El Campo de Guerra Mundial, 1000 años de guerra en 5 minutos

Mi Barrio

Hip hop de Puerto Rico para el mundo.


 Insomnia (Mi Barrio) RMX Feat. Raw Mah, Negro, Babalu Machete & Nebula by Erre Dos

Brisa Fuerte

Escucho tu voz en el
viento, brisa fuerte.
Tu presencia, innegable
trascendencia inmanente
con la que me hablas.
Ahora voz recia que me
hiela las entrañas.
Luego suave caricia
sonriente.
Inesperada brisa fuerte
a la que has acostumbrado
a los árboles cuyo diálogo
contigo escucho e imagino
entender.
Un aplauso a tu voz
a veces. Un rugir
también.
Pero no siempre eres
brisa fuerte. También
te escuché susurrar.

cspellot
28 octubre 2010
6:04 pm

Un nuevo día

Un nuevo día, amado Dios,
abres delante de mí
con su sol montado
en alas
y su viento aún durmiendo
apacible
regalo magno de azul
 y aire, de luz y otoño
todo un ser hecho
para ser dado y
alegrar mi corazón
Que así sean mis
días también montados
en sus alas
con su azul o su
gris regalos para ti

cspellot

28 octubre 2010

9:30 am

tod

falling like the cold air at night
with an unknown heaviness of soul
her weakness takes over your breath

there are no words only faint sounds
from a distance close to her
she whispers you eternal bliss 

long gone memories now marching one by one
in a slow procession of timeless visions and dreams 
that would never close their eyes

because you thought today would never come

¿Quién puede salvar como el Señor?

Ayer fue el último día del Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana. Tres cuartas partes del año han transcurrido y con ellas hemos presenciado un sin número de noticias lamentables. Terremotos en Haití, Chile, Turquía en los primeros tres meses del año y muchos otros más después de esos en todo el mundo.

Inundaciones devastadoras en China, Pakistán, India y Estados Unidos por mencionar sólo unas pocas. Sequías y fuegos en Rusia. Crisis económicas en gran parte del mundo. Desastres naturales como los huracanes que aún están llegando a este hemisferio. Incidentes fatales que han costado vidas y han sido provocados por el hombre como los derrames de petróleo en el Golfo de México y la explosión en la mina de carbón natural en West Virginia, EUA. 

Sin embargo, no todo ha sido lamentable, en particular, durante las últimas dos semanas. La comunidad mundial ha podido disfrutar de dos noticias singularmente alentadoras en medio tanto dolor y pesimismo global. En estas últimas dos semanas nos enteramos de la premiación con el Nóbel de Literatura a Mario Vargas Llosa de Perú. Sin lugar a dudas, una noticia que nos llega de orgullo a todos los hispanos y amantes de la literatura latinoamericana en general. La segunda noticia tiene un alcance de proporciones mucho mayores que el galardón a don Mario. Esa noticia fue el rescate de los mineros en Copiapó, Chile. 

Me he preguntado qué poema hubiese escrito Neruda en esta ocasión. ¿Qué canción esperanzada? (20 poemas de amor y una canción desesperada es una de las obras más conocidas de Pablo Neruda.) ¿Qué canto a los mineros? ¿Qué oda a su tierra chilena? Sin duda, sería un poema, u obra completa, para recordar. El mundo entero se quedó absorto esta semana en un pequeño grupo de personas en un lugar lejano de la tierra. El mundo entero entregó sus oraciones al Padre por esos mineros. El mundo entero lloró con ganas. El mundo entero gritó de regocijo. ¡Qué triunfo del espíritu chileno! ¡Qué triunfo de todos aquellos en la comunidad mundial que se unieron a Chile en los esfuerzos de rescate! ¡Qué triunfo del espíritu humano que Dios ha puesto en nosotros! Pero sobre todo fue Dios quien estuvo mirando sobre esos mineros. ¿Acaso no es un milagro que todos ellos hayan sobrevivido por más de dos meses en las entrañas de la tierra? Aún allí en la oscuridad, como en una tumba, Dios estaba presente con ellos. Y como dijo uno de los mineros, "Dios ganó". Dios ganó en esta odisea de vida y muerte en una remota mina de Copiapó, Chile. A los que se les creía muertos por los primeros 17 días, Dios los resucitó. Dios ganó en Copiapó, Chile, diciéndole a la humanidad al son de campanas lo que San Pablo nos dijo en su 1ra Carta a los Corintios, capítulo 15, versículo 55,

    ¿Dónde está, muerte, tu aguijón? ¿Dónde, sepulcro, tu victoria?

En el año 33 de su vida, nuestro Señor Jesucristo, obtuvo esa victoria sobre la muerte. El rescate de esos 33 mineros nos recuerda lo que Cristo hizo en la cruz por nosotros. Cristo venció a la muerte con su muerte para que nosotros no muramos espiritualmente más. Dios ganó. Creo que esos mineros lo sabían. Creo que esos mineros oraron como el salmista David cuando se sintió también en un pozo profundo, como en una tumba. Esa oración también fue un poema que lee así,

Pacientemente esperé a Jehová, y se inclinó a mí y oyó mi clamor,

y me hizo sacar del pozo de la desesperación, del lodo cenagoso; puso mis pies sobre peña y enderezó mis pasos. 

Puso luego en mi boca cántico nuevo, alabanza a nuestro Dios. Verán esto muchos y temerán, y confiarán en Jehová. Salmo 40:1-3

Este rescate de los mineros en Copiapó, Chile, es una invitación a voces a confiar en el Señor. Es una invitación a reconocer que nadie - y de esto atestiguó el mismo presidente chileno, Sebastián Piñera Echenique - salva como el Señor. Ojalá tú que lees esto puedas llegar a confiar en el Señor como confiaron los mineros durante su "sepultura" y como confiamos en el Señor todos aquellos que le hemos entregado nuestra vida. 

Cuando se haga un recuento de la primera década del siglo 21, el año 2010 saldrá a relucir, más que por sus muchos desastres y crisis, por lo que Dios hizo en la mina San José de Copiapó, Chile durante los meses de agosto a octubre. ¿Quién puede librar como el Señor? ¡Nadie!

"Contra Dios y contra ti..."

"'Padre mío, he pecado contra Dios y contra ti; ya no merezco llamarme tu hijo; trátame como a uno de tus trabajadores.' Así que se puso en camino y regresó a la casa de su padre." Lucas 15:18-20

Una de las preguntas que me hago al leer este pasaje es, ¿Por qué este joven pensó que había pecado contra Dios ADEMÁS de su padre? La parábola del hijo perdido sólo presenta a tres personajes principales - el padre y sus dos hijos. A Dios, salvo en boca del hijo perdido, no se le menciona en toda la parábola.

Cuando tomamos en cuenta el contexto de los primeros versículos de la parábola del hijo perdido es fácil entender que en la cultura judía en la que Jesús narra esta historia la petición del hijo menor significaba una grave ofensa contra el padre. En primer lugar, el padre no había muerto. Las herencias eran 'heredadas' una vez el padre de familia había muerto. La petición del hijo menor arrogantemente rompía con las convenciones sociales de la época en cuanto al respeto por los padres y al patrimonio familiar. Convenciones que aún se observan hoy en muchas culturas. Además, el quinto mandamiento dice, "Honra a tu padre y a tu madre, para que vivas una larga vida en la tierra que te da el Señor tu Dios." Esas convenciones sociales tienen su origen en la Ley de Dios. En segundo lugar, era el hijo mayor quien tenía derecho a la gran mayoría de la herencia del padre si no toda la herencia. Así que, en efecto, el padre toma de lo que es del hijo mayor para dárselo al menor. Eso explica en parte el gran malestar del hijo mayor con su hermano cuando este regresa.

"He pecado CONTRA DIOS y contra ti" es la expresión del hijo menor al regresar a la casa de su padre. Está muy consiente de ya no tiene patrimonio - ya no tiene un lugar al que llamar "mi casa" en virtud de que era parte de una familia acomodada. Todo eso lo ha perdido y reconoce que su proceder con su padre y toda su familia ha sido egoísta. Su egoísmo lo ha dejado en la ruina.

Este joven reconoce que sus actos tienen consecuencias más allá de sí mismo aquí en la tierra. Sus acciones tienen repercusiones celestiales también. Una versión bíblica rinde los versos de este modo, "Papá, he pecado contra el cielo y contra ti." Ese es un contraste demasiado fuerte con nuestra sociedad actual en donde pensamos que mis actos no tienen repercusiones más allá de mí mismo. El hijo perdido nos enseña no sólo acerca de las relaciones familiares o filiales sino que demuestra que estamos relacionados unos con otros aunque no tengamos relación filial alguna entre sí. El hijo perdido enseña que menospreciar nuestras relaciones humanas como si fuéramos "la última Coca-Cola en el desierto" es al fin de cuentas una gran ofensa contra Dios porque Dios es la fuente de toda relación humana. Y Dios nos ha dado estas relaciones humanas para que sean cultivadas no abusadas. El hijo perdido reconoce que su proceder no solamente ha quebrantado el honor de su padre terrenal sino que ha quebrantado el honor de quien es la fuente toda relación paternal en la tierra, el Padre celestial.

"He pecado CONTRA DIOS Y CONTRA TI." No estamos solos aunque lo parezca o aunque quisiéramos. Nos debemos no sólo a una familia, amigos o aún a desconocidos aquí en la tierra sino a una familia celestial también. Esa familia celestial conocida como la Santa Trinidad - el Padre, el Hijo y el Espíritu Santo - dio paso a la encarnación de Jesucristo, la mayor expresión del amor de Dios hacia una creación perdida sin sentido de una verdadera relación con el prójimo.

En la encarnación de Jesucristo tenemos la restauración de toda relación humana por muy destructiva que nos pueda parecer. Padres e hijos son reconciliados gracias a este misterio de Dios hecho hombre. También esposo y esposa, hermano y hermana, amigo y amiga. Sin embargo, la encarnación de Jesucristo restaura la relación más importante, la del Padre con una humanidad rebelde. En Cristo, el Padre le abre sus brazos a todo el mundo y nos recibe como si nunca hubiéramos abandonado su casa.

El hijo perdido no merecía ser recibido por su padre luego de haberlo deshonrado de tal modo, pero el reconocimiento de que su pecado no sólo había sido contra su padre sino contra su PADRE le ganó doblemente el perdón - tanto el de su padre terrenal como el del celestial. Ese tipo de reconocimiento, CONTRA DIOS Y CONTRA TI, hace milagros en nuestras vidas si tan sólo estamos dispuestos a practicarlo. Dios nos mantiene así como sus herederos, parte de la familia con los privilegios y las responsabilidades, esto es, como hijos. En él nuestra identidad no está perdida.

cspellot2010

Welcome to Jesus Spa Treatment

A couple nights ago I told my kids, "Guys, I want to read to you something really funny in the Bible. I think you'll have a good crack at it." So we started reading John 9. John 9 happens to be one of the most, literally and figuratively, awesome chapters in all of the Bible. It's a chapter that hinges on a miracle performed by Jesus and all the circumstances surrounding it. It's a chapter that brings to the fore the power of Christ not just to heal but to redeem and not just to bring about eyesight but spiritual sight.

One of the most important features of this chapter is Christ's "disappearance" from the picture right after the blind receives his eyesight. In fact, Christ disappears from the picture even before the blind man receives healing.

The process or method Jesus used to heal this man prompted my oldest son to interrupt me and rehearse the event right in front of me and his siblings. It went something like this,

"Welcome to Jesus' Spa Treatment!" Right then he did all the motions of someone spitting on the ground, grabbing the freshly made "mud" in his hands and them proceeding to put the "product" on my eyes! Yeah, I know! Not funny!

He then decided that "Jesus' Spa Treatment" wasn't the proper name for Jesus personal healing "business" so he changed it to "Jesus Eyecare Treatment". Somehow my son found Jesus' way of healing this blind man quite amusing - so do I everytime I read John 9.

So Jesus tells the man "go and take all that mud off your eyes". It's interesting that the guy has to get his eyes all muddied before he can actually see. It's the same story with us. Our eyes were all muddied. Our souls were all muddied. Our hearts were all muddied. We, just as the blind man, needed cleansing before we could actually see.

Jesus is quite a funny guy. Check this out - he tells the BLIND man "go and clean yourself up"! He didn't take him. Didn't help him go where he needed to go - where the cleansing water was. I wonder if the man made it on his own (that's what we understand from a plain reading of John 9) or if someone present helped him get there. All we know is he got there, where the cleansing water was.

The blind man does as he's told and the blind man then sees. And what ensues is one of the most if not the supreme chapter of comedic (should I say cosmic) genious in all of Scriptures. What I find fascinating is that Jesus is not physically present while the blind man is being deposed by the (im)proper authorities. I like to think Jesus is somewhere around hiding, looking from afar at the whole scene his miracle has created, laughing his heart out. But actually, he isn't. Apparently, he isn't even aware of what's going on.

Jesus healed and moved on... Jesus rose the dead and moved on... Jesus suffered, died and rose again for you and me and moved on...

Jesus was a man on a mission. He wanted all of us to get his Spa Treatment and share the love as well. And keep moving on...

AHORA LO VES; AHORA NO LO VES

Por Carlos S Pellot
domingo, 26 de septiembre de 2010

“Ahora lo ves; ahora no lo ves” es una de las frases más conocidas en el lenguaje popular. Su origen esta en los magos y sus trucos de magia. Algo que es evidente a nuestros ojos, que es obvio, repentinamente desaparece “como por arte de magia”. “Ahora lo ves; ahora no lo ves” es una frase célebre de los magos. Por supuesto, lo que hace un segundo veíamos pero ahora no, no ha desaparecido realmente. El que es diestro en los trucos de magia se basa en las ilusiones ópticas o la rapidez de sus manos para hacernos creer que algo imposible de suceder según las leyes de la física, como la desaparición o aparición de una moneda, de una paloma o de un conejito blanco, ha ocurrido. [Leer más.]

My thoughts after watching Christopher Nolan's Inception

"What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is not a new Alfred Hitchcock. It's, plain and simple, Christopher Nolan!" CSPellot

Inception is a marvelous movie! It's an intriguing movie! A provocative movie! It's a brilliant movie! (It's also a dangerous movie!) Superb storyline, acting and dialogue. Creative cinematography. Impressive special fx! The movie was like watching one of Escher's drawings. You don't know at times where's the beginning and where's the end. What's the reality and what's not. Oh, and the music! Hans Zimmer pushed the envelope with his original music score here! The tension it created! I smell an Oscar nomination for the music score (I really want to say award)! And talking about Oscar nominations, here's what I anticipate the movie will be nominated for,

1. Of course, I already mentioned the music score - Hans Zimmer.
2. Best Special Effects
3. Best Cinematography
4. Best Screenplay - Christopher Nolan
5. Best Supporting Actress - Ellen Page
6. Best Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
7. Best Director - Christopher Nolan
8. Best Picture - Christopher Nolan/Warner Brothers

This is the kind of movie that demands - yes, DEMANDS - a second, third and fourth viewings, and you'll still be left wondering if you were able to completely understand it. It's what they call "movie magic".

Do yourself a favor and watch it on the big screen! Now go!

Cuando yo crezca... / When I grow up...

Mauro, nuestro recién cumpleañero de 7 años, nos ha expresado antes su deseo de convertirse en maestro de matemáticas y en pastor. Su mamá es maestra de matemáticas. Su papá es pastor. Debo conceder que está sumamente influenciado. Sin embargo, ni Aixa ni yo le hemos dicho al chico que tiene que convertirse en una de esas cosas. Temprano hoy, Aixa le preguntó,

Mauro, ¿por qué quieres convertirte en maestro de matemáticas?
-Porque me gustan las matemáticas- contestó él.

Y, ¿por qué quieres convertirte en pastor?
-Porque me gusta la iglesia.

Lo que me sorprende de sus respuestas es la sencillez y convicción con que las dijo. Ahora, puede que él crezca y no se convierta en ninguna de esas dos profesiones, pero si lo hace será excelente en ambas. También debo conceder que tengo mucho por lo que orar y trabajar.

++++

Mauro, our recently turned 7 year old, has expressed to us before his desire to become a math teacher and a pastor. His mom is a math teacher. His dad is a pastor. I must concede that he is heavily influenced. However, neither Aixa nor I have told the little guy he must become either of those. Earlier today, Aixa asked him,

Mauro, why is it that you want to become a math teacher?
-Because I like math- he replied.

And why is it that you want to become a pastor?
-Because I like church.

What surprises me is the simplicity and conviction with which he answered. Now, he may grow up to be neither of those two professions, but if he does he'll be excellent at both. I must also concede that I have a lot to pray for and work.

There Truly Is A Dark Side

The recent and much talked about bank robbery in Long Island, New York, this past week by a man in a Darth Vader custom confirms that the leading and loudest voice in American everyday life is not the voice of politics, but the voice of entertainment. Entertainment, in all its spheres, has such a vital role in the shaping of our cultural minds that one seldom stops to think about its long lasting effects.

There’s a reason or several reasons why the bank robber in case decided to use the disguise he used in his very serious attempt at bank robbery. I wonder how long must he have been thinking about the hold up before actually implementing it? Did he have several customs from which to pick? Which one would have serve the purpose best? Which one would give him the most bang for his buck? No doubt, in deciding to don Vader’s suit, something would have to be surrendered in order to give the robbery more credibility. Alas, no light saber! A handgun would have have to suffice since sometimes reality gets in the way.

It was the handgun more than the custom that made the crime a success. A light saber, had it been possible to use one, would have been the “wow weapon”, but I believe the robber would have still chosen the lethal weapon he used. There’s little resistance to such things and the custom was just a mere disguise. Yet, let us not dismiss the significance of that unequivocal suit.

For over thirty years, our collective psyche has associated that custom with evil, with “The Empire” and “The Dark Side”. The fact that the perpetrator decided to show up as Darth Vader says to us more than a few things, loud and clear. I’ll limit myself to two of them. On one side, it does say that when people decide to commit crimes they can get pretty creative and funny too. (Nothing funny about a hold up, mind you. Just look at the guy behind Vader.) On the other, it also says there truly is something called the Dark Side, something so obscure within us - not outside - it permeates our whole being and consciousness; it permeates our relationships with one another bringing about the sad consequences we see in our world today; and ultimately, it permeates our relationship with God.

I’m pretty sure there have been millions of Vader customs worn by big and small, young and old alike since the Stars Wars saga broke the scene. What I do not know is if this is the first recorded time a Darth Vader custom has been used not on Halloween or Hollywood Boulevard, but at a bank to commit a crime punishable by federal law. Darth Vader doesn’t come across as entertaining at all in that context. And I feel sorry for George Lucas who probably never thought that Vader would come out of the safe haven of his entertainment universe and intersect his non-entertainment one with much gusto and success. I dare say it was only a matter of time. There truly is a Dark Side, my friends, and it exists in the right here and the right now.

However, to put it in Star Wars lingo, the Force also exists in the right here and the right now. In God’s economy, it’s called his love. It’s the only thing capable of taking our Dark-Sideness and turning it upside down. It is God’s love that has the power to infuse with his perfect light all that is dark in us; everything that keeps us blind and far from him. And that love has been demonstrated fully, perfectly, once and for all in Jesus Christ his only son. So good bye, Death Star.

Oración de Serenidad / Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr

DIOS, concédeme la serenidad
para aceptar las cosas que no puedo cambiar,
el valor para cambiar las cosas que sí puedo cambiar
y la sabiduría para conocer la diferencia.
Viviendo un día a la vez,
disfrutando un momento a la vez;
aceptando la dificultad como el camino hacia la paz;
Tomando, como lo hizo Jesús, este mundo pecador tal y como es,
y no como me gustaría que fuera.
Confiando que Tú harás que todo salga bien
si me entrego a Tu voluntad;
De modo que pueda ser razonablemente feliz en esta vida
y sumamente feliz contigo por siempre en la próxima.
Amén.

GOD, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

LA EXPLOSIVA SITUACIÓN POLÍTICA DE PUERTO RICO

URGENTE. URGENTE. URGENTE.

PARA DIFUSIÓN INMEDIATA.
NOTICIA PARA EL MUNDO. 

LA EXPLOSIVA SITUACIÓN POLÍTICA

 DE PUERTO RICO

Son las 5:00 de la tarde del día 30 de junio de 2010, grupos de estudiantes, profesores y ciudadanos pidieron entrada a la Casa de las Leyes y fueron golpeados y torturados por la Polícia, hay numerosos heridos, mientras se moviliza la Guardia Nacional hacia el Capitolio. Choques violentos se esparcen por toda la zona del Parlamento y las represiones continúan.
Un golpe de estado constitucional acaba de consolidarse en Puerto Rico.
Tras un año de que el actual gobierno del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP, partido que busca la anexión de Puerto Rico a los Estados Unidos), intentara y lograra exitosamente la toma de varias instituciones que sostienen el gobierno democrático de Puerto Rico, un ambiente de hostilidad seguido por temerarias acciones retadoras de la paz pública, han desembocado en acciones violentas y agresivas del actual gobierno, tanto contra los partidos de oposición, como del movimiento estudiantil organizado, los sindicatos, la prensa, así como de todos los sectores de la sociedad civil puertorriqueña.
Esta toma del control constitucional procede de la Rama Legislativa bajo la autoridad del Senador Lcdo. Thomas Rivera Schatz, apoyada por el gobierno central bajo el mando del Secretario de la Gobernación, el Lcdo. Marcos Rodríguez Ema, con el obvio propósito de tener a su disposición y sin disputa, el control de todos los organismos rectores judiciales, universitarios, económicos y civiles. Ante este panorama, el actual Gobernador, Lcdo. Luis Fortuño, funciona sin voluntad, sin opinión y sin presencia ni responsabilidad pública.
Con el control del Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico, la Junta de Síndicos de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, el pretendido control de los medios de comunicación, entre muchos otros, se atenta contra la genuina participación del pueblo puertorriqueño en todos los procesos democráticos protegidos por su Carta de Derechos.
Los incidentes comenzaron con el despido de más 20,000 empleados públicos con el pretexto de aliviar el gigantismo gubernamental y resolver el gravísimo déficit fiscal del país. Esta decisión ha provocado el caos económico, ha empeorado la prestación de servicios públicos y ha provocado la desesperanza en todas las familias puertorriqueñas. De la misma forma se instauró una grave persecución contra los institutos artísticos del país, estrangulando sus presupuestos y de esta manera evitar la propagación del arte como disidencia. Mientras el Gobierno favorecía con contratos de cantidades obscenas, a cientos de asesores, contratistas, y cabilderos asociados a su partido.
Continuaron los ataques con el nombramiento al Tribunal Supremo de cuatro Jueces afiliados y militantes al partido del poder logrando con ello la mayoría a favor del gobierno de todas las decisiones que por votación individual se hicieran en ese foro. Luego continuó con la eliminación y represión de la participación estudiantil en los procesos universitarios, la supresión de derechos de exención de matricula de atletas, artistas, entre otros, mientras obligó a los estudiantes de los 11 recintos universitarios del estado a declarar una Huelga que duró 60 días. Los estudiantes en Huelga lograron negociar a través de un tribunal de primera instancia, sin embargo, los referidos compromisos fueron invalidados por el Secretario de la Gobernación quien dijo que los acuerdos “no valen el papel en que están escritos”.
Este hecho precedió a la acción del gobierno central y del Senado de proponer un proyecto de Ley, aprobado en cuestión de horas, para aumentar cuatro miembros más a la Junta de Síndicos. Dichos miembros son incondicionales del partido en el poder. Los estudiantes universitarios de la universidad del estado, cuya vasta mayoría dependen de la beca de estudios federal, se enfrentan a una cuota anual recurrente de $800 dólares. Cuota que no pueden pagar y que se negarán a pagar obligados nuevamente a la consecuente Huelga. De esta manera, la administración central de la UPR arriesga la acreditación de la Universidad y podrá privatizar sus activos. En esta misma dirección, el Gobierno de Puerto Rico venderá los terrenos donde se ubica la zona del llamado “Karso” del Noroeste, que recoge un tercio de los abastos de agua de todo el país, para entregarlo a manos privadas que construirán un expreso de peaje sobre la referida zona, rica ecológicamente.
Pasando por alto muchos otros acontecimientos, el Presupuesto del país fue aprobado, junto con innumerables leyes que favorecen la privatización, la descolegiación profesional, así como la repartición de fondos públicos a manos privadas sin tomar en cuenta las necesarias y obligadas vistas públicas de participación ciudadana, y apagando los micrófonos de las bancas del Partido de Oposición de manera despótica.
Los incidentes lograron un punto climático cuando esta pasada semana, el FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation de los Estados Unidos) arresta por cargos de soborno, venta de influencias y otros a un senador del PNP, el senador Héctor Martínez, mano derecha del Senador Rivera Schatz. Una pugna pública salta a las noticias entre Rivera Schatz y este cuerpo federal castrense, en defensa de la supuesta inocencia del senador Martínez, quien ha sido asociado al narcotráfico y quien fuera grabado en medio de su acto de soborno. Como último de los muchos incidentes de violencia y temeridad del Presidente Senatorial, se censuró mediante la fuerza la entrada de los periodistas a las sesiones del Senado, privando al pueblo puertorriqueño de la discusión que se realizó sobre el presupuesto del país. Los incidentes llegaron a la violencia verbal y física entre senadores, y han elevado la indignación del país a un punto insostenible de ansiedad y rabia.
El Lcdo. Thomas Rivera Schatz ha tomado virtual control del país con sus actitudes tiránicas y fascistas, y no se descarta que desde sus mismas gradas se inicien esta semana procesos de persecución y violencia contra otros sectores del país, apoyados por el Secretario de la Gobernación de Puerto Rico.
Son las 5:00 de la tarde del día 30 de junio de 2010, grupos de estudiantes, profesores y ciudadanos pidieron entrada a la Casa de las Leyes y fueron golpeados y torturados por la Polícia, hay numerosos heridos, mientras se moviliza la Guardia Nacional hacia el Capitolio. Choques violentos se esparcen por toda la zona del Parlamento y las represiones continúan.
Este control de facto del poder político en la Nación Puertorriqueña viola todos los más elementales principios de la democracia y del gobierno participativo, por lo que enteramos al mundo de la actual situación de violencia contenida que existe en nuestro pueblo y que está a punto de estallar contra estos dos políticos que han tomado por asalto el poder del país. Aún cuando en Puerto Rico no existen las condiciones para un levantamiento armado popular por la obvia desigualdad de las fuerzas en pugna, una revolución de afirmación cultural y estudiantil comienza a tomar las calles y a rescatar los espacios robados por los autores de este golpe.
Exhortamos a todos los medios de comunicación del mundo a que den noticia de la actual situación de la Nación Puertorriqueña y solicitamos por ende su completa solidaridad.

Redactado por Roberto Ramos-Perea, dramaturgo puertorriqueño.
(Con la activa colaboración, comentarios y apoyo de más de un centenar de ciudadanos puertorriqueños.)

Comunicados PR <pr.comunicados@gmail.com>

______
ENGLISH TEXT

URGENT. URGENT.URGENT.

IMPORTANT NEWS TO DIVULGE TROUGHOUT THE WORLD. 
EXPLOSIVE POLITICAL SITUATION IN PUERTO RICO

It is 5:00 of the evening of June 30, 2010, groups of students, teachers and citizens asked for entry to the House of the Laws and they were struck and tortured by the Police, there are numerous injured people, while the National Guard is mobilized towards the Capitol Hill. Violent shocks scatter for the whole zone of the Parliament and the repressions continue.

A constitutional coup has just been established in Puerto Rico.
After a year in which the present time government under the New Progressive Party (Partido Nuevo Progresista, that attempts to join the Island to the United States trough statehood) tried to and succeeded taking over many institutions that form the base of the democratic government of Puerto Rico, an atmosphere of hostility followed by many reckless actions that threaten public peace had climaxed in violent and aggressive actions of this government against the parties of the opposition, the organized student movement, the labor unions, the press, the environment, as against every area and institution of Puerto Rico’s civil society.

This constitutional coup springs from the Legislative branch of the government under the command of Senator Thomas Rivera Schatz, endorsed by the central government, under the dominance of the Secretary Governor, counselor Marcos Rodríguez Ema, with the obvious intent of having under their grasp and without opposition full control of every agency and organization that rule the judiciary, academic, economic and civil societies. Before this scenario, Governor Luis Fortuño operates without volition, has no opinion, appearance nor public responsibility.

With the complete control of the High Court of Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico Board of trustees, and the alleged control of the news media, among many others, the genuine participation of the People of Puerto Rico in all democratic processes protected by our Constitution is jeopardized.

The events started (trough the rush approval of Law 7 by the Legislature) with more than 20,000 public employee lay-offs, with the allegation that this would alleviate the gigantism of the government and would find the solution of the serious public deficit, that has never been properly evidenced. This decision has caused economical chaos, public services are worse than ever and it has generated despair and gloominess in every Puertorrican family. In this same guise there exists a serious persecution against all artistic institutions of the country, strangling their budgets, trying with this actions to avoid the propagation of art as dissidence. This, while the government favors contracts of obscene sums with hundreds of advisors, contractors and lobbyists associated with their own political party.

The attacks continued in the form of the appointment to the High Court of four Judges with a well known affiliation with, and militancy for the governing political party, achieving a majority of votes in favor of the actual government on all decisions made in this Forum, on individual basis. The government went on repressing and eliminating student participation on the procedures of the State University, suppressing tuition exemption rights for outstanding athletes and artists, among others; forcing the students from all eleven campuses of the University of Puerto Rico to declare a strike that lasted 60 days, generating ample support from the people of Puerto Rico and around the world.

The students on strike were successful on their achieving their demands trough negotiations that involved a First Instance Court and an appointed negotiator; however, these accords were are trying to be invalidated by Secretary of government Rodríguez Ema who said that these accords “are not worth the paper in which they were written”

This event preceded the Central government’s action of proposing a hasty law, that was signed with no revision within hours, adding four additional members to the Board of trustees of the University of Puerto Rico. These additions to the Board are unconditional members of the governing political party The students of the State university, who on a great majority depend in Federal grants, now face an annual recurring fee of $800.00, fee they will not be able to pay and that they will not pay, forcing the students to return to their strike. With this strategy, the Central government risk the accreditation of the State University and as a consequence, the government would be able to privatize it’s assets.

Following this same direction, the government of Puerto Rico will attempt to sell and to divide for speculation a strip of land where stands the Karst formation, on the northwest of the Island. This area collects one third of our water supplies for the entire population; nonetheless, the government intends to put this area into private hands that would build a toll expressway over this zone that is rich ecologically and economically.

Passing up many other events, the budget of Puerto Rico was approved, together with countless laws which favor privatization, the dissolving of professional associations and the distribution of public funds into private hands, without the pertaining and compulsory hearings of public participation, reaching the extreme of turning off the microphones of the opposing political party members, in a despotic fashion.

The events climaxed last week when the FBI in Puerto Rico arrested Senator Héctor Martínez, NPP, on charges of bribe, the selling of influences and other charges. Martinez is Senator’s Rivera Schatz right hand on the Senate. A public squabble reached the news between the Senator and the FBI, with the Seantor fending the alleged innocence of Senator Martínez,, who has been directly associated with drug traffic and who was filmed while committing bribery.

Then, last in his many violent and reckless acts, the president of the Senate, Rivera Schatz, using force and a real padlock, censored the access of the cameras and the news media to the Senate sessions, depriving the People of Puerto Rico of direct information about the discussions and voting sessions that were taking place about this year’s budget and other matter). The events resulted in verbal and physical violence between senators, rising indignation between the people to a point of and almost unsustainable state of outrage and wrath.

Counselor Rivera Schatz has taken virtual control of the country with his tyrannical and fascist ways; and it cannot be discarded that from these same seats, this same week, acts of persecution and acts of violence will be started against other sectors of the People, all approved by the Secretary Governor of Puerto Rico.

It is 5:00 of the evening of June 30, 2010, groups of students, teachers and citizens asked for entry to the House of the Laws and they were struck and tortured by the Police, there are numerous injured people, while the National Guard is mobilized towards the Capitol Hill. Violent shocks scatter for the whole zone of the Parliament and the repressions continue.

This factual deed of control of the political power from within the Puertorrican Nation violates all elementary principles of democracy and of participation of the People in the government, for which we proclaim to the World the actual situation of contained violence that exists in our People and that is about to explode against these two politicians that had taken by assault the power in our Country. Even though in Puerto Rico there are no conditions for an armed struggle of the People because of the obvious disparity of the opposing sides, a revolution of cultural and of student affirmation is starting to take the streets and to retrieve the spaces stolen away by the originators of this coup.

We exhortat all communications media of the World to divulge and expose the current situation of the Puertorrican Nation and we ask of you, therefore, your total solidarity.

Composed by Roberto Ramos-Perea, Puerto Rican Playwriter
(With the active collaboration, comments and support of more than a hundred Puertorrican citizens.) 

Comunicados PR <pr.comunicados@gmail.com>

NBA Finals 2009-10

The Court Advantage and The Fans
Having been at the Staples Center once (for a Lakers game btw) when I lived in Santa Clarita, I must say that the Lakers' fans are hardcore, real fans. A Lakers game at the Staple Center is not just something to see, it's really something to experience. It's the fans who make that place alive. The team feeds off its fans. I've never been a Kobe Bryant fan, or a Lakers fan (do I really need to say that?), but while seeing him play that day, it was simply obvious that his level of game was way superior than everybody else's on the court. And on that day (warning! confession!) I joined the crowd and cheered for the Lakers. LA fans are proud, but I don't blame them. It was going to be tough to beat their team in their home court. Their team will go to bed - or to party, it's LA after all - tonight with a champion's ring in their finger. If it had been the Celtics, we wouldn't have been any less proud.

The Teams' Historic Legacy and The NBA Finals
One of the special aspects of this final series is that it happened between two of the teams with the most celebrated legacies in NBA history. The Lakers and the Celtics have historically been at each others necks during many regular seasons, but moreover during the finals. Their combined record of championships is impressive. They didn't dissappoint tonight with a breathtaking final game that could've been any team's even to the very last minute.

The Players and Their Injuries
It is beside the point to say that these players are elite basketball players. In combined 2009-10 regular and post-regular season games both teams played more than two hundred games. Basketball is a contact sport, which means that the risk of injury is higher than in non contact sports. The level of exhaustion as well. These guys must really be in shape or else they wouldn't be athletes or playing basketball at the level they do. Some of them love the game so much they are willing to play injured. Case in point, the same Kobe Bryant.

The Pay
I personally think these pro basketball players are seriously overpayed. The amount of money they receive for dribbling and shooting a ball is sickening. Granted, they're really good at dribbling and shooting the ball, but it's still unjustifiable to get a million dollars let alone 10 for doing that. However, I can assure you that they were not thinking about their paychecks during the finals much less the game tonight. They had one thing in mind for which they both had an equal shot at winning and that was the championship. The best one of two incredibly outstanding teams came out on top.

The Coaches
As the players so the coaches. The best two coaches in the NBA today brought their love of the game, their knowledge and strategy to the floor to face the other. I wanted Doc Rivers to win, but it happens he was facing the great Phil Jackson. If I recall correctly he used to coached a guy named Michael Jordan sometime back.

The Referees
Thank God for the referees tonight! They let the best teams in the game really play against each other. They didn't call fouls when they should've and that shows they knew these guys were ready to play and give their best against each other and still keep it "cool". I believe the refs were ready to bring the game under control had it gotten out of hand. They never had to and allowed us to watch one of the best games ever in NBA history. It was a low scoring game in which every point was hard fought, every rebound the same. A nail biter till the end. Thank you, refs, for giving us a game to remember! You were the heroes tonight!

God
So what does God have to do with any of this? The rock band Kiss has a song that says "God gave rock and roll..." Well, I don't know about that, but I do tell you, God gave basketball! Yes, he did! And he loves this game so much he didn't even care about letting a buddhist coach win all those championships, including tonight's. "I might as well give it to someone who really, really believes that this game is a spiritual game," we can imagine God saying. If God had consulted me, I would have told him that it's discriminatory to give so many championships to the same person. I think he would have said, "Discriminatory against whom?" And I would have told him, "Against every other religion!" He would have told me, "Nobody takes his religion as seriously as Phil Jackson!" It's a good thing he didn't consult me. I tell you, God gave basketball to us all!

¿quién juega? ¿Quién juega? ¿Quién Juega? ¿QUIÉN JUEGA?

Los Celtics de Boston demostraron esta noche que son el equipo con mayor aplomo en la actual serie final de la NBA. Los Lakers continúan jugando como lo que son, los campeones. Sin embargo, cuando todos los elementos celtas entran en juego son una fuerza incontenible, tanto ofensiva como defensiva. Uno de los elementos del juego de los Celtics esta noche lo fueron las transiciones rápidas luego del rebote defensivo. Aun a los Lakers les costó mantener el paso en cada una de esas transiciones. Esta serie es ya un clásico de la NBA. Los Celtics ganarán en siete juegos (siempre puedo equivocarme pues no puedo predecir el futuro). Y lo lamento mucho por los Lakers... perderán el campeonato en casa.

Tributo a John Wooden

Citas de John Wooden

Mi preferencia es O+ / My preference is O+

Así que entro al Centro de Donación de Sangre de la Cruz Roja en Fairfax y luego de ser cuestionado acerca de un montón de cosas incluyendo en dónde he estado en los últimos 12 meses (en muchos lugares y visto muchas cosas), me pregunta la tecnóloga, "¿puedes por favor decir tu género, masculino o femenino?(!)" Como la pregunta me causó curiosidad, le pregunté cuál era el propósito de la misma. Ella dijo que la Cruz Roja decidió hacer esa pregunta porque a veces la gente suele cambiar de género y al preguntarles su preferencia de género tenemos la información más actualizada de ellos. En otras palabras, "evitamos ofender a alguien al darles la oportunidad de decir su preferencia."  Biología vs. preferencia. ¿Acaso no somos poderosos?

So I get into the Red Cross Blood Donation Center in Fairfax and after being questioned about a ton of things including where have I been in the last 12 months (many places and seen many things), I'm asked by my attending technician, "Could you please state your gender as male or female?(!)" Since I was curious about the question, I asked her what's the purpose of it. She said the Red Cross decided to ask the question because sometimes people are known to change their gender and by asking them their gender preference we have the most updated information about them. In other words, "we avoid offending anybody by giving them the chance to state their preference." Biology vs. preference. Aren't we powerful?

La Biblia en 90 Días

El 26 de septiembre de 2008 comencé a leer la Biblia en 90 Días. Hoy, 3 de junio de 2010, 616 días después (más de an~o y medio), terminé la lectura de la Biblia. Mi nuevo reto es lograr leer la Biblia en menos de un an~o. Ya veremos como me va en esta segunda ocasión.

Pushing Luck

cspellot, 2010
 
He went on his way to get lunch at 2:30 that afternoon. Relaxed, walking hands in his pockets, he decided to look down. There on the floor he spotted a five cents coin. It was fairly new. Then he spotted another one. It wasn't so new. And another one. Brand new. He wondered if there was a money trail ahead of him, but he was pushing his luck. His count stopped at three coins. Fifteen cents total. Not bad.

Ahead he went still looking down. You never know what you might find. Hungry, he paid his lunch and headed back to the office following the same path. He was looking down on the same spot. This time closer. "There may be more," he thought to himself. There lying on the ground was a dime. And another one. Now it didn't matter if they were new or not. "Thirty five cents so far. Not bad. There may be more." But he was pushing it. Somebody had dropped a few coins for the next one to pick up. He had picked them all up. And he went on.

adiós

 cspellot, 2010
te dije adiós con un abrazo
y se fundieron nuestros cuerpos
antes de ser uno
casi listos para serlo

te dije adiós con mis labios
plantados en los tuyos
susurrándote al oído te amo
soy tuyo

te dije adiós con cada fibra de mi ser
mi corazón palpitando acelerado
estremecido por tu tacto
un alma rasgada en la partida

pero jamás pensé decirte adiós con mis lágrimas
que me robaron las palabras
y hasta el aire
y te lo dijeron todo mis mil lágrimas
cuando te dije adiós

Escribí este poema el 2 de julio de 1997. Lo terminé a las 7:23 PM, a sólo unos cuantos meses de casarme con mi prometida Aixa, quien es hoy mi amada esposa. cspellot

Me ocurre contigo
que al verte
muero y permanezco
vivo.
Me ocurre contigo que al verte
se detiene
el tiempo y
no respiro
y aún vivo.
Me ocurre contigo
que al verte
mi corazón se paraliza
y se acelera a la vez
y me suspendo en
el aire, amor,
y sigo vivo.
Al verte
algo extraño ocurre.
Como si la vida y la
muerte se encontraran
y tú la vida, amor,
me rescataras.

Poem for Iraq

cspellot, 2010

Poem for Iraq

The fault lines of your soul
lie bare for all to see.
Your old veil of contempt stripped.
The raw nakedness of hatred
trying to clothe you now on your new dawn.
Plow on.
Desert land of big rivers
and biblical antiquity.
Home forsaken by Abraham
still standing after ulcers ate your children.
Fragile and abused. Maimed and abused.
Abused but not forgotten. Yes! A new dawn.
Hated by your own. Loved more by your own.
Plow on.

Cry little child

cspellot 2010

Cry little child.
Your precious tears.
Cry little child.
Solemn tears of despair
and sorrow.
Cry little child.
Your hurt is mine.
Cry little child.
We cry together.
Tears of a burning earth and a bleak sky.
Cry little child.
The deep pain inside the earth.
Cry little child.
The ground shaking.
The walls falling.
A crushing blow for him...
For her...
For them...
Cry little child.
The wind is gone little child.
And your chest burns day and night.
Cry little child.
You're not alone.
Cry little child.
Then cry some more.
Cry little child.
Cry.

The Dangers of a Single Story

Death as Metallica’s Magnum Opus

There are many reasons to support the notion that our culture is a culture of death. Legalized abortion is one of those reasons. The death penalty is another. Having a constitutional right to owning guns could be another. Even the so called War on Terror could be conceived as fueling this notion of a culture of death here in our own turf, not thousands of miles away where we are convinced the real terrorists are.

    

But what about music as an instrument of death; as its dispenser? One might say that's a ridiculous claim since few things are as constructive to elevate the soul and the spirit as the exercise of music. Music, good music, has the power to take you to other worlds and make you see things you hadn’t seen before through the solemn act of listening. Why then some types of musical expression are more conducive to the oppression and destruction of the soul than others?

     

There’s a musical genre known as heavy metal. One of its subgenres is thrash metal. Heavy metal music in general, but thrash metal in particular is a prime example of what I mean by some kinds of musical expression that are more conducive to the oppression and destruction of the soul and the spirit than others. In short, thrash metal bands cannot exist without the howl of death pounding on their inner being. One of the earliest proponents of thrash metal in the United States is a band founded in 1981. The band's name is Metallica.

    

Death as a subject has been a staple in Metallica’s discography since day one. In fact, we can go back to even before the band was founded. Death touched the band’s frontman and lead singer, James Hetfield, when his mother Cynthia died of cancer in 1979. James was 16 years old. His parents had divorced just three years earlier.    

Metallica founding members were Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield. Less than a year later after founding Metallica they put out their first demo No Life ‘til Leather. A decidedly remarkable turn in the band’s grim thematic future would take place when Ulrich and Hetfield unanimously decided to fire then lead guitarist Dave Mustaine due to the deadly combination of drugs, alcohol and an inclination to violence that characterized the guitarist. Whether this violent inclination was already there or was the direct outcome of abusing the former two is beside the point. It’s almost certain that had this trio remained together Metallica would have had a violent and sudden early death. The band would have crashed even before take off.

Mustaine’s disposal from the band is significant because of the glaring differences in songwriting style and thematic vision between him and Hetfield. The Mechanix, written by Mustaine and later to be rewritten by Hetfield under the title The Four Horsemen for the band’s first studio album Kill ‘em All, was a sexual metaphor where the man is the mechanic and the woman is the car. How original, isn't it?

The first line of the song goes Imagine you were at my station… Apparently, Mustaine wasn’t only into drugs and alcohol. True to the heavy metal mantra of sex, drugs and rock and roll, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that the subject of sex would surface early on in Mustaine’s brief songwriting stint with Metallica.

Once Hetfield took his rightful place in the driver’s seat of the Metallica speed metal machine, it could be argued that a different songwriting destiny was set on course for the band. Mustaine’s The Mechanix became Hetfield’s The Four Horsemen. Same melody, different lyrics. And those lyrics couldn’t have been further away from each other.

The Four Horsemen charges ravagingly with only one real mission to accomplish, your death. The first line of the song reads, By the last breath of the fourth winds blow… Hetfield’s retake on the song could not have been truer to what the band stood for as thrash metal maniacs--belong to this new forceful and explosive deadly thrash metal crusade or else. Hetfield would not treat his preferred thematic subject as superficially as Mustaine had his. And so death reigns supreme throughout an album titled Kill ‘em All. On the cover of this album there’s blood, a sledge hammer and a hand in the background signaling the perpetrator of the crime, namely murder. That was in 1983.

In the two following studio albums by Metallica, Ride the Lighting (1984) and Master of Puppets (1986), the elaborate treatment of the subject of death would be the product of an evolving and more mature songwriting by Hetfield and fellow band members Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet and Cliff Burton. Just about every song in Ride the Lighting touches the subject in varied ways. From the suicide cry of Fade to Black to the Exodus biblical story of Creeping Death, death reigns supreme.

I don't know which of Metallica's studio albums is the best. I stopped being a fan quite some time ago, although I haven't become oblivious to the band's existence. I think it's important to observe and critique culture. Metallica is one huge element in today's American and world pop culture. It's been so for years now if the numbers are an indicator.

In high school I went as far as owning the band's first four albums. I have to give these Metallicats credit for their musical craftsmanship in those four albums. They set the stage and became a single defining moment--a Four Horsemen unit in themselves--in the heavy metal genre. They're forceful, diverse and innovative albums within a genre that may well be saturated and tired. Metallica themselves know this to be true.

Now, the word out there is that Master of Puppets is the bombest of the bombs in thrash metal discography. Master of Puppets definitely surprises due to its combination of sheer force, speed, intricate rhythms and melodies, thematic diversity and creative songwriting. And yet, from beginning to end the song remains the same. From the first song in Puppets--Battery--we hear,

Crushing all deceivers, mashing non-believers / never ending potency / Hungry violence seeker, feeding off the weaker / Breeding on insanity. 

This song is an anthem for metal maniacs everywhere delivered to you in a carefully crafted robe of destruction. It's not just the music, Jack. It's what is conveyed with and within the music that, after continual listening, has a hypnotizing effect on the unsuspecting victim. The very last song of Puppets has this line for its chorus,

Blood will follow blood / Dying time is here / Damage Incorporated

I guess we can all tie the knots here.

But Metallica wouldn't just keep on writing about death in all its forms, shapes and colors happily ever after. It wouldn't be long before death came home to pay its respects to such loyal devotees. 


In 1986, while on tour to promote the album in Sweden, a bus accident claimed the life of Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton. The Metallica story could have truly ended there, but somehow death had other plans. Why dispose of such faithful proponents all at once? one might suspect death asking itself. The only thing that ended beside Cliff's life was the tour. It would be a blow that would take them about two years to recover from before they were back in the studio and out on the road.

And so Metallica went on to climb to the top of the charts and the world bringing it's message of death to the metal masses wherever they may roam with their subsequent albums. This didn't happen without their stumbles. It seems that a bass curse had been set in motion within the band. The first loss the band had back when they didn't have any notoriety was their original bassist Ron McGovney. According to some sources, he quit the band due to conflicts with then lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. Shocking, I know!

Bassist Cliff Burton died on the road after helping establish the Metallica brand. Then after fifteen years of having a tormented and dysfunctional relationship with his band teammates, bassist Jason Newstead, who also help cement the band's reputation around the world, dealt the Metallica establishment a deadly blow. He exited the band having had enough of the nonsensical misery his fellow band members had put him through. Unlike Mustaine, who still lives with a chip on his shoulder, Newstead would wake up the next morning to find out there's life after Metallica.

Robert Trujillo became Metallica's latest bass player in 2003. Having been a Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne bass player, he came in with good credentials plus the added blessing that his finger picking was reminiscent of Burton's back in the day. He seems to be doing just fine with his current fellow band members. To his advantage, they're older guys now and have realized for the sake of their band and fans that it doesn't make any sense to spend all that energy putting a fellow band member through hell just like they had done to Newstead. Let's just sing about it seems to be more appealing. All's well in the family now and I pray Trujillo lives to tell the story, a much livelier story than Newstead's. 

So where does this take us?

It takes us to 2008 and the release of Death Magnetic, Metallica's ninth studio album. In an article titled Metallica find life again in death, published on 18 February 2009 in telegraph.co.uk, we read the following,

Death Magnetic, then, saw Metallica return to their fast and furious roots. Its lyrics, though, offer a more grown-up take on a time-honoured metal theme.

"Yeah," says Hetfield with self-deprecating chuckle, "it's the new subject of death – we've never ventured there before. As a kid, I would write about death, like, Woah! It's heavy! This time it was a little more thoughtful, more from within, more or less based around the near-death experience of Metallica. So it was, What would that mean?" 

 

Maybe they haven't realized some of the most serious implications of an album titled Death Magnetic, but then again they may be well aware of them since by Hetfield's own admission Metallica almost died around the circumstances dealing with the recording of St. Anger, their 8th studio album. There's a passage in the Bible that speaks about the relationship between anger and homicide, which is premeditated murder. In fact, the Bible makes no difference between the two. (Matthew 5:21-22)  Metallica's discography is quite revealing!   

It seems that Metallica has now come full circle. In the cover of Death Magnetic there is a coffin shaped hole in the ground with (guess what?) a coffin in it. The earth is surrounded by magnetic waves. Can you feel the pull of death? That's the whole graphic point. The ripple effects of Metallica’s deathful platform have now extended beyond its inner circle of band members to the outer circles of its fans. The perennial four horsemen of thrash metal have recently come to know once again that to sing about death is one thing and to be dealt a blow by its hands is entirely another. Death, the kind of death you don't sing about, is an extremely painful matter.  

At a concert in Charlottesville, Virginia, last October, Metallifan and Virginia Tech student Morgan Dana Harrington, 20 years old, disappeared after leaving her friends on the stands to go to the bathroom at a Metallica concert. Somehow she found herself outside the John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia campus and was not allowed to go back in. Her last communication was a cell phone call she made to her friends in the arena to let them know she was OK and that she would find a ride home. Three months later in late January 2010, Morgan's remains were found in a hay field nearly 10 miles away from the concert arena. 

So what was Metallica's role in Morgan's death? None, at least directly. The following may be construed as an unfair stretch from the circumstances surrounding Morgan's death, but the fact remains that her disappearance and untimely death happened in the context of a concert of a world famous heavy metal band known for its penchant for death. This band is unapologetic about this fact. Go ahead and ask them.

Metallica has gone on for about 30 years pushing its metal message of destruction and  death to the world. That's a long time. Their written record is massive and impressive. On the wings of Death Magnetic, they have landed right back where they took off, Kill 'em All. Death and burial. It is as if with this album they wanted to finish what they started. Cause and effect. Action and reaction. It makes sense because according to the band, Death Magnetic is a return to their musical roots, a rediscovery of the speed and raw power of thrash metal at its best.

  

I wonder who or what has charted this path for Metallica. Would it be possible that the trajectory the band has taken over the years, surprising twists and painful turns included, has been the result of a well thought out plan by the band's members? Or have there been greater forces at play that have taken care of all the comings and goings of the band? Has Metallica been the captain of their fate and the master of their soul? Hardly. When you embrace death as the subject of your life's work, it is death that calls the shots in your life. Metallica did not have any more control over the death of Cliff Burton than they did Morgan Dana Harrington's. Of course, this is not an absolution. Only death has control over death unless someone more powerful says otherwise. Metallica's Magnum Opus has never been Metallica's. All along it has been the other way around. Metallica has been death's master work; a supreme pawn or better yet the ideal puppet, subservient to Master Death's wishes.

 

This is the grim reality about death. The more you talk about it, the more you are obsessed with it and enslaved by it. The more you think you know it the more it eludes you. The more you rehash the subject, as Metallica has done so well, the less powerful you are to escape its grip. The great irony about death is that it doesn’t want to die so it submits its loyal proponents in the thrash metal scene to its own glorification in order to stay “alive and kicking”.

So far it's death that has had the last word in the history of human life. And Metallica, as so many before them, will soon one day, ready or not, meet its master. After all this years, Metallica has treated death as the blessing that keeps on giving. They kid themselves. Death is nothing less than the curse that keeps on taking. They wait in line.

This is also a somber reality about death--its greatest fear is being no more. It would truly hate to be served a lethal doses of its own medicine. And therefore, as a master dodger, death is so far so successful. For where there’s no death left only life remains. The kind of life that goes on unscathed and unthreatened—eternal life. Thrash metal bands are so far and at the same time so close to this subject of eternity, by way of their treatment of death, that it’s mindboggling how they cannot stop and think that there's a much better alternative altogether. They purport the end of life in the most gruesome ways; have an affinity to all things deathly; and 

seem to have fun while doing it. Do they even know what fun is? Death certainly isn’t.

So what does this mean for Metallica? Not much, unfortunately. They have milked the death cow far too long to know any better or to do any better or to want to do any better. I'm not anticipating their changing such a tune anytime soon. They couldn't care any less if there's an actual culture of death, while they themselves are evidence that such a culture exists.  The World Magnetic Tour goes on according to plan. Yes, Metallica posted a missing person announcement for Morgan Dana Harrington on their website. Yes, they offered $50,000 as part of the reward towards any information leading to solving her disappearance. And yes, left behind are those who mourn Morgan today. Who's to blame? The Four Horsemen? Lucky for them, life (or death depending on how you look at it) goes on.

No remorse / No repent / We don't care what it meant / Another day Another death / Another sorrow / Another breath (No Remorse from Kill 'em All, 1983)   

Death is Metallica's Magnum Opus, objectively. But as stated earlier death is Metallica's master, just as objectively. 

The question then becomes When will the death song end? According to Metallica, the death song will end with the very last verses of Death Magnetic, 

But we cross that line

Into the crypt 

Total eclipe

Suffer unto my apocalypse!

 

Tyrants awaken my apocalypse! 

Demon awaken my apocalypse!

Heaven awaken my apocalypse! 

Suffer forever my apocalypse!  

There's an alternate take to the end of the death song. It's found in the Bible,  

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. [...] Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 24-26, NIV)
cspellot, 2010