El arzobispo de Lingayen-Dagupan responde ante la tendencia en los nuevos matrimonios de querer escribir los propios votos para la boda. El presidente de la Conferencia Episcopal de Filipinas y Arzobispo de Lingayen-Dagupan, Mons. Sócrates Villegas, explicó que las parejas católicas no pueden escribir sus propios votos matrimoniales porque el rito se vería perjudicado y porque no tienen la potestad para […]
She’s a Punk Rocker UK is a useful corrective to the male-dominated arena of U.K. punk directed by Zillah Minx, formerly of the day-glo anarcho-punk group
Americans are hooked on brain-boosting apps. Your father or grandmother might buy programs like Lumosity in the hopes that its appealing marketing claims will be realized: Just a few minutes of puzzle solving each day will make you smarter, boost your memory, and stave off conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's. Altogether, consumers now spend $1 billion every year on brain games.
The problem with these programs: They're a load of hooey. For years, researchers have looked into brain games and found that they simply don't have the real-world benefits they purport to.
Now the federal government's starting to crack down. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Lumos Labs, the developer of the "brain training" program Lumosity, will pay out $2 million to settle deceptive advertising charges. (Read the complaint here.)
Lumosity "preyed on consumers’ fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer’s disease," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. "But Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads."
There's little evidence that "brain games" actually work
Many brain training programs broadly promise to work like this: Play their specially designed games for a few minutes several times per week and see amazing results, like better school and sport performance, better memory, and even improved recovery from illnesses such as stroke and traumatic brain injury.
The evidence tells another story, however. Take, for instance, this particularly telling study: Researchers at Florida State University assigned undergraduates to play either Lumosity or the video game Portal 2 for eight hours. At the end, the Portal 2 group outperformed the Lumosity group on cognitive tests. The Lumosity players, meanwhile, "showed no gains on any measure."
When independent researchers tried to replicate an early study that suggested Lumosity might actually boost memory and IQ, they failed to find any effect. The lackluster results square with a 2013 systematic review of the literature, which concluded that memory training programs have not been shown to make concrete improvements on memory, intelligence, or cognitive ability.
This is no secret to the neuroscience community. In 2014, a group of nearly 70 researchers spoke out against brain games: "To date, there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better navigate a complex realm of everyday life," they wrote.
Instead of buying a brain game this season, consider going for a walk. Unlike brain games, researchers have found evidence that regular exercise can lead to cognitive improvements. Those improvements are generally modest, to be clear — but that's better than the non-boost you get from a brain game. And it's free.
La famosa expresión ‘ola ke ase’ que se popularizó en los últimos años podría tener sustituta: ‘Pa ke quieres saber eso’ ha inundado las redes sociales mexicanas y sacado a flote la creatividad de los usuarios.
Las respuestas a la pregunta fueron variadas pero hubo una que destacó y fue la de alguien que simplemente escribió ‘pa ke quieres saber eso jaja saludos’. En ese momento algunos la aplaudieron otros la criticaron, pero probablemente ninguno imaginó que años después sería retomada para responder con humor cualquier pregunta sobre cualquier tipo de tema.
Así se ha utilizado en los últimos días, ya convertido en meme:
It’s winter, and you know what that means: You’re lonely as fuck and cold as shit. Here are the nine best gloves to wear while rubbing one out when your asshole landlord refuses to fix the heat and your space heater is still three to five Super Saver Shipping days away.
1. Kitty Cat Handwarmers (Rita Bean, $24) These feline-festooned hand warmers are an adorable reminder that the current love of your life shits in a box and sleeps 20 hours a day. Your little fur-child ALSO thinks that your vigorously moving hand under the duvet is something that needs to perish by tooth and claw right this fucking second.
2. FLH USA Flag Knit Fingerless Mittens (Amazon, $12.95) These colors may not run, but your nose sure does when cough-sobbing and masturbating to Love Actually for the fourth time this week. It may be cold but at least you have that bulk bag of hamburger pizza rolls to comfort you!
3. Lace Rhinestone Fingerless Gloves (Amazon, $6.99) Wearing these throwback bridal accessories feels like you’ve just been widowed by a devastating freak accident on your wedding night. It’s as though you watched your soulmate die while screaming “I LOVE YOU AND I’LL ALWAYS BE IN YOUR HEART; SAVE YOURSELLLLLLFgurglegurgle!” and now you’re “comforting” your forlorn fanny with thoughts of your lava-hot lost love. Even if this didn’t happen, it’s still kind of fun to pretend, right? In cold weather like this?
4. LOCOMO Fingerless Faux Hair Gloves (Amazon, $6.95) Sometimes you just want to close your eyes and retreat to a weird and wonderful fantasy land where it’s 69 degrees at night and you’re getting fingered by Big Foot in a hammock while drinking a piña colada. Trust, these gloves do the trick! Before you start, sit on your hands until they fall asleep to make your adventure that much more realistic. Rawr!
5. AnVei-Nao Knitted Long Fingerless Gloves (Amazon, $7.99) Remember that one time you dreamt that your yoga instructor was going down on you while wearing one of those French maid outfits that you normally think are totally cheesy and dumb? And now things are really weird because she’s always touching your lower back while you’re in frog pose and whispering to open your hips? Look, we’ve all been there. Simply slip into these and relive that night again to keep things extra awkward in your next Bikram class.
6. Elacucos Crochet Knit Lace Button Fingerless Gloves (Amazon, $9.99) Nothing like twirling the pearl with grandma’s sugar bowl cover to reanimate those fears that you’ll probably die cold, old, and alone in this very apartment, surrounded by empty pizza boxes, Häagen-Dazs tubs, and exactly 734 Tupperware containers with missing lids.
7. Minion Gloves (Hot Topic, $9.50) Minions are fiercely loyal, spontaneous, and have sexy exotic accents. Ugh, why can’t you just date a minion? Once you get your hands in these, you’ll be able to experience the next best thing to a warm environment and minion love. Hayyyyyy!
8. Simplicity Double Colored Fingerless Gloves (Amazon, $6.99) Get cozy in these terrifically-tasseled claw covers. While you jingle your bell you can bask in the sole silver lining of this nightmare, which is having one less thoughtful gift to buy this December.
9. Everlast Pro-Style Training Boxing Gloves (Sports Authority, $44.99)
Why should rappers be the only ones beating the pussy up? You do you, girl! Slip on these obviously-made-for-ladies trainers and passionately pummel your poon until it cries uncle. You can even use them to muffle the sounds you make frigidly crying yourself to sleep.
There you have it! No matter why you broke up with the biggest mistake of your life, one of these is bound to be a perfect fit. Now it’s time to open another box of tissues, bundle up, and let your fingers do the fucking.
Here at Reductress, we are committed to telling you the truth, but we are also committed to selling you charmingly packaged, compelling lies. And be honest, did you come looking for beauty advice because you thought you’d find a solution, or because you desperately wanted to try (buy) something, anything to make your eyes less puffy, your makeup stay on, and your figure svelte as fuck? We thought so, so here are some beauty myths we’re keeping alive.
Myth #1: Brushing your hair 100 times will make it shinier.
Beauty rituals that came straight out of a cartoon princess’s boudoir can’t be wrong, right? Sure! So get to brushing, Your Highness. It makes no sense, but as far as we’re concerned, this one is true!
Myth #2: Eating chocolate helps you lose weight.
Believe it or not, we are going to maintain that this myth is true. This fits in with the old lying-to-yourself maxim, “the best way to achieve what you want is to do what you already want to do anyway.” So wise. Keep up that solid beauty routine!
Myth #3: The best lipsticks cost under $5.
The populist message of this beauty myth is too appealing to look further into. So we won’t. So say goodbye to Sephora and hello to CVS!
Myth #4: Drinking more water will hydrate your skin.
This seems like it’s scientifically accurate, right? Well, that’s good enough for us! Just start drinking that stuff that already comes out of your tap, and in no time your skin will be as dewy as, well, water!
Myth #5: Toothpaste gets rid of pimples.
The idea that something in your medicine cabinet can fix the hot mess of your face sure is a comforting thought. Let that idea envelop you as the toothpaste dries impotently upon your skin. Haha, what are you doing?
Myth #6: Pumping your mascara gets rid of clumps.
Well this is a fun little ritual, isn’t it? Kind of harmless, whatever. Keep doing it, weirdo.
Myth #7: You have to change your shampoo often to keep your hair healthy.
From a shampoo sales perspective, this seems like a great idea. So we’re gonna roll with it. Fuck it, buy, like, eight shampoos!
Myth #8: Exfoliation can shrink your pores.
Man, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just shrink those fuckers into oblivion, your face becoming one flawless unchanging mask, which is after all every woman’s dream? Well, we won’t be the ones to tear that dream away from you, so buy an exfoliant and kiss your pores goodbye!
Myth #9: Lancôme Advanced GÉNIFIQUE Youth Activating Serum will make you look ten years younger in two weeks.
This checks out.
Whether or not these are real, and they aren’t, you now have a solution to blindly cling to, which is all you really wanted. Look on the bright side; now that you believe these beauty myths, you can believe anything!
I grew up in a small, religious town where most of my ideas about gay people were colored by old Match Game episodes with Charles Nelson Reilly. Until college I hadn’t really encountered anyone who was “out” or however you say it. But last year, I had an experience that changed my life for good.
I was leaving Eastern Mountain Sports after buying a present for my outdoorsy boyfriend when I heard someone howling in pain somewhere in the parking lot. I searched around, ready to put my old lifeguard first-aid skills to good use. Then I noticed a scrap of Vassar sweatshirt caught in a bramble. Sure enough, a few feet away there was a butch lesbian cowering in pain, holding her paw. A real, live lesbian, right there in front of me. I couldn’t believe it! She had short hair (above her shoulders!!!), denim jeans, and no purse. Wow, I thought, just like in the movies. Except it was real.
I was frightened at first. I didn’t think a tiny, mousey straight girl like me would be able to help a great, powerful lesbian like her. Her howls had scared off any other small creature that might have tried to help her. But, then I noticed the drops of blood on her Dickie’s work pants and I knew she was more scared than me. Something in my heart told me I couldn’t sit on the sidelines and watch this woman with an obvious same-sex attraction be wounded in the street. I got a first-aid kit out of my car and hoped that she would allow me to extract the thorn. I felt huge in spirit as I approached the red-faced lesbian.
The last thing I expected was that this shockingly butch woman bellowing before me would one day become my best friend in the world. And yet that’s exactly what happened.
Overcoming my fears about whether or not she would try to eat me, I humbly bent down, tweezed the thorn out of her right paw, and tended to the wound.
We laugh now remembering how tiny the sliver truly was, a tiny cut that caused a “fucking huge pain” in her words. After the dressings were set we quickly exchanged phone numbers—I wanted to check in and make sure my “patient” was doing well. Soon, the check-ins turned into long text exchanges, sharing family photos, and just chatting about what made us both tick.
Over the last few months, whenever I need a friend to see the latest movie with or check out a new brunch place, or just someone cute to pat on the head while I sip tea, I think of Tara the lesbian and her bloody paw. To her credit, Tara has accepted me and some of my ignorance about gay people. She is nothing like I had expected a “typical lesbian” to be. She wasn’t afraid of water or the moon. She cannot turn lead into gold. While spending time with her I do feel an increased desire to gamble, but my doctor assures me it’s an unrelated side effect.
I have learned so much from this fable-like experience.
For the first time in my life I have a best friend who I don’t feel like I am in competition with. When men approach us at bars, it’s usually just to ask about her tattoos, and I’m great with that. Tara doesn’t judge me if I want to just move in with somebody after dating them a week, and she’s always there, letting me cry on her couch after it doesn’t work out. Tara does sometimes ask me not to refer to her hands as “paws”, but aside from that, we get along famously.
Removing a thorn from a lesbian’s mighty paw changed my whole life and my perceptions. Now, when my mom boycotts the Oscars when Ellen DeGeneres hosts, I let her know she’s being ignorant. Or, when I turn on the news and I hear about ISIS throwing gay men out of buildings to their deaths, I think, “Hey ISIS, not cool, that could be my friend Tara who’s already hurt her paw once.”
After college I didn’t know if I could make lifelong friends. Meeting Tara and unleashing her from the pain of a thorn taught me that new friends could mean just as much as old ones.
Thank you, gay Tara, for being a lesbian, and for actually saving me.
...if you think of the transition to "adulthood" as a collection of markers—getting a job, moving away from your parents, getting married, and having kids—for most of history, with the exception of the 1950s and 60s, people did not become adults any kind of predictable way.
And yet these are still the venerated markers of adulthood today, and when people take too long to acquire them, or eschew them all together, it becomes a reason to lament that no one is a grown-up. While bemoaning the habits and values of the youths is the eternal right of the olds, many young adults do still feel like kids trying on their parents' shoes. [...]
Age alone does not an adult make. But what does? In the United States, people are getting married and having kids later in life, but those are just optional trappings of adulthood, not the thing itself. Psychologists talk of a period of prolonged adolescence, or emerging adulthood, that lasts into the 20s, but when have you emerged? What makes you finally, really an adult?
I set out to try to answer this to the best of my ability, but just to warn you up front: There is either no answer, or a variety of complex and multifaceted answers.
The Guardian - How do you know you've really become an adult? An illustrated essay
"This is the thing about the word "adulting". It does not describe the act of being an adult. It describes the act of acting like an adult – enough, perhaps, to fool people... That's the real difference: adults are merely children who commit to pretending."
Young adults today have a big incentive to continue their schooling beyond secondary completion for economic reasons. People with university degrees have significantly higher earnings and considerably lower unemployment rates than high school graduates... Of course, a delayed exit from school has an impact on other transitions to adulthood. Although higher education enhances the chances of marriage, school enrolment impedes the first union formation, since most young people wait until they have finished university or college before they start thinking about marriage and parenthood. [...]
Today's young people face a labour market that earlier cohorts did not have to contend with: an increasing wage gap between newly hired employees and those with more experience; more temporary jobs for newly hired workers; and fewer male employees covered by registered pension plans, meaning that new hires are entirely responsible for saving for their own retirement without the backup of an employer sponsored pension plan. Instability in employment is reflected in the much faster growth in part-time employment. The shift from full-time lifetime employment that many young adults entered 30 years ago to a work environment offering more part-time work with fewer benefits has contributed to insecurity, especially among young men, and is a contributing factor to delays in family formation...
Many young adults continue to live with their parents not just because of the financial burden of paying for their postsecondary education, but also because they may be unemployed or working in a low-paying precarious job... While the labour market has changed and the duration and cost of postsecondary education have increased, other social factors have also contributed to delayed transitions. Gender roles within marriage changed. As women became more educated, their earnings increased and they began to rely on their own earning capacity and less on their partner's to determine whether they should remain in the labour market after marrying and having children.
En Galicia, os gandeiros cobran o leite a unha media de 28,7 céntimos, o prezo máis baixo de toda España, que mantén un promedio de 31 céntimos. Para explicar ese diferencial, as industrias adoitan aludir a dous factores: os custos de transporte do leite desde Galicia ós grandes centros de consumo (Madrid e Levante) e as maiores primas de cantidade que perciben as explotacións doutras comunidades, cun volume medio de produción por riba do galego. Estes argumentos, sen embargo, non axudan a entender por que en Asturias se pagan 3,4 céntimos máis por litro de leite que en Galicia.
Para o sector produtor non é comprensible que a un lado do río Eo se abonen 28,7 céntimos e a outro lado do Eo 32,4. Asturias comparte con Galicia unha posición xeográfica similar, distante dos grandes centros de consumo, e as explotacións asturianas teñen incluso unha media de produción de leite inferior á galega, co cal a explicación das primas de cantidade tampouco serve.
Desde o sector cooperativo, adóitase apuntar a unha terceira vía de interpretación, o peso cooperativo da transformación láctea en Asturias, da man de Central Lechera Asturiana (Clas). Os socios de Clas benefícianse dunhas condicións de prezos e contratos que a propia industria do grupo (Capsa) lle nega ás granxas doutras comunidades.
O Sindicato Labrego demanda que Capsa e Reny Picot deixen de pagar parte das entregas a prezo de leite en po
En Galicia, Capsa, propietaria de Larsa, págalle ás explotacións un 20% da recollida a prezos de leite en po, algo que non fai en Asturias. Outra industria asturiana, como Reny Picot, chégalle a pagar a parte das granxas galegas o 40% das entregas a prezos de leite en po. Cortar esas prácticas é un dos obxectivos que marcan organizacións como o Sindicato Labrego para a ronda de negociacións que se emprenderán coas industrias lácteas a partir da próxima semana.
Primeiros compradores
Outro factor que distorsiona os prezos en Galicia é o dos primeiros compradores intermediarios, que nun contexto como o actual, fan negocio mercando o leite barato e vendéndollo ás industrias a maior prezo. “É preciso regular os primeiros compradores que non lle aportan valor engadido ó leite para sacalos do mercado”, valora o secretario xeral de Unións Agrarias, Roberto García. A maiores, García cuestiona ás industrias que evitan maiores compromisos de abastecemento cos gandeiros. “Non é comprensible que unha marca como Danone, que presume de calidade, estea mercándolle o leite a Río”, cuestiona.
“Non é comprensible que unha marca que presume de calidade, como Danone, lle estea mercando o leite a Río” (Roberto García, Unións Agrarias)
O Sindicato Labrego Galego (SLG) tamén critica ós primeiros compradores, que cataloga como unha ferramenta das industrias para baixar os prezos, e demanda maiores iniciativas por parte da Xunta para mudar a situación. “Precisamos que en Galicia haxa mesas de interlocución para cambiar as cousas. Temos granxas cobrando o leite a 24 céntimos e non vemos que a Administración faga nada para solucionalo”, suliña Isabel Vilalba, do SLG.
O sector enfronta este inverno o reto de achegar os prezos galegos á media estatal de 31 céntimos. A folla de ruta marcada para ese obxectivo pasa en primeiro lugar por negociar coas industrias para lograr que lle trasladen ás granxas os aumentos de prezo comprometidos polas cadeas de distribución, así como outras posibles melloras a maiores.
O sector enfronta este inverno o reto de achegar os prezos galegos á media estatal de 31 céntimos
Aumentos de produción
Os últimos datos de produción do Fega, a mes de novembro, revelan que no que vai de campaña, desde o 1 de abril, tras o remate do sistema de cotas, a produción aumentou en España arredor do 2,5 %, con fortes incrementos en especial nos últimos meses. En outubro, as entregas aumentaron un 4,5 % e en novembro un 5 %. O Ministerio de Agricultura achaca eses aumentos a un contexto de baixos prezos do leite, que obriga ás granxas a aumentar a produción para diluir os custos fixos. Os aumentos da produción benefícianse tamén dun escenario de baixos prezos de alimentación animal, se ben Agricultura entende que maiores baixadas no prezo do leite levarían a unha caída das entregas, segundo sinala no primeiro informe trimestral do acordo lácteo.
A lóxica das explotacións de aumentar a produción para manter ingresos é entendible desde unha perspectiva individual, pero no conxunto, os aumentos de produción en época de crise de prezos semellan unha idea cuestionable. A nivel europeo, son varias as coordinadoras de organizacións agrarias que avogan por unha regulación pública da produción láctea alomenos en intres de crises.
Os aumentos de produción en época de crise son cuestionados en toda Europa por varias coordinadoras agrarias
Deslocalización
Os aumentos de produción en Galicia son similares á media estatal, a pesar do contexto galego de prezos sensiblemente máis baixos. As organizacións agrarias temen que as industrias promovan unha deslocalización da produción, incentivando maiores incrementos de entregas noutras comunidades próximas ós centros de consumo, en detrimento de Galicia.
Actualmente, Galicia continúa a entregar máis do 38% do leite producido en España, se ben esta campaña baixou algunhas décimas o seu peso no total español. “É preciso un pacto de autorregulación entre industrias e gandeiros para que os aumentos de produción se fagan de xeito ordenado, mantendo o peso de Galicia nas entregas de leite a nivel estatal”, valora Roberto García, de Unións Agrarias.
Outros datos
– A calidade do leite galego está á cabeza de España en materia graxa. Acadou en novembro o 3,78, en tanto a media estatal sitúase no 3,71. En proteína, Galicia está no 3,26, preto da media española do 3,29.
– Máis do 30% do leite producido en Galicia transfórmase fóra da comunidade. Outras zonas tradicionais de produción, caso de Asturias, son netamente importadoras e entregan pouco leite a compradores foráneos, no caso asturiano o 12%.
– O prezo medio do leite aumentou en España de setembro a novembro en 1,1 céntimos. En novembro, a suba foi de 0,1 céntimos.
– En España, pecharon 600 explotacións entre xaneiro e novembro do 2015. Quedan abertas 16.500, das que 9.181 son galegas. Galicia ten algo máis da metade das explotacións do Estado.
– Das 600 explotacións pechadas, 425 son galegas. Dúas de cada tres granxas que pechan son galegas.
SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA. 6 de Enero. (REDACCIÓN) El Correo Gallego, medio de información local está a un paso de desaparecer como empresa periodística. Según fuentes de la empresa consultadas por Diario de Compostela la situación interna es crítica, hasta el punto de que el editor del grupo José Manuel Rey Novoa intentó vender sus acciones a escondidas del Consejo de Administración a un conocido empresario y no las pudo vender por que el empresario le dijo “que sus acciones no valían nada”.
Tremendo problema el que se va a producir en un periodo de tiempo bastante breve en El Correo Gallego. De facto el problema ya existe desde hace ya muchos meses, debido a los numerosos despidos y abandonos que se han producido por parte de profesionales de esta empresa, en la que en algunos casos han denunciado el no pago de las nóminas durante 4 o más meses. Sin embargo, la situación aún a pesar de las cuantiosas subvenciones que desde la Xunta de Galicia se han destinado recientemente (más de 90.000 euros) a este grupo empresarial de los medios de información de la Capital de Galicia, siguen existiendo episodios de altísima precariedad laboral, despidos injustificados y no abono de las nóminas.
Por ejemplo, hace dos semanas el director de El Correo Gallego contrató a su nieto Alberto Tajes Rey como director comercial. Para poder pagarle, le bajó el sueldo a los comerciales sin avisar y tres de ellos han demandado al Grupo ante la Justicia ordinaria, procediendo con posterioridad José Manuel Rey a despedirles. Pero este no ha sido el único episodio. El sobrino del que fuera editor ya fallecido Feliciano Barrera, ha negociado su baja laboral en la empresa por que según fuentes consultadas, este les dijo que a la empresa le quedan dos telediarios.
Ante esta nueva oleada de bajas, salidas, despidos y dimisiones que se están produciendo en El Correo Gallego la solución a la desesperada es la externalización. En concreto los suplementos y la publicidad del conocido periódico a través de falsos autónomos que se harán cargo de todo esto. Y el motivo es que en plantilla del departamento comercial no queda prácticamente nadie.
Las cuantiosas subvenciones que desde la Xunta de Galicia está recibiendo El Correo Gallego en cierto modo demuestra la línea editorial actual de descrédito contra el gobierno local del Alcalde Martiño Noriega y Compostela Aberta. Línea editorial que al PP de Galicia no les está resultando rentable, dado que las ayudas que en teoría deberían de haber servido para mantener a flote un barco, que al igual que el Titanic, se va a hundir en breve. Solamente cabría una posibilidad, según fuentes empresariales consultadas a Diario de Compostela, esta consistiría en que un poderoso grupo de comunicación con carácter nacional ha intentado durante meses, adquirir El Correo Gallego y sus licencias de TDT y frecuencia Hz de Radio. El problema es el precio que están solicitando de venta no es ni por asomo el valor real de mercado amén de la creciente desvalorización industrial y empresarial del grupo en su conjunto.
Falta poco para que el fenómeno “Niño polla” cumpla tres años dentro del mundo del cine para adultos, cuando salieron sus primeras escenas hubo quienes fueron muy críticos con su físico y quienes vieron con la aparición de Jordi un … Seguir leyendo →
In the past couple of years, Twitter's user growth has slowed and then practically ground to a halt. As a result, the company has come under increasing pressure — from both Wall Street and the media — to reinvent the service in order to jump-start growth.
Last summer, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo resigned and was replaced by co-founder Jack Dorsey, who had been busy running his other startup Square. Dorsey has declared Twitter's growth rate "unacceptable" and talked a lot about "questioning our fundamentals." And over the past year, the company has rolled out a number of features designed to broaden the app's appeal beyond the 300 million or so people who have already signed up.
There seem to be two big reasons people believe Twitter is flawed and in need of an overhaul. One is that it's smaller and growing more slowly than rivals such as Facebook and Instagram. The other is that — as Vox's Matt Yglesias puts it — "the Twitter product has been very slow to evolve over the years."
But if you think about it, most of the internet's iconic products have been "slow to evolve." Gmail works basically the same way it did when it was introduced in 2004. Facebook saw a few major changes in its early years — the introduction of the newsfeed might have been the most significant — but it has looked basically the same for close to a decade.
Technology products become hits because they serve a specific community of users. If you try to reinvent a product, you're far more likely to alienate your existing users — like Digg's disastrous version 4 in 2010 — than you are to attract a lot of new ones. Beyond a certain point, technology products tend to become wedded to their existing user bases, and dramatic change becomes increasingly difficult.
Twitter has long since passed this point of no return. Most of the people who are interested in what Twitter has to offer are already using the service. People who are looking for something else are probably going to find it on some other social network. It turns out the number of people who want to snark about current events on Twitter is smaller than the number of people who want to swap baby and wedding photos on Instagram and Facebook. But there's no reason to think an overhaul of Twitter would convince those same users to start tweeting out their wedding and baby photos instead.
What Twitter needs more than anything is a healthy dose of self-respect. Twitter is a hugely successful website, with 300 million users and billions of dollars in ad revenue. The fact that there are other websites out there attracting larger audiences isn't evidence that Twitter is doing anything wrong.
With that said, it's not clear that the latest source of outrage — a reported plan for 10,000-character tweets — actually represents a major overhaul of how Twitter works. Rather, as Dorsey explained in a tweet, it may simply offer a more streamlined process for embedding content — just as you can currently embed an image in a tweet.
But as a heavy Twitter user, I'd like to see Dorsey show a bit more confidence in the excellent product Twitter is today. It serves my needs — and the needs of 300 million other people — quite well. His top priority should be to not screw that up.
Sete anos despois de pechar o seu emblemático restaurante logo dun escuro episodio no que foi detida por mercar vieira ilegal, a cociñeira volve á capital.
Una niña recibe una inesperada visita que la invita a conocer el futuro lejano. Una joya de la ciencia ficción animada destinada a convertirse en un clásico del género. (Corto: 16 minutos)
You’ve got several trips planned for 2016, and one thing’s for sure—you’re probably going to pack a bunch of healthy, responsible snacks that you will definitely not enjoy. And we’re here to help you do it! Since it’s the New Year, you’re full of optimism, and when your intentions are great, your snacks usually blow. So here are a few healthy travel snacks that will have you wishing you’d packed some Cheez-Its instead of all of those goddamn raw unsalted cashews.
Low-Fat String Cheese
String cheese is an easy, protein-packed travel snack you will eat hesitantly, and only if there is nothing else available to you. It’s like regular cheese, but rubbery, sinewy, and less delicious. Eating tiny shreds of something is a great way to feel even hungrier than when you started. You will probably spend $8 on a mini can of Pringles at the airport gate just to avoid eating this infantilizing snack.
Anything in the Grape Family (Besides Wine)
Has anyone ever looked in their carry-on and been happy to see a Ziploc full of grapes or a tiny box of golden raisins? Absolutely not, but what matters here is that it’s sort of good for you and not candy, which would’ve actually been delicious! Non-alcoholic versions of grapes are the perfect thing to pack if you want to deeply sigh into your handbag and regret your New Year’s Resolutions.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is a smart and healthy choice sure to leave you wishing it was regular chocolate. Throw an 85% cacao bar in your briefcase and you’ll be sure to stare at it angrily later when you’re super hungry and tired and out of options.
Unsalted Nuts
Salt-less nuts are a really popular snack that many people pretend to enjoy. However, eating almonds without the salt is like eating a cupcake without frosting. Oh man, cupcakes! Now there’s a snack you will daydream that you had on you instead of these plain, raw nuts!
Yogurt
When you left the house this morning for that day of meetings, you thought maybe this Greek mango yogurt would make for a guilt-free midday treat. You were dead wrong and now the only thing you have to snack on is a lukewarm yogurt and your unquenched cravings.
Those Travel Almond Butter Packs
This one actually tastes good but you will feel tons of regret when you realize how pathetic you look sucking almond butter out of a small pouch in public. Why didn’t you just make yourself a sandwich?
Well, you know what they say—it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey, and on most journeys you’ll find yourself wishing you had Chex Mix or Starbursts instead of the healthy shit you packed.
You have an incredible Tumblr following and social media presence in general, but how can you use your appearance to prove that you’re not just another underpaid millennial? Yuck! You want people to know that you’re a millennial with edge and passion who will never have to adhere to a corporate dress code. Here are a few very original, super outgoing pastel hair colors to try out that will let everyone know you’re a child of privilege!
Lavender
A subtle lavender screams femininity and will have people asking, “How does she afford that apartment?” and other people answering, “She doesn’t. Her parents do. You think she pays for that working part-time in her friend’s jewelry pop-up?” It’s a great way to reflect your enigmatic luxury in your appearance!
Pastel Pink
Pink is always a good choice if you want to add that extra punch to your shiftless brand. It’s also the perfect color to convey that you have never made your own doctor’s appointment, but that that’s only because you really need to take a year of self-discovery in Europe before you make that leap! With pastel pink as your hair color, you won’t need to vocalize that you’re trying to figure yourself out so you don’t have time for a job—your hair will do it for you!
Baby Blue
Baby blue is a great for showing off your wild side and your total lack of student loans. If you like to get a little bit crazy at the clubs on the weekends and also on most weeknights and also sometimes on weekdays, this hair color will help you let loose and shout, “YOLO! I don’t know what bills are LOL!” It’s also perfect for people who respond to their friends’ work woes with, “Why don’t you just quit?” with a look that shows just how much you don’t understand why someone wouldn’t just quit a job.
Mint Green
This lovely upper-class green is roughly the color of U.S. currency. Perfect! That’s the thing you have a lot of, thanks to mom and dad’s wise financial decision-making and inherited wealth. So go ahead, dye your hair this color for a look that says, “I don’t understand the concept of budgeting.”
A Lighter Pastel Pink
This is the color for you if you want to surprise people with just a dash of edginess in a general sea of safe femininity. It’s also a color that subtly whispers that your future is ensured to be stable no matter how unsuccessful your Etsy shop business is because your parents have worked hard their whole lives to provide for you and for your appointment to get your hair dyed in Williamsburg and for your congratulatory post-haircut cocktail!
So get on out to your nearest hair salon (that’s not a gross poor person’s hair salon) and choose from one of these luscious pastels. Your robber baron ancestors would be proud!
“Yet another infant carried off—how sad,” Gorey wrote of the scene on this envelope. “The altitude is in process of turning it blue with cold. It has reached the lavender stage apparently.”
Acclaimed storyteller Edward Gorey collaborated with Peter F. Neumeyer on three children’s books in 1968 and 1969. When they weren’t in each other’s company, they wrote many letters back and forth about their creations. Gorey tended to dress up his letters to Neumeyer with illustrations on the envelopes. At first, they were just corner decorations, but eventually filled the front of the envelopes and incorporated Neumeyer’s address as part of the artwork.
“I wrote to Edward Gorey that Helen had found his envelope illustration of the blue infant sad,” Neumeyer says of his wife’s reaction to the previous image. “We soon received another, wherein the baby triumphs.”
The Wimps are a Seattle trio whose music is so punk it doesn’t always sound like punk. The band’s lean, no-frills attack sometimes lacks the speed and adolescent aggression that’s come to be the hallmark of mainstream punk rock, but their tough, simple melodies and funny but jaded lyrical style certainly fit into the punk principles that (a) anyone can play rock & roll, and (b) good ideas are more important than tons of technique.
The Wimps’ second full-length album, Suitcase, is full of spare but catchy tunes that accompany clever tales of substandard housing (“Dump”), being the oldest person at the party (“Old Guy”), the nocturnal undead (“Vampire”), staying home and reading (“Book People”), outgrowing your town’s hip neighborhood (“Capitol Hill”), and texting and…
…tweeting rather than actually having a conversation (“Modern Communication”).
Speaking more to workaday adults than future disaffected youth, Suitcase is a 27-minute uprising of stupid fun. The lasting influence of the monosyllabic manifesto “Take it as it Comes” (“I know this sucks”) is one hell of a hangover that employed parents will be happy to revisit time and again.
If you recently walked into a bar or a beer store and had no idea what you were looking at as you eyed the menu or the long refrigerated cases—and maybe thought, almost desperately, I just want a beer!—you are not alone.
"Because of the changing landscape of beer, we rely on education," John Lapolla, the founder of the home brewing education center and store Bitter & Esters in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood, told me, citing the endless boom of craft beer. But there's a beer for everyone out there, he urged; you just need to know how to ask for what you like. Resolve to make 2016 the year you really learn beer. Crack open a cold one and start reading—here are the words you should know:
Photo by James Ransom
First, know your ales from your lagers:
If you learn nothing else, learn the differences between the two main kinds of beer: Almost all beers can be filed under a "lager" or "ale" label.
Ales are very flavorful—think IPAs, porters, brown ales, and stouts. A commercial example is Newcastle. But the most popular style in the world is the lager, which includes pilsners and bocks (commercially, think Budweiser), and are crisp and clean-tasting.
So how are there so many different kinds of beers, if they're all essentially ales or lagers? Yeasts! Different strains of yeasts convey different flavor profiles; for example, hefferveisen, an ale, owes its clove and banana flavors to its particular yeast strain.
Photo by Bobbi Lin
Then, know what you mean when you ask for...
Dark beer vs. light beer: People tend to be afraid of dark or "brown" beers because they don't know what to expect of them—or think that they have a higher alcohol content, or are heavier. These things actually depend on the beer itself—and the darkness comes from the toast and roast of the grain (just like coffee!). A darker beer will have a deeper flavor, but it won't necessarily be heavy.
Malty: First of all, almost all beer contains some malted barley—and when a beer is "malty," it just means it has higher levels of difference kinds of malts, which are often rich—and almost umami—in flavor. And while "malty" is often used in contrast to "hoppy," beers can be both malty and hoppy, though many styles veer in one direction more than the other.
Hoppy: Many of us associate hops with a bitter beer, but almost all beers are made with hops, and a beer can be hoppy without being bitter, since hops also add "head retention, mouthfeel, aromatics, flavor," said John. "They're basically a spice, [and] there are over 250 varieties." So if you try one "hoppy" beer that you don't love, keep trying!
Bitter: Bitterness in beer can come from hops or malt—but the more hops there are, the more bitter it will be. If you don’t like bitterness, turn to a pale ale—or choose something very dark, like a porter.
Photo by Bobbi Lin
IPA: John calls IPAs (India Pale Ales) the gateway drug into craft beer. If you like pale ales but want to try something bigger, try an IPA, which are just hopped-up, super-flavorful pale ale.
Double IPA: Another style of IPA—but with double the alcohol and double the bitterness. It's very hoppy, and very flavorful.
Sour: Wine-drinkers tend to like sour beers because they are often a punchy, fruity, and bright (and refreshing!).
Wheat beer: Wheat bears (often called whit or white beers) are almost always ales and are made from a combination of malted wheat and malted barley. "The yeast is very important," said John, "and creates these really cool flavors—called esters—that’ll give you banana or clove notes." They're often brewed with orange peel and coriander. You'll generally find super-flavorful German or Belgian styles, or cleaner-tasting American styles.
Saison: Saison is a French farmhouse-style ale and is brewed to have very particular flavors often described, said John, as "funky": They tend to be peppery, sour, full-flavored, very yeast-forward, and not too hoppy.
Pilsner: A light lager from the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic (many European beers are pilsners). Sometimes made with rice and barley, they're lighter on the palate, pale yellow, and very flavorful.
Porter: A fairly hoppy dark ale made with malt. John loves porters: "If you like darker foods, like coffee, you’ll probably like porter," he said.
Stout: A dark ale made with hops and roasted barley or malt. They're often described as "heavy," and are very similar to porters. Guinness is one of the most famous stouts.
American ale vs. Imperial ale: "Imperial pretty much just means high alcohol," said John. They're very similar otherwise.
Heavy: "Heavy" can describe both how beer feels on the palate and on the stomach. "The more malt flavors, the more protein and non-fermentables, and the more heavy the beer will be," said John. "There will also be more mouthfeel—it might actually feel thicker on the palate." A heavy beer does not necessarily have more alcohol content.
Fruity: Some beers are made with fruits, but you don't need to make beer with fruit to have a fruity beer. A beer's "fruitiness" usually refers to its esters—which come from yeast. The main fruit flavor you'll get is banana (in Belgian or German styles). Yeast can sometimes make a beer taste fruity (think plum or apricot flavors), as can hops (citrus, grapefruit, or strawberry flavors), said John.
Rare beers: A "rare" beer is often limited release. "Some kinds of beers age well—like sour beers and lambics," said John, "but because aging is expensive, you can't make much beer, so that makes them rare. Beer is best fresh, so a fresh rare beer is just one that's a limited release."
Aged beer: Some beers are aged just like wine—usually barley wines, lambics, geuze, Belgian beers, sours, and beers with higher alcohol. Hoppy beers aren't good aged because the hops oxidize and you lose the beer's aroma.
"Summer" vs. "winter" beer: Why are some beers marketed as "summer" beers, and some as "winter" beers? Seasonally, people like lighter-flavored beers for summer because they're thirst-quenching, while in the winter, we tend towards heavier flavors and higher alcohol for the feeling of warmth. But "Traditionally, beers have been brewed for the palate and for when it could actually be brewed," said John. "'Oktoberfest beers' are traditionally dark lagers because they were brewed in March and stored in caves until October."
What was the last beer term that stumped you? Will you print out this list of terms and carry it around in your wallet, like the author has? Tell us in the comments.
España es un país de graciosos, como demuestra Twitter a cada minuto que pasa. Pero, afortunadamente, también en esto hay profesionales. Le sacamos unas respuestas a Paco Alcázar (Cádiz, 1970), veterano del comic underground, músico y, principalmente, dibujante de Orgullo y Satisfacción y uno de los dibujantes de El Jueves que se rebelaron tras la censura por parte de RBA y montaron su propia publicación online.
In the past I’ve mentioned how I play boardgames via different browser-based implementations, namely Through the Ages and Brass. If you’re familiar with online board gaming, you might wonder why I never mentioned the mega-site, Board Game Arena. After all, the site boasts over 80 games that you can play in real time or asynchronously. It’s also free, which seems too good to be true. So, why no chatter about BGA? Well, for mobile devices, it wasn’t always a walk in the park. The interface often didn’t work and playing on a touchscreen could be akin to visiting the dentist. Over the weekend, that’s all changed and now Board Game Arena officially supports browsers on both tablets and phones.
BGA has digital board games you won’t find anywhere else. Games like Tzolk’in, Race for the Galaxy, Seasons, Libertalia, Troyes, Spyrium, and more. These are games that aren’t likely to get a native digital version anytime soon, so getting to play them on your tablets/phones via BGA is huge. That’s just a small sampling. They also have lighter fare like, two of my favorites, Hanabi and Lords of Xidit. Head over and check out the entire list of games. You might even find some old friends.
Creating and playing in games is free on BGA, but if you want your stats tracked and some other, minor perks you can sign up for Club BGA. It’s completely optional, however, and the site doesn’t get in your face about it at all, as far as I can tell.
Want to play something? Look me up. I’ll be Neumannium at BGA and am looking forward to trying out some new board game action on my iPad’s browser.
Rick and Morty is one of the best animated shows going right now, along with Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, and The Venture Brothers. But with a year and a half wait between seasons 2 and 3, how will we pass the time? Adult Swim Games has just revealed how we will pass the time: Pocket Mortys. A parody of Pokemon, Pocket Mortys will have you fighting as Rick's Morty against a whole other host of Mortys under the command of alien trainers. It sounds ridiculous, and I am in:
While there's sure to be some in-universe justification for the whole thing, Rick and Morty does take place in a multiverse where there are an infinite number of Ricks and Mortys, so it's not hard to see where a bunch of them have been captured and made to be collected and fought as Pokemon are. This looks ridiculous, and I'm excited to play it. And play it we shall, as it hits mobile next week on January 14th.
Aunque pueda resultar paradójico, la relación que los vivos mantienen con los muertos es constante y peculiar.
La ausencia física de familiares o próceres nunca es total desde el momento en el que se les recuerda o se les erigen monumentos, se les otorgan calles, polideportivos, colegios, institutos, barcos, aeronaves, obras literarias y cualquier otra manifestación del talento humano.
Actos que sirven, además de para hacer más llevadera la pérdida, para agradecer todo lo que esa gente hizo en vida por nosotros, independientemente del grado de cercanía que tuviéramos con ellos. Tan importante puede haber sido para nuestra vida un abuelo que nos enseñase a diferenciar una serpiente de cascabel de un sonajero, que el tipo que consiguió descifrar el código de Enigma.
Armando G. es de estos últimos. No, de los de la foto de arriba, no; sino de aquellos que son conscientes de que su vida habría sido mucho peor sin la presencia de ciertos artistas, cantantes o humoristas. Personajes con los que tal vez nunca cruzó una palabra, pero a los que ha decidido homenajear creando Tus muertos favoritos.
«Soy muy fan de los álbumes de cromos de siempre y… ¿quién no querría su propia colección de cromos? Pensando en cuál sería una buena temática se me ocurrió que la muerte es la excusa perfecta para relacionar a gente que no tiene nada que ver; así podría juntar a todos mis ídolos en una sola colección de cromos», explica Armando.
A diferencia de otras aventuras creativas o empresariales que adolecen de un recorrido muy limitado, «Tus muertos favoritos» es un proyecto en constante renovación. Tanto, que podría parecer excesivamente ambicioso y difícil de abarcar.
«¡Lo mejor de todo es que la colección es infinita, ya que siempre hay muertos nuevos! De todas formas, no sé cuánto tiempo durará la colección. Supongo que hasta que me aburra. Por ahora van apareciendo muertos en mi mente, me echo unas risas e intento que los demás también. No suelo incorporar fiambres muy a menudo. A veces pienso “ya está, se acabó”, pero al día siguiente me levanto y pienso “¡Hostia!, ¿cómo no hice de muerto favorito a Dick Miller, el pureta de los Gremlins que no paraba de decir eso de malditos aparatos extranjeros?”».
Como el propio nombre de la colección indica, la selección de fallecidos es totalmente subjetiva. Responde únicamente a los criterios de su autor, pero sí que se pueden determinar ciertos elementos característicos: abundan los personajes de la década de los ochenta y se echan a faltar muertos clásicos, desde Mozart a Rasputín, pasando por Elvis o Jesús Gil. ¿Animadversión o una prueba más de que el Rey y el presidente atlético no están muertos?
«Está claro que es una selección totalmente subjetiva y personal. La colección en un principio tenía como objetivo sacar a muertos que no fuesen tan famosos como Kennedy, genios caídos en el olvido. Es más divertido acordarse de Tojeiro, el del Colacao, que de Elvis, aunque Jesús Gil sí que tiene papeletas para entrar en la colección. Por otra parte, no tengo nada en contra de Rasputín, Cervantes o Mozart, pero eso ya sería otra colección. De hecho, tenía una con unos colegas que se llamaba Rata perrera, donde los cromos eran de gente con aura malvada y Rasputín salía en uno».
Cada cromo va acompañado de un texto en el que se explica brevemente, con la admiración y respeto que merece el personaje en cuestión, cuáles han sido esos merecimientos que lo han llevado a ser incluido en ese panteón de hombres ilustres.
«Hay quien se ofende por el tono de algún texto, pero es con cariño, son muertos a los que quiero de verdad, un homenaje a toda esa gente muerta que, en vida, nos ha hecho vibrar, que me han hecho como soy hoy en día, así que la culpa es suya. De hecho, yo era muy normal hasta que gente como Eugenio me empezó a meter sus chistes en la cabeza, o Chumy Chúmez, o Richard Pryor…».
El proyecto se completa con una ouija para comunicarse con alguno de esos ídolos y chapas para lucir orgulloso en la solapa los rostros de «Tus muertos favoritos». «La muerte siempre es un buen negocio», dice Armando G. confirmando así algo que ya intuíamos a la vista de los tanatorios, los seguros de decesos y las floristerías 24h.
Antes de que regrese a su laborioso, interminable y lucrativo negocio, pedimos a Armando que sea tan amable de darnos el Top 5 de sus muertos favoritos y adelantarnos cuáles incorporará a la colección en el futuro.
«1.- Laika, 2.- Chita, 3.- Eugenio, 4.- Sloth de los Goonies y 5. Leonard Nimoy. Tengo una larga lista de sugerencias. Soy como el Papá Noel de los muertos. A veces, cuando no se me ocurre ningún personaje, saco la lista de un agujero negro que tengo en el jardín de mi casa y la repaso para recuperar algún cadáver olvidado».
Bajo el hashtag #freestrawberry, el cantante de Def Con Dos lanza un crowd-funding en la plataforma Lánzanos para intentar paliar los costosos gastos del juicio en el que se va a ver inmerso en los próximos meses. ¿Ciudadano terrorista?
Ya hablamos de ello cuando le dedicamos un repaso a las mejores canciones de Def Con Dos, y el propio César Strawberry opinó sobre el espinoso tema en la extensa entrevista que le hicimos: la cuestión es que este proceso delirante que puede llevar al cantante de Def Con Dos a la cárcel por cinco tuits y un retuit bajo la acusación de promover el terrorismo sigue adelante. En una maniobra legal cuyo única razón de ser parece ser la de meter el miedo en el cuerpo a los usuarios de redes sociales, uno de los cerebros más ácidos de nuestro panorama cultural puede verse privado de libertad o fuertemente multado en los próximos meses.
De momento, Strawberry va a juicio y necesita dinero para cubrir los gastos. A través de Lánzanos ha organizado un pequeño sistema de crowd-funding que permite a cualquiera aportar pequeñas cantidades a partir de 25 euros con una meta de 10.000. En el momento de escribir estas líneas lleva casi un cuarto del total, lo que hace albergar esperanzas sobre el éxito de la iniciativa. A cambio de las aportaciones, Strawberry da a sus seguidores y mecenas camisetas, libros y CDs dedicados. Aunque el móvil que debería llevarnos a aflojar la mosca es algo más significativo que un par de libros firmados.
Reddit's /r/askhistorians "Best of 2015" thread is something you'll learn from, maybe. Probably the most rigidly moderated subreddit regarding historical topics, /r/askhistorians has some of the smartest answers you'll find to some of the most unusual questions they answered in 2015. Check the thread for questions answered in earlier years.
Murió bramando ingeniosas proclamas y juicios antológicos. Advertía que no quería en su funeral "ni cura discreto, ni fraile humilde ni jesuita sabihondo". Se desesperaba en la interminable agonía: "¡Me muero! ¡Pero lo que tarda esto!" Y mascullaba unas última palabras redondas para la posteridad: "Aquí he cogido la enfermedad hace treinta años. Aquí he vivido y aquí dejo mi cuerpo".
La mañana del 5 de enero de 1936, en un sanatorio de Santiago, don Ramón María del Valle-Inclán falleció en una habitación atestada de amigos, familiares y curiosos, más sala de museo o animado café que lecho mortuorio. El entierro se celebró al día siguiente, Reyes, en el cementerio de Boisaca. Allí, mientras la muchedumbre y los poderes públicos locales al completo daban su último adiós al escritor bajo una lluvia torrencial, un jabato anarquista que atendía al nombre de Modesto Pasín se abalanzó sobre el ataúd para arrancar la cruz. La tapa quebró, el cadáver quedó al descubierto ante el horror de los asistentes y el furioso ácrata cayó rodando al hoyo de donde tuvieron que rescatarlo.
El periódico carlista 'El siglo futuro' emitió al día siguiente su desabrido juicio: "A las dos de la tarde del día de ayer ha muerto en un sanatorio de Santiago de Compostela el escritor don Ramón del Valle-Inclán, que contaba setenta y seis años de edad, cuyos escritos, en su mayor parte, caen de lleno bajo las más graves prohibiciones canónicas, y cuya actuación y significación en los últimos años de su vida coincidían totalmente con los enemigos del Catolicismo, de España y de la Monarquía. Dios le haya perdonado".
Una muerte espectacular, sin duda, de no ser por que todo -menos el involuntariamente cómico obituario carlista- es falso.
La leyenda debe cesar
"A los españoles de la época les parecía increíble que su estampa inconfundible, omnipresente en todos los foros y en la prensa de la época, hubiera desaparecido para siempre. Se le había dado tantas veces por muerto, había superado tantas operaciones y situaciones críticas, que les parecía eterno. Tal vez por esto su leyenda no murió con élo sino que siguió creciendo, agrandadada por el imaginario colectivo. Era una prueba más de la empatía que siempre despertó el personaje público y sus máscaras en la gente. Pero ahora la leyenda debe cesar para que hable el relato veraz de los hechos".
Así termina Manuel Alberca 'La espada y la palabra. Vida de Valle-Inclán' (Tusquets), la biografía del artífice del marqués de Bradomín con la que en 2015 se alzó con el premio Comillas de Biografía, el más prestigioso de nuestro país. En sus páginas acometía la semblanza de "un personaje muy conocido, pero distorsionado por su leyenda", una de las figuras más recreadas y mixtificadas de nuestras letras, cuya participación en la construcción de su propia mitología no fue desdeñable. Alberca se imponía así una meta tan concreta como ardua: "levantar un relato veraz que saque al escritor de ese limbo de irrealidad en que lo han confinado".
Parecida misión emprendió Joaquín del Valle-Inclán, nieto del escritor y autor de otra desacralizadora biografía "hermana" publicada también el pasado año a las puertas del 80 aniversario de su muerte que se recuerda hoy. Y tan hermana. Según explica Joaquín en el prólogo del libro, Alberca y él trabajaron durante años en "un proyecto común de biografía de don Ramón" que naufragó finalmente "por diferencias irreconciliables en la forma de escribir". Pero, por lo demás -y después de acusar a su ex-socio de "atribuirse toda mi labor", el autor de 'Ramón María del Valle-Inclán. Genial, antiguo y moderno' (Espasa) coincide en premisas y conclusiones: la personalidad de Valle ha sido "ahogada en un anecdotario, tan falso como absurdo, que desfiguró desde su nombre y apellidos hasta los últimos momentos de su agonía".
Ni ingeniosas proclamas ni anarquistas
Porque como demuestran Ramón Alberca y Joaquín del Valle-Inclán en sus libros, ni Valle se arrancó con sentencias grandilocuentes en sus últimos estertores -según los únicos tres presentes, los doctores Villar Iglesias y su hijo Carlos, transitaba entre la inconsciencia y el delirio- ni en aquella sala había nadie más que los ya citados, ni anarquista alguno montó el espectáculo durante su funeral. Algunas de estas leyendas las inventaron al día siguiente periódicos como La Voz de Madrid. Otras, como la increíble historia del libertario saltarín, surgieron muchos años después. Y alguna queda hoy enquistada increíblemente en Wikipedia.
Lo cierto es que el autor de las 'Comedias bárbaras', las 'Sonatas' o 'Luces de Bohemia', "el más vivo de los escritores del 98", según Francisco Umbral, "se pasó media vida de gerifalte y media vida de dandi" y llegó a Santiago de Compostela desde Madrid para morir el 6 de marzo de 1935. Su intención, sin embargo, era curarse del cáncer de vejiga que le perseguía desde hacía años en manos de su amigo, el doctor Villar Iglesias, que ya lo trató en 1924.
El resto del año renqueó entre recaídas y mejorías alternas, la intentona impotente de dar fin a una última novela -'El trueno dorado'-, las tribulaciones del divorcio en marcha con su mujer, la actriz Josefina Blanco, que le privaba de la mitad de sus ingresos mensuales y le alejó de toda su familia, y el golpe que supuso la muerte de su amigo, el escritor y periodista Luis Bello Trompeta.
Según los describe Manuel Alberca en su biografía, los últimos años de Valle-Inclán fueron "amargos". Los trámites de la separación, la ruptura familiar que le alejaría de sus hijos, las crecientes dificultades económicas... "Él, que había creado un mundo propio y una lengua literaria inconfundible para darle sostén, fracasó al no ser capaz de crear las condiciones de vida más favorables para los suyos".
