The death of Theodosius the Great in AD 395 marked the formal division of the Roman Empire, leaving east and west to face the oncoming turmoil of the fifth century alone. From the outset, the western empire found itself without the all-round prowess and efficiency of its eastern counterpart, a fact which had already been confirmed since the unprecedented crises of the mid-third century. Although the Romans emerged united from the successive civil wars, foreign invasions and economic regression, the architects of the empire’s fourth century revival – most notably emperors Diocletian and Constantine – placed the focal point of their power in the east, increasingly leaving the western provinces to their fate in the face of continued internal dissension, economic stagnation and Germanic incursions. To further consolidate the east as the new heart of the empire, Constantine ultimately founded a ‘New Rome’ at the ancient town of Byzantium in AD 330 – Constantinople – with its own Senate and a new governmental framework. Constantine thus literally distanced himself from the corruption and decline back in Rome, as if reconciling himself with the idea that revitalising the west had become a hopeless endeavour which the east should no longer pay for.

When the empire formally split in AD 395, the eastern government boasted a degree of efficiency and uniformity unseen in the west because it mainly consisted of people of lower social status – people hand-picked by the emperor who owed much of their fortune directly to him – as opposed to the west’s ancient senatorial nobility. A loyal power base allowed the eastern emperors to act decisively against any dissent and keep a tighter rein on state affairs. By contrast, the corrupt senators in the west sabotaged their emperor wherever possible, monopolising key positions in the central government but refusing to work or pay for it and acting as de facto independent magnates within their personal domains. The situation was further worsened by the fact that the west lacked the east’s high degree of urbanisation, dense population and access to far-reaching trade networks and circulation of currency. Bereft of the stabilising influence of the east, the west quickly proved unable to pay for itself and was forced to accept increasing numbers of Germanic peoples into its territory, assigning them lands to govern as Roman ‘allies’ (Latin: foederati) and recruiting them into the army. This policy had its precedent in the agreement made with the Salian Franks as early as AD 355, four decades before the actual division of the empire. However, the western empire proved unable to control its new subjects and could do little to stop them from establishing and expanding independent enclaves. The central government’s resulting inability to raise taxes and recruit soldiers further increased its reliance on Germanic mercenary forces and caused the Roman senatorial elite to try and secure their personal power and wealth, leaving the ailing empire essentially powerless to rule. By AD 486, the western empire had fallen apart into independent Germanic kingdoms from the British Isles to Africa, effectively reducing the Roman Empire to its eastern half.

While the west collapsed, the east held out well enough. Constantinople’s relatively efficient administration and versatile economy raised the finances required to maintain and expand the imperial bureaucracy and infrastructure, buy off invaders (most notably the Huns) and hire barbarian mercenaries to bolster the army. The policy of military barbarisation was nevertheless halted in time and by the end of the fifth century, the eastern armies had been rebuilt with Roman recruits from Asia Minor. Combined with the excellent position and defences of Constantinople itself, the eastern empire proved strong enough to hold on to its heartlands at all times.

Although the empire remained intact, it also underwent a significant internal transformation: the Christianisation of its entire society. After a final bout of persecution under Diocletian in the early fourth century, Constantine gave Christianity the formal right to exist in AD 313 and wielded the Christian Church as one of his most powerful weapons throughout his reign, especially in building his new power base at Constantinople from AD 330. By the time Theodosius declared Christianity the state religion of the empire in AD 380, the bulk of the Roman people in east and west had already converted and the Church had become the most powerful institution in the empire, second only to the imperial government. The division of the empire upon Theodosius’ death in AD 395 did not hamper the influence of the Christian faith and the Church. Throughout the fifth and sixth century, the eastern empire saw the gradual disappearance of many things characterising the ancient identity of Rome: amphitheatres, public bathhouses, theatres, gymnasia, pagan temples and festivals were branded ‘profane’ and shut down; churches, abbeys and monasteries rose up in both the cities and the countryside; the importance of ascetic ideals rose dramatically, leading to a constricted view on marriage and sexuality, a glorification of virginity, monogamy and celibacy and the creation of a new monastic class with considerable governmental influence.

The empire had nevertheless changed little since the days of Diocletian and Constantine in terms of its governmental framework: until far into the sixth century, the imperial administration continued to be founded on prefectures, dioceses and provinces and the distinction between the government’s military and civil branches. Perhaps more importantly, the ideological attitude of Constantinople differed nothing from that of Rome in its heydays: only the Roman Empire had a right to exist, there could be no empire besides that of the Romans. The ‘circle of lands’ (Latin: Orbis Terrarum) once ruled by Rome had been broken by the western empire’s disintegration into a collection of Germanic kingdoms, but Constantinople considered this a temporary setback which could, would and had to be fixed. As the eastern empire grew in power at the dawn of the sixth century, it began to propagate the restoration of the imperial territory and dignity in its ancient entirety – Renovatio Imperii Romanorum. Boasts of this magnitude were nothing new to the Romans, but the propagandists of Constantinople now increased the importance of the religious element. After all, the empire had become the strongest proponent of Christianity – supposedly the ‘one true faith’ – and was deeply convinced of its central role in God’s plan. There could be no doubt that a Christian Roman emperor was God’s chosen representative on earth. As such, it was his holy duty to guarantee the religious unity of the empire and spread the Christian faith to every corner of the known world. Most of the Germanic kingdoms in the west were in fact already Christian but – with the exception of the Franks since AD 496 – they adhered to Arianism, which the Church had condemned as heresy at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and again at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. In the eyes of Constantinople, the western barbarians were thus not only destroyers and usurpers of Rome’s legacy but also dangerous heretics – an insufferable insult to the empire and God.

The man who led the Romans in their final attempt at restoring the empire was Justinian the Great, who rose to the throne of Constantinople in AD 527. Under his leadership, the Romans lost little time devising plans to realise the Renovatio Imperii Romanorum. Four goals were to be fulfilled: the reconquest of the lost western territories, the purification and codification of Roman law, the establishment of religious unity and a military-first economy. Ambition redefined.

To avoid a two-front war, the Romans first fought the Sassanid Empire – their traditional eastern nemesis – to a standstill in the Iberian War and subsequently concluded an ‘Eternal Peace’ in AD 532. Having neutralised the eastern front, Constantinople launched the final Roman assault on the western Mediterranean by attacking the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa in AD 533. The Romans smashed the Vandals at the Battles of Ad Decimum and Tricamarum that same year, reclaiming Africa and avenging the Vandal destruction of Rome in AD 455. Following up on its lightning victory in Africa, the empire invaded Ostrogothic Italy already in AD 535. Stubborn enemy resistance inflicted several defeats on the Romans and caused the war to drag on for nearly twenty years until a series of decisive Roman victories ruined Ostrogothic power, most notably at the Battles of Sena Gallica in AD 551, Taginae in AD 552 and Montes Lactarius in AD 553. However, the Ostrogoths brilliantly convinced the Sassanid Empire to reopen the eastern front from AD 542 onward, despite the ‘Eternal Peace’. Constantinople ended up fighting no less than four wars at the same time, invading the Iberian peninsula to attack the Visigoths in AD 552 while fighting the Ostrogoths in Italy, Berber tribes in Africa and the Sassanids in the east. Though the Romans reconquered southern Spain, were victorious in Italy, held out in Africa and fought the Sassanids to a new status quo, the ultimate goal of reclaiming the western territories proved too ambitious to accomplish. Three years after the death of Justinian in AD 565, the Langobard invasion of Italy undid much of Constantinople’s hard-fought reconquests, although the empire held on to key Italian regions, including the two ancient imperial abodes of Rome and Ravenna. In retrospect, the final Roman attempt at reconquering the west must be considered a short-lived pyrrhic victory at best, especially in the long run.

Far more enduring and successful was the second goal of the Renovatio-policy: the purification and codification of Roman law. To accomplish this, Justinian formed a commission of jurists of the imperial court and the empire’s most prestigious schools of law: Berytus (modern-day Beirut, Lebanon) and Constantinople itself. The fruit of their labour bloomed by AD 534 and went down into history as the monumental Corpus Iuris Civilis. Although it was presented as a single ‘body of civil law’, it actually consisted of three parts. First of all, the Codex Iustinianus gathered all the imperial edicts issued from the reign of Hadrian (AD 117 – 138) to that of Justinian until the year AD 533. Its primary purpose was to replace earlier incomplete compilations, most prominently the Codex Theodosianus, issued in AD 439 by Theodosius II and Valentinian III in the eastern and western empire, respectively. Upon Justinian’s death in AD 565, his Codex was expanded by the addition of edicts issued after AD 533 – the Novellae Constitutiones. The second and largest part of the Corpus was the Digesta, also known as the Pandectae: an assortment of legislative writings authored by no less than thirty-nine celebrated jurists from the heydays of the Roman Empire, including Gaius, Paulus, Papinian and Ulpian. The third part of the Corpus was the smallest but may have been the most influential on a day-to-day basis: the Institutes, a systematic overview of laws compiled as a handbook for law students, lawyers and jurists alike.

The bottom line of the Corpus was before anything that law and justice were no longer vested in ‘the people of Rome’ – represented by the Senate – but the emperor alone. Justinian’s Corpus thus not only made him the beating heart of Roman legislation, but also presented him as a ruler who considered the protection of his people a primary concern. However, the Corpus remained a fairly inefficient instrument for a long time because fewer and fewer people – even the intellectual elite – spoke and wrote the Latin language. Use of the Corpus was frequently restricted to unofficial Greek excerpts until the imperial government released a more or less complete Greek translation at the end of the ninth century and added a vast number of laws issued in the more than three hundred years since the Corpus was first created.

The third goal of Justinian’s Renovatio-policy represented the interweavement of state and religion and the idea that the emperor was the guardian of both. Like Constantine and Theodosius before him, Justinian considered it the supreme right and duty of the emperor to lead – and by extent, control – the Christian Church and safeguard the Christian faith against both internal and external threats. This was evident in that Justinian built the greatest cathedral in Christendom – the Hagia Sophia (Latin: Sancta Sophia; Greek: Ἁγία Σοφία, Agía Sofía; literally ‘Holy Wisdom’) – right next to the imperial palace in Constantinople, in addition to many other architectural projects of a religious nature throughout the empire. Perhaps more importantly, Justinian frequently used religion in Constantinople’s war-time propaganda and portrayed the wars in the west as a holy struggle against the heresy of Arianism. Religious zeal may have helped brute force abroad but sparked significant problems at home with monophysite teachings which claimed there is no distinction between the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ. Though condemned as heretics at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 and the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, many monophysites still resided in the empire, most notably in Egypt and Syria. Justinian’s pursuit of religious unity not only put monophysites’ loyalty to the empire in question but also created a political ground for attacking them. Neither imperial edicts and crackdowns nor the Second Council of Constantinople in AD 553 could solve the tensions which survived until the Arabs invaded the Middle East and Egypt in AD 634.

Constantinople’s constant state of war weighed heavily upon the empire’s economy, which aimed to support the army before anything. Severe taxation of the people was required for the war effort, not to mention Justinian’s majestic constructions and the food supplies for Constantinople itself. Public discontent grew radically as war exhaustion took its toll and the first European plague epidemic began to ravage the Mediterranean from AD 541. While the Sassanids beleaguered the imperial frontiers in the east and the war kept dragging on in the west, new waves of barbarian invaders – the Avars and Bulgars – advanced from the Ukraine to the Danube by AD 550, subjugating several Slavic peoples along their way and triggering a Slavic invasion of the Balkans from around AD 570.

Justinian died in AD 565, having led the Romans to their greatest triumphs since the days of Diocletian and Constantine. However, the dream of the Renovatio Imperii Romanorum perished with him. Never again would Constantinople be powerful enough to launch a similarly ambitious endeavour, let alone have a realistic chance at accomplishing it. In fact, the ruined economy, the war exhaustion, the plague’s devastating demographic and economic consequences and the renewed foreign invasions plunged the Eastern Roman Empire into an unprecedented crisis during the seventh century, leaving its survival hanging by a thread. The power of Constantinople nevertheless reconsolidated again and re-emerged as what is known in modern times as the Byzantine Empire…

Via deviantart.com

In search of confirmation, as well as freedom to ignore the bay leaf portion of future recipes I might encounter, I reached out to a number of chefs and asked them, "Are bay leaves bullshit?"

Esta es una selección breve y personalísima de algunos de los mejores talentos de la historieta actual en nuestro país. Y además, son chicas. Quédate para siempre con su trazo.

Ana Galvañ

Ana Galvañ abandona el mundo de la publicidad y la dirección de arte (donde le va bastante bien) para dedicarse de lleno a la ilustración y los cómics. Lo suyo es vocación y necesidad por contar historias. Asegura que ahora mismo es un poco más pobre y le ha subido el astigmatismo, pero es mucho más feliz.

Miriam Persand

Miriam Persand Miriam Muñoz (Madrid, 1985)- es diseñadora gráfica, testadora de videojuegos, ilustradora y autora de cómics. Ha publicado una novela gráfica, suya enterita (dibujos/guión) ‘Animal Party’ con Ediciones de Ponent, y asegura que el resto de su obra está dispersa en las agendas/cuadernos de sus amistades; fragmentos de cómics que ella hace cuando nadie mira. Miriam es co-directora de la revista Una buena barba, una publicación gratuita de cultura y actualidad que nace con el objetivo de difundir la cultura feminista y queer. A Miriam no hay que perderle de vista.

María Herreros

María Herreros (Valencia, 1983) empezó en esto de los cómics ya de adolescente. Ella es de vocación temprana. Ilustradora de trazo muy reconocible y enorme personalidad, sorprendió gratamente a crítica y público con su maravilloso ‘Fenómeno‘ un libro sobre seres extraordinarios, (Edicions de ponent, 2012). Desde entonces ha publicado varios cómics, creado fanzines y participado en otros, además de haber expuesto su obra en un sinfín de lugares. ‘Negro viuda, rojo puta‘ (Ultrarradio, 2013) es su último cómic, la historia de cómo conviven en nuestra vida cotidiana la frivolidad más absurda y el momento más trascendental. En breve publicará su nueva novela gráfica ‘Me dieron nombre‘. Acaba de ser seleccionada e incluida en el ‘Illustration now! 5‘ de TASCHEN.

Mireia Pérez

Mireia Pérez (Valencia, 1984) también es de inquietudes (y grandes habilidades) tempranas. En 2008 recibe una beca para estudiar en Angoulême y en esa ciudad (ninguna mejor) da comienzo a su carrera como dibujante de historietas. Desde entonces ha colaborado múltiples fanzines, en revistas como ‘El Manglar’ y ‘El Jueves‘, además de autoeditarse el cómic ‘Chica y Monstruo en la Llegada del Invierno‘, que tuvo su continuación en ‘Chico y Monstrua en la Llegada de la Primavera’. En 2010 gana el premio Injuve de Cómic e Ilustración y en 2011 el Premio Inter-nacional Fnac- Sins Entido de novela gráfica por su primera obra ‘Nómada’, la primera parte de ‘La muchacha salvaje’, primer volumen de una trilogía que esperamos con ganazas. Con muchas.

Mamen Moreu

A Mamen Moreu (Huesca,1985), los tebeos y sobre todo los tebeos de humor, siempre le han molado. En 2003 empieza ya a dibujar de forma amateur en varios fanzines y cuelga también sus historias en Internet. En 2009, la consagración: el por entonces director de la publicación Alberto Monteys, contacta con ella para que colabore en la revista El Jueves y comienza a publicar de forma profesional. Desde entonces, no ha parado. La insigne autora de Claudia Foreveryoung (Personaje que publica en las páginas de TMEO) saca con Astiberri su primer libro, ‘Resaca’, dedicado al personaje nacido en las tiras de humor: a la fiestera y entrañable Marcela. Además, Mamen junto con otras autoras da Iustre a ‘Caniculadas’, un blog que actualizan durante los meses de verano con el que ganaron el premio al mejor Webcomic en el Salón del Cómic de Zaragoza en 2013 y que próximamente dará que hablar en formato papel. Fans.

Natacha Bustos

Natacha Bustos (Ibiza, 1981) se dio a conocer en esto de los tebeos en 2012 como ilustradora de la novela gráfica ‘Chernóbil. La Zona’ -con Francisco Sánchez en el guión- editada por Glenat. Tebeo de gran acogida que ya ha sido traducido a varios idiomas. Ha colaborado en diversas publicaciones con varios autores: la última de ellas ‘Todas putas’ donde, junto con otras dibujantes, se recrea en ilustrar los polémicos cuentos de Hernán Migoya. Y también con guión de Migoya, Natacha colabora en la serie azul de ‘Nuevas Hazañas Bélicas’ (una revisitación del clásico) dando vida con sus dibujos a ‘La pasión aria’. Amor, erotismo y pistolas. Compren.

W.I.T.C.H. (Conspiración Terrorista Internacional de las Mujeres del Infierno), el legendario colectivo feminista surgido a finales de los sesenta, ha vuelto. En aquellos tiempos, sus hechizos reivindicaron el papel ancestral de las mujeres y hechiceras, el feminismo antes de que nadie lo llamase así. Los saberes arcanos: «Somos BRUJAS. Somos MUJERES. Somos LIBERACIÓN. SOMOS nosotras. La historia oculta de la liberación de las mujeres comenzó con brujas y gitanas, porque son las más antiguas guerrilleras y luchadoras de la resistencia, las primeras pro aborto practicantes y distribuidoras de hierbas anticonceptivas», afirmaron en su panfleto «Somos brujas, somos mujeres», difundido alrededor de 1968. Aunque quizás su acción más célebre fue cuando irrumpieron en el juicio contra los «Ocho de Chicago», acusados de conspiración durante los incidentes de aquel año en la Convención Demócrata. Las brujas lanzaron sus conjuros contra los amos y tiranos, contra el poder que tenía rostro masculino. Luego, cuando pasó la tormenta de los sesenta, muchas habían pasado a la clandestinidad, escribieron libros o siguieron en la militancia feminista. 

Nancy Kurshan y Anita Hoffman, de las primeras W.I.T.C.H., queman sus «hábitos de bruja» tras arrojar sobre estos los escritos de acusación contra los «Ocho de Chicago».

W.I.T.C.H., en la rueda de prensa para exigir la inocencia de los «Ocho de Chicago» acusados de conspiración.   Detrás puede leerse la pancarta que dice: «Somos forajidos a los ojos de América».

Cartel de las nuevas W.I.T.C.H.

 

Sucedió el 6 de febrero pasado en Chicago, en Logan Square, la ciudad donde en 1968 el grupo apareció vestido de brujas y lanzó sus hechizos contra el capitalismo y el patriarcado durante el juicio contra los 8 de Chicago. Lo definieron como una «acción y hechizo de protección» contra la especulación y gentrificación que vive la ciudad. Algo que recordaba a lo que sucedió hace cuarenta años: «Nos sentamos alrededor de una mesa a discutir qué íbamos a hacer al respecto –recuerda una militante feminista de W.I.T.C.H., sobre su acción de Chicago- y decidimos dar una conferencia de prensa y asistir a las vistas de la HUAC vestidas de brujas. Haríamos un hechizo a la HUAC y a los chicos acusados de ser los responsables de las manifestaciones de Chicago. Hicimos un escrito juntas».

Acción de Chicago de las nuevas W.I.T.C.H.

No había sido su primera acción. En noviembre de 2015, las nuevas W.I.T.C.H. aparecieron vestidas de brujas en el Thompson Center, también de Chicago, durante una acción de hechizo cuyo objetivo era «protestar por las desigualdades sociales».

Panfleto repartido por las nuevas W.I.T.C.H.

En su panfleto afirmaban lo siguiente: «Creemos que, históricamente, las brujas han estado en la vanguardia de la resistencia contra los sistemas opresivos, y estamos convencidos de que no hay una sola manera de ser una bruja. Estamos interesadas en el estudio de la relación entre la justicia social, el feminismo y la figura de la bruja».

Han vuelto. O al menos eso parece. Pero… quizás nunca se fueron.

 

Magilla Gorilla fue uno de los personajes más populares de Hanna Barbera, cuya serie se emitió en USA entre 1964 y 1967. Vivía en la tienda de animales del Señor Pebbles, que tenía siempre a Maguilla en el escaparate y nunca conseguía venderlo. No quiero ni pensar en lo costoso que debía ser alimentarlo. Chispitas era la única amiga de Maguilla, una niña de corta edad que iba siempre enseñando las bragas y que quería comprar al gorila.

Una relación complicada

Mr. Peebles de vez en cuando vendía a Maguilla: a unos militares que lo mandaron en un cohete a la luna, a unos mafiosos a los que reventó el negocio, incluso estuvo en un equipo de futbol americano hasta que los oponentes deportivos se dieron cuenta de que la manera de vencerle era distrayéndole con plátanos. Maguilla siempre acababa de vuelta a la tienda.

Una serie de Hanna Barbera sin invasores
del espacio exterior no es posible

Esta serie fue, como todas las de Hanna Barbera un ejemplo de modernidad en su momento. Hay un episodio de 1964, “Makin´with the Maguilla” que podría considerarse como uno de los primeros vídeos de musica pop de la historia. Puedes verlo aquí:

El optimismo y la fe ciega en la bondad de las personas es el tema central de la serie y el motor que mueve los corazones de los personajes principales. ¡Toma ya!. Creo que si vas a buscar la tienda del Señor Peebles es posible que todavía puedas comprar a Maguila.

The post Maguilla Gorilla appeared first on Teenage Thunder.

Los argumentos a favor de la guerra contra las drogas se están derrumbando a nuestro alrededor. Hoy en día, cerca del 53 por ciento de los estadounidenses creen que esta guerra no vale la pena y solo el 19 por ciento cree que sí.Tras viajar a varios países para escribir mi libro, Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, cada vez que un estado o nación decide terminar la guerra contra las drogas, se produce una especie de baile de tres pasos. Primero se genera mucha polémica y temor; después la gente lo ve puesto en práctica y entiende lo que significa; y por último la gente ofrece su apoyo.

En México, durante la última década el número de mujeres en prisión por delitos contra la salud o de drogas ha aumentado de manera alarmante, a una tasa superior a la de los hombres. En el caso de las mujeres, es más del 100 por ciento comparado con los varones, que es de alrededor de 40 por ciento, según afirmó Ana Pecova.

Después de que Colorado legalizara la mariguana y la gente viera que las tiendas legales pagaban impuestos y no la vendían menores, el apoyo incrementó y ahora el 58 ciento de la población está a favor y solo el 38 por ciento quiere prohibirla otra vez.

Después de que Portugal despenalizara todas las drogas en 2001 y empezara a utilizar todo el dinero para mejorar la vida de los adictos en vez de castigarlos, el consumo de drogas inyectables se redujo en un 50 por ciento. Incluso el policía que encabezó la oposición contra la despenalización cambió de parecer en público y el policía que encabezó la oposición contra la despenalización cambió de parecer en público y dijo que esperaba que todo el mundo siguiera el ejemplo de Portugal.

Después, Suiza legalizó la heroína para las personas que llevan más de diez años siendo adictas (con un sistema llamado tratamiento asistido con heroína, o TAH); nadie ha muerto de una sobredosis de heroína legal y la delincuencia se redujo significativamente. Por esta razón, el 70 por ciento del electorado suizo, que es muy conservador, votó para mantener la heroína legal en un referéndum nacional.

Como este debate empieza a ser cada vez más común, existen muchos malentendidos y equivocaciones que pasan por hechos. Es lógico, ya que se trata de un tema complejo que preocupa a la gente que quiere proteger a sus hijos y prevenir el daño. Sin embargo, sus miedos no tienen fundamentos. Estos son los tres conceptos principales que ayudan a disipar algunas de las preocupaciones en torno a la legalización.

Concepto 1: la prima de riesgo

El peor aspecto de la guerra contra las drogas, a mi entender, es la violencia que causa, del mismo modo que la prohibición del alcohol creó a Al Capone. Cuando una sustancia es ilegal, los comerciantes se ven obligados a recurrir a la violencia para proteger su territorio.

Imagina que tienes una licorería. Si alguien te roba una botella de vodka y te das cuenta, puedes llamar a la policía sin necesidad de recurrir a la violencia. Pero si vendes marihuana o crack y alguien te intenta robar, debes luchar contra ellos, ya que no tienes apoyo de la ley. Y tienes que asegurarte de que nadie se vuelva a meter contigo. La guerra contra las drogas, como dijo Charles Bowden, crea una guerra por las drogas, con armas de fuego y sangre.

Cuando se legaliza una droga, las empresas no reciben prima de riesgo porque no están asumiendo más riesgos que los que venden patatas o ediciones de la Biblia. Y cuando la prima de riesgo desaparece, el producto legal es significativamente más barato que el producto prohibido

Sin embargo, muchas personas responden con el argumento de que la legalización no va a dejar en bancarrota a los narcotraficantes y que van a seguir igual que siempre. El comentarista conservador británico Simon Heffer afirmó que, pese a la legalización, es posible que siga existiendo un mercado negro de traficantes y camellos ilegales porque las drogas legales serían más caras. Y la comentarista Deborah Orr, del periódico The Guardian,dijo en otro Deborah Orr, del periódico The Guardian, dijo en otro artículo que los camellos "siempre van a poder vender más barato que en el mercado regulado".

Muchas personas creen esto. Sin embargo, estos dos argumentos están basados en la falta de comprensión de la "prima de riesgo" que implica el mercado ilegal.

La mejor manera de explicarlo es con otro ejercicio mental. Imagina que te pido que cargues una botella de ron por toda la ciudad para llevársela a mi tía por su cumpleaños. Ahora imagina que en vez de la botella de ron, te pido que le lleves una bolsa de cannabis o una bolsa de cocaína. Serías muy cauteloso. Es probable que me digas que no. Y si aceptas, te gustaría que te pague más para cubrir el riesgo de ir a la cárcel en caso de que te atrapen con la mercancía.

Esta diferencia se denomina "prima de riesgo" y pasa en todos los eslabones de la cadena cuando una droga es ilegal. El agricultor que cultiva cannabis, opio o coca en Colombia, Afganistán o Marruecos recibe una pago más alto por los riesgos que asume. El tipo que hace la droga en un laboratorio recibe una prima más alta por los riesgos que asume. Los que cruzan fronteras para transportarla, que por lo general son una cadena de personas, reciben una prima más alta por los riesgos que asumen. Y los chicos que venden también reciben una prima más alta por los riesgos que asumen.

Cada una de estas primas hace que el precio se eleve.

Cuando se legaliza una droga, las empresas no reciben prima de riesgo porque no están asumiendo más riesgos que los que venden patatas o ediciones de la Biblia. Y cuando la prima de riesgo desaparece, el producto legal es significativamente más barato que el producto prohibido.

Esto nos muestra por qué la imagen que promueven Simon Heffer y Deborah Orr (y muchos otros) no está bien.

Pero hay otra preocupación que ellos no mencionan. Nadie quiere que haya un colapso en el precio cuando se legalice porque podría aumentar el consumo. (Cuando un producto se vuelve más barato, más gente lo puede comprar. Por ejemplo, si hoy baja el precio de la cerveza a la mitad, más personas saldrían a beberla). Así que compensas la brecha con los impuestos, igual que en Colorado y Washington. Así se mantiene el mismo precio y al mismo tiempo se deja en bancarrota a los narcotraficantes. Todos ganan porque esos impuestos se pueden destinar a la construcción de escuelas o a servicios de atención a los adictos para cambiar su forma de vida.

Y si todavía dudas de que la legalización es la solución, piensa en esto: ¿dónde está el Pablo Escobar de la ginebra? ¿Dónde está el Chapo del Bacardi? Desde que se legalizó el alcohol, no ha surgido otro personaje así. Cuando se legalizó el alcohol, el Al Capone del alcohol desapareció. Los negocios ilegales dejaron de distribuir la sustancia porque las primas de riesgo significaban que la industria legal los abarataba cada vez más.

Concepto 2: la prohibición es un banco de inversión para el crimen

Muchas personas argumentan que al finalizar la guerra contra las drogas, las bandas criminales simplemente buscarían otra forma de subsistir, como con la trata de personas, la prostitución, el secuestro u otras cosas más depravadas, como la pornografía infantil.

Sin embargo, estos dos argumentos nos debería ayudar a pensar de manera diferente con respecto a este tema.

Muchos consideran que el periodo de finales de la década de 1920 y principios de la de 1930 fue una época muy oscura en Estados Unidos, la era de oro del secuestro. Todo el mundo recuerda el secuestro del bebé de Charles Lindbergh y su muerte. No obstante, ese caso fue solo uno en la ola de secuestros que se vivió en ese momento y que desde entonces ha disminuido considerablemente.

¿Por qué hubo un aumento repentino en los secuestros en ese momento?

Para tratar de resolver este rompecabezas, cabe destacar que Colombia tuvo una enorme alza en secuestros a finales de Colombia tuvo una enorme alza en secuestros a finales de los ochenta y principios de los noventa. Y hoy en día, el norte de México es la capital mundial del secuestro.

¿Por qué hubo un aumento en esos años?

Es bastante obvio. Supongamos que decidimos secuestrar al hijo de una persona adinerada y queremos pedir rescate. Tenemos que pasar mucho tiempo vigilando a la víctima para saber dónde y a qué hora es más vulnerable. Necesitamos un coche. Necesitamos un conductor. Necesitamos un lugar para esconder al niño sin que nadie se dé cuenta. Necesitamos un equipo de personas para vigilar al secuestrado durante todo el día. Necesitamos un plan detallado de cómo pedir el dinero y donde recogerlo. Entre otras cosas.

Cuando se prohíbe una sustancia, como el alcohol, el cannabis o la cocaína, no es que esta simplemente desaparezca, sino que pasa a ser de los criminales. De pronto, los delincuentes tienen mucho más dinero que antes, miles y miles de millones. ¿Y qué hacen con todo ese dinero? Algunos se lo llevan a casa como ganancia y, como cualquier otro empresario, lo invierten en otros negocios.

El secuestro resulta muy caro y es necesario invertir una gran cantidad de dinero por adelantado.

Hay que conseguir ese dinero de alguna forma. Y no hay préstamos especialmente diseñados para secuestradores. Hay que pedir dinero prestado a otros criminales.

¿Ahora entiendes por qué aumentó el número de secuestros en EUA durante la prohibición del alcohol y en México y Colombia con la prohibición de drogas?

Cuando se prohíbe una sustancia, como el alcohol, el cannabis o la cocaína, no es que esta simplemente desaparezca, sino que pasa a ser de los criminales. De pronto, los delincuentes tienen mucho más dinero que antes, miles y miles de millones. ¿Y qué hacen con todo ese dinero? Algunos se lo llevan a casa como ganancia y, como cualquier otro empresario, lo invierten en otros negocios, como el secuestro.

La prohibición crea un banco de inversión para el crimen organizado. Y este banco de inversión sirve para extender el crimen a otras esferas.

Por esa razón, arrebatar las drogas a las bandas criminales ayudaría a disminuir los secuestros en vez de aumentarlos. Cuando se legalizó el alcohol, los famosos casos de secuestro en Estados Unidos disminuyeron drásticamente. Cuando el centro del narcotráfico se desplazó de Colombia a México, la ola de secuestros se trasladó con él.

Concepto 3: ¿por qué los delincuentes cometen delitos?

Algunos dirán que "ciertas personas son delincuentes por naturaleza. Si no pueden cometer un delito, van a buscar otra forma de delinquir porque está en su naturaleza". Una parte de la población delinque por naturaleza y lo único que podemos hacer es capturar y encarcelar a estos individuos. Llamémosle "la teoría cuantitativa del crimen".

Eso significa que, después de la legalización de las drogas, los delincuentes buscarían otra forma de hacer daño.

Aunque existe otra posibilidad. Pensemos que los delincuentes son personas a las que motivan por medio de incentivos, como a todos nosotros. Si te pidiera que pasaras una bolsa de cannabis o de cocaína de México a EUA, probablemente dirías que no. Si te ofreciera un millón de dólares, quizá lo pensarías dos veces. Y si te ofreciera mil millones de dólares porque para mí es un asunto de vida o muerte, seguro te costaría mucho trabajo decir que no. Llamemos a esto "la teoría de los incentivos de la delincuencia".

¿Cuál de estas teorías es la correcta? Resulta que podemos ponerlas a prueba. Y la evidencia es muy clara. Hay todo un campo de la sociología que se conoce como "la economía del crimen" y estamos al tanto sobre sus hallazgos.

Los criminales son humanos y se guían por incentivos, por más increíble que parezca. Por eso, cuando el desempleo juvenil aumenta, el número de delitos cometidos por jóvenes también crece. El crimen resulta más atractivo económicamente cuando hay menos alternativas. Por eso, cuando bajan los salarios de los trabajadores poco cualificados, la delincuencia aumenta en general: es posible tener mejores ganancias, como Walter White. Dos profesores de la Escuela de Economía de Londres hicieron un resumen muy útil sobre el tema, que puedes leer aquí . La evidencia de cómo influyen los incentivos en el mundo del crimen es abrumadora.

Si le arrebatas el control a una de las industrias más grandes del mundo (con un margen de ganancia del 300 por ciento desde la producción hasta la venta), eliminas uno de los grandes incentivos de los criminales. Esta evidencia indica que una gran cantidad de personas dejarían de delinquir. No lo hacen por la maldad inherente a su ser, sino porque quieren un poco de dinero y emoción.

No debemos guiarnos por el miedo, sino por los datos sólidos de que disponemos

Si el salario de los fontaneros bajara un 90 por ciento en 2016, ¿crecería el número de fontaneros en 2017? No. El mismo principio se aplica al narcotráfico. Cuando se reducen los incentivos, se reduce el número de personas que los buscan.

Por supuesto, algunos optarían por otros mercados ilegales que, por desgracia, ya tienen sus proveedores. Pensemos en la alternativa más citada: la prostitución.

Ya existe un mercado de hombres que quieren pagar por sexo y tienen dónde obtenerlo. Cuando se legalicen las drogas, no va a haber más personas que quieran pagar por sexo en comparación con la semana anterior. Ese mercado ya tiene un grupo de delincuentes que lo controlan. Sin un aumento en la demanda, no habrá un gran aumento en los incentivos, por lo que no habrá un gran aumento en el número de personas que quieran formar parte de esa industria.

Una vez más, esto no es solo una teoría. En Suiza, después de que se legalizara la heroína para las personas que ya eran adictas, el país no experimentó un aumento en la prostitución y el proxenetismo. De hecho, ocurrió lo contrario. Como se proporcionó heroína legal a las mujeres que trabajaban las calles y se les ofreció apoyo para cambiar sus vidas, la prostitución callejera desapareció casi por completo y nunca ha vuelto al mismo nivel de antes, cuando la heroína estaba en manos de los criminales.

Si las personas que creen en la teoría cuantitativa del crimen están en lo cierto, entonces lo que pasó en Suiza no tiene sentido; los narcotraficantes debieron haberse convertido en chulos. Pero no fue así, al contrario, el número de chulos se redujo. Creo que eso nos enseña una lección.

Por supuesto, todavía nos hace falta saber mucho más para poner fin a la guerra contra las drogas, pero hay muchas cosas que sí sabemos, empezando por el experimento de la legalización del alcohol y la legalización de drogas en varias partes del mundo, desde Uruguay hasta Washington y Suiza.

Lo más importante que aprendí de todo esto y lo que me hizo crear estos conceptos es que, para poner fin a la guerra contra las drogas, no debemos guiarnos por el miedo, sino por los datos sólidos de que disponemos.

Loco pero cierto.

Las tetas son una maravilla. ¡Vienen en tantas formas y tamaños!

Universal Pictures

Cierta gente ingeniosa de la empresa de lencería Third Love hizo un gráfico de los siete ~tipos de tetas~ que tienen casi todas las mujeres.

Así que, además del tamaño de la copa y de la banda, deberías considerar también el balanceo de tus tetas. Ajá.

youtube.com

Hay tetas que tienen forma de campana, que son más delgadas en la parte superior y más llenas en la inferior.

thirdlove.com

Tetas asimétricas, que son, como te lo debes estar imaginando, asimétricas.

La mayoría de las mujeres tienen cierto nivel de asimetría en los senos, pero si tienes una teta que es considerablemente más grande que la otra, entonces es probable que estés en esta categoría.

thirdlove.com

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Chili is personal, and you have your favorite recipe. I respect that. I'm not here to argue with your one true chili love.

But I would bet that there are some ways that you could make your tried-and-true recipe even better. I'm just talking about little things to add extra flavor here or give some richness there—small tweaks that, when tallied up, amount to a more fantastic chili.

Before we get into it, let's make sure we're all on the same page, generally speaking. The chili we're discussing today is a basic weeknight chili made with ground beef, canned tomatoes, and beans, though many of the tips can be applied to vegetarian chili and white chicken chili as well. I'm assuming a basic chili-making methodology of browning the beef and cooking the vegetables, then simmering everything with tomatoes and beans until it's ready to eat. If this sounds more or less like your recipe, then we're good to go. (And for all you Texans and any others who define chili in very different terms, feel free to avert your eyes for the time being.)

With this as our jumping off point, let's get right to it. Here are 10 easy ways to turn your next pot of chili into your best batch ever.

1) Start with a few strips of bacon.
In a pot of chili, just a few strips of bacon add a smoky, meaty depth. And it's not just the bacon itself that adds flavor, it's the bacon fat, too. Before you start your recipe, cook 3 to 4 strips of thick-cut bacon until they're as crispy as you like. Set the strips aside on a paper towel, and pour the bacon fat into a clean, heat-proof container. Now start your recipe, using the rendered bacon fat to cook all your chili ingredients. When you're ready to serve up some bowls, crumble the strips of cooked bacon over the chili and stir them in.

2) Cook the beef and the onions separately.
Many chili recipes call for cooking the beef and onion together to save time, but this crowds the pan; the ingredients steam instead of browning and you miss out on a flavor-building opportunity. If you have a few extra minutes, it's worth your while to cook them separately. Start with browning the beef (in a teaspoon or two of bacon fat!), then transfer the crumbles to a plate with a slotted spoon. Pour off any liquid in the pan, then cook the onions (in more bacon fat, naturally) until the onions are soft and starting to turn golden. Continue cooking your recipe as usual, adding the browned beef back into the pan along with the tomatoes.

3) Use real garlic.
Garlic powder has its time and place (hello, popcorn!), but it does not belong in chili. If your recipe calls for garlic powder, sub in 2 to 3 whole cloves garlic instead. Mince them finely (or grate them on a Microplane), then add the garlic to the pot when the onions are just shy of finished.

4) Give your dish some heat from an ingredient other than chili powder.
Think about cutting back on chile powder (start with just half the amount) and adding some other spicy ingredients to the pot instead. A few diced jalapeños will add a bright, fresh spiciness, while minced chipotles in adobo give chili more of a smoky, slow-burning character. You could also make a paste from dried chilis: Start by toasting a mix of dried ancho and pasilla chiles in a dry skillet, then soaking them in a bowl of warm water until soft. Drain the chiles, remove the stems and seeds, and purée them in a blender. Add this purée to the chili along with the rest of the spices.

5) Mix in a few tablespoons of tomato paste.
Tomato paste has an intense, concentrated flavor that makes tomato-based dishes like our taste even more tomato-y. This is especially handy when you don't have time to let a pot simmer for very long before serving: slow-cooked flavor without as much wait. Mix in 2 to 4 tablespoons of tomato paste along with the spices, and cook until you smell the aroma of warm tomatoes.

6) Add a secret ingredient.
Cinnamon, strong coffee, and dark chocolate all boost them meaty flavor in a good chili. Pick any of the following: 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 whole cinnamon stick, a shot of espresso, a small cup of strong coffee, 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, or a few squares of good-quality dark chocolate. Except for dark chocolate, add any of these along with the spices; add the chocolate along with the tomatoes and let it melt slowly into the chili.

7) Deglaze the pan with wine, beer, or cider.
If you've followed any of the steps above, you will likely end up with a dark, sticky layer on the bottom of your pan—this is tasty stuff. Once you've finished browning the meat, cooking the vegetables, and adding the spices, deglaze the hot pan by adding a cup or so of red wine, beer, or hard cider. Scrape up that sticky layer as the alcohol bubbles and let it dissolve into the liquid. The alcohol itself will add even more good flavor to the chili, so continue simmering until the alcohol has reduced by half, then continue with the recipe.

8) Simmer your chili at least an hour.
A long simmer of an hour or more is good for two reasons. First, it allows time for the beef to become completely tender. Second, it gives all the various ingredients you've thrown in your chili a chance to mingle. If your favorite recipe calls for just a quick simmer, try cooking it a little longer next time and see what you think.

9) Add a splash of something acidic at the end.
Sometimes, despite all the T.L.C. we've put into our chili the whole way through, it can still taste like it's missing something at the end. Chances are good that "something " is actually acid. A splash of wine, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even lemon juice can help perk up the flavors.

10) Cook your chili the day before.
There's one piece of advice that so many chili recipes overlook: Chili is almost always better the next day. In the fridge overnight, harsh flavors mellow; brothy chilis become silky; and the disparate ingredients become one harmonious whole. If you're cooking your chili for a dinner party, think about cooking it the day before so you can take full advantage of this overnight upgrade.

Ready to put what you've learned to the test?

Hoy no os traigo una receta como tal pero sí os explico cómo preparar los totopos caseros.
Los totopos, mal llamados por aquí en España Nachos, son trozos de tortilla de maíz fritas o tostadas al horno que suelen acompañar frijoles y todo tipo de salsas. Suelen tener forma triangular y son de distintos tamaños.

Los totopos se suelen elaborar con sobrantes de tortilla de maíz, la cual se corta en trozos triangulares y se ponen a freír. También pueden tostarse en el horno.




Seguir leyendo

Fad diets typically meet three requirements: They promise dramatic results, they require dramatic dietary or lifestyle changes, and they become very, very popular. Often a fourth parameter is that these diets are later declared to be fraudulent, dangerous, or completely unfounded.

Like many women, I've subscribed to plenty of diet fads, supplements, and treatments. I have even invented some diets myself, like my junior year of high school when I ate nothing but Green Tea Fat Burner soft-gels and deli meat turkey. I tried the Infrared Body Wrap at the tanning salon. I've purchased cellulite-reducing cream, $15 green juices, and 100 calorie packs. At 17, I did the Master Cleanse. I've replaced my fair share of meals with "protein shakes." I went vegan after reading Skinny Bitch. While I never tried the cabbage soup diet, I did do a similar soup-only program in college during which I subsisted on leeks, cayenne pepper, and water. Then there was that summer filled with Vyvanse and Cardio Barre, which ended in an anxiety attack that sent me to the emergency room.

I'll admit that diet fads appealed to me primarily because I placed more value on my bony clavicle than my health, happiness, and sanity. But extreme methods and questionable pills also drew me because they promised fast, quantifiable results. And I'm not alone: for the past two centuries, diet fads (and the writers, dietitians, entrepreneurs, and celebrities who popularize them) have held the rapt attention of the health-conscious and self-conscious alike. From Lord Byron's diary to soap that washes your fat right off, here's a comprehensive history of diet fads.

1800s: The Starvation Diet

Though anorexia nervosa was first designated as a clinical term in the 1870s, voluntary emaciation (or fasting) was not a new phenomenon then. As Joan Jacob Brumberg explains in her book Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa, "fasting girls" in Medieval Europe were labeled "anorexia mirabilis" (translation: "miraculous lack of appetite"); these young women were said to survive on spiritual devotion alone. In the Victorian Era, "fasting girls" were celebrities. People would make pilgrimages from far and wide to leave offerings for them in hopes of pleasing God.

1820: The Vinegar Diet

Some historians hypothesize that the English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) suffered from extreme body dysmorphia that manifested in anorexia and bulimia. He wrote extensively in his journals about his efforts to lose weight, detailing his diet and exercise regimens, his goals, and his failures. He drank large quantities of apple cider vinegar as an appetite suppressant, thus popularizing the "vinegar diet". According to historian Louise Foxcroft, Lord Byron was one of the first diet icons and "helped kick off the public's obsession with how celebrities lose weight."

Lord Byron. Photo via Wikipedia.

1829: Graham's High-Fiber Diet

Reverend Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), an American Presbyterian minister and the creator of graham crackers, preached on the values of temperance, vegetarianism, sexual restraint, frequent bathing, and the importance of whole-wheat flour. His followers called themselves "Grahamites" and attended his lectures by the thousands. Graham assured his followers that a vegetarian diet devoid of spice, sugar, and processed flour would curb lustful urges and thereby put an end to masturbation, which he believed led to insanity and blindness.

1863: Banting Diet

William Banting (1796-1878) was an English undertaker and formerly obese man who was the first to popularize a low-carb diet. In his "Letter on Corpulence," an open letter and mass-produced pamphlet, Banting details his pathway out of obesity. The pamphlet was so popular that the verb "to Bant" entered the lexicon; dieters would ask one another how their "Banting" was going. Banting is still in occasional practice, and though it is considered to be a precursor to Atkins, proponents stress that Banting is a high-fat, high-vegetable diet, rather than a high-protein diet.

1903: Fletcherism

Fletcherism is defined as "the practice of eating in small amounts and only when hungry and of chewing one's food thoroughly." The man for whom it was named, Horace Fletcher (1849-1919), was an American dietitian who spent most of his life plagued by indigestion and obesity. In 1895, he set to work to find the key to good health. The set of principles he developed and propagated include: only eat when hungry and never when anxious, depressed or preoccupied; chew each mouthful of food exactly 32 times; "enjoy your food."

Late 1920s: Lucky Strike 'Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet' Campaign

The idea that cigarette smoking curbs appetite is one that persists to this day, but it's usually accompanied by some apologetic self-deprecation, or at least a bit of good old-fashioned nihilism. In 1929, however, the cigarette brand Lucky Strike launched an ad campaign that taunted women with double chins and unseemly one-piece swimsuits that hung like specters over their futures. "IS THIS YOU FIVE YEARS FROM NOW?" the copy asked, ominously. "Reach for a Lucky instead." The ads invariably wrapped up with two things: testimonies from doctors about how Lucky's toasted tobacco was delicious, soothing to the throat, and would curb your appetite, and a reminder to take everything in moderation.

Lucky Strike ad from 1928. Image via Flickr user dok1.

1930s: The Grapefruit Diet

This diet, which resurfaced two decades later as the Hollywood diet, promised weight loss if adherents ate grapefruit at each meal. Grapefruits were believed to contain a special fat-burning enzyme. While that myth has been largely debunked, the high water content in grapefruit may make it a natural appetite suppressant.

Early 1930s: "Slimming Soap"

Claiming "Fat is Folly," La Parle Obesity Soap claimed to reduce fat "without dieting or gymnastics". Unfortunately, the soap was just soap, made with potassium chloride and other basic ingredients.

La Parle ad. Image via Wikipedia.

1950s: The Cabbage Soup Diet

Though the cabbage soup diet originated in the 1950s, it's still popular today. Basically, dieters are "allowed" as much cabbage soup as they can stomach, as well as limited other foods such as fruit, usually for the duration of a seven-day period. Side effects include gas, bloating, dizziness, and lethargy. Yum!

1950s: The Vibrating Belt

Less a diet than a massage, these belts were marketed in the 1950s as a weight loss miracle. The benefits were said to include improved metabolism, weight reduction, increased energy, muscle relaxation, increase in cell oxygenation, and stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. While there is reason to believe that these vibrations can increase blood circulation, no other claims are substantiated.

1960s: The Macrobiotic Diet

Developed by Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa, Macrobiotics is considered by followers to be "a spiritual and social philosophy of living and eating." The diet is said to be a balance of yin and yang foods; "yin" foods include vegetables, grains, beans, and seaweed, while "yang" foods include salt, fish, and fowl, as well as other animal products. The breakdown of food groups is extremely specific: 50-60 percent of calories come from whole grains, 25-30 percent from vegetables, and 5-10 percent from tofu, tempeh, or other soybean products. Cookware is also limited. Macrobiotics rose to prominence in the 1960s and is largely associated with hippy culture.

1963: Weight Watchers

Founded by in 1963 by Jean Nidetch, a self-described "overweight housewife obsessed with cookies," Weight Watchers has grown into the world's most popular weight loss program. (Oprah Winfrey is currently a spokeswoman for the company.) Members attend meetings, during which they share diet successes and failures and provide emotional support to one another during public weigh-ins. Food is counted on a point system with a certain amount of points allowed per day. In 2014, Weight Watchers made $1.4 billion.

1970: The Sleeping Beauty Diet

Popularized by none other than Elvis Presley, the Sleeping Beauty Diet involves heavily sedating oneself for several days. The basic premise is that sedation prevents the dieter from eating. The Sleeping Beauty Diet claims participants can "sleep off the pounds" with a strict regimen of tranquilizers. Unfortunately, these drugs are highly addictive, and the lifestyle is extraordinarily unsustainable.

1977: Slim-Fast

Slim-Fast was invented in 1977 by American businessman Sim Daniel Abraham, owner of Thompson Medical. (Thompson Medical was also the parent company of controversial diet drug Dexatrim.) The program, described by the phrase "a shake for breakfast, a shake for lunch, then a sensible dinner", helps dieters lose weight by restricting caloric intake while insuring they get the vitamins and minerals needed for survival. In recent years, the Slim-Fast brand has expanded to include snacks and meal bars as well as their iconic shakes.

1981: The Beverly Hills Diet

A diet plan/weight-loss memoir, Judy Mazel's The Beverly Hills Diet sold nearly one million copies during its 30 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Mazel's six-week program requires dieters to eat nothing but certain fruits in a specific order for the first 10 days. She emphasizes the importance of which foods are eaten when and in what combination. In 1981, the Journal of the American Medical Association criticized the diet for propagating medical inaccuracies, stating, "Not only is there no scientific evidence to support this diet plan, but it also contradicts established medical knowledge about nutrition." They also warned that the diet was associated with low levels of salt and immense water loss from diarrhea, which would result in fever, muscle weakness, and "a feeling of impending doom."

1985: The Caveman Diet

The Caveman Diet, which resurfaced more recently as The Paleo Diet, posits that 20th (and 21st) century humans should get in touch with their caveperson roots by subsisting on a diet of foods presumed to be available during the Paleolithic Era—In short, plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, roots, and meat, and no processed foods such as dairy, grains, sugar, legumes, oils, salt, alcohol, or coffee. It is now the semi-official diet of CrossFit. The Association of UK Dietitians called it an "unbalanced, time consuming, socially isolating diet," and a "sure-fire way to develop nutrient deficiencies."

1990s: Low-Fat Diet

Starting in the late 80s, when cholesterol was linked to heart disease and TIME magazine ran an article titled "Sorry, It's True. Cholesterol Really Is A Killer", a low-fat/high-carb diet began sweeping the nation. By the early 90s, snack companies were racing to cash in on the trend by advertising "low-fat", "reduced-fat", and "light" versions of popular snack foods. Unfortunately, reduced fat resulted in bland tasting food, and companies made up for it by adding sugar, corn syrup, and salt. As NPR put it, "In trying to address one problem—heart disease—by cutting way back on fat, many experts there is potential for internal organ compression causing kidney, gastrointestinal and lung issues."

2015: The "Teatox"

Though it's too soon to tell whether "Teatox" programs will prove to be dangerous or ineffective, some brands of the popular detox system have certainly demonstrated their prowess in marketing. Celebrities like Amber Rose, Scott Disick, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Snooki, and Vanessa Hudgens have posted selfies promoting various Teatox products, and popular magazines have rushed to review them. Broadly writer Tara Evans reported that Teatoxes, which are essentially tea-based Laxatives, can delay your period, cause stomach aches and diarrhea, and disrupt birth control. Sexy.

Samantha Bee returned with another episode of Full Frontal last night, where she took a closer look at the Republican presidential candidates, who have now reduced themselves to no more than “a gang of rambunctious man-children hollering about their pee-pees” during presidential debates. Bee figures it’s safe to call it the official end of the […]

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on The CW is one of the most gleefully and surprisingly subversive shows on TV right now. It’s feminist, it’s sex-positive, and while some of Rachel Bloom’s Rebecca Bunch falls into stereotype territory, it’s only as a reflection of her depression and anxiety – she holds on to certain things, because they’re all she feels like she has – an d the stereotype is usually subverted by a clever song lyric.

The show is also inclusive. In last night’s episode, the character of Rebecca’s boss, Darryl Whitefeather (played by Pete Gardner) sang a coming-out song that was the culmination of a completely organic, gradual realization that he is bisexual over the course of several episodes. Check out  “Gettin’ Bi.”

As GLAAD points out in a recent report, even though those that identify as bisexual outnumber gays and lesbians combined in the U.S., there were four times as many gay and lesbian characters on broadcast TV in 2015 than bisexual ones. Of what little bisexual representation there is, GLAAD reports that most of it depicts characters that are “untrustworthy,” “self-destructive,” and “lacking a sense of morality.” So, nuanced representation of bisexuals — especially male bisexuals — is desperately needed.

Enter Crazy Ex-Girlfriend‘s Darryl Whitefeather, whose burgeoning relationship with White Josh (so-called to distinguish him from Josh Chan, the Filipino “ex-boyfriend” Rebecca chased across the country) is doing a lot to showcase how a bisexual man has to navigate relationships and the world.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Executive Producer Aline Brosh McKenna talks about how the character of Darryl came to be. McKenna talks about simply wanting to make sure the show reflected the world they live in:

I can’t remember exactly how the idea of [Darryl] being bisexual came up but it did. And we both had the same reaction, which was that it was something that we had seen a lot in our lives—we knew a lot of people who were bi—but we hadn’t seen it so much on television and also maybe not so much in comedies.

We wanted to reflect what we see and experience in our lives. We didn’t have any kind of overall agenda in taking on that storyline, it’s really just about good stories and good characters.

The team worked with a GLAAD representative on the character to make sure that they got certain things right. In so doing, they were made aware of stereotypes they didn’t even know existed. Says McKenna:

One of the things that we learned was the extent of the stereotypes. I sent [songwriter Adam Schlesinger] a list of what I understood to be the most prevalent stereotypes and he took that and ran with it and came up with something so joyful.

The song is joyful, but that doesn’t mean that Darryl isn’t going to have to deal with the same relationship drama as everyone else, nor does it mean that Darryl’s not going to get things wrong. After all, while Darryl is only now coming out later in his life, White Josh has been out since he was a teenager, and he doesn’t feel the need to, say, hide who he is from his coworkers:

I think that there’s something poignant about somebody at a later stage of their life coming to this realization while in a relationship with someone who has been out and [for whom] it’s not a big deal.

This is not a couple that’s going to sail off into the sunset with no further problems. They’re going to have the same vicissitudes that any couple has. I don’t want this to be a thing where Darryl figures this out about himself and then we park him in some unrealistically happy situation.

If you’re not watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, you really should be! Don’t let the title put you off, because you’re missing out on something brilliant (RIP Don’t Trust the B– in Apartment 23!).

If you are watching, what did you think of last night’s episode? Tell us in the comments below!

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1000000 [$2.99] was an amazing puzzle game that absorbed months of my life, so when we heard there was a sequel coming, I was unbelievably stoked. You Must Build a Boat [$0.99] is better than 10000000 in just about every way, which Shaun goes into incredible detail explaining in his review.

Well, right now this block sliding puzzler is on sale for one US dollar. If for some insane reason you don't have this game already, I assure you there's nothing you can spend a dollar on today that will be better than You Must Build a Boat. If you do already have it, now is a great opportunity to convert your friends and relatives who might not have been up for the original premium price of $2.99.

That reminds me, I've got a boat I must build.

Flu disaster: Erika and I are exhausted and behind on our next comic (spoilers, it’s all about being sex positive!)

So amazing Tait Howard steps up with this awesome education comic on ‘What happens to your brain during an Orgasm’. I think it’s pretty obvious that Tait put in his research and went all out for this great comic. Shoot him a friendly hello and maybe a follow or two!

So you’re already in bed and ready to go to sleep, but your boyfriend casually asks, “What about a movie, babe?” Of course! Here are six movies that’ll keep him engrossed while still being peaceful enough for you to sleep through.

 

Shawshank Redemption

With its account of an inspiring prison escape in rural Maine, this film has held the #1 spot on IMDb’s Top Rated Movies and the #1 slot on your list of “Movies you can definitely sleep through.” Let Morgan Freeman’s soothing voice lull you into deepest slumber.

 

2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick’s 1969 visual masterpiece is widely touted as the greatest science fiction picture of all time, and with good reason. Your boyfriend will be raving about the special affects and the film’s “message” while you peacefully drift off to sleep.

 

Memento

This 2000 Christopher Nolan smash hit uses complex plotting and break-neck action to build dramatic suspense until it reaches an explosive breaking point. That tension is perfect for keeping your boyfriend on the edge of his seat and totally invested while you slip slowly out the back door of consciousness.

 

Das Boot

Few foreign films have had the critical reception of this 1981 West German epic about a submarine under fire. Even fewer films are this long and this boring. Grab the special uncut DVD for a four-hour slogfest that’s guaranteed to have you both sawing logs before you can say, “Wunderbar!”

 

 

Lost in Translation

This charming Tokyo travelogue set indie filmgoers hearts on fire with its portrayal of modern existentialism when it came out in 2003. Best of all, it has no plot whatsoever, which means no one can quiz you afterwards about what happened because you were asleep from the opening credits and onward. If any questions do come up you can just look cloudy-eyed into the middle distance and say, “It was a tender portrait of love in our time.”

 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Talk about crossover appeal! This Spaghetti Western is considered by many to be the greatest cowboy movie of all time. It also features no dialogue for the first ten minutes, a white noise machine that validates your BF’s masculinity, all while you sleep!

 

There you have it! Nothing beats watching a movie with your man while you’re completely unconscious next to him. You can easily fall asleep during any of those snooze-fests while your boyfriend remains riveted. Sweet dreams!

“En cinco minutos llego”. Esa frase, cargada de falsedad de la primera a la última letra, tiene los días contados con Wave. Esta herramienta de localización sirve para ver de manera directa dónde están tus contactos. Así, cuando has quedado a cenar con alguien, sabrás en todo momento dónde está y cuánto tardará en llegar.

Durante el tiempo en que los Modern Lovers grababan las maquetas que acabarían siendo su debut, Jonathan Richman ya estaba en otra cosa, muy lejos del sonido agresivo de esos primeros días, tocando en hospitales infantiles y sin ningunas ganas de hacer música ruidosa nunca más. "Ohh, no sé. No quiero que la música suene demasiado fuerte. Va a dañar las orejas de los niños ¿sabes? Si la música es real la gente la escuchará, incluso aunque sea tranquila, si tiene magia". Decía Jonathan.

Los Modern Lovers grabaron su disco en medio de esta tensión y no durarían mucho más. Jonathan no quería tocar esas canciones y ellos eran demasiado rockeros para cantar canciones sobre abejitas y fiestas en el bosque. John Felice formó los Real Kids, Jerry Harrison se unió a los Talking Heads, David Robinson empezó con The Cars y Ernie Brooks empezó a ganarse la vida como músico para gente como David Johansen o Elliott Murphy. Y Jonathan Richman... Sigue haciendo mágia tocando las canciones más increíbles del mundo.

Le pedimos a Conxita Herrero que nos dibujase uno de nuestros momentos favoritos de la historia del rock and roll.

Conxita Herrero tiene publicados un porrón de fanzines y es una de nuestras dibujantes de cómics favoritas. Está a punto de sacar un libro largo con Apa Apa.

Jonathan Richman acaba de publicar nuevo disco, "Ishkode! Ishkode!" y esperamos que vuelva a visitarnos muy pronto.

"Goldwater discovered it; Nixon refined it; and Reagan perfected it into the darkest of the modern political dark arts." An excellent piece on the history of the Republican party's racial politics since the Civil Rights Movement era, and how the 'Southern Strategy' and its dog-whistle appeal to racism paved the way for the current unpleasantness within the Grand Old Party.

Also of interest:

Jeff Stein on the racist ghost of George Wallace and his enduring influence over the GOP.

Charles Pierce at the grave of Lee Atwater, searching for the soul of South Carolina politics—and the modern Republican Party.

Clothes are an important part of one’s identity. They serve as an outward expression of your innermost self. Want to tell people who you are? Dress appropriately.

But if you want to stand out in a way that gets you attention that you want? Then you want to develop your sense of style.

The difference between fashion and style is that fashion changes. It follows trends and everyone else follows two or three steps behind it, trying to come up with their own version. This is how you end up with silkscreened t-shirts with rivets and overly-embroidered jeans and embarrassing photos you’ll never be able to fully erase from social media.

Style, on the other hand, is personal. Sometimes it aligns with trends, other times it stands athwart them but it’s always uniquely yours. But if you know only clothes as “that which keeps my pasty meatsack covered in social situations,” style can feel as eldritch and unknowable as the Elder Gods. So how do you develop your own sense of style?

Start By Stealing From Others

The first step in developing a sense of style is simple: you’re going to steal it from someone else.

Not entirely, mind you. You’re not trying to copy somebody, lock, sock and Birkenstock; they’re not you and it’s not going to be a great fit. When you just straight up copy Pharrell Williams you look less like someone pushing the fashion envelope and more like what would happen if STRIPES were about Bill Murray and Harold Ramis joining the Mounties.

Instead, you’re using somebody else as a jumping off point. The goal isn’t to be Beau Brummell, it’s to find a style that best works for you and the version of you that you want to present to the world. Figuring out the semiotics of clothing is tricky… which is why you’re going to let someone else do the work for you. Similarly, if you’ve never put too much thought into what colors look best on you or what cuts most flatter your body, you can get overwhelmed quickly. But hey: stylists and costume designers have done the heavy lifting so that you don’t have to.

Here’s what you do.

First you want to find your archetype. That provides the base that you’re going to build upon. The thing to keep in mind is that there’s a lot of room within any particular archetype for variation and finding the version that fits you best. Rock stars, for example, vary from the low-fi punk aesthetic of the Ramones to the bespoke suits of the Jam to the Tom of Finland look of Judas Priest and everything in between. Writers vary between Alan Ginsberg and Ernest Hemingway. Bikers range from Harley-riding outlaw MCs to cafe racers. Even among science geeks you can go from Sheldon Cooper to Neil DeGrasse Tyson to Howard Stark.

Your second step is to find a fashion avatar: someone famous who has skin tone, eye and hair coloring that’s close to your own. This helps you narrow down colors and patterns that work best on you. Color can be a perplexing beast when it comes to fashion and style. Some people look great in jewel tones, while others get washed out. Some people have the coloration for earth tones or softer colors while others just look sickly or jaundiced. Celebrities and models have the benefit of stylists to help determine which colors help show off their eyes, accentuate the warmth of their skin tone or dial back their natural ruddiness. You may not have a personal stylist, but you can certainly use their work to your own benefit and avoid a long, tedious process of hit-or-miss experimentation.

This gives you a solid base that you can use to start customizing into a style that’s all your own.

Which leads us to the next step:

Do Your Research

Part of what’s tricky about developing your style is figuring out just what works. If you’ve been mostly a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy and you’re wanting a more dapper style, then where do you start? Can you make a vest work with jeans¹? What about ties? What about accessories? For that matter, what if you want to stay a jeans and t-shirt guy but still be stylish? What if you don’t have a typical body type? How do you develop a look when you have no idea what’s out there?

Simple: you do your research. When I first started to put more thought into how I looked, most of my resources were magazines like Details and GQ. But while these can make a decent starting place, they sell a look that’s that’s less achievable and more aspirational porn.

If you’re more of a conservative bent, this can work, but if you want your inspiration a little more varied and fashion-forward (and also: free) then you want to turn to your computer.  The Internet has put the collective wisdom of mankind at your fingertips and you’re going to use it to dress better instead of arguing with film critics in YouTube comments about whether Who Framed Roger Rabbit‘s physics make sense.

One of the first things to do is hit up Tumblr. Despite its reputation for social justice activism, fan fic and porn gifs, Tumblr has a wealth of fashion blogs and galleries. Street fashion, vintage style, punk, prep… it’s all a hashtag search away. Tumblr also is a wellspring of fashion options for people who don’t have model-perfect bodies. And because of Tumblr’s reblog system, following a couple strategic blogs like Put This On or The Silentist can help you find other blogs that would be of interest to you.

The other site that will be your style inspiration bonanza? Pinterest.

Yes, when you think Pinterest you tend to think artful food arrangements, self-aggrandizing craft photos and wedding planning, but it also has a deep well of fashion and style inspiration. Looking for specific tags like “cool biker” “vintage menswear” “unique men’s accessories” and the like will bring up dozens upon dozens of galleries.

The other big benefit to Pinterest is that it’s set up to be a digital scrapbook, keeping all of your inspiration in one place. Create a number of different boards – one for accessories, one for different looks, hair cuts, what-have-you for a one-stop shop of style inspiration.  Use a browser plugin for serendipitous finds and you won’t have to rack your brain to figure out just where you saw that one particular leather coat that you loved so much. Pinterest also suggests other boards or images that might be relevant to your interests, which means that you may find inspiration that you would never have thought to look for.

The thing to keep in mind is that you don’t just want to mine your sources for looks. You want to engage with them. What is it about that shirt/tie combo that speaks to you? Why do you like that particular color or pattern? What is a way that you could take that look and personalize it? What if you took one part and changed it slightly: what would you change and how? The point isn’t just to slavishly copy somebody else’s style, it’s to start with a base and experiment, allowing you to pick up the rules that’ll make it work for you.

Now to be fair: some looks and fashion choices are going to be more popular than others, so the more mainstream your taste, the more you’re going to find. Similarly, there’s going to be an inevitable tendency towards the trendy which, while tempting, can cause problems in the future when trends change. That’s why you want to…

Keep Your Style Simple (At First)

When you’re first starting out, there’s a natural tendency to want to look as cool as possible. The tricky part of that cool is more attitude than clothing. In fashion, what’s considered “cool” changes fairly quickly and often without warning. Following what’s trendy is akin to pop-culture jokes in a Dreamworks movie: it seems like a good idea at the time, but it instantly becomes dated and stupid when the moment’s passed. What once was cool can quickly become embarrassing as hell. Take it from a man who had to clean out a closet full of Affliction knock-offs: just because it’s the new hotness doesn’t mean that you’re not going to try to pretend that you never wore it in the first place.

Remember what I said about Beau Brummell earlier? This is one area where you actually do want to follow his example. Part of what made him a fashion icon – someone who singlehandedly changed the direction of clothing in Europe, in fact – is that he was actually understated, especially when compared to the incredibly ornate outfits that were in favor at the time. His personal style was to focus on quality and fit rather than glitz. This gave him a look that was both elegant and timeless and one that has continued to influence menswear today.

When you’re starting to develop your style, it’s better to err towards the side of simple rather than elaborate or decorated. The simpler the clothes, the more timeless they remain. It’s hard, for example, to go wrong with plain, dark wash jeans rather than ones that are artfully distressed, oddly cut or are otherwise of the moment. Remember bell-bottoms? Remember acid-wash jeans?

There’s a reason why people keep coming back to the classics: they have the widest and most lasting appeal and provide a stronger foundation for personalization.

So as you develop your style, focus on fit, color and quality rather than design or decoration. The simpler the outfit, the longer it will keep its place of pride in your closet instead of being relegated to the back. It also makes it much easier to coordinate; color to color is easier than pattern to pattern. The same with accessories; rock stars can pull off five dozen stacked bracelets and two fists full of rings because they’ve been at this for a while and are deep into their archetype. They know the rules and they know how to break them. Odds are that you’re not there yet.

Until you’re more confident in your grasp of your style, then keep it simple. Understated is easier and feels more natural, especially at first. As you get more experienced and your style evolves, then you’ll have more room to play around and take more risks.

Of course, understated doesn’t mean boring… in fact, keeping things simple lets you put the focus where you want it.

Find Your Signature

Part of what makes your style personal is to find something that’s your signature. Your icon. Something that stands out as uniquely you, even if it’s a little outre or unusual. Think of superheroes. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four… their costumes are relatively simple² but timeless. But they have a specific aspect to them that makes them stand out – Batman’s cape and cowl, Superman’s S-shield, Spider-Man’s webs. Those are the symbols that let us know at a glance who we’re looking at.

Their signature, if you will.

Finding your personal signature piece – that thing that is uniquely yours – can elevate your outfit from simple to stylish. If a well-fitting button-down and dark jeans – to pull a random example – are the foundation of your outfit, then your signature piece is what makes it yours. This, more than anything else, is the place to let your personality shine. It might be a particularly unique set of glasses; you might borrow from the recent past and wear tinted sunglasses as regular eyewear for example. It might be a unique or stand-out coat or hoodie.

It could be an unexpected combination – a motorcycle jacket with a tie – your shoes – especially if you get something unusual like decorated Doc Martins or aggressive like New Rocks – or even something as simple as color choice. Being bold enough to rock an item of clothing in a vibrant color, especially one in contrast to the rest of your clothing, can be as much of a signature as any unusual outerwear you might find.

Even something simple can be a signature; Steve Jobs’ turtleneck-and-jeans look may be basic as hell but it’s also iconic and uniquely him.

Just make sure it’s something that flows naturally from your archetype; the more something resonates with who you are, the more natural it will feel and the less try-hard it will come across.

But the most important aspect of style is…

Have Fun With It

I realize that for a lot of people, style, fashion and personal branding is serious business, but for you, it should be something you enjoy. Part of the point of discovering your style is to appreciate and get a kick out of it. Trying to build a style that you don’t enjoy or that doesn’t give you that little spark of pleasure is counter-productive. Your dissatisfaction will radiate from you in waves and undo the work you’ve put into trying to make yourself stand out in the ways you want.

So as you get more in tune with your look, play around with it. Get creative. Throw a little bit of your flavor into it. If you’re into steampunk, say, then put some subtle elements of it in your day to day wear. If you’re a comic fan, then consider things like stealth cosplay and see who notices.

The more comfortable you get with your style, the more you should start playing with it. Try things you thought you’d never wear in a million years; you might be surprised just how well they work once you have the confidence and attitude to pull them off. Even things that seem pretentious can work if you’ve got the style to back it up. That pocket watch may seem like a weird affectation unless you’ve got the style and the guts to make it work with your vest. Once you know the rules, almost anything can be justified…

 

Bad puns aside: both Tim Olyphant’s Raylan Givens and Walton Goggin’s Boyd Crowder are examples of stylish men whose personalities make their clothing choices work. Raylan’s hat may be unusual, even in backwater Kentucky, but it’s so naturally part of his personality that you accept it without question.

That’s how style works. It’s part of who you are. So take the opportunity to let your identity shine through.

 

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Hey, Las Vegas readers and surrounding areas! The NerdLove 2016 tour is starting! On Friday, March 11th, meet me as I sign copies of New Game +: The Geek’s Guide To Love, Sex and Dating at Alternate Reality Comics. And afterwards, join me and your fellow readers at the NerdLove meet-up at Millenium Fandom from 8:30 to whenever for some give-aways, drinks and fun times!

See you there!

1. yes, yes you can
2. a moment of art by accident; superhero costumes had to be simple because of the low-quality paper comics and newspapers were printed on. This means they needed large icons so readers knew who was who.

The post Discover Your Style appeared first on Paging Dr. NerdLove.

There is a growing and disturbing trend of anti-intellectual elitism in American culture. It's the dismissal of science, the arts, and humanities and their replacement by entertainment, self-righteousness, ignorance, and deliberate gullibility.

Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's Transmetropolitan is nearly 20 years old, and the science fiction story of a journalist who wages truth-war on scumbag politicians 200 years from now could not be more relevant than it is today. (more…)

"Satanic Panic over Dungeons & Dragons" is one of my favorite genres of journalism, and Eric Grundhauser's article about it is a goodun, with all the right YouTube clips.

By 1984, fantasy roleplaying had evolved from thretening the innocent minds of America’s youth to threatening their eternal salvation. Religious mini-comic author Jack Chick published one of his “Chick Tracts”—those extreme religious comic book pamphlets you find on the bus—about the issue, tying fantasy roleplaying directly to the occult. Called Dark Dungeons, the thin pamphlet tells the story of Debbie, a young woman who gets seduced by a witchy dungeon master who teaches her to embrace evil through the game. Through the course of the story, Debbie uses a “mind bondage” spell on her father to get spending money and finds the body of a friend who committed suicide after losing her game character.

They're still going on about it, too.

Conferencia do Ateneo de Santiago impartida o 29 de febreiro de 2015 por D. Justo Beramendi, Catedrático de Historia Contemporánea da USC.

“Magic is a drug” = The tagline for The Magicians but also a truth.

First of all, the magic in the show will make you feel like you're lost in some enchanted world.

SyFy / Via nerdist.com

Because you basically are.

ACCEPT ME INTO BRAKEBILLS, PLEASE.

SyFy / Via corkwoood.tumblr.com

And the powers each character has will give you serious #MagicGoals.

SyFy / Via Twitter: @DoctorLuke92

Also there's hot magical sex where they just start floating in the middle of it.

Would be down. Or up. Whatever, just call me.

SyFy

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View Entire List ›

Fascinó a los alquimistas, obsesionó a artesanos y emperadores y enloqueció a los mercaderes. Ya lo advirtieron los alemanes: cuidaos de la enfermedad de la porcelana. "Un puñado de barro de las montañas chinas contiene una promesa: mezclado con los materiales adecuados, sobrevivirá al calor de los hornos y se transformará en porcelana: traslúcida, luminosa, blanca. Oro blanco".

Nadie antes había contado así la historia de la sustancia filosofal cuya receta persigue la humanidad desde hace un milenio. El ceramista Edmund de Waal (Nottingham, 1964), que ya hipnotizó a legiones de lectores con el delicado y sorprendente superventas 'La liebre con ojos de ámbar' (Acantilado, 2016), se arroja ahora a contar la historia milenaria de la porcelana en 'El oro blanco, historia de una obsesión' (Seix Barral, 2016), un viaje por medio mundo, desde Jingdezhen, provincia de Jiangxi, a Dublín, pasando por Venecia, Nueva York o el campo de concentración de Dachau. "Este viaje es como pagar lo que debo a quienes me precedieron".

50 generaciones excavando la tierra blanca

En Jingdezhen, las chimeneas de 'kilns' arden toda la noche. Es el lugar donde los emperadores enviaban emisarios con pedidos imposibles: profundos estanques con carpas de porcelana, copas de ritual con tallo, decenas de miles de cuencos, fuentes de ablución para jeques, vajillas para reinas... "Es la ciudad de los secretos, 1.000 años de oficio, 50 generaciones excavando la tierra blanca, limpiándola, mezclándola, fabricando porcelana y conociéndola, llena de talleres, de alfareros, de esmaltadores y decoradores, de mercaderes, de estafadores y de espías".

Edmund de Waal llegó a Jingdezhen después de "25 años haciendo cacharros blancos". Su propósito era conocer una de las tres colinas en las que se inventó -o reinventó- la porcelana: una en China, otra en Alemania y otra más en Inglaterra. Por eso, su viaje servía para ajustar cuentas, para devolver al pasado lo que su profesión de porcelanista le había dado. Porque sabía -sin 'conocer'- que la porcelana de Limoges que llegaba a su torno de alfarero en sacos de plástico de 20 kilos, color leche entera y con una flor de moho verde, atesoraba una historia más o menos precisa y legendaria. Pero los libros no eran suficiente: tenía que ver esos tres sitios, saber "qué aspecto tiene la porcelana bajo diferentes cielos, cómo cambia el blanco con el clima". De la curiosidad profesional a la exaltación literaria... El libro en el que de Waal recoge su peripecia funde pasión, historia y leyenda, y es de los que no se olvidan.

Los hombres de negro

Los hombres de negro llegaron a China en 1698. Aquellos jesuítas comandados por el padre D'Entrecolles tenían dos misiones. La primera consistía en investigar metódicamente el proceso de fabricación de la mítica porcelana de Jingdezhen. La segunda  -y aún más importante para la orden-, informar prolijamente por escrito de sus descubrimientos. D'Entrecolles era "el espía de Dios en un nuevo mundo". Hablaba bien el chino, hizo amigos, fundó escuelas, convirtió a los alfareros y se cameló al mandarín Lang Tongji. Reunió toda la información sustancial y la vertió en dos célebres cartas gracias a las cuales el secreto de la porcelana se difundió por toda la Cristiandad.

Porcelana de Sajonia, inglesa, príncipes Médici, cuáqueros del XVIII, figuritas de Mao Tse Tung, pequeñas mujeres de Lladró... El secreto del oro blanco viajó de China a Dresde y Versalles, con él se erigieron magníficos pabellones, salones y ciudades de costes estratosféricos. Su fórmula fue sellada bajo siete llaves. Duras leyes castigaban el arrojar fragmentos a algún sitio donde alguien pudiera recogerlos y estudiarlos. La ley de la porcelana.

Pero... ¿por qué el blanco, de dónde emana su mágica fuerza, su aterradora fascinación? Llegado al ecuador de su libro, Edmund de Waal se siente capacitado para resolverlo: "El blanco es la verdad; es la nube que relumbra en la distancia anunciando la venida del Señor. Es sabiduría. El blanco nos hace centrarnos a todos, dispensa claridad. El blanco revela. Es la mismísima revelación. Este es un libro sobre el blanco como aflicción y el blanco como esperanza".

Los soldaditos de Himmler

Esperanza y aflicción. De Wall se interesa un día por la esbelta porcelana Allach. En un libro encuentra una referencia a la "concentación de talento" que se dio en aquella fábrica alemana en los años 40, donde coincidieron los mejores artistas, diseñadores, alfareros y demás relacionados con la manufactura de la porcelana. "Concentración de talento". Cierto: la fábrica Allach se alzaba en el campo de concentración de Dachau.

Allach nació porque el jefe de las SS quiso disponer de su propia fábrica de porcelana. Himmler ordenó producir en ella millones de soldados de porcelana con el fin de recaudar dinero "para los pobres y leales ciudadaos del Reich". En 1940 la fábrica se traslada al campo de concentración de Dachau, lo que ofrecía por entonces muchas ventajas, como la mano de obra esclava de centenares de prisioneros. Los beneficios son enormes y al menos la mitad irá a parar a los bolsillos del "pobre y leal Himmler". Cuando, en 1942, una epidemia de tifus hace estragos entre los prisioneros, el Reichsführer exigirá que se le pague por los muertos.

Mao contra "los cuatro antiguos"

La aventura de 'El oro blanco' comienza en China y allí concluye en los días de la Revolución Cultural. El 1 de mayo de 1966 el presidente Mao ordena destruir "los cuatro antiguos": los usos antiguos, las costumbres antiguas, la cultura antigua y el pensamiento antiguo. Y Jingdezhen, la cuna de la porcelana, es una ciudad anclada precisamente en los cuatro antiguos. "Hacer porcelana ya es antiguo de por sí. Los maestros mayores fueron arrastrados por las calles, para humillarlos, a uno de ellos le dieron de palos, lo enjaularon y lo pasearon por toda la ciudad, otros varios se suicidaron. Saquean las casas y destruyen los talleres. Las fábricas han de cerrar cuando sus operarios son enviados a trabajar al campo".

Pero Jingdezhen sobrevivió a Mao... gracias a Mao. En 1968 las fábricas se reabren para producir en serie insignias de porcelana del Gran Timonel y después estatuas. "Los bustos estaban hechos de porcelana de alta temperatura con esmalte incoloro", concluye Edmund de Waal, "apenas llegaban al palmo de altura y mostraban a un Mao implacable, con los mofletes caídos, con la boca cerrada firmemente opuesto a casi todo".

Sexual harassment in science generally starts like this: A woman (she is a student, a technician, a professor) gets an email and notices that the subject line is a bit off: "I need to tell you," or "my feelings." The opening lines refer to the altered physical and mental state of the author: "It's late and I can't sleep" is a favorite, though "Maybe it's the three glasses of cognac" is popular as well.

El test más cachondo y educativo de la red. Diez preguntas variadas sobre pop, rock, folk, festivales… Demuestra cuánto sabes sobre música de Galicia Recuerda que buscar en Google pierde toda la gracia y en la mayoría de los casos no os va a ayudar. Enfrentaos a nuestro examen sobre...

¿Sere euq seerc omoc otirar nat sere?

Thinkstock / BuzzFeed