Pets

Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman

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Almost two decades since Death and the Maiden was published, it is still fresh and current. The story begins with Paulina Calas sitting on the terrace. She is married to a human rights lawyer, Gerardo Escobar, who has been appointed to the country’s commission to investigate human rights abuses by the former regime in an unnamed country.

Paulina then jails her husband’s houseguest, the seemingly benign and even kind Dr. Roberto Miranda, because she believes he tortured and raped her when she was a political prisoner. The book mainly consists of an ongoing conversation between the trio.

Paulina’s nightmare began on April 6, 1975. Three got out of a car and one pointed a gun at her ear and said: “One word and we’ll blow you up, miss.” She was then taken to prison, repeatedly tortured and raped. One of her torturers was a doctor. Although she couldn’t see him because she was blindfolded, she never forgot her voice. When she hears Dr. Miranda speak at her house, she is sure that he was her jailer.

It seems that at first the torturers hired the doctor to alleviate the prisoners’ suffering. But over time, the brutality he witnessed transformed him into a monster. He became less interested in the welfare of his patients, and his pain became a drug that turned him on.

He was more concerned with how much a tortured human being can endure before dying. He was interested in how torture, including the use of electric current, affects a woman’s sexuality.

When Paulina Salas was arrested it was already too late and the virtue of the doctor had been supplanted by sadism. She had become the embodiment of evil and willingly participated in the mass rapes of female prisoners.

Death and The Maiden is an obvious reference to various regimes in South America. Dorfman’s native Chile was ruled by General Pinochet for nearly two decades until he resigned in 1991. His rule was a monument to brutal intolerance and persecution of dissidents. However, the unmistakable parallels with regimes on our own continent cannot be overlooked either.

It seems impossible to separate the author from the character of Gerardo, the humanistic human rights lawyer. The role of the character seems to have a submerged affinity with the author’s message. The author also forces us to wonder what made Dr. Miranda turn into a monster. He is an educated and even refined man with a deep love for music. However, when anarchy ensued, his cruder instincts and the evil side of his nature asserted themselves.

Perhaps Ariel Dorfman is a champion of the rule of law that applies even to the best of us. Because when there are no restrictions and everything is allowed, even the most virtuous are capable of total degradation.

The book also deftly shows the human forces that are unleashed when the victims finally face their executioners. It shows how this confrontation can sometimes lead to healing. I found that the political message in the book is only a marginal dividend. Dorfman is a natural reconciler and the last paragraph of the story is a demonstration of that.

And why does it always have to be people like me who have to sacrifice, why do we always have to make concessions when something has to be conceded, why do I always have to bite my tongue, why?

In Paulina, despite her anger, there seems to be a grudging acceptance of the need for forgiveness. It is both a human and pragmatic need.

What do we lose by killing one of them? What do we lose? What do we lose?

With these last words, Paulina is finally freed from her tomb of rage, and seems to really be asking herself: What do we gain by killing one of them? What we win? What we win? With this, she reveals the greatness of her soul and the depth of her mind. It’s as if she realizes that sometimes the battle between good and evil can end in a truce.

Paulina is the central character of the story. It is her portrayal that shines, and the other characters are just marginal. She is aware of the importance of her decisions. It is her ordeal, her rage, and it is her ultimate response that frees the others to go on with their lives.

Death and the Maiden, while sad, is a thoughtful, deeply subtle, and wonderfully entertaining read. It exposes the horrifying and extremely disturbing face of a dictatorship and raises the moral questions of justice, retribution and forgiveness.

Real Estate

Closing costs when buying a multi-family apartment building

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When purchasing a multi-family building as an investment property, closing costs can add up to a large amount and therefore need to be carefully calculated as the investor must estimate whether they have sufficient funds for the down payment and closing costs. before. to close the deal.

It’s also important to estimate how much cash needs to be set aside for closing costs before closing, as one of the bank’s conditions when approving a mortgage is to make sure the buyer has enough funds for the down payment and closing costs together.

Appraisal fee: This requirement is helping the bank to assess the market value of the property, so that it can estimate the LTV (loan-to-value). If the appraised value is $500,000 and the LTV is 80%, then the bank is willing to lend $400,000 of the total appraised value. The appraisal fee is usually required with insured mortgages, but for conventional mortgages, it can sometimes be waived at the discretion of the mortgage bank. The appraisal rate depends on the size of the multi-family buildings and other considerations. The assessment is directly correlated to the size of the building: the larger the building, the higher the assessment rate.

Phase 1 Environmental Tax: Environmental analysis of the property and all surrounding uses or conditions to ensure that the property and its surroundings are not contaminated by previous use of chemicals, oil tanks, and other hazards. Usually this fee is associated only with insured mortgages only and not with conventional ones.

Inspection fee: The inspection fee includes a careful inspection of each unit in the building to ensure that there are no structural problems with any of the units and the building as a whole. Inspection should only be done by a professional, as problems he missed can cost you a lot of money later to fix. The more units inspected, the higher the fee the inspector charges.

Land Transfer Tax (LTT): This rate depends on the province in which the multi-family building is purchased. Specifically, if the property was purchased in Toronto, the land transfer tax must include Ontario LTT and Toronto LTT.

Legal fees and title search and disbursements: Every transfer must be legally reviewed by an attorney. An attorney is in charge of completing the transfer of the deed, preparing the mortgage, and conducting various searches, such as title searches.

Survey Fee or Title Insurance Fee: A recent survey of the property is usually required by the lender. If it’s not available, then title insurance can replace it.

Mortgage Application and Processing Fees: This general fee depends on whether or not the mortgage is insured. If the mortgage is insured, the investor must pay both the insurance company (CMHC or GE) and the lender itself. CMHC charges a processing fee and a mortgage insurance premium based on the amount borrowed and the repayment period. In addition to that, each lender also charges application fees. The lender’s application fee depends on the institution from which the money is being held.

Reserve fund: A reserve fund should be added to closing costs to ensure that in the first two years (before any cash flow has accumulated) there is enough money to spend in case “item tickets” need to be repaired. large”. replaced, such as leaky roof, oven stopped working, etc.

It is very important that you look for different professionals before deciding which one to go with. Your considerations when choosing should include price, reputation, and efficiency.

In conclusion, the total amount spent on closing costs can start from 2.5% of the purchase price and go up to a much higher amount depending on several factors, such as the amount deposited in the reserve fund, the province you choose to buy your investment property. in, etc.

Shopping Product Reviews

Some Tips and Tricks for Using Vanilla Beans

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If you watch any of the cooking shows on the Food Network, you’ve probably seen chefs on these shows scraping up a vanilla bean to use in some fancy dish. The process of scraping the bean seems so simple when they do it. They take a very sharp knife and cut the bean lengthwise, then scrape the tiny seeds out of the pod. These “seeds” stick together (like a paste, since they are wet and sticky) when you run the knife through the pod.

If you’ve tried this at home, only to find that it’s not that easy to cut the pod lengthwise because it’s tough and leathery, try this trick. Soften the pod by steaming it for 1-2 minutes in a steamer or colander over boiling water, then cool slightly. It will be much easier to cut. Also, when you scrape out the seeds, do so on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. Otherwise, you will lose some of the precious seeds because they will stick to your hands or even get under your fingernails when you try to pick them up.

Vanilla beans are expensive. Once you’ve scraped the beans, don’t throw away that precious pod! Use it to make delicious vanilla sugar for your coffee or to sprinkle on your cereal.

To make vanilla sugar, you will need a clean, empty jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place the scraped vanilla bean in the jar and cover with granulated sugar, then place the lid on the jar. Place the jar out of direct sunlight and let it sit for several weeks until the vanilla bean tastes all of the sugar. As you use up some of the vanilla sugar from the jar, top the jar with more granulated sugar.

Follow these easy tips and tricks and soon you’ll be using vanilla beans as skillfully as any of those chefs on TV!

Sports

Tree Plantations – Retirement Planting

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I spent 2 years in Belize, Central America. While I was there, I spent quite a bit of time in the jungle and on logging operations. The climate is very different from southern Ontario. They have a dry season and a rainy season, but it’s always hot. That’s why I decided to plant trees in Belize.

Years ago when I was in college I took a 2 year horticulture program. What fascinated me most were the arboriculture classes. I had thought about setting up a tree farm for years, but when I got to the point of planting, a ‘killjoy’ would steal the limelight by making a comment like, “yes, you’ll be growing those trees for your kids.” That would stop me in my tracks. Trees in Canada are a very long term project and they were right. I would never see the money. Do not misunderstand. I love my children, but it is very likely that I will also need money in the future. That comment held me back for years because I felt it was more careful to put money into a Registered Retirement Savings Plan than to invest in my children’s retirement. I would leave it all to my children anyway, so there was no point in taking the risk and possibly becoming a burden to them in my old age. Then we moved to Belize for 2 years and everything changed.

As I mentioned before, I spent a lot of time in the jungle but also driving through the countryside and visiting tree plantations. There are a couple of large teak plantations in the southern part of Belize. That’s where the itching came back. I needed to start a tree farm. I teamed up with a fellow Canadian and started researching. The 2 most popular woods used for lumber in Belize are mahogany and Spanish cedar. We bought a cleared piece of land, got some seeds and opened a nursery. Our research showed that these 2 trees would grow well on the land we had purchased and that both trees grew about an inch in diameter each year. That would give us trees with a trunk diameter of 25 inches by the time I was 60 years old. That was very exciting. We thought we should supplement our plantation with some teak, even though we were a bit further north in the country. Teak would grow at about the same rate under ideal conditions, but we didn’t have those conditions. We plant around 10 thousand teak. Wood is expensive and the real advantage of teak is that it regenerates. You can cut down a teak tree and almost immediately a new shoot will emerge from the side of the stump and grow into a new tree. This can happen up to seven generations. That would take care of my children too.

I would love to tell you that everything has been roses since we planted, but that would not be the case at all. Mahogany and Spanish cedar trees have a borer problem that causes the tips of the branches to die. It seems there is nothing we can do about it except prune. The teak is growing slower than we expected due to soil and weather conditions. However, our hope is that second generation teak will grow much faster because the trees will already have established roots. We have a full-time worker on the plantation who we pay to look after the place and maintain it. After 5 years, the trees should be large enough to grow on their own. Now we wait for the harvest.

I believe that anyone can plant trees and that there will probably always be a demand for wood. In current market conditions, I’m glad I have money on trees instead of a Registered Retirement Savings Plan. I encourage everyone to plant some trees for retirement or for your children. The environment will benefit greatly for years to come.

Relationship

The 10 most expensive Christmas trees in the world

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The Christmas tree originated in 7th century Germany. A monk named Saint Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to illustrate the Holy Trinity in his teachings. Since then, and most prominently in 16th-century Germany, families began bringing fir, pine, and fir trees into their homes and decorating them with nuts, candles, fruit, and paper flowers.

Over the years, Christmas tree ideas have not only grown in popularity, but have also evolved into many different variations with only one thing in common, the original triangle shape.

Now Christmas trees can be seen everywhere during the Christmas season. So much so that having the most expensive tree has become a kind of competition for some of the world’s richest people. Decorated trees are used to show how incredibly wealthy their owners are. So how valuable can a tree be?

10. Vermont Pre-Lit Artificial Trees:

Value –> $850 USD

Special features of this lighted Christmas tree include hinged branch construction and a special memory wire. The special features of the Vermont Fir Tree make it easier to set up than previous skinny artificial Christmas trees. This tree is 8.5 feet of multicolored Christmas celebration with the latest in artificial tree technology. I wonder what will happen to them next.

9. Pre-Lit Frasier Fir Artificial Christmas Tree:

Value –> $1,000 USD

This pre-lit artificial tree is adorned with 1,350 colorful mini lights. This artificial fir features the ability to remove individual lights from their sockets without affecting any of the other lights on the tree. At 10 feet tall, it towers over most other artificial trees for sale.

8. Sofitel London St. James – Black Tree Decorated With Cognac:

Value –> $55,000 USD

Just another run-of-the-mill metal-framed skinny tree until you look a little closer. You’ll notice 200 miniature-sized, handcrafted 24-karat gold bottles containing Louis XIII, Grand-Champagne Cognac. No one knows why they would openly leave alcohol in a hotel lobby. The tree is 16.5 feet tall, so if you were to drink the champagne cognac, for safety reasons, I’d suggest starting at the top and working your way down.

7. Steve Quick Jewelers – Gold Table Trees:

Value –> $500,000 USD

As a fundraising project to benefit the American Cancer Society, this decorated tree was created by Steve Quick. The Chicago jeweler casts small trees with 18 karat solid gold. A couple of features have been added to increase the value of a larger table tree, round diamond embellishments, and a detachable platinum star embellishment. The star is removable so it can be worn as a pendant. Just when you thought a 5 pound chunk of solid gold couldn’t look any better, they capped it off with 4.52 carats of bling – and that’s just the only diamond on the platinum star!

6. Soo Kee Jewelry – Diamond Tree:

Value –> $1 million dollars

On display at a shopping mall in Singapore called Bugis Junction, a 20-foot, 7,000-pound silver Christmas tree made everyone feel very poor as they searched for slightly more affordable gifts for their loved ones. A sparkling silver glitter of 21,798 diamonds and over 3,000 crystals adorned this fabulous holiday show. Would they really notice if one or two disappeared?

5. Washington DC – Capitol Christmas Tree:

Value –> $1 Million + USD

The tradition of placing a tall spruce on the west front of the Capitol in Washington, DC began in 1964. Each year the exterior tree is cut down, transported and replanted. Rumors speculate that the cost of such an operation is well over a million dollars, making this outdoor Christmas decoration one of the most expensive in the world.

4. Ginza Tanaka Jewelry – Tabletop Tree:

Value –> $1.6 million dollars

Ginza Tanaka Jewelry in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan displayed this beautiful slender tree that was decorated with over 240 priceless gems. It is a small 24-karat gold tree adorned with an assortment of diamonds and pearls weighing a total of 46 pounds. It stands as the fourth most expensive decorated Christmas tree in the world.

3. Takashimaya Department Store – Preserved Roses Mini Christmas Tree:

Value –> $1.8 million dollars

The ultimate proof that size doesn’t matter. Well, when you’re talking about fake Christmas trees for sale, that is. The 16-inch tabletop Christmas trees are made from preserved flowers and decorated with 400 diamonds. I wonder if the department store ever charged the $1.8 million price tag, however, they threw in the teddy bear to sweeten the deal.

2. Hong Kong Swarovski Crystal LED Pre-Lit Christmas Tree:

Value –>???

Standing a staggering 90 feet tall, the 40,000 Swarovski crystals are stacked in a spectacular Christmas tribute as part of Hong Kong’s annual “winter festival.” While this outdoor LED Christmas tree is pretty impressive during the day, just wait until the sun goes down. Unfortunately, the cost of such a tree is unknown to us at this time, so the question “where does it rank on this list?” can be answered with another question “Does your Christmas tree turn on its lights to the beat and shoot fireworks from the top?” I do not think so.

1. The Emirates Palace Hotel – Decorated Christmas Tree:

Value –> $11.4 million USD

The seven-star hotel in Dabi displayed a 40-foot Christmas pine covered in diamonds, pearls, emeralds and the like worth $11 million. This tree was on loan from a gallery in Abu Dhabi.

If you were thinking of staying at The Emirates Palace Hotel, you can expect to pay around $1 million each week. Expensive? Maybe, but your room comes with a butler, a Maybach luxury car and driver, and a private plane in case you need to go to the supermarket in Edmonton, Canada to pick up a few things before dinner.