A post from my other blog - February 7 - International Day in Memory of SSRI Victims

I don't like to mix my other blog with this one but this subject is too important and I have to share it. The images will probably be changed but please take a moment to read it because it is about your health or the health of people next to you since antidepressants SSRIs are being prescribed not only for those who are diagnosed with major depression but also for headache or even to quit smoking:

This is Traci Johnson a 19 years-old healthy volunteer for Cymbalta clinical trial for urinary incontinence in 2003. She hanged herself at Eli-Lylli's clinic in Indianapolis in February, 7, 2004. According to Wikipedia:

"A suicide of 19-year-old Traci Johnson, a healthy volunteer in a duloxetine clinical pharmacology study, was highly publicized. For about a month she had been given high doses of duloxetine, and then she was switched to placebo. Four days after the switch, she hanged herself with her scarf from a shower rod in the bathroom of Lilly Laboratory for Clinical Research.^[65][66] The New York Times article mentioned a withdrawal syndrome as a possible reason for this suicide."

I always thought about changing the avatar but whenever I looked at this bright smile it gave me courage to keep going for it is not easy to deal with this subject and most of the friends I met because of this blog that are dealing with psych-drugs harms feel the same. I wish I did not know about it all but I cannot stop trying to raise awareness because these drugs are destroying lives.

 Last year I did a post in February in Tracy Johnson's memory and I have already scheduled this year post but today morning I thought that it was not enough. So I though about dedicating this day to all those people who have their lives changed because of SSRI harm. I wrote an e-mail to some of my friends and this is the outcome of my idea with their inputs: February 7 - International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities   SSRI fatalities are those who have died violently due to homicide of suicide induced by SSRIs and now there are newborns that suffer heart malformations or any other teratogenic disturbance.

I would also like to remember people that have their quality of life changed because of the use of SSRI as a teenager. Those who are not aware of these facts may be asking themselves why is it happening or even if it is true that a drug that has killed during clinical trial can be at the market. You just got your answer: "market".

We are talking about money and corruption is causing too much harm. I will change my picture next 7th February and leave Tracy Johnson in peace. I want to thank her for all these months she was here by my side. R.I.P. Tracy Johnson I want to thank my blog friends that helped me and encouraged me to keep going: Bob Fiddaman at Seroxat Sufferers Mark p.s. 2 at Psychiatric Survivor Matthew at It's quite an experience Susan at If you're going through hell keep going Needles to say that without them I would not be able to do it. 


This is the Awareness Ribbon for the International Day in Memory of SSRI Fatalities created by Aloisio Congrejo, an italian Second Life artist that was kind enough to do it when I asked him. You can see some of his works at Flickr. Thank you very much Aloisio! Update: I just did an event at Bloggers Unite and I am waiting if they will accept it.

Sweet Friends Award from Herrad

Yes! Another award from Herrad. This is a very special award and I want to share it with all of those I know because of this blog and also my other blog.

I will copy from both bloglists. If you are at them you can already pick yours. I will copy it later.

I have two other awards to share.

I will do it.

Britain Seen From the North by Tony Cragg

This is one of many Anthony Gragg's periods.

"*Tony Cragg made this work during a visit to Britain in 1981, when he felt that the nation was beset by social and economic difficulties. The figure to the left is a portrait of the artist. Cragg lives in Germany, so although Britain is his native country he was viewing it through the eyes of an outsider.

Typically for Cragg, the work consists of many individual objects, arranged to form a larger image. This has prompted his work to be described as a 'relationship of the part to the whole', an idea derived from particle physics.

(From the display caption August 2004)"

*Tate gallery site.

Bar at the Folie Bergère by Édouard Manet

Leftt: "Bar at the Folie Bergère", 1881, by Édouard Manet. Right: Detail This is a very famous of Manet's painting. At the back of the girl there is a mirror showing the scene in front of her and she doesn't seem to pay attention to any particular person or event. Take a look at her image at the mirror at the right side of the painting. The mirror shows what is parallel to the girl but her back is painted in another angle as if it was another mirror. The man looking at her should also be depicted as if he was facing us. Manet's solution is far more interesting and accurate than if he had painted it following the mirror's rules. This is far more warm and, why not, realistic? I believe that if we were in front of the girl our heads would turn to see the man.

"Noli me Tangere" painted by Giotto, Fra Angelico, Holbein, Tintoretto, Titien, Coreggio, Bronzino, Alonso Cano, Rembrandt, Poussin and James Tissot

As I said at yesterday's post this biblical theme was painted by many artists. It depicts a scene that happened in seconds and it seems that Jesus is going away just after saying "Noli Me Tangere" to meet his father. Click at the images to enlarge the thumbnails and put your mouse at each image to know the name of the artist and the year. Have a great weekend!

Tube map of the Milky Way or an invitation to a trip to London ?

"Design classic that it is, our beloved Tube map has been twisted and distorted into all kinds of ulterior uses over the decades. We're no strangers to such manipulations ourselves. But how's this for the ultimate in schematic ambition?

Samuel Arbesman, a computational sociology fellow at Harvard University and a man who sits on ducks, has come to the aid of intragalactic commuters with this handy Tube map of the Milky Way (bigger image). Each stop on the network represents about 1000 light years, allowing hilarious jokes to be constructed about comparative journey times with the Northern Line.

Pretty cool, though, eh? Unfortunately, the Eurostar to the Andromeda Galaxy is not shown, having got stuck in a black hole.

Filed in Miscellaneous and tagged harvard, map, transport, tube"

This is at Londonist and I have already written about the London underground map here and here. When I saw Mr. Samuel Arbesman's map I didn't even realized what it was about because I first saw Harry Beck's design of the original map. I rather go to London for the moment.

Noli Me Tangere by Alexander Ivanov - Mary Magdalene and biblical themes

Right: detail Left: Noli Me Tangere, 1835, by Alexander Ivanov. Noli me tangere "Do not touch me" is what Christ said to Mary Magdalene when she sees him and recognizes him after the resurrection:

"John 20:17 - Jesus saith unto her, TOUCH ME NOT; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God (all quotes from the KJV)."

The theme was painted by many artists specially during renascence. At the next post I will publish the most famous.

Yoga - I did it with Orlando Cani a great Brazilian teacher

Back in 1979/80 I did yoga and it was a great experience I wish I had never stopped. This is my teacher and his site is in English if you want to visit it.

This is his biography:

"Orlando Cani was born on November 1935 in the city of Rodeio in the north of Santa Catarina where he lived until the age of 13, when he came to live in Rio de Janeiro. At 16 he got to know Yoga through the professor and master Jean-Pierre Bastiou, with whom he practiced corrective gymnastics. At 18, he entered the army’s school of parachuting. At 20, he graduated in Physical Education, and soon after began competing both on a national and international level at various sporting events. He was Rio de Janeiro’s champion of Olympic gymnastics and swimming, as well as acting as a coach in both events. He participated in various world championships of the Military Pentathlon (competition that involves five events, running, swimming, shooting, obstacle course and throwing with precision and distance), making him two time world champion, receiving personally from the from the country’s president, at the time, Castelo Branco, the highest award in sports the “Sport Medal of Honor” (Cruz do Mérito Desportivo).

In 1973, he went to India for a specialized course in Yoga at the Yoga Institute of Bombay, and there met his guru of Hatha Yoga, sri Yogendra. In Richikech (Ashram de Sivananda), he met his spiritual guru, Swame Chidananda.Orlando Cani has been a professor of physical education since 1956 and a professor of Yoga since 1961. He trains and has trained athletes in various events, like Rickson Gracie in Martial Arts; the Olympic female and male volleyball teams (an invitation from the coach Bernardinho); the double teams of beach volleyball, like Guilherme and Pará and Shelda and Adriana; the bi-champion of the triathlon Dolabella; surfers like Ricardo Bocão and Mudinho among others. He participated as a trainer in body expression in theater and dance and as a lecturer in national and international conventions on physical activities since 1979.

On a more personal level, he belongs to a beautiful family, made up of his wife lara Cani, his daughters Roberta and Patricia and his grandchildren Bruno and Rodrigo, as well and his numerous friends and long time students. This family gives him incredible affectionate and emotional support."

Sometimes I do it at home and it is as if I go back in time and I am there at that room, he still teaches there now with his daughters, and I will try to go back this year. I stopped because I didn't had money and he was kind enough not to charge me. But I started feeling ashamed. I'm sure I would not be having back problems if I didn't stop. But I'm getting better and better so I believe that soon I will be back at that room and I am very happy thinking about it because I feel that even though I stopped I still carry what I learned and it is part of who I am.

It will be great to go to a class where you only think about what you are doing and stop thinking about quotidian and foolish things especially at the end of the class during relaxation. You really stop thinking without effort. What else can someone aspire?

Terry Rodgers invites you to party

He painted many parties of rich people and in a way he makes us not only a witness or a voyeur.

This is oil on canvas and it amazes me that the same material in different hands can have such different aspects.

I did chose these two today but I will publish another post about Terry Rodgers.

Have a great Sunday!

Update:

Visit Terry Rodgers's site to see his collection and much more.

Haiti Emergence - Doctors Without Borders need donation to keep working

As I admire their work I wrote about Doctors Without Borders last year and they are at Haiti:

Haiti Emergence:

Stay Connected with our Work

Drawing on our emergency medical work around the world, we seek to generate greater awareness of the magnitude and severity of crises that may or may not be reflected in media accounts.

You can use the tools below to make an impact on behalf of MSF's patients by simply sharing our message.

"Trying to catch people's attention to something so far removed from their daily reality which barely impacts them is hard. But if we cover all bases, we can make in-roads into their awareness." —MSF nurse Fiona Bass

WEBSITES AND BLOGS

Use this button on your blog or website to let others know how to support our work in Haiti and 60 other countries around the world.

Update:

Haiti: MSF Treats 2,000 Patients; Working to Expand Surgical Capacity

© Julie Remy

Surgery needs are huge; more than 300 patients in need of surgery have been tranferred from MSF's Martissant health center to Choscal hospital, a facility in the Cité Soleil district.

• Haiti: Logistics of MSF's Intervention
• Questions about volunteering for Haiti emergency

Little story with photos (repost)

I did publish it at the first month I started this blog. I like it and want to share so there is goes.

.....................Wings...........................................In the Clouds ...............Above the Clouds................ .......................................................................New Found Land/Neverland/Wonderland

Gold Paw Award - Thanks to Herrad again - reason I am not publishing daily

Wow! I didn't see that Herrad had gave me this great award at the same post of the two awards at the post below. I would like to explain why I am not publishing the way I did: I'm having back pain and a exam that shows that hemosedimentation is high. My ankles are swelling and I'm having to stay away from the computer, do exercises, walk, swim or stay at the pool for a while... blah blah.... I am also eating a special meal to try the reverse it all. I still didn't shared the awards I have to share but I will do it. I just want to already pass this one to a very special friend that has a very special Holly: Susan at If you are going to hell keep going. Holly! Meowwwwwwwwwww! Mom got this because of you! Arf, arf, arf,.... wooooooooolllllllffffffffffffff!!!! bark, bark, bark... bark... bark bark... arf... arf... arf......Nell is talking to Holly!

Kreativ Blogger and The Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award thank you Herrad

Herrad at Access Denied has gave me these two awards and I am very happy. I will come back to this post later.

John Lennon and Peter Cook on "Not only ... but also"

John Lennon's second appearance on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's comedy show "Not only ... but also" was an acting role in a sketch in which Lennon played Dan, the doorman of a trendy nightclub ("The Ad-Lav") situated in an underground men's lavatory. John was filmed with Cook (cast as an American TV presenter) outside the entrance of the Gentlemen's public convenience on Broadwick Street, close to the junction with Berwick Street in the Soho area of London, on a quiet Sunday morning (November 27th, 1966).

Transmitted by: BBC2 B&W 26/Dec/1966 (9pm-9:50pm)

You can find more episodes at Youtube or buy the DVD BBC has released "What is left of 'Not Only... but also'".

BBC wants to make more money with this amazing comedy show that has a great cast, made history, change comedy and should be part of British cultural heritage.

Greedy is everywhere is causes many injustices and...

Well!

ENJOY what you can see. Today is Saturday! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!! Update: Peter Cook - Teaching Ravens To Fly Underwater is here. This is very funny!

F for Fake by Orson Welles

"F for Fake" is the last major film completed by Orson Welles. Initially released in 1974, it focuses on Elmyr de Hory's recounting of his career as a professional art forger; de Hory's story serves as the backdrop for a fast-paced, meandering investigation of the natures of authorship and authenticity, as well as the basis of the value of art. You can watch it at Youtube starting here for the first video and clicking at the other parts.

These are some excerpts:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, by way of introduction, this is a film about trickery, about fraud, about lies. Tell it by the fireside, in a marketplace or in a movie, almost any story is almost certainly some kind of lie.”

Orson Welles

"The important distiction to make when you are talking about the genuine quality of a painting is not so much if it is a real painting or a fake. It is wether if it is a good fake or a bad fake."

Clifford Irving

"...For instance that the author of "Fake" a book about a faker was himself a faker and the author of a fake."...

Orson Welles

"Some people even say: 'After I did read the book of Clifford Irving about you I like you even more than before"

Elmyr de Hory

"... In this cathalog was this Modigliani which is a Modigliani by Elmyr.

I would say: "This is a fake Modigliani." and the art gallery owner would say; "Yes. You can see that it is a fake because Modigliani would never have drawn an arm parallel to line of the dress that way and the background is very badly done and it's signature isn't right.

In the next gallery I would show this Modigliani in a cathalog and I say "That's a genuine Modigiani and they look at this and say: "Yes, You can see that it is one of the finest Modiglianni. It is the portrait of Mademoiselle de Boutennee and we know it very well, it is reproduced everywhere. After that, I must say, lost my faith in the concept of expertise."

Clifford Irving

"I don't feel bad for Modigliani. I feel good for me."

Elmyr de Hory

"People pretend to be shocked, they like to be shocked, you know, it's in their nature, it's humans nature."

Elmyr de Hory

"All the tales he tells now are things that he built up in his imagination over the years and come to believe is true."

Clifford Irving

"He has created I think the ability to live, I hesitate to say a criminal life because I don't think of him as a criminal as he doesn't think of himself as a criminal."

Now that it's out in the open, the world knows who Elmyr is, he's done. ANd now that Elmyr accept it and says to the world; "Yes, it is me. I am the greatest art forgery of the 20 century, now I think that he can recapture that person honesty."

Clifford Irving

"I think that Elmyr's problem for years and the reason why he could not succed as a painter of his own work was that the type of life he led prohibited him from having a personal vision.

And when an artist has no person vision what can he communicate onto the canvas?"

Clifford Irving

You can see Orson Welles talking about his hoax "The war of the worlds".

But we never know if he is telling the truth. If you have seen "The Hoax" I think you should see this movie.

Directed by: Orson Welles » Written by: Orson Welles, 1974 » Region/Time: France, Iran, W Germany, documentary/wtf, 85 minutes. Filmed in France, Ibiza and USA

Starring: Orson Welles as Himself » Oja Kodar as The Girl » Elmyr de Hory as Himself » Clifford Irving as Himself » François Reichenbach as Himself.

I am not psycopath but I got a 24% delusional rate in a test online

Your result for The Are You a Psychopath? Test...

Your result for The Are You a Psychopath? Test ...

The Healthy Mind

You scored 83% empathic, 24% delusional, 81% sociable, and 58% law-abiding!

You don't have any gross defects of character at all. You might have your problems, but for the most part you're simply a normal person and most definitely not a psychopath in any way

Take The Are You a Psychopath? Test at HelloQuizzy.

I don't know what 24% delusional rate means but I am happy not to be a psychopath. I am not sure if taking this tests mean something because psychopaths lie and some of them pass liar detector with no problems. Why I took this quiz? Because a friend of mine just came back from holidays and there was a woman with strange behaviors, stabbing a boyfriend is one of them as well as taking drugs, lying and others. Nobody knows how to deal with her or how to help her. Sad but we have to take care.

Mark at Psychiatry Survivor left a comment explaining how to help a psychopath:

Mark p.s.2 said...

How to help a psychopath? The psychopath is helping you! Really! You just have to understand why the psychopath is right and you are wrong.

January 6, 2010 4:49 AM

Hehe! Thank you Mark for the insightful solution!

Olympia by Edouard Manet

At the post about Goya's Majas I said that there was a Manet to come and there she is: Olympia, 1863, depicting the courtesan Victorine.

These are the historical facts:

"Yet the greatest uproar was reserved for the painting in which Victorine’s sexuality is finally fully unleashed: Olympia (1863). Depicted as a prostitute, Victorine reclines queenlike on her bed, unabashedly confronting the viewer with her naked body. Olympiaappears to mock the barriers Manet previously erected against Victorine’s sexuality. Here, what little clothing Victorine wears - especially her slippers - merely serve to accentuate her nudity rather than covering it. The one real attempt at concealment is the hand that rests nonchalantly over Victorine’s genitals, and even this is less of a disguise than an emphasis upon them. It is now the model who seems in control, not the artist; she is a monster unleashed. The crowds at the Salon of 1865 reacted as if she was, at least: Empress Eugénie herself hit the painting with her umbrella as an expression of disgust, inspiring so many imitators that Olympia had to be re-hung higher on the wall, out of range (Siebert 159). Victorine’s body had burst its bonds, creating a scandal practically of its own accord. If the furor surrounding Déjeuner sur l’herbe could be attributed to the juxtaposition of men in modern dress with naked women, viewers’ strong reaction to Olympia is certainly all about Victorine. Olympia is her great victory."

I wonder what kind of nudity would cause reaction nowadays and I am sure that it can be done.

Bill Withers - "Grandma's hands" for my grandma and the Madres/Abuelas of the Plaza de Mayo

Today morning when I woke up I thought about this song that makes me think of my grandma. Today is her birthday and this is the day I celebrate and remember of her because I erased from my memory the day she died. I didn't went to her funeral because I have decided at a very early age that I would never see her dead. I believe that when we die the body means nothing and our existence becomes something different.

I believe in God but I don't follow any religion. I don't know why and I don't want to think too much about it.

So this song is dedicated to my grandma and for the "madres"/mothers, today "abuelas" grandmas, of the Plaza de Mayo.

Like my grandma they did fight and are fighting for their children...

"The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, is a unique organization of Argentine women who have become human rights activists in order to achieve a common goal. For over three decades, the Mothers have fought for the right to re-unite with their abducted children.

In protests, they wear white head scarves with their children's names embroidered, to symbolize the blankets of the lost children. The name of the organization comes from the Plaza de Mayo in central Buenos Aires, where the bereaved mothers and grandmothers first gathered. They gather every Thursday afternoon for a half hour walk around the plaza."

I'm sure they will meet my grandma before me. May they be at peace.

Vancouver at Night (Vancouver in Fog) by flynnkc

15-second exposure of a fog-covered Vancouver as seen from the top of Grouse Mountain.

All rights reserved

Uploaded on Sep 2, 2009 Map

This is such a beautiful picture that I had to publish it while waiting for the photographer permission. Don't follow my steps but I believe you would do the same. Thank you flynnkc for this amazing picture that did put a smile on my face. I want to dedicate it to my grandma because today is her birthday and she surely is in heaven watching beautiful images at the sky. I love you grandma.

I joined Nonja's Facebook's photographer profile and now she has 79.885 fans

This is what is written at her profile:

Nonja is a 33 year old female orangutan from the Borneo subspecies "Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus", and was born in 1976 with us here at the zoo. When she was younger, Nonja needed to be hand fed by a keeper, so she is especially familiar with the human environment. A few years ago, to satisfy her need for new and exciting challenges, Nonja took up painting. In total she painted around 250 works of art with brushes and paint. Over 2000 Euro was paid for one particular painting. Now, with help from the Samsung ST1000, Nonja has discovered photography and the internet. Using WiFi the camera can automatically connect to her Facebook account. Thanks to the simplest operation, Nonja can now take her own photos – all of which you can find on her Wall. Also, the curious Sol and even the commanding male Vladimir won’t allow such an opportunity to escape, and from time to time to play with the camera themselves. Sol comes from northern Europe. She was born in Boras Zoo in Sweden, on the 4th July 1996, and then from May 2004 lived at the Kristiansand in Norway. Now, since the 17th May 2009 she lives in Vienna. The only male, Vladimir, was born in 1974, came from Moskow to Amsterdam in 1988 and since the 18th July 1991 lives in Vienna. Mota came from the Artis Zoo, in Amsterdam, on October 7th 2009 due to the closure of the orangutan enclosure. The European conservational breeding program for endangered animals ‚EEP’ decided that the best place for the 45 year old female would be in Vienna. Since the beginning of 2009 our orangutans are accommodated in what was previously the Orangery, now a 750 square meter open air enclosure. In the future, a breeding group will take care of new offspring and further research projects are being planned. In many projects the zoo is instrumental in the protection of both nature and the species. Here in Vienna, the orangutans are ambassadors for their kind in Borneo. An association of friends of the Schönbrunn Zoo, the animal protection organisation ‚Vier Pfoten’ (Four Paws) helps to support the projects for resettlement of orangutans in Borneo. Further information: www.orang-utans.org

. Some comments:

Wendy escreveu às 02:02 do dia 10 de dezembro de 2009

haha Rory.. it's an animal taking photographs... I think she's doing a great job taking photographs of her friends and surroundings.. (I can't believe I am a fan... haha) It is just so darn cute!!

Mick escreveu às 01:11 do dia 23 de dezembro de 2009

Brightens up my day, cheers Nonja.

Max escreveu às 00:31

i Love you Nonja xDD

Ana Luiza

Great job! :)

3 hours ago · (at the right picture :) )