Categories
links and ideas

visual

“Consider a driver on a typical North American highway. The progress of the vehicle is dependent on a series of visual judgements made by the driver concerning the relative speed of other vehicles, and any manoeuvres necessary to complete the journey. At the same time, he or she is bombarded with other information: traffic lights, road signs, turn signals, advertising hoardings, petrol prices, shop signs, local time and temperature and so on. Yet most people consider the process so routine that they play music to keep from getting bored. Even music videos, which saturate the visual field with distractions and come with a soundtrack, now have to be embellished by textual pop-ups. This remarkable ability to absorb and interpret visual information is the basis of industrial society and is becoming even more important in the information age. It is not a natural human attribute but a relatively new learned skill.”

from An Introduction to Visual Culture.

Categories
links and ideas

agenda

* next week there’s brg2005, which is an electronic music and multimedia art festival. it’ll take place right here in braga, inside the new football stadium. check their website for more information on artists, both national & international, and workshops. (and please drop a note on the comments, if you’re considering coming :P)

* this saturday (tomorrow) there’s knitting meetup, again at rota do chá. the place is so perfect, the tea is great, the conversation flows between the needles… we can’t get enough of it, can we girls? :)

from merriam-webster:
eclectic: (e-‘klek-tik, i-) selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles.
it’s becoming a lifestyle. :)

Categories
music

where’s my quartet?

“it’s hard to explain
i don’t like hanging on to reins in my hands all the time
i’m running out of trails
worn paths don’t lead to where i need to get to everytime
she moves in secret ways
and there is grace and poised perfection when she takes the helm
she moves in secret ways”

polly paulusma. (sometimes i wonder where the hell have i been all this time, why didn’t i find about these songs – the ones i love at first sight listening – earlier…)

tiny note to friends: if you’re waiting to get some sort of reply or notice from me, hang on. i’m busy and clumbsy, but i’ll get to everybody. promise. please, please, be patient.

me, by dani. i have a pair of socks just like that. :)

Categories
in portugal just life music

leaving old stories far behind

full days, packed with mixed feelings. catastrophic and explosive, yet too quiet sometimes, as tiredness settles in.
had a couple of great crazy ideas about some photographic issues (i can’t say how much i’m trigger happy these days, too happy for my wallet), but that was about it.
i have more items to clear in my to-do lists than the number i’m shamefully willing to admit.
i’ve lost 4.1 kg (yay! – balanced controled diet, no crazy stuff).

been to some concerts during the week (the students party party week), one of them while raining cats and dogs. magical. today there’s the gift. there’s a thunderstorm somewhat far, over the hills too. sounds cozy. hope so.

tomorrow night there’s titonton at maus hábitos (porto), plus an interview at 97.5 (rum), by 6 o’clock pm. if you’re a fan of Detroit, Metro Area, John Tejada, Recloose,…, stay tuned or/and show up.

Categories
music

in the big rock candy mountains

paula calls it “the hangover song”. i don’t even drink and i love it :) come on, be happy and whistle away!

One evening as the sun went down
and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking
and he said boys I’m not turning
I’m headed for a land that’s far away
beside the crystal fountains
So come with me we’ll go and see
the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
there’s a land that’s fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes
and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty
and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees
and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs
where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth
and the hens lay soft boiled eggs
The farmer’s trees are full of fruit
and the barns are full of hay
Oh, I’m bound to go
where there ain’t no snow
Where the rain don’t fall
and the wind don’t blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
you never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol
come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats
and the railroad bulls are blind
There’s a lake of stew and of whiskey too
You can paddle all around ’em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
the jails are made of tin
And you can walk right out again
as soon as you are in
There ain’t no short handled shovels,
no axes saws or picks
I’m a goin to stay
where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk
that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

I’ll see you all this coming fall
in the Big Rock Candy Mountains

by Harry McClintock