The Praise of Folly

(light and shadow, velvet and blade, the game of contrasts is about to begin. Vive la Fête's "Jour de Chance" is the sensualist revivalism of nonsensical tender bitterness. A great album, coherent in its lunatic intentions. A must.)

"ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma (6x)

what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma (2x)

what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want
what you wadie wadie want

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma (6x)

si tu veux tu restes la-bas
si tu peux tu restes comme ça
moi je ris, je reste ici
j'aime les filles qui disent si si si

stupid homme stupid femme
stupid homme stupid femme
stupid homme stupid femme
stupid homme

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma (5)
stupid femme

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma
stupid homme

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma
stupid femme

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma
stupid homme

ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma ma
stupid femme

stupid homme
stupid femme

stupid homme
stupid femme"

(Vive La Fête; Track 10 "Stupid Femme", 2007)





self-deception and madness came to this world to feed restless minds.
i have always found sense and sensibility in the most foolish acts, words, gestures and consequences of sounds.
and have always drunk (to the limits of self-indulgence) the potentially liberating power of absurdity.

folly is empowerment.

Thoughts at the subway

The greatest existentialist experiences lie with the most absolute normality.
Consider going through a hard work day. Consider returning home and entering the subway. Sit down. Close your eyes. It is just you and a few eyes staring at you. You are exposed in all your tiredness. But you don’t care.

The subway speeds up and runs along galleries and stations, at a rhythm you expect because you are familiar with it. It stops, occasionally. But inside your brain, the journey is endless. (until you reach your stop).

il etait temps #2

de, numa correria apressada entre a Rua da Conceição e a Praça do Comércio, deter-me por instantes e abster-me do tempo e da pressa, para encontrar entre as mãos o calor queimado de uma dúzia de castanhas assadas.

custam 2 euros, que não pagam as mãos sujas de quem as vende, o invólucro enrolado e amarelo e o sabor da estação.

truly the joy of the season.

[the american chestnut society]

The green grass fields within

ontem, passei pela primeira vez na Rua da Esperança. Fica em Santos.

Quero esta toponímia para mim, pensei.

É no mínimo um desafio ao pessimismo alheio poder dizer que se mora na Rua da Esperança.

ontem, ao passar pela primeira vez na Rua da Esperança, senti-me verde por dentro.

Ana Dores (2007) "Green Fields"

il etait temps # 1

«Quinzena da camisa com manga»

(letreiro visto hoje, na montra de uma loja do Chiado)

a question of biology

I happened to discover the key to human diversity in a management book, which describes how companies operate the transition (and this is indeed an endogenous process) from being average companies to great companies. The book is Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Maybe I'll get to know the genetic code for success, that was my initial interest when I first was acquainted to the book. But I ended up finding a treaty on human behavior, reduced to a simple division. This clear demarcation, inspired by Sir Isaiah Berlin and rooted in an ancient Greek parable, indicates the existence of two categories in this world: hedgehogs & foxes.

I am compelled to share the parable, as I can see throught it many links and reflexions to and from what people, real people (those with whom you relate every day) are.

"The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. (...) Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleed of feet, and crafty - the fox looks like the sure winner. the hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a smal armadillo.

The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. “Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating back to the forest, the fox begins to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins". [Collins, Jim pp. 90-91]

So now what about you, who have always thought you were as clever as a fox?