A pro-weed march in Montevideo. (Photo by Santiago Mazzarovich)

It seems almost guaranteed that, this November, weed will be legalized in Uruguay. The move—hailed as an "experiment" that could make a "contribution to humanity" by Uruguayan president Jose Mujica—would be completely unique, in that it will be the first program in the world to establish government control over the entire marijuana industry, including the cultivation, trafficking, and sale of the drug.

Even though the use of all drugs has been decriminalized in Uruguay for over 30 years, users have had to buy their weed from street dealers. However, when the law comes into force, the stuff on sale will be bought from legitimate and, more importantly, heavily regulated sources. At an estimated $2.50 per gram, it's being priced in direct competition with the black market—the rationale being that people won’t want to buy a sub-standard product from a drug dealer when they can get a quality-controled drug from the state for exactly the same price.

After registering with the state, citizens will be able to purchase up to 40 grams of marijuana a month, as well as being allowed to grow their own personal stashes. For the more entrepreneurial amateur botanists, private companies, and cooperatives will be permitted to cultivate their own product, just as long as they stay within certain limits and only sell their crop through government-run pharmacies.

But as jubilant as the country’s smokers may be, this law isn’t just being passed to improve their access to Cannabis Cup-worthy weed. Instead, as part of a 15-point government program called "Strategy for Life and Coexistence," it's a move to hopefully make the country a safer place to live, freeing up more time for authorities to deal with organized crime rather than frittering away their time on marijuana arrests.

Unsurprisingly, this step towards legalization didn't happen overnight. The move is the culmination of years of campaigning by citizens, NGOs, and politicians. Clara Musto from the Uruguayan activist group Pro Derechos—or Pro Rights—told me all about the obstacles her organization has faced in the lead-up to this historic change in legislature.

A pro-weed march in Montevideo. (Photo by Santiago Mazzarovich)

It turns out that the main issue was convincing people that the debate wasn’t really about drugs at all. It has taken a long time “to reach a turning point in the public debate, where people don’t see this as a discussion about marijuana and whether [it] is harmful for your health," Clara told me. "Or if it is good or bad to use marijuana, but about the marijuana laws [themselves]."

The mass media haven’t been particularly helpful at getting this message across, either: "Marijuana is a subject that is really stigmatized,” Clara continued, “and the pictures that you see in the papers and on the television will be of a boy smoking a huge joint […] because that’s how they see this issue, and that is not helping us deconstruct this stigma."

Supporters of the Pro Derechos' campaign defy the typical image of a pro-marijuana group. Instead of a disorganized, dreadlocked mass, moving as one in a confused haze of cries about weed just being a plant, they are men and women from all walks of life—the young and the old, stay-at-home moms and businessmen, and people who don't even smoke marijuana themselves.   

The campaign has picked up this kind of support by producing graphics emphasising the social benefits of legalization: from a boost in the economy to how hard drug use may decrease.

A campaign poster from Pro Derechos featuring a picture of the Uruguayan President. (Image courtesy of Pro Derechos)

But most important to the push for the government's big weed takeover is the perception that insecurity and crime have risen over the past decade in the previously sleepy country. Despite the fact Montevideo is nothing like Colombia’s murderous battlefields of Bogota and Medellin (which see roughly ten times as many murders), those living in Uruguay’s capital are more likely to label their home as “highly unsafe” than anyone living in either of Colombia’s two most violent cities.

Their opinions might appear a little exaggerated, but crime has indeed risen over the past ten years. This is, according to police and drug officials, due to the influx of cocaine paste, which flooded the country after the precursor chemicals used to make cocaine were regulated in Colombia and Peru, meaning that traffickers had to find a new market in which to sell their product. The combination of the 2002 economic crisis, waves of unemployment, and a new cheap drug led to an increase in criminal gang activity in the country.

When I called Geoff Ramsey, an Open Societies Foundation researcher, he told me that legalizing marijuana—although certainly not being a silver-bullet policy—could help undermine local gangs that also deal in prostitution and small-scale crime. "In Uruguay, there are actually Peruvian and Colombian transnational crime organizations that take advantage of the Montevideo port to ship cocaine to a mostly European market," he told me, "and they will probably not be affected by this. However, the local, urban, prototypical gangs that do exist will take a big hit."

A pro-weed march in Montevideo. (Photo by Santiago Mazzarovich)

While it might not be the most profitable of drugs to sell, the market for marijuana is the most popular in Uruguay, with 20 percent of the population smoking it at some point in their lives. If that trade is taken out of the hands of local criminals—criminals who contribute to the insecurity in the country—their wallets are going to start to feel a whole lot lighter.

Of course, this being the first experiment of its kind in the world, it could backfire. Criminals aren’t likely to just drop everything and line up at the job center in the search for a straight life of work. Luckily, the President of Uruguay, José Mujica, seems aware of this, as he has also ramped up spending on law enforcement. Money that will presumably be generated by the sale of government marijuana will be targeted at curbing the hard drug trafficking that criminals may divert to, as well as making sure that any new marijuana growers don’t go over the determined limits. If these possible outcomes are dealt with, the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay—according to Geoff, at least—"stands a good chance of reducing homicides and other violent crime."

This could potentially set a precedent for other countries in Latin America and all over the world when it comes to drug policy, or at least inspire them to act against the prohibitionist status-quo. In fact, some of them are already doing just that, with Ecuador recently decriminalizing personal drug use and the presidents of both Colombia and Guatemala stating they want to research alternatives to the destructive US-led War on Drugs.

Of course, hasty excitement must be managed, because—at this stage—the scheme is merely an "experiment," and one that the world will be keeping a very close eye on. However, if it is a success and manages to produce all the benefits that the Uruguayan government is claiming, then who knows which country will next install its political leader at the head of its marijuana industry.

Follow Joseph on Twitter: @josephfcox

More stuff about drug policy:

Eighty-One Years for Weed?

WATCH: Kings of Cannabis

Butane Hash Oil

 
Software designer Ali Almossawi has been moonlighting as the author of this wonderful primer on the logical fallacies that have been screwing up our thinking and our argument construction since shortly after the invention of dirt. While that information is copiously available both in intro philosophy courses and, naturally, online, such sources are often dry, laden with jargony academese, and pitifully bereft of the marvelous work of illustrator Alejandro Giraldo. The writing is tight, sharp, and accessible enough that it might (MIGHT) actually penetrate the dense, reality-repellent cranium of any given straw-man enthusiast posting Alex Jones links to your Facebook feed.
 

 
From Almossawi’s introduction:

This book is aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning, particularly those who, to borrow a phrase from Pascal, are so made that they understand best through visuals. I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice.

 

 

 
The work is currently being supported by an online tip jar and distributed under a Creative Commons license, but the site claims that a print edition is forthcoming.

And because it is inconceivable to me to post about argument without including this, please enjoy, for what surely must be the thousandnth time in your life, Monty Python’s classic “Argument Clinic” sketch. It’s still amazing, no?
 

 

 
In 1976 Spire Comics, publisher of Christian-themed comic books, many of them involving Archie and his friends, came out with “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash,” which told the life story of Johnny Cash and the start of his musical career, the breakup of his first marriage, his battle with pills, a jail stint, and his eventual marriage to June Carter. Johnny Cash traditionally started his concerts with the phrase “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” before breaking into “Folsom Prison Blues.”

The material’s hokey, of course, but the art isn’t half-bad—just like a real comic book, y’know. Not nearly as cringeworthy as it could have been. It’s credited as being written by Johnny Cash with Billy Zeoli and Al Hartley—one wonders how involved Johnny actually was.

Here are some panels from “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” for your enjoyment. (Does anyone know if Johnny ever played Pisa? This Johnny Cash concert database suggests that he never played Italy. Anybody know?)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
You can download the entire comic book in PDF format here.

Here’s a video of a Johnny Cash fan free-associating over some stills of the comic book. Be sure to catch the reference to President Obama!

By Luis Prada  Published: September 10th, 2013  Pop culture -- all of it -- is something I like too much. I may have hated myself for watching Miley Cyrus prance around at the VMAs with the grace of a slutty car slamming into a tree, but secretly I loved it. I'm just as happy to have watched it as

During a live segment on Japan’s public broadcasting network NHK, some old guy was putting millions of viewers to sleep about Tokyo’s plans to host the 2020 Olympics — and nothing at all about the possibility of a killer hide-and-seek competition. Bah.

Luckily, one NHK staffer scurried in the background without realizing the interview was on the air. She even busted out with the often-caricatured hand-to-mouth action, which must have its own term on Urban Dictionary by now.

h/t Rocketnews 24

Follow @BrianAbrams

Most box sets are designed to enshrine an artist in the amber of posterity. The idea is that the artist has transcended their time, that they can now be appreciated outside of the context of their era.
The digital age, where recordings from the past sit comfortably with tunes from the present, accelerates this trend, suggesting that all the classic artists exist upon their own continuum, that their development was almost a product of self-divination. What is interesting about Sound System is that it throws this notion out the window and celebrates the era that produced the Clash as much as it celebrates the band itself. As designed by Clash bassist Paul Simonon,…

320 kbps | 1.19 GB | UL | CL | RG ** FLAC

…Sound System looks like an old-school ghetto blaster, and it’s filled with replicas of fanzines, stickers, badges, press photos, posters, dog tags — all manner of period-specific tchotchkes that walk the line between nostalgia and commercial art. This aesthetic trickles down to the presentation of the music itself, with London Calling split over two CDs where it could easily fit onto one and Sandinista! taking up a full three discs. Such details slightly impede playability if Sound System is listened to as a series of CDs, but once the set is ripped and listened to digitally, the divided discs are simply another design flourish, one of many little things to appreciate. But Sound System is also attractive in delivering what effectively is the Complete Clash in one sitting. Apart from the disowned Cut the Crap, all the albums are here — the U.K. version of The Clash, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandinista!, Combat Rock — along with three discs of extras that include all the non-LP singles (i.e., the singles that were added to the U.S. pressing of the debut, plus everything that wound up on the clearinghouse Super Black Market Clash, such as the Cost of Living EP), oddities that appeared on the first Clash box Clash on Broadway in 1991, and B-sides; then, most attractively for collectors, previously unreleased mixes, outtakes from Combat Rock, “extracts” from the band’s first recording session in 1976, Polydor demos from that same year produced by Guy Stevens, and six live cuts from the Lyceum in 1979. Then, there’s the DVD which contains all the band’s promo videos, the Clash on Broadway video, the White Promo Film, footage from Sussex University in 1977, and individual selections from Clash compatriots Don Letts and Julian Temple. Perhaps there are still some stray tracks in the vaults — this seems to excavate all the unheard songs from Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg, aka the original version of Combat Rock and some cuts may be left behind — but this is as complete as we’ll get and if it doesn’t present any fresh revelations, it brings the Clash’s era back to life, both sonically and visually.

Disc 1: The Clash (released as CBS Records LP S-CBS 82000, 1977)

1. Janie Jones
2. Remote Control
3. I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.
4. White Riot
5. Hate & War
6. What’s My Name?
7. Deny
8. London’s Burning
9. Career Opportunities
10. Cheat
11. Protex Blue
12. Police & Thieves
13. 48 Hours
14. Garageland

Disc 2: Give ‘Em Enough Rope (released as CBS Records LP S-CBS 82431, 1978)

1. Safe European Home
2. English Civil War (Johnny Comes Marching Home)
3. Tommy Gun
4. Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad
5. Last Gang in Town
6. Guns on the Roof
7. Drug-Stabbing Time
8. Stay Free
9. Cheapskates
10. All the Young Punks (New Boots and Contracts)

Discs 3-4: London Calling (released as CBS Records LP S-CBS 88478, 1979)

1. London Calling
2. Brand New Cadillac
3. Jimmy Jazz
4. Hateful
5. Rudie Can’t Fail
6. Spanish Bombs
7. The Right Profile
8. Lost in the Supermarket
9. Clampdown
10. The Guns of Brixton

1. Wrong ‘Em Boyo
2. Death or Glory
3. Koka Kola
4. The Card Cheat
5. Lover’s Rock
6. Four Horsemen
7. I’m Not Down
8. Revolution Rock
9. Train in Vain

Discs 5-7: Sandinista! (released as CBS Records LP FSLN-1, 1980)

1. The Magnificent Seven
2. Hitsville UK
3. Junco Partner
4. Ivan Meets G.I. Joe
5. The Leader
6. Something About England
7. Rebel Waltz
8. Look Here
9. The Crooked Beat
10. Somebody Got Murdered
11. One More Time
12. One More Dub

1. Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)
2. Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)
3. Corner Soul
4. Let’s Go Crazy
5. If Music Could Talk
6. The Sound of Sinners
7. Police on My Back
8. Midnight Log
9. The Equaliser
10. The Call Up
11. Washington Bullets
12. Broadway

1. Lose This Skin
2. Charlie Don’t Surf
3. Mensforth Hill
4. Junkie Slip
5. Kingston Advice
6. The Street Parade
7. Version City
8. Living in Fame
9. Silicon on Sapphire
10. Version Pardner
11. Career Opportunities
12. Shepherd’s Delight

Disc 8: Combat Rock (released as CBS Records LP FMLN-2, 1982)

1. Know Your Rights
2. Car Jamming
3. Should I Stay or Should I Go
4. Rock the Casbah
5. Red Angel Dragnet
6. Straight to Hell
7. Overpowered by Funk
8. Atom Tan
9. Sean Flynn
10. Ghetto Defendant
11. Inoculated City
12. Death is a Star

Disc 9: Non-LP material

1. White Riot (Single Version) (single A-side – CBS 5058, 1977)
2. 1977 (single B-side – CBS 5058, 1977)
3. Listen/Interview with The Clash on the Circle Line (from Capital Radio EP – CBS CL-1, 1977)
4. Capital Radio One (from Capital Radio EP – CBS CL-1, 1977)
5. London’s Burning (Live) (B-side to “Remote Control” – CBS 5293, 1977)
6. Complete Control (single A-side – CBS 5664, 1977)
7. City of the Dead (single B-side – CBS 5664, 1977)
8. Clash City Rockers (single A-side – CBS 5834, 1978)
9. Jail Guitar Doors (single B-side – CBS 5834, 1978)
10. (White Man in) Hammersmith Palais (single A-side – CBS 6383, 1978)
11. The Prisoner (single B-side – CBS 6383, 1978)
12. 1-2 Crush on You (B-side to “Tommy Gun” – CBS 6788, 1978)
13. Time is Tight (from Black Market Clash - Epic/Nu-Disk 4E 36846 (U.S.), 1980)
14. Pressure Drop (B-side to “English Civil War” – CBS 7082, 1979)
15. I Fought the Law (from The Cost of Living EP – CBS 7324, 1979)
16. Groovy Times (from The Cost of Living EP – CBS 7324, 1979)
17. Gates of the West (from The Cost of Living EP – CBS 7324, 1979)
18. Capital Radio Two (from The Cost of Living EP – CBS 7324, 1979)
19. Armagideon Time (B-side to “London Calling” – CBS 8087, 1979)
20. Bankrobber (single A-side – CBS 8323, 1980)
21. Rockers Galore…U.K. Tour (single B-side – CBS 8323, 1980)

Disc 10: More non-LP material and outtakes

1. The Magnificent Dance (12″ B-side to “The Call Up” – Epic 48-02036 (U.S.), 1981)
2. Midnight to Stevens (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)
3. Radio One (B-side to “Hitsville UK” – CBS 9480, 1980)
4. Stop the World (B-side to “The Call Up” – CBS 9339, 1980)
5. The Cool Out (12″ B-side to “The Call Up” – Epic 48-02036 (U.S.), 1981)
6. This is Radio Clash (single A-side – CBS A-1797, 1981)
7. Radio Clash (single B-side – CBS A-1797, 1981)
8. First Night Back in London (B-side to “Know Your Rights” – CBS A-2309, 1982)
9. Rock the Casbah (Bob Clearmountain 12″ Mix) *
10. Long Time Jerk (B-side to “Rock the Casbah” – CBS A-2749, 1982)
11. The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too *
12. Idle in Kangaroo Court *
13. Ghetto Defendant (Unedited/Extended Version) *
14. Cool Confusion (B-side to “Should I Stay or Should I Go” – CBS A-3186, 1982)
15. Sean Flynn (Extended “Marcus Music” Version) *
16. Straight to Hell (Unedited) (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)

Disc 11: Demos and live cuts

1. I’m So Bored with the U.S.A. (Beaconsfield Film School Demo, 1976)
2. London’s Burning (Beaconsfield Film School Demo, 1976) (from Selections from “Revolution Rock” promo CD – Epic/Legacy 88697 28275 2, 2008)
3. White Riot (Beaconsfield Film School Demo, 1976) (from Selections from “Revolution Rock” promo CD – Epic/Legacy 88697 28275 2, 2008)
4. 1977 (Beaconsfield Film School Demo, 1976) (from Selections from “Revolution Rock” promo CD – Epic/Legacy 88697 28275 2, 2008)
5. Janie Jones (Polydor Demo) (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)
6. Career Opportunites (Polydor Demo) (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)
7. London’s Burning (Polydor Demo) *
8. 1977 (Polydor Demo) *
9. White Riot (Polydor Demo) *
10. City of the Dead (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) (from From Here to Eternity: Live - Columbia 496183 2, 1999)
11. Jail Guitar Doors (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) *
12. English Civil War (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)
13. Stay Free (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) *
14. Cheapskates (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) *
15. I Fought the Law (Live @ The Lyceum, London – 12/28/1978) (from Clash on Broadway box set – Epic/Legacy E3K 46991, 1991)

Called it.

The “epic twerk fail” video that became the latest daily thing-on-the-internet-more-clickworthy-than-Syria for about 12 hours last Friday was indeed a hoax, perpetrated by Jimmy Kimmel, of all people.

Kimmel revealed the full “director’s cut” of the video on his show Monday night, which you can watch below.

But before you get mad at Jimmy for trolling us so successfully (the video has been viewed over 9.4 million times, which is somewhere between 5 and 8 times the number of people who watch his show) let’s thank him for something: Jimmy Kimmel killed twerking.

After Kimmel’s video exploded over the weekend and the whole idea of twerking officially jumped the shark, the the ladies of “The View” did a little twerking on Monday, sealing the last nail firmly in the coffin of that brief pop culture fad. Anyone twerking at next year’s VMAs will just look like “the girl in that dumb video Jimmy Kimmel made”—and who wants that?

No, I think we can kiss this craze goodbye. Here’s the video that killed it, in the full “director’s cut”:

Algunos Videos:

The Difference between Bluegrass, Old Time and Celtic bands, now finally explained!

Words of wisdom from Amy Poehler

Uno de los argumentos que más se escuchan cuando se habla de alimentación es que “no sabemos lo que comemos“. Es un comentario tan generalizado que da igual quién lo formule, que si no asientes resignado con la cabeza, es que debes estar loco. Es uno de esos “memes“ que se han asentado tanto, que una parte considerable de la sociedad lo da por hecho sin realmente reflexionar sobre ello.

Mi opinión es justamente la contraria. Si hay un momento en la historia en el que más y más accesible información hayamos tenido, ese ha sido sin duda el momento actual. Internet, ministerios, boletines, las propias marcas comerciales, blogs, asociaciones de consumidores, de alergias e intolerancias… Todas ellas ponen a nuestra disposición miles de petabytes de información sobre lo que comemos. Solo hay que querer informarse, la cuestión es ¿hacemos bien nuestros deberes?

Es comprensible que nos empachemos con tanto que leer y que ver, pero decir que no sabemos lo que comemos está muy alejado de la realidad. Seguramente, la gran mayoría de los lectores de DAP sí que estén bastante bien informados, pero fuera del ámbito de la cocina, nutrición o alimentación, la cosa cambia.

Mi colega Centinel, a quién entrevistamos hace poco, lleva un tiempo poniendo vídeos de cómo se hacen distintos tipos de alimentos. Desde el jamón de york, hasta las salchichas, pasando por la harina. Hace bien poco, me leí el primer artículo del blog, Gominolas de Petróleo (a quien también entrevistaré para DAP en el futuro), en el que explicaba de qué están hechas las gominolas. Y no, no están hechas de petróleo ni mucho menos.

Aditivos, conservantes y colorantes están perfectamente etiquetados, probados, y controlados. Su composición es perfectamente conocida y cualquiera de nosotros la puede consultar en internet. De la misma forma, podemos saber cómo se hacen los kebabs, o las hamburguesas de marca, o casi cualquier producto de los que encontramos cada día en nuestros mercados y supermercados.

Cada vez hay más programas de TV de cocina, canales en YouTube, etc., que no solo nos enseñan a comer, sino que también nos muestran cómo son los restaurantes por dentro. Con todo lo bueno y lo malo. Pero sí que tenemos visibilidad sobre lo que hacen y cómo. Las propias marcas comerciales tienen teléfonos de información al consumidor a los que podemos llamar. Si no lo hacemos es porque no queremos o porque nos da pereza.

Muchos celíacos pueden saber si un producto lleva o no glúten. Bien es cierto que aún falta trabajo por hacer en este sentido, pero lo que se ha avanzado es innegable y es justo reconocerlo. Y es un logro común. De la ciencia, de la industria, de la sociedad y de las muchas de asociaciones que durante años han reclamado más información en los etiquetados y procesos de elaboración.

De la misma forma, al Agencia de Seguridad Alimentaria Europea, la EFSA por sus siglas en inglés, lleva años trabajando para hacer que la información y pruebas sobre los alimentos sea lo más accesible posible a los ciudadanos de la UE, ¿has visitado alguna vez su web? Por cierto, que es incomprensible que no esté traducida al castellano. Lo cual no habla muy bien del interés de nuestros europarlamentarios en el tema alimentario.

Podemos quejarnos de publicidad engañosa de algunos alimentos, de que inciten a comer más o menos, de que su composición sea más o menos adictiva, pero de lo que no hay duda es de que hoy en día podemos saber, si realmente así lo que queremos, casi el 100% de cuanto nos llevamos al paladar.

Yo creo que ya va siendo hora de ir cambiando el meme de “es que no sabemos lo que comemos” por el meme “nunca hemos tenido más información sobre lo que comemos”. Sinceramente creo que sería un mejor reflejo de la realidad de la alimentación en nuestros días. ¿En qué os parece que se puede mejorar la información sobre los alimentos?

Imágenes | Por verbeeldingskr8
En Directo al paladar | Nutricional Data Packaging, diseño e información nutricional
En Directo al paladar | Nuevo portal de información sobre la carne

-
La noticia Desmontando el meme "es que no sabemos lo que comemos" fue publicada originalmente en Directo al Paladar por Aitor (http://www.directoalpaladar.com/autor/Aitor).

That’s right, the silent disdain your cat has been not-so-subtly exuding since the day you brought her home from the shelter is not actually because she hates your personality.  It’s just that she has a predisposition to hate ALL humans!  See?  It’s nothing personal!

According to NBC News, cats haven’t been evolving alongside humans for very long; in fact, they have only been domesticated for a few thousand years.  Unlike dogs, which have co-evolved with humans for tens of thousands of years, the cat is relatively new to the socialization scene.  NBC quotes anthrozoologist John Bradshaw saying, “The cat’s domestication is incomplete, in terms of its need to continue hunting and also in terms of its ability to socialize. One of the consequences of that is it has a rather unexpressive face.”

NBC theorizes that the unexpressive face of a cat is the perfect neutral place from which humans can project their own feelings.  From Grumpy Cat to Cheezburger longing, humans have a lot of fun creating human personalities for the felines of the internet.

via cheezburger.com

Bradshaw states that dogs are different than cats for many reasons, the most important of which being that they have co-evolved with humans for such a significant amount of time, being bred for their social tendencies.  “That’s why their facial expressions and behaviors are so well-tuned to our own. They’ve even adapted to our starchy diet.”

Your cat just isn’t on the same page as dogs socially.  They’re more of the lone-hunter type, trusting no one except their biological kin, surviving on wits and brawn alone. Bradshaw also states that the current spaying and neutering of adopted cats is actually reversing the domestication of felines, leaving the feral cats to procreate while the more social animals do not.

Oh, and just in case you were thinking that your cat’s purr were an indicator of love, think again.  Breaking the hearts of cat ladies everywhere, Bradshaw described, “Just purring, just this rattling of the vocal cords, is a basic piece of communication. It’s a request. The emotional content comes with the context.”

So, as you sit there, quietly thinking over every moment you’ve shared with your cat, wondering if she’s ever ONCE given you some positive feedback for all the love you give her, at least now you know that it’s not you.  It’s her.  For real this time.

via @drinkgrumpycat instagram

Main image via funnycatwallpapers.com

Follow @megelizabeth

Article reposted with permission from Business Insider.

The U.N. General Assembly released its second annual “happiness” report earlier this week, a study which measures happiness and well-being across the worlds.

Seth Kadish, the guy behind the Vizual Statistix tumblr and friend of the site, has gone ahead and mapped the results of that survey out.

If anything, this makes it easier to identify clusters of people. Sure, we knew that Denmark was the happiest, but just look at how happy norther Europe is in general.

Here’s the map. The deeper the purple color, the happier the country. The more severe the orange, the more miserable the country. Click for a larger version here.

h/t BI

Follow @businessinsider

You know, every time our government announces a plan to rid the world of a vicious dictator, I have to roll my eyes. Why? Is it just because I hate war? Is it because said vicious dictators always happen to be awfully close to oil? Well, not entirely. If you want the truth, the reason I’m so cynical is because in the entire history of our country, we have not fought even one single war for “altruistic reasons.” Well that and our tendency, in both the past and the present, to support vicious dictatorships and regimes that benefit us.

 

1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Equatorial Guinea

Wikipedia

Ok, so this dude first rose to power about three decades ago by deposing and killing the former dictator, who also happened to be his Uncle. He then started his own vicious dictatorial regime, and has been described as Africa’s worst dictator– even worse than Mugabe.

He claims to be in regular contact with god, and can thus randomly kill any person he wants, without fear of retribution in the hereafter. In the 90s, the country nearly killed one of our own Ambassadors, because they thought he was practicing witchcraft. Abuses under his regime, cited by our very own State Department, include  ”unlawful killings by security forces; government-sanctioned kidnappings; systematic torture of prisoners and detainees by security forces; life threatening conditions in prisons and detention facilities; impunity; arbitrary arrest, detention, and incommunicado detention.”

So why is this dude our buddy? Well, we made friends with him after 9/11, because (SURPRISE!) his country has oil! Lots of oil! So we’re totally cool now. Condoleeza Rice called him “a good friend” and uh, judging by this picture, Obama seems pretty tight with him as well. In 2008, the US imported nearly $3 billion in petroleum products from Equatorial Guinea.

2. Augusto Pinochet, Chile

image

Back in 1974, Pinochet led a military coup ousting Chile’s Democratically elected leader, Salvador Allende. Why? Because he was pretty sure that democracy would lead to Communism, and that it was his job to put an end to the nation’s 150 year history of Democratically elected officials.

During his “leadership,” 1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his government including women and children. A US Congressional delegation said that the prisoners they interviewed were routinely subjected to torture, such as ”the application of electric shock, simultaneous blows to the ears, cigarette burns, and simulated executions by firing squads.” Oh, and they carbombed their Ambassador to the US.

And yet, the United States helped him overthrow Allende, and provided material support to the regime after the coup, despite criticizing it in public. Because Communism.

Pinochet, is of course, still lauded by Chicago School economic libertarians and followers of Milton Friedman, because he privatized everything in the whole country and destroyed all the unions, thereby dramatically increasing economic inequality in the country and making lots of money for the rich. Which, I don’t know, they think is a good thing.

3. Idriss Déby, Chad

ibtimes

Chad is another one we’ve gotten about $3 billion in oil from. Our state department has called him a great ally in the war on terror, and commends the country for providing shelter to refugees from Darfur. Which sounds nice.

Until you take a bigger look at their human rights record, as per Amnesty International’s 2010 report:

Civilians and humanitarian workers were killed and abducted; women and girls were victims of rape and other violence; and children were used as soldiers. The authorities failed to take adequate action to protect civilians from attacks by bandits and armed groups. Suspected political opponents were unlawfully arrested, arbitrarily detained and tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Harassment and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders continued. Demolition of houses and other structures continued throughout 2009, leaving thousands of people homeless.

Oh, not to mention that they used the money we gave them to help with their famine to buy shit tons of weaponry to keep Deby’s regime in power.

4. Manuel Noriega, Panama

CNN

Oh Manuel Noriega. Trained here, in the United States, at the good ol’ School of the Americas– our special training ground in Ft. Benning, Georgia for future Latin American death squad members and dictators. Best buddies with George H. W. Bush. Collaborator with Oliver North on a special fancy trading plan, that involved us sending them weapons, and them sending us their cocaine.

According to Amnesty International, during his dictatorship of Panama, he was guilty of  ”extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, detention without trial and the torture and ill-treatment of demonstrators while he was de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989.”

However, no one here really had a big problem with Noriega until he expressed little interest in continuing to fight the Sandinistas, and he was summarily brought to the US and jailed for drug trafficking. Because that’s how we do. His former bro, George H.W.– concerned about being criticized for his previous relationship with Noriega– summarily invaded Panama, and killed a ridiculous amount of people, in order to capture Noriega. A new regime was installed, with all of the same drug and weapon issues, but an inclination to be better at going along with whatever the US wanted.

5. Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan

image

First of all- THIS DUDE HAS PEOPLE BOILED TO DEATH. He boils them! To death! Holy freaking crap! He also had 400-500 people protesting his regime cordoned off and massacred by snipers in the street. Not to mention the commonplace torture, arbitrary jailings, and massive round-ups of religious minorities. Good guy, huh?

Yet, Uzbeki-beki-bekistan is one of our best buds in the Global War On Terror. Plus, they’ve got a ton of awesome uranium there, and we’re pretty fond of buying it from them, and they like buying our Boeing jetliners. Google image search this fella, and you’ll see him palling around with a number of top US politicos, including both Bush’s and Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State.

Also, HE FUCKING BOILS PEOPLE TO DEATH.

6. Ferdinand Marcos, The Phillipines

Wikipedia

 

Ok, so, it is entirely possible that all anyone remembers about Ferdinand Marcos is that his wife, Imelda, had an awfully extensive shoe collection, and that they both went to jail for tax evasion. But that is hardly the whole story. Dude started out in politics by gunning down the guy who beat his father in the country’s first Presidential election. Naturally, after being released from prison, he became President himself.

As President, he was awfully fond of supporting some of the most horrific human rights abuses– so horrific, that Filipino victims of the Marco regime are now getting monetary compensation. According to a 1976 Amnesty International report, some favorite tactics included torching genitals and pubic hair, slamming heads into walls, and repeatedly beating prisoners with clubs, bottles and fists.

Nonetheless, the Carter administration approved this guy’s $88 million loan from the World Bank, and in 1981, then-VP George H.W. Bush commended Marcos for his ”adherence to democratic principal and to the democratic processes.”

7. King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Embassy

HEY, so now that France has pulled out, guess who our only ally in this Syria thing is? Why, it’s Saudia Arabia!

Under the rule of King Abdullah, human rights activists have been arbitrarily jailed, people are routinely executed without a fair trial (their methods? Beheading and crucifixion. No joke.), and people are sentenced to punishments like “paralysis.” According to Human Rights Watch:

“Authorities continue to  systematically suppress or fail to protect the rights of nine million Saudi women and girls, eight million foreign workers, and some two million Shia citizens. Each year thousands of people receive unfair trials or are subject to arbitrary detention. Curbs on freedom of association, expression, and movement, as well as a pervasive lack of official accountability, remain serious concerns.”

Yeah. But this is our buddy. We’re going to team up together and fight all those human rights violations going on in Syria! Makes TOTAL SENSE.

8. Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire

Familypedia

 

Known as the Marie Antoinette of Zaire, Mobute Seso Seko amassed himself a $5 billion fortune, all while gladly accepting (and pocketing) money from the US, and keeping his country the 5th poorest in all of Africa. He is noted for a charming variety of human rights abuses taking place under his regime (like beating people with boards with nails attached to them!) and for being total besties with Nixon, Reagan and Bush I.

Via Chicago Tribune:

“Quantitatively, I think Zaire has the worst human rights record in Africa,” said a United Nations official in Kinshasa. “In terms of social and economic rights and the number of state actors violating those rights, it’s massive. And the bulk of human rights violations in this country never will be known. It’s a black hole.”

Isn’t that cute? Reagan, however, felt that he was  ”a voice of good sense and goodwill!” He was also superfriends with Pat Robertson, which is in no way any kind of surprising.

9. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmenistan

Wikipedia

The hell? What was this? Take Your Fascist Dictator to the White House Day?” That’s a little weird. Anyway, you may remember Gurbangurly B. from that time Jennifer Lopez performed for him for his birthday and was all “Oh! I had no idea he was a bad guy! I’m just Jenny from the block!” and people were super mad about it. 

Turkmenistan, unsurprisingly, is another one of our awesome allies in the Global War on Terror! Because of the country’s proximity to Afghanistan, both the Bush and Obama administrations have been cozying up and sending the small nation lots and lots of moneys. And they also just so happen to have one of the largest gas reserves in the world.

It could be a really great situation for all involved, except that Berdimuhamedow’s regime has been criticized of the following human rights violations by the US State Department:

“…citizens’ inability to change their government; reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees; incommunicado and prolonged detention; arbitrary arrest and detention; denial of due process and fair trial; arbitrary interference with privacy, home, and correspondence; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association; restrictions on religious freedom, including continued harassment of religious minority group members; restrictions on freedom of movement for some citizens, including increased restrictions on those intending to study abroad; violence against women; and restrictions on free association of workers.”

10. Adolf Hitler

BBC

Yep.

Breckinridge Long was the US Secretary of State at the time Hitler was in power. While he gave Henry Ford permission to buy Nazi tanks, he purposely prevented Jewish refugees from entering the US (recommended read: The Voyage of The Damned). Also, Breckinridge and Roosevelt gave permission for a few US Companies to continue trading with Germany during the war– I.T.T.,General Motors, DuPont, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Davis Oil Co., and the Chase National Bank. Why? Because money and the stock market and not wanting to give these corporations a big sad.

Oh yeah, plus the U.S. was pretty damned anti-Semitic at the time.

***

Now, I’m not saying that because the U.S. currently supports horrific dictatorships and has done so in the past when it has been convenient, that there is anything OK about what the Syrian government has done to it’s people. Of course it’s awful. I don’t think military action on our own is the answer, but it’s still awful. I just don’t like it when politicians put on airs and pretend that we’re actually planning on invading any country for reasons of human rights, when that is clearly not the case. I could have named 100 other awful regimes we’ve supported. I could have mentioned that China is still our number one trade partner while they’re currently occupying Tibet. But sadly, I just don’t have the time.

Sources: Alternet, Friendly Dictators Trading Cards, Parade Magazine, Salon

 

 

En este número de series limitadas, se inicia la historia de un grupo de estos villanos de segunda clase.

Bumerang, Rino, HidroMan, El escarabajo, El conmocionador... A lo largo de su carrera, estos hombres han sido derrotados una y otra vez por Spidey, sin embargo siguen insistiendo. En esta ocasión vamos a poder saber más sobre ellos, de sus motivaciones y de su forma de vida. En esta serie, Spidey es el invitado especial y el Sindicato Siniestro es el protagonista.

Pero eso no es todo. Al margen del interés que pueda tener la vida privada de los componentes de un grupo de villanos, ninguna historia discurre sin que el héroe en cuestión sufra un peligro de muerte. Como ya se ha dicho, los miembros del Sindicato Siniestro han sido derrotados en varias ocasiones, así pues la amenaza real a de venir de otra parte. Alguien que supera en presencia, inteligencia y habilidad a todos y cada uno de los miembros de este grupo. Alguien que en los últimos años se ha convertido en el rey indiscutible de la delincuencia en New York: Kingpin.

¿Qué se puede decir de Kingpin que no se haya dicho ya? Nada, seguramente. Kingpin es un personaje tan bien definido, con una personalidad tan acusada y una figura tan imponente, que no le hace falta presentación. De los Enemigos Mortales de Spiderman, Kingpin es seguramente el más mortal de todos, y a la vez el más invencible.

Kingpin está detrás del Sindicato Siniestro, manipulando a sus componentes y tramando planes para destruir a Spiderman. ¿Conseguirá el rey del crimen organizado convertir al Sindicato Siniestro en los enemigos mortales de Spiderman?  ( Reseña Iker CRG )

Idioma: Español.
Editorial: Marvel
Guion:  Danny Fingeroth
Dibujo:  Al Mingron, Kerry Gammill
Escaneadores: Erhnam (CRG)
Archivos: 4
Formato: CBR.
Tamaño: 36.6 MB



Descargas:

• Enemigos Mortales de Spiderman

 
Is it just me, or isn’t that rather a large dildo? Either way, this kid has no idea what it is and thinks he’s playing with a “wobbly sausage.”

The mom’s boyfriend seems to think it’s pretty funny and I did, too. The laughter is highly contagious here.

As one Redditor points this out in the comments:

“This is a video you play at that kid’s wedding.”

 
via reddit

To my daughter's high school programming teacher: "I spent 16 years raising a daughter who had all the tools and encouragement she needed to explore computer programming as a career. In one short semester, you and her classmates undid all of my years of encouragement."

Seguimos de festejo de cumpleaños del blog, así que les traemos todo “Antes de Watchmen”, que son series que salieron como preludios de Watchmen.

Si hay un cómic que opta al puesto del mejor cómic de la historia del medio es Watchmen, la espectacular obra maestra firmada por Alan Moore y Dave Gibbons. Ahora, de la mano de los mejores artistas de la industria, llega hasta nosotros Antes de Watchmen, una genial colección de series limitadas y números especiales que indagan en el mundo de Watchmen y sus personajes, con un respeto absoluto hacia la obra original.

Las sinopsis las saqué casi todas de Hablando de cómics, en las demás especificamos de donde. De los tradumaquetadores hay muy poca información, en varios no dice nada, si vos tradumaquetaste uno de ellos, avisame así te agrego.

Before Watchmen  -  El Comediante:

El Comediante es el detonador de toda la historia original de Watchmen. En la primera escena del relato de Moore y Gibons vemos como un hombre es asaltado en su propia casa y lanzado al vació después de una pelea con su misterioso enemigo. Luego por medio de flash backs y relatos de otros personajes sabíamos que este tipo era el Comediante, que tenía bastante sangre en sus manos y que era de todo menos un santo.

Si ha habido un personaje recurrente en Before Watchmen, además de Moloch, ese ha sido el Comediante. De una manera u otra el psicópata de Eddie Blake ha ido apareciendo en casi todas las miniseries del proyecto, teniendo un papel bastante destacado en varias de ellas. Ahora tocaba saber como se desenvolvía en solitario este personaje de la mano de Azzarello y Jones. El resultado es una historia normalita, sin nada que llame realmente la atención ni que se quede en la memoria del lector.
Gran parte del cómic esta centrado en Vietnam donde Blake es enviado como una especie de Capitán América para motivar a las tropas y realizar algunas misiones complicadas. Allí da rienda suelta a todas sus locuras y vemos parte de las atrocidades que comete. A mi modo de ver bastante gratuito todo ya que son escenas que más o menos sospechábamos y que no aportan nada al relato. Cuando no esta en la guerra vemos que tiene una buena relación con los Kenedy. En este sentido mete al protagonistas de la historia en una serie en algunos de los acontecimientos clave de la América reciente [seguir leyendo en The Word].


Before Watchmen  -  Ozymandias

El veterano Len Wein ya fue editor del Watchmen original por lo que se tenían puestas muchas esperanzas en que sería capaz de mantener el tono de la obra original. En cambio, desde mi punto de vista, nos encontramos con una de las miniseries menos notables de Before Watchmen, de una frialdad notable que no provoca ninguna empatía en el lector. El apartado gráfico de Jae Lee es elegante pero también transmite esa falta de humanidad que parece haberse transladado del propio personaje a la historia en sí. El abuso de las viñetas circulares o semicirculares es constante y solo consigue llamar la atención sobre la artificiosa composición de página. La historia se sigue con cierto interés y puede considerarse bastante coherente con la fuente original pero no consigue enganchar al lector.


Before Watchmen  -  Minutemen

La elección del excelente artista Darwyn Cooke para encargarse de una de las series de Before Watchmen parecía una elección bastante obvia, dado su estilo clásico y su paleta de color tan próxima a la de la obra original. En este caso las previsiones han sido acertadas pues firma un gran trabajo, no tan extraordinario como el de Moore y Gibbons, pero más que bueno en cualquier caso. Es el encargado de recrear la historia de los primeros Minutemen a través de la narración de Hollis Mason (el primer Búho nocturno) y tras un primer número un tanto anodino, en los dos siguientes nos muestra con crudeza el lado oscuro de la Edad de Oro.


Before Watchmen  -  Dr. Manhatan

Si por algo se diferencia la serie de Before Watchmen dedicada al Doctor Manhattan del resto es por no tener el carácter de precuela. Mientras que El Comediante, Espectro de Seda, Ozymandias y demás colecciones narran historias previas a Watchmen, ésta tiene como punto de partida el famoso funeral del primer número de la serie madre. De esta manera, J. Michael Straczynski se adentra, de manera bastante inteligente, en las tripas del titán narrativo engendrado por Moore y Gibbons.
Teniendo como protagonista al azulado doctor estaba casi cantado que los saltos en el tiempo iban a estar presente y, de hecho, son el motor principal de la historia. Para ello, usando una técnica muy similar a la que utilizó el genio de Northampton en aquel capítulo titulado El Relojero, Straczynski profundiza y añade algún que otro dilema moral de esos que tantos quebraderos de cabeza daba a Osterman [seguir leyendo en comic digital].



Before Watchmen  -  Buho Nocturno

J. Michael Straczynski, uno de los más importantes guionistas del comic-book norteamericano, es otro valor seguro, al que hay que añadir el apartado gráfico a cargo de los Kubert (padre (en su último trabajo) e hijo). Todos ellos materializan la historia de uno de los héroes más normales y posiblemente anodinos (al tiempo que humanos) del Watchmen original: Búho nocturno. Rorschach y el primer Búho nocturno también aparecen con bastante frecuencia en una historia centrada en la violencia de género. Es un cómic interesante que se beneficia del expresivo trazo del gran Joe Kubert.


Before Wachmen  -  Espectro de Seda

Otra de las miniseries que se beneficia de los notables guiones de Darwyn Cooke pero que, en esta ocasión, quedan relegados a un segundo plano por el impresionante apartado gráfico de Amanda Conner. La artista consigue recrear perfectamente el estilo del gran Gibbons pero dotándole de una pátina más optimista y vital como le corresponde a esta historia. El tono de la narración está muy alejado del Watchmen original al optar por un retrato juvenil y bastante inocente del personaje. Sin embargo homenajea al original usando de forma constante la característica página con retícula regular de nueve viñetas.


Before Watchmen  -  Rorschach

Segunda miniserie que cuenta con guiones de Brian Azzarello pero en la que destaca, como siempre, el espectacular dibujo de Lee Bermejo. El primer número se disfruta con una gran fluidez, prima la acción y el espectáculo del trabajo de Bermejo. Azzarello parece haber creado un guión para el lucimiento del dibujante. Muy recomendable.


Before Watchmen  -  Moloch

Otro personaje que ha tenido su minuto de gloría –bueno, más bien sus dos episodios de protagonista- gracias a los cómics de la línea “Antes de Watchmen”, publicada por ECC Edciciones en España, ha sido uno de los personajes más marginales y sugerentes del “Watchmen”, de Moore y Gibbons: el crepuscular villano Moloch que tras una  larga carrera enfrentado a los Minutemen se reinsertaba para acabar convertido en una de las piezas del plan de Ozymandias.

En las dos entregas que componen esta miniserie, John Michael Straczynski a partir de los datos aportado por Moore construye una completa biografía del personaje desde su nacimiento e infancia poniendo especial énfasis en reflejar su compleja personalidad al tiempo que relata las circunstancias que rodearon su muerte otorgándole si cabe al personaje una mayor relevancia, dentro de su perfil bajo, a la que le dio el propio Moore en "Watchmen".

En el aspecto gráfico, el argentino Eduardo Risso muestra su solvencia habitual desarrollando una historia de perdedores de esas que tan bien se le dan desde que hiciera un máster con Azzarello en “100 Balas”.

Risso nos vuelve a hacer disfrutar con sus personajes desnortados y sus voluptuosas vamp aunque en esta historia se note cierto apresuramiento que le lleve a abusar especialmente de los fondos neutros y las sombras de las que es un maestro, así como de la omisión de uno de sus rasgos característicos, la inclusión en segundo plano de historias paralelas que enriquecen la ambientación con lo que me da la sensación que JMS no ha sabido sacar todo el potencial que atesora el talentoso dibujante [seguir leyendo en El Lector Impaciente].


Before Watchmen  -  Dollar Bill

Este número autoconclusivo en el que un equipo tan dispar como el formado por el dibujante Steve Rude y el guionista Len Wein construyen la biografía de Dollar Bill, uno de los Minutemen originales que ni en “Watchmen” ni en la miniserie de Cooke ha contado con demasiada relevancia más allá de su papel como elemento coral.

En los años treinta, Bill Brady es una estrella del deporte universitario que ve truncado su espléndido futuro cuando sufre una lesión de rodilla. Tras intentar ganarse la vida en el vodevil y como actor, Brady solo encontrará un modo de sobrevivir, encarnando a Dollar Bill un superhéroe publicitario esponsorizado por el National Bank. A partir de ese momento, Bill dedicará su vida a enfrentarse al crimen como miembro de los Minutemen y, sobre todo, a participar en las campañas publicitarias del banco al que sirve.

Lo cierto es que el concepto de Dollar Bill es una de esas genialidades ideadas por Moore y Gibbons que no encontró espacio para desarrollarse más allá que como esbozo al pie de página dentro de esa obra maestra que es “Watchmen”. Y es que aunque la idea de un superhéroe egoísta que se mueve principalmente por dinero no era nueva  - ya la habíamos visto de un modo u otro presentada anteriormente en el “Spiderman” de Ditko y Lee o en los “Héroes de Alquiler”- sin embargo, nadie hasta entonces la había convertido en vehículo satírico para poner en evidencia los elementos más ridículos de la fantasía superheroica enfrentados con una historia con un enfoque realista como lo hicieron Moore y Gibbons.


Before Watchmen  -  Crimson Corsair

The Curse of the Crimson Corsair (La maldición del Corsario Carmesí), escrito por Len Wein y dibujado por John Higgins, el colorista de la serie original, inspirada en Tales of the Black Freighter, el "relato dentro del relato" aparecido en el Watchmen original.



Idioma: Español
Editorial: DC
Guion: J.M Straczynski, Brian Azzarello, Len Wein, Darwyn Cooke 
Dibujo: Andy y Joe Kubert, Adam Hughes, Darwyn Cooke, Jae Lee, Amanda Conner, Lee Bermejo, Eduardo Risso 
Tradumaquetadores: Pyn Master (TRS), Diablobasura, Dan Al Ghul, Viztok16 
Archivos: 38
Formato: CBR
Tamaño: 645 MB

Descarga:

• Before Watchmen  -  El Comediante
• Before Watchmen  -  Ozymandias
• Before Watchmen  -  Minutemen
• Before Watchmen  -  Dr. Manhatan
• Before Watchmen  -  Buho Nocturno
• Before Watchmen  -  Espectro de Seda
• Before Watchmen  -  Rosrchach
• Before Watchmen  -  Moloch
• Before Watchmen  -  Dollar Bill
• Before Watchmen  -  Crimson Corsair

Si crees que fue el tapón, entonces ya puedes estar robando otra carta para volver a probar suerte. Timeline es una serie de juegos de cartas ideada por Frédéric Henry con una de las mecánicas más sencillas que podáis imaginar: colocar nuestras cartas en el intervalo de tiempo correcto para ser el primero en quedarnos sin ninguna. En Timeline: Inventos nos encontraremos preguntándonos qué fue primero, si el tranvía o el abrelatas; mientras que en Timeline: Eventos las dudas girarán alrededor de si el descubrimiento del río Nilo por los europeos fue antes o después de la conquista del Salvaje Oeste.

Cada caja contiene más de un centenar de cartas con algunos de los principales hitos históricos ilustrados por ambas caras, una con el año y otra carente de este dato. Cada jugador recibe cuatro cartas por la cara sin el año y se roba una última que se coloca en el centro de la mesa para iniciar la linea temporal.

El primer turno será sencillo ya que el jugador inicial tan solo tendrá que escoger una de sus cartas y la colocarla a la izquierda o derecha de esta carta central para indicar si, en su opinión, la suya aconteció antes o después. Acto seguido se le da la vuelta a ambas cartas para descubrir si es correcto y pasando al siguiente jugador.

Timeline es una excelente forma de aprender jugando

Pero a cada turno que pasa, con cada vez más cartas en la linea temporal, las decisiones se volverán más difíciles al tener que acertar con un menguante margen de error entre qué cartas/eventos/inventos colocar los nuestros. ¿No os parece una excelente forma de aprender jugando? Y si algún día terminas conociéndote las cartas al dedillo, ¿te atreverás a jugar obligándote a decir los años exactos antes de girar las cartas?

Asmodee ha editado en nuestro país las dos primeras cajas de la colección y ha confirmado el lanzamiento inminente de Timeline: Música y películas, seguido en octubre de Timeline: Multi temático, dos entregas adicionales con bastante chispa.

Sitio oficial Timeline: Inventos, Eventos y Multi temático

 
There’s precious little that I could find out about Las Dilly Sisters, a singing duo comprised of two young Mexican girls who often appeared on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. As readers of a certain age will recall, the Mariachi moppets chirpy repetitive songs were used on the program like maddening musical water torture.
 

 
But when Las Dilly Sisters wanted to rock, they could rock out like the best of ‘em, as heard here on their curious—but freakin’ genius—cover of The Standells’ “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White”(!)

Whoever had the idea for them to sing this, I salute you. This song appears on volume 3 of the legendary Girls in the Garage comps.
 

Now let's go live with Ike and Tina Turner! That's almost an hour of live clips (via madamjujujive). The same YouTube user who uploaded this also posted a similar set, if not the same thing, labeled "Live in '71." But how could that be, if some of the film was from the Playboy After Dark variety show (SFW Wikipedia page), which was syndicated in 1969 and 1970? What, you're not familiar with that show? OK, this YouTube playlist of musical performances from the show might be relevant to your interests. And don't miss Sammy Davis Jr. doing his thing on the show.

(L’été meurtrier, 1983)

Un crustáceo viudo.

A widower who’s also a crustacean.

Te pido un favor

por @carlosbalaguer