#( con ) louise oliver.

[blushdrunksaa]

"i have a five year old..." she murmured. "she's part of all of this. if that's too much, then you have to tell me that now. it's just me and her against the world and has been since she was born. i don't have anyone else. i've lost...everyone, so if you leave then you leave. i can handle that, but she means more to me than anything else could ever possibly mean." / @allcxmeclose

[morronescamila-a]

               “we’ve been invited back home. well, my home. back to london. by sage and maggie. asher’s already over there. would you wanna go?” she looked over her shoulder at mallory as she played with daria. “i miss home. i really do. dd! wanna go home? wanna go see grandad?” she asked and daria squealed and started jumping up and down. “i have enough to pay for the three of us. s’not first class, but...” she shrugged. // @luriddaze​

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: Great British Energy Bill: Second Reading

Ayes: 348 (96.2% Lab, 2.3% Ind, 1.2% Green, 0.3% UUP) Noes: 95 (98.9% Con, 1.1% DUP) Absent: ~207

Day's business papers: 2024-9-5

Likely Referenced Bill: Great British Energy Bill

Description: A Bill to make provision about Great British Energy.

Originating house: Commons Current house: Commons Bill Stage: Money resolution

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Labour (329 votes)

Abena Oppong-Asare Abtisam Mohamed Adam Jogee Adam Thompson Afzal Khan Al Carns Alan Gemmell Alan Strickland Alex Baker Alex Ballinger Alex Barros-Curtis Alex Davies-Jones Alex Mayer Alex McIntyre Alex Norris Alice Macdonald Alison Hume Alison McGovern Alistair Strathern Allison Gardner Amanda Hack Amanda Martin Andrew Cooper Andrew Gwynne Andrew Lewin Andrew Ranger Andrew Western Andy MacNae Andy Slaughter Anna Dixon Anna Gelderd Anna McMorrin Anna Turley Anneliese Midgley Antonia Bance Ashley Dalton Bambos Charalambous Barry Gardiner Bayo Alaba Beccy Cooper Becky Gittins Ben Coleman Ben Goldsborough Bill Esterson Blair McDougall Brian Leishman Bridget Phillipson Callum Anderson Calvin Bailey Carolyn Harris Cat Smith Catherine Atkinson Catherine Fookes Catherine McKinnell Catherine West Charlotte Nichols Chi Onwurah Chris Bloore Chris Bryant Chris Curtis Chris Evans Chris Hinchliff Chris Kane Chris McDonald Chris Murray Chris Vince Chris Webb Christian Wakeford Claire Hazelgrove Claire Hughes Clive Betts Clive Efford Clive Lewis Connor Rand Damien Egan Dan Aldridge Dan Carden Dan Tomlinson Daniel Francis Daniel Zeichner Danny Beales Darren Jones Darren Paffey Dave Robertson David Baines David Burton-Sampson David Pinto-Duschinsky David Smith David Taylor Dawn Butler Debbie Abrahams Deirdre Costigan Derek Twigg Diana Johnson Douglas Alexander Douglas McAllister Ed Miliband Elaine Stewart Ellie Reeves Elsie Blundell Emma Foody Emma Hardy Emma Lewell-Buck Emma Reynolds Euan Stainbank Fabian Hamilton Feryal Clark Fleur Anderson Florence Eshalomi Frank McNally Fred Thomas Gill Furniss Gill German Gordon McKee Graham Stringer Grahame Morris Gregor Poynton Gurinder Singh Josan Hamish Falconer Harpreet Uppal Heidi Alexander Helen Hayes Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Ian Lavery Ian Murray Imogen Walker Irene Campbell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jade Botterill Jake Richards James Asser James Frith James Murray James Naish Janet Daby Jayne Kirkham Jeevun Sandher Jeff Smith Jen Craft Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jess Asato Jess Phillips Jessica Morden Jessica Toale Jim Dickson Jim McMahon Jo Platt Jo Stevens Jo White Jodie Gosling Joe Morris Joe Powell Johanna Baxter John Grady John Whitby Jon Pearce Jon Trickett Jonathan Brash Jonathan Davies Jonathan Reynolds Josh Dean Josh Fenton-Glynn Josh MacAlister Josh Newbury Josh Simons Julia Buckley Julie Minns Juliet Campbell Justin Madders Kanishka Narayan Karl Turner Kate Dearden Kate Osamor Kate Osborne Katie White Katrina Murray Keir Mather Kerry McCarthy Kevin Bonavia Kevin McKenna Kim Leadbeater Kirsteen Sullivan Kirsty McNeill Laura Kyrke-Smith Lauren Sullivan Laurence Turner Lee Barron Lee Pitcher Leigh Ingham Lewis Atkinson Liam Byrne Liam Conlon Lilian Greenwood Lillian Jones Linsey Farnsworth Liz Kendall Liz Twist Lloyd Hatton Lola McEvoy Louise Jones Lucy Rigby Luke Akehurst Luke Charters Luke Murphy Luke Pollard Maria Eagle Marie Tidball Mark Ferguson Mark Hendrick Mark Sewards Markus Campbell-Savours Marsha De Cordova Martin McCluskey Martin Rhodes Mary Creagh Mary Glindon Matt Bishop Matt Rodda Matt Turmaine Matthew Patrick Matthew Pennycook Maureen Burke Maya Ellis Meg Hillier Melanie Onn Melanie Ward Miatta Fahnbulleh Michael Payne Michael Shanks Michael Wheeler Michelle Scrogham Michelle Welsh Mike Amesbury Mike Kane Mike Reader Mike Tapp Mohammad Yasin Nadia Whittome Natalie Fleet Natasha Irons Navendu Mishra Neil Duncan-Jordan Nesil Caliskan Nicholas Dakin Nick Thomas-Symonds Noah Law Oliver Ryan Olivia Bailey Olivia Blake Pam Cox Pamela Nash Pat McFadden Patricia Ferguson Patrick Hurley Paul Davies Paul Foster Paul Waugh Paula Barker Paulette Hamilton Perran Moon Peter Dowd Peter Kyle Peter Lamb Peter Prinsley Peter Swallow Phil Brickell Polly Billington Preet Kaur Gill Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Rachel Hopkins Rachel Taylor Richard Baker Richard Quigley Rosie Duffield Rosie Wrighting Ruth Cadbury Sadik Al-Hassan Sally Jameson Sam Carling Sam Rushworth Samantha Dixon Samantha Niblett Sarah Champion Sarah Coombes Sarah Edwards Sarah Hall Sarah Jones Sarah Owen

Sarah Russell Satvir Kaur Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Seema Malhotra Sharon Hodgson Shaun Davies Simon Opher Siobhain McDonagh Sojan Joseph Sonia Kumar Stella Creasy Stephen Kinnock Stephen Morgan Steve Race Steve Witherden Steve Yemm Sureena Brackenridge Taiwo Owatemi Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Tim Roca Toby Perkins Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tom Rutland Tonia Antoniazzi Torcuil Crichton Torsten Bell Tracy Gilbert Tristan Osborne Uma Kumaran Valerie Vaz Warinder Juss Wes Streeting Will Stone Yasmin Qureshi Yuan Yang Zubir Ahmed

Independent (8 votes)

Adnan Hussain Apsana Begum Imran Hussain Iqbal Mohamed John McDonnell Rebecca Long Bailey Richard Burgon Zarah Sultana

Green Party (4 votes)

Adrian Ramsay Carla Denyer Ellie Chowns Siân Berry

Ulster Unionist Party (1 vote)

Robin Swann

Noes

Conservative (94 votes)

Alan Mak Alberto Costa Alex Burghart Alicia Kearns Alison Griffiths Andrew Bowie Andrew Griffith Andrew Mitchell Andrew Murrison Andrew Rosindell Andrew Snowden Aphra Brandreth Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Ben Spencer Bernard Jenkin Blake Stephenson Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Chris Philp Claire Coutinho Damian Hinds David Davis David Mundell David Reed David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Edward Argar Edward Leigh Gagan Mohindra Gareth Davies Geoffrey Cox George Freeman Graham Stuart Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Whately Iain Duncan Smith Jack Rankin James Cartlidge James Cleverly James Wild Jeremy Hunt Jeremy Wright Jesse Norman Joe Robertson John Cooper John Glen John Hayes John Lamont John Whittingdale Joy Morrissey Julia Lopez Julian Lewis Karen Bradley Katie Lam Kevin Hollinrake Kieran Mullan Kit Malthouse Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Mark Francois Mark Garnier Mark Pritchard Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mike Wood Mims Davies Neil O'Brien Neil Shastri-Hurst Nick Timothy Nigel Huddleston Oliver Dowden Patrick Spencer Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Priti Patel Rebecca Harris Rebecca Paul Rebecca Smith Richard Fuller Saqib Bhatti Sarah Bool Stuart Anderson Stuart Andrew Tom Tugendhat Victoria Atkins

Democratic Unionist Party (1 vote)

Sammy Wilson

[perfectscoreblog]

Perfect Score Conference: The Big day!

Hello Perfect Score fans! Can you believe it’s been over a whole week since the Perfect Score Young People’s Music Careers Conference, our music industry careers event designed especially for young people?

The day was a huge success: massive thanks to the exhibitors, panellists, speakers, performers, tutors, funders, gophers, teachers, guardians and (of course!) the enthusiastic young attendees for making it so special.

The event kicked off at around 9.30am as the young people arrived keen and ready to learn, already the atmosphere was buzzing as they excitedly perused the 15 exhibitor stalls and chatted to representatives from organisations across the music industry.

At 10am the attendees hustled into the auditorium to hear the keynote speeches. First, Pedestrian’s Director Bob Christer welcomed everyone to the event, and encouraged the young people to start devising some burning questions to put to the panel later! Louise Rickwood of The Creative Industries Federation started the keynote speeches by setting the scene of the event, revealing that the music industry is worth £5.2 billion to the UK economy and engaging the audience with some energetic live interaction, welcoming their contributions. This was then followed by some words from Oliver Morris of UK Music and Skatta, a young grime artist from Coventry.  They spoke about pathways into the music industry, and shared Skatta’s latest music video.

The young people were then let loose to explore the exhibition stands in more depth, including enjoying displays and demonstrations by organisations such as OHMI Trust, The National Foundation for Youth Music, Intasound, Confetti, Normans Musical Instruments, Youth Education Project, Leicester Music Education Hub, Steinberg Media Technologies, Musicians’ Union, The Mighty Creatives, Rock School Limited, Amara Publishing, Horus Music, DeMontfort University and Voice Magazine. The attendees had a fab time interacting with the exhibits, including music technology, software and instruments (including some unusual home-made varieties!)

During this time, young people who have been involved with the Perfect Score project developing and rehearsing their own original music met with UK Music to present their tracks and receive personalised feedback about ways to advance their music industry career. These young performers are known as the the Press Start Musicians and Trainees, and include Estar, Sly, 11, Usman, Muzi, TM, Aaliyah Essence, Nidah Hanif, and Dulzo.

At 11am it was time for the workshops.  One was lead by Leicester music-scene veteran and beatboxer Akshay Sharma (a.k.a. Mr. Shay), which was a journey into music technology: how it used, by who, and covering the evolution of music technology from the piano to modern-day samplers. The young people really got involved and enjoyed the session.

The second workshop was by event and stage manager Kelly McCormack, which was all about the role of the stage manager.  This included defining what a stage manager does, the skills and personality required, the pros and cons of the job, some insights from other people in the business, as well as good ways to get experience if you’re interested in pursuing stage management as a career. It was a fun session, which had the young people very engaged and interested.

It was then time for lunch, a busy time when the young people chatted to exhibitors and listened to music. Perfect Score Project Manager Kate Rounding even got the chance to show them her flute playing skills, accompanied by music tracks created during Pedestrian’s Concept music project!

The next activity for the day was the panel discussion, our panel was comprised of Oliver Morris, Louise Rickwood, Kelly McCormack, Skatta, Perfect Score Press Start musician Estar, and Tanyel Gumushan and Niall O’Connor of PPLPRS. Questions posed to the panel included those around collecting royalties and registering with PPLPRS, how the organisation operates, and the kind of corporate work that ensures people are licensed. There was also a lot of discussion about inspiration, why artists make their own music and the challenges that the panellists have faced in their music careers. The key message to the young people was that there is no straight pathway in anyone’s music career - everyone’s journey is different, but each time a door closes a new opportunity opens elsewhere. Young musician Estar spoke very confidently about her own musical journey with the Perfect Score project, and the work she’s doing towards getting her music known.

In the final part of the day the young attendees were treated to performances by the Perfect Score Press Start musicians. The performances were incredible and the atmosphere amazing as the musicians performed a diverse range of music including rock, hip-hop, R&B and reggae-inspired pieces in response to smiles, big applause and back row singing and dancing by the audience! Sly and Estar’s performance celebrated their home in the the city of Leicester, referencing lots of Leicester landmarks and features. All of the Press Start musicians showed great bravery and confidence, to the admiration of everyone watching.

The event then drew to a close, the day having been a great success. Altogether 145 people attended the event, including 80 young people. After the young people and their guardians had departed, a partner organisation forum was held which was attended by over 30 people from organisations including HQ Familia, Arts Council England, Soft Touch Arts and Technology in Music Education. This represented a chance to explore future thinking and discuss the development of joined-up approaches to working across Leicester and the East Midlands. All the music industry representatives that attended were very impressed with the Perfect Score Young People’s Music Careers Conference, and expressed a desire to continue and take it further.

We hope you enjoyed Perfect Score, and that we’ll see you again next year! Keep your eyes peeled for more videos, photos and snippets from the project, which we will share as they become available.

As ever, if you’d like to contact us about this project you can reach Pedestrian’s Perfect Score team by emailing perfectscore@pedestrian.info.

[lifewillflashby]

SUNNY VIBES — List

Películas bajo el Sol como antesala de lo que se nos acerca. Vacaciones y amores, playas y cuentos de hadas, folclore, tradición y algún que otro misterio es lo que encontrarás en esta lista. Todo bajo el calor, ¡prepárate para el verano!

Movies under the Sun as a prelude to what is coming. Holidays and love, beaches and fairy tales, folklore, tradition and odd mysteries is what you will find in this list. Everything under the sunlight, get ready for summer!

Call Me by Your Name (2017) — Luca Guadagnino

Diego: La historia de amor de Elio y Oliver respira verano. Este film podría estar fácilmente en numerosas listas por varios motivos ya que, a pesar de ser un tema tratado en cine anteriormente, respira originalidad y frescura a través de todo su metraje. En ocasiones, no es tan importante qué se hace, sino cómo se hace. En ¨Call me by your name¨ Luca Guadagnino hace alarde de una mano artesana sublime. En su metraje, hay perfección en cada plano, escena, silencio o mirada. Su dirección, junto con el alarde interpretativo y química entre Timothée Chalamet y Armie Hammer, nos deja ser espías de un amor veraniego como pocas veces vimos antes. Hay electricidad en pantalla y la sentimos asi como sentimos lo prohibido y el atractivo de probarlo. De extrema sensibilidad, merece estar en esta lista por sus planos constantes de naturaleza y quietud bajo el sol de un pueblo italiano, su río, sus baños al atardecer, su escasez de vestuario… En fín, película veraniega con una historia que traspasa la pantalla, sientes como tuya y se queda en ti para siempre. Elio y Oliver existen en el imaginario colectivo y siempre se quedarán en ese verano eterno en Italia…

Elio and Oliver’s love story breathes summer. This film could easily be in different lists for various reasons because even being a famous topic touched in movies before, it’s freshly approached along the whole film. Sometimes, it’s not that relevant what’s done but how it’s done. In “Call me by your name” Luca Guadagnino shows off his sublime artisan hand. In his film, there’s perfection in every shot, scene, silence or gaze. His directing together with the amazing performance and chemistry between Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, allow us to be spys and voyeurs of a summer love sotry we barely seen before. There’s electricity in the screen we feel as we feel the forbidden and the rush of testing it. Of extreme sensibility, this film worths being in this list for its amazing and constant shots of nature and stillness under the sun of a small italian village, its river, their baths, the lack of clothes… Anyways, a summery movie with a story that pierces the screen, makes you feel it like your own and remains with you forever. Elio and Oliver exist in the collective imaginary construct and they will always stay in that everlasting summer in Italy...

The Beach (2000) — Danny Boyle

D: ¨The Beach¨ es uno de esos casos de película maltratada en su momento por la crítica y público por motivos ajenos a la calidad de la misma.. El excelente Danny Boyle venía de haber cambiado el cine británico con ¨Trainspotting¨ y su incursión en Hollywood con el rostro de Leonardo DiCaprio acaparando su cartel cosechó todas las expectativas posibles y, una vez más, Danny Boyle hizo lo que quiso con su adaptación de la novela de Alex Garland. De esta forma, viajamos con Richard, el personaje de DiCaprio, a Tailandia, donde  en busca de aventuras,  acaba sabiendo de una paradisiaca isla, apenas tocada por turistas donde un grupo de viajeros han establecido una especie de utopía hippy que rápidamente atrapa al personaje de DiCaprio. Aquí, Boyle nos regala una disección de esta utopía y las dos caras de la misma a la par que del ser humano. Muy interesante ver como el paraíso se puede convertir en el infierno, motivado por la complejidad del ser humano y todo lo que compone nuestra psique. Las tremendas actuaciones, giros de guión, la música de Moby y sus parajes nos envuelven y trasladan a este paraíso soleado, donde querríamos quedarnos para siempre… al menos durante la primera mitad de la película.

“The Beach” is one of those cases of a movie beaten up by the press and the public when it was released for reasons beyond its quality. The excellent Danny Boyle was coming from changing british cinema with “Trainspotting” and his incursion in Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio’s face taking over the poster created all possible expectations and once again, Danny Boyle did what he wanted with the adaptation of Alex Garland’s novel. This way, we travel with Richard, the character played by DiCaprio to Thailand looking for adventures, where he ends up hearing of a heavenly island, barely touched by tourists where a group of travellers established a hippy utopia that quickly haunts DiCaprio’s character. Here, Boyle delivers a dissection of this heaven and its two faces as well as the complexities of the human mind. It’s really interesting to see how this paradise can easily turn into hell, motivated by human nature. The great performances, plot twists, Moby’s music and its beautiful settings involve us and take us to this sunny paradise where we would stay forever… or at least during the first half of the movie.

Spring (2014) — Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead

D: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead son dos directores estadounidenses que tienen una clara pasión por el cine de terror o de corte fantástico. Su trabajo ha sido por el momento muy interesante con ¨Spring¨ siendo hasta el momento su mejor obra . ¨Spring¨ es soleada y tiene un aura veraniega en gran parte debido a que transcurre principalmente en un pueblo italiano, donde Evan, un joven norteamericano, viaja para aclarar su mente. Allí acabará conociendo una chica, Louise que es mucho más interesante de lo que parece en un principio. ¨Spring¨ es tan fantástica como original. No creo haber visto nunca película igual y por este motivo, entre otros, siempre ha tenido un lugar especial en mi memoria. Merecería estar en diversas listas por su mezcla de géneros tan bien equilibrada. No obstante, su mejor cualidad es su inteligente guión y lo bien dibujados que están sus personajes. Las situaciones que vive Evan al llegar a Italia y la facilidad para empatizar con él, su viaje y sus emociones son lo que nos hace quedarnos y seguirle, su historia de amor la que nos emociona y su originalidad narrativa y mezcla de géneros la que la hace difícil de olvidar.

Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are two american movie directors with a clear inclination and passion towards horror and fantastic genres. Their works had been really interesting so far, with “Spring” being their best work yet. “Spring” is really sunny and has a summery vibe all the way caused mainly by its setting, taking place in an italian village where Evan, a northamerican young man, travels to clear his mind and will end up meeting an attractive woman, Louise, who’s much more interesting than it seems at first. “Spring” is as fantastic as original. I don’t think I’ve ever watched such a movie like this one and for this reason, among others, it always had a special place in my memory. It would be worthed it being in numerous lists for its mix of really well balanced genres. Nevertheless, its best quality is its intelligent script and how well portrayed their characters are. The situations lived by Evan in the movie when he gets to Italy and the easiness to empathize with him, his trips and his emotions are what makes us stay and follow him through the movie. His love story is what move us and its original narrative and mix of genres what makes it difficult to forget.

—

The Fall (2006) — Tarsem Singh

Adrián: Esta joya de producción India fue dirigida por Tarsem Singh durante 4 años y en 28 países diferentes. Es una historia épica llena de fantasía que me habría encantado escuchar siendo niño, aunque en eso me convertí cuando la vi por primera vez. Destacaría las interpretaciones de Lee Pace y Catinca Untaru, los dos protagonistas, quienes consiguen darle una intriga increíble a la película. Pero no puedo dejar de hablar de los paisajes... La ambientación y fotografía, dominada por escenas bajo el sol abrasador de Oriente Medio, muestran un espectáculo audiovisual a la altura de lo exótico de la cinta. Una espectacular y entretenida película que hará las delicias de nuestro niño interior, que nos hará viajar a los confines de nuestra imaginación.

This Indian production is a hidden jewel directed by Tarsem Singh for 4 years and in 28 different countries. It is an epic story full of fantasy that I would have loved hearing as a child, and yet that's what I became when I first saw it. I would highlight Lee Pace and Catinca Untaru’s acting, the two protagonists, who manage to give an incredible intrigue to the film. But I must talk about the landscapes... The setting and cinematography, dominated by scenes under the scorching sun of the Middle East, present us an audiovisual spectacle at the height of the film’s exoticness. A truly entertaining film that will delight our inner child, that will make us travel to the limits of our imagination.

Le Mépris (1963) — Jean-Luc Godard

A: “Le Mépris” nos muestra la grieta que se abre en la relación de una pareja, somos testigos de las terribles consecuencias que tiene el más simple arañazo si no es reparado y esto nos ayuda a entender lo importante que es la comunicación sincera. Godard conjuga esta historia con metacine, pues todo gira en torno al encargo que recibe Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) para participar en la próxima película del director alemán Fritz Lang (que se interpreta a sí mismo). Aquí entran en juego las sunny vibes: el set de rodaje se ubica en la isla italiana Capri, un entorno idílico del Mar Mediterráneo con un clima soleado perfecto. Asistimos a este fatal malentendido como un miembro más del equipo de producción gracias a la dirección de Godard, que nos muestra un paraje de lo más veraniego. Es difícil olvidar la magistral banda sonora de Georges Delerue, la belleza del entorno, la sensual y dolida mirada de Camille (Brigitte Bardot) o los paseos de Paul bajo el sol.

"Le Mépris" shows us the crack that opens in the relationship of a couple, we witness the terrible consequences of the simplest scratch if it’s not repaired, helping us to understand how important sincere communication is. Godard combines this story with metacinema, since everything revolves around the commission that Paul Javal (Michel Piccoli) receives to participate in the next film by the german director Fritz Lang (who plays himself). Here the sunny vibes come into play: the film’s location is the italian island of Capri, an idyllic setting in the Mediterranean Sea with perfect sunny weather. We attended this fatal misunderstanding as one more member of the production team thanks to the direction of Godard, who shows us a most summery setting. It is difficult to forget the masterful soundtrack of Georges Delerue, the beauty of the surroundings, the sensual and hurt gaze of Camille (Brigitte Bardot) or Paul's walks under the sun.

Midsommar (2019) — Ari Aster

A: A pesar de quitarnos las ganas de un festival europeo folclórico a medida que el metraje avanza, Ari Aster logra ambientar su película bajo un sol persistente. Por todos es bien conocido que la oscuridad es un elemento a tener muy en cuenta en el género de terror, y aun sin serlo es un recurso muy utilizado para provocar sensaciones de angustia, miedo o incertidumbre. En “Midsommar” no es así, en esta película sentimos todo y más sin necesidad de perdernos detalles por falta de luz. En este ambiente veraniego y de apariencia calmada no nos perderemos ni un solo detalle, incluso se nos auguran acontecimientos antes de verlos en pantalla. La puesta en escena de Aster es magistral en este aspecto, dándonos a conocer los entresijos de su película y haciendo evidente lo que puede suceder nos retorcemos en la butaca. Gran terror psicológico, no apto para estómagos sensibles, que nos hará viajar a una remota aldea de Suecia durante el solsticio de verano.

Despite taking away the desire for a European folk festival as the movie goes on, Ari Aster manages to set his film in the lingering sun. It is well known that darkness is an element to be taken into account in the horror genre, even in any other genre it is a widely used resource to provoke feelings of anguish, fear or uncertainty. In “Midsommar” it’s not like that, in this film we feel everything and more without missing details due to lack of light. In this summery and calm-looking environment we won’t miss a single detail, events are predicted before we see them on screen. The staging of Aster is masterful in this regard, making us aware of the ins and outs of his film and making evident what can happen, we writhe in our seat. Great psychological terror, not suitable for sensitive stomachs, that will make us travel to a remote village in Sweden during the summer solstice.

Pájaros de verano (2018) — Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego

A: Incursión en la cultura colombiana de producción sublime. “Pájaros de verano” es una película que puede tener varias lecturas. Ambientada en los años 70′ muestra el inicio del narcotráfico y cómo una familia indígena del desierto de Guajira hace frente a esta situación. Con la creciente demanda de droga el dinero llega a una familia que se enfrenta por primera vez a la ambición de poder desmedida que los billetes encienden en las personas. Una lectura sobre el orígen del desarrollo moderno y su impacto en las culturas antiguas. Con una fotografía espectacular y un ritmo pausado, contenido, me recuerda a un Nicolas Winding Refn que intercambia los neones y estilo pop por la crudeza de la tradición. Es tan lenta y violenta como soleada, así que pónganse mucha crema.

Sublime production as an incursion into the colombian culture. "Pájaros de verano" is a film that can have several readings. Set in the 70s, it shows the beginning of drug trafficking and how an indigenous family from the Guajira desert copes with this situation. With the growing demand for drugs, the money reaches a family that is facing for the first time the ambition of excessive power that bills ignite in people. A reading on the origin of modern development and its impact on ancient cultures. With a spectacular cinematography and a contained rhythm, it reminds me of a Nicolas Winding Refn exchanging neon and pop style for the harshness of the tradition. It is as slow and violent as it is sunny, so have plenty sunscreen.

[mtraki]

Prompt: 'palm reading' by @prowlingthunder

The man had been watching him for more minutes than Arthur was comfortable with— and with far more skill at disguising it than he was used to seeing out of the usual lawman or bounty hunter— so he made his way across the saloon floor and offered to buy him a drink.

He was tall and lean, of a height with Charles, maybe, and built a lot like John. Lanky, but none of it awkward or gangly. Introducing himself as ‘Donald’, he carried himself with quiet composure and a pair of pistols at his belt. He was a riddle, this man.

“You got business with me, Donald?” Arthur asked pointedly, “Otherwise I dunno why you been eyeballin’ me…”

Shrugging easily, the man fiddled with the sleeves of his smoke gray jacket, “Given the alternatives, friend, I’d say I’m better off looking at you than anybody else. Especially since I’m getting a free drink out of it…”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, we ain’t friends,” Allowing some of the familiar snarl to enter his voice, the outlaw sat forward in his seat, “make no mistake about that…”

If Donald sensed the threat in Arthur’s tone, he was completely unaffected by it, “So you’re the sort of man who buys drinks for men not your friends?”

“Don’t see how it’s your business how I spend my money.”

“Certainly not, nor how you choose your friends, mister…?”

“... Kilgore.”

“Mister Kilgore,” Donald nodded to himself, “But if you didn’t come over here to discuss how we might go about becoming friends, why did you bother? I imagine if you were keen on telling me to stop looking at you, you’re the sort of man to tell me outright instead of dithering about first…”

“You sound awfully sure you know the sort of man I am, Mister Donald…”

“I’m awfully sure I’ll find out before the day is done, Mister Kilgore.”

Their look held, and the still quiet in the rest of the saloon only increased the tooth-edge strain of the moment.

“You cannot be serious…”

Catherine did not spare the girls a bit of her annoyance while they grinned at her, all except Mary-Beth, who was still pouring over her left hand, enraptured, as if she too could see all the ‘palmist’ had said it foretold.

“Sounds a bit to me like you’re scared, Miss Catherine,” Jenny teased.

Scoffing, the pale-eyed lady fixed her a look, “What in the world might I be afraid of out of a con-artist?”

Tilly and Jenny exchanged a brief smile, that Catherine suspected she was not supposed to catch, before the former answered, “Maybe you’re scared she’ll see a future you might not like?”

“Maybe a future like Mary-Beth’s over there,” Karen cackled, “with a man and a big old house…”

The girls were in such a good mood, the lady didn’t want to bring them down, but really, a palmist of all things to tease her with? “The only thing she’s going to see in my palm are new callouses on soft skin and make up some nonsense from there.”

“If it’s all nonsense,” Jenny smiled, “what’s the harm?”

“I don’t want to be party to or paying for a silly story told to me under the pretense of some occult wisdom or insight. It’s an affront to my intelligence.”

“You’re right, Jenny,” Tilly nodded, “she sounds scared.”

Rolling her eyes, Catherine noticed the palmist— a beautiful middle-aged woman with dark olive skin, wearing an elegantly embroidered white blouse under a dark blue vest, and a bluish skirt, both embroidered and decorated with silver coins, and a red scarf tied over her thick black hair. Her tawny eyes were knowing, almost laughing.

It truly tested her patience.

Setting her jaw, she marched over and sat herself down on the little stool across from the keen-eyed huckster, “… Best make it a good one for these silly girls, soothsayer.”

“Only the best for you, my dear.” The woman purred, grinning broadly as she slid the coins handed to her into her purse.

He couldn’t help it. Arthur started to laugh— a dry chuckle high in his chest. Donald was sitting much at his ease, hands nowhere near his person to draw a weapon, and Arthur’s were on the table. The stranger wasn’t even trying to call his bluff-- Donald wasn’t intimidated in the least— and Arthur confessed to some small admiration for that bone-deep self assurance. Donald knew exactly the sort of man he was, what he was capable of, and where he belonged in the world. He had no need to defend himself against Arthur’s or anyone’s inspection.

Donald’s reedy laugh joined his, not a note of it mocking, and the big outlaw allowed himself to like him just a little. Maybe they could be friends. Eventually.

“You rode up on that gray war horse out front, didn’t you?” Donald gestured toward the windows that faced the street-front, “I ain’t ever seen a horse like that this far west, Mister Kilgore. How’s he handle the heat?”

“He handles it fine. Likes it better this way than the southeast where I got’em.”

“Cavalry or Artillery?” “Excuse me?” “He was used in the war, wasn’t he? Was he cavalry mount or artillery draft?”

“Oh…” Arthur shook his head, “Dunno. Probably cavalry, way he handles an’ thinks.”

Nodding, Donald said, “It’s one of the nicer things about those breeds: they think. Not like my borrowed Morgan.”

“Morgans are pretty hot,” The outlaw waved his hand absently, “No attention, all run. I like a more solid mount, myself.”

“Must not need much in the way of speed or distance...”

“He’ll go all day,” Arthur amended with a shrug, “But he ain’t winning any races.”

Smiling at the lady who brought them their full glasses, Donald asked, “You had him awhile then?”

“Less than a year. Had a paint mare before him.” The big outlaw did not mind that his fond memories of Boadicea showed in his voice.

They raised their glasses to each other briefly. Donald drank the whiskey readily, though confessed he ‘usually drank brandy at home’.

“Where’s that?”

“Graysea,” Was the easy answer, then he gestured toward the ceiling with his free hand at Arthur’s expression, “Michigan.”

“Cold up in those parts, I hear.”

“Especially now,” Agreed the other man, “I can’t say I miss the weather, but I’m hoping to be back in time for Christmas.”

“Here for work, then?”

“Yes, and I’ve left a family-- three young ladies who’ll be missing me, I imagine.”

Grunting in his chest, Arthur gestured for the barman to bring them another round before prompting, “Some business to drive a man from that…”

Something cold and sharp was threatening to twist free inside him, thinking about this man leaving his family miles behind him for other obligations…

But that was the way of the world, wasn’t it? Surely everyone knew that as well as he did…

It was with effort Arthur relaxed the fist on his thigh under the table.

“Five thousand dollars is hard to turn aside when you’ve a house to keep and young ladies to care for and protect, my friend.” Donald smiled casually, meeting Arthur’s gaze. He didn’t even lower his voice to mention it--not that he’d be easily heard by anybody other than Arthur as the evening crowd rolled in the doors.

“Jesus Christ!” The outlaw sputtered before lowering his own voice, not wanting to attract the wrong sort of attention, “Fi--five… thousand?! For what?!”

And just who was this man that felt sure of himself enough to tell a complete stranger— and a man who looked and dressed like Arthur did— about it in plain language at first blush?

Donald reached into his jacket and pulled out a small photograph, which he showed Arthur, “For her.”

Admittedly, it was a much different, far more interesting foretelling than what Catherine had overheard of Mary-Beth’s.

So far there was no man, children, or old houses— except the very shrewd guess that she’d come from a man and an old house. Which, honestly, could have applied to any number of women— especially ones with manners, diction, and hands like hers.

More than the words themselves— which Mary-Beth was listening to enraptured, and even Tilly and Jenny had stopped their giggling and paid keen attention (Karen continued to snigger and scoff)— Catherine was intrigued by the palmist’s methodology. The way she alluded and prodded for information in careful questions and vague statements, slowly piecing back a narrative that the information she’d gleaned or guessed about her client she’d actually foreseen in her hand. It was very well done, and the lady confessed to some small admiration for the skill of this ‘Madame Nazar’.

They’d mostly talked carefully around her past— how she had left behind the house of her father, with whom she did not get along, who was very wealthy and moderately influential. There had been a few odd statements concerning “multiple romantic liaisons and suitors” as well. Now, Nazar was making vague mentions about a “journey” when she suddenly stopped and carefully inspected the lines of her palm.

“… You will be betrayed,” She said gravely, looking up into her pale eyes, “You will be betrayed by one you have chosen to trust, and you shall lose all you sought to gain when you began.”

“... Who is she?” Arthur breathed, already knowing.

It was a photo of Catherine. There was no mistaking it. She was seated in a chair at a small round table with a large bouquet of flowers in a vase at the center, dressed in high fashion with her hair coifed to perfection, piled dark and silky upon her head with a fancy comb. Her pose and expression made it very much seem like the shot was a candid photograph, and yet Arthur suspected it was a carefully planned artifice. He’d seen her surprised— genuinely surprised— and she was a little too composed in this image.

“Catherine-Louise Schofield,” Was Donald’s answer, watching the outlaw’s face in a way that had Arthur wondering with twisting guts how much he’d given away already, “Seems she’s gone missing… You wouldn’t know anything about it, would you?”

“... Friend, that sounds a little bit like an accusation…” Dragging his eyes from the photo, Arthur met Donald’s sly look with a scowl.

“Not at all,” The other man replied casually, putting the photograph in his jacket again, “But if you did know something, I’d be prepared to pay you four hundred dollars for anything that points me in the right direction…”

A chill settled over Arthur, “You goin’ around makin’ this offer to everybody?”

“No sir, I’m not quite that foolish or desperate,” Donald smiled, and then indicated Arthur, “But you look like the sort of man who keeps an ear to the ground to find what he needs. I’m just wondering if you’ve heard anything that might help me.”

“What makes you think she’s in these parts? Woman like that looks like she might be more comfortable in New York or Europe…”

“Her father, Mr. Schofield, has connections there and around here. Seems a lot of people want in his good graces or want to remain there. He said he received word that she was this way instead of any other.”

“Alive?” Arthur’s mind whirred frantically, trying to figure out who it was that had given her away. Someone in town? Mr. Walker or his mousy wife? Someone in camp?

“I haven’t heard otherwise,” The man in the gray jacket leaned forward, folding his hands on the table, “I’m thinkin’ a pampered lady like her isn’t going to be doing so well for herself this way.”

“If she’s this way at all, she’d surely be staying in Blackwater,” Arthur mumbled, gesturing with one hand toward the door of the saloon, thoughts still racing. How many men like Mister Donald had old Daddy Schofield hired? How many people had Mister Donald here already talked to? Catherine hadn’t necessarily been shouting from the rooftops about who she was and where she came from, but there had been more than a few situations where her name in the right ear had made things easier for herself and the gang.

“I’d agree with you,” Was the shrugging reply, “except she’d be easily found there. Miss Schofield is known for being rather clever— too clever for her own good, in the words of her father. Too clever to be where she’s sure to be found, I suspect. No, I’m thinking she’s somewhere else…”

“Like where?”

“Not sure, but I’m certain wherever she is, she’s not alone. Woman like that will have protection…”

Arthur accepted his drink from the bartender and drank it thoughtfully before speaking again, “You suppose she’s with some man out in the wilds? Woman like her?”

“Woman like her? No,” Donald shook his head, “she’s got a whole host of men at her beck ‘n call. Men addled by her beauty and charms to support her and defend her— I was warned that she would be anticipating his sending us. I expect she’s made her preparations.”

“You think all this up yourself?” Arthur laughed, despite the growing knot in his belly.

Four-hundred dollars was good money, especially just for information…

Blinking, Catherine laughed lightly, “How dramatic!”

“Who?” Mary-Beth asked, more curious than concerned. Tilly was frowning, and Jenny’s face seemed to threaten violence. Karen had stopped scoffing.

“I cannot say for certain who.” The woman shrugged, “But assuredly, it would be someone with the means and motivation to do so.”

The girls didn’t seem satisfied, but Catherine decided this silly adventure was concluded and carefully withdrew her hand, “I must thank you for your insight, Madame. This has been most instructive…”

Nazar’s look was pointed, but not harsh, that knowing look still in her eyes and tugging at her lips, “You are quick to discount me, but I advise you think well on what you have learned.”

“Oh, believe me,” Catherine smiled back, “it will be long on my mind.”

Without another glance back, Catherine went to where they’d left the horses.

When Donald didn’t answer, Arthur sighed and started to climb to his feet.

“…Well, my friend, it just so happens,” He said, “I heard some things that might help you.”

Four-hundred dollars was good money, the sort that would guarantee a good lead eventually—especially around these parts. Donald was smart enough, or experienced enough, to scent a good lead from a bad one at face value. There really only seemed to be one way to benefit from this situation.

“I knew it wasn’t a vain hope you might say so, Mister Kilgore.”

“Call me Arthur.”

“Alright, Arthur.”

Adjusting his hat, the outlaw indicated the street, “Your morgan tied up outside?”

“Certainly. Are we leaving?”

“Might as well tie up this business quick-like. Pretty sure you’ll find what you’re looking for a few minutes out of town. I’ll show you if you’re up for the ride.”

“Lead the way.”

Arthur hesitated, “That ain’t such a good idea,” With a jerk of his chin at the bartender, Arthur frowned, “Like you said: she’s like as not got all sorts of fools in her pocket…”

“… We’ll leave separately then.” Donald was quick to catch on, nodding, the gleam in his eyes seeming to approve of Arthur’s foresight, “Where do I meet you?”

“Other side of the arroyo south of town there’s a fallen in building with half a roof. Only real landmark ‘round here.”

Then Arthur walked out, noticing Donald approach the bar, asking something about the whiskey they’d been served.

It only took him a few minutes to ride out to the meeting place, and there he dismounted, leaving Slim loose to investigate the scrub while he waited in what little shade could be found. Afternoon marched on, and though autumn had come to the desert, the sun remained hot during the day. That would change as they drew closer to winter. Resigning to wait, Arthur sketched out his still-fresh memory of his meeting with the man from Michigan. If things went well, he’d see little of him afterwords. Which was a shame—parts of Arthur still suspected the two of them could have been friends.

Some time later, even despite the drone of industry that could still be heard from town, it was impossible to miss the approaching hoof-beats and the nervous disconcerted nickering of the morgan horse as they approached the dilapidated construct.

“You weren’t kidding,” Arthur smiled ruefully, “Poor thing must spook at its own shadow.”

“You weren’t either,” Donald replied, “about this being the only real landmark.”

“Sure. Lemme tie him up here so he don’ spook off while we’re lookin’…”

The hunter didn’t protest when Arthur took his reins as he dismounted to hitch the anxiously dancing horse to one of the standing posts, “Looking?”

“You got binoculars?”

“Of course.”

Looking over his shoulder, Arthur said, “There’s a mesa further south. Take a look up there. See if they’re millin’ about…”

“’They’…?”

Already following his instructions, Donald dug in his saddle bags, withdrawing a nice pair of binoculars, and brought them up to his face to inspect the terrain to the south. Arthur stepped to his side and touched his shoulder with one hand and pointed with his other to the familiar plateau. “There. See ‘em?”

There wasn’t much choice in the matter…

“…Yes.”

While Donald’s eyes and hands were occupied, turning to focus on where he’d indicated, Arthur dropped his pointing hand and took the opportunity to bury his belt knife in the other man’s windpipe from the soft spot under his jaw, to the hilt. Choking on six inches of steel and his own blood, the hunter’s hands were still quick to abandon the optics, letting them simply fall, and reached for his gunbelt.

“Shhh-shhh, Donald…” Arthur muttered, knocking the faster hand aside and interrupting the other by yanking the knife out in a spray of blood, slashing down through the throat, and jamming the knife bodily between the third and fourth ribs, “No reason to get the town in a fuss…”

A gunshot would draw attention. A fleeing horse would as well. The morgan smelled blood and danced aside, tossing its head, snorting harshly, but remained fastened to the post.

Bright blood throbbed in time with the dying man’s pulse, filling the air with the scent of iron, soaking into both Donald and Arthur’s shirt as the killer held his victim upright, slowly lowering him to the desert floor. The parched ground gladly drank up the blood that pattered down onto it.

Donald’s eyes locked with Arthur’s even as his mouth worked uselessly, his voice cut open with his throat to prevent him from shouting.

“…It’s bad business, partner.” Arthur told him quietly, his own voice devoid of inflection.

With that, the mysterious hunter, Donald, from Graysea, Michigan, passed from this world.

Arthur did not think about the daughters and wife that would not see him at Christmas time, and would not be benefiting from five-thousand dollars— or any income from the man of the house, at all. Instead, he concerned himself with the task of checking his possessions— a dead man had no need for cash and valuables, after all, and taking his effects would help disguise this situation as a simple anonymous robbery.

He was not too surprised to see that Donald did not carry the four hundred dollars on his person. He was not that much a fool. Maybe it was waiting in his hotel room, or a deposit box in the bank. Both out of Arthur’s reach right now.

The others knew right away there’d be nothing good coming of approaching Arthur now. If his being covered in blood and dirt without an animal carcass to show for it didn’t deter them, the look on his face surely did.

All save one.

She was perhaps the very last person he wanted to see. Especially now.

She knew it as well, but that nobody would give him more than a glance, much less ask after his welfare, Catherine’s ire was sparked, as well as her alarm and curiosity.

“What—” He turned and stepped quickly to avoid her, but she maneuvered deftly to stay with him, “—what in the world—”

“—It’s nothin’ Miss Ca—” He cut her off, his voice rough. He’d have to tell her, but now wasn’t the time.

His tone and obvious falsehood only increased every aspect of her vexation, “—Don’t be absurd! You’re covered in blood—”

Too late she heard his tone sharpen in warning. “—Ain’t nothin’ you need to concern—”

“—Is it human blood—”

Something about the way she was needling him, some quality in her voice just now, as well as the incessant pressure, rubbed him raw inside. A blister of bitterness in his memory. She wasn’t the first woman to disparage him his actions…

Thoroughly aggravated, the outlaw loomed over the lady, his mouth a tight line as his brows cinched together.

“Yes.” Was his admission, his voice cold and quiet, “It is. If you didn’t know, Miss Catherine, that happens sometimes in the outlaw life—”

An angry, likely humiliated flush bloomed in Catherine’s cheeks and she began to protest, “—I’m well aware—”

He talked over her, his voice growing in volume and open anger with every word, as if they were being pumped fresh from the open sore that had flared to feeling inside him, “— so as to keep safe our free way of life. We do as needs doin’, Miss Schofield. I’ll do whatever necessary to keep these folk safe, and I ain’t gonna go out of my way to mind your ‘delicate sensibilities’ whilst I do it. I ain’t gonna dissemble with you ‘bout that. If you feel strongly about it, miss, I advise you to mind your peace!”

The sudden quiet informed that much of the camp had overheard. Catherine’s face remained expressionless, however, as she watched his face, remaining silent long enough for the usual camp activity to resume.

Also long enough for Arthur to feel the niggling discomfort of guilt for his outburst.

"... Don't do that." Her words cracked with frost, "Don't look at me and see somebody else— don’t speak to me like I'm someone else."

"Well I'm sorry—”

“—You're not sorry! You don't understand at all what I mean. But I see you, well enough, and I thought that was your own blood. I thought you were hurt. Don't confuse me with some noble soul who cares about the general suffering of others, Arthur. You're making it enough trouble worrying about those in my vicinity..."

Clearing his throat, uncomfortable with her inspection of the deeper goings-on of his self, Arthur reached into his satchel and wordlessly handed her the photo he’d taken from Donald.

“… Man from Michigan showed me this,” He explained quietly, “Offered me four-hundred dollars for any information I could give him. Says your father hired him.”

Her expression was closed, despite the sudden blood-drained pallor of her skin, “… I see. Are you hurt?”

“No. No, I’m fine…”

“That’s good,” The lady nodded and handed him back the photo, “… You should wash up before Miss Grimshaw finds you like this.”

Without another word, he turned to do so.

Catherine chewed her lip, turning over these troubling tidings in her thoughts. She would need to plan wisely and keep even more sharply aware of any news…

More than once, however, her thoughts snagged on the fact that Arthur Morgan had killed a man, seemingly in cold blood, for her.

For her freedom? Or simply to keep her?

Or should she take him at his word— that he’d done it to protect the Van der Linde gang?

[sistemabibliotecariomilano]

Buon compleanno, Valvassori Peroni

Nelle prime settimane del 2019 sui social è diventato un vero e proprio fenomeno globale il #10yearschallenge, cioè la pubblicazione, da parte dei frequentatori delle più diffuse piattaforme, di una foto di dieci anni fa e di una corrente: se siete su facebook o instagram avrete quindi visto decine di foto del 2009 di celebrità (più o meno tali) così come di vostri amici a parenti.

Prendiamo spunto da questo salto nel recente passato per farlo nostro. Da una fotografia di inizio 2009 del nostro Sistema Bibliotecario si noterebbe una vistosa differenza rispetto ad oggi: ci sarebbe una biblioteca in meno! In questi giorni infatti, dieci anni fa, veniva inaugurata la Biblioteca Valvassori Peroni, la più giovane delle biblioteche rionali di Milano. La ricorrenza è celebrata da una serie di attività e iniziative che avranno luogo in Valvassori e che culmineranno nell'apertura straordinaria di domenica 24 marzo (il programma completo lo potete trovare qui).

Non siamo purtroppo in grado di soddisfare la nostra curiosità riguardo a quale sia stato il primo prestito effettuato dalla Valvassori Peroni in occasione della sua apertura. Non è del tutto improbabile, però, che sia stato uno dei bestellers di allora: alcuni titoli in testa alle classifiche di vendita del 2009 erano infatti usciti negli anni precedenti ma continuavano a mietere successi.

Ne è esempio la trilogia Millennium di Stieg Larsson che Marsilio completava nella traduzione italiana proprio in quell'anno con La regina dei castelli di carta, pubblicato in Svezia nel 2007: le statistiche ci raccontano che fu quello il libro più venduto dell'anno, ma tra le primissime posizioni figuravano sia Uomini che odiano le donne sia La ragazza che giocava con il fuoco, i primi due capitoli della celeberrima serie svedese. Siamo invece sicuri che il primo prestito non fu l'altro grande besteller dell'anno: Il simbolo perduto di Dan Brown arrivò nelle librerie italiane (e quindi nelle biblioteche) solo a fine anno.

Se siete tra chi ha l'abitudine di appuntarsi con precisione quando (e magari dove) ha letto un romanzo, vi sarà facile andare a ritroso nel tempo e controllare su quali pagine vi stavate concentrando a quel tempo. Chi scrive non ha questa consuetudine ma ricorda benissimo qual è stata la scoperta letteraria più interessante di quell'anno: Herta Müller.

L'autrice, rumena di nascita e tedesca d'adozione, al tempo in cui vinse il Nobel era praticamente sconosciuta in Italia al punto che, prima della vittoria, nei nostri cataloghi editoriali nazionali figuravano soltanto due suoi titoli: il breve In viaggio su una gamba sola, che Marsilio aveva pubblicato nel 1992, e Il paese delle prugne verdi la cui traduzione italiana si deve al piccolo e meritorio editore Keller.  Fondata nel 2005, la piccola casa editrice di Rovereto aveva pubblicato solo l'anno prima quello che è considerato il capolavoro della Müller e lo fece pagando meno di mille euro i diritti per l'Italia. Mille come le copie che componevano la tiratura della prima edizione, alla quale seguì la ben più corposa fornitura che l'editore dovette realizzare in brevissimo tempo dopo l'annuncio del Nobel.

A proposito di premi, quello fu un anno particolarmente felice per le autrici. Il Pulitzer 2009 andò ad Elizabeth Strout per Olive Kitteridge, romanzo che ha avuto grande successo in tutto il mondo e che ebbe la meglio su altre due donne: Christine Schutt (nei nostri cataloghi potete trovare il suo Florida, ad oggi l'unica sua opera tradotta in Italia) e Louise Erdrich con Il giorno dei colombi, romanzo incentrato, come praticamente tutta la sua opera, sulle vicende spesso tragiche dei nativi americani.

Anche alcuni importanti riconoscimenti italiani nel 2009 vennero assegnati ad autrici: Margaret Mazzantini si aggiudicò il Campiello con Venuto al mondo, mentre Melania Mazzucco vinse il premio Bagutta con il suo affascinante romanzo ispirato alla vita di Tintoretto e della sua figlia illegittima Marietta: La lunga attesa dell'angelo.

Un piccolo caso letterario italiano di quell'anno fu il romanzo di un'esordiente: L'ultima estate di Cesarina Vighy. Un esordio che definire tardivo è quasi eufemistico: la Vighy aveva infatti superato i settant'anni quando Fazi pubblicò la storia di Zeta, una donna ormai irreparabilmente malata che proprio nella scrittura trova un nuovo modo di attraversare la vita che la sta abbandonando. Una parabola che ricalca la dolorosa esperienza dell'autrice (che ha lavorato a lungo alla Biblioteca di Storia Moderna e Contemporanea di Roma) in quegli anni. La Vighy morirà poco dopo aver dato alle stampe il suo secondo e ultimo lavoro letterario, il romanzo epistolare Scendo: buon proseguimento, il primo maggio 2010.

In tema di debutti ci sembra doveroso segnalare quello di un autore che in questi dieci anni si è affermato come uno dei maggiori punti di riferimento per gli amanti del thriller: Donato Carrisi. L’autore pugliese portava alle stampe nel 2009 il suo primo romanzo,  Il suggeritore. Nonostante da allora non sia passato così tanto tempo, vale la pena ricordare che, tra gli autori italiani, il genere era ancora molto poco percorso; Giorgio Faletti, che nel 2009 pubblicava il suo quarto romanzo, Io sono Dio, si stagliava abbastanza solitario nel panorama nostrano e infatti il suo romanzo fu, insieme a La danza del gabbiano di Camilleri, il libro di un autore italiano che vendette più copie.

Chiudiamo questo breve viaggio nel 2009 citando Nel nome del padre, il romanzo pubblicato dal protagonista di uno degli incontri previsti per il decennale, Gianni Biondillo, che venerdì 22 marzo sarà presente in Valvassori Peroni in compagnia di Barbara Borlini e Francesco Memo, autori di La vita che desideri.

Magari sarà l’occasione giusta per chiedere anche a loro se ricordano cosa stavano leggendo esattamente dieci anni fa...

[rabbittstewcomics]

Episode 363

Comic Reviews:

DC

Batman: White Knight Presents – Red Hood 1 by Sean Murphy, Clay McCormack, Simone Di Meo, Dave Stewart

Black Adam: The Justice Society Files – Cyclone by Bryan Q. Miller, Cavan Scott, Tony Avina, Marco Santucci, Maria Laura Sanapo, Norm Rapmund, Michael Atiyeh, Arif Prianto

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths 3 by Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Danny Miki, Daniel Henriques, Alejandro Sanchez

New Champion of Shazam 1 by Josie Campbell, Evan Shaner

Sword of Azrael 1 by Dan Watters, Nikola Cizmesija, Marissa Louise

Harley Quinn 18 by Stephanie Phillips, Georges Duarte, Romulo Fajardo Jr

Marvel

Demon Wars: The Iron Samurai 1 by Peach Momoko, Zack Davisson

Edge of Spider-Verse 1 by Dan Slott, Alex Segura, Karla Pacheco, Dustin Weaver, Mark Bagley, Pere Perez, Martin Coccolo, Caio Majado, DJ Bryant, Brian Reber

Who is She-Hulk? Infinity Comic by Rainbow Rowell, Ig Guara, Ian Herring

Marvel Meow 12 by Nao Fuji

Image

20XX Transport by Jonathan Luna

Dead Lucky 1 by Melissa Flores, French Carlomagno, Mattia Iacono

Golden Rage 1 by Chrissy Williams, Lauren Knight, Sofie Dodgson

Dark Horse

Frankenstein: New World 1 by Christopher Golden, Mike Mignola, Tom Sniegoski, Pete Bergting, Michelle Madsen

Survival Street 1 by James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright

IDW

Godzilla Rivals II: Godzilla vs. Batra by Rosie Knight, Oliver Ono

Dynamite

James Bond 007 1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Marco Finnegan, Dearbhla Kelly

Oni

Aggretsuko: Out to Lunch 1 by Josh Trujillo, Abigail Starling

AfterShock

Vineyard 1 by Brian Hawkins, Sami Kivela, Jason Wordie

Ablaze

Elle(s) 1 by Bastien Vives

AWA

Sacrament 1 by Peter Milligan, Marcelo Frusin

American Mythology

Two Gun Terror 1 by G.O. Parsons, Jason Craig, Konstantine Paradias, Jorge Pacheco, S.A. Check, Horacio Domingues

Zorro: Black and White Noir 1 by Jordan Gershowitz, Gerardo Gambone, S.A. Check, Guilherme Raffide, Alex Toth

Black Hammer: Visions by David Robertson and Scott Henderson

Ray’s OGN Corner: Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo

Additional Reviews: Sandman, Thor by Jason Aaron Omnibus Vol 1, Colorado Kid, Bullet Train, Lego Star Wars Summer Vacation

News: Flash officially ending after next season, Riverdale season finale, Nemesis returning next year by Millar and Jimenez, Batgirl movie cancelled, WB nonsense, She-Hulk schedule shift, new Keanu role, Gaga in Joker 2, Valiant woes, Omni news, Dublin Con reporting, Samurai Rabbit returns for s2 in September, Bryan Hill Black Panther series in October, MJ/Black Cat ongoing series, Punisher returning to the MCU?, First Kill cancelled, Planet Hulk mini-series, Kal-El returns one-shot, Anthony Ramos cast as the Hood

Trailers: Andor, Little Demon, Cars on the Road

Comics Countdown:

X-Men Red 5 by Al Ewing, Stefano Caselli, Federico Blee

Stillwater 14 by Chip Zdarsky, Ramon Perez, Mike Spicer

Twig 4 by Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm, Jean-Francois Beaulieu

New Champion of Shazam 1 by Josie Campbell, Evan Shaner

Aquaman: Andromeda 2 by Ram V, Christian Ward

Time Before Time 15 by Rory McConville, Declan Shalvey, Eric Zawadski, Chris O’Halloran

Batman 126 by Chip Zdarsky, Belen Ortega, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, Luis Guerrero

Batman: Killing Time 6 by Tom King, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez

Little Monsters 6 by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen

Dead Lucky 1 by Melissa Flores, French Carlomagno, Mattia Iacono

Check out this episode!

[morronescamila-a]

                             “i’m gonna throw up. she just sat down next to him and they’re flirting. if he hurts one hair on her head, i’m going to rip him limb from limb. that girl couldn’t hurt a fucking fly...” louise mumbled before grabbing a beer and sipping from it. she pulled out a bag of pills and waved it in front of mallory. “they’re like pain killers, but they feel so good.” louise popped one in her mouth and swallowed it down with her beer. she needed to relax tonight and what better way than with mallory and her friends like this. // @luriddaze​

[wankerwatch]

Commons Vote

On: The draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Requisite and Minimum Custodial Periods) Order 2024

Ayes: 323 (96.9% Lab, 2.2% Ind, 0.9% Green) Noes: 81 (95.0% Con, 2.5% DUP, 2.5% RUK) Absent: ~246

Individual Votes:

Ayes

Labour (312 votes)

Adam Jogee Adam Thompson Afzal Khan Alan Campbell Alan Gemmell Alan Strickland Alex Baker Alex Ballinger Alex Barros-Curtis Alex Davies-Jones Alex Mayer Alex McIntyre Alex Norris Alex Sobel Alice Macdonald Alison Hume Alistair Strathern Allison Gardner Amanda Martin Andrew Cooper Andrew Lewin Andrew Pakes Andrew Ranger Andrew Western Andy MacNae Andy McDonald Andy Slaughter Angela Eagle Anna Dixon Anna Gelderd Anna McMorrin Anna Turley Anneliese Midgley Antonia Bance Bambos Charalambous Barry Gardiner Bayo Alaba Beccy Cooper Becky Gittins Bell Ribeiro-Addy Ben Coleman Ben Goldsborough Blair McDougall Brian Leishman Callum Anderson Calvin Bailey Carolyn Harris Cat Eccles Cat Smith Catherine Fookes Catherine McKinnell Catherine West Charlotte Nichols Chi Onwurah Chris Bloore Chris Curtis Chris Elmore Chris Hinchliff Chris Kane Chris McDonald Chris Murray Chris Vince Chris Ward Chris Webb Christian Wakeford Claire Hazelgrove Claire Hughes Clive Lewis Connor Naismith Connor Rand Damien Egan Dan Aldridge Dan Tomlinson Daniel Francis Daniel Zeichner Danny Beales Darren Jones Darren Paffey Dave Robertson David Baines David Burton-Sampson David Pinto-Duschinsky David Smith David Taylor David Williams Dawn Butler Debbie Abrahams Deirdre Costigan Douglas McAllister Elaine Stewart Emily Darlington Emma Foody Emma Hardy Emma Lewell-Buck Emma Reynolds Euan Stainbank Feryal Clark Frank McNally Fred Thomas Gareth Snell Gen Kitchen Georgia Gould Gill German Gordon McKee Graeme Downie Grahame Morris Gregor Poynton Gurinder Josan Hamish Falconer Harpreet Uppal Heidi Alexander Helen Hayes Helena Dollimore Henry Tufnell Ian Lavery Ian Murray Imogen Walker Irene Campbell Jack Abbott Jacob Collier Jade Botterill Jake Richards James Asser James Murray James Naish Janet Daby Jas Athwal Jayne Kirkham Jeevun Sandher Jeff Smith Jen Craft Jenny Riddell-Carpenter Jess Asato Jess Phillips Jessica Toale Jim Dickson Jim McMahon Jo Platt Jo White Joani Reid Jodie Gosling Joe Morris Joe Powell Johanna Baxter John Grady John Slinger John Whitby Jon Pearce Jon Trickett Jonathan Brash Jonathan Davies Jonathan Hinder Josh Dean Josh Fenton-Glynn Josh MacAlister Josh Newbury Josh Simons Julie Minns Juliet Campbell Justin Madders Kanishka Narayan Karin Smyth Karl Turner Kate Dearden Kate Osamor Kate Osborne Katie White Katrina Murray Kenneth Stevenson Kerry McCarthy Kevin Bonavia Kevin McKenna Kim Johnson Kim Leadbeater Kirith Entwistle Kirsteen Sullivan Kirsty McNeill Laura Kyrke-Smith Lauren Sullivan Lee Barron Lee Pitcher Leigh Ingham Lewis Atkinson Liam Byrne Liam Conlon Lillian Jones Linsey Farnsworth Liz Twist Lizzi Collinge Lloyd Hatton Lola McEvoy Lorraine Beavers Louise Jones Lucy Powell Lucy Rigby Luke Akehurst Luke Charters Luke Murphy Luke Myer Mark Ferguson Mark Tami Markus Campbell-Savours Marsha De Cordova Martin McCluskey Martin Rhodes Mary Creagh Mary Glindon Matt Bishop Matt Rodda Matt Turmaine Matt Western Matthew Patrick Matthew Pennycook Maureen Burke Maya Ellis Meg Hillier Melanie Ward Miatta Fahnbulleh Michael Payne Michael Shanks Michael Wheeler Michelle Scrogham Michelle Welsh Mike Kane Mike Reader Mike Tapp Mohammad Yasin Nadia Whittome Natalie Fleet Natasha Irons Naushabah Khan Naz Shah Neil Duncan-Jordan Nia Griffith Nicholas Dakin Nick Smith Nick Thomas-Symonds Noah Law Oliver Ryan Olivia Bailey Olivia Blake Pam Cox Pamela Nash Patricia Ferguson Patrick Hurley Paul Foster Paula Barker Paulette Hamilton Perran Moon Peter Lamb Peter Prinsley Peter Swallow Phil Brickell Polly Billington Rachael Maskell Rachel Blake Rachel Hopkins Rachel Taylor Richard Baker Richard Quigley Rosie Wrighting Rupa Huq Ruth Cadbury Sadik Al-Hassan Sally Jameson Sam Carling Sam Rushworth Samantha Dixon Samantha Niblett Sarah Champion Sarah Coombes Sarah Edwards Sarah Hall Sarah Jones Sarah Russell Sarah Sackman Satvir Kaur Scott Arthur Sean Woodcock Seema Malhotra Shabana Mahmood Sharon Hodgson Shaun Davies Simon Lightwood Simon Opher Sojan Joseph Sonia Kumar Stella Creasy Stephen Morgan Stephen Timms Steve Race Steve Witherden Steve Yemm

Sureena Brackenridge Taiwo Owatemi Terry Jermy Tim Roca Tom Collins Tom Hayes Tom Rutland Tonia Antoniazzi Tony Vaughan Torcuil Crichton Torsten Bell Tracy Gilbert Tristan Osborne Uma Kumaran Valerie Vaz Vicky Foxcroft Warinder Juss Will Stone Yuan Yang

Independent (7 votes)

Apsana Begum Ian Byrne Imran Hussain John McDonnell Rebecca Long Bailey Richard Burgon Zarah Sultana

Green Party (3 votes)

Adrian Ramsay Carla Denyer Ellie Chowns

Noes

Conservative (76 votes)

Alan Mak Alec Shelbrooke Alex Burghart Alicia Kearns Andrew Bowie Andrew Griffith Andrew Murrison Andrew Rosindell Andrew Snowden Aphra Brandreth Ashley Fox Ben Obese-Jecty Blake Stephenson Bob Blackman Bradley Thomas Caroline Dinenage Caroline Johnson Charlie Dewhirst Chris Philp Claire Coutinho David Davis David Reed David Simmonds Desmond Swayne Gagan Mohindra Gareth Davies Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Greg Smith Gregory Stafford Harriet Cross Harriett Baldwin Helen Whately Jack Rankin James Cleverly James Wild Jeremy Hunt Joe Robertson John Cooper John Glen John Hayes John Lamont John Whittingdale Katie Lam Kemi Badenoch Kieran Mullan Lewis Cocking Lincoln Jopp Louie French Mark Garnier Martin Vickers Matt Vickers Mel Stride Mims Davies Neil Hudson Neil Shastri-Hurst Nick Timothy Patrick Spencer Paul Holmes Peter Bedford Peter Fortune Priti Patel Rebecca Harris Rebecca Paul Rebecca Smith Richard Holden Robbie Moore Robert Jenrick Roger Gale Sarah Bool Shivani Raja Stuart Anderson Stuart Andrew Suella Braverman Tom Tugendhat Victoria Atkins Wendy Morton

Democratic Unionist Party (2 votes)

Gregory Campbell Jim Shannon

Reform UK (2 votes)

Lee Anderson Richard Tice

[jmarjanah838]

Vegan chilli con carni. Thank you Circulon for sponsoring this recipe! Today I'm going back to Last month, I posted a round-up of easy vegan weeknight dinners and was blown away by how popular it was! I'd had numerous. (In Spanish, chili con carne means chili with meat and chili sin carne means meatless chili, so that name change makes a big difference).

You can make a delicious meat-free hearty chilli with a mixture of pantry staples and fresh vegetables.chili con carne, vegan chili, one pot dish, vegan chilli con carne, chilli con carne. For many years now, one of our favorite staple meals has been vegan chili sin carne. Every single week, you'll be sure to find me in the kitchen cooking a large batch of.

Hello everybody, it is Louise, welcome to our recipe page. Today, I will show you a way to prepare a special dish, vegan chilli con carni. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I am going to make it a little bit unique. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Thank you Circulon for sponsoring this recipe! Today I'm going back to Last month, I posted a round-up of easy vegan weeknight dinners and was blown away by how popular it was! I'd had numerous. (In Spanish, chili con carne means chili with meat and chili sin carne means meatless chili, so that name change makes a big difference).

Vegan chilli con carni is one of the most popular of current trending meals on earth. It's enjoyed by millions daily. It is easy, it is quick, it tastes yummy. They're fine and they look fantastic. Vegan chilli con carni is something which I've loved my entire life.

To get started with this recipe, we have to prepare a few ingredients. You can cook vegan chilli con carni using 16 ingredients and 4 steps. Here is how you cook it.

The ingredients needed to make Vegan chilli con carni:

{Make ready Tablespoon of olive oil.

{Take 300 g of vegan mince (meatless farm co mince).

{Take 1 of Onion, chopped.

{Prepare 2 of garlic cloves, chopped.

{Prepare 1/2 of red pepper, chopped.

{Take of Celery stick, chopped.

{Get of Mushrooms, chopped.

{Make ready 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

{Get 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs.

{Prepare 1 tablespoon of paprika.

{Take 1 tablespoon of cinnamon.

{Make ready 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce.

{Get 1 can of chopped tomatoes.

{Get 1 can of kidney beans.

{Take 1 teaspoon of Chia seeds (optional).

{Make ready of Rice.

INCREDIBLE VEGAN RECIPES by vegan chef Gaz Oakley. Hey Guys, Here is my Ultimate Chilli 'Con Carne' (Chilli with 'meat') of course this is cruelty free & is filled with my seitan 'steak' & pulled Oyster. This easy chilli con carne recipe is a quick and classic sharing option for a casual night with friends. Find out how to make it at BBC If you loved this, now try making our next level chilli con carne recipe for an extra special take on this classic.

Instructions to make Vegan chilli con carni:

Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat then add the mince, the onion and the garlic. Keep stirring until the onion is cooked..

Add the pepper, celery and mushrooms, and cook for a further 5-10 mins. Mix in the cayenne pepper, mixed herbs, paprika, cinnamon and soy sauce..

Add the chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and chia seeds, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid..

Whilst the chilli cooks, boil the rice for 10 mins. When ready, drain and serve with the chilli. Package up the remaining chilli into tubs for the fridge/freezer..

This smoky and spicy vegan chilli con carne features cocoa and coffee to add deep flavours to this Mexican classic. Fake meat… it's a bit of a 'Marmite' isn't it - you either love it or hate it, eat too much of it or never touch the stuff. A delicious vegan chilli con carne recipe that's warming and comforting whilst being completely healthy and nutritious. To me, this vegan chilli con carne is the definition of comfort food and it's so healthy! High in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals AND low in saturated fat, better than any animal.

So that's going to wrap it up with this special food vegan chilli con carni recipe. Thanks so much for reading. I am confident that you can make this at home. There's gonna be more interesting food at home recipes coming up. Don't forget to bookmark this page in your browser, and share it to your family, colleague and friends. Thanks again for reading. Go on get cooking!

[diceriadelluntore]

I Miei Libri del 2017

Un buon libro dovrebbe lasciare decisamente esausti al termine. Si vivono diverse vite durante la lettura. William Styron

1. Marc Levy - Il Primo Giorno

2. Simona Morani - Quasi Arzilli 

3. Francesco Paolo De Ceglia - Il Segreto Di San Gennaro

4. Daniel Glattauer - Le Ho Mai Raccontato Del Vento Del Nord?

5. Rene Fulop-Miller - Rasputin E L’ultimo Zar

6. Romana Petri - Le Serenate Del Ciclone

7. Pablo Tusset - Il Meglio Che Possa Capitare Ad Una Brioche

8. AA.VV. - Il Pregiudizio Universale 

9. Maurizio De Giovanni - Le Mani Insanguinate

10. Amor Towles - Un Gentiluomo A Mosca

11. Simone De Beauvoir - Una Donna Spezzata 

12. Marc Levy - La Prima Stella Della Notte 

13. Isaia Sales - Storia Dell’Italia Mafiosa

14. Sarah Perry - Il Serpente dell’Essex

15. Suad Amiry - Damasco

16. Louise Erdrich - La Casa Tonda

17. Guy De Maupassant - Bel-Ami

18. Vittorio Zucconi - Gli Spiriti Non DImenticano

19. Naomi J. Williams - Navi Perdute

20. Oliver Potzsch - Il Mago E La Figlia Del Boia

21. Alessandro D’Avenia - L’Arte Di Essere Fragili

22. Umberto Eco - La Ricerca Della Lingua Perfetta Nella Cultura Europea

23. Gianrico Carofiglio - L’Estate Fredda

24. George Sanders - Lincoln Nel Bardo

25. Jose Saramago - L’Anno Della Morte Di Ricardo Reis

26. Waller R. Newell - Tiranni

27. David Szalay - Tutto Quello Che È Un Uomo

28. Antonio Albanese - Lenticchie Alla Julienne

Il numero di titoli è uguale all’anno scorso ma ho letto qualche pagina in più, 9675. Manco ancora il traguardo delle 10.000. I libri sono stati di ottima qualità. con alcune punte, due in particolare, un romanzo ed un saggio, che se volete vi racconto in privato. 

“Per sognare non bisogna chiudere gli occhi, bisogna leggere”

Michel Foucault

[hoanq2802]

Nơi thể hiện tình yêu với vợ của vua Ấn Độ

New Post has been published on https://khachsanthanhdong.com/noi-the-hien-tinh-yeu-voi-vo-cua-vua-an-do.html

Nơi thể hiện tình yêu với vợ của vua Ấn Độ

Hoàng hậu Mahal Mumtalz không thể ngờ rằng vua đã cho xây dựng một Taj Mahal như cung điện để thể hiện tình yêu với mình.

Oliver Wapshott, nhà báo Anh, là đại trượng phu của Louise Nicholson – nhà Ấn Độ học. Anh biết tới Taj Mahal khi còn là một đứa trẻ. Sau chuyến tham quan Ấn Độ trở về, bà Nicholson đã cho con xem những bức ảnh về lăng tẩm và câu chuyện đằng sau nó. Kể từ đó, Taj Mahal yên đậm trong tâm trí Oliver.

Ở trường, Oliver vẽ lại hình dáng của lăng tẩm khi được yêu cầu vẽ vị trí nhưng mà mình yêu thích, trong khi khách du lịch cậu thi nhau vẽ điện Buckingham hay tháp đồng hồ Big Ben.

Phong cách xây dừng là sự kết hợp của kiến trúc Ba Tư, Trung Á và Hồi giáo. Điểm nổi trội nhất là sàn nhà bằng đá đá hoa chia ô bàn cờ đen và trắng, 4 tháp cao (khoảng 40 m) ở 4 góc và vòm tráng lệ ở trung tâm. Ảnh: Lonely Planet.

Ước mơ tới thăm nhà cửa nổi tiếng này của Oliver trở thành hiện thực khi lên 7, vào một tháng ngày tư nóng nực trong tour du lịch cùng ba mẹ và anh trai. Taj Mahal đã “vượt quá sức mong đợi” của nhà Wapshott. Họ cảm tưởng rằng nhà cửa như một thực thể sống động, cũng có vong linh.

lăng tẩm này không chỉ là nơi tới nổi tiếng nhất Ấn Độ nhờ kiến trúc, nhưng mà còn vì câu chuyện tình yêu lãng mạn, thủy chung phía sau. 

Năm 1628, Shah Jahan trở thành người thống trị đế chế Mughal của Ấn Độ (được biết tới với tên gọi khác là Chúa tể trái đất). Người vợ thứ ba là hoàng hậu Mumtaz Mahal đã qua đời khi sinh con vào năm 1631 ở Burhanpur. Đau buồn trước cái chết của vợ, hoàng đế đã cho xây dựng một tượng đài thể hiện tình yêu vĩnh hằng của họ. Cũng trong năm đó, việc xây dựng Taj Mahal mở màn. 

Mọi người thường lặng lẽ đứng trước mộ, để hiện sự tôn kính dành cho nhà vua và vợ. Ảnh: Trip Advisor.

Quần thể kiến trúc này bao gồm 5 hạng mục: cổng chính, vườn cây, nhà thờ Hồi giáo, khu nghỉ và lăng tẩm chính. Vật liệu được đưa về từ nhiều nơi như Ấn Độ, Trung Á, Trung Đông. 22.000 công nhân, 1.000 con voi đã làm việc liên tục trong hơn 20 năm để hoàn thành lăng tẩm – nơi thể hiện nỗi nhớ, tình yêu của nhà vua dành cho người vợ đã mất. 

Trong khu tinh vi Taj Mahal, mọi thứ đều đối xứng. Thứ duy nhất trái quy tắc này là những ngôi mộ. Nơi an nghỉ của hoàng hậu Mumtaz Mahal nằm ở trung tâm lăng tẩm, bên phải là của vua Shah Jahan. 

Có nhiều truyền thuyết về Taj Mahal. Một trong số đó là chỉ thị của nhà vua cho chặt mọi cánh tay và làm mù đôi mắt của những nghệ nhân đã xây dựng nên nhà cửa này. vì ông không muốn trên trái đất sẽ xuất hiện tuyệt tác thứ nhì giống thế. 

Divay Gupta, giám đốc Quỹ tín thác Di sản Văn hóa và Nghệ thuật quốc gia cho biết, một trong những điều về Tal Mahal nhưng mà du khách thích nhất là có thể nhìn thấy nó từ bên kia sông Yamuna, từ pháo đài Arga. Đó là điều nhưng mà Shah Jahan đã làm suốt những năm cuối đời, sau khi bị đại trượng phu lật đổ và kìm hãm ở đó.

Để vào khu tinh vi Taj Mahal, du khách phải đi qua cổng bình an. khách du lịch không được mang theo bất kỳ thứ gì ngoài tiền mặt để mua vé và máy ảnh. Đi tới cổng, khách du lịch sẽ nhìn thấy thoáng qua Taj Mahal, sau đó men theo lối đi rộng, dẫn tới giữa vườn rồi tới lăng. Rebecca Sulliva, tới từ Australia, cho biết con gái cô rất thích đi lang thang trong khuôn viên rộng lớn này và đòi tự tự sướng. 

Theo Lonely Planet, từ tháng 4/2018 du khách bị hạn chế thời kì tham quan lăng tẩm, tối đa 3 tiếng. Nếu quá giờ, khách du lịch sẽ phải trả tiền phạt tương đương tiền vé. Nếu xuất ngày nay thời khắc không đúng với giờ ghi trên vé, khách cũng không được vào.

Động thái mới này của Ấn Độ nhằm đảm bảo di sản UNESCO có 15.000 người tham quan mỗi ngày tồn tại kiên cố. Nếu ai làm trái quy định sẽ bị phạt. Giá vé vào cổng dành cho khách quốc tế là 1.100 rupee (hơn 350.000 đồng). Nếu muốn vào thăm lăng tẩm chính, khách du lịch phải đóng thêm 200 rupee (70.000 đồng). Trong khi đó, khách nội địa chỉ mất khoảng 50 rupee (16.000 đồng) cho vé vào cổng, và khoản tương tự khi vào lăng tẩm.

Địa chỉ: Dharmapuri, Forest Colony, Tajganj, TP Agra, phía bắc bang Uttar Pradesh, Ấn Độ. Agra là một TP lớn, thân thuộc với du khách. khách du lịch có thể tới Agra bằng xe bus, xe lửa… Có nhiều motel, KS quanh khu Taj Mahal. khách du lịch có thể thuê một nhà trọ cách đó 20 phút đi bộ, chung phòng với 5 người khác với giá 249 rupee (gần 80.000 đồng) một đêm.

thời kì mở cửa: 6h tới 18h30, trừ thứ sáu. Mỗi thứ sáu, Taj Mahal đóng cửa và chỉ có thể tới vào buổi chiều, dành cho những người Hồi giáo tới nguyện cầu. 

Có 5 ngày trong tháng, lăng tẩm mở cửa vào đêm hôm, từ 20h30, vào ngày trăng tròn cũng như trước và sau đó nhì ngày.

Anh Minh (Theo Lonely Planet)

Info: https://khachsanthanhdong.com/

[daleisgreat]

2019-20 TV Season Recap

Previous TV Season Recaps - (2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19) JULY 2, 2020 UPDATED WITH RANKINGS FOR WATCHMEN AND FINAL SEASONS OF GAME OF THRONES CLICK HERE TO JUMP RIGHT TO THEM Greetings, and welcome to my yearly TV season breakdown of all the shows I followed that were released during the past school year. For newer readers, please take a peek at previous TV recaps above that go as far back to the 2013-14 season. I usually try and watch a couple more shows during the summer and will update the top of this entry with an addendum link to new shows I kept up with during the summer. I will keep up my tradition of beginning with some animation shows….

South Park - This is a slight improvement from last year’s season, and it continues South Park’s return to form of episodic storylines. There were a couple dud episodes sprinkled in, but I was a fan of most of the ten shows this season. Standouts were cable TV installers fighting the war on streaming services, criticizing the Chinese government’s censorship to the point of getting South Park banned in China and an awesome season finale that sees Randy’s pot farm in despair when pot is outlawed during Christmas season so he turns to growing cocaine and gets everyone, including Santa and Jesus, hooked on it. Grade: B Simpsons - Last few years I have stuck to watching a few episodes a year of The Simpsons and Family Guy to at least have that constant association with those long lasting shows. Usually it is only the season premiere, finale and the Christmas episode of each show. The Simpsons I will also watch its annual Treehouse of Horror special, but something about this season kept me coming back to it where I watched nearly half of their episodes this season. They had their first ever Thanksgiving of Horror special which I was surprised with the amount of gore that got in. With this being the first full season of the show where it officially fell under the Disney ownership umbrella, there are now constant Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel references throughout, but likely due to the nature of the show it was not that intrusive to put up with. I really dug an episode with the Flanders coming to terms on reconciling with Maude’s death in a ‘special’ episode. Other fun episodes were the return of Sideshow Bob for the Christmas special and a touching season finale centering around Santa’s Little Helper, complete with a flashback to a clip of the very first Simpsons episode in 1989. Grade: B+

The Conners - Loving how most of the cast is settling into their roles by this point. I was thrilled to see the family regain ownership and reopen ‘The Lunchbox.’ Loved episodes that centered on that homey diner in the original. Sara Gilbert and John Goodman continue to carry the show on their backs. Seeing Dan’s dilemma of coming to terms with accepting the passing of Roseanne and committing to Louise was a chase that was worth following all season and had a gratifying payoff. I loved the ups and downs of Darlene and Ben’s relationship this season, and Ben has easily won me over as a regular on the show and I hope he is there to stay. Harris on the other hand…not so much. I would love to see more of DJ and his family in the mix, and it is disheartening to see he seems like such an afterthought of the show. Seeing Becky’s newfound motherhood troubles were a bit much to keep up with but it had its moments. One nagging issue I have with the series that has now been back for three seasons is that they never addressed what happened to Jackie's kid yet from the original run which is kind of ridiculous. Not even in a passing ‘Fred has custody now on the other side of the country’ sort of way. I was hoping to see Fred make a surprise return for an episode or something to address that, but will have to keep my fingers crossed for season four. Loved most of this season minus the Harris-centered episodes, and a couple of plotlines and barbs that felt like overkill. Grade: B+ Arrow – It was bittersweet to see the final episode of Arrow this past January. It was the last show I kept up with in the DC line of CW shows since I dropped the other couple midseason last year because it became too much to keep up with. Oliver had a fond farewell as the entire season built up that Olly would be riding off into the sunset this season. This season saw the continued use of jumping back and forth between current and future timelines where Oliver’s two children, Mia & William are all grown up and doing their own vigilante justice. I watched the entire five part Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover special between all the DC-CW shows. I will not attempt to explain it because my brain will explode in doing so, but it has a major impact dealing with Oliver’s fate and it all comes full circle in the finale with a heartfelt memorial for Oliver in front of a lot of familiar faces that were delightful to see again. The memorial saw an absolutely killer speech from Diggle that had my emotions running wild.

Arrow has consistently remained my favorite DC show on the CW. It had a touch more edge than the other shows which eventually morphed into a carefree, watered down formula I could not tolerate anymore. It sounds like there will be a new spinoff show with Mia and William starting next season, but I think but this seems like the perfect jumping off point from the ever-growing lineup of DC shows. There were times I felt like I needed a guide to keep up with all the time travelling plot threads, but the recaps helped keep me in check, and this was a great way to wrap up my favorite show of the CW-DC ‘Arrow-verse.’ Grade: A The Witcher – I heard a lot of positive buzz going into this Netflix original series, and being only eight episodes did not seem like too much of a commitment so I dove right in. The videogames this series is based on have been in my backlog forever so I cannot say how they compare, but I was won over by the two main characters of Geralt and Yennefer. Jaskier the bard was also the perfect companion to provide brief moments of levity. Henry Cavill has a tremendous presence as Geralt, and comes off as one powerful badass not to mess with. My favorite episode is where Geralt competes against a couple other factions going up a mountain to hunt a dragon that has many fun twists and turns. It would not be a medieval fantasy show without a big awesome setpiece war of a finale, and Witcher also delivers on that front. Only nitpick I have is sometimes the lore can be a bit dense to keep up with, but at only eight episodes that does not prevent it from being an easy recommendation. Grade: A-

Castlevania – The third season of the Netflix original show based on the hit videogame series is easily my favorite season of the three. There are several separate story arcs transpiring throughout the season, and most of them I was able to get into with the exception of Alucard's odd arc where mysterious loners seek his guidance who oddly turn on him for not revealing all his secrets after only a week under his tutelage. The rest of the cast had vastly more intriguing storylines. Trevor and Sypha are an adorably deadly couple that find themselves helping out a village filled with all kinds of dark secrets. Forgemaster Hector is wrapped up in a pickle of a situation as a prisoner of vampires who want global conquest. Forgemaster Isaac had an arc that I got into where he also is on his own quest for taking over the world. Something about the way it was written this season especially made it pop for me with each episode having one or two standout sessions of conversing. That boat captain especially, I want him to come back after his enticing conversations with Isaac! The last two episodes packed a really mean punch and compensate for the lack of action for the rest of the season. Sure as hell hope to see a fourth season soon enough! Grade: A Star Trek: Picard - During the early weeks of the global pandemic we are now in, a lot of streaming services offered extended free trials. I took advantage of that for CBS All Access, which is the exclusive home of Picard. Despite being nearly 20 years older since we last saw him as Picard, Sir Patrick Stewart remains masterful in the role. Now that it has been about a month since I wrapped it up, I am kind of 50/50 on the first season of Picard. There were some characters that I did not care for, but the show ultimately came together for a semi-decent season. Loved the expected old faces that returned for rushes of nostalgia I was totally into, and am glad only a few older faces returned to save room for future cameos. Took a while to get use to watching Star Trek in a serialized format with story arcs lasting the whole season, but I liked the crew Picard assembled by the end of the season, and although the season arc spiraled into a bit of a mess by the season finale that I additionally will refrain from attempting to explain, a big part of me is feeling like the cast was starting to organically gel by the last episode which leads me hoping for a better dynamic in season two. Grade: B-

Star Trek: Discovery (Seasons 1 & 2) – That CBS All Access trial wound up getting extended further into two months for me so I once again took advantage of that to plow through the first two seasons of the newest core Star Trek show, Discovery. The first season was a bit of a chore to get through. After an explosive two episode season opener setting up the protagonist Michael Burnham, the show gradually got less interesting as they mixed in plot tropes I despise like time travelling and alternate dimensions that play a major role in the first season. I will give props to a guilty pleasure time loop episode I was all in for however that can easily be watched in its own without taking in the rest of the serialized plot. I was not that into Rainn Wilson before, but his recurring role here as con-man Harry Mudd was my unlikely favorite character of the first season. My main gripe about the first season is it is all about Michael, with the rest of the crew primarily relegated to B and C plot affairs while most other past Star Trek shows shined the spotlight on the entire crew. The second season is a step up with some noticeable improvements. I liked the introduction of their versions of Captain Pike and Spock on here that drastically helped the rest of the cast to step up. Seeing Spock & Michael’s sibling rivalry and their past revealed as the season went on was an arc that I was able to invest in. Discovery did a little bit of fleshing out of some parts of the rest of the crew, but it could have done better where instead a lot more emphasis was placed on Michael's character making silly Jennifer Garner-esque reactionary faces. She does a mean vulcan eyebrow though, ditto with Spock! Special effects are in a league of their own, no idea how they have the budget for it with nearly every episode having a ton of spectacular action scenes. TNG nut in me would prefer Discovery to dial back the action a notch or two, but supposedly the new Pike spinoff show, Strange New Worlds, will do that next year. Season 1 Grade: C- Season 2 Grade: B- ====================================== UPDATE – July 2, 2020 ====================================== A couple weeks after I posted this originally I did one of them free one week trials for HBO Max to crank out two more shows I have been meaning to get to for quite some time so here are my thoughts on them….

Watchmen - The 2009 film is extraordinarily polarizing among anyone I talk to. I have a love/hate/love relationship with it myself. The HBO TV series from several months ago appears to be the same from the first few people I spoke with about it too after finishing it earlier this week. It is set in the present in 2019, some 34 years after the events of the graphic novel. I was hooked by the end of the first episode which had an impactful viewing experience due to the similarities of how the police are portrayed in Watchmen to the recent real life events/riots/protests in recent weeks. Nearly every episode had an interesting hook that spiraled into another arc that had its own callback and references to the original story and how the present world in the show was still enduring the rippling effects from the conclusion of the original saga. The second half of the season has a different dynamic to it once certain revelations are made of key characters and other characters are introduced. Seeing each episode’s dose of Ozymandias’ journey from the past 34 years had me scratching my head where it was going until his arc came full circle and it all pleasantly came together. A couple little twists and turns did not sit well with me in how the finale played out, but for the most part I was absolutely invested in the series throughout and hopes the show gets picked up for a second season which is currently in doubt because the season one showrunner feels the first season put an overall conclusion to Watchmen all together. Grade: A-

Game of Thrones - I finally got around to watching the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones. I somehow managed to escape spoilers all this time too. Was in no rush to see it due to noticeable step down in quality from the seventh season based on how rushed it felt and how it crammed two seasons of content into one. Unfortunately the same can be said here for the last season. The thing is though the first half of season eight is extremely good. Episode one is all about reuniting the characters and setting up for the battle of all battles against the undead army that has been building since the very beginning of the show. I loved how the second episode gave nearly every character a moment of their own to take in their presumable last evening before the fight ahead as they basked in each other’s fellowship and drink. Then the battle itself was a huge undertaking for a TV show to pull off a battle scene of that magnitude for over an hour, even with a premium HBO budget. There are parts where I can nitpick and see where they tried little camera tricks and implemented other special effects tomfoolery to give the false illusion they were on par with the AAA budget cinematic battles of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but by and large that battle with the Whitewalkers is an impressive feat of television filmmaking that I will never forget. Loved every chapter of that third episode. If you have fallen off of Game of Thrones after season seven, then do yourself a favor and at least watch episodes two and three of the final season. Now if the series would have ended after that big battle that would have been ideal, but there was still one Queen Cersei to deal with…. …and the final three episodes of the season eight dealt with the rest of the kingdoms building up for one last battle to take over the Red Keep and remove Cersei from the throne. The final three episodes feel overwhelmingly rushed and should have had their own expanded season, and that is saying something because those episodes are all longer than average episodes and around the length of a movie each. While the first half of the final season has key characters meet their demise in a blaze of glory, the final episodes have anticlimactic finales for fan favorite characters and it felt like the writers were trying to make the best of the worst situation for trying to wrap up the show. There are a couple fleeting moments I enjoyed for certain characters having a gratifying conclusion to their stories, but I could not shake this gut-wrenching feeling throughout the final two episodes that the wheels were quickly flying off the rails. For what it is worth, I did like Bran and Jon Snow’s final destinations and scenes for how they were shot and am now relieved I have now got this show out of the way. I avoided reading recaps and spoilers, but had a feeling this was not going to be a good season due to a general lack of reaction and enthusiasm for the final season as it was transpiring, minus a little optimism for the aforementioned midseason battle. The series finale came and went without much of an online reaction to my surprise and in the succeeding months little murmurs of ‘meh’ was what I picked up on in the general sense of how it wrapped up when asking around….and I am essentially on board with that after seeing it myself. Now with that out of the way…should I read the books? Grade: C Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap 2017-18 TV Season Recap 2018-19 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Baseball: A Ken Burns series Angry Videogame Nerd Home Video Collections Cobra Kai – Seasons 1-2 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 | Season 2 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld Final Season Star Trek: Next Generation – Seasons 1-7 Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television The Vietnam War: A Ken Burns series X-Men – The Animated Series: Volumes 4-5

[amorypalabras]

"No, pequeña. Vivo en la oscuridad porque allí puedo ser yo misma, y ser una misma es lo más importante que puede hacer cualquier mujer. Pero hace falta valor, y no nos enseñan cómo ser valientes, ¿verdad? A las mujeres nos enseñan a obedecer las normas." Soñar con la superficie (Louise O'Neill) 🔻 Hoy os hablo de nuevo de un retelling, aunque a diferencia del anterior que leí, La maldición de los reinos, este, también sobre La Sirenita, no ha sido del todo lo que esperaba. Nos encontramos con un mundo bajo del mar mucho más egoísta y cruel que el de la película de Disney, en el que las sirenas a penas tienen derecho a hablar, su función es meramente de adorno y acompañamiento de los sirenos, y eso le ocurre a nuestra protagonista, Muirgen, la hija menor de El Rey del Mar. Es ella la que, en esta ocasión, decide sacrificarlo todo por subir a la superficie y vivir su historia de amor con Oliver, pero las cosas no van a salir como ella espera. Nos encontramos con una historia con toques feministas, aunque a veces nos den ganas de zarandear a Muirgen para que reaccione. Y en la que, lo que más me ha gustado ha sido, la historia de su madre, y la Bruja del Mar. 🔻 Tenéis la reseña completa en el blog. ¿Os pasáis a verla? Link en la bio (linkup). 🔻 ¿Os gusta La Sirenita? A mí es, junto a El Rey León y La Bella y la Bestia, de las que más me gustan. ¿Y qué os parece que deje todo por amor, sin conocer realmente al chico? 🔻 🔻 🔻 #Soñarconlasuperficie #LouiseOneill #PlataformaNeo #TheSurfaceBreaks #TheLittleMermaid #LaSirenita #retelling #retellings #librosfeministas #LibrosDisney #leoycomparto #libros #literatura #books #bookadvice #booksofinstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookstagramespaña #instabook #instalibros https://www.instagram.com/p/CAISNE_IDr8/?igshid=vrwwd0pg9xyl

[documentaryoncinema]

Documentales, 21

'Exorcising cruising’ & 'The history of cruising', 2008, VOSE.

Presenta el proceso de preproducción y rodaje de ‘A la caza' ('Crusing’) de William Friedkin en 1980.

‘All the love you Cannes’, Gabriel Friedman, Lloyd Kaufman, 2002, VO.

Presenta el peregrinaje anual del equipo de Troma al Festival Internacional de Cannes. Con  Lloyd Kaufman, Quentin Tarantino, Claude Chabrol, Doug Sakmann, Scott W. Mckinlay, Yaniv Sharon, Heidi Sjursen, Smokey Miles, Chad Ferrin, Daniel Kraus, Ariel Wizman, Edouard Baer, Roger Ebert, Jean-Claude Van Damme y Roger Corman entre otros.

‘Bienvenido a Cannes’ (’Bienvenue à Cannes’, ‘Cannes: All Access’), Richard Schickel, 2007, VO.

Documental producido por TCM en el que se recorren los momentos más destacados de la historia del Festival Internacional de Cine de Cannes.

Con la presencia de Pedro Almodóvar, Emmanuelle Béart, Willem Dafoe, Dino De Laurentiis, Clint Eastwood, Abel Ferrara, Vincent Gallo, Lillian Gish, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Moore, Marisa Paredes, Debbie Rochon,Gena Rowlands, Martin Scorsese, Chloë Sevigny, Steven Soderbergh, Oliver Stone,Sharon Stone, Tilda Swinton, Kathleen Turner, Harvey Weinstein y Robin Williams entre otros.

'Los bravucones', NBC, 1963, VO, SE en YouTube.

Presenta una mirada a los bravucones, piratas y espadachines en los clásicos.

Una selección de 10 Films, 10 Directores, 10 Actores y 10 Actrices. Según criterio de Días de Cine de RTVE.

'Nueva York para amantes de mitos cinematográficos', VE.

'Nueva York en el cine' ('New York at the movies'), Nick Davis, 2002, VE.

‘Origen secreto: La historia de DC Comics’ ('Secret origin: The story of DC Comics’), Mac Carter, 2010, VOSE.

Presenta extractos de los cómics, las películas, las y series de televisión basadas en licencias de DC Comics con la visión de algunos de los creadores más influyentes de la historia del cómic y editores, entre ellos Neal Adams, Karen Berger, Mike Carlin, Dan DiDio, Neil Gaiman, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Paul Levitz, Dwayne McDuffie, Grant Morrison, Dennis O'Neil, el Papa Pablo, Louise Simonson, Waid Marcos, Len Wein y Marv Wolfman.

'DC Comics: The cinematic retrospective', Miguel Branco, 2016, VOSE.