Writing Workshop is over (let´s cry)

The dark side of Coca-cola.(By Irene)

What do you know about Coca-cola? In my case almost nothing, apart from been catch up with the huge business the company has. Few days ago, a friend, borrowed me an article titled “the black history of the black water”. Before reading the article I intuited what was going to tell, because all of us, more or less, have heard about the murky business multinationals have. Even that, I find quite unexpected most of the things the article said.

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Coca-cola is the most hand out drink all over the world. You can find it in almost 232 countries; much more countries than the Organisation of Unite Nations has. Coca-cola profits are higher than a great deal of poor countries budgets. The company blackmail and threaten small shopkeepers with exclusivity contracts.

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Coca-cola idea was born in Atlanta by Pemberton in 1880. It was Frank Robinson who designed coca-cola logo. Although they created the product and the logo, none of they took profit of it. Coca-cola business was created by Asa Candle. He was the only owner of the company. He started with a modest factory in Atlanta. In nearly five years, coca-cola arrived to: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago and New York. Nor the 29 crack, neither first nor second world wards could decrease Coca-cola sales.

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And what about health issues? Doctors warned about: only after seventy two hours stomach will stop to be black due to of it ingestion. Only one Coca-cola has ten spoonfuls of sugar. Coca-cola Company is one of the most sugar consumers in the market, so they use transgenic sugar or they import them form South America. Owing to that, Coca-Cola Company has created grate troubles in some isolated villages.

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The first time coca-cola arrived to Europe hundreds of people were poisoned. Nor is only and isolate case, in June 1999 Belgian, Holland and Luxemburg retired them. A lot of cases like that took place in England in 2004 and in India in 1998.
Only two people know the unknown formula of Coca-cola (X7). They don’t know each other, they never travel in the same plane, they never eat the same meal and of course they never sleep in the same hotel.

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I was very frustrated with all the things I read. I am realistic and not optimistic at all; of course almost no one is going to stop drinking Coca-cola after reading the article. I don’t know the answer, neither the solution to that kind of companies. Because I am speaking about Coca-cola, but Nestle and Nike (only for instance) are very similar. They do whatever they want; it doesn’t matter if they are not respecting human rights, or even the law; because it is only market rules! The more you can pay, the more successful you will be. The dark side, of one, of the richest companies in the word.

P.S. If you want to read more, I will send you the article. Give me your email! (:

ABOUT DIANE ARBUS (1923-1971) (By Irene)

History is plenty of forgiven characters. Especially if we are speaking about women; “The greatest forgiven”. Pratriarcalistic societies which remember, study and grow with a masculine history generate a lack of feminine figures. That is the reason why the eternal feminine absence it taken for granted. The memory of those entire important women passes over the time like little shadows waiting for us.

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Only for instance, one of those women is Diane Arbus. She was one of the most important photographers in the XX century. She took with her camera all the social aspects which could pass inadvertent; the hidden part of her contemporary society, even herself. She had an excellent clever view. Transgressor, loner, very intuitive and melancholic. She was always looking for the luid. Her pictures are so vividness that sometimes they overwhelmed you.

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Although that she had a good relationship with her family, she was very collapse with them. She lived in a crystal cage that is the reason why she needed to break the heavy chain which made her miserable. She required a bit of freedom, that kind of freedom which allows everyone be whatever you decided to be. She managed to go to the “Metropolitan”, she used to spend whole hours gazed Greco pictures or reading poetry in Central Park. The more she read, the more she wanted to know. Her nonconformist and high sensitive character made her suffered a lot. Often form depression.

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No sooner had she recover from a great depression when she got married with Allan Arbus. Nor the fame, neither the money, could give her a good live, or at least; a live that should worth to live. At first they get on well but with the years Diana started to get involve in troubles. She had problems with drugs, alcohol and with the law.

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Like Virginia Woolf, Diana committed suicide. Any letter was written explaining the matter of her suicide. Only a line in her diary: “The last dinner”.

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My favourite photography of her is “Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park”. It scared me and is very overwhelmed. Others like “kid in black face with friend”, “Woman and her son”… and much more.

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I highly encourage you to take a look to her work you won’t be disappointed. (If you get disappointed at least you have been in touch with a woman work, something that doesn’t happen every day.)

Musac (by Irene)

Historically the controversial about Art have been one of the most questionable questions, philosophically and aesthetic speaking. The meaning, the definition or the use of Art have been the most commune answer to the eternal question “what is art?”
We are far away of the Expressionism, Classicism, and Barrow. But as I see it, it does not means that everything showed in a museum is Art.

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Last week I was in León, I visited the Musac, a new age building used to display photography, sculpture and pictures. Although it seems very modern, except some photography I really don’t enjoy with anything. For instance, there was a carpet with some books, the books have been choosing by the author because they were very important for him in his life.
I was so angry when I was it… I mean, I think the author was joking with me, with us, Art is that? If it is so, I find that every of us can be an artist, so came on, put all your books on a carpet and be famous.

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It is stupid, isn’t it?
I really don’t understand why it was there, art for me is something different. I don’t have a clear idea and probably I am not able to explain my own art view. Although it doesn´t mean that I can’t discern what it can’t be art for me.
A grate philosopher called Gadamer speaks about the art dead. He insisted on the fact that, only when the art dead, Art is recognised like Art. So Art needs to dead to be consider like Art. History would be our better guide to appreciated Art because with an historical and temporal view we would be able to appreciate it. It could means that, we are not appreciating the new age art and maybe once we died, the new generations will be able to appreciated it. I highly don’t trust on it. A carpet with books can’t be art.

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But like everything, any of us have their own view, so maybe if you had watched it, you would have enjoyed. Art can be only the way of see something. A way of see cultural and historically defined. Despite of the heterogeneous taste of everyone I find quite difficult to understand this kind of art. Almost impossible.

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Last February in Arco, a little draw made by children in a kinder garden was buy for hundreds of Euros. So, it can be Art to?
Maybe all of us are artist and I really don’t see it before. So create and take out the sleepy artist you have inside.

Plastic or not plastic that is the question (by Irene)

When I was a child my grandmother used to take me to the baker’s to buy some bread every morning. She always used the same bag. It was not a plastic bag it was a cloth bag, she reuse it every morning. Thousands of people like my grandmother used to do that but with the new culture of “use and throw it” a huge problem have to be face up to. Plastic bags are an unquestionable problem for the environment.

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Countries like Israel, Canada, Kenya, Taiwan, Bangladesh and China have banned the use of plastic bags. Ireland put a tax over the price of plastic bags and the use of them have decreased a 90 %. It is a bit sad the only thing than seems to change our habit is money. So it doesn’t mind to have an environmental thought, pocket rules!!

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It is estimate that a person consume of plastic bags is six a week, twenty four every month, more or less two hundred and eighty eight a year. To sum up every one in our live might use 22,176 plastic bags. What can we do? Because recycling them is not the answer, for the reason that is cheaper make a new one than recycling it. Only a 1% of every plastic bag is recycled. If they are not been recycled, where they go? The answer is to every where. Because the wind sometimes shuffle them, the worst place they go is the sea. And unfortunately is what more often happen. Once in the sea they are eaten by tortoises, dolphins, seals and whales. Sometimes these animals eat them because they seem to be jellyfish. At the same time hundreds of birth dead due to the plastic bag become for them in a snare.

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I am only mentioning environmental points; we don’t have to forget that plastic bags are made by oil. A country like China would save 37,000 $ only in one year not using plastic bags.

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So came on! Let´ s use cloth bags, we can recycle them, because every day we will be able to reuse them. Recycling is the way but if we already know that it is only a dream (have you seen the program CQC about Murcia??) make something to change that. Tomorrow go to buy to the baker’s with a cloth bag. ^ ^ . it isn´t go green, it is go responsible about a real fact.