Hello. My name is Yasmin, and one of my biggest fetishes was Christian Bale.

It started one day, sitting all by myself doing nothing. I thought to myself “What should I do…?” and then it hit me: far away, standing alone in my bookcase was the dvd I had borrowed from Agnes. American Psycho.

And I just loooooooved it! Everything about it.. but mostly my good friend, Christian Bale. Since, him and I have spent a lot of time together… until I met Troels (and no, I’m not writing it to please you, Troels. But I truly mean it)

Once again Agnes sent me something that amazed me. A combination of this lovely boy, David, who had just been to the dentist for the first time and is a bit… high and Christian Bale yelling at some poor smock, and although he is an asshole in the clip, I still think gladly of the time we spent together when I was 17.

  Below is a letter issued by the Federal Housing Commissioner, David Stevens, addressing the FHA Condominium Policy.  

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

WASHINGTON, DC 20410-8000

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOUSINGFEDERAL

HOUSING COMMISSIONER

November 6, 2009                                     MORTGAGEE LETTER 2009-46 A

TO: ALL APPROVED MORTGAGEES

SUBJECT: Temporary Guidance for Condominium Policy

In Mortgagee Letter 2009-46 B, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced the permanent baseline guidance for condominium project eligibility. This Mortgagee Letter (ML) waives five provisions of that guidance and serves as a temporary directive to address current housing market conditions. This temporary guidance is effective for all FHA case numbers assigned on or after December 7, 2009 through December 31, 2010, except as noted for the “Spot Loan” Approval Process. FHA reserves the right to modify, suspend or terminate the guidance contained in this document if analysis of condominium mortgage performance indicates that the insurance fund is at risk.

I. “Spot Loan” Approval Process

Mortgagee Letter 2009-46B eliminated the Spot Loan Approval Process as defined in Mortgagee Letter 1996-41 for all FHA case number assignments effective on or after December 7, 2009. However, to address concerns involving the volatility in the condominium market, the new effective date for the elimination of this practice is for all FHA case number assignments on or after February 1, 2010. FHA may perform additional monitoring to ensure compliance with the “Spot Loan” Approval Process.

II. FHA Concentration Requirements

The FHA concentration requirement defined in ML 2009-46 B will be increased temporarily to 50 percent.

Exceptions to 50 percent Concentration Level. The FHA concentration may be increased up to 100 percent if the project meets all of the basic condominium standards plus the additional items stated below:!

• The project is 100 percent complete and construction has been completed for at least one year, as evidenced by issuance of the final or temporary/conditional certificate of occupancy for last unit conveyed;

• 100 percent of the units have been sold and no entity owns more than 10 percent of the units in the project (for projects with fewer than 10 units, single entity may own no more than 1 unit);

• The project’s budget provides for the funding of replacement reserves for capital expenditures and deferred maintenance in an account representing at least 10% of the budget;

• Control of the Homeowners Association has transferred to the owners; and

• The owner-occupancy ratio is at least 50 percent.

Note: New construction and conversions are not eligible for this exception.

III. Owner-Occupancy Requirements

At least 50 percent of the units in a project must be owner-occupied or sold to owners who intend to occupy the units. For proposed, under construction, or projects still in their initial marketing period, FHA will allow a minimum owner occupancy amount equal to 50 percent of the number of presold units.

Vacant or tenant-occupied real estate owned (REOs), including properties that are bank owned, may be excluded from the calculation of the required owner-occupancy percentage (should be removed from both the numerator and denominator).

IV. Pre-Sale Requirements

In the case of new construction, the pre-sale requirement defined in ML 2009-46 B will be reduced temporarily to 30 percent. Per ML 2009-46 B, the pre-sale percentage must be documented as follows:

• Copies of sales agreements and evidence that a mortgagee is willing to make the loan;

• Evidence that units have closed and are occupied; OR

• Information from a developer/builder that lists all of the units already sold, under contract, or closed (e.g. a spreadsheet, chart, or listing used for the company’s own tracking purposes) that is accompanied by a signed certification from the developer (Attachment F of ML 2009-46 B).

V. Florida Condominium Project Approval

All requests for approval of condominium projects located in Florida will require submission to the Atlanta Homeownership Center for review, under the HUD Review and Approval Process (HRAP). These projects are not eligible for approval using the Direct Endorsement Lender Review and Approval Process (DELRAP), defined in ML 2009-46 B.

If you have questions regarding this Mortgagee Letter, please call the FHA’s Resource Center at 1-800-CALLFHA (1-800-225-5342). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this number via TDD/TTY by calling 1-877-TDD-2HUD (1-877-833-2483).

Sincerely,

David H. Stevens

Assistant Secretary for Housing-

Federal Housing Commissioner

Ao som de Manto Sagrado (“Com meu manto sagrado | Minha bandeira na mão | O Maraca é nosso |  Vai começar a festa | Dá-lhe, dá-lhe, ô …Mengão do meu coração”), a torcida do Flamengo protagonizou o grande momento da noite deste domingo no Maracanã, com um mosaico gigante, que ocupava todos os setores do estádio – as arquibancadas, as tribunas e as cadeiras com as cores do nosso clube.

Em letras brancas sobre um de listras vermelhas e pretas, a mensagem exibia a seguinte mensagem: “A maior torcida do mundo faz a diferença”.  O mosaico foi apresentado somente quando a equipe saiu do túnel para enfrentar o Goiá, diante de um público pagante recorde do Campeonato Brasileiro em todas as divisões. O cuidado nos preparativos chegou a tal ponto que até mesmo a torcida visitante, do Goiás, foi contemplada, com uma letra G escura sobre um fundo branco. Cada painel continha instruções no verso, inclusive em inglês.

Olhares cabisbaixos, frustração, sensação de impotência. O cenário no vestiário do Flamengo após o empate por 0 a 0 com o Goiás, no Maracanã, era devastador. Ao perder a chance de assumir a liderança a duas rodadas do fim do Campeonato Brasileiro, alguns jogadores acusaram o golpe.

Adriano, no entanto, não gostou do que viu. Ele pediu a palavra e incentivou os companheiros.

- Não quero clima de velório aqui. Não tem nada perdido.

O Flamengo está na vice-liderança, com 61 pontos, e enfrenta Corinthians, em Campinas, e Grêmio, no Maracanã, nas últimas rodadas. O líder São Paulo está um ponto à frente e duela contra Goiás, fora, e Sport, com o mando de campo.

Por mais decepcionante que tenha sido o resultado, a comissão técnica viu um lado positivo. Se amanhecesse a segunda-feira na primeira colocação, o Flamengo viajaria a Campinas na quinta para fugir do oba-oba do Rio de Janeiro, que seria “incontrolável”, na opinião dos dirigentes.

Ainda apontado como “azarão”, o Flamengo terá mais tranquilidade para trabalhar. A programação da semana ainda não foi decidida, mas a reapresentação acontece nesta terça-feira, às 16h (de Brasília), no Ninho do Urubu.

Os dirigentes não gostaram, por exemplo, do excesso de exposição de Petkovic nas últimas semanas. O sérvio participou de programas de televisão, de homenagem na Calçada da Fama no Maracanã e se ausentou de um treino para gravar cenas de seu documentário na Bahia.

Embora não tenha assumido a liderança do Campeonato Brasileiro, o Flamengo ainda pode deixar o Rio de Janeiro visando a partida contra o Corinthians, no próximo domingo, em Campinas, pela penúltima rodada da competição nacional.

A diretoria rubro-negra cogitava tal hipótese caso o time da Gávea assumisse a liderança da competição nacional, o que não aconteceu depois do empate em 0 a 0 com o Goiás, no último domingo, no Maracanã.

Porém, o vice de futebol do clube, Marcos Braz, afirmou que ainda existe a possibilidade do grupo sair do Ninho do Urubu, em Vargem Grande, para se preparar para o compromisso diante do Timão.

“Teremos uma reunião nesta terça-feira e iremos ver o que será feito. Se tivéssemos vencido o Goiás, a nossa saída daqui do Rio de Janeiro era algo certo”, disse o dirigente.

Com o empate diante do Esmeraldino, o Flamengo segue em segundo lugar na competição nacional. Porém, o time da Gávea, diminuiu a vantagem para o São Paulo, que soma 62 pontos. O time carioca tem 61.

Mosaico gigantesco, paraquedista pousando em campo, cerca de 82 mil torcedores apoiando o time. Motivos não faltaram para que a equipe do Flamengo pudesse perder o foco no jogo contra o Goiás, mas o técnico Andrade garante que este não foi o motivo do empate sem gols no Maracanã.

“Não houve oba-oba. Os jogadores nem sabiam que haveria um paraquedista. Todos eles estavam muito focados”, disse Andrade após o 0 a 0.

Na próxima rodada o Flamengo enfrenta o Corinthians em Campinas e precisa vencer e torcer por mais um tropeço do São Paulo para assumir a liderança do Brasileirão. O Tricolor paulista enfrenta o Goiás.

Um dos discursos mais batidos do futebol para explicar um resultado ruim é aquele em que se diz que “a bola não quis entrar”. E esta frase foi muito ouvida no vestiário do Flamengo após o empate com o Goiás no Maracanã. Dos jogadores ao treinador, todos lamentaram o fato de o time não ter conseguido abrir o placar. As atuações apagadas do trio ofensivo formado por Pet, Adriano e Zé Roberto foram alvo de questionamento na coletiva após o jogo.

- Não dá pra jogar toda a responsabilidade no Adriano e no Pet. Eles decidiram alguns jogos para o Flamengo e isso não aconteceu hoje. Mas quem vai decidir o título na verdade é o grupo – disse Andrade.

Como o resultado não foi o esperado, Andrade teve que dar muitas explicações sobre o fato de o time ter atuado com três volantes o jogo inteiro e sobre as substituições feitas na etapa final.

- Tem noite em que a coisa não dá certo. Busquei uma qualidade melhor de passe colocando o Kleberson. Melhorou um pouco, mas não foi dentro daquilo que eu queria. O Mezenga foi para ter um homem de área a mais. E o Fierro entrou bem. O time vem jogando assim (com três volantes) há mais de dez rodadas e sempre foi ousado. Criamos, mas não aproveitamos. Hoje a bola não entrou, mas o time sempre ousou e arriscou – explicou o treinador.

Por último, ele também teve de responder se a ida de Bruno ao ataque no fim do jogo para tentar um gol de cabeça em bolas paradas foi determinação sua.

- Não orientei. Arriscamos tudo o que poderia ser feito. Isso foi uma iniciativa dele. Nesse momento é válido correr esse risco. Corremos vários, não só com o Bruno, mas saindo com vários jogadores. O jogo ficou aberto – disse Andrade.

Ao som de Manto Sagrado (“Com meu manto sagrado | Minha bandeira na mão | O Maraca é nosso |  Vai começar a festa | Dá-lhe, dá-lhe, ô …Mengão do meu coração”), a torcida do Flamengo protagonizou o grande momento da noite deste domingo no Maracanã, com um mosaico gigante, que ocupava todos os setores do estádio – as arquibancadas, as tribunas e as cadeiras com as cores do nosso clube.

Em letras brancas sobre um de listras vermelhas e pretas, a mensagem exibia a seguinte mensagem: “A maior torcida do mundo faz a diferença”.  O mosaico foi apresentado somente quando a equipe saiu do túnel para enfrentar o Goiá, diante de um público pagante recorde do Campeonato Brasileiro em todas as divisões. O cuidado nos preparativos chegou a tal ponto que até mesmo a torcida visitante, do Goiás, foi contemplada, com uma letra G escura sobre um fundo branco. Cada painel continha instruções no verso, inclusive em inglês.

Ao som de Manto Sagrado (“Com meu manto sagrado | Minha bandeira na mão | O Maraca é nosso |  Vai começar a festa | Dá-lhe, dá-lhe, ô …Mengão do meu coração”), a torcida do Flamengo protagonizou o grande momento da noite deste domingo no Maracanã, com um mosaico gigante, que ocupava todos os setores do estádio – as arquibancadas, as tribunas e as cadeiras com as cores do nosso clube.

Em letras brancas sobre um de listras vermelhas e pretas, a mensagem exibia a seguinte mensagem: “A maior torcida do mundo faz a diferença”.  O mosaico foi apresentado somente quando a equipe saiu do túnel para enfrentar o Goiá, diante de um público pagante recorde do Campeonato Brasileiro em todas as divisões. O cuidado nos preparativos chegou a tal ponto que até mesmo a torcida visitante, do Goiás, foi contemplada, com uma letra G escura sobre um fundo branco. Cada painel continha instruções no verso, inclusive em inglês.

Tudo aconteceu no dia 23 de novembro de 1981, no terceiro confronto com a equipe do Cobreloa, do Chile. Depois de vencer no Maracanã, por 2 a 1, e perder em Santiago, por 1 a 0, o Flamengo teve que disputar com o Cobreloa um jogo extra, em um país neutro – o palco escolhido foi o mítico estádio Centenário, em Montevidéu, no Uruguai, num jogo realizadado numa segunda-feira.

Formado com Raul, Nei Dias, Marinho, Mozer, Júnior, Leandro, Andrade, Zico, Tita, Nunes (Anselmo) e Adilio, e treinado por Paulo Cesar Capergiani, a equipe rubro-negra pisou o gramado do Estádio Centenário carregando a bandeira uruguaia. E o Flamengo fez prevalecer seu melhor futebol, depois de sofrer com a violência dos jogadores do Cobrealoa e, principalmente, com o clima de intimidação no estádio Nacional do Chile.

Com dois gols de Zico, o Flamengo derrotou o Cobreloa e finalmente chegou ao topo da América, ganhando até então seu título mais importante, o da Libertadores da América.O triunfo credenciou o clube para disputar o Mundial, no Japão, com o campeão europeu, o Liverpool, no mês seguinte – jogo que entraria para a história.

O Botafogo fez o dever de casa para o Flamengo ao derrotar o São Paulo, mas os rubro-negros tropeçaram em casa e desperdiçaram a oportunidade de assumir a liderança do Campeonato Brasileiro depois do empate em 0 a 0 com o Goiás, no Maracanã. Mesmo com este resultado ruim do time, Adriano aposta que o Tricolor paulista, líder com 62, não vencerá o Goiás no Serra Dourada, na próxima rodada.

“Não podemos baixar a cabeça porque o Campeonato Brasileiro ainda está em aberto. O São Paulo vai enfrentar o Goiás fora de casa e pode tropeçar. Estamos na luta. Todos nós acreditamos que ainda há esperança”, disse.

Na mesma linha de raciocínio do Imperador, o meia Zé Roberto diz que o time precisa continuar acreditando na possibilidade de o Flamengo conquistar o título brasileiro de 2009.

“Sem dúvida ainda continuamos acreditando no título. Faltam dois jogos e vamos procurar fazer nosso papel. Além disso, vamos torcer para o Goiás correr tanto quanto correram contra a gente”, afirmou.

O Flamengo perdeu a oportunidade de acordar líder do Campeonato Brasileiro e se aproximar ainda mais do título nacional. A derrota do São Paulo, primeiro colocado, com 62 pontos, para o Botafogo, não foi suficiente para o Rubro-Negro, vice-líder, com 61, assumir a liderança, pois empatou em 0 a 0 com o Goiás. Mas Andrade diz que o time está briga pela taça.

“Ainda estamos no páreo. Continuaremos na briga pelo título do Brasileiro. Nossos próximos jogos com Corinthians e Grêmio são muito difíceis, mas nosso time está confiante de que poderá chegar lá. O campeonato não acabou e tudo pode acontecer”, afirmou.

The boys have formed a band.

A drum band.

They grabbed some empty containers (which I could be using, by the way) and a couple of lincoln logs. They convinced Grandma to sing a tune while they banged wildly played.

They’ll practice for a while, then come get me for their concert. Matthew thoughtfully puts out a chair for me. And then they play with wild abandon.

Happiness is a drum band.

Jeg har ikke blogget de siste dagene, men jeg lever fortsatt. Idag, trodde jeg ikke at jeg kunne gå lenger. Da jeg sto opp idag var beina mine helt dø, jeg var så gangsperr i leggene, at jeg ikke visste hva jeg skulle gjøre. Jeg klarte ikke å strekke ut beina, men det er blitt bedre nå. Så beina lever fortsatt.

.. jeg bare sier det.. Fr. Ester Dahl har ikke vært på Facebook etter Torsdag (utenom idag.)

David, Isak og jeg var ute i hagen en dag, husker ikke hvilken dag. Noen bilder:

David og Isak i hagen.

Sol i hagen

Made by Ester

Dearest David,

Today you turn eleven months old: only a month to go until you hit the big O-N-E.  Hasn’t this month been a rollercoaster?  I’m going to apologise now for not writing more about you this month, or taking more pictures, but in between the high-fever hallucinating and the throwing up, there hasn’t really been time.  (Swine flu.  Oh joy.  Incidentally, you ARE having the vaccine.)  Never mind, everything is OK when you have meringue.

I’m writing this as you sleep, during my precious work-time.   You are sleeping better in the day and at night because we’ve moved away from blankets and bought you a proper duvet.  The first night you slept under it you slept on your back all night with Donkey tucked in next to you: you haven’t done that since before you could roll over!  The fact that I could just take a photo of you asleep without waking you is testimony to the power of The Duvet.

This month, you mastered your walker, and then a few days ago you took a STEP!  And then another, and then another.  You’re not quite confident enough to walk on your own yet, but when you have your walker (or a chair, or your bead thing, or the high chair, or anything else the right height…) you can run!

We’ve had an interesting month with food, haven’t we?  Just after you turned ten months, you discovered chocolate buttons.  Daddy and I discovered that chocolate buttons are a brilliant bribe (sorry, reward).  This is good, because you seem to have hit the two-year-old fussy stage a year and a month early.  All the wonderful fruit and veg that you’ve been eating since you were six months old?  No thanks.  Pasta in a lovely spinach sauce provoked a tantrum.  Pears were even worse.  Why?  You ate pears last month.  At Rugrats and Half Pints yesterday you refused to even put cucumber in your mouth, never mind bite it.  It’s OK, though.  Daddy and I have come up with a solution: we’re just going to cover everything in hummous or yoghurt, then you won’t know that it’s vegetables.  That, or you can live on Mini Cheddars and chocolate buttons.  And meringues.

Your cousin Wilfred came to stay for a week this month and you had a great time together.  It’s the first time you’ve both been aware of each other, and it was lovely.  You’re (mostly) very gentle with him, although you do splash a little too much in the bath for him.  Watching you play peek-a-boo with him was one of the loveliest things I’ve ever seen.

Talking of baths: you adore them.  There have been days where you’ve had three or four in a day.  Not because you’re dirty (although meringue in the hair doesn’t help) but because you love them so much.  You can now request “bath!” and “splash!”, and there have been occasions when we’ve spent an hour in the bath, playing with ducks, bottles, the shower…  If you didn’t have to come out of the bath, I don’t think you would.

The way you play has changed so much this month.  You’ve figured out that stacking cups stack, and that the farmer in your farmhouse can slide down the chimney.  You’ve changed so quickly that you have next to no age-appropriate toys in the house, but your birthday and Christmas are only a month away, so you’ll have to hang on.  You love sliding the beads around on the bead thing, and you love your tambourine and maracas.  At Grandma and Grandpa’s house, you have a “phone” (a remote without the batteries in), which you pretend to talk to people on.  Talking of talking, you are learning new words almost every day, and you babble as though we can understand you.  You still have some very clear words, and yesterday you uttered your first phrase: “Get down?”.  I can’t wait to have a proper conversation with you.

Your understanding and social interaction are at a whole new level, too.  I asked you to sit down this morning, and you did as you were asked.  You hold your arms out and say “Up!” when you want to be picked up, and you frequently stop playing, give Daddy or I a hug, and then go back to whatever you were doing.  You also know when you’re being asked not to do something, and delight in disobeying us with a cheeky grin.  You’re visibly thinking more: we can almost hear the cogs whirring in your brain.

You’ve developed an unbreakable bond with Daddy now.  Well, you both laugh at fart jokes, find the word “poo” hillarious, and spend your time blowing raspberries at each other.  Maybe it’s just a man thing.  I love sitting back and watching you play together.

Son, I love you so much that I’ll almost think about forgiving you for throwing up in my car the other day.  (Yeah, thanks for that.)  You’re turning into a toddler so fast, and it’s amazing to think that this is your last newsletter before you turn one.  I miss my teeny-tiny baby, but you are so much fun now.  I’m not going to pretend that getting to this point hasn’t been hard, but now we’re here, it’s AWESOME, and I love you.

Lots of love,

Mummy and Daddy (who’s probably going to cry when he reads this)

Statuia lui Michelangelo “David” a fost expusa timp de doi ani in America :

Dupa o sedere de doi ani, statuia s-a intors inapoi la Roma:

Sponsorii lui David au fost:

Central Florida Future – http://bit.ly/8KleHL

By Cassie Turner

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Published: Friday, November 20, 2009

Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009

Caitlin Bush

"Most Americans do not know slavery not only exists in the world today, it flourishes," said Ron Soodalter, co-author of The Slave Next Door, in his presentation in the Pegasus Ballroom Monday morning.

"Somewhere around 27 million people are in bondage in the world today. Now, that’s over twice the number as were trafficked in chains in the entire 350 years of the African slave trade."

Soodalter, an active abolitionist and historian, kicked off International Education Week at UCF as the keynote speaker for the Second Annual International Breakfast. The Slave Next Door presentation concluded the three-part series on "Slavery’s Resurgence" facilitated by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Global Perspectives and the International Services Center.

The series began with Somaly Mam, a Cambodian human rights activist, former slave and author of The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine, when she shared her experiences in September.

In October, Micheline Slattery, a human-rights activist and former restavek, or domestic child slave, in both Haiti and the United States, addressed about 300 attendees.

Modern-day slavery includes around 800,000 men, women and children trafficked each year around the world. According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Web site, about 17,500 of them end up in the United States, with a high percentage received in Florida.

Soodalter suggests a simple Google search on human trafficking for astounding results.

In spite of major federal legislation and anti-trafficking laws passed in 43 states, 103 human-trafficking convictions have resulted, Soodalter said.

Trafficking remains hidden, is largely unreported and difficult to identify. According to the 2009 Trafficking in Persons, or TIP, report, published by the U.S. Department of State, forced labor/involuntary servitude represents the majority of human-trafficking cases in the world. The co-author of Soodalter’s book,  Kevin Bales, wrote the original 156-page TIP report, titled “Trafficking Persons in the United States — A Report to the National Institute of Justice.”

“The whole thing is disserving and extending,” said retired UCF foreign language professor David Gurney. “It contributes to the antagonism from people in underdeveloped countries to Western civilizations or Western countries.”

In the 1850s, purchasing a slave ran roughly $1,200, the equivalent of around $40,000 in today’s money. The reality is purchasing a slave today costs as little as $100, which makes them affordable and disposable, Soodalter said.

A trafficking victim lives in fear of violence or the threat of violence daily, he said.

Shawn Cox, victim witness coordinator and licensed clinical social worker with the United States Attorney’s Office, advocates that trafficking is a crime of absolute power over someone. According to the report Cox co-authored, “Victims of Human Trafficking and Trauma,” the psychological consequences of a victim are similar to the consequences of severe or chronic child abuse or experiencing acts of terrorism.

"In case you thought slavery doesn’t touch you, guess again," Soodalter said. "Chances are, the clothes you wear, the food you eat, has been touched by slavery."

The good news is there have been some inroads made recently in the area of agricultural servitude, Soodalter said. When Taco Bell refused to stop buying produce picked by enslaved workers in an effort known as the "Ban the Bell" campaign, it set a precedent that several other companies, including McDonalds, A&W, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut, Whole Foods, Chipotle and Burger King, have followed, Soodalter said.

"The message is clear," Soodalter said. "Slavery and worker abuse will not be tolerated. Not here, not now, not ever."

Mark Freeman, public affairs coordinator for the Global Perspectives Office, said they are hoping to continue the series next spring since response has been incredible. Because of the series last spring, students on campus were so spurred into action they formed the unofficial student group “Students Against Slavery @ UCF,” Freeman said. “Students Against Slavery @ UCF” has a Facebook page, and Harry Coverston serves as the faculty advisor for the group.

"Spreading the word is the most important thing," said Frank Hegedus, a senior political science and international relations major. "There is only right now."

http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/abolitionist-historian-wraps-up-global-perspectives-series-1.2093273

The Elephant Man – 1980

Director – David Lynch

Starring – John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft

Slow, cruel, and beautifully filmed.  These are the main adjectives I would use to describe David Lynch’s, The Elephant Man.  Set during the Victorian era in London, The Elephant Man tells the real life story of John Merrick, a seriously deformed man led from one freak show to another.  Anthony Hopkins stars as Frederick Treves, a doctor who takes it upon himself to rescue Mr. Merrick from the actual freakshow that he is performing in, puts him up in his hospital, and attempts to teach him civilized behavior.  Treves parades Merrick around, using his notoriety to advance his own reputation, all the while claiming to help him.

When word gets around that the “Elephant Man” (called this partially due to his appearance, and partially because his mother was mauled to death by an elephant) has gained a certain popularity with the upper crust, the owner of the freakshow (Bytes) comes back to collect his “treasure”.  Treves and Bytes play a game of tug-of-war with Merrick, neither considering him or his feelings in the least.  In terms of characters, Merrick himself played with a certain amount of humanity and grace by John Hurt, is the only character who really has any redeeming characteristics.  Despite his huge prosthetic make-up appliances, Hurt manages to imbue Merrick with a certain subtlety.

On the brightside, the film looked beautiful.  Shot in silky black and white, each characters shadowy nature plays itself out visually on the backdrop of dreary, foggy London.  Each of the set pieces is crawls with life, some of it unsettling and horrible, and some of it approaching dignity.  As the movie goes on, the mood, as well as the visual tone of the film grows subtly and slowly brighter.

Of the Lynch films that I’ve seen so far, I would have to say that this is smack in the middle.  It doesn’t reach the fantastic weird heights of films like Mulholland Drive, or Blue Velvet, but it doesn’t quite fall to the un-intelligable depths of Lost Highway, or Inland Empire.  If you’ve seen any of David Lynch’s other films, you will see some similarities but he clearly grew and matured since finishing this film.  Despite, or perhaps because of this, The Elephant Man was one of his more critically successful films and has since allowed him to go on and become a unique independant voice, if only for that reason, this film deserves it’s place on the list of 1001 Movies You Should See Before You Die.

Ok, a ver: Todos sabemos que es messenger, sabemos que es una plataforma de comunicacion basada en .Net Framework de Microsoft (Compañia que odio y desprecio), y que esta instalado por default en cada pinche sistema que Microsoft lanza y que gracias a esto la gente cree que messenger es el unico programa de IM existente o bien, cree que es el mejor programa de IM que se puede encontrar en la web. Pues bueno eso es falso. Pra empezar toda tecnologia de Microsoft es mediocre, si es mediocre es inestable y que es un app inestable? NADA. Pero este post no se enfoca al protocolo del app ni al messenger en si, ni mucho menos en este famoso winsocket que todos los amiguitos y fiel seguidores de Gates usan para decir : “uy VB es la hostia! Logre programar mi propio msn en menos de 300 lineas!”

El post se enfoca en declarar a msn como La aplicacion mas hipocrita de todas. Y esto por que? Bueno estimado lector o lectora, aca es cuando le pregunto amablemente: Tiene usted vida social? Si la repuesta es si, dudo mucho que usd comprenda mis fundamentos para redactar esta entrada del blog, pero si la respuesta es no y es usd un geek que se desvela por programar por placer en lenguajes que valen la pena o bien jugando con el kernel amado de linux entonces es posible que me entienda. No tengo vida social por estar en mi cuarto mas de 12 horas por dia escribiendo codigo, y esto a que tiene que ver con msn? Simple, que a pesar de  estar solo uso el msn o al menos su protocolo ya que como uso linux utilizo clones como aMSN o emesene (Que a pesar de ser clones resultan ser mejores que el msn original), y ustedes se diran: Pero todo mundo usa msn, bueno creanme no todo el mundo opta por esta basura pero yo lo tengo que hacer por que a noob que ayudo a noob que agrego. En la universidad he ayudado a muchos noobs: Konata, la amiga de Konata, el amigo de Konata y emm.. al otro amigo de Konata que al final resulto ser un lammer y le dije RTFM!!!! Y a todos ellos los he agregado al msn, la pregunta es les hablo? No. Por que? Por 2 razones:

1- Se que solo me agregan por mis skills, para que les aclare dudas etc.

2- No me caen bien, lol, si leen esto ni me vuelven a hablar jeje.

En fin, por otra parte cuando hay alguien que me cae bien y se conecta pues le hablo, y que pasa? PUFF! Fulano se ha desconectado. Ok… Supongo que eso quiere decir “Te vas al carajo no quiero hablar” Bueno, y despues a uno le preguntan que por que es tan amargado o por que trata tan mal a los demas noobs e ignorantes de la facultad, pero bueh… Otro punto: Los bloqueos, me bloqueaste? No me importa, y si me pregutas por que lo hice pues usualmente invento una excusa tonta… No creen que esa excusa es mas que innecesaria? Deberian de decir “Te bloquie por que no te soporto, me caes mal y eres horrible” MMM… Eso se aplica a mi. Bueno, no hubo mucha informatica en este post, mis disculpas por ello pero era para desahogarme.

Gracias por su tiempo.

i just dove into the world of blogging…i don’t know why but i guess i want to send my thoughts out into the world…

first off,  my blog’s name, AVANAR’S VISION is taken from the first syllable of my three (3) sons names minus the first letter…dAVid, dANiel, dARyl, hence AVANAR. This blog is supposed to be how i, my wife, and my children see the world through our eyes… how we would like it to be…and how God is moving in our lives!

“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” – Proverbs 29:18