Bicentennial Piñera

In the last time we have all seen like Chile has become a country full of surprises and cool people. In the TV speaking of "brotherhood", "patriotism", even "heroes"(specially "heroes"), but what's going on behind this show?
what's up with the people? I know, I haven´t the truly answer, but I have a intuition... and in this bicentennial year something smell bad, very bad.

Ok. In first place, Mr. President Piñera (better known as "Piraña") I don´t know how begin write about him... really. I mean, WHAT´S WRONG WITH HIM? everything in him is extremely stupid. At the first is funny, very funny, but then is shamful. I mean, is the president, he should not be a clown! At first of his mandate, when the earthquake hit the country, his speeches about the "Tusunami" and the "marepotos" were truly amazing. Then when he said that Robinson Crusoe was a real man, and that Nicanor Parra is dead!
After all these stupid things he did... MORE STUPID THINGS! In germany he wrote a nazi sentence! I know, I'm forgetting a lot of stupid things (like his brother "El Negro Piñera" and his songs about Gustavo Ceratti, Edith Piaf, Marcelo Bielsa and of course, the miners) but these things help to know what kind of president we have, and worse yet... the kind of president that the people chose, even more when the president in question as know for his and contradictions, lies and monopoly companies. I mean, Chilevision? LAN? everyone knew and still voted for him. That's called hypocrisy.

I'm not a political person, I mean, I not belong to any political tendence, but I´m not a stupid, I know about the media lies and the crowd control. And these president and his cabinet also know. I mean, all these bullshit about the miners and heroes, and the earthquake, and the world cup, and the exaggerated patriotism, and alls this thins are only political maneuvers to fool people.

I mean, do you know the new politicals about edutation? is one of the most stupid things all the time. Privatization and monopoly. That's all.

Books!

I don't remember very well what book I read first. I guess some book of the school, like Principito or Papelucho. I remember very well that the first book that I like it was a dinosaurs book, full of illustrations. I spend many hours seeing those pictures. After that I remember the poetry of Pablo Neruda, because my parents liked. Then I remember some good books like Dracula by Bram Stoker, La granja de los animales by George Orwell, Hamlet and Macbeth by Shakespeare, and things like that.
All clasic books. Some of these book really liked, but nothing beyond. Later I discover the poetry of Alejandra Pizarnik, Sarah Kane, Oliverio Girondo, William Blake, Pablo de Rokha, Rimbaud, Heiner Muller, and I was really facinated with them. In these days I read a book called "La Edad de Hierro", from J.M.Coetzee and I was very impressed, I never read something like that. From these moment I had a real connection with literature and begin my obsession with books. I started reading all the literature of Coetzee; "Infancia", "Juventud", "Desgracia", "Esperando a los Barbaros", "En Medio de Ninguna Parte", "K", "Elizabeth Costello", etc. All great books. But, one day, I knew the best of all, Charles Bukowski. Long ago I hear things from him, and get to read a couple of novels, but nothing very interesting until I read his poetry. That day something change. His writing without rhetoric and directly to the bone blew my brain out. After that I read almost all his books, poetry and novels, and I can say with certainty that it is the best ever, but I know; he is not for everyone. He is a drunk, pervert and evil man. At least that's his mask, but in the background he was one of the noblest men. Anyway, my favourite books are "The love is adog from hell", "Adelante" "Escrutaba la locura en busca de la palabra, el verso, la ruta", "El Capitan salio a comer y los marineros se tomaron el barco", "The Fuck Machine", "Factotum", "Womans", and many more.(As there are some bad, like "Musica de Cañerias")

In the last time I read more clasic authors like Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, James Joyce, Dos Pasos, John Fante, Thomas Wolfe, Jack Kerouac, etc. Books like "Al otro lado del Rio", "El Santuario", "Preguntale al Polvo", "Retrato de un Artista Adolecente", "Paris era una Fiesta", etc. Some of they great books, and others very boring. I think that Faulkner is more my style.

Anyway, There is another great range of books that I really love and I collect with passion, the American and European graphic novels. Authors like Robert Crumb, Edmond Baudoin, Jason, Chris Ware, Craig Thompsom, Tanit, Harvey Pekar, Johnny Ryan, etc. All great writers and genious. I don`t know, but in the last time the literature fills me more than the movies. And that is dangerous!

PD; I think that I forget many books and authors that I really liked, like Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, The last temptation by Nikos Kazantzakis, one of my current favorites; Andres Caicedo and his book "¡Viva la musica!"

HOW GREEN ARE YOU?

Ok, I will try to answer the questions, but sincerely, I don't know much about this topic. I love the world and the animals, but, constantly I contribute to its destruction. I eat meat and I burn the forest... No, the last is a joke. I try to help every day, but in this city it's very hard to protect the environment.

Ok, after this horrible introducction, here we go.

- Where do people learn about enviromentally friendly practices?

I don't know, I guess Internet? in the television? I think that in the family practice can learn about the respect and importance of the environment (that was very moralistic and catholic!)

- Have you incorported recycling into your habits? Describe

The only thing that I've done about recycling is a puppet called "Juan Botella", of a street theatre and he is made of trash and plastic bottles. With this puppet we tried to teach how to care about the environment and the importance of recycling. (http://www.myspace.com/teatromarionetas)

- Do you use a bike or your legs instead of a car?

Rarely I use a bike. I'm pretty lazy and I prefer to go by car (if I have gas)

- Have you joined or supported any eco-organisations? Why/Why not?

The answer is no. why? I don't know, I guess I am very nihilistic and negative and I don't belive in any organization.

- What else have you done /would you like to do?

I don't know. I guess make a garden, plant a tree, I dont know. Maybe eat more vegetables and less meat. Use less water and chemical products. Thats maybe can be a beginning.

- What have you done to reduce your carbon footprint?

I must admit my ignorance... I don't know anything about this.

- What's missing in our society/Santiago regarding this issue?

uff... everything. In this city there is no education about this topic.The streets are always dirty and the air is so bad, full of smog. I don't know what to do. Maybe more restrictions about the selling of cars and industry, etc. But, specially more education about this theme in the schools and the cultural projects.

Some Movies in Valdivia (Comfy In Nautica)

It's really difficult to talk about a movie in particular, because recently I was at a film festival in Valdivia, and saw a lot of movies ... (Nah! lie, I saw only a few, but some very good) (although the best movies were "really" what happened off screen) Anyway, I enjoyed some movies such as the Pivellina, Tilva Ros. The Doors documentary and The Illusionist. All very different in terms of stories and narrative forms.

If I had to choose one, I think I would stay with Tilva Ros, a Serbian film about a group of skaters who lived destroyed. The movie had a wonderful visual, full of great and good picture frames. The characters seemed real enough(in fact, later discovered that the movie was made based on actual videos they made themselves) The story was very simple, not at all complex, without any artifice, clearly portraying the difficult moments of adolescence, such as boredom and self-destruction. But one of the greatest successes of the film was its music department, really delicious and well chosen. A good mix of independent bands like Panda Bear, Beast Coast, Privacy, etc. In fact, (*spoiler) the end of the movie with the song "Comfy in Nautica" by Panda Bear (Noah Lenox of Animal Collective) was really amazing. The best cineamtic moment of the festival. I just love it.

Werner Herzog Legend

Raw and realistic it be the last film by director Werner Herzog. Real animals dead and no special effects are some of the novelty in the new film by the german filmmaker.

Werner Herzog personally photographed scenes of the movie which was shot in New Orleans.

Werner Herzog is known for his cruelty when filming animals, like the famous last scene in Aguirre; Wrath Of God, when Klaus Kinski, throws a monkey like a banana skin.
Although this may seem a bad thing, Werner Herzog takes his favor, portraying the cruelty of human nature and that is one reason why it is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Some years ago it was unthinkable to see a European director to make a funny movie in America without sacrificing their principles, and Werner Herzog has made, making a realistic and ironic portrait of the American dream, like one of his most famous movies, Stroszek.

Unlike filmmakers like Scorsese, the films by Werner Herzog seems more spontaneous and new, each of its projects a battle with unpredictable results.

Werner Herzog made its greatest movies in the seventies, but in recent years his documentary and now his movies have become a legend renacla one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Original Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2010/oct/21/werner-herzog-film-performance-art

Lucky LuchO

I've never been addicted to TV programs, although I've seen a few, especially when I was child. Somehow, the TV was much more important as a child. It then goes into the background, especially when you grab a taste for film (I should also say women, parties and games, all those things you do when you start to mature) Anyway, if I remember some series. I remember being amazed at X-Files, especially the early seasons and the entire issue of UFOs, and further, with the sexy Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Another series I remember was called "The Edge", here translated as "Al Borde de la Risa" and was a kind of mindless sitcom full of jokes and black humor. Some time went by Bill Plymtom drawings, and had a section where they asked about that they would be making celebrities like Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson (Elvis was always on Mars, danced for the Martians and Jackson was getting rhinoplasty)

In recent years I have seen a proliferation of TV series, and I tried to see some, but I was always bored. In any way interesting things I've seen on shows such as "How Not to Live Your Life" (quite funny), "QMDV" (very creative) and of course, “Big Bang Theory” and things like that. BUT, there is a serie that I really like it, is called "Lucky Louie" from my favorite comedian Louis CK. The series is based basically in his stand up comedy, and his jokes quite strong. The series has a season of 13 chapters and was taken off the air. ("Censored?) Basically, the series is a classic sitcom about a couple, a nurse and her husband, Louie, a fat loser. The series plays a variety of topics such as work, masturbation, lying, madness, children, religion, money, etc. as usual, but from a nihilistic perspective. The secondary characters are really good, especially the crazy uncle, the beautiful and evil daughter, the black neighbors, the friend dealer that sell drugs to kids, etc.

anyway, the series reminds me of a poem by Bukowski where he was asked about what kind of TV series could be good and he replied: "I would like a series where the protagonist was a guy who works all day in a factory, who cannot afford the money for nothing, which has a wife waiting at home shit, cooking a meal of shit.” Anyway, the series is not as black as that, but its close, from a delicious humor and good performances. As in the poem and on TV, Bukowski and CK were not heard. People do not want this series. People want beautiful people with beautiful stories!
That's it!

Conan Future Boy

The first time I saw Conan Future Boy, I should have been about five years. I remember that were on channel five, UCVtv, when Channel five was the best in animated programming. Today, remembering, I think in some ways this mini cartoon influenced my way of seeing the world, or at least part of it. I know it sounds exaggerated, but is true. The cartoons are no big deal, but some elements are very well developed, especially with regard to story, to the mystical, the apocalyptic world, etc. Then there are the characters, full of life, values such as courage and friendship, loyalty, even love.
The story tells about Conan, a child living with his grandfather on an island in the middle of the ocean, and they are the last survivors of a great catastrophe that hit the earth.
Conan one day realize they are not alone, and meets Lana, a beautiful girl who is pursued by some guys. from then on Conan will never be the same and leave the island to find the girl. on his adventure will know different people like Jimsy, Captain Dyce, etc. all great characters.
a curious fact is that the series is not well known, despite being directed by anime master Hayao Miyazaki in the late seventies. The character designs are also by him, and are great.
For some years, finally came out on DVD and I could see it again. I can only say it was all I remembered, and more. For me, Conan Future Boy is not just a mini cartoon series. Its my favorite animated movie of all time.