Vanity Fair’s Hitchcock

[+Info: vanityfair.com / up.youngruffians.com]

Alerta por suicidios en Puerto Rico

2/15/2008, 12:00 p.m. PST
Por LAURA N. PEREZ SANCHEZThe Associated Press

SAN JUAN (AP) — Por lo menos 8.541 personas se suicidaron en Puerto Rico entre 1980 y 2007 y la secretaría de salud admitió que la situación merece atención gubernamental.

Se trata de un promedio de 316 muertes por año y las estadísticas oficiales indican que en lo que va de 2008, 36 personas se han quitado la vida. La secretaria de Salud, Rosa Pérez Perdomo, afirmó el viernes que contrario a la percepción general las cifras actuales no representan un alza en la cifra de suicidios.

“Nosotros quisiéramos que no ocurriera ningún caso, pero no estamos ante un aumento”, sostuvo en conferencia prensa.

Desde que inició el 2008, los medios de comunicación han reseñado ampliamente el alto número de suicidios, incluyendo el del novio de una presentadora de televisión y varios relacionados con casos de violencia doméstica en los que los agresores se quitaron la vida tras asesinar a sus compañeras.

Una mujer mató el jueves a su hijo de siete años previo a intentar quitarse la vida. La fémina dejó una nota que leía: “No puedo continuar, el padre no quiere al niño, no tengo quién lo cuide, ya me cansé, mejor me voy y me lo llevo”.

Según datos oficiales, 270 personas se privaron de la vida el año pasado.

El director de la Administración de Servicios de Salud Mental y Contra la Adicción, José Galarza, sostuvo que la conducta suicida debe ser atendida de manera integral y su tratamiento siempre debe ser supervisado por el gobierno porque se trata de un asunto de salud pública.

No obstante, admitió que en el sistema actual en el que compañías privadas ofrecen servicios de salud mental, no se cumple con esa supervisión gubernamental.

La epidemióloga del Estado, Enid García Rivera, adelantó que iniciarán un proyecto piloto para recopilar información acerca de los intentos suicidas, ya que al momento el Departamento sólo cuenta con estadísticas sobre las personas que lo consiguen.

Una línea telefónica especializada en atención a personas con trastornos mentales ha recibido este año 369 llamadas de personas con “ideas estructuradas” para quitarse la vida, de las cuales 38 fueron hechas por niños o adolescentes, según Galarza.

De acuerdo a los datos de Salud en 1991 se registró el número más alto de muertes por suicidios, con 371. Ello representó una tasa de 10,5 muertes por cada 100,000 habitantes.

En 2002, se reportaron 248, la cifra más baja en ese periodo.

En la isla, la mayor cantidad de personas que se quitan la vida se encuentran entre los 45 a 54 años, y en su mayoría son hombres, indicó García Rivera.

Tanto los hombres como las mujeres utilizan el método del ahorcamiento con mayor frecuencia, aunque, en segundo lugar, los hombres recurren a dispararse con un arma de fuego, mientras que las mujeres optan por envenenarse.

Derechos de autor 2008 Associated Press. Derechos Reservados.
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The Grammy Wrap

The grammy were on sunday.

This is my review on that matter.

I am glad they are over.

Many things happen.

The first thing I saw was Kanye West tribute to his mother and having MAMA writing on his head was nice [as a son honoring his mom not as a trend, thank you]. The duo of Beyonce with Tina Turner was spectacular. Tina still haves the damn moves and jumping around on those heals I trully admire her just because of that . Love the what Kanye did when they put the music while he was talking. I always say that is lack of respect. I know you are running out of time and all but please stop that, damn it. Makes you feel like shit and dont want to be heard like we dont care what you have to say so move out the stage. I know there are some times you REALLY have to do that, but come on, please. Kanye well done kid, well done you have my blessing. [check this link to see it]

I didn’t saw the whole show but I think I missed the part of some kid singing Let it be from The Beatles and I missed that. So I went to youtube and OMG!!! that kid kicked ass big time with that song. Of course I saw that is the same kid that is on the movie Across the Universe. This movie haves an amazing soundtrack. The kid name is Timothy T. Mitchum and the lady names is Carol Woods. [Told you it was good. Check the video. It seems that after uploading this got messed up so the lady isnt lip singing ok hte videos is just behind] Foo Fighters also did a great job on their performance outside the Staples Arena and won the Best Hard Rock Performance with The Pretender. Very powerfull and loud one joined with the Grammy Philharmonic Orchestra —led by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones.

Other great performance was Ms. Winehouse. I know she is a junkie [but honestly the beatles, the doors, all that people were junkies too so come on… dont forget whitney houston] but she deserves a chance. She was nominated for 10 grammy and won 5 of them. Brilliant her performance. She performed via satellite from London cause her visa didnt made it to the date of the event. God Bless technology. I enjoyed pretty much her performance cause people she does got the voice and the skills to play it in anyways she cans or likes. Thing that most young singers cant do not even on her good days. I just hope that she sees that she can do it and really attend rehab and put her husband far away from her. I sure hope to listen from Amy Winehouse more and more on the years to come and that she doesnt end up like Janis or Jimi. Oh! Loved her face of pure surprise when Tony Bennet and Natalie Cole announced her as the winner of Record of the Year. Her face was priceless she couldn’t believe it. Her mums beside her and all very happy gal. Also said something about Camden but didn’t knew what it was until today that it seems that some fire burned up some houses and people were left homeless. Good girl gone bad for real Amy.

Many surprises like a jazz album won album of the year and that didnt happens in like 43 years. So congrats to Herbie Hancock and his “River: The Joni Letters”. The Joni mentioned here is Joni Mitchell. She is a songwriter with a great and unique voice. I knew about her existance thanks to the movie Love Actually. This album was against “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” Foo Fighters [rock], “These Days” Vince Gill [country], “Graduation” Kanye West [hip hop] and “Back to Black” Amy Winehouse. Very mixed up the category.

By the way I have to say that Puerto Rico got two Grammy that night also. Black Guayaba won Best Latin Rock for their “No Hay Espacio”. the other nominees for this category were Jarabe de Palo “Adelantando”, Panda “Amantes Sunt Amentes”, Rabanes “Kamikaze” and Zoé “Memo Rex Commander Y El Corazón Atómico De La Via Láctea”. About time guys and congratulations. I hope this helps other local bands to keep dreaming and working hard to make rock en espanol made in Puerto Rico what it was before GREAT. I cant wait to see more bands on that category.

Calle 13 won Best Latin Urban Album for their “Residente O Visitante”. The ohter nominees for this category were Akwid “E.S.L.”, Daddy Yankee “El Cartel: The Big Boss”, Tego Calderon “El Abayarde Contra-Ataca” and Fulanito “Vacaneria!”. Congrats to the winners I am happy for Calle 13 cause even with all the hate they get from regeton fans or whatever they do make lyrics that you can apply to all latino america like in Pal Norte even when we dont have to cross the border with so much trouble we can relate somehow to the issues cause we are latinos and even with the “advantage” of being a colony of US some dont like us. That is the truth like ir or not. But this subject is too long so anyways… Congrats and keep making such good music.

Congrats to all the winners and those that didnt made it hey remember you were a nominee that is just as cool as winning so don’t be sad and dont make a drama about it. I just cant wait for the Grammy Latino. I hope I remember to watch them. [haha]

Polaroid’s Suicide

By MARK JEWELL
The Associated Press
Friday, February 8, 2008; 4:54 PM

“Polaroid Corp. is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs.”

Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures such as a portable printer for images from cell phones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, televisions and DVD players.

The company stopped making instant cameras over the past two years.

“We’re trying to reinvent Polaroid so it lives on for the next 30 to 40 years,” Tom Beaudoin, Polaroid’s president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said in a phone interview Friday, after the company’s plans were reported in The Boston Globe.

Polaroid failed to embrace the digital technology that has transformed photography, instead sticking to its belief that many photographers who didn’t want to wait to get pictures developed would hold onto their old Polaroid cameras.

Global sales of traditional camera film have been dropping about 25 percent to 30 percent per year, “and I’ve got to believe instant film has been falling as fast if not faster,” said Ed Lee, a digital photography analyst at the research firm InfoTrends Inc.

“At some point in time, it had to reach the point where it was going to be uneconomical to keep producing instant film,” Lee said.

Privately held Polaroid doesn’t disclose financial details about its instant film business.

Polaroid instant film will be available in stores through next year, the company said _ after which, Lee said, Japan’s Fujifilm will be the only major maker of instant film.

Polaroid got its start making polarized sunglasses in the 1930s, and introduced its first instant camera in 1948. Film packs contained the chemicals for developing images inside the camera, and photos emerged from the camera in less than a minute.

Polaroid’s overall revenue from instant cameras, film and other products peaked in 1991 at nearly $3 billion. The company went into bankruptcy in 2001 and was bought four years later for $426 million by Minnetonka, Minn.-based consumer products company Petters Group Worldwide.

Meanwhile, Polaroid is seeking a partner to acquire licensing rights for its instant film, in hopes that another firm will continue making the film to supply Polaroid enthusiasts.

INFO taken from : washingtonpost.com
photo below taken from: www.wildcalifornia.org

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Reavel’s Personal Note on this Subject:

I can’t believe this. I knew they will come to an end but not so fast. Come on we all love that old looks on the photos. The excitement of waiting the burden when it came they way it wasnt expected, the funky hues the film made. I just fell in love with the idea of having one after seen lots of polaroids photos of some websites. I still want one so i will have to hurry up before people buy them just to have one. Some people might do that. At least we will be able to buy the films anyways. But no more cameras that is sad. I wonder what the fashion industry will say and do since many used them for many things. Also on XMas and Three Kings Day season… the kids wont be able to get the photos with them to keep as a memory that is sad, breaking a childs dream of having a pic with Santa, Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar. Lets see what happens and I do hope somebody buys the lisence from them. Polaroid will always be part of us. Ohh the good old things are fading away and some could care less. Damn you digital world… 😦

Grammy Amnesia*

When I came online this morning I saw that MSN had a list of 21 people that were forgotten by the Grammy. Thing is that Grammy turns 50 this year and they are celebrating it the only way it can be celebrated, BIG. But this article is good and got me reading actually an MSN news cause it is true. Those artists were forgotten by the academy and guess what they are the most loved artists by the people and today even when some of them have died we still talk about them and listen their music. I noticed that most of the left behinds were eternally loved rock bands. Strange, right? Not so. The academy [for what I see] didn’t liked that so much [rock music]. I think cause when I saw the list they put up they left the biggest rock artists of the world. There are like just two that doesnt really fit in but well what can I do.

I have to be honest. I dont like too much the grammies this days. I being a latina never understood how in the world none of the latino artists ever won a tropical music category and if they did ever won in the latino category they never made it to the stand they always show it on a little side/corner of the TV after of before the shows stars after the commercials this here is NOT fair. Thanks God we have latin grammys and we can talk in spanish or we can’t but we dont’t care about that [HAHA!!] The catagories for the latino audience are Best Latin Pop Album (Vocal or Instrumental.), Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album, Best Latin Urban Album, Best Tropical Latin Album, Best Mexican/Mexican-American Album, Best Tejano Album, Best Norteño Album and Best Banda Album.

That is another thing I never ever understood. Latin pop, Ok. Latin Rock, Super OK. Latin Urban they won that so yeah Ok. Now Best Mexican/Mexican American Album, Tejano, Norteño and Banda. What the hell? Those are four categories for only one latino audience mexicanos. What happen to Merengue, flamenco, salsa, musica de trios, ballenato, cumbia and all that. I bet they still believe that despues de mexico everybody sings mariachi and guess what NOT true at all. I dont blame mexicans cause they have nothing to do with this. I just blame the academy. Besides there are many styles of latin music like the one from Spain, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba even Mexico they left the mariachis out of the nominations. Maybe that is why they gave us our won grammies but before they actually recognize we need our own side. What happen? That will always be a mystery.

Anyways back to the topic and sorry but I had to write that down before I forget it. Here is the list of the artists the academy forgot. Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Allman Brothers Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Grateful Dead, James Brown, Queen, Diana Ross, 2Pac, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Doors, Rolling Stones, Madonna, Bob Marley & The Wailers, 50 Cents [wtf?], Jessica Simpson [again, wtf?] and The Byrds.

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*amnesia: [A noun] 1. amnesia, memory loss, blackout

It is air. No, not just air. Macbook Air.

This seems to be an almost obligatory post. I dont like Mac products at least computer related because like I have said many times I love the way they look but they are not so user friendly as the PC. I use to have a Mac and I have used them too. They look pretty made you feel like chic and all but when you cant find the button to turn on your computer cause it is at the back and you have all this cables attached to it, etc, you star not liking it. You always have to buy that extra something to make them work like a PC. The Air in fact comes with no CD/DVD so you have to work that out some way. Go and buy more stuff on Itunes this means you dont need to have a CD/DVD when you can buy it from us, right? That is the in between the lines of this no CD/DVD issue.Yes it is thin. Yes it fits on an envelope [WOW!!]. Yes it is gorgeous in any color, but beautiful is emtpy like a song used to say. That is just my humble opinion. Sorry Mac lovers. If you are carefull with your regular notebook, laptop whatever you have to be EXTRMELY carefull with your Macbook Air because it is thin and it is way to fragile. Wonder how they made it thinner remember it doesnt come with cd/dvd thing so you dont have that space that is what makes it thinner. [haha…. brill!!, not!]

Steve Job and his ideas of making the world trendier above more userfriendly. I wonder how many will have to buy a new one cause it just broke because it was too thin. [HAHA!] Yes I am hating, deal with it. So Steve What is next? A bendable macbook that you can put on your wallet and have a breifcase with all the applications needed to make it work.

Description of the Macbook Air.

MacBook Air is nearly as thin as your index finger. Practically every detail that could be streamlined has been. Yet it still has a 13.3-inch widescreen LED display, full-size keyboard, and large multi-touch trackpad. It’s incomparably portable without the usual ultraportable screen and keyboard compromises.

El MacBook Air es casi tan fino como tu índice. Prácticamente todos los detalles que podían perfeccionarse, se han perfeccionado. Así, presenta pantalla LED panorámica de 13,3 pulgadas, teclado completo y un enorme trackpad con tecnología Multi-touch. Es incomparablemente liviano y no padece los sacrificios de pantalla y teclado típicos de otros ultraportátiles.

Macbook Air – Official Ad

Apple MacBook Air Guided Tour (Ad)

Un blog para calmar el dolor.

Por Eliván Martínez Mercado / Enviado Especial

La Habana – Tiene un pasatiempo tan normal que en cualquier país pasaría desapercibido, pero Yoani Sánchez vive en Cuba. Y se está dando a conocer porque actualiza un blog crítico con la situación que viven los cubanos.

No escribe bajo un seudónimo. Su nombre y una foto con su rostro están en su espacio http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony. Hasta ahora no ha tenido problemas con el gobierno, que controla la información, según la disidencia, y la conexión a internet.

En uno de sus comentarios se queja de que está resfriada. Le molesta la garganta y no encuentra limones en los mercados habaneros para prepararse un té caliente. “¿Cuándo la tierra va a ser de quien la haga producir y no de un Estado que la subutiliza en sus abandonados latifundios?”, cuestiona. Ella se considera de izquierda, pero “un electrón libre”: no se identifica con la Revolución ni con de los que se mudaron a Miami.

“Me duele mi país”, cuenta mientras recibe a El Nuevo Día Domingo en su apartamento en La Habana. Desde su balcón se divisa la Plaza de la Revolución, con la imagen del guerrillero Che Guevara, y la cúpula del Capitolio. “Soy una cubana desencantada que se hace preguntas cada día”.

Quienes la visitan entran al edificio por la puerta oficial o por los huecos de los cristales rotos del vestíbulo. Se llega al apartamento en un ascensor soviético que se ha mantenido vivo con las tripas del que está al lado (el esposo de Yoani hace de mecánico). Los cables están cruzados y para llegar al piso 13 hay que tocar el botón del 11. Una bombilla del elevador, cuando funciona, indica que se ha marcado el 12.

Detalla su desencanto

Yoani invita a los visitantes a tomar asiento junto a una mesita adornada con una orquídea. Explica la causa de su desencanto. “Se supone que los jóvenes íbamos a heredar el sacrificio de la Revolución, que íbamos a ver sus bondades. Pero nada de eso se ha concretado”.

La mayoría de los que emiten este tipo de comentario en un blog se protege tras un seudónimo. “Pero eso nunca te garantiza quién es la persona, si te está mintiendo. Y los blogs que sí firma la gente en el país se hacen eco de la prensa oficial, que es triunfalista y no habla sobre los problemas sociales”. Ella y su esposo Reinaldo Escobar son periodistas de la revista digital Consenso, de reflexión y debate. Para cultivarse una credibilidad como reporteros independientes no se han afiliado a ninguna organización política. Tampoco reciben financiamiento de Estados Unidos, sostienen, como sucede con algunos miembros de la disidencia.

Ella mantiene su blog mientras el país está viviendo un nuevo contexto histórico. El dirigente interino Raúl Castro pidió el 26 de julio pasado a la población participar en críticas a todos los niveles para mejorar la Revolución. Yoani, sin embargo, no tiene más remedio que escribir más para el exterior que para los cubanos.

Sólo 240,000 de los 11 millones de isleños tiene acceso a internet. La mayoría no sabe lo que son las redes sociales Facebook o MySpace, no tiene una cuenta de email ni ha tecleado en una computadora. El gobierno sostiene que se ha visto obligado a limitar el acceso porque obtiene su servicio vía satélite, que lo hace más caro y lento. Esto se debe a que el embargo de Estados Unidos contra la isla no le permite conectarse a los cables submarinos de fibra óptica.

Se las ingenia para sobrevivir

La manera en que Yoani actualiza el blog es toda una aventura. Usa la misma computadora laptop Compaq de 1998 que le vendió hace cuatro años un amigo que se iba del país. Pagó unos 1,000 dólares y una máquina depiladora de mujer. El lector de discos está dañado, y no puede abrir documentos grabados ni grabar. Como no tiene conexión en su casa, escribe los textos de su blog en word, pasa la información a una memoria flash y va a alguno de los pocos cibercafés de los hoteles de La Habana. Se hace pasar por turista y compra una hora de conexión, por unos 5 pesos convertibles (una tercera parte del salario mensual de un cubano). Entra a internet, pega el texto en la bitácora, graba los mensajes que le han enviado y los lee en su casa.

Como la mayoría de los cubanos, tiene que hacer otros trabajos para suplir sus necesidades. Yoani traduce del alemán al español y trabaja en “todo lo que aparezca”.

Para ella vale la pena el esfuerzo de mantener una voz diferente. “Somos todo una generación que no ha tenido la posibilidad de decidir sobre lo que pasa en Cuba”.

Tomado de elnuevodia.com [Domingo, 3 de febrero de 2008].

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Nota Personal de Reavel:

Entre a endi.com para buscar informacion en la prensa local acerca de las tasas de suicidio que estan en alzada en Puerto Rico y me tope con esta noticia. Una muy buena noticia. Una muchacha que se expresa mediante un blog desde Cuba. Esto como le deje en su blog por medio de comentario confirma mi teoria que los blogs son terapeuticos. En hechos puedes escribir tus malestares, desgracias, felicidades, memorias, alegrias y recuerdos. Son voces que en silencio llevan el mensaje de lo que viven y dejan sus huellas en el mundo por medio de estos blogs. Espero que la joven siga postiando sus ideas, pensamientos y sus anecdotas diarias para compartirlas con el mundo. A los que estan leyendo les invito a que lean su blog http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony, esta super interesante y veran su vision de Cuba. Gracias.

The friends with the dead guy on the chair.

Last night when I was about to go off to bed and rest for today I saw the news and they had this report on this guys [David J. Dalaia and James O’Hare] that traveled around Manhattan streets with his dead friend [Virgilio Cintron] cause they were taking him to a check-cashing store so they could change his social security check. I was going to post something about this last night but I was tired so I decided to do this today after I read some more info about this weird and wicked story.

So, yeah 3 guys living together [they are on their 60 years] and one of them dies and the other two dress him up all dead so they could change his social security check. And no they couldn’t use a wheelchair [Ha! no! we are in New York baby] they used a red office chair to take the dead guy to the check-cashing store.First, why they took him there? Well the store cashier told them that in order for him to change the check the owner had to be there cause the cashier knew this guys [David J. Dalaia and James O’Hare] were none of the owners so they went back to the apartment and took the dead guy with them. The guy [Virgilio Cintron] died of natural causes but that didnt stop them. All of the people involved the dead guy and his friends had records on the police.

A cool or interesting detail is that there were people on the street [cause hey it is Manhattan not some town with no people] so we are talking that more than 300 people could possibly saw this guys dealing with the dead guy on the red office chair. I just wonder what people thought when they saw this picture. Some even said they didnt even think the guy on the chair was dead. Even the policeman [Detective Travis Rapp] that was eating lunch at the moment he saw the guys and made the calls upon them but at first he thought it was a joke or a movie [again it is New York anything can happen there and they just proved that didnt they].

At about the same time, Rapp spotted the men and confronted them as they were trying to haul the body into the store. He said that even after he identified himself as a police officer, O’Hare told him, “I have to get my friend in here. I have to cash his check.”

He ordered the men to back away from the victim. They feigned surprise when paramedics declared him dead, Rapp said.

“When they said, ‘Your friend is dead,’ they said, ‘Oh my God, he’s gone?'”

In the end the guys were arrested for fraud. I would arrest them for stupidity… How in the world you are going around the streets with a DEAD GUY!!!!! And you try to rob the guy even when he is dead. Please!!! It seems we have seen nothing yet and this is just the beging of the year. Just 10 days of the year and we have dead guys crusing on NY street with his friends. HA!

+Info : www.examiner.com