Dentro da periferia de nenhum centro

"Não ter vários anos de vida, mas ter vida nos anos."

2010-01-28T02:00:00.002Z

Já passaram alguns anos desde a última vez que escrevi neste blog. Muito se passou, mas isso dispensa detalhes.

(Re)"Encontrei" este meu blog aquando de uma limpeza electrónica que fazia ao lixo electrónico que tenho deixado pela internet. Esteve quase para ser apagado à borracha, mas não, decidi dar-lhe vida. Vida que já ele contém e que me relembrou de vários episódios dos quais não me lembraria se não tivessem ficados escritos em ('esta) pedra.

Orgulho-me de, como escrito num post de há quase 4 anos atrás, de ter tido vida - muita vida - neste meus anos que passaram, e de não ter deixado passar os anos pela minha vida. Espero que assim continue. E espero que o hábito de voltar a contribuir para este meu blog não se esvaeça de novo.

Como escrito na pedra da música Jorge-Palmiana: "Já passaram mil anos sobre o nosso encontro, mas mil anos são pouco ou nada para a estrela do mar."

Para mim,

2007-09-03T17:33:00.000+01:00

o quarto é o espelho da alma.

Estando desarrumado e sujo, como está agora,
demonstra como,
a minha alma vai num turbilhão!

This Week-end I went to Budapest

2007-09-03T17:17:00.000+01:00

Bizitar o Veirão

de Buda nada vi

E de Peste também não.

O Veirão tebe a xilente ideia de
ir a um lago chamado Balaton

O nome não aliciava
Mas o Veirão dizia que seria um FESTOM!

Gajas Voas habia
E lá apanhámos um Bezanom!

Mas o melhor que consegui...

Foi um Cerdo de um Espanhol
a querer agarrar-me o Piton!

E depois lá Boltámos
à cidade que queria ter conhecido
no comboio arroxámos
do Feston bem merecido

Ainda me doi a cabeça.

Innsbruck

2007-08-27T21:43:00.000+01:00

Rabbit Proof Fence

2007-08-27T20:26:00.000+01:00

The Corpse Bride

2007-08-27T20:17:00.001+01:00

Coffee and Cigarettes

2007-08-27T20:04:00.000+01:00

OPEN > READ

2007-08-21T15:39:00.000+01:00

http://www.yhchang.com/A_LUTA_CONTINUA.html

Parece uma piada

2007-08-21T13:45:00.001+01:00

According to the latest estimates from the US Geological Survey, the North Pole region holds about a quarter of the world's oil reserves. As global warming continues to melt polar ice, access to the oil reserves should get easier.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6950517.stm

O que os Olhos não vêem...

2007-08-17T19:05:00.000+01:00

o Coração não sente.

The Danube River!

2007-08-17T18:49:00.000+01:00

Second biggest river in Europe
10 countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.
4 Capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava, Buda -(donau)- Pest and Belgrade.
O Danúbio em Vienna!

Be in the Museums Quartier Virtually!

2007-08-17T18:43:00.000+01:00

http://www.mqw.at/panorama/muqpano02fs.html

Museums Quartie Wien

2007-08-17T18:39:00.000+01:00

http://www.mqw.at/

2007-08-17T18:36:00.000+01:00

Museums Quartier

2007-08-17T18:33:00.000+01:00

Modern Kunst (Culture).
3 Museums
Many Expositions
Bars and Restaurants
Live DJ sets
Shops
Love and relax!

Hundertwasser Haus

2007-08-17T18:10:00.000+01:00

Jacques - Brel NE ME QUITTE PAS - 1959

2007-08-13T12:23:00.001+01:00

Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l'amour sera roi
Où l'amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
D'un ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Routine

2007-08-13T11:49:00.000+01:00

And here I am.

Sitting in an office, 5th week in Wien, full of papers and numbers all around.

9 am, I arrive. "'Morgen!", Hello everyone. Sleepy and still with the brain without thinking other foreign languages, my dreams in portuguese still hang around and it is hard to communicate.
I arrive at my bureau the radio is already on with american and spanish music that I hear 5 to 6 times per day: "Silencio, mi cuerpo es el amor! bla bla bla; Umbrella, under my um-ba-re-lla!" UFFFFFFFFFF! Now I bring my own music and earphones, big ones, to clear any noise arriving to my ears from outside.

10.30am, Coffee and cigarette break.

12.00, Malzeit... in Austrian means something like: "let's eat!". Everyone repeats it to each other and we happily (...) go down to eat the healthy menu with 3 different choices.

1.00pm, work work work until 15, 16, 17 depending on how busy I am... last days have been pretty dizzy.

"Aufwiedersehen! Bis Morgen."

Than I go home, change clothes, either sleep or go for a walk in the city, where I decide to eat out or to bring something home to cook. Though I don't like to cook alone. It's boring and sad.

00.00 or 1.00am, I go to sleep till next day 8am wake up, dress up, take the tram 26 AND the bus 28a or 29a heading to Roche. Usually I walk, when my feet don't hurt (due to my classic shoes that I'm not used to).

Week-ends... randomly organised! That saves my stay here, otherwise I would get crazy.

Napoleon Dynamite-Dance

2007-08-10T09:17:00.002+01:00

Animal Farm

2007-07-31T12:42:00.001+01:00

George Orwell

Jane Birkin - Blow Up

2007-07-31T12:33:00.002+01:00

Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007)

ALMEIDA, Joao

2007-07-30T14:05:00.000+01:00

Eu Eu Eu in Österreich!

2007-07-30T13:58:00.000+01:00

E que SAUDADES de Lisboa!!!

2007-07-30T13:47:00.000+01:00

29.07.2007 Sunday

2007-07-30T13:38:00.000+01:00

Today I went to Kahlenberg, a mountain near Vienna.

From up I could see the whole city, the Donau River - the old and the new - the Schönbrun palace and the Belvedere palace.

Who brought me upthere was Philipp, he was in erasmus 2 years ago in Lisbon.

2007-07-30T12:17:00.000+01:00

Esta vou vou ter que contar e vai ser em portugues (estou num teclado sem pontucao portuguesa como podem ver... no trabalho há tempos que pouco se faz).
Um anúncio que vi ontem no cinema ao ar livre (Kino Unter Sternen/Cinema debaixo de estrelas), num lugar muito porreiro que ainda hei de descobrironde fica. Foi a Mafalda que me levou, com um amigo austríaco, um pequenote que fala semi-portugues pois está a aprender na universidade.
E passa-se da seguinte forma:
Comec'a com um tipo a danc'ar no meio de garotas muito bonitas (situac'ao à qual até tirei uma foto) numa discoteca.

Ele danc'a assim, como diriam as avós, todo modernac'o a sacudir o corpo. As miúdas ficam loucas e ele continua ali a abanar-se. Os amigos tristonhos e ciúmentos, com uma bebida na mao encostados ao bar, perguntam-se: "Mas onde é que ele aprendeu a danc'ar assim?". A imagem muda e aparece o mesmo tipo, num outro cenário, a fazer os mmesmos movimentos que fatia na discoteca, mas desta vez num eléctrico das linhas de Viena (Wiener Linien), agarrado às pegas superiores.
O anúncio publicita as linhas vienenses de transportes.

Wiener Linien,
Die Stadt gehört Dir
(A cidade pertence-lhe)

Genial. Genial porque é também uma autocrítica pois os transportes de Viena sao conhecidos pela dificuldade que uma pessoa tem em ficar estável e de pé dentro dos autocarros, eléctricos e U-Bahn (Metro).

Agora vou ter com a Mafalda, tive sorte de ela ainda estar em Viena depois do ano de erasmus.

19.07.2007
(escrito desde o tram 26 até Floridsdorf e daí até Stephansplatz - aliás deve-se ver pela bonita letra que ficou escrita no meu caderno)

911 Loose Change (full-length)

2007-07-30T12:09:00.000+01:00

http://www.loosechange911.com/
The central premise of Loose Change is that the United States Government was, at the very least, criminally negligent in allowing the attacks of September 11th, 2001 to occur.

The third man (Der dritte Mann)

2007-07-30T11:59:00.000+01:00

Vienna in Black and White

2.3. Concluding, how would you describe the shape of the present worldorder? Please argue and justify.

2007-07-30T11:48:00.000+01:00

As stated before, the shape of the present world order is dominated by the USA. Thereare also other countries that have an influence over world politics through their largeand developed economies or its military power. Countries like China, Russia, India orBrazil have an important role in deciding world politics.There may be a global constitutionalism, as difficult as it may seen, something thatthe UN brought up with treaties such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,but there are world blocks still departing hope of a global understanding: The western world, headed by the US, including Europe, Japan, Australia, followed by all theperipheral countries that through ancient colonialism or economics influence areunder this block’s dominance; And than the rest of the world states (such as China orRussia) with maybe some outsiders that will have no other option than including themselves in a tendency or forming a power block (the example of Iran-Venezuela).States in regions like the middle-east or vast areas in Africa will be just battlefields ofthe big blocks enterprises or even armies trying to reach their resources and thesestates do not have a say unless they bargain at the world scene standing on theirvaluable resources. With the appearance of new sources of energy such as the ‘Bio-Diesel’, regions such as South America (mainly Brazil) and Africa will be morepreponderant on the world stage.Nevertheless the USA is the powerful world hegemony as the UN, WTO, BrettonWoods financial institutions influence prove it, the English that I am writing in thesepaper or the cultural influence all over the world are also a confirmation of the presentworld order.These peripheral powers such as China, India, Russia and Brazil need however a bigeffort to get to the place of the US, and this evidence is understandable by justcomparing each of these countries per capita GDP with the American one.

From: Joao Almeida
Proseminar: Internationale Organisationen und Globaler Konstitutionalismus
Prof. Karolina Milewicz
Essay II
Summer Semester 2006/2007Institut für Politikwissenschaft, UNIBE

Wendy

2007-07-26T01:07:00.001+01:00

mini libi

Eu e Wien

2007-07-24T00:05:00.001+01:00

Wien

2007-07-24T00:03:00.001+01:00

2007-07-23T21:09:00.000+01:00

podres estavam os pêssegos esquecidos. A mensagem chegou da forma mais cruel

"Viennetas" - Vienners

2007-07-22T00:46:00.000+01:00

Café Central

2007-07-22T00:42:00.000+01:00

Aqui, como em Portugal, também há um café central. Este aqui em cima. A única diferença são os estilos de construção...

My first work day

2007-07-22T00:20:00.000+01:00

I woke up.
First day of work.
I woke up and the furry guy next to me was still sleeping. After my shower I was successful dressing a tie... Where was daddy?!
Vienna is heating and hitting the 40ºC the last days. I walked to the company and I arrived sweating, at 9am! It's impossibly hot.

I'm working on the same office with a Bosnian original intern. She is ok. Muslim and doesn't eat pig... big deal. Who cares? Her family came to Austria when she was 6yo due to the war on the country.

I worked until 5pm and rushed to the Supermarket. I had to but basic stuff like dishes, forks, knifes, towel, soap...
It's nice to see that, when wearing a suit, people treat you better. Not that I agree with that, but it's just the way it works. When you get off the Supermarket the people there have to check your backpack or bags to see if you are stealing something, while me, important business man hanging around the store with a busy look, nobody would doubt and they don't ask me to show anything... The capitalist system!

Then, under those 40ºc, I decide to go home walking, instead of taking tram 26. I didn't have water, house was still far and I looked like I was standing under pouring rain.

When I finally get home, I headed to the smelly, dirty, disgusting kitchen where a Pakistan woman (my residence is full of Pakistan people) was cooking. She is nice, studying also her PhD in physics, and we keep talking until her husband shows up, she gets quiet and nobody speaks until they finish eating and going to the room.

WienerLinien

2007-07-21T02:08:00.000+01:00

1st day in Vienna, 16/07/2007

2007-07-20T00:01:00.000+01:00

I woke up in Bern at 5.30 am. While the light of the sun was coming up, I fancily dressed up for my first work day at Roche Diagnostics in Vienna. I wore my dark blue suit, without tie, and headed to Bahnhoff Bern running, pulling my heavy green luggage. With my special precision that leaves not more and not less time to think, I hop on to the last train possible to arrive on time to my plane in Zürich.
I was feeling someone important, as if I really have something to say and to add to the world, shoulder to shoulder with all those business-suited Germans running around chasing planes, taking off on their flying laptops.
As a good student without money and wanting to carry everything from momma's house, I had extra weight. Though once more I was lucky, and I'm usually lucky in these kind of situations. At the Zurich Airport the Check-In woman was Portuguese, and as Portuguese help Portuguese abroad, she was kind enough to let me pass with SOME extra kilos.

Arrived at Wien Airport I sense of hearing my name over the speakers: "Mr. Almäääyyyda to the reception desk!" As I was not sure I just continued to wait for my luggage on the rolling path. As I leave the passengers area I right-away spot what was expected: a man holding a sign named Roche, and I head towards him. He asks me if I prefer to sit in the front or in the back of that Dark E-Class Mercedes, where do you think I seated?!
He was a nice guy, born in Switzerland due to the Jews persecution in Austria that came back to Austria in 1952 with his parents. On the way to my students house he tells me about Wien, Austria, Switzerland, 2nd World War, Traffic jams in Wien, his retirement and his dogs... A bit of everything in 20 minutes.

We get to our destination Donaufelderstrasse 54, XXI distrisct, a students' house that I still didn't understand the name, where I just had time to check-in and leave my luggage in the room that I'm going to share the next 2 weeks with a Pakistan student. I hope he is nice... 'Till now he's ok, the only problem is that while I'm writing this words he listens to this kind of Indian Music straight from Bollywood (though, you know, Pakistan hates India). From August on I'll stay in my own private room.

Mr. Fritz takes me to the headquarters of Roche Austria some 5 min by car from my house, 15 min walking. I get in in this big building in the periphery of Wien, present myself and the desk woman working there asks me to sit and wait for this certain Human Resources woman. A 45-50 year old woman secretary, german looks, ugly (as if I was really in a REX the police dog series) of the head of human of resources, Mr. Glocker. She takes me to him, still discovering if I would speak German or English, but I preferred to play it safely... English. We sign a contract, he gives me some information, an identification card and asks another woman that I still need to remember the name (same description as above) to take me to the 4th floor to the BigBoss.

Ok... now this Indian music is really pissing me off.

Mr. BigBoss is a nice guy. Solarium over-sun tuned, smiling all the time and very gentle with me. We talked in English about something that I didn't understand but that I always said yes with the head and smiling back. He has this strange office vocabulary that I hate.
Ok... Nevertheless we go eating at the company's mensa. I would love to say that I loved, but I didn't. It's a sad canteen... Everybody eats his plate - that it costs around 1,50€ "with water free of charge but if I want some soda I can just get it and pay more", explained me Mrs. I-don't-remember-the-name. They talk with this strange Austrian accent that leaves me no space to understand and I wait for someone to look at me and speak in English. Still I preferred if they didn't, in these kind of situations I prefer to be quiet.

I am working with another intern. A Bosnian origin girl living in Austria since she was 6 years old. I don't know how to spell her name and even if I knew I would have had forgotten by now. Ok, we spoke a bit after lunch... and today was a special day lunch told me Mrs. I-don't-remember-the-name-and-I-will-never-do, as it was very hot, the people there offered ice-creams to everyone working... and everyone was so happy. I just don't know what to think about it, but I know if I do, something bad comes up into my mind. Mrs. I-don't-remember-the-name tries, in 10 minutes, to explain me what was my way back home, certainly trying to lose as much of the time as she could and then tells me that she was going to show me where could I smoke. She calls other 2 please-don't-present-me secretaries/assistants (I don't know) and we all go to a box shaped structure, with a air-soaking technology to those who smoke... something awful that I have to take a picture to.
Then they give me a computer, a personal one, with my name on it also (waw!). An e-mail address, everything that I need. And then he tells me to go home. And I go.

In the afternoon I was hanging around at the city centre and when I get home around 19.00... I just fell asleep until 2 am. Now I'll sleep 5 more hours, next to this curry smelly guy.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
João Almeida
Berufspratikant
Roche Diagnostics GmbH

1st Post

2007-07-19T23:53:00.000+01:00

My two months experience in Vienna.
I'll try to be assiduous in trying to write the most frequent as possible.
I'm writing in English so that my international contacts network (eheh) would get also to it. Though, whenever I'm tired, or some expressions are just not what I mean in English, I'll do it in Portuguese or even German...
My first day in Wien was the 16th of July, coming from Switzerland, and my last will be mid of September.
Keep up to date with my new posts!

No more Che Guevaras

2007-05-06T17:29:00.000+01:00

Maybe the world awaits a new Che Guevara. Someone who brings ideology and sense of meaning.
Still young people nowadays, 40 years after his death, bring red flags and t-shirts of what is not more than an image, a somewhat lost sense of what is reality and ideology. People tend to hang on pending heroes that only deliever not more than Stoicism camuflated in political parties and moribund dedication merged with weak determination.

It's hard to be ideological nowadays. Nobody, no group, would be powerful enough to opposite lobbies and interests. The econmy, the "invisible hand" controls governments and politicians, and the anarchy present in our world leaves no space for heroes.

Though, hope never dies. Some influential players such as Nobel Prize winners, common people, interest groups, institutions and even few politicians - among others - struggle to build a better and fairer world, although having little relevant outcome.

In some cases like the ongoing Darfur crisis, the Kosovo, East-Timor (and all the UN-peacekeeping forces involved), etc... where there's a good outcome to those who want to "help", makes that a resolution is quested, with the usual interests on it's pocket.
Let's keep it real. There are no saints, there are no really worried actors that sacrifice themselves in the name of others.

And a good example of this is the nowadays so famous: environmental problems. When it was only harming those with no real power on the international scene, nothing was undertaken, few countries were worried. From one moment to another, it came out to be, especially in this year 2007, the worlds biggest problem. When arrived into a certain point that, nothing really done onwards, the costs of paying this misapprehension would be so high that rich countries would not be willing to pay.

This is Game Theory, these are the rational actors. Each one of us, when looking and worried only about his or hers innerself, acts in a singular way, and this can be multiplied to a global scale. Problem levelling doesn't change just because we are thinking as a group, as a governance, as a country, as an organisation. The (almost impossible) solution would be to bring humanity to decision makers and those who have the power and influence, to make them see that the human kind should not be envious and self-centred. All-in-all, reality tells us that if you want justice, it's not through the good way, or your by your own that you can achieve your objectives. Sorry, but don't wait for someone who brings back ideology, there will be no more Che Guevaras.

First Post

2007-05-06T17:21:00.000+01:00

May 6th. The blog is formed while one of the biggest and more important world countries choses it's next president. France decides, others stand aside and look.

Anarchic: "with no rules or principles to give order; lawless, in disorder, in turmoil, chaotic, turbulent, mutinous, rebellious" (source: Dictionary, Apple).

The Group of Eight (G8) - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and USA - united for it's interest and common character of being rich, meet time to time to decide most of the world's future. Just because, all by themselves, represent 65% of the world economy.

Democracy is far from being perfect, but it was the best we could achieve. As so, it's implementation should be really pursued.
In an utopic perfect democracy, some countries should have a wider voting population. Rich countries' voters not only decide their region's rules, but they reach distant places in Africa or Asia.

We have to pay attention to this. We cannot be fooled and walk around with our eyes closed.
Some international organisations do this work for us, but the problem is that everything has an interest, no country or government is desinterested as each one of them are rational actors hunting a higher welfare.

Casa velha

2007-04-05T02:24:00.000+01:00

Um não lugar

2007-04-05T02:20:00.000+01:00

Parrrri

2007-04-05T02:11:00.000+01:00

Atenção

2007-04-05T02:04:00.000+01:00

A religião prejudica a sua saúde e a dos que o rodeiam, porfavor não comece.

PC

2006-12-23T03:37:00.000Z

Se foi apenas um momento de luz, como a explosão de uma estrela, então não vai encontrar nada quando voltar. Mas terá visto uma explosão de luz. E só isto já valeu a pena.

Quantas capitais há no mundo!

2006-12-18T23:51:00.000Z

Afghanistan - Kabul
Albania - Tirane
Algeria - Algiers
Andorra - Andorra la Vella
Angola - Luanda
Antigua and Barbuda - Saint John's
Argentina - Buenos Aires
Armenia - Yerevan
Australia - Canberra
Austria - Vienna
Azerbaijan - Baku
The Bahamas - Nassau
Bahrain - Manama
Bangladesh - Dhaka
Barbados - Bridgetown
Belarus - Minsk
Belgium - Brussels
Belize - Belmopan
Benin - Porto-Novo
Bhutan - Thimphu
Bolivia - La Paz (administrative) Sucre (judicial)
Bosnia and Herzegovina - Sarajevo
Botswana - Gaborone
Brazil - Brasilia
Brunei - Bandar Seri Begawan
Bulgaria - Sofia
Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou
Burundi - Bujumbura
Cambodia - Phnom Penh
Cameroon - Yaounde
Canada - Ottawa
Cape Verde - Praia
Central African Republic - Bangui
Chad - N'Djamena
Chile - Santiago
China - Beijing
Colombia - Bogota
Comoros - Moroni
Congo, Republic of the - Brazzaville
Congo, Democratic Republic of the - Kinshasa
Costa Rica - San Jose
Cote d'Ivoire - Yamoussoukro (official) Abidjan (de facto)
Croatia - Zagreb
Cuba - Havana
Cyprus - Nicosia
Czech Republic - Prague
Denmark - Copenhagen
Djibouti - Djibouti
Dominica - Roseau
Dominican Republic - Santo Domingo
East Timor - Dili
Ecuador - Quito
Egypt - Cairo
El Salvador - San Salvador
Equatorial Guinea - Malabo
Eritrea - Asmara
Estonia - Tallinn
Ethiopia - Addis Ababa
Fiji - Suva
Finland - Helsinki
France - Paris
Gabon - Libreville
The Gambia - Banjul
Georgia - Tbilisi
Germany - Berlin
Ghana - Accra
Greece - Athens
Grenada - Saint George's
Guatemala - Guatemala City
Guinea - Conakry
Guinea-Bissau - Bissau
Guyana - Georgetown
Haiti - Port-au-Prince
Honduras - Tegucigalpa
Hungary - Budapest
Iceland - Reykjavik
India - New Delhi
Indonesia - Jakarta
Iran - Tehran
Iraq - Baghdad
Ireland - Dublin
Israel - Jerusalem
Italy - Rome
Jamaica - Kingston
Japan - Tokyo
Jordan - Amman
Kazakhstan - Astana
Kenya - Nairobi
Kiribati - Tarawa
Korea, North - Pyongyang
Korea, South - Seoul
Kuwait - Kuwait City
Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek
Laos - Vientiane
Latvia - Riga
Lebanon - Beirut
Lesotho - Maseru
Liberia - Monrovia
Libya - Tripoli
Liechtenstein - Vaduz
Lithuania - Vilnius
Luxembourg - Luxembourg
Macedonia - Skopje
Madagascar - Antananarivo
Malawi - Lilongwe
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
Maldives - Male
Mali - Bamako
Malta - Valletta
Marshall Islands - Majuro
Mauritania - Nouakchott
Mauritius - Port Louis
Mexico - Mexico City
Federated States of Micronesia - Palikir
Moldova - Chisinau
Monaco - Monaco
Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar
Montenegro - Podgorica
Morocco - Rabat
Mozambique - Maputo
Myanmar (Burma) - Rangoon but moving to Pyinmana
Namibia - Windhoek
Nauru - no official capital; government offices in Yaren District
Nepal - Kathmandu
Netherlands - Amsterdam
New Zealand - Wellington
Nicaragua - Managua
Niger - Niamey
Nigeria - Abuja
Norway - Oslo
Oman - Muscat
Pakistan - Islamabad
Palau - Koror
Panama - Panama City
Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby
Paraguay - Asuncion
Peru - Lima
Philippines - Manila
Poland - Warsaw
Portugal - Lisbon
Qatar - Doha
Romania - Bucharest
Russia - Moscow
Rwanda - Kigali
Saint Kitts and Nevis - Basseterre
Saint Lucia - Castries
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Kingstown
Samoa - Apia
San Marino - San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe - Sao Tome
Saudi Arabia - Riyadh
Senegal - Dakar
Serbia - Belgrade
Seychelles - Victoria
Sierra Leone - Freetown
Singapore - Singapore
Slovakia - Bratislava
Slovenia - Ljubljana
Solomon Islands - Honiara
Somalia - Mogadishu
South Africa - Pretoria (administrative) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judiciary)
Spain - Madrid
Sri Lanka - Colombo
Sudan - Khartoum
Suriname - Paramaribo
Swaziland - Mbabana
Sweden - Stockholm
Switzerland - Bern
Syria - Damascus
Tajikistan - Dushanbe
Tanzania - Dar es Salaam
Thailand - Bangkok
Togo - Lome
Tonga - Nuku'alofa
Trinidad and Tobago - Port-of-Spain
Tunisia - Tunis
Turkey - Ankara
Turkmenistan - Ashgabat
Tuvalu - Funafuti
Uganda - Kampala
Ukraine - Kyiv
United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi
United Kingdom - London
United States - Washington D.C.
Uruguay - Montevideo
Uzbekistan - Tashkent
Vanuatu - Port-Vila
Vatican City (Holy See) - Vatican City
Venezuela - Caracas
Vietnam - Hanoi
Yemen - Sanaa
Zambia - Lusaka
Zimbabwe - Harare

Berna! Outono! Lago de Como!

2006-12-14T01:09:00.000Z

Outono!

2006-12-14T01:07:00.000Z

Berna!

2006-12-14T00:59:00.000Z

2006-12-14T00:07:00.002Z

Todos os males vêm por bem

2006-12-14T00:07:00.001Z

Só o que sonhamos é o que verdadeiramente somos, porque o mais, por estar realizado, pertence ao mundo e a toda a gente.

Mein Mitbewohner

2006-12-14T00:05:00.000Z

Mein neuer Mitbewohner ab Mitte Dezember ist
Herr Joao Almeida. Er studiert für zwei Semester an der Uni Bern
Volkswirtschaft und wird bis Ende Juli 2007 hier sein.

cortei a barba

2006-12-13T01:58:00.000Z

2006-12-13T01:53:00.000Z

qd n penso

2006-12-13T01:49:00.000Z

sinto-me bem onde estou

. Algures . onde . não me sei me encontrar .

2006-12-13T01:25:00.000Z

Quando saberei o que quero? quando saberei onde me sinto? bem?! Físico, psicológico, objectivos? qual é o critério? O pior faz bem. O (des)confortável faz bem, espevita, acorda. O querer conhecer também, um pouco. Não tanto pela descoberta, mas pelo encontro. Encontro-me em várias estradas e não sei por qual delas seguir. Nem sequer para onde ir. Nem com quem. Custa mas faz bem. É bom quando se sofre, quando me questiono. Mesmo neste triste chão gelado encontramos a felicidade. Encontrar paredes brancas é sempre bom. Preencher, limpar, pintar e mudar de pareces também, é como mudar de roupa. Ou mesmo comprar nova. à descoberta. Mas onde estarei eu depois? Não quero a solidão, ninguém quer. Não quero sentir que as raízes fracas se arrancam com o vento. Gosto de fazer bem, fazer sentir bem, dar de mim às pessoas, e receber de tudo isto em troca. Não me perguntem prioridades, embora pense que o primeiro passo saiba sempre bem. Embora às vezes quando se recebe o segundo a chegar possa ser recíproco.
Distância, incompreensão.
Ler olhos. descobrir almas. algumas estão escondidas, mas têm sempre o rabo de fora. Ninguém é de pedra. Quero chegar perto... por favor. Posso espreitar?
Diferença é aproximação. Diferença é o que eu sinto e o que me atrai. Diferença que por vezes é mesmo encontro (parecença). Porque o será? Porque o procurei/porque o fiz assim ou por casualidade?
A sorte está destinada? Tenho um fado sortudo? alegremente sortudo digo.
A Saudade acalma-me a inexistência de familiaridade, contudo também me agarra, mas só(?) faltam os dedos das mãos. Persistentes e nervosos.
Sinto a estranheza da volta. A dúvida do ter a resposta à pergunta, mas que não quero descobrir. Quero que seja leve, gradual, natural. Mas por agora só quero é ficar onde os meus sonhos estão. Se me lembrar amanhã digo por onde andei. Os sonhos são dicas/sinais para la giornata, ogni volta che ci alziamo.

noite

2006-12-12T03:13:00.000Z

ALI ZARRIN

2006-12-12T03:09:00.000Z

Made You Mine, America

No more apologizing
for my lifestyle
the inadequacy
of not being
normal wage-earner
not saluting punch-clocks
or office protocol

rejecting eight-days-a-week
twelve-hour-work-day
three part-time jobs
layoffs and buy-outs
abandonment of towns and their people
three generations of arthritic arms
carpal-tunneled hands
and cancerous lungs

borrowed living on freeways
of maxed-out credit
lines and late payments--
the nightmare
of usury
America
in the poems of Walt Whitman
Langston Hughes
Allen Ginsberg
the songs of Woody Guthrie
and Joan Baez
I made you mine
by
rushing to you
at night and daybreak
by air and water--
on the land
getting a social security number
in the year nineteen hundred seventy
working the grave
yard shift for ITT
a teenager four levels below the ground
a cashier in a three by eight booth
under the Denver Hilton Hotel
sheltering derelicts
who slept on beds
of cardboard and newspaper
pillows of shoes
my young body luring
late night prostitutes and transvestites
hip to my accent
the midnight thief
pouring mace in my eyes
escaping
up the long ramp

Making friends with the ancient natives
the purple gray afternoon
in the mud house of a Taos poet
reading poems
as the rain leaking from the roof
beat a tin pail
and feeling at home
when stars over the Rockies'
tumultuous night sky
swallowed me

Driving a Yellow Cab
in Five Points the night
a driver was stabbed seventy times
and beheaded in an alley

passing through barbed wires
and waiting for hours in the INS lobbies
facing grouchy secretaries
overwhelmed by the languages
they can't speak and accents
they can't enjoy
becoming naturalized
in the year of bicentennial celebration

the migration of my parents
to your welfare state
of millions living
in tenement housing
reeking with the smell of urine
and cheap liquor

traveling
the US of A
as large as Whitman's green mind
white beard and red heart
from the Deadman's Pass rest area
on the old Oregon Trail
to the Scenic Overlook at Dixie line Maryland
from White Spot--Albuquerque
to Cafe Rose--Arlington
from Gate's Rubber Factory--Denver
to AC Rochester--Flint
from Boulder High School
to the University of Washington

from Mountain Home--Idaho
to Rockford--Illinois
as large as Mark Twain's
laughter and irony
tear-drop by tear-drop
from YMCA's casket-size single rooms
in Brooklyn
Chicago
San Francisco
to Denver's Colonial Hotel
corner of 15th and California
the home of old men
and women subsisting on
three hundred sixty four dollar
social security checks

my sister
marrying a Vietnam war veteran
an orphan of WWII
whose German mother did not reveal
his American soldier father
gave him up for adoption
to Russian parents
who raised him in Venezuela

waiting on
Denver oilmen in the Petroleum Club
nights of jazz at Ilchepultepek
the Larimer of the past
where Arapahoes lived in their
tepees and now sleep
on the sidewalks
with battered lips
and broken heads
going door to door on Madison Ave
Seattle
selling death insurance for American
National
servicing houses of bare minimum--
a TV and a couch
drunken men and women
lonely ailing old African
women making quilts
selling each
for fifty dollars
marrying a teacher
a third generation auto worker
whose parents shared crops
in Caraway, Arkansas
fathering two tender boys
born in America
with their blue and brown eyes
half origins
of Asiatic Caucasianness
substituting
for teachers
babysitting bored Middle School
children
driving them
home in a school bus
teaching your youth
to write English
and speak Persian

loving
your children
daughters
sons
mothers
fathers
grandmothers
and grandfathers

hating your aggression
you aligned yourself with the worst
of my kind
exiled my George Washington--
Dr. Mohammad Mosaddeq--
helped Saddam bomb my birthplace
destroy the school of my childhood
his soldiers swarming the hills of Charzebar
where as a child I hunted
with my grandfather
sold arms to warmongers
who waged battles on grounds
that my great-grandfather made
fifteen pilgrimages on foot
to Karbala

now laying claim
to your Bill of Rights
and Declaration of Independence.

I came to you
not a prince
who had lost his future
throne
not a thief finding
a cover in the multitude
of your metropolis

hiding behind your volumes
of law
not a merchant dreaming of
exploiting
your open markets
not a smuggler
seeking riches overnight
but a green-horn seventeen-year-old
with four hundred dollars
collected
after dad sold his prized Breda
and mom some of her wedding jewelry
with a suitcase of clothes
and books--

Ferdowsi
Baba Taher
Khayyam
Rumi
Hafez
Shakespeare
Nima
Forugh
and a small Koran--
my grandmother's gift
not to conquer
Wall Street
Broadway
or Hollywood
I came to you to study
to learn
and I learned
you can't deny me parenthood
I lost my grandparents
while roaming your streets

travelling across your vast emptiness
you can't turn me down
I gave you my youth
walking and driving Colfax nights long
I came with hate
but now
I love you
America

Boi suíço

2006-12-06T02:24:00.000Z

se estivesse em Portugal era surfista e mandava ali pelos lados de Cascais.

Amanhã, ao fim da tarde

2006-12-06T02:16:00.000Z

junto à ponte.

Palma, Jorge

2006-12-06T02:11:00.001Z

Desta vez vou construir uma cama de espuma
adequada á função de voar
com limpa pára-nuvens
mesmo á altura do teu olhar

Se for preciso umpára-quedas arranjam-se uns milagres em bom estado
prontos a usar
se achares que não valeu a pena,
aí lamento
mas não posso mesmo concordar

O boletim meteorológico anunciou calor
não vou duvidar
faz sentido no meu sistema solar

Um abraço

2006-12-06T02:04:00.000Z

E que bom é o abraço

Pedido

2006-12-06T02:00:00.000Z

Receita de papas de leite?

Por favor

Obrigado

Marley, Bob

2006-12-06T01:55:00.000Z

I dont wanna wait in vain for your love.
From the very first time I rest my eyes on you, girl,
My heart says follow trough.
But I know, now, that Im way down on your line,
But the waitin feel is fine:
So dont treat me like a puppet on a string,
cause I know I have to do my thing.
Dont talk to me as if you think I'm dumb;
I wanna know when youre gonna come, see.

I dont wanna wait in vain for your love;

Cause if summer is here,
I'm still waiting there;
Winter is here,
And Im still waiting there.

Like I said:
Its been three years since Im knockin on your door,
And I still can knock some more:
Ooh girl, ooh girl, is it feasible?
I wanna know now, for I to knock some more.
Ya see, in life I know theres lots of grief,
But your love is my relief:
Tears in my eyes burn - tears in my eyes burn
While Im waiting - while Im waiting for my turn,
See!

Café Turco, Onde Está O Futuro?

2006-12-06T01:41:00.000Z

Uma estação

2006-12-06T01:34:00.000Z

estacionar para partir. estacionado pensa-se no movimento. na estação está a ida, a vinda, a ida já ida, a volta por ir. numa estação estão todos, e eu. numa estação estão anos passados, tempos ventos calores e luz. numa estação estou eu e espero um comboio. na estação. não quero parar. tenho de esperar, pensar e escolher. decidir subir e ir. para deixar de estacionar. ir e não pensar?
quero voar./? quero me agarrrrrrrrar./? ao quê, a quem e porquê? ou será que quero fugir, me despedir e sentir frio? fugir... do que se foge? daquilo que somos. que temos medo. daquilo que temos medo de ser. e de não fazer.

Entschuldigung...

2006-12-06T01:27:00.000Z

By the time you read this lines I'll be gone.

Jo-ão

2006-12-06T01:21:00.000Z

Cor

2006-12-06T01:08:00.000Z

Viktoriarain 6

2006-12-06T01:01:00.000Z

A Tabaco enrolar

2006-12-04T00:31:00.000Z

Cercare de essere migliore...?
Sou melhor? Melhor que quê? Para quem e porquê? O certo depende. De país, região, cidade, grupo ou pessoa. Uma conduta. Para quê? Para haver mais compreensão ou menos problemas? Porque não simplesmente reagir como se sente? Penso que assim não viveríamos periféricos. Se cada um dissesse e fizesse o que sente... Sem interesses, talvez seria melhor. No fundo não pensamos só em nós, pensamos nos outros. E também em nós.
Como seria se...? Porque não ser simplesmente aquilo que se sente? Porquê vestir um fato, um rótulo? Porque é que eu pergunto e simplesmente não o faço? Porque escrevo? e porquê?! Ninguém o sabe, nem eu. Mas alguém o saberá. Alguém? Algo? Both?
Reagimos a impulsos. Concordo. Pelo menos eu sim. Sou o meu melhor amigo, não posso convesar mais com alguém do que o que converso comigo. Estou a conversar comigo agora. E a pô-lo na net. Ou como impulso ou como espera ou como... reserva de valor. Vou fumar um cigarro. I fumatori muoiono prima...
I non fumatori dopo.

Voltar

2006-11-29T00:19:00.000Z

Tornare
Tourner
Volver
Return
Wenden

Lugano

2006-11-26T23:55:00.000Z

Swiss Cantons

2006-11-26T23:45:00.000Z

The twenty-six cantons of Switzerland are the states of the federal state of Switzerland. Historically each canton in the then-confederation was a sovereign state, with its own borders, army, and currency until the current federal structure was established in 1848.

During the sixteenth century, the Swiss Confederation was composed of thirteen self-governed states. These states were called cantons, and there were two different kinds of cantons: the six forest cantons and seven urban cantons. Though they were technically part of the Holy Roman Empire, they had become almost completely independent when the Swiss defeated Emperor Maximillian in 1499.

The six forest cantons were democratic republics, while the seven urban cantons were governed by city councils. However, these city councils were controlled by small oligarchies of wealthy citizens. The urban cantons included Zürich, Bern, and Basel.

Each canton has its own constitution, legislature, government and courts. Most of the cantons' legislatures are unicameral parliaments, their size varying between fifty-eight and two hundred seats. A few legislatures are general assemblies known as Landsgemeinden. The cantonal governments consist of either five or seven members, depending on the canton. For the names of the institutions, see List of legislative and executive councils of the Cantons of Switzerland.

All tasks that do not explicitly fall within the Confederation according to the Swiss Constitution are matters of the cantons. The cantons determine the degree of autonomy of the municipalities, thus this varies greatly. The sizes of the cantons are extremely different: from just 37 to 7,105 square km; the populations vary from 14,900 to 1,244,400.

In cantonal matters, direct democracy in the form of general assemblies (Landsgemeinde) is now confined to the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Glarus. In all other cantons democratic rights are expressed using the ballot box. Since the Canton of Jura split from the Canton of Bern in 1978, no new cantons have been created.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cantons

Lugano

2006-11-26T23:31:00.000Z

Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. The written
language is Italian in almost the entire canton (except the Walser municipality of Bosco Gurin, where it is German).

Capital - Bellinzona
Population (2004) - 319800
Joined Switzerland - 1803
www.TI.ch

Lugano is a city in southeast Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy. The city has a distinctively Italian character.

Lugano lies at the edge of Lake Lugano (Italian: Lago di Lugano or Ceresio), which is situated between the lakes Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como.

www.lugano.ch

Mendrisio Mendrisio is a city in the Southern part of Switzerland, in Canton Ticino.

Mendrisio is the capital of Switzerland's southernmost district, called Mendrisiotto (which roughly comprises all Swiss territory to the South of Lake Lugano).

Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architetturaof the University of Italian speaking Switzerland (USI).

Mendrisio is known in Italian il magnifico borgo (the magnificent town) due to its numerous elegant historical buildings. For two decades the town has had a pioneering role in promoting electric cars. The city's surroundings are the main wine-growing regions in Canton Ticino.

www.mendrisio.ch

To come here...

2006-11-26T23:29:00.000Z

www.easyjet.com
Flight to Basel

SBB Swiss
http://mct.sbb.ch/en/index.htm
Train Basel-Bern

Kulturzentrum Reitschule Bern

2006-11-25T17:27:00.000Z

http://www.reitschule.ch/

Bern

2006-11-25T17:10:00.000Z

Most of Berne's residents speak German, or more specifically, Bernese German, which is a high-Alemannic dialect. The Canton of Berne has a French-speaking part.

Berne also functions as the capital of the Canton of Berne, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.

Illustrious Bernese include the reformer Albrecht von Haller, the poet Albert Bitzius and the painters Hans Fries, Ferdinand Hodler and Paul Klee. The German-born physicist Albert Einstein worked out his theory of relativity while employed as a clerk at the Berne patent office. A culturally important person was Mani Matter, a songwriter performing in Bernese German.

The bear is the city's symbol, although there are only 3 nowadays.

More at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern

2006-11-25T17:04:00.000Z

Tibetto's Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47724444@N00/

Japanese Photo Site
http://www.geocities.jp/shootinglife/

Yuken's Photo Site
http://tsutta.web.fc2.com/

Lago de Como

2006-11-25T16:58:00.000Z

House, Switzerland

2006-11-25T06:44:00.000Z

Tejo River, Lisbon

2006-11-25T06:39:00.000Z

Swiss Mountains in Bern

2006-11-25T06:36:00.000Z

João

2006-11-25T06:34:00.000Z

Bern, October 2006

Portugal

2006-11-25T06:29:00.000Z

Portuguese Republic

The territory which forms the modern Portuguese Republic has witnessed a constant flow of civilizations during the past 3,100 years, since the earlier pre-Roman inhabitants, to the Roman, Germanic, and Moorish peoples who made an imprint on the country's culture, history, language, and ethnic composition. During the 15th and 16th centuries, with its vast transcontinental empire, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers.
Official language: Portuguese.
Capital: Lisbon.
Population: (July 2006 estimate) 10,605,870

die Schweiz, la Suisse, Svizzera, Svizra

2006-11-25T06:19:00.000Z

Switzerland

Federation since 1848.
Switzerland has a strong economy in finance and banking and a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This background allows Switzerland to host various international co-operations and organizations.
4 official languages.
Capital: Bern.
Population: (July 2005 estimate) 7,252,000.

Starting with the world

2006-11-25T06:15:00.000Z

a mansão dos mochileiros

2006-07-19T05:41:00.000+01:00

http://www.hostelsoasis.com/

Quotes

2006-07-19T05:39:00.000+01:00

Guerra Civil Española

"Gracias a la Iglesia española, al Ejército español y a Francisco Franco el ataque comunista contra la España católica se pudo superar".

Eurodiputado polaco Maciej Marian Giertych, de la Liga de las Familias

"Ojalá Fuera la mía la última sangre española que se vertiera en discordias civiles. Ojalá encontrara ya en paz el pueblo español, tan rico en buenas cualidades entrañables, la Patria, el Pan y la Justicia"

José Antonio Primo de Rivera Noviembre de 1936

"Fue en España donde mi generación aprendió que uno puede tener razón y ser derrotado, que la fuerza puede destruir el alma, y que a veces el coraje no obtiene recompensa"

Albert Camus

"Para algunos fue la última gran causa, para otros fue una cruzada. Recuerdo la cruzada, los obispos saludando al modo fascista rodeando generales en la entrada de las iglesias. También recuerdo los cementerios llenos de fusilados de un bando y de otro."

Josep Borrell presidente del Parlamento Europeo, del Partido Socialista Obrero Español.

Federico García Lorca

2006-07-19T05:33:00.000+01:00

"Yo soy español integral y me sería imposible vivir fuera de mis límites geográficos; pero odio al que es español por ser español nada más, yo soy hermano de todos y execro al hombre que se sacrifica por una idea nacionalista, abstracta, por el sólo hecho de que ama a su patria con una venda en los ojos. El chino bueno está más cerca de mí que el español malo. Canto a España y la siento hasta la médula, pero antes que esto soy hombre del mundo y hermano de todos. Desde luego no creo en la frontera política."

Guerra Civil Espanhola

2006-07-19T04:30:00.000+01:00

Há 70 anos, o nosso país vizinho entrou em guerra civil.

Wikipedia
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerra_Civil_Espa%C3%B1ola

Estalló tras un fallido golpe de estado contra el gobierno legítimo de la Segunda República Española y asoló el país entre el 17 de julio de 1936 y el 1 de abril de 1939.

Preámbulo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial puesto que sirvió de campo de pruebas para las potencias del Eje y la Unión Soviética, además de que supuso una confrontación entre las principales ideologías políticas que entonces convivían en Europa y que entrarían en conflicto poco después: el fascismo, la democracia de tradición liberal y los diversos movimientos revolucionarios (socialistas, comunistas, estalinistas y trotskistas, y anarquistas).

Los regímenes fascistas europeos (Alemania e Italia), Portugal e Irlanda apoyaron desde el principio a los militares sublevados (estado fascista, totaliatário)

El gobierno republicano recibió el apoyo de la URSS, único país comunista de Europa.

Las principales potencias democráticas de Europa, Francia (salvo un período inicial en el que vendió aviones y proporcionó pilotos a la República) y Gran Bretaña se mantuvieron oficialmente neutrales

Algunos ven en estas profundas diferencias político-culturales lo que Antonio Machado denominó las dos Españas. En el bando republicano, el apoyo estaba dividido entre los demócratas constitucionales, los nacionalistas periféricos y los revolucionarios. Éste era un apoyo fundamentalmente urbano y secular aunque también rural en regiones como Cataluña, Valencia, País Vasco, Asturias y Andalucía. Por el contrario en el bando nacional, el apoyo era básicamente rural y burgués, más conservador y religioso. Sobre todo fueron aquellas clases más o menos privilegiadas hasta entonces, (burgueses, aristócratas, muchos militares, parte de la jerarquía eclesiástica, terratenientes o pequeños labradores propietarios...) que tras la victoria del Frente Popular veían peligrar su posición o consideraban que la unidad de España estaba en peligro.

El número de víctimas civiles aún se discute pero son muchos los que convienen en afirmar que la cifra se situaría entre 500.000 y 1.000.000 de personas.

Tras la guerra, la represión franquista se cebó con el bando perdedor iniciándose una limpieza de toda esa España Roja y de cualquier elemento relacionado con la República lo que condujo a muchos al exilio o a la muerte. La economía española tardaría décadas en recuperarse.

Los simpatizantes republicanos vieron la guerra como un enfrentamiento entre "tiranía y democracia", o "fascismo y libertad", y muchos jóvenes idealistas de otros países participaron en las Brigadas Internacionales pensando que salvar a la República Española era la causa idealista del momento. Sin embargo, los partidarios de Franco la vieron como una lucha entre las "hordas rojas" (comunistas y anarquistas) y la "civilización cristiana". Pero estas dicotomías son, inevitablemente, simplificaciones: en los dos bandos había ideologías variadas, y muchas veces enfrentadas (por ejemplo anarquistas contra comunistas en uno, falangistas contra monárquicos y carlistas en el otro).

Además de intentar desalentar a la participación anti-fascista de sus ciudadanos en apoyo de la causa republicana, pero pese a estos intentos, muchos franceses e ingleses (Malraux, Orwell, Hemingway, etc..) participaron individualmente como voluntarios en la lucha. Dos temores alimentaban esta política: el triunfo de la revolución en España y una confrontación total en el ámbito europeo.

Las repercusiones políticas y emocionales de la guerra trascendieron de lo que es un conflicto nacional ya que, por muchos otros países, la guerra civil española fue vista como parte de un conflicto internacional que se libraba entre la religión y el ateísmo, la revolución y el fascismo. Para la URSS, Alemania e Italia, España fue terreno de prueba de nuevos métodos de guerra aérea y de carros de combate. Para Gran Bretaña y Francia, el conflicto representó una nueva amenaza al equilibrio internacional que trataban dificultosamente de preservar, el cual se derrumbó en 1939 (pocos meses después del fin de la guerra española) con la Segunda Guerra Mundial. El pacto de Alemania con la Unión Soviética supuso el fin del interés de ésta en mantener su presión revolucionaria en el sur de Europa.

Sin duda, la consecuencia más funesta fue el terror, la represión y el empobrecimiento material e intelectual del país. Hubo ejecuciones sumarias, miles de represaliados y un sentimiento de resentimiento entre los perdedores y de impunidad para con los vencedores que aún dura hasta nuestros días.

En cuanto a la política exterior, la GCE supuso el aislamiento de España y la retirada de embajadores de casi todo el mundo. Solo unos pocos países mantuvieron relaciones diplomáticas con España desde el final de la II Guerra Mundial hasta el inicio de la Guerra Fría. A partir de los años 50, las relaciones internacionales españolas pasan a ser casi normales, salvo con los países del Bloque Soviético.

Con la llegada, a partir de la muerte de Franco, de la democracia, el bando perdedor se sintió reivindicado, ya que el programa de reformas emprendido por el nuevo régimen democrático asumía gran parte del proyecto reformador de la II República y, de forma implícita, suponía una negación de los ideales que habían defendido los vencedores de la guerra civil. Esta nueva situación ha llevado a una continua reescritura de la historia por los simpatizantes de ambos bandos, unos reinterpretando la actuación de los partidos y movimientos de izquierdas y revolucionarios antes de y durante la guerra y para recuperar la memoria de las víctimas de la represión franquista y, otros reinterpretando el levantamiento nacional desde una óptica más acorde con la ideología hoy imperante, minimizando el componente fascista y relativizando el componente católico en favor del componente nacionalista y de orden.
Desgraciadamente, las diversas interpretaciones de la guerra civil se siguen utilizando en la lucha política a principios del siglo XXI, desvirtuando en gran medida la labor de historiadores serios en favor de propagandistas partidarios.

Legión Cóndor

La Legión Cóndor fue el nombre dado a la fuerza de intervención aérea que la Alemania nazi envió en ayuda de las fuerzas del general Franco para luchar en la Guerra Civil Española. Adolf Hitler, canciller alemán, a sugerencia del jefe de la Luftwaffe, Herman Goering y con la intención de probar el arma aérea alemana en una guerra convencional, ofreció a Franco de forma secreta, apoyo aéreo para su ejército terrestre.

Este apoyo consistió tanto en apoyo logístico, transporte de tropas, suministros, etc, como en apoyo en acciones de ataque con aviones de caza y bombarderos, como el famoso bombardeo de Guernica

La intervención alemana en la Guerra Civil permitió mejorar la calidad de sus aparatos y reparar los defectos de su arma aérea, preparándola para la ofensiva mundial que Hitler estaba planeando.

Federico García Lorca

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Garc%C3%ADa_Lorca

En esos momentos políticos alguien le preguntó sobre su preferencia política y él manifestó que se sentía a su vez católico, comunista, anarquista, libertario, tradicionalista y monárquico; de hecho nunca se afilió a ninguna delas fracciones políticas y jamás descriminó o se distanció de ninguno de sus amigos, por ninguna cuestión política, se sentía, como él lo dijo en una entrevista al Sol de Madrid poco antes de su asesinato: íntegramente español.

"Yo soy español integral y me sería imposible vivir fuera de mis límites geográficos; pero odio al que es español por ser español nada más, yo soy hermano de todos y execro al hombre que se sacrifica por una idea nacionalista, abstracta, por el sólo hecho de que ama a su patria con una venda en los ojos. El chino bueno está más cerca de mí que el español malo. Canto a España y la siento hasta la médula, pero antes que esto soy hombre del mundo y hermano de todos. Desde luego no creo en la frontera política."

Posiblemente en la madrugada del 19 de agosto de 1936 (aunque la fecha no se ha podido precisar), Federico García Lorca fue asesinado en el camino que va de Víznar a Alfacar. Había sido detenido unos días antes en la casa de su amigo, el también poeta Luis Rosales, quien obtuvo la promesa de "las autoridades" nacionalistas que sería puesto en libertad "si no existía denuncia en su contra". La orden de ejecución fue dada por el gobernador civil de Granada, José Valdés Guzmán, quien había ordenado al ex diputado de la CEDA, Ramón Ruiz Alonso, la detención del poeta. Valdés contaba con el visto bueno del general Queipo de Llano a quien se consultó sobre qué hacer con Lorca.

Guernica

Guernica is one of the most famous paintings by Pablo Picasso in which the painter condemned the Nazi German bombing of Guernica, Spain on April 26, 1937. The assault was the first ever aerial bombing and it destroyed the city, killing an estimated 1600 people. The huge Cubist[citation needed] mural was produced under a commission by the Spanish Republican government to decorate the Spanish Pavilion at the Paris International Exposition (the 1937 World's Fair in Paris). Picasso said as he worked on the m
ural:
"The Spanish struggle is the fight of reaction against the people, against freedom. My whole life as an artist has been nothing more than a continuous struggle against reaction and the death of art. How could anybody think for a moment that I could be in agreement with reaction and death? ... In the panel on which I am working, which I shall call Guernica, and in all my recent works of art, I clearly express my abhorrence of the military caste which has sunk Spain in an ocean of pain and death."

Today, Guernica is often used to symbolize the destructive impact of all war.

Museu Reina Sofia, Madrid

http://www.hastingsfreetv.org/documents/cnt_repotaje.html

Chardonnay

2006-06-01T03:50:00.000+01:00

Chardonnay
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make a white varietal wine.

It is believed to be named after the village of Chardonnay in the Mâconnais region of France, where Pouilly-Fuissé is currently produced and it is possible that the variety was first bred there. DNA fingerprinting research at the University of California, Davis suggests that Chardonnay has originated as a cross between Pinot and the Croatian Gouais Blanc grape varieties. Gouais Blanc is not popular in its own right and is almost extinct.

Chardonnay is also known by the names Aubaine, Beaunois, Melon Blanc, and, historically Pinot Chardonnay.

Part of the attraction of Chardonnay, for wine makers and lovers alike, is its versatility. In the U.S., it is often made using full malolactic fermentation with some oak handling. Without oak, Chardonnay generally produces a soft wine, often with fruity, minerally flavors. When aged with oak, Chardonnay acquires a smokey, vanilla, caramel, and butter aroma.

In the historic home of Chardonnay, the much cooler climate winemaking region of Chablis, oak treatment of wine has traditionally been unpopular. Malolactic fermentation is not typically used either. This produces a wine with generally more noticeable acidity which focus on minerality and purity. Other regions of Burgundy produce more full bodied styles which have oak and cheese like aromas.

Chardonnay is also an important component in Champagne, and there are some 100% Chardonnay Champagnes, labeled blanc de blancs. It is also used by sparkling wine producers who want to produce a Champagne-like wine.

In 2001, Chardonnay stood eighth-ranked in global planting of grape varieties by area, with an estimated 140,000 hectares, mostly in the United States of America, France, Australia and Italy. Its popularity (and its vapidity, according to some) have caused a backlash from some wine lovers, who declare themselves interested in ABC, or Anything But Chardonnay. This popularity led to a character in the British TV series Footballers' Wives being named Chardonnay.

In Australia and New Zealand, Chardonnay varietal wines are among the most popular white wines. As of 2005, Chardonnay is the most widely planted grape in Australia.

Australia is one of the few locales where Chardonnay is blended to make a still wine. The traditional blending partner there is Sémillon.

Kilimanjaro

2006-05-30T04:59:00.000+01:00

Kilimanjaro is a mountain in northeastern Tanzania. It includes the highest peak in Africa at 5,895 meters. It is a giant stratovolcano, not currently active, with fumaroles that emit gas in the crater on the main summit of Kibo. Scientists concluded in 2003 that molten magma is just 400 meters below the summit crater. Although new activity is not expected, there are fears the volcano may collapse, causing a major eruption similar to Mount St. Helens. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the western breach. Although there is no recorded history of eruptions, local legend speaks of activity around 170 years ago.

The highest point is Uhuru Peak on the volcano Kibo, 5,895 metres. As the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak is one of the Seven Summits. The summit was first reached by the Marangu army scout, Johannes Kinyala Lauwo who climbed it nine times before realising there was a crater. Lauwo served as a guide for the first ascent by nonindigenous climbers, German Hans Meyer and Austrian Ludwig Purtscheller, on October 6, 1889. Two other peaks are also extinct volcanoes: Mawenzi (5,149 metres), the third highest peak in Africa (after Mount Kenya) and Shira (3,962 m). Johannes' Notch is named after Lauwo. In 1989 Lauwo was presented with a house at Ashira Marangu by the West German government in recognition of his role on the Meyer expedition. His relative, Trilas Lauwo (1952- ) was the first Tanzanian woman to reach the summit via the Mweka route in 1972.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilimanjaro

Álvaro de Campos (Fernando Pessoa?)

2006-05-30T04:58:00.000+01:00

Lisbon revisited (1926)

Nada me prende a nada.
Quero cinquenta coisas ao mesmo tempo.
Anseio com uma angústia de fome de carne
O que não sei que seja -
Definidamente pelo indefinido...
Durmo irrequieto, e vivo num sonhar irrequieto
De quem dorme irrequieto, metade a sonhar.

Fecharam-me todas as portas abstractas e necessárias.
Correram cortinas de todas as hipóteses que eu poderia ver da rua.
Não há na travessa achada o número da porta que me deram.

Acordei para a mesma vida para que tinha adormecido.
Até os meus exércitos sonhados sofreram derrota.
Até os meus sonhos se sentiram falsos ao serem sonhados.
Até a vida só desejada me farta - até essa vida...

Compreendo a intervalos desconexos;
Escrevo por lapsos de cansaço;
E um tédio que é até do tédio arroja-me à praia.
Não sei que destino ou futuro compete à minha angústia sem leme;
Não sei que ilhas do sul impossível aguardam-me naufrago;
ou que palmares de literatura me darão ao menos um verso.

Não, não sei isto, nem outra coisa, nem coisa nenhuma...
E, no fundo do meu espírito, onde sonho o que sonhei,
Nos campos últimos da alma, onde memoro sem causa
(E o passado é uma névoa natural de lágrimas falsas),
Nas estradas e atalhos das florestas longínquas
Onde supus o meu ser,
Fogem desmantelados, últimos restos
Da ilusão final,
Os meus exércitos sonhados, derrotados sem ter sido,
As minhas cortes por existir, esfaceladas em Deus.

Outra vez te revejo,
Cidade da minha infãncia pavorosamente perdida...
Cidade triste e alegre, outra vez sonho aqui...

Eu? Mas sou eu o mesmo que aqui vivi, e aqui voltei,
E aqui tornei a voltar, e a voltar.
E aqui de novo tornei a voltar?
Ou somos todos os Eu que estive aqui ou estiveram,
Uma série de contas-entes ligados por um fio-memória,
Uma série de sonhos de mim de alguém de fora de mim?

Outra vez te revejo,
Com o coração mais longínquo, a alma menos minha.

Outra vez te revejo - Lisboa e Tejo e tudo -,
Transeunte inútil de ti e de mim,
Estrangeiro aqui como em toda a parte,
Casual na vida como na alma,
Fantasma a errar em salas de recordações,
Ao ruído dos ratos e das tábuas que rangem
No castelo maldito de ter que viver...

Outra vez te revejo,
Sombra que passa através das sombras, e brilha
Um momento a uma luz fúnebre desconhecida,
E entra na noite como um rastro de barco se perde
Na água que deixa de se ouvir...

Outra vez te revejo,
Mas, ai, a mim não me revejo!
Partiu-se o espelho mágico em que me revia idêntico,
E em cada fragmento fatídico vejo só um bocado de mim -
Um bocado de ti e de mim!...

2006-05-30T04:57:00.000+01:00

Sacana... Descobriste

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1954

2006-05-30T04:38:00.000+01:00

The Snows of Kilimanjaro -- Editor's Note:

This short story -- written in 1938 -- reflects several of Hemingway's personal concerns during the 1930s regarding his existence as a writer and his life in general. Hemingway remarked in Green Hills that "politics, women, drink, money and ambition" damage American writers. His fear that his own acquaintances with rich people might harm his integrity as a writer becomes evident in this story. The text in italics also reveals Hemingway's fear of leaving his own work of life unfinished.
In broader terms, The Snows of Kilimanjaro should be viewed as an example of an author of the "Lost Generation", who experienced the world wars and the war in Spain, which led them to question moral and philosophy. Hemingway, in particular, found himself in a moral vacuum when he felt alienated from the church, which was closely affiliated with Franco in Spain, and which he felt obliged to distance himself from. As a result, he came up with his own code of human conduct: a mixture of hedonism and sentimental humanism.
This text was scanned and edited on Feb. 2, 1998 by Stefan Pollklas

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

THE MARVELLOUS THING IS THAT IT’S painless," he said. "That's how you know when it starts."

"Is it really?"

"Absolutely. I'm awfully sorry about the odor though. That must bother you."

"Don't! Please don't."

"Look at them," he said. "Now is it sight or is it scent that brings them like that?"

The cot the man lay on was in the wide shade of a mimosa tree and as he looked out past the shade onto the glare of the plain there were three of the big birds squatted obscenely, while in the sky a dozen more sailed, making quick-moving shadows as they passed.

"They've been there since the day the truck broke down," he said. "Today's the first time any have lit on the ground. I watched the way they sailed very carefully at first in case I ever wanted to use them in a story. That's funny now.""I wish you wouldn't," she said.

"I'm only talking," he said. "It's much easier if I talk. But I don't want to bother you."

"You know it doesn't bother me," she said. "It's that I've gotten so very nervous not being able to do anything. I think we might make it as easy as we can until the plane comes."

"Or until the plane doesn't come."

"Please tell me what I can do. There must be something I can do."

(...)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/heming.html

Ernest Hemingway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. His distinctive writing style is characterized by terse minimalism and understatement and had a significant influence on the development of twentieth century fiction. Hemingway's protagonists are typically stoics, often seen as projections of his own character — men who must show "grace under pressure". Many of his works are considered classics in the canon of American literature.

Hemingway was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, known as "The Lost Generation," a name coined and popularized by Gertrude Stein. He led a turbulent social life, was married four times, and allegedly had various romantic relationships during his lifetime. Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize (1953) for The Old Man and the Sea. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. In 1961, at age 61, he committed suicide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway

Projectar

2006-05-30T03:59:00.000+01:00

Pla.ne.ar transitivo

Fazer o plano de; traçar;
Projectar; tencionar; conjecturar;

Obs. Presente do indicativo: planeio, planeias, planeia, planeamos, planeais, planeiam

Projectar o futuro, planear, pensar em como será ou como queremos que seja.
Fazer projectos e esperar por cumpri-los decidir o dia de amanhã e esperar que ele decida se assim o será. Esperar o inesperado plano, planear no escuro e imprevisível.

Estamos sempre a projectar. Horas, dias, semanas, meses, férias, anos, vidas. E qual o prazer pelo inesperado? Esperamos que tudo se concretize ou adoramos o incerto?

O plano é indicativo mas não quero que ele me dite as regras do jogo. A beleza do nosso destino é o seu desconhecimento. Vivemos sempre à espera do acontecimento novo, da novidade, dessa "inesperança", mais próximos ou mais distantes do que esperávamos, mas é este o jogo, é isto que nos deixa agarrados à vida. A incerteza e a vontade de saber prever o futuro, planeando-o, para depois vermos as curvas e os altos e baixos que se dão.

A expectativa sobre o incerto. Parte integrante da nossa vida.

Agora pensa. Porque projectas o dia de amanhã? Gostas de mandar no futuro? Um senhor do tempo...

Ler... Devagar

2006-05-29T03:22:00.000+01:00

"Contributo ancor più importante è il riuscire a cambiare prima che il mondo noi stessi, o meglio, migliorando noi stessi migliorare il mondo, cercando di essere corretti e sinceri verso le persone che abbiamo vicino." Nicola

"Um contributo ainda maior será conseguir, antes de mudar o mundo, mudarmo-nos a nós mesmos, ou melhor, melhorar o mundo enquanto nos melhoramos, procurando ser correctos e sinceros para com as pessoas ao nosso lado."

Notícia!

2006-05-21T06:55:00.001+01:00

que sacana, heim?

(O que se diz depois de ler o código da vinci)