#Jordi Casanovas

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[elmartillosinmetre]

Valses de Año Nuevo

[La directora polaca Marzena Diakun al frente de los conjuntos de la ORCAM / MARCO BORGGREVE]

Una muestra de las recientes producciones de solistas, conjuntos y discográficas españoles dedicados al sector clásico

Ha cumplido ya 82 años, pero Jordi Savall sigue viviendo en una vorágine de conciertos y grabaciones. Su discográfica Alia Vox no descansa. En 2023, además de alguna reedición sonada (como un par de vinilos con míticos registros para su viola de los años 70), ha publicado uno de esos crossovers entre lo antiguo y las músicas tradicionales y del mundo (Oriente Lux) a los que es tan aficionado, pero además se ha adentrado en el terreno del siglo XIX con fuerza: después de su ciclo sinfónico Beethoven y de su acercamiento a Schubert, ha llevado al disco la Italiana de Mendelssohn, que presenta dos veces, en su versión inicial (1833) y en la definitiva (1834), para, ya terminando el año, elevar el tiro con la edición (siempre lujosa e impecable) de nada menos que la Missa solemnis como culminación de su revolucionario acercamiento al genio de Bonn. Escuchando el despliegue de energía de sus conjuntos, la rebautizada ahora como Capella Nacional de Catalunya y Le Concert des Nations (con Lina Tur Bonet, como en Mendelssohn, de concertino), pensaba en que esta demostración de vigor, creatividad y pasión de alguien que lo ha sido ya todo en su oficio es un buen estímulo para afrontar los desencantos de la edad y del entorno que imponen los tiempos.

Otro de los grandes veteranos de la música antigua española dejó a finales de 2023 un disco extraordinario: Procesional de Sixena. Con cuatro cantantes femeninas (Èlia Casanova, Beatriz Lafont, Laia Blasco y Maria Morellà), absolutamente transfiguradas, y el apoyo de un arpa (Robert Cases) y una fídula (la del director del proyecto), Carles Magraner ha conseguido con su Capella de Ministrers uno de esos hitos musicales que se quedan en la memoria por la belleza serena, intemporal que la música transmite. Se trata de un acercamiento al repertorio de las monjas del Real Monasterio de Sijena (Huesca) según la única fuente musical conservada, el excepcional Procesional de Sijena, elaborado en los siglos XIV y XV, que recoge cantos para diferentes momentos del año litúrgico. Aquí se resumen tres: el día de San Juan Bautista, el Mandatum del Jueves Santo y la Pascua, en los que el gregoriano se mezcla con algunas polifonías e interludios instrumentales a partir de los Códices de las Huelgas y Madrid.

Otro grande de la música antigua, Albert Recasens, terminó 2023 presentando un álbum singular con La Grande Chapelle: música sacra latina de Antonio Rodríguez de Hita (1722-1787), un compositor principalmente conocido por sus comedias junto al dramaturgo Ramón de la Cruz. El repertorio fue compuesto para el monasterio madrileño de la Encarnación y está formado por salmos, motetes, himnos, lamentaciones y, sobre todo, responsorios de Epifanía. Como siempre me pasa con Recasens, la mezcla entre rigor y detalle me deja con ganas de oír más.

Savall, Magraner y Recasens manejan sellos propios (Alia Vox, CDM y Lauda), pero puede que el más influyente sello clásico español sea ahora el granadino IBS, que ha seguido con su extraordinaria cadencia productiva, de la que quisiera destacar ahora tres trabajos. El primero es el que el navarro Eloy Orzaiz ha hecho con un piano de Conrad Graf de 1826-27 en el que recoge los tres Klavierstücke D.946 de Schubert y la Gran Sonata brillante en re mayor Op.106 y una bagatela de Hummel (esta última da título a su disco, La Contemplazione) para mostrar la mala suerte que tuvo Hummel al competir en los libros de historia con Beethoven y Schubert: el brillante virtuosismo de su música, combinado con el lirismo belcantista de ese Larghetto de la Sonata, merece más atención de la que hoy conoce.

Para el segundo, cambiamos de universo radicalmente: el Trío Musicalis (Eduardo Raimundo, clarinete; Mario Pérez, violín y viola; Francisco Escoda, piano) titularon Mosaicos a un álbum que recoge obras de compositores españoles vivos: Héctor Parra, Jesús Torres, José Luis Greco, Ramón Paús y José María Sánchez-Verdú, todas ellas escritas entre 2018 y 2021 para el propio grupo, fundado en el seno de la ONE hace ya 15 años. Cinco nombres para cinco estéticas diferentes y un empeño común, seguir ampliando las posibilidades expresivas de los instrumentos y sus desempeños dentro del marco siempre sugestivo y exquisito de la música de cámara. El resultado: un CD original, sorprendente, inquisitivo.

El tercero nos lleva a la música sinfónica. La polaca Marzena Diakun se pone al frente de los conjuntos de los que es actual titular, el Coro y la Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, para un intenso y poco común recital brahmsiano. Sólo la Rapsodia para alto, coro masculino y orquesta, que canta como solista Agnieszka Rehlis, ha alcanzado cierta difusión entre los aficionados.  Pero aquí se reúnen también la Canción del destino Op.54 (sobre Hölderlin), las Cuatro canciones para coro femenino con dos trompas y arpa Op.17, una selección de seis Liebeslieder-Walzer Op.52, Nänie Op.82 (sobre Schiller) y el Canto de las Parcas Op.86 (sobre Goethe). Del Brahms más aparentemente ligero de los valses al dramático que escribe sobre Goethe o Hölderlin todo está dicho aquí con una propiedad técnica y expresiva y una medida del tiempo que no muchos relacionarían con un conjunto español. Me parece uno de los mejores discos grabados por una orquesta española en los últimos años.

El saxofonista toledano Pedro Pablo Cámara también ha creado su propio sello (Calle 440: tiene que pulir el diseño interior y documental de sus productos), donde acaba de publicar un estupendo álbum mozartiano con un conjunto de saxofonistas que responde al singular nombre de Prochain Arrêt y que proceden del Centro Superior de Enseñanza Musical Katarina Gurska de Madrid, donde Cámara ejerce como profesor. El grupo ha cogido dos de las Serenatas de Mozart escritas para Harmoniemusik (octetos de viento, muy populares en la Viena de finales del XVIII) y las ha pasado a sus instrumentos. Las obras se cuentan entre las mejores del género: nada menos que la Nachtmusique KV 388 de 1782 y la Gran Partita KV 361, de la misma época (quizás un año anterior, aunque no es seguro). En su plena madurez, Mozart logra una combinación de lirismo, divertimento y hondura expresiva como en pocos otros géneros de su catálogo. Los arreglos son tan buenos que uno se olvida del instrumento que escucha porque el mensaje musical del compositor llega en toda su extensión y su verdad.

Debutaron para la fonografía con canciones de García Leoz en un disco titulado Luna Clara, y la soprano pacense Mar Morán y el pianista Aurelio Viribay vuelven al CD con Luna muerta (editado en Cezanne esta vez), repaso por las canciones de Manuel Palau (1893-1967). A la ampliación del repertorio español, el CD añade la posibilidad de escuchar una voz radiante, que se explaya operísticamente de forma brillantísima cuando la ocasión lo requiere, pero sabe recogerse en la intimidad con delicadeza, siempre con insinuante intención expresiva en matices y acentos. Soberbio.

Y para terminar, más valses, que estamos en Año Nuevo. Los doce que el pianista cordobés Pablo Amorós ha dejado con la marca Marfer de un personaje enigmático, Clifton Worsley, seudónimo de Pedro Astort Ribas (1872-1925), un barcelonés, pionero del jazz en España, creador del llamado Vals de Boston (con el primero, luego retitulado Beloved!, se hizo famoso internacionalmente), más lento que el vals vienés o francés y con el que se labró un nombre en la música popular de principios del siglo XX. Worsley fue luego olvidado. Este atrevido CD lo reivindica.

[Diario de Sevilla. 7-01-2024]

[eljoguetexquisit]

Fotografia Jordi Casanovas

[queretarotv]

Jauría, la obra que estremeció a España, llega al Teatro Helénico

Luego de una exitosa temporada en el Foro Lucerna, LaTe Producciones y Artes Hartas presentan en el Helénico: Jauría, una ficción documental creada por Jordi Casanovas, a partir de las declaraciones que la denunciante y los acusados realizaron en el famoso juicio de “La Manada”, por los hechos de violación grupal ocurridos durante los Sanfermines de 2016, en Pamplona, España. La puesta se…

[elcorreografico]

Vuelta de las funciones al Coliseo Podestá

Vuelta de las funciones al #ColiseoPodestá #LaPlata #Cultura

La Municipalidad de La Plata levantará este viernes el telón del mítico Coliseo Podestá para ofrecer una cartelera repleta de teatro, música y danza a todos los vecinos de la Ciudad. Hernán Piquín y Martín Bossi, entre los espectáculos destacados del mes.Con un amplio cronograma que incluye propuestas para todos los gustos, el histórico espacio de calle 10 entre 46 y 47 reabrirá mañana sus…

[only-johnny-deppp]

Photocall: Minamata [Barcelona Sant Jordi International Film Festival] - April 16, 2021

Johnny, Stephen Deuters (European President of Infinitum Nihil), Andrew Levitas (Director) and Conxita Casanovas (BCN Film Fest Director) during a photocall to present "Minamata", today (April 16) during the 5th Barcelona Sant Jordi International Film Festival at Casa Fuster Hotelon, in Barcelona, Spain.

[alzheimeruniversal]

Estimular al Enfermo de Alzheimer en Casa

#EstimulaciónCognitiva #AhoraEstimulación "Estimular al Enfermo de #Alzheimer en Casa". Agradecimientos:@knowalzheimer

Estimular al Enfermo de Alzheimer en Casa Hoy hablamos de estimulación y desde kNOWAlzheimer os traemos una infografía para saber qué formas tenemos de estimular al enfermo de Alzheimer en casa. Uno de los retos más importantes que hay que afrontar a la hora de cuidar a un paciente con enfermedad de Alzheimer es estimular al paciente en casa. La siguiente infografía muestra diez pautas relevantes…

[namesetc]

random names part 2

abigale

anvil

annex

anchor

annia

atel / attel

asher

astri

astride

allana

allei

blain / blaine

brix

brice

byle

byte

bex / bexx

brint

brunt

bliss

beth

casanova

candle

clover

crescent

crest

chrom / crom

chrome

chroma

chromia

caron / charon

care

civi

deirdre

deniara

disire / desire / desiree

dorian / durian / darian / darrian

dwindle

dive

dove

dendel

dria

dire / dyre

dawn / don / donn

enclave

everice

edura

eduran

edel / edle

edge

effe / effie

ethel

ester

haunter

heather

hatti / hattie

hix

hyter

heath

honour

hallie

henna / hena

jewel

jesta

juniper

jasper

juvi

jinge

jingle

jordi

jill

janna

jyre

kindle

kiff

krinkle

liola

lionel

shiver

siv

tenant

twist

witcher

[thecamerons]

John B Routledge fic recommendations

Always knew - @outerbankies

Bear kegs and jealous boyfriends - @pankows-girl

Casanova - @milazka

For you, anything - @goldenroutledge

Full of surprises - @softlikesilkchiffon

If you ever want to be in love - @edmundspevensea

Lazy river - @pitaparka

Hammer to fall - @johnb-routledge

Marks - @collecting-stories

Morning - @anonymous0writer

Our secret - @obxsummer

Pesky feelings- @just-jordie-things

R u mine? - @roxa-sos

Safe heaven - @tweedlydumbtweedlydoo

you and me against the world - @writeroutoftime

3am - @pogueshomecoming

[nellygwyn]

BOOK RECS

Okay, so lots of people wanted this and so, I am compiling a list of my favourite books (both fiction and non-fiction), books that I recommend you read as soon as humanly possible. In the meantime, I’ll be pinning this post to the top of my blog (once I work out how to do that lmao) so it will be accessible for old and new followers. I’m going to order this list thematically, I think, just to keep everything tidy and orderly. Of course, a lot of this list will consist of historical fiction and historical non-fiction because that’s what I read primarily and thus, that’s where my bias is, but I promise to try and spice it up just a little bit. 

Favourite fiction books of all time:

The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock // Imogen Hermes Gowar

Sense and Sensibility // Jane Austen

Slammerkin // Emma Donoghue 

Remarkable Creatures // Tracy Chevalier

Life Mask // Emma Donoghue

His Dark Materials // Philip Pullman (this includes the follow-up series The Book of Dust)

Emma // Jane Austen

The Miniaturist // Jessie Burton

Girl, Woman, Other // Bernadine Evaristo 

Jane Eyre // Charlotte Brontë

Persuasion // Jane Austen

Girl with a Pearl Earring // Tracy Chevalier

The Silent Companions // Laura Purcell

Tess of the d’Urbervilles // Thomas Hardy

Northanger Abbey // Jane Austen

The Chronicles of Narnia // C.S. Lewis

Pride and Prejudice // Jane Austen

Goodnight, Mr Tom // Michelle Magorian

The French Lieutenant’s Woman // John Fowles 

The Butcher’s Hook // Janet Ellis 

Mansfield Park // Jane Austen

The All Souls Trilogy // Deborah Harkness

The Railway Children // Edith Nesbit

Favourite non-fiction books of all time

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman // Robert Massie

Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King // Antonia Fraser

Madame de Pompadour // Nancy Mitford

The First Iron Lady: A Life of Caroline of Ansbach // Matthew Dennison 

Black and British: A Forgotten History // David Olusoga

Courtiers: The Secret History of the Georgian Court // Lucy Worsley 

Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Katherine Howard, the Fifth Wife of Henry VIII // Gareth Russell

King Charles II // Antonia Fraser

Casanova’s Women // Judith Summers

Marie Antoinette: The Journey // Antonia Fraser

Mrs. Jordan’s Profession: The Story of a Great Actress and a Future King // Claire Tomalin

Jane Austen at Home // Lucy Worsley

Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames // Lara Maiklem

The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth // Anna Keay

The Marlboroughs: John and Sarah Churchill // Christopher Hibbert

Nell Gwynn: A Biography // Charles Beauclerk

Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the Primeval Monsters // Patricia Pierce

Georgian London: Into the Streets // Lucy Inglis

The Prince Who Would Be King: The Life and Death of Henry Stuart // Sarah Fraser

Wedlock: How Georgian Britain’s Worst Husband Met His Match // Wendy Moore

Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from the Stone Age to the Silver Screen // Greg Jenner

Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum // Kathryn Hughes

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey // Nicola Tallis

Favourite books about the history of sex and/or sex work

The Origins of Sex: A History of First Sexual Revolution // Faramerz Dabhoiwala 

Erotic Exchanges: The World of Elite Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century Paris // Nina Kushner

Peg Plunkett: Memoirs of a Whore // Julie Peakman

Courtesans // Katie Hickman

The Other Victorians: A Study of Sexuality and Pornography in mid-Nineteenth Century England

Madams, Bawds, and Brothel Keepers // Fergus Linnane

The Secret History of Georgian London: How the Wages of Sin Shaped the Capital // Dan Cruickshank 

A Curious History of Sex // Kate Lister

Sex and Punishment: 4000 Years of Judging Desire // Eric Berkowitz

Queen of the Courtesans: Fanny Murray // Barbara White

Rent Boys: A History from Ancient Times to Present // Michael Hone

Celeste // Roland Perry

Sex and the Gender Revolution // Randolph Trumbach

The Pleasure’s All Mine: A History of Perverse Sex // Julie Peakman

LGBT+ fiction I love*

The Confessions of the Fox // Jordy Rosenberg 

As Meat Loves Salt // Maria Mccann

Bone China // Laura Purcell

Brideshead Revisited // Evelyn Waugh

The Confessions of Frannie Langton // Sara Collins

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle // Neil Blackmore

Orlando // Virginia Woolf

Tipping the Velvet // Sarah Waters

She Rises // Kate Worsley

The Mercies // Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Oranges are Not the Only Fruit // Jeanette Winterson

Maurice // E.M Forster

Frankisstein: A Love Story // Jeanette Winterson

If I Was Your Girl // Meredith Russo 

The Well of Loneliness // Radclyffe Hall 

* fyi, Life Mask and Girl, Woman, Other are also LGBT+ fiction

Classics I haven’t already mentioned (including children’s classics)

Far From the Madding Crowd // Thomas Hardy 

I Capture the Castle // Dodie Smith 

Vanity Fair // William Makepeace Thackeray 

Wuthering Heights // Emily Brontë

The Blazing World // Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle

Murder on the Orient Express // Agatha Christie 

Great Expectations // Charles Dickens

North and South // Elizabeth Gaskell

Evelina // Frances Burney

Death on the Nile // Agatha Christie

The Monk // Matthew Lewis

Frankenstein // Mary Shelley

Vilette // Charlotte Brontë

The Mayor of Casterbridge // Thomas Hardy

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall // Anne Brontë

Vile Bodies // Evelyn Waugh

Beloved // Toni Morrison 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd // Agatha Christie

The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling // Henry Fielding

A Room With a View // E.M. Forster

Silas Marner // George Eliot 

Jude the Obscure // Thomas Hardy

My Man Jeeves // P.G. Wodehouse

Lady Audley’s Secret // Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Middlemarch // George Eliot

Little Women // Louisa May Alcott

Children of the New Forest // Frederick Marryat

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings // Maya Angelou 

Rebecca // Daphne du Maurier

Alice in Wonderland // Lewis Carroll

The Wind in the Willows // Kenneth Grahame

Anna Karenina // Leo Tolstoy

Howard’s End // E.M. Forster

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 // Sue Townsend

Even more fiction recommendations

The Darling Strumpet // Gillian Bagwell

The Wolf Hall trilogy // Hilary Mantel

The Illumination of Ursula Flight // Anne-Marie Crowhurst

Queenie // Candace Carty-Williams

Forever Amber // Kathleen Winsor

The Corset // Laura Purcell

Love in Colour // Bolu Babalola

Artemisia // Alexandra Lapierre

Blackberry and Wild Rose // Sonia Velton

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories // Angela Carter

The Languedoc trilogy // Kate Mosse

Longbourn // Jo Baker

A Skinful of Shadows // Frances Hardinge

The Black Moth // Georgette Heyer

The Far Pavilions // M.M Kaye

The Essex Serpent // Sarah Perry

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo // Taylor Jenkins Reid

Cavalier Queen // Fiona Mountain 

The Winter Palace // Eva Stachniak

Friday’s Child // Georgette Heyer

Falling Angels // Tracy Chevalier

Little // Edward Carey

Chocolat // Joanne Harris 

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street // Natasha Pulley 

My Sister, the Serial Killer // Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Convenient Marriage // Georgette Heyer

Katie Mulholland // Catherine Cookson

Restoration // Rose Tremain

Meat Market // Juno Dawson

Lady on the Coin // Margaret Campbell Bowes

In the Company of the Courtesan // Sarah Dunant

The Crimson Petal and the White // Michel Faber

A Place of Greater Safety // Hilary Mantel 

The Little Shop of Found Things // Paula Brackston

The Improbability of Love // Hannah Rothschild

The Murder Most Unladylike series // Robin Stevens

Dark Angels // Karleen Koen

The Words in My Hand // Guinevere Glasfurd

Time’s Convert // Deborah Harkness

The Collector // John Fowles

Vivaldi’s Virgins // Barbara Quick

The Foundling // Stacey Halls

The Phantom Tree // Nicola Cornick

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle // Stuart Turton

Golden Hill // Francis Spufford

Assorted non-fiction not yet mentioned

The Dinosaur Hunters: A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World // Deborah Cadbury

The Beauty and the Terror: An Alternative History to the Italian Renaissance // Catherine Fletcher

All the King's Women: Love, Sex, and Politics in the life of Charles II // Derek Jackson

Mozart’s Women // Jane Glover

Scandalous Liaisons: Charles II and His Court // R.E. Pritchard

Matilda: Queen, Empress, Warrior // Catherine Hanley 

Black Tudors // Miranda Kaufman 

To Catch a King: Charles II's Great Escape // Charles Spencer

1666: Plague, War and Hellfire // Rebecca Rideal

Henrietta Maria: Charles I's Indomitable Queen // Alison Plowden

Catherine of Braganza: Charles II's Restoration Queen // Sarah-Beth Watkins

Four Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses // Helen Rappaport

Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832 // Stella Tillyard 

The Fortunes of Francis Barber: The True Story of the Jamaican Slave who Became Samuel Johnson’s Heir // Michael Bundock

Black London: Life Before Emancipation // Gretchen Gerzina

In These Times: Living in Britain Through Napoleon’s Wars, 1793-1815

The King’s Mistress: Scandal, Intrigue and the True Story of the Woman who Stole the Heart of George I // Claudia Gold

Perdita: The Life of Mary Robinson // Paula Byrne

The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England // Amanda Vickery

Terms and Conditions: Life in Girls’ Boarding School, 1939-1979 // Ysenda Maxtone Graham 

Fanny Burney: A Biography // Claire Harman

Aphra Behn: A Secret Life // Janet Todd

The Imperial Harem: Women and the Sovereignty in the Ottoman Empire // Leslie Peirce

The Fall of the House of Byron // Emily Brand

The Favourite: Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough // Ophelia Field

Night-Walking: A Nocturnal History of London // Matthew Beaumont, Will Self

Jane Austen: A Life // Claire Tomalin

Beloved Emma: The Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton // Flora Fraser

Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the 18th Century // John Brewer

Henrietta Howard: King’s Mistress, Queen’s Servant // Tracy Borman

City of Beasts: How Animals Shaped Georgian London // Tom Almeroth-Williams

Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion // Anne Somerset 

Charlotte Brontë: A Life // Claire Harman 

Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe // Anthony Summers

Queer City: Gay London from the Romans to the Present Day // Peter Ackroyd 

Elizabeth I and Her Circle // Susan Doran

African Europeans: An Untold History // Olivette Otele 

Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron, and Other Tangled Lives // Daisy Hay

How to Create the Perfect Wife // Wendy Moore

The Sphinx: The Life of Gladys Deacon, Duchess of Marlborough // Hugo Vickers

The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn // Eric Ives

Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy // Barbara Ehrenreich

A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie // Kathryn Harkup 

Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II // Linda Porter

Female Husbands: A Trans History // Jen Manion

Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day // Anne Somerset

Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country // Edward Parnell 

A Cheesemonger’s History of the British Isles // Ned Palmer

The Butchering Art: Joseph Lister’s Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine // Lindsey Fitzharris

Medieval Woman: Village Life in the Middle Ages // Ann Baer

The Husband Hunters: Social Climbing in London and New York // Anne de Courcy

The Voices of Nîmes: Women, Sex, and Marriage in Reformation Languedoc // Suzannah Lipscomb

The Daughters of the Winter Queen // Nancy Goldstone

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency // Bea Koch

Bess of Hardwick // Mary S. Lovell

The Royal Art of Poison // Eleanor Herman 

The Strangest Family: The Private Lives of George III, Queen Charlotte, and the Hanoverians // Janice Hadlow

Palaces of Pleasure: From Music Halls to the Seaside to Football; How the Victorians Invented Mass Entertainment // Lee Jackson

Favourite books about current social/political issues (?? for lack of a better term)

Feminism, Interrupted: Disrupting Power // Lola Olufemi

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Worker Rights // Molly Smith, Juno Mac

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race // Reni Eddo-Lodge

Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows // Christine Burns

Me, Not You: The Trouble with Mainstream Feminism // Alison Phipps

Trans Like Me: A Journey For All Of Us // C.N Lester

Brit(Ish): On Race, Identity, and Belonging // Afua Hirsch 

The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence, and Cultural Restitution // Dan Hicks

Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls: A Handbook for Unapologetic Living // Jes M. Baker

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot // Mikki Kendall

Denial: Holocaust History on Trial // Deborah Lipstadt

Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape // Jessica Valenti, Jaclyn Friedman

Don’t Touch My Hair // Emma Dabiri

Sister Outsider // Audre Lorde 

Unicorn: The Memoir of a Muslim Drag Queen // Amrou Al-Kadhi

Trans Power // Juno Roche

Breathe: A Letter to My Sons // Imani Perry

The Windrush Betrayal: Exposing the Hostile Environment // Amelia Gentleman

Happy Fat: Taking Up Space in a World That Wants to Shrink You // Sofie Hagen

Diaries, memoirs & letters

The Diary of a Young Girl // Anne Frank

Renia’s Diary: A Young Girl’s Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust // Renia Spiegel 

Writing Home // Alan Bennett

The Diary of Samuel Pepys // Samuel Pepys

Histoire de Ma Vie // Giacomo Casanova

Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger // Nigel Slater

London Journal, 1762-1763 // James Boswell

The Diary of a Bookseller // Shaun Blythell 

Jane Austen’s Letters // edited by Deidre la Faye

H is for Hawk // Helen Mcdonald 

The Salt Path // Raynor Winn

The Glitter and the Gold // Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough

Journals and Letters // Fanny Burney

Educated // Tara Westover

Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading // Lucy Mangan

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? // Jeanette Winterson

A Dutiful Boy // Mohsin Zaidi

Secrets and Lies: The Trials of Christine Keeler // Christine Keeler

800 Years of Women’s Letters // edited by Olga Kenyon

Istanbul // Orhan Pamuk

Henry and June // Anaïs Nin

Historical romance (this is a short list because I’m still fairly new to this genre)

The Bridgerton series // Julia Quinn

One Good Earl Deserves a Lover // Sarah Mclean

Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake // Sarah Mclean

The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics // Olivia Waite

That Could Be Enough // Alyssa Cole

Unveiled // Courtney Milan

The Craft of Love // EE Ottoman

The Maiden Lane series // Elizabeth Hoyt

An Extraordinary Union // Alyssa Cole

Slightly Dangerous // Mary Balogh

Dangerous Alliance: An Austentacious Romance // Jennieke Cohen

A Fashionable Indulgence // KJ Charles

[bestsportmedia]

Leo Messi  exclusive  interview with Jordi Évole: Part 1

              On family and his private life:

Evole: What are your Christmas plans?

Messi: Heading back to Argentina for Christmas, all my family are there .... it's complicated though with the pandemic..... it's difficult in Argentina too...

Evole: What was your favourite gift for Christmas as a kid?

Messi: I remember getting an official match ball ...it was expensive but my folks made a major effort and I also remember getting a Newell's shirt which was special.

Evole: I wasn't sure if this interview would go ahead as the pandemic has really turned things upside down but you are one of the few people who have made me jump from my seat in the past 15 years....

Messi: I'm not one for speaking about matters such as a global pandemic in public.

Evole: Have you ever used Cristiano when playing on the Playstation?

Messi: Never.... I just pick random teams

Messi signs a Barcelona shirt and Evole asks what the FCB shirt means to messi

Messi: This shirt means everything for me, my love for the club, the city, my kids were born here

Evole: How are you now after the summer?

Messi: I'm good now and the episode of the summer is behind me .... the club is having a rough time but I'm full of enthusiasm but the club is in bad shape.

Evole: Everyone is analyzing your constant moves.... pictures on social media, gestures.... how is it living with that ?

Messi: There's no way I could live my life worrying what everyone thinks.....

Evole: Have you cried recently Leo?

Messi: For sporting matters no, but yes for a personal issue that I'd rather keep private.

Evole: Are you in the Whats-app group with the other parents at the kids school?

Messi: (laughs) ...no, that's something that Antonela looks after

Evole: Do you watch the likes of Peppa Pig or Paw Patrol with the kids

Messi:  Yes, I've seen all those .... they also like to watch videos on YouTube and are keen to play with devices ... I like being with my children, playing football ... I enjoy everything that is being with them. Every night some of them appear in bed. Thiago is not so much anymore, but Mateo still comes.

Evole: I heard one day that Thiago came back from school somewhat hurt as the other kids were teasing him for being your son..how was that ?

Messi: Yes, that was sad episode but we've seen how the three kids now stand up for one another and Matteo is the least introverted of the three I'd say. Thiago is like me: introverted, shy ... and has a hard time when they tell him some things about me. anyway, from the age of 4 he has had the same companions and they themselves protect him and take him out of all that.

Evole: analysing Messi's life ...can you just pop down to the local supermarket?

Messi: Sometimes, but it can be difficult .... I still go to restaurants with the family in Gava and Castelfidels.... I go to the Casanova Beach for example and am good friends with the owner. My life is very normal and sometimes boring. I get up, have breakfast, take the boys to school, I train, I go back, as with Antonella ... the truth is, little else. Sometimes I have gone to the supermarket to buy. Not always, but I also like to go. Not to the markets anymore, because a lot of people get together and it becomes difficult. I have lived here for ten years (in Castelldefels). It is small and I know everything, of course

Evola: Many people you feel you live a privileged life .... what would you say to those individuals

Messi: It's true.... we do live a privileged life but I'd like at times just to be able to pop out to the market or head to the cinema but that's impossible. Every time I leave the house with the kids, we're aware of hundreds of eyes on us.

[scienceninjaturtle]

DARKHOLD: WASP #1

JORDIE BELLAIRE (W) • Claire Roe (A)

Cover by PAUL RENAUD

Design variant cover by CIAN TORMEY

Connecting Variant Cover by

JOSEMARIA CASANOVAS

VARIANT COVER BY AUDREY MOK

INTRODUCING THE

IRREDEEMABLE WASP!

Renowned colorist and writer Jordie Bellaire makes her Marvel writing debut with a story that will make you shrink in fear! Bidden to draw forth five archetypal heroes, the Scarlet Witch chose Janet Van Dyne as "the artist" — the hero whose ingenuity and strength of will could prove the lynchpin in the coming battle against Chthon. To enter Chthon's dimension and face his darkness head-on, the Wasp read from the ill-fated Darkhold text…and it drove her insane. Now her entire life is subject to question. Janet is no stranger to mental illness; she spent years trying to redeem ex-husband Hank Pym despite his violent breakdowns. But now, she has the power to reclaim her story…and fight back. Bellaire brings you the most twisted comic you'll read this year!

40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$4.99

[bpod-bpod]

Stress Protection

Deep inside a fruit fly larva are the cellular ‘seeds’ of the adult insect: structures known as imaginal discs, which sit quietly until it’s time to transform into a fly. In the meantime, it’s vital that these important cells are maintained and protected to avoid causing problems in building an adult body. On the left is the wing imaginal disc from a normal fly, while the one in the middle is lacking a gene called headcase and the one on the right also has an extra dose of another gene that has been implicated in cancer. Researchers have discovered that headcase helps to protect imaginal disc cells from stress, and also triggers them to develop into adult structures. Versions of headcase are found in many other animals, including humans, so it could be playing a role in protecting our cells from stressful conditions that can induce the growth of cancer.

Written by Kat Arney

Image by Panagiotis Giannios and Jordi Casanova

Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in PLOS Genetics, February 2021

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[montysworld]

Zara Origins - Avril 14th from Roger Guàrdia on Vimeo.

Visual experience based on APHEX TWIN's song Avril 14th for the new Origins collection by Zara.

FILM CREDITS

Directed by Roger Guàrdia -----------

Produced by CANADA -----------

Executive Producer Víctor Mata

Producer Marga Sardà Badia -----------

Director of Photography Ryan Marie Helfant

Production Designer Oian Arteta

Production Manager Yolanda Gata

1st AD Diego Núñez

Stylist Marq Rise

Make-up Artist Lucy Bridge

Hair Artist Louis Ghewy

Editor Carlos Font Clos

Grading Marc Morató @ La Metropolitana

Sound Design Jack Sedgwick @ Wave Studios

Postproduction La Metropolitana -----------

Production Coordinator Marta Vega

Production Assistant Aina Salarich

Ecoshoot Coordinator Aurora Muñoz

Postproduction Coordinator Sara Camacho

Postproduction Supervisor Iván Iniesta @ La Metropolitana

PAs/Drivers Pau Arévalo David Ceballos Guille Lavin Gerard Llopart Marc Massó Ramón Novellas Marcelo Pérez Oscar Pérez Aitor Rau Oriol Recasens Riky Serrano

Ecoshoot PA David Medina

PA Trainee Sara Martínez

Set Manager Aiman Halabi

Location Manager Iván Gómez

Location Assistant Sergi Cabrera

Location Scout Jaume Jordana Joel López Matías Saravia

2nd AD Dani Velázquez

3rd ADs Helena Lobato Albert Marcos

Casting Lane Casting

Special Effects Clemente Torres

Animal Wrangler Gabriel Lozano

-----------

Focus Puller Toni Rodríguez

2nd AC Eneko Abad

Clapper Loader Mònica Mauri

VTR Xavi García

Steadycam Operator Sacha Naceri

Camera B Operator Teo López Camera B Focus Puller Iván Buñuel

Camera B 2nd AC Arkaitz Latorre

Camera B VTR Kian Rahnema

Scuba Cam Jose Manuel Herrero

Scuba Cam Assistant Raúl Caso

Gaffer Juan F. Román

Sparks Raul Alimbau Alberto Álvarez Jordi Biosca Alex Carvajal Juan F. Flores Oscar Gallego Víctor Gasull Xavier González Patrik Herchl Víctor Moreno Joan Manel Pérez Jesús Manuel Prieto Santi Rodríguez Jordi Sánchez

Key Grip Jordi Soms

Grip Toni Espejo

Scorpio Crane Jordi Galán

Sound Technician Carles Prats

Boom Operator Gabriel Hernan

----------- Assistants Art Director Cristina Cortizo Anna Llubera

Props Buyer Eduard Arbona

Art Assistants Julien Anderson Nata Jacob Jonathan Rodríguez Sergi Ruiz

----------- Styling Assistants Alexa Barrios Maria Combalia Iria Franch Nona Permanyer Bea Rivas

Seamstresses Aloma Abeyà Blanca Oliva

Mk’up Ass. to Ms Bridge Kyle Dominic Jana Reininger

Hair Ass. to Mr Ghewy Eduardo Bravo

Add. Talent Mk’up & Hair Oliva Marcos

Add Talent Mk’up & Hair Ass. Cristina Casanovas Eli García Olalla Limeres Sandra Martín Vanessa Sánchez Laura Sans

Manicurist Rosa Matilla ----------- Main Talent Takfarines Bengana Rogier Bosschaart Kwaku Broni Ottawa Kwami Chester McKee Babacar N’Doye Yura Nakano Sacha Quenby Mika Schneider Moustapha Sy

----------

Orchestra Furius Music Orchestra

Underwater Stunt Carlos Ribera @ Filmsport

Background Extras JK Guzman

----------- Storyboard Roger Pibernat

Credits Design Judit Musachs

BTS Camera Operators Pol G. Sala Juanjo López

BTS Photographer Dani Pujalte

BTS & Assistant Editor Bernat Udina

----------- “Avril 14th - Orchestral Version”   Music: Aphex Twin ‘Avril 14th’, Courtesy of Warp Records   Music Production Hook and Line Inc.   Orchestral Arrangement Bryan Senti   Production Assistant Francesco Le Metre

Music Mix Bill Mims @ Alpha Road Studios in Los Angeles, California

  Studio recording by FILMharmonic Orchestra in Prague on August 31st, 2021 Conductor:  Adam Klemens Sound Engineer: Jan Holzner Assistant Sound Engineer: Michal Hradiský Orchestra Contractor and Recording Sessions Manager: Petr Pycha

Live performance by Furius Music Orchestra in Barcelona on August 22nd, 2021

-------------- Suppliers

Servicevision Zeferino Another Light Blacklight Grip Support Cinelab London Zafarrancho Location Support Quadis AAV LocLum Kaizen Modasa Lazaro Dynamic International Inextremis Elemento FX Animales a Rodar Frankachela Tasta’m Cinevent Geseme Blue Screen Freecov Travelface

------------ Special Thanks Momo M. Javier G. Javier R. Carlos T. Jacobo S. Oscar G. Antonio P. Carlos N. Javi Botella Marina M. Campomanes Sophie Williams Davey Ahern Cristina López Diana C. Milesi

------------ Shot in Barcelona on August 19th-22nd, 2021.

[abitterlifethroughcinema]

THE St. Jordi BCN Film Festival ’21 FILM REVIEWS

VOL. I: What’s Good!

by Lucas Avram Cavazos

YOUR #VOSEng take on upcoming international cinema premiering in Catalonia & Spain soon

To begin with, for a fellow who has for years been used to screening or viewing hundreds of movies annually, thereby spending hella time in cinemas, a global pandemic has been a true shock to the dork’s system. It has been a testament to the mindset of ‘the show must go on’ to see so many of our local and other European film festivals pushing back against the virus and powering through what could be deemed a safety issue by many. But basta! For starters, temp checks and hand sanitiser stations plus mandatory mask wearing have made a true return to movie going a half-wonderful respite. And so many thanks to Conxita Casanovas, Marien Pinies, David Mitjans, Cines Verdi BCN, Institut Francaise, and Casa Seat plus ALL the industry, press and movie lovers for making one of my favourite film festivals back to life for the half-decade anniversary. And I’m not just saying that for shits n’ giggles.

As an educator and broadcaster, history not only steeps itself within the confines of my classes, sessions and weekly radio/livestream shows, but every single one of us are literally living and walking and thriving through history, even as I scribe. So congratulations to anyone reading this, because you are Destiny's Child’ing it all over this place like drum n’ bass! On to the festival and cinema though please…

The St. Jordi BCN Film Festival revolves around the celebrated St. George’s/Day of the Book holiday here in Catalonia and so all the movies are based upon literary and historical works and facts. Red carpet moments and celebrities also make up the soirees and this year proved even better than others, with the likes of Johnny Depp and Isabelle Huppert being hosted by Cines Verdi, Institut Francaise and Casa Fuster. Depp, dressed as his character (I believe!) from his latest premiere Minamata -reviewed below- even mentioned that he would have loved to stay longer if he could keep Casa Fuster all to himself. And the day after her premiere for Mama Weed -also reviewed below- Huppert was seen being gorgeous at another film screening and then meandering about Gracia. But let’s speak about some of the movies that piqued my interest and will hopefully do the same to yours.

Petit Pays by Eric Barbier ####

Winner of Best Film at this year’s festival awards, Petit Pays tells a quasi-true story of family struggle during the Hutu vs Tutsi massacre that befell the gorgeous countries of Burundi and Rwanda in the early-to-mid 90s. But that is just the mere slice of what the plot truly entails. Focusing on little Gaby (Djibril Vancoppenolle) and his wee sister Ana (Dayla De Medina) as they make their way through childhood/pre-teen years, the plot thickens when the genocide starts to spill over and touch their lives, hectically lived with their Belgian father (Jean-Paul Rouve) and Rwandan mother (Isabelle Kabano, winner of the Best Actress award at this year’s festival). Truth be told, they do live in the lap of African middle class pleasantries, but as the film tenses up, reality sets in for all involved, including us viewers. The harsh reality that director Barbier fuses into the novel adaptation by French-Rwandan rapper/author Gael Faye seeks to display to the audience the truth of a genocidal history and how the sins of the parents always come back to burden or visit the children.

Where to watch: debuts in local cinemas 28/05/21

Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell ####

Oscar-nominated and local premiere hit Promising Young Woman had a stellar reception at this year’s festival and what a tour de force it turned out to be. The film plot revolves around medical school dropout Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan), who turns 30 and passes her time working at a trendy coffee shop but completely unmotivated whilst also continuing to live with her increasingly-worried parents. Years after her best mate killed herself, Cassie drags the guilt and loss along with her…until a blast from the past shows up, gets his coffee spat in and then falls head over heels into what will turn into a revenge tale beyond one’s craziest notions. A tale of loss that touches on modern themes in a frighteningly understandable way is few and far between these days. Fennell’s work here puts her on the map for sure.

Where to watch: in local cinemas NOW

Minamata by Andrew Levitas ###-1/2

This year marks 50 years since a collective understanding by world powers finally began to comprehend the enormity that factories create against Mother Nature and living creatures. It’s New York and 1971 when we find W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp), Life magazine photo journalist and one awash in a realm of problems. Then, adding to that drama, we find him suddenly embroiled on a task and mission that is presented by a couple of his fans, without his awareness that he has also stumbled onto a truth beyond wills. Environmental devastation affecting the innocent in Minamata, Japan is where we eventually spend the plurality of the film, and if you can get through the end scene of it without tears or shame of what mankind has wrought, you’re a tougher kid than I.

Where to watch: in local cinemas as of 30 April

Mama Weed by Jean-Paul Salomé ####

I cannot even begin to explain how much I absolutely enjoyed screening this film by the gifted and curious director Salomé, but it is without a doubt the tour de force work of ageless French star Isabelle Huppert that summons one to watch and compels them to laugh and engage. Undoubtedly, adapting any work of art from literature is never an easy undertaking, but the bringing to life of Patience Portefeux, a judicial interpreter for France’s investigation division, turns out to be crown jewel by Huppert. Serving up comical thrills, blithe acting when under insane pressure by duel forces and fierce Arab queen fashions, this film will have you white-knuckled, perplexed and laughing, all in tandem. THIS is an early-in-the-year film that deserves some attention!

Where to watch: in local cinemas NOW

My Salinger Year by Philippe Falardeau ###-1/2

Based on the like-titled autobio novel by Joanna Smith Rakoff, the movie stars Margaret Qualley as Joanna, an aspiring writer and young upstart in an NYC lit agency, whose tasks include many things, including answering the many fan mail letters that come for the agency’s fave writer J.D. Salinger, he of the oft-loved US American coming-of-age novel Catcher in the Rye. Even this guy connected to Holden Caulfield as a youth so when Joanna one day fields a call from Salinger and then gets caught trying to find endearing manners to respond to these grand fans, an incident leads to a coming-of-age awareness experience for Joanna and we the audience are the ones who are all the better for it.

Where to watch: in local cinemas on 4/6/21

[anastpaul]

Memorials of the Saints - 19 December

Memorials of the Saints – 19 December

St Pope Anastasius I (Died 401) St Augustine Moi Van Nguyen St Avitus of Micy Bl Berengar of Banares St Berardo Valeara of Teramo OSB (c 1050-1122) Bl Bogumila Noiszewska St Boniface of Cilicia Bl Cecilia of Ferrara St Dominic Uy Van Bui St Fausta of Sirmium St Gregory of Auxerre St Jaume Boguñá Casanovas St Johannes Gogniat St Jordi Sampé Tarragó St Josep Albareda Ramoneda Bl Kazimiera Wolowska B…