30 de março de 2013

Corridas de Preparação

Animal Kingdom, o cavalo castrado de 5 anos, vencedor do Kentucky Derby (GI) de 2011 venceu o Dubai World Cup em Meydan Racecourse. O cavalo castrado venceu a corrida de 10 milhões de dólares por dois comprimentos. E pensar que este cavalo já teve problemas de saúde e perdeu a Breeder's Cup Classic (G I) de 2012. Bem, com esta vitória na sua carreira, a Breeder's Cup Classic (G I) de 2013 não parece uma tarefa tão exigente.

A sua "compatriota" Royal Delta teve um percurso bom durante a corrida, mas não conseguiu chegar entre os três melhores.



Unlimited Budget, a filha de três anos do campeão Street Sense, venceu o Fair Grounds Oaks (G II), uma das corridas de preparação para o Kentucky Oaks (G I). A poldra treinada por Todd Pletcher regressará a Flórida, antes de correr na corrida primaveril mais importante para poldras de três anos. Unlimited Budget soma quatro vitórias consecutivas.


Outra poldra que de certo participará do Kentucky Oaks (G I) é Dreaming of Julia que venceu o Gulfstream Oaks (G II), deixando as suas oponentes a comer pó a 21 3/4 comprimentos de distância. Assim que eu encontrar o vídeo, coloco-o aqui.



Itsmyluckyday ficou em segundo lugar em relação a Orb no Florida Derby (G I). O potro treinado por Shug McGaughey venceu por 2 1/4 comprimentos. Shanghai Bobby não conseguiu chegar entre os três primeiros. Embora estivesse a torcer pelos outros dois para ganhar, a vitória de Orb suscitou-me a curiosidade. Esperemos que os três potros ainda tenham um lugar fixo no Kentucky Derby (G I) a 4 de Maio. Quando eu encontrar o vídeo, coloco-o aqui.



Foi um fim-de-semana cheio de exibições dignas do Desporto de Reis!

Cacau para o Cérebro

O cacau traz verdadeiros benefícios para o nosso cérebro. 

"Os responsáveis pela investigação, realizada em Itália, referem que a ingestão deste alimento natural pode também ajudar a prevenir doenças graves associadas à falta de memória.

O cacau é rico em flavonoide, substância responsável pela proteção do organismo contra doenças degenerativas, o envelhecimento precoce e efeitos radicais no metabolismo humano, salientam os investigadores da University of L'Aquila (Itália) que realizaram o estudo em colaboração com cientistas da companhia de chocolates Mars.

A investigação foi desenvolvida com a ajuda de 90 indivíduos portadores da síndrome de Dano Cognitivo Brando (MCI, sigla em inglês), transtorno cerebral que limita a capacidade cognitiva e que pode levar à doença de Alzheimer. Divididos em grupos, os voluntários ingeriram bebidas de cacau durante oito semanas, com diferentes níveis de flavonoide em cada conjunto.

Os resultados da investigação confirmaram os benefícios das propriedades deste alimento para a recuperação das capacidades cognitivas cerebrais dos indivíduos. O estudo revelou que aqueles que ingeriram valores mais reduzidos de flavonoide apresentaram resultados menos positivos."

Um dos flavonoides, a epicatequina, melhora a circulação sanguínea. Por conseguinte, os níveis de oxigénio aumentam, incluíndo no cérebro, melhorando as nossas capacidades cognitivas.

Ah, e já agora...

Boa Páscoa!

27 de março de 2013

The Talk That Should've Been...

Everyone has their own opinion, but I think one thing that every Roswell fan agrees with is that this show was extremely complex and had a troubled existence throughout its three seasons. Each and every fan I've talked to whishes they could change certain aspects of the show, and I'm no different than any of them regarding that. Being a "Dreamer", I tend to talk and focus on specific scenes of this show (not that I don't like others, I should add).

Compelled by my need for cathartic closure, I started writing about some scenes I would like to have seen – in a way to add my own bricks, not building something from scratch – since I'm sure a lot of people have already written about all these topics.

Among "Dreamers" there is a pivotal episode that has crossed a lot of people. This one:

The End Of The World (Season 2)
Some love it (for how breathtakingly beautiful it is), some hate it (for how painful it is for our favorite couple). I love it!
But even I am forced to recognize that this episode seems to work better as a standout episode, not necessarily as a link in the season chain.

It created a nagging issue for every "Dreamer". After all that has happened in The End Of The World, the audience never saw a satisfying closure for the "Future Max problem".


The Departure (Season 2)
After all the heartache and suffering that was Season 2, Liz was supposed to tell Max the truth about everything that had happened between them. The "Future Max conversation" was in the script. But we never saw it. The audience was very upset. Ron Moore said that conversation did take place offscreen... But what good does that do to us?! We needed that cathartic moment! I wonder if they kept it out because they thought it would make things worse for Max, make him more miserable than he already was?...

I'm not in the habit of reading fan fiction, but I've been told that the "Future Max conversation" is one of the topics most written about. No wonder... Even Laura J. Burns wrote her version of the "Future Max conversation" in her book Quarantine. A very good one, I must say! I've read the cut scene from the original script, but I still think it could've been better.

So here's my take on the talk we should've seen onscreen. Or here, if you prefer.

Banner by: behrbabe


Enjoy!

WE WANTTO BELIEVE!

23 de março de 2013

Bem-vindos ao Sonhatório

"Este é o Sonhatório, a nova exposição permanente situada no piso 3 da Casa Fernando Pessoa. Concepção plástica e museografia de António Viana; conteúdos a cargo de Antonio Cardiello, Inês Pedrosa, Jerónimo Pizarro, e Patrício Ferrari."










Notícia retirada daqui.



21 de março de 2013

Feliz Dia Mundial da Poesia!

Impressão Digital


Os meus olhos são uns olhos.
E é com esses olhos uns
Que eu vejo no mundo escolhos
Onde outros com outros olhos,
Não vêem escolhos nenhuns.

Quem diz escolhos diz flores.
De tudo o mesmo se diz.
Onde uns vêem luto e dores
Uns outros descobrem cores
Do mais formoso matiz.

Nas ruas ou nas estradas
Onde passa tanta gente,
Uns vêem pedras pisadas,
Mas outros, gnomos e fadas
Num halo resplandecente.

Inútil seguir vizinhos,
Querer ser depois ou ser antes.
Cada um é seus caminhos.
Onde Sancho vê moinhos
D. Quixote vê gigantes.

Vê moinhos? São moinhos.
Vê gigantes? São gigantes.

–– Rómulo de Carvalho a.k.a. António Gedeão

Unpredictable Love


Não há como controlar o Amor. A Lucy vai à casa do Schroeder tentar convencê-lo a prestar alguma atenção, mas não consegue convencê-lo a parar de tocar ou a olhar para ela um minuto que seja...

Quando não conseguimos entender os sentimentos da pessoa que dizemos amar e que queremos para nós, será que amamos essa pessoa de verdade?

Será amor ignorado duas vezes? O Schroeder ignora a Lucy e ela, por sua vez, ignora os sentimentos de Schroeder pela música de Beethoven?

20 de março de 2013

Os dez mandamentos do agente literário

A revista “Texturas” publicou um artigo sobre os dez mandamentos de Guillermo Schavelzon, um agente literário argentino que trabalha em Barcelona e representa autores como a Paul Auster, Ernesto Sabato, Mario Benedetti, Manuel Puig, Juan José Saer, Jorge Edwards, María Elena Walsh, Ricardo Piglia, Guadalupe Nettel e Andrés Neuman.

UM. Nunca confundas Literatura com negócio, ainda que tentes que haja um equilíbrio entre os dois.

DOIS. Tem sempre em mente que todos os méritos são do autor.

TRÊS. Tem consciência que nem todos os escritores necessitam de um agente.

QUATRO. Não tentes explicar porque é que a maioria dos agentes literários são mulheres. 

CINCO. Nunca envies a um editor um manuscrito que não tenhas lido. 

SEIS. Se o teu telemóvel toca de noite e aos fins-de-semana, é sinal que o teu trabalho vai muito bem. 

SETE. Atreve-te a dizer a um escritor que não publique um livro que tu aches que não é bom.

OITO. Todos os escritores querem os elogios da crítica, o prestígio intelectual, o sucesso de vendas e o reconhecimento internacional.  Não te humilhes perante um escritor por teres que lhe dizer a verdade.

NOVE. Não leias exclusivamente os autores que representas. De contrário, rapidamente deixarias de ser um bom agente. 

DEZ. Todo o decálogo é um exercício literário, não o leves muito a sério. 

19 de março de 2013

"Mensagem" e o Quinto império

No dia 28 de Março, às 18h30, na Casa Fernando Pessoa, Manuel Ferreira Patrício irá apresentar Fernando Pessoa e o Quinto Império (Universidade Católica Editora) da autoria de Afonso Rocha.



Este livro "visa contribuir para um conhecimento mais alargado do pensamento de Fernando Pessoa. Interpretando a concepção messiânica do Quinto Império à luz das concepções filosóficas que a sua obra global, poética e em prosa, consubs­tancia, designadamente a nível da metafísica, da gnosiologia, da antro­pologia, da ética, da estética, da filosofia da religião e da filosofia política, este estudo constitui a demonstração de que Fernando Pessoa, a par do artista e do poeta, foi um verdadeiro pensador e filósofo, e que o terá sido eventualmente com a elevação das maiores figuras do pensamento filosófico português dos séculos XIX e XX." 




No dia 29 de Março, às 18h30, na Casa Fernando Pessoa, será apresentado um audiobook sobre a Mensagem de Fernando Pessoa.


"Nesta obra de Guilherme Gomes, associamos a ambição portuguesa à sua génese, recorrendo aos cantares tradicionais para adornar algumas das interpretações. Na sua apresentação conheceremos não só Mensagem, como o próprio Pessoa. O audiobook conta com a participação da acordeonista Sónia Sobral e o design gráfico é de Luís Belo."

Notícias retiradas daqui.


15 de março de 2013

Movie, Reunion or Documentary?...



A while ago, I blogged about the Roswell Movie Petition that is still going on today, so many years after the show ended. I would love to know of the fate of those characters, after three short seasons.

While surfing the web, I found two interesting Tweets: one wondering about the odds of a Roswell reunion and another announcing a Veronica Mars movie (which prompted users to ask if we could have our Roswell movie now).

It got me thinking that a Roswell reunion could actually be more manageable than a movie, considering the fact that it would only take the cast members' good will to make an appearance. And they have expressed their good will time and time again regarding a possible movie, so I could see it happening.

Upon further thought, I concluded that a reunion could even be more meaningful than a movie! As I entertained the thought in my mind for a while, another idea took shape and with no great surprise, I realized that what I really wanted was a documentary. Not just with the cast, either – but with Jason Katims, executive producers like Kevin Kelly Brown, Jonathan Frakes, The presence of David Nutter,  the writers and... "the suits" [studio executives, mostly concerned with profit, not in touch with the fans of the show, which prompts them to make misguided decisions regarding their product]. The documentary could be an open forum where they could talk freely about the direction the show took. Maybe then the fans could finally have some of their questions answered.

Before I say anything else, I want to make one thing perfectly clear: I love Roswell!

Speaking for myself and some other fans I've talked to (who shall remain nameless for this post), there was always this strange impression that "the suits" didn't have this show in such a high regard as the fans did. The story of Roswell is well-known in the circles as anything but smooth. In some ways, though, Roswell was no different than any other show – it had its ups and downs on the ratings, it had its great episodes and the not-so great episodes. Every show ever produced has this pattern.

But Roswell was unique for many reasons: 1) the source material had emotional complexity; 2) Jason Katims was a competent and dedicated writer; 3) the cast was very talented; 4) the pilot had a superb story that held the promise of many successful seasons.

So, why didn't Roswell fulfill its promise? For years, fans have speculated about this question. Why did Fox reject it? Maybe, if Roswell had aired on Fox, it wouldn't have had so many of the problems it did...

As everybody knows, the show was broadcast on the WB and it quickly became a "little ugly duckling" when "the suits" realized it didn't bring as much money as Buffy. I wonder if WB's "suits" even knew what Roswell was really about. Think about it: the show had so many different time slots during it's life that it seems as if "the suits" didn't really know how to sell Roswell...

I am not naive; I know that TV is a business and the stations are not in the game to lose money. But, as a fan, I don't watch a show thinking about the money they are or aren't making, I watch it for its level of storytelling. And this show was a loaded gun: the writing was fantastic, the actors were talented and the stories were gripping.

And then, "the suits" decided to make it more like Buffy... I would love a documentary where they could tell us why did they deem necessary to sacrifice Roswell's growing identity in order to make it more like Buffy. The two shows are nothing alike!

Was this sudden switch what stopped Roswell from fulfilling its promise? Because, if it was, it's just another evidence that "the suits" didn't know what Roswell was about! Or maybe they just didn't see what the fans saw.

Roswell offered us a singular perspective of a group of teenagers who befriend each other due to the circumstances that bring them together: the shooting in the Crashdown Café where Liz Parker almost dies, if not for Max Evans saving her. The blown secret of Max's alien status has a ripple effect across the group, and their friendship starts to develop. At the center of the group is the unfolding love story between Max and Liz. Their romance offers the viewers a great insight into the struggle of themselves and the entire group, while they try to figure out about their origins, their future and the dynamic of their friendship. The constant friction between the aliens and the humans results in self-knowledge, undying Love and an unbreakable friendship between the members of this group. The books were driven by emotion, there was nothing contrived about them. The science fiction was only a background from which to tell the stories.

The show's first season followed this recipe. That's why we fell in love with it. That's what made us tune in time and time again. When they turned Liz into the narrator with the diary entries (did "the suits" come up with that one!?) they made her journey twice as compelling. She's a modern Alice that we follow and we enter in this strange new world with her as our guide.

Season one laid the foundations for an alien mythology that sought to explain their past as they were adjusting to life on Earth and learned enough about themselves to find out where they really belonged and to make informed decisions about their future. All with the help of their human friends.

When we see little Max looking at little Liz across the crowded playground and see the looks they exchange, we are privy to a 10 year-old unfolding love story that takes off at the moment that Liz is fatally injured by an errant bullet. As we see their love developing and the immense sacrifices they make for each other throughout the series, they truly become soulmates "across Time and Space".

This was the modern fairy-tale that Roswell created. The undying Love between Max and Liz hit a nerve with audiences around the globe, to this day. It was a blessing that these characters were brought to life in such an enthralling way by Jason Behr and Shiri Appleby through three straight seasons, resulting in one of the finest crafted couples in TV history.

Still, "the suits" craved higher ratings. The show would've died, had it not been the perseverance of the fans and their Tabasco campaign to save it from obscurity. When Roswell was renewed, "the suits" wanted to find a new and broader audience for their show and their motto became 'more aliens and more sci-fi'.

The delicate balance between the ingredients that made people fall so in love with Roswell was lost in season two. The counterpoint between alien and human interaction seemed to lose its importance as the story progressed. The focus shifted to the aliens' struggle, the audience lost Liz as a guide and – much worse – lost the love story between Max and Liz as the center of the show. 

Maybe "the suits" got their ratings, but the fans missed what was unique about Roswell. We also lost a good portion of Season one's writers. I would love to know why.

One question I ask and have been asked frequently is about Max's mental status after he was rescued from the White Room: after being brutally tortured by the Special Unit in Season 1, we never really know what's going on in his head – the character has no voice at all. Max was great in season 1 – he carried the world on his shoulders and he carried an immense Love for Liz – but after he leaves Eagle Rock and, most importantly, after Liz breaks his heart, the audience lost him. Maybe it's because the audience knows so much more than he does...

In my opinion, Max's mental breakdown was announced by the writers, but for some fans, it seemed too subtle to be noticeable. To be honest, his one clue left to us in that single line of dialogue in "A Roswell Christmas Carol" spoke volumes to me. Add to it that Liz constantly pushed him away and ended their friendship, Isabel was lying to him about Vilandra and Michael was his untrustworthy usual self, and you have a mental breakdown in the making. It was plain for me to see, but I agree it could've been done better so that the viewers would have more sympathy for Max when the 'spit hit the fan'.

"The End of the World" was the most magical episode of season 2: once again, the science fiction was at the service of the story development, resulting in an epic episode. But, for some reason that I would love to understand, what was started in that episode never met a proper resolution onscreen. That was terribly upsetting for some people. Me included. And this was the main problem of Season 2, which I can only assume was heavily influenced by "the suits" and the pressure they put on the writers to develop the science fiction aspect of the show.

It wasn't just that the conversation about Future Max never happened for the fans to see; every plot in season 2 was under-developed in one way or another – the Skins, the Dupes, the Donors (they could've filled two seasons with these plots!) everything felt rushed. Yes, I know all about Colin Hanks and the major issue with the latter part of the season (even more rushed), but all the alien subplots left too many questions. I wish "the suits" could clarify this for the fans and the writers could shed some light into their original plan for the latter part of season 2, had Colin not left the show.

So... after all that effort to get more profit, after all was said and done, after Roswell was sacrificed at the ratings' altar, the show got cancelled anyway... and was again saved from oblivion by the fans' campaigns.

"The suits" at UPN got Roswell in a package deal with... you've got it: Buffy. Different network, same scenario. Because Buffy made the big bucks, Roswell was once again the "little ugly duckling". From what I've heard from other fans, "the suits" at UPN gave Katims creative control over his show and that's why the spirit of the third season resembled the first season. There was only one little detail. Two, actually. The innocence was gone, the damage had been done in season two and season three tried to pretend like it never happened, instead of giving the fans the resolution they had been craving to see. By the second episode, they had lost 2 million viewers. UPN was a smaller network than the WB. The ratings were low, and the threat of cancellation was once again hanging over their heads like a giant piano.

Something I would love "the suits" or the writers to explain was the reason of why so many episodes were devoted single-handedly to Isabel. I agree she needed development, but I failed to see the use of so many episodes devoted solely to one character when this show was an ensemble drama and there were so many other topics to deal with for the other characters. Weirder still: even with two of the Isabel centered episodes, we still got no good explanation about the whole Vilandra/Kivar thing and what made her betray her family...

I can't deny that my "Dreamer" heart was happy with the way the show ended. But the fans should've gotten a two-hour season finale (cancellation or no cancellation). It would've felt a lot less rushed. By the way: do two-hour season finales exist in Roswell or not? That's another question for "the suits" to answer in a possible documentary.

All in all: there are only two things I really hate about Roswell: 1) that it was not allowed to grow at its own pace and 2) that it only lasted for three seasons.

What would you like to see happening: a cast reunion, a Roswell movie or a Roswell documentary about the making of the show?

You know, I could die happy if the cast got together for a reunion, made a movie and one of the extras of the DVD was a long documentary about the making of the show!

Hey, a person can dream, right?
WE WANTTO BELIEVE!

13 de março de 2013

Trechos do Desassossego (2)

Somos todos escravos de circunstâncias externas: um dia de sol abre-nos campos largos no meio de um café de viela; uma sombra no campo encolhe-nos para dentro, e abrigamo-nos mal na casa sem portas de nós mesmos; um chegar da noite, até entre coisas do dia, alarga, como um leque [que] se abra lento, a consciência íntima de dever-se repousar.

Não me choca a interrupção dos meus sonhos: de tão suaves que são, continuo sonhando-os por detrás de falar, escrever, responder, conversar até. [...] Ergo do livro, que cerro lentamente, olhos cansados do choro que não tiveram, e, numa mistura de sensações, sofro que ao fechar o escritório se me feche o sonho também; que no gesto da mão com que cerro o livro encubra o passado irreparável; que vá para a cama da vida sem sono, sem companhia nem sossego, no fluxo e refluxo da minha consciência misturada, como duas marés na noite negra, no fim dos destinos da saudade e da desolação.

Não o prazer, não a glória, não o poder: a liberdade, unicamente a liberdade.



Passar dos fantasmas da fé para os espectros da razão é somente ser mudado de cela. A arte, se nos liberta dos manipansos assentes e obsoletos, também nos liberta das ideias generosas e das preocupações sociais – manipansos também. Encontrar a personalidade na perda dela – a mesma fé abona esse sentido de destino.

De repente, como se um destino médico’ me houvesse operado de uma cegueira antiga com grandes resultados súbitos, ergo a cabeça, da minha vida anónima, para o conhecimento claro de como existo. E vejo que tudo quanto tenho feito, tudo quanto tenho pensado, tudo quanto tenho sido, é uma espécie de engano e de loucura. Maravilho-me do que consegui não ver. Estranho quanto fui e que vejo que afinal não sou.


Bernardo Soares – Livro do Desassossego



10 de março de 2013

Frank 'n Ollie

Frank Thomas e Ollie Johnston são dois dos maiores animadores dos Estúdios de Walt Disney, dois verdadeiros ícones da magia que é a animação da Disney. São dois dos maiores actores (com lápis) de Hollywood – representaram em inúmeros filmes da Disney com tal sucesso que se tornaram verdadeiras lendas. Eles conheciam a importância do Pathos nas acções das personagens. Talvez tenham aprendido com os filmes do Charlot...

Frank Thomas (à esquerda) e Ollie Johnston (à direita)

A profunda amizade entre estes dois artistas ficou espelhada nos filmes da Disney e mudou para sempre a forma de interpretar personagens, a arte de "animar com sinceridade", como eles costumavam dizer.

O Frank era muito trabalhador e esforçava-se muito para conseguir expressar as suas ideias no papel. Ollie era muito intuitivo, animava as cenas com o coração e os seus desenhos tinham uma marca muito suave de lápis.

Os filmes de que eu mais gosto têm todos os dedinhos talentosos do Frank Thomas e do Ollie Johnston:

Em Cinderella (1950), Frank animou a madrasta e o Duque e Ollie animou as irmãs malvadas e o lacaio que traz o sapatinho.

Em Lady and The Tramp (1955), Frank animou o Joca, e a Dama e o Vagabundo – sim, foi ele que deu vida à famosa cena em que os dois cães comem esparguete com almôndegas  – e Ollie animou a Dama, o Joca e o Truta.

Eles trabalharam em todos os filmes da Disney (Desde a "A Branca de Neve" até ao "Papuça e Dentuça") até ao final da década de 70, quando se reformaram. Os dois escreveram um livro (considerado a bíblia da animação) chamado The Illusion of Life.

Aqui fica um documentário à maior dupla da animação norte-americana.


7 de março de 2013

Now, don't get upset, but...

Charles L. Dodgson
Is it just me, or do we all share the same difficulty in explaining to our friends that we like Carroll without getting strange looks in our direction? No matter how hard I try, I always seem to fail in stating my point… It’s very frustrating! For some reason, it seems to be impossible to talk about the author of the "Alice" books with a dispassionate tone, he always manages to stir deep emotions in people – for better and worse. 

Apart from the whole 'did he or did he not take drugs when he wrote the "Alice" books' – that's another conundrum altogether! – I find it ironic that it was Carroll who started the controversy around himself we so desperately try to explain now. He was walking on the edge of propriety in his society by hanging around grown women, sometimes married women. Those associations put him and the women in question in great danger of being shunned by polite society and Dodgson was well aware of this. He tried to improve his reputation by associating with children, sending a message to his detractors that he represented no threat to his women friends; that, in fact, he had denied his sexuality by associating with sexless creatures (children). Even the women called themselves children – Isa Bowman is an example of that – so they could avoid scandal. It seems that Dodgson always lived on the edge… but he was controversial then. His family members made sure that hardly any women would be associated with his name and when his nephew wrote his biography, he devoted a lot of time talking about his uncle’s ‘child-friends’. Subsequent biographers were denied Dodgson’s papers and diaries and they just copied one another… until Cohen. He had access to a lot more information, but he was a 20th century man, looking at Dodgson’s life through 20th century eyes – which reflects in his work. Still, I commend his body of work on Carroll, I think it’s vital, but I believe he failed to connect all the dots – for example, like neglecting to realise that many letters were addressed to women, not children. 

The work of Hugues Lebailly in 1998 (“Charles Dodgson And The Victorian Cult Of The Child”) helped clear a lot of misunderstandings surrounding Dodgson and the Victorian society. Of course, today no one can imagine a world where pictures of nude children are considered ‘art’, much less appear on Christmas cards. 

I’ve heard a lot of complaints about Karoline Leach’s biography (1999), but it goes to her credit that she was able to look at things from a fresh perspective. She basically said ‘Look, we always had a certain image of Carroll, passed down from one biographer to another, but that image is false. We need to examine all the facts again.’ And she did! And she came up with her own theory (which I don’t necessarily agree with). 

Jenny Woolf’s latest biography follows some of Karoline’s points and she builds another theory about Dodgson that makes more sense to me. Plus, the fact that she discovered Dodgson’s bank account intact is really remarkable. Apparently, he was very reckless with his money, even though his surviving diaries and letters never even hint at that fact, making Dodgson’ life just as elusive now as it has always been. 

The more I read about him, the more complex the man becomes.

I just wished people looked for information, instead of passing snap judgements at him. It's so degradingly rude!

3 de março de 2013

"You Are Young and Life is Long..."

The Dark Side of the Moon

Editado em 1 de Março de 1973, o álbum começa com os batimentos de um coração que vai ficando cada vez mais forte até a música irromper na primeira faixa intitulada Speak to Me/Breathe.

Já lá vão quarenta anos desde que os Pink Floyd editaram esta obra-prima do Rock contemporâneo e a actualidade deste álbum é tal, que ele podia ter sido editado em Março de 2013, e teria a mesma relevância. O que é um excelente indicador do seu futuro, diga-se!

O design da capa baseia-se num ideia de Richard Wright: a capa deveria ser simples, ousada e dramárica. A pirâmide é um exemplo perfeito dessa ideia, não?

The Dark Side of the Moon fala-nos das pressões diárias (a vida, o tempo, a morte, o dinheiro, a violência, a loucura, etc.) do nosso mundo que nos forçam a tomar certas decisões sobre a nossa vida que marcam o nosso Destino neste mundo. O seu propósito (se é que só tem um) é o de nos abrir os olhos para estas pressões de modo a que possamos viver as nossas vidas de forma o mais genuína possível.

O Sol e a Lua são as grandes metáforas do disco, encorporando a luz e a sombra das nossas vidas, arrastando-nos para uma ou para outra, com diferentes consequências.

Roger Waters afirmou repetidamente que teve uma epifania durante a produção deste álbum: apercebeu-se que a sua vida já começara havia muito tempo, que a infância e a adolescência não eram períodos de preparação para algo que iria começar depois. A vida começa com a primeira respiração e só pára na última. O Tempo é algo precioso, o relógio bate sempre contra nós e não é boa ideia desperdiçarmos o nosso tempo, pensando que teremos sempre mais para fazer o que queremos da vida.

A música Us and Them é um claro exemplo daquilo a que Roger Waters chama de 'canção humanitária', na mesma veia de Echoes – a capacidade das pessoas de se relacionarem umas com as outras. Esta música é o cerne do álbum.

Na faixa Brain Damage, há uma homenagem velada ao amigo e anterior membro da banda, Syd Barrett. As regras arbitrárias da vida de Syd, após se tornar numa estrela do Rock, e as constantes pressões a que esteve sujeito para reproduzir os seus sucessos foram a chave da queda do guitarrista. Adicione-se a quantidade de ácido que tomou e explica-se o motivo da sua loucura e o porquê da banda o ter deixado para trás.

Brain Damage é também uma forma que Roger Waters encontrou para dizer ao seu público que compreende as pressões a que todos estamos sujeitos durante as nossas vidas e que, por vezes, nos sentimos mal com tudo isso. Ele também está sujeito a essas mesmas pressões, mas diz-nos que, se não mantivermos os nossos sentimentos controlados, se cedermos às pressões, acabaremos por ceder à loucura e seremos destruídos pelo nosso lado mais negro.

O bater do coração do final da faixa Eclipse simboliza a morte, mas não só, porque Roger Waters utiliza uma técnica que permite que os seus álbums possam ser ouvidos de forma cíclica. Assim, se ouvirmos o disco em modo repeat, o bater do coração da última faixa funde-se com o da primeira.

The Dark Side of the Moon é um testamento lírico de uma beleza etérea incomparável sobre a condição humana. Talvez seja a sua força emotiva que nos faz voltar a ele uma e outra vez... Algo que o torna eterno.

But that's not to say that potential for the Sun to shine doesn't exist. You know? Walk down the path towards the Light, rather than walk into the Darkness.


 Roger Waters


2 de março de 2013

Vyjack vence Gotham Stakes

O trilho para o Kentucky Derby é longo e perigoso para todos os cavalos de três anos. O potro Vyjack venceu o Gotham Stakes (G3), mantendo o seu record de quatro vitórias para quatro corridas. 

No início da corrida, Vyjack estava na nona posição e manteve-se atrás até ao final da corrida. Na última curva, o potro 'disparou' do resto do grupo, vencendo a corrida por dois comprimentos, com o relógio a marcar 1:44.09 para a corrida de 1 1/16 milhas.

Podem ver aqui a corrida:



Uma exibição digna do Desporto de Reis!