Too numb?

In this days of crises and shortages, where everybody tries to survive under harsh conditions, and truly unaware of the harsher circumstances of the neighbour, we average people are getting used to undergoing social cuts and impoverishment without any simptom of discontent but resignation. Everyone is becoming poorer, but no one does anything apart from turning up in endless demonstrations. Getting into politics is a tricky matter, and trying to stop financial abuse a chimera, but the former and the latter are the ones to blame for the economic situation. The population seems to forget that banks are made of our capital, little, but a big amount when added to everybody else’s. And they at least have made themselves, whereas politicians are supposedly elected by us –each and every of us–, which is not a big deal but we did the choice.

Being things like they are, what really strikes me is that we all don’t go out and hang –metaphorically– these two lineages, bankers and politicians up the highest tree everywhere. Maybe it’s high time to stop swallowing corruption, overtaxing and abusive conditions imposed by the powerful, that prepotent bunch of villains and to make them eat desperation, poverty, lack of opportunities, hanger, unemployment, inflation and vital uncertainty. We need a big revolution because capitalism only makes the rich richer, and the poor, bloody poorer. We have long been ripped off. Now, ¿who’s gonna paid for the crashed lives in that huge economical accident they had with all of us sitting behind without seatbelt?

Expulsion: is it an appropriate disciplinary measure?

Many different groups have argued about the convenience of expelling disruptive students from regular classes. Does it have any positive effect? Well, it depends on the point of view, or better, on the affected people. If you ask all the participants in the still, some will be surely relieved whereas for others it will cause a nervous breakdown and a truly pain in the ass. Take the other students, for example. For those only interested in studying and benefiting from a good lesson –which will make them study and review less hours at home–, the measure is worth an Oscar. But if you think of those parents of the “angel”, who probably will have to seek somebody to care for the boy, or take a day off, or just leave him alone at home, abusing the computer, the punishment is not useful. A boy at home on a school day certainly means problems. For the teacher, giving a class without the black pie takes a lot of stress away. And as far as the other not very nice pupils in the classroom are concerned, the exemplary sentence will serve them well: they will either avoid getting into trouble or try to “suffer” the same cruel but liberating punishment.

Some groups have doubted about the efficiency of the measure. Sending a problematic student home is not a solution. Well, it is for the rest of the school community, but not for him. Society thinks that education implies making an effort, and taking the student out of school is not precisely an attempt. Reaching that point, we all have to make ourselves a question: is a single person more important than the collective? Do we really have to sacrifice the whole class so as to save a unique and very special critical person? The answer is not easy, but amplifying the scope may help. How does society deal with criminal behaviour? Do they keep disruptive people with the regular community, waiting something wrong to happen? Are those misbehavers to be re-educated, listened to, consoled and comforted, and reinserted in society without moving a single muscle of their bodies? Just as adults are penalised with fines, prison, seizure and other ways of public rejection or deprivation, so do students have to be punished with effective measures. Dialogue, understanding, care and attention are first procedures to apply but there’s a point when thumping the table with the fist is necessary and highly recommended, not only for the disruptive pupils but also for the rest of the academic community. Infinite patience would be the best option but, if parents cannot provide a whole life to take care of their children, how could teachers look after twenty minds starving for affection and understanding?

What to study for?

This is the question many youngsters make themselves in current Spain. They have been said to prepare for the future, to gain academic skills to face life on equal terms with regards to* other young Europeans, but the economic crisis has taken all hopes away.

When the Spanish Government explained that the difficult times were not something to be afraid of, either they were underestimating the situation or they simple became exceeded by the big problem. Only when the EU obliged Spain to cut off services to face the crisis did the average citizen realize that we were really having serious trouble down there.
The country has adopted some restrictive measures to reduce the public debt, such as increasing the retirement age up to 67. Meanwhile, young people find it difficult to get either a steady or a provisional job. Some make fun of the situation. Typical jokes include elderly people failing at work because of their advanced age or the contradiction of having young healthy Spaniards sunbathing on Mondays while their parents or grandparents pass away working.
Things are difficult for everybody, but they turn out to be especially discouraging for teenage people. They try hard to get good marks and job titles, but at the same time they know that a university degree does not imply a permanent job, not even a temporary one.
In any case, being things as they are, it is better to spend time on academic matters rather than on the dole queue. If life is made of repeated periods of prosperity and poverty, crisis will end. The question is when

In what way can consumers change their eating habits?

To begin with, people can only change their diet if they really want to. The worst problems when facing food habits are quality and frequency rather than quantity. If a person wants to keep healthy and fit, he should worry about what to take and when instead of how much.

The point is, we should eat a balanced diet, with plenty of vegetables, a good deal of fruit, quite a lot of fish,enough milk and dairy products, some pasta, bread and rice, some meat and a bit of fat and sugar from crisps, chocolates and candies. In fact, obesity and weight-gain have much to do with an abuse of fattening food, such as processed food, whereas natural products are normally healthier.
Apart from the kind of food, it is also important to eat five times a day, and to avoid doing it between meals. A heavy breakfast and a decreasing quantity to reach a light supper before going to sleep would be highly beneficial, too.
To sum up, eating habits need more balance than drastic changes. After all, keeping fit is more a matter of continuity than one of punctual sacrifice.

Nevermore anniversary

It’´s been nine years since the proud America saw its twin economic symbol fall down after an indiscriminate funereal flight to the very heart of hell. Even far across the ocean, we people in Western countries understood that life would never be the same for anybody. Victims threw themselves into a neverendind void as a less grievous alternative to flesh-burning in the World Trade Center. Firefighters died under a thick layer of debris and ashes. Ordinary people couldn’t understand what they had done to deserve that massive display of hatred and free violence.

For nine years some have identified islamic terrorism with islamism. A dangerous overgeneralization. It’s not a secret that a lot of radical muslims consider capitalism as the mother of all evils. For those, who mistankenly compared the highly flawed American Way of Life with the horrendous unbelievers, the 11S attacks were slightly less than divine justice. Very risky way of monopolizing cosmic truth.

In any case, some of the fault, want it or not, was in the interventionist policy of the US during contemporanean times, justifying invasions, abusive treaties and unilateral wars as a necessary measure to maintain world peace.
Capitalism will be conquering the globe for at last two hundred years more and we all will be resting on heaven or burning in hell, but it would be nice to see from the deep blackness of the abyss or the cotton-like clouds over the heads that everybody, western and eastern, anglosaxons and arabs, atheists and fanatics, has learnt to respect other viewpoints, other symbols and other ways of searching spiritual happiness. At the end, it’s only a question of tolerance.

The Twilight Avenger gets a name

Frampton Compton undressed lazily at dawn. The patrol had been intense and exciting. It was time to send the superhero to bed and the supercostume to the washing machine. Only two hours to alarm ring. He had to decide between sleeping or having breakfast. “Bellyman” opted for resting and eliminating the body excuse for that horrible nick. The double-life man read briefly a The Mighty Avengers Marvel Comic and glimpsed a New York City postcard with the word “twilight” written on it. He slept on a brand new name: A vindicator...only working at night...masked hero... This was it! The Twilight Avenger. Spectacular. Sublime. Terrific. The bad guys’ lash. Like a kick in the very face. But he had to start doing some exercise: Sit-ups and push-ups. And no more cocoa cream with honey and peanut butter spread on the doughnuts. But the clock woke up both his body and his stomach. Maybe tomorrow. After dinner. Or supper.

"Who are you?"

A frightened girls scarcely escapes a bunch of evil men. She pants, gasps, puffs and reaches a saviour corner. But, when she goes round, it literally and figuratively turns to be a dead line. The lovely girl nearly faints.The badmen stop running and begin walking solemnly. One takes out a pen knife; another the belt; the other ones a camera, a bloody-dripping syringe and a microphone. Then he appears: top of the roof, flying cape, dumb face and yellow jumping boots. He cries “Leave her alone or confront me, you of the evil stars, you worst than toothache.”

The gang look at each other until the masked hero jumps down to the blind alley. The pen knife guy receives spray in the eyes, and an expansion shock from the hairdrier-like pistol knocks the others out.

- Who are you? - says the relieved woman.
- Well, er, I, uh, I haven’t thought about a name or something. ¿What about “Heroman”?
- No, no, no. This is old-fashioned and vulgar. “Bellyman”. That’s it.
- What?
- “Bellyman”. It really fits you.
- Fuck off, you gust of disgust!
- But I only...

But the dull face saviour is long gone through igniting jets from his belt. He’s considering that “maybe I should replace this old tight costume. It makes me fat although I try to hide my float. And what the hell should I use as a nickname? The Vindicator Avenger? The Thief Eater? American Power? I will sleep on it. “Bellyman!” Fatty seal”.