Feist sued by Seven and Eight

Attorneys representing two co-plaintiffs, Seven and Eight, filed suit against singer Leslie Feist (stagename Feist) yesterday in Circuit Court.
The suit comes nearly one year after the release of Feist’s full length album, The Reminder, which graced many music critics’ Best of 2007 lists. Although also a member of Canadian rock band Broken Social Scene , Feist is best known for her highest selling song, “1 2 3 4,” which was featured in an Apple iTunes commercial in the summer of 2007. It is this song that sparked the lawsuit from Seven and Eight, as well as an injunction to stop the song from being played in public places and on the radio.
A representative for Eight told journalists outside the courtroom, “Thanks to this song, anyone who has a radio or television set knows about One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Nine and Ten. What about my client? This is a blatant case of discrimination in order to profit off of some contrived line-verse form.”
The suit cites the Numbers with Disabilities Act, which provides discrimination protection for numbers that are not as divisible or attractive as others.
Neither Seven nor Eight have been shy when it comes to the courts. In 1995, Seven filed a defamation lawsuit against New Line Cinema for its feature film, Se7en, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, claiming that the name as well as the use of the numeral “7” implicated the plaintiff with “gruesome and immoral acts.” The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Seven has attempted similar suits against the Prince song “7” and the television series 7th Heaven. Both were dismissed when the courts ruled “Plaintiff [Seven] failed to produce evidence showing the existence of essential elements of each claim.”
Eight filed a similar suit in 2002 against pop punk singer Avril Lavigne, in the wake of her single, “Sk8er Boi,” which peaked at the #10 spot on the Billboard Top 100 chart. The suit called for back payment of royalties from the song. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Eight, citing that Lavigne’s lack of creativity was no excuse for exploiting innocent numbers. Lavigne was also issued a court order to complete 30 hours of elementary-school spelling lessons.
Given their combined histories and the expertise of their legal teams, it seems the two might combine for a formidable opponent in this new case. Seven and Eight are seeking unknown damages, though legal experts suspect the awards could range from seven to eight figures, out of respect for the plaintiffs.
Feist was not available for comment, nor was Eight, whose attorney said her client was too distraught to discuss the case. “You have to factor in that Two and Four are closely related to my client. Obviously, my client feels ashamed and disgraced to be divided out of such a winning combination when Two and Four are profiting from Ms. Feist’s song.”
Could this winning combination in “1 2 3 4” forever change how we look at the world? Seven thinks so. In a statement to the press, the number said, “It used to be that children learned their A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s in the right order. Now a whole generation of hip and culturally-aware children will question my place in the order of things, if I have a place at all.”
If successful, Seven is primed to shape future policy and attitudes. In fact, the co-plaintiffs have publicly vowed they would put their award money to good use by raising awareness about all numbers, especially the odd ones. “It’s not about the money,” continued Seven in the statement, before quoting the defendant. “’Money can’t buy you back the love that you had then.’”

Fuel Economy Tests on Top Gear

Legal Jokes

What's the difference between a lawyer and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.

What's the difference between a lawyer and a prostitute? A prostitute stops screwing you once you're dead.

PS - Bored to death...

BART vs. MOE

Hugh Jass; Anita Bath; Mike Rouch; Mike Hunt; Heywood Jablome.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Ha gajos com sorte. Mesmo que tenham um nome ridiculo...

Dedicated to all Greeks

I would like to dedicate this great classic to all Greeks around the world. Seems like Zeus was sleeping this time.

PS - Lets hope on Thursday I can do the same to all Germans.

Ideias claras

Cada vez admiro mais Jose Mourinho. Raro e, encontrar alguem que saiba tanto de futebol como ele e que saiba expor as suas ideias de forma clara e racional.

Fala pouco sobre os outros , mas quando o faz, faz bem. Para ver isso basta ler o artigo que hoje publicou no Diario de Noticias.

Mil vezes a sua arrogancia lucida a falsa modestia de tantos.

Depois digam que nao tem piada ser emigra. (Portuguese Idiomatic expressions literally translated to English)

He's like a racing mackerel. [Armar-se em carapau de corrida] The mackerel is not exactly a noble fish. So a racing mackerel - a mackerel who's swimming faster than the others - is a person who thinks he's a big shot but, in fact, is a nobody.

Women and sardines, you want them to be small. [A mulher e a sardinha querem-se da mais pequenina] Apparently, Portuguese men have an appetite for small women, as well as for small sardines.

Head of rotten garlic. [Cabeça d'alho xoxo] A forgetful person. Silly!

Past waters don't power mills. [Àguas passadas não movem moínhos.] Mills are usually located and powered by rivers. The water that has passed the mill will not make it work again. So this means that you shouldn't worry about things of the past.

Dog that barks doesn't bite. [Cão que ladra não morde.] A person who threatens by talking a lot is usually harmless, like the dogs that bark. You can also use it to mean that a person who claims to do a lot usually does very little.

From very small the cucumber is bent. [De pequenino se torce o pepino] This means that character traces or personal skills must be learned from a very young age. This has something to do with the curvature in the cucumber, that is supposed to exist from the cucumber's early age. I think that Portuguese cucumbers are more curved that the American ones...

It's the color of a donkey on the run. [É cor de burro quando foge] You say this of a color you cannot easily describe. Like, your eyes have the color of a donkey on the run. Try not to say this to your loved one...

There's a Moor on the coast... [Há Mouro na costa...] The Moors were the Muslim people from North Africa who lived in the Iberia Peninsula, and they were the archenemies of the catholic Portuguese (and Spanish). They were "a threat" for a number of centuries. This expression, however, has nothing to do with war. On the contrary, it is related to love. You say this when there's a person threatening to invade someone's heart.

From Spain, neither good wind nor good marriage [will come]. [De Espanha, nem bom vento nem bom casamento.] The Spanish (from Castilla and Leon, to be precise) are the other stereotypical enemies of the good people in Portugal. Several times there were battles to either prevent them from invading the kingdom or to kick them out. We won them all and apparently we're friends now, but the echoes of the past can still be heard. East winds (from Spain) bring storms. Likewise, Spanish spouses bring trouble.

This is too much sand for my truck. [É muita areia para a minha camioneta] This is way over my head or this is more than I can handle. I would say this, for example, of quantum mechanics.

Friends friends, business aside. [Amigos amigos, negócios àparte] Don't mix friendship with business. Portuguese have a funny habit of repeating words, in this case "friends, friends". If you know anyone who's Portuguese, I'm sure you've caught him/her in a typical "yes yes" or "no no".

Here they're made, here they're paid. [Cá se fazem, cá se pagam] If you do something wrong you'll pay for it in this lifetime and in the place where you did the wrong thing. The "they" refers to the "bad things".

Tell me with whom you hang around, I'll tell you who you are. [Diz-me com quem andas dir-te-ei quem és] The kind of friends you have tells a lot about the kind of person you are.

I'm in the inks. [Estou-me nas tintas.] I don't give a damn. Actually, I'd like to know where the hell this idiom came from... no clue!

You are here you are eating. [Estás aqui estás a comer] If you don't behave, I'll slap you. "To eat" is literal of "comer", which in Portuguese means both "eat"-as-of-food and being the target of physical attack - "to eat a slap".

Trust the Virgin and don't run... [Fia-te na Virgem e nao corras...] This is a warning in the form of an ironic negative. When someone is in trouble and does nothing to get out of trouble, he/she is trusting that the Virgin [Mary] will come up with a miracle. As opposed to be doing something to get out of trouble. So this warning means that you should do something instead of waiting for a miracle.

Go make a turn / Go see if I am in ther corner of the street / Go outside and see if it´s rainning [Vai dar uma curva; Vai ver se eu estou na esquina; Vai lá fora ver se está a chover] Buzz off!

Today is day NO for me. [Hoje é dia não para mim] This is not a good day, but said in a weird way. As if there are "yes days" (good, positive days) and "no days" (bad, negative days).

You're letting water in... [Estás a meter água...] You don't know what you're talking about or you're making a fool of yourself. This means that you're disgracing yourself, you're letting water in - like a boat that's about to sink.

Monkeys bite me...! [Macacos me mordam...!] You say this when you're intrigued or surprised with something. As if being bitten by a monkey would bring you back to reality.

Bad Mary... [Mau Maria...] This is mostly used when talking to children, when they do something they're not supposed to do. The translation looses a lot of it, because it can't capture the masculine "bad". Yes, it's supposed to be masculine "bad" followed by the female name "Maria", which, of course, is weird.

He doesn't give one for the box. [Não dá uma p'ra caixa.] He doesn't say or do anything right. I have no clue of where "to give [] for the box" comes from.

Don't sand me! [Não me lixes!] "To sand" here means to do a slight harm. So you can also say "Go sand yourself!" ( buzz off! )

God gives nuts to those who don't have teeth... [Dá Deus nozes a quem não tem dentes...] What a waste! You say this of a person who has a wonderful opportunity and doesn't know what to do with it.

You are streching yourself! [Tás-te a esticar...] Means when you are crossing the line with someone and that person warns you about it.

The more the cousin, the more you hit her. [Quanto mais prima mais se lhe arrima] This may be typical of my region only (Beira Alta), because many Portuguese people have told me they never heard this. But I did, many times. "Arrimar" means both to hit someone and to hit on someone. This idiom usually comes when you mention some female cousin of yours, and you're a man. Like "Dorothea is my cousin." And the person you're talking to says back, with a naughty look, "The more the cousin, the more you hit her".

Fish don't pull wagons. [Peixe não puxa carroça] This is not Portuguese at all, it's Brazilian. But I love to say it, because I'm a meat eater. It truly captures the spirit of red meat...

By the yes by the no... [Pelo sim pelo não...] In case of doubt... or just in case...

Rays break me! [Raios me partam!] You say this when you're mad or intrigued about something.

If you don't put a stick on yourself... [Se não te pões a pau...] This is a friendly warning, something like you should watch out or else... "Putting a stick on yourself" captures the bodily movement of standing straight, like a stick.

Donkey's voices don't reach the heavens. [Vozes de burro não chegam aos céus] A "donkey" is dumb person. This idiom means that whatever is being said is stupid and dumb and you don't care, because you're in a much higher level - in heaven, to be precise.

Old donkey doesn't learn languages. [Burro velho não aprende línguas] If a "donkey" is dumb person, an old donkey is even dumber. So he can't learn anything new, like languages. People say this about themselves, as excuse to not wanting to learn something new.

In a house where there's no bread, everyone shouts and no one is right. [Em casa onde não há pão, todos berram e ninguém tem razão] This means that when the essential goods are missing, people get upset, argue with each other for whatever reasons, and no one makes sense. The root of the problem is the lack of those essential goods.

At night all cats are grey. [De noite todos os gatos são pardos] At night, you can't distinguish objects and people too well. It's easy to make mistakes.

There's no beauty without an if. [Não há bela sem senão] There's no such thing as perfection. "if" (senão) is used here as a noun to express the strings attached to any good thing, the conditions without which such beauty can't exist.

Anyone who has an asshole has fear. [Quem tem cu tem medo] It's ok to be afraid - we're all afraid at some point, we're all humans. The interesting thing is the association between having the asshole and being afraid. I guess this refers to the fear of being raped and sodomized. If you didn't have the asshole such act wouldn't be possible!

Poupe, mas por favor de uma olhada ao credito que temos para lhe oferecer

Nao deixa de ser estranho que, no dia 29 de Maio, um jornal como o DN tenha na seccao editorial um artigo sob o titulo É tempo de parar com a festa do consumo e que no mesmo esteja escrito que Estamos a viver acima das nossas possibilidades e o Governo não pode ficar parado. Deve dizer aos portugueses que é tempo de acabar com a festa do consumo excessivo, e começar a voltar a poupar.

1. Quando constantemente se critica o Governo (seja qual for a cor politica) por interferir na esfera privada dos cidadaos, porque e que em alturas de crise se pede que venha educar as pessoas?
2. Curioso que mesmo ao lado do artigo esteja bem a vista um anuncio da Cofidis com um link directo para credito facil.

25 de Abril

Parece que nos dias que correm, assinalar o 25 de Abril e coisa de Comunista ou Sindicalista nostalgico, e mesmo esses ja nao tem muito entusiasmo. Vejo entre os meus amigos, tao ditos democratas, uma certa aversao a este dia historico.

Talvez estejam esquecidos que foi devido a essa viragem que, 11 anos depois, foi possivel aderir a Uniao Europeia. Talvez nao se lembrem ou os tios nao contem, que o pais estava a beira da banca rota. Nunca lhes disseram que afinal Portugal nao tinha assim tanto ouro no banco e que 52% da populacao vivia na miseria sem condicoes de saneamento basico.

Muitos afirmam que tudo continua mal e que foram os comunas que deram cabo disto tudo. Se calhar tambem se esqueceram que o empregozito para a vida com o apoio incondicional do Estado , que tanto mina a nossa economia, foi uma invencao do Estado Novo. Ou que no Ultramar, em vez de negociar uma saida estrategica, o Governo de entao foi para o tudo ou nada da Guerra.

Deixem la de acreditar nas historias dos tios e das tias que ficaram sem meia duzia de metros quadrados de merda de terra. Nao tenho pena nenhuma deles. Uma revolucao tem sempre danos colaterais. E la porque a malta andava uma bocado doida no pos-revolucao nao quer dizer que tudo tenha sido mau. Por fim pensem, mas mesmo imaginem como seria Portugal sem o 25 de Abril, sem Europa, sem uma economia de mercado estavel e sem um sistema social (mais ou menos) solidario.

Conclusao: Olhando para a sociedade portuguesa o que se ve e que as pessoas do que gostam mesmo e de se acomodar quer sejam pro-Estado Novo ou Marxistas-Leninistas. O partido de todos os Portugueses e o Nao me Chateiem e Deixem-me Dormir.

PS - Pena nao ter havido um verdadeiro banho de sangue e gente com vontade de por ideias extremistas em practica em meados da decada de 70. Talvez tivessemos todos acordado e percebido que a Democracia, a Liberdade e o Estado de Direito sao valores que tem de ser preservados activamente, em vez deste torpor contemporaneo.

Ken Lee

Vive la Bulgaria for the female member of the jury

The Classic

378, 378, 378

When I was a boy, I am a big man right now, my favorite thing to spend money on were CD's. I reckon I built up a pretty extensive collection until a couple of years ago when, God bless the Internet, Napster and other download sites showed up, allowing everyone to get the music they wanted without having to pay the outrageous prices imposed by the record companies. I am a liberal and a true believer that capitalism is indeed the right way for an economy but regarding music my roots lie deep with hard core communism.

As a broke teenager, only able to buy one CD per month, I would listen to each album I possessed endlessly until I piled up enough money to go back to the shop. One thing that is true is if you spend long periods of time with the same thing in hands, you get bored and automatically start looking for new details, feeble as they might be, in order to keep it interesting. I reckon I didn't reinvent the wheel since I have spoken to a lot of people with similar opinion, but something told me that what I realized was not only a mere coincidence.

You must be wondering what the hell is he on about and why am I wasting my time reading this. The answer is simple. In every CD I bought tracks 3, 7 and 8 were always the best. Ah, you don't believe me? If you are my age and started to enjoy music in a serious way around 1994, Dookie from Green Day and Smash from Off Spring were milestones difficult to ignore. Taking a close on the line up of both albums and we can see that Basket Case is track 7 and Self Esteem is track 8. That's not all. Vs. from Pearl Jam sure can contain hits like Animal, Daughter and Go but which fan of Pearl Jam is going to deny the status of masterpiece to Rearview Mirror? In other hand try the same exercise with Use your Illusion from the Guns and see the results. Even Nevermind from Nirvana. Come as you are and Live and Let Die are track 3. It is not my intention to present an extensive justification. If you want to see more results just go through your CD collection for a bit and see for yourself.

As a good teenager back there I thought this was some kind of Conspiracy engineered by label companies or a certain sign to be taken into consideration only I never knew very well what to do about it. A little wiser nowadays I came up with the idea of doing a playlist with all tracks 3, 7, 8 of every rock album released in the 90's. haven't finished it yet but so far so (very) good. I definitely recommend it to everyone who loves music and with little to do. The last bit is not my case but when it comes to music there is always time. Till then a classic for all of you...

Reminiscences from 1944 plus a Greek Tragedy (Another)

If tonight Poland had remembered the wise words of George Santayana who stated that "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." perhaps they would have avoided getting screwed by the U.S. once again... Only this time it was a simple football match instead of a war.

When it comes to us I´ve just checked that we lost 2-1. It appears that the results of both matches between Portugal and Greece during the EURO 2004 weren´t exceptions but yet rules.

Spring has arrived! It's snowing?!?

Nunca liguei muito as alteracoes climaticas, mas quando chega a Primavera e ainda tenho de sair de casa de sobretudo, cachecol e luvas comeco a achar que se calhar o Greenpeace tinha razao.

Economically (cow)speaking

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows; you give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRACY: You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away...

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity, and execute the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship them.

IRAQI CORPORATION: Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have one. No-one believes you, so they bomb you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy....

WELSH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The one on the left looks veryattractive.

AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate

A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The Government says you have to buy a licence to milk them, but first you have to do a risk assessment, which only the government Quango is allowed to carry out. They charge you 5 times the cost of doing it. You sell your milk to the supermarket chain that pays you next to nothing for it, and then they sell it to their customers for four times what they paid you. Then they release a press statement about how wonderful they are to support British Cows. The rest of the world thinks your cows are mad but you and your cows know that it is not true. You sell your cows to a Polish Migrant worker and your farm to a Russian 'investment bank' and then you buy a villa by the sea in a country where it is sunny and the milk costs a tenth of the price at home.

The impossible perfect risk model - FT 16/03/08

The essential problem is that our models – both risk models and econometric models – are still too simple to capture the full array of governing variables that drive global economic reality. - Alan Greenspan

UEFA CUP 08

QUARTER FINALS (03 & 10 of April)
Leverkusen - Zenit
Rangers - Sporting CP
Bayern - Getafe
Fiorentina - PSV
SEMI-FINALS (24 of April & 1 of May)
Bayern/Getafe - Leverkusen/Zenit
Rangers/Sporting CP - Fiorentina/PSV
FINAL (Manchester 14 of May)
Bayern/Getafe/Leverkusen/Zenit -
Rangers/Sporting CP/Fiorentina/PSV

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 08

QUARTER FINALS (01/02 April & 08/09 April)

Arsenal - Liverpool

Roma - Man. United

Schalke 04 - Barcelona

Fenerbahce - Chelsea

SEMI-FINALS (22/23 April & 29/20 April)

Arsenal/Liverpool - Fenerbahce/Chelsea

Schalke 04/Barcelona - Roma/Man. United

FINAL (Moscow 21 May)

Arsenal/Liverpool/Fenerbahce/Chelsea -

Schalke 04/Barcelona/Roma/Man. United

R.I.P. DN

A partir de hoje deixarei de ser um leitor assiduo do DN. Ja nao bastava a seccao Cidades onde, desde a algum tempo, e frequente encontrar gordas como "Homem mata tres a paulada e atira-se ao rio" ou "Dona Gertrudes conta que: Isto ja nao e o que era!", titulos dignos de um Correio da Manha ou 24 Horas, para agora ter como cabecalho a relacao de Rogerio Samora e Alexandra Lencastre.

Por vezes sinto saudades da Rua Sesamo e daquela rapariga sem peito, de cabelo encaracolado, que falava animadamente com o Poupas ou com o Ferrao, mas chegar ao ponto da sua vida amorosa ser assunto de primeira pagina de um diario nacional? Da-me vontade de parafrasear alguem por quem tenho um odio de estimacao, mas que, aquando da interrupcao da sua entrevista devido a chegada de Mourinho ao aeroporto de Lisboa, teve uma atitude exemplar ao indignar-se e dizer: Esta tudo doido!

Dartacao

Às vezes lembro-me das tardes de infância. Aquelas em que a avó punha como condição de ver os desenhos animados que os T.P.C. estivessem feitos. Acabava-os com avidez pois desde que tinha acabado de almocar que contava as horas os minutos e os segundos para as quatro e vinte, altura em que o nosso herói saltava de espada na mão para o televisor lá de casa. Sentava-me no chão e durante aquele periodo não desviava o olhar das peripécias do meu amigo Dartacão. Lutava com ele contra o Cardeal Richelieu sofria a tristeza de estar longe de Julieta (Eu nessa altura ja achava piada brincar aos medicos. Sempre fui um gala) e alegrava-me de encontrar os meus amigos Athos Porthos e Aramis. Quando acabava já imaginava como seria a próxima aventura e só queria que as tempo passasse a voar até às quatro e vinte do dia seguinte e enquanto o fazia, lá vinha a voz da avó da cozinha, a chamar para o bem merecido lanche, depois de tantas emocoes. Pão com fiambre e um copo de leite morno adoçado com Suchard Express.

Weeds

O (BLOG DO) PEDRO FAZ FALTA

Sugestoes do chefe

A transicao do modo estudante para o modo trabalhador requer algumas mudancas nos habitos diarios. O levantar cedo aos dias de semana, sem ressaca da quantidade estupida de cerveja da noite anterior, e uma delas. Mas a mais significativa, para mim, foi talvez o ritual de sexta-feira a noite. Vamos a um antes e um depois?

ANTES (Modo estudante):

18H - SUPERMERCADO

- Carrinho de compras:

- Garrafa de vodka Wyborowa

- 2 latas de Red Bull

- 1 litro de sumo de maca/laranja

22H - CASA DO XIK0 (Ele gosta de escrever o nome com k e de por um zero em vez da letra o no fim. E artistico)

- Beber a garrafa de vodka, o Red Bull e o sumo a meias com outro parvo

- Ir a bomba de gasolina comprar mais vodka, ao dobro do preco do supermercado, porque meia garrafa nao e sufciente (a.k.a. ser polaco)

01.30H - DISCO

- LUX (quando o alcool nao puxa para as cabeleireiras do DOCKS)

- Beber Vodka de qualidade duvidosa a 6 euros os 2 cl.

- Pagar bebidas a qualquer rabo de saias que se ria para nos e achar que nos vamos safar.

- Acabar a noite com um patini, levar porrada por ter tentado sacar a loira da noite, ser expulso da discoteca por individuos com o cerebro do tamanho de um amendoim (a escolha do fregues).

06.00H - Roulote

- Comer um hamburger frito em oleo preto ( A ASAE aparentemente nao trabalha de madrugada) que naquela altura sabe a mel.

07.00H - CHEGAR A CASA.

14.00H - SABADO

- Acordar com a maior ressaca do mundo e passar o dia/resto do fim de semana a ser um inutil.

DEPOIS (Modo trabalhador):

20H - SUPERMERCADO
- Carrinho de compras:
- Garrafa de vinho tinto Monte Velho/Periquita

- 1 Queijo de Cabra

- 1 Chourico p/ assar

21H- CASA ou CASA DE AMIGOS (Claro que se inclui a casa do XIko. Aquilo nao e so um antro de porquidao com a Cuca a mistura)

- Beber o vinho, comer o chourico o queijo e outras iguarias afins que os convivas possam ter trazido.

23.30H - CASA DA NAMORADA

- Abracar a namorada giraca, inteligente e seduzida pelo vosso sucesso.

- Practicar o amor durante um par de horas (Exagerado! Hora e tres quartos)

- Dormir

10.30H - SABADO

- Practicar desporto, voltar para casa por volta do meio-dia e levar a namorada a almocar a um restaurante ao pe do mar (Ou rio, ja que estou em Frankfurt).

ou

- Ler um livro numa esplanada, tomar um cafe e levar a namorada a almocar a um restaurante ao pe do mar (Ou rio, ja que estou em Frankfurt).

Nota final - Nao e que a javardeira de ser puto ja nao me seduza. Quem nao sente saudades de uma bela mocada a acabar com os intervenientes a beber mais uma jola no bar e a ficarem grandes amigos? Mas e que as vezes, e por vezes ate vezes a mais, das vezes que queria que acontecesse, comeco a achar, mas mesmo a ficar convencido que, para utilizar uma frase que odeio, ja nao tenho idade para isso!

Sobre ASAE

A polemica nao e de agora, mas li isto num blog e tive vontade de escrever sobre o assunto:

Se eu quiser ir a uma tasca e comer uma alheira com oléo que já foi usado mais dez vezes do que esta gente acha ser indicado, porque é que não hei de poder ir? Ou bolas de berlim que estiveram ao sol tempo de mais? O que é que esta malta tem a ver com isso? Vem mal ao mundo? Prejudico alguém? Cada um escolhe. Para quem este tipo de coisas é muito grave, é simples: Não compram.

Nao percebo esta atitude de ser contra a ASAE. No fundo o que faz confusao a muita gente e ver uma entidade que efectivamente verifica e fiscaliza o cumprimento da lei. E num pais onde as mesmas sao muitas vezes papel escrito, uma mudanca de mentalidades demora tempo a entrar.

Se alguem quer comer uma alheira frita num oleo que ja foi usado previamente dez vezes ou se quiserem comer uma bola de berlim que esteve ao sol tempo a mais, sem problema. Ate percebo alguns dos comentarios inflamados ao facto de terem pedido ao senhor que vende bolos na praia que use um saco geleira e uma pinca. E que comer um bolo sem este ter passado por maos suadas e gastas de mexer em dinheiro, nao e a mesma coisa. Do ponto de vista economico tambem representa um esforco enorme para o comerciante. Ao que parece, depois da noticia, o preco de mercado destes utensilios subiu para cerca de 5 euros cada um. Mas se mesmo assim nao conseguem viver sem este toque, comprem a bola e ponham-na ao sol umas horas e da proxima vez que forem a tasca pecam ao Sr. Vitor que vos frite a alheira no oleo mais preto que por la tiver.

Como consumidor medio, eu quero ter a certeza que aquilo que consumo esta dentro de um padrao minimo de higiene (Como nao sou adivinho, se algum produto nao tiver rotulo por exemplo, nao consigo chegar a conclusao se esta ou nao dentro do prazo de validade). E como diz o Ze, na sua resposta a este comentario « ...muitos ha – arrisco a dizer inclusive a maioria da populacao – que nao conseguem (distinguir entre aceitavel e improprio para consumo) e e por isso que existe a ASAE, nao e para te chatear, mas para salvaguardar que um dia alguem nao vai parar ao hospital com uma infeccao grave. » Lembro-me de que quando classificaram a agua de algumas praias da Foz do Douro como perigosa para a saude publica, uma banhista disse em entrevista ao telejornal que « Nao havia mal nenhum pois que quando chegasse a casa tomava um duche ». O sistema de saude ja consome o dinheiro que consome e nos ainda temos de contribuir para a conta de hospital destes imbecis?

Como portugueses gostamos muito de fazer o que nos da na real gana. E tique nacional (cheira-me que o 25 de Abril deveria ter sido pro-anarca e andava tudo feliz) e eu, mea culpa, tambem nao fujo a regra. Mas ja e tempo de saber que para se viver em sociedade com relativa qualidade de vida e preciso abdicar de algumas (pequenas) liberdades. Nao e necessario nenhum pensamento juridico complexo para perceber tao simples merda (desculpa o termo mas e mesmo). E obrigar os vendedores de peixe ou os restaurantes a nao passarem o pescado da semana anterior por fresco ou nao deixa-los por na mesa mostarda com prazo de validade de 2006 parece-me um pequeno esforco comparado com os resultados que tais restricoes possam impor aos meus direitos pessoais.

Lucky Number Slevin

- The first time someone calls you a horse punch him in the nose. The second time he calls you a horse call him an idiot.The third time he calls you a horse... well then it's probably time to go shopping for a saddle.

Hamburg International Airport - 1st of March 2008 (II)

Haven't been able to post the video from Youtube don't know why. Nevertheless here are the links to the landing footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW4oLXFAFSg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42fchrzhHY&feature=related

A lot has been said about this incident. I believe there is little more to add but still I find particularly odd some of the comments made. Especially those calling the pilot negligent or an idiot. I am sure I would be in favour of these if I was inside that plane, but then my pants would have been wet so I guess i would have had the right to go irrational.

I am not a pilot or an aviation expert to evaluate the maneuver accuracy. Nonetheless all this discussion reminds me of people when they talk about football ( I am sorry to all Americans and Irish people but I simply refuse to enter the word soccer in my vocabulary). Every now and then, people like to talk about of how one team didn't deserve to loose since they played much better than the other team, or of how unlucky they were in not winning. Fact of life, the only goals that count are the ones that go in.

In this case the same logic applies. The weather conditions were extreme in that day. Still the pilots are well trained to these kind of situations (I have a friend who flies these planes and he tells me that in the simulator, the minimum emergency you get is flying with a single engine). They didn't deliver the first landing but they managed to do it on a second attempt having the passengers arrived safe and sound in Hamburg. Isn't that what we require the crew to do?

PS – Next time I fly Lufthansa I would like to request these pilots. They passed through an imminent crash situation, which I believe is a far more valuable experience than a simulator.

Hamburg International Airport - 1st of March 2008

A Lufthansa Airbus A320 on a flight from Munich to Hamburg hits the left wingtip and almost drags the right engine on runway 33 during extreme weather and gusting crosswinds caused by storm Emma.

Aircraft are certified to land in steady crosswinds and crews are trained for this and do practice maximum crosswind landings in the simulator several times per year. The crosswind component at the time was 90 kilometer-per-hour (56 miles per hour) which is within the croswind limitation of the aircraft. Storms like this one called "Emma" on the 1st of March 2008 with high winds and gusts are however very demanding on the crew.

Initially they had the required crab angle but during the transition from crab to slip (upwind wing has to be low) the plane caught a severe gust during the touchdown maneuver. The gust then lifted the wing leading the aircraft to roll to the left and drift across the runway. The only correct option at this point was to go around. They landed about 20 minutes later on a different runway without further incident. Over 70 flights were canceled in Frankfurt due to the storm Emma on 1st of March 2008.

The adventures of Cristiano Ronaldo

Yes, I know I look like one of those teenage girls still listening to Backstreet Boys and screaming everytime Cristiano Ronaldo or Justin Timberlake show up on TV.
Well then, the man doesn’t fail to impress game after game and I reckon 30 goals in the season, so far, it’s a pretty big mark for a football player. Especially if we take into account that he's not a striker.
I will use this moment also to make a promise (We Portuguese people like to ask God for something and then, if it becomes real, we then go and walk on our knees for several hours in some sanctuary). Since I am not so devoted I can only say that that, if he leads us to the EURO 2008 title, I'll put a (small) poster of him on my wall (Shirt on of course) and that from then on, I'll slightly jump off my chair everytime he appears on the telly. I wanted to add that I would scream OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!! as well but I suppose I'll leave it to the day I find Sienna and Giselle sitting on my couch when I get home from work.

Premier League: 21 goals

Champions League: 6 goals

FA Cup: 3 goals

TAP Airbus A310 Low pass turn Portugal Airshow 2007, Evora

I wonder if I would like to get on a plane again.

Mike is a nerd... - Man stroke Woman

Bird and Fortune - Subprime Crisis

How did the Northen Rock CEO saw the Subprime Crisis coming. Absolutely hilarious!

See also http://guiasobreviver.blogspot.com/2008/01/subprime-crisis.html

Donnie Darko Revisited II

- Do you want your sister to lose weight? Tell her to get off the couch, stop eating twinkies and maybe go out for field hockey. You know what? No one ever knows what they want to be when they grow up. You know it takes a little, little while to find that out, right, Jim? And you... yeah, you. Sick of some jerk shoving your head down the toilet? Well, you know what? Maybe... you should lift some weights, or uh, take a karate lesson and the next time he's tries to do it, you kick him in the balls.

Donnie Darko Revisited I

- Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?

- Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

V for Vendetta Revisited

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

FA FA FA

What a Gig! Small place, less than a hundred people, great acoustic. What better stage for Datarock to finish their European Tour? They definitely deserved a wider crowd but the cozy environment created by such a small group was the right tune for a happy ending!

From "I used to dance with my daddy" and "See what I care" to "Princess", "Fa-Fa-Fa" and "Night flight to Uranus" they sing, they dance, they play, they mess around with the public and they even end the show singing "Time of my life".

Last but not least, after the concert, there was also time to come out of the backstage, sign some autographs, have a couple of beers and chat for a while with the audience… Simply brilliant!


Thanks for the excellent evening guys! Good Luck in Australia!

La Meglio Gioventu

Every now and then I like to revisit this movie. Somehow I love the simplicity of how the life of a family can be portrayed.

It follows two brothers over the course of forty years, explores their lives, their relationships, and the experiences that take them from starry-eyed optimists about to embark on an exploration of Europe to an adulthood unlike anything they could have ever imagined.

Here there is no place for fairy tales or crying tragedies, whether there is love, hate, life or death entering the scene. Life changes as naturally as the clock keeps on ticking and people move on unafraid of what was left behind.

I like the way it shows how a simple life is worthy to celebrate.

Tropa de Elite

Destinado a ser polemico, Tropa de Elite venceu no passado domingo o Urso de Berlim para melhor filme do ano.

Apelidado de extrema-direita e criador de Rambos por alguns criticos, Tropa de Elite retrata a historia do Capitao Nascimento, comandante de um esquadrão do Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais (BOPE) da policia do Rio de Janeiro, que quer deixar o posto, pois está prestes a ser pai. Mas antes precisa de encontrar um substituto à altura, tarefa que se afigura quase impossivel. Porem, uma rixa numa favela poe no seu caminho dois aspirantes: Neto e Matias, amigos de infância que partilham da mesma indignação com a corrupcao que encontram na policia convencional.

MAS ESTAMOS MESMO PERANTE UM FILME FASCISTA?

O BOPE, e retratado como o ultimo reduto deixado aos policias incorruptiveis, que veem o dever acima de tudo. Extremamente bem preparados para a guerrilha urbana representam o contra-poder (o unico) aos traficantes, donos e senhores das favelas que diariamente aumentam o seu arsenal militar e ameacam uma cidade inteira. Sao o anjo exterminador, implacavel com todos os que estejam ligados ao negocio da droga, nao olhando a meios para atingir os seus fins: Tortura e execucoes sumarias estao sempre na ordem do dia, metodos muito semelhantes aos utilizados pelos senhores da droga.

Mas atribuir a Tropa de Elite conotacoes politicas ou ideologicas, e distorcer a mensagem que quer passar. Mais do que um dos melhores filmes de accao que vi nos ultimos tempos, e antes uma demonstracao de como um sistema policial minado pela corrupcao se torna totalmente ineficaz, reduzindo as leis a papel escrito. No seu lugar encontramos um complexo e intrincado jogo de poder onde criminosos e policias vivem num clima de tensao constante mantido pelo recurso a lei do dinheiro. Como diz o capitao Nascimento, personagem principal do filme: O sistema trabalha para resolver os problemas do sistema, nao os da sociedade.

Mais do que tudo, nao sao as practicas do BOPE, em particular, que sao preocupantes mas sim o facto de ser necessario ter uma forca de intervencao, que se rege pelas mesmas regras dos criminosos, de forma a por travao nos mesmos. Alarmante e, quando se torna imprescindivel que a mesma exista de forma a apaziguar o caos e a escalada de violencia, devido a inercia do sistema (que devia ser) democratico. Perturbador e que de forma a manter um nivel aceitavel de seguranca, tenha de ser recorrer a praticas desumanas e degradantes. E quando os cidadaos chegam a conclusao de que se nao forem estes gajos a subir o morro e a meter balas nos traficantes estamos tramados!, pergunto-me quanto tempo mais podera este equilibrio precario durar. E com que custos?

Mar Adentro

Mar adentro, mar adentro,

y en la ingravidez del fondo

donde se cumplen los sueños,

se juntan dos voluntades

para cumplir un deseo.

Un beso enciende la vida

con un relámpago y un trueno,

y en una metamorfosis

mi cuerpo no es ya mi cuerpo;

es como penetrar al centro del universo:

El abrazo más pueril,

y el más puro de los besos,

hasta vernos reducidos

en un único deseo:

Tu mirada y mi mirada

como un eco repitiendo, sin palabras:

más adentro, más adentro,

hasta el más allá del todo

por la sangre y por los huesos.

Pero me despierto siempre

y siempre quiero estar muerto

para seguir con mi boca

enredada en tus cabellos.

The sea inside, the sea inside,
in the lightness of the deep,
where dreams are real,
two wills come together

to make a wish come true.

A kiss ignites life,

with the lightning and the thunder,

and in one metamorphsis,

my body is not my body anymore.

It's like penetrating into the center of the universe:

The most childish of the hugs

and the most pure of the kisses,

unitl we become a single desire:

Your eyes in my eyes

Iike an echo repeating speechless:

A little deeper, a little Deeper,

beyond everything, through blood and bones.

But I always wake up
and I always wish I'd be dead
to go on with my lips
entangled in your hair.

Man Stroke Woman - Female GPS

Man Stroke Woman - Why Condom???

Dexter, Dexter...

If quotes like I think this is a friendly message like, "Hey! wanna play?" And yes I wanna play. I really really do! Or Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos make sense to you, behold! A third season of Dexter was announced following the season two finale, in which an ad ran assuring Dexter would return in 2008 said Showtime President Robert Greenblatt.
Lets hope it doesn't take to long... Till then question yourself if you are a good person doing bad things or a bad person doing good things...

Belenenses v. Sporting CP

There are moments worthwhile remembering...

Odisseia - Canto XVIII

"Agora, ó fanfarrão, teria sido melhor que nunca tivesses existido,
se tremes perante este homem e tens medo dele a esse ponto.
Um homem já velho, acabrunhado por tantos sofrimentos!
Mas uma coisa te direi - coisa que se irá cumprir:
se este te vencer e mostrar ser dos dois o melhor,
mandar-te-ei para o continente, empurrando-te para uma escura nau,
para junto do rei Équeto, mutilador de todos os homens.
Ele cortar-te-á o nariz e as orelhas com o bronze impiedoso
e arrancar-te-á os testículos para os dar a comer, crus, aos cães."

Qualquer que tenha sido o mal que os cãezinhos fizeram, acho intolerável terem de comer carne crua...

Cristiano + 10

The first 2:30 are absolutely magic! Please, watch with no sound

Comments regarding

This blog supports freedom of expression. But only the one kind where people assume their standings.

De Valete a Ás de trunfo

Se fosse José Mourinho o treinador do Sporting, provavelmente teria obrigado Bruno Pereirinha a ouvir a música do Valete durante a viagem de autocarro entre a Academia de Alcochete e o José Alvalade. Assim, quando chegasse ao estádio, o jovem lateral-direito não precisaria de mais motivação para defrontar Ricardo Quaresma do que aquela transmitida pela letra do rap que invadiu as pistas de dança virtuais. "Baza correr com Paulo Bento" é o título da faixa . "Degradas o plantel com Ferneruds e Pereirinhas. É o Pereirinha o nosso extremo de raiz", dedicou, entre outras observações, o músico a Paulo Bento, que depois do jogo com o FC Porto teve motivos para sorrir como nunca face à exibição do único reforço do mercado de Inverno de 2007. Pereirinha meteu Cech no "bolso", fez o cruzamento para o segundo golo do Sporting e ainda forçou a substituição, imagine-se, de Quaresma. Ou seja, foi um bom lateral e um excelente extremo de raiz, para utilizar a terminologia de Valete na análise a uma jornada em que Bruno Pereirinha deu cartas.

Bad Hangover - Man Stroke Woman

Now tell me it never happened...

Cristiano Ronaldo

Because our little golden boy keeps on showing that he´s not just a marketing flop build up on individual football awards. And because he´s Portuguese, here it goes:

Hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo led a second-half destruction of Newcastle United as the Red Devils soared back to the top of the table.

The Red Devils seem intent on adding a 10th Premier League title and with Ronaldo in this mood, it is difficult to see how they can be stopped.

After a goalless opening period, the Portugal winger broke Newcastle´s resistance with a low free-kick, added a startling second with a neat finish to a move involving Wayne Rooney and double scorer Carlos Tevez, then completed his first Red Devils three-timer two minutes from time.

Ronaldo now has 22 goals for the season, passing the 20th goal mark and putting Sir Alex Ferguson on a delicate position to open his wallet, once again (Whoever told him that betting with Ronaldo twenty goals for the entire season was clearly short sighted) . This means also a par with another legendary marksman, Alan Shearer.

Subprime crisis

Lately, I have been asked by a lot of people what is this subprime crisis that everyone talks about. Being unable to clarify them with a simple and quick explanation I decided to consult the Wikipedia. Works everytime time. My thanks to the authors Yuliya Demyanyk (FRB St. Louis) and Otto Van Hemert (NYU Stern).

The subprime mortgage financial crisis of 2007 was a sharp rise in home foreclosures which started in the United States during the fall of 2006 and became a global financial crisis within a year.

The crisis began with the bursting of the housing bubble in the U.S.[1][2] and high default rates on "subprime", adjustable rate, "Alt-A", and other mortgage loans made to higher-risk borrowers with lower income or lesser credit history than "prime" borrowers. The share of subprime mortgages to total originations increased from 9% in 1996, to 20% in 2006.[3] Further, loan incentives including "interest only" repayment terms and low initial teaser rates (which later reset to higher, floating rates) encouraged borrowers to assume mortgages believing they would be able to refinance at more favorable terms later. While U.S. housing prices continued to increase during the 1996-2006 period, refinancing was available. However, once housing prices started to drop moderately in 2006-2007 in many parts of the U.S., refinancing became more difficult. Defaults and foreclosure activity increased dramatically. By October 2007, 16% of subprime loans with adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) were 90-days into default or in foreclosure proceedings, roughly triple the rate of 2005.[4] Subprime ARMs only represent 6.8% of the loans outstanding in the US, yet they represent 43.0% of the foreclosures started during the third quarter of 2007.[5]

The mortgage lenders that retained credit risk (the risk of payment default) were the first to be affected, as borrowers became unable or unwilling to make payments. Due to a form of financial engineering called securitization, many mortgage lenders had passed the rights to the mortgage payments and related credit/default risk to third-party investors via mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Individual and institutional investors holding MBS faced significant losses, as the value of the underlying mortgage assets and payment streams declined and became difficult to predict. In addition, certain legal entities designed to isolate this risk from the originating lenders, called collateralized debt obligations (CDO) and structured investment vehicles (SIV), held substantial amounts of MBS. As the value of payments into these entities declined, their value also declined, forcing the sale of MBS at fire sale prices in some instances.

The widespread dispersion of credit risk and the unclear impact on large banks, MBS, CDO, and SIV caused banks to reduce their loans to each other or make them at higher interest rates. Similarly, the ability of corporations to obtain funds through the issuance of commercial paper was impacted. The liquidity concerns drove central banks around the world to take action to provide funds to member banks to encourage the lending of funds to worthy borrowers and to re-invigorate the commercial paper markets.

The combination of impacts due to credit risk and liquidity risk caused several major corporations and hedge funds to shut down or file for bankruptcy. Stock market declines among both depository and non-depository financial corporations were dramatic. Many hedge funds and other institutional investors holding MBS also incurred significant losses.

With interest rates on a large number of subprime mortgages due to adjust upward during the 2008 period, U.S. legislators and the U.S. Treasury Department are taking action. A systematic program to limit or defer interest rate adjustments was implemented to limit the impact. In addition, lenders and borrowers facing defaults have been encouraged to cooperate to enable borrowers to stay in their homes. Restrictions on lending practices are under consideration. Many lenders have stopped subprime lending or dramatically curtailed it.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist - Silence! I kill you!

Absolutely brilliant. Jeff Dunham at his best!

Booka Shade - In white rooms

Turns out there´s good Electro out there...