31 maio, 2015

Espantos #423

Vista de cima e de baixo

30 maio, 2015

29 maio, 2015

Ditto #303

Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other "sins" are invented nonsense.

--Robert Heinlein

26 maio, 2015

Numa sala perto de mim #311

The Judge (2014) tells the story of an acclaimed small town judge at the end of his career accused of murder, which he does not remember. The judge's son, a renowned big town lawyer, would be his only hope were it not for  their strained relationship with unresolved issues for decades. The legal case, the complex family history, and the outstanding performances of Robert Duval and Robert Downey Jr., result in an intense movie packed with a variety of emotions.

Numa sala perto de mim #310

Kingsman: the Secret Service (2014) in the tradition of British action movies where the world is saved by ingenuity, access to technology, and some humor. Ingredients: an older and knowledgeable agent, the training of a new and unlikely one, a thorough elimination process, and a megalomaniac tycoon who can easily control the masses in the pursuit of his unlawful dangerous interests.

25 maio, 2015

Numa sala perto de mim #309

Piku (2015) a Bollywood comedy-drama portraying the tense relationship of an hypochondriac father and his dedicated though work-oriented daughter. Over the course of two hours there are funny moments but also views on as important matters as the overburdening role of some parents, the responsibilities of children, selfish behavior, the role of women in Indian society and marriage.

Primavera #58

The last flowers of the season come in the shape of cones!

23 maio, 2015

Parece que estou a ouvir #205

Happy music
________________

Rachel Goodrich

Oh well I like them clever and I like them dirty
And there ain’t nothing wrong about being pretty
just as long as you keep a steady mind
I mean you got to like your music like old guitars
You know, things like who played what, 
on which album, released in what year?

And I’ve been looking all around for you
Seems to me you’re hard to find, but hey
Well I’ve been looking for you for a life

Oh well I like them tender and I like them tough
Cause you know there’s really nothing like
a man you can rough up from, time to time
Well I can make you small honey put you in my pocket
Travel the world put you out when I want it
A good laugh, that is

And I’ve been looking all around for you
Seems to me you’re hard to find, but hey
Well I’ve been looking for you for a life

You were out there somewhere
Somewhere out there you are
Get yourself into trouble boy
I don't even know you that well
Oh but I can tell, if you’re mine

And I’ve been looking all around for you
Seems to me you’re hard to find, but hey
Well I’ve been looking for you for a life

Yeah And I’ve been looking all around for you
Seems to me you’re hard to find but hey
Well I’ve been looking for you
Yeah I’ve been looking for you
I’ve been looking for you

22 maio, 2015

Primavera #57

End of May and Spring dwindles down on campus...
... the fragrance of the flowers feels stronger though!

19 maio, 2015

Ditto #302

There is a difference between passive goodness and active goodness. The latter is, in my opinion, the giving of one's time and energy in the alleviation of pain and suffering. It entails going out, finding and helping those who are suffering and in danger, and not merely in leading an exemplary life, in a purely passive way of doing no wrong.

--Sir Nicholas Winton, organizer of the rescue of 669 czechoslovak children in 1939
______________

Há uma diferença entre a bondade passiva e a bondade activa. A última consiste, na minha opinião, em doar tempo e energia ao alívio da dor e do sofrimento. Implica pois sair, procurar e ajudar os que se encontram em perigo e que sofrem, em vez de meramente viver uma vida exemplar, de forma passiva sem cometer erros.

--Sir Nicholas Winton, organizador do resgate de 669 crianças checoslovacas em 1939

17 maio, 2015

Numa sala perto de mim # 308


Grande elenco, grande argumento, um filme que vale a pena ver para não julgar à primeira vista e porque a esperança, às vezes, não morre.

16 maio, 2015

Primavera #56

A natureza capricha... tantas vezes!

Primavera #55

Agora são todas verdes, mas nas "Cores de Outono" vão ficar:
amarelas,
vermelhas
e... e não sei bem, mas hei de tirar uma fotografia!

15 maio, 2015

Espantos #422

Early this morning as I walk to the car two things strike me
the dominance of SUVs parked along the curb,
and the immovable rabbit!

Primavera #54

Spring flowers on the last stretch
on the realm of white flowers, the Southern Catalpa's are really impressive
 cardinals seem to agree!

13 maio, 2015

08 maio, 2015

Numa sala perto de mim #307

The Salt of the Earth (2014) is a documentary on the life and work of Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian photographer who has shown the world amazing pictures on as general themes as the indigenous communities of South America, the humanitarian crises generated by forced migration, the work or men and its wonders, the marvels of nature and wild life.

Powerful and moving images, the stories behind them, and details that only the photographer knows and notices but that make each picture so special, each individual so unique, each context so real.

07 maio, 2015

Espantos #422

Lee Miller in Hitler's tub, April 30 1945

The picture is 70 years (and a week!) old and its story is very much worth a note, however brief; thank you The Economist!

05 maio, 2015

Caprichos #362

E para contrariar a veia do fado triste e desgraçado, fica uma imagem de Viana e o optimismo transbordante que lhe corresponde... é mesmo desta que vamos!!

Parece que estou a ouvir #204

Disse-te Adeus
Carminho

Disse-te adeus não me lembro
Em que dia de Setembro
Só sei que era madrugada
A rua estava deserta
E até a lua discreta
Fingiu que não deu por nada

Sorrimos à despedida
Como quem sabe que a vida
É nome que a morte tem
Nunca mais nos encontrámos
E nunca mais perguntámos
Um pelo outro a ninguém

Que memória ou que saudade
Contará toda a verdade
Do que não fomos capazes
Por saudade ou por memória
Eu só sei contar a história
Da falta que tu me fazes

____________

Este é daqueles que termina numa apoteose tão triste que só apetece exclamar "ah fadista!" Quanto mais triste melhor. Almas vencidas, noites perdidas... tudo isto é fado.

Palavras lidas #253

A parte sul do jardim botânico terminava num enorme terraço suspenso sobre a cidade, com uma vista panorâmica completa, o vale ocupado pelos bairros pobres numa rede apertada de ruas e travessas, e as casas, brancas, amarelas, azuis. Lá do alto enxergava-se todo o horizonte, e ao fundo, à direita, para lá das gruas do porto, abria-se o mar. O terraço era delimitado por um murete que lhe chegava à altura do peito e onde um painel de azulejos representava a cidade. Procurou decifrar-lhe a topografia a partir daquele desenho de risco ingénuo: o arco de triunfo da cidade baixa onde arrancavam as três artérias principais, com a arquitectura iluminista da reconstrução subsequente ao terramoto; o centro, com duas grandes praças encostadas uma à outra, à esquerda a rotunda com um pesado monumento de bronze, e depois, para norte, a zona nova com uma arquitectura tipo anos cinquenta e sessenta.

pp. 98-9
___________

Hei de ir ao Jardim Botânico!

04 maio, 2015

Numa sala perto de mim #306

Roar (1981). Words that came to mind after the trailer: crazy, crazy, crazy. After watching the movie: crazy, crazy, crazy! A product of the crazy 1970s, the movie's objective was to call attention to wild animals on the verge of extinction in sub-Saharan Africa. Probably the most dangerous film ever made, Roar took eleven years to complete and it has now been remastered in HD. The movie basks in images of vast landscapes and their inhabiting wildlife, contrasting with humans haphazardly trying to cohabitate with large felines.

03 maio, 2015

Coisas que não mudam #302

Dia da mãe em Portugal e Espanha uma semana antes que nos EUA
(e vemos os doodles alusivos antes dos americanos!)

Espantos #421

A friend sent me this picture from a local coffee shop earlier this morning. Bacon and sausage... who would have thought it Portuguese! I'd still be willing to try it though!

02 maio, 2015

Ditto #301

You can't depend on your judgement when your imagination is out of focus.

--Mark Twain