The world in 140 characters

"The qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what makes it so powerful". Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard law professor and Internet expert.

The so called "Twitter Revolution" has changed so many details of how people communicate and learn about what each other's doing, wants, hates, needs, bought, lost, about why they're sad or happy, or about the movie they just saw…

Twitter started as an online social network that many people seemed to not understand…For some it was too simple, it had no true practical use…The possibility of sharing messages of just 140 characters didn't seem that attractive or useful. But it didn't take so long to reach a point where the Twitter Revolution was declared by experts and then by many others.

The fact is that on Twitter you can actually know what's going on with almost any famous person that you want; for the first time you can know where your favorite artist is or what the most popular politician is doing to help a particular situation in a particular region…You can see what that actor you love is eating for dinner and you can share that with your friends.

But that's the simplest part of it. Twitter has surprised the world with so many unexpected and shocking moments that have changed the image of this online social network forever and that have opened so many possibilities through its tools.

One of the biggest examples, if not the biggest, happened this year with the Iranian elections, when hundreds of Iranians protested on the streets of Iran to express their nonconformity with the presidential elections, which they claimed as corrupted.

Twitter's role began when the government of Iran started to violently attack the protesters and to cut the media coverage of what was happening in the country. Some citizens started to communicate their situation to the world using Twitter because that way they couldn't be tracked.

That way the entire world found out about the situation of Iran and followed the facts through the Tweets. The United States government even intervened and asked Twitter directives to not stop what the Iranians where doing.

After that a lot of interesting uses have been given to Twitter. One of them was when the American author Matt Stewart published his complete first novel, "The French Revolution", through the 140-character Twitter messages, through Tweets.

Also, some months ago the American screenwriter of Pulp Fiction, Roger Avary, started communicating his experiences in jail from Twitter, surprising a lot of people and forcing the authorities to deny it was him because no one understood how he was managing to use an Internet connection…

Anyway, Twitter has definitely become one of the most used and important online social networks and communication channels, changing and revolutionizing the way the word learn about different events every day and the way different countries and cultures exchange information about the situations they live.

The words "Twitter", "Tweets" and "Tweet" are now part of the vocabulary of millions of people who have come to the point of, sometimes, preferring and choosing Tweeting over speaking.

 

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Fernando Botero in Tampa Bay

09 January 2009 - 04 April 2010

Fernando Botero is one of Colombia’s and the world’s most popular artists. His monumental bronzes have been seen on Park Avenue in New York, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the Champs Élysées in Paris. “The Baroque World of Fernando Botero” is the first time such a large exhibition of his work has been featured in the Tampa Bay area.

This is also the first retrospective of the artist’s work in North America since the acclaimed 1979 survey at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Spotlighting 100 stunning paintings, sculptures, and drawings, this new exhibition is drawn from Botero’s private collection. These are key works he saved or bought back, providing the artist’s personal look at the amazing sweep of his career.

Three of his impressive large-scale sculptures will be installed outside the Museum: The Hand (1985), Smoking Woman (1987), and The Rape of Europa (1999). Sixteen more will be in the galleries. This exhibition includes many paintings and drawings and a selection of recent sculptures never before shown in North America. The Presenting Sponsor for the MFA venue is The Stuart Society of the Museum of Fine Arts. The Lead Sponsor is Progress Energy. The St. Petersburg Times is the Media Sponsor. Additional support comes from Bright House Networks.

Botero (born 1932 in Medellín, Colombia) is a truly international artist, reflecting diverse influences. As a teenager, he was drawn to the work of Picasso and was expelled from his Catholic high school for writing an admiring essay on the modernist master. Later studies in Europe led to exposure to Velázquez (his portraits of Spanish royalty); Goya (Los desastres de la guerra); Dürer (particularly his Adam and Eve); Rubens; Italian Renaissance fresco painters; and French artists Courbet, Ingres, and Delacroix. The Mexican muralists Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros and the great Frida Kahlo (her haunting self-portraits) have also influenced his work.

He sketched his breakthrough mandolin in 1956 in Mexico City. By making the central opening of the instrument very small, he enlarged the volume of the entire mandolin. According to exhibition curator Dr. John Sillevis, “It felt like a shock. From now on he knew what he was going to do. He would enlarge everything he would draw or paint to a baroque shape, an expression of sumptuousness and sensuality, not only in a human figure, but also in still life, in fruits, or in a mandolin.” The Museum exhibition contains a later, striking painting, Still Life with Mandolin (1998). The still life, in fact, has been critical to Botero’s work almost from the very beginning.

Through it all, he has maintained an unbroken tie to Colombia and Latin America, even as he has lived much of his adult life in Paris and Italy. His first and dominant influence was the Spanish colonial baroque art and architecture of Colombia, with its exaggeration and theatricality, particularly in the Catholic churches. These images were imprinted on his mind and work: the bloody Christ on the cross, the perfection and comfort of Mary, the martyred saints, and hovering angels.

Botero was not interested in simply carrying on this tradition, but personalizing it. Mary becomes Our Lady of Colombia (1992), for example, an ample figure wearing a red crown with green jewels. She weeps for her country and carries a large child, perhaps the youthful Botero, waving a tiny Colombian flag. Characteristically, the color is spectacular. Her yellow hair and dress and the child’s halo are set against a green backdrop held by two cherubs. The child wears lighter green socks. This is a contemporary Madonna, conveying emotion, yet remaining distant, like a statue.

Another crying Madonna is at the center of The Widow (1997), based on the artist’s childhood. His mother, widowed at an early age, was left to raise three children with almost no money. Again, there is a stylized quality to this painting, even as it points to the struggle to survive in Latin America. This struggle often comes up against the powerful in Botero’s art—the well-fed presidents and their wives and the equally pampered Catholic hierarchy.

The natural world, so central to his childhood memories, can be richly colorful and abundant, like in Florida. But the dense foliage can also oppress the huge figures in front or below. In Botero’s work, there is often an undercurrent amid all the beauty. He also captures the natural disasters that threaten humanity, usually giving them a Latin American or Colombian cast. The Earthquake (2000) is a prime example, with colonial buildings reduced to rubble and one lone figure pleading for help from an upstairs window.

The exhibition also includes a section on everyday life in South America: people in dance halls and brothels, on the street, and in the intimacy of their bedrooms and bathrooms. Everyone and everything are larger-than-life. There are also crime scenes and depictions of political violence and repression.

The artist’s wonderful sense of humor, his appreciation of the comedy of life, is frequently on view, as the distinguished Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes has noted. The huge Dancer at the Barre (2001) could never maintain such a pose, but Botero makes her incredibly graceful. The painting draws a smile, not ridicule. Botero encourages us to see the human spirit at work in the unlikeliest of bodies and places.

Botero’s art, while immediately accessible, has many layers and has been collected by the world’s great museums. They include: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Hirshhorn, and The Hermitage Museum, among others. He is one of those rare artists who has crossed over from the art world into the larger culture.

“The Baroque World of Fernando Botero” is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Sillevis is Curator of the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague.

What is the truth? Let’s turn to Nietzsche

"All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth". Friedrich Nietzsche.

So many valuable seconds of everyday of our lives go by in senseless discussions about who's right regarding different matters…And not only personal matters, but also international problems and differences between leaders that end up becoming impassable walls between countries that could be living in peace if it weren't for the yearn for power of the heads of state.

A lot of times those dilemmas lie in who is right and in who has the truth. We won't discuss how presidents solve their problems because we could stay talking (writing) forever, but what we can talk about is truth. As the famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, "All truth is simple... is that not doubly a lie?" That could mean truth is not simple and there is no truth…

Wearing ourselves out trying to discover and to make clear to the world that we are right and that we have the truth is a waste of time. Not only there's no truth that every single person can accept because everything is subject to interpretation, as stated by Nietzsche in the first quote of this article, but also, what's the purpose of trying to convince each other that we "have the truth"?

Try this out: anytime, when you feel pretty sure about what you're saying, stop for a second and don't try to fight what the others are trying to explain; just listen carefully, close your eyes for a second and actually think about what they're saying, imagine every word and try to feel it makes sense…You may discover and understand that new meaning that was so obvious to others and so absurd to you.

Truly listening and not assuming there's just one truth is so comforting and enriching. There are countless interpretations of one same fact or situation that could make it look completely different to the eyes that understood just one other of those creative and original visions, which are each built up from diverse knowledge and cultural details that make them unique and highly valuable for others.

I'll turn to Nietzsche again with this quote: "All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking". We could use that one to; when there's anything we can't accept, when we think we have the truth and there's no way to understand another vision, walking could be a good idea…Walking with the different thoughts in mind could make them merge and become a new and more powerful thought, one "closer to the truth"…

There's no correct way of understanding this or of defining truth; truth will always be the most important thing for some and won't even exist for some others. But a positive way of living without even thinking if something is or is not "the truth", would be to stay open to every new vision and to take what's interesting or useful of each one of them and then let your mind create a new and powerful "truth" just for you.

Magic Christmas lights in Medellin, Colombia

Medellin is a cheerful city full of wonderful people that are always smiling and celebrating every single detail. Go ahead and discover the surreal and magical Christmas lights of Medellin 2009!

Medellin is shining this Christmas. People are always celebrating on the streets surrounded by the most beautiful Christmas lights that this year are displaying a magic universe in which lights, colors and water play in the sky and illuminate the night in a way that only a fairytale would be able to describe.

Everyone's going out to celebrate the joy and the magic of Christmas on the streets. Every corner is full of small stands in which people sell all kinds of typical food such as "arepa de chócolo", "buñuelo", "empanada", (it's kind of difficult to explain what they are but once you try them, you'll never leave them)…Because Christmas with no food is not the same.

You can try so many things doing any of the Christmas routes in the streets of Medellin. One delicious and a must-try is the "guarapo", which is the liquid that's extracted from the sugar cane and the base with which the brown sugarloaf is made. The "guarapo" is a natural beverage full of sugars and energy, and is delicious when drank full of ice and with a little bit of lemon.

Here's how they extract it right in front of you from the sugar cane:

The streets are full of light and the environment looks brighter at night…It's like the page of a fairytale book. People are eating, talking and laughing under big trees that are full of multicolor lights, and among fairies that increase the magic of the moment.

Everyone's reunited forgetting about everything else and just thinking about this wonderful time of the year that represents union, love, happiness and celebration. Even if people have to work the next day, a week-day is not the obstacle for partying until late and feeling the Christmas energy every second of the night. No one wants to stop, no one wants to waste a second of this happy time in this magical city.

Medellin is a place where some people have a lot and many others don't have much, but the thing is, in this unbelievable city, those who have very little are the ones who do the most to show beautiful lights and decorations surrounding their houses by the magic of Christmas…No one stays out, everyone celebrates a time where laughing and being with the loved ones is the norm.

And I have to say, Medellin is a city of creative people: you'll see the most original and innovative sellers offering all kinds of unique products on the streets with their own selling strategies and tools. Take a look:

Also, there's a very fun, traditional and particular way of going around the city and doing the Christmas lights routs: on a "chiva", which is a kind of a country bus, a very colorful vehicle with open windows and with a second floor, the roof. Inside a "chiva", there's usually a "papayera", which is a musical group that sings "vallenatos", a Colombian coast music genre that is perfect for parties and great for dancing.

So, people are inside the "Chiva", listening to a live "vallenato" concert, drinking "aguardiente", eating typical food, singing, laughing, screaming, looking at the magical Christmas lights, having fun, celebrating, feeling the joy of Medellin at this time of the year.

All this parties and celebrations take place at a city that is known as "the city of the eternal spring" because of its unbelievable weather all year long, where people are known to be really kind and cheerful, and, during this particular time, under a sky of colorful lights, stars and fairies that make Medellin look and feel like a true fairytale.

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The city of Copenhagen and the climate change

"Copenhagen (is) the world's last chance to stop climate change before it passes the point of no return." Stavros Dimas, Minister for the Environment for the European Union.

This year's United Nation's Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen represents a unique opportunity for the world to make a stop, analyze what's really going on with the planet and make important and drastic decisions on how rich and developing countries have to continue their growing path with a strong reduction of their CO2 emissions in order to stop the destruction of the planet earth.

Copenhagen, the Danish capital and the city that was catalogued in 2008 as the first one of the Top 20 Most Livable Cities Chart of Monocle magazine, is the host of this unprecedented event that is taking place since December 7th and until December 18th, with the assistance of many chiefs of state and of the representatives of 192 countries that are gathered together to analyze the solutions to the climate change and to try to negotiate an agreement that can replace the Kyoto Protocol.

One of the biggest challenges of this enormous event is to be able to bring together the nations, no matter how big or rich, and to agree on a new CO2 reduction goal for 2020, which, for obvious reasons, is not easy to define because the reduction numbers have different consequences for rich countries such as the United States, for developing countries such as China and Brazil, and, to a lesser extent, for poor countries such as some African nations.

Among the 192 countries that are assisting the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference 2009, there are more than 100 that support more strict goals of CO2 reduction for the year 2020. As an example, Brazil has proposed to reduce emissions between 36% and 39%, which has led other countries to propose new objectives in this United Nations encounter.

The whole world is waiting to listen to what the United States of America and its president, Barack Obama, have to say about the role of this powerful nation on the stoppage of Global Warming. As a rich country and as one of the countries that produce the most emissions, and that consume so many natural resources, the US has an enormous responsibility and the power to change the course of this serious problematic that afflicts the world.

Leaving the numbers behind, it is important to say that it is essential that every nation gets involved in a problematic that has to do with everyone on earth. No one has fewer responsibilities when it comes to global warming and climate change. Every country has to contribute as much as possible and the rich and powerful nations have to acknowledge their leading role and give example of responsibility and leadership.

Before December 18^th every nation should have in their best interests the success of this international encounter that will have permanent repercussions for the planet earth, for the lives of millions of people, for future generations, for the animals, for nature, for the future of man. ^[

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