quinta-feira, maio 21, 2009

22/06/09 - Promo Video

It will probably be one of the best shows in 2009! For now I'll leave you with the promo video!



You can't miss this one! BE THERE!

segunda-feira, maio 18, 2009

Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade DVD


I’ve always been a sucker for Seth MacFarlane’s cartoon shows. From Family Guy to American Dad I think this guy’s productions are hilarious!

Yesterday a post in a forum caught my attention. It is Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade DVD, and I ensure you, this thing is fucking brilliant!! Basically it’s a DVD where Seth includes all those deviations from the main plot that we are used to see in The Family Guy. They come one after another, and I can tell you, some of them are insanely hilarious!

I won’t even bother making a small review of the DVD, the only thing I’ll tell you, is that if you don’t download it, or even buy it, it’s your loss!!

I’ll leave you with a few examples of what you can expect to watch on this DVD.





sexta-feira, maio 15, 2009

So damn proud of you!


On March 31st I wrote a small post to wish my sister good luck on an exam. However, I was forbidden by my sis of telling what kind of exam it was, and so it was a post that most people couldn’t understand.
The results came out today, and now I can proudly say that my sister, from a group of hundreds of candidates, was selected to be an Opera singing student in the most accredited musical school of Portugal – Escola de Música do Conservatório Nacional. I just couldn’t be more proud of her.

It’s amazing how her musical background is so different from mine, but I’m really looking forward to see her performing in big stages, even though I know nothing about Opera and I never liked this type of music. It doesn’t matter!! In few years I’ll be clapping like a crazy fool when she finishes one of her performances!
People used to laugh when they heard me saying that she had such a wonderful voice, and that she could really be a true Opera singer! Well, here is the living proof that I do have a talented girl living under the same roof as me!

From now on, the sky is the limit…

terça-feira, maio 12, 2009

10 Videogames – 1 Life [Part 1]

The videogames presented here aren’t necessarily the 10 best ever, but they sure are the classics that meant the most to me. Even though I still am quite nerdy about videogames, I just don’t have the time to play them. Moreover, I do think that the best era of videogames has already finished, and I just don't get excited looking at the new titles coming to the market. They can have the best graphics, they can offer truly cinematic experiences, but they lack that feeling of addiction, the storylines just aren’t convincing enough, and most of all, there’s nothing really innovative coming to the stores. Whenever I feel like playing a real game, you’ll probably see me going back to the old classics, playing on 128/32/16 bit consoles.

Enough of this old conservative bastard talk. Let’s move on to the games.

The first game I have ever played. For many gamers around the world, it still is the most revolutionary game ever. I was never one of those Super Mario addicts that buy all different versions and every single sequel, but I could never begin this list without putting Super Mario Bros in first place.

Still on Nintendo, the Duck Hunt and the classic Contra were two of the games that I played the most during my childhood. I remember having a Nintendo gun and making competitions with my father hunting ducks and loosing several games in a row ahahah! Then I would invite some kids over to my place to spend hours playing the multiplayer version of Contra. We were probably in 2nd grade at school and all we wanted was to hear gunfire and destroy every single enemy across the different scenarios.


Then came the Christmas when my parents offered me the Sega Saturn. Euro 96 was kind of a shitty game, but it was the first football game that I really owned and the game featured the voice of Jorge Perestrelo – the first game ever with Portuguese commentaries. Duke Nukem 3D was one of my favorites for the Saturn. At the time it was the perfect shoot ‘em up! Hang around the city killing some alien pigs and giving money to the strippers to show us their alien tits! Ahahaha this shit was awesome, I was still a young kid and my mother would be pissed every time she saw me playing this “awful game”.

The games that came next were different in their content, were more complex, and many of them became real icons in the videogame industry.

(End of Part 1)

domingo, maio 10, 2009

"The Economist" says it... Not me.

"The Portuguese are among the glummest people in Europe. According to a Eurobarometer poll, 92% see the economic situation as bad; fully 95% are depressed about their job prospects; and over half are “dissatisfied with the life they lead”. Within the European Union, only easterners from Hungary and Bulgaria are similarly morose. Why the pessimism?
(...)"



An interesting article published by "The Economist" about the present situation of Portugal and the disbelief and pessimism of its population.

You can read the full piece right
HERE.

(Don't forget to take a look at the comments of the article!)

terça-feira, maio 05, 2009

MLK - "99.09" EP


Since I was a kid I’ve been in touch with the Hip Hop scene of my beloved city. My knowledge isn’t deep, but I always managed to get a hand in the music coming from the local bands – M.A.C., Al-Madan, UPTL, NEXO, M.S.U.L – just to name a few.

Right now, here I am to present you to the most recent work coming from this side of the river. Member from Al-Madan, MLK is, in my opinion, one the best MC’s that Almada has to offer, and “99.09” EP is his first solo project. The overall result was pretty good!
The recipe is already known. The inspired beats, the participation of other local MC’s, the downtown flow and the lyrics about friendship, the city and its stories (the last song of the EP, “Obrigado”, got me completely thrilled). Got to love it!

The EP is available in the Internet for free download.

Download it HERE.

segunda-feira, maio 04, 2009

"The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Lev Tolstoy


Simply one of the best and most intense books that I have ever read. Not that read that much, yet I think this is a small masterpiece that everybody should take some hours to read.
“So, what was this book about?”- I asked myself when I finished reading it. Was it about death or was it about life? None of the concepts seemed accurate enough to define the main topic of this book.

Tolstoy sure gets deep in what concerns death. The way humans think they can avoid it and the fear they have when they finally have to deal with it. A lifetime will never be enough to make us understand death. Why do we have to face it? Why us and not someone else? Unanswered questions that will go to the grave with every each one us.
Then, no one can deny that the Russian writer also talks about life. Do we make the best choices we can? Can we define what is really important to us? Are we happy, or is that happiness something that we wrongly conceive in our minds? Was this the life we wanted? For what will we be remembered by?
The way I see it, above all, this book is about the human condition. Ivan Ilych embodies the most common person you will ever know. Sometimes you will even see yourself doing what Ilych is doing. It made me wonder, are humans that selfish? Am I that selfish? Are we that superficial? Can our lives be that futile?

All in all it sure is an exceptional book, and since one can buy it for 1.50€, I don’t see any reason for someone not to have it on his/her shelves.

(As you can notice I am making an effort to write some stuff in English. GMAT exam is coming and my English must be in its very best shape. As for the Portuguese language, my other blog will have to keep it sharp.)

domingo, maio 03, 2009

A melhor das melhores mães do mundo!


Nesta aventura a que chamamos vida, podemos, ou não, ter a sorte de encontrar a nossa cara-metade, uma rapariga que nos encha as medidas, que nos complete, e que nos vá amar para sempre, no entanto, há uma outra mulher, um outro amor, e esse, temos a sorte de o conhecer nos primeiros minutos em que vimos a este mundo. Um verdadeiro amor à primeira vista, que, quer queiramos quer não, ficará dentro do nosso coração até aos últimos segundos da nossa vida. Arriscar-me-ia a dizer que não existe amor mais puro e verdadeiro que este. No melhor e no pior, quer estejam longe, quer estejam perto, o amor que une uma mãe a um filho será sempre das coisas mais verdadeiras que teremos a sorte a de presenciar neste mundo. Não fujo à excepção, e tal como os que estão neste momento a ler este pequeno texto, também eu penso que tenho a melhor mãe do mundo. Torna-se incrível a quantidade de melhores mães do mundo que existem, no entanto, quero que estas modestas linhas sirvam para sublinhar que, de facto, eu tenho a melhor das melhores mães do mundo.

Durante 22 anos, a minha mãe foi, e continuará a ser em muitos momentos da minha vida, a bússola que aponta sempre a direcção certa do meu crescimento. Mais que isto! Uma melhor amiga, que facilmente me folheia, como se de um livro eu me tratasse, e que, de forma extraordinária, antecipa sempre os problemas que me afligem. Tive a sorte de crescer com uma mãe dessas. Com a ajuda do “Velho Julião”, a minha mãe é o verdadeiro pilar sobre o qual assenta toda a minha educação. Nunca me quis ter sob rédea curta. Antes pelo contrário! Desde cedo me incentivou a viver o máximo possível, a ser eu a descobrir os erros que não podemos cometer, mas assim que eu os cometia, lá estava ela, sempre tão dona das suas palavras, sempre tão sábia, como se de uma verdadeira enciclopédia da vida se tratasse.

Como se isto não bastasse, foi ela que me apresentou o maior exemplo de sucesso na vida. O exemplo que me proponho a seguir. Cresceu numa casa humilde, não teve um quarto durante a sua juventude, não teve o suporte necessário dos pais para tirar um curso superior, mas cedo chegou à conclusão que não seria esse o legado que deixaria para os seus filhos. Era praticamente uma criança, quando, em conjunto com o seu eterno namorado, resolveu abandonar o país e tentar a sua sorte no estrangeiro, e dessa forma, juntos, partiram para os EUA, tendo sido aí que eu nasci. Depois de anos difíceis em terras americanas voltaram para cá, e foi neste regresso que a minha mão começou a construir o exemplo que quero seguir. Começou por baixo, fazendo trabalhos de pequena responsabilidade num escritório algures na margem sul. Foi crescendo, e num curto espaço de tempo conseguiu chegar a uma empresa de renome. Aí, desenvolveu a sua aptidão para liderar pessoas, e como consequência natural do seu bom trabalho, chegou a chefe de agência na sua empresa de trabalho temporário. Os anos foram passando, as responsabilidades familiares cresciam com o nascimento de outro bebé e o “Velho Julião” teve que partir para o estrangeiro para ganhar mais uns trocados. Á minha mãe sobrava a responsabilidade de aguentar as coisas por cá. Já com o homem de volta a casa, foram aparecendo oportunidades para minha mãe se tornar uma profissional de outro nível. Passou a liderar uma, duas, três, quatro e cinco agências de trabalho temporário espalhadas por todo o país. Mais tarde, chegou a sócia gerente da sua empresa. Este é o exemplo que quero seguir. Este é o percurso que me enche o peito de orgulho. Esta é grande parte do legado que a minha mãe me deixará.
Actualmente, as coisas não estão fáceis. Fruto de alguns erros (toda gente tem direito a errar) a carreira profissional sofreu um revés, no entanto, acredito que não tardará a chegar o tempo em que o sucesso está novamente ao dobrar da esquina.

Este pequeno texto serve de homenagem à minha mãe. Com certeza cada um de vocês achará que tem a melhor mãe do mundo, mas eu, é com o maior dos orgulhos, que digo que a minha mãe, para mim, será sempre a melhor das melhores mães do mundo.


Feliz Dia da Mãe

(Quanto à foto, toma lá que é para não tares sempre a implicar com a porcaria da cerveja ahahah!!!)