Snob

Can't we all just get a long? Illustrator Scott Campbell (AKA Scott C.) of Pyramid Car shows how all of us can come together and live in harmony in his series The Great Showdowns.

"Since the beginning of time, there has been struggle," Campbell wrote in his blog, "The epic clash of being against being. Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Triceratops. Giant Squid vs. the Sperm Whale. The Circle vs. the Square." So he decided to chronicle some of the greatest confrontations ... the greatest showdowns, in movie history. Except, instead of anger and violence, Scott depicted these encounters with smiles and cuteness.

The Verge asked Scott why he depicted the characters as happy, even though they are antagonists in the movies. Scott replied, "I suppose that brings them all onto the same level no matter how terrifying or sad the conflict in the film actually is. I like [it] when people are feeling pleased. They all look pleased as if they were all enjoying each other's company at a party and reminiscing on great moments together."

And on that note, here are some neat examples of Campbell's The Great Showdowns. See if you recognize the characters and the movies that inspired them:

If you like that, check out the The Great Showndowns book and its newly released sequel, Great Showndowns: The Return. View more over at the Great Showdowns official website.

I think I just found my Halloween costume. Just kidding, you really can't get away with this kind of adorable costume if you're over the age of 10 -as much as I wish I could. Although, I still wouldn't be surprised if I saw someone copying the idea at Comic Con.

This three year old's fairy princess Darth Vader even has sparkly Tie Fighter wings, making every aspect of the ensemble quite well coordinated and quite perfect for any young geek girl. Just imagine the Imperial March play when this little gal walks down the street.

Bring a hedgehog into the library and frantically ask the clerks where they keep the reverse spell casting books.

— Richard McCarthy (@Rich_McCarthy) April 17, 2013

If the staff is well-trained, they’ll refer to patron to the reference librarians. The librarians will then conduct a proper reference interview.

Why? Because rarely does a patron state his/her need in a way that readily translates to the library’s resources. The patron may be asking for a reverse casting spell and does not care if it from a book, a video or an electronic database.

Furthermore, the presence of the hedgehog and the patron’s mood may not be a reliable indicator of his/her information need. A good librarian doesn’t assume, but asks clarifying questions in order to systematically drill down to the patron objective.

Does that make sense to you? Good. You now qualify for 3 semester hours from an ALA-accredited MLIS program.

(Photo: Vladislav Sabanov)

Food has always been a part of our funeral rituals, no matter where you are from. The act of consuming food is a shared community experience, a show of support for the grieving, and an act that can be described as symbolically but defiantly kicking Death in the face.

Half sociology book and half cookbook, Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs From Around the World by Lisa Rogak examines funeral rituals from 75 different cultures and the food associated with them.

The book also offers recipes for those who wish to contribute to the funerary feast. Neatorama presents some excerpts from Death Warmed Over.

For most cultures today, sharing a meal after the funeral has become pretty standard; indeed, it’s considered rude to refuse. In any case, there’s no better way to prove you’re alive, as compared with the body in the box you’ve just said farewell to, than by eating. Actually, most people would include sex in their response, and indeed, food combined with carnal hunger can sometimes provide a double dose of post-funeral vitality, not to mention a jump in the birth rate exactly nine months later.

The simple truth is that food goes a long way in helping survivors cope with their loss.

Some people may believe it’s distasteful to spend time thinking about how death and food are so interconnected – after all, both are an essential part of life – but I’d like to think that many more are intrigued by discovering the differences, as well as the similarities.
    
When you’re sharing a meal after a funeral you’re really poking a thumb in the eye of death. After all, with the simple act of eating, you’re assuming that you’re going to need the fuel for the future you expect you’re going to have, unlike the poor body in the box whose death is the purpose for the get-together. You can ask any caterer: most people eat a lot more food at funerals than at weddings. And that cuts across all cultures.
    
New Orleans Jazz Funerals

(Image credit: Derek Bridges)

You may have to check your calendar if you happen to stumble upon a New Orleans jazz funeral, because it’s easy to mistake it for Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, although there’s a casket with a real body inside. Jazz funerals in New Orleans are legendary events. Though a funeral is traditionally melancholy and a private family event in nature, jazz funerals in the Big Easy are intended to be public events, at the very least so that onlookers can contemplate their own mortality while enjoying the music and the spectacle.

Mourners who participate in the slow, plodding parade from the church to the cemetery will occasionally intersperse their strides with slightly jerky motions, a holdover from their African heritage in which these movements were designed to keep the malevolent spirits at bay. Actually, it’s more of a dance than a walk, with colorful costumes and clothing instead of dour, dark outfits. Food, booze, and jazz bands accompany the procession, which is often led by a horse-drawn hearse and escorted by a coterie of New Orleans’ finest, which may include drag queens, strippers, and musicians who just happen to be passing by and decide to join the party for an improvisational free-for-all.

The nice thing about this recipe for Jambalaya is that you can start it in the morning before the funeral and it will be ready by the time you return home.

Funeral Jambalaya

(Image credit: Flickr user Lori L. Stalteri)

    2 cups boiled ham, diced
    2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
    2 stalks celery, diced
    1 green pepper, seeded and diced
    1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
    1/4 cup tomato paste
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 tablespoon minced parsley
    1/2 teaspoon thyme
    2 whole cloves
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 cup long-grain converted rice, uncooked
    1 pound fresh or frozen shrimp, uncooked, shelled and deveined
    
Place all ingredients except the shrimp in a large slow cooker. Mix well. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours.

One hour before serving, turn slow cooker to High.  Add the shrimp and stir. Cover and cook until shrimp are pink and tender.

Hindu

    
Hindus regard death as a twelve-day period during which the family of the recently deceased is considered to be unclean. This obviously influences the culinary practices of the household. Even though some Hindus are not vegetarians, relatives must follow a strict vegetarian diet during this period, and any meat or eggs must be removed from the house as soon as possible after death. During the first 24 hours after death, cooking is prohibited, and though relatives and friends can bring food to the house, close family members usually fast the first day. Upper-caste Hindus usually hire cooks to prepare meals for the family and guests – which can number into the hundreds – for the entire twelve-day period.
    
Cremation is the normal mode of disposing of bodies for Hindus, and is customarily done a day or two after death. However, to ensure the secure passage of the soul to the next world, a ceremony known as a Shraddha must be performed. Shraddha is an elaborate feast and gift-giving event; Hindus believe that everything that is given away – food or gifts, often metal vessels and cash – will eventually end up in the hands and stomach of the deceased. Some Shraddhas last one day, while others can go on for weeks. Feasts can be elaborate or they may merely consist of rice and vegetables, along with the chapati bread that’s served at most Hindu meals.
    
To successfully complete each Shraddha, however, the manes – the spirits of other dead relatives – must be appeased. However, because they’re used to being dead, they’re easily gratified with boiled rice balls known as pinda that are thrown out of the door after each meal.
    
Those still alive, however, require something a little bit more substantial, like samosas.

Samosas

(Image credit: Flickr user ironypoisoning)

    2 cups all-purpose flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    4 tablespoons peanut oil
    4 tablespoons water
    4 medium russet potatoes, boiled in their jackets and allowed to cool
    4 tablespoons peanut oil
    1 medium onion, minced
    1 cup fresh shelled peas
    1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, finely grated
    1 fresh hot green chili, finely chopped
    3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
    3 tablespoons water
    1-1/2 teaspoons salt
    1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
    1 teaspoon garam masala
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    Peanut oil for deep frying
    
Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.  Add 4 tablespoons of oil and mix into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.  Slowly add about 4 tablespoons water and gather the dough into a stiff ball.

Empty dough out on a floured board.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until smooth.  Make a ball.  Rub the ball with 1/2 teaspoon of oil and slip it into a plastic bag.  Set aside.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1/4 inch dice. In a large saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons of oil over a medium flame for a minute. Add the onion. Saute until translucent. Add peas, ginger, green chili, cilantro, and 3 tablespoons water.  Cover, lower heat and simmer until peas are cooked, about 10 minutes.  Add more water if necessary.

Uncover and add the potatoes, salt, coriander, garam masala, cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice.  Stir to mix.  Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring gently.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Turn the dough out onto the board and divide into eight balls. As you work with each, keep the rest covered. Roll the ball out into a 7-inch round.  Cut in half with a sharp knife. Take one half and form a cone, with a ¼-inch overlapping seam. Secure the seam with a dab of water. Fill the cone with 2-1/2 tablespoons of the potato mixture.  Pinch the top of the cone closed by creating a ¼-inch seam, secured with a dab of water. Using the prongs of a fork, seal the top seam. Proceed with the rest of the dough and filling until you have 16 samosas. Cover.

In a large saucepan or wok, heat 2 inches of oil over a medium-low flame. When the oil is heated, gently place a few samosas into the oil, or as many as the pan will hold in a single layer. Fry the samoas, turning frequently, until they are golden brown and crisp, about 8-10 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and serve.

Lutheran

(Image credit: Jonathunder)

In countless airings of Prairie Home Companion, where Garrison Keillor reverently details the joys of a Lutheran church supper where all the relatives of the Norwegian bachelor farmers were expected to bring a Hot Dish. It took many years before I figured out that he was talking about what we growing up in New Jersey referred to as the elegant French import, le casserole.

I’ve never heard Mr. Keillor refer to it as a Funeral Hot Dish, however. Those in the Hot Dish Brigade usually synchronize plans in advance so that the requisite offerings of Jello mold with marshmallows and maraschino cherries – known as the salad course – prepackaged rolls, cold cuts, and Hot Dish are in the correct proportions. Sometimes due to the short notice of a post-funeral luncheon or supper, some might be caught unprepared, and instead must rely on the funeral home or caterer to prepare the meal.

Good Lutherans would consider that to be a travesty, and an insult to the memory of the deceased’s in whose honor the meal is served. The serious Hot Dish Brigade always has provisions at the ready, well-stocked pantries, ready to drop everything and head out the door, potholders in hand, 90 minutes after hanging up the phone at the news, one to bring to the grieving family’s home, and one set to cool for the funeral luncheon later on.

Anything less would be frowned upon, where Hot Dish church suppers are weekly events and where more than one church member has asked to be buried with a fork in his hand.

Funeral Hot Dish

(Image credit: Flickr user Tom Burns)

 
    1 pound ground beef
    1 medium onion, chopped
    1 pound macaroni, cooked, drained, and cooled
    1 10-1/2 can condensed tomato soup
    1 14-ounce can corn, drained
    1 14-ounce can tomatoes
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    4 individually-wrapped slices of American cheese
    
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef and onion. Grease a four-quart casserole dish. Add the cooked beef, onion, macaroni, soup, corn, tomatoes and salt and pepper to the casserole. Mix well. Top with the cheese slices and bake for 30 minutes.

Japan

In many Japanese villages, although visitors frequently bring food to the home where someone is on his deathbed, it is anathema to cook it. So instead, it is served raw. Perhaps this is due to an ancient belief about cooking the life out of food and heating a meal in the house will only hasten an impending death. After the person dies, however, the women in the household proceed to cook enough rice and vegetables to feed an entire village. Curiously, it is forbidden to serve fish at the funeral feast.

Japan is primarily a Buddhist country, so upon death, a Buddhist wake known as a tsuya is held at the family home. A monk conducts the service while a photograph of the deceased is placed on the family altar along with a bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks standing vertical from the bowl.

The funeral is usually held the day after death which is immediately followed by cremation. It is actually against the law in Japan to bury an intact body, though ashes and presumably body parts can be buried under the law. Once the body is cremated, mourners use chopsticks to separate the bones from the ashes and place them in a special urn. Afterwards, a funeral meal known as an otoki is offered by relatives; before guests leave, the family will sprinkle some salt on mourners’ shoulders to remove the threat of death from their lives.

Like Mexico’s Day of the Dead, Japanese celebrate Obon, a three-day period in midsummer when dead relatives are believed to return to their ancestral lands, and it’s up to the living to ensure they leave happy. The days leading up to Obon are hectic ones, with relatives cleaning not only the graves of the returning ancestors, but their houses, too, and preparing food offerings for the cemetery, and the Buddhist altar at home.    

One Obon custom is to carve an eggplant into the shape of a horse and place it by the grave on the last night of the festival so the deceased relatives can expedite their way back to the afterworld after the festival ends. You can try your hand at carving an eggplant, or you can just make the following recipe

Japanese Eggplant with Sesame-Ginger Glaze

(Image credit: Flickr user gaku.)

    1 tablespoon rice-wine or cider vinegar
    1 tablespoon soy sauce
    1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
    3 tablespoons sesame oil
    1 tablespoon sugar
    2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
    3  cloves garlic; minced
    8 small Japanese eggplants, ¼ pound each, halved lengthwise
    2 tablespoons peanut oil
    1  teaspoon salt
    1  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    2 scallions, minced
    
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, sugar, ginger and garlic. Use a pastry brush to spread the oil over the eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Set the barbecue grill to medium heat. Place the eggplant, cut side down, on grill and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the eggplant and brush with the glaze. Cook until the eggplant softens. Transfer the eggplant to a serving platter and drizzle with more glaze. Sprinkle with minced scallions and serve.

These are only four cultures and recipes among 75 that you'll find in Death Warmed Over: Funeral Food, Rituals, and Customs From Around the World by Lisa Rogak. Death Warmed Over is available in ebook form from Amazon.

Visit Lisa Rogak at her website, where you can read what others are saying about Death Warmed Over.

El fotógrafo Ben Hopper nació en Israel en el año 1982. Vive en Londres y se dedica a fotografiar desnudos. Allá en por el año 2010 empezó con una serie de fotografías llamada Naked Girls with Masks (más claro, agua). Hoy compartimos algunas de estas fotos… quizás porque en la redacción de PORNOBUSCARPORNO sentimos predilección por las máscaras unicornios y de caballos. Si quieres saber más de su vida, de su trabajo o incluso comprar alguna de sus obras, puedes visitar su página web.

Os dejamos también con el behind the scenes de una de sus sesiones.

“I want everything about my photographs to provoke comment and exclamation. And I consider ‘What the fuck..?!’ to be a compliment!”

La entrada Las chicas desnudas con máscaras de Ben Hopper aparece primero en POR NO BUSCAR PORNO |XXX|.

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1. keepcomingback

Screaming. I like dirty talk and noises. But my ex would scream. Scream. Blood curdling-like. I was worried the neighbors would think a rape was a happenin.

2. kissmypenguin

my ex always used to slap his semi/hard cock in my face when i wasnt expecting it, or just grab my face and shove it in my mouth. once we were at a hotel and i was drying my hair when he decides to come and shove his raging boner in my unsuspecting mouth. what he didn’t realise was that i’d just opened the pack of hotel cookies and he got mid chewed cookie crumbs all upon his cock. never seen a man go so flaccid so quick.

3. k4kowalick

My girlfriend seems to think that having the speed of Barry Allen on steroids while jerking me off is the best thing to do. Sometimes is just super uncomfortable, but she does it so rarely (and BJ’s even more seldom) that I don’t complain to her. But god, how would you like it if I tapped on your pussy like I’m trying to send the last fucking telegram of the day?

5. foo_foo_the_snoo

The very first time my wife and I did it doggy style with the lights on, she had a little piece of toilet paper stuck in her butt hole. I still imagine it glaring at me 8 years later.

6. analatrocity

Well, I’ve done something… I had an ex that would go on and on about “squirting”, trying to make me squirt, and I just can’t do that. I still have those moments when I wonder if it’s actually a real thing. So one day when I was on top, I peed on him to make him happy. He knew it was pee straightaway. It kind of burned him and gave him a rash.

He was a cheating fucker though so eh.

7. Justanaussie

She wore Santa lingerie, which is basically red g-string and top with white frilly stuff. She also did the tongue around the lips thing along with a “come hither” look.

Problem is she was drunk, cataclysmically drunk. She had trouble standing at the time and had to keep leaning on things (not always successfully). Her come hither look involved one eye looking at me, the other looking over my shoulder. Then she licked her lips and winked but seemed to have trouble concentrating on the licking bit so it went on forever, and she kept her one eye closed the entire time she was doing it.

Then she suggested I take photos of her in her shexshy lingerie.

It ended with her collapsing onto the sofa and falling asleep.

She tried though, gotta give her points for that.

8. ylrd

He told me “I’m gonna stick an orange in your mouth and eat you out until Fanta comes out from there”.
What the hell.

9. missnightingale77

I wanted him to talk dirty and he said something like, “Yeah, you like what I’m doing to your…uh…vagina?”. He’s a good sport but just…no. Totally unsexy word.

10. rdmc23

We did the “rough sex” thing where everything was aggressive. Mid way through having sex she farted and it stank really bad. I consequently farted while laughing hard because her farts never usually smell that way. Later that night she started having diarrhea because of food poisoning from the sushi she had the night before.

11. sleepingmind

The night I met my boyfriend we were both pretty boozed. He must have thought it’d be charming to sweep me off my feet as we kissed, and carry me down the stairs. Alas, inebriated as we were, fair Romeo missed the last step sending us both sprawling on our asses on the tiles. The high point of the tumble came when he accidentally let slip the squeakiest of farts as he landed. The look of surprise on his face when he glanced to see if i’d heard – i had – was fucking hilarious.

Still banged though.

12. KennaCokehead

I once told a boyfriend about sexual abuse in my past.

He acted sympathetic, but later, he asked me to tell him about it again because it turned him on.

He’s not my boyfriend anymore.

13. 6_Weeks_of_Liquid

My husband is very goofy and once told me he wants to shove his dick so far down my throat, “you’ll get white diarrhea.”

?????

14. kimsey7

baby talk…just NO, don’t do it!!!!

15. ascua

A few years back my husband and I had a romantic evening at home to celebrate our anniversary, nothing fancy but he cooked his amazing beef chilli and we ate in front of the fire by candlelight, it was a recreation of our first valentines day, red wine was flowing, it was simple but beautiful.

After a few hours(and a few bottles of red) we were pretty hammered and in that state of mind where the stupidest of ideas or suggestions seem like a great idea. I was drunk, hungry and horny so had the great idea of eating food off each others naked bodies and ran off into the kitchen to see what I could find, the first thing I found was a pot of left over beef chilli…fuck it.

Long story short.

Firstly:NEVER put any chilli based food products on your giblets, it will never end well.

Secondly: Trying to sift chunks of beef and beans out of your lovers pubic hair with your mouth is possibly one of the grossest things you could ever do(and have done to you.)

Thirdly: Jibbly, jibbly, jibbly!

TL;DR:chilli beef pubes

16. VanDelay_Industry

My girlfriend and I were in her basement looking to do have a freaky-deaky good time. She wanted to get into a little role play… or something, so she suggested we each find a costume from her box of old halloween costumes and come out and act like the character we were. I was reluctant, she was persistant. She was a girl who had 2 sisters, that’s it. The only costume available for me was a Franklin the Turtle Costume. She got into it. I had sex that night as wide-eyed as an owl.

EDIT FOR FINAL DETAIL TO SAVE MY DIGNITY — I put on the costume, not only because it was literally the only option, but because I thought it would be so bizarre that she would be like, “ehh maybe another time..” Well the shock treatment did not work.

17. Problem_Dawg

My girlfriend wanted to try throat fucking, and obviously I’m not gonna turn down any dick sucking scenario. We get down to it and all is going well, but she suddenly got to enthusiastic and went to far down on my meat pole. The next thing I know she vomited her lunch (Italian bmt from subway) all over my dick and stomach. It was so warm and horrible I just laid there for an eternity as she just laughed hysterically.

18. Tails-92

Spread nutella all over her body. Wasn’t sure if the bogeyman was in my bed or if she had gone insane and covered herself in her own feces

19. Boredsecurityguard

Girlfriend likes it when I talk dirty. I have a problem focusing on talking when I am trying to shabone. Brain wanted to say “You have a tight pussy” or “You like my thick cock?”, decided best solution was “You like my thick pussy?”.

Answer was no, she did not like my thick pussy.

20. ovjho

From my girlfriend “YOU WANT ME TO RUB MY TITS ON YOUR BOOBS?” uhhh ok yah.

21. AutumnHeart

I think he was going for ‘romantic’ more than ‘sexy’. I was with my first serious boyfriend, we got a hotel room together, we start out our evening by getting undressed, and he decides he wants to do a sexy, romantic slow dance with me before we get down to business.

Problem: boyfriend was deaf. Literally, like 90% deaf. So he puts on the radio and starts eyefucking me and doing this slow, smoldering dance, and I don’t have the heart to tell him that he’s trying to do it to, like, Ska.

22. totallytubulardudes

I had to make a throwaway to share this because I don’t want this shit anywhere near my real life.

I’ve known TWO separate men who wanted to pee in a clear, flexible plastic tube like this while it was inserted into my ass. After the urine would eventually drain into the depths of my bowels, they wanted to take the other end of the tube and suck the urine out.

I met these men five years apart, and while they do not know each other, they have a mutual friend in common. I still wonder if he’s where they got the idea from…

23. SerNicka

Ex-gf thought it would be a good idea to put toothpaste in her mouth before giving me a blowjob. Apparently she read it in a magazine and it was supposed to great for the guy…

I’ll tell you right now, it definitely wasn’t great. It burned, never let someone put toothpaste on your dick.

24. azureal

I remember real early on in the relationship my soon to be wife (and much later on ex wife) jammed a handful of skittles up her ninny right before sexy time. I was supposed to find them when I was giving her oral.

We didn’t get that far. Ye olde vagine developed an irritation and she spent the rest of the night cleaning rainbow coloured goop out of her holiest of holies.
The best part? The look of fear on her face during the whole thing because she didn’t know how many she put up there in the first place.

Edit

So my top comment to date is in regards to my ex wife’s box full of lollies.

Thanks Reddit!

And thanks for all the replies, a lot of laughs first thing in the morning.

25. thedarkknightcrisis

she kissed me after a bj. i thought she swallowed. i thought wrong.

26. ojchahine6

My first real girlfriend and I dated for 3 years. We broke up and 8 months later decided to give it another shot. She was really excited to show me how good she had gotten at giving blow jobs. She did get good; too good. It was the saddest I had ever been while cumming in someone’s mouth.

27. alberthere

Had an ex who gave me handjobs so rough I had to check my member in the bathroom every time to make sure I wasn’t injured. Dunno why she was so rough. Maybe she was pissed off at me and took it out on me, using the handjob as false pretense. Perhaps she heard the term “choking the chicken” and thought it was a technique to be applied literally instead of a slang term for it. Whatever the reason was, I never stopped her because I was young and stupid and thought at the time that if I told her to ease off I’d look like a pussy.

tl;dr almost had my dick ripped off.

28. cfawkes

My boyfriend will rub his nose all over me. I think his nose is really sensitive and this feels really sensual to him, hes really in the zone but I keep trying to get him to stop it because nothing about having a nose rubbed all over me is turning me on. I’ve told him directly that I’m just waiting for him to stop it so we can carry on with what we were doing but he seems pretty set on doing this every time.

29. cats_on_acid

My ex and I were going to have sex and he REALLY wanted me to give him head, and he wanted to cum in my mouth at the time I was really put off by it, so I just said I don’t know… And kept on doing what I was doing, he then pulled me off once he came, scooped up some cum on his fingers, put it in his mouth and said “See!? It doesn’t even taste that bad!” I fucking lost my shit, had to leave the room so he didn’t see me half laughing half gagging. It was such a turn off.

1. Show up to the party

This is the hardest part. Tell yourself that all you need to do is get ready and get in the door. Everything after this is coasting.

2. Find out how everyone knows the host

This is a built in conversation starter, because everyone at the party must know the host in one way or another, and there’s usually a story there. Plus, people feel special when someone is interested in them, which makes them happier, which makes them remember having a positive interaction with you. If you already know how people know the host, another great introductory question is “how is your night going so far?”

Bonus: here’s 50 ice breaker questions you can ask when everyone’s told their host stories.

3. Be vulnerable

It’s the easiest and most comfortable crutch in the world to retreat to a corner or couch somewhere and play Candy Crush/refresh Twitter until someone you know arrives. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Confess to an extroverted looking person that you don’t know anyone else. They’ll feel like your knight in shining armour to introduce you to their group.

4. Wear a favorite outfit

When you think you look good, you exude confidence. This will make it easier to mingle, rather than parking your frumpty dumpty ass somewhere and sulking.

5. Help the host

This is a little trick for people who are really shy or introverted. Offer to help the host, they almost always need a little last minute help. Then you have a job to do which distracts your nerves and gives you an excuse to make conversation with guests as they arrive.

6. Remember that people are self-centered

No one is watching you. People go to a party to have fun, not to be on the look out for anyone who seems out of place or like they don’t know anyone else. The only person making themselves aware of any awkwardness you feel, is you.

7. The worst case scenario ain’t that bad

Drive or take public transit to the party. Being in charge of when you can leave will give you the power to know that even if you strike out trying to make friends, you can make an excuse at any point in the evening and just leave! No harm no foul. Push yourself to do just one new thing, and then the next time you are at a party alone, take it one step farther. It always seems manageable to do just one new thing at a time.

8. Offer to bring a specialty drink or snack

If you bring something that has to be prepared for each guest, you can make conversation in different groups by offering to make them a mojito or something. They’ll be indebted to you and you’ll meet new people.

9. Look friendly

This seems obvious, but don’t furrow your brow in the concentration of trying to hit it off with people. Have a drink, relax, and try to genuinely enjoy yourself. You might surprise yourself by actually having fun.

Vidas Licenciosas cumple un año. En estos meses he tratado de ser fiel a los singulares principios de un blog que cuenta lo que ocurre en Santiago desde que se guardan los libros, se bajan las persianas en los hogares de orden y se relajan los esfínteres hasta que sale el sol. Un lapso de tiempo que nunca aparece en los medios tradicionales salvo por circunstancias excepcionales, que también las ha habido. En 32 entregas he manipulado argumentos para criticar, adular, añorar tiempos que nunca volverán y sobre todo para reír. Pero también he choromiqueado mucho. Demasiado. Como buen noctámbulo, los brotes verdes los veo más bien pardos, pero con todo debo admitir que en este complicado año han irrumpido iniciativas empresariales que valen la pena y que hay que revisar y revisitar, si es que ya se conocen, aunque solo sea por salir de casa unas horas para sacudirnos las pelusillas de la sucia rutina.

Javier Montero y Tita Iglesias, del Tragaluz; Javier Míguez en La Bodeguilla; y Marcelo y su equipo

Era visto. En los últimos meses se han consolidado los locales de tapeo, de los que caes al descuido con más preocupación por la compañía y por una cuenta final contenida que por la gastronomía en sí. Ha mudado a ese formato Casa Marcelo, uno de los referentes hosteleros de la capital, y por esa línea aunque con otros objetivos se mueven el San Xoán, en A Raíña, que sustituyó al Celme do Caracol, reubicado en la antigua Casa do Medio. El hostelero Javier Míguez, que ya tenía dos mesones asentados en San Roque y San Lázaro, abrió otro espléndido local, La Bodeguilla de Santa Marta, que mantiene la eficacia y la profesionalidad de siempre con un toque de taberna contemporánea muy interesante. Borja Portals diversificó A Curtidoría con una Cantina en el Ensanche, y los chicos de O Curro da Parra se la han jugado con el Pazo de Altamira, en San Agustín. Se merecen lo mejor, por valientes, igual que sus colegas del Abastos 2.0, que se atrevieron con un restaurante al borde del mar en Carril, el Loxe Mareiro, que se me escapó este verano por problemas de agenda. También besando el Atlántico, un poco más lejos, abrió la tapería Santiago, un pequeño local que dirige Julio Antelo Rivas, que está explorando nuevos horizontes en Río de Janeiro mientras sus hermanos Carlos y Mauro siguen haciendo las mejores caipirinhas de Compostela en el Garoa. Son experiencias extramuros que hablan de un sector dinámico que se busca las habichuelas. Hay otro local, este un poco más serio y consistente, al que le tengo ganas, O Tragaluz, en San Miguel. Lo dirigen Tita Iglesias y Javier Montero, y es una extensión del Texturas Galegas  (Algalia) al que iré más pronto que tarde aunque solo sea por vacilar un rato al nuevo cocinero, el incansable Andrés Fernández, que hasta este verano trabajó en los fogones de El Cayado (Franco).

Xoana Beiras, de La Industrial; Rebeca y Estela, de Tosta e Tostiña; y la gente de Singulario

No se vayan todavía que aún hay más. Ya he hablado bien alguna vez de La Industrial, el local que sustituyó al Toñi Vicente, pero nunca dije que además de dar de comer y beber también ponen una música excelente a un volumen  agradable que invita a liarse con las primeras copas. Bravo por Gonzalo Concheiro y por Xoana Beiras. A pocos metros, en la avenida de A Coruña, ha abierto Tosta e Tostiña, un café con un toque entre afrancesado y preppy que también puede encontrarse en el Dulce Victoria, en la calle Carretas, o en el St. Jacques, en la Rúa Nova 42, donde emerge desde un tiempo atrás el Copas Rotas, un bar para chavales bien puesto y con filosofía low cost. En el denostado Ensanche compostelano tengo que citar el Singulario (antes Las Añadas del Siglo y La Viña de Xavi) que con su vecino Galopín han generado ciertas sinergias en torno al chateo en Fernando III O Santo. En el casco histórico también hay novedades para comer, como A Sucursal, que sustituye de forma romántica a una oficina bancaria rescatada que había en San Agustín, o la franquicia 100 Montaditos (Franco) que ha calado entre los más jóvenes, como ocurre con el Ateneo 30, en Virxe da Cerca, este centrado en las copas y la música en directo. También es muy coqueto para tapear o tomar un café el Cervantes, delante de As Crechas, que sustituyó a una taberna sin gracia ninguna. Me gustó, como ocurre con el pub Chocolate, junto a la Praza de Abastos, que vale la pena por sus combinados pero sobre todo por compartir el mismo techo con la encantadora Marga Balboa; y, entre otros que se me pasarán, está  O Boneco, que por fin ha arrojado algo de luz a un escondido y privilegiado local tras el pazo de Raxoi, a dos pasos del Obradoiro.

Carlos González, de La Atlántica, que está en la Algalia; Martiño Santos y Xosé Gontá, del Vide Vide, ubicado en Fonte de San Antonio; e Iván Domínguez y Iago Pazos, del Loxe Mareiro (y Abastos 2.0)

Última ronda. Como el plan casero está al alza han aparecido nuevas referencias en formato tienda. La Atlántica, en la Algalia, es una pequeña vuelta al mundo alrededor de las cervezas, como lo es con el vino el Vide Vide, en Fonte de San Antonio. Para las tropas de la parrilla, el chorizo criollo y el vuelta y vuelta está el mítico Entrevías, que ha reabierto en O Castiñeiriño, y los que prefieran la profilaxis del centro comercial, ahí tienen toda una planta dedicada a la hostelería  en el centro comercial As Cancelas, en la que destacaré la inminente inauguración de la pulpería Vilalúa, una franquicia que se parió en Santiago en la cabeza de dos de mis mejores amigos de la juventud y que, tras arrancar en Madrid por partida doble y en San Sebastián, abrirá sus puertas en Compostela en cuestión de días. En este caso no me pidan que sea objetivo. Simplemente, pasen y prueben. Y sobre todo sigan buscando alicientes y buenos momentos que, no se engañen, suelen resistirse a llamar a la puerta de casa. Casi siempre hay que salir a buscarlos.

Buenas noches.

NOTA. Amenazo con una segunda temporada de Vidas Licenciosas. Por esta primera quiero dar las gracias a La Voz de Galicia y especialmente a Olalla Sánchez Pintos por sus valiosos consejos digitales y analógicos; y también a todos los amigos, conocidos y espontáneos que compartís conmigo los momentos de ocio, que tras esta experiencia ya no son de esparcimiento sino de documentación. Después de un año, dicen los números de Google Analytics que, sumado el tiempo de las visitas al blog, los lectores han invertido dos años y siete meses de lectura ininterrumpida. Me siento recompensado, solo confío en que alguien más le haya sacado algún beneficio.

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

En esta ocasión tenemos el placer de entrevistar a Jesús Varela Rivas, un Mugardés que desarrollo toda su trayectoria laboral vinculado al sector naval en los astilleros de la Ría de Ferrol, entrando con 14 años de aprendiz en La Empresa Nacional Bazán a mediados de la década de los 60, y finalizando su carrera profesional en el año 2005 prejubilado con 54 años. Después de 40 años trabajando en los astilleros públicos donde desempeñó diferentes cargos fue progresando hasta llegar a ser, en los últimos años, el Jefe de Aceros de la división de Reparaciones de Izar-Fene (Astano). 

Actualmente sigue muy en activo colaborando con la plataforma Rumbo 21, de la que es socio fundador, al igual que de la Asociación Tribuna para el Diálogo. Como hecho destacable, Jesús Varela, fue la persona que defendió en la Tribuna del Parlamento de Galicia la Iniciativa Legislativa Popular por la Ley del Sector Naval de Galicia. Y para finalizar entre otras cosas actualmente también es colaborador habitual en el diario Galicia Ártabra Digital.

1. Nos gustaría que nos contara un poco como ha sido su trayectoria profesional en el sector naval

Apendices de Bazán, en la pared reza la leyenda "No digas nunca ya lo haré después, hazlo enseguida", una frase que debería se aplicada por todos los que todavía creen en el Naval Ferrolano.

2. Dada la actual crisis que azota al sector naval suponemos que el panorama era muy diferente al que conoció cuando comenzó a trabajar en Bazán ¿Qué recuerdos tiene de aquella época?

En aquella época, a finales de la década de los 60 y principios de los 70, el que no trabajaba era casi, casi porque no quería. La ciudad respiraba tranquilidad y alegría, era otro ambiente y por supuesto, muy diferente al que se vive hoy. La ciudad crecía y crecía. Se miraba al futuro con optimismo. 

Vistas de la ciudad de Ferrol desde la Ermita de Chamorro, años 60.

En las puertas de la Bazán estaban a la hora de entrada al trabajo personas que te preguntaban cuanto ganabas en donde estabas trabajando y, generalmente, ellos te ofrecían algo más para llevarte a su empresa. En aquel entonces y aún sin dejar de entender las muchas carencias que había, el mayor problema que había en la sociedad era la falta de libertades.

La actividad en los Astilleros Ferrolanos de Astano y Bazán en esos años era frenética, principalmente grandes petroleros y BulkCarriers. En las imágenes se ven los Petroleros La Santa Maria, Afran Odyssey, Chum Woo, y el O.B.O Eulalia del Mar.

3. ¿Cuáles fueron los buques o proyectos más representativos en los que participó durante su trayectoria en Bazán?

En mi etapa en nueva construcción, sin duda alguna en la operación Elcano. Esa experiencia de cortar buques y volver a unir conformando nuevos barcos fue realmente inolvidable, y muy enriquecedora a nivel profesional.

 

La operación Elcano supuso un hito de la construccion naval en el mundo. Más información relacionada aquí LOS BUQUES DE LA OPERACION ELCANO: CASTILLO DE LA LUZ Y CASTILLO DE LOPERA

En Reparaciones ya vives experiencias nuevas prácticamente con cada barco, algunas de ellas extraordinarias por la propia naturaleza de las mismas, pero la que más huella dejó en mi fue mi última gran reparación. La ampliación de un artefacto cajonero para Agromán (Tarifa Primero c/n 278) en el Dique grande de Astano que significó la elaboración, prefabricación y montaje de 550 toneladas de acero en un tiempo record. 

Botadura del cajonero “Tarifa Primero”, construido en 2001 en el astillero de IZAR-Ferrol, tiene 55 metros de eslora y 45 de manga. Su calado máximo es de 26 metros, con 20 tanques y una capacidad de lastres de 13.500 m3.

Tardamos casi un mes en contar con los planos de la Sala Técnica, pero nosotros tiramos para adelante y cuando estos llegaron ya estábamos soldando bloques nuevos en el Dique. Gracias a eso terminamos la obra en plazo. 

El dique cajonero Tarifa Primero es capaz de construir cajones de un máximo de 54 metros de eslora por 36 de manga y 34 de puntal. Ha participado en la construcción de las obras portuarias más importantes de España en los últimos años.

4. Algunas voces dicen que el astillero de Astano fue vetado para construir barcos porque para Europa era el rival más poderoso de todos los Astilleros de España, le temían y por eso se lo cargaron. ¿Qué hay de cierto en todo esto?

La decisión de cargarse a Astano no vino de Europa, esa fue una decisión del gobierno de España. En aquel momento al gobierno del Estado le venía mucho mejor proteger a la Bahía de Cádiz que a la Ría de Ferrol y así lo hizo.

Petrolero Afran Odyssey en la grada de Astano en el año 1975, en la grada contigua se está comenzando a construir otra unidad, la actividad era frenética y esto generaba miles de empleos.

No olvidemos que la decisión fue de carácter político, y en ese contexto, sabemos lo que Andalucía significaba para el PSOE. A Astano se le cargaron la totalidad de las ayudas que se le concedieron a todo el sector público español (975 millones de euros) y sin embargo, el astillero de Fene solo aparece como posible receptor de ayudas (y digo posible porque nunca se cuantificaron las ayudas recibidas por centro) cuando la antigua Bazán compra en Julio del año 2000 a Astano, Juliana, Cádiz y la Fábrica de Motores de Manises, y la SEPI, según la Comisión Europea, inyecta 68 millones de euros en las cuatro empresas para que cuando éstas se incorporasen a Bazán tuviesen un valor contable de cero.

Astano en una imágen más actual, con las gradas vacías y sin actividad.

5. Todas los habitantes de Ferrolterra esperamos que llegue el día del fin del veto de Astano (ahora Navantia-Fene), pero no vemos que se estén llevando a cabo para que el Astillero reanude su actividad, ¿Cómo es posible?. En realidad la gente quiere trabajo en el naval pero nadie se mueve.

Esa falta de movimientos en el astillero a estas alturas, es precisamente lo que hace que yo no tenga confianza ninguna en que el veto se vaya a levantar en la fecha indicada. Poner al astillero en condiciones para competir en el mercado es labor de dos a tres años y faltan tan solo 14 meses para cumplir el castigo. ¿Por qué nadie mueve un dedo? Pues a lo mejor, bueno, en este caso a lo peor, porque se tiene pensado negociar una nueva ampliación del mismo a cambio de no tener que devolver nada de lo del Tax Lease. A mi realmente no me extrañaría nada. No sería ni la primera ni la segunda vez que ocurriese. Lo que si me extraña y mucho, es la actitud de los dos grandes sindicatos, CC.OO y la UGT. No la comprendo. 

6. Primero los Japoneses, luego los Coreanos y ahora los Chinos acaparan la mayor parte del mercado de construcción naval y a todos los niveles tecnológicos. ¿Qué posibilidades tendría ASTANO en la actualidad en ese mercado y en qué sectores podría ser competitivo?

Los astilleros de Asia van a continuar siendo los grandes constructores, y entre otras cosas, porque van a continuar construyendo más barato por las ayudas que reciben de sus respectivos gobiernos. ¿Está mal eso de que reciban ayudas de sus gobiernos? Pues yo creo que no, que no es censurable, ahí lo que están haciendo cada país es defender sus intereses ¿Hay algo más razonable que defender lo que crees es de tú interés? En todo caso, Europa es la que igual tiene que revisar sus políticas en el sector. No olvidemos que el 80% de los buques que construyen los armadores y navieras de Europa se construyen en Asia. Es decir, los europeos estamos alimentando lo que luego denunciamos como competencia desleal. Curioso no. 

El astillero más grande del mundo es la factoría Hyundai Heavy Industries, situada en Ulsan, South Korea. Curiosamente cuando compraron el petrolero Chum Woo a Astano todavía no tenían ni Astillero, el causante de lo que actualmente estén a la cabeza se lo deben a Chung Ju-yung

Respecto a las posibilidades de Astano frente a los asiáticos, está claro que el astillero de Fene  no puede pensar en la construcción de ningún tipo de buque convencional (petroleros, portacontenedores, graneleros, gaseros…etc).

El O.B.O Eulalia del Mar, construcción nº 147 de Bazan, un buque revolucionario con capacidad tanto para llevar carga seca como petroleo, con 120.000 TPM y 264m de eslora, fue botado el 5 de mayo de 1973.

 Astano tiene que dirigir su mirada al mercado Off – Shore. Es un campo muy amplio y con muchas posibilidades. Plataformas Petrolíferas, Energías Renovables, Plantas de Regasificación, Plantas de Licuefacción, Grúas Flotantes, Buques auxiliares…etc.

La construcción naval Offshore fue el nicho que encontró Astano una vez le fue impuesto el veto para construir barcos, más información relacionada; HISTORIA DE ASTANO EN EL SECTOR OFFSHORE

Aunque independientemente de todo esto, una Astano de titularidad pública hoy por hoy está fuera del mercado. Si se quiere ver a Astano en el mercado civil, el astillero tiene que pasar a manos de una entidad privada. Como empresa pública no tiene futuro en ese mercado.   

Astillero de Navantia-Fene (anteriormente Astano) en la Actualidad, todavía conserva un potencial inmenso que podría explotar si pasara a manos de una entidad privada, no pública.

7. Podría comentarnos algo acerca del TAX LEASE, ¿está ya todo arreglado o todavía no?

 Con respecto a si lo del Tax Lease está arreglado, en absoluto, el tema todavía va a dar mucho que hablar. Es cierto que tenemos un nuevo Tax Lease aprobado por Bruselas en Noviembre del año pasado, pero no olvidemos que la resolución de Competencia por el mal uso del anterior está pendiente todavía. Ese es el gran problema por el que no se mueve nuestro sector naval, porque entre los inversores hay miedo a la cantidad que haya que devolver.

Buque transporte de gas natural licuado LNG GEMMATA, de fabricación japonesa. Detrás se ven varios grandes buques en reparaciones, el de color rojo es el British Emmerald de BP.

España en su alegato de defensa asume tener que devolver 126 millones de euros, y eso quiere decir que España reconoce que efectivamente cometió irregularidades. Ahora, no queda otra que esperar. Esperemos que el fallo sea más pronto que tarde y que nos sea lo menos perjudicial posible. Por cierto, que dejen de echarle ya la culpa al Sr. Almunia. Las cosas no se hicieron bien y ahora llega el momento de pagar por ello.  

El Astillero de Navantia (antigua Bazán), a pesar de dedicarse a fabricar buques militares muy especializados también acusa la crisis de la construcción naval.

8. El gran centro naval de reparaciones y el dique flotante, ¿sería viable?, ¿Si es así por qué no se llevan a cabo?

Es que para que lo que ahora tenemos (que no es poco) se convierta en un gran centro de Reparaciones ese Dique Flotante que todos los ferrolterranos exigimos es imprescindible. Amén de otras cosas como la cubrición del dique grande y la mejora del pequeño de la antigua Astano así como la potenciación de determinados talleres.  

En españa existen otros diques flotantes para grandes buques, como este que posee Navantia en Cádiz, para buques de un máximo de 246x41m y 120.000 TPM. El que se necesita en Ferrol todavía debería ser más grande.

La viabilidad está más que demostrada (ahí está por ejemplo el estudio hecho por el Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Navales y Oceánicos de Galicia). Otra cuestión bien diferente, es la conveniencia debido a los parámetros con los que se ve al grupo desde Madrid. El gran inconveniente está en como se ve a Navantia en su conjunto, que no es de otra manera que desde la óptica política. 

El buque transporte de gas natural licuado Catalunya Spirit (bandera española) durante sus reparaciones en el dique seco flotante de Grand Bahama Shipyard, Limited. USA

  

9. Alguna idea positiva para que la comarca remonte, ¿Qué se debería hacer?

La comarca remontará en la medida en que seamos capaces de ganar la batalla en el naval. Es incierto que el sector naval sea una actividad de monocultivo industrial. Asegurar eso es conocer muy poco al sector.

Ferrol una ciudad creada para por y para la construcción Naval.

Otra cuestión muy diferente, es el hecho de que los empresarios de la zona no supiesen o no quisiesen (por comodidad) aprovechar sus potencialidades para no quedarse encorsetados en la única función de convertirse en meros prestamistas de mano de obra a la empresa principal.

Puerto exterior Ferrolano, con un Granelero saliendo después de dejar un cargamento de carbón para la central térmica de ENDESA (situada en As Pontes).

Si esperamos a que el Puerto Exterior saque a Ferrolterra de la agonía que padece, estamos listos. El Puerto es un complemento fantástico, pero lo que marcó, marca y marcará el futuro de esta comarca es el naval. Pero claro, para que eso se pueda defender es “imprescindible” llegar a la unidad de acción política, y para eso, hay que dejar aparcados los intereses partidistas.

Al puerto exterior Ferrolano le está costando mucho tener actividad, la principal proviene del tráfico de carbón para ENDESA, sin embargo ahora parece que la continuidad de la centrál térmica también peligra, y con ello desaparecería el intenso tráfico de carbón.

10. Hablando un poco de Ferrolterra, ¿Qué es lo que más le gusta de la comarca? ¿y lo que menos?

El turismo es una de nuestras más importantes bazas, para los cruceristas venir a visitar Ferrol es todo un acontecimiento, como se pudo observar con la recalada del MSC Música.

11. Alguna otra cosa más que nos quiera comentar

Esta comarca no debe de perder de vista al nicho de mercado que supone el desguace y reciclaje de buques. Si, ya sé que hablar de este tema chirria un poco, pues siempre fue considerado como la parte sucia del sector, pero las cosas no son – ni de lejos – como las recordamos de antes. Actualmente, con los medios que tenemos a nuestro alcance, desguazar buques ya no es sinónimo de contaminación.

Este buque que se ve a medio desguazar en una playa de Pakistán fue construido en Ferrol, concretamente en Astano, su nombre era "Ocean Park", y fue el más longevo de los grandes petroleros construidos en Ferrol, su desguace fue efectuado en 2011, por lo que el último dinosaurio ha muerto. Ahora solamente queda reinventarse y ponerse a trabajar de nuevo.

Los nombres de Robert Kirkman y Tony Moore seguramente pasarán a la historia del cómic como la pareja que creó uno de los fenómenos mediáticos más importantes de principios del siglo XXI: The Walking Dead (Los Muertos Vivientes en la edición de Planeta De Agostini Cómics). Con la serie de cómics superando ampliamente las cien entregas y llegando a los veinte tomos recopilatorios y la adaptación televisiva comenzando su cuarta temporada, todavía no se atisba el cansancio del público ni el final de la serie en ninguno de los dos medios

Pero Kirkman y Moore también fueron jóvenes, y antes de dar la campanada trabajaron en otros conceptos que no tuvieron el mismo éxito. Hoy os presentamos el primero de ellos: Battle Pope

La historia de Battle Pope

Battle Pope es la historia que solo un par de veinteañeros descarados podría crear. Oswald Leopold II, el Papa en un futuro cercano (en un flashback se nos revela que en su juventud fue discípulo de Juan Pablo II) no es precisamente un modelo para el cristianismo: bebe, maldice y se acuesta con mujeres ligeras de cascos. De ahí que cuando Dios aparece para celebrar el Juicio Final no se cuente entre los (poquísimos) salvos y quede atrapado, junto a la gran mayoría de la humanidad, en una Tierra infestada de demonios

Pero Dios va de farol: a pesar de todo no piensa abandonar a los hombres a su suerte, así que le encomienda al Papa (que aunque pelín vicioso no deja de ser buena gente) la protección de la humanidad contra los demonios. Para ello le transforma en una masa de músculos y le encasqueta como sidekick a ese hijo barbudo y hippie que tiene

Aunque irreverente, la historia tiene ciertos valores cristianos: Dios es bueno y cuida de su rebaño, los demonios son malos y el Papa pecador inicia su camino de redención. Simplemente, la batalla entre el bien y el mal se libra bajo los códigos de los cómics de superhérores de los 90: con tipos hipertrofiados en mallas peleándose a puñetazo limpio, con armas enormes, con explosiones y con demonios-cyborg. Y, por supuesto, con mucho sentido del humor

Battle Pope en Estados Unidos

Battle Pope ve la luz entre los años 2000 y 2002 bajo el sello Funk-O-Tron (que no era otro que el propio Robert Kirman autoeditándose) en forma de comic-book grapado y en blanco y negro. A la miniserie inicial de cuatro números se fueron sumando números especiales y nuevas miniseries con dibujantes variados, e incluso un spin-off centrado en el arcángel San Miguel

Unos años después, entre 2005 y 2007, una vez Kirkman ha metido los dos pies en Image Comics y empieza a triunfar con Invencible y Los Muertos Vivientes, su nueva editorial rescata Battle Pope y lo reedita con portadas nuevas y añadiéndole color. La colección tiene tanto éxito como para ver la luz por tercera vez (la segunda en color y en Image), pero esta vez en forma de tomos recopilatorios

Battle Pope en España

Aleta Ediciones, la misma editorial que publica en España otros trabajos de Robert Kirkman como Invencible, es la que se ha hecho cargo de la edición de Battle Pope en nuestro país, basándose en la edición en tomos de Image. El primer tomo vio la luz en 2008 y el segundo, tras una larga espera, este 2013. Pero la edición de este segundo tomo ha venido precedida por una redistribución del primero, así que es fácil hacerse con ambos

Tabla de equivalencias entre ediciones

El artículo Battle Pope: la otra creación de Robert Kirkman y Tony Moore apareció primero en GenComics.

LA HORA LOCA 17- Homenaje a los “22 panels that always work” de Wally Wood

 
Well-known character actor Michael Madsen, who most memorably played Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs, is a published poet, and he’s way more serious about it than, say, Ally Sheedy (just a single volume of poetry: Yesterday I Saw the Sun).

Contrariwise, Madsen has published a whole shelf of ‘em: Beer, Blood and Ashes, Eat the Worm, Burning in Paradise, A Blessing of the Hounds, 46 Down: A Book of Dreams and Other Ramblings, American Badass, and Expecting Rain. Madsen’s poetry fits squarely (ahem) into the Beat tradition, unrhymed, discursive sentence-like verse à la Allen Ginsberg. Sometimes he ventures into shape poetry in the manner of E.E. Cummings.

In 2005, 13 Hands published The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen. 13 Hands is also running a blog dedicated to Madsen’s poetry.

Here’s a poem from Madsen’s 1995 collection Eat the Worm:
 

“Clint Eastwood”

One night in Arizona:
I was just out of jail and
walking across a parking lot
with a guy named Mike.
We both got released
at the same time.
There were some Mexicans in a car
and they wanted us to come over.
They had bad intentions, so
we kept walking.
Then Mike turned
back and said,
“Fuck you, stupid spics.”
and the—shit—hit—the—fan.
I got one in a headlock
and got a few good shots to his face.
Mike ran off and the others
made themselves happy
jumping on my back
and kicking the living—shit—out—of—me.
I held me own for as long as I could;
even walking up the street while they
kept kicking
and punching me,
yelling for me
to run,
but I thought about it
and didn’t want to give them
the satisfaction,
so I just walked and took the hits
until they gave up.
When I got to the corner
Mike was crying, “I’m sorry man…
I pussied out.”
over and over again.
My face was puffed up and
one eye I couldn’t open.
Right before we were let out of jail
I had thought Mike looked like Clint Eastwood…
all I could think of
at that moment, was that
he sure didn’t act like him.

There's a widely-held belief among internet snobs that The Simpsons took a dip in quality in the late '90s/early '00s and has yet to fully recover. Nevertheless, TV's longest-running scripted show continues to roll along and to pull in a sizable audience every week as its landmark 25th season continues.

Simpsons showrunner Al Jean announced recently that the show is killing off a character at the start of next season, but that's not the only change the writers have made to the series in recent years. For those of you stopped watching The Simpsons within the last decade or so and missed the last couple hundred episodes, we made a list of some surprising stuff that's happened to your beloved characters in Springfield since 2003 like more character deaths, an unexpected wedding, and Homer and Marge's secret 12-season-long divorce. Or, for you Comic Book Guy-esque fans out there, you can just continue to treat everything after season 10 as non-canon.

1. Flanders and Mrs. Krabappel are married

Yes, that's right, Krabappel and Skinner are through, and she's currently married to the Simpsons' nextdoor neighbor Ned Flanders and the stepmom to Rod and Todd. In the Season 22 finale "The Ned-Liest Catch" in 2011, Flanders saves Krabappel from falling off a ladder and the two begin dating. The Simpsonsheld a weird fan poll at the end of the episode, allowing viewers to vote on whether Flanders and Krabappel stay together. The results were revealed in the Season 23 premiere, and fans opted to keep the couple together. At the end of Season 23, in the episode "Ned 'n Edna's Blend" (2012), Krabappel and Skinner reveal that they secretly got married and the town throws them a party. Krabappel still keeps her name for teaching though.

2. Fat Tony died

In the Season 22 episode "Donnie Fatso" (2010), which involved Homer going undercover to infiltrate the mob, Springfield crime boss Fat Tony dies from a heart attack after he's shocked to find out Homer was a government informant. Fat Tony's cousin, Fit Tony (who looks just like Fat Tony but is in shape), then takes his job but promptly gains a bunch of weight from the stress of the new position and gets the nickname "Fat Tony," essentially restoring the character in a "this never happened" Armin Tamzarian-style bail out.

3. There were two more future episodes

We saw two episodes set in the future during the show's first dozen seasons on the air ("Lisa's Wedding," where we see Lisa marry a charming Englishman, and "Bart to the Future," where Lisa is president and Bart is a failed musician), but The Simpsons has gone back to that well for two more future-set episodes, Season 15's "Future-Drama" (2005) and Season 23's "Holidays of Future Passed" (2011).

"Future-Drama," set before "Lisa's Wedding," followed Bart and Lisa graduating from high school (with Lisa doing so two years early) and competing over a scholarship from Mr. Burns. Bart is dating a skateboarder named Jenda, who he ends up breaking up with, and Lisa is dating Milhouse, who she breaks up with after he proposes to her, and Marge has left Homer for Krusty, only to come back to Homer by the end of the episode. "Holidays of Future Passed," written as a potential series finale in case contract negotiations didn't go through, took place 30 years in the future with Bart and Lisa as middle-aged parents. Bart is divorced with two sons, Lisa is married to Milhouse and has a rebellious daughter she's struggling to connect with, and Maggie, the lead singer for a famous band, is giving birth to her first child.

4. Snowball II died

Lisa's cat, Snowball II, was hit by a car in the Season 15 episode, "I, D'oh-Bot" (2004). Lisa gets two cats to replace it, Snowball III and Snowball IV, both of which promptly die. Her next replacement, Snowball V, doesn't die and she renames it Snowball II so that she doesn't have to buy the cat a new bowl and to save herself from thinking about her cat's death. After Lisa vows to act like the whole thing never happened, Principal Skinner walks by and asks, "That's really a cheat, isn't it?" Lisa responds, "I guess you're right, Principal Tamzarian," causing Skinner to call the cat "Snowball II" and walk away.

5. Marvin Monroe is alive again

Springfield's gravelly-voiced psychologist Dr. Marvin Monroe's death is referenced multiple times from Seasons 7-16, with a Dr. Marvin Monroe Memorial Hospital and a Dr. Marvin Monroe Memorial Gymnasium popping up in addition to his death being the subject of a trivia question in the Troy McClure-hosted "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular." Nevertheless, in the Season 15 episode "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife" (2004), he pops up to buy a copy of Marge's novel. When she asks where he's been, Monroe says he's "been very sick."

6. Selma adopted a child from China

Marge's sister Selma, who's desire to have a child was established early in the series, adopted a daughter named Ling from China in the Season 16 episode "Goo Goo Gai Pain" (2005) after she starts going through menopause. The episode involved Selma having Homer pretend to be her husband and traveling to China with her (and the rest of the Simpsons) for the adoption. Even though her plan was foiled, she was still able to adopt Ling anyway.

7. Patty came out of the closet

In the Season 16 episode "There's Something About Marrying" (2005), Marge's sister Patty comes out as gay, much to Marge's surprise.

8. Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel got engaged but she left him at the altar

Principal Skinner proposed to Mrs. Krabappel in the Season 14 episode "Special Edna" (2004) and the two were set to wed in Season 15's "My Big Fat Geek Wedding" (2005). Skinner had doubts about marrying her, and when Krabappel heard about this, she ran away from the wedding and it was called off.

9. Ricky Gervais and Seth Rogen both wrote episodes

Ricky Gervais and Seth Rogen (and writing partner Evan Goldberg) each guest-wrote an episode of the show and guest-starred in their episode. Gervais penned Season 15's "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife" (2006), in which the Simpson family does a Wife Swap-style reality show and Gervais voices the perfect new husband who switches places with Homer. Rogen and Goldberg's episode was Season 21's "Home the Whopper," in which Rogen voices Lyle, a guy training Homer for a role in a superhero movie.

10. Milhouse's parents got remarried

Milhouse's parents, Kirk and Luann Van Houten, who divorced in the Season 8 episode "A Milhouse Divided"  remarried in Season 19's "Little Orphan Millie" (2007). They fell off the boat on a cruise for their second honeymoon and went missing but soon turned up and are still together.

11. Mona Simpson died

Homer's mother, Mona Simpson, passed away in Season 19's "Mona Leaves-a" (2008). Mona showed up at the Simpsons' door, asking for Homer's forgiveness and promising that her days of activism were over and that she wants to move in with them. Homer refuses to forgive her, upset about her repeatedly leaving him as a kid, but when he changes his mind and goes downstairs to make peace, he finds her dead. Homer then does "one more stupid hippie protest" in his mom's honor.

12. The Simpsons went to a ton of more places

Episodes set around the Simpson family traveling to a new place and excitedly exclaiming at the top of the episode, "The Simpsons are going to _____!" has become a cliche on the show and something the writers have even made fun of. They've still been traveling to a ton of places over the past 10 seasons, including Miami, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, England, China, Italy, Vermont, Utah, Machu Picchu, Colorado, Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Vancouver, Antarctica, and return visits to LA, New York, and Washington, D.C.

13. Many more people moved in with the Simpsons for an episode

Another cliche on the show has been a side character falling on hard times and briefly moving in with the Simpson family, only to fix their life by the end of the episode when everything goes back to normal. Over the last decade, characters like Gil, Groundskeeper Willie, Mr. Burns (a second time), Kent Brockman, and country singer Lurleen Lumpkin have all been temporary houseguests in the Simpson home.

14. Selma married Abe Simpson and Fat Tony

In the awfully-titled Season 18 episode "Rome-old and Juli-eh" (2007), Selma and Abe Simpson both fell in love after being assigned to babysit the Simpson kids together. Selma and Abe quickly got married and moved in together but things didn't work out.

In Season 22's "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony" (2011), Selma fell in love with and married Fat Tony D'Amico (actually, Fit Tony) but the two divorced when she found out he already had a wife. Selma's name is now Selma Bouvier-Terwilliger-Hutz-McClure-Stu-Simpson-D'Amico.

15. Comic Book Guy's real name

Ever since he was introduced in Season 2, Comic Book Guy's real name was never said on the show until the Season 16 episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" (2005), in which the character at one point says to Flanders, ""My name is Jeff Albertson, but everyone calls me 'Comic Book Guy.'" Showrunner Al Jean says they purposefully chose a plain name to irritate fans and did it during the post-Super Bowl episode to upset the maximum number of viewers. Matt Groening was unhappy with the character's name choice, telling MTV, that he "had a different, much more tragic design, but I was out of the room when [the writers] named him. In my mind, 'Louis Lane' was his name, and he was obsessed and tormented by Lois Lane."

16. Marge and Homer were unknowingly divorced from Season 8 through Season 20

In Season 8's "A Milhouse Divided," Homer secretly filed for divorce feeling that Marge can do better. They were remarried by Reverend Lovejoy at the end of that episode, it's revealed in Season 20's "Wedding for Disaster" (2009) that at the time of their remarriage, Lovejoy didn't have a valid license to perform weddings due to a bureaucratic error. Lovejoy officiated Homer and Marge's third (technically second) wedding in the episode, but they were, unbeknownst to themselves, not married for 12 seasons of the show.

17. New opening credits

A new opening sequence debuted with Season 20's "Take My Life, Please" (2009) and has kicked off every episode since. The new opening is in High Def and features a bunch of changes and different characters. Check out both the new and old openings, side by side:

18. Springfield was rebuilt in a different place and everyone moved to the new city and abandoned the old one

The show's 500th episode, Season 23's "At Long Last Leave," the Springfield townspeople held a secret meeting to kick the Simpsons out of the city because their constant antics have bankrupted Springfield. The Simpsons go to live in an unincorporated community called "The Outlands" that's run-down and has no rules. Soon, everyone in Springfield wants to start a new life in The Outlands and the entire town abandons Springfield and rebuilds it in The Outlands, so Springfield is pretty much an entirely different place now.

El surströmming es un plato sueco compuesto por arenque fermentado, famoso por su sabor fuerte y su olor fétido y, cito textualmente de la Wikipedia, «parecido al pescado pasado o basura dejada al sol durante un par de días». «El surströmming tiene mala fama en la cultura popular, pero el mal olor procede únicamente del líquido en que se preserva. A causa de este olor, el plato se suele ofrecer en comidas al aire libre». Ahora veamos a estos grandullones enfrentarse a él. El original tiene unos meses, pero la versión animada es nueva.

  

Torques de Burela, a peza máis emblemática da colección

Non o van ver en case ningún medio de comunicación galego, de tan localistas que son, pero hoxe pola mañá en Lugo viviuse un episodio gravísimo e vergoñento: unha furgoneta, un voceiro familiar, un notario leváronse a colección que o filántropo Álvaro Gil cedera ao Museo Provincial. Unha serie de importantes cadros de Corredoyra pero, sobre todo, 40 marabillosas pezas de ourivería prehistórica entre as que sobrancea o Torques de Burela ou -se o miro desde a miña terra- o misterioso colar dos Chaos do Barbanza. O delegado de Cultura da Deputación convocou unha rolda de prensa para informar que era o que ofrecía a entidade aos descendentes de Álvaro Gil: 2.350.000 euros pola colección de ourivería e 600.000€ das costas do longuísimo proceso xudicial que rematou por confirmar a propiedade do tesouro á familia. A oferta non é unha coña, porque é hipotecar os orzamentos de Cultura da Deputación por anos, pero non lles pareceron abondos millóns á familia. Total: unha significativa perte do noso patrimonio prehistórico máis valioso marchou nunha furgoneta non sabemos onde. E polo legal.

O asunto é terrible, é gravísimo, outro golpe máis en xeral ao noso estado de ánimo, e o que me abraia é que isto non estea no debate público. Imaxinen que levan o tesouro de Recesvinto do Museo Arqueolóxico Nacional de Madrid, a Victoria de Samotracia do Louvre, o busto de Nefertiti do Neues Museum ou as cartas de Vindolanda do British Museum. Con independencia de razóns legais e éticas, isto nos debe facer reflexionar e, sobre todo, debe facer pensar en como deben ser recuperados para Galicia estas valiosas testemuñas da nosa Historia.

Máis información en La Voz de Galicia Lugo e en El Progreso

• Chivatazo tras un precedente en mayo

• Empire