#I have been informed that the original VA is going to be the LA actor and I am THRILLED

[muffinlance]

We're all thinking it, I'm gonna say it:

The live action teaser would have been instantly 200% better if the final shot had been "MY CABBAGES!"

[kari-a-la-tari]

The (Unneccessary) Lore of the WG Spanish Dubs

Aka me being like this meme for an entire post

OKAY so a couple of weeks ago I had just learned that there existed a Spanish version of Wordgirl called “La Chica Supersabia” which is honestly super cool cause who doesn’t wanna hear their show in a different language?

But alas, this ended up taking me into a much deeper rabbit hole than I was expecting and it’s honestly pretty interesting so I thought I’d share it with y’all!

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert by any means nor do I intend to come off as one, this is simply an elaborate essay of what I’ve found through my informal research. I will also be translating anything in Spanish to the best of my extent, so I apologize if I mess up a bit with the wording since it’s not my native language.

So then *places a baseball cap with glued lightbulb on my head* let’s get started shall we?

Okay so first things first, there are a couple of select episodes of La Chica Supersabia (I’ll use LCS from here on) available on the internet. The most reliable source that I’ve found is on an old Facebook account here where a fan would upload LCS episodes based on when they aired. However, the only episodes available are a select few from season one.

Now this got my mind thinking “Hey, what if there’s more episodes?” So naturally, I started scoundering on Google (like the rat I am) to see if there was indeed more. And according to this one site there are only two seasons of LCS that were dubbed.

Translation: In Latin America, the first season premiered on Discovery Kids August 3, 2009, while the second season premiered on the same channel January 11, 2010, being the only two seasons issued. (Source)

However, later on I discovered that there was some mislead in that info because someone else found a Spanish episode that was from season 3, which doesn’t make sense because why would there be another season available when it clearly says that they technically shouldn’t exist? (Btw I tried finding it myself cause I did see that episode before but for some reason now I can’t find it dhdvvdbdvd 😭)

At first I thought maybe this is just some info added from a fan. After all, that statement was posted on a Spanish Wikipedia page so it is possible. So I began looking for other articles that talked about the Spanish dubs, but they all said the same thing. Well, until I came up with this site that said two very intriguing things:

Translation: The series actually had 3 seasons and is dubbed in Caracas, Venezuela. On May 2012 the series stopped running on daytime hours and was removed from the programming one year later, on June 17, 2012. It is unknowns if it will be aired by another channel or come back to the Discovery Kids programming, besides only the two first seasons were dubbed in Spanish. (Source)

I was a little bit confused here with the wording because it still didn’t confirm my original questions; if anything it left me with more. But then I read the next section below which got me completely off track.

Translation: The series received negative critics and complains on behalf of parents of families in Latin America that claimed that it wasn’t appropriate for the objective public of Discovery Kids. Without doubt in the U.S. the series had been well received and even won an Emmy award for Jack D. Ferraiola, writer and coproductor of the series together with the creator of the same show, Dorothea Gillim, who declared the following in respective to the series: (Source)

Now this one took me by a whirlwind: WTH why was this version hated by people in Latin America while it’s adored by everyone in the U.S.?? And I watched some episodes of LCS and while the dubbing is pretty funny (lol) there wasn’t anything inappropriate about it. For the most part they stuck on script with the original episode they had to dub.

So I dove even deeper...

And o h m y g o d there is an answer to this.

Translation: The program premiered in Latin America on August 2009 on the Discover Kids channel, aiming at pre schoolers. Although the channel gave a lot of promotion for the show during the final months of 2009 and the majority of 2010, at the end of the year they decided to change the programming to nighttime hours because the show received a lot of critics from parents saying that the show was too “violent” and that it encouraged kids to lie to their parents (due to the obvious fact that Becky had to give an excuse everytime she had to leave to turn into WordGirl and save the day), and they complained constantly on the message boards now deleted of the channel. The program was eliminated completely on June 2012, without doubt, PBS maintained the Spanish dubs so that they would use for SAP (Second Audio Program) in the U.S. in a different studio (Dubbing House in Mexico and later Lorry Post in Miami, FL), but the program no longer returned to Discovery Kids until August 2014. (Source)

And DUDE no y’all this was just a complete hilarious yet ridiculous slap to the face. I mean..what the, why was that the reasoning as to why it was hated so much? Just cause of some literal PG kid friendly cartoon violence? And what do parents mean when they say it teaches them to lie to their parents?? I mean with all due respect, who was Discovery Kids target audience they had in mind vs. what it actually was? Because if there actual audience was very very young kids, they okay sure I can understand the need to point fingers at them in that sense. But if it was for slightly older kids (8-10 years old), then I think that parents can probably show kids at that age the reasoning behind why Becky lied in the show (not to mention that most kids at that age can understand what’s going on for the most part).

“Now is this actually true?” some of you may ask, which is understandable since this is coming from a wiki page. Well, I think it’s about time I put another disclaimer: sadly for the most part, the majority of these sources that I’ve attached have broken links when it comes to their references. And the ones that aren’t broken don’t mention anything about the topics that have been discussed here. But there are some smaller sources I’ve found here (look at the last three comments) and here that do indeed confirm that the show was canceled due to the force of parents.

However, the current grey area I’m in still is on the Spanish dubbing listing. See, I originally thought that there were three different dubbings according to this one post below (M&M Studios, Dubbing House and Lorry Post). I even thought I cracked it since according to this chart below the rest of the seasons were under the Dubbing House studios! However, it turns out that one of the studios Lorry Post doesn’t actually exist. Like nothing related to dubbing came up at all when I searched it up.

Translation: Dubbing Studio 1 - M&M Studios (Seasons 1-2). Dubbing Studio 2 - Dubbing House (Seasons 3-8). Dubbing Studio 3 - Lorry Post (Season 8 - final episodes). (Source)

And then that’s when I took a harder look at this website and realized that it’s part of a Spanish Wiki page called “Propuestas de Fans de Doblaje” (Fan Proposals for Dubs). *insert facepalm emoji* And just...I honestly feel so dumb that I didn’t notice that detail when I did my initial research cause that would’ve saved me a lot of time 😤. Anywho so that explains the Lorry Post mystery, but then lies the other question: do the other dubs exist?

Well, this is where I draw the line. See, on that same wikipage, it mentions that LCS had completely different voice actors for each of the dubbings. The first dub (M&M) is from Venezuela and after looking at the VA’s, they can be traced back to LCS. But after looking at the VA’s for the second dub (Dubbing House) in Mexico, there is nothing related to them and LCS or WG. Not even on movie databases.

“Now are you gonna give up on this idea?” you may ask. And the answer is......

No.

Why? Well, it’s mainly because there is a compellingly set of evidence that proves that the first two dubs do actually exist, which is...

THIS VIDEO, which shows that there were not one, but two variations of the LCS Spanish theme song. The first one is the Spanish version, and the second one that plays is the Venezuela version. And if you can remember, there were 2 dubbings of LCS; one located in Mexico (Dubbing House) and another In Venezuela (M&M Studios)!

Anywhosole, that is where I conclude this elaborate essay of mine. There are still a couple of loose strings here and there that I wanna check out myself but I’ve already tired myself out with this essay. I hoped you liked seeing me lose my mind speculate on the LCS episodes! This was honestly pretty fun ngl, maybe I’ll try doing this again in the future if something else interesting pops up! If you have anything you wanna add or maybe point out something that I may have forgotten, please by all means bring it up!

[furederiko]

Kyuranger's 26th episode offers us a neat metaphor, of how emotions plays a crucial key to unlock the darkness in one's heart!

- Our episode immediately begins with a mecha fight. A concerning fact, because in case you forget, it's a Super Sentai sign that a bad thing is going to happen in the latter half. And since last week, it's very obvious who's going to be involved in one: Naga Ray. - Yes... he's still reeling in to what happened at Planet Tocky, that he ends up disrupting the balance of Kyutamajin. Pointing out a good minor point, that all 12 members need to be in sync to operate this massive combination. Phoenix Soldier eventually 'benches him out', as the giant robot is separated into its smaller components to take down the two Indavers and Consumarz. Naga wrongfully thinks that him being 'different', is helding the others back. - Problem is, this comes to the attention of someone unwelcome: Vice-Shogun Akyanba! Hideous and atrocious-looking design aside (Seriously, what is she based on? A ray? And what about that disturbing dino-head torso? Those crooked teeth... ugh!), we can already tell that Akyanba is a clever and cunning antagonist. Why? A good antagonist observes the situation, and plans ahead before making an attack. And that's exactly what she's doing. She's aware that if one member is out of the equation, the team can no longer form Kyutamajin! That's why Naga instantly becomes her prime target... Fun fact: Lest we forget, Akyanba is voiced by (another) former yellow, Arisa Komiya. Komiya played Yellow Buster in the 2012's "Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters". She showed up in Kyoryuger's TOEI NEXT V-Cinema title, and then last year's "Kamen Rider Ghost". Just like Raptor's VA, she has been branching out to the Voice Acting business in recent years. - Naga tells the others, that despite spending half a season all these time with the team, he hasn't acquired any emotions. Which is a bit ironic, since feeling frustrated, worried, and expressing disappointments (all signs circling around envy)... are in fact sign of emotions! Commander Xiao even kindly points that out. LOL. - Sadly, the team's concentration is being split to work out their 'Time Travel' mission. Particularly Tsurugi's concern on how it will affect the timeline. So they seem to be neglecting Naga's inner struggle. Since Balance needs more time to sync the ORION with the Horologium Kyu Globe, Xiao decides they should have a break. Barbeque break! A seemingly harmless intermezzo, that ends up backfiring instead. Because it opens up a solid opportunity for Akyaban to hatch her plan. - Ironically, Naga initially wants to stay behind and help Balance. But the golden mechanical life-form tells him to "take the load off". And then later, Hammy goes out her usual blatant way, and tells Naga to stop relying on Balance. She says that Naga should start thinking and doing things for his own. Nothing wrong with what both are doing, right? Yep, except for the fact that they are unintentionally pushing Naga to the edge, plunging him directly into Akyanba's manipulative play. - Obviously, seeing Akyanba draws out hidden emotions from humans, intrigues Naga. Just like TOEI, Akyanba isn't even trying to be subtle, as she specifically approaches Ophiucus Silver during the fight, offering him to... 'unlock' his true emotions. Another proof of her cunningness, as she pulls out of the fight right after. She's not trying to destroy the Kyuranger by power, nor by force (she actually can, since Phoenix Soldier points out that she's gotten more stronger), but by tearing them apart from the inside. - The team is concerned about this development, when Tsurugi shares that people from the Ophiucus System originally had 'incredibily intense emotions'. Naga tells Hammy that his people used to be overcomed by hatred and rage. Apparently, they decided to abandon emotions and individuality, in order to achieve peace. - Unfortunately, Naga's desire to have emotions... to be 'the same' like the other Kyurangers, is just too strong to resist. Thus the unexpected but inevitable happens: Naga himself, chooses to accept Akyanba's offer. Yes, a startling twist that might be the first in Super Sentai history, because a hero agrees to be swayed into the darkness... on his own free will!!! Fun fact: The 'Evil Hero' trope itself is actually annually used in the franchise, but most if not all of them involved brainwashing, mind control, or other similar tricks. For example, "Shuriken Sentai Ninnninger" has used this 'swaying a hero into their dark side' trope before, in the whole pointless minor subplot that had Kyuuemon Izayoi lured StarNinger to become evil. It failed miserably, if you ask me. Also, it might be more than just a coincidence, but the 27th episode of "Kira Kira Precure A La Mode" that was aired on August 13th (yep, a week before this episode), also attempted similar twist to Cure Gelato. I'm using the word 'attempted' because well... the antagonist Elysio only succeeded for a brief moment *sigh*. Interestingly, looks like that female-targetted SHT show is going to dwelve into similar angle for its 29th episode that will air this Sunday! - The team has to be split into two. Lucky, Tsurugi, Stinger, and Spada address Hammy's call for help to prevent Naga from 'surrendering' himself to Akyanba. Raptor, Champ, and the combi of Garu and Kotarou, hit the town to deal with the emotionally berserking victims (using Lyra, Aries, and #34 Coma Berenices Kyu Globe respectively... to hillarious effects). While the second team succeeds, it's already too late for the first team... as Naga has already entered the Dark Side. You're correct, it IS another a "Star Wars" reference! Dang it though, that witch-like scene that sees Akyanba infusing and suffocating darkness into Naga... is both juicy and creepy to see *shivers*. - Yes, Naga has acquired his hidden emotions now, and well... it's NOT good. AT ALL. He has been turned into a completely different person who's exuding sassiness, angst, malice, and... just plain evil. An ironically snake-like personality for someone from the Snake-Charmer constellation system. If you ask me, it's an amazing albeit terrifying scene, as Naga's actor seems to be going all out, hamming up his performance. Clearly he's having fun with this 'evil' version, because unlike Naga's usual 'flat' personality (which is much bigger challenge for an actor, IMHO), this enables him to showcase a variety of emotions. Spock to Spook, eh? - And things turn to worse. His Ophiucus Kyu Globe evolves into the Dark Kyu Globe, along with the purple/black-colored Dark Constellation Blaster. He's no longer Ophiucus Silver, as he has now become... Ophiucus Metal. Sure, this 'power up' form does look a bit corny and over-the-top, especially with all those weird add-ons and Egyptian nods. But I have to admit, I'm totally LOVING this scary berserking personality. The blaster uses that ominous minor tone that just sounds right for my taste, and he can even shoot deadly beam from that huge disturbing eye on the torso. Not to mention, that amazing and fitting BGM? It helps amp up this painful fight between comrades to feel more... eerie, dire, and disturbingly emotional. Ophiucus Metal almost kills Chamaeleon Green on the spot! Seriously, this entire scene is giving me all the chills!!! Fun Fact: The name 'Ophiucus Metal', is actually a neat little pun. Because in Japanese, it would be 'Hebi-tsukai Metal'. Get it? Hebi-Metal? 'Heavy-Metal'? Also, we know that Silver itself is a Metal element, so it is generally a smart choice of name. LOL. - The emotional turmoil is not over. The team obviously has to inform Balance about this unfortunate turn, and he's not taking this easy. At the same time, Hammy is openly blaming herself, for talking 'too much' to Naga. Balance decides to stay off the 'Time Travel' mission to bring back Naga to the good side. Lucky, Hammy, Garu, and Kotarou decide to stick around to join his crusade, while the others depart to the past using the Horologium-powered ORION. For the first time in Super Sentai history, we have 2 teams of 6 heroes (we still need to count Naga as well, right?) in one show, separated across time and space. From the beginning, Akyanba's main goal has been to split the team apart. Looks like it doesn't take long for that to come into fruition, huh?

Overall: In case you haven't realized it yet, there's one thing that Kyuranger is REALLY good at as a show: to toy and/or mess around with our emotions. After the heartgutting arc with Stinger, Commander Xiao's past regret, Tsurugi's lone-survivor syndrome, and Kotarou's brief moment with his mother just last week, one would doubt they can deliver another serving, right? Wrong. Seeing Naga succumbed himself into darkness, in order to obtain the one thing he truly desire, was intense and equally (if not more) heartbreaking to watch. I found myself genuinely feeling terrified for his sake, trembling with goosebumps and fear, particularly when the others failed to prevent him. And that says A LOT. While other shows have tried to pull it off with various results, with Naga, it hurts so much. Meaning, audience (clearly I'm not alone in this) truly cared about this character! His fall into the dark side came with such a big twist too: he himself CHOSE to be that way. As far as many recall, it's something new that hasn't been done in the franchise before. So it was more than just heartwrenching, but also shocking. More importantly, this turn of event did NOT come out of left field. It's a natural progression to his character! Hints towards this have been peppered throughout since his debut (Remember Planet Vela? And then on Planet Tocky...). After all, Naga DID become a Kyuranger to obtain emotions. He's just, a bit 'impatient' to have one, which was the core message here. What's happening to Naga is a subtle metaphor about those who are 'different', or as the negative-society often calls as... 'abnormal'. It's about the worst possible outcome of what happens when someone is pushed to the limits, in order to 'fit in' with the others. That's truly a strong and sensitive issue! I also really loved the fact that this plot helped push a wonderful development in other characters as well. In this case, the considerably 'underused' Hammy, and his BFF Balance. Hammy's way of spouting anything on her mind sort of backfired and pushed Naga towards the wrong direction. So it was equally painful to see her blaming herself for it. And then there was Balance and his carefree way of seeing things lightly. This trait failed him to see that his BFF has been struggling, and it might lead towards dire consequences. Furthermore, this arc continues another really neat trend of the show: it's the internal members, and not the the antagonists who tend to complicate matters for the team! Which is great, because it attracts conflicts that direct towards stronger team-bonding moment. Overall, this is truly yet another highlight of the show. Another proof that Kyuranger is just such a fantastic season to follow. TOEI is firing on all cylinders here! Beside... Evil Naga is simply a delight to see, even if we might only see him for a brief amount of time... XD Next week: Trouble aboard the ORION? What happens in the past, stays in the past...

Episode 26 Score: 8,4 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: August 26th, 2017 - Version 2.11. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[amplia-mente]

Desde hace años les venimos informando en esta tribuna de la crisis de los opiáceos en EEUU, creo recordar que el primer artículo publicado fue en 2016, cuando alertábamos de la demanda excesiva de fentanilo en la calle. Gracias a la muerte de varios personajes públicos en el país norteamericano, esta crisis se hizo visible. Ahora toca pagar los platos rotos, ¿a quién le va a tocar?

Who foots the bill in opioids crisis?

For years we have been informing you in this forum of the opiate crisis in the U.S., I think I remember that the first article published was in 2016, when we warned of excessive demand for fentanyl in the street. Thanks to the death of several public figures in the North American country, this crisis became visible. Now it’s time for foots the bill, who’s going to get it?

Los orígenes de la epidemia de opiáceos se remontan a la prescripción excesiva por parte de los médicos, de analgésicos opioides contra el dolor en sus pacientes. Pero en los últimos años, las muertes debidas a los opiáceos sintéticos ilícitos han superado las muertes debidas a los analgésicos recetados. Según los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, las muertes relacionadas con opioides sintéticos (excluida la metadona) se duplicaron entre 2015 y 2016. Este aumento puede atribuirse en gran medida a la aparición del fentanilo y sus análogos (por ejemplo el carfentanil). Un estudio en 10 estados de EE. UU determinó que más de la mitad de las personas que murieron por sobredosis relacionadas con opiáceos durante la segunda mitad de 2016 dieron positivo al fentanilo. Incluso, en un plan de choque ideado por la Administración Obama, se surtió a las escuelas y otros centros públicos de preparados de naloxona y naltrexona para tratar de combatir las sobredosis por estas sustancias.

The origins of the opiate epidemic can be traced back to the over-prescription by doctors of opioid pain relievers in their patients. But in recent years, deaths due to illicit synthetic opioids have surpassed deaths due to prescription painkillers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths related to synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) doubled between 2015 and 2016. This increase can largely be attributed to the emergence of fentanyl and its analogues (e.g. carfentanyl). A study in 10 U.S. states found that more than half of those who died from opiate-related overdoses during the second half of 2016 tested positive for fentanyl. Even schools and other public centers were supplied with naloxone and naltrexone preparations to try to combat opiate overdoses in a crash plan devised by the Obama Administration.

Hoy, en Cleveland (Ohio) se iba a celebrar una macrocausa contra la industria farmacéutica, que sería en último término la responsable de los costes económicos y en vidas que han sufrido los norteamericanos (en concreto habrían fallecido 400.000 personas entre 1997 y 2017 y habría costado un total de más de 50.000 millones de dólares). Se han presentado cerca de 2.500 demandas a los principales distribuidores y minoristas de medicamentos, incluidos CVS y Walmart. Los demandantes acusan a fabricantes como Teva de engañar al comercializar opioides con mensajes que minimizaban sus riesgos y a los distribuidores de no detectar ni detener las órdenes sospechosas. Las compañías son las responsables de notificar a la Administración de Control de Drogas si identifican algo fuera de lo común y de retrasar los envíos mientras se verifica la información. Sin embargo, justo cuando estaba escribiendo este artículo, las compañías acusadas han conseguido llegar a un acuerdo con las asociaciones de afectados denunciantes y les pagarán una indemnización de 260 millones de dólares. Esto se une a los más de 500 millones de dólares que un juez obligó a pagar a la compañía Johnson & Johnson en Oklahoma en Agosto de este año.

Today, in Cleveland (Ohio), a macro-case was to be held against the pharmaceutical industry, which would ultimately be responsible for the economic and life costs suffered by Americans (400,000 people would have died between 1997 and 2017 and would have cost a total of more than $50 billion). Nearly 2,500 lawsuits have been filed with major drug distributors and retailers, including CVS and Walmart. Plaintiffs accuse manufacturers like Teva of misleading by marketing opioids with messages that minimized their risks and distributors of failing to detect or stop suspicious orders. Companies are responsible for notifying the Drug Enforcement Administration if they identify anything unusual and for delaying shipments while information is verified. However, just as I was writing this article, the defendant companies have been able to reach an agreement with the associations of affected complainants and will pay them $260 million in compensation. This comes on top of the more than $500 million that a judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay in Oklahoma in August of this year.

Pero esta crisis no solo afecta a EEUU, la ONU nos alerta sobre la extensión mundial de la misma. Así en su informe anual presentado en Junio de este año, ya alertaba del incremento del uso y abuso de opiáceos en todo el mundo y como fármacos como el Tramadol se había hecho muy famosos y se había extendido su comercialización en países incluso de África. Este fármaco utilizado no solo como analgésico sino también como relajada o para aumentar las capacidades físicas y mentales, habría sido detectado también en el mercado negro, aumentando sus incautaciones de 10 kg en 2010 hasta los 125.000 kg en 2017. Además el fentanilo y sus derivados han multiplicado sus ventas, tanto en el mercado legal como en el ilegal en todo el mundo.

But this crisis does not only affect the United States, the UN alerts us to its global spread. Thus, in its annual report presented in June of this year, it already warned of the increase in the use and abuse of opiates throughout the world and as drugs such as Tramadol had become very famous and its commercialization had spread to countries including Africa. This drug, used not only as an analgesic but also as a relaxant or to increase physical and mental capacities, would also have been detected on the black market, increasing its seizures from 10 kg in 2010 to 125,000 kg in 2017. In addition, fentanyl and its derivatives have multiplied their sales, both in the legal and illegal markets around the world.

Cuando surgió esta crisis en EEUU nos preguntábamos si llegaría a nuestro medio e indudablemente, ante la globalización de nuestra sociedad, era indiscutible que antes o después nos viéramos afectados, solo era cuestión de tiempo. En España, el consumo de opiáceos entre 2010 y 2017 ha aumentado en un 79%, si lo que oyen, se consume casi un 80% más de estos derivados en nuestro país ahora que hace 7 años, y las muertes relacionados con opiáceos han superado las 1.000 por segundo año consecutivo, con un aumento exponencial entre las mujeres. El Ministerio de Sanidad y las Comunidades Autónomas, han convocado una mesa de trabajo con el objetivo de “identificar los riesgos potenciales y adoptar medidas para mejorar la utilización de las presentaciones con mayor riesgo de dependencia”.

When this crisis arose in the United States we wondered if it would reach our milieu and undoubtedly, faced with the globalization of our society, it was indisputable that sooner or later we would be affected, it was only a matter of time. In Spain, the consumption of opiates between 2010 and 2017 has increased by 79%, if what you hear, almost 80% more of these derivatives are consumed in our country now than 7 years ago, and deaths related to opiates have exceeded 1,000 for the second consecutive year, with an exponential increase among women. The Ministry of Health and the Autonomous Communities, have convened a working group with the aim of «identify potential risks and adopt measures to improve the use of presentations with greater risk of dependence.

Si bien en EEUU los acusados son los fabricantes y los comercializadores de estas sustancias por su falta de cuidado en las tareas de vigilancia, ya que deberían de haber alertado antes del incremento en su venta. Además se les acusa de que han vendido los opiáceos sintéticos, por el mero hecho de ser sustancias químicas sintéticas, de ser más seguros y menos adictivos, cuando esto realmente no es así. Sin embargo, desde amplia-mente.com siempre nos hemos preguntado ¿cuál es el origen último de esta crisis?, ¿no será que nuestra sociedad cada día tolera pero el dolor y quiere que se le quite de encima de forma inmediata?, ¿requerimos cada vez sustancias más potentes para acabar con nuestros malestares? Este podría ser uno de los focos iniciales, sin embargo hay otro actor en todo este escenario que es el médico que prescribe esta sustancia. ¿Es quizás más fácil quitar el dolor a nuestro paciente lo antes posible y así no nos molesta más? o por el contrario ¿no podemos soportar la presión de los pacientes y por eso nos liberamos de ella prescribiéndole lo que nos piden?

Although in the USA the accused are the manufacturers and traders of these substances because of their lack of care in the surveillance tasks, since they should have warned before the increase in their sale. They are also accused of selling synthetic opiates simply because they are synthetic chemicals, safer and less addictive, when this is not the case. However, from broad-mind.com we have always wondered what is the ultimate origin of this crisis, isn’t it that our society tolerates every day but the pain and wants it to be removed immediately, do we need increasingly powerful substances to end our discomforts? This could be one of the initial focuses, however there is another actor in this whole scenario that is the doctor who prescribes this substance. Is it perhaps easier to remove the pain from our patient as soon as possible and thus does not bother us any more? Or on the contrary, can we not withstand the pressure of patients and therefore we free ourselves from it by prescribing what they ask us?

Today the patients have won a victory, but it was only a partial victory in this battle, the war is going to be very long. We should all examine our consciences and look inwards and ask ourselves, are the pharmaceuticals really responsible for this crisis? We will continue alert.

Hoy los pacientes han conseguido una victoria, pero solo ha sido una victoria parcial en esta batalla, la guerra va a ser muy larga. Deberíamos de hacer todos examen de conciencia y mirar para adentro y preguntarnos, ¿realmente son las farmacéuticas las responsables de esta crisis? Seguiremos atentos.

[lesinstantsdeshasha-blog]

(In)sidious (in)vader

Let’s enjoy this instant in English, shall we?

VERSION FRANÇAISE, À L’AISE !

J'écris cet Instant de Shasha suite à notre deuxième visionnage au cinéma, à mon mari et moi, du dernier Star Wars hier soir, suite au premier ayant eu lieu le soir de la sortie du film.

Si Star Wars et mon mari, ça a toujours été une grande histoire d'amour depuis son enfance (je ne vous dis pas le nombre de BDs et de livres qu'il a lus, je ne vous parle pas de son inquiétude lorsqu'on appris le rachat de Lucasfilm Ltd. par Disney et je ne vous raconte pas son état de surexcitation à chaque nouvelle sortie de film depuis deux ans), de mon côté, ça a mis plus de temps…et c'est ce dont je vais vous parler aujourd'hui.

Les fans de Star Wars de notre génération ont généralement été initiés aux aventures dans la galaxie lointaine, très lointaine par leurs parents. Ça n'a pas été mon cas. De même que j'ai grandi en voyant seulement deux films Disney dans mon enfance (Tarzan et Mulan), ma mère ne m'a pas montré Star Wars, car cette saga ne faisait absolument pas partie de sa culture cinématographique (pour être honnête, je me demande si elle n'en ignorait pas l'existence à l'époque, et ce n'est pas un jugement). Sauf que, bien entendu, comme il y avait autour de moi à l'école des enfants qui avaient vu la trilogie originelle et l'appréciaient, je savais à peu près de quoi les films parlaient et les grandes lignes de l'histoire…et ça ne me parlait absolument pas. Le personnage de Dark Vador me semblait assez pathétique et je trouvais Yoda plus effrayant qu'autre chose à être tout vert et à parler à l'envers. Bref, même si j'en savais finalement peu sur le sujet, j'étais sûre d'une chose : Star Wars, ça ne me plaisait pas.

J'ai donc poursuivi mon chemin ainsi jusqu'à la 3ème, fin 2004. Lorsqu'il s'est agi de choisir le thème de notre enchaînement d'acrosport, la majorité des filles de mon groupe ont opté pour Star Wars. Je n'étais pas enthousiaste, disons-le franchement, mais je n'avais pas d'autre idée alors j'ai suivi. Et on m'a attribué le « rôle » de Luke Skywalker. Du coup, vu que je n'avais pas envie de m'embarquer dans un projet sans en connaître tous les tenants et aboutissants, j'ai décidé de m'intéresser d'un peu plus près à la saga créée par George Lucas.

Alors, oui, j'aurais pu voir les films, ça aurait encore été la méthode la plus simple, mais non, comme d'habitude, je n'ai rien fait comme tout le monde et j'ai donc commencé à lire des livres sur l'univers et à chercher des informations sur Internet. Et petit à petit, j'ai commencé à percevoir l'intérêt de la chose. Je devais le reconnaître, George Lucas avait une imagination très fertile lui aussi et son œuvre était titanesque. Je me souviens avoir été sidérée en découvrant la multitude de livres et BDs sur les périodes traitées par les films mais aussi des époques lointaines dans le passé ou dans le futur. C'était fascinant de voir qu'un univers étendu aussi vaste avait été créé à partir de la vision première du créateur de la saga.

Puis ensuite, j'ai découvert Hayden Christensen, l'acteur jouant Anakin Skywalker dans les épisodes II et III. À cette époque, d'ailleurs, La Revanche des Sith était en cours de bouclage. Bon, on ne va pas se mentir, la gamine de 12 ans que j'étais a alors littéralement craqué pour lui. Il était beau et avait l'air plutôt sympathique – oui, en effet, je n'en avais pas grand-chose à faire de son talent (relatif) d'acteur. Ça me changeait de mon béguin pour mon prof de maths et puis…il me rappelait un garçon dans la classe duquel j'avais été l'année précédente, en 4ème, pour lequel toutes les filles étaient tombées à un moment ou un autre, et qui ressemblait donc quand même assez fortement à l'acteur canadien (mais avec 10 ans de moins, quoi). Pour résumer, je me suis donc prise de passion pour ce monsieur – qui a donc lui aussi été pendant un moment une partie intégrante de ce fameux monde imaginaire que je m'étais fabriqué et que j'ai déjà évoqué – et j'ai donc commencé à écumer toutes ses interviews et forcément, comme la sortie de l'épisode III approchait, j'en ai appris de plus en plus sur la saga (mais toujours sans regarder les films, allez comprendre). Anecdote marrante : à l'époque, c'était la grande mode d'avoir un blog hébergé par Skyblog, et…oui, j'en avais un qui était entièrement dédié à Hayden Christensen ^^

Il y a ensuite eu le jour de l'évaluation d'acrosport et ça s'est passé…comme ça se passe toujours pour les plus nuls en sport de la classe. Mais en entendant la musique de Star Wars, je me suis dit qu'il était temps d'enfin voir les films surtout que la sortie du dernier opus de la prélogie approchait. Et pour cela, je n'ai même pas eu besoin de me déplacer, puisque la chaîne de télévision M6 avait décidé de diffuser chaque semaine un épisode de la saga, dans l'ordre de réalisation, jusqu'à la semaine précédant la sortie de La Revanche des Sith (on avait déjà réservé nos places avec une copine). Et là, clairement, je me suis pris une claque et j'ai regretté de ne pas avoir eu droit à mon initiation comme plein d'autres autour de moi. Et je me suis donc rendue à une projection de l'épisode III le jour de sa sortie, le 18 mai 2005. Bon, forcément, je savais déjà qu'Anakin Skywalker allait devenir Dark Vador à la fin du film, mais ça ne m'a pas empêcher de pleurer la première fois. Dieu seul sait, une fois le DVD sorti, combien de fois j'ai regardé en boucle les 25 premières minutes du film, jusqu'à ce qu'Anakin fasse son cauchemar avec Padmé mourant en couches. Il y a une sorte d'insouciance dans ce début de film qui arrivait à me rassurer quand je déprimais (bon et puis, on ne va pas se mentir, on y voyait pas mal Hayden Christensen avec son sourire qui me faisait tomber par terre, et c'était quand même plus agréable que de le voir démembré et en train de brûler à la fin du film, hein).

Un an plus tard, j'avais laissé Hayden Christensen et une partie de mon monde imaginaire derrière moi, mais mon goût pour Star Wars est resté. Et il s'est approfondi depuis que je connais mon mari qui est un très grand fan, comme je vous l'ai dit. C'est l'un de nos points communs, mais je suis loin d'être aussi calée sur le sujet et j'ai appris plein de choses sur la saga grâce à lui. On a vu ensemble Le Réveil de la Force, Rogue One et Les Derniers Jedi, donc. On ira découvrir les prochains film ensemble. Et on n'a pas de sapin de Noël chez nous, mais un Vador de Noël et on en est plus que fiers.

ENGLISH VERSION HERE, MY DEAR!

I’m writing this Instant de Shasha after my husband and I saw the last instalment of the Star Wars series at the cinema yesterday evening for the second time, following our first viewing on the day it was released.

If my husband has always loved Star Wars since he was a child (don’t ask me about the number of comics and books he’s read, don’t ask me about how worried he was when we heard the news that Disney was buying Lucasfilm Ltd., and don’t ask me about how overexcited he is each time a new movie has been out over the last two years now), on my end, it took much more time…and that’s what I’m going to tell you about today.

Star Wars fans from our generation have generally been introduced to the adventures happening in the galaxy far, far away by their parents. Not me. The same way I grew up watching only two Disney movies (namely Tarzan and Mulan), my mother didn’t show me anything Star Wars, because this franchise was absolutely nowhere to be seen in her own film culture (to be completely honest, I even wonder if she knew about this saga at that time, and that’s not judgmental at all). However, there were obviously other children surrounding me at school who had seen the original trilogy and liked it, so I kind of knew what the movies were about and the main points of the storyline…and it didn’t speak to me at all. Darth Vader’s character seemed quite pathetic to me and I found Yoda was more scary than anything being all green and saying all his sentences in reverse. Even though I actually did not know about it, I was sure of one thing: I didn’t like Star Wars.

So, I kept on like this until the last year of secondary school, at the end of 2004. When we had to choose our theme for our acrobatic gymnastics group routine, the majority of the girls in my group voted for Star Wars. Let’s be honest, I wasn’t enthusiastic about this, but I had no other idea to propose so I went for it. And I was appointed the “part” of Luke Skywalker. Therefore, as I didn’t want to get involved into a project about which I didn’t know much, I decided to have a closer look at the saga created by George Lucas.

Yeah, I know, I could’ve watched the movies, this would have been by far the easiest and fastest way, but no, as usual, I didn’t do things like other people so I started reading books on that universe and looking up for bits and pieces of information on the web. And that’s when I started to get why Star Wars was something worth paying some attention to. I had to admit that George Lucas had also a pretty fertile imagination and that his work was gigantic. I remember feeling astonished when I discovered the multitude of books and comics existing on periods dealt with in the movies but also far away past and future times. It was really fascinating to see that such a wide extended universe had been created based on the primary vision of the creator of this saga.

And then, I discovered Hayden Christensen, the actor portraying Anakin Skywalker in episodes II and III. At that time, Revenge of the Sith was entering its ending production phases. All right, the truth is that the 12 year-old girl I was then literally had a crush on that guy. He was handsome and seemed pretty nice too – yeah, I didn’t really care about his (relative) acting talent, indeed. It made a change for me from liking my mathematics teacher a bit too much and…he reminded me of a boy I was in the same class with the year before, and for which every girl had fallen for at some point, and who actually quite looked like the Canadian actor (but 10 years younger). To make it short, I developed a passion for this man – who thus also was for some time a big part of this notorious imaginary world I had fabricated for myself and about which I’ve told you earlier already – and I started searching for and reading all of his interviews, and, obviously, as the time for the release of Episode III was approaching, I got to know more and more about the sage (but I didn’t watch the movie, still, don’t even try to understand why…). Funny story: at that time, the big trend everyone followed was to have their own blog hosted by Skyblog and…yes, I owned one which was entirely dedicated to Hayden Christensen ^^

Then the day of the acrobatic gymnastics final exam arrived and it went like…it usually goes for the ones who literally suck at sports. But when I heard the music from Star Wars, I told myself it was finally time for me to watch the movies, even more so as the release date of the last episode of the prelogy was coming fast. And to do so, I didn’t even need to go buy any DVD, as the French TV channel M6 had decided to broadcast one episode a week, in the order they were shot, until the week before the release of Revenge of the Sith (I and one friend of mine had already booked our tickers). And then, I really had a revelation and regretted not having gone through the same introduction to the saga like so many kids around me. I went to see Episode III on the day of its release, on May 18, 2005. I already knew that Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader at the end of the movie, of course, but it didn’t prevent me from crying on the first time. God only knows, after the DVD went out, how many times I watched the first 25 minutes of the movie on repeat, before the moment Anakin has a nightmare about Padmé dying while giving birth. I find there’s a sense of carefreeness at the beginning of the movie and it reassured me when I felt bad (and let’s be honest, Hayden Christensen and his killing smile had quite some time on screen during these first 25 minutes, and it felt better than when seeing him with no limbs left and his body burning at the end of the movie).

One year later, I had left Hayden Christensen and a part of my imaginary world behind, but my taste for Star Wars remained. And it’s only become stronger since I met my husband who is a big big fan, as I’ve told you earlier. It’s one of the things we have in common, but I’m far from being such an expert and I learned many things on the saga thanks to him. We saw The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi together. We’ll discover the next movies together. And there is no Christmas tree in our home, we have a Christmas Vader, and we’re beyond proud.