Better than Comedy Central

With no TV and my dreadfully bad habit of passing by the news stand without even glimpsing at paper headlines, I miss a lot of the real world.

But that's ok, cause I got...Dilbert. Yups, the hell with CNN and BBC and REUTERS. In fact, the hell with serious broadcasting.

With the Dilbertblog, I can get the news, the review and even a comic strip all at once. Not to mention, a clever joke to tell the office mates. Better than Comedy Central.

I'm referring to the "Earthlike planet discovery", and here's Scott Adams' take on it:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/04/cool_new_planet.html

This will make my clear argument on why I have the page on the blog's favorites. Enjoy.

Change

I seem to be getting a lot of it recently.
Changing house, changing marital status, (ex)changing intimacy, changing habits, changing job location, changing cities (?)…Puf! It’s energy consuming.

Hmm…Maybe I should consider volunteering for cloning.
I’d convince my clone that all these changes are fulfilling, small seeds of happiness, source of learning and experience. The best recipe for exponential living. (I’m guessing that if I was one of the first clones, I’d be eager to learn how to be like a real human, so nothing better than a intensive training on “human behaviour”).

And then, I’d make a deal with my clone. It would go very smoothly, as I would put in practise all my negotiation skills:
Me: "Listen up, clone (yes, it would have a name, but for this purpose it’s irrelevant). I can see you’re a lively, curious, intelligent being (if you don’t know, the saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” also applies to clones and its models).
Clone: Thank you. (Note that all clones come pre-teached on the rules of social behaviour).

Me: As your mentor, I feel compelled, no,…I feel obliged to provide you with all the learning materials you need to get on the fast-track to human behaviour. You shall be an exemplar clone if you so choose to be. And as you’ll learn – consider this the 1st lesson – the best way to learn something is through practice. In sum, if you want to know what Life is about, you need to experience it first hand.
Clone: To learn on life, you have to…live!
Me: Exactly! That is why, I’m willing to break rules for you – consider this the 2nd lesson – rules exist to be broken, but in your case only with my approval.
Clone: What would that break be?
Me: Right again. It would be a break! Your break! To live a high roll life, full of excitement...the full package of international life, challenging job, handful of good friends, cherishing family far enough to leave in a permanent nostalgia, unspoken breaking of personal boundaries!
Clone: Wow…*eyes open wide and shiny looking out to the horizon*…”

Ok.
Nevermind the flagrant oversell of the upsides of my (and every) life.
Nevermind the flagrant undersell of the downsides of my (and every) life.
The important thing is I’d have completed my mission. Then I’d turn off my mobile, take a plane back to Lisbon, and spend the same afternoon in a seaside beach, enjoying my recent freedom.

"Si tú no vuelves"

"Si tú no vuelves, Se secarán todos los mares

Y esperaré sin ti...Tapiando al fondo de algun recuerdo.

Si tú no vuelves, mi voluntad se hará pequeña

me quedaré aqui...junto a mi perro espiando horizontes.

Si tú no vuelves, No quedarán más que desiertos...

y escucharé por si algun latido le queda a esta tierra

que era tan serena cuando me querias

había un perfume fresco que yo respiraba

era tan bonita, era así de grande, y no tenía fin

Y cada noche, vendrá una estrella, a hacerme compañia

que te cuente como estoy y sepas lo que hay

Y mí amor amor amor... estoy aqui, ¿no ves?

Si no vuelves, no hay vida, no sé lo que haré...

Si tú no vuelves, no habrá esperanza ni habrá nada

Caminaré sin ti, con mi tristeza bebiendo lluvia...

que era tan serena cuando me querias
había un perfume fresco que yo respiraba
era tan bonita, era así de grande, y no tenía fin"

by M.Bosé.

A great intro to "carpe diem"

Each second of your existence badly spent, is not living...it's dying.

From cwg.

April Resolution

Um fim de semana prolongado, uma amiga em convalescença sentimental, filmes "top manta" q.b, e a dose certa de reflexao, é tudo o que me bastou para chegar à conclusao...que sou desiquilibrada. Noutras palavras, falta-me um parafuso, nao fecho bem a mala, nao bato bem da cabeça...e desta vez nao eh o corpo (este tb, mas nao é para aqui chamado) que paga, sao os outros. (Leia-se por outros, os amigos, parentes, os sujeitos e predicados da minha vida diária).

Tomei, a pedido da minha consciencia e sanidade mental, bens queridos a quem nao posso ignorar, sob pena de sequelas futuras cairem sobre mim e sobre o meu discernimento como matilla de pastores alemaes sobre fugitivo, uma resoluçao.

Ser uma pessoa melhor do que sou hoje (exigente, mas nao muito. É dificil superar a perfeiçao...cof cof)...nao é a minha resoluçao, é o que eu quero que seja o meu destino final. Um pouco como o velho que no leito de morte olha para trás e deseja corrigir os males e os imperfeitos dos seus actos...mas no meu caso, é um pouquinho mais cedo, para assegurar que previno os imperfeitos antes que eles aconteçam (isto daria aso a uma discussao filosofica, mas nao entremos por aí). Posta a ideia, a resoluçao: levantar o tapete sobre os monstros hidden-in-the-back-of-my-mind e dar-lhes uma saida ou conclusao. E fazer com que tudo siga uma linha mais recta até à felicidade plena. Já que a recta é o caminho mais curto entre dois pontos...