To start this post, I have to tell you that my not-so-holy little hometown lost some of its population about 15 years ago. The young people left for the cities in search of better and more job opportunities. They also left because anyone from a village suffers from the stigma of being a villager—or of being from the sticks! As if that were derogatory! But anyway!
So, with no new homes being built, young people leaving, and a high mortality rate among the elderly, the houses were left to their own devices. Until, about three years ago, the situation turned around! Many young couples—and some not-so-young ones—began looking for homes here in my little corner of the world as if they’d discovered a diamond mine—well, not a mine, but perhaps a Midas touch!
That’s when a rush to buy and renovate homes began, while others were rented out. The population has grown; there’s more activity on the streets, more children in school, and local businesses have also benefited from this population increase! It seems they’ve found the Promised Land—well, not quite, but almost—I don’t know where these people are from, but I must tell you that they’re strange and have strange habits! The habits of spies, I’d say without a doubt!
As I was saying, they act like spies—they know everything about their neighbors, while we know nothing about them. I mean, I don’t know anything—I’m just speaking for myself! What’s certain is that this not-so-holy little town of mine, compared to Casablanca during the war, is a huge breeding ground for Asian wasps—ready to sting me with their venom!!!!
One question must be asked: Why has Santana—one of the poorest parishes in the municipality and also one of the farthest from the city—suddenly become a magnet for outsiders, who, unlike those who live here, easily find jobs? So many questions and so few answers—or perhaps I simply don’t want to provide them—but I know very well why my not-so-holy little town has become a star of the real estate market!
As the soundtrack for this post, I chose the band Placebo and their song “Surrounded by Spies,” whose lyrics seem to have been written by someone troubled by the persecution they’re facing. How original! I’d even say that I’m the one surrounded by spies—I don’t tell any lies, I’m just not mentally disturbed. I know full well what truth I’m defending: the impunity that runs rampant in the streets of this not-so-holy little town and the lies they want to impose. Let’s just say the church has been making major investments in Santana!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSOvtmhXuaM&list=RDGMEM6ijAnFTG9nX1G-kbWBUCJA&start_radio=1&rv=oK0Ga2DV54s
Há um crime sem castigo e uma criminosa impune!
Tradução: DeepL.com (free version)
Os mesmos locais, antes e depois do passar dos anos e, como evoluiram! Penso que a evolução é clara, não vos parece? Mas para um post ficar perfeito falta-me a banda sonora. Depois de pensar algum tempo, lembrei-me que a banda sonora adequada e muito actual seria e mais uma vez, uma canção dos Muse: "United States of Eurasia". Já vão perceber porquê!
The same places, before and after the passage of time—and look how they’ve changed! I think the transformation is clear, don’t you agree? But for this post to be perfect, I’m missing the soundtrack. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that the perfect, very timely soundtrack would be—once again—a song by Muse: “United States of Eurasia.” You’ll see why!
Just as I was delighted to witness the transformation of my city, Muse’s song also begins with a dream of a world united as a single country, with all of humanity living in peace and harmony! But we all know that this would be completely impossible—it would be a utopia in stark contrast to the dystopia depicted in George Orwell’s 1984, which served as the inspiration for the lyrics of this song!
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Nesse livro, o que temos são duas super potências em confronto, os EUA em hegemonia e a outra super potência constituída por Europa+Ásia+Médio Oriente. A canção de uma forma poética fala de geopolítica (relações internacionais) e de guerras sem fim e que nem se sabe como e porquê começaram. Isto não vos diz nada, relativamente à nossa actualidade e ao comportamento de Trump?
In this book, we see two superpowers in conflict: the United States, acting as the dominant power, and the other superpower comprising Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The song poetically addresses geopolitics (international relations) and endless wars—wars whose origins and reasons remain unclear. Doesn’t this ring a bell when it comes to our current situation and Trump’s behavior?
A canção termina com o Nocturno de Chopin, ouvindo-se bem lá no fundo crianças, os inocentes, a brincar e duas bombas a partir, uma de cada super potência, deixando-nos a concluir que se trata do fim deste planeta, pois são bombas nucleares que estão a ser usadas. O fim da humanidade e do planeta Terra. Feita a review desta canção, pergunto-vos: para onde acham que a humanidade caminha? Para uma união de países ou para o colapso do planeta?
The song ends with Chopin’s Nocturne, with the faint sound of children—the innocent ones—playing in the background, and two bombs going off, one from each superpower, leading us to conclude that this is the end of the planet, since nuclear bombs are being used. The end of humanity and of planet Earth. Having reviewed this song, I ask you: where do you think humanity is headed? Toward a union of nations or toward the collapse of the planet?
We thus have U.S. hegemony under the leadership of a schizophrenic Trump, indulging his delusions and behaving in ways that are increasingly detached from reality. One moment he threatens to wipe out an entire people overnight, or the next day, as if a severe mental disorder were affecting his way of thinking, feeling, and acting; the next, he changes his mind as if he were a weather vane on a hurricane day! Do you realize where this madman is leading us? Into the chaos of international relations!
That’s why I love looking at these side-by-side photos, where past and present coexist in harmony and peace—and only in this way is progress possible! I don’t know if future generations will be able to do what I’ve done in this post! On June 10, Portugal Day, I hope that Portugal—and its leaders—will decide whose side they’re on! Right now, Portugal’s position is ambiguous!
On the one hand, Portugal stands with the European Union, as it is a member and shows solidarity with its other European partner countries on security matters. On the other hand, it sides with Trump by allowing planes headed to wage war in Iran to use Lages Air Base in the Azores. Whose side are we on, after all? With that madman Trump or with the EU? Go ahead and celebrate Portugal Day’s spinelessness—maybe one day the celebration will look just like the last photo in this post!
P.S.: Portugal has now been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. I’m sorry, but this makes me want to laugh—or cry. What diplomatic clout does Portugal really have? Is this our chance to give Trump the middle finger?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwB9IaYNE70&list=RDGwB9IaYNE70&start_radio=1
Tradução: DeepL.com (free version)
Olá! Bem-vindos! Este lugar onde me encontro chama-se Praia Fluvial dos Olhos da Fervença. Este post é sobre os olhos e a visão das coisas. Por isso acho que o nome deste lugar não poderia ser melhor escolhido. O que vos vou contar nunca foi contado a ninguém, trata-se da história de uns óculos. Não uns óculos quaisquer, mas uns bem especiais, pois eles permitem enxergar o que mais ninguém enxerga. São de aros vermelhos e, apesar, de eu na época não necessitar de óculos para ver, eles têm super poderes. Foram comprados para usar num dos dias mais importantes da História recente do meu país, o Dia 25 de Abril, o dia da Liberdade!
Hello! Welcome! This place where I am is called River Beach of the Eyes of Fervents. This post is about eyes and seeing things. That's why I think the name of this place couldn't be better chosen. What I'm going to tell you has never been told to anyone before. It's the story of a pair of glasses. Not just any glasses, but very special ones, because they allow you to see what no one else can see. They have red frames and, although I didn't need glasses to see at the time, they have superpowers. They were bought to be worn on one of the most important days in my country's recent history, 25th April, Freedom Day!
Nesta foto, teria uns 36-7 anos de idade, não sei bem precisar. Foi uma fase da minha vida - e única - em que usei o cabelo curto. Gostei, mas não repetiria. Estou a desviar-me do tema do post que são estes óculos e não o cabelo, portanto vamos ao que interessa, que é a história destes óculos vermelhos!
In this photo, I would have been around 36-37 years old, I'm not sure exactly. It was a phase in my life - and the only one - when I wore my hair short. I liked it, but I wouldn't do it again. I'm straying from the topic of this post, which is these glasses and not my hair, so let's get down to business, which is the story of these red glasses!
To tell you the story of these glasses, I have to mention a 15th-century Portuguese painting. It is on display at the Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon. It is a treasure of Portuguese painting, consisting of six panels depicting various strata of society at the time, from the clergy to the royal family and knights.
‘Don't reject a science you don't know from the outset’
Alcina Lameiras
Eu ainda vou mais longe, vocês quando estudaram no secundário, tiveram uma disciplina chamada Filosofia. Esta disciplina tinha como objectivo, não só estudar a história do pensamento, mas também tinha como objectivo e, talvez o principal, "ensinar" a pensar, a ter um espírito crítico perante a vida. Devem com certeza lembrar-se que estudaram a Dúvida Metódica de Descartes, e o que é que sgnifica isto?
"É um procedimento racionalista e radical que visa eliminar falsas crenças para encontrar um conhecimento inabalável e seguro, tomando a dúvida como ferramenta e não como um fim!"
Sinto que não consigo guardá-lo.
Está bem dentro de mim e sei que está fora de controlo.»
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQh96d0phbw&list=RDuQh96d0phbw&start_radio=1
Tradução: DeepL.com (free version)