Snob

One of the odder side-effects of growing up as a geek or a nerd is that we frequently develop an almost atavistic response to popularity. Popularity is for the “cool kids”, the jocks and the Queen Bees who made our lives hell growing up. As a result: we tend to look askance at people who’re popular… even when we secretly crave it ourselves.

And that craving is totally understandable. Humans are social animals. As much as we may lionize the rugged individualist, the fact of the matter is that we need other people in our lives – not just relationship partners but friends and family members, even casual connections. Lone wolves make for romantic images of someone who’s too cool for everyone else, but in reality, those are the wolves that’ve been kicked out of the pack because they’re detrimental to the survival of the group as a whole.

“Gettin’ mighty tired of your shit, Carl,”

Popularity and social ties help ground us, give us a sense of identity and even a sense of safety and support that helps us bridge the difficult times. Social connections are necessary for our emotional and physical health, as well as any benefits we may get to our to our romantic or professional lives. Hell, being around people makes us happier, regardless of whether we’re introverts or extroverts.

Popularity is also a frequent marker of social and emotional intelligence, which are attractive traits in others. We admire people who are popular and want to be closer to them because we want to share in the value that they can bring into our lives. After all, someone who has a large social circle tends to be good at managing complex relationships, providing value to others and generally making people feel good – all traits that we look for in friends and partners.

But popularity isn’t about just being into all the right hobbies and liking all the right things. It’s not about being the “coolest” person in school, at work or the club. It’s about building relationships and knowing how to bring people together; showing how awesome you are and recognizing the awesomeness in others.

Here’s how to be more popular and build your social circles.

Live Your Passions

One of the first keys to improving your own popularity is to become a more interesting person, and the easiest way to do that is to live an interesting life. People who engage with their passions are inherently more attractive; they have a certainty and a drive that we find compelling. Most people live lives of quiet desperation, each day blending into the next in a cycle of “get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat”. People who have passion in their lives, on the other hand, have something that drives them and that enthusiasm is contagious. Spend some time at a sports bar during the big game and notice how much you get keyed up, even when you don’t know why everyone else is losing their shit. When someone is truly passionate about something and knows how to communicate that passion, they get us excited as well… even if we don’t share their interest.

“Yes! YES! WHY ARE WE CHEERING?!”

The inverse works too, by the way; that sourpuss in the group can suck the enthusiasm right out of people and bring the party down.

“OK, I guess this isn’t that much fun after all…”

This is why finding what you love and loving it openly is important; inspiring excitement in others is more fun and attractive than being too cool for school. You want to find the thing you love and make it awesome, even if it’s not the “cool” thing. Who would you rather spend time with; people who get just as excited as you over a new Mass Effect game or a Walter Hill movie marathon, or people who think they’re above what you enjoy?

But you want to do more than just find your passion; you want to find a way to enjoy it in a way that brings you in contact with others. Make it a part of your lifestyle. If you love games, find groups who love them too. If you love music, take classes and go to concerts. Living your passions helps bring you into contact with other people who also share your passions. And while we’re talking about being interesting…

Collect Experiences and Tell Stories

Stories are inherently interesting. Having stories – and knowing how to tell them – signals that you live an interesting and attractive life. Living an interesting life means that people are going to want to spend time with you, because they’re going to want to share in those adventures as well.

But before you can tell stories about your life, you have to have stories to tell in the first place. After all, there’s not really much to be said when your life consists primarily of going to work and farting around on Facebook and Twitter until you go to bed. This is why you want to collect experiences – moments in your life that stand out against the hum-drum monotony of every day existence.

Nothing like counting down the passage of moments bringing you ever closer to oblivion.

The mistake that many people make is that those experiences don’t have to be monumental or exotic in order to make for great stories. Sure, if you can tell the story of the time you were accosted by knife-throwing acrobats in Shanghai, that’s great… but even seemingly mundane events can make for great stories.

True story, by the way.

A road trip, a sold-out concert, even a night out an make for interesting stories as long as you keep yourself open to finding new experiences. Collecting stories and experiences means doing things that are out of your comfort zone, things that you might otherwise never do. See an avant-garde play like Sleep No More. Get some friends and try a Room Escape challenge. Go on a road trip and visit the cheesiest tourist traps your state has to offer. Go to a concert for a band you’ve never heard of. Take a cooking class. Try rock-climbing. Learn how to pole dance. Perform at an open-mic night. It doesn’t matter whether you succeed or fail – both make for amazing stories.

The more stories you have, the more other people will want to be part of those stories… and that will lead to even more stories and experiences.

Find Out What Makes Other People Awesome

When we think of popular people, we tend to almost immediately think of the jerks we knew in high-school who lorded over the rest of us. It’s understandable that we flash to images of social hierarchies with the kings and queens of the social scene on top and their flunkies just below them, delivering scorn and withering bon-mots to everyone who had the misfortune of attracting their attention. Small wonder, then, that we tend to imagine popularity as being about exclusivity. But being shitty to other people isn’t the key to popularity, making them feel amazing is.

We instinctively like people who like us. We all love to feel interesting and appreciated, and so when somebody else shows that they think we’re fascinating we find ourselves drawn to them. Simply paying attention to people and letting them know we value them and their thoughts is such a small thing but it is the simplest and easiest way to make people like you.

Please note that “pretending to listen while you imagine her naked” is NOT the same as making them feel appreciated.

As such, if you want to improve your popularity, you want to show people that you’re interested in them. Treat each person as a puzzle; there’s something awesome about them and it’s your job to figure it out. Get to know them. Ask them about their lives and what they’re into and find out what makes them tick. You don’t need to make every single person your BFF, just simply talk to them like they’re cool people worth knowing. Little things like remembering people’s names and things going on in their lives can be huge; it’s a sign that you legitimately paid attention, which most people don’t do Making a habit out of getting to know people instead of treating them as a stepping stone or faceless automaton brings big dividends in terms of improving your popularity. Which brings us to our next point:

Acquire Social Proof

If you’ve ever spent time in PUA circles, then you’ve likely heard people toss around the term “social proof”. Social proof is, simply, how other people look to others to gauge how to respond in social situations. It’s a form of social vetting; people notice how you treat others and how they respond to you. When we see people responding positively to somebody, we assume that they’re a good person and are more positively inclined towards them.

The problem is that all too often, we misunderstand what social proof actually is. In PUA circles, you’ll hear about wanting to show off signs of how cool you are – surrounding yourself with hot women, wearing the snazziest clothes, rolling around with your squad, etc – in order to demonstrate your social proof. We see people sharing photos of themselves with all the awesome people they hang out with and the cool things they do and think that this is what social proof means.

But that’s not social proof; that’s just bragging and image. It’s almost absurdly easy to fake being “awesome” on social media when you can curate every visible moment of your life. A little creative camera work, some bullshit Facebook updates and suddenly you look like you’re the biggest thing since World War III.

Having photos of you surrounding yourself with hot girls in clubs and hanging with celebrities is almost pathetically easy to come by without resorting to Photoshop.

Nice blue steel, Henry.

It doesn’t mean that you’re living the high-life, it just means that you’ve managed to capture a moment with folks who may well forget you exist five seconds after you leave their eye line. The truth is, social proof isn’t about how you make yourself look to others, it’s about what others say about you. Social proof is less “look at him hanging out with models and drinking champagne in the hot tub” and more about people who think you’re a legitimately cool person. Cultivating social proof isn’t about having the most desirable lifestyle, it’s being known as the guy who always brings great beer to the party and stays to help clean up afterwards. It’s about being the person who helps take care of his friends and makes sure people are having a good time. It’s being somebody people can rely on when the chips are down, someone who’s there when he’s needed. That guy is going to have people who’ll vouch for him and talk him up to their friends.

Provide Value To Others

Popularity is, at its core, about value. People who are popular tend to provide value.

As social animals, we’re programmed to prize those who provide for the the pack. We like people who provide for others because they help contribute to the overall well-being of the group and dislike those who take without giving in return. Freeloaders endanger the emotional and physical health of the group and so we instinctively abhor them. This is why we avoid toxic people when we can; they’re emotional freeloaders, a drain on our emotional energy and self-esteem without giving anything back. This is why the overarching theme to improving your popularity is simple: you want to provide value to others. The more value you provide, the more people will value you in turn.

So how do you provide that value?

Value is, put simply, what you have to offer to others and makes people want to be around you. Value may be material, social or emotional; you might throw amazing parties or you may be the person others know they can come to when they have a problem and need a sympathetic ear. You might be the networker who can connect people or you might be person who tells the best stories and makes people laugh. In fact, social and emotional value can be more precious and effective than material value. The cool kids in school, for example, are popular because people are hoping that “cool” is a transitive property; they want to be more valuable themselves simply by being in their proximity. However, there’s more to social and emotional value than providing social status; being someone who makes others feel good about themselves inspires reciprocity and makes people want to spend more time with you. A well-timed compliment or providing a favor can be more impactful and precious than whatever cool or desirable material goods you can provide. Trying to bribe others into liking you, on the other hand, is a great way to attract freeloaders who only like you for what you can give them. 

If you want to be more popular, you want to be someone worth getting to know. Live an awesome life and help others feel awesome in turn and you’ll find that your social circle will grow like magic.

The post Popularity 101 (How To Be Awesome) appeared first on Paging Dr. NerdLove.

You're the Worst, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and BoJack Horseman's nuanced portrayals are changing the game.

Depression is ugly and static, listless until it rears its head and makes its presence known with a sudden, ferocious roar. You can fight it, and sometimes even defeat it. But it's almost impossible to know when, where, or how it will strike. It looms above you, a cloud blackening with self-loathing, raining down on you whenever the hell it feels like it. It's a frightening, overwhelming, all-encompassing feeling that sits heavy on your chest, patient and steady, until you forget how to breathe.

Depicting something as internal as depression onscreen, especially on television, is tricky business. As my colleague Todd VanDerWerff wrote when discussing a character's clinical depression on FXX's sour romantic comedy You're the Worst, it's difficult to make depressed characters dynamic over a long period of time, as the medium requires:

"[A depressed character will] have peaks and valleys, sure, but you can't tell a story that's all peaks. That's just bad drama. This is absolute anathema to television, which thrives on change and on characters either overcoming their obstacles or eventually falling prey to them through means of their own making."

However, more shows are rising to the challenge of keeping depression not just relatable, but consistently compelling — and even a little funny besides. In addition to You're the Worst, Netflix's BoJack Horseman and The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend are addressing the startling, frustrating consequences of depression and other forms of mental illness.

Further, they're letting their female characters be depressed without letting that struggle define those characters entirely — a surprising rarity on television. Most shows tend to either gloss over their characters' mental illness or make it a primary focus. For example, while Broad City's fearless extrovert Ilana Wexler casually admitted to being on antidepressants in the show's season two finale, other portrayals — think Amy Jellicoe on Enlightened or Tara Gregson on United States of Tara — have hinged entirely on mental illness.

Meanwhile, if you think about the characters who have been specifically diagnosed with depression, either officially or via armchair, they tend to be men going through some sort of midlife crisis: Tony Soprano, Dr. Gregory House, Kevin Garvey, and even (or especially) Don Draper.

But You're the Worst's Gretchen, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rebecca, and BoJack Horseman's Diane don't fit the profiles TV has established for depressed characters, nor are they primarily defined by their mental struggles. Each character has her own pitfalls, fears, and coping mechanisms, which all manage to be very funny even when the situations decidedly aren't.

You're the Worst has found clarity in a clear diagnosis

FXX

You're the Worst has built its second season around the reveal that its female lead Gretchen (Aya Cash) has clinical depression. Gretchen is a whip-smart woman with a wicked smirk who has stubbornly maintained that she isn't a "real adult" ever since we first met her. But as You're the Worst's second season has unfolded, she's unraveled. Her depression has manifested itself in secret crying sessions in her car, harsh outbursts at her confused friends, and failed attempts to maintain the exhausting facade that everything is just fine, don't worry about her, really.

Related You're the Worst just raised the bar for how TV talks about mental illness

You're the Worst has been steadily building to Gretchen's breaking point, which finally came in the series' most stunning episode to date. "LCD Soundsystem," written and directed by series creator and showrunner Stephen Falk, sends Gretchen on a mission to try a new and shinier life on for size — and then it all comes crashing down around her.

Gretchen finds herself drawn to a slightly older couple, Lexi and Rob (Tara Summers and Justin Kirk), who live across the street from her and her boyfriend, Jimmy (Chris Geere). The episode's cold open is told entirely through Lexi and Rob's perspective, so that by the time it pivots to Gretchen's, we understand her attraction. Lexi and Rob are settled in a way she's never known. They have an adorable dog and a kid named Harper, but they're still cool, still wearing their leather jackets and rolling their eyes. Gretchen, who only moved in with Jimmy after accidentally burning down her apartment with a sparking vibrator in You're the Worst's season one finale, wants that balance.

So she fakes it.

Throughout "LCD Soundsystem," Gretchen strategically inserts herself into Lexi and Rob's lives, even going so far as to steal their dog for a day. Finally, she tries to be their friend, adjusting her personality to match theirs — but it turns out they're not as grounded and carefree as she thought. Rob and Lexi have their own issues, which Rob lays out in a rambling nightmare of a speech that's basically a list of midlife crisis clichés.

Falk's script and Kirk's edge-of-manic performance are fantastic, but it's Cash who steals this scene, as she's done so many times throughout You're the Worst's second season. She lets Gretchen's face fall, bit by devastating bit, as the full weight of her crushed expectations caves in on her. There's no easy way out after all.

Obviously, this isn't exactly a funny moment. In fact, it's straight-up heartbreaking. But leaning into the inherent risk of realistically portraying Gretchen's depression has paid off for You're the Worst, thanks to canny writing and the show's incredibly strong sense of self.

I recently spoke with Falk about the decision to include a depression storyline this season, and asked him if he'd always planned to make it about Gretchen, as the self-sabotaging Jimmy could have also conceivably carried it. Falk's answer, though, was an unequivocal yes, citing the "personality split" Gretchen displayed in You're the Worst's first season with her debauched life with Jimmy versus the obedient daughter act she put on for her parents.

FXX

Falk also emphasized how his writers' room was careful not to let Gretchen's depression define her, or to let it detract from the show's particular sardonic bite. "We trust ourselves that we have created characters that have very specific and funny worldviews," he said. "We found creative ways to activate the character [of Gretchen], while at the same time not shying away from the more bleak realities of the disease."

Making the choice to explicitly diagnose Gretchen with clinical depression is an undeniable game changer. Her confession in "There Is Currently Not a Problem" was jarring, not just because it signaled a major shift for the series, but because it was one of the only times I could recall a television character — on a comedy! — being open about her depression in such stark terms.

As a result, You're the Worst has tackled an entirely new set of challenges, and opened up a whole lot of new opportunities as well. Gretchen is struggling to manage her illness, and Jimmy is struggling to understand it, but there's no doubt about what's going on — and that drives the story in a new direction. Jimmy's inability to accept that he can't fix Gretchen's problems stings in a way that wouldn't hurt quite as much if Gretchen hadn't confirmed that she's dealing with clinical depression.

Falk says it was important to him and his team that Gretchen's breakdown wasn't just attributed to a bad mood. "Even just the word [depression] is tied to just sadness, just being bummed out," Falk told me. "It was very important to have her even just say, 'I have clinical depression.' ... I think it's important to destigmatize [depression], and at the same time, call attention to what it actually is."

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend mocks public perception of mental illness, but not nearly as much as it laughs at itself

The CW

The CW raised eyebrows when it picked up Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. In the pilot, high-strung Rebecca Bunch (comedian Rachel Bloom) quits her job at a law firm to chase her summer camp boyfriend across the country to his hometown of West Covina, California. She then plots to win him back with the cunning use of trickery and flattery, to predictably disastrous results. The opening credits mock her, chirping, "She's the crazy ex-girlfriend!"

But Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has worked overtime to prove that its unfortunate title is tongue in cheek. Those same opening credits even call out "crazy ex-girlfriend" as "a sexist term," noting, "The situation is a lot more nuanced than that." The show winks at the terrible connotations of such a label, and at the jerk men who use it to dismiss women they don't like.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has aired eight episodes so far, each more cognizant of the show's uphill battle to be taken seriously. Even in the pilot, though, Rebecca's decision to flee New York for small-town California is presented with more context than the fact that her aforementioned summer camp boyfriend, Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III), broke her heart when she was a teenager. In New York, Rebecca was climbing corporate ladders like it was nothing, when in actuality it was killing her. The second she learns she's getting the huge promotion she's been working for, Rebecca has a panic attack that sends her flying into the streets outside the building — where she almost immediately runs into Josh. Bloom told TV Guide that Josh "represents the last time Rebecca was happy," so she chases him — and the happiness she associates with him — with wild abandon. It feels like self-care, but it's just a temporary fix for a larger issue.

Rebecca is an aggressive presence. Her wide-eyed fanaticism puts off many of her new West Covina neighbors, even though many of them also verge on cartoonish. In fact, many of Rebecca's neuroses take the form of upbeat dance numbers she imagines in her head; for instance, she primps during a "Sexy Getting Ready Song," and Josh's friend (Santino Fontana, Frozen's Hans) soft-shoes his way into a date while crooning, "Settle for me / if he's your broken condom, I'm your Plan B."

Ever since her first panic attack, though, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has dropped casual references to Rebecca's mental baggage. She talks herself out of the idea that her cross-country move has anything to do with a "nervous breakdown." She refuses to throw a party because of a crippling social anxiety that dates back to childhood. Her neighbor tries to study Rebecca for an "abnormal psychology" course, but keeps getting stumped.

When described in such stark terms, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend sounds as if it's positioning itself to go deep and get heavy on us, but the truth is that all these details are conveyed through screwball comedy. Bloom plays Rebecca as manic and narcissistic, but also smart and sharper than even she realizes. When she hands out fliers alongside her younger self, singing, "I have friends, I definitely have friends!" through a desperate grin, we understand what it's like to be inside her head without her belaboring the point. "Sexy French Depression" is a languid ballad to her mental health, which shows how listless she's become while parodying French new wave movies. Rebecca isn't okay, but that's not all there is to her. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend makes fun of her even as it cheers her on.

BoJack Horseman doesn't need to be explicit to prove it understands depression

Netflix

This summer, Netflix's black comedy BoJack Horseman continued to be one of TV's best meditations on how debilitating depression can be, even though half its characters are self-obsessed, anthropomorphic animal-human hybrids. (Stay with me.) In discussing the show's exploration of the illness, most critics have focused on BoJack (Will Arnett), the titular washed-up sitcom star who can't seem to fill the hollow space inside of him and often engages in self-destructive behavior that even Don Draper might find extreme.

But one of the second season's most compelling stories belongs to Diane (Alison Brie), BoJack's neighbor and former biographer. In season one, Diane was the voice of reason as the zany weirdos around her made terrible decisions (though she always had a bit of a temper). In season two, however, Diane turns 35, confronts her own ambitions, and finds herself wanting. She publicly calls out one of the most beloved stars in Hollywoo (née Hollywood), someone who's long been dogged by rumors of sexual harassment, but can't convince anyone to take her seriously. She travels to the (fictional) war-torn Republic of Cordovia to find something "worthy" to write about but ends up slinking back home, overwhelmed, traumatized, and embarrassed.

Netflix

From there, Diane's story takes a sharp turn away from her usual path. Unable to face her husband, who encouraged her to chase the dreams she no longer believes in, Diane instead crashes at BoJack's house for some good old-fashioned wallowing. They spend an entire episode indulging the baser sides of themselves, burying each other in crushed beer cans and laughing through bong smoke at BoJack's old reruns. But when BoJack returns to Los Angeles after two months away, Diane is still at his house, wading through piles of crumpled aluminum.

Just like with BoJack, the show never explicitly states that Diane is capital-D Depressed. Series creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg told me via email that this is purposeful. "Depression is a broad spectrum that everyone defines and experiences differently, so we're definitely not out to tell The Story of Depression," he wrote. "Real people often float through life in a state of flux between different levels of acceptance and despair without really labeling themselves, just kind of dealing day to day with the vague sadness that is being alive. So it feels natural to not define too precisely the inner workings of what our characters are going through."

Netflix

But this decision not to label Diane's mental state wasn't the result of trepidation about going to darker places. "We talk a lot in the room about how things have consequences and feelings linger," Bob-Waksberg went on. "I think the thing that people respond to in our show is that the sadness doesn't have to be resolved. The problem doesn't get solved at the end of the episode, and the sadness doesn't go away."

Though pushing Diane to her edge provided an easy way to contrast her season two self with the image she maintained in season one, it also allowed BoJack Horseman to mirror its title character's downward spiral. BoJack and Diane have always understood each other's unsettled dissatisfaction. What's different about their relationship in season two is that the show has made room for Diane to have her own existential crisis outside of BoJack's self-sabotage.

So while Diane never receives a formal diagnosis of depression, her devolution to an apathetic, booze-soaked nightmare rings true thanks to BoJack Horseman's careful character development. In season one, Diane seemed put-together and confident. But season two peeled back that layer and let her messy fears, resentment, and confusion spill right out. While BoJack Horseman centers on BoJack's struggle to be a better (horse)man, it still has space for Diane's depressive breakdown — while not letting it take over her character entirely.

Even as these shows take mental illness seriously, they're determined to keep their characters — and their humor — intact

You 're the Worst, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and BoJack Horseman aren't afraid to confront some real darkness. But the reason they've been successful in doing so is that none of them rely on their characters' depression, or depressive episodes, to provide depth. Indeed, their characters already have depth. You're the Worst's Gretchen and BoJack Horseman's Diane each had a full season to develop and let viewers get to know them before their respective shows pulled the rug out from under them. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rebecca is newer on the scene, but her beaming, bombastic personality in no way depends on her anxieties.

It's hard to say whether this wave of depression on TV signals a groundswell in more empathetic and relatable depictions of mental illness. But it's encouraging that all three of these women have received enough space and consideration from their shows that their mental trauma is just one aspect of themselves — just like it is for so many people in real life.

Learn more

• The bleak world of Peanuts, one of the 20th century's greatest works of art, explained
• FXX sitcom You’re the Worst just raised the bar for how TV talks about mental illness
• Master of None, Netflix's brilliant new comedy, is immediately one of TV’s best shows

Oleksandr Nevskiy y Oleg Sidorenko, 2015 – Libellund

Tranquilos, los fantasmas no existen… o eso dicen.

Llueve. Esta es una de las cosas que nunca cambian: llovía cuando estaba vivo, llueve ahora y seguirá lloviendo para siempre, y yo estaré aquí para verlo. Pero vosotros… Vosotros sois distintos. No sois los Warwick a quienes servía hace ya tanto tiempo, sois… Especiales. Tenéis el Don. Sabéis que estoy aquí, y siento que queréis ayudarme, queréis aclarar las circunstancias de mi muerte y guiarme hacia la luz, hacia el descanso eterno. Ah, queréis que os diga quién me mató, pero ni siquiera yo lo tengo claro ya. Sin embargo, puedo compartir con vosotros retales de mi memoria, sueños de fantasma, y quizá así podáis desentrañar este misterio.

Cada uno de vosotros me recuerda a una de mis muertes. ¿O fueron sólo una? Los viejos fantasmas también tenemos problemas de memoria. En fin, sólo me queda la opción de mostraros todas las posibilidades y esperar lo mejor. Pero tampoco puedo comunicarme claramente: esas habilidades son sólo para los más poderosos y malvados, y yo siempre he sido un simple y humilde sirviente. Sí, creo que esto servirá: un sueño con arcos y flechas te dirigirá a ti a sospechar del soldado, y uno con animales ayudará a tu acompañante a pensar en el cazador… No, ¡no! ¡No es eso lo que quería decir! ¡Los animales son para cazar, no para comer, no estaba acusando al cocinero! ¡Malditas sean mis carencias!

Esto es Mysterium, la última aventura de Libellund que reimplementa el juego polaco Tajemnicze Domostwo que impresionó a los pocos que pudieron echarle el guante, y que ahora ya está al alcance de los simples mortales. Es un juego totalmente cooperativo en el que uno de los jugadores interpreta el papel de un fantasma que intenta hacer averiguar a un grupo de videntes los distintos elementos de un posible crimen (sospechoso, lugar y arma) a través de cartas con ilustraciones oníricas y esperando que establezcan las relaciones correctas entre los elementos de la ilustración y las distintas opciones. Repitiendo la comparación que se ha hecho ya mil veces sobre el juego, es una mezcla entre Dixit y Cluedo, pero también es mucho más que eso.

Más divertido y bonito que cualquier ouija.

La idea es sencilla: cada vidente tiene asignado un sospechoso, un lugar y un arma del crímen distintos, y en cada turno el fantasma pasará a esos videntes cartas con ilustraciones. Cuando haya dado al menos una carta a cada vidente, éstos tienen dos minutos para intentar averiguar qué sospechoso tienen asignado, usando esas cartas como guía. En el turno siguiente, los que ya hayan adivinado su sospechoso pasarán a intentar adivinar el lugar mediante el mismo método, mientras que los que no lo hayan hecho recibirán más pistas y una nueva oportunidad. Si en siete turnos todos los videntes han resuelto las tres piezas de su puzle, se pasa a la fase final. Si no, el fantasma del sirviente de los Warwick seguirá vagando por la frontera entre el mundo de los vivos y el de los muertos durante un año más, y todos habrán perdido la partida.

Esta primera parte del juego es simplemente genial, y ya basta para recomendar Mysterium a todo el que esté ya cansado de repetir las mismas fórmulas de siempre en los juegos de mesa. Para el fantasma resulta increíblemente frustrante tener que escoger entre tan sólo siete cartas la perfecta para comunicar la idea que necesitan en cada momento, y tendrá que estar muy atento a lo que hablan los videntes para tratar de conectar con sus vías de razonamiento, mientras que los videntes estarán siempre intentando encontrar conexiones entre las imágenes de las visiones que les llegan y sus posibles soluciones, entrando en la mente del fantasma y su manera de ver las cosas.

Alguien ha matado a alguien…

La segunda… Bueno, digamos que hacía falta algún tipo de clímax, y se escogió el que se escogió. Una vez todos los videntes han resuelto su parte del misterio, toca decidir cuál de ellos es el verdadero, y cuáles son simplemente los desvaríos de un viejo fantasma. Para ello se usa un sistema de votaciones en el que el fantasma escoge tres cartas en total y enseña a cada vidente una, dos o las tres dependiendo de lo hábil que haya estado en la primera fase y, basándose en esas imágenes, tendrán que votar, en silencio, por una de las opciones. Si la opción mayoritaria es la correcta, todos ganan. Si no, todos pierden. Esta fase pierde un poco de elegancia respecto a la primera, y tiene la desventaja de que ver más cartas no siempre es bueno: al tener que escoger por fuerza tres de entre siete, la tercera carta seguramente no esté tan bien hilada como la primera y puede llevar al despiste. La buena noticia es que, si no te convence esa fase, se puede usar sin ningún problema la opción del Tajemnicze Domostwo original, mucho más sencilla y elegante, así que ningún problema por ahí.

Donde sí que puede haber algún problema más es en los componentes y, más concretamente, en las cartas. En Mysterium vamos a manosear mucho las cartas, y el material en el que están hechas es un poco regulero y no tiene pinta de que vaya a resistir mucho trote: de hecho, con no demasiadas partidas encima ya se nota el desgaste en los bordes, y el inserto es de los que vienen estupendos para guardarlo todo tal cual, pero ay de ti como se te ocurra poner fundas. Una pena, porque el resto del juego es de una factura más que notable, especialmente la pantalla para el fantasma con sus bolsillitos para colocar las cartas.

Pero que estos detalles no os frenen: Mysterium es uno de los juegos más originales que se han publicado en mucho tiempo y sólo por eso ya merece la pena tenerlo en una colección que busque variedad. Si te gustan los juegos de deducción y los que cuentan una historia, aquí tienes el cóctel perfecto.

Te gustará si: buscas sensaciones distintas a las de los juegos típicos.

Lo odiarás si: no soportas ver una carta con los bordes gastados.

Con motivo de la visita de Allen Toussaint a nuestro país dedicamos nuestro tiempo a repasar el legado, propio o en voces de otros, de este gigante de la música de Nueva Orlenas. Pianista, arreglista, productor y compositor incansable que en los 60 firmó algunas de las canciones más reconocibles de Crescent City (versionadas después por centenares de bandas). Clásicos que perduran hasta el día de hoy, mientras este hombre de música ha ido labrándose su propia trayectoria como artista.

Playlist (todas las canciones por Allen Toussaint excepto donde indicado); St James infirmary, Whirlaway, Tim Tam, Java, Lipstick traces on a cigarette (por Benny Spellman), Fortune Teller (por The Rolling Stones), It’s raining (por Irma Thomas), Mother-in-law (por Ernie K. Doe), A certain girl (por The Paramounts), Working in a coal mine (por Devo), From a whisper to a scream, Everything I do gonna be funky, Soul sister, You will not lose, Southern nights, Broken promise land y Up the creek. (09/11/15)

End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones es un documental deL 2003 acerca de la influyente banda de punk rock los Ramones. La película, producida y dirigida por Jim Fields y Michael Gramaglia, sigue la historia de la banda y 22 años de gira. La película cuenta la historia de los Ramones desde sus inicios en el CBGB’s para su inducción en el Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Incluye comentario de Dee Dee Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Joey Ramone, Marky Ramone, CJ Ramone, Tommy Ramone, Richie Ramone, Elvis Ramone y otros (incluyendo a la madre de Joey y su hermano).

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SUBTITULOS

Now in her third trimester, Therese York has begun to show signs of unusual and intense pregnancy cravings—most notably an overpowering craving to be respected as much as the average human being.

The cravings first appeared a month ago, when people on the street started freely putting their hands on her belly, “like I was some sort of Golden Retriever,” York says. This snowballed into near-strangers at her office cooing and baby-talking directly to her stomach “as if it were a microphone and it was karaoke night.”

Things came to a head last week, when she longed to be offered a seat while riding a local bus.

“Does anyone see me?” she exhaustedly asked the men and women seated around her. “I’m nine months pregnant and I would like to sit.”

“It’s crazy some of the things women ask for when they’re pregnant,” says a man who witnessed the event. “My wife’s been pregnant twice and she’d always ask for the weirdest stuff, like Tylenol and for me to stop trying to have sex with her when she was feeling sick.”

York’s intense cravings to be treated like a person with real emotions manifested themselves in other ways. Just last weekend, York was reportedly seen pleading for a chair at the register she worked at, as she was expecting to go into labor within the next week.

Her manager Dan Bert swiftly denied York’s request, knowing that whatever she was saying was probably just the intense hormones talking.

“I’ve heard of these insane pregnancy cravings before, so I refused her request to take some time off as I knew it would eventually pass,” Bert says. “My sister was pregnant and she’d always ask for random things, like help around the house. These preggos are nuts!”

Just a few days earlier, York’s intense hunger to be recognized as a full human being struck again during a camping trip with her in-laws in which she was asked to sleep in a tent.

“I know demanding for ice cream and pickles can be considered a craving, but sleeping on the ground in the middle of nowhere is a real concern to my health,” York claimed in an emotional state. “I’m trying my best to not be too needy, but they also expected me to go on a long hike with them when I had been experiencing contractions the same day.”

York’s urge to “not be treated like an animal” continued when she engaged in a lively debate with her father-in-law, Jim Halpern about keeping Planned Parenthood afloat. York claims the non-profit company will give her increased access to maternal health services. “I’ve heard of pregnant women dipping boiled eggs into peanut butter, or even microwaving bananas,” said Halpern later. Lytle said. “But special treatment for things just because they’re pregnant? Now I’ve seen it all.”

York went so far to say that she will continue demanding to be treated like a human even after the pregnancy has passed, a threat her family quietly ignored.

Está claro que cualquier cosa es digna de ser festejada. Y reconozcámoslo: Solo en casa (Home alone, Chris Columbus, 1990) no estaba TAN mal. De acuerdo, la presencia de Macaulay Culkin se convirtió durante años en una auténtica urticaria mediática, pero eh: la película original era realmente graciosa.

Por eso decimos sí a una celebración comme il faut. Sabemos que en Estados Unidos se va a reestrenar en un par de cines en sesiones especialísimas, algo que dudamos que suceda aquí porque en España somos muy sarcásticos y muy guays para todo. El reestreno también se acompaña del lanzamiento en blu-ray de la película con mapa, bote de pintura, cartel de Se Busca y mil memorabilias más y, por otro lado, Neca lanza unas figuras de la película que da gloria verlas.

Nuestra mercadería favorita, sin embargo, es un cuento ilustrado por Kim Smith del que os incluimos un extracto y un trailer. Unas ilustraciones deliciosamente navideñas para, bueno, qué demonios, un clásico navideño.

La entrada Celebra 25 años de ‘Solo en casa’ con un cuento ilustrado aparece primero en Canino.

One of the most distinctive masks worn during the Carnival of Venice is "Il Medico della Peste," or "The Plague Doctor." But the distinctive bone-white mask and black clothing was actually the 17th century equivalent of a biocontainment suit. Albeit one based on very shaky science.

Anoche se marcó en Madrid un concierto de esos de padre y muy señor mío, un derroche absoluto de talento, energía y clase con paseo por el patio de butacas incluido, y poco después de terminar un infarto le mandaba al otro barrio. Salió por la puerta grande, no hay ninguna duda: "play something sweet, play something mellow, play somethin', I can sink my teeth in like Jello" fue lo último que cantó, informa Héctor G. Barnés

El veterano músico estadounidense Allen Toussaint (Louisiana, 1938) falleció la noche del lunes en Madrid a los 77 años de edad después de su actuación en el Teatro Lara, según han confirmado a Europa Press fuentes del teatro madrileño. Toussaint aterrizado en Madrid esta semana para ofrecer un concierto dentro del ciclo 'Pequeños Grandes Momentos 1906'.

Nadie podía imaginar que el concierto de Touissant en el Lara iba a ser el último de su excepcional carrera, que ese hombre lleno de vida, talento y energía iba a cerrar los ojos para siempre poco después de bajarse de las tablas, que los preciosos dibujos al piano que inventó esta noche serían los últimos. El pianista de Nueva Orléans se presentó en el Lara, apropiadamente vetusto como una mansión cajún, con galas de príncipe destronado, chaqueta de lentejuelas y sandalias con calcetines blancos.

En los últimos compases el público no dejaba marcharse al que quizá haya sido el pianista más imaginativo de la música popular, percusivo y lírico a la par, que se vio obligado a retornar para ofrecer una sensacional versión de «Brickyard Blues» y su inconfundible lema —“toca algo dulce, toca algo suave”—, que cantó con arrebatadora socarronería. Y, esta vez sí, se marchó hacia el camerino para siempre, levitando con chulería entre los aplausos del público. No hay mejor forma de lanzarse hacia la eternidad: fue un maestro hasta para eso.  

Autor y productor de hits popularizados por una enorme y variada cantidad de artistas miticos como Otis Reding, Bo Diddley, Jerry Garcia, Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney & Wings, Ringo Starr, Willie DeVille, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, The Band y Little Feat. Paseando su música por el barrio francés de Nueva Orleans y dejándose caer por el Tipitina o el House of blues, Allen Toussaint ha sido uno de los ciudadanos más respetados, emblemáticos y con más historia de la ciudad.

The Bihari Brothers obtained the rights to Kent Records from Lee Silver in 1954 — Silver never released more than two singles on the imprint — but didn’t turn it into their primary concern until 1958, when they shuttered RPM and Modern.
The brothers turned to Kent as a way to shed their roster, but they kept their biggest stars, B.B. King, Etta James, and Jesse Belvin. Within a year or so, James and Belvin defected to other labels, leaving King the big man at Kent. Ace’s 2015 Unlock the Lock: The Kent Records Story, vol. 1 chronicles these early years, running from 1958 to 1962 in the form of a 48-track, double-disc set where 30 cuts make their CD debut (14 of these, mostly alternate takes of well-circulated material, see their first- ever release here). Ten of these cuts belong to…

320 kbps | 292 MB  UL | MC ** FLAC

…King, and he’s often the touchstone for the jumping blues and rhythm that make up the rest of the collection: it’s robust, rocking R&B and blues that walk the crossover line. There are several attempts to ride the Twist bandwagon — Joe Houston is “Doing the Twist,” Little Joe Hinton attempts “The Whip Twist,” Teddy Reynolds tries “Do You Wanna Twist,” and King gets into the game with “Mashing the Popeye” — and there are also hints of string-saturated pop (Pat Hunt’s “Goodnight My Love”), plus a bit of wild rockabilly (the Barker Brothers’ “Hey Little Mama” is an anomaly but Jesse James’ rampaging “South’s Gonna Rise Again” kicks, carving a niche between R&B and rock & roll). Generally, though, Unlock the Lock finds a comfortable place between uptown R&B and juke joint blues, proof that as the ’50s became the ’60s, R&B records started getting wilder and sillier as they tried to find their way onto the charts.

ISFJ – Self-sacrifice.

ISFJs are down-to-earth, focused and capable – but they’re also self-sacrificing to a fault. This type has a tendency to internalize almost everything that happens to and around them – therefore taking on responsibility for problems that don’t necessarily involve them. The tendency to adopt external problems as their own is the ISFJ’s kryptonite.

ISFP – Sensitivity.

The ISFP’s sensitivity is what makes them brilliantly creative and unique – but it’s also what holds them back in many ways. Because this type dislikes conflict so intensely, they have a tendency to run for the hills as soon as they foresee a tense situation arising – holding them back from pursuing many relationships or opportunities that could otherwise be beneficial for them. This type’s sensitive nature is one of their greatest strengths but their aversion to criticism or conflict is their Achilles heel.

ESFP – The need for approval.

ESFPs have fiercely engaging personalities – this is both their greatest strength and their greatest setback. Though this type is capable of achieving just about anything they set their mind to, they also feel the compulsive need to have everyone around them like them – which occasionally makes them back down from situations that they ought to stand their ground in. The need for approval is in part what makes the ESFP so successful, but it is in equal part their personal kryptonite.

ESFJ – Obedience.

ESFJs are incredibly in tune with the norms, values and expectations of the social world that surrounds them. They are tirelessly careful to not violate any social rules and as a result are often obedient to others’ expectations, even when they are not in complete agreement with them. Learning to stand up for themselves – even if it means violating a social or societal rule – is something the ESFJ needs to work on throughout their lives if they do not want their personal kryptonite to rob them of the things they want most.

ENFP – The ‘Greener Grass’ Syndrome.

ENFPs are ceaselessly scanning the horizons for new, exciting opportunities that they haven’t tried yet. Even when they’re perfectly content with their lives, this enthusiastic type is prone to abandoning a good thing in favor of the next, potentially better thing. Their never-ending quest for the next great thrill – and their corresponding aversion to stick with what they love – is the ENFP’s Achilles heel.

ENFJ – The Urge To Interfere.

ENFJs are highly perceptive individuals, who usually have a keen grasp on what is likely to help or hinder their loved ones. As a consequence, they often feel compelled to intervene in the lives of their loved ones, perceiving themselves to know what’s best for them. This can not only lead to tension and conflict if the ENFJ is not careful, but it will also exhaust them to the core as they try to care for everyone around them at all times. The compulsion to help those who are struggling is the ENFJ’s personal kryptonite.

INFJ – Perfectionism.

INFJs aren’t perfectionists in the stereotypical sense of the word – they aren’t the most detail-oriented type nor are they the most outright neurotic. However, they are prone to deliberating over their options to a detrimental extent – trying so hard to pinpoint the best of all possible options that they end up missing out on opportunities altogether. Attempting to always seek out the most perfect situation – and refusing to take a chance on anything less – is the INFJ’s Achilles heel.

INFP – Idealization Of Others.

People, situations, opportunities, problems – you name it, the INFP can idealize it. This type lives largely inside their own minds and while their wild imaginations help them in many ways, they can also create a disconnect between the INFP and reality, particularly in the arena of love. It is their proneness to idealizing potential partners that so often breaks apart INFP relationships before they even begin – when the other person fails to live up to the standard the INFP had created for them internally. The urge to distort reality with fantasy is the INFP’s kryptonite.

INTP – Inaction.

INTPs see the world in an objective, rational and creative fashion – a mixture of perceptions that almost no other type shares. However, the INTP is often so busy contemplating and readjusting their worldview that they forget to apply their perceptions to real-world actions. The disinclination to act on their thoughts and ideas is the INTP’s kryptonite.

ENTP – Indecision.

ENTPs are enthused about life in almost every capacity – they love planning for the future, speculating over the present and evaluating the past. The world is an all-you-can-eat-buffet for this highly ambitious type and yet they can never decide on just one dish. As excitable as they are ambitious, the ENTP often finds themselves torn between various projects, goals and undertakings, unable to commit to just one. Indecision is the one thing that holds this type back from truly excelling – you might say it is their kryptonite.

INTJ – Sociality.

INTJs are brilliant individuals who can reason their way through just about any situation – except social situations. Before their introverted feeling is developed, INTJs often experience difficulty picking up on social nuances, which makes navigating the external world a challenge for them. They may see a clear path to the implementation of their goals, but if they must network or win over people to get there, they will experience difficulty along the way. Socialization is the one realm that logic does not always apply to, and it is therefore INTJ’s personal kryptonite.

ENTJ – Competitiveness.

ENTJs see a direct route to everything they want – and what they want is to be the best at everything. While this highly resourceful type is prone to dominating opponents at much of what they do, the urge to win can occasionally get the better of them. They may find themselves ignoring the long-term consequences of many of their actions as they fight to keep the upper hand in the short-term. The desire to always be on top (rather than to play the long game) is the ENTJ’s kryptonite.

ISTJ – Change.

ISTJs are all about quality. They want to use the tried and true method of getting everything done – because why take a chance on something that hasn’t proven itself to be reliable? Though this quality is useful for the ISTJ in many ways, it also makes them highly resistant to change. They have trouble believing without seeing, so they often resist changes until they’ve had enough time to concretely witness the positive outcomes of the change – by which point, the rest of society has already moved onto something new.

ISTP – Passiveness.

ISTPs are incredibly analytical thinkers, who can quickly determine the most direct route to getting something done. However, this type prefers analyzing systems to acting on them – which means that many of their brilliant ideas never come to fruition. Despite being incredibly capable individuals by nature, the ISTP’s passiveness often causes them to underperform.

ESTJ – Subjectivity.

ESTJs are incredibly logical individuals who truly believe that they see the world in the most clear, objective fashion possible. What this type often fails to realize, however, is that their value judgments of the world are highly subjective. What they deem as important is not what the next person deems as important and vice versa. Failing to realize this, the ESTJ often spends a great deal of time frustrated with others for behaving illogically. If this highly rational type were a little more comfortable with accepting that everyone looks at the world differently, they’d be able to save time on lecturing others and use that time to get more sh*t done.

ESTP – Impulsivity.

ESTPs are incredibly resourceful and capable – but their impulsivity often gets the better of them, causing them to cave into short-term desires rather than pursuing long-term achievements. A quick, on-the-fly reaction time is at the core of this type’s personality – but it’s also their Achilles heel.

Heidi Priebe explains how to manage the ups, downs and inside-outs of everyday life as an ENFP in her new book available here.

La entrada “En Galicia temos que pensar en tirar os valados e unificar o territorio para xestionalo” aparece primero en Campo Galego.

O litro de leite galego pagouse en setembro a 28 céntimos, uns tres por baixo do que custa producilo, e mantívose como o máis baixo do Estado. As organizacións agrarias seguen a esixir solucións e Medio Rural ínstaas a "sumarse" ao acordo asinado no Ministerio.

Cuentan que Hitler era vegetariano pero se zampaba tremendos pichones rellenos de lengua e hígado. Pol Pot cenaba estofado de cobra, Mussolini devoraba ajos crudos a dos manos e Idi Amin engullía cuarenta naranjas al día, tal vez para ocultar así el sabor a carne humana, su otra debilidad culinaria. No somos capaces de asegurar que indagar en los hábitos gastronómicos de los más sanguinarios tiranos del siglo XX nos descubrirá tal vez alguna de las razones de su proceder. Probablemente no. Pero la seducción que ofrece la secuencia de sus banquetes, de sus recetas más queridas, de sus tráfagos gastrointestinales, de sus régimenes y adicciones es instantánea. 

Y si incorporamos todo esto a un volumen golosamente ilustrado como ha hecho el sello Melusina en 'El banquete de los dictadores', la -inquietante- seducción se multiplica.

Los autores, Victoria Clark y Melissa Scott han reunido en estas páginas, en las que el olor de las grandes cocinas de palacio se confunde en las fosas nasales del encandilado y aterrado lector con el de la sangre, las aficciones gastronómicas de 26 tiranos de Europa, Oriente Medio, África, Asia y América. Cada semblanza incluye una breve exégesis biográfica, un memorándum de sus apetencias y maneras de mesa y una receta seleccionada de su plato preferido. La mayoría son guisos pantagruélicos a tono con las ambiciones de quienes los ingieren, pero también hay platos sobrios, postres delicados y extravagancias indescriptibles. Va una muestra de cinco de estos totalitarios menús del día de otros tantos sátrapas.

Josef Stalin. Satsivi

Estudiaba para sacerdote ortodoxo en Tiflis, la capital de Georgia, cuando cayeron en sus manos los escritos de Lenin. De ladina inteligencia y gigantesca ambición, Stalin ascendió a toda velocidad hasta la cúspide del partido bolchevique. Tras la victoriosa revolución rusa de 1917, y pese a las reservas de un Lenin que conocía bien su crueldad, logró sucederle a su muerte en 1924, purgar a todos sus rivales políticos y convertirse en el amo y señor de la URSS. En 1932 promovió en la desafecta Ucrania una de las más aterradoras hambrunas de la historia de la humanidad,el Holodomor, que despobló la región dejando más de tres millones de muertes. Logró expulsar a los nazis en la II Guerra Mundial, inventó el gulag como pudridero de disidentes e industrializó forzosamente el país con éxito convirtiéndolo en una superpotencia. Los historiadores calculan que sus acciones causaron en total unas 22 millones de víctimas.

Nikita Jruschov, su sucesor, dijo de él: "No creo que nunca haya habido un líder de iguales responsabilidades que perdiera más tiempo que Stalin comiendo y bebiendo". Aquellos interminables almuerzos a la georgiana eran auténticas carreras de fondo. El líder yugoslavo Tito acabó vomitando después de una de aquellas cenas maratonianas que podían alargarse hasta seis horas. ¿Su plato preferido? El Satsivi, un entrante frío de pollo, cebolla y nueces que le servía su chef favorito, Spiridon Putin, abuelo del actual líder ruso.

Adolf Hitler. Petits Poussins à la Hambourg

Pintor indigente, cabo austriaco devorado por el resentimiento tras la derrota de las potencias centrales en la Gran Guerra, Adolf Hitler sedujo a una Alemania humillada y en crisis y la condujo a la mayor catástrofe de su historia. Su plan para conquistar para su país el Lebensraum (espacio vital) que creía merecer a costa de los europeos de "razas inferiores" estuvo cerca de cumplirse merced a una guerra mundial que dejó más de 50 millones de muertos y el exterminio planificado de seis millones de judíos. Primero la RAF británica y luego, y definitivamente, la URSS de Stalin, le pararon los pies. En abril de 1945 se suicidió en su búnker de una Berlín asediada por el Ejército Rojo.

La fama de Hitler como el más nefasto vegetariano conocido no es del todo exacta. En los años 30 devoraba pichones rellenos de lengua, o Petits Poussins à la Hambourg, y se postraba ante la albóndigas de hígado. Pero es cierto que más adelante se pasó al vegetarianismo por influencia directa de un opúsculo del compositor Wagner y por una aguda consideración ante el dolor animal característica del régimen nazi, que llegó a prohibir el foi gras. También para cuidar su estómago delicado y evitar la flatulencia crónica y el estreñimiento. El veneno le obsesionaba y llegó a contar con un equipo de 15 catadores.

Francisco Franco. Paella gallega

Hijo de un capitán de la Armada gallega y de una beata, Francisco Franco compensaba con su desmedida ambición la falta de estatura. Curtido en los combates norteafricanos en los años 20, se alzó años más tarde contra la legalidad de la II República desencadenando así una guerra civil que ganó tras dejar medio millón de muertos. El dictador gobernaría España casi cuatro décadas muy desiguales, de la autarquía y descarnada represión de la postguerra al progreso económico y la tibia apertura de los setenta.

Cuando la hambruna asolaba al país a principios de los 40 se cuenta que Franco exclamó irascible: "'¡Que coman bocadillos de delfín con pan de harina de pescado!". Él fue, a diferencia de su admirado Hitler, un carnívoro irredento y un entusiasta cazador y pescador. La propaganda del régimen ofrecía a diario la cuenta de sus hazañas: 5.000 perdices abatidas en un año, 60 salmones en un sólo verano o una ballena de 22 toneladas ya septuagenario. La leyenda cuenta que los restaurantes madrileños sirven paella en el menú del día del jueves porque tal era la jornada en que el Caudillo solía comer en la ciudad y todos los restauradores querían tener su amado plato en el menú por si las moscas.

Saddam Hussein. Samak Masgouf

Creció en la pobreza, robando pollos. En 1968 un golpe de estado le dio el poder supremo en Irak a caballo del partido nacional socialista Baath. Bañó a los kurdos con armas químicas, libró una guerra con Irán que duró ocho años y en 1990 invadió Kuwait provocando así la respuesta de EE.UU. que le expulsó de allí en la primera guerra del Golfo. En 2003 fue acusado de esconder armas de destrucción masiva y comenzó así la segunda guerra del Golfo que acabaría definitivamente con su régimen. En 2006 le ahorcaron en Bagdag.

Obsesionado por su imagen, Saddam Hussein fue siempre austero y quisquilloso en la mesa. Dejaba sin acabar los deliciosos bocados de langosta, cordero y aceitunas que le llegaban todas las semanas por avión y eran ávidamente inspeccionados por sus científicos nucleares a la caza de veneno o radiación. Cuando su hijo Uday mató a bastonazos a uno de sus mejores catadores entró en cólera y lo encarceló una temporada. El plato nacional de Iraq, el Masgouf elaborado con carpa del Tigris a la parrilla, era también su favorito.

Idi Amin. Luwombo... y carne humana poco salada

El tenebroso sátrapa de Uganda llegó al poder en 1971 gracias a un golpe militar y en apenas ocho años de espídica dictadura asesinó a medio millón de ugandeses y se declaró Capitán General, Señor de todas las Bestias de la Tierra y de los Peces del Mar. Demenciado tal vez a causa de la sífilis, Idi Amin arrojaba a sus ministros caídos en desgracia a los cocodrilos del Lago Victoria. La guerra que inició contra Tanzania acabó con su gobierno. Murió ya mayor en su exilio en Arabia Saudí.

A Idi Amín le entusiasmaba todo lo británico, enviaba cartas de amor a la reina Isabel II y los periodistas que le entrevistaron cuentan que compartieron con él sandwiches de pepino y scones. Aunque también gustaba en sus banquetes de larvas de abeja, grillos fritos, langostas, montones de naranjas, sencillas hamburguesas y el Luwombo de cabra asada, su favorito. Cuentan que tras tomar el poder detuvo y decapitó a sus principales adversarios para después sentarse sobre la pila de cabezas y mordisquear sus rostros. Aunque cuando una vez le preguntaron si era caníbal contestó: "No me gusta la carne humana, la encuentro demasiado salada".

O 18 de abril de 1994 aparecía na Televisión de Galicia un porco bravo rockeiro que se converteu nun habitual nas tardes de miles de nenas e nenos. A súa mestura de series de animación con cancións en galego foi a chave do éxito que aínda o mantén en televisión despois de 21 anos. Tanto foi así, que os que medraron ao seu carón foron catalogados como ‘Xeración Xabarín’. Mesmo hai quen fala do ‘Nunca Máis’ como a madurez da ‘Xeración Xabarín’, aínda que iso xa é outra historia. O que demostrou o programa alá polos noventa foi que rapaces de toda Galicia, nas cidades e no rural, berraban a coro nos patios de colexio as mesmas cancións que oíran o día anterior na tele. Na Tanxente decidimos mergullarnos no recordo e rescatar dez clásicos que pinchaba o porco bravo de San Marcos. Porque todos fomos do Clube da Galega, por fuciños por cacheiras.

Herdeiros da Crus. ‘Pero que ghallo é!’

Aquí o protagonista era un “ghalo, xa que fasía el un ghran papelaso”. Herdeiros da Crus tivo no Xabarín a súa mellor plataforma, e aproveitouno ben con himnos da nosa infancia como ‘Que ghalo é’ ou ‘Íscalle lura’. O bravú chegaba por fin aos televisores de toda Galicia para se converter nun xénero autóctono e, polo tanto, único. Rock sen capar que, nesta canción, era unha oda ao rei do poleiro.

Siniestro Total. ‘Onde vas rapaz?’

O grupo formado en Vigo era xa coñecido polo público, pero boa parte do mundo Xabarín descubriunos con este canto a rebeldía. Siniestro Total debuxaba nas súas letras o fartazgo adolescente que moitos nenos aínda non coñeciamos. Iso si, cando nos preguntaban cara onde iamos, abondaba con responder que “só queremos decibelios e rock and roll”. Siniestro Total tamén aportara outra dose de insubordinación con ‘Hoxe son un punk’.

Aerolíneas Federales. ‘Quero xamón’

Miguel Costas e Aerolíneas Federales colleron un dos xantares máis populares do noso país e fixeron unha canción tan simple como efectiva. E, visto con perspectiva, era bastante gore dedicarlle unha canción ao xamón cando o presentador do programa era un porco bravo.

As Increíbles Páncreas. ‘Non podo parar’

Aerolíneas Federales decidiu coller o alcume de As Increíbles Páncreas para unha serie de colaboracións co Xabarín Club. Este é un dos éxitos máis recordados, aínda que non sabemos se é polo seu ritmo, a aparición de Silvia Superstar, a elección do vestiario ou os decorados de Área Central.

Kussondulola. ‘Tá-se ben na radio’ 

Unha proba da deriva que tomou a Televisión de Galicia dende hai varios anos é esta canción. Hai vinte anos, nenos e nenas galegos escoitaban a este grupo angolano como se fose de Chantada, algo que hoxe sería impensable. O mellor de todo foi que, para moitos, Kussondulola era só un grupo de africanos afincados en Galicia que cantaban en galego. A realidade é que varios angolanos descubríronnos o reggae, e para a meirande parte de nós, fixérono antes que Bob Marley.

Os Diplomáticos de Monte Alto. ‘Oda ao futbolín’

Na súa maxistral forma de combinar estilos, comezando co típico inicio da música tradicional e rompendo co son máis bravú, Os Diplomáticos de Monte Alto homenaxearon a Alexandre de Fisterra e a súa gran invención con esta canción. Ver a un xuvenil Xurxo Souto neste videoclip serve para lembrarnos que xa van máis de vinte anos deste clásico do Xabarín.

O Caimán do río Tea. ‘Estou na lavadora’

Unha das cancións máis animadas do Xabarín. O grupo foi irmán de xeración de Blood Filloas ou Os Diplomáticos, aínda que non foi quen de manter o mesmo éxito. Sen embargo, este ‘Estou na lavadora’ forma parte do imaxinario colectivo de todos os que medraron xunto ao Xabarín. O Caimán do río Tea desapareceu hai anos, aínda que volveu en 2006 baixo a fórmula de Capitán Furilo.

La Marabunta. ‘Satélite Xabarín’

La Marabunta retransmitía dende un Satélite Xabarín, aínda que realmente o facían dende Madrid. Música galega dende a capital do Estado con antigos membros de Los Ronaldo, Tam Tam Go ou Los Enemigos. Ao público do Xabarín levaban esta canción cun refrán que aínda hoxe é imposible sacar da cabeza.

Aerolíneas Federales. ‘Non todo é o que parece’

A labor de Aerolíneas foi tan fecunda no Xabarín que merecen outra mención. Sobre todo este ‘Non todo é o que parece’, unha canción divertida e cun videoclip aínda mellor (e xa non falemos do inesperado final). A mensaxe oculta nesta canción é que hai que fixarse nos detalles nunha relación: non chega con regalar perfumes de Chanel ou invitar a champán francés a túa moza, cómpre fixarse se é un ser humano ou un porco (?).

Rastreros. ‘O sacristán de Besán’

Ou se lle escapou aos filtros da Xunta de Manuel Fraga ou a TVG quería formar unha xuventude criada na insurxencia. No ‘Sacristán de Basan’ hai unha crítica ás multinacionais e ao capital en xeral ao son de gaitas e música punk. E aí non acaba todo, xa que Killo (guitarra) e Heléctrico (cantante) visten camisetas cunha imaxe do Che. Difícil de repetir no actual Xabarín.

Fóra da nosa selección quedan Yellow Pixoliñas, Antón Reixa, os xa nomeados Bood Filloas ou o clásico ‘Carmiña Vacaloura’ que incluimos na nosa listaxe de videoclips máis particulares da música galega. Cancións que levan alternándose dende hai xa 21 anos, algunhas máis lembradas ca outras, aínda que ningunha tanto como a que pechaba cada día o Xabarín.

A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology undermines long held beliefs about heteronormative sexual orientation. The study looks at gender expression in women and measures their physiological response viewing a variety of pornographic material. It found that, regardless of how women self report their sexuality, their bodies respond positively to both hetero- and homosexual sex. Meaning, women's sexuality is complex and not within the bounds of strict hetero- or homosexuality.

Ritch C. Savin-Williams is the Director of Developmental Psychology and the Director of the Sex and Gender Lab in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University. The study occurred in his lab and, he tells me, is part of a much larger research project he and his fellow researchers are doing to uncover true human sexuality through physiological queues.

We're trying to get at the way people really are.

"It's basically a study that assesses sexual orientation by looking at the eyes and whether they dilate or not. You can't control your eye dilation. Essentially, that's what the whole project attempts to get at, another way of assessing sexuality without relying on self report. Another way of course is genital arousal, but that gets a little invasive."

Read More: The Girls Who Use Grindr

Following popular logic, sexuality is thought of as straight or gay. Bisexuality has only recently begun to be taken seriously. The idea of separate, static, and neatly defined sexual orientations is woven into the fabric of American society and is part of our cultural conception of gender itself; real men are masculine and attracted to women.

The results of Savin-Williams' study challenges deeply held cultural beliefs about sexuality, but he's not surprised to find that sexuality is more complex than gay and straight. "I'm certainly not surprised," he says. "We're trying to get at the way people really are. Sometimes, it seems people are one way but believe they have to report themselves in another way, and that's not good."

Men have gotten so much cultural crap put on them that even if a man does have some sexual attraction to guys, they would never say it.

Savin-Williams explains that the motivation for individuals to inaccurately self report their desire is a consequence of restrictive social influence: the norms that determine how individuals are perceived and treated. He's been working on an idea that he calls the mostly straight male. "We've always recognized mostly straight women, that is, women who mostly are straight but if the right woman comes along, well maybe she'll try it out. We used to think that was only a female phenomenon."

Image via Stocksy.

"We show straight men a picture of a woman masturbating and they respond just like a straight guy, but then you also show them a guy masturbating and their eyes dilate a little bit. So we're actually able to show physiologically that all guys are not either gay, straight, or bi." The various parts of Savin-Williams' study collectively address sexuality in both men and women, showing that boring ideas, such as that people are either 100 percent straight or gay, don't endure under objective, scientific scrutiny.

Read More: The Straight Men Who Have Sex with Trans Women

"There are aspects . Granted, society may not always like it, but it is your own authentic self."

The brouhaha is probably just giving the Pulp Fiction director's upcoming film free publicity.

On Thursday, November 5, Jim Pasco, executive director for the Fraternal Order of Police, made a promise to writer and director Quentin Tarantino (of Pulp Fiction fame) — a promise so over-the-top that it was easy to interpret it as an overt threat.

Pasco told the Hollywood Reporter:

Tarantino has made a good living out of violence and surprise. Our officers make a living trying to stop violence, but surprise is not out of the question.

He later added:

Something is in the works, but the element of surprise is the most important element. Something could happen anytime between now and [the premiere]. And a lot of it is going to be driven by Tarantino, who is nothing if not predictable. The right time and place will come up and we'll try to hurt him in the only way that seems to matter to him, and that's economically.

But why would the leader of a police organization make a seemingly implicit threat against a two-time Oscar winner? It all has to do with a statement Tarantino made last month.

Tarantino gave a speech at a rally protesting police brutality

The Rise Up October rally, held in New York on Saturday, October 24, featured Tarantino as a speaker. The event aimed to call attention to police brutality and its victims. While there, Tarantino said the following:

I’m a human being with a conscience. And when I see murder I cannot stand by. And I have to call the murdered the murdered, and I have to call the murderers the murderers.

Tarantino's remarks begin about 20 seconds into the video below.

The quote first received major exposure via the New York Post on the day of the protest. The next day, Patrick J. Lynch, president of New York's Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, a labor union representing police, called for a boycott of Tarantino's films, including the upcoming Western The Hateful Eight, which comes out Christmas Day. In a statement (which you can read in full at Entertainment Weekly), Lynch said:

It’s no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too. The police officers that Quentin Tarantino calls "murderers" aren’t living in one of his depraved big screen fantasies — they’re risking and sometimes sacrificing their lives to protect communities from real crime and mayhem.

From there, numerous other police groups — including, most notably, the largest union for Hollywood's own Los Angeles Police Department — joined the boycott.

Tarantino pushed back against the boycotts in a Los Angeles Times interview

After the calls for boycotts continued for several days, Tarantino spoke publicly to the LA Times's Glenn Whipp on November 3, clarifying his remarks. "All cops are not murderers," Tarantino said, adding, "I never said that. I never even implied that."

Tarantino went even further in later remarks to Whipp:

Instead of dealing with the incidents of police brutality that those people were bringing up, instead of examining the problem of police brutality in this country, better they single me out. And their message is very clear. It’s to shut me down. It’s to discredit me. It is to intimidate me. It is to shut my mouth, and even more important than that, it is to send a message out to any other prominent person that might feel the need to join that side of the argument.

That led to the November 5 statement from Pasco that Tarantino should be ready for a "surprise."

It seems unlikely the boycott will affect The Hateful Eight's success

For one thing, the film's December 25 release date is still several weeks away — and even then, it will debut in a relatively small number of theaters, ones that will show it in 70-millimeter projection. (It's a format that allows for a big, crisp image, but few theaters can project in true 70mm. Tarantino talks more about the format and the distribution challenges surrounding it here.)

It will then be released in digital projection throughout the country in January 2016. By that time, the likelihood that Tarantino will still be in the news for these remarks is virtually nonexistent.

But more importantly, these sorts of boycotts rarely have much of an affect on a film's box office. Sure, there have been a few situations where protests against a movie have doomed it, usually via convincing theater owners not to show the film, as happened with The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 (and even that movie saw robust sales in the handful of theaters that decided to show it). But for the most part, the old maxim that all publicity is good publicity applies.

As Forbes box office analyst Scott Mendelson observes:

The national outcry over the director’s participation in an anti-police brutality march in New York City on October 24, and his inflammatory commentary, has perhaps had the opposite effect. In a world where all publicity is good publicity and staying in the news cycle is of grand importance, the continuing outrage over Tarantino’s statements have done little more than to inflate the importance of both the director and the film he is releasing this year.

The irony here is that Tarantino was already courting controversy — over racially charged statements he made in an interview

In a much-picked-over interview with novelist Bret Easton Ellis in the New York Times Magazine, Tarantino addressed the fact that his films — which in the past have frequently used racial slurs to refer to black characters — have come under criticism for that very quality. He said:

When the black critics came out with savage think pieces about Django [Unchained, the 2012 movie for which he won a screenwriting Oscar], I couldn’t have cared less. If people don’t like my movies, they don’t like my movies, and if they don’t get it, it doesn’t matter. The bad taste that was left in my mouth had to do with this: It’s been a long time since the subject of a writer’s skin was mentioned as often as mine. You wouldn’t think the color of a writer’s skin should have any effect on the words themselves. In a lot of the more ugly pieces my motives were really brought to bear in the most negative way. It’s like I’m some supervillain coming up with this stuff.

That article — in which Tarantino also appears to dismiss the Martin Luther King docudrama Selma as only worthy of an Emmy (something he disputes having said in the context presented in the article) — became the central hub of the internet outrage cycle for a couple of days, largely thanks to the "writer's skin" quote above.

Certainly, Tarantino has been criticized for being a white director and screenwriter who employs racial slurs, but saying he's the director who's most examined in the context of his skin color seems ... hyperbolic. Of course, Tarantino is a man who seems to speak almost exclusively in hyperbole, and to court controversy almost every time he opens his mouth.

As such, his participation in the Rise Up October rally — which focused, not coincidentally, on issues that disproportionately affect black Americans — wasn't just a chance to make a political statement. It was also a chance to combat a wave of bad publicity, one that resulted in even more bad publicity in the end.

But it's the kind of bad publicity that could help him in the long run. The Hateful Eight is a tougher sell than some of Tarantino's recent hits, like Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, both of which featured big-name actors (Brad Pitt in the former; Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio in the latter) and weighty historical themes (World War II and slavery, respectively). The Hateful Eight, by contrast, is a slow-burn Western that's largely set in one location and whose biggest star is Samuel L. Jackson.

Ultimately, though, the biggest draw to Quentin Tarantino's movies is Tarantino himself. And if nothing else, the various police groups boycotting The Hateful Eight are calling attention to one thing: the fact that Quentin Tarantino has a new movie coming out soon, and if you're a fan of his films, you'll probably want to see it.

Es muy posible que una persona nacida en España alcance los 80 años de vida. La esperanza de vida ha aumentado, hasta el punto de que sólo en Japón es más alta. Lo que es prácticamente imposible es que esa vida pueda ser vivida sin requerir la atención de profesionales de la enfermería y el cuidado.

Los datos de esperanza de vida que ha presentado esta semana la OCDE en su informe bianual "Health at a Glance” han mostrado la tendencia a vivir vidas más largas, pero también lo que las enfermeras señalan como un problema importante: el envejecimiento de la población y la necesidad de la promoción de la salud y el cuidado que ellas aportan.

Por eso, apuntan que el informe de la OCDE muestra un dato muy preocupante para la sociedad española, y es que certifica la tendencia a la baja del número de enfermeras por habitante. El ratio, según este informe, mantiene la tendencia negativa que ya se observaba en el informe de 2013. Entre 2011 y 2013, el número de enfermeras ha caído cuatro décimas, de 5,5 a 5,1 por cada cien mil habitantes, lo que sitúa a España muy por debajo de la media de la OCDE y a la cola de Europa, sólo por detrás de Grecia y Letonia.

Mar Rocha, portavoz del Sindicato de Enfermería SATSE, cree que el informe sólo certifica lo que vienen denunciando, y teme que las cifras de 2014 y 2015 sigan esa tendencia a alejarse de los estándares de los países más desarrollados.

También destaca que mientras el número de profesionales de la enfermería, el de médicos sube. España también se sitúa a la cola de la OCDE en este campo: la ratio es de 1,3 por cada médico, mientras que la media de los países más desarrollados es de 3,4. El enfoque de los profesionales de la enfermería como algo prescindible se ha visto confirmado por el decreto que desarrolla la prescripción por parte de enfermeras de medicamentos, un decreto que ha indignado al colectivo.

Aunque las cifras que da la OCDE son para el conjunto del país, las diferencias entre territorios son importantes: en Andalucía la ratio de enfermeras por cien mil habitantes está en 2,6, la mitad de la tasa de profesionales y a años luz de los números que presentan países como Suecia o Noruega, los países con más número de profesionales por persona. Las Islas Canarias también padecen esta infradotación, su ratio es de 4,48, siete décimas menos que la media estatal.

Los recortes presupuestarios puestos en marcha a raíz de las políticas de austeridad de PSOE (hasta noviembre de 2011) y PP (2011-2015) explican esta caída del número de profesionales. Rocha apunta a que no se cubren jubilaciones ni bajas, se reducen jornadas indiscriminadamente y se extiende el trabajo precario en el sector.

Aunque la privatización de centros no explica por sí sola esta tendencia, Rocha identifica que "ayuda" en este proceso. Principalmente por la precarización, una política laboral que se ve enquistada por el déficit, "histórico", en opinión de Sánchez, en la convocatoria de oposiciones para dar estabilidad y consolidar empleos.

Aparejado a ese deterioro de las condiciones de trabajo, Mar Rocha constata que existe una tendencia a la migración de muchas enfermeras a países con condiciones de trabajo mejores. Así, el 6% de las enfermeras de Reino Unido proceden de España. "Salen con el consiguiente coste para nuestra sociedad", denuncia Rocha, quien cree que "se está teniendo una visión muy miope, aparte de formarlas y que se vayan no se están teniendo en cuenta las necesidades futuras de la población".