REREADING MYSELF

I had never reread what I had written as it would represent to me looking backward instead of forward. It sill does, but this time, with the blog anniversary and all, I took a look at my blog archive and found this rare piece I wrote on Niezsche´s primus work Zarathustra. Here it is as it was written at first:

As it is known, German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is considered, along with Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, one of the most important thinkers of modern western thought: one of its sharpest critics.

It is also known that Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one his most important pieces of work: his ultimate achievement and also his most famous writing.

Zarathustra gives an account of a young Persian man who faces an important task: to reveal or to make men recall the truth about themselves and their own possibilities. While carrying out his mission, this hero of thought experiences himself deep inner crises and changes of heart that make him become, in the end, the kind of man he claims men should endeavor to be.

Recently, it was made public an unpublished handwriting that could be, according to experts, the original version of Zarathustra´s chapter devoted to “Women”. A chapter that Nietzsche presumably must have decided to change after a love deception but that was kept intact as it was conceived at first.

As far as I know, this work has never been posted to the Internet, neither in English nor in any other language. Here, I reproduce it completely given its great value and wisdom:

WOMEN

As I went on my way alone today, at the hour when the sun declined, there I met an old woman, and she spoke thus unto my soul:

“Much has Zarathustra spoken also to us women, but never spoke he unto us concerning woman”.

And I answered her: “Concerning woman, one should only talk unto men”.

“Talk also unto me of woman”, said she; “I am old enough to forget it presently”.

And I, obliged by the old woman, spoke thus unto her:

Everything in woman is beautiful, and women all are beautiful but not all can appreciate it, including you women, in the first place.

It is not that there are as many variations in taste as men and women. The whole concept is wrong!!! You all have been deceived…

Some among you look at the woman´s body as if it were the supreme thing and prefer it meagre and famished. Others look at it contemptuously and would rather worship its spirit: hypocrites!!! Either way, women become an object: in the end, their real essence is denied as well as their real beauty.

The beauty of women is an “occurrence in motion” and it can be perceived in every single thing they think, they do, they feel, they happen to remember.... And even if they wanted to keep it undisclosed, there would always be one thing that reveals it: the way they smile, their perfect smile…

Then answered me the old woman: “Many fine things had Zarathustra said, especially for those who are young enough for them.

Strange! Zarathustra knows little about women, and yet he is right in some aspects about us. Though, he might have forgotten to mention one thing... definitely the most important: that women are not really women... but divine beings playing they are human... some times, all too human".

Thus spoke Zarathustra

Note: Nietzsche never really wrote this piece but I wish he had done it (Heheheheh!).

THANK YOU MY FRIENDS!!!

A year ago today I started this blog: Man! It seems like it was yesterday… I have to say that the best part about having a blog and stuff is YOU guys, there is no doubt about it! To have the occasion to get to know through your blogs new inner worlds, meanings and perspectives (that would be literally impossible to know otherwise), has been something super cool!

Somebody told me yesterday that this kind of communication is utterly virtual, meaning that it was not real: Hehehe... I disagree. On the contrary, I see no more real dialogue with the other and ourselves than the one we establish while either reading or writing or simply sharing in our blogs. And that, at least in my case, has got profound effects.

That is why, like my brother Teorias says (whose blog btw happens to celebrate its first anniversary too): today is a very HAPPY DAY!!!

SICK

I have not been able to post here lately. The thing is that I went into surgery some days ago. A minor one, if I may say so, but a surgery anyway. I am ok now but I have to say that whenever I have experienced some sort of pain, I think a lot of sick people out there and especially those who are poor: that saddens me and makes mad.

According to official data 50% of the Mexican population does not have health insurance. Mexico ranks well below the OECD average in terms of health spending (barely 6.2% of GDP) and well, anyone who has ever been attended in a hospital (public or private) here in Mexico knows of the awful PR they have there: the personal attention and quality service are a disgrace.

It has been stated (I think it was in Michael Moore´s Sicko) that moral progress in a society can be partially measure by the way in which that society looks after the have-nots. Were that the case, we would have to accept that we are very unfortunate. Damn!

DEPECHE, DEPECHE, DEPECHE!

Three things that I really enjoy doing in life are reading, talking to beautiful girls (or intelligent ones, or precisely beautiful because of their being intelligent) and listening to music. Most of the times what I like the best is listening to music, I have to admit it! Even when not frequent, having the three of them at the same time has been just a blast for me!

My favorite band is definitely Depeche Mode. Below there is a rare video of one of its early-stage presentations in Germany, 24 years ago! As somebody commented, in the end, the host calls the band “Everything counts” and the song “Depeche Mode”… hehehe!

ALIVE IN MEXICO!

I have been watching practically every single ALIVE IN BAGHDAD documentary clip since it began in November 2005. I like this project a lot, largely because it shows some aspects of the Iraqi reality that it would be impossible to get to know otherwise. One thing that has always amazed me is the numerous similarities I have found between both the Iraqi and the Mexican people despite our different cultural heritage.

I talked it over with some friends and one of them told me that it was due to the Arab presence in our culture. Other one mentioned the phenomenon of multiculturalism. The last one argued that it was rather the human element, the basic human core we all share, not always visible because of the widely-spread media stereotypes. I agreed.

I told my friends that it would be great to have more projects like ALIVE IN BAGHDAD, for instance in Mexico, to help defuse the conventional culture image some of us might have. They all started laughing.

The project already exists and I joyfully salute it!

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9/11: THE OTHER ANNIVERSARY

My friends: this is the promo for the zhp-politico second podcast. You can listen to it HERE.

KLEIN: THE SHOCK DOCTRINE

I have always been fascinated by how documentary films, if well made, can describe a whole complex reality in a very limited period of time, especially when the film documentary is a short one. That is precisely the case of Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón´s latest film production “The Sock Doctrine”.

This 6-minute-film is based on Naomi Klein´s work that shows the rationale behind the system´s control.

TSD Web Page

BAGHDAD BURNING

This has been to me one of those nights when I have found myself experiencing mixed emotions after having read an entry in a “Girl Blog from Iraq”. For one, I feel grateful toward the author for sharing her difficult experiences as a consequence of the war, especially because she does it so well and she does it from a woman´s perspective. But on the other hand I wish I did not have to read about it, I wish there were no war in Iraq at all.

On her latest entry, after 5 months of absence, the author describes her trip to Syria from Iraq where she lives now.

Read HERE

GREENWALD: THE REAL RUDY

As we move closer to the 6th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the first of a 4-video-series on Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani was launched yesterday by American filmmaker Robert Greenwald.

Greenwald, widely recognized for his documentary films on the inner aspects of the war on Iraq, such as the so called war profiteers, among other social issues, now focus his attention on former New York mayor´s role in the 9/11 events. Excellent!

THE REAL RUDY Web page

THAT NEW-DRESS SONG

After having finished preparing my podcast I wrote about yesterday, I have to confess that I got somehow depressed. Basically because one understands that beyond words there is, in this case, an unbearable reality some people are suffering. I have always been aware of that: words describe reality, they are not reality.

Some friends have told me that it does not make any sense to see other people´s problems as we have our own and that we finally cannot change the world. I disagree. As for “their” problems and “our” problems, I see a lot of connections, even when they are not always self-evident. On the other hand, I have always thought that to close our eyes and to pretend problems are not there don´t make them go away.

As for changing the world and stuff, it is kind of funny but when I get really desperate I always find myself humming that new-dress song and it just gives me strength to proceed.

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READY!

I finally finished preparing what it is my first podcast episode. It is about the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 events. I think I took a somewhat different approach. Even when it is made in Spanish, you guys might be interested in taking a look at some resources here.