Palavras lidas #380

Sorrow
by Shara McCallum

There are too many poems on the subject of sorrow.
Why pile one more on this dung heap of sorrow?

Once upon a time always promises wonder. We remember,
too late, the breadcrumb-less woods of sorrow.

You fall asleep nightly rehearsing a lie:
Tomorrow I’ll end it, my love affair with sorrow.

A woman is singing again. Who is she this time?
No matter. Her voice grinds the whetstone of sorrow.

What a choice we’re given: to hold on to the dead
or let them vanish to try to vanquish our sorrow.
I speak my name out loud into my shiny new iPhone.
On the screen, Siri spells it out for me: Sorrow.

Verão #12

Em dia de São Pedro... oh São Pedro, como é que é??!

Coisas que não mudam #453

Coming home

Espantos #546

A perfect sunrise needs some clouds

Um nascer do sol perfeito requer algumas nuvens

Coisas que não mudam #452

Pores-do-sol de verão teem mais impacto num avião especialmente quando a lua não está cheia. Este foi há um ano numa viagem de Edimburgo para Barcelona.

Ficam as primeiras tentativas antes da foto final: na primeira dá para ver claramente que o voo vai na direcção norte sul uma vez que no verão o sol se põe muito mais tarde em latitudes mais altas; a segunda já é uma boa aproximação mas dá para ver que não é ainda o produto final. Uma combinação de sorte (o voo ser  ao final do dia, ir do lado certo do avião) e de paciência (tentar várias posições de zoom que ajustam as cores da área seleccionada)... et voilà!

Verão #11

7.43pm em Espanha 6.43pm em Portugal e Inglaterra...

não dá para entender lá muito bem!

Parece que estou a ouvir #264

Road to Nowhere
The Talking Heads

Well we know where we're going

But we don't know where we've been
And we know what we're knowing
But we can't say what we've seen
And we're not little children
And we know what we want
And the future is certain
Give us time to work it out

Yeah

We're on a road to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride
I'm feeling okay this morning
And you know
We're on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go

We're on a ride to nowhere
Come on inside
Taking that ride to nowhere
We'll take that ride
Maybe you wonder where you are
I don't care
Here is where time is on our side
Take you there, take you there

We're on a road to nowhere
We're on a road to nowhere
We're on a road to nowhere

There's a city in my mind
Come along and take that ride
And it's alright, baby, it's all right
And it's very far away
But it's growing day by day and it's all right
Baby, it's all right
Would you like to come along
You can help me sing the song
And it's all right, baby, it's all right
They can tell you what to do
But they'll make a fool of you
And it's all right, baby, it's all right

There's a city in my mind
Come along and take that ride
And it's alright, baby, it's all right
And it's very far away
But it's growing day by day and it's all right
Baby, it's all right, yeah
Would you like to come along
You can help me sing the song
And it's all right, baby, it's all right
They can tell you what to do
But they'll make a fool of you and it's all right
Baby, it's all right

We're on a road to nowhere
We're on a road to nowhere
We're on a road to nowhere

We're on a road to nowhere

Numa sala perto de mim #378

In Times of Fading Light (2017) shows a pretty somber portrait of the last days of the DDR, in the Autumn of 1989 in East Berlin. The occasion is the 90th birthday of Wihelm Powileit, a staunch communist, who fought for the regime all his life, at times in exile. It's hard to distinguish the traits of old age from the discontent of the ways in which the regime was run in the late 80s. Very clear is the notion that towards the end of a life (in times of fading light, coincidentally, also the season of Autumn) the reckoning of whether the dedication to a cause was worthwhile may not be an easy process.

Numa sala perto de mim #377

Transit (2018) relates the story of refugees en route to escape France amidst the Nazi invasion. Dodging the police and the informants, leaving everything behind, coping with loss, the fear of being caught, the shame of not helping others in need, the despair of waiting in long lines at various consulates for transit or exit visas, and the endless wait for a ship out of this misery, all along having to take very difficult decisions... requires stomach and stamina. 

There are unequivocal parallels with Remarque's The Night in Lisbon, but the story here changes constantly surprising the viewer at every sudden turn. 

Two last notes: 
(1) I liked the ambiguous ending and the closing credits music... very appropriate! 
(2) the movie takes place in a very specific time of history: the Nazi invasion of France started on May 10 of 1940, Paris was bombed on June 3 and occupied on June 14, and the port of Marseille shuts down to traffic shortly after. Yet the movie is shot in the present time... as if everything we see on the screen could be happening right now. And indeed it is...

Parece que estou a ouvir #263

Next to me
Imagine Dragons

Something about the way that you walked into my living room
Casually and confident lookin' at the mess I am
But still you, still you want me
Stress lines and cigarettes, politics and deficits
Late bills and overages, screamin' and hollerin'
But still you, still you want me

Oh, I always let you down
You're shattered on the ground
But still I find you there
Next to me
And oh, stupid things I do
I'm far from good, it's true
But still I find you
Next to me (next to me)

There's something about the way that you always see the pretty view
Overlook the blooded mess, always lookin' effortless
And still you, still you want me
I got no innocence, faith ain't no privilege
I am a deck of cards, vice or a game of hearts
And still you, still you want me

Oh, I always let you down
You're shattered on the ground
But still I find you there
Next to me
And oh, stupid things I do
I'm far from good, it's true
But still I find you
Next to me

So thank you for taking a chance on me
I know it isn't easy
But I hope to be worth it (oh)
So thank you for taking a chance on me
I know it isn't easy
But I hope to be worth it (oh)

Oh, I always let you down (I always let you down)
You're shattered on the ground (shattered on the ground)
But still I find you there
Next to me
And oh, stupid things I do (stupid things I do)
I'm far from good, it's true
But still I find you
Next to me (next to me)

Sem título #99

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Sem comentários

Coisas que não mudam #451

Pope Francis on twitter: A person's dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant, or a refugee. Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity. #WithRefugees

Papa Francisco no twitter: A dignidade da pessoa não depende de ela ser cidadã, migrante ou refugiada. Salvar a vida de quem foge da guerra e da miséria é um ato de humanidade. #WithRefugees

Verão #10

Status quo reestablished... took a while!

De volta ao status quo... demorou!

Numa sala perto de mim #376

The Cakemaker (2017) is mostly a movie about loss and how its felt by different people. 

Thomas is a cakemaker in Berlin who gets involved with Oren, an Israeli man, married and with family in Jerusalem, who visits Berlin frequently for work. Oren dies unexpectedly in an accident shortly after his last trip to Berlin, but Thomas only learns about it a few months later after searching insistently. To cope with the loss, Thomas moves to Jerusalem where he meets Oren's family but keeping his secret and his emotions to himself, while mourning in silence.

Numa sala perto de mim #375

Disobedience (2017) shows the difficulties of deviant behavior in a tightly knit Orthodox Jewish community, where religion is not a choice and goes far beyond the individual. Masterfully acted by Rachel McAdams and Rachel Weisz, the movie does not linger too much on lesbian love (though the sex scene is clearly necessary) but rather on the difficult choices of the three main characters, who face no easy solution to their dilemmas. 

The quality that distinguishes human beings from angels and beasts is our free will. The power to disobey.

Ditto #387

Rather than regret for what I have written, I feel regret for what I shall never be able to read.

--Antonio Tabucchi, Little Misunderstandings of No Importance, Preface

Palavras lidas #379

Em mim foi sempre menor a intensidade das sensações que a intensidade da sensação delas. Sofri sempre mais com a consciência de estar sofrendo que com o sofrimento de que havia consciência.

--Bernardo Soares, Livro do Desassossego (agora online)

Coisas que não mudam #450

Ó meu rico Santo António...

Coisas que não mudam #449

Late afternoon visitor... Rolfie!

Visitante de fim de tarde: Rolfie!

Verão #9

Melhor, mas continua avariado...

Retirado do contexto #246

10 de Junho entre patinhos e exames

No Times de hoje #185

"Anthony Bourdain: the man who ate the world," today on the New York Times Travel section. His passing through Lisbon in 2012, showed me the beautiful music of Dead Combo and so much more.

Retirado do contexto #245

Já diz o ditado: quem não trabuca...

NÃO!

Pedaços de Berlim #3

Para além do muro e do urso, Berlim tem muito que ver.

O imponente edifício do parlamento, que voltou a funcionar como tal

depois da unificação, fica muito perto da Porta de Brandenburgo.

A zona mais histórica da cidade, bombardeada na segunda guerra,

foi reconstruída posteriormente. Destacam-se os edifícios da

Universidade de Humboldt e da catedral de Santo Estêvão.

 Na Praça de Gerdarmenmarkt a Berlin Konzerthaus

e a Catedral Francesa. Nesta zona da cidade, a antiga Berlin-Leste,

os prédios são muito organizados e uniformes e parece

 que nada está fora do lugar. Passemos à antiga Berlim-Oeste:

estas imagens poderiam ser de qualquer cidade moderna no mundo.

É também no antigo lado Oeste que se encontra o edifício da

Filarmónica de Berlim e o memorial do Holocausto.

A realidade da cidade em tempos separada é ainda hoje inescapável,

apesar de o muro ter ido abaixo há mais anos do que os que ficou de pé.

O Checkpoint Charlie continua lá para turista ver, assim como

os vários locais que vendem o muro em pedaços.

Mas Berlim tem também vários edifícios do século XXI

que a comprovam como cidade em constante mudança.

Pedaços de Veneza #5

Veneza não é só água e palácios, tem também ruas e praças

mais

ou menos vazias,

um grande teatro da ópera

que dá para uma pequena praça.

Raro é ver-se vegetação, mas lá se encontra

nos jardins das casas apalaçadas

Onde não é o carro, mas o barco que entra portão adentro.

Mas árvores não são comuns por ali, o que levou vários escritores a dizer

que em Veneza o tempo não passa porque não se veem as estações do ano.

 Para lá das ideias românticas da cidade,

 o que sobressai em Veneza é a decrepitude.