melting

https://www.gofundme.com/ayudanos-a-ir-juntos-a-mun

¡Hola!

Somos Elvira y Fía. Nos conocemos desde hace como… ¿5 años? y hablamos casi diariamente desde entonces, pero hay un problema. Aún no hemos tenido oportunidad de vernos en la vida real.  Tal vez sea por los casi 7000 kilómetros que separan Oviedo, donde vive Elvira, de Caracas, donde vive Fía.

Compartimos, entre otras cosas, una pasión por la Historia, los idiomas, y las relaciones internacionales. Por eso hemos planeado ir al MUN de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid como una doble delegación. Es una buena oportunidad para vernos en persona, y tenemos muy claro que seríamos un buen equipo porque vamos con toda la ilusión del mundo y todas las ganas de esforzarnos.

Pero ¿qué es MUN?  

MUN, siglas en inglés de Model United Nations, Simulación de Naciones Unidas, es justamente eso. Un evento de imitación de las Naciones Unidas protagonizado por estudiantes universitarios que incluye debates, negociaciones y búsqueda de soluciones a problemas reales. Es una experiencia educativa muy enriquecedora para los participantes, ya que aporta habilidades sociales, de hablar en público, de resolución de conflictos… y también un aprendizaje de los temas que se tratan en los organismos internacionales.

UCM MUN, o CompiMUN es la simulación de Naciones Unidas organizada por estudiantes de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, donde estudiará Elvira. Se celebrará del 29 de noviembre al 2 de diciembre de 2018. Nosotros vamos a participar en el de UNEP, Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente. Allí debatiremos temas como los refugiados por causas climáticas o la acumulación de basura en zonas urbanas. Para más información sobre estos temas o sobre los comités, pueden visitar la página de CompiMUN:

https://compimun.com/committees

Para ver el desglose de cómo utilizaremos el dinero recaudado, solo tienes que hacer clic en el enlace de nuestra campaña de Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/ayudanos-a-ir-juntos-a-mun (sí, ¡el mismo enlace que puedes usar para donar!)

Sobre nosotros 

Elvira tiene 18 años, es de Asturias y actualmente vive en Madrid porque está estudiando primer curso del Doble Grado Historia-Filología Clásica en la UCM. Ha ganado uno de los Premios Extaordinarios de Bachillerato del Principado de Asturias y su objetivo es especializarse en Bizantinística. Le interesa la Historia, las relaciones internacionales, la cultura europea oriental y Eurovisión, entre otras cosas.

Fía tiene 19 años, vive en Caracas y es estudiante de cuarto trimestre de Lenguas Modernas en la Universidad Metropolitana de Caracas.  Habla inglés, francés e italiano y está estudiando también alemán y serbocroata. Tiene amplios conocimientos de historia y cultura de Europa del Este y ya tiene experiencia en el terreno de MUN.

Si 2000 personas donaran 1 euro, conseguiríamos nuestro objetivo inmediatamente. Por eso cualquier donación, por pequeña que sea, nos hace sentir infinita gratitud y nos lleva un pasito más cerca de ir a MUN juntos. Gracias por aportar su granito de arena para acercarnos a esta experiencia única que seguro que será clave en nuestro futuro académico y personal.

There’s a MUN conference coming up in Madrid, sponsored by the University that Elvira attends, from Nov 29 to Dec 2, this year. They want to be a part of the UNEP where the topics are climate change refugees and the accumulation of trash in urban areas.

They linked to their gofundme campaign where they describe how they will use funds, it’s in Spanish though.

Romanian children are raised with stories like “Capra cu trei iezi” (The Goat with Three Kids) by Ion Creangă.

Long story short, mother Goat leaves her three children in the safety of their locked home, but the Wolf fools them into letting him in. He kills two of them, eats their bodies, but leaves their bloody heads in the window. The last child goat manages to hide and when mother Goat comes home he tells her what happened. She gets revenge by fooling the wolf herself and he falls into a pit dug by her where-

For a while, he looked like this:

Now his pants are coming in nicely!

For a minute I thought he just had fur that changed color/pattern right on his hindquarters. Buh, I have no brain.

Comments like yours are legit some of my favorite because I get to talk about COOL COAT PATTERNS IN CATS.  There are cases where shaving a cat has resulted in a drastic coat pattern change.

SAY HELLO TO QUATTRO

Before he was shaved, his fur was pretty typical siamese: all creamy with just his legs, face, and tail dark. But now his whole flank is dark.

Why?

Because Siamese points are actually a result of temperature-dependent albinism! :D Also known as acromelanism, this is a neat little mutation in which a specific enzyme (tyrosinase, which is responsible for melanin production) stops functioning at a normal body temperature, but will function when it gets cooler.  So in cool zones on a cat’s body (face, ears, tail, feets), melanin production is normal.  The warm zones develop in a lovely cream.

Since his butt is cold, it has normal melanin production.  Once it gets all fuzzy and starts a typical shed pattern, it’ll come in cream eventually.  Until then, he’ll have weird pants.

You’ve scrolled past that image of the Virgin sixteen times. Have you reblogged it yet? You can’t remember. Ave Maria.

You reblog a heartfelt prayer request. “God is not real”, someone feels the need to comment. You pray anyway.

Someone is posting in Latin. You can’t read Latin, but you vaguely approve.

A Catholic blogger disappears without a trace. Has she apostatized? Joined a convent? Gone to her eternal rest? You will never know.

You pray for your followers by their urls. “God, please pour your blessings out upon lesbiantonystark.” He knows what you mean.

You read an impassioned defense of the Novus Ordo. You agree with every word. You read an impassioned defense of the Tridentine Mass. You agree with every word.

Someone is talking about cervical mucus. This is normal.

You know better than to look in the nun tag. Miserere nobis domine.

“But what about the Eastern Catholic Churches?” someone demands. Indeed, what about them?

You reblog an ironic Crusader meme. At least you think it’s ironic. You can never be certain.

You are writing a novel. All of your mutuals are writing novels. The 21st century Catholic literary renaissance has not yet come, but soon.

You have very conflicting feelings about Jesuits. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

 so when you ask someone “Где водка?” it translates to “where is the vodka?”

Do you want know Italy? Do you want see the deep contradictions of this country and his beauty? I’ve choosen 22 movies that, according to me, show my country without explanations or something like that.

Obviously, this is a personal and non complete list. Let’s begin.

Il Gattopardo - The Leopard (1963, Luchino Visconti, adapted from the novel of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.)

Why you need to watch: the birth of Italy in 1861 and the first political class of the new nation.

Il Portaborse - The Yes Man (1991, Daniele Lucchetti)

Why you need to watch: political class of Italy 130 years later, and scandal of “tangentopoli”.

Divorzio all’italiana - Divorce Italian Style (1961, Pietro Germi)

Why watch: there is not law in Italy before 1970 to get divorce. If I need divorce, how can I get it? This movie show this.

C’eravamo tanto amati - We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974, Ettore Scola)

Why watch: this movie talks to your heart. Illusions of youth days, love, friendship, political involvement, and evolution of three friends through the years.

“We tought we could change the world, but the world changed us”

Diaz - don’t clean up this blood (2012, Daniele Vicari)

Why watch: also this is Italy. Brutality reaction of police during riots against G8 of Genova. “The most serious suspension of democratic rights in a Western country after the Second World War.“ (Amnesty International)

Il giovane favoloso - Leopardi (2014, Mario Martone)

Why watch: the story of the best italian poet. This is enough to watch it.

Parenti serpenti - Dearest Relatives, Poisonous Relations (1992, Mario Monicelli)

Why watch: a malinconic movie about christmas. A typical southern Italy family reunites in the native home in Abruzzo for Christmas Seasons. The most poisonous dark comedy made in Italy.

Romanzo di una strage - Piazza Fontana: Italian Conspiracy (2012, Marco Tullio Giordana)

Why watch: the most turbolent years of Italy. Terrorist attacks of marxists, red brigade, anarchist, fascists, and golpe against the goverment.

La meglio gioventù - The Best of Youth (2003, Marco Tullio Giordana)

Why watch: the story of two brothers trough the most important events of Italy from 60s to 2000.

La vita è bella - Life is Beautiful (1997, Roberto Benigni)

Why watch: a wonderful and humoristic tale of a jew librarian during holocaust who wants preserve his son from horror of Lager. Italian movies can shows malinconic things with a taste of humour, and comic things with a taste of malincony.

Il secondo tragico Fantozzi (1976, Luciano Salce)

Why watch: one of my favourite comedy. The frustrating life of an employee during 70s.

I soliti ignoti - Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958, Mario Monicelli)

Why watch: a group of crooks decide to rob a pawnshop with a perfect plan. The life in slums of Rome.

Johnny Stecchino - Johnny Toothpick (1991, Roberto Benigni)

Why watch: a comedy about mafia in southern Italy. Because to destroy Mafia; also a laugh can be powerful.

Ladri di biciclette - Bycicle Thieves (1948, Vittorio de Sica)

Why watch: one of the most famous italian neorealist movies. How to start again with the background of ruined nation after WWII.

Accattone (1961, Pier Paolo Pasolini)

Why watch: It’s a story of grit, that is thrilling and fascinating in equal measures, and with the stamp of a great director.

Scialla (Stai sereno!) - Easy! (2011, Francesco Bruni)

Why watch: to be an adolescent in Italy during 2000s.

Roma, città aperta - Rome, open city (1945, Roberto Rossellini)

Why watch: how was the Nazi occupation of Italy.

Il grande cocomero - The Great Pumpkin (1993, Francesca Archibugi)

Why watch: How children were treated in italian asylum and how this is changed. Real life of a doctor who changed this.

Totò, Peppino e la… Malafemmina - Totò, Peppino and the Hussy (1956, Camillo Mastrocinque)

Why watch: one of the best ever made comedy of Italy.

Mediterraneo (1991, Gabriele Salvatores)

Why watch: “for everyone who wants to escape”.

Non essere cattivo - Don’t be bad (2015, Claudio Caligari)

Why watch: to understand how is live in the outskirts of Rome to Ostia.

La mafia uccide soltanto d’estate - The Mafia Kills Only in Summer (2013, Pif)

Why watch: to understand that mafia is not tourism, is not folklore, is not culture, is not fascinating.

I recommend to watch italian movies in original language with subtitles. Listen the orginal voices of actors its a completely different thing.

*whomstesi

Here’s an awesome little piece of history:

Archaeologists in the Burnt City have discovered what appears to be an ancient prosthetic eye. What makes this discovery exceptionally awesome is the striking description of how the owner and her false eye would have appeared while she was still alive and blinking:

[The eye] has a hemispherical form and a diameter of just over 2.5 cm (1 inch). It consists of very light material, probably bitumen paste. The surface of the artificial eye is covered with a thin layer of gold, engraved with a central circle (representing the iris) and gold lines patterned like sun rays. The female remains found with the artificial eye was 1.82 m tall (6 feet), much taller than ordinary women of her time. On both sides of the eye are drilled tiny holes, through which a golden thread could hold the eyeball in place. Since microscopic research has shown that the eye socket showed clear imprints of the golden thread, the eyeball must have been worn during her lifetime. The woman’s skeleton has been dated to between 2900 and 2800 BCE. 

So she was an extraordinarily tall woman walking around wearing an engraved golden eye patterned with rays like a tiny sun. What an awesome sight that must have been.