Foi neste dia #371 (2001)

Há 20 anos caiu uma ponte em Entre-os-Rios. Morreram 59 pessoas, 36 das quais nunca foram encontradas. Anos mais tarde, apuraram-se causas: a extracção de areias durante anos provocou a descida do leito do rio que retirou o suporte ao pilar da ponte que acabou por ceder com a forte corrente do rio provocada pelo temporal; o Estado ignorou os avisos de técnicos e mergulhadores que alertaram para a situação da ponte centenária. Todos os técnicos levados a tribunal foram absolvidos e nenhum político foi processado. Não houve culpados directos. O Estado pagou indemnizações às famílias, €50,000 por vítima mais um montante variável entre €10,000 e €20,000 conforme o grau de parentesco.

Palavras lidas #462

Progress
by Julie Cadwallader Staub

I did not just drag and drop.
I did not just haul a burden so heavy
that my hands, arms, and shoulders
gave way
and I had to let it go.

Neither did I just browse.
I did not get on my hands and knees
and join the gentle cows
to slowly sample
whatever the open field had to offer.

Instead, I sat here at my desk
manipulating a mouse
which is not, in fact, a mouse
and I searched
for something on the web
that is not, in fact, a web.

And isn’t this how we move forward:

with horsepower for jet engines
and candlepower for light bulbs
we take what we understand from one era
to describe
what we don’t
in the next.

Ditto #469

Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.

--James Tate 

Parece que estou a ouvir #329

Ironic
by Alanis Morissette

An old man turned 98
He won the lottery and died the next day
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay
It's a death row pardon two minutes too late
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight
And as the plane crashed down, he thought
"Well, isn't this nice?"
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything's okay and everything's going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face

A traffic jam when you're already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
It's meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife
And isn't it ironic, don't you think?
A little too ironic
And, yeah, I really do think

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
And who would've thought, it figures

And, yeah, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out
Helping you out

Caprichos #631

Maçãs assadas e bolo de laranja

Coisas bonitas #57

Fim de tarde, Coventry

Coisas bonitas #56

Fim de tarde, Lisboa

Sem título #159

Ah society...

Primavera #125

Prenúncios. Clicar para ampliar.

Numa sala perto de mim #430

 

News of the World (2020) is an unusual western set in 1870 and tells the story of the unlikely but long lasting encounter of a confederate war captain and a lost 10 year old originally German girl, abducted by the Kiowa at age 4 and living with them ever since. Her only communication language is Kiowa, which the captain does not speak. Tom Hanks's skilled acting carries any movie, but young Helena Zengel with virtually no lines, really places the focus on everything that cannot be expressed in words.

Palavras lidas #461

For a Change
by Connie Wanek

Earth had become a job that required
constant customer support.
Humans didn’t seem to understand
the basics of their service.
Mrs. God suggested a standard message
when people first connected:
The Kingdom of God is within you.
“Honestly I think it gives them
a sense of agency,” she said.

But God thought the problem stemmed
from a confusing owners’ manual.
“Some of these translations are inscrutable,”
he said, paging through the dense instructions.
“What about a series of drawings,
where steps would be illustrated with a
puzzled little angel, sort of like IKEA?
And of course an extensive
FAQ on the website.”

“It’s worth a try,” said Mrs. God. “The most
important thing is that people know
they’re getting accurate information.”
“For a change,” said God.

Ditto #468

The word dysfunction has, I think, served its purpose and now has lost its meaning. Every family, like every person, is imperfect, after all. The idea that there is a Family somewhere who functions is an odd concept. In my youth I was running from my family to try to find out who I was — their influence distracted me. Now I see what a powerful hold they have, no matter what.

--Susan Minot

Coisas bonitas #55

Long-legged cat

Gato perna longa

Sem título #158

Stupidity reason...

Foi neste dia #370 (1904)

From The Writer's Almanac today 17 February 2021:

"It was on this day in 1904 that Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly had its premiere at La Scala Theater in Milan, Italy. The audience hated it so much they hissed and booed. Puccini closed it after one night, revised it, and opened it later the same year. The second time around it was such a hit that there were five encores, and Puccini had to come out in front of the curtain 10 times."

Parece que estou a ouvir #328

Caravan of love
The Housemartins

Are you ready
Are you ready
Are you ready
Are you ready

Are you ready for the time of your life?
It's time to stand up and fight
It's alright
It's alright
Hand in hand we take a caravan to the motherland

One by one we gonna stand up with pride
One that can't be denied
Stand up
Stand up

From the highest mountain, valley low
We'll join together with hearts of gold
Now the children of the world can see
This is a better place for us to be
The place in which we were born
So neglected and torn apart

Every woman every man
Join the caravan of love
(Stand up) stand up
Stand up
Everybody take a stand
Join the caravan of love
(Stand up) stand up
Stand up

I'm your brother
I'm your brother don't you know
She's my sister
She's my sister don't you know


We'll be living in a world of peace
And the day when everyone is free
We'll bring the young and the old
Won't you let your love flow, from your heart

Every woman every man
Join the caravan of love
(Stand up) stand up
Stand up
Every body take a stand
Join the caravan of love
(Stand up) stand up
Stand up

I'm your brother
I'm your brother don't you know
She's my sister
She's my sister don't you know

So are you ready (he's coming)
Are you ready (he's coming)
Are you ready (he's coming)
Are you ready (he's coming on the caravan)

You better get ready (go for it)
You better get ready (go for it)
You better get ready (go for it)
You better get ready

Caprichos #630

Mármore

Coisas que não mudam #563

 Happy New Year of the Ox

Feliz Ano Novo do Boi

Sem título #157

One big mystery...

Palavras lidas #460

Bell Bottoms and Platform Shoes
by Maria Mazziotti Gillan

A friend sends me a picture of herself
from the 70s—bell bottoms, platform shoes
a patterned button down shirt,
hair puffed up from a perm.

I can see the outline of the person she is now
and she reminds me of myself in the 70s—
married for eight years to a man
I knew I loved the moment I saw him,
two children who seem to me exquisitely
beautiful because they look like my husband
and not me.

The picture reminded me of all those evenings
When I dressed in bell bottoms and silky patterned shirts
and shoes with chunky heels. Those evenings
we’d invite friends over for drinks and conversation,
our children asleep upstairs. Those clothes, the perm
I got, because I wanted to be cool, though my hair
was already kinky, so the perm made me look
like I’d stuck my finger in a light socket.

I look at a picture of us from that time—Dennis and I
standing together at the head of the dining room table,
friends seated around us. Dennis’s face is flushed,
his eyes shining. I wonder if he is tipsy.
He is wearing a fitted shirt with little flowers on it.
I am grinning and looking up at him. I might as well be
wearing a neon sign that says I love you.

Looking back at us. I would like to tell
my younger self—look how fortunate you are,
the man you love beside you, your children sleeping
in their safe beds, your friends around you.
Listen, be grateful for the moments
caught in these photographs,
the world full of possibility,
the sky not yet darkened.