“Furbetti da quattro soldi, campioni di calci e pugni sono tornati a farvi male….”

Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo e Raffaello, ecco i noni delle leggendarie tartarughe ninja, molti conoscono la storia, quattro tartarughine cadono in una fogna di New York e vengono a contatto con uno strano liquido che ne aumenta le dimensioni e le capacità fisiche ed intellettuali, allenate dal loro maesto Splinter, un topo venuto dal lontano Giappone, diventano le quattro tartarughe ninja che difendono la terra.

La serie è stata creata da Kevin Eastman e Peter Laird, nel lontano 1984.
Tutto iniziò con un piccolo budget, per pubblicare il primo numero del fumetto, poi il successo lo tramutò nel fenomeno di massa che abbiamo conosciuto.
Negli anni ‘90 le tartarughe erano più famose di Gesù ed un solo grido inneggiava COWABONGA! Tutti i bambini si buttavano schiena a terra cercando di fare “la ruota della fortuna” le palestre di arti marziali, di qualsiasi disciplina erano prese d’ assalto, improvvisamente sapevamo cosa fossero i Bo, Nunchaku, Sai, Shuriken ed a pensarci bene è forse per questo motivo che molti come me si sono avvicinati al Giappone ed ai Manga.
Action figures, giocattoli vari, cartoni animati, su qualsiasi prodotto c’era il loro marchio o la loro immagine.
Oltre agli articoli per la scuola e le solite altre cose, c’ erano le scarpe, macchinette fotografiche e anche quei bracciali fatti con delle lamine di metallo imbarcate che colpendoli si arrotolavano attorno al polso (poche settimane dalla loro uscita fù vietata la vendita perche considerati pericolosi, in quanto spesso ci si graffiava sui polsi con i bordi taglienti, oggi son di nuovo in vendita, li trovate ad esempio da decatlon)
Ricordo perfino le patatine cric-croc al sapore di pizza che erano disgustose, ma te le mangiavi perche erano delle tartarughe ninja.

“Tartarughe ninja alla riscossa” nel 1990 però fu la vera miccia del successo, il primo film in live action non solo sbancò i botteghini, ma fece conoscere il fenomeno “Turtles” nel resto del mondo.
Successivamente ci furono altri due film, nel 1991 “Tartarughe Ninja II – Il segreto di Ooze” che racconta il lato oscuro della loro nascita e nel 1993 “Tartarughe ninja III” che racconta di un viaggio indietro nel tempo fino al Giappone feudale.
Nel 2007 invece esce nei cinema la versione in C.G., “T.M.N.T.” negli USA riscuote un grande successo, mentre da noi non viene neanche considerato, forse proprio a causa della nuova tecnologia.
Recentemente si è parlato del progetto di una nuova trilogia di film a partire da fine 2010, inizio 2011

Gattuso não está nada contente com a reserva no Milan

As últimas especulações de mercado dão conta de que Gattuso estaria com os dias contados no Milan. Verdade? Provavelmente sim. Sem muitas chances com o técnico Leonardo, o meia resolveu falar e confirmou que as coisas não estão tão bem assim:

“Eu sou o Gattuso e não cheguei por último. Não tenho que ficar esperando alguém se machucar para eu jogar. Não estou contente neste momento. Eu não posso imaginar que não sou mais indispensável para este time após onze anos”, disse ao canal Sky.

O meia se mostrou muito triste com a situação e espera ter uma conversa em breve com Adriano Galliani para esclarecer o seu ponto de vista. Se Gattuso não tiver chances para jogar até o natal, é bem provável que peça para sair.

Com o esquema ofensivo de Leonardo, Rino perdeu espaço, já que o Milan passou a atuar com três atacantes, um armador e apenas dois volantes, sendo que Pirlo tem lugar garantido.

Sobra uma vaga para ser disputada entre Flamini, Ambrosini e o próprio Gattuso, que estava contundido e agora que voltou viu Leonardo decidido em suas escolhas. Para recuperar o seu espaço será necessário paciência, coisa que Gattuso não tem.

Éder Fantoni

Milano fino al 27/12/2009 piazza della Scala, Palazzo Marino Esposizione del San Giovanni Battista di Leonardo da Vinci. Dal Louvre a Palazzo Marino. Palazzo Marino riapre liberamente le porte al pubblico milanese per un altro straordinario evento, riproponendo come per la precedente edizione dedicata a Caravaggio, una mostra monografica di altissimo livello. Promossa dal Comune di Milano e da Eni, in collaborazione con il Museo del Louvre e con il patrocinio del Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, curata da Valeria Merlini e Daniela Storti, la Mostra: Leonardo a Milano. Esposizione straordinaria del San Giovanni Battista di Leonardo da Vinci. Dal Louvre a Palazzo Marino  offre al pubblico per un intero mese l’ opportunità di un confronto diretto e approfondito con un grande capolavoro leonardesco.  Il San Giovanni Battista del Louvre e’ infatti, una delle opere piu’ enigmatiche eseguite da Leonardo da Vinci e segna il culmine della sua produzione pittorica. Ci sono fondate ragioni per credere che esso sia il suo ultimo dipinto e che rappresenti una intera vita di ricerche sulla tecnica dello sfumato e sugli effetti di luce. Il quadro si trovava già terminato, nello studio di Leonardo, nel 1517, a Colux in Francia, paese dove trascorse gli ultimi anni della sua vita. Questo dato ci permette di comprendere l’importanza dell’opera dalla quale il maestro per lungo tempo non volle separarsi. Fu esposta a Milano nel 1939 nella mostra dedicata a Leonardo, evento di grande rilevanza anche in considerazione della delicatezza del momento storico che l’Europa stava attraversando e da allora non e’ piu’ tornata in Italia.  La mostra prodotta da Aleart, prevede un’ allestimento progettato da Elisabetta Greci, che accoglierà i visitatori, in un percorso propedeutico che attraverso una serie di pannelli didascalici, immagini e video, acquisiranno informazioni utili alla comprensione del quadro. Attraverso un catalogo ragionato, prodotto con la casa editrice Skira, in occasione dell’ evento, verranno raccolti studi storici e riflessioni filosofiche ed estetiche. Di grande importanza sarà la pubblicazione di dati inediti relativi alle indagini scientifiche ed alla tecnica esecutiva recentemente elaborati dagli studiosi del Museo del Louvre e messi a disposizione del progetto. (leonardo)

Click on the thumbnails to see full size (Bấm vào hình nhỏ để xem hình lớn):

FEUDALISM VS CAPITALISM

Art and literature flourished in the heyday of feudalism. Great names like Shakespeare,  Leonardo da Vinci, Kalidas of India are some examples.

The wealhy Kings and Lords had enough and to spare so any body with talent found a haven in their court, where they could spend the time, creating works of art, reading or writing. As the works were not for sale, they were not influenced by the tastes of their fans. On the other hand, they led the trend; merit was not compromised for the sake of profit.

Today we see real art dying for want of patrons. Capitalists call the tune. Commercial cinema is unbearable. Music and dance have become a craze. Can you call it art? They used to decry government control in communist countries. But control by the big business is invisible. Real scientific research is unknown.

But for the electronic revolution, you would have never read what I have written, because the print media refuse to publish it.

Un solo dubbio per Leonardo, Borriello o Inzaghi?. Il primo torna da un piccolo infortunio, il secondo mattatore della partita di andata.

Scarica Live Player per vedere gratuitamente in streaming questa partita.

I got in the mail yesterday my commission from Jim Lawson.  I asked him after the interview for this stellar drawing.  It only cost $60, and the money was more than worth it for this beautiful piece that is now my favorite in my collection.  To be just a super creep, I attached the stickers that Lawson wrote my address and his address on to the print on the back for when it’s framed.

I forgot to turn my camera’s resolution up, so some of these pictures are (crisply) blurry.

Some Show and Tell!

Doesn’t that look fantastic!  I was so happy when I took this out of the cardboard that I just stared at it for a good ten minutes despite having guests over that I hadn’t seen for a year!

Close up on Leo.

Lawson did such a kickass job on this commission that I’m really considering another one.  Maybe I’ll convince my sister to buy me one since she owes me a couple presents for various things.

Oh, I also got a print by Albert Rothstein off of eBay in the mail yesterday.  I ordered a bunch of artwork off of eBay in addition to this that I’ll soon be getting in the mail, and I ordered a Michael Dooney Leonardo Sketch!

Now you’re familiar with this structure:

This portrait of the Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci

The topic of the lesson was WASTE, POLLUTION, THE ENVIRONMENT and RECYCLING. We viewed lots of vocabulary about the environment (Vocab page 122 – unit 5). You talked about which of the three pictures in unit 5.1 showed the worst environmental disaster - an oil covered bird from an oil spill out at sea; air pollution caused by industrial chimneys throwing out huge amounts of smoke; or a waste site full of plastic waste.

Words beginning with RE- usually mean “again” (see Pet boards page for an example) and some with NON- (eg Non-smoker).

Listening practice: Finally, we listened to an interview with a man who has written an interesting book about THE STORY OF ICE CREAM….

Homework: Unit 5.2 exercises and the WRITING task too.

I hope all those going to Nottingham have a wonderful time!!!! Enjoy yourselves!

Let’s see how environmentally friendly we are. Click on the option that’s best for you:

Um pedaço de mim. Um pedaço da minha vida. Um pedaço que vivi, um pedaço que quis viver. Um conjunto deles formam o inicio desse conto. Coisas que deveria ter feito, que queria ter feito, que fiz, em nomes fictícios que ocultam os verdadeiros personagens. E assim começa…

Grande cidade, grandes feitos, grandes nomes. Contudo, Daniel não era nada. Um pequeno adolescente que vivia entre grandes nomes, com pequenos atos no meio de grandes feitos, com uma pequena rede social no meio de uma grande cidade.
Cabelos negros, lisos e macios. Um corpo atlético de sorte, já que não fazia nada. Bonito, inteligente e alto. Chegava a conquistar garotas a primeira vista; Daniel, é apenas mais um no meio de vários.
Durante seus 14 anos Daniel não fez nada mais do que ficar em casa jogando video-game, assistindo TV e conversando virtualmente com seus poucos amigos da escola. Era um vagabundo, mas que por sorte sempre foi inteligente o suficiente para nunca ser atormentado por viver assim.

- Então Leo, a Mari disse que tem trabalho de português pra amanhã. A gente fez? – perguntava Daniel à Leonardo.

Leonardo que era o melhor amigo de Daniel, o qual “nasceu e cresceu” com ele, estava no Skype falando idiotices.
Ele que tinha cabelos louros e finíssimos, olhos azuis e profundos, sem contar com um corpo que qualquer garota apreciaria. Leonardo era o garoto mais popular do Colégio Amada Cortez – um nome em própria homenagem à fundadora e atual diretora do centro educacional, um colégio pequeno, mas muito conceituado pelo seu método de ensino, o que provavelmente seria a única explicação das mensalidades tão caras, uma vez que o nome era de se espantar -. Leo amava esportes. Futebol, Vôlei, Handebol, Basquete. Tudo que podia, ele fazia, o que deixava ele do jeito que todas as garotas se encantavam; com um forte e definido corpo, além de sua beleza.

E Mariana, a ‘cabeça da turma’. A “nerdzinha” bonitinha da classe que todos colavam. Branca como se nunca tivesse tomado sol, e com longos e negros cabelos, assim como olhos, era a garota mais inteligente da classe, e de quebra, a mais bonita. Ela que sempre soube do seu potencial, nunca foi dada. Sempre desejou os garotos mais bonitos, mais velhos, mais inteligentes, e sempre os conseguiu. Ela apenas não era daquelas que se apegavam. Namorou apenas uma pessoa. Ricardo, um garoto do 3º ano do médio. Bonitão, saradão, e muito boa pinta. Foi uma boa época essa, até ele terminar, pois tinha que se empenhar para o vestibular que faria.

- Cara, estamos no quarto bimestre. Eu já fechei o todas matérias com pelo menos 26 pontos. Você realmente acha que vou me preocupar com trabalhos? – disse Leonardo, com um tom de preguiça em sua voz. – E fala pra Mari parar de se encher com isso e ir pegar alguém! – disse ele rindo.
- Você tem sorte de ela não estar aqui na conversa. Você sabe que ela odeia quando você fala assim dela… Enfim, falarei que foi você que disse com essas mesmas palavras. – Daniel falava, enquanto digitava no MSN pra Mari. – Ok, Ok. Ela disse que amanhã ela te bate.
- Manda ela vir, que pego ela de jeito, só que não vai ser pra briga. – dizia Leo, rindo.

O relacionamento dos três era diferente. Eles nunca tinham se visto com outros olhos, afinal estudaram desde a primeira série juntos, e desde aquela época eram muito amigos. Sempre ajudavam uns aos outros nos relacionamentos. Falar como fossem se pegar entre eles era só levado como brincadeira, e Mari sempre era a mais esquentadinha com essas brincadeiras. Ela dizia que relacionamentos são serios e as pessoas não deveriam ser tratas como objetos, dizendo que ia se pegar, comer, e enfins.

- Ela disse que você só vai voltar pra casa se for do hospital. – narrava a conversa para Leonardo.
- Serio, fala pra ela relaxar com esse negócio de tirar nota e ir dormir, que já passou da hora de criança ir pra cama.
- Ela já esta indo dormir e disse que a única criança é você. – Daniel continuava a narrar.
- Eu sei, já estou indo dormir mesmo… Bateu um soninho. – bocejava, Leonardo.
- Bom, então também estou indo deitar. – dessa vez Daniel falava por sí.
- Você é muito preguiçoso. Não faz nada o dia inteiro e já vai dormir.
- Claro, está todo mundo indo deitar. Vou ficar aqui sozinho? – fingindo dizer em uma voz de pena.
- Então tá. Boa noite Dan, e manda um também pra Mari. Até amanhã no colégio. – Leonardo despedia-se.
- Boa noite pra você também Leo!

Daniel despediu-se dos dois, desligou o computador e foi dormir. Ele não conseguia. Rodava e rodava na cama pensando no final do ano. Ano que vem ele iria para o colegial. Era seu ultimo ano de brincadeiras e de vagabundar. Depois era só ralar para ir bem numa faculdade, ao menos era isso que sua família dizia sempre. E por fim, pegou no sono.

Todos os nomes e relatos aqui escritos são fictícios, caso haja alguma interpretação, é apenas uma mera coincidência. – TB

Assassin’s Creed is one of the year’s most anticipated games. It features Ezi Auditore de Firenze. He is the son of Giovanni Auditore, an assassin. This game takes place a few hundred years after the events of the first Assassin’s Creed.What starts the ball rolling in the story is when Ezio’s father, and two brothers are hung right in front of him. This drives him to thirst for vengeance and from then on you are a killing machine, gaining new weapons and armor as you go. You can even attain the legend, Altair’s sword and armor. It is up to you. Would you buy this game?

So its been over a decade and the turtles are still kicking. As part of their 25th anniversary, Mirage and 4Kids Entertainment, the people behind the 2k3 series have joined forces to bring you “Turtles Forever”. In this direct to DVD movie, the Ninja Turtles from the popular 80’s toon team up with the Ninja Turtles from the 2k3 series in order to stop 2k3’s villain, Krang aka Shedder from destroying the Turtles universe – literally. We get a special treat at the end when the appearance of the original Mirage comic book Turtles make their debut in animation form. Turtles Forever is witty, amusing, and well animated. Its hard to believe after so many years the Turtles are still mean, green, ninja butt kicking machines. All in all, Turtles Forever is – Cowabunga.

Production Art Work.

]]> http://taiguarapires.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/amo-voce/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:02:34 +0000 taiguarapires http://taiguarapires.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/amo-voce/

Amo você com todas as forças com que vivo,
e todas as provas pelo que existo
são todos os sentimentos que sinto:
o infinito do que é finito.

Amo você todos os dias que acordo,
por que tem sido bom acordar ao teu lado,
amo você pelas alegrias em que choro,
e pelas tristezas em que tens me ajudado.

Você cabe no meu peito,
onde te afago qual te prometo
que serás pra sempre – do meu jeito -
o amor que causa efeito:
a felicidade, sem erros.

A Leonardo Oliveira.
Escrito por Taiguara Pires – “AMO VOCÊ”
Segunda-feira, 23 de novembro de 2009 às 09:58h.

Click on the thumbnails to see full size (Bấm vào hình nhỏ để xem hình lớn):

THIS PORTRAIT IS COURTESY OF THE SUN “THE BEST IN THE U.K FOR NEWS, SPORTS, CELEBRITIES & TV”  <—- I WOULD ADD MUSIC AND GOSSIP IN THERE, BUT I AM UNFORTUNATELY NOT EMPLOYED BY THE SUN (YET);)  THIS STARTED OFF AS A SHORT BLOG ABOUT LEO’S LATEST GIRLFRIEND AND HOW HOT SHE WAS AND I IMMEDIATELY WENT OFF ON A RANT ABOUT HEATH LEDGER BEING THE BEST ACTOR OF MY GENERATION.. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT IF YOUR FELLING CHEEKY~

DAMN, I WISH I WAS BRITISH = I GUARANTEE THAT I WOULD BE A SUCCESSFUL MUSICIAN OVER THERE BECAUSE THEY APPRECIATE ART AND MUSIC THAT TAKES RISKS AND BREAKS MOLDS AND DOESN’T FOLLOW ANY TYPE OF FORMULA AND I BELIEVE I DO THAT BETTER THAN ANY AMERICAN ARTIST/MUSICIAN THAT ISN’T SIGNED.. IN MY NEXT POST, I WILL DELVE FURTHER INTO WHAT I MEAN.. CHEERS~ LIKE ELLIOTT SMITH WOULD SAY:  xo

THANK YOU TO MOONDOG, I JUST SAW A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF LEO DiCAPRiO’s NEW GIRLFRIEND. HE IS SO DAMN LUCKY. FIRST OFF, HE IS ONE OF THE BEST ACTORS OF HIS GENERATION, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE UNFORTUNATE PASSING OF HEATH LEDGER WHO I BELIEVE WAS ON HIS WAY TO BEING THE GREATEST OF MY GEN~ MAN, IT STILL FN PISSES ME OFF THAT HE DIED BEING STUPID, I MEAN A LOT OF US HAVE EXPERIMENTED WITH SHIT AND EVEN TAKEN IT TOO FAR FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND OF HIS PILL INTAKE, IT WAS UNREAL & HIS DOCTOR’S SHOULD BE PUT IN JAIL.. WELL, I GUESS WHEN YOUR AS RICH & POWERFUL AS PEOPLE LIKE HIM, YOU CAN & WILL GET WHATEVER YOU WANT. IT JUST SUCKS, SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR.. A BABY GIRL.. THE BIGGEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME THAT HE NEVER EVEN GOT TO SEE.. AN OSCAR FOR HIS AMAZING PERFORMANCE IN A “SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER” THAT NEVER GET NOMINATED FOR OSCARS, LET ALONE WIN THEM. IT JUST PISSES ME OFF.. HE HAD JUST FINISHED A VIDEO FOR “KING RAT” BY MODEST MOUSE & NOT ONLY IS IT AMAZING, BUT IT STANDS FOR SOMETHING AND JUST LIKE THE GREAT ISAAC BROCK WOULD DO, HE GAVE ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE VIDEO TO A CHARITY PROTECTING WHALES FROM THE SCUMBAGS THAT HUNT THEM~

I AM SURE THAT THESE PICTURES WOULD PUT A SMILE ON MR. LEDGERS FACE. HE OBVIOUSLY APPRECIATED BEAUTY AND THIS IS DEFINITELY A FORM OF IT. I HAVE HAD THE AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO MEET ISAAC BROCK FROM MODEST MOUSE & UGLY CASANOVA AND EVEN THOUGH HE HAS PLATINUM SELLING RECORDS HAS HIT #1 ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS WITH  “WE WERE DEAD BEFORE THE SHIP EVEN SANK,” HE IS MORE HUMBLE AND DOWN TO EARTH THAN ALOT OF MUSICIANS I MET THAT WERE LITERALLY 3RD & 4TH GUITARISTS ON AN ARTISTS SIDE PROJECT.. ANYWAYS, ANY FRIEND OF ISAAC BROCK (HEATH LEDGER BEING ONE OF THEM) MUST HAVE BEEN A COOL ASS MOTHERF#CKER~

READ A COOL ARTICLE ON VH1 ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY MTV. AREN’T THEY BOTH OWNED BY THE SAME FILTHY RICH GUY??!!

Leonardo continua con il modulo che ha portato il Milan a vincere e perde Flamini per distorsione. Un solo dubbio per allegri, Jeda o Lazzari.

Scarica Live Player per vedere gratuitamente in streaming questa partita.

Recently promoted Kavala’s impressive form in the Superleague has continued after they managed to get a late win against AEK. This win means that Kavala has managed to take points from each of the big three (a draw against Olympiakos in Karaiskaki and a home draw against PAO).

Though Kavala’s first goal came off of a penalty which was a clear dive and a few calls weren’t made in our favour, Kavala were clearly the better team. Even though we managed to hold on to possession for much of the game, we rarely managed to create any chances and most of our chances we did create came from free kicks or corners. Kavala was actually the exact opposite in fact. Every time they had the ball players would be making runs in every direction opening spaces and getting the ball dangerously close on a number of occasions.

Leonardo was terrible. I really hope we don’t see him play much more. I hate to say it, and I know he isn’t doing it on purpose, but he just can’t perform on the pitch. He does have some good ball control but his passes are absolutely terrible and ends up being an absolute waste of space on the pitch.

Gentzoglou was our best player yesterday, and while that wouldn’t necessarily mean much when he was surrounded by mediocre players at best he really was quite fantastic. Aside from scoring the goal for us (it seems our centrebacks are scoring more goals for us than our strikers) he made a critical and perfectly timed tackle from behind to stop the Kavala player from having an easy one on one with Saja (who was not playing his best today). The kid has massive potential and is improving each game (he is only 19 years old by the way).

Karabelas also had a good game again before having to come off for an injury and along with Gentzoglou he is improving every game.

As we are seeing every game now we missed some incredible chances but Kavala’s keeper was just to alert for us.

Its too bad really, I would have loved to see us beat Psomiadis’ team (just to remind you all, that is the a– h— that stole 12 million euros from us and should be in prison right now). Before the game he said he didn’t want to give AEK tickets because he was afraid we wouldn’t pay him back. He has a nerve, considering he is the reason we are where we are financially. In the end though (after Original threatened to buy regular tickets and sit with the Kavala fans) we finally got tickets for our supporters who made the long trip (over one thousand of them).

Really not much more can be said. We simply aren’t good enough. Though the referring was not the best, and though we missed some fantastic opportunities, Kavala were simply the better team.

We are still fifth, but that could change depending on what happens with the PAOK-Aris derby tonight.

Olympiakos were up 2-0 (away) against PAS Giannena but PAS managed to come from behind and ended up with a draw! Just one small thing that we can smile about this weekend

So, some news about the deal with Kozonis. During the week, someone (they are trying to find out who or at what level) released the papers to the press which stated all the details about the deal(the debts and any other information), even before Kozonis’ lawyers received it. Clearly, someone withing AEK is trying to prevent the deal from happening. Kozonis said he is still determined to get the team and make it a big team once again. Hopefully it will happen, but I won’t believe anything until I see it (though I still remain optimistic).

Ronaldinho setelah sebelumnya dikabarkan tidak akan tampil saat Milan melawan Cagliari akibat teserang flu, sembuh dengan sangat cepat ia sudah terlihat kembali berlatih bersama tim.

R80

Kendati sudah fit untuk bermain, kemungkinan besar Leonardo tidak akan menampilkan R80 secara penuh atau mungkin tidak memainkannya sama sekali agar dapat tampil menghadapi Marseille di Liga Champions.

La notte del 20 agosto 1911 un ignoto trafugò la Monna Lisa di Leonardo da Vinci dal Salon Carré del Louvre . La polizia ostentò inizialmente un atteggiamento di calma fiduciosa che, alla luce degli eventi successivi, sarebbe apparsa degna di miglior occasione. Il prefetto Louis Lepine si disse sicuro che sarebbe stato richiesto un riscatto entro le 48 ore. Usando un’espressione un po’ consunta “la polizia brancolava nel buio” e come si dimostrò di lì a poco, nessuna richiesta di riscatto fu fatta pervenire da colui o coloro che detenevano la tela di Leonardo. Trascorsero nove giorni in cui la stampa e i francesi si dedicarono, con uno slancio non privo di fantasia e di fervore patriottico, all’ozioso esercizio di individuare i possibili mandanti. Investigatori dilettanti e chiaroveggenti furono prodighi di consigli. Molti sciamarono direttamente nelle sale del Louvre al solo scopo di osservare lo spazio malinconicamente vuoto dove un tempo era stato appeso il dipinto. Nonostante tutto la Gioconda continuava ad esercitare il suo fascino magnetico.

La mattina del 29 agosto si presentò un individuo dall’aspetto curiosamente ricercato nella redazione del Paris Journal. Raccontò, in cambio di 250 franchi, una storia che aveva dell’incredibile. Affermò di essersi recato al Louvre e di aver sottratto, in più occasioni, delle statuette lì esposte provenienti da siti iberici dell’età del bronzo. Come prova esibì la sua ultima acquisizione, una testina in pietra. Questa confessione prezzolata, di fatto un’ammissione sprezzante e irridente delle conseguenze, fu sul punto di travolgere le vite di due tra i più importanti personaggi della vita artistica parigina: Pablo Picasso e Guillaume Apollinaire. Il reo confesso si chiamava Honoré Joseph Géry Pieret, era belga, ed era stato segretario del poeta Apollinaire noto mentore dei cubisti e sponsor dei futuristi italiani. Pieret aveva venduto negli anni precedenti a Pablo Picasso, per 50 franchi, due statuette . Picasso le aveva “acquisite” nel periodo in cui, dopo un’estenuante esplorazione di modelli “alti” alla ricerca di una via nuova, era stato sedotto dall’arte africana e dalle forme arcaiche e primitive. L’approdo di quella ricerca era stato, dopo una serie di transizioni, una tela intitolata “Bordel philosophique” in seguito denominata pudicamente “Les demoiselles d’Avignon”.

Le due figure femminili centrali, stanti, con i grandi occhi spalancati che interpellano con lo sguardo l’osservatore, sono in relazione diretta con l’arte iberica e, forse, con quelle due statuette incautamente acquistate. In men che non si dica Picasso e Apollinaire si trovarono in un ginepraio, un vero bordel legale, con ben poco su cui filosofeggiare. Prepararono un piano che prevedeva di inserire le due statuette (recanti la compromettente stampigliatura “Proprietà del Louvre”) in una valigia da gettare nella Senna nottetempo. Fortunatamente optarono per una soluzione meno radicale: consegnarono il maltolto alla redazione del Paris Journal. La polizia collegò, ovviamente, il furto delle statuette a quello della Gioconda col risultato che Apollinaire fu arrestato e trattenuto mentre Picasso fu rilasciato dopo un umiliante interrogatorio.

Il vero autore del furto, un imbianchino italiano di nome Vincenzo Peruggia, riuscì a trasferire la refurtiva in Italia custodendola, sotto il letto, per ben due anni. Processato nel 1913 ottenne una mite condanna sulla base di una sua pretesa intenzione di “risarcire” il patrimonio artistico italiano.

Presenting my second interview of the week with Mr. Jim Lawson.  His style has become synonymous with the Ninja Turtles for the nearly 25 years he’s worked at Mirage.  Lawson has drawn more Ninja Turtles comics than anyone else in the business, and he was quite gracious to let me interview him.

Interviewing Jim Lawson has been a grand opportunity for me, and I’m very thankful to share his insights and knowledge about the Turtles.  In the interview, we discuss the recent purchase of TMNT by Nickelodeon, his future plans (with dinosaurs!), Paleo, most likely the last TMNT comic to come out (at least for a long time) Tales #70, and R.E.M.!

This whole experience has been fun connecting with the Mirage crew, and I hope that further opportunities will come to them as they face the future.

Recently, on your blog, you addressed the issue of the TMNT purchase from Nickelodeon, and briefly mentioned some of your possible future plans.  Have you further thought about your options since then?

Not really. It’s been kind of overwhelming emotionally since the announcement of the sale—I think only now that the dust is beginning to settle and I can start thinking about the future. As I sit here right now, I can’t honestly say just what it is that I want to do.

Do the possibilities still remain to finish up the Paleo TPB and even release more Paleo comics?

Yeah, definitely. Paleo was published under the Zeromayo partnership between Peter (Laird) and myself.  Whether Pete still wants a relationship and involvement in that, that’s unclear to me. However, I don’t see that there would be anything preventing me from finishing the TPB myself.

You also mentioned that the thought of doing a children’s book has been in your head for awhile, do you have any ideas that you might want to share about what this would involve?  Dinosaur themes or something similar to your work from on the Turtles Comics?

The children’s book idea is something that’s always appealed to me- and now that I’m playing around with colors, even more so now. Nothing concrete, storywise- but you’re correct, dinosaurs are absolutely a direction that I would like to go.

How did Peter Laird break the news about the deal to the writers and artists, or how did you find out about the deal?

I think that it was October 13—Gary (Richardson) called us all into a staff meeting here at Mirage. Everyone was there including Pete. It was then that we were told that a deal to sell the Turtles was nearly complete.  Some details of the sale were talked about and Pete discussed his situation and reasons for my he felt he had to make this decision.  Contracts were given us to review and sign. It was pretty emotional.

You explained your personal account of what it was like for you to walk around the Mirage office after hearing about the deal (as a zombie), were everyone else’s reactions similar to yours?

I think so. Everyone seemed sorta paralyzed by the news. But conversely, I think that we all knew in the back of our minds that this day was coming.

I’m happy for Pete—it’s been tough watching him struggle for the past few years with regards to his loss of enthusiasm for the comics. I hope this unburdens him and he can rediscover the creative person that he once was.

I’ve always enjoyed how stylistically and minimalist your artwork has been especially in depicting action, how did you develop this style that has almost become synonymous with the TMNT?

Lots and lots of drawing. I’m asked occasionally why my style changed so dramatically over the run of the TMNTs. I can’t say that it was my intention to draw the way I do now-it just naturally happened.  I really like that it’s such an evolving thing- it’s very exciting for me as an artist.

I’ve noticed that the pacing and beats in all of the miniseries that you have both written and drawn have had a lot of downtime, scenic, mood-setting moments (most recently in the Donatello miniseries) which is quite impactful stylistically.  What’s some of the inspiration behind these moments?

That’s an interesting question. In response to that, all I can say is that I try for a sense of realism in my stories. I very much want to try to convey a character’s mood or emotion- I want to really get in their head and to know what an individual’s thoughts are.  It’s during my own quiet times when I’m introspective and reflecting so I think that that’s what I try to bring into my writing.

I’m sure you’ve answered it a ton before, and that’s why I was hesitant to ask earlier, but who’s your favorite character and why?  How do you go about drawing the separate characters when they look nearly identical?

I don’t know if I have a favorite character. Leo I find really interesting. I guess as the unofficial leader of the Turtles it’s my belief that he is subject to more responsibilites and influences than the other guys. There’s just got to be more of a depth there. From an artistic standpoint, all the Turtles are nearly identical, appearance-wise.  I think for me personally, the differences become more of a facial expression or body positioning– Leo stands straight, Mikey looser, Raph when he’s addressing someone, more aggressive- in their face. Don very often standing separate. That type stuff.

What is your creative process like?  Do the writers leave you plenty of room for your own interpretation?

It changes from writer to writer, but for the most part, yeah- in my experience the writers that I’ve dealt with have allowed me a lot of freedom. Perhaps it’s because Mirage was what I consider a small-time publisher- everyone pretty much knew each other so I think there was this sense of familiarity and trust.

As for my creative process, there’s no trick to it really. I’ll usually have some germ of an idea and write it out more or less in outline form. Often, certain scenes that I want to highlight I’ll try to dialogue at that early stage. Occasionally, I’ll even have ideas about how I want to end the story and I’ll have to backward engineer events leading up to that. 

Do you have any special pencils or pens that you like to work with, and what is your view on digital pen tablets?

Yeah, every artist has their favorites. The pencil that I like right now is something called a Black Warrior. My favorite paper is Strathmore Bristol. With pens, I’ve been using some Japanese brush pens for the past few years- my favorite is the Zebra FD-301. More recently, I’ve taken to using the Pentel Pocket Brush—it features a waterproof ink that is required for use with watercolors.

I have no view on digital pen tablets, as I’ve never used one.

For the younger generation of Comic readers today, you were a participant at the Creator’s Bill of Rights drafting, could you explain your influence in the couple day event?

In all honesty, I don’t think that I had much of an impact on the Creator’s Bill of Rights.  Peter and Kevin were the influential ones- myself and the other Mirage artists were more secondary characters, in my opinion.

How was it like working with Tristan Jones for the first time on Tales #64 (out now)?

Awesome. Tristan’s a hell of a nice guy, as well as being a very talented writer. His enthusiasm for the Turtles is infectious. I’m gonna miss him a lot.

Can you hint at anything that might catch our eye in the second two pieces to the Donatello miniseries?

Not really. In the Don mini, my intent was to give a view of the character that might be a little different than what most people might think. The darker side of Donatello, if you will.

Currently, you’re working on quite possibly the last comic of the TMNT at least for a decent amount of time with Tales #70.  You stated that the story is set in Return to New York and that you’re replicating the process and feel of those comics back in the 80s.  Are there any other exciting things that this issue may contain?

The story will feature Raph, almost exclusively. Eric and I have in mind a fight scene that will be unlike anything that I’ve ever done, so I’m looking forward to how I’m going to choreograph that in the pencils. The book will also be done on the old school Duoshade paper so that should give it a classic RTNY feel, I hope.

With issue #70 focusing primarily on Raph, does this mean the story takes place right before the Turtles fight the Mutant Shredders?  Or does it focus on when he runs off when they’re in the foot base and Leonardo has to save him (one of my favorite frames of all comics)?

As to when Tales 70 takes place, it’s in that 3 or 4 day time period after Leo and Raph have that fight at the barn in Northampton. The story does take place in the NY sewers. I guess as sort of a prequel to issue 19.

Over the last 20 years you have drawn plenty of frames in comics, are there any that stand out to you as a favorite?  Or any issue that you had a lot of fun on?

A standout most certainly has to be the Leonardo mini-series, Blind Sight. Much of that book was done in white silhouette, and that gave it definitely a different look. As well, it was a real challenge to my drawing and design sense, as far as actually creating the art. Unquestionably the most memorable book that I’ve done.

How did you develop the style behind the silhouettes in Blind Sight?  I’ve often noticed that you’ve used the style (before and since then) for a single frame or two, is this a technique you like to use to establish a certain mood?

Simply yeah- the white silhouette was just that, kind of a drawing gimmick. It had a kind of visual power that you couldn’t help but notice, though. That’s I suppose, what attracted to it and made me want to take it to the next level.

You often post commissions on your blog, will you continue to do commissions and how would someone go about getting one?  What is the average cost?

I’ll continue to do commissions until I leave Mirage, most likely. When that day is though, I’m not entirely sure. That said, folks who want a commission need only to contact me at my email: jmlawsn@aol.com. Prices vary with the number of figures and complexity of the drawing. As far as a range, commissions are generally from $50.00 to $250.00. Most are in the $100-$150 neighborhood.

Despite having your job as a TMNT writer and artist for the last 20 years, are you excited for the break to try something new?

Absolutely, and I think that’s why I’m uncertain about the whole comics thing—part of me is really hungering for a new adventure, something totally different. It’s hard to imagine a future without drawing as being my bread and butter, but that certainly is a strong possibility.

Just for some general questions that you may have fun at:

What’s your favorite music/band/musician?

No question, REM is my favorite band.

If you hands down love R.E.M., then what’s your favorite song(s)?

Some of my favorite REM tunes are:
Walk Unafraid
E-Bow the Letter
7 Chinese Brothers
I’ll Take the Rain
Nightswimming

What type of Motorcycle do you ride?

Right now, I have 4 motorcycles—they are:
2005 Yamaha FJR 1300
2007 Moto Guzzi Griso
2009 BMW F800 GS
1979 Honda Ratwing

What are you currently reading?

I very recently finished “Endless Horizons” by Dan Walsh. Walsh is a sometimes columnist for several motorcycle magazines and this is his travelogue about a journey that he took to South America.

What is/are your favorite film(s)?

Films that feature some kind of adventure, I guess. But within that, everything from Hildago to The Road Warrior to Up to Kun Fu Hustle to Army of Darkness.

What is the comic that continues to inspire you?

Usagi Yojimbo amazes me. How Stan (Sakai) can continue to generate stories that are of a consistently high quality after all these issues- it’s stunning. I just bought the little hardcover/color comic that he just published, Yokai. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Once again, thanks to Jim Lawson for the interview, and I hope everything works out well for him and all of the Mirage crew.  I know that I’ll be their to support them in whatever their endeavors are because through the Ninja Turtles they’ve impacted my life astoundingly, and I hope they can continue work like that in their own lives and work.

The truck pulled up next to me. It was full of men in army gear and one of them was covered in blood, it obviously wasn’t his because no one with that much blood could possibly walk around after bleeding like that.  I started screaming so one of the soldiers hit me with something.

“What the fuck are you doing, she’s useless to us if she’s unconscious!”

I saw that they were drinking while driving me somewhere.  I could feel the truck swerving more as we escaped the city and entered more reclusive terrain.  Then I felt someone throw buckets of cold water on me to wake me up.

I was in a room with about five armed men.  They were all wearing army greens, but I couldn’t tell if they were from the Army or the Liberation Front–in those days both sides took to disguising themselves like the other party, and eventually all true supporters of freedom saw them as one and the same.

“Where is Guillaume Bernard?”

*  *  *

Guillaume was my uncle, he was my father’s twin brother, and he was the leader of Rebellion Collective, an alternative group that formed after they realized that the Liberation Front was actually a U.S.S.R. attempt to colonize País Bravo, and the army was getting in U.S. dollars to kill as many poor people as it could…. well, I didn’t know all the details but the poor, indigenous and women were the ones who were dying first…  One day, my uncle Guillaume showed up to our house, he was as thin as I had ever seen him, and my parents spent a lot of time and energy cooking him meals, trying to make him gain weight, and teaching him mental exercises whenever he woke up because of a panic attack.  My mother let him join me during my art lessons and asked him to paint what he saw in the battlefield.  He had defected from the National Army because he just couldn’t obey the orders of those above him any more.  He saw first hand that only innocent civilians were dying.  My grandmother Julienne was placed on a hit list, and he had been ordered to kill her, so he ran away one day, warned her to escape, and came to our house.

My grandmother, forever grateful, would give my parents vegetables from her garden, and had to start dressing like a Westerner in order to hide from the army, who wanted to kill her for her protests against the bombing of a local orphanage.  Guillaume had to dye his hair, when he was thin, my mother would force him to shave, taught him how to walk in high heels, and made him dress as a woman so that he could enjoy fresh air once in a while.  Everyone was too busy trying to survive to notice my new “aunt.”  He became known as the most beautiful woman in all the village, and played his role so well that he began losing himself in his new role: Gaby Bernard became my favorite aunt.

*  *  *

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I live with my parents, and I haven’t seen Guillaume since I was a child!.”  Well, it was true, wasn’t it?

*  *  *

Gaby eventually got a boyfriend.  It was a bit strange watching him go out on dates.  (Gaby still referred to herself as a man some days, and a woman on others, it took a while for me to get used to, but she was my aunt wherever we were).  ”I AM NOT A FAGGOT!”

My mother slapped him as hard as she could, “You know I don’t like that word.  Besides, Gaby is the only thing keeping you alive these days, or would you rather die tonight?.”

So off he went.  Eventually he started getting used to feminine habits, and he truly enjoyed the freedom he had as Gaby.  My mother had to stop coaching him about how to act like a woman, or reminding Gaby to shave her legs and face.  Grandmother Julienne made a pomade out of some plants that eventually kept the hair on her legs and face from growing back. Nicolás, Gaby’s boyfriend, fell in love with her, and accepted her as she was once he found out the truth.  They have been happily married for five years.  Of course, the marriage is illegal, the government would kill us all if they found out.  We had a “wedding” for Nicolás and Gaby.  My mother dressed up as a priest, because she was the only one of us who had ever attended a church.  Julienne gave them her wedding rings, again, out pride that her son had learned the error of his ways and left the army.  I was the flower girl, and I also did Gaby’s hair.  My father cooked a dinner, and we gave them our basement as their home as their present, because really, it was the only thing we could do. A few months later Nicolás and Gaby decided to move to Brazil, where sex change operations are much cheaper, and where Gaby could live away from the terrorists who hunted for Guillaume.

*  *  *

“Where did he go?  Where is Guillaume?”  They continued to pester me.  This truly was a difficult situation.  You couldn’t trust the army even if you tell them the truth, because they usually kill whatever they see.

I remembered the meditation exercises my parents had taught Gaby when she was still Guillaume.  I started to concentrate as hard as I could.  They threw more buckets of cold water at me.  When that didn’t work, they began to slap me, I started screaming, and suddenly my lungs started giving out as usual, I started wheezing…

I concentrated very hard.

You have to imagine that your spirit escapes your body in your dream.  Then you have to imagine that it’s walking down a hallway.  It can be any hallway you like.  You have to imagine what the door to your room looks like, then you have to knock in it three times.  If it unlocks then it means you’re having a dream that shouldn’t be having, but if the door doesn’t open, you must return to the dream to see if there are any clues that could decode your past, present or future.  I was lucky, my body opened the door, and I entered my room and locked the door behind me, where the army couldn’t catch me.

I was in my bed screaming and I could officially hear myself.  Then I started coughing as usual.  I woke myself up.  Geez, the dream felt very real.  I was really hungry after “starving” for such a long time so I put on my slippers and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

Leonardo was there with a pile of books, his computer, a lamp, and a cup of coffee.

“Another dream?”  He asked me.

“No, the same one, but I woke myself up in time tonight.  I’m hungry.  Would you like some pasta?”

He nodded, and I began cooking.

Menanjaknya performa AC Milan baik di Serie A maupun Liga Champions tak lain dan tak bukan adalah karena tangan dingin pelatih kelahiran Brazil bernama Leonardo atau akrab dipanggil Leo.

Leonardo

Memang pada awalnya kapasitas Leonardo sebagai seorang pelatih dipertanyakan dan sempat membuat AC Milan terseok-seok di papan tengah pada awal musim ini namun, penampilannya terus meningkat tajam dan menjadikan AC Milan berada di peringkat ke-3 klasemen Serie A saat ini.

Harapan pelatih asal Brazil ini untuk menjadikan Milan seperti timnas Brazil saat ditangani Tele Santana yang menampilkan permaina-permainan indah mulai terealisasikan dengan mengubah skema pohon natal peninggalan Carlo Ancelotti 4-3-2-1 menjadi 4-2-3-1. Berkat pergantian skema ini pula performa Alexandre Pato meningkat dan membangkitkan kembali Ronaldinho.

Adriano Galliani, wakil presiden AC Milan juga turut mengomentari perkembangan positif ini, “Milan menunjukkan jati diri sebagai tim yang ofensif” ia berujar.”Leonardo mengikut jejak Capello,” ungkapnya.

“Keduanya menjabat direktur dan klub memutuskan berjudi menggunakan mereka sebagai debutan, terlepas dari kritik.”

Apakah dengan menanjaknya performa AC Milan, kapasitas Leonardo sebagai pelatih telah terbukti ? Kirimkan tanggapan anda melalui komentar.