS DE RESPONSABILIDAD LIMITADA
Generalidades: La Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada, es la que se contrae con un mínimo de dos personas, y pudiendo tener como máximo un número de quince. En ésta especie de compañías sus socios responden únicamente por las obligaciones sociales hasta el monto de sus aportaciones individuales, y hacen el comercio bajo su razón social o nombre de la empresa acompañado siempre de una expresión peculiar para que no pueda confundiese con otra compañía.
Requisitos: El nombre.- En esta especie de compañías puede consistir en una razónsocial, una denominación objetiva o de fantasía. Deberá ser aprobado por laSecretaría General de la Oficina Matriz de la Superintendencia deCompañías, o por la Secretaría General de la Intendencia de Compañías de Guayaquil, o por el funcionario que para el efecto fuere designado en lasintendencias de compañías.
Solicitud de aprobación.- La presentación al Superintendente deCompañías, se la hará con tres copias certificadas de la escritura de constituciónde la compañía, adjuntando la solicitud correspondiente, la misma que tiene queser elaborada por un abogado, pidiendo la aprobación del contrato constitutivo.
Números mínimo y máximo de socios.- La compañía se constituirá condos socios, como mínimo y con un máximo de quince, y si durante su existenciajurídica llegare a exceder este número deberá transformarse en otra clase decompañía o deberá disolverse. Cabe señalar que ésta especie de compañías nopuede subsistir con un solo socio.
Capital mínimo.- El capital mínimo con que ha de constituirse la compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada, es de cuatrocientos dólares. El capital deberá suscribirse íntegramente y pagarse al menos en el 50% del valor nominal de cada participación y su saldo deberá cancelarse en un plazo no mayor a doce meses. Las aportaciones pueden consistir en numerario (dinero) o en especies (bienes) muebles o inmuebles e intangibles, o incluso, en dinero y especies a la vez. En cualquier caso las especies deben corresponder a la actividad o actividades que integren el objeto de la compañía. El socio que ingrese con bienes, se hará constar en la escritura de constitución, el bien, su valor, la transferencia de dominio a favor de la compañía, y dichos bienes serán avaluado por los socios o por los peritos.
NOTA: Cuando el objeto social de una compañía comprenda más de una finalidad, le corresponderá a la Superintendencia de Compañías establecer su afiliación de acuerdo a la primera actividad empresarial que aparezca en el mismo.
COMPAÑÍAS ANÓNIMAS
Generalidades: Esta Compañía tiene como característica principal, que es una sociedad cuyo capital, dividido en acciones negociables, y sus accionistas responden únicamente por el monto de sus aportaciones. Esta especie de compañías se administra por mandatarios amovibles socios o no. Se constituye con un mínimo de dos socios sin tener un máximo.
Requisitos: La compañía deberá constituirse con dos o más accionistas, según lo dispuesto en el Artículo 147 de la Ley de Compañías, sustituido por el Artículo 68de la Ley de Empresas Unipersonales de Responsabilidad Limitada. La compañía anónima no podrá subsistir con menos de dos accionistas, salvo las compañías cuyo capital total o mayoritario pertenezcan a una entidad del sector público.
El nombre.- En esta especie de compañías puede consistir en una razón social, una denominación objetiva o de fantasía. Deberá ser aprobado por la Secretaría General de la Oficina Matriz de la Superintendencia de Compañías, o por la Secretaría General de la Intendencia de Compañías de Guayaquil, o por el funcionario que para el efecto fuere designado en las intendencias de compañías.
Solicitud de aprobación.- La presentación al Superintendente de Compañías, se la hará con tres copias certificadas de la escritura de constitución de la compañía, adjuntando la solicitud correspondiente, la misma que tiene que ser elaborada por un abogado, pidiendo la aprobación del contrato constitutivo.
Socios y capital: Números mínimo y máximo de socios.- La compañía se constituirá con un mínimo de dos socios, sin tener un máximo de socios.
Capital.- El capital mínimo con que ha de constituirse la Compañía de Anónima, es de ochocientos dólares. El capital deberá suscribirse íntegramente y pagarse al menos en el 25% del capital total. Las aportaciones pueden consistir en dinero o en bienes muebles o inmuebles e intangibles, o incluso, en dinero y especies a la vez. En cualquier caso las especies deben corresponder al género de comercio de la compañía. la actividad o actividades que integren el objeto de la compañía. El socio que ingrese con bienes, se hará constar en la escritura de constitución, los bienes serán avaluados por los socios. La compañía podrá establecerse con el capital autorizado, el mismo que no podrá ser mayor al doble del capital suscrito.
COMPAÑIAS DE ECONOMIA MIXTA
Generalidades: Para constituir estas compañías es indispensable que contraten personas jurídicas de derecho público o personas jurídicas semipúblicas con personas jurídicas o naturales de derecho privado. Son empresas dedicadas al desarrollo y fomento de la agricultura y la industria.
Requisitos: El trámite para la constitución de esta especie de compañías es el mismo que se utiliza para la constitución de la Compañía Anónima En esta especie de compañías no puede faltar el órgano administrativo pluri-personal denominado directorio. Asimismo, en el estatuto, si el Estado o las entidades u organismos del sector público que participen en la compañía, así lo plantearen, se determinarán los requisitos y condiciones especiales que resultaren adecuados respecto a la transferencia de las acciones y a la participación en el aumento del capital suscrito de la compañía.
Socios y capital: El capital de esta compañía es de ochocientos dólares, o puede serlo también en bienes muebles o inmuebles relacionado con el objeto social de la compañía. En lo demás, para constituir estas compañías, se estará a lo normado en la Sección VI de la Ley de Compañías, relativa a la sociedad anónima. En esta especie de compañías el Estado, por razones de utilidad pública, podrá en cualquier momento expropiar el monto del capital privado.
LEY DE EMPRESAS UNIPERSONALES DE RESPONSABILIDAD LIMITADA
Se ha publicado en el Registro Oficial 196 de 26 de enero del 2006 esta Ley que permite que una sola persona natural constituya una compañía. Este tipo de compañía, por su naturaleza, tiene diferencias notorias con otras especies societarias comprendidas en la Ley de Compañías. Para empezar, se conforma esta empresa con la figura de compañía de responsabilidad limitada, pero no con las características particulares de las compañías de responsabilidad limitada ordinarias contempladas en la Ley de Compañías, ya que la empresa unipersonal inicia sus actividades hasta la finalización de su plazo legal con una sola persona, única y exclusivamente. A esta persona se la conoce como gerente-propietario y no como socio. La compañía unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada no admite una transformación por otra especie de compañía, salvo el caso de que los herederos del gerente-propietario sean varios, en cuyo caso deberán transformar la compañía unipersonal en otra tipo de compañía. Se puede conformar esta compañía por una persona que tenga la capacidad legal para realizar actos de comercio, esto es lo contemplado en el artículo 6 del Código de Comercio y artículo 1461 del Código Civil. De ninguna forma se puede constituir este tipo de compañía con una persona jurídica ni con personas naturales que no puedan ejercer el comercio según la Ley, esto es el artículo 7 del Código de Comercio. Se dispone que tanto el gerente-propietario como la empresa unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada son distintas personas, por consiguiente sus patrimonios son separados. De lo anterior, la ley dispone que el gerente-propietario no será responsable de las obligaciones de la empresa, ni viceversa, salvo casos que la misma Ley enumera, como la quiebra fraudulenta, en los que si puede responder con su patrimonio personal por las obligaciones de la empresa.El objeto de esta compañía es la actividad económica organizada a la que se va a dedicar, y dicho objeto comprenderá solo una actividad empresarial. Expresamente se prohíbe a este tipo de compañías realizar las actividades contempladas en la Ley General de Instituciones del Sistema Financiero, Ley de Mercado de Valores y Ley General de Seguros, además de otras actividades por las cuáles se necesita de otra especie societaria. También se les prohíbe la captación de dineros o recursos del público, inclusive las que tuvieren por pretexto o finalidad el apoyo o el mejor desarrollo del objeto de la empresa, aún cuando se realizaren bajo las formas de planes, sorteos, promesas u ofertas de bienes o servicios.El capital inicial de esta empresa, de acuerdo a la Ley es el monto total de dinero que el gerente-propietario hubiere destinado a la actividad misma, sin embargo este capital no podrá ser inferior al producto de la multiplicación de la remuneración básica mínima unificada del trabajador en general por diez. Esto quiere decir que en la actualidad con una remuneración básica mínima unificada de 160 dólares, el capital inicial de estas compañías no podrá ser inferior a 1600 dólares. Incluso se dispone que, si en cualquier momento de existencia de la compañía unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada, el capital fuera inferior al mínimo establecido, en función de la remuneración básica mínima unificada que entonces se hallare vigente, el gerente propietario deberá aumentar el capital dentro del plazo de seis meses y deberá registrarse en el Registro Mercantil dicho aumento, caso contrario la empresa entrará en liquidación inmediatamente. Esta compañía puede hacer aumentos de capital que provengan ya sea de un aporte en dinero del gerente-propietario o por capitalización de reservas o utilidades de la empresa. Respecto de las reservas, están son resultado de destinar el diez por ciento de las utilidades anuales hasta que representen el 50% del capital empresarial. El capital puede ser disminuido pero no de tal forma que implique un capital inferior al mínimo establecido por la Ley o si se determinare que con la disminución que el activo es menor que el pasivo.La empresa unipersonal esta exenta de impuestos en el proceso de constitución o transformación, y solamente sus utilidades y valores que retiren de ella el gerente-propietario esta sujeta al tratamiento tributario que tienen las compañías anónimas. Otra diferencia es que la constitución de estas compañías se la hace por medio de escritura pública y una vez que sea otorgada la misma, el gerente-propietario se dirigirá ante uno de los jueces de lo civil y pedirá su aprobación e inscripción en el Registro Mercantil, pudiendo a la vez afiliarla al gremio o cámara que le correspondería conforme a la actividad u objeto al que se dedique la empresa.El Representante legal de la empresa unipersonal será el mismo gerente-propietario, quien podrá realizar únicamente actos y contratos con relación al objeto de la empresa. El gerente-propietario podrá delegar funciones administrativas a uno o varios apoderados, en el caso que el apoderado tenga que ejercer dicha funciones en una sucursal, el poder que le otorga dicha calidad deberá ser inscrito en el Registro Mercantil del lugar donde se encuentra la sucursal. Por otra parte ni el gerente-propietario ni sus apoderados podrán por ningún concepto otorgar caución para el cumplimiento de una o varias obligaciones que contraiga la empresa unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada.La contabilidad de la empresa estará sometida a la Ley de Compañías y reglamentos expedidos por la Superintendencia de Compañías en lo que fueren aplicables. La empresa unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada, en los noventa días posteriores al término del ejercicio económico deberá prepara su balance. El gerente – propietario luego de ver los resultados económicos tomará las resoluciones al respecto que deberán constar en una acta firmada por él y el contador de la empresa para protocolizarla, ante notario, conjuntamente con el balance general y el estado de la cuenta de pérdidas y ganancias. La consecuencia de no protocolizar el acta con los estados financieros mencionados dentro del primer semestre del año, es la responsabilidad solidaria que el gerente-propietario tendrá de todas las obligaciones contraídas por la empresa desde el mes de enero del año anterior hasta el momento que se protocolice el acta y estados financieros señalados.El tiempo en que prescribe la responsabilidad del gerente-propietario o sus sucesores por la disolución de la empresa es de tres años, salvo el caso en que haya habido la disolución de la empresa por quiebra; la responsabilidad del representante legal prescribirá en cinco años desde la inscripción del auto de quiebra en el Registro Mercantil. En el caso de que aun existan fondos indivisos de la empresa, los acreedores tendrán el derecho de anteponer acciones contra la empresa en liquidación, acción que prescribirá en cinco años, contados desde el último aviso a los acreedores.Finalmente, esta Ley anota de una manera muy clara que al ser utilizada la empresa unipersonal de responsabilidad limitada como medio para burlar la ley, la buena fe, el orden público y defraudar derechos de terceros, serán responsables solidarios el gerente-propietario y todas las personas que estuvieron involucradas en el hecho. La responsabilidad que deberán asumir será civil y penalmente con relación a los daños causados. Las acciones que ejercerán los perjudicados en materia penal prescribirán conforme al Código Penal y las acciones en materia civil, prescribirán en cinco años desde que se inscriba la liquidación de la empresa o desde cuando se realizo el hecho, eso quedará a elección del accionante.
DERECHO SOCIETARIO
Reformas a la Ley de Companias en cuanto al número de socios, vigencia de la misma y creación de una nueva empresa “Empresa Unipersonal de Responsabilidad Limitada”.
Por ejemplo la Compañía de Responsabilidad Limitada, antes de la reforma podía constituirse con un mínimo de tres socios y podía subsistir con un solo socio, hoy en día se puede constituir con un mínimo de dos socios pero ya no puede subsistir con un socio sino con dos. Esto por la aparición de la Empresa Unipersonal de Responsabilidad Limitada, que como su nombre lo dice se la constituye con una sola persona y solo puede subsistir con esta persona sin que puedan ingresar más socios.
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A finales de 1974, y después de trabajar en el conocido 8080, Federico Faggin dejó Intel para crear junto a Ralph Ungermann una empresa dedicada al diseño de microprocesadores llamada Zilog. En el verano de 1976, ya tenían en el mercado su primer micro, que estaba basado en los principios del 8080, aunque añadía nuevas instrucciones, registros, modos de direccionamiento, refresco para memorias dinámicas, y otras mejoras; como por ejemplo la necesidad de una menor cantidad de componentes para tener un proyecto funcional… además de un precio bastante competitivo. Por estas razones, el Z80 se convirtió en una CPU bastante popular, y consiguió desbancar al 8080 de Intel sin problemas.
A partir de ese momento, se fue mejorando la frecuencia del reloj en las siguientes revisiones del chip -de los 2.5MHz iniciales se pasaron a los 4, 6 e incluso 8MHz-, y hoy en día se puede encontrar el eZ80, que sigue siendo compatible, y que ofrece velocidades de hasta 50MHz. En todos estos años, este chip ha sido clave en la revolución de la informática doméstica, y también se ha utilizado en numerosas recreativas, y en una cantidad ingente de dispositivos, que van desde calculadoras, hasta potentes secuenciadores MIDI. A continuación, voy a dar un repaso a algunas de estas creaciones, ya sea por su importancia histórica, o sencillamente por ser realmente curiosas…
Ordenadores
La cantidad de ordenadores que tienen un Z80 en sus entrañas es enorme, así que me voy a dejar bastantes en el tintero, y sólo voy a comentar brevemente los que me parecen más relevantes. Si queréis una lista un poco más exhaustiva, podéis echar un vistazo a la Wikipedia.
La familia Sinclair
Seguro que la mayoría de informáticos que ronden la treintena en España han tenido un ordenador de esta familia entre manos. De hecho, me consta que muchos nos hemos decantado por la informática y la tecnología profesionalmente después de haber tenido una de estas máquinas en casa. Y es que los Spectrums y sus abuelos -los ZX80 y ZX81- eran unos ordenadores realmente entrañables, y viéndolos a día de hoy, eran una auténtica maravilla de la ingeniería minimalista.
Y es que con una circuitería que iba poco más allá de un Z80, algo de memoria, y un custom chip con funcionalidades muy limitadas, se ponían en pantalla unos gráficos bastante competentes -resolución de 256×192 píxeles con 15 tonalidades de color-, y se emitían sonidos a través de un altavoz interno. Esto cambió con la llegada del ZX Spectrum 128, que ya incorporaba un AY-3-8912, todo un clásico en las máquinas de la época.
Por otro lado, hay que tener en cuenta que los modelos que salieron a partir del ZX Spectrum +2 ya no estaban diseñados por el equipo original, ya que en Abril de 1986 Alan Sugar compró los derechos de la marca a Sir Clive Sinclair.
Amstrad CPC y PCW
La gran competencia del Spectrum -al menos en nuestro país- fue el Amstrad CPC, introducido por primera vez en 1984, y a diferencia de otros ordenadores similares, se ofrecía directamente con monitor y con unidad de disco o cinta incorporada. Estas máquinas funcionaron bastante bien en bastantes academias de informática y en pequeñas empresas, y también en el mercado doméstico.
En 1990, Amstrad intentó hacerse con un trozo del pastel que le estaban quitando las consolas y los ordenadores de 16 bits con la gama Plus. El problema es que a pesar de que incorporaban hardware que mejoraba los gráficos -con sprites y una paleta de 4096 colores entre otras virguerías-, el corazón seguía siendo un “humilde” Z80, y el software tampoco era una maravilla.
Como dato curioso, sacaron una versión “capada” que sólo era capaz de reproducir juegos en cartucho, en forma de la consola GX4000. ¿Te suena? Lo dudo, porque fue un pequeño desastre comercial, con menos de 40 títulos comercializados.
Para meterse de lleno en las oficinas, Amstrad lanzó la gama PCW (Personal Computer Word processor), que incluía un monitor monocromo, un mínimo de 256KB de memoria, y una impresora, para competir con las clásicas máquinas de escribir. Su arquitectura no estaba pensada para jugar, pero a pesar de ello salieron algunas joyitas como “Head Over Heels“, “Batman“, o “Livingstone Supongo“.
MSX
La cantidad de ordenadores que se lanzaron bajo este nombre es bastante grande, ya que compañías tan grandes como Sony, Sanyo, Panasonic o Canon se subieron al carro del estándar creado en 1983.
Si queréis saber más sobre estos ordenadores, os dejo con un artículo que escribí para el 25º Aniversario del MSX, que creo es bastante completito
SAM Coupé
El SAM Coupé es un gran sistema que quizás llegó demasiado tarde, concretamente a finales de 1989. Creado por la empresa británica Miles Gordon Technology, fue vendido como una especie de Spectrum avanzado -de hecho era compatible con los modelos de 48K-, pero realmente iba mucho más allá. Ofrecía un Z80B a 6 MHz, memoria que iba desde los 256KB hasta más de 4MB, cuatro modos gráficos con una resolución de hasta 512×192 píxeles, y sonido con seis canales y ocho octavas.
Se estima que sólo se vendieron unos 12000 ordenadores, y es una verdadera pena, ya que en el Sam Coupé se podían disfrutar de excelentes versiones de clásicos como “Prince of Persia” o “Lemmings“.
Enterprise
Los Enterprise -había un modelo de 64KB y otro de 128KB de memoria- eran ordenadores que se diseñaron casi específicamente para jugar, algo que se intuye viendo sus características técnicas. Además de tener un Z80, podían poner gráficos a una resolución de hasta 672×256 píxeles con 256 colores, tenían sonido estéreo de 4 canales, un joystick incorporado, y una cantidad de conectores apabullante. Como detalle curioso, el cartucho de ROM se podía cambiar por uno que emulaba el BASIC del Spectrum.
Desgraciadamente, a la compañía no le salió nada bien el invento, y parece ser que se fabricaron menos de 100000 unidades de estos ordenadores. Una de las razones de este fracaso es la tardía comercialización -se anunció en 1983 pero no se puso a la venta hasta 1985-, y por otro lado, hay que tener en cuenta que tuvo que enfrentarse con máquinas mucho más consolidadas como el Spectrum, el Amstrad CPC o el Commodore 64.
Jupiter Ace
Esta máquina, diseñada en 1982 por ex-ingenieros de Sinclair, hizo una apuesta fuerte en la época, ya que en vez de incorporar el omnipresente BASIC, tenía que programarse en FORTH, que también hacía las veces de Sistema Operativo.
Por lo demás, se trataba de una máquina muy humilde, ya que sólo tenía 1KB de RAM, con otros 2KB para la memoria de vídeo. No tenía chip de sonido, y la arquitectura se reducía prácticamente al Z80 y pocos circuitos más. De hecho, está diseñado con chips discretos de toda la vida, y se puede hacer un clon completamente funcional con unos pequeños conocimientos de electrónica… ¿alguien se anima?
Mattel Aquarius
Este ordenador no está creado realmente por Mattel, ya que la compañía pidió a Radofin -el fabricante afincado en Hong Kong que les producía su Intellivision- que les diseñara un sistema para entrar en el mercado de la informática personal. Poco después, esta compañía les hizo dos prototipos que se convirtieron en el Aquarius y el Aquarius II, que salieron al mercado en el verano de 1983.
Se trata de unas máquinas muy peculiares y poco potentes incluso para la época, tanto que los programadores de Mattel bromeaban diciendo que eran “sistemas de los setenta”. A mí personalmente el Aquarius me pareció bastante curioso cuando tuve la ocasión de probarlo en la penúltima edición de RetroMadrid, aunque parecía más un juguete que un ordenador para hacer algo relativamente útil.
Recreativas
La cantidad de recreativas gobernadas por un Z80 es desbordante, por lo que sólo voy a hacer un repaso por algunos de los arcades más populares que lo empleaban en sus circuitos, para que veáis la importancia que ha tenido este chip en el mundo de los videojuegos.
Namco
Una de las primeras compañías en adoptar la tecnología de Zilog para sus juegos fue Namco -conocida como Namcot por aquellos días-, y algunos de los títulos que incluyen este microprocesador fueron “Pac-Man“, “Galaga“, “Rally-X“, “Dig Dug“, “Xevious” o “Pole Position“… ¿alguien puede pensar en títulos más míticos?
“Xevious“
SEGA
Esta conocida compañía tampoco se quedó atrás, y el Z80 dio vida a juegos como “Zaxxon“, “Wonder Boy“, o “Fantasy Zone II“, además de servir como chip auxiliar en arcades más avanzados como “Out Run“, “Space Harrier“, “Shinobi“, “Golden Axe“, o “Afterburner“… casi nada.
“Wonder Boy“
Capcom
Otra de las grandes en el mundo de los arcades también exprimió esta CPU con recreativas tan conocidas como “1942“, “Black Tiger“, “Commando“, “Trojan” o “Section Z“, que seguro que les suenan a los lectores más talluditos del blog.
“Black Tiger“
Konami
Esta compañía japonesa empleó el Z80 en numerosas placas, para que disfrutáramos de joyas como “Time Pilot“, “Juno First“, “Pooyan“, o “Scramble” -el precursor de la saga “Gradius“-, además de servir como coprocesador de sonido en títulos posteriores.
“Pooyan“
Otras recreativas
Otras compañías que usaron el Z80 fueron Irem -”Kung Fu Master“, “Vigilante“,…-, Taito -”Arkanoid“, “Bubble Bobble“, “The New Zealand Story“,…-, o SNK -”Athena“, “Ikari Warriors“,…-, demostrando nuevamente la popularidad del diseño de Faggin en los salones recreativos.
“Bubble Bobble“
Consolas
Volviendo al mercado doméstico, y centrándonos de nuevo en el sector más lúdico, sorprende ver la cantidad de sistemas que comparten este chip en sus entrañas, siendo algunos de ellos bastante populares en su época.
Bally Astrocade
Quizás una de las consolas menos conocidas, creada por ingenieros de Midway en 1977. Era bastante avanzada para la época, pero la falta de marketing hizo que no tuviese nada que hacer frente a sistemas como Atari 2600, a pesar de que el sistema de Bally también integrara funcionalidades típicas de un ordenador.
A pesar de todo, disfrutó de una buena cantidad de títulos, incluyendo conversiones de clásicos como “Galaxian“, “Wizard of Wor“, o por supuesto, “Gunfight“.
ColecoVision
Este sistema gozó de mucha más popularidad, y fue uno de los productos estrella del verano de 1982, cuando fue lanzado. Curiosamente, la arquitectura guarda muchas similitudes con la de los primeros MSX -y también con la de las primeras consolas de SEGA-, además de ser compatible con juegos de la Atari 2600 mediante el uso de un adaptador, algo que trajo bastantes problemas legales a Coleco.
La rivalidad con Atari era bastante alta, hasta el punto de que se acercaron a compañías como Konami, SEGA o incluso Nintendo, para que programar versiones de sus recreativas, siempre que no hubiesen aparecido en la consola rival. La calidad de estas versiones era en general bastante alta, gracias a la resolución de 256×192 píxeles con 16 colores y 32 sprites por hardware, haciendo que ColecoVision fuese bastante popular entre los amantes de los arcades.
Sistemas de SEGA
SEGA usó el Z80 como CPU en sus primeros sistemas domésticos, desde la SG-1000 hasta la Game Gear, pasando por la popular consola Master Sytem.
De hecho, la arquitectura de estas máquinas es una especie de evolución del mismo diseño, ya que la Master System era la tercera iteración de la SG-1000, y la Game Gear era una versión portátil de la Master System, algo que facilitaba la creación de nuevos títulos, y la posibilidad de usar los cartuchos de las versiones de sobremesa mediante el uso de un adaptador.
Game Boy
Siendo estrictos, la Game Boy no usa un Z80, y de hecho la CPU creada por Sharp es más similar al 8080 original, pero dado que hace unas semanas se celebró el 20º Aniversario de la portátil, no podía dejar pasar la ocasión de mencionarla.
La verdad es que poco se puede decir de la consola que no se sepa ya, salvo que fue una maravilla de ingeniería de Gunpei Yokoi, que popularizó los videojuegos como nadie -¿hay alguien que no haya probado el “Tetris” de esta consola?-, y que definió perfectamente cómo debía ser una consola portátil, lo que explica que ningún otro sistema le haya hecho sombra hasta la llegada de sus sucesoras.
Otras consolas
El chip de Zilog también dio vida a máquinas tan desconocidas como la Mega Duck -también conocida como Cougar Boy-, una portátil que pretendió imitar sin demasiado éxito la pequeña de Nintendo.
Encuentra a la infiltrada
Otros sistemas
Calculadoras de Texas Instruments
Los usuarios de alguna estas calculadoras -TI-73, y de la TI-81, a la TI-86- seguro que recuerdan con cariño de la suya, ya que seguramente les sacó de algún apuro en la universidad. Parte de su magia se la debían al Z80 que llevaban dentro, que permitían la ejecución de multitud de programas, e incluso de algunos juegos bastante entretenidos.
Varios
Además de en sistemas derivados de la arquitectura típica de un ordenador, podemos encontrar el Z80 en secuenciadores MIDI -como el robusto Roland MSQ700-, en decenas de reproductores de MP3, y otros dispositivos como impresoras, fotocopiadoras, contestadores automáticos, centralitas, modems e incluso en discos duros, algo que demuestra la versatilidad y el buen diseño que hizo Faggin en su día.
Y tú… ¿qué aparato gobernado con un Z80 recuerdas con más cariño? | Spanish | NL | 24bd7319004a95a9a8544237e4cc13c6ee82d86ddacd53dbfdc68a69865d888d |
Si nos haces esta pregunta, ¡enhorabuena! Significa que eres un buen amigo.
Las alergias alimentarias están en auge en EE.UU., y la mayoría de nosotros conocemos a alguien que es alérgico. Las alergias alimentarias más frecuentes son a los frutos, la leche, los huevos, la soja y el trigo. El marisco también puede provocar graves reacciones alérgicas.
Lo más curioso y también lo más delicado es que estos alimentos a menudo aparecen como ingredientes de otros alimentos que no parece que los puedan contener. La soja puede aparecer como ingrediente de algunos cereales para el desayuno e incluso dentro de una lata de atún. Algunos embutidos utilizan la caseína, una proteína de la leche, para condensar e unir entre sí los componentes. ¿Y ese bol de helado? Podría contener trigo.
Incluso los alimentos que no contienen ningún ingrediente alergénico (que puede desencadenar reacciones alérgicas) se pueden contaminar si, por ejemplo, los toca alguien que ha manipulado frutos secos o si se han preparado con utensilios o maquinaria que también se utiliza para procesar alimentos alergénicos.
Todo esto complica mucho la conducta de estar pendiente de lo que se va a comer para evitar aquellos alimentos que pueden desencadenar reacciones alérgicas.
Y es ahí donde entran en juego los amigos. Si tienes un amigo que padece una alergia alimentaria, puedes ayudarlo para que la vida le resulte más llevadera, sin que la alergia se convierta en el centro de atención de todo el tiempo que pasáis juntos.
Para una persona que padece una alergia alimentaria, el hecho de contar con amigos que lo aceptan y lo apoyan puede suponer un gran cambio emocional, ya que a todo el mundo le gusta sentirse comprendido. Además, el hecho tener buenos amigos puede incluso llegar a salvarle la vida.
He aquí algunas formas en que puedes ayudar a tu amigo:
Entra en los detalles. Averigua a qué alimentos es alérgico tu amigo y cuáles son los síntomas propios de las reacciones alérgicas. Hay muchos síntomas que aparecen de inmediato: sarpullido, cosquilleo en la lengua o la boca, dificultades para respirar. Pero hay otros que pueden tardar más tiempo en aparecer. Aprende el modo en que tu amigo ha reaccionado al alimento alergénico en el pasado, pero no te detengas ahí. A veces, una misma alergia se puede presentar de formas diferentes en momentos diferentes. Cuanto más te familiarices con lo que puede ocurrir, más fácilmente podrás identificar los desencadenantes y adoptar las medidas oportunas si algo empezara a ocurrir.
Dos mentes piensan más que una. Ayuda a tu amigo a conectar cualquier síntoma corporal que pueda presentar con la posibilidad de que esté relacionado con su alergia alimentaria. Por ejemplo, si empezáis una clase después de comer y tu amigo se encuentra indispuesto o mareado, podría tratarse de algo distinto a una gripe, podría ser una reacción a algo que ha tomado a la hora de comer.
Tómatelo en serio. Algunas alergias alimentarias pueden ser de riesgo vital. Si ves que tu amigo está a punto de comerse algo que sospechas que le podría desencadenar síntomas alérgicos, díselo bien claro. Esto es especialmente importante cuando lo veas distraído o te parezca que no está prestando suficiente atención a lo que come. Por ejemplo, el hecho de haber consumido alcohol puede interferir en la capacidad de una persona para tomar buenas decisiones.
Si tu amigo empieza a presentar síntomas, no les quites importancia, reacciona y pide ayuda. Las dificultades para respirar, el desmayo y la opresión de garganta pueden ser signos de una anafilaxia, una reacción alérgica grave que puede llevar a una muerte súbita. Es muy importante que pidas ayuda de inmediato para detener estos síntomas.
Sabe cómo debes actuar. ¿Qué medicamento utiliza tu amigo para tratar la reacción alérgica? ¿Dónde lo guarda? Averigua qué aspecto tiene y cómo se utiliza para poderlo ayudar en el caso de que empezara a presentar una reacción grave. Si tu amigo utiliza inyectables de adrenalina (o epinefrina), pídele que te enseñe cómo funcionan y aprende a utilizarlos por si él no fuera capaz de hacerlo.
No compartas tu comida con él. La gente con alergias graves necesita ser muy cuidadosa con la forma de preparase la comida. Por lo tanto, ese bocadillo de pavo que te preparaste en el mismo mármol donde tu hermano se acababa de preparar un bocadillo de manteca de cacahuete podría ser un verdadero problema para tu amigo. También es muy recomendable que no compartas los cubiertos con tu amigo para que no se exponga por error a posibles alérgenos. Esto no significa que tu amigo no pueda compartir su comida contigo (suponiendo que tú no eres alérgico a lo que él ingiere, por descontado). Tal vez descubras algunos nuevos y deliciosos manjares, pero asegúrate siempre de lavarte primero las manos.
Esto nos lleva directamente al siguiente consejo:
Lávate las manos con agua y jabón después de comer. Por descontado, todos sabemos que es importante lavarse las manos antes de comer. Pero, si también te las lavas después de comer, podrás salvarle la vida a tu amigo si has ingerido alimentos a los que él es muy alérgico. Asegúrate de enjabonarte bien las manos y de utilizar agua tibia o caliente. Los geles antisépticos y las toallitas húmedas para manos no sirven para eliminar todos los alérgenos.
Si un amigo tuyo presenta una reacción alérgica grave
Mantén la calma e intenta ayudar a tu amigo a hacer lo mismo. Una reacción alérgica grave puede asustar a cualquiera y la ansiedad puede empeorar todavía más algunos de sus síntomas, como las dificultades para respirar.
Pide ayuda de inmediato. Si estáis en vuestro centro de estudios, llama a un profesor. Si estáis en un domicilio o en el exterior, llama a otra persona para que os ayude. Llama al teléfono de emergencias (911 en EE.UU, 999 en el Reino Unido y 112 en el resto de la U.E.) si tu amigo tiene problemas para respirar.
Si tu amigo lleva encima la medicación, ayúdale a utilizarla mientras esperáis la llegada de la ayuda médica.
Por qué son tan importantes los buenos amigos
Los amigos que sepan seguir estos consejos serán unos buenos socorristas, ya que podrán ayudar a identificar los posibles desencadenantes de las reacciones alérgicas y a tratar estas reacciones cuando aparezcan. Los buenos amigos también ofrecen otra ventaja importante: el apoyo emocional, porque ayudan a que las personas alérgicas se sientan menos solas.
Las alergias alimentarias pueden asustar bastante. Y, a pesar de que cada vez abundan más, el hecho de ser alérgico puede hacer que los afectados se sientan diferentes y que se avergüences de ello. No es fácil tenerse que fijar en las etiquetas y los ingredientes de todo cuanto se come. Puede ser bastante inoportuno tener que formular preguntas como: "¿Qué lleva este plato?" mientras cenas en la casa de un amigo o tener que mantenerte firme en una cafetería en vez de dejarte llevar, disfrutando de la comida y del tiempo que compartes con tus amigos.
Si no estás seguro de cómo o cuándo has de intervenir para ayudar a tu amigo, pregúntale qué es lo que él prefiere. ¿Le gusta que seas tú quien pide información al camarero sobre los ingredientes de los platos? ¿O, contrariamente, prefiere que no lo "controles" tanto, pero le tranquiliza que sepas dónde lleva el inyectable de adrenalina y en qué te debes fijar si presenta una reacción alérgica?
En pocas palabras, los buenos amigos se cuidan mutuamente y se intentar ayudar. ¡O sea que sigue siendo un buen amigo! | Spanish | NL | 598d0f4cca5552317d5440c4e8a56c5c5506a9a0364205688329aecbfad4032a |
Entrevista con Morihei Ueshiba y Kisshomaru Ueshiba
Aiki News #18 (August 1976)
Traducido por Angye Alejandra Bahena García
Morhei Ueshiba
A: Cuando era estudiante, mi profesor de filosofía nos mostró un retrato de un filósofo famoso y me sorprende su parecido con usted Sensei.
O Sensei: ya veo. Quizá debería haber entrado en el campo de la filosofía. Mi lado espiritual está más acentuado que mi lado físico
B: Se dice que el Aikido es diferente al karate y al judo.
O-Sensei: En mi opinión, se puede decir que es el verdadero arte marcial. La razón es que es un arte marcial basado en la verdad universal. Este Universo está compuesto por diferentes partes, y aún como totalidad está unido como una familia y simboliza el estado último de paz. Al sostener tal visión del Universo, el Aikido no puede ser otra cosa que un arte marcial de amor. No puede ser un arte marcial de violencia. Por esta razón, puede decirse que el Aikido es otra manifestación del Creador del Universo. En otras palabras, el Aikido es un gigante (inmenso en naturaleza). Por lo tanto, en el Aikido, el Cielo y la Tierra se convierten en las fuentes del entrenamiento. El estado de la mente del aikidoka debe ser de paz y totalmente no violento. Es decir, es ese estado mental especial que transforma la violencia en un estado de armonía. Y esto creo, es el verdadero espíritu de las artes marciales japonesas. Esta tierra nos ha sido dada para transformarla en un paraíso terrenal. La actividad de guerra está totalmente fuera de lugar.
A: Entonces, es muy diferente a las artes marciales tradicionales.
O-Sensei: Efectivamente, es muy diferente. Si miramos atrás en el tiempo, vemos como se ha abusado de las artes marciales. Durante el periodo Sengoku (1482-1558 Sengoku significa “países de guerra”) los señores locales utilizaban a las artes marciales como herramientas de pelea que servían a sus propios intereses privados y para satisfacer su avaricia. Lo cual considero era totalmente inapropiado. Yo mismo enseñé artes marciales para ser utilizadas con el propósito de matar a otros soldados durante la guerra, después de que el conflicto termino, me sentí profundamente inquieto. Esto me motivo a descubrir el verdadero espíritu del Aikido hace siete años, en ese entonces tuve la idea de construir un cielo en la tierra. El motivo de tal decisión fue que a pesar de que el cielo y la tierra (el universo físico) han alcanzado un estado de perfección y a pesar de que son relativamente estables en su evolución, la humanidad (particularmente los japoneses) parece hallarse en un estado de conmoción. Antes que todo, debemos cambiar esa situación. La realización de esta misión es el camino hacia la evolución de la humanidad universal. Cuando me di cuenta de esto, llegué a la conclusión de que el verdadero estado del Aikido es el amor y la armonía. Así el “bu” (marcial) en Aikido es la expresión del amor. Yo estudiaba el Aikido para servir a mi país. Por ende, el espíritu del Aikido sólo puede ser el amor y la armonía. El Aikido nació de acuerdo con los principios y mecanismos del Universo. Por lo tanto, es un budo (arte marcial) de victoria absoluta.
B: ¿Podría hablar de los principios del Aikido? El público general considera que el Aikido es algo místico como el ninjutsu, ya que usted, Sensei, enfrentó con gran rapidez a oponentes enormes que levantaban objetos que pesaban varios cientos de libras.
O-Sensei: Eso sólo parece ser místico. En el Aikido utilizamos el poder del oponente por completo. Mientras más poder utilice el oponente, es más fácil para ti.
B: Entonces, en ese sentido, también hay Aiki en el judo, dado que en el judo se sincroniza uno mismo con el ritmo del oponente. Si el jala, uno empuja; si él empuja, uno jala. Se mueve al oponente de acuerdo a este principio y se le hace perder el equilibrio y entonces se aplica la técnica.
O-Sensei: En el Aikido, absolutamente no hay ataque. Atacar significa que el espíritu ya ha perdido. Nos adherimos al principio de la no-resistencia absoluta, es decir, no nos oponemos al atacante. Así, en el Aikido no hay oponente. La victoria en Aikido es masakatsu agatsu (la victoria correcta es la victoria sobre uno mismo); cuando se gana sobre todas las cosas de acuerdo con la misión del cielo, entonces se posee la fuerza absoluta.
B: ¿Esto significa go no sen? (El término se refiere a una respuesta tardía a un ataque).
O-Sensei: Absolutamente no. No es cuestión de que sea sensen no sen ó sen no sen. Si yo intentara explicarlo, diría que tu controlas a tu oponente sin tratar de controlarlo. Este es, el estado de la victoria continua. La cuestión no es ganar o perder ante un oponente. En ese sentido, no existe oponente en el Aikido. Incluso si tu tienes un oponente, éste se vuelve parte de ti, un compañero a quien solamente se controla.
B: Cuantas técnicas existen en el Aikido
O-Sensei: Existen aproximadamente 3,000 técnicas básicas y cada una de ellas tiene 16 variaciones… así existen muchos miles. Dependiendo de la situación, se crean nuevas técnicas.
A: ¿Cuando empezó su estudio de las artes marciales?
O-Sensei: A la edad de 14 o 15. Primero aprendí el Tenshinyo-ryu Jiujitsu de Tokusaburo Tozawa Sensei, después el Kito-ryu, el Yagyu-ryu, el Aioi-ryu, y el Shinkage-ryu, todas formas del jujutsu. Sin embargo, pensaba que debía existir una forma verdadera del budo en algún otro lugar. Probé el Hozoin-ryu sojitsu y el kendo. Pero todas esas artes estan relacionadas con formas de combate uno contra uno y no me satisfacían. Así que visité varios lugares del país buscando el Camino y entrenando, pero todo en vano.
A: ¿Es este el entrenamiento ascético del guerrero?
O-Sensei: Sí, la búsqueda del verdadero budo. Cuando solía ir a otras escuelas nunca reté al sensei del dojo. Un individuo responsable de un dojo está agobiado por muchas cosas, por lo tanto, es muy difícil para él mostrar su verdadera habilidad. Con todo mi respeto aprendería de él. Si yo considerara que soy superior a él, nuevamente le mostraría mi respeto y regresaría a casa.
B: Entonces, no aprendió el Aikido desde el principio. ¿Cuándo apareció el Aikido?
O-Sensei: Como dije antes, visité muchos lugares buscando el verdadero budo. Entonces, cuando tenía 30 años aproximadamente, me establecí en Hokkaido. En una ocasión, mientras estaba en el Hisada Inn en Engaru, en la Provincia Kitami, conocí a un tal Sokaku Takeda Sensei del clan Aizu. El enseñaba el Daito-ryu jujutsu. Durante los 30 días que aprendí de él sentí algo parecido a la inspiración. Mas tarde, invité a este maestro a mi casa y junto con otros 15 o 16 de mis empleados me convertí en un estudiante en búsqueda de la esencia del budo.
B:¿Descubrió usted el Aikido mientras estaba aprendiendo el Daito-ryu con Sokaku Takeda?
O-Sensei: No. Sería más preciso decir que Takeda Sensei abrió mis ojos al budo.
A: Entonces, ¿Hubieron circunstancias especiales alrededor de su descubrimiento del Aikido?
O-Sensei: Sí. Ocurrió de la siguiente manera. Mi padre se enfermó gravemente en 1919. Tuve que dejar a Takeda Sensei y regresar a mi casa. Durante el camino, me dijeron que si uno iba a Ayabe cerca de Kyoto y oraba entonces cualquier enfermedad sería curada. Así que fui ahí y conocí a Onisaburo Deguchi. Después, al llegar a mi casa, me enteré de que mi padre había muerto. A pesar de que sólo había visto a Deguchi Sensei una sola vez, decidí regresar a Ayabe con mi familia y me quedé ahí hasta finales del periodo Taisho (alrededor de 1925). Si… en ese entonces yo tenía cerca de 40 años. Un día me estaba secando junto a un pozo. De repente, una cascada de cegadoras luces doradas bajo desde el cielo envolviendo mi cuerpo. Inmediatamente mi cuerpo se volvió grande y más grande, hasta alcanzar el tamaño del Universo entero. Abrumado por esta experiencia, de repente me di cuenta que no debemos pensar en ganar. La forma del budo debe ser el amor. Debe vivirse en el amor. Esto es el Aikido y esto es la vieja forma de la postura en el kenjutsu. Después de este descubrimiento yo estaba tan feliz que no pude contener las lágrimas.
B: Entonces, en el budo, no es bueno ser fuerte. Desde tiempos antiguos se ha enseñado la unificación del “ken” y el “Zen”. En efecto, la esencia del budo no puede ser entendida sin despejar la mente. En tal estado, ni el bien ni el mal tienen significado.
O-Sensei: Como lo dije antes, la esencia del budo es la vía del masakatsu agatsu.
B: He escuchado una historia acerca de cómo usted intervino en una pelea con 150 trabajadores.
O-Sensei: ¿Lo hice? Como yo lo recuerdo… Deguchi Sensei fue a Mongolia en 1924 para lograr su objetivo de una comunidad Asiática más grande al igual que una política nacional. Lo acompañé en su búsqueda a pesar de que se me pidió que entrara a la armada. Viajamos a Mongolia y Manchuria. Ahí, nos encontramos con un grupo de bandidos montados y comenzó el tiroteo. Respondí a los disparos con un mauser y corrí en medio de los bandidos, atacándolos ferozmente, y se dispersaron. Tuve éxito al escapar del peligro.
A: Sensei, entiendo que usted esta muy relacionado con Manchuria. ¿Pasó mucho tiempo ahí?
O-Sensei: A partir de ese incidente estuve en Manchuria varias veces. Yo era asesor en artes marciales para la organización Shimbuden y para la Universidad Kenkoku en Mongolia. Por esta razón, he sido muy bien recibido ahí.
B: Ashihei Hino escribió una historia llamada “Oja no Za” en Shosetsu Shincho en la cual analiza el periodo de juventud de Tenryu Saburo, un rebelde del mundo del Sumo, así como su encuentro con el arte marcial del Aikido y su verdadero espíritu. ¿Eso tiene que ver con usted Sensei?
O-Sensei: Si.
B: Entonces, ¿eso significa que usted estuvo relacionado con Tenryu durante algún tiempo?
O-Sensei: Sí. El vivió en mi casa durante tres meses aproximadamente.
B: ¿En Manchuria?
O-Sensei: Si. Lo conocí cuando hacíamos rondas después de la celebración que marcó el 10º aniversario del establecimiento del gobierno de Manchuria. Había un atractivo hombre mirando la fiesta y mucha gente lo apuntaba haciendo comentarios como “ese Sensei tiene una fuerza tremenda. ¿Que tal si usted se pone a prueba contra él?” Le pregunté a alguien que estaba a mi lado quién era ese hombre. Me dijeron que era el famoso Tenryu quien se había retirado de la Asociación de luchadores de Sumo. Entonces me lo presentaron. Finalmente terminamos midiendo nuestra fuerza uno contra el otro. Me senté y le dije a Tenryu, “por favor, trate de empujarme. Empuje fuerte, no es necesario contenerse”. Ya que yo conocía el secreto del Aikido, no pudo moverme ni una pulgada. Incluso Tenryu estaba sorprendido. Como consecuencia de esa experiencia se convirtió en un estudiante de Aikido. El era un buen hombre.
A: Sensei, ¿Usted también ha estado relacionado con la armada?
O-Sensei: Si, durante mucho tiempo. A principios de 1927 o 1928, durante un periodo de 10 años fui profesor de medio tiempo en la Academia Naval.
B: ¿Entreno usted a soldados mientras estuvo enseñando en la Academia Naval?
O-Sensei: He enseñado varias veces a los militares, iniciando en la Academia Naval en 1927-28. Hacia 1932 o 1933 comencé una clase de artes marciales para la Armada en la Escuela Toyama. Además, en una ocasión ofrecí una exhibición de Aikido invitado por el General Toshie Maeda, Superintendente de la Academia de la Armada.
B: Dado que usted estuvo enseñando a soldados, seguramente se encontró muchos tipos rudos y muchas historias.
O-Sensei: Si. Incluso alguna vez fui emboscado.
B. ¿Esto ocurrió a causa de que lo consideraban como un maestro autoritario?
O-Sensei: No, no fue así. Lo hicieron para probar mi fuerza. Ocurrió cuando comencé a enseñar Aikido a la policía militar. Una tarde mientras caminaba a través de los campos de entrenamiento, sentí algo extraño. Sentí que algo ocurría. De repente, de todas direcciones, desde atrás de los arbustos y los montes aparecieron varios soldados y me rodearon. Empezaron a atacarme con espadas y rifles de madera. Pero como yo ya estaba acostumbrado a esa clase de cosas no me preocupé. Mientras intentaban golpearme giré mi cuerpo hacia un lado y otro hasta que cayeron fácilmente. Finalmente, se cansaron. En todo caso, el mundo esta lleno de sorpresas. El otro día me encontré con uno de los hombres que me atacaron. Soy asesor de la Policía Militar de Alumni en la prefectura de Wayama. Recientemente durante una reunión, un individuo reconoció mi cara y se acercó sonriendo. Después de que platicamos un poco, me di cuenta de que era uno de los hombres que me había atacado hace tantos años. Mientras se rascaba la cabeza me platicó lo siguiente: “estoy arrepentido por ese incidente. Ese día estábamos platicando acerca de que si el nuevo profesor de Aikido era o no realmente fuerte. Varios de nosotros, militares, policías de sangre caliente, discutíamos sobre esa cuestión y decidimos poner a prueba al nuevo maestro. Mas o menos, 30 hombres esperaban. Estábamos realmente sorprendidos de que 30 hombres seguros de si mismos no pudieron hacer nada contra su fuerza”.
C: ¿Hubo algún episodio durante su estancia en la Escuela Toyama?
O-Sensei: ¿Competencias de fuerza? Ocurrió un incidente, creo, antes del episodio con la policía militar. Varios capitanes que fueron instructores en la Escuela Toyama me invitaron para medir mi fuerza contra la de ellos. Todos ellos se enorgullecían de sus habilidades, diciendo cosas como; “pude levantar tal y tal peso” o “partí un tronco de tantas pulgadas de diámetro” yo les expliqué, “no tengo una fuerza como la de ustedes, pero puedo derribar a personas como ustedes tan solo con mi dedo. Me sentiría mal con ustedes si los tiro, mejor hagamos esto”. Extendí mi brazo derecho y apoyé la punta de mi dedo índice al final de un escritorio y los invité a que se apoyaran en mi brazo sobre sus estómagos. Uno, dos y tres oficiales sobre mi brazo, en ese momento se quedaron con los ojos abiertos. Continua hasta que seis hombres estaban sobre mi brazo y entonces le pedí a un oficial que estaba cerca de mi que me diera un vaso con agua. Mientras yo bebía el agua con mi mano izquierda todos estaban quietos intercambiando miradas.
(The full article is available for subscribers.) | Spanish | NL | cf863f8c20613205f39781a25636cbd56ffd687d0920d9e0054c1d4c9953e4a2 |
DECLARACIÓN UNIVERSAL DE LOS DERECHOS DE LOS ANIMALES
Está en la naturaleza del hombre imponerse sobre el mundo animal, pero esto en sí mismo no guarda relación alguna con tener derechos.
En cierto momento de la historia de la humanidad, alguien concibió la noción de «derechos», y es sólo el hombre quien hace uso de este concepto. ¿Por qué entonces nos referimos a derechos de los animales? La respuesta es bien sencilla: los derechos de los animales tienen como objeto poner límites al comportamiento humano. Si fallamos al imponer límites legales claros al comportamiento humano en relación con los animales, sería imposible iniciar procesos contra quienes exceden estos límites.
Los animales son vulnerables, sin defensa y completamente sometidos al poder del ser humano. Quienes pasan por alto el bienestar de los animales, son responsables de atentar contra los derechos de los animales. Las maneras en las que nos relacionamos con ellos y los derechos que les otorgamos, tienen que ver con la ética, y ésta, debe tener su origen en la compasión, el respeto y el aprecio desinteresado hacia quienes, aunque distintos en apariencia, son semejantes ante los ojos del Amor.
EN LA MONTAÑA - Comadreja común o comadreja menor
Reino:
Clase:
Suborden:
Subfamilia:
Género:
Especie:
Nombre binomial:
Animalia
Longitud del cuerpo: entre 17 y 23 cm.
Longitud de la cola: entre 3 y 17 cm.
Alzada a la cruz: de 20 a 35 cm.
Peso: los machos entre 60 y 170 g, las hembras entre 40 y 65 g.
Estatus de la especie: No se encuentra en peligro, ni amenazada, aun cuando en el Convenio de Berna (Ratificado el 13-05-1986) se incluye dentro del Anejo III: ESPECIES DE FAUNA ESTRICTAMENTE PROTEGIDA.
La comadreja es un carnívoro pequeño y huidizo, de cuerpo alargado y esbelto, cabeza aplanada, ligeramente achatada, hocico corto, cuello largo, ojos pequeños, orejas cortas y redondas, cola larga de color uniforme, y patas cortas y redondas, dotadas de cinco dedos con uñas filosas.
Sus movimientos son ágiles y en cierto modo nerviosos. La coloración de la parte superior va desde el marrón oscuro al color canela, y la inferior, conocida como babero, es blanca. Se han descrito ejemplares albinos.
Tienen fama de ser feroces y agresivas. Tienen un oído y olfato muy fino. Lleva una vida solitaria y sólo durante la época reproductiva forma pequeños núcleos familiares.
Cuando caza se mueve de forma rápida y silenciosa. Trepa con facilidad. Explora las cavidades que pueden ocultar presas, parándose sobre las patas posteriores para olerlas e identificarlas. Puede penetrar, en busca de sus presas, en madrigueras y oquedades con una extraordinaria facilidad, gracias a su aspecto fusiforme. Cuando avista una presa, se acerca en silencio, la ataca, la inmoviliza con las patas y la mata mordiéndole la nuca con su potente dentadura. A menudo bebe la sangre de sus víctimas en el primer momento de la caza, y luego las arrastra a un lugar seguro que usa como despensa para devorarlas con tranquilidad. Algunos estudios han estimado que la comadreja puede devorar al año más de 500 presas, con un porcentaje muy alto de ratones.
A menudo sigue rutas determinadas de caza, teniendo un comportamiento muy territorialista, aunque puede recorrer en una noche más de dos kilómetros. El territorio de caza de las hembras y del macho no suelen coincidir.
La comadreja, al tener un nivel metabólico muy elevado, precisa estar cazando prácticamente todo el día, para compensar la pérdida de energía, aun cuando alcanza su mayor actividad en la noche. No hiberna. Puede cazar presas mucho mayores que ella, como ocurre con las gallinas y los conejos, que pesan quince veces más, a los que mordisquea de forma repetida e intensa en la zona de la nunca, a la que se aferra, hasta ocasionarle la muerte por shock.
Para huir corre rápidamente y, si es necesario, puede nadar.
Aun cuando no está admitido de forma unánime por la taxonomía, se considera mayoritariamente que en España se localizan dos subespecies:
Mustela nivalis nivalis. La más norteña de las especies ibéricas, localizada al Norte de Sierra Morena y en Baleares.
Mustela nivalis ibérica. La que habita en toda Andalucía. Se diferencia de la anterior por tener las patas blancas y el babero con un contorno más definido y rectilíneo que la otra especie.
Vida muy corta. Raramente supera los dos años de vida en libertad, aun cuando en cautividad puede vivir más de ocho años. Estudios sobre el tema han puesto de manifiesto una tasa de mortalidad del 70–80% en el primer año.
El periodo de celo abarca desde enero hasta principios de octubre, siendo durante la primavera la época más frecuente. Durante esta etapa, los machos se reúnen para perseguirse y pelearse, emitiendo agudos chillidos, siendo el macho vencedor el que se aparea con la hembra, a la que suele asir por el cuello antes de la cópula. La cópula dura de 20 segundos a 90 minutos y se puede repetir varias veces.
La gestación es de entre 34 y 37 días.
La época de parto va de marzo a mediados de diciembre, siendo lo normal que nazcan entre mayo y junio.
El parto normalmente es de entre 4 y 8 crías, si bien pueden nacer hasta un total de 19. Pueden tener lugar 1 ó 2 partos anuales, o incluso 3 si las condiciones fueran favorables. Si bien la mortalidad de las crías va aumentando en los sucesivos partos anuales.
Las crías nacen sin pelo, con los ojos cerrados, y pesan tan sólo entre 1 y 3 gramos. Entre los días 11 y 21 contarán con la dentadura de leche, que será sustituida por la definitiva entre la 4ª y 10ª semana. Cuando las pequeñas comadrejas tengan entre 26 y 32 días, abrirán los ojos, continuarán mamando entre 4 y 12 semanas, alternando, a partir de las 3 ó 4 semanas este alimento con carne. A partir del mes de vida, saldrán fuera de la madriguera para jugar, y poco después, entre la 6ª y 8ª semana, comenzarán a cazar.
Las hembras alcanzan la madurez sexual a los 3 ó 4 meses. Los machos estarán completamente desarrollados entre los 3 y los 6 meses, aun cuando uno y otro no suelen reproducirse hasta el año siguiente.
Es un animal muy voraz. La principal base de su alimentación son los pequeños mamíferos (ratones, topillos, ratas, lirones, musarañas...), pero también da caza a conejos, pájaros, perdices, palomas y en menor medida a grillos, saltamontes, anfibios y reptiles. Sin olvidar las aves de corral. También puede destrozar nidos y comerse los huevos o los poyuelos. Al parecer siente predilección por la sangre de sus víctimas, siendo ésta la primera sustancia que aprovecha al cazar algún animal. De modo general, los machos son mejores cazadores, atreviéndose con presas más grandes, mientras que las hembras prefieren los roedores pequeños. También se ha descrito como especialización en la caza por sexos, que los machos suelen cazar al aire libre, mientras que las hembras lo hacen sobre todo en las galerías de roedores.
La comadreja se adapta a todo tipo de suelos, prefiriendo los campos de cultivo y terrenos con matorral bajo, muros de piedra, matorrales cercanos a prados, en especial los terrenos no muy húmedos pero con agua cerca, rehuyendo de los bosques cerrados y de las zonas encharcadas. Normalmente vive cerca del medio humano, frecuentando construcciones humanas a menudo abandonadas. El territorio ocupando por los machos suele tener unas dimensiones aproximadas de unas 34 hectáreas, y el de las hembras unas 12 hectáreas. Dentro de ese territorio, ubica su cubil, que en verano lo suele instalar entre piedras, muros, huecos de árboles, etc., y durante el invierno es frecuente que se instale en construcciones humanas abandonadas y grutas y oquedades naturales. Tanto el macho como la hembra son territoriales y solitarios, con excepción de la época de celo, durante la cual se pueden formar grupos familiares.
Los machos son de mayor tamaño que las hembras.
La comadreja es presa de otros carnívoros, particularmente gato montés y gineta, así como de las grandes rapaces nocturnas y diurnas. Sobre las crías preda el lagarto, particularmente el lagarto ocelado, y las culebras.
Aunque la especie está bien difundida, hasta no hace mucho tiempo ha sido perseguida con cebos y trampas por los campesinos, que la acusaban de matar pequeños animales domésticos, principalmente conejos y aves de corral. Esta práctica aún está arraigada en ambientes rurales, que no deparan en el beneficioso papel que desempeña la comadreja en el control de otros mamíferos que sí son dañinos, como las ratas y los ratones. | Spanish | NL | 1155ad9cd029e448c5cc1880caab1b926b338a6a5f1df047c924bc0f9d915ddf |
Assize
Assize es una voz inglesa que representa el documento legislativo originado a partir de la Curia regis, que, en 1179, sustrajo a la justicia feudal de gran parte de sus prerrogativas. En Inglaterra dio a conocer el éxito de las reglas del derecho no escrito, castigadas por la costumbre y la jurisprudencia de los tribunales (common law).
Índice
Bélgica [editar]
El Tribunal de Assize en Bélgica (Holf van Asissen en holandés, Cour d’Assises en francés) es bastante parecido a su homólogo en Francia descrito más abajo. En cada provincia Belga y en el distrito judicial de Bruselas existe una Corte de Assize o arrondisement (distrito).
El magistrado es un jurado de apelación por virtud del oficio y se le auxilia a través de dos tribunales de justicia. El jurado emite un veredicto al considerar los hechos, y junto con el comité establece la sentencia. El Tribunal Supremo Belga es el único organismo habilitado para apelar los veredictos.
Si bien el Tribunal de Assize básicamente trata casos de asesinato, es el único Tribunal constitucionalmente habilitado para tratar y controlar los casos de represión de la libertad de prensa. En realidad, han sucedido varios asuntos de este tipo, desplazando los casos más importantes a otras instancias.
Inglaterra y Gales [editar]
Los Tribunales de Assize, fueron audiencias penales mantenidas en Inglaterra y Gales hasta 1972, cuando fueron abolidas por el Tribunal de Justicia junto a las Audiencias Trimestrales, y sustituidas por un único y definitivo tribunal con jurado. Los Assizes trataron los procesos más importantes, arbitrados por las Audiencias Trimestrales (tribunales locales del condado celebrados cuatro veces al año), siendo que los delitos menores se estipulaban sin demora por los Juzgados de Paz, en juicios de escasa trascendencia (llamados también Juzgados de primera instancia).
La Palabra Assize remite a los litigios de los jueces llamados “jueces de assize” , los cuáles fueron jueces de la división de los Tribunales del Rey del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, que transitaron por los siete circuitos de Inglaterra y Gales como delegados de "oyer and terminer" , estableciendo tribunales y convocando comités en las distintas zonas de Assize.
Historia [editar]
Los jueces del Tribunal del Rey viajaron alrededor del país con cinco encomiendas: de assize, de nisi prius, de oyer and terminer, y gaol-delivery (acción jurídica de absolver los demandados y desocupar las cárceles). El Rey Enrique II instauró el juicio ante jurado a través de un assize colosal de dieciséis hombres en los litigios por las haciendas, por el Assize de Clarendon de 1166, e hizo que se celebraran tribunales del condado por parte de jueces ambulantes. Antes de la proclamación de la Carta Magna en 1215, se habían de examinar las órdenes judiciales de assize en Westminster, o esperar el juicio en el circuito septenario de los jueces de Eyre, pero la constitución estipuló que los litigios sobre el terreno deben ser celebrados por Assizes anuales.
Un decreto que se aprobó en el reinado del Rey Eduardo I estipuló que los preceptos que emplazan a los jurados a Westminster fueran para designar un lugar y una hora para regular aquello que es objeto de litigio con respecto al condado de procedencia. De este modo, se les conoció como preceptos de nisi prius: el jurado estaría capacitado para tratar cualquier juicio en Westminster a menos que los jueces del rey hubieran organizado un tribunal en el condado para tratar los acontecimientos de antemano. La comisión de oyer and terminer, fue una delegación general para ver y decidir juicios, mientras que las delegaciones de gaol delivery exigían que los jueces mantuvieran a todos los prisioneros en la cárcel.
En el siglo XIX acaecieron algunos cambios de consideración. A partir de 1830, Gales y el condado de Chester, se fusionaron en el plan del circuito. Las delegaciones de Londres y Middlesex se reemplazaron por un Tribunal Criminal Central, asistiendo a la metrópolis entera, y los juzgados comarcales se establecieron alrededor de todo el país para mediar en los juicios, amparados en el nisi prius.
El Decreto Judicial de 1873, que dio origen al Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, cedió la jurisdicción de las delegaciones de assize al Alto Tribunal de Justicia, y estableció los Registros del Distrito del Alto Tribunal por todo el país, reduciendo más adelante la competencia civil del assize.
En 1956 se crearon en Liverpool y Mánchester juzgados que sustituyeron al assize y a los tribunales de primera instancia. En 1972, siguiendo las recomendaciones de la comisión real, esto se siguió ampliando. | Spanish | NL | b130eccc7658bb2661a657ec69546db6b6a4087fb737c30dd7a3234ed7b80b6b |
El centro médico estadounidense Fox Chase Cancer Center ha realizado la primera extracción de un tumor pancreático mediante el uso de una técnica minímamente invasiva basada en un revolucionario sistema laparoscópico robotizado, denominado ViKY. Se trata de una tecnología desarrollada en Francia y puesta a prueba en Europa que ha sido utilizada ahora con éxito aplicada a un paciente con cáncer.
El cirujano de este centro médico A. Gumbs, especialista en cirugía hepatopancréatica y biliar minimamente invasiva, explicó: "Este sistema es tan versátil que cirujanos como yo somos capaces de usarlo para muchos procedimientos laparoscópicos, incluidas las zonas gastrointestinal, urológica, torácica y ginecológica".
Con los procedimientos minimamente invasivos habituales, como la pancreatectomia laparoscópica distal, los cirujanos usan ambas manos para manipular las herramientas quirúgicas y necesitan un asistente para manejar el endsocopio, un delgado tubo equipado con una cámara que permite al cirujano ver el área objeto de cirugía.
Gumbs practicó el nuevo sistema a un paciente de 65 años diagnosticado con dos quistes en el páncreas, uno de los cuales era potencialmente canceroso. En su opinión, el nuevo sistema supone contar con una 'mano extra' para el cirujano, un sistema más ligero, fácil de activar y manejar y que no ocupa espacio en el suelo. | Spanish | NL | 636de8be16160c6b7ce62612089209439b05b92cb0fb94b8c2ab5f604662b830 |
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