Pizza Paradise

Ieri sera stavo guardando una trasmissione, su food channel, che mi ha preso molto. Ve la racconto. 

La trasmissione raccontava la storia della pizza in America. Ed in particolare spiegava le differenze tra la pizza che si mangia a New York (thin crust, fina e croccante) e quella di Chicago (deep dish, pizza focaccia alta), con qualche puntatina sulla pizza che si fa in California. ’

Non importa che sia guarnita con verdure, carne, mozzarella, pomodoro o caviale. Quello che si capisce e’ che la pizza in USA e’ un piatto a cui non si puo’ resistere ed e’ piu’ “mangiato” rispetto all’Italia!!! 

Partiamo subito con la pizza di New York, quella fina. Tipo qella che si fa a Roma, per interderci.

Il primo ristorante storico preso in considerazione e’ Lombardi’s Pizzeria.

Il ristorante ha iniziato a fare pizze sin dal 1905, quando Gennaro Lombardi apri’ la prima pizzeria a Little Italy, circa 3 miglia da Ellis Island.

Il negozio all’inizio (1897) era una drogeria (alimentari!!), ma dopo pochi anni (1905) muto’ in pizzeria, che vendeva “tomato pies” (incartate con fogli di carta e legate con un laccio) ai lavoratori. Spesso la tomato pies era talmente grande che i lavoratori non potevano finirla tutta. Cosi’ di decise di vendere slices di pizza invece della pizza intera.

Dopo che mori’ Gennaro la pizzeria passo’ al figlio John, che la passo’ al nipote di Gennaro, Jerry. Nel 1984 Lombardi’s pizzeria chiuse i battenti. Ma John Brescio, amico del nipote di Gennaro, decise di riaprire la pizzeria, ma non nello stesso luogo. Riapri’ il ristorante un block (isolato) piu’ giu’rispetto alla sede originale, nella 32 Spring street.

Oggi la pizzeria, dotata naturalmente di forno a legna, lavora a pieno regime e la gente fa lunghe file per provare il gusto di una vera pizza italiana!!! 

Questo e’ il giudizio che da ZAGAT SURVEY su Lombardi’s Pizzeria: the very best ingredients, Coal fired ovens and long lines can attest to what ZAGAT SURVEY reviewers exclaimed as “Best on the Planet”. 

Sara’ vero??? Basta andare a New York e provare!! Questo sotto e’ il menu, su un classico tavolo con tovaglia italiana ed ancora piu’ sotto una invitante pizza con funghi e mozzarella!!

Il secondo ristorante preso in considerazione e’ Ray’s Pizzeria.

La storia di questa pizzeria e’ abbastanza intricata.

Capire oggi quale sia l’originale Ray’s pizza non e’ facile, dato che esistono molte variante sul tema: “Ray’s Pizza”,  ”Ray’s Original Pizza”, “The Famous Ray’s Pizza”, “World-Famous Original Ray’s Pizza,”……..

Questi sono solo alcuni nomi di decine di pizzerie sparse in New York. Tutte sono indipendenti ma hanno simili menu’ e stesso logo!!!

La prima pizzeria Ray’s pizza e’ stata aperta da Ralph Cuomo a Little Itlay (27 Prince Street Manhattan) nel 1959. Molto vicino alla prima pizzeria aperta da Lombardi nel 1905. Pero’ ora sembra gestita da cinesi!!!

Nel 1970, due fratelli provenienti da Roio del Sangro (Abruzzo), aprirono un’altra pizzeria all’incrocio tra la 6th Avenue e l’11th Street.

La pizzeria venne chiamata “The Famous Ray’s Pizza“, con scritto in piccolo “Famous Ray’s of Greenwich Village.” Mario Di Rienzo, il vecchio propietario, ha spiegato che il nome della pizzeria deriva da un soprannome che la sua famiglia avrebbe avuto: Ray!!!

La pizzeria dopo l’11 Settembre, tappezzata di post it per i morti delle torri gemelle!!!

Questo sotto e’ un menu di una pizzeria The famous Ray’s pizza. A guardare i prezzi la pizza non te la regalano!!!

A complicare le cose c’e’ la pizzeria Ray’s Bari Pizza!!! Questa pizzeria (ora diventata catena di pizzerie) ha iniziato il suo lavoro nel 1973.

“You come into the pizzeria and you’re one of the family,” says Ray. “It’s a family business and we want our customers to feel that way too.”

La pizzeria e’ stata votata per 10 anni di seguito la migliore pizzeria di New York.

Ray afferma che la sua ricetta per l’impasto della pizza e’ una ricetta che viene dalla Sicilia, che si usava per preparare lo “sfincione”.

Questa pizzeria e’ molto famosa, al punto che la Warner Bros utilizza le scatole della pizza di Ray’s Bari per film e spettacoli televisivi.

Pensate che c’e’ una battaglia legale per accaparrarsi il nome di Ray’s pizza, ma nonostante questo in ogni angolo di New York nascono pizzerie con il nome di Ray, che non appartiene a nessuno dei tre ristoranti citati sopra!!

Concludendo se andate a New York non avete che l’imbarazzo della scelta tra queste tre pizzerie, che fanno pizze con ingradienti italiani e con forno a legna. NatuRalmente le pizzeria non sono solo tre ma molte di piu’, dato che solo di Ray’s Piazza ne esistono a bizzeffe.

Guardando il servizio in TV e leggendo su internet a me il migliore sembra Lombardi, seguito da The Famouos Ray’s Pizza (ma non avendoli provati non posso garantire!!).

Analizziamo ora le pizze di Chicago, che sono decisamente piu’ intriganti e diverse per noi.

Prima di tutto la grande differenza tra le due pizze sta nella altezza delle pizze. Come detto quella di New York e’ fina e croccante, mentre quella di Chicago e’ alta e spessa.Sembra quasi una focacciona ripiena di tutto!!!La prima pizzeria presa in considerazione e’ la famosa Pizzeria UNO (ora naturalmente diventata una catena di pizzerie (+ di 200), in tutta l’America. Le pizze si possono ordinare anche via email e le spediscono in un giorno, in tutta l’America, congelata!!)
La pizzeria ora chiamata Uno Chicago Grill, e’ conosciuta come Pizzeria Uno o piu’ informalmente come UNOS.La prima pizzeria UNO fu aperta nel 1943 da una star del football della squadra del Texas, Ike Sewell, e dai suoi compagni: .Anche qui le origini non sono chiare, infatti se molti credono che i fondatori della pizzeria UNO furono Ike ed il suo amico Ricardo, altri invece sono convinti (con tanto di foto ed azioni legali in corso) che la ricetta della pizza spessa fu creata dallo chef Rudy Malnati, padre di Lou Malnati.
Chiunque fosse l’originatore della ricetta, tutti sono pero’ convinti che la pizza alta e’ una ricetta appartenente alla citta’ di Chicago (e di cui Chicago va fiera!!).La deep dish e’ semplice. Prima si mette uno strato di impasto sul fondo diuna tegliatonda ed alta, poi si mette la mozzarella, uno strato di salciccia e della salsa di pomodoro, poi un altro strato di impasto a chiudere il tutto. Sopra se si vuole si mette dell’altra salsa e dei pepperoni/funghi. Una bomba calorica, che seppur di dimensioni non enormi e’ quasi impossibile da finire da soli!!!

Sewell, data l’estrema poplarita’ della sua pizzeria, nel 1955 apri’ un’altra pizzeria ad un isolato di distanza, chiamata Pizzeria Due (con estrema fantasia!!).

Ike non si accontento’ ed apri’ anche un altro ristorante, messicano, accanto alla pizzeria Due: SU CASA.

Oggi la Uno Restaurant Holding Corporation e’ uun franchising di  pizzerie, nata nel 1979.

Stranamente I ristoranti della catena non hanno una grande presenza nella citta’ di Chicago. Infatti sono presenti solo 4 pizzerie UNO oltre alla originale Uno, Due e Su Casa.

Ecco i tavolini di Uno e piu’ sotto la sua pizza da asporto.

 

A contendersi la palma di ligliore pizza di Chicago, naturalmente c’e’ Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria.

La pizzeria di Lou Malnati e’ una pizzeria (ora catena) gestita dagli eredi di Lou Malnati (e di suo padre Rudy).
Lou Malnati e suo padre iniziarono a lavorare nel 1940 utilizzando la ricetta della pizza alta. Nel 1950 egli inizio’ a co-gestire la Pizzeria Uno con suo padre.

A seguito della disputa sulla paternita’ della pizza alta, Lou apri’ nel 1971 la Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Il ristorante ebbe subito grande successo e la famiglia decise di aprire un altra pizzeria in Elk Grove Village.

Ad Ottobre 2007 Malnati contava su una catena di pizzerie di 27 pizzerie nell’area di Chicago.

Le sue pizze si possono trovare anche sui banconi dei supermercati!!

Altri concorrenti di queste due pizzerie sono Giordano’s Pizza e Gino’s East.

Giordano’s pizzeria inizio’ la sua attivita’ nel 1974 gestita dai fratelli Efren e Joseph Broglio, immigranti italiani. Il motto del ristorante e’ “Chicago’s World Famous Stuffed Pizza.”, dato che Giordano si ritiene essere il creatore della  stuffed pizza.

La pizza pie, i cui ingradienti sono desunti dalla ricetta della signora Giordano di Torino (madre dei fratelli Broglio), e’ una delle piu’ famose di Chicago.

Ecco due opere d’arte di Giordano. A vederle fanno venire fame!!!

Ed insieme alla Pizzeria Uno, Lou Malnati’s e Gino’s hanno fondato una associazione la quale asserisce che se si vuole mangiare una buona deep dish, bisogna provare una di queste tre pizzerie!!

Oggi Giordano ha 13 ristoranti in Chicago ed altri 30  nell’area metropolitana di Chicacgo.

Finiamo il giro delle pizzeria di Chicago con Gino’s East Pizzeria, classificata numero uno delle pizzeria dal People Magazine. Il ristorante e’ situato in O’Hara Plaza Office, di fronte all’albergo Marriot.

 

Molti non sono d’accordo con questa valutazione. Ecco due commenti da due americani:

Gino’s is the most overrated of name Chicago pizzas, in my book. Bready and tired-tasting.

Lou Malnati’s offers a much fresher-tasting example of the same style, not that that’s my favorite style anyway. There’s one within a reasonable distance of almost anywhere in the city.

Please don’t waste your calories at Gino’s which is a tourist trap.

Previous posters are correct, Lou Malnati’s and Pizzaria Due’s are way better. If you go to Lou Malnati’s, I recommend their sausage pizza. Rather than a cheeze pizza with crumbled balls of sausage on it, this pizza has a thick, solid sheet of sausage over the entire pie. It sounds disgusting, and I suppose it is, but it is really yummy!

Pero’ la pizza non sembra niente male!!

Finiamo il giro di pizze americane con la Caioti Pizza Caffe’, in California (Studio City), gestita da Ed la Dou (francese di origine).

Se cercate un posto che faccia della pizza creativa questo e’ il posto giusto!! Ogni pizza e’ una creazione artistica. Dalla pizza con le vongole, mele e bacon, alla pizza BBQ (salsa barbecue, pollo ed ananas!!) potete soddisfare i vostri gusti culinari (dico i vostri perche’ una pizza con vongole, mele e bacon non fa per me, che amo solo la margherita, doppia mozzarella!!).

Il menu e’ troppo sfizioso per non metterlo, in inglese!!
 

Pizzetta Antigua

Sea Salt, Sweet Roast Garlic, Balsamic Vinegar, White Truffle Oil
Pizzetta Bianca

Marrow, Goat Cheese & Flax Seeds

Terra Bella

Rapini & Radhichio with Gorgonzola, Roma Tomato Filets & Mozzarella Latte

Montese
Caramelized Garlic, Shallot & Onion with Morrocan Oil Cured Black Olives, Romano & Mozzarella Latte

Margherita
Roma Tomato, Basil, Garlic & Mozzarella Latte (in Usa fare la pizza margherita con aglio e’ un usanza, pessima, comune!!!)

Rustica
With Pancetta, Fresh Spinach & Pecorino Romano

Salsiccia
Italian Sausage, Mushrooms, Gorgonzola, Mozzarella Latte, Fresh Basil & Pine Nuts

De La Mare

Crab, Shrimp, Scallops & Lobster Sausage) with Basil Pesto, Roma Tomatoes Filets & Mozzarella Latte

Pugliese
Ripe Assorted Mediterranean Olives, Roma Tomato Filets, Romano & Mozzarella Latte

Con funghi e sugo

Porcini, Roasted Garlic, Fresh Arugula, Pecorino Romano & Mozzarella Latte
Buffalo
Ground American Bison, Caramelized Onions, Franks Hot Sauce, Mozzarella & Romano

(una pizza simile l’ho assaggiata ad Huntsville e non era proprio male!)

Sunchoke
(Fresh Jeruseleum Artichoke Tubers) Applewood Smoked Bacon, Roasted Red Peppers
Fresh Dill and Mozzarella

LaDou’s Barbecue Chicken©

Red Onion, Cilantro, Mozzarella & Smoked Gouda

(di questa pizza hanno il copyright!!)

Rockefeller©
With Oysters & Shrimp, Spinach, Gruyere, Roast Peppers, Bread Crumbs & Mozzarella

(e di questa anche!!)

Sun Dried Tomato
Marinated Artichoke Hearts, Garlic, Mozzarella & Goat Cheese

Smoked Chicken
Fresh Mushrooms, Sliced Peppers, Goat Cheese, Thyme

Lamb Sausage
Lemon Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Garlic, Feta, Mozzarella & Kalamata Olives
Portobello
Sliced Portobello Caps with Spinach, Tomatoes, Brie, Mozzarella & Slivered Almonds

Chiudiamo con i fuochi di artificio e torniamo a New York da Nino’s Bellissima.

Qui se volete mangiare una pizza con caviale, aragosta e salmone potrete pagare anche 1000 $!!!! Non avete letto male, MILLE DOLLARI!!!

Ho visto la preparazione di quesa pizza e sembra che stiano lavorando alla costruzione di uno shuttle!!!

Il propietario dice che il prezzo degli alimenti messi sulla pizza e’ di 750 $ e lui ci guadagna solo 250 $ sulla pizza!!!

A parte lo sproposito della cifra che si paga per una pizza con caviale e salmone (anche se sono 4 tipi di caviali diversi) a me non sembra neanche buona!!!

Pero’ gli abitanti di New York anche se non hanno soldi per i vestiti, hanno sempre denari per una pizza da Nino!!!

Ora sapete molto di piu’ sulle pizze di New York e Chicago. Se capitate in queste due citta’ non dimenticate di provarle.

Fatemi poi sapere il parere sui ristoranti di sopra e sul sapore delle pizze, dato che ancora io non le ho assaggiate!!!!

Buona pizza americana a tutti.

Hey everyone! It’s the weekend, yayyyy!! haha Even though mine is filled with course work – I am excited that it is the weekend.

Today started off less than stellar. I had a French quiz (that’s not why it was crummy though), and when I got out from my quiz…it was POURING. I mean…raining cats and dogs. Ridiculous. I brought an umbrella with me because they had predicted rain — I just didn’t realize HOW much. Oy. It got to a point where it didn’t matter if I walked through puddles because I was already soaked.

Case and point:

These are how my shoes (yeh, yeh they’re technically slippers, but they work) looked BEFORE my walk home:

After….yes, I was soaked up to my knees….

I took everything off and got to drying them….not before weighing myself (I was curious, and I’m a dork like that, haha) — the soaked pants made me FOUR pounds heavier. Ridiculous. haha

My coffee made the journey back to my apartment, too. It got pretty soaked as well — luckily I was pretty much done with it.

I was a bum this morning, and after a breakfast of yogurt mess, I sat on the couch watching HBO all morning. It was grey and gross. I munched on Green Goodness, a cheese stick, popcorn, a pepper & hummus.

It was lovely to be a bum. However, about 1 — the skies just cleared and it was not only GORGEOUS out but WARM! I decided that there was no way I was wasting the day, and got up and headed out the door. I attempted to do some pseudo Christmas shopping (aka trying to find ideas), but all I ended up doing was buying myself a 2010 planner and desk calendar. Two worthwhile purchases.

I love Mary Engelbreit’s stuff.

I ended getting together with my friend, Katharine, and went and found a coat for her, and searched high and low for some rain boots that would fit her, but didn’t find any. She’s tiny. We ended up getting dinner, where I definitely INDULGED. We went to Uno’s Chicago Grill and I got a burger. It was good — but meh…do I regret it?…a little.

I’ve got plans to go out tonight but we’ll see what happens with that. I’m kind of exhausted.

I’ve been up since 5 and well…I honestly feel like a drink would just made me sleepy and not social. haha Plus, drinking is just extra calories (I don’t count calories, but after an Uno’s meal that was undoubtedly horrible for me…I have to admit it is on my mind). By no means are the calories my reason to not go out; the fact that I was up at 5 and up at 6 every other day is the reason. haha I’m just justifying being a loser on a Friday night. haha

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

Peace, Love & Munchies.

Otec Michael Sinnott, irský misionář z Misijního sdružení sv. Kolumbána, který byl unesen 11. října tohoto roku v jihofilipínském městě Pagadian, byl únosci propuštěn. Irské i filipínské úřady popřely, že by za něj bylo zaplaceno nějaké výkupné. Otec Sinnott působí na Filipínách již přes 50 let, z toho posledních 11 let ve škole pro postižené děti.

Napanood ko ang Wonder Mom noong nakaraang Sabado at nakakaantig ang mga ipinalabas nila. Mga bagay na nagpaluha at kumurot sa aking damdamin. Mga karanasang nagpaantig ng puso ko’t isip. Mga taong kahanga-hanga at kaawa-awa.

Isa akong biktima ng Bagyong Ondoy. Bahay naming halos lumubog sa tubig baha. Buhay nami’y muntik ng mawala. Kabuhayan nami’y tuluyang nasira. Pero naniniwala akong hindi iyon ang dahilan upang tumigil sa pagtulong sa mga nasalanta. Noong mga nakaraang araw, ninais kong mag boluntir sa Sagip Kapamilya ngunit telepono’y puro busy talaga pero nagpatuloy pa rin ako hanggang sabi sa news hindi raw tuloy ang paggawa ng mga boluntir sa mga araw na nabanggit dahil sa paparating na bagyo pagkatapos ng Ondoy- si Pepeng.

At sa panonood ko nga ng Wonder Mom, napaisip ako at inusig ng konsensya para kasing kulang pa ang aking nagawa. 3 araw pagkatapos ng bagyo binisita ko ang aking mga dating kapitbahay na ayon sa balita ay lubos na nasalanta. Salamat sa Diyos at okay naman sila pero nag-abot pa rin ako ng unti nilang mami-miryenda. Nagbigay rin ako ng lumang damit sa mga nasalanta. At nangakong magbibigay ng unting makakain sa mga batang tinutulungan ng mga madre na nabiktima. Ngunit pakiramdam ko’y ito’y kulang pa. Para bagang, may dapat pa akong gawin sa ating mga kababayan. Tumawag ulit ako sa Sagip Kapamilya. Busy na naman. Marahil, hindi na sila tumatanggap ng boluntir dahil hindi na rin naman nababanggit sa balita at nag-fa-flash sa mga palatastas sa Kapamilya kaya daup-palad at pikit-matang nanalangin sa Poong Dakila. Ipinagdasal mga taong hanggang ngayon ay naghihinagpis dala ng unos na sinapit.

Marahil nga, mayroon pa akong magagawa, hindi man ngayon pero alam kong bubulungan ako ng Diyos upang mas makapaghatid pa ng mga tulong hindi lamang sa mga biktima ng bagyo kundi sa mga tao sa mundo lalo na sa bayan ko.

Panginoon, salamat po sa buhay na ibinigay Mo!

Mayaman sa kawikaan ang mga Filipino, ayon sa saliksik ni Damiana L. Eugenio, kapag pinag-usapan ang bagyo, baha, hangin, unos, ulan, at tubig. Maaaring nakatulong dito ang pangyayaring ang Filipinas ay may tropikong klima, at nakapuwesto sa lugar na malimit dalawin ng unos o bagyo, samantalang nagtataglay ng malawak, sari-saring tubigan. Mahihinuhang hinugot sa karanasan ang nasabing kawikaan, pinagbulayan nang matagal, sinubok nang paulit-ulit, at tumitingkad ang kulay dahil ang pahiwatig at pakahulugan ay lumalampas sa ordinaryong kabatirang may kaugnayan sa kalikasan.

Paano kaya tumula ang ating mga ninuno? Marahil ang sinaunang makata noon ay lagalag at mahilig magmasid sa paligid. Isang Tausug ang magwiwikang “In tubig ulan di humanti ha bud” (Hindi nananatili sa bundok ang tubig-ulan). O kaya’y may Sugbuhanong bihasang maglayag ang magsasaad na, “Ang tubig nga malalum,/ Malisud kung salumon” (Mahirap ngang arukin ang tubig na malalim). Posibleng naglalakad ang isang palaboy na Tagalog kung saan at napadako sa pasigan, saka itinala ang nasaksihan:

Ang sa tubig ay nagmula,
Sa tubig din nawawala.

Payak sa unang malas ang siniping tula, dahil sa tatlong salita lamang umiinog ang pananalinghaga: “tubig,” “nagmula,” at “nawawala.” Tugmang pantigan ang ginamit sa tula, at lumalakas dahil maragsa ang bigkas. Ang kakatwa rito’y ang “tubig” bilang poste ng tula ay nakakargahan ng pambihirang pahiwatig, dahil ito ay may angking doble-karang katangian. Ang kapuwa “nagmula” at “nawawala” ay maituturing na magkabilang suhay sa posteng diwain. Maiisip na bukál ng biyaya ang tubig sa isang banda dahil nakapagbibigay ng pagkain at inumin, ngunit ang tubig na ito, sa kabilang dako, ay nagiging mapanganib (gaya sa baha at daluyong) sa pagbabago ng klima at panahon. Sa higit na malalim na pagbasa, ang “tubig” ay masisipat na hulagway lamang ng abstraktong diwain, gaya ng “pangarap” o “pagsisikap,” at lumalalim ang pahiwatig kung ilalapat sa ibang yugto ng buhay at karanasan.

Maiisip na tila bantay-kalikasan ang sinaunang makata noon. Daig pa niya ang taga-PAGASA sa pagtaya ng panahon. Anumang pagbabago ng simoy ay naitatala sa pamamagitan ng tula, at maihahalimbawa ang Boholanon: “Maabot na gani ang bagyo,/ Mogula ang tanan hangin” (Kapag bagyo ang dumating, bubuga lahat ng hangin.) Ang gayong obserbasyon ay tutumbasan ng kawikaang “Dakula in hunus,/ Sagwa way ulan niya” (Malakas ang bagyo, ngunit walang ulan.) Makata rin ang maghahatid ng babala sa taumbayan para maghanda: “Bayu datang ing bagyu,/ Patukuran mong bale mo.” (Bago dumating ang bagyo,/ Tukuran mo ang bahay mo.”) May pasaring ang kaugnay na kawikaan sa makukupad: “Nang ang bagyo’y nakaraan,/ Saka pa mandin nagsuhay.” Na ang ibig sabihin ay huli na ang lahat.

Samantalang lilinga-linga sa paligid ang sinaunang makata, malalim din siyang dumamá ng kalooban ng kapuwa. Sa kawikaang “Kapug ngan pa’y baha,/ Dili ang biga,” itinatanghal ang pangyayaring kayang supilin ang baha, ngunit hindi kailanman ang masidhing pagnanasa. At ang pagnanasang ito ay maaaring libog sa pakikipagtalik, o kaya’y pambihirang ambisyong harangan man ng libong pagsubok ay magtatagumpay pa rin sa wakas. Batid noon ng sinaunang makatang Kapampangan ang pangyayaring habang tumatagal ang baha ay lumalaganap ang taggutom (“Ing maluat a albug/ Maragul a danup.”) Na totoo pa rin magpahangga ngayon, at patutunayan ng mga karanasan sa buong Kamaynilaang sinalanta ng bagyong Ondoy, o sa Pangasinan na winasak ng bagyong Pepeng.

Gaano man kabigat ang problemang iniiwan ng bagyo o baha ay hindi panghabang-panahon, kung paniniwalaan ang mga kawikaan. “Pagkaraan ng sigwa/ ay magandang umaga.” Na may pag-asa pa pagkaraan ng sakuna. Matutumbasan ito ng pangyayaring “Walang isang taóng bagyo,” dahil nagbabago ang hihip ng panahon. Kung ang ganitong kabatiran ay nagpasalin-salin nang pabigkas sa iba’t ibang henerasyon, marahil ay dahil may silbi ito sa ating buhay. Kung paano nagiging makabuluhan ang mga kawikaan ay maaaring nasa pagpapahalaga ng madla, at ang madlang ito ay minsang nakinig sa makatang mapagmasid at malikot ang guniguni.

Ante la irresponsable actitud adoptada por los psicópatas que nos gobiernan, en relación a la gripe A, sembrando el terror y el miedo entre la población, con el objetivo de lucrase con la venta en masa de vacunas, que podrían traer aparejadas importantes riesgos para nuestra salud, pensamos que es necesario emprender acciones decididas contra los principales culpables de todo esta macroestafa , es decir, la mafia farmacéutica. Por eso, desde Antimperialista proponemos como necesario el inicio de una campaña de BOICOT a los productos de las multinacionales farmacéuticas, para ello hemos elaborado un pequeño manifiesto, a modo de borrador, que os animamos a completar, perfeccionar o adaptar a vuestra voluntad, lo importante es que esta iniciativa se extienda lo más rápido posible y podamos frenar de una vez por todas a estos psicópatas, que se lucran a costa de nuestra salud.

PARA QUE NO COMERCIEN CON TU SALUD:
¡BOICOT A LAS MULTINACIONALES FARMACÉUTICAS!

Las mafiosas multinacionales farmacéuticas pretenden lucrarse a costa de nuestra salud, como nunca antes lo habían hecho, para ello han extendido, a través de los medios de comunicación de masas, el peor de los virus, el del miedo.

Desde hace un tiempo, nos vienen atemorizando con la posibilidad de la extensión de una peligrosa pandemia de gripe A, pero lo que no están advirtiendo (cosa que sí están haciendo multitud de médicos responsables) es que está gripe se comporta de forma mucho más benigna que la común y que se cura de la misma forma (en la cama).

El objetivo de las mafiosas multinacionales farmacéuticas es sembrar el miedo entre la población, para enriquecerse con la posterior venta de sus medicamentos, los cuales podrían incluso llegar a tener consecuencias perniciosas para la salud, como ya se ha demostrado con el Tamiflu (de Donald Rumsfeld, secretario de defensa durante la administración Bush y uno de los principales impulsores de su genocida política imperialista).

Millones de personas mueren anualmente en el mundo por la imposibilidad de recibir una adecuada atención sanitaria o por ser víctimas de los experimentos de la mafia farmacéutica, especialmente en los países pobres, donde las personas son usadas como conejillos de indias de estas siniestras corporaciones.

Es necesario que la medicina deje de ser un negocio que especule con la salud humana y vuelva a convertirse en un derecho universal. Para ello no nos queda otro remedio que emprender acciones decididas con tal fin.

Desde Antimperialista os proponemos como primera acción: el BOICOT A LOS PRODUCTOS DE LA MAFIA FARMACÉUTICA, pues consideramos que la única forma de parar a estos psicópatas es golpeándoles donde más les duele, es decir en sus bolsillos y ¿qué mejor que dejar de comprar sus productos?

Bastaría con que la próxima vez que necesitases un remedio para tu salud evites recurrir a los productos de sus laboratorios y optes por otros. Sólo con este gesto estarás llevando a cabo una importante acción de resistencia contra la criminal mafia farmacéutica

PARA QUE NO COMERCIEN CON TU SALUD:
¡BOICOT A LAS MULTINACIONALES FARMACÉUTICAS!

INFORMACIÓN CONSEGUIDA AQUÍ

On July 14, Catherine and I spent the day meeting with Dr. Rob Fisher (transplant surgeon), Dr. Todd Stravitz (hepatologist) and April Ashworth (one of the transplant coordinators) at Virginia Commonwealth University. Although it has been eight years since my initial diagnosis, all prior visits had been to the hepatology team, so this was the first opportunity to meet the surgeon.

In addition to being a transplant surgeon, Dr. Fisher is the program director of the liver transplant program at MCV. We were very impressed with him, his experience, and his level of knowledge about transplant programs nationally. He was instrumental in bringing the living donor transplant protocol for livers to the US, was involved in the first living donor surgery, personally conducted the second living donor surgery in the US, and has also personally conducted all 118 of MCV’s living donor surgeries to date. Simply put, this dude knows his stuff. We also learned that fewer than 10 liver transplant programs in the U.S. have conducted more than 100 live donor surgeries, and MCV is among those. I was amazed that Dr. Fisher stayed with us for nearly an hour-and-a-half until our substantial list of questions had been exhausted. After he left, April Ashworth, one of the two Senior Liver Transplant Coordinators stayed another 40 minutes providing additional information about the transplant process. Bottom line, now that we’ve met the front-line team, we have the the highest level of confidence that MCV is the right place for me to be.

Here’s what I learned from the meetings with the above individuals. Although the MELD score is the accepted standard for measuring the severity of liver disease and is used by UNOS to allocate donor livers, it is a notoriously unreliable measure in patients with my condition, primary sclerosing cholangitis. So while my score is only a thirteen (out of a range of 6 to 40), both the surgeon and the hepatologist agree that it’s time for me to be listed. So, with their formal recommendation to UNOS, I can expect to be “listed” in 3-4 weeks. However, once I’m listed the odds of actually receiving a liver are unusually small, because the livers are allocated based on the MELD score.

So, what can I do to improve my odds? What I really need to do is raise my MELD score, and this is where things get crazy. Since the day I was diagnosed, I’ve been taking high doses of a drug called Actigall (generic name Ursodiol), which thins my bile and helps it pass through my very constricted ducts. There is no clear consensus about whether the Actigall in any way changes the progression of the disease, but there is consensus that it makes my lab work appear to be better, and that is the problem. If my goal is to raise my MELD score, now is not the time for good lab results. What’s the best way to fix that? Stop taking the Actigall, the one medication I’m taking that has even the slightest potential for therapeutic benefit. Stopping the medication will almost certainly raise my lab results, hopefully enough to make a material difference to my MELD score, which will then improve the likelihood that I’ll be high enough on the priority list to actually receive a liver. The downside? My symptoms will probably worsen, and I may even do more damage to my liver.

The other option, which Dr. Fisher pushed aggressively, involves finding a living donor. In this type of surgery, a portion of a donor’s liver is removed and transplanted in the recipient. Making this possible is the remarkable fact that the liver can actually regenerate itself, meaning both the donor’s remaining liver and the recipient’s partial liver will be restored to full functioning capacity within a matter of weeks. There’s only one little detail that makes the living donor route a bit difficult…finding a living donor.

So, there are the two options available to me: spend as much as two years on the transplant list waiting for a liver from a deceased donor while facing the risk of cancer during the wait, or speeding up the process by finding a living donor willing to voluntarily subject themselves to 10-12 hours of surgery, several weeks of recovery and the risk of a variety of potential complications. Simple as that.

By Sherron Simpson
MASC 688

RICHMOND, Va. — Patricia Dean knew when she was a child that one day her life would drastically change and it would be out of her control. At the age of 44, Dean had full blown sclerosis of the liver. She would need a liver transplant from a donor so she could continue to live.

In 2006, Dean didn’t have to look far to find a donor. Her husband, Michael Dean, was a match and agreed to be a living donor.

“I did this for my wife, which we would do anything for our loved one,” said Michael Dean.

Together, Michael and Patricia Dean were the first husband-to-wife living donor transplant performed at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Watch the video below to learn more about the Deans’ experience through the organ donation and transplantation process.

But her body rejected her husband’s liver and she was of desperate need of a liver again. One month later, Patricia Dean received a liver from a deceased donor also named Michael. Because of both of her donors’ decision to give life, Patricia Dean is alive today.

Patricia Dean was fortunate to find two donors. Some people can not find one at all. More than 102,000 people are on the national waiting list for an organ just like Patricia Dean was three years ago. For the first time in the United Network for Organ Sharing’s (UNOS) history of maintaining organ transplantation data, the number of deceased and living donors has decreased simultaneously from the year before. With the demand greater than the supply, those patients may have to wait longer.

Click here to link to a chart and organ donor statistics since 1988. Data provided by United Network for Organ Sharing.

Health and organ transplant experts can not pin point a clear reason for the decrease, but there are issues that could be factors. The economy, health insurance, the voluntary will of living organ donors and education are factors in the lower numbers.

Stephanie Carter, outreach coordinator for Virginia Commonwealth University Hume-Lee Transplant Center, has also worked as an inpatient transplant nurse and pre-kidney transplant coordinator. She says the ratio of donor to recipient has never been close.

“There has never been enough living nor deceased donors to keep up with the demand of life saving or life enhancing organs,” said Carter. “We continue to add people to the waiting list and they wait longer.”

UNOS began keeping records for all data pertaining to organ transplantation in 1988. In 2008 there were 6,220 living donors compared to 6,314 in 2007 and the number of deceased donors decreased by 100 from 2007 to 2008. Therefore, the number of transplants also decreased. The number of living donors has not increased since 2005.
Last year, 27,962 transplants were completed nationwide.  Statewide, 701 transplants were done in Virginia and 180 transplants were performed at VCU Hume-Lee Transplant Center.

There have been more than 224,000 living and deceased donors since UNOS began recording transplant data in 1988. Click on this photo for an audio slideshow about the National Donor Memorial in Richmond, Va.

According to UNOS, which is based in Richmond, Va., 18 people die on the waiting list everyday. One person is added to that list every 11 minutes. Patients wait anywhere from one to two years for a kidney transplant and more than five years for a liver transplant.

It is guaranteed by law that everyone receives a kidney regardless of the recipient’s health insurance policy. Currently, 77 percent of people on the waiting list need a kidney transplant.

Although the decrease in the number of donors is declining by a small amount, donors play a major role in the process. 

Jim Warren, editor and publisher of Transplant News, has worked with transplantation affairs since 1976. Transplant News is a monthly newsletter sent to professionals in the transplantation field about procurement and transplantation. He says no one can point to any one reason for the decrease.

“The theories are kinda all over the place,” said Warren. “It’s very difficult to come to an absolute conclusion on it.”

The Economy

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. This is the highest unemployment rate since 1983 which was 10.4 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, 5 million Americans have lost their jobs.

For the fourth year in a row the number of living donors continues to decline. Under the present economic condition, people are reconsidering the living donation process.  Wages loss during surgery and recovery are not covered by the recipient’s or the donor’s insurance.

As a living donor, a person can voluntarily donate a whole kidney, a segment of a liver, a lobe of lung and portions of the intestines and pancreas.  Warren says that the economy plays a big factor in the continued decline of living organ donors.

“One of the reasons live donations is down is with the economy and the number of layoffs and jobs,” said Warren. “If you’re going to be asked to be a donor and you’re going to be possibly spending 30 days away, you’re afraid you’re not going to have a job to come back to.”

According to the Transplantliving.org, the average living donor recovers from a kidney transplant in four to six weeks while staying three to seven days in the hospital. The average living donor recovers from a liver transplant in two months.

Click here for a timeline showing significant breakthroughs in transplantation.

UNOS spokesperson Anne Paschke has worked for UNOS for eight years. Paschke says the economy is not a factor in the decrease of donors.

“The decline in the number of living donors has been going on for five years,” said Paschke. “It was going on long before the economy.”

Paschke attributes the decrease to a living donor death in 2002 that received media attention. According to an article in The New York Times, healthy Mike Hurewitz donated a part of his liver to his brother. Hurewitz died three days later from complications of the surgery.

“After that, the New York health department looked into the case and they put a six month stop on living donor transplants in New York while they were investigating,” said Paschke. “This also made other centers more careful.”

Since then the concern of using healthy live donors raised many ethical flags. The article states that, “performing major surgery on someone who does not need it would seem to violate the dictum that doctors must ‘do no harm’.”

“So from there on the number of living donors decreased a little bit,” said Paschke.

For the Deans, the living donation process was the best option.

Click here to listen to Michael Dean talk about his experience as a living liver donor for his wife Patricia.

“Being a living donor has it benefits,” said Michael Dean, an equity trader for a security firm. “Basically you get to choose the timing of the operation. Patti didn’t have to wait until she was so sick that she couldn’t function.”

Those on the waiting list can wait anywhere from a few days to a few years for a living or deceased donor.

According to Paschke, only 2 percent of people die in a way that makes them eligible to be a deceased organ donor. A deceased person must be ruled brain dead by a physician to be considered as a donor.

Carter, who goes out in the community to educate people about organ donation, says that enforced seatbelt safety laws and the crack down on gun violence lengthens the human life span which decreases the number of deceased donors.

“The seatbelt laws are much more strictly enforced today than 10 years ago,” said Carter. 

According to a survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 80 percent of drivers and passengers used a seatbelt in 2008.

Gun laws, such as Project Exile that started in Richmond, Va. have been adopted by other cities. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia, Project Exile “targets previously convicted felons carrying guns and armed persons involved in drug or violent crimes.” Violators face at least five years in a federal prison. Just one year after the law was in place, Richmond’s gun-related homicides decreased by 40 percent.

“All of these examples are great for society as a whole, but not for those waiting for transplants,” said Carter.

Carter also says it is important to consider recent changes at a transplant center including an end to a particular transplant program or the leave of a surgeon when determining the decrease in the number of living or deceased donors.

INSURANCE

According the National Coalition on Health Care, 18 percent of the population is without health insurance. Insurance is a necessity when a person is considering a transplant.

According to Transplantliving.org, a typical heart transplant could cost as much as $658,800. A liver transplant ranges around $519,600 and a kidney transplant around $246,400.

Patricia Dean spent the entire summer in the hospital waiting for her second liver.

Click here to listen to two-time liver transplant recipient, Patricia Dean, talk about her experience through the transplantation process.

“After two back-to-back surgeries, just the hospital bill alone was $750,000,” said Patricia Dean. “That’s why having good health insurance is so important to organ donation. I know people who have lost their homes.”

The Deans, of Henrico County, Va., have been married for 27 years. Their health insurance covered all expenses for all three operations.

“There’s people who need transplants but can’t get it because they don’t have the money,” said Patricia Dean.

In most cases, the recipient’s insurance covers most of the expenses for the living donor including pre-transplant evaluations, surgery and follow-up care. However, expenses including travel to the transplant center, lodging, meals, child care and lost wages from the donor’s employer are not covered by the recipient’s insurance. Donor complications after the surgery are also not covered by the recipient’s insurance.

The National Living Donor Assistance Center is a new program that helps decrease the financial travel cost for organ donors. NLDAC is a need based program and provides up to $6,000 for each donor through a federal grant.
The donor’s transplant center submits an application to NLDAC on the donor and recipient’s behalf requesting financial help. If the donor qualifies, the NLDAC pays for the donor’s travel expenses, hotel costs, meals and expenses for family support throughout the process.

Holly Warren, NLDAC project coordinator, says more people would like to donate but organ donation is expensive and takes time.

“The loss of income, the amount of time you have to be out after the donation and the travel expense are reasons why people don’t donate,” said Holly Warren. “So we’re hoping with our program we can increase the number of living donors.”

After 18 months of the start of program, the NLDAC has helped 260 patients.

“We wish we could help everybody,” said Holly Warren. “We don’t have enough money to do that but we help the people who need it the most.”

Another program that helps with financial expenses is the National Foundation for Transplants. The NFT works with patients to fundraise for their medical expenses. The NFT organizes events from black tie affairs to yard sales depending on the location of the each recipient.

The NFT has helped more than 800 patients since it was established in 1983. Mandy Scherer, NFT director of marketing and public relations, says the program helps those with inadequate or no insurance at all.

“Most people, even when they have what you and I consider to be good health insurance, are still facing pretty steep financial concerns related to transplant,” said Scherer.

Patients not only have to pay for the surgery but the follow-up care as well. Living donors must complete follow-up doctor visits at least two years after the surgery.

Scherer says patients in the program have raised anywhere between $10,000 and $600,000. The average patient raises about $30,000.

EDUCATION

The decline of donors could also be attributed to the lack of education and fear. In the United States, 38 percent of licensed drivers are registered organ donors. In a survey conducted by Astellas Pharma U.S. and Donate Life America, 23 percent of Americans were undecided about becoming an organ donor or thought they would not be a match for anyone.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

 Most people are not aware of the option of being a living donor. People wishing to become a living donor must go to their nearest transplant center and undergo evaluations. Currently there are 255 transplant centers nationwide. Becoming a living donor is completely voluntary.

The transplant center’s role is to evaluate potential donors and discuss all financial aspects of the process. The pre-evaluations includes lab work and several extensive medical examinations and scans.

Michael Dean, 47, was an organ donor before he found out his wife would need a liver transplant.

“It’s the best physical you will ever have,” said Michael Dean.

“The potential living donor is also seen by a psychologist or social worker who is not associated with the transplant team to insure there is no coercion or pressure to donate,” said Carter who has worked in the abdominal transplant program at VCU since 1991.

There are many myths that deter people from being an organ donor.

Latasha Wyche, 37, is an administrative assistant at VCU and has one of the main concerns that people think about when considering organ donation. She says she fears that doctors will take advantage of her organ donor status if she was one.

“I’m a little leery about donating my organs because if it is a life or death decision and I’m still alive and there is just one slim chance that I might survive, I don’t want the doctors to just brush that off just because my organs can save the life of someone else,” said Wyche.

Wyche, of Richmond, Va., is not alone. In an online survey completed by 5,100 Americans, half felt that the doctors would not try as hard to save their life if they were a donor. Other myths that people believe are that they think they are too old or too sick to be an organ donor.

“Everyone should consider themselves to be a donor,” said Paschke. “I know of cases where 90-year-olds have been liver donors.”

Click here to listen to United Network for Organ Sharing media specialist Anne Paschke talk about what happens to a person who is either a registered organ donor or not after they die.

Jim Warren says the number of donors could increase if financial compensation was an option for donors.

“I think financial compensation is something that everyone understands,” said Jim Warren. “If you decide you’re not going to be an organ donor, then you shouldn’t be able to go ahead of somebody who is. But then they say that’s not the American way.”

Patricia Dean works as a community education coordinator for LifeNet Health. One of LifeNet Health’s goal is to educate the public in any way that it can. She says paying people for organs is not a good idea.

“I think it would increase the number of donors,” said Patricia Dean. “But in doing so you would open a whole can of worms that we just don’t want to deal with.”

The National Foundation for Transplant implemented a new program called the Transplant Challenge in April. The goal of the challenge is to register 100,000 people in their state registry by December.

“We started thinking that we needed to expand our mission because it doesn’t matter how much money we raise if there aren’t enough organs,” said Scherer.

Scherer says the challenge is also a great way to educate the community.

“We’ve seen a pretty good response,” said Scherer. “The big thing we found was that a lot of people are quick to register, they’ve just never thought about it before or no one has ever asked them.”

Most people register as an organ donor through their local Department of Motor Vehicle office. On Virginia licenses, a small red heart indicates that a person is a registered organ donor.

“A lot of people don’t know it’s as easy as going online and signing up and you don’t have to go to your local DMV anymore,” said Paschke.

Web sites such as Save7lives.org allow anyone in Virginia to sign up and become an organ donor. Transplant coordinators access Save7lives.org to see if a person is a registered organ donor when they die.

“It’s everybody that makes that decision to give life,” said Paschke. “That would include living donors as well as deceased donors.”

Once again, the monthly Girl Talk meeting has inspired a blog post. (To learn a bit more about Girl Talk, read Sleep in, but Wear Your Pink Housecoat.)

This month’s speaker was Lisa Schaffner, the new Director of Public Relations and Marketing for UNOS, former anchor of WRIC-TV8, Richmond.

UNOS (pronounced U-nose) is the United Network for Organ Sharing. The Richmond-based organization administrates the procurement and distribution of every donated organ in this country. EVERY donation. Unbelievable! The organization writes and monitors policies for equitable distribution of organs, offers professional and patient support, and much more.

Several women in the group had donor-related stories of their own to share. Needless to say, the conversation was engaging and of course, informative. For instance, we learned:

• There are over 100,000 candidates on the waiting list today
• Eighty percent of those on this list need kidneys (blame our unhealthy eating and drinking habits and the increasing diabetes epidemic)
• Sadly, the average wait for a kidney: three to five years
• The gap between the waiting list and the donor list is expanding

Pay Tribute to Those Who Have Given: Take Someone You Love to the National Donor Memorial
The National Donor Memorial and Garden location is 700, N 4^th Street, Richmond, VA. This memorial was designed by donor family members, living donors, and transplant recipients from all over the country. This beautiful and emotional experience symbolizes a journey of hope, renewal, and transformation.

Take your teenage son, daughter or friend there before they get their license. Perhaps they will be inspired to drive more safely and to think about how decisions impact others.

 Learn More, Register, and Spread the Word

• Visit UNOS.org
• Support UNOS
• Register to donate (donatelife.net)
• Follow UNOs on Twitter, attend an event, and bring a friend!

"My life is worth more than yours..."

As everyone now knows, Steve Jobs got a new liver a couple months ago.

And that’s great for the Apple co-founder and billionaire. But it’s fucking bullshit when you consider that a good 500 or so people fucking died during this same three or four months that Jobs has been acquainting himself with his new liver.

Sure, not all those people were going to make it anyway. And of the 15,000 people who were waiting specifically for a liver, the overwhelming majority were never going to be a match for the particular liver that was snapped up by Jobs.

But I bet at least one or two people on that list were as good or a better match for the liver Jobs got. Sure, I can’t prove it. Just like I can’t prove O.J. butchered his wife and her boyfriend or that Michael Jackson is  was a serial pedophile or that the Magic Bullet theory is bullshit.

Some things in life are obvious. Most aren’t. This is obvious.

Anyone who thinks for a second that Jobs didn’t get preferential treatment either because of his fame and fortune or as a direct result of his fame and fortune is a fucking fool and should close their browser and never return to this site. Fuck off.

I’ll let some other guy with some other blog ramble on about the inherent unfairness of the universe and how wrong it is that people with lots of money get things–sometimes crucially important things–that other people with less money don’t. Sometimes it’s justice. Sometimes it’s security. Sometimes it’s a hot wife. Sometimes it’s a fucking liver.

Whatever.

My issue is with the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the self-described “non-profit, scientific and educational organization” that administers the nation’s only Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. In other words, it’s the modern equivalent of Schindler’s List…it’s the prioritized national computer registry that’s used to determine who should get what organ and when. And it’s been a monopoly since Congress first awarded it a contract back in 1986.

A moment here before we delve deeper into that great genius Steve Jobs and his particular “stroke of luck.”

If you’re an organization that has had its contract renewed by Congress five times in the past 22-plus years, it can only mean one of three things: the organization is really doing a great job so there’s no need to change; the organization had done a fantastic job of convincing lobbying those who are renewing the contract; or there’s no other game in town.

It’s probably a combination of all three factors and really matters little to all of us until it’s you or a loved one who needs an organ. Full disclosure: I don’t need an organ. At least not yet. Don’t know anyone personally or through any association who needs one either.

So, after the Wall Street Journal breaks the Jobs Gets Liver in Tennessee story, the copycat media starts asking the obvious questions. Apparently so much so that these fucks at UNOS felt compelled to post a statement on their Web site (presumably they sent it out to the press as well) outlining the “formula” that’s used to determine who gets organs, when they get them and why.

You’re all big boys and girls so you can scan the statement for yourselves.

It’s a typical cover-our-ass statement. To the common fucking sucker, it would all seem to be very straightforward and above board.

I could take issue with just about every sentence in the UNOS statement. It’s a process, a system, a registry, a formula that is supposed to be objective in determining who gets organs and when but it’s embarrassingly and tragically flawed.

Bottom line, it’s all about your MELD score– that is, the allegedly “objective” calculations of lab tests of liver and kidney function that rates you from a 6 (least urgent) to a 40 (you will probably die in the next 20 minutes). If you score a 15 or higher, you’re at “considerable risk of dying” in the short term (three to 6 months) without a transplant.

These tests are administered, reviewed and recorded by human beings. I imagine doctors and nurses and administrators have access to the tests that are used to formulate the MELD score. That right there makes it highly vulnerable to tampering. Maybe it’s not as simple as opening up the patient’s file and changing a MELD score of 11 to, say, 18…but maybe it is.

Either way, you know a person with Jobs’ influence could get that number bumped up or manipulated or “interpreted” in some way. That’s just the way of the world.

Now, there’s a chance he could have legitimately scored 15 or above. We’ll never know because of the whole patient confidentiality thing. But remember, he’s been fighting a rare form of pancreatic cancer for some time now, so obviously the cancer had spread to his liver or some other complication derived from the pancreatic cancer (or its treatment) finally compromised his liver.

It’s beyond sad. There are no words. Cancer is the worst. It seems like everyone is either dying from it or fighting it or knows someone close to them who has.

But that doesn’t mean because you have a few bucks, you should get a viable organ ahead of someone else who doesn’t.

I’m sure Jobs didn’t bribe a doctor. Or bribe UNOS. Or flat-out purchase an organ from someone (though it’s not too much of stretch to see it playing out that way).

He did what rich people in need of organs do. He surely registered at each and every one of the 49 Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) sprinkled all over the country (maybe even registered at others outside the U.S. considering a liver is good to go for about 18 hours–making virtually anywhere in the world reachable by private jet).

Now, prospective organ recipients are supposed to show up in person at each every OPO and do whatever…the tests…the paperwork…etc. Maybe Jobs did that. Probably not.

It’s a numbers game. You get on every list at every OPO. You have a high enough MELD score (maybe legit, maybe not). And you have access to transportation that can zip you to the organ in time to make the transplant.

Oh, and you need the organ to be compatible. Obviously, that’s the real challenge. But if you don’t have the time, money or transportation options, your chances of getting an organ and staying alive are dramatically reduced.

Personally, I wonder what percentage of the world’s elite oncologists would have, after reviewing Jobs’ medical data, signed off on giving him any liver at all. Not to be crass, but might it all be a waste in the end?

Hey, don’t cry for this fucking guy. Steve Jobs never had any problem firing people or shutting down projects as the top geek at Apple. He’d do it on a whim. All business. Right or wrong, it was his call. Nothing personal. Tough shit.

That’s life.

I wonder if he’s already on all the OPO lists for another liver just in case. Or maybe a pancreas. Or an intestine. Hell, just put him down for everything. That will be the next iPhone app: Touchscreen Organ Registry. For another 99 cents apiece, Steve will share his “insider” picks on the best lunch spots near the OPOs (or, rather, where Google says to go considering Steve may or may not have ever physically been there).

Bottom line, Jobs was a gifted code writer and mostly successful businessman. And, according to many former employees, friends and even some family members, a world-class pompous fucking asshole. Denying the paternity of your own daughter…

Good luck with the new liver Steve. I’m sure you deserve it.

A few weeks ago, we drove across the state to my old hometown because I was feeling a little homesick. While there we stopped to try Uno’s new gluten free pizza, as there isn’t an Uno’s in the Tampa area. The service was really amazing.

I ordered the chocolate-banana shake to start with because I was starved and the husband was eating a giant plate of appetizer nachos without me (there are no GF appetizers on the menu). I hadn’t had it before, and didn’t really like it, so I didn’t drink it. The waiter took it off the check – even after we protested. I ordered my pizza, and apparently the first crust broke, so they also took that off the check, too, made me a new one, and offered a salad while I waited. Wow! The wait by Melbourne standards might have been long, but we were in and out of the restaurant in about an hour, which is not an unusual wait time to get seated and order in these parts, so the whole thing was way above and beyond.

The pizza itself is good. Not great, but good. The crust is very thin, and the sauce and cheese are awesome enough to cover up the crust’s faults. If you don’t have a non-chain pizza place nearby with a gluten free menu, it’s a great substitute for gluten chain pizzas. A friend suggested I order the rosemary chicken shredded and cooked on top. It might be worth a try.

On the way home we stopped at Starbucks and I tried the Orange Valencia cake. It tasted like an orange pound cake, really, IMO. It was very good. Moist, not crumbly, and sweet. The almonds are not really necessary, they could’ve left those off for the tree-nut/almond allergic crowd and it still would’ve been great.

It’s really nice to see more restaurants offering gluten free foods, even if they aren’t particularly healthy ones (though Uno’s did have some healthy options). A treat now and again, and being able to travel without worrying about having zero food choices, is really awesome.

Ya llevaba un tiempo sin pasarme por aquí, ando liado últimamente, pero bueno, aquí estamos.
La verdad es que la mayoría de la gente cuando hace un blog, metroflof, fotolog, o lo que le apetezca, lo primero que intenta es tener el mayor número de visitas posibles. Eso en mi caso no sucede, es decir, que yo puedo escribir aquí sin que nadie me visite, que no tendría ningún tipo de problema en seguir escribiendo.
En teoría, estas webs sirven para que una persona escriba, y otra la lea. La gente mira normalmente las visitas y si tiene pocas visitas se cabrea, enfada, disgusta o se desilusiona.
Hoy me ha dado por mirar las estadísticas del blog, y la verdad no es un blog con cincuenta mil visitas al día, pero, si te digo la verdad lo prefiero, ya que prefiero que entre la gente que de verdad le interesa leer el blog.
Dicho esto me he puesto a ver las búsquedas que han realizado los usuarios para llegar al blog, y la verdad es que me he asustado un poco al ver, el tipo de personas que pueden llegar a leer mi vida. En los tags de búsqueda se pueden descubrir cosas como: “niñas de 10 años masturbandose”, “mujere españolas masturbandose”, “masturbacion de mujer”, “niña masturbandose”, “porque una mujer no puede masturbarse co”, “partes de la masorca”, “video de como se masturba una mujer”, “masorca mas grande del mundo”, “palomitas de microondas”, “mujer mas cachas del mundo”, “videos de como masturbar a una mujer”, “me gusta el alcohol extremadura”. Y la lista sigue, y sigue, y sigue, y sigue….
Una vez leídos estos tags de búsqueda….¿uno que piensa?; ¿elimino el post que tengo de “Que pasa cuando una mujer se masturba con una mazorca”?. La verdad es que es acojonante que ese tipo de personas puedan llegar a leer esto que estoy escribiendo ahora mismo.
Lo de las palomitas lo llego a entender, por el post que tengo de “Palomitas con Hay poco rocanrol”…pero lo de la masturbación es excesivo. La mayoria de búsquedas se refieren a eso, y por eso mismo os hablo hoy de vosotros. ¿Quien cojones sois vosotros y que venis buscando en este blog?.

Tinanong ko ang May-Lalang:
Bakit malamig kung madaling-araw?
Bakit nangangatal ako sa tanghaling tapat?
At bakit ako nag-iisa?

Tinanggap ko ang aking krus
At lumakad palayo.
Ngunit ako’y patuloy na bumabalik,
paikot-ikot, sa kalbaryong
walang umaalalay sa akin.

Yumanig ang lupa,
may kirot sa’king dibdib;
Isang kristo ang nasubsob,
kasabay ng ayaw ‘pakalmang alon.

Mali.  Ako’y wala sa lupa.
Ako’y nasa ibabaw ng isang malaking krus.
Ako’y may krus, at ako ay krus…
Pasan ko ang mundo ko
pasan “nila” ako.

Krus sa ibabaw ng Krus

Tinanong ko ang May-Lalang:
Bakit malamig kung madaling araw?
At sumagot Siya, kasabay ng lindol.
Habang mahamog sa aking kama,
sa mga papag sa sangktwaryong
itinuring kong kalbaryo
ay may nag-aalimpuyong bagyo.

Walang magawa,
umupo, humiga,
di makatulog,
kasabay ng pagdagundong
ng kulog.
Paikut-ikot
sa matigas na higaan,
maalinsangan
kahit naglalaro ang ulan
ng habulan
sa bubungan.

At ako,
nakikipagtaguan.
Takip ang tenga,
pikit-mata
sa pumipilantik na kidlat.
Nanunuot ang liwanag
sa bungong may lamat.
Basa na ang unan
ng tubig na maalat,
di naman makasigaw
ang lalamunang malat
sa kaiiyak
nang tahimik.
Nagmistulang sanggol
na di pa lumalabas.
Habol ang hininga
sa paminsan-minsang singhap,
ngunit patago,
Bilanggo.
Ang isip, ang puso.
Nanginginig ang kalansay
At ang kalamna’y naninigas;
manhid ang balat
sa mga usiserong balahibong
nangagtayo’t naghahanap,
nagtatanong…
nagtatanong ngunit walang sagot.

Tumilaok ang tandang na paos.
Sa dilim, may liwanag na tumagos.
Tahimik,
Pero mahamog.
Nagbangon.
Tinig ay wala..
Salamat sa Diyos,
hindi ako naulila.

__

Unang tulang sinulat ko, tinapos, inayos at tinago.

Isang  kabalintunaan… Isang napakagandang kabalintuanaan… Isang biyayang nagbalatkayo… Nakilala ko ang isang bagay na tunay kong minamahal sa pamamagitan ng isang bagay na tunay kong kinasusuklaman.