uncanny X-men meet a life crisis

Is there anything worse than 
that slow, sinking feeling 
like you're getting sick? 

• You can't get warm. 

• Your bones hurt. 

• Your throat closes, and 

• your chest gets too heavy every time you breathe, and then 

• you know you're doomed. 

So what if it happened to all the X-Men, all at once? The Sublime are back, and they've unleashed a contagion on Utopia.

To what end? Why now? And what's next? 

Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN #530-534

co-operative MEDIA:
GOODreads:  All editions:
 3.35 average rating, 334 ratings, 38 reviews, added by 452 people, 72 to-reads

three REVIEWERS:

1 )  As for Quarantine, it was very entertaining! I loved how everyone was having trouble with their powers. It was a nice change of pace. The 'mutant flu' was power dampening, and then those not affected were having issues in other ways and it just really pulled me in. I only wish it would have focused more on the effects of the mutant flu on Utopia. ... it was a shame it didn't focus more on that stuff, but the plot was still very enjoyable! The artwork was beautiful!
 This book had a lot going on, but it all tied together well and I'd definitely read it again!


2 )  X-men have moved to an island off the coast of San Francisco dubbed Utopia in order to protect mutantkind from hatred and persecution. Everything was going hunky-dory until an extremely virulent flu starts to sweep through the mutant community. This flu is designed to only target mutants, and in its worst stages it completely negates the powers of its host. Soon, all of Utopia is infected and X-men initiate a quarantine to prevent the disease from spreading.

While Logan is sick and in quarantine, The Collective Man, a cold-war era supervillain from China starts to encroach on his territory. While the X-men are enfeebled and quarantined, Lobe, the CEO of the Sublime Corporation, uses an aerosal drug manufactured from information taken from the X-mens genetic material to temporarily empower a group of ordinary humans with the X-mens power. 

Lobe contacts the X-men, offering a cure to their flu epidemic in exchange for the legal authority to market their genetic profile in drug form.How can Wolverine defend the people of Chinatown while powerless and confined to Utopia? Great writing from Matt Fraction keeps you on the edge of your seat. Recommended! 

3 ) The Quarantine wasn't really the focus or the deadly threat. It was kind of a reason to give a motley crew of X-men, that are out of the quarantine, a time to shine. Angel, Pixie, Storm, Dazzler and Northstar take on 5 teenage x-fans that have used a drug to develop the powers of the 5 original x-men. All part of a plan by Lobe of the Sublime corporation. (oh yea, and a brief battle with the collective man)

Great art, great writing. A fun read.

TASK. READ the story of this comicbook.

Underline all the expression related to our topic: HEALTH ISSUES

#530   Quarantine   ----------------------   pages 7-8 Victor  Anole --GREEN BOY

Victor tells Kavita that he tried crashing but couldn’t get warm, which is when the coughing started, and he couldn’t stop - he began coughing up blood, and that is when he knew the over-the-counter drugs were not going to help him.

‘Doctor…do you know what’s going on?’ Victor asks. Kavita checks Anole’s tongue and tells him that it is hard to say. ‘On a micro level…you’ve got the flu and what’s I’d guess is pneumonia. And on the macro…’ she adds, while Dr Cecilia Reyes tells Scott “Cyclops” Summers” that on the macro level this looks like the early stages of an influence pandemic, and explains that preliminary tests are positive that it is the HX-N1 strain that was encountered in the Sublimecorps headquarters by Wolverine. Scott exclaims that an outbreak here could be a disaster and declares that if mutant-to-human transmission is an issue, they need to seal the island. ‘Utopia is now under quarantine until we can figure out what the hell is going on!’ Scott orders.   6.jpg

#530   Quarantine  _ set 2___ p13  ANNOUNCEMENT  -WARREN---ANGEL

At that moment, inside a large auditorium at Worthington Industries HQ at San Francisco, Kate Kildare, the X-Men’s new public relations manager, stands with Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Angel on the stage, while the media get ready in front of them. Kate announces that they want to address the world as to what has been happening on Utopia these last 24 hours. Kate explains that they are seeing what they believe is the early stage of a pandemic outbreak, and that recently a squad of X-Men encountered a contagion known as HX-N1, and they have reason to believe that this is the genetically altered influenza virus causing the outbreak.

Warren takes the microphone and explains that aside from the three medical professionals already on the island, the CDC has been dispatched and should be arriving within the hour, while an island-wide quarantine has been in effect since yesterday morning, and no fatalities have yet been reported. Warren assures the media that no new cases of flu above what is to normally be expected have been spotted on the mainland, but that said, they have contacted all hospitals in the area to be advised and on alert. Kate tells the media that they now know about as much as the X-Men do, and opens the floor to any questions.

‘Are the X-Men prepared to say that mutants are making real people sick?’ one reporter asks.

== _______   #530   Quarantine   --------  SET3.- page 14 ----CYCLOPS

Back on Utopia, ‘This is not looking great’ Kavita Rao tells Cyclops as men in quarantine outfits move about the mutants in the sick bay. Kavita adds that with so many people living and working in such close quarters, this kind of velocity is to be expected in an outbreak. She tells Cyclops that they are still waiting for the X-Club’s full work-up on the strain, but what they know so far is the best possible news - that 72 hours into the outbreak they have zero cases of human contamination on the island. ‘That is the beginning and the end of the good news’ she adds. Kavita explains that on top of typical sever flu symptoms, the most concerning effects of infection seem to be power dampening.

Kavita explains to Cyclops that mutants with full body physiognomies are having profound breathing difficulties, and that those with extra-biological powers and abilities are having trouble making them work. She reveals that Iceman cannot even chill a glass of water. ‘He’s not the worst of the “big guns” though’ Kavita announces. ‘No? Who is?’ Scott asks, before he sees that Wolverine is in the quarantine, with a blanket around him, and hooked up to a machine to help him breathe!

=== _______   #531   Quarantine   --------  SET4.- pages  5-6 ----Worsening moments

Scott and Kavita make their way down a corridor to another part of the med-lab, ‘Why am I not surprised that Namor’s the worst patient?’ Scott asks. Kavita replies that he isn’t, unfortunately. ‘Neither in sickness nor temperament’ she remarks, telling Cyclops that the HX-N1 symptoms are heightening, and that the breathing difficulties that full-body physiognomies were suffering earlier would not be better described as plain asphyxiation. Inside the other part of the med-lab, Hope Summers is accompanied by Idie Okonkwo and approaches Laurie Tromette, asking her how she is holding up. With a breathing mask over her face, the blue-skinned mutant replies that she knows being a mutant is not a disease, that she has memorized all those leaflets Emma Frost gave them, but so far her experience of the X-Men can best be characterized as “phlegmy”.

Idie tells Laurie to be brave, and remarks ‘When the sickness was upon my sister, she didn’t complain nearly so much. She was far sicker than you’. ’But she was okay?’ Laurie asks. ‘No, she passed. But that is not the point’ Idie replies. Kavita explains to Scott that what is worse is that the virus is development is accelerating from infection to symptoms is scarily fast. ‘The blue girl wasn’t displaying anything until two hours ago’ Kavita adds. Scott asks if this is why he feels like he is twelve hours into a 24-hour flu. ‘Exactly. Forget “natural” it’s the sort of scary fast that doesn’t even seem biological’ Kavita points out.

‘Please give this pill a sugar coating, Rao’ Scott remarks, to which Kavita points out that it has not crossed from homo superior to homo sapiens, so she is fine, except for being arm-deep in mucus. ‘Great. Anything else you’ve got to show me?’ Scott asks as they enter another room. ‘Sure. The worst patient’ Rao replies .......................

Uncanny_X-Men_530_19.jpg

 #531   Quarantine   ----  SET5.- pages  7-8 ----Wolverine

...................... as they observe Wolverine a.k.a. Logan, lying motionless in a bed, hooked up to all sorts of monitors. Rao explains that Logan has been hit twice over, that the asphyxiation, all the body physiognomy-mutants are experience, plus blood poisoning. ‘Blood poisoning?’ Scott asks. ‘Adamantium was never meant to be put inside people. No healing factor…’ Kavita begins. ‘…no Wolverine’ Scott realizes, before asking Kavita if there is anything she can do.

Kavita replies that they are doing all the kinds of anything they could thing up, adding that Magneto swept the blood clean a few times, but now he too is showing virus symptoms and his fine control has gone. She adds that Madison Jeffries merged a dialysis machine with - ‘And I quote - “a big dirty electromagnet” which does a similar job’. Kavita explains that it will buy Logan more time, as long as he stays connected, but the problem is, he is Wolverine. 

Kavita and Scott rush towards Logan as he convulses and sits upwards in bed, tearing his wires from him. ‘Logan! Stand down!’ Scott calls out, but Wolverine tells Scott that he can’t stay, that he needs to get to Chinatown, as they need him.

Cyclops asks what the situation in Chinatown is, to which Kavita explains that Logan received a call earlier and has been acting like this ever since. ‘Mood swings and psychosis are symptomatic of adamantium poisoning’ Kavita explains. Scott throws his hands into the air and reminds Logan that he is infectious and asks him if he wants to risk someone dying because of him being there. Logan has trouble unsheathing his powerful claws   ........

• __________MARVELDOM datase. 

" India, England, America. A passion for knowledge, a talent for hypothesis, and the youthful certainty that she'd change the world. "   

- Dr Kavita Rao

THE  HX-N1 VIRUS:

• HX-N1 is a synthetically engineered influenza virus designed as a form of mutagenic biological warfare. The virus was tailor-made to affect at least a large group of mutants  across the globe. This super-strain possessed a power-dampening effect that robbed a mutant of their extranormal abilities, and caused severe complications for those with a complete mutant physiology.
• The virus came about as part of a defense mechanism in an ongoing effort to replicate mutant powers. Unforunately the HX-N1 was released into the atmosphere. Fantomex managed to acquire a sample of the virus and ran it through the computer systems. Afterward, he gave the samples to the X-Men for further study. 

Dr Kavita Rao.

The first X-Man to be affected was Anole but quickly almost all mutants on Utopia were infected, and a quarantine was proceeded. 

• Luckily, The non-transmission of the virus to humans was proved by Dr Kavita Rao, a Calcuta-born scientist who began her career  in India and traveled to the West in the pursuit of advanced degrees in genetics, and having obtained with the end of his studies PhDs/Doctorates in biochemistry and mutant genetics. Eventually became a world-renowned geneticist.

____________________Where we stand.  

Lee, ..... Bruce or Stan? 

... ('NUFF SAID!!)

"Classics in class"

• The original The X-Men (Vol. 1). (September 1963). They are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics.

• Beginning with issue #114 the descriptive "Uncanny" was added to the cover treatment but it wasn't until issue #142 that the volume's official name was permanently changed to Uncanny X-Men.

• Granted there are always 35 X-Men titles running

  

             

_________CODA:

Joe and James sit down to discuss new episodes of the Marveldom in spoilerific detail after exclusive interviews ..

For a current time on the X-MEN universe:

Episode 5: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Mar 18, 2015

Cinematic Universe begins a long association with Hugh Jackman, as Joe, Seb and James look at the earliest (chronological) chapter in the X-Men film series: X-Men Origins: Wolverine. News discussion, meanwhile, takes in the Valiant licensing deal, the long-awaited TV debut of Powers, and James' rage-quitting of Agents of SHIELD.

http://cinematicuniverse.libsyn.com/episode-5-x-men-origins-wolverine-2009

Anatomy of epidemics pharma- more than Prozac nightmares

Contemporary Health issues

Item #1

    Are we all going bananas?

The 1998 Pulitzer Prize Finalist and author of "Mad in America" discusses the rise in diagnosis of mental illness in the U.S. and the proliferation of drugs to medicate various conditions. Mr. Whitaker contends that drugs do little to balance imbalanced brain chemistry. The event is at the National Arts Club in New York.

• A History of Psychiatry, "Mind drugs initiated a revolution in psychiatry, comparable to the introduction of penicillin in general medicine" 

• "Anatomy of an Epidemic" is an excellent book, attacked by PR operatives paid by Big Pharma ass a a kind of McCarthy-era scapegoating. Disestablishmentarians of pill-profits like Whitaker are often ruined professionally. A good book about the "Toxic Sludge is Good for You," which is about how conservative business destroys reformers.  Amazon reviewer

Listen to WRITE_7_A. Produce a 200 word summary of Whitaker's talk the speech



Item # 2

About  fears that women have been misled on breast cancer diagnosis. 

• Are they  given a truly informed choice. 
• Are healthy women  getting unnecessary diagnoses of conditions that are unlikely to develop during their lifetime?

Listen to WRITE_7_B. Produce a 200 word summary of Gotzsche's talk the speech

       Peter Gøtzsche  discusses big pharma 

on this topic, read the link on Daily Mail.

FOLLOW UP

Item #1
A century ago, fewer than two people per 1,000 were considered to be "disabled" by men- tal illness and in need of hospitalisation . By 1955, that number had jumped to 3 .38 peo- ple per 1,000, and during the past 50 years, a period when psychiatric drugs have been the cornerstone of care, the disability rate has climbed steadily, and has now reached around 20 people per 1,000. (Table 2). As with any epidemic, one would suspect that an outside agent of some type-a virus, a bacterial infection, or an environmental toxin- was causing this rise in illness . That is indeed the case here . There is an outside agent fu- eling this epidemic of mental illness, only it is to be found in the medicine cabinet . Psychiatric drugs perturb normal neurotransmitter functions.

Sheer data:During the past 20 years, the number of adults in the United States on federal disability rolls due to mental illness has more than tripled, rising from 1.25 million people in 1987 to more than four million in 2007. The number of children receiving a federal disability check due to severe mental illness increased 35-fold during this period, rising from 16,200 to 561,569.
The disability numbers also tell us that we need to look to develop new solutions.

1. This disability data necessarily begs a question, one that our society desperately needs to investigate. 
2. Could our drug-based paradigm of care be fueling this epidemic of disabling illness? 
3. What does the scientific literature show? 
4. Do psychiatric medications improve or worsen long-term outcomes? 
5. Does their use decrease or increase the risk of long-term disability? 
6. And what is happening to children prescribed
7. psychiatric medications over the long-term? Are they faring well?
8. In India, services have begun using psychiatric medications in a selective, limited manner with low budget....

• and are now reporting very good outcomes. 
• How can we adopt these methods here? ....

Item #2

Danish medical researcher, and leader of the Nordic Cochrane Center at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has written numerous reviews within the Cochrane collaboration.

• Dr.Gøtzsche has been critical of screening for breast cancer using mammography, arguing that it cannot be justified; His critique stems from a meta-analysis he did on mammography screening studies and published as Is screening for breast cancer with mammography justifiable? in The Lancet in 2000. In it he discarded 6 out of 8 studies arguing their randomization was inadequate.
• 
  
• In 2006 a paper by Gøtzsche on mammography screening was electronically published in the European Journal of Cancer ahead of print. The journal later removed the paper completely from the journal website without any formal retraction. The paper was later published in Danish Medical Bulletin with a short note from the editor, and Gøtzsche and his coauthors commented on the unilateral retraction that the authors were not involved in.

In 2012 his book Mammography Screening: Truth, Lies and Controversy was published. In 2013 his book Deadly Medicines and Organized Crime: How Big Pharma has Corrupted Healthcare was published.

http://www.cochrane.org/

debates 056 - Alter medicine -shelf help and the art of cytokines

Our Health debates - 056


item #1 
       Can you read yourself happy?
In a new column for BBC Culture, Hephzibah Anderson explains that  fiction can cure us too.

As we knuckle down to our New Year’s resolutions, we’ll turn in droves to self-help books, hoping to find our own best selves in their pages. But a book needn’t hector or lecture to leave its imprint. The truth is that all good literature changes us, and a growing body of research suggests you might do better browsing through fiction for support in battling life’s challenges. 

Think of it less as self-help than ‘shelf help’.
Reading has been proven to sharpen analytical thinking, enabling us to better discern patterns – a handy tool when it comes to the often baffling behaviour of ourselves and others. But fiction in particular can make you more socially able and empathetic. Last year, the Journal of Applied Social Psychology published a paper showing how reading Harry Potter made young people in the UK and Italy more positively disposed towards stigmatised minorities such as refugees. And in 2013, psychologists at the New School for Social Research found that literary fiction enhanced people’s ability to register and read others’ emotions.

Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary first acknowledged bibliotherapy in 1941, defining the term as “the employment of books and the reading of them in the treatment of nervous diseases”, but according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first popped up in print in 1920, in Christopher Morley’s The Haunted Bookshop.

item #2 
cytokines -

 proteins that signal the immune system to work harder.

A study published in the journal Emotion. 

Researchers conducted two experiments designed to measure the affect positive emotions, such as amusement, awe, compassion, contentment, joy, love, and pride, have on the cytokine Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a marker for inflammation.

• More than 200 young adults participated in the experiments, mostly self-reporting their emotions on a given day.
•  Afterward, researchers took samples of their gum and cheek tissue to measure levels of IL-6. 
• The results supported researchers’ hypothesis: Positive emotions are associated with lower levels of IL-6. What’s more is awe in particular was the strongest predictor for low levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, even when samples were controlled for relevant personality and health variables. 

NEWS - Daily Mirror

“That awe, wonder, and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions — a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art — has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy,”

        Dacher Keltner, psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley.


It is believed that by signaling the brain to produce inflammatory molecules, cytokines can block key hormones and neurotransmitters – such as serotonin and dopamine – that control moods, appetite, sleep and memory.

In answer to why awe would be a potent predictor of reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines, this latest study posits that 

'awe is associated with curiosity and a desire to explore, suggesting antithetical behavioral responses to those found during inflammation, where individuals typically withdraw from others in their environment,' 

Jennifer Stellar, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto

As for which came first – the low cytokines or the positive feelings – Stellar said she can't say for sure:

 'It is possible that having lower cytokines makes people feel more positive emotions, or that the relationship is bidirectional,'  - Stellar said.

life is good in a frontier tech environment -news and skipe

item #1  -  News. 

CNET Update - 4 tech upcoming devices (02:50)

TASK1. Find which are the mising words in these 4 high-tech products.

• Real-time s...........  t.................. goes live on Skype, (00:15)
• Facebook dumps Bing .s..............,  (01:05)
• Runtastic creates a virtual w..............., (01:30)
• o............ a custom-fit 3D p................ dress.(02:10)

TASK2. Find 2 things about each item.
1 - Real-time speech translation goes live on Skype,  (00:15)
2- Facebook dumps (=rejects)  Bing search,
3- Runtastic creates a virtual workout, and
4- you can order a custom-fit 3D printed dress.

1. ............      +  ........... 

1. ............      +  ........... 

1. ............      +  ........... 

1. ............      +  ........... 

TASK3.  Detailed listening. Find the missing words to each item.

1 -  Skype,  (00:15)

• .................   translation up to 40 languages -............... only two: Spanish and English
• works on Windows ........... and  ............
• its was seen as a ................... technology, now it is ..............!

2- Facebook 

• Bing search not ....................  with Facebook 
• Facebook has .................. its own search -works since ............  week
• Microsoft still ................  some stock at Facebook

3- Runtastic 

1. the journalist YES/NO enthusiastic about this creation
2. it lasts ............ minutes + offers you  .........  avatars
3. it offers different visual ...................

4- custom-fit 3D printed dress.

1. it ........... and flows as you ...........
2. ready to ................ after printed process
3. on ............... at museum of Modern ART
4. you CAN/CAN'T order one!

   ========  KEY task 3

1 - Real-time speech translation goes live on Skype,  (00:15)

• written translation up to 40 languages -spoken only two: Spanish and English
• works on Windows PC and  tablets
• its was seen as a futuristic technology, now it is possible!

2- Facebook dumps (=rejects)  Bing search, 

• Bing search not available on Facebook 
• Facebook's developed its own search -works since last week
• Microsoft still owns some stock at Facebook

3- Runtastic creates a virtual workout, and 

1. the journalist is not enthusiastic about this creation
2. it lasts 7 minutes   + offers you  three  avatars
3. it offers different visual backgrounds

4- you can order a custom-fit 3D printed dress.

• it moves and flows as you walk
• ready to wear after printed process
• on display at museum of Modern ART
• you can order one!

.

ORAL rounding OFF

In groups of 3 - Share your views and compare the 4 products-

•   to my view,   ZZZ will be the least /MOST.....      
•    XX  AS good AS   ZZ
•   MMM less .....  than NNNN

Use some of these adjectives (or opposite):
exciting / cheap / successful / useful / entertaining 


item #2 .  React to this piece of news- SKYPE and us




We recently previewed Skype Translator to two elementary school classes—one in Washington and one in Mexico City. A few rounds of “Mystery Skype” was all it took for these students to discover the potential of Translator to break down language barriers and bring people together.

Classwork. 

       How it works + how good is this device

Hands On: Skype Translator - (12:20)

John and Cesar test the device - 

• 00:00 -01:20 how it works
• 10:15 -12:20 Cesar assesses the device 

HOMEwork. 

       How successful is this device in both languages

John and Cesar test the device - 

• 01:20 Spanish (4 min)
• 05:50 Italian  (4 min) 

Evole -elperiodico -Con todos ustedes, Marina

LUNES, 1 DE FEBRERO DEL 2016  -Evole

Marina llega al instituto de secundaria. Lleva un bolso cargado con su vida. Viene a hacer un taller con chavales y chavalas de 15 y 16 años. Les pide que dibujen a tamaño real y desnudos a su hombre y su mujer ideal. Dibujos espectaculares. Él: tío cachas, moreno, ojos claros y miembro generoso y depilado. Ella: rubia, con ojazos, buenas tetas y buen culo. Risas entre el auditorio. Ellos se explican: «Que tenga buen culo para agarrarla bien, que sea más bajita, simpática, inteligente, y lo más importante, activa sexualmente, pero solo conmigo, no en general».
Y ahí Marina inicia su exhibición: «Pero no todo va a ser cuerpo, si no yo no me comería un rosco. En todas las clases tengo la esperanza que me dibujen, y nunca lo hacéis». Caras de póquer. «Replicáis un estereotipo. Yo estoy gorda y me gusta. Y me miro al espejo y me digo: 'Qué guapa te has levantado esta mañana'. Pero a mí no me dan trabajo por ser gorda». «¿Quién nos dice cómo tenemos que ser?». Un chaval, de los que antes se reía, se lanza al ruedo y reflexiona. «La sociedad nos lo impone. Que el hombre no puede fallar, no puedes llorar, tienes que ser fuerte».
Marina aplaude, pero no se conforma. Habla de películas, las de Disney, donde las princesas necesitan ser salvadas. Luego, de adolescentes, 'Crepúsculo', donde es maravilloso morir por amor. O la televisión que fomenta estereotipos masculinos y femeninos vacíos. Remata la función con letras de canciones actuales: «Si el amarte me cuesta la vida... Probarte es un acto suicida», «entera y tuya, aunque mi vida corra peligro», «una mujer que no diga ná...». Los chavales ya han dejado el cachondeo a un lado. Y lo tienen claro: «La mujer es utilizada como objeto sexual».
Un paso al frente
Marina lo ha conseguido. Falta la guinda y les pregunta: «Y, ¿cómo me veis?». Los muchachos, en menos de media hora, ya la admiran: «Te haces valer», «estás segura de ti misma», «tienes carácter», «no te importa lo que piensen los demás». Ella se gusta: «¿Nadie va a decir que estoy buena?». Últimas risas, los tiene en el bolsillo... antes de que les suelte: «Vale, pues me maltrataron». Silencio. «Fui víctima de violencia de género a los 15 años, como vosotros. De los 15 a los 19. A mi me manipuló, me chantajeó, me insultó, me humilló, me pegó, me escupió, me violó, me quemó, me pegó otra vez, otra vez y otra vez. Y me daba igual». Las caras de los chavales no dan crédito.
Marina ha dado un paso al frente, como las valientes que deciden abrir un camino no explorado. No quiere dar pena. Quiere que el maltrato no sea un estigma para nadie. Por eso no tiene miedo de explicar su historia en 'prime time'. Su testimonio es un tesoro. Y puede conseguir más que mil campañas de concienciación. Que nadie piense: «Pobrecita, Marina». No. Que piense que su ejemplo nunca lo van a olvidar.

Case study: today NOLLEGIU - that is it

business in sideways district in barcelona:

In groups of 3 discuss this situation

• New local: larger: 70 m2 to 320m2
• move 3500 books
• budget: limited (600 euros)
• time: max 3 days

ideas to make it?

4 stages:
0_ overwhelmed1_ hopeful2_enthusiastic 3_ thrilled. 4- freaked out. I can't let them down.". 

Agitador. Xavier Vidal se define como un librero agitador. Vistos los hechos a agitador no le gana nadie. A librero, pocos. Ayer, domingo por la mañana, día de paseo y vermut, consiguió lo que en un país donde en teoría se lee poco (él lo niega) es casi una utopía:movilizar a un centenar de personas por amor a los libros.Y consiguió lo imposible: que el encuentro, altruista, por supuesto, fuera para realizar un traslado. Actividad que no suele ser plato de gusto de nadie y a la que solo se consigue arrastrar a los amigos, a los de verdad. Así que los que ayer le ayudaron son incondicionales. Incondicionales de la Nollegiu, la librería que Vidal abrió hace dos años en el Poblenou y que ha conquistado tanto al vecindario que ha quedado pequeña.

Los habituales de la tienda hacen una cadena humana para trasladar los libros

El futuro pasa por un histórico edificio del barrio: el que fue sede de La Juanita, la tienda de modas más chicdel Poblenou de los 70. "Vendían prendas del estilo Mary Quant", afirma Maria Dolors Maymó, una de las usuarias de Nollegiu, que, asegura, "no es una librería corriente, Vidal consigue que te impliques, que te sientas parte de ella". Maymó lo explicaba mientras transmutaba en uno de los eslabones de la cadena humana que transportó los librosdel pequeño local de la calle Amistat a la nueva sede de Pons i Subirà. Apenas poco más de 100 metros en los que los voluntarios fueron pasándose los títulos de mano en mano con disciplina prusiana que en algún momento, los menos, mutó en anarquía mediterránea.

Nada de cajas. Pesan demasiado. Y la idea era que pudiera participar todo el mundo, mayores y pequeños, como Blai que con sus 7 años no desfallecía pese a preguntar un poco asustado: "¿Tenemos que vaciar toda esta biblioteca?". 3.500 volúmenes que a Vidal no le daba miedo perder: "¿Desde cuándo se roban libros en este país?".Además, lo dicho, allí eran todos amigos, aunque en sus inicios aterrizaran como clientes. Y casi todos, vecinos. "Si no defendemos estas iniciativas no podemos quejarnos de que cierren las tiendas de barrio", defendía Josep Nieto, otro eslabón de la cadena humana, en este caso, llegado de Gràcia.

La nueva sede es el edificio La Juanita, la que fue 'boutique' chic del barrio en los 70

Ante tanto entusiasmo la pregunta es obligada. ¿Qué da la Nollegiu a sus lectores? "Lo que me interesa es que la librería sea un espacio donde la gente sepa que pasan cosas y que pueden participar. Me dedicó a gestionar los deseos de los usuarios". Tantas cosas han pasado en la Nollegiu (nombre provocador con vocación de ser recordado) que sus 70 metros cuadrados han quedado pequeños. Y tantos han sido los deseos gestionados que el público se volcó en el 'crowfunding' que Vidal lanzó  para adecuar La Juanita: pedía 6.000 euros y ha recogido 16.000. 'Pas mal'.

A mediodía el trabajo estaba hecho. Y La Juanita empezaba a tener aspecto de librería. Aunque no del todo. Vidal, algo que le agradece el barrio y la familia Ibañez, propietarios del edificio y con la tienda de modas trasladada a la calle de Lope de Vega, mantiene el nombre en la fachada y parte de la decoración. No en vano, La Juanita fue toda una institución en Poblenou. Empezó en los años 20 como parada en el mercado, continuó como tienda en el mismo edificio que a finales de los 70, Juanita, la hija de la primera comerciante, convirtió en una 'boutique' de estilo parisién de tres plantas en la que llegaron a trabajaban 12 personas.

EL PESO DE LA RESPONSABILIDAD

Vidal, mantiene los probadores de la segunda planta, y detalles, como los colgadores de época, de la primera. Le gusta la idea de probador de libros. En la ya vieja Nollegiu tenía unas butacas bajo este letrero para que la gente pudiera sentarse y hojear los títulos antes de comprarlos. Ahora los probadores serán de verdad. Además de probador, la planta actuará de sala de actos, mientras la primera será propiamente la librería y la tercera acogerá la sede de la Fundació Catalunya Europa, cuyo presidente, Pasqual Maragall, hizo también ayer acto de presencia.

"Cuando empecé estaba ilusionado. Luego me entusiasmé para pasar a emocionarme. Ahora estoy acojonado. No puedo fallar". Es el peso de la responsabilidad que siente Vidal ante tanto apoyo recibido.