World of Glory

 
Open and Closed
Adam Nayman on World of Glory


“The opening scene of World of Glory is a reconstruction of events during the Second World War and of the total brutality which marked "ethnic cleansings". That term did not exist then, it was called the "final solution", but meant the extermination of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and political dissidents. Human beings were put to death by, among other methods, gassing in diesel-driven, closed vans. The gas from the motor was piped into the storage compartment. These vans were the forerunners of the gas chamber.” —Roy Andersson

And there you have it: the opening shot of the 1991 short film World of Glory (available on the Cinema 16: European Short Films disc, www.cinema16.org) as explained by its director, Roy Andersson. In three agonizing minutes, the shot—which is static and meticulously detailed in the manner of Andersson’s subsequent, millennial-anxiety masterpiece Songs from the Second Floor—describes human beings being put to death in a diesel-driven van. We see them huddling together naked before the door is closed by a lumpy little man (he kicks the loading ramp into place when it gets stuck) and the hose attached to the exhaust pipe is inserted into the compartment; we hear their screams grow frantic and then faint as the van drives away towards the back of the frame. It circles in the distance as the assembled witnesses—pale people with no discernable reason for being there—take in the atrocity with blank stares. Cut.

If it’s possible for a sequence be completely ambiguous and completely unambiguous, here it is. On one hand, it plunges us into a nightmare with no exposition, no warm-up, no warning. Who are the people in the truck? Why are they being killed? Why are the people around the truck not helping them? Where are we? When are we? But there’s no question about what we’re looking at. The names and places and whys are irrelevant: this is what genocide—actual, unimagined, twentieth-century genocide—looks like.

I have cried and cried out at many films in my life, but I have never again made a sound like the one that escaped my lips during World of Glory. Something between an incredulous chuckle (“I can’t believe he’s doing this”) and a barely swallowed eruption that could have been a sob or a dry heave. I can’t recall if my viewing partner (a fellow Reverse Shot writer) had a comparably visceral reaction, but I do know that when the film ended about ten minutes later we sat together in a daze. If World of Glory were only three minutes long, it might qualify as the most shattering thing I’ve ever seen. The scenes that follow its jaw-dropping opening are perfectly realized pitch-black vignettes that feel very much like a dry run for Songs from the Second Floor, but they are, despite their shades-of-grey palette and studied bleakness, far easier to take than what preceded them.

World of Glory locates a society—ostensibly the director’s native Sweden, but easy interchangeable with any modern European country—so paralyzed by ennui, anxiety, and desperation that its inhabitants are apparitions. The main character is a thin, pasty man who takes us on a guided tour of his life—his loveless marriage, his stultifying job, his pathetic day-to-day activities. It was not until the second time I saw the film that I realized that this character had been present in the first shot: dead center of the frame, turning away from the proceedings every so often to fix us with his gaze. His meek, self-effacing misery in the later scenes thus comes into sharper relief: a person who does not act to avert tragedy endures beneath its weight.

Andersson has spoken about why the opening sequence, which so obviously references the Holocaust, makes no attempt at period design. “In the first two years of my life,” he wrote in 1997, “millions of people were gassed to death in the most bestial manner, in a neighboring country with literacy and traditions that very much resembled our own. This has always pursued me and does still. I should like to say that I am shamed by these crimes, on behalf of humanity." This is a grand statement, but the brief and enormous film to which it is attached lives up to it. “Not in my name” is a familiar refrain in an agitprop culture. World of Glory is the only film that I wish that I’d been brave and brilliant and aware enough to make myself.

10 Much Needed Stress Relief Techniques at the Office

Despite countless studies that have found that exercise is the best way to relieve stress, many of us do anything but exercise when we’re feeling the pull of our countless obligations. The most common forms of stress relief often involve fatty comfort food, cocktails, or an unprecedented amount of shopping (mostly for things we do not need). Sure, it’s your right to relieve stress however you like, but chances are indulgences in the form of unhealthy food, large quantities of alcohol, and credit card debt will only make you feel unhealthier and more stressed than before you set out to make yourself feel better.

It should come as no surprise that our jobs are responsible for the majority of the stress we’re feeling. For most in industrialized nations, our bosses, co-workers, and work obligations are capable of piling on more stress during a single eight-hour shift than a week at home with a nagging spouse, never-ending housework, and a rambunctious toddler combined.
So the next time you feel the familiar sting of stress when you’re at the office, consider these stress relief techniques:

Take a Walk

 If you find yourself feeling anxious or overwhelmed at work, take a break and take a brisk walk around the block. It will get you re-focused and help you blow off some steam. Any type of exercise can help to shake off the stress, so get up and get moving.
In fact, according to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, exercise can help to stimulate the release of feel-good endorphins, so it helps to improve your mood and relieve stress. The Mayo Clinic recommends walking for 20 to 30 minutes up to five days per week in order to relieve stress and prevent it from occurring in the first place.

Make Your Life Easier

If you control your own schedule and you know you’re not a morning person, make your life easier and avoid scheduling morning meetings. The extra sleep or a long, lingering breakfast will be a better start to your day. Why start your day grouchily rushing to a morning meeting if you don’t have to?

A Sweet Snack

It has been found that dark chocolate is high in antioxidants and the consumption of chocolate triggers the release of endorphins in our brain, which as previously mentioned, are chemicals that make us happy. So, the next time you’re feeling stressed or experiencing a complete lack of energy around 3 p.m., eat a bit of dark chocolate and just wait for those endorphins to kick in. These stress relief techniques are just getting better.

Plan Ahead

When you know you have a business trip coming up, plan ahead. You may not be able to control a cancelled flight or a lost reservation, but being prepared for these hiccups in the road can save you a lot of stress. Plan for delays and have an idea in mind as to how you’ll use the extra time: A call to your spouse, a meal at a local restaurant, catching up on e-mail, these are all great ways to feel productive while dealing with something that’s out of your control.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Keeping with the theme of control — sometimes you don’t have it, and you can’t let that bother you or ruin your day. You can only be responsible for your end of things and you can’t sweat the stuff that’s beyond your control. The next time you feel yourself stressing out over things, keep the old serenity prayer in mind: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Put Things in Perspective

Once when I failed to turn in a paper on time I was visibly upset and my English teacher took me aside and said, “Is this important now and does it feel horrible today? Yes, but in the major scheme of things, this late paper won’t mean anything.” It was good advice for a 10th grader, and it’s good advice in an office setting too. When the worst happens at work, think about what the situation will look like five years from now. Will it still feel important? Time and distance are capable of providing the perspective we lack when we’re stressed and caught up in the moment.

Laugh it Off

It’s true what they say: Laughter is the best medicine and having a good sense of humor is the key to reducing stress. Recent research has shown that there are many health benefits to laughter. According to Elizabeth Scott, a wellness coach and health educator, our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a threat or a challenge and humor can give us a more lighthearted perspective and help us view events as challenges, thereby making them less threatening and more positive. Plus, laughter provides a physical and emotional release and when you’re feeling stressed, it’s better to laugh than cry.

Reach Out

When you get home from a long, stressful day at work the last thing you want to do is relive it all over again by talking to your spouse about it. Plus, it might be difficult for them to understand the kind of pressure you’re under. This is exactly why reaching out to a trusted colleague can be a major stress reliever. Grab lunch with a co-worker or talk over a cup of coffee. Just talking to someone who understands exactly what you’re going through and is experiencing the same thing can be a major release; you’ll know you’re not alone and that there’s always someone around you can talk to who understands.

Start a Stress Journal

According to Help Guide — a non-profit resource aimed at understanding, preventing, and resolving challenges — starting a stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors at work and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed on the job, the site recommends keeping track of it in your journal and as you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes. Help Guide recommends keeping note of the following in your stress journal:

Reasons Why Women Live Longer Than Men

Celebrity Weddings

Jonathan: What Went Wrong, September 22, 2013 Cover

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

The story of the country’s ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has not been the same since it held its convention on August 31st in Abuja. The decision by some elements to factionalise   the party has been a subject of media reports, commentaries and analyses in the past three weeks. The action of these politicians came in a most unexpected manner.

A Lesson From The Elders

Grandfather was an elder Cherokee Native American who had a wrinkled, nut brown face and kind dark eyes. His grandson often came in the evening to sit on his knee and ask the many questions that children ask.

One day the grandson came to his grandfather with a look of anger on his face; the child's anger turned to quiet tears. "Come sit, tell me what happened today", grandfather said. "Father and I went to the store today and because I helped him, he bought me a present of a jack-knife. It was small but a good size for me.

Here the boy laid his head against his grandfather's knee and became silent. The grandfather, softly placed his hand on the boy's raven hair and said, "And then what happened?"

Without lifting his head, the boy said, "I went outside to wait for father and to admire my new knife in the sunlight. Some town boys came by and saw me, they got all around me and starting saying bad things. They called me dirty and stupid and said that I should not have such a fine knife. The largest of these boys pushed me back and I fell over one of the other boys. I dropped my knife and one of them snached it up and they all ran away laughing." Here the boy's anger returned, "I hate them. I hate them all."

The elder Cherokee, with eyes that have seen too much, lifted his grandson's face so his eyes looked into the boy's face. Grandfather said, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those who have taken so much with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feeling many times. It is as if two wolves are inside me.... It is a terrible fight.

One wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. It will only fight when it is right to do so and in the right way. This wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

The other wolf is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of a temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. This wolf represents fear, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, lies, false pride and superiority.

Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me for both of them try to dominate my spirit. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.

The boy looked intently into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied....

"The one you feed."

Grandfather was an elder Cherokee Native American who had a wrinkled, nut brown face and kind dark eyes. His grandson often came in the evening to sit on his knee and ask the many questions that children ask.

One day the grandson came to his grandfather with a look of anger on his face; the child's anger turned to quiet tears. "Come sit, tell me what happened today", grandfather said. "Father and I went to the store today and because I helped him, he bought me a present of a jack-knife. It was small but a good size for me.

Here the boy laid his head against his grandfather's knee and became silent. The grandfather, softly placed his hand on the boy's raven hair and said, "And then what happened?"

Without lifting his head, the boy said, "I went outside to wait for father and to admire my new knife in the sunlight. Some town boys came by and saw me, they got all around me and starting saying bad things. They called me dirty and stupid and said that I should not have such a fine knife. The largest of these boys pushed me back and I fell over one of the other boys. I dropped my knife and one of them snached it up and they all ran away laughing." Here the boy's anger returned, "I hate them. I hate them all."

The elder Cherokee, with eyes that have seen too much, lifted his grandson's face so his eyes looked into the boy's face. Grandfather said, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those who have taken so much with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feeling many times. It is as if two wolves are inside me.... It is a terrible fight.

One wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. It will only fight when it is right to do so and in the right way. This wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.

The other wolf is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of a temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. This wolf represents fear, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, lies, false pride and superiority.

Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me for both of them try to dominate my spirit. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.

The boy looked intently into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied....

"The one you feed."
Read more at http://www.funzug.com/index.php/stories/a-lesson-from-the-elders.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Funzug+%28Funzug.com+Updates%21%29#eK20cIZIm3hT8Q1l.99

HEALTHY LIVING | 5-2-1-0-0: This code can help you avoid a heart attack

Take action now. Reduce heart diseases by 25 percent in 2025. According to Dr. Reyes, rust remember the code: 5-2-1-0-0.
This daily 5-2-1-0-0 strategy is simple enough to follow:
• FIVE servings of vegetable and fruits
• Maximum of TWO hours of screen (computer/video) time
• ONE hour of moderate physical activity
• ZERO soda or sugar-sweetened drinks
• ZERO smoking.
To make the 5-2-1-0-0 code, Dr. Reyes adds that you must do the numbers. Make it a daily routine among family members, relatives, and friends. Take on the challenge as it will add healthier years to your life. It may be difficult at first and may seem like an ambitious target, but it can be done.
Parents, especially mothers, hold the key to a healthy heart. Following the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle is just the same as adhering to house rules and its other do’s and don’ts.

Jesus, the Master of Revival

 

Some people have taught that to be a Christian, Jesus only has to be your Savior, not your Lord. I am left wondering, if Jesus is not Lord of those people, then who is? I think experience tells us the answer. If no one else is your Lord, than you are lord of your own life. But affirming that Jesus is Lord is not all that God desires. He wants Jesus to actually exercise Lordship over our lives. Unfortunately, although most Christians deny the false teaching that Jesus does not need to be our Lord, they also fall well short of living as though He is.
What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord? Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth. But this does not mean He only rules in a general sense, holding all things together. He is also Lord of every believer. This personal sense of Lordship can be seen in Colossians 4:1. Here the word for Lord (kurios) is translated, “master,” and it refers to the owner of a slave. Paul tells “masters” to treat their slaves with equity and righteousness because “you also have a Master in heaven.” The term, “master,” was used in the ancient Roman world for the father of a household. The father had rights over his children in some ways similar to that of an owner of slaves. There are examples in the ancient world of fathers ordering the death of an unwanted son, with the order being carried out without question. The master, whether of slaves or sons, has complete authority over his subjects. One who is subject to a master is not in control of his own life. His master is in control. His master decides what he will eat, what work he will engage in, and the subject must simply obey, no questions asked.

A lot of people fear giving everything to God because they think he might make them to do something embarrassing. I remember as a teenager being afraid that if I got saved, God might tell me to stand on a table in my high school cafeteria and preach the gospel. Because of that fear, I was hesitant to abandon all and serve Him. If we really want to experience God’s presence, then He must have permission to embarrass us, to tell us to do anything He wants, even to send us to our deaths. Anything less than that and He is not truly Lord and Master.

BE REVIVED DEAR FRIENDS/READERS

How to Show Affection to Someone Who Needs It

Affection: Everyone needs and craves it. What is the best way to show affection? Here are some ideas on how to share affection with someone you care about.




Offer a back rub. From babies to adults a back rub or massage can promote closeness while relaxing the stressed.

 Determine what makes the person you love happy. Is it breakfast in bed? Doing housework? Going for a walk together? Going out to dinner? Snuggling? Do what makes that person happy. Here are some suggestions that might help.

Erectile Problems Caused By an Enlarged Prostate

 

 

 

Definition

Erectile dysfunction (ED), formerly known as impotence, is the inability to achieve or maintain an erection long enough to engage in sexual intercourse.

As you age and grow, so too does your prostate. It’s one of few organs in the body that grows with age. As it enlarges, the nerves and blood vessels become impinged, inflating the prostate. When the prostate experiences constriction to the nerves and blood vessels, the organ cannot release urine flow properly. Instead, the prostate acts as a constricted garden hose: building pressure while being unable to exude the urine fast enough to impede urinary tract problems.

What's worse, prostate enlargement can lead to erectile disorders. According to a recent research study, scientists found a strong correlation between the two conditions. According to the study, 50 percent of all men surveyed with prostate enlargement reported impaired erectile function while 10 percent of those men were unable to get an erection at all. Those figures rose to 67 percent and 16 percent, respectively, in men with moderate BPH symptoms, while 82 percent of men with severe symptoms reported impaired erection function and 18 percent of those men reported complete impotence. ^[1]

Natural Solution

Think of prostate as a miniature-sized stress ball. The more you squeeze and apply pressure to it, the weaker it becomes. A weakened, inflamed prostate can result in testicular pain, premature ejaculation, urinary problems and yes, erectile dysfunction. Men who experience an enlarged prostate need two key chemicals present in their bodies: balanced DHT levels to lower prostate enlargement and a stable production of nitric oxide to maintain a healthy erection.

Thanks to all-natural alternatives, such as many powerful herbs from Botanical Prostate Rejuvenation & Detox For Erectile Problems, can balance the DHT buildup while sustain sufficient nitric oxide levels to prevent erectile dysfunction.