Ryan é baseado na vida de Ryan Larkin, um realizador de desenhos animados canadense que, 30 anos há, produza algumas das películas animated as mais influential de seu tempo. Na película, nós ouvimos as vozes de realizadores de desenhos animados proeminentes e dos artistas que discutem o trabalho de Ryan, e dos waitresses, dos guardas da missão-casa e dos povos desabrigados que compõem a vida de Ryan. Estas vozes falam com estranhos, torcido, e disembodied, computer-generated caráter-que combinam para refletir o criador da película, Chris Landreth. Nas palavras de Anais Nin, “nós não vemos coisas enquanto são. Nós vemos coisas enquanto nós somos.”

O gato com fome do `A recorre às medidas cada vez mais desesperadas ganhar a atenção do seu proprietário.'

Diga-nos sobre seu gato!

Escalando acima de uma trilha nos Pyrenees na busca de em algum lugar para praticar o archery, eu vim em cima de um acampamento francês pequeno do exército. Os soldados olharam-me, mim fingiram que eu poderia não ver nada (nós todos temos um pouco deste paranoia de ser visto como espiões…) e continuado minha maneira.
Eu encontrei o ponto ideal, executei meus exercícios respirando preparatórios e vi então aproximar-se armored do veículo.
I immediately put myself on the defensive and reviewed all the possible answers to the questions I would be asked: I have the permission to use a bow and arrow, the spot is safe, any word to the contrary is the responsibility of the forest keepers, not the army’s, and so on. But then out of the car jumps a colonel who asks me if I am the writer and offers me some interesting information about the region.
And then, getting over his almost visible shyness, he tells me that he too has written a book and begins to tell me the curious genesis of his work.
He and his wife made donations for a leper child who originally lived in India but was later transferred to France. One fine day, curious to meet the little girl, they went to the convent where the nuns took care of the child. They spent a lovely afternoon and towards the end of their visit one of the nuns asked if he would help in the spiritual education of the group of children who lived there. Jean Paul Sétau (the officer’s name) said that he had no experience teaching the catechism but that he would give it some thought and ask God what he should do.
That night, after saying his prayers, he heard the answer: “instead of offering answers, try to find out what the children want to ask.”
From then on Sétau had the idea of visiting several schools and ask the pupils to write everything they would like to know about life. He asked for the questions to be put in writing, so that the more timid among the pupils would lose their fear of exposing themselves. The result of his work was gathered together in a book - ” The child who wants to know everything” (Ed. Altess, Paris).

Here are some of the questions:

Where do we go after we die?
Why are we afraid of strangers?
Are there Martians and extra-terrestrial beings?
Why do accidents happen even to people who believe in God?
What does God mean?
Why are we born, if in the end we die?
How many stars are there in the sky?
Who invented war and happiness?
Does the Lord also listen to those who do not believe in the same (Catholic) God?
Why are there poor and sick people?
Why did God create mosquitoes and flies?
Why isn’t the guardian angel close by when we are sad?
Why do we love some people and hate others?
Who gave names to the colors?
If God is in heaven and my mother is up there too because she died, how can He be alive?

I hope that some teachers or parents who read this column feel stimulated to do the same thing. In that way, instead of trying to impose our adult understanding of the universe, we will end up remembering some of our questions as children - and which were never really answered.

by Paulo Coelho

Dearest Jane,

Oh my goodness- I have QUITE the surprise to be sharing with you!! I was just quietly meandering about CYRES World this evening, not expecting to encounter anything that I have not seen before. FOOLISH me! I am consistently just flabbergasted, bowled over, gobsmacked- whatever expresses an excessive amount of… *W*O*W! This sight JUST is BEing so totally incredible, amasing.. and.. just plain FUN. Hmmmm- are ya curious?? Wanna know what I discovered?? *LOL* Oh- all right. Thank goodness I DID remember to “capture the moment” with pictures. See?? I AM learning. : ) What?? Oooohhhh, I forgot to TELL you what I saw, huh?? WELL. Remember that HUGE flying saucer that landed in the mountains in CYRES World?? It… had… “babies”! *laughing happily* YES, three adorable little flying saucers!! AND, guess what? You can get IN them, and fly around!! So, of course I did. By the way, just in case you are curious?? Uuummm…no- they definitely do NOT float. I just h-a-d to find out.

You know, I have been thinking (I try not to, but it happens on occasion anyway). I was having a conversation today with a very nice lady who works in the office at the apartment complex where I live. She was wanting to tell me something, but was a little hesitant, because she was afraid I would think she was “odd, or different”. I must admit, I DID laugh out loud when she said this- because I EMBRACE this in life! Something different, unusual, thought- provoking?? Please, I want to view MORE of this in life. HOW totally serendipitous, then, that I should “just happen to find” these really neat flying saucers this evening. : ) My conversation with this nice woman was also about how I truly do believe that our thoughts DO (and CAN) manifest into BEing reality. I live it, so I am knowing this to be true. Well, this is MY reality, anyway. I quite love it, it makes me happy- so I am gonna stick to it.

Life is just SO much fun, isn’t it? It IS “what we make it to BE”, and whatever energies we pour forth do seem to magnify, and expand exponentially. So.. I JUST would like to dump a HUGE mountain of “Happy Sparkle Thoughts” for you right here.. to climb on- and I do hope you enjoy the view. Take one of those flying saucers, if you like.. they’re so darn neat to zip around in!! *LOL*

Love- just me.. happily humming to the tone of G#.

During the last fifteen years I remember experiencing only three overwhelming passions - the kind you read all about, talk compulsively about, seek out people with the same affinity, go to sleep and wake up thinking about. The first was when I bought a computer, abandoning my typewriter for ever and discovering the freedom that this allowed me (I am writing this in a small French town, using something that weighs less than 1.5 kilos, stores ten years of my professional life and can find whatever I need in under five seconds). The second was when I got into the Internet for the first time - by then already a library bigger than the biggest of all the libraries.
The third passion, however, has nothing to do with technological breakthroughs. I am talking about … the bow and arrow. In my youth I read a fascinating book with the title “Zen in the art of archery,” by E. Herrigel (Ed. Pensamento), which tells us about the author’s spiritual journeys by means of this sport. The idea stuck in my subconscious until one day in the Pyrenees when I met an archer. We talked for a while and then he lent me his gear, and ever since then I have not been able to live without practicing archery almost every day.
In Brazil I built a shooting stand in my apartment - the kind you can disassemble in five minutes when the guests arrive. In the French mountains I go out every day to practice, and that has already made me bedridden twice with hypothermia, caused by staying over two hours exposed to a temperature of 6o C below zero. This year I took part in the World Economic Forum in Davos, thanks to very strong painkillers, because two days before the Forum I had a painful muscular inflammation due to positioning my arm wrongly.
So where is the fascination in all this? There is nothing of a practical nature in aiming at a target with a bow and arrow, arms that go back 30,000 years before Christ. But Herrigel, who aroused this passion in me, knew what he was talking about. Here are some extracts from “Zen and the art of archery” that can be applied to many activities in daily life:
“At the moment of holding the tension, concentrate only on what you need to use. Save all the rest of your energy, learn from the bow that in order to reach something it is not necessary to make gigantic movements, just focus on your target.”
“My master gave me a very stiff bow. I asked him why he was beginning to teach me as if I were a professional. His answer was: “If you start with easy things, you won’t be prepared for the big challenges. Better to know right away what kind of difficulty you’re going to encounter further ahead.”
“For a long time I shot without managing to open the bow properly, until one day the master taught me a breathing lesson and everything became so easy. I asked him why he had taken so long to correct me. He answered: “If from the very start I had taught you the breathing exercises, you would have found them unnecessary. Now you will believe what I tell you and practice as if it were really important. Those who know how to teach act in this way.”
“The moment for releasing the arrow happens instinctively, but first you have to know well the bow, the arrow and the target. The perfect stroke in life’s challenges also uses intuition, but we must not forget the technique after we master it completely.”
“At the end of four years, when I was already capable of mastering the bow, the master offered me his congratulations. I was happy and told him that I had reached the half-way point. “No,” answered the master. “So that you don’t fall into any treacherous traps, it’s better for you to consider half-way the point you reach after you have traveled 90% of the road.”

ATTENTION! Using the bow and arrow is dangerous, in some countries like France it is considered to be an arm, and it can only be practiced after receiving your license and only in places that are specially authorized.

by Paulo Coelho

One’s computer is an extraordinarily powerful means to creating a change in the social consciousness of this world.

It was after I heard Annie Lennox’s song “SING” that I decided to simply use my computer to send her an encouraging message.

Then, I decided that since I have a bit of time and an extraordinary amount of kindness and compassion, I would try to reach as many people as I possibly could, around the world. Just to let them know that I truly DO care, and their existence matters to me.

I don’t have money yet to “change the world”, I do have purposeful intent, and an ability to type words. So, in these words that I type, “Happy Sparkle Thoughts” of positive energies and genuine kindness, hope, love, and unconditional acceptance are what I give to people.

With regards to the SING campaign, money is critical in being able to purchase life saving medications to prevent HIV/AIDS in unborn children, and medications DO greatly improve the quality of life for individuals afflicted with this virus. So does encouragement and compassion. Not only for those who have the illness, but also those individuals who tirelessly give of their very selves to help others.

Anyone who is fortunate enough to experience the luxury of having a computer, and internet access, truly CAN be making a positive difference in someone’s life. Intention is the key. Giving of one’s self, just because one CAN, is something anyone is able to do - and it is simply astounding the very REAL connections that can occur.

This wondrous universe makes a “humming” noise, one that I can hear very clearly. It may be the energies of other people’s thoughts and ideas, and perhaps their dreams. An endless fountain of water, with countless rainbows sparkling in the sun. THIS is the message of hope and inspiration I wish for others to ‘feel’, to view, and to simply BE inspired by.

I am no one special, but I DO have something to give, as do you. I am just a single drop of water in that fountain, as are you. Combined with other drops, WE can actively apply our different talents, and create even MORE positive change in this UNI~verse.

When he was staying at an air base in Africa, author Saint-Exupéry passed the hat among his friends because a Moroccan servant wanted to return to his home town. He managed to collect a thousand francs.
One of the pilots flew the servant as far as Casablanca and told the following when he came back:
- As soon as he arrived he went to have dinner in the very best restaurant, handed out generous tips, paid for drinks all round and bought dolls for the children in his village. This man hadn’t the slightest notion of economy.
- Quite the opposite - answered Saint-Exupéry. - He knew that the best investment in the world is people. Spending in that way, he managed to win all over again the respect of his countrymen, and they will offer him a job. After all, only a winner can be so generous.

by Paulo Coelho

The great Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis (”Zorba the Greek”) tells us that once when he was a boy he noticed a cocoon stuck to a tree, with a butterfly was about to be born. He waited a while, but it was taking so long, so he decided to warm the cocoon with his breath. The butterfly finally emerged but its wings were still stuck together and it died soon afterwards.
“I just couldn’t wait for the sun to complete the necessary process of patient maturation,” says Kazantzakis. “That small corpse is until this very day one of the heaviest burdens on my conscience. But that’s what made me understand what a true mortal sin is: trying to force the great laws of the universe. We have to have patience, wait for the right time and then follow confidently the rhythm that God has chosen for our lives.”

by Paulo Coelho