Thursday, September 30, 2010

Monday, September 27, 2010

Five months, five gardens


A Londoner spends the double of his time in the parks of London than a Lisbonian does in Lisbon.

In the historical centre of Tallin alone there are more 23 outdoor cafés than in Lisbon and all its metropolitan area.

The percentage of Swedish executives that wear linen suits is the double of the Portuguese executives.

The Dubliners smile, on average, 2.43 times more a day than the Lisbonians.

On average, the wardrobe of a Madrilenian woman has more 4 mini-skirts than the wardrobe of a Lisbonian woman.

In December, there are 5,000 more cyclists in the streets of Riga than in our avenues.

On average, between December 21st and March 21st a Milanese gets together with his friends after work 7 times more times than a Lisbonian (that same ratio increases from 11 to 1 between March 22nd and June 20th).

The chances of a Lisbonian having, from 5PM onwards on a Sunday, the feeling of acute apathy or slight depression for not being able to get out of his head that Monday is quickly approaching is 9 times higher than the one of a Berliner.

There are 3 times more outdoor concerts per year in Bruxels than in Lisbon.

A teenager from Moscow is 3.5 times more courageous to approach the girl next door that he sees daily when they both walk their dogs than a Lisbonian teenager (knowing that the latter, with the odds on his side and a possibility 7 times lower of rain and 23 times of cold, prefers to find her on Facebook).


Taking into account all these statistical improbabilities that are hard to justify or even to understand, the odds of a festival like the Out Jazz being held in another European city with much less conditions than the ones in Lisbon would be extremely high. The point of publishing these data is not to make fun of ourselves (which is also a healthy exercise) but to promote the events that help enjoy the best of what each city has to offer. And that's the good news. Out Jazz is here. It's five months of continuous activity spread by five different gardens where Jazz (and not only) is(are) a good excuse to relax in the grass, or in one of the puffs just listening to the music. It’s an open invitation to enjoy a melodious afternoon in a green scenery. From May to September, the Out Jazz visits five gardens of Lisbon, with a different band and DJ each Sunday. This post would have made more sense in the last weekend of April than in the last weekend of August but, mea culpa, I only knew about the festival this year (in the middle of its 4th edition). But you still can enjoy one month of Jazz. Today was the last day in Torre de Belém. Next is Tapada das Necessidades and anyone who’s been there will tell you that it’s really worth it. And using the wise words of Cesária Évora that we listened last Sunday in a remix version, if you visit Tapada das Necessidades these next Sundays, from September this year, until May next year, you won’t be feeling “saudade”* just for the good weather. And I’m being serious.

* portuguese word, mean here

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Postcard from the Baltic

Postal do Báltico

Hey man, how’s it going?

I’m not going to lie, Riga is filled with beautiful women, but you don’t catch glimpses such as this one in every corner. Thus the “postcard” title. Baiba has something really special in her and, deep down, she perfectly shows the cosmopolitan idea that the Baltic transmits. Here, most people carry their PCs and MACs around because you can easily find a place with internet access. As you can imagine, for a guy like me, that has to go to Terrugem’s public library when I need to visit a site that is not related with Banking, this is something that I take very personally. On another level, the thing that touched me the most was the natural way of how they look at a foreigner guy that suggests taking their photo. The spontaneity... the trust when they’re approached by a perfect stranger or the ease on how they invite him to a birthday party later that day. That was, no doubt, the thing that touched me the most.

Dinner next Saturday, don’t forget!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Kristine's superman

O super-homem da Kristine
O super-homem da Kristine (2)

you can find (among many other things) acessories like this one...[more or less original, more or less bold...] here

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

Thursday, September 2, 2010