La Muerte y otras Sorpresas. Mario Benedetti.

Hace años, solía sentarme a leer durante horas, me gustaba llegar temprano a la universidad, aprovechando que en esa época no había clases en la tarde, y así apoderarme, hacerme amo y señor de un aula en el ultimo piso, solo, con un libro y un vaso de café. Me encantaban sobremanera los días lluviosos y recuerdo que solía leer en voz alta y de pie. Así pasaron por mi vida, Mellvile y Faulkner, recitados en inglés a un publico invisible. En esos momentos era feliz y el universo a mí alrededor dejaba de existir hasta las 5:00 PM, hora en que comenzaban a llegar los alumnos a las aulas y tenia que refugiarme en la biblioteca hasta la hora de cierre. La misma felicidad me ha dado este pequeño libro de cuentos de Mario Benedetti La Muerte y otras Sorpresas. Las historias han puesto mi mente en fuga haciéndome olvidar que lo demás existe para penetrar en ese mundo extraño e inquietante. En estas historias, la muerte, la sorpresa de no saberse muerto, la locura, la perdida del ser amado, la rebelión de algunos personajes contra Dios hacen un mosaico increíble de matices humanos. A veces estos cuentos tienen su lado humorístico como en El fin de la Diseña y otras veces el sabor del encierro y la sorpresa como en Acaso Irreparable. Este es un libro que un buen lector no debería dejar pasar...

Quiero hacer una pregunta o más bien un desafió a mis amigos cyberlectores que ya hayan leído esta obra. En él ultimo cuento titulado Cinco Años de Vida (pagina 121, edición siglo xxi 1987, que es la que leí) el autor dice en la pagina 127 línea 17 "tuve tres veces sarampión". Hasta donde tengo entendido el sarampión no repite y no sé si el autor usa la frase para enfatizar que el personaje es enfermizo o acaso incurra en una equivocación, como han hecho otros grandes escritores. Les agradecería me escribieran a luismendez@orangemail.com.do y me aclararan las dudas. Gracias de antemano y recuerden que este juego..... continua.

Luis Méndez

La Muerte y otras sorpresas es una obra ligada por la idea de la muerte, la soledad, todos esos sentimientos que nos hacen seres humanos. El trabajo de este escritor y poeta Uruguayo es un tesoro para todos cuales sepan disfrutar la buena literatura. En nuestros tiempos, la "literatura" suele ser limitada a los "best-sellers" que por lo regular, son bastante malos. En Benedetti, he encontrado una voz maravillosa que no se dejara silenciar.

Uruguay has given the world and Latin America, in particular, enormous artists: Galeano, Los Olimareños, Zitarrosa. In the poetry department, Don Mario Benedetti can be crowned as the most impressive Latin American living poet. His lyricism born from the guts of his city, Montevideo, needn't use whimsical words or rhymes. Plain, gutsy verses mix with extremely exquisite phrases, like beatiful tiny drops of beauty on a close-woven bindweed. Yet no fancy words are there to express soft or deep or subtle or moving or furious emotions. Seven decades after his birth, Don Mario demostrates his greatness in this collection of Uruguayan pearls. These words synthesize Don Mario's message: "todo lo que nos duele y lo que somos/existe más acá del horizonte" [everything in us that hurts and that we are/exists on this side of the horizon].

For poetry lovers this is a book that gets in touch with the deepest thoughts within every human being. In "la vida ese parentesis", Mario Benedetti explores de little details that create life as we know it. Touch your soul. Read it :)

This was a fantastic book compiling the story of the greatest player ever and his comeback from Hodgkins Disease and major back surgery. If you enjoy reading stories of courage this is the one for you!

This book is a very good summary of Mario career, including highlights and memorable events in his life.

Mario Party 3 Strategy Guide successefully helped me complete the game. It was very helpful. I reccomend this book.

This book was amazing. It helped so much with Mario Party 3!! I would definetly reccomend this book!

This guide is very good. It reviews all the characters, telling you how to control them, but also the best stratigies for playing against them. It also tells you about the courts and the hidden things. If you are having any trouble beating an opponent this guide will give you the edge!

This game is really fun with many challenges. It has a lot of strategies. each day you get better and better. in my opinion this is the best video game out. But you need this book to be master at the game.

An excellent collection of speeches by Governor Cuomo. Governor Cuomo is without a doubt the greatest political orator alive. His "A Tale of Two Cities" from the 1984 convention is a masterpiece. The same collection on video would be even better.

This is an excellent compilation of the best speeches of America's foremost orator. While the speeches lose some of their magic on paper (the Governor's delivery is an essential compliment to the texts), they remain eloquent and beautiful examples of the speechwriting art. Consequently, the book will appeal to fans of Mario Cuomo, students of speechwriting, and those interested in history (especially political history in the 1980's and 1990's).

A few speeches stand out as masterpieces, specifically two from 1984. The first is Cuomo's most famous speech, his keynote address to the Democratic Convention of 1984. The second, which is even better, is the Notre Dame speech in which Cuomo explains how, as a Catholic governor, he also supported abortion rights. An entire book could be built around this one speech. Once Cuomo gets into his argument, his every word is carefully chosen. He uses the structure of his speech to construct a penetrating, complicated and ultimately sensible argument. Since this speech, other politicians have attempted to ape Cuomo's argument without fully understanding it by claming they are "personally against abortion, but pro-choice in their official capacity."

This book can probably best be appreciated if read along with other speech books. The individual style of the speakers emerge when several examples are read, and then contrasted with other styles. Ronald Reagan's speeches, which he did not write, nevertheless stand out as evoking compelling patriotic visual images using simple but entrancing language. FDR's are marked by religious-sounding language translated into entirely secular contexts. John Kennedy's are distinguished by soaring rhetoric that was global in scope and timeless in the use of ancient, present and futuristic allusions. Cuomo's speeches are great as arguments. He doesn't just paint pictures, he builds meaning on top of meaning. They are best appreciated as wholes rather than strung-together sound bytes. In this regard, Cuomo is a disciple of Abraham Lincoln. Like Lincoln's, Cuomo's speeches should stand the test of time and give future generations insight into the logic of the speaker's governing philosophy.

Again, the one thing missing from the book is Cuomo's voice. As great as these are in print, they sound even better when he's delivering them. Perhaps it's too much to hope for a video collection. Until then, "More than Words" is more than adequate. It's the kind of book you want to keep for inspiration.

A good companion, which gives insight into how a great speech was written, is Garry Wills' "Lincoln at Gettysburg."

This is a great book for anyone learning how to handle dogs. It gives you great pictures of how you are supposed to stack dogs. Other books tell you how to do it, but lack pictures. This also uses a variety of breeds in their pictures. It goes over stacking on the ground vs. stacking on the table. It also does a good job explaining the dog show world, which can be confusing for newcomers. I highly recommend this book...even more than George Alston's book (another great one!).

This is a great book if you are just starting to show dogs, or a long time veterian of the sport. It tells you everthing about breading, to how to show your dog. The author of this book is Peter Green, he is the top dog in the dog show world. If anyone know's how to show a dog it is this guy. I reccomand this book to anyone who has an intrest in dog showing and wants to learn more about it.

Falsetto's book of interviews with an eclectic group of working directors is destined to be a classic along side the Projections series and Joseph Gelmis' Film Director As Superstar. Since the level of most film journalism has descended to the level of one global corporate circle jerk, it is refreshing and inspiring to see someone as intelligent, sympathetic and knowledgable interview directors as varied as Neil Jordan and Atom Egoyan about the ups and downs of making films in today's amnesiac and malthusian marketplace. Falsetto has done an amazing amount of ground work in preparation for this book and it shows in the honest and sincere level of responses he gets from filmmakers. There is none of the usual 'It Was A Pleasure to Work With Joe Superstar' rhetoric here. The directors shed their knee jerk junket responses and show us what it really entails to make ambitious, thought provoking films today. Falsetto teaches at Concordia University in Montreal, but don't hold this against him. He is one of those increasingly rare academics who has not lost the ability to communicate his ideas and passion about his subject. I can't say enough good things about this book. If I have a caveat, it is that I wish each interview had come with a filmography (and an index would be useful). But those are mere quibbles. Let's all hope Personal Visions sells enough for a sequel. This book is on the same level as classic Paris Review interviews with writers.

Author Mario Falsetto has just given us a priceless compilation of interviews with some of the most original, provocative, and dedicated filmmakers of the contemporary era. But, "Personal Visions" is obviously much more than just a series of interviews with "free-thinking", or "hip" filmmakers. It is an reflexion on the role of the film artist who, nowadays, is caught in the vicious web of a vicious corporate world (i.e. in or outside of Hollywood). Through a skilful process of Q&A (ranging from the filmmakers' backgrounds to specifics about their film and theater work), the author is questionning the general assumption about "independant cinema". (Like one of the interviewee, director John McNaughton, says: "Everyone's talking about independant cinema, but show it to me!".) Each of the 17 artists interviewed by Falsetto has a very special insight into the business, making "Personal Vision" a must-read for any aspiring filmmakers (or for anyone interested in what film directors have to say about movies and the day-to-day creative process). Edited to the perfection, this book is engaging, stimulating, and always entertaining. It is also an invaluable work of reference for film scholars at all levels. Undoubtedly, "Personal Visions" will be around for a very long time. Kudos on your fine work mister Falsetto. Your interest in "young" filmmakers should stand as an model for all the other film critics around the world.

A sturdy, handsome leatherette cover with a reader's ribbon inside makes for an appealing bartender's guide to mixed drinks providing an unusually comprehensive reference. Here are local and famous mixed drinks organized alphabetically by title for quick bartender reference. If only one such guide were to be included in a discriminating library, the Playboy Bartender's Guide should be the item of choice.

This is a nice compilation of drinks. The book features all the necessary information on glasses,trimmings,mixing and even party-planning. This book is suited to both the professional mixologist as well as the simple social drinker looking for some new ideas.

As an architect, I can appreciate the process of creating something concrete out of the plethora of information that informs and guides our work. I like this monograph because the process is revealed and is accessible and engaging. Practicing architects, would-be clients, students and armchair architects alike will enjoy this volume of thoughtful work.

Trust me, put this beautifully-done book on your coffee table now. This is a fantastic introduction to one of the youngest and most innovative firms practicing today.