Wer ab heute einen Palm Pre bei o2 im Online-Shop bestellt, bekommt die Ladestation “Touchstone” und den dazu notwendigen Rückendeckel für das Palm Pre kostenlos. Die Ladestation funktioniert über Induktion und damit drahlos – sie kostet normalerweise 50 Euro. Die Rückenschalte kostet 20 Euro. Der Kunde spart also nach Adam Riese 70 Euro.

Das Palm Pre kostet ohne Vertrag 481 Euro – mit Vertrag verteilt sich die Summe auf 24 Monate.

Die Touchstone-Ladestation ist ein praktisches und schickes Gadget. Wer sich gerade eh einen Palm Pre anschaffen möchte, sollte bei dem Angebot zugreifen.

Quelle http://www.connect.de/news/Ab-heute-Palm-Pre-Touchstone-bei-Onlinebestellung-kostenlos_6220538.html

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

i am concerned about this issue of swine flue. Everyone is talking so much about it in the last days. It has the power to overtake one’s mind and draw concentration on it. One one side, there is information being passed about its dangers, on the other side, there is information about the dangers of the vaccination. Fear of both is there and i have been asking myself, like many other people, what is the best thing to do…

Out of habit, we are used to take immediate, short-term actions to prevent ourselves from disease and sorrow. Mostly, we even try to only react against the syndrom rather than to prevent from it. In any case, our efforts are only short-term. So it is in regards to the actual swine flue issue.

But, be it swine flue or any other flue or disease, it is sure to come, no matter if we vaccinate now in this particular case or not. That is for sure and no one can tell otherwise. i am not telling that we shall become completely oblivious about what is happening and not to take any immediate actions. No. What i am rather saying is, that we shall become concious about the fact, why we are actually suffering again and again and how to prevent from it forever. We shall not forget about it, under any circumstence, neither now in the times of this flue issue.

And the actual cause of our perpetual suffering is our forgetfullness of the Supreme Lord.

krishna bhuli ’sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara-duhkha

"Forgetting Krishna, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [maya] gives all kinds of misery in his material existence."

As soon as the jiva, the individual soul turns away from the all-auspicious service to the Supreme Lord, it is immediately thrown into this painful material existence, of which a swine flue is only a tiny part of the immense suffering this material world can provide.

In Skanda Purana it is said:

bhumau skhalita-padanam
bhumir evavalambanam
tvayi jataparadhanam
tvam eva saranam prabho

"For those who have stumbled and fallen upon the ground, that very ground is the only support by which they can arise once again. Likewise, for those who have offended You, O Lord, You alone are their only refuge."

We have turn our face away from the Lord. We are like the mischievous, ungrateful sons, who left their home with a desire to look alone for themselves and their future life prospect. But what we actually got, is repeated diseases and suffering.

But in the same way a good father accepts a misguided, distressful son again in his home and is ready to give him His protection happily, the Lord is always ready to accept His fallen and lost souls again in His association and protect them from all dangers and suffering. This is the nature of the Supreme Lord.

And to start turning our face to Him is not a big thing. It is not something far beyond and abstract as it may seem on the first look. The Lord is there in our heart, as He is also present everywhere. He even manifests here in this world in His Original Form and performs His Eternal Pastimes, as He did just 500 years ago in Shri Navadvipa Dhaama as Lord Gauranga and Lord Nityananda.

But as long as we are not situated in the spiritual world in the association of our Supreme Father, we have to take His association here in this material world. It is possible and the most practical and easiest way to do it is to remember Him always and this rememberence is done via continuous chanting of His Holy Names like Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna and hearing about His Divine Pastimes and Activities.

deha-dehiira, naama-naamiira krishne naahi ‘bheda’

"Sri Krishna’s body is Sri Krishna Himself. On the transcendental plane there is no categorical difference between the body and the being. There is no difference between the body of Krishna and Krishna

Himself. Similarly, there is no difference between the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself."

So by chanting God’s Name one is definitely associating with Him directly. One may not feel it immediately due to one’s covered conciousness, but the results of the chanting are sure. The same way as butter melts more and more near the fire, the same way our conciousness gets purified and our suffering diminished when we continuously associate with the Lord via chanting His Holy Names like Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This is definitely the best prevention against the current swine flue and all the flues to come in the future. The Holy Name gives You all protection, as it is non different from the Lord Himself.

simplynitaai



Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

i am concerned about this issue of swine flue. Everyone is talking so much about it in the last days. It has the power to overtake one’s mind and draw concentration on it. One one side, there is information being passed about its dangers, on the other side, there is information about the dangers of the vaccination. Fear of both is there and i have been asking myself, like many other people, what is the best thing to do…

Out of habit, we are used to take immediate, short-term actions to prevent ourselves from disease and sorrow. Mostly, we even try to only react against the syndrom rather than to prevent from it. In any case, our efforts are only short-term. So it is in regards to the actual swine flue issue.

But, be it swine flue or any other flue or disease, it is sure to come, no matter if we vaccinate now in this particular case or not. That is for sure and no one can tell otherwise. i am not telling that we shall become completely oblivious about what is happening and not to take any immediate actions. No. What i am rather saying is, that we shall become concious about the fact, why we are actually suffering again and again and how to prevent from it forever. We shall not forget about it, under any circumstence, neither now in the times of this flue issue.

And the actual cause of our perpetual suffering is our forgetfullness of the Supreme Lord.

krishna bhuli ’sei jiva anadi-bahirmukha
ataeva maya tare deya samsara-duhkha

“Forgetting Krishna, the living entity has been attracted by the external feature from time immemorial. Therefore the illusory energy [maya] gives all kinds of misery in his material existence.”

As soon as the jiva, the individual soul turns away from the all-auspicious service to the Supreme Lord, it is immediately thrown into this painful material existence, of which a swine flue is only a tiny part of the immense suffering this material world can provide.

In Skanda Purana it is said:

bhumau skhalita-padanam
bhumir evavalambanam
tvayi jataparadhanam
tvam eva saranam prabho

“For those who have stumbled and fallen upon the ground, that very ground is the only support by which they can arise once again. Likewise, for those who have offended You, O Lord, You alone are their only refuge.”

We have turn our face away from the Lord. We are like the mischievous, ungrateful sons, who left their home with a desire to look alone for themselves and their future life prospect. But what we actually got, is repeated diseases and suffering.

But in the same way a good father accepts a misguided, distressful son again in his home and is ready to give him His protection happily, the Lord is always ready to accept His fallen and lost souls again in His association and protect them from all dangers and suffering. This is the nature of the Supreme Lord.

And to start turning our face to Him is not a big thing. It is not something far beyond and abstract as it may seem on the first look. The Lord is there in our heart, as He is also present everywhere. He even manifests here in this world in His Original Form and performs His Eternal Pastimes, as He did just 500 years ago in Shri Navadvipa Dhaama as Lord Gauranga and Lord Nityananda.

But as long as we are not situated in the spiritual world in the association of our Supreme Father, we have to take His association here in this material world. It is possible and the most practical and easiest way to do it is to remember Him always and this rememberence is done via continuous chanting of His Holy Names like Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna and hearing about His Divine Pastimes and Activities.

deha-dehiira, naama-naamiira krishne naahi ‘bheda’

“Sri Krishna’s body is Sri Krishna Himself. On the transcendental plane there is no categorical difference between the body and the being. There is no difference between the body of Krishna and Krishna
Himself. Similarly, there is no difference between the name of Krishna and Krishna Himself.”

So by chanting God’s Name one is definitely associating with Him directly. One may not feel it immediately due to one’s covered conciousness, but the results of the chanting are sure. The same way as butter melts more and more near the fire, the same way our conciousness gets purified and our suffering diminished when we continuously associate with the Lord via chanting His Holy Names like Nityananda, Gauranga and Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This is definitely the best prevention against the current swine flue and all the flues to come in the future. The Holy Name gives You all protection, as it is non different from the Lord Himself.

simplynitaai

Miley, your kiss tastes like an ashtray! Yech!

Okay, as if things weren’t strange enough with this guy Lil’ Damian talking smack about the Jonas Bros., now he says Miley Ray Cyrus’ kissing sucks! According to Lil’ Damian, he had a passionate dream about Miley, and in his dream, he couldn’t kiss her without puking, because he said her potty mouth tasted like an ashtray.

Let’s send a message to Lil’ Damian by writing to his blog, www.universalartists.wordpress.com. We know the owners, Joe Stern-McGovern & Shaka of Shaka Productions. They’re both pretty cool guys, so we’re wondering how they came to hire Lil’ Damian as a professional rapper.

Please check out their site and give them a piece of your mind! We need to stand up for Miley right now! Might makes right, so feel free to voice your opinions to anyone who will listen. “Universal Artists, International is cool, but get rid of Lil’ Damian”.

Lil' Damian: "Show self respect & brush your teeth"

Coach Earl Hayseed for Gossip!

In today’s latest news, word from the gossip vine predicts the coming countdown until showdown at the proverbial OK Corral as Joe Jonas and Lil’ Damian of Universal Artists, International prepare for battle on a level never seen before.

In a quote from Lil’ Damian, “Simply put, Joe Jonas cannot rap! I’ve said it before, I’m going to say it again, ole’ thick brow can’t hold a candle to my rhymes.,.”

In response, Joe Jonas was alleged to have stated, “No mystery at all, considering I’m a singer, duh, and not a rapper…”

Joe Stern-McGovern of Universal Artists, International fame predicts this will go down as the greatest controversy since the OJ Simpson Trial of the 90s, and perhaps the resulting fall out of the infamous Rodney King verdict which led to the LA Riots and sparked uprising and looting across the nation.

Jonas couldn't rap his way out of a paper bag!

Coach Earl Hayseed for the latest hot gossip!

Heute findet das Mobile Dev Camp in München statt.

Mein Mensch und ich (Palm Pre) gehen da mal vorbei und machen einen kleinen Videobericht.

Wer uns zu seinem Palm Pre fragen stellen will, kann diese auch später im Weltgrößten Media Markt stellen, dort gastieren wir am Samstag für Präsentationen.

Aber jetzt erst mal laden ab auf den Touchstone und dann morgens auf das Entwickler Barcamp für mobiles.
Interviewpartner bitte melden über Twitter.

Euer Pre

EDIT: Über das Palm webOS hab ich mit Florian Bergmann gesprochen, dem Veranstalter http://www.vimeo.com/tomsiegmund

I put videos I create on Vimeo. You can see my profile.

We’d like to welcome all of our fans to the latest blog where you’ll find all the info you care to need or absolutely must know.

We’re going to pop in here daily to check up on the greatest people on earth, our fans, just so we can keep you updated.

You care enough about us to ask the questions and follow what we’re doing, and in turn, we feel an obligation, no, a duty, to be here for you, our fans, and address whatever concerns you might have.

You can feel free to ask us whatever you want, and remember, there’s no such thing as a stupid question!!! If you have any questions about breaking in the business, you can check out the coolest agency on earth, www.universalartists.wordpress.com for your own shot at stardom.

If you have any special photos taken randomly of us, you can submit them to us by dropping us a note on our secret Myspace. Our real fans who pay attention during the shows should know what we’re talking about!

If you have any concerns about daily life, the stress of being a teen, problems at school, or anything else, we encourage you to open up to your teachers, your elders, big brother or sister, but especially your mom and dad.

Someday, you’ll discover exactly what we have growing up, and that’s our parents truly do rock and they’re here for you even though you might not realize it or it doesn’t seem true at the moment.

Anyway, let’s get this ball rolling with the daily Jonas news express! And on that note, we may commence.

To Our Fans, We Salute You!

The librarians in my community have had the insight to purchase three copies and have them on our shelves in the month that this book was published.Important?Yes, quite.

There’s a web site referenced in the book, from Chapter Three, entitled “Dirty Little Secrets,” that includes history about what happened to children in a Buffalo, NY neighborhood.Nakazawa refers you to a web site and invites you to type in the zip code for Buffalo and then read the story that unfolds about it.

Try this now! Go to the EPA dot gov web site using /enviro/emef as a suffix and type in YOUR zip code, then look at the map that pops up.It’s color coded with all the locations being monitored by the EPA right now. The water was RED in mine.

So many people I know and love have had autoimmune diseases and/or cancer.This book has made me wonder even more than I already had how this all fits together – nutrition, the environment, our health, our children, our sick or already lost loved ones.If you read this book, perhaps the puzzle will begin to fit together for you too.

Have you noticed how many CHILDREN you see in WHEELCHAIRS these days?I see several children every day in wheelchairs at our elementary school. Was it like that where you grew up as a child?

I picked up a flyer at my son’s school last week about dealing with ASTHMA in your school-aged child that’s being presented here this week to teachers and parents and families in our county school system. How many children did you know with ASTHMA or DIABETES when you were growing up?I lived in a community where there were 5,000 people in my church alone.I don’t recall a single person with asthma in my group of friends, and there was one person that I knew of in that group of 5,000 with Type 1 diabetes – he was my family doctor.

Now, in our 740 student primary school, there are 17 children that I know with asthma and several with Type 1 diabetes and more with significant allergies and even more with some level of autism.All of these are autoimmune or related issues and are addressed in this book.What has caused this and how many more will have to happen before we get it?

This book’s footnoted current facts and information about the environment, current medical advances, and many details about individuals with autoimmune conditions and progressions, including cancer will educate many people.

In Chapter six, called Shielding Your Immune System: Rethinking Food, Stress and Everyday Chemicals, there’s a life-altering story about a 43 year old M.D. named Gerard Mullin.Mullin was a specialist in autoimmune disease as head of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division at North Shore University Hospital in New York.”He became a 43 year old disabled, unmarried, living alone, unemployed patient with a roaring autoimmune disease of his own, almost overnight.”He says that for the first time, he “had become just another hard-to-treat patient that doctors didn’t know what to do with.”Mullin’s personal experiences with his own health and the outcomes that he found to heal himself is wonderfully enlightening for anyone who takes the time to read this book.

Thank you, Donna Jackson Nakazawa for your work.I am awed at the clarity and skill in sharing this very technical information with excellent story-telling about the individuals whose lives have been forever affected, and many lost by their struggles with autoimmune diseases.Ms. Nakazawa has equaled the caliber of writing by the New York Times Reporter David Kirby, [Evidence of Harm] maybe even better.

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Autoimmune Epidemic (Paperback)

If this me is not I, then

who am I ?

If I am not the one who speaks, then

who does?

If this me is only a robe then

who is

the one I am covering?    ( Rumi )

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar;

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home……     ( William Wordsworth )

You come from the celestial spheres

but, seduced by this clay form

you believe you belong to the earth.

Why have you forsaken that

which is your essence ?     ( Rumi )

Like a child seperated at birth from its mother, we are seperated from the Ground of Being. This seperation is experienced by us as an exile, a state of disharmony and disunion. From it has come our present dualistic, fragmented consciousness, and the fears and anxieties which torment us. But the memory of fusion or union with the Ground of life lives on in us as a longing for reunion, for the ecstasy of belonging once again to that greater other.          ( The Mystic Vision – Andrew Harvey and Anne Baring )

In every mystical tradition there is a certainty that we and the Divine are one at the core of our being, in what we might call the soul. This soul is the prisoner of habits , desires, discursive thought and all the demanding excitments of life and it is only by connecting with it through prayer, contemplation, adoration, service of others, that we come slowly to free it and live in its supreme and healing mystery, to taste its immortality and to hear its child-like laughter.

( The Mystic Vision – Andrew Harvey and Anne Baring )

Through the mystery of this inner work darkness is turned into light. The chaos and confusion of our unconcious – what the alchemists termed the prima materia - gradually and miraculously reveal a higher centre of conciousness which is none other that our innermost essence, ‘the face we had before we were born’. This is the Self, the Divine Child, which was always present within us, but hidden beneath layers of ego and conditioning.

( Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee )

A man has many skins in himself, covering the depths of his heart. Man knows so many things; he does not know himself. Why, thirty or fourty skins or hides, just like an ox’s or a bear’s so thick and hard, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.  ( Meister Eckhart )

Whoever knows the All but fails to know himself lacks everything.

( The Gospel according to Thomas, logion 67 )

If the psychic entity had been from the beginning unveiled and known to its ministers, not a secluded King in a screened chamber, the human evolution would have been a rapid soul-outflowering, not the difficult, chequered and disfigured development it now is; but the veil is thick and we know not the secret Light within us; the light in the hidden crypt of the heart’s innermost sanctuary.             ( The Life Divine – Sri Aurobindo )

I believe in you my soul, the other I am must not abase itself to you,

And you must not be abased to the other.

Loafe with me on the grass, loose the stop from your throat,

Not words, not music or rhyme I want, not custom or lecture,

not even the best,

Only the lull I like, the hum of your valved throat.

( Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman )

O Friend. You made me lovingly

You clothed me in a robe of skin and blood

then planted deep inside me

a seed from Your heart.

You turned the whole world

into a sanctuary where

You are the only One.            ( Rumi )

Because we have heard

and because faith tells us so,

we know we have souls. But we

seldom consider the precious

things that can be found in this

soul, or who dwells within it, or

its highest value.   ( The Interior Castle – St. Teresa of Avila )

There is a spirit in the soul,

untouched by time and flesh,

flowing from the Spirit, remaining

in the Spirit, itself wholly spiritual.

In this principle is God, ever

verdant, ever flowering in all the

joy and glory of His actual Self.             ( Meister Eckhart )

Beloved…….Everything that is precious in my worthless being

is You.           ( Rumi )

The image of God is found essentially and personally in all mankind. Each possesses it whole, entire and undivided, and all together not more than one alone. In this way we are all one, intimately united in our eternal image, which is the image of God and the source in us of  all our life.

( The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage – Jan Van Ruysbroeck )

Here in this body are the sacred rivers: here are the sun and moon, as well as the pilgrimage places. I have not encountered another temple as blissful as my own body.      ( Sarah )

Within this earthen vessel are bowers

and groves, and within it is the Creator:

Within this vessel are the seven oceans

and the unnumbered stars.

The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser

are within;

And within this vessel the Eternal

soundeth, and the spring wells up.        ( Kabir )

This is why the soul receives, in the highest, most secret part of its being, the impress of its Eternal Image, and the uninterrupted effulgence of the divine light, and is the eternal dwelling-place of God: wherein He abides as in a perpetual habitation, and yet which He perpetually visits with the new coming and new radiance and new splendour of His eternal birth. For where He comes, He is: and where He is, He comes.

( The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage – Jan Van Ruysbroeck )

The treaure of the Kingdom of God has been hidden by time and multiplicity and the soul’s own works, or briefly by its creaturely nature. But in the measure that the soul can separate itself from this multiplicity, to that extent it reveals within itself the Kingdom of God. Here the soul and Godhead are one…….The whole scattered world of lower things is gathered up to oneness when the soul climbs up to that life in which there are no opposites.             ( Meister Eckhart )

Always dwelling within all beings is the Atman, the Purusha, the Self, a little flame in the heart. Let one with steadiness withdraw him from the body even as an inner stem is withdrawn from its sheath. Know this pure immortal light; know in truth this pure immortal light.  ( Katha Upanishad, part 6 )

There is a root or depth in thee, from whence all these faculties come forth as lines from the centre, or as branches from the body of a tree. This depth is called the centre, the fund, or the bottom of the soul. This depth is the unity, the Eternity, I had almost said the infinity of thy soul, for it is so infinite that nothing can satisfy it, or give it any rest, but the infinity of God.    

( The Spirit of Prayer – William Law )

God is nearer to us than our own soul. For He is the Ground in whom our Soul stands; and He is the Mean which keeps the substance and sense-nature together, so that they shall never part. For our soul sits in God in very rest; and our soul stands in God in sure strength; and our soul is kindly rooted in God in endless love. And therefore, if we want to have knowing of our Soul, and communion and loving with it, we need to seek into our God, in whom it is enclosed.     ( Revelations of Divine Love – Julian of Norwich )

Then was my Soul my only All to me,

A living endless Eye

Scarce bounded with the Sky

Whose Power and Act and Essence was to see;

I was an inward sphere of Light

Or an interminable Orb of Sight

Exceeding that which makes the days,

A vital Sun, that shed abroad its rays,

All Life, all Sense,

a naked, simple, pure, intelligence.        ( Thomas Traherne )

Radiant in his light, yet invisible in the secret place of the heart, the Spirit is the supreme abode wherein dwells all that moves and breathes and sees.

Our whole business, therefore, in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen.   ( St. Augustine )

I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from Above, it enlightens my Heart and I can see, for the Eye of my Heart sees everything and through this vision I can help my people. The heart is a sanctuary at the Center of which there is a little space, wherein the Great Spirit dwells, and this is the Eye. This is the Eye of  Wakantanka by which He sees all things, and through which we see Him.     ( Black Elk )

The eye with which I see God is the same as that with which he sees me. My eye and the eye of God are one eye, one vision, one knowledge, and one love.             ( Meister Eckhart )

That fire which is the means of attaining the infinite worlds, and is also their foundation, is hidden in the sacred place of the heart.

( Katha Upanishad, part 1 )

A cave is hidden within you

and beyond it, unimaginable wonders.

Everybody has a job and a lover but

the hidden Lover is the most wondrous.   ( Rumi )

The cup in which the world is reflected is the heart of the perfect man. That mirror that shows reality is the heart. The heart is the treasure of the divine mysteries. Ask the heart then, what is the purpose of the two worlds.  ( Lahiji )

Love is the true means by which the world is enjoyed: our love to others and other’s love to us. We ought therefore above all things to get aqainted with the nature of love. For love is the root and foundation of nature: love is the soul of life and crown of rewards.

 ( Centuries of Meditations – Thomas Traherne )

Our work is the love of God,

Our satisfaction lies in submission

to the Divine embrace.    ( Jan Van Ruysbroeck )

O, the fabulous wings unused

Folded in the heart!

( A Sleep of Prisoners – Christopher Fry )

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Shri Krishna’s first teaching to Arjuna – and all of us – is that there never has been a time in the past when we did not exist, and there will never be a time in the future when we cease to exist. We are all souls and we live eternally. For countless thousands of years into the past, we existed, and for thousands of years into the future we will continue to exist. Before we were born in this one life, we existed, and after this one life has apparently come to an end, we will still exist. Our body had a beginning and it will become older and eventually die, but we, the soul, will not. We are spirit, and anything in the mode of spirit has always existed, and will always exist.

The temporary, physical body is mode of blood and bones, flesh and fat, and is an amazing biological machine. It lasts for a number of years and then is gone. But the soul existed before the body was even conceived, and after the moment we call death the soul lives on. The soul is the real us, the true inner self, and the most important part of being a person. We are like a passenger in our body, and the body is like our vehicle.

Packaged along with our physical vehicle is the mind, which directs the body; and above the mind is the intelligence, which directs the mind. Above them both is the ego, or the sense of self, and above them all is the soul, the seat of consciousness. When the ego covers the soul and focuses the sense of identity on the temporary body and flickering mind it is known as the false ego, but when the soul, through the power of self realisation, is awakened to its true nature, then the real ego is re-established and true enlightenment enjoyed.

We see our bodies change over the years. From a child’s body we develop an adult’s body, and then the body of an old person. Science tells us  that every seven years each cell in our body dies and a new one is born. So every seven years our body is compleyely renewed. But despite all these changes we still feel ourselves inwardly to be the same person; the inner self does not change. When the outer body changes for the last time we call it death. And at the time of death the inner self moves on to enter a new body.

Just as an actor changes clothes to play different parts, the soul changes bodies to live different lives. And in every life we try to experience pleasure and avoid pain. This is because the soul is trying to regain its eternal, blissful nature, but does not know how. So despite our attempts, in each life we experience a  frustrating mixture of pleasure and pain. If we can practice patience in the face of both pleasure and pain, and the happiness and distress they bring with them, we will learn to distinguish truth, which is eternal, from illusion.

Changes of body are made possible by God, Krishna, who accompanies us on our journey through the universe as an old friend. He fulfils our desires, and knows our past, present and future. His words in the Bhagavad Gita awaken us to who we really are.

The individual soul is a fragment of the Supreme Soul, just like the rays of  a divine sun. Each soul possesses in very small quantity the qualities of the Supreme. The Supreme Lord is indestructible, and so is every spiritual particle. Each soul has a unique identity, never to be lost or dissolved. Just as the rays of the sun are dependent on the existence of the sun, so the soul is always dependent upon the existence of the Supreme Soul. The individual soul is eternal, yet God is the Supreme eternal.

Krishna is the witness to every deed, word and action of each individual soul, and is present in the region of the heart as the indwelling Vishnu, or Paramatma. He is always inviting the soul to abandon the atempt at reaching permanent happiness in the world of suffering and wants all His lost souls to come back to Him. Yet He permits us to wander as we wish, always helping us with good instruction both from within the heart as His inner voice of truth, and from without as the sacred scripture, holy people, and the guru.

The awakening of the soul’s eternal identity as a companion of God is the greatest goal of life, the true satisfaction of the heart, and the inner essence of every religion.

God revealsHimself: ” To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give them the understanding by which they can come to Me. ” ( Bhagavad Gita 10;10 )

Devotess want to satisfy the Lord in all respects, and the Lord wants to satisfy His devotees even more than they want to satisfy Him. Although the devotees expect and desire nothing, they recieve more from their devotional service than they give. Such are the mysterious exchanges of love. The Lord says, ” The pure devotee is always within the core of My heart, and I am always in the heart of the  pure devotee. My devotees do not know anything else but Me, and I do not know anyone else but them. ” ( Srimad -Bhagavatam 9.4.68 ) And: ” A devotee observes Me in all beings and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized person sees Me, the same Supreme Lord, everywhere. For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. ” ( Bhagavad Gita 6.29-30 ) The devotee is always thinking of Krishna, and Krishna is always thinking of His devotee. ” Those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form – to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have. ” ( Bhagavad Gita 9.22 )

If we make our friendship with Krishna, God, it will never break. If we make our master Krishna, we will never be cheated. If we love Krishna as our son, He will never die.If we love Krishna as our lover, He will be the best of all, and there will be no seperation. Because Krishna is the Supreme Lord, He is unlimited and has an unlimited number of devotees. Some are trying to love Him as lover or husband, or brother, friend, son, master, Krishna accepts the role. In whatever way we approach Krishna, He will accept us…… ( Raja Vidya, chapter 8 )

How, you may be asking yourself, can a character take the author by surprise? Don’t we know everything about our characters before we start writing? Aren’t they – ahem – imaginary people? How can they do anything unexpected when they only live in your head?

I don’t pretend to understand it, but mine do it all the dang time. Not too long ago I had a hero propose in the 5th chapter. I was sitting here (right here) writing the scene yelling at the computer screen, “No, are you crazy? You can’t propose already? We’re not even a quarter of the way through the story!” For a brief period I took solace in the idea that my heroine was far too level headed to say yes – until she did.

In The Rock Star’s Retreat, Jason did the same thing to me, but it was a lot more painful. Jason and Cassandra were walking through the woods talking. Since Cassandra has been a fan of Jason’s for a very long time, she thinks she knows everything there is to know about him. I was under that impression too. I thought he was being such a jerk because he was a spoiled rock star who’d been hurt by a bimbo and wasn’t getting over it. Well, were we wrong. In the middle of the forest, in the dark, Jason revealed the secret he’d been carrying around since childhood. The secret he hadn’t even told his best friend since elementary school. I was floored. So was Cassie. Jason was pretty shocked too.

So yeah, characters, imaginary people, can still take you by surprise. And no, I’m not going to tell you what his big secret is. I’m mean that way. But if you’d like, the book is available now at Freya’s Bower.

The Rock Star’s Retreat At Freya’s Bower.

Viernes 2 de octubre del 2009.- Haz lo que quieras, se lo que quieras…suena como el sueño utópico de cualquiera pero, qué pasaría si esto se hiciera realidad para todos; desde tener el cuerpo que siempre quisiste, hasta el más mínimo detalle a tu gusto, y si sufres algún inconveniente físico, no te pasa nada!!!

Todo esto es posible gracias a los Sustitutos (Surrogates), la perfección por fin parece alcanzada hasta que los daños ocasionados durante un día normal a estos Susti permean y los humanos comienzan a morir. Aquí es donde entra Greer (Bruce Willis), agente del FBI junto con su compañera (Radha Mitchell) para investigar qué está ocasionando lo que podría ser una catástrofe nacional. Greer (Willis) no sólo encuentra la razón de las muertes, sino la necesidad del acercamiento humano y del vivir el día a día con su esposa (Rosamund Pike).

Comentario Pink Carpet: La trama en general es buena, aunque el desenlace es el típico happy ending. Muy buena animación con los Sustitutos, llegan a parecer muñecos de cera caminando.

So, I reviewed the Palm Pre and was supposed to return it … but I really didn’t want too.  I ended up purchasing a brand new Palm Pre from Bell and cancelled my iPhone 3G from Rogers.  In the midst of my purchase I also bought the Palm Touchstone for $69.99 CAN.  After reading on various blogs I thought this would be a great accessory to match my new Palm Pre.

What came in the box:

- (1) Palm Touchstone

- (1) Matte finish backing

- Thats it

First Impressions:

I installed the new backing and love the new matte finish.  It doesn’t seem to attract finger prints and has a really good feel in your palm.  I first charged my new Palm Pre directly to the micro USB.  I had to decide where the new home for my touchstone would be.  I ended up deciding on my bed side table.  The touchstone has an angled face with a nice aesthetic look.  The bottom of the touchstone is a material that helps keep it still on the surface it is attached too.  The material is what the palm rep called “gecko technology” which works remarkably well to keep the touchstone secure.

The first time I charged my Palm Pre on the touchstone it was seamless and charged roughly the same amount of time when it was directly into the micro USB charger.  Cool little features that worked well, is when you are on a call and put the Pre on the touchstone it automatically puts into speakerphone to continue the call.  When attached to the touchstone the Pre is set automatically into landscape or portrait mode with the clock showing depending on the orientation of  the Pre.  In addition, when the Pre rings and taken off the touchstone it automatically answers the call.

Overall:

I am happy with the purchase, works well and great design.  If it wasn’t for the price I probably would purchase 2 more for the car and office.

My rating is 7 out of 10 due to price.

As of Tuesday, Summer is officially over. Though most movie critics and bloggers have already done their summer 2009 movie recap, I decided I wanted to wait. I wanted to cherish the movie blitz we get from May – August and savor the tastes… both sweet and sour. But now… it is time.

May 2009 | Star Trek

In total, I have seen 23 movies in theater this summer (May 2009-August 2009)… some for work, more for pleasure and is it just me or was this summer like March Madness… you knew which films were favored going into the dance but there were a lot of underdogs that upset the favorites. After 15 min of looking at my list of summer movies, I was able to pick 5 that made this summer worth living for… Here are my top 5:

I’m a girl and I’ve never been a fan of Star Trek… I don’t have a really good reason why… I thought it was boring when we used to watch it on TV (but this was also when I was a little girl playing dress up and sneaking lipstick out of my Moms make-up box). So when they announced that JJ Abrams was doing a Star Trek movie, I just went – “meh”. Opening weekend was a smash and everyone had nothing but great things to say about the film… I still remained “meh”. But finally, I couldn’t avoid it any longer as my fellow Red Band Project blogger convinced me that I needed to see it…so I went… and I lost my socks. I was rocked so hard and sucked in so badly to this movie. It had action, comedy, and a story that really hit home for me(I’m a sucker for time travel). As a n00b to the Star Trek world, I didn’t get any of the lingo but I didn’t leave the theater feeling excluded from the story, which I thought was amazing. It felt like I didn’t miss anything and that this was just the beginning  of my love for Star Trek.

May 2009 | Up

Disney and Pixar… oops you did  it again. Up was such a great film that took me on a roller coaster of emotions… it was the first time that I cried in a movie because I was sad and happy. At first I thought the story was too heavy, but at the very end when everything came full circle, I realized the perfection of the movie. Just thinking about it makes me all fuzzy inside in a sad but happy way. Amazing.

June 2009 | The Proposal

I’m going to be totally honest… I thought The Proposal was going to suck so badly. I had to see it for work (4 times mind you) and I remember the first time I sat through it I went home with a smile on my face.  I was shocked by how well Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock clicked. They were so funny and awkward at the right moments… it felt like real life. I thought Sandra Bullock was going to be too old for this role, but obviously she still got it… I mean, did you see her bod? She gave Ryan Reynold’s a run for his money. I loved it.

August 2009 | District 9

The teasers for District 9 that came out early in the summer did not excite me. I thought it was going to be another stupid sci-fi movie… nothing special. But then I went to Comic Con and Peter Jackson made me a believer. What I loved the most about this film was the evolution of the main character, Wikus. Sharlto Copley was so believable  that I felt like the film could’ve been real life… it really felt like a true documentary. Ok and I will say the same thing that everyone else said, the special effects were awesome. I especially liked the way that people disintegrated when they were shot by alien weapons… very impressive.

July 2009 | (500) Days of Summer

I saved the best for last…. I cannot put into words how much I loved (500) Days of Summer. It was so witty and funny and aggravating at the same time. Can I just say that I looooove Joseph Gordon Levitt (not in G.I. Joe…no.) and have loved him since 10 Things I Hate About You….  I just needed to put that out there.  My favorite scene from this film was the dancing in the street to Hall & Oates “You Make My Dreams Come True”…. *sigh* it was the highlight of my summer of movies. I think this movie was the first enjoyable Chick Flick from the guys perspective. Usually the girl is always the one getting screwed, but it was really refreshing to see it flip-flopped. This was my absolute favorite for the summer and potentially the year.

That’s my 5 favorites… I would write about the movies I hated this summer but it’s not even worth it. You all know which ones sucked… (Dance Flick, Year One, Wolverine… I could go on) and I think we should go into Autumn with only happy thoughts. So instead tell me which films were your favorite. I’ll be checking in.

Die interessanteste Meldung der internationalen Film- und Kreativbranche diese Woche war sicherlich, dass die Walt Disney Company sich entschieden hat, den Comicverlag Marvel für 4 Milliarden Dollar zu kaufen. Beide Seiten sind total happy über diesen großartigen Deal, den sie da geschlossen haben. Disney kann mit Marvel eine Zielgruppe ansprechen, mit der sich der Konzern seit langer Zeit schon schwertut (halbwüchsige Männer) und Marvel kann vom gigantischen Verbreitungsnetzwerk von Disney profitieren. Herzlichen Glückwunsch, ihr zwei.

Der Zusammengang zweier Konzerne, die beide große Figuren-Flaggschiffe haben, ist natürlich eine Steilvorlage für “witzige” und besorgte Überlegungen. Die einen mashen die Figuren zusammen (und sueddeutsche.de machts nach), die anderen versuchen über mögliche Konsequenzen nachzudenken, andere formulieren solche Befürchtungen, um über entsprechende Fans zu berichten.

Glaubt denn eigentlich außer nervigen Netz-Fanboys, die immer überall eine Verschwörung wittern, jemand wirklich, dass Marvel jetzt plötzlich disneyfiziert wird? Dass die Comics alle Familienfreundlich werden? Nur mal eine kurze Übersicht, was Disney in seinem Riesenkonglomerat schon alles produziert hat:

Alle Pirates of the Caribbean-Filme (sogar unter Walt Disney Pictures), alle M. Night Shyamalan-Filme bis Lady in the Water, so ziemlich alles von Jerry Bruckheimer (Con Air, The Rock, Coyote Ugly), The Insider, Dark Water und man schaue sich mal die Liste von Hollywood Pictures und Miramax (Pulp Fiction!) an.

Gehört alles zu Disney. Auch wenn natürlich der Konzern-Einfluss bei Marvel existieren wird (und Disney immer bemüht ist, zumindest nicht allzuviele Parteien mit ihren Produkten ans Bein zu pinkeln) – ich denke wir werden noch einige Marvel-Comics und Comicverfilmungen bekommen, die “edgy” genug sind, um Comicfans zufriedenzustellen.

[Marvel] es una mini-Disney en términos de propiedad intelectual. Disney tiene personajes mucho más blandos y reconocibles, mientras a nuestros personajes se les conoce como héroes de acción. Pero en Marvel ahora estamos en el negocio de la creación y marketing de personajes.

Ron Perelman, propietario de Marvel entre 1989 y 1991

En el día de hoy se ha desatado la noticia del año: Disney ha comprado Marvel por aproximadamente 4.000 millones de dólares. Según una estimación de The Comics Chronicles ésta cifra se corresponde con el total de unidades vendidas por Timely-Marvel en toda su historia y equivaldría a la venta de más de 1.000 millones de comic books al precio actual.

El precio incluye la emisión por parte de Disney de 59 millones de nuevas acciones que serán recompradas durante el próximo año. Los actuales propietarios de Marvel no serán integrados en los órganos directivos de la corporación Disney, a diferencia del caso Pixar. Esto perjudicará en primera instancia al valor por acción de Disney que espera recuperar en 2012. Se prevé que los detalles de la fusión se completen hacia finales del año en curso, a excepción de una intervención de las autoridades reguladoras de la competencia.

Con un catálogo de 5.000 personajes y varias de sus películas entre los 25 estrenos de mayor recaudación de la historia del cine, Marvel ocupaba el cuarto puesto en la lista de marcas mundiales con un valor estimado de 5.700 millones de dólares mientras Disney ostentaba la primera posición con un valor de 30.000 millones.

La división de publicaciones de Disney es la mayor editora de libros y revistas infantiles del mundo con 441 revistas publicadas y 120 millones de libros infantiles vendidos cada año. Publica en 85 lenguas y 75 paises. Las facturación de Disney el último año, 2008, rondó los 36.000 millones de dólares a lo que Marvel añadiría 700 millones. A esperas de que la unión sea mayor que la suma de las partes, Time Warner continuaría manteniendo su superioridad con una facturación de 46.000 millones.

La reacción del mercado ha sido muy favorable para Marvel cuyo valor bursátil ha subido un 26% mientras el de Disney bajaba un 3%. The Wall Street Journal considera excesivo el precio pagado por Marvel debido a la inestabilidad del valor de sus marcas en función de las modas.

Probablemente, Marvel se incorporará al segmento de productos de consumo de la corporación pero mantendrá su independencia y su sede en Nueva York: no habrá una supervisión editorial. Según declaraciones de un portavoz de Disney: No se trata sólo una compra de licencias de personajes sino de una compañía, incluído su capital humano. El comunicado del acuerdo de fusión apuesta por proveer contenidos con marca de calidad, la innovación tecnológica y la expansión internacional. Se trata de una apuesta a largo plazo.

La faceta cinematográfica del acuerdo es muy prometedora en cuanto Disney es propietaria, entre otros, de Touchstone, Miramax y Pixar. No obstante, se ve limitada por los contratos en vigor con Paramount (Iron-man, Thor, Capitán América y Los vengadores), Sony (Spiderman) y 20th Century Fox (X-men/Wolverine, Daredevil, Fantastic Four/Silver Surfer) que serán respetados en su vigencia aproximada de 5 años. En este campo, el interés inicial parece centrarse en el mercado de venta de DVDs.

Aún en el terreno audiovisual, el acuerdo resulta mucho más prometedor de inmediato en la penetración del mercado televisivo. Disney controla la ABC (televisión generalista en abierto), la ESPN (deportes) y el Disney Chanel (canal de pago) pero, en un mercado publicitario a la baja, la esperanza parece estar puesta en el recién creado canal por cable Disney XD orientado a una audiencia juvenil masculina, tal como escribe Paul Bond en The Hollywood Reporter:

Entre las razones clave para el acuerdo está el deseo de Disney de atraer al público masculino en el mismo grado en que ha conseguido atraer a las chicas jóvenes. Recientemente se creó el canal de televisión Disney XD para replicar el éxito de la compañía en atraer a las niñas con princesitas, hadas y Hanna Montana.

Los parques temáticos representan otra cara del poliedro. Disney controla la primera red mundial pero Marvel está sujeta a un acuerdo con los parques de la Universal. Por parte de Disney hay un interés muy pronunciado en este punto por la caída de público a causa de la crisis económica.

En cuanto a la vertiente editorial, la única mención en la conferencia de prensa de Marvel/Disney al negocio editorial fue ésta:

¿Existe algún beneficio para Disney en el mercado del cómic?

Tenemos un robusto negocio de edición infantil. Ellos tienen un exitoso negocio de comic-books. Se intentará ampliar la presencia de ambas compañías en la edición. Ahí hay posibilidades.

El principal aspecto en que este acuerdo puede ampliar las posibilidades de los cómics de Marvel es en la distribución. El mercado directo seguirá siendo gestionado por Diamond con toda probabilidad pero en relación a las grandes cadenas de librerías norteamericanas Marvel contará con el apoyo de Disney que distribuye a través de Harper Collins, perdiendo Diamond ésta importante fuente de ingresos a partir de octubre de 2010.

En relación a los cómics de los personajes de la corporación Disney actualmente, la compañía mantiene una serie de licencias con BOOM! (Los Teleñecos, Los Invisibles…) y proyectaba una línea de novelas gráficas bajo un sello de nueva creación, Kingdom Comics. Los clásicos del Tío Gilito, Donald y compañía eran publicados hasta ahora por Gemstone, propiedad del dueño de Diamond, que se encuentra en serios problemas financieros.

Entre los años 1994 y 1997, Marvel ya editó los cómics de Disney con excepción de los patos. Por su parte, los clásicos Disney siempre han sido publicados por editoriales diferentes a la propia corporación (Dell, Gladstone…) a excepción de un breve periodo durante la presidencia de un injerente Michael Eisner con resultados muy insatisfactorios para la propia compañía.

En cuanto al mercado internacional, la absorción no afectará de inmediato a Panini, Egmont y otras editoriales que publican los tebeos de la nueva corporación fuera de Estados Unidos.

La emergencia de esta nueva compañía deja inmejorablemente situados a los cómics Marvel para hacer frente a los dos principales retos de futuro de la industria del cómic norteamericano: el salto al formato digital y la competencia asiática en el mercado doméstico e internacional.

Por nuestra parte, solamente añadir que igual que Marvel complementa a Disney por la vertiente masculina adolescente, Disney complementa a Marvel por la vertiente infantil y femenina. Cabe esperar en el futuro mayor atención a la prestada hasta ahora  a estos dos sectores, especialmente el femenino, en competencia directa con el manga. En cuanto a los temores de Disneyficación parecen conjurados a corto plazo, la futura “sinergia” demostrará si esta promesa se cumple finalmente.

ACTUALIZACIÓN:

Zona Negativa entrevista a José Luís Córdoba y Alejandro Martínez Viturtia de Panini:

Pregunta para Jose Luís. Aunque ya han avisado por activa y por pasiva de que las licencias y acuerdos que tuviese Marvel con terceros no se verán afectados, para tranquilidad de los lectores de Marvel en España ¿me podrías confirmar que la publicación de Marvel Comics por parte de Panini Comics en España no sufre peligro a medio ni largo plazo?

- Por un lado hay contratos vigentes que se deben cumplir y por otro una relación a nivel mundial que supera con creces las relaciones Disney-Planeta, que son locales. Por ejemplo, en España nosotros somos los editores de las revistas Disney (High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Playhouse, Cars y Campanilla) y ese volumen de negocio es más importante que el de los cómics, pero además debes pensar que Panini es el editor de todas las colecciones de cromos de Disney en todo el mundo. En realidad, en el sector editorial y a nivel global Disney tiene dos socios estratégicos: Egmont (para todo lo que son cómics y revistas con personajes clásicos: Donald, Mickey…) y Panini. La verdad es que en teoría esta adquisición refuerza nuestra posición en Marvel. En cualquier caso, insisto, las dos empresas se administrarán por separado y no cambiará nada: Planeta seguirá con los cómics Disney y nosotros con los de Marvel y con las revistas.

Celestino J. López detalla las películas pendientes de la casa de las ideas en Marvelmanía:

Lo más relevante, y que sirve de resumen de toda la presentación, es que los acuerdos con terceras partes (las productoras cinematográficas Sony y Fox, que tienen las licencias de explotación en salas de Spider-Man, la primera, La Patrulla X y Los Cuatro Fantásticos, la segunda) quedarán tal y como están en el momento actual (…)

Las películas de La Patrulla X han recaudado, en su conjunto, más de 1.200 millones de euros en la taquilla global, mientras que los tres films de Spiderman han ingresado cerca de 2.000 millones de euros en las salas de cine de todo el mundo. Y Marvel Studios ha ingresado más de 300 millones de euros sólo con dos películas, la de Iron Man y la de Hulk (…)

Marvel Studios continuará la producción de todos los films que tiene preparado para los próximos años, y sin intromisión por parte de Disney. Se trata de Iron Man 2, que se estrenará el  7 de mayo de 2010; Thor, el 20 de mayo de 2011; The First Avenger: Captain America (título provisional), el 22 de julio de 2011, y The Avengers, que lo hará el 4 de mayo del 2012. Además está confirmado el estreno de Spider-Man 4 para el día 6 de mayo del 2011, y está pendiente el comienzo de la producción de X-Men Origins: Magneto, Wolverine 2, Young X-Men y el reinicio de la franquicia cinematográfica de Los Cuatro Fantásticos (Fox), así como Spider-Man 5 (Sony) que ya tiene guionista, pero no fecha de estreno prevista.

Un apunte histórico por nuestra parte. El cómic norteamericano invadió por primera vez el mercado europeo en la década de los 30 del siglo pasado capitaneado por cabeceras de populares personajes de Disney: Topolino Giornale en Italia (diciembre de 1932) Le Journal de Mickey en Francia (octubre de 1934) o Mickey en España (marzo de 1935). Para darnos cuenta de su importancia, éstas publicaciones normalizaron en el cómic europeo el uso del globo para representar las palabras. A día de hoy los personajes de Disney siguen siendo los tebeos más populares en buena parte del Norte de Europa incluyendo de manera eminete a Dinamarca y Alemania.

—

ICV2 analiza los efectos del acuerdo en las diferentes divisiones , especialmente en  el negocio editorial:

Si Disney sigue el ejemplo de Pixar pondrá a Marvel al cargo de las novelas gráficas que publicaba a través de su división editorial o, al menos, intentará usar a Marvel para ayudarlas a llegar a las tiendas especializadas. Parece probable, aunque no inevitable, que Disney recupere las licencias otorgadas a  Boom y Tokyopop según expiren.

Reuters se centra en un aspecto que no habíamos tocado: los juguetes. Marvel tiene un acuerdo con Hasbro hasta 2017 pero su principal rival, Mattel, es propiedad de la Disney.

Para hacer memoria, llegamos a través de Tom Spurgeon a un reportaje de 2005 en The New York Times que desgrana el intento frustrado de Michael Eisner de fusionar Marvel con Miramax.

Por último, señalar la posibilidad de que Disney decida montar su propia convención de Historieta en Estados Unidos, especialmente tras la reciente cooptación de la Comicon por la industria Hollywood.

ACTUALIZACIÓN 3: Marvel/Disney, La historia se repite

What a way to catch up with friends and colleagues.

The theatre community was well represented today at the press conference at Spencer Hebert’s downtown office. Many of them were my colleagues, friends, and clients. But it’s like meeting people you haven’t seen in ages a funereal: while you’re happy to see them and catch up with them, you’re sad that this is the occasion that brings you together.

So, to quickly summarize: The provincial government has promised arts and non-profit organizations money from its Gaming

Crowds spill out onto the sidewalk at the press conference today

revenue. What this means is, some of the money that they make (last year $1 Billion), from lotteries goes to non-profit and arts organisations. Some theatre companies have mult-year agreements, to the tune of $40,000 per year, for three years. This is money that they have signed a contract for with the government, and are counting on to produce shows. The money is already allocated.

In the case of some theatre companies, like Touchstone and Ruby Slippers, the money comes at the end of thier fiscal year. They made choices and spent with the knowledge that that money was coming. In the case of Touchstone, the result is that they are now facing an unprecedented (in their 35 years) deficit, because thier season is over, but they were expecting that money, which is now not coming.

I think a lot of the outrage is because of this. In the arts, we are used to having little, and to making our work on a shoestring. What is making people so angry is that this is money that they were assured they would be getting, and it is now being taken back.

If someone did something like that in the corporate world, they would be immediately sued.

The devastation is wide-spread. I don’t know of too many theatre companies in Vancouver who have not been affected. At the press conference, I spoke to the ADs of Touchstone, Ruby Slippers, Leaky Heaven Circus and Theatre Terrific, all of whom I worked for last season, all of whom are facing massive cutbacks. Presentation House is affected, but Full Figure has not yet heard.

Deb Pickman, whose Shameless Hussy Theatre company goes into rehearsals tomorrow for their latest production, Frozen, has said that the three company members (herself included) will be forced to forgo their salaries as a result of the cuts, and tour planned and advertised for the fall may have to be cut if they can’t make up the shortfall. Carol Higgins of Carousel Theatre recently posted on Facebook about how she was going to make up for the shortfall.

At this moment, I don’t know if my own work will be directly impacted, but it certainly will impact the theatre community as a whole, and future contracts will certainly be affected.

Vancouver Sun story

Global TV story

CTV story

The Province, Aug 31

A facebook group has sprung up called Organizing Against Campbell’s Cuts to the Arts.

Alliance for Arts and Culture
ARTS COMMUNITY MEETING

Wednesday, September 2, 2009
1 pm to 3 pm
Museum of Vancouver
1100 Chestunut Street

: : : : : : : : : : :

Affiche française

Vive et charmante, Becky Bloomwood est une accro du shopping. Passionnée de mode, elle est incapable de résister au plaisir d’acheter tout ce qui est branché, tendance, trendy…
Obligée de trouver un job pour financer ses achats impulsifs, elle obtient un poste – ô ironie ! – dans un magazine financier. La voilà expliquant aux lecteurs comment gérer leur argent au quotidien, alors qu’elle passe son temps à dépenser le sien dans les boutiques !
Becky se retrouve vite dans une situation délicate qu’elle cherche à cacher à son patron, un homme très attirant…

La collaboration Disney / Jerry Bruckheimer, quelques mois avant la grosse production aux allures de comédies, Mission-G (G-Force), nous propose une comédie plus conventionnelle, auxquelles le producteur Jerry Bruckheimer est peu habitué, Confessions d’une accro au shopping, réalisé par P.J. Hogan (Le mariage de mon meilleur ami, Peter Pan).

Confessions d’une accro au shopping est une comédie sympathique, mais somme toute classique, qui ne vous ennuiera pas.

A noter: la présence de Hugh Dancy (David Copperfield, Ella au pays enchanté, Le roi Arthur, Elizabeth I), John Goodman (O’Brother, Coyote Girls), Kristin Scott Thomas (Quatre mariages et un enterrement, Les voyages de Gulliver, Le patient anglais, Arsène Lupin).

Ma note:

A noter: un clin d’oeil à la prochaine grosse production Disney/Bruckheimer, Prince of Persia: The sands of Time, apparait dans le film sous la forme d’une affiche publicitaire que l’on voit une fraction de seconde dans les rues de New York.

Affiche française

Vive et charmante, Becky Bloomwood est une accro du shopping. Passionnée de mode, elle est incapable de résister au plaisir d’acheter tout ce qui est branché, tendance, trendy…
Obligée de trouver un job pour financer ses achats impulsifs, elle obtient un poste – ô ironie ! – dans un magazine financier. La voilà expliquant aux lecteurs comment gérer leur argent au quotidien, alors qu’elle passe son temps à dépenser le sien dans les boutiques !
Becky se retrouve vite dans une situation délicate qu’elle cherche à cacher à son patron, un homme très attirant…

La collaboration Disney / Jerry Bruckheimer, quelques mois avant la grosse production aux allures de comédies, Mission-G (G-Force), nous propose une comédie plus conventionnelle, auxquelles le producteur Jerry Bruckheimer est peu habitué, Confessions d’une accro au shopping, réalisé par P.J. Hogan (Le mariage de mon meilleur ami, Peter Pan).

Confessions d’une accro au shopping est une comédie sympathique, mais somme toute classique, qui ne vous ennuiera pas.

A noter: la présence de Hugh Dancy (David Copperfield, Ella au pays enchanté, Le roi Arthur, Elizabeth I), John Goodman (O’Brother, Coyote Girls), Kristin Scott Thomas (Quatre mariages et un enterrement, Les voyages de Gulliver, Le patient anglais, Arsène Lupin).

Ma note:

A noter: un clin d’oeil à la prochaine grosse production Disney/Bruckheimer, Prince of Persia: The sands of Time, apparait dans le film sous la forme d’une affiche publicitaire que l’on voit une fraction de seconde dans les rues de New York.

Robin Williams

Robbie Williams se está preparando para correr por los pasillos de Disney, la estrella ha firmado para participar en “Wedding Banned” para Touchstone Pictures.

En la comedia Williams junto a su ex esposa secuestran a su propia hija el día de su boda para impedir que cometa “el terrible error”. Los padres reavivan su relación, ya que escapan de los policías y hasta del novio enojado.

La casa del ratón recogió “Wedding Banned” con guión de Jack Amiel y Michael Begler. Nicole Rocklin y Blye Faust serán los productores.

Recordemos que Robin Williams se prepara para el estreno de su última producción, la comedia “Old Dogs” (Un par de colmilludos), en la cual comparte cartel con John Travolta, que será estrenada el próximo 25 de Noviembre en USA.

Vía / Variety

There was a pious Brahman who was a Vishnu bhaktha, Bhanudas was born in this family. As he grew up the ceremony of the scared thread was performed and he was sent to learn the Vedas. Bhanudas was not interested in learning and would not go to the classes properly. His father was angry about it and shouted at him. Afraid of his father Bhanudas decided to run away from home. He went in to the forest and found an underground temple. When he went inside the temple, he saw the statue of Lord Narayana and prostrated at him lovingly and began his prayers. Seeing the kid’s devotion god was pleased and took the form of a Brahman and came in front of him and gave him some milk to drink and asked him not to be afraid of any one and assured that he would take care of him and feed him regularly. Meanwhile his parents were searching for him every where but could not find him. They also prayed to the god for his return and decided that they would not shout at him and ask him to study anymore. Bhanudas was in the underground temple for 7 days. One day when he came out, a villager from his village saw him and went and informed this to his father. His father then came to the forest with a few other villagers and started searching for him. They finally entered the underground temple and saw him sleeping with his head on the feet of the god. His parents were happy seeing him and embraced him and asked him how he survived for seven days in this temple with out any food. Bhanudas then told them that a Brahman would come and give him food regularly and take care of him. They then understood that it was god who had saved his life and that god would take care of him and so dint send him to school any more.

Bhanudas then devoted himself completely to the worship of god. A few years later he was married. Years passed by and his parents passed away too. Bhanudas was now forced to take up his father’s profession. Bhanudas was not interested in worldly affairs but only wanted to be in the service of Vitthal. A few men came to Bhanudas and told him that his father had taken care of his family needs till now and now it is the duty of Bhanudas to take care of his wife and children. They also told him that since he did not study he will not be able to earn like other Brahmans and then came out with a proposal. They said that they would give him capital to become a cloth peddler and he could make his living out of this. Slowly he could return them the initial amount given by them. They then bought clothes for him from the market and called the other cloth peddlers and asked them to teach Bhanudas the secrets of the trade and take care of him. The peddlers agreed to this and happily took Bhanudas with them. They then thought him the secrets of the trade and finally told him not to speak the truth to any customer as otherwise he would only be making a loss. Bhanudas then replied to them that he would never lie to anyone. The peddlers then laughed at Bhanudas and said that once he sees money by not speaking the truth he would change automatically. Bhanudas would sit and chant the name of god continuously, he never lied to anyone and as a result everyone coming to the bazaar would go only to Bhanudas. He would tell his customers his exact cost price and the margin he was expecting. If they bargained he would ask them to go to the next shop and continue with his chanting. Now all customers were buying clothes only from Bhanudas. As a result other peddlers were not happy with Bhanudas and felt that he was drawing all their customers and that he was the reason for their poverty.

One day all the peddlers went to a far off village to sell their clothes. It was almost evening when they reached the village and Bhanudas came to know that there was a Hari kirthan happening in the village that night. He then asked the other peddlers if they would come for the kirthan. All of them refused and said that they were too tired to go the kirthan. Bhanudas then asked them to take care of his cart and clothes and went to the kirthan. He went there, embraced the saints and started participating in the Hari kirthan. In the mean time the peddlers spoke to one another and decided to free the horse of Bhanudas so that it would get lost. They also took the bundles of cloth from the cart and threw it in a pit. They then decided that they would tell Bhanudas that when they were sleeping some thief had come and taken these away. Vitthal on seeing this came as a Brahman and took the horse of Bhanudas and sat down in the market place holding it. Vitthal then decided to teach a lesson to the other peddlers. A group of thieves came there and took the clothes and horses of all the peddlers and ran away. Bhanudas then finished his kirthan and came back to take some rest. When he was returning he found a Brahman holding his horse, as soon as he came near him the Brahman disappeared. He then took his horse and went to meet the other peddlers. The peddlers on seeing him told him the truth and said that it was because of their greed that Vitthal had punished them. Bhanudas now understood that the Brahman who was holding his horse was none other than Vitthal and felt bad that god himself had come down to take care of his belongings. He then decided that he would not get in to worldly affairs any more and would return home and be in the service of god. Bhanudas then gave his horse, cart and his clothes and asked them to distribute it among themselves. From then on for every Ashadh (July) and Karthik (November) ekadasi he would go on a wari (lead a band of people to Pandharpur by singing the praise of god)

There was a Brahman living in the sacred city of Pandharpur who decided to set out on a yatra. One day he was at Vidyanagar and decided to meet the king Ram Raja, so that he could get some gifts from the king. (It was customary those days for the kings to give dhanam (gift) to Brahmans) He went to the palace and told that door keeper that he had come from Pandhari to meet the king. The king then called him and gave his respects to him and asked him to join him in his prayers to Ambika. He then took the Brahman with him to his temple and on the way was a huge garden which was created by the king to send flowers to the temple. The temple was built in a great manner and the walls were platted with silver. There were a lot of Brahmans performing poojas. The goddess was adorned with lot of jewels and the best garments. The king then performed his pooja to the god and sat down for a while. He then asked the Brahman if he had seen any temple and god equivalent to this, also told him that it is hardly possible that Vitthal would be worshiped with so much of elegance at Pandharpur. He then said that as it is the poor Brahmans who do the service to god there it may be difficult for them to spend so much as he does here in this temple. This made the Brahman get angry and then he told the king that he has told this without seeing Pandhari. He then said that the city of Pandhari was designed by none other than Vishwakarma (He is the architect of the Devas) and that the temple was plated with gold. He then said that the city of Pandhari had forests of wish trees, herds of wish cows and there were a lot of touchstones. He then said that there were vaishnavas who perform kirthans on Vitthal, there is Chandrabhaga flowing with nectar. He also said that Indira and all the 330 million gods stand there at his service. He then said that this Ambika who is the king’s family goddess comes to Pandhari regularly and sweeps the temple. Listening to these words of the Brahman the king was furious and said that he is going to punish the Brahman to death. The Brahman then told the king that if one had not seen the ocean he would think that the river in his city is the biggest and that he was also deciding in a similar way. The king then agreed to go with the Brahman to Pandhari and asked his ministers to prepare for the journey.

The king then started towards Pandhari with a small army and the Brahman was coming behind him. On the way the Brahman was thinking that if the king doesn’t see the things the way I have described to him, he will kill me, so thinking of Vitthal in his heart he was praying all the way. On reaching Pandhari, the king sat on an elephant and started looking at the city. He saw that the temple was glittering with gold and all other things exactly as how the Brahman described it to him. He then prostrated to the Brahman and told him that what he told of Pandhari was true and he could see that. The Brahman was amazed and thanked Vitthal for saving his life. As they entered Pandhari the king saw a herd of wish cows, saints and brahmans performing kirthans, all rivers taking a bodily form and coming and taking a holy dip in Chandrabhaga. The king then had a dip in Chandrabhaga and went to the temple. When he went in there, ashta maha siddhis (8 supernatural powers) were serving god and he could see his deity Ambika as one of them. He then saw Narada singing the praise of Vitthal there. The king then embraced Vitthal and then fell on his feet. The king then fell on the Brahman’s feet and told him that he was his Sadguru and said that he had seen a million times more than what the Brahman had described and that he has not seen a sacred city as wonderful as Pandhari.

Ram Raja then prayed to Vitthal asking him to come with him to Vidyanagar. Vitthal then told him that he would come with him to Vidyanagar, but if on the way he keeps him down he would stay there and that after coming there if the king is guilty of any injustice he would return to Pandhari. The king was overjoyed hearing this and he ordered people to be placed at intervals between Pandhari and Vidyanagar and took Vitthal to his city. The temple officials did not resist as they knew that he was a king and that their resistance would be in vain.

During the month of Ashadh (July) the warkaris arrived at Pandhari and learned that Vitthal had gone to Vidyanagar with Ram Raja. The city of Pandhari and it people now seemed depressed and desolate. The saints and sadhus who had come there for the Ashadhi ekadasi discussed among themselves and decided that someone should go to Vidyanagar and get Vitthal back to Pandharpur. Bhanudas who was sitting in this group then told them that he would go and get Vitthal from Vidyanagar. Bhanudas then left for Vidyanagar. After walking for several days he finally reached Vidyanagar and enquired the people there about Vitthal. No one answered to Bhanudas due to fear from the king. However one Vaishnava told him that Vitthal was in the palace temple and that the king worships him privately and the temple is closed as soon as the king finishes his worship and that the temple is heavily guarded. Bhanudas was happy and at midnight he went to the palace temple. As he approached the temple, the guards fell asleep and the lock opened automatically. He then went in and prostrated to Vitthal and embraced him and pleaded with affection and asked why he had deserted all the bhakthas at Pandhari and came here to be with the king. Vitthal then told him that it was the king who had brought him here forcefully and that he was missing Pandhari. Vitthal then told him that tomorrow morning he would come with him to Pandhari. He then removed his necklace and placed it on Bhanudas and asked him to go and take some rest as he now has to prepare for a journey to Pandharpur tomorrow. The king came to the temple in the morning as usual to see Vitthal. When the pooja was being performed he saw that the necklace was missing. He was very angry and ordered the guards to immediately search for the same. The guards went in all directions to look for the necklace. Bhanudas had bathed in the river and was singing the praise of god. The guards saw the necklace on him and immediately arrested him. They then took him to the king and gave the necklace to the king. The king ordered the guards to impale Bhanudas. Bhanudas then requested the guards that he be allowed to see Vitthal for one last time before his death. The guards then took him to the temple and Bhanudas asked Vitthal why he had done this to him. He then asked him if he had done this only because he had come to take him back to Pandhari. He then told Vitthal that he has understood that he would do this to anyone who comes here to take him to Pandhari as he has now started enjoying the royal service. He then said that even if he takes thousand births he would only come back to him and not leave him. The guards then took Bhanudas away from the temple, placed the impaling stake on his shoulder and hastened to fasten the sharp stake on the ground. As they were about to execute him the impaling stake had burst and flowers fell on Bhanudas, The crowd that had gathered to see his execution and the guards were amazed and they started praising Bhanudas and said that he was a true vaishnava. The guards then ran to the king and told him what had happened. The king then came to Bhanudas and apologized to him and took him to the temple again. As soon as Bhanudas saw Vitthal he embraced his feet. Vitthal then asked Bhanudas to carry him to Pandharpur. Ram Raja then held the feet of Vitthal and cried why he was leaving him. Vitthal told him that he had done injustice by punishing Bhanudas and so he would now leave. He also said that he had come and stayed with him for a few days because of the good deeds he had done in his previous birth. Bhanudas then asked Vitthal how he will be able to carry him all by himself. Vitthal then took a smaller form and asked him to put him in his bag. Bhanudas placed Vitthal in his bag and started his journey towards Pandharpur. When Bhanudas arrived near Pandharpur, he placed the bag on the ground and went to have a bath in the river. When Bhanudas came back after his bath he saw that Vitthal had grown to his old size. He then asked him how he would be able to carry him to the temple. Vitthal then asked him to go to Pandhari and inform the priest that he is back and that all would come with him to take him to the temple. Bhanudas then went to the temple and told them that Vitthal is back and all the saints and the sadhus there were extremely happy to hear this. They then came performing kirthans to welcome Vitthal and took him on a procession around the city and on the banks of Chandrabhaga and took him to the temple and placed him there. The whole city of Pandharpur was in a festive mood and there were celebrations all over. Everyone praised Bhanudas for his deed.

I (well, WE-me and my parents) just got a mac! It has a 24 inch screen! BIG!!! O_O

The house we’re in is really nice!!! It’s got three flours and a big basement.

Ummm, other news… I just finished reading “The Magician“, the 2nd book in “The secrets of the immortal Nicolas Flamel”  by Michael Scott. (I’ve finished reading “The Thief Lord” already, great book!)  and I’m reading “The Various” which is the first book in “the Touchstone Trilogy” by Steve Augarde

That’s all for now

     Turok is one of those game series that had its heyday years ago and every attempt to revive and reinvent the series has ended in utter disaster much like the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The newest iteration of the Turok series tries to relive the glory days of the original Turok release on the Nintendo 64. This new Turok is a step in the right direction, but has no relationship to the prior games in the series. The story is mediocre and forgettable.

Graphic and sound:

Turok uses the Unreal Engine 3 to power its environments and does a superb job of creating a realistic environment with high-res textures and character models. The dinosaurs move and attack realistically and are a pleasure to watch attacking the enemy soldiers. The game’s sound effects are average and even the voiceovers by Timothy Olyphant are average, but again, the lack of a good story line and script are large contributing factors.

Gameplay and controls:

Turok has a single player campaign and a multiplayer element, which is played in 1^st person perspective. The single player campaign focuses on the player, Joseph Turok, searching for his mentor Kane who committed various war crimes. The story is forgettable at best. The missions consist of infiltrating the enemy base while traversing the jungle environment infested with dinosaurs. The player has a range of weaponry to choose from, but can only hold two other weapons besides a knife and a bow. The player can choose to run and gun, attack with stealth, or use the dinosaurs to bait the enemy soldiers.

The multiplayer aspect of Turok has a few modes to choose from: Deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, assault capture the flag, war games, and co-op. Deathmatch is every player for himself with the winner being the one with the most kills. Team deathmatch is deathmatch with teams vying for the most points instead of a free for all. Capture the flag is based on player teams capturing the enemy team’s bio-toxin canister and returning it to their base. Assault capture the flag is similar to capture the flag except there is only one bio-toxin canister and teams take turns playing attackers or defenders of the canister. War game is an objective based game mode. Co-op allows up to four players to team up and battle CPU controlled enemies.

Overall thoughts:

Turok is another of those games that could have been much more. I think the original Turok and direct sequel Turok: Seeds of Evil should be remade much like Tomb Raider Anniversary with modern graphics and perhaps a bit of revamped level design. The game is not horrible, but the fun of killing dinosaurs or having dinosaurs kill the enemy soldiers wears out within the first hour because the story is basically nonexistent. The multiplayer had lag issues when released, which are supposedly patched now. Hopefully the next iteration will take the positives from this game and add a story players can care about.