Happy Friday, everyone.

Friday’s are usually pretty quiet here at the office, so I usually make myself busy with checking out the blogrolls and other projects.  This morning, I wrote my sponsor child in the Philippines a letter, sorted out some OSAP details, and sent out a query letter.  Shhhhhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone!  I’m also in the homestretch of my NaNoWriMo novel (or, as Rikki says, Nanaimo novel!) and at 43,000/50,000 words, I have nowhere else to go.  In a desperate attempt for some online inspiration, I’ve found the following things to stir my imagination.

Enjoy!

Video Love

I love stop motion!  Which reminds me of these …

This has been making the rounds on the Internets lately, and what kind of (sometimes) book blogger would I be if I didn’t link to it too?

More stop motion loveliness.  I love this lyric:  She pours a daydream in a cup / A spoon of sugar sweetens up … 

I must, must, MUST see this movie!!!  It’s inspiring much of the feel of my next novel (yep, already thinking of the next one because I’m a glutton for punishment) Visually stunning and so fantastical!  And Jude Law, Johnny “Sexiest Man Alive” Depp, Christopher Plummer, Colin Farrell, Terry Gilliam, and the late, talented Heath Ledger? Yes, please!

Quote love

Wine is sunlight, held together by water  – Galileo 

Well, darkness exists so the stars can shine, darling  –  Source Unknown (if someone knows the source, please let me know!  If this is a quote from One Tree Hill or something, I will kick a pigeon.  Just kidding.  I don’t advocate violence towards animals.  But I will feel terribly, terribly let down by the universe.)

Love is the extremely uncomfortable realization that something other than oneself is real  – Irish Murdoch

Sexy authors and historical figures love

Sir Isaac Brock. You know you can't resist that hand on the hip pose!

Andrew Sean Greer, author of "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," a very beautiful book

Neil Gaiman ftw!

Joseph Boyden: hot AND Canadian!

A young Nathaniel Hawthorne could give ME a scarlet letter ... *wink wink!*

Lord Byron: HE walks in beauty, like the night

And because I pretty much have to …

Listen to Wiretap. For Jonathan Goldstein.

Read Broken Pencil magazine. For Hal Niedzviecki.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  May your weekends be as busy or as lazy as you wish them to be.  Other than writing like the madwoman in the attic (rereading Jane Eyre for the billionth time; couldn’t resist!), I plan on having a schedule-free one.

Confira os vampiros mais famosos da literatura e do cinema

Arquivo/AE

sábado, 14 de novembro de 2009, 13:48

SÃO PAULO - Veja lista dos vampiros mais famosos da literatura e do cinema.

Conde Drácula

O mais famoso vampiro cinematográfico de todos os tempos foi inspirado no personagem central da obra de Bram Stoker. Vários atores ficaram famosos com este papel no cinema, como Maximiliam Schrek, no clássico do cinema mudo “Nosferatu, uma Sinfonia de Horror”, de 1922. Até hoje, muitas pessoas acreditam que Schrek era mesmo um vampiro na vida real! Bela Lugosi, ator de origem húngara, foi o primeiro a imprimir garbo e elegância ao vampiro, marcando para sempre a imagem do personagem. Depois de Lugosi, Christopher Lee representou Drácula em mais de uma dezena de produções, sempre com total aprovação do público. Mais recentemente, Gary Oldman também entrou para este rol sinistro com a brilhante atuação em ‘Drácula de Bram Stoker’, dirigido pelo consagrado Francis Ford Coppola.

Lestat de Lioncourt

“Eu quero interferir nas coisas, fazer as coisas acontecerem!”. Este é o lema do vampiro mais famoso da literatura depois de Drácula: o sedutor Lestat de Lioncourt, narrador de quatro livros das “Crônicas Vampirescas” de Anne Rice. Nos cinemas, o personagem foi imortalizado por Tom Cruise em “Entrevista com o Vampiro”, de 1994. Lestat foi mordido ainda adolescente por Magnus, um vampiro de 300 anos, que se autodestruiu logo depois. Com isso, os poderes seculares da criatura passaram para o rapaz, e também toda sua fortuna. Apaixonado pelo jovem Louis, ele resolveu vampirizá-lo, assim como a menina Claudia. Entretanto, Lestat foi traído pelos pupilos e quase foi destruído. Séculos depois, resolveu contar a um jornalista toda a sua história, para transformá-la num livro. Nos dias de hoje, o egocêntrico Lestat decidiu se tornar uma estrela do Rock, na história que também foi levada às telas do cinema com o título de “A Rainha dos Condenados”.

Louis

Louis du Pontlac é descrito por Anne Rice, sua criadora, como um vampiro bastante suave, de cabelos negros e face inexpressiva, exceto pelos brilhantes olhos verdes… No cinema, o super galã Brad Pitt deu vida ao narrador da “Entrevista com o Vampiro”, que foi vampirizado por Lestat (Tom Cruise) aos 25 anos, depois de uma tragédia. A família de Louis prosperava com as plantações de algodão em Nova Orleans, até que seu adorado irmão mais novo veio a falecer. Louis ficou doente e se tornou uma vítima fácil para o apaixonado Lestat. Ao contrário deste, o jovem Pontlac é um vampiro contemplativo, um intelectual desesperançado em busca de respostas para sua condição maldita. Justamente por isso, o experiente Armand (Antonio Banderas), ao conhecê-lo, afirmou que Louis era o Vampiro mais fraco que ainda caminhava sobre a face da Terra…

Vlad

Em julho de 1991, o público brasileiro conheceu o terrível Conde Vladimir Polanski, um Vampiro que marcou época na televisão brasileira. Interpretado por Ney Latorraca, Vlad era o maior dos vilões da novela “Vamp”, escrita por Antônio Calmon e dirigida por Jorge Fernando, um dos maiores sucessos entre os jovens brasileiros. Na história, a cantora de rock Natasha (vivida por Cláudia Ohana) vende sua alma ao terrível Vampiro para conquistar um lugar no estrelato. Arrependida, a Vampira procura abrigo na cidade de Armação dos Anjos, onde acaba sendo perseguida pelo cruel Vlad. A atuação de Latorraca garantiu ao sarcástico Vladimir Polanski um lugar de destaque no rol dos vilões mais carismáticos da teledramaturgia brasileira, imortalizando bordões como o infantilizado “Gotooooso!”, que Vlad exclamava todas as vezes em que sugava um pescoço.

Natasha

Natasha foi a primeira vampira da dramaturgia brasileira, e deixou muitos marmanjos de queixo caído. A personagem foi interpretada pela bela Cláudia Ohana na novela Vamp, de 1991. Ela vendeu sua alma ao terrível Conde Vladimir Polanski para alcançar o sucesso como cantora de rock. No entanto, não era uma criatura do Mal: ao contrário, logo se arrependeu do pacto com Vlad e pôs-se a fugir dele, escondendo-se na cidade de Armação dos Anjos. Lá, ela reencontrou seu amor de vidas passadas, o capitão Jonas, personagem de Reginaldo Farias. Enciumado e receoso de que esse amor medieval pudesse voltar à tona, o Conde Vladimir passou a perseguir Natasha e a família do capitão, causando trapalhadas que renderam boas risadas ao público.

Angel

Este é o Vampiro mais adorado pelas adolescentes de todo o planeta… Protagonista de um seriado de TV americano, Angel é um Vampiro sedutor que usa todo o seu charme e inteligência para ajudar os oprimidos e tirar da consciência o peso de séculos praticando o Mal… Interpretado pelo galã David Boreanaz, o herói fez sua estréia em outra série televisiva, “Buffy, a Caça-Vampiros”. Depois de ser vencido pela protagonista, o Vampiro irlandês Angelus resolveu assumir o lado do Bem e a paixão pela mocinha, interpretada por Sarah Michelle Gellar. O grande sucesso do personagem lhe garantiu uma série própria, iniciada em 1999, que mostra a trajetória do Vampiro justiceiro após deixar a amada e a pequena cidade de Sunnydale para iniciar uma carreira de investigador particular em Los Angeles… Assim como Blade, Angel se tornou uma dor de cabeça ambulante para seus irmãos de sangue, e um verdadeiro colírio para as fãs mais animadas!

Jerry Dandridge

Apesar de serem monstros da escuridão, os Vampiros quase sempre foram representados no cinema como galanteadores incorrigíveis, homens elegantes que não perdem a chance de seduzir uma bela mocinha, para só depois revelar a horrível face do mal… E Jerry Dandridge, o vilão de “A Hora do Espanto”, um blockbuster de 1985, vestiu com perfeição este estereótipo marcante dos sanguessugas. Vestido sempre de modo impecável, perfumado e polido, a máscara de Jerry (interpretado por Chris Sarandon) só não foi capaz de enganar o jovem Charley, que desconfiou desde sempre da boa educação de seu novo vizinho… Com seu estilo doce e sexy, Jerry Dandrige conseguiu vampirizar a namorada do jovem, Amy, e seu melhor amigo, Ed, além de arrancar muitos suspiros da maior parte do público feminino, especialmente quando assobiava romanticamente o clássico “Strangers in the night” (tudo a ver, não é mesmo?), de Sinatra.

David

“Dormir o dia inteiro. Zoar a noite toda. Nunca crescer. Nunca morrer. É divertido ser um vampiro!”. Foi com este lema que o sensual vampiro David conquistou diversos seguidores no filme Garotos Perdidos (Lost Boys, 1987), clássico dos anos 80 estrelado por Kiefer Sutherland. As estripulias bizarras de David e sua turma vampiresca escandalizaram uma pequena cidade da Califórnia. Como em um ritual, suas vítimas precisavam beber vinho de sangue e comer vermes. Foi o caso de Emerson (Jason Patrick), que por amor a Star (Jami Gertz), aceitou o rito de passagem e se tornou um ser das trevas, passando a integrar a primeira gangue de sanguessugas bad boys do cinema!

Bento Carneiro

“Minha vingança será maligna!” – Quem já ouviu esta frase pode até não se lembrar da origem, mas os fãs de Chico Anysio jamais vão esquecer de Bento Carneiro, o Vampiro Brasileiro, o único ser das trevas que morava “aquém do além adonde que veve os mortos”… O personagem, um vampiro atrapalhado, simplório e desprestigiado, foi criado pelo humorista na década de 80 e logo se tornou um dos maiores sucessos de seu “Chico Anysio Show”. Sempre ao lado de seu fiel escudeiro, Calunga, Bento Carneiro fez do mito do Vampiro um veículo perfeito para brincar e ridicularizar, sempre com muito bom humor, as mazelas e contradições da sociedade brasileira.

Os Monstros

Na década de 60, a CBS americana produziu um seriado para a TV que marcou toda uma geração de telespectadores. A exemplo da família Addams, da rival ABC, realizada na mesma época, os Monstros faziam piada com os costumes exóticos de uma família sinistra… O pai, Herman (Fred Gwynne), era filho de um certo Dr. Frankestein. Vovô (Al Lewis), de apenas 370 anos, gastava a maior parte de seu tempo em loucas experiências de laboratório. Os filhos eram Eddie (Butch Patrick), verdadeiro monstrinho de pele verde, orelhas pontiagudas e caninos afiados, e Marilyn (Beverley Owen/Pat Priest), loira, esbelta, de olhos verdes, isto é, um verdadeiro horror para os padrões da família! A única vampira da história era a esposa de Herman, Lily Dracula, uma dona de casa sempre preocupada com a criação dos filhos… Cancelado nos EUA em 1966, o seriado foi exibido no Brasil ainda na década de 60, e reprisado em meados da década de 70, fazendo mais sucesso do que os Addams! As trapalhadas dos Monstros divertiam pessoas de todas as idades, principalmente quando Vovô resolvia dar uma voltinha com seu veículo: um caixão sobre rodas!

Varney

Sir Francis Varney era uma criatura literalmente repugnante. Criado pelo escritor inglês James Malcolm Rymer em 1847 (antes mesmo de Drácula!) no livro “Varney, o Vampiro ou o Banquete Sangrento”, a maior arma dessa criatura era a sua feiúra! Com sua face pálida e mórbidos olhos cor-de-lata, Varney hipnotizava suas vítimas apenas com o olhar… Com unhas e dentes pontiagudos, esse vampiro arranhava as vidraças das casas, fazendo o ruído de granizo. Por isso, também ficou conhecido como o “Vampiro das Tempestades”, agindo sempre em dias chuvosos ou com neve. Esse monstro pavoroso tinha preferência por jovens indefesas, que eram atacadas sem dó nem piedade. No entanto, Varney era um ser bastante temperamental, e se dava ao luxo de se sentir desgostoso com a imortalidade de vez em quando… Então, quando os raios da lua o acordavam e seu humor não estava dos melhores, o vampiro se escondia no Monte Vesúvio, onde nenhum feixe de luz poderia despertá-lo.

Blade

Além da Vampirella, outro herói dos quadrinhos também ficou famoso pelos seus poderes vampirescos. Ele se chama Blade e nasceu das idéias de Marv Wolfman, então roteirista da Marvel Comics. A grande diferença é que o herói negro não é bem um Vampiro de verdade, e sim uma mistura de ser humano com um Filho das Trevas… Como? A origem de Blade é espetacular: sua mãe foi atacada por um Vampiro quando ainda levava o filho no útero. Dessa forma, o bebê recebeu um pouco do sangue maldito, adquirindo alguns de seus poderes especiais. Como vingança, Blade se tornou um impiedoso caçador dos sanguessugas, e para isso utiliza as geringonças high-tech criadas por Whistler, também inventor do soro que Blade usa para poder caminhar à luz do dia sem virar pó. No cinema, o herói já mereceu dois filmes que estouraram nas bilheterias, ambos protagonizados pelo blockbuster Wesley Snipes.

O Vampiro do Brooklyn

Blade, o caçador de Vampiros vivido por Wesley Snipes, não é o único representante da galeria de sanguessugas afro-americanos… Em 1995, Eddie Murphy personificou no cinema o hilariante Maximillian, único sobrevivente de uma raça de Vampiros de uma ilha caribenha. Dirigido por Wes Craven, da série “Pânico”, “O Vampiro do Brooklyn” trouxe a verve cômica do eterno tira da pesada para o mundo dos Filhos da Noite. No filme, Eddie Murphy tem que encontrar a única mulher que pode salvar sua raça da extinção. Vivida por Angela Basset, Rita mora no Brooklyn e convive com estranhos pesadelos. Sem saber, a moça é filha de um Vampiro, e por isso carrega nas veias um destino sanguinolento. Mas uma série de contratempos acontecem (como sempre!) e Maximillian tem de mover mundos e fundos para conquistar Rita e garantir a preservação de sua espécie.

Blacula

Blacula é o personagem principal do filme de mesmo nome, dirigido por William Crain em 1972. Trata-se da versão afro-americana do maior vampiro de todos os tempos. A história começa com Manuwalde (William Marshall), um príncipe africano que é vampirizado pelo próprio Conde Drácula em 1780, e acaba trancafiado dentro de seu próprio caixão. Séculos depois, dois colecionadores de arte resolvem levar a tumba para Los Angeles, onde Blacula desperta sedento de sangue! O Vampiro conhece Tina, a reencarnação de sua falecida esposa Luva, e faz de tudo para conquistar o seu amor. Mas o caminho de Blacula está cheio de obstáculos: Gordon, o melhor amigo da moça, descobre a verdade sobre Manuwalde e inicia uma verdadeira caçada ao vampiro africano…

Zé Vampir

Quem é que nunca se divertiu com as histórias da Turma do Penadinho, escritas por Maurício de Souza? Pois essa galerinha de arrepiar não poderia deixar de ter o seu Vampiro. Ele se chama Zé Vampir e é cheio de classe… Ao contrário dos outros personagens do cemitério, como o Cranícola, Muminho, Lobisomen e a Dona Morte, que normalmente usam apenas trapos ou lençóis (afinal, são fantasmas!), o nosso menino Vampiro se inspirou nos elegantes sanguessugas do cinema para compor o seu visual: smoking, gravata borboleta e uma elegante capa! Como a maioria dos Vampiros, Zé Vampir também pode se transformar em um simpático morcego, coisa que faz sempre quando quer assustar alguém. Apesar disso, Zé Vampir é um Vampiro camarada, e nunca leva seu apetite por sangue às últimas consequências. Na verdade, o morceguinho sempre acaba preferindo alguma guloseima à base de morango ou groselha, bem vermelhinha…

Don Drácula

Protagonista de um desenho animado japonês, Don Drácula (Don Dorakyura) fez a festa de muitas crianças brasileiras durante a década de 80, quando foi exibido. Criado por Osamu Tezuka (considerado o “Deus do Mangá”) em 1979, o pano de fundo da história é a mudança de Drácula para o Japão, para fugir de seu arquiinimigo, o Dr. Rip Van Helsing… Muito desastrado, o Vampiro acaba se envolvendo em muitas confusões com sua filha, Sangria, e Igor, seu criado corcunda. Sem falar no morceguinho Yasu, que narra com muito bom humor alguns momentos da história. Além de Van Helsing, Don Drácula também se esforça para fugir dos “ataques” da apaixonada Blonda, uma gorducha cheia de sangue para dar! Um típico desenho japonês, que deixou saudades em muita gente.

Vampirella

Criada na década de 60 pelo célebre Forrest J. Ackerman (o escritor que utilizou pela primeira vez a expressão “Sci-Fi”), a curvilínea Vampirella povoa a imaginação dos marmanjos desde aquela época. Sempre vestida com um sensual maiô colante vermelho, que revela boa parte de sua invejável forma física, a Vampirella das histórias em quadrinhos já teve duas origens… Para Ackerman, a Vampira era uma alienígena de Drakulon, onde todos os habitantes são Vampiros que se alimentam do sangue que corre nos rios desse estranho planeta. Na década de 90, entretanto, Vampirella teve sua origem reescrita por Kevin Lau, e passou a ser a filha de Lilith, uma Vampira mitológica. Seja como for, Vampi (como é carinhosamente chamada pelos íntimos) continua combatendo o crime com seu peculiar estilo sexy-sangrento, e muita gente boa não ligaria nem um pouco em ser mordido pela simpática heroína…

Mirza

Criada em 1967 por Eugênio Colonnese, um dos mestres pioneiros da HQ nacional, Mirza é a personagem feminina mais conhecida do terror brasileiro. Inspirada na internacional Vampirella, a vampira brasileira povoou o imaginário de várias gerações de leitores, já que foi publicada em momentos distintos das décadas de 60, 70 e 80. O verdadeiro nome de Mirza era Mirela Zamanova, uma condessa exuberante que se tornou um ícone não só do terror como também do erotismo nos quadrinhos. Suas aventuras se davam nos ambientes glamurosos das passarelas da alta moda e nas festas da elite brasileira, já que Mirza ganhava a vida como modelo internacional, sempre vestida (ou despida, é claro!) em trajes provocantes e muito muito sensuais… Em seu reinado de terror, Mirza visitou as maiores cidades do mundo, procurando suas vítimas indiscriminadamente entre homens e mulheres, e deixando uma verdadeira legião de “órfãos”, candidatos eternos aos voluptuosos caninos da vampira.

Miriam Blaylock

A secular vampira Miriam Blaylock, interpretada por Catherine Deneuve em “Fome de viver” (The Hungers), ficou célebre na película de Tony Scott, um dos mais belos e chocantes filmes de 1983. Personagem do livro mais famoso de Whitley Strieber, Lady Miriam e seu vampiro-amante John (David Bowie) tinham uma vida sofisticada, eram apaixonados por música clássica e sobreviviam à base de sangue novo de homens e mulheres. Mas repentinamente John teve um estranho distúrbio celular e envelheceu em poucos segundos, forçando Miriam a procurar a doutora Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), especialista em envelhecimento precoce. Foi a deixa para que a vampira seduzisse a médica ao som da ópera Lakmé, de Léo Delibes, em uma das cenas mais eróticas do filme. Sob o poder de Miriam, Sarah foi perdendo aos poucos sua identidade humana, mergulhando cada vez mais fundo na escuridão dos Filhos da Noite…

Carmilla

Personagem central de um conto publicado em 1872 pelo escritor irlandês Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla foi uma das primeiras criaturas da noite registradas na literatura mundial. De hábitos noturnos, cabelos e olhos castanho escuros, Carmilla logo chamou a atenção de Laura, uma jovem da nobreza austríaca com quem a Vampira manteve um relacionamento conturbado. Na história, narrada pela própria vítima, Carmilla acaba revelando ser a Condessa Karnstein, uma antepassada de Laura, falecida há mais de 150 anos! Linda, graciosa e de porte aristocrático, Carmilla influenciou toda uma geração de Vampiras fatais, e há quem diga, inclusive, que Bram Stoker teria se inspirado na obra de seu conterrâneo para criar o seu Drácula.

Philinnion

Philinnion é a personagem de um conto muito antigo atribuído ao historiador grego Phlegon de Trales, que teria vivido no primeiro ou segundo século da era cristã, e por isso pode ser considerada uma das primeiras vampiras da literatura. A história narra o drama de um jovem chamado Machates, que se apaixonou perdidamente por Philinnion, sem saber que ela já estava morta… Machates morava com os pais da moça, e recebia todas as noites a visita de sua noiva. Quando os pais de Philinnion viram a filha na cama com o hóspede, trataram de avisá-lo que aquilo era uma assombração! O jovem ficou arrasado, e Philinnion amaldiçoou seus pais por terem revelado seu pequeno segredo… Mais tarde, os habitantes da cidade perceberam que a tumba da jovem estava vazia e encontraram seu corpo em casa. O cadáver de Philinnion foi então queimado e oferecido ao Deus Hermes, para que sua alma fosse enviada ao mundo das trevas. A história de Philinnion era muito famosa na época do Império Romano, e serviu de inspiração para Goethe escrever seu famoso poema “Die Braut von Korinth”.

Lord Ruthven

Personagem principal do livro “The Vampyre”, publicado em 1819, o sedutor Lord Ruthven nasceu durante uma emocionante tempestade literária… Reza a lenda que, em 1816, o grande poeta romântico Lord Byron reuniu em Genebra alguns amigos, entre eles Mary Shelley, escritora, e John Polidori, médico. Byron propôs um desafio aos demais: uma competição de histórias de terror, que foi vencida pelo Frankenstein criado na ocasião por Shelley. Foi nesse jogo que Byron idealizou o enredo para “The Vampyre”, mas logo abandonou o projeto. Polidori, que também estava naquela noite, desenvolveu a idéia de Byron e ainda se inspirou na figura do amigo para dar vida a Ruthven, um elegante Vampiro inglês que transitava com desenvoltura nas festas mais chiques da nobreza européia, onde dava vazão a seus instintos bestiais entre um gole de champagne e uma mordida certeira no pescoço de alguma linda donzela… O evento azedou a amizade dos dois, mas deu ao mundo um dos personagens vampíricos mais marcantes da literatura mundial.

Conde Saint-German

O Conde Ragoczy Saint-German é a principal criação da escritora californiana Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, que conta com uma verdadeira legião de fãs vampirescos nos Estados Unidos. Protagonista de mais de uma dezena de livros, Saint-German é um vampiro do bem, um herói que usa a experiência acumulada em 3500 anos de vida para ajudar o próximo, principalmente no caso de belas mulheres… Poliglota, rico e inteligente, Saint-German é um farmacêutico/alquimista, que precisa de sangue para se manter vivo, mas nunca mata suas vítimas, preferindo alimentar-se de suas amantes ou de estranhos que, em troca, recebem sonhos agradáveis por telepatia. Assim como os sanguessugas tradicionais, o vampiro de Yazbro também não pode se ver no espelho, carrega sempre um punhado de sua terra natal (às vezes dentro dos sapatos…), e pode se recuperar de ferimentos que levariam qualquer ser humano à morte! Um herói pra lá de charmoso, que convida o leitor para conhecer as mais fantásticas eras de nossa história.

Azzo, o Cavaleiro

Encravado em algum lugar dos Cárpatos, na Romênia, está o assombrado castelo Klatka. Este é o lar de Azzo, o Cavaleiro Vampiro que protagoniza a obra “A Mysterious Stranger”, de autor desconhecido, publicada pela primeira vez em 1860. Azzo é um Vampiro centenário, com um profundo desprezo pela humanidade, e só tem interesse pelas coisas pitorescas, incomuns. Ante sua presença, mesmo os lobos mais selvagens se tornam dóceis e inofensivos. Com a eterna aparência de um homem de 40 anos, alto e magro, o Cavaleiro tem olhos cinzas amedrontadores, e usa bigode, barba e cabelos negros e curtos. Sempre vestido em sua armadura medieval, Azzo é rude, sarcástico e monossilábico com os visitantes, guardando toda a sua elegância e cultura secular para cortejar as jovens donzelas que acompanham os viajantes. Quando convidado para um banquete, o Cavaleiro Azzo sempre recusa a comida, fazendo questão de frisar que só se alimenta de líquidos… quentes!

O Vampiro de Sussex

Em 1924, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle publicou “The Sussex Vampire” (“O Vampiro de Sussex”), colocando Sherlock Holmes frente a frente com um ser das trevas. A história começa em uma manhã de novembro, com uma carta assustadora. Nela, um certo Robert Ferguson pede a ajuda de Holmes para resolver um espantoso caso de vampirismo! O detetive começa a investigar uma série de mortes ocorridas no vilarejo em questão, que parecem ligadas a um estranho fato ocorrido há um século atrás. Nessa ocasião, os habitantes do local teriam assassinado todos os integrantes de uma família, acusados de vampiros. Assustados, os novos moradores começam a acreditar que um descendente dos sanguessugas é o responsável pelas mortes, sedento de sangue e vingança. Sherlock tem de usar toda a sua miraculosa astúcia para resolver a questão, e acaba provando mais uma vez que os vivos sempre são muito mais perigosos que os mortos… Mas você não vai querer saber o final da história, certo? O negócio é ler o livro para se deliciar com o caso mais sanguinolento do maior detetive do mundo!

VAMPIROS FAMOSOS DA TV E DO CINEMA

1. Lestat – Interview With the Vampire

2. Christopher Lee’s Dracula

3. Bela Lugosi’s Dracula

4. Edward Cullen – Twilight (Crepúsculo)

5. Bill and Eric – True Blood

6. Asa Vajda, 1960’s Black Sunday

7. Angel

8. Mr. Barlow – Salem’s Lot

9. Schuyler Van Alen – Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series

10. Gary Oldman’s Drácula

Fonte: Revista Entertainment Weekly

http://www.estadao.com.br/noticias/arteelazer,confira-os-vampiros-mais-famosos-da-literatura-e-do-cinema,466500,0.htm

Bon j’ai commencé, rien de spécial appart que tu comprends comme fuck all le but du livre genre ! Mais c’est tellement beau ! Beau comme regard un coucher de soleil pendant le naufrage de ton beateau pendant une tempête du golfe du St-Laurent…

mise en contexte : un gars qui se rase et un qui ne se rase pas. Je crois qu’ils sont gais…

Extrait :

Il leva un regard scrurateur de côté puis émit un long lent coup de sifflet d’appel avant de s’arrêter un instant, plongé dans le revissement, ses dents blanches régulières brillant ça et là d’un éclat d’or. Chrysotomos.

chrysotomos ! man ! de kossé ! chrysotomos !

En fait il parle de notre bon copain Jean Chrysostome

Saint Jean Chrysostome, né à Antioche en 349, et mort en 407 près de Comana (en), a été archevêque de Constantinople et l’un des pères de l’Église grecque. Son éloquence est à l’origine de son surnom de Chrysostome (en grec ancien χρυσόστομος / khrysóstomos, littéralement « Bouche d’or »). Cependant, sa rigueur et son zèle réformateur l’ont conduit à l’exil et à la mort.

Saint Jean Chrysostome est un saint de l’Église catholique, de l’Église orthodoxe et de l’Église copte.

…qui a donné son nom à la municipalité de Saint-Chrysostome.

Bouche d’or ! Chrysostomos, ça veut dire bouche d’or ! Wow ! Tellement lien !

Le but de leur conversation si j’en comprend quelque chose est qu’il veullent hélléniser l’ïle. Île étant ici l’irlande, où il fait frette et interdit d’être gai…C’est tu si cool que ça être grec ?

J’veux dire les seules affaires que les Grecs sont bons est :

1. Le sexe anal
2. les brochettes (ce qui sensblement la même chose que le numéro 1)
3. arriver en retard
4. faire la guerrilla aux Turcs

Toute des chose que Lord Byron a accompli dans la même semaine.

“A sua primeira paixão, a mulher ama seu amante; em todas as outras ela só ama o amor”.

Tradução alternativa: “Na sua primeira paixão, a mulher ama o seu amante; em todas as outras, do que ela gosta é do amor.”

- In her first passion woman loves her lover:     In all the others, all she loves is love.

- Lord Byron, Canto III (1821)

George Gordon Byron, 6º Barão de Byron e comumente conhecido como Lorde Byron (23 de janeiro de 1788 – 19 de abril de 1824), foi um poeta inglês.

“She walks in Beauty, like the night
Of cloudness climes and starry skies,
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes…”

Lord Byron.

What a badman!

Today in class we were discussing Lord Byron and the impact of his work upon Lermontov’s HoT.  If you have twenty minutes, check out this podcast on Lord Byron’s life.

It’s from the “Stuff you Missed in History Class” programme at HowStuffWorks.com.  They broadcast free, entertaining, and informative bits on history, and their site is well worth a look.  They’re very convenient to toss onto the mp3 player for the commute into town.

The programme is even rather popular: it’s currently ranked #13 in podcasts at the iTunes store.

I’d be interested to know if this helps shed any light upon Lermontov’s novel. I’d be even more interested to hear any critical responses to the podcast itself.

Also, I’ll be compiling a list of Russian-lit related podcasts soon, so let me know if you come across any interesting ones around the Web.

Ada, our enchantress (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Considering Byron popped up even in our podcast on Lucrezia Borgia, Sarah and I thought it high time for a podcast of his own. He’d become our Where’s Waldo for a while.

Oh, Byron. Handsome, rakish, promiscuous, well-traveled, brilliant. Exactly the sort of man you can’t help falling for, even when you know it’s a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea.

Byron’s beginnings lie with his spendthrift father, Mad Jack, and a Scottish heiress named Catherine Gordon. His father spent their fortune and disappeared. His mother was in the picture, but he blamed her corset-wearing during pregnancy for his club foot. He was also sexually abused and beaten by his nanny. And then he inherited his title, at the age of 10.

By the time he reaches Trinity College, Byron’s got 12,000 pounds in debt and a newly explored attraction to men. He also has a pet bear, since Cambridge forbid dogs.

In 1809, before fame hits, he and his best friend, John Cam Hobhouse, go on their Grand Tour, starting with Portugal, Spain, Greece and Albania. He begins “Childe Harolde’s Pilgrimage,” which will make him wildly famous after the first two cantos are published.

What follows this fame? Numerous affairs, with both men and women. A disastrous marriage. An illegitimate child and a legitimate one. More gorgeous poetry. And, of all things, the Greek War of Independence. Learn all about it on the podcast.

On Wednesday, we brought you Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace. Ada’s mother, Annabella Milbanke, Lady Byron, is determined that her daughter will turn out nothing like her dastardly father. Her stratagem? Ban little Ada from poetry.

Instead, Ada studies math and music, and she happens to be very talented at the former. She wishes to be “an analyst and a metaphysician.” She marries, but she continues to pursue her mathematical education under the tutelage of Augustus de Morgan.

Her life changes when she meets Charles Babbage and learns of his ideas for a calculating engine, the Analytical Engine. A man named Luigi Manabrea had also heard of his ideas and summarized them in an article – but the article is in French. Enter Ada, who can translate it. And while she’s translating, why shouldn’t she append her own notes? suggests Babbage.

What Babbage was conceiving of was the first computer, but he didn’t grasp the implications. Ada did.

What became of the Analytical Engine? And of Ada Lovelace? Listen to the podcast and find out.

What are the tricks to a happy marriage?
How Steampunk Works
Why are there so many great writers with epilepsy?

This seems like the perfect poem to post on a beautiful day. I took a walk this morning and kicked up the leaves. Have a great weekend! xo, m

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Photos via here.

See, this Lord Byron poem below did NOT, somehow, make it to my reading list.  It was written on the death of Castlereagh, the former foreign secretary. 

Now, although I myself know nothing about Castlereagh, my finely-tuned artistic sensibilities allow me to discern, through the shades and nuances of this fine poetry, Byron’s opinion of the man.

Posterity will ne’er survey
A nobler grave that this.
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveler, and piss.

*wipes a tear from her eye*

Ah, Byron.  You did have a way with words.

“When one subtracts from life infancy (which is vegetation), sleep, eating and swilling, buttoning and unbuttoning – how much remains of downright existence? The summer of a dormouse.” Lord Byron 

It wasn’t only Byron that captured the essence of the hazel or common dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius. Immortalised by Lewis Carroll in ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ the hazel dormouse is one of our most elusive yet recognisable mammal species. In reality, it may not reside in a teapot, or recite poems about bats and tea trays, but Lewis Carroll did bring to the fore one of the dormouse’s most famous behavioural traits – it’s propensity to sleep. In fact the dormouse sleeps, or rather hibernates, for up to seven months of the year, which explains many of its local English names – ‘seven-sleeper’, ‘dozing-mouse’ and ‘sleep meece’. Even the word ‘dormouse’ is said to derive from the Norman French for sleepy – ‘dormeus’. In woven nests of leaves and moss just beneath the ground surface, or under a log pile, the dormouse whiles away the colder days, its body temperature barely above that
of its surroundings, its heart and breathing rate reduced by up to 90%. In this way, the dormouse can avoid wasting vast amounts
of energy keeping warm and searching for food during the most unproductive time of year. It may also explain why the dormouse
can live to a grand old age of five when its cousin, the wood mouse may only live to 18 months.

However, spending so much of the year tucked up in bed means that summer is a busy time for the dormouse. Within the space of five months it must find a mate, breed and fatten up again before the big sleep resumes in October or November.Unlike other species of mouse, the dormouse produces only one, sometimes two litters a year. These are born in beautifully woven nests typically composed of fresh green leaves and stripped honeysuckle bark though the dormouse may utilise a range of materials depending on their availability. Summer nests are most commonly found in dense under-storey vegetation such as bramble, or in hedgerows, usually about
1.5-2m above the ground.The active dormouse requires a rich, continuous supply of food, from flowers and pollen in the spring, to fruits, hazelnuts, aphids and other small insects in the summer and autumn. Diverse coppiced and mixed deciduous woodland is generally regarded as core dormouse habitat, providing the necessary supply of food sources throughout the year. However, increasingly, dormice are being found to utilise less ‘traditional’ habitats, for example coniferous woodland, birch stands on heathland, and even back gardens. Dense, species-rich hedgerows are also known to support resident populations and, additionally, play an important role in maintaining habitat connectivity, acting as wildlife corridors along which transient animals can move between otherwise isolated blocks of woodland. Even in ideal habitat, dormice live at low densities, perhaps at a maximum of 10
animals per hectare. Except to hibernate,they rarely descend to ground level and, as a rule, are unlikely to travel more than
75m from the nests, actively avoiding crossing open areas. Whilst this may be an excellent predator avoidance strategy, the dormouse’s relatively sedentary nature may also, ultimately, be its downfall. As woodlands become fragmented through
changes in land use or unsympathetic management, and wildlife corridors linking remaining fragments are severed, the
gene flow between dormouse populations dwindles and populations eventually die out.

Already, within the last 100 years, dormice have become extinct in six English counties, representing half the species’ former range. The legal protection afforded this species and its habitat may go some way to halting this decline but it will take a co-ordinated  approach to land management, by woodland managers, planners, developers and conservationists alike, to secure its
long-term survival and prevent the sleepy dormouse becoming confined solely to the literary archives.

New on the roll this week:

Hunter Huxley distinguishes between alpha and beta assholes.

Julian marvels at the cheapness of old religious books.

Sofia is back!

The Liberal Biorealist notes the hypocracy of Richard Dawkins.

Ray Sawhill reviews Sadomania. (NSFW)

Satoshi Kanazawa asks whether women want their husbands to cheat.

Also check out Kathy Farrelly’s and Kimberly’s Lament’s blogs.

Everybody else:

Prime contrasts his grandfather’s world with his own.

Female Misogynist waxes on the “all or nothing” conceit of feminism.

Chuck lays out the concept of “alpha churn.”

Pro-Male/Anti-Feminist Tech has fun with a hilarious hater.

Roissy reports on the phenomenon of rude, classless omegas.

The Elusive Wapiti makes observations on his new home.

Zdeno writes on fratire at 2 Blowhards.

Al Fin asks how Barack Obama can be so smart and stupid at the same time.

11minutes reports on the conspiracy against beta cuckolds.

Anakin Niceguy muses on marriage, maturity, and manhood.

Alex Birch writes on exploiting peoples’ vulnerabilities.

Martin Regnen lists examples of how not to be an attention whore.

Double-Minded Man comments on the different ways men and women define love.

Fabius Maximus asks why people should go to college.

Max has a laugh at Walmart condition codes.

From Girl Game: Sofia blogs on the importance of class, LILGRL outlines what makes a woman marriage material, and Aoefe laments the death of discretion.

Josh Xiong talks about his atheism.

Dennis Mangan remarks on his loss of loyalty to America.

MarkyMark takes down a woman who claims to be happier with her husband dead.

OneSTDV analyzes the defeatist attitude of the right-o-sphere. (See Dennis Mangan’s response here.)

Professor Hale gives his take on the Fort Hood shootings.

Roosh explains how rationalization hurts people.

Talleyrand defends assholery, identifies cognitive dissonance in married men, urges his readers to put themselves first, and discovers a way to end divorce.

Coldequation compares and contrasts liberal creationism with conservative creationism.

Hestia outlines the different types of love.

Marquis notes differences in how little boys and girls are punished for bad behavior and how this affects them when they grow up.

Chip Smith reports on the phenomenon of women having sex with their gay boyfriends.

Thursday critiques “liberaltarianism“.

HBD Girl differentiates between fickleness and playfulness.

Obsidian urges men to look at things from a woman’s point of view.

Robert Stacy McCain tells tales of his adventures in the Adirondacks.

Slumlord analyzes The Sex Diaries.

Hugh MacIntyre reports on the collapse of Quebec’s only conservative political party, the Action démocratique du Québec.

Gerard O’Neill speculates that the future will favor men over women.

Tyler details how to get what you want from women.

G Manifesto writes a guide to dating multiple women at the same time.

Unfrozen Caveman relays a comment from a guy who’s given up on women.

Guy White notes the new trend of fugly women being aggressive sexually.

Richard Hoste reviews SuperFreakonomics.

Spoony takes a look back at System Shock.

Bruce Grossman reviews three vintage Harlequin novels.

Bryan Caplan writes on what he doesn’t like about Singapore.

Art Carden deconstructs popular objections to capitalism.

Agnostic asks why college kids are so boring these days.

Eolake Stobblehouse comments on map “trap streets”.

David J. Balan criticizes the logical basis of arguments in favor of disciplining children.

William Lind praises the Swedish military.

Emach mocks a Playmate who claims that posing naked is a form of female empowerment.

Larry Arnhart asks whether might makes right.

Jim Kunstler reports on Goldman Sachs’ government-supported rape of America.

Fjordman muses on the role IQ plays in waging war.

Half Sigma claims that supporting families means supporting abortion and argues that pro-lifers are destroying the Republican Party’s future.

Joe Bageant prints a letter from a brainwashed American sheeple.

Burt Blumert explains how men are losing the war of the sexes.

Mark Richardson posits liberalism as the last remaining extremist ideology.

David Lindsay claims that the rise of Doug Hoffman signals the fall of the GOP.

Will Grigg asserts that new federal hate crime legislation is an assault on liberty and that it will kill more people then it saves.

David Goldman attacks Obama’s absurd foreign policy and states that socialism won’t save the economy.

Ellison Lodge takes a look at the GOP’s idiotic new website.

Steve Sailer analyzes Mad Men.

Tim Worstall writes on the sex tape stupidity of Carrie Prejean.

Peter Brimelow compares the success of Doug Hoffman’s campaign to the ascendancy of Goldwater and Reagan conservatism.

Paul Belien reports on the conquest of Europe by Belgium.

Takuan Seiyo charts the liquidation of the United States.

John Dolan praises Lord Byron.

PLEASUREMAN theorizes why beta males are pro-gay rights and are attracted to left-wing politics in general.

Vox Day attacks the fascism of Apple computers.

Peter Frost writes on the demographic changes wrought by the Roman Empire.

Randall Parker reports on sleep deprivation’s effects on brain activity.

Over the course of this week, we will uncover twenty titles you need to seek out at your local DVD store. Here is Part 3.

The list is laid out something like this. The title, year it was made, genre, synopsis and finally my rating. I hope to do more of these lists as I uncover some of the treasures hidden at the local videostore.

10. Zero Effect (1998) (Comedy – Mystery)

Daryl Zero (Bill Pullman) maybe the world’s most reclusive private investigator. Along with his assistant, Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) he solves impossible crimes and puzzles.

When these two crack professionals are on a case they are brilliant but during the off time they drive each other bananas. In their latest case, Zero must find out who is blackmailing a rich executive, and when his client won’t tell him, why. 

What makes this film so unbelievably clever is the performance by Pullman. Imagine a man with no-social skills, a horrible musician and recluse having to deal with the emotions of love. For years, Zero has lived vicariously through his assistant but for once he has to deal with everyday issues that are right in front of him.

Pullman plays this type of character to utter perfection and to top it all off you have the comedic talent of Ben Stiller to play off of. Stiller is hilarious as he tries to deal with how eccentric his goofy boss really is. The mystery in the film is a little flat but the comedic combination of Pullman and Stiller is pure magic. (3.5 of 5).

9. Dead Ringers (1988) (Thriller)

The Mantle brothers (duo role played by Jeremy Irons) are both doctors – both gynecologists – and identical twins. Mentally however, one of them is more confident than the other, and always manages to seduce the women he meets.

When he’s tired of his current partner, she is passed on to the other brother – without her knowing. The whole plot is upset when the shy brother falls in love first and the balance is upset. Brutal, unnerving and sinister, director David Cronenberg weaves a tale that is bound to get the blood pumping.

Jeremy Irons gives the performances of his lifetime as the world of Mantle brothers explodes into a very sinister plot. A lot of the time you aren’t really sure which brother is which and that is part of the magic. It’s a wonderfully eerie ride. (4 of 5) .

8. Love Letters (1999) (Romance – Drama)

“Love Letters” is an adapted play about an ambitious U.S. Senator (Steven Weber) reflects back on his life after the death of a woman (Laura Linney) whom he loved and kept in contact with only through correspondence.

“Love Letters” is told in a series of flashbacks as the two first meet as children and begin their lifelong correspondence. “Love Letters” is a strong and passionate story that is bound to make you cry.

The performance of Laura Linney is unbelievably moving. This version of the stage adaptation is filmed like it’s being played out on a stage in your TV.

The director doesn’t drop in a lot of twisted camera movements but instead focuses on the actors and the story.

It is a pure delight. (4 of 5) .

7. Deceivers, The (1988) (Adventure)

In 1825, India lives in fear. A mysterious religion’s followers murder everyone that stand in their way. When William Savage (Pierce Brosnan), a tax-collector of a British-Indian company, discovers the new sect. Savage disguises himself as a local and joins the sect as he tries to solve the mystery. 

 This is the first of 2 little-known Brosnan films on this list. It’s strange how much interesting stuff he did between “Remington Steele” and James Bond.

With beautiful exotic locales, this Merchant-Ivory production, this film is also a mindbender of a mystery, as Brosnan’s character is pulled deeper and deeper into the cult.

There are times when you aren’t really sure he wants to uncover the mystery but just live it. He falls in love with two different women and that struggle almost develops a split personality. It truly is one of Brosnan’s greatest performances. (4 of 5) .

 6. Gothic (1986) (Drama – Horror)

What happened the night that Mary Shelley (Natasha Richardson) concocted to the horror classic “Frankenstein”?

Drug induced games, ghost stories and betrayals occur during one night at the mad nobleman, Lord Byron’s country estate.

As Mary begins writing her classic story, she is drawn into the sick world of her lover Shelley (Julian Sands) and her cousin Claire (Myriam Cyr) as Byron (Gabriel Byrne) leads them all down the dark paths of their souls.

“Gothic” is a Victorian story turned upside-down. It’s filled with shocking revelations and euphoria that is bound to keep you guessing.

How a great and twisted story like “Frankenstein” was created is a fascinating story but presented, as a gothic horror story itself is mind-boggling. (4 of 5) .

Stephanie Kriter

Engl 430B

Tristanne Connolly

March 30, 2009

The Byronic Hero

George Gordon, Lord Byron, establishes a protagonist in his stories that are similar to each other that have been named “Byronic heroes.” These protagonists are arrogant, yet somehow lovable; an odd sort of character who is brooding and dark, but is not seen as evil. In Byron’s “Don Juan”, who exactly is the Byronic hero? At the onset, one would immediately think the main character, Don Juan, to be the Byronic hero. This is true as Juan does exemplify the characteristics of the Byronic hero, but what about other characters, the narrator for example? Do Juan and the narrator share qualities? Are they essentially the same? And where does Byron stand in all this? There are forgotten Byronic heroes that interweave and show through in the work. The narrator is also a Byronic hero, which shows through his diction in the narration. A third Byronic hero, ironically, is Byron himself, who stands behind both Don Juan and the narrator, but can easily be seen through his writing. This triad of characters all possess qualities of the Byronic figure. Byron creates the character of Don Juan as a Byronic hero, but incidentally, Don Juan is strikingly similar to Byron, a reflection of himself, which shows how self-reflective and self-aware he is. Juan, the narrator and Byron are working together to create a single character that envelops all the traits of the Byronic hero, looking through the nuances of “Don Juan.”

Lord Byron has created a certain character in his works that critics have called “The Byronic Hero.” The characters have specific characteristics that make them stand out from other protagonists in other works. Byron’s “hero” is very intellectual, firstly. They seem to have been raised aristocratically and been voracious readers. They can quote classical works and have a wide spectrum of knowledge. Although they seem to be raised in an aristocratic manner, they reject societal values and follow their own standards and do what they wish. This isolates the hero from society, whether it is because society forces them away or whether the exile is self-imposed. The hero is always introspective and self-reflexive, making him not only aware of everything that goes on in his mind, but also making him abnormally sensitive to those around him. Along with being introspective, the hero is moody as well and not only does he quickly change moods but he is especially dramatic and exaggerating with his emotions. The hero is passionate, especially about love. Arrogance and confidence seems to be a quality that possibly could lead to the hero’s downfall.  Adding these qualities together creates the image of a dark and disturbed man who is rebellious and troublesome, but also exciting as he explores possibilities others cannot mimic in reality, such as sleeping with older, married women. This is the Byronic hero.

Byron had qualities very similar to that of his hero, and perhaps he was being semi-autobiographical in his works and transferring his own qualities onto his protagonists. Byron’s life was proof of his dark qualities, and his lack of respect for societal rules. Byron was well educated as an aristocrat and perhaps due to having his father abandon him and his mother, he became rebellious. He attended Cambridge, did not do any of the work, and drained his family’s wealth (Bone 10). Byron was involved in a number of scandalous affairs, both with men and women, single, married, young, old, foreign and related. He first fell in love with his cousin, Margaret Parker, then with his neighbour’s daughter. His most notable affair was with a married woman, Lady Caroline Lamb (Bone 11). After getting married to Lady Caroline Lamb’s cousin, Annabella, and starting a family, he had an affair with his half sister, Augusta. They separated and their marital secrets became exposed to the public (Graham 5). Byron was ostracized by the public. It was then that Byron travelled and wrote many of his famous works, starting to use his Byronic hero as the protagonist. His numerous affairs with people all across Europe sparked interest in the public and added more scandals to his celebrity status that his readers seemed to enjoy. From the writings, especially in “Don Juan,” Byron seems to be strikingly similar to his characters, being his own Byronic hero.

One thing that could separate Byron from his hero is the fact that Byron seemed to search out women and be the one in control, while his heroes innocently got seduced by other women. However, on a second look, Byron seems to create this image to produce a sense of sympathy for his hero and maybe for himself as well, although the hero enjoys the seduction and is not quite as oblivious to the situation as Byron makes him appear. Whether this was Byron’s true feelings on his own life and affairs, or whether Byron knew that people would see the heroes as Byron himself, Byron seems to be trying to cover up his true thoughts and emotions and makes himself seem a bit more innocent.

The events in his life and the qualities that Byron seems to hold as exemplified through his actions point to the fact that Byron holds all the qualities of his protagonists. Byron was rebellious against social institutions; he did not care for the sanctity of marriage, nor of universities. He followed his own rules, which meant doing what he wanted when he wanted to do it. He did not subscribe to being a “proper” aristocrat, who kept his issues private and lived with his misery. His hero fit his description perfectly, from being very passionate, especially about love, to showing his moody side. After Byron became an overnight celebrity, his arrogance became widely known and his affairs turned into prime gossip material for the public. His life seems to be reflected in the case of “Don Juan” in a semi-autobiographical way. Byron was quite an arrogant man in his time, and so perhaps writing about himself and his life was a way for him to immortalize himself and show people his risqué life and the glamour of being a rebel.  If this is true, it would make Lord Byron the original Byronic Hero.

Closely related to Lord Byron is his narrator in “Don Juan.” The narrator immediately wants to prove his intelligence, rattling off French names that he assumes everyone should know (Byron line 19). He expands his expression of knowledge with his knowledge of classic literature, mentioning Agamemnon, a Greek commander in the Trojan war, and also current knowledge about the Napoleonic wars. Immediately after this, he expresses his need to diverge from the “usual method” of epic poets and write an epic in his own style.

Through the narration of Don Juan’s parents, Donna Inez and Don Jose, the narrator expresses his disrespect for aristocratic relations and social expectations. He sees how Juan’s parents want to kill each other, how “their conduct was exceedingly well-bred,/And gave no outward signs of inward strife” (Byron 205-6). He seems to be mocking this through his writing, as he demonstrates how foolish it seems that two married people have to pretend to have a strong marriage, even if it’s not true, to be accepted by the public.

Women are also a topic of scorn for the narrator, as he sees Don Jose having numerous affairs and sidelines it as unimportant, but sees Donna Inez as intellectual and suggests it is therefore her fault that her husband has to look elsewhere for satisfaction. After all Don Jose does, the narrator still says, “Yet Jose was an honourable man” (Byron 273).  A reflection of this comes with the affair between Don Alfonso and Donna Inez. “Alfonso’s loves with Inez were well known,” (Byron 1401) yet Julia is ransacked in the middle of the night on grounds of suspicion. There appears to be a double standard in which the narrator obviously does not care about. He does not scorn Juan for sleeping with Julia; however, he does not praise Juan either. He is fairly neutral about the event, narrating the events broadly and objectively, that followed after the scuffle between Alfonso and Juan. He provides the facts of Alfonso’s suing for divorce and Inez’s sending Juan away to save face.

The narrator seems to be overconfident in his ability to write, as he not only diverges from traditional structure of poetry, but also seems to undermine it. He announces near the end of his first canto that he is writing an epic and he will be on equal grounds as Homer and Virgil (Byron 1599). He then announces that he has an advantage on these classical writers, which is that they made up fables and he is narrating truth. Then he sets up “poetical commandments” in which he lays out precise rules of what should make up good poetry.  After going through great detail about how great his poetry is, he only achieves showing off his arrogance, one of the main features of the Hero.

In several spots in Canto I, the narrator adds his own thoughts on situations in parentheses that sidetrack the reader into the narrator’s thoughts and away from the story itself. When speaking about Donna Inez, he writes, “Her zone to Venus, or his bow to Cupid,/(But this last simile is trite and stupid)” (Byron 439-40). A few stanzas later he describes Donna Julia and announces that she was tall and that he “hate[s] a dumpy woman” (Byron 488). He is demonstrating his rejection of formal poetry, and letting the audience in on his inner thoughts. This was also a relatively new idea that came about with the Romantic Era. Traditionally, works did not give much insight into people’s thoughts and it was especially not appropriate in poetry, as there was set structure and rhythm and no room for diverging into tangents.  To do so would have meant the downfall of a poet’s career, as he would be looked down upon for his inability to follow structure. Some poets were able to get away with this but setting up an apology beforehand, forewarning the readers of the “poor” poetry that was to follow.

He is also able to write down the thoughts of other characters, which helps give other characters complex motivation. Donna Julia “thought of her own strength, and Juan’s youth,…/And then of Don Alfonso’s fifty years” (Byron 849-852).  The Byronic characteristic of being hypersensitive about others reflects in this view, as the narrator does not give a simple reasoning for Julia’s behaviour, but understands the complexity of humanity.  Her “heart was in an awkward state” (Byron 593).

The narrator’s  views on women and relationships, and on Donna Julia in particular, do not seem to contradict Juan’s in any way, nor Byron’s. This consistency gives the feeling that these three characters are connected and overlapped in some way – perhaps even a single person.  Not only does the narrator narrate what happens, but he also gives his opinion on subjects and events, and tells his opinion like it is fact, perhaps based on his experiences, which the reader never gets to be a part of.  Perhaps then, the narrator could join both Byron and Don in brooding about their past from which they cannot escape.

The most obvious Byronic Hero in the work itself is Don Juan himself. The first canto of this narrative appears to mimic Byron’s life. Notably, Juan’s father is absent, and his mother wants to raise him very aristocratically and give him a good education. Both Byron and Juan have sexual relationships at an early age with an older woman. For Byron, it was his family’s maid, May Gray when he was nine years old. For Juan, it was Julia.  Both men show their rebellion for aristocracy, social institutions and for societal rules in general. Byron’s life was proof of his rebellion, with affairs and scandals following him. Don Juan feels conflicted in the first canto about what he should do. He is raised as an aristocrat but does not completely agree with its ideas. Juan sleeps with an older woman – his mother’s friend – and then attacks Julia’s husband when he is caught with Julia. Both Juan and Byron end up going into exile due to the scandals they caused.  This exile, whether voluntary or involuntary, is another characteristic of the Byronic Hero, and attaches Juan and Byron together in another striking way.

Juan is troubled after falling in love with Julia and intentionally “plunge[es] into solitude” (Byron 692). The section of Juan in his solitude is a great example of his Byronic characteristics. His sudden passion and uncontrollable desire for Julia is stated to be like Ovid’s Miss Medea, who is smitten with another character at first sight. Juan becomes introspective and self reflexive as he sits alone in the woods.  He “pursue[s]/His self-communion with his own high soul… and turn’d… into a metaphysician” (Byron 721-8).  Not only does Juan think about his own person, but he also tries to transcend himself and think more deeply, which is a sign of great intellect and knowledge, like the ancient philosophers. He has an aura of mystery surrounding him, as he walks by brooks and thinks “unutterable things” (Byron 714).  Lastly, through this passage, he shows his overall passion for love.  After all his philosophical thinking, and intellectual thoughts about how wide the moon is and how stars are born, he finally just ends up thinking about Julia’s eyes. Completely smitten with her, he seems to walk around being tormented, which makes him appear dark and brooding to the rest of the characters in his life, especially Julia, and an exemplary Byronic hero.  His intense and sudden passion also categorizes him as such.

Byron, the narrator, and Juan are very similar, and not only for the obvious reason that Byron created both the narrator and Juan. Byron’s life mimics that of Juan’s, and this epic could have been a way for Byron to share his life with others without being ostracized or criticized by his society by using real names and places. Had he written his own life, many people probably would be implicated in scandals. The epic gives a sort of distancing effect that Byron can hide behind and defend himself from public scorn. Though Byron’s society did not approve of this sort of lifestyle at all (one that involved numerous affairs and characters who were unstable and overconfident), they made his works extremely popular and because it was an escape from reality into a world they could not enter unless they themselves wanted to be ostracized from society. Byron gave them this secret, rebellious outlet that they could use.

The narrator shares qualities that Byron had; intelligence, introspection, hypersensitivity, arrogance and rebelliousness.  The narrator rejects the traditional poetic styles and makes no apologies for his poor rhymes and added thoughts that only serve to complete a rhyme. He has confidence enough to say that he is equal to the great writers, if not better, as he has an advantage on them. The narrator shares all the values that Byron has, and expresses them in much the same way: writing.

The narrator also has a tie to Don Juan, saying he’s going to talk about “his friend,” Don Juan (Byron 40). Since the narrator has the knowledge and courage to call Juan a friend, there has to be some merit to show that the narrator likes Juan’s ideals and lifestyle. Something positive drew the narrator to talk about Juan’s life, or he would not have wasted his time writing such a long epic. He found the rebellion of Juan, and all of Juan’s dark qualities—his passion, moodiness, sensitivity and arrogance—to be enticing enough to write about.  He holds the same values as Juan, and as Byron, since they are all interrelated.

Juan, the most obvious Byronic hero, could not have came into being without being closely woven to his narrator and to Byron, all of which share each other’s qualities.  Juan’s are presented most obviously, and the narrator recites Juan’s qualities in words and phrases, but the narrator’s views and qualities are hidden behind the statements and opinions he says.

The triad of characters presented add up to a single voice: a single, uncommon hero. None of these characters could exist on their own without the existence from the other two. Don Juan, although the Byronic hero for whom the epic is centred around is the main hero, he is not alone.  The complexity of this triad and trying to distinguish whose views are whose make Lord Byron one of the best writers of the Romantic Era, for creating a work that both distances himself from events, and brings him into close ties with his narrator and characters.  This Byronic hero, although uncommon and mysterious, was both repulsive and intriguing, and made Byron’s career flourish, and Don Juan immortal.

Works Cited

Bone, Drummond, Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Byron. 2004. Cambridge: University Press.

Denney, L., Bellalouna, E., and Russette, L., eds. “Characteristics of the Byronic hero.” University of Michigan-Dearborn.  Retrieved 28 February 2009.

<http://www.umd.umich.edu/casl/hum/eng/classes/434/charweb/CHARACTE.htm>

George Gordon, Lord Byron. “Don Juan.” British Literature: 1780-1830. Mellor, Anne K. and

Richard E. Matlak, eds. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle, 1996. Pgs 954-980

Graham, Peter W. Lord Byron. 1998. Ed Herbert Sussman. New York: Twayne Publishers.

S., Jennifer.  “The Byronic Hero.” Associated Content. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2009.

<http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/751335/the_byronic_hero_pg2.html >

Shilstone, Frederick W., Ed. Approaches to Teaching Byron’s Poetry. 1991. New York: The Modern

Language Association of America.

Wallis, Bruce. Byron: The Critical Voice. Vol 1: Introduction & General Criticism. 1973. Ed. by Dr. James

Hogg.  Salzburg: Universitat  Salzburg.

Lord Byron at age 25, by R. Westall, 1813.

As it is common with many distinguished British gentleman, there is a lot of their lives we don’t know. Lord Byron’s bisexuality, for example, has only been recently unveiled, having been censored for a long time. What still has yet to be fully publicized, however, was his pederastic inclinations (both as an eromenos and as an erastes).

As a Harrow boy in 1804, he lived his first homosexual experiences, both as the younger and the older partner. Though the information is quite murky, it is believed that he had a sexual relationship with his tenant at Newstead Abbey, Lord Henry Grey de Ruthyn, a much older man. If the boy found it “traumatic”, we do not know, but the fact of the matter is that Byron went on to cultivate many “special friendships” with boys at Harrow. Byron refered to his school friendships as “passions“, and his nostalgic poems about his Harrow friendships, ‘Childish Recollections’ (1806), express a sense of melancholy at the passing of youthful freedoms, even a prescient ‘consciousness of sexual differences that may in the end make England untenable to him.’

“Ah! Sure some stronger impulse vibrates here,

Which whispers friendship will be doubly dear

To one, who thus for kindred hearts must roam,

And seek abroad, the love denied at home.”

Morning Splendour, by Henry Scott Tuke

Perhaps the most lasting of those Harrow friendships was with John FitzGibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare, a boy four years Byron’s junior. That means that even at their oldest, the boys were 18 and 14, respectively. Given the tender age of both boys, it is unknown whether the boys recognized their relationship as romantic, or just “went with the flow”. Records show, however, that a sexual relationship very likely occured.

It was at Cambridge’s Trinity College, that Byron really became a full-fledged erastes. He befriended John Edleston, a younger choirboy who Byron considered his “protegé”. In later years he described the affair as ‘a violent, though pure love and passion’. As he had done at Harrow, Byron played both the erastes and the eromenos roles. He befriended older men while at Cambridge, including Francis Hodgson, a fellow at King’s. It is unknown, however, whether these friendships evolved into something deeper. In fact, by his own admission, Lord Byron’s true love was his genuine eromenos, John Edleston.

“Oh! ever loving, lovely, and beloved!
How selfish Sorrow ponders on the past,
And clings to thoughts now better far removed!
But Time shall tear thy shadow from me last.
All thou couldst have of mine, stern Death! thou hast;
The Parent, Friend, and now the more than Friend:
Ne’er yet for one thine arrows flew so fast,
And grief with grief continuing still to blend,
Hath snatched the little joy that Life had yet to lend.”

Lord Byron’s “To Eddleston”. 1817-1818.

√ May I suggest History Channel’s documentary on Lord Byron, mainly beacause it is freely available on YouTube. As it is common with most documentaries, a great deal of censure is present, so bear that in mind. Embedded below is the passage that deals with Byron falling in love with young Edleston.

In a story well-covered by both traditional news media and literary blogs, a group of letters written by Lord Byron has sold for £277,250 at Sotheby’s.  The 71 handwritten pages composed from 1808 to 1821 perpetuate the characterization that Byron was “mad, bad and dangerous to know.”  In the correspondence with friend and clergyman Francis Hodgson, Byron expounds freely on his travels in the Mediterranean, an affair he had with a servant girl, the role of Satan in Paradise Lost, and the unjustness of Christianity.  For the twelve year old in all of us, the highlight is Byron’s criticism of fellow romantic poet William Wordsworth as “Turdsworth.”

It is unclear who purchased the letters, as the winner of the auction was only identified as “an anonymous buyer.”  But few archives have the nearly $460,000 to spend on single acquisitions, and the letters were almost surely purchased by a private collector.  According to the Times, the letters have not been available to researchers since the nineteenth century, and their inaccessibility will probably continue.  Although they undoubtedly will be well cared for in private hands, it is unfortunate if they were not acquired by a research institution, where they would be made available to Byron scholars.

Got a little Hallowe’en treat for you, kids.

I’ve been in a somewhat grim state of mind of late, for a variety of reasons I won’t go into.  So I was sitting down today, nursing a blue funk, pondering the imminent arrival of All Hallow’s Eve.  I turned on Garageband and started playing around; came up with some wacky tracks of music and thought about adding a few words, flipped through my notebook for something appropriate…and for some reason recalled “Darkness”, a poem Lord Byron wrote wayyy back in the early 19th Century.  Dug out an old Norton poetry anthology, found the poem in question…and my face split into a nasty grin.  It was perfect.  Went with the music I’d laid down so nicely it sent a chill through me.

Here it is, a little something for the ghoul that resides in each of us, the darkness beyond the edge of town, as Mr. Springsteen would put it.

Enjoy…

Darkness (Words by George Gordon, Lord Byron)

I just discovered the exquisitely lovely Quotes & Notes via Craftgawker. The mix of printed basswood, creamy fabrics, and unique quotations (some even in French, HELLO?!?) make me kind of swoon. And get me excited for Christmas. (Yes, I know it’s not Halloween yet, but just look at the images below! You’ll see what I mean, I swear.)

Every item in the Quotes & Notes Etsy shop is available for customizing! Visit this lovely little shop HERE.

It’s that time of year again. Actually it’s that year. Well really it’s that decade. Okay, okay it’s that century. Bram Stoker published Dracula a little over a century ago and it changed the face of fantasy and horror for all time to come (so far). Now Stoker didn’t really create vampires per se. Blood sucking, soul stealing creatures have existed in various cultures for many centuries. Rusalkas (Russian), lamias (Greek), succubi and incubi, dhampirs (Balkan) and sirens are just an example of creatures that take something permanent from you, often through seduction. They might devour the person or parts of them. Even the Rom (Gypsies) had vampiric beliefs, which also could include inanimate objects.

So vampires are not new. Using blood to rejuvenate in some way also has been around for a long time, whether it was drinking it or bathing in it. The notorious serial killer Countess Elizabeth of Bathory killed so many young women that, like Vlad the Impaler, a myth began that she bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth. She was pretty much placed under house arrest for the rest of her days (nobility did have some privileges).

In the world of writing there have been many many vampire novels, and even more numerous short stories. Goethe and Lord Byron were just a few to tell tales and poems about vampiric lovers returning from the grave. The  19th century saw quite a fascination with vampire tales and Stoker’s book was just one of many.

Books of note in this century include John Matheson’s I Am Legend and John Shirley’s Dracula in Love. A man discovers he is Dracula’s son and it is a somewhat trippy, hallucinogenic tale that is at times extremely gruesome and not really romantic, given the title. I’ve read some vampire books, but not all and one included a nearly annihilistic version of vampire hunters. There are too many tales to list but the Barnabas Collins TV series was of early note in vampire fiction, as well as the movie The Hunger.  Anne Rice probably began the more modern trend of eroticizing vampire fiction with strong gothic undertones in Interview With a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and subsequent novels.

There have been many spinoffs and tales, which have included a subgenre of occult detective books, where a vampire is the detective. The Dresden Files, by Harry Butcher, the Anita Blake series by Laurel K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris’s books, and the Angel TV series are just a few in that aspect where often the vampire tries to retain his/her humanity, or the detective’s partner or lover is a vampire.

So when Twilight came along it was just another vampire movie and book. I haven’t read the book so I cant judge on the treatment of the vampire in that tale before Hollywood got hold of it. But from the movie these vampires have no problem with walking around in daylight though they avoid direct sun, because it seems that they sparkle. Perhaps for this young adult novel it is a metaphor for being an angel or a higher power and I wasn’t quite clear if all vampires sparkle or just the good ones who eschew drinking of humans. But the tale, a human falls in love with the noble vampire who won’t make her/him immortal, is nothing new. It’s just got the dreamy guys and a new batch of people to feed it to.

Everyone who writes a vampire tale may throw a twist into it. Some vampires are affected by crosses, or any religious icon that has true belief behind it, by garlic, by sunlight, by none of these. Their powers may only be longevity, or fast healing, speed, strength, flying, shapechanging. Vampires vary, yet overall the seductive aspect that lures humans is that the vampire is immortal but you must take a life or drink blood to attain this aspect.

The media, like the tweenies that Twilight is aimed at, is all over Twilight like Dracula on Mina. As if it hasn’t happened before, they say, what is with all this hype, or “we see a trend in Twilight and movies like it.” The vampire tale is a subgenre of horror or fantasy or speculative fiction, depending on how you want to categorize it.  The trend is not new, but like many fads, it fluctuates. A fad runs about a two-year lifespan so this too will die down, yet like a vampire, the tales of such immortals do seem to endure the test of time.

Notice the fangy V.

As a writer, I too have not been immune from writing a few vampire tales. “Hold Back the Night” was about a servant of Kali whose human lover is burned by a possessive husband. “Lover’s Triangle” is a tale about a Gypsy woman in a slightly different future who is lured by her vampire lover’s touch. And “An Ember Amongst the Fallen” is about a vampire’s fall into deparavity or discovering something about his own humanity. The latter is due out in Evolve in March 2010, through Hades Publications and the anthology looks at worlds where vampires are known of by humans.

Will I write more vampire fiction? Possibly. I have a couple of other unpublished stories. I didn’t set out to write any but it just happens and the juxtaposition of immortality at a terrible price is always an interesting premise for tales. I haven’t yet written a werewolf tale but have written a mermaid story, “The Fishwife.” Maybe at some point I’ll work my way through many mythic creatures.

http://www.edgewebsite.com/future.php

«Μα στερνός, στο σαστισμένο πλήθος, κάπου σε μιαν άκρη,

Ένας που ήσυχα κοιτάζει βουρκωμένος απ’ το δάκρυ,

Μ’ άλαλο θυμό και πόνο μια αυτά πού ’κλεψαν θαμάζει,

Μια σιχένεται τον κλέφτη σύψυχα κι ανατριχιάζει

Ω! που ζώντας και που σκόνη, δίχως σχώριο να γροικήση,

Ν’ ακλουθιέται η αχορτασιά του η ιερόσυλη με μίση,

Και η εκδίκηση ως τον τάφο και πιο πέρα, το όνομά του

Να το κυνηγά, στο πλάγι του μωρόδοξου Ηροστράτου,

Και σε φύλλα λεκιασμένα και γραμμές που καίνε ας γίνη

Ατελείωτα να στράφτουν εμπρηστές ναών κι Ελγίνοι,

Καταδικασμένοι αιώνια στο ίδιο ανάθεμα κι οι δυο τους,

Που ίσως στο στερνό θε να ’βρης και τον πιο χειρότερό τους,

Έτσι ας στέκουν, να τους βλέπουν τα μελλούμενα τα χρόνια,

Άγαλμα άσειστο, με βάση μοναχή, την καταφρόνια».

(μετάφραση Στέφανου Μύρτα)

     Διαβάζοντας και ξαναδιαβάζοντας προσεκτικά την «Κατάρα της Αθηνάς», (“The curse of Minerva”), το αριστούργημα αυτό του Λόρδου Βύρωνα, ολοένα και περισσότερο καταλήγω στο συμπέρασμα ότι πιο μεστοί στίχοι, που να συμπυκνώνουν τόση οργή κι αγανάκτηση για το έγκλημα του Έλγιν και τόσο βαθιά θλίψη για τα κλεμμένα Μάρμαρα δεν υπάρχουν.

     Κι επειδή πολλά ακούγονται τελευταία για την προσωπικότητα του Λόρδου Βύρωνα, καλό θα ήταν να έχουμε υπ’ όψη μας κάποια πράγματα για τον μεγάλο αυτό φιλέλληνα και επαναστάτη, που ο Μέτερνιχ και οι συνοδοιπόροι του προσπαθούσαν να διαβάλουν και να παρουσιάσουν ως πράκτορα της Αγγλίας, μόνο και μόνο επειδή υπονόμευε τα συμφέροντα της καθεστηκυίας τάξης τους και ξεσήκωνε τους λαούς σε εξέγερση. Όμως, μόνο στρατευμένος σε οποιαδήποτε συμφέροντα δεν ήταν ο Άγγλος Λόρδος.

     Εκτός από ποιητής, ο Λόρδος Βύρων, ήταν ένα σπάνια φιλελεύθερο και προοδευτικό για την εποχή του άτομο. Ασπάστηκε τις ιδέες της Γαλλικής Επανάστασης, όχι μόνο θεωρητικά, αλλά αγωνιζόμενος παράλληλα για την επικράτησή τους σε πολλά επίπεδα. Ο αγώνας του στο πλευρό των επαναστατημένων Ελλήνων είναι βέβαια γνωστός σε όλους. Αλλά δεν ήταν ο μόνος. Ως μέλος της Βουλής των Λόρδων, στις 27/4/1812 κατά τη διάρκεια της πρώτης και μνημειώδους ομιλίας του, η οποία διδάσκεται και σήμερα στα βρετανικά σχολεία, τάχθηκε κατά της θανατικής ποινής, που οι συντηρητικοί της εποχής ήθελαν να επιβάλουν στους εξεγερμένους κλωστοϋφαντουργούς του Νότιγχαμ, (τους λεγόμενους «Λουδίτες»), επειδή κατέστρεφαν τα μηχανήματα που θα τους έβγαζαν στην ανεργία και ήταν ο μόνος που καταψήφισε το σχετικό νομοσχέδιο.

     Είχε το χάρισμα να βλέπει πολύ μακρύτερα από την κοντόφθαλμη εποχή του. Απεχθανόταν τον πόλεμο και δεν έχανε ευκαιρία να αντιταχθεί στον συντηρητισμό και το κατεστημένο της εποχής σε οποιαδήποτε γωνιά της Γης. «Η φρίκη του πολέμου», έγραφε σε επιστολή του στις 23-1-1823, «είναι αρκετή από μόνη της, χωρίς να προστεθεί η εν ψυχρώ σκληρότητα από τη μια ή την άλλη πλευρά».

     Πριν πάει στο Μεσολόγγι, ο Λόρδος Βύρων, είχε αναπτύξει πλούσια δράση μέσα από το επαναστατικό κίνημα των Ιταλών Καρμπονάρων εναντίον της Αυστρίας. Είχε υποστηρίξει τους Ινδούς, τους Ινδιάνους του Περού και γενικότερα τους Λατινοαμερικάνους, ενώ περνώντας από τη Γενεύη, είχε γράψει ποίημα για τον «Φυλακισμένο της Σιγιόν», έναν Ελβετό επαναστάτη που είχε φυλακιστεί για τις θρησκευτικές του πεποιθήσεις.

      Δεν είναι να απορεί λοιπόν κανείς γιατί ο Μαξίμ Γκόρκι τον χαρακτήρισε ως τον «μεγαλόπνοο ποιητή που αφιέρωσε τις δυνάμεις του για την απελευθέρωση της ανθρωπότητας από τους τυράννους».

     Ο εξαίρετος αυτός διανοούμενος και ειρηνιστής μισούσε την αδικία εις βάρος των αδυνάτων και δεν παρέλειπε να στηλιτεύει με πολλή καυστικότητα τον Λόρδο Έλγιν, αλλά και την ίδια την πατρίδα του, την «Αλβιόνα»,  για την κλοπή των Μαρμάρων μέχρι το θάνατό του. Εκτός από την «Κατάρα της Αθηνάς», στο ποίημά του «Τσάιλντ Χάρολντ» (“Childe Harold”), αναφέρει:

«… Με χέρι στρίγγλας ρήμαξες [σ.σ. Αγγλία] συντρίμμια που και χρόνια

Και οι τύραννοι σεβάστηκαν, μ’ αγάπη ή ζηλοφθόνια».

(μετάφραση Στέφανου Μύρτα)

     Όταν ο Βύρων αρρώστησε στο Μεσολόγγι, αρνήθηκε να το εγκαταλείψει, όπως του συνέστησαν οι γιατροί και άφησε εκεί την τελευταία του πνοή. Εκτός από το φιλελληνισμό του, αξίζει νομίζω  να συγκρατήσουμε και τα λόγια του: «Θα ξεσηκώσω, αν μπορέσω, και τις πέτρες ακόμα ενάντια στους τυράννους της Γης», που συμβολίζουν την αντίσταση κάθε καταπιεσμένου οποιασδήποτε εποχής ενάντια σε κάθε μορφή καταπίεσης.

     Δίκαια λοιπόν η 19^η Απριλίου, ημέρα θανάτου του Λόρδου Βύρωνα, έχει προταθεί ως «Ημέρα Φιλελληνισμού και Διεθνούς Αλληλεγγύης». Είναι ευνόητο άλλωστε, πως η μέρα αυτή θα μπορούσε να αξιοποιηθεί όχι μόνο για την προώθηση ενός σύγχρονου φιλελληνικού κινήματος διεθνώς, αλλά και ως σύμβολο εξέγερσης ενάντια σε κάθε κοινωνική αδικία και καταπάτηση ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων. Όπως ακριβώς θα το ήθελε και ο Τζορτζ Γκόρντον Μπάιρον…

Info: Σύνδεσμος «Μπάϋρον» Για τον Φιλελληνισμό και τον Πολιτισμό    

       «Μπάιρον εναντίον Έλγιν», Πάνος Τριγάζης, Εκδόσεις

      Ταξιδευτής, 2004  

6 mesos després de la darrera crònica, es fa difícil tornar a posar-se el barret de cronista: tanta gent , tants de llocs,  tantes anècdotes, tants de problemes,… Fins i tot el títol és difícil: segueixo el fil de la darrera crònica, afegint el nom amb el que coneixen als europeus a Surinam?, o em refereixo al factor comú dels darrers mesos: els problemes; o ha de ser una referència a que ja fa mes d’un any que som a la carretera salada,…?.
Potser el millor es fer la crònica de les nostres tribulacions: en hem tingut tantes i de tantes menes, afortunadament totes, menys una, superables i superades, que son un bon fil conductor per explicar la història d’aquests darrers mesos i potser, de pas, les exorcitzem. Però que ningú es porti a engany:encara som al peu del canó.
Al final de la darrera crònica ens disposàvem a  navegar unes setmanetes per la Bahia de Todos os Santos. Doncs ho varem fer, però la conclusió a pilota passada és que no era la millor època: havia començat la estació de les pluges i ens varem xupar mes xàfecs que en Noé; al final hi havia tants de fongs al Talula que semblàvem una granja de xampinyons. En un dels desplaçaments per les illes de la badia, concretament quan anàvem a l’ilha das Fontes, tot i que el derroter (guia nàutica) deia que cap problema, varem fer una embarrancada tal que, de no haver estat per la potra de poder demanar auxili a un petit remolcador que casualment estava per allí, encara hi seríem enganxats. De la Bahia de Todos os Santos varem anar a Morro de Sao Paulo, un lloc amb platges,  illes i racons històrics interessants,

llàstima del incipient turisme pijo; allí  varem poder gaudir una mica mes i el mes greu que ens va passar van ser una parella d’ocellets que volien fer el seu niu, tan si com no, a la vela major (plegada, és clar).
De tornada a Bahia varem deixar el Talula aparcat unes setmanes per anar a Rio  i Ouro Preto amb bus; tampoc van haver-hi incidents dignes de menció en aquesta excursió, excepte els refredats que varem agafar per culpa dels congelants aires condicionats dels autobusos. Rio segueix essent la ciutat mes espectacular que he visitat i Ouro Preto una simfonia d’esglésies barroques ancorades a l’encant del Brasil colonial i miner.
De nou a Bahia i mentre ens preparàvem per començar a navegar cap el nord, varem fer amistat amb un gales de 70 anys, amb dos voltes al món a les seves espatlles; antic magnat, conegut com el “rei del moble de tub” als 60 a Londres, després es va arruïnar i va tornar a aixecar el cap com a tractant de cavalls de carreres, fins que un accident de cotxe gairebé el mata; va quedar tan fet caldo que el metge el va aconsellar anar a un país càlid per disminuir els dolors als ossos, i des de llavors navega; la seva vida es un seguit d’anècdotes, intrigues, baralles, borratxeres,.., com si fos el soci de Lord Byron; als seus 70 anys no pot evitar tocar el cul de qualsevol noia que li passa a menys de 10 metres i, després de deixar a moltes dones pel camí, ara està cassat amb una veneçolana que pot veure tantes copes com ell. Amb ells varem compartir els darrers dies a Bahia, la festa nacional i algunes ampolles de ron Montilla.
El 4 de juliol, per altre banda dia nefast pel planeta, diguem adéu a tots els amics que hem fet i entre llàgrimes i tocs de sirena, salpem de Bahia cap a Maceió. Les previsions son de vent i corrents favorables, però, com passa sovint, ens hem de tragar un vent de morro un mar excitadet fins el destí i, entrant al port de Maceió, quasi topem amb un pesquer que arrossega una xarxa  i les llums del qual, si les portava, contra el fons de la ciutat no veiem. Maceió be: ciutat senzilla i tranquil·la, estem quasi sols, i la gent es amable, llàstima de la quantitat de merda que hi havia a la platja i que et convida a marxar. Aquí comencem a ser conscients d’un increment preocupant en la població de “gorgojos” al Talula; caldrà fer alguna cosa.
Següent etapa: Recife; trajecte ràpid gracies a la corrent favorable que per fi hem trobat, però no mancat de xàfecs i calmes. En tota aquesta zona la costa es molt poc profunda el que fa que, a banda d’haver de patir una onada curta i encrespada que incomoda la navegació, cal anar esquivant pesquers tot el rato, com en un gran eslàlom marítim. Entrant al port de Recife, em despisto i m’enganxo dos dits en el molinet de la ancora; és un miracle que encara els conservi; em quedo tan blanc que quan la Laura em veu s’espanta.
Ens quedarem gairebé un mes a Recife, on ja ens esperaven uns amics anglesos que varem conèixer a Gàmbia.

Van estar unes setmanes regades d’àpats, en els que la Laura va donar la definitiva empenta internacional a l’All i Oli, i molt , molt d’alcohol (que borratxos que son els mariners!!),

amb algun petit incident com un intent d’atracament, que afortunadament no va fructificar. Visitem Olinda, un altre memento del Brasil colonial .

A Recife, entre copa i àpat, intentem acabar amb la plaga d’insectes que han gairebé liquidat les nostres existències de pasta i farina; també descobrim alguns problemes tècnics al Talula, alguns dels quals ens complicaran la vida en el futur : problemes amb els enrotlladors de proa, amb el pinçot de la botavara  i pèrdues en el tanc de gasoil.
El pinçot de la botavara, malgrat haver-lo reparat a Recife, ens donarà el primer ensurt al salpar cap a Natal: a una hora de navegació m’adono que el pinçot s’està obrint totalment, amenaçant en alliberar la botavara del màstil; arriada urgent de major i reparació de fortuna (d’aquestes de cabets i moltes voltes); òbviament no hi ha mes remei que arribar al nostre destí nomes amb gènova; afortunadament els vents son força portants i la corrent col·labora. Abans de Natal un ensurt gran amb un pesquer que, sorgit de la penombra, ens passa molt a prop i alguna cosa frega el casc; afortunadament no passa d’aquí.
L’entrada al riu Potengi, a la riba del qual hi ha Natal, literalment acollona: una trencant d’onades amb esculls a costat i costat i, per acabar d’arrodonir l’escena, un mercant gros embarrancat uns dies abans; no se si ens hauríem atrevit a entrar si no hagués estat per les Llangadas (barquetes a vela usades pels pescadors, amb les quals van desenes de milles mar endins i que planegen com si fossin 49’s) que ens passaven al davant i entraven sense cap problema.
Un cop a Natal cerquem la manera de solucionar el tema de la botavara; trobem un senyor, en Joao Torneiro, torner de professió, que fa el que, a Europa, es consideraria un miracle tècnic: soldar una peça d’alumini de foneria. Segons ell, aquesta peça ja no es tornarà a trencar, i el cert es que de moment aguanta (vosaltres no ho veieu, però estic tocant fusta).
Davant l’èxit, decidim provar sort amb el dipòsit de gasoil; us estalvio els detalls: després de dues setmanes de lluitar amb el tema, amb l’ànim esquerdat i la butxaca disminuïda, decidim llençar la tovallola i tornar-lo a muntar a bord en un estat igual o pitjor que abans. Per recuperar-nos de la inútil tasca, decidim agafar-nos un dia de “vacances”: visitem les famoses platges de dunes de Natal, meca brasileira del buggy: n’hi ha centenars passejant turistes. Aquella nit, mentre descansem de la nostra excursió, tindrem una ofídica sorpresa: una serp considerable ha entrat dins la cabina del Talula i jo, pensant-me a les fosques que era un objecte caigut a terra, quasi l’agafo per la cua; quan me adono  del que és ,entro en un estat de pànic i histèria : he heretat la fòbia a les serps de la meva mare. Algún dia ja us explicaré en detall tota l’aventura; aquí la abreviaré dient-vos que va caldre anar a cercar als bombers per que ens lliuresin de l’animalet.
(Continuarà)