Europride 07

As you can probably gather by the above pictures, Madrid was hot Saturday. Not only in temperature, but also in moods, as it was Europride 07 parade. More than 1.5 million people paraded and watched the 43 allegoric cars on top of which the hottest bodies were on display dancing and smiling. I've never seen so many gorgeous men all together, naked waist up and with matching hot bodies to go with the perfect smile and haircut! I loved them all. In fact, I fell in love with this guy who kept taking pictures of the whole event. He, very unfortunately must have been gay, as he was with other good looking guy and took trillions of pictures of the 5 star torsos that kept coming. He was simply PERFECT, the nicest guy I've seen in ages. Even though knowing he might have been gay, our eyes kept staring - ours, i.e. mine, my sisters and the 1 million people on the parade... What a damn shame!!! Why are gays the nicest boys??? Why do they have the best sculptured bodies? Why do they wear the nicest clothes? It's not fair!

I'll leave you with you some more pics for you to have an approximate idea of the crazy 4 hours we spent in Cibeles yesterday - between dancing the music each car was bringing, getting splashed in water from their turbo water pistols, getting lost in clouds of confetti and feathers and, most of all, getting crazy with the sample gifts they were offering - from condoms to self tanning lotions... Crrraazzyyyy!

Check also this photogalery, very cool photos. And the video.

Birds

And this is an adorable one :), makes you laugh!

Cookies

To all those tough and sweet cookies out there...

Porto, S. João and beach

It's sunny and warm here in Porto! WOW! Extremely unusual! We can almost go to the beach!!!Shame I have a bit of a cold, otherwise I wouldn't think twice about laying on the sand and getting a real suntan, instead one that comes out of a bottle in Madrid and gives me the illusion I can survive another summer without the beach.

Anyhow, maybe we'll go for a coffee at one of my favourite spots in Porto: Praia da Luz to watch the sunset over the ocean and hear the seagulls above us, while listening very cool chillout music. This is the Porto I love. On the above link, you can also see nice views of my city and also of the bars on the renovated Gaia docks overlooking Porto's Ribeira and the most beautiful bridge in the world.

Tonight Porto is celebrating it's patron, St John and preparations are being finalised for another sleepness night, where about 1 million people will enjoy the occasion by walking on the city and... hitting each other on the head with plastic hammers. It's a very strange and unique night over here and the rule is to have fun and to get drunk, always in a group. When we were younger, we used to gather around 2o+ and lined up and hand in hand walk miles until dawn. Why holding hands? Because of the 1 million people on the narrow streets of our city. People get lost, especially if attacked by another "torture" - the smelly garlic. This thing causes you to run uncontrollably until you are safe from this variety of garlic that stinks and makes you wanna kill the person behind it. Yes, this is also very exotic and very Porto, hit the cute girls with garlics and hammers and all laugh... I know, it doesn't make any sense, but that's why it is so pure and fun.

VIVA O PORTO, carago! Or better, more real: BIBÓ PORTO, carago!!!

Faringitis or really sore throat

Went to the doctor who told me I had a strep throat, although the name in spanish is more serious - faringitis!
My dear throat today has been aching, making itself hard to swallow and generally giving me a bad time. So much, that I left work early to come home, had a power nap (quite deep, apparentely, drugged as I was with the pills people kept giving me) and then off to the doctor.
I am home on my stripped pyjamas, wearing a soft woolie cardigan and a scarf, although it's 27c outside. You can imagine how I feel. The problem is that we are driving to Portugal on Friday and I must feel fine, as it's something like 7 hours drive and basically the lady here driving. I'm skipping the summer party of work - oh, what a shame, dear! - so I must feel great by then! Going home for the weekend, especially if I'm driving, is always a mega operation, as everything goes so quickly and there's no time to relax, between catching up with the folks, friends and basically adapting to your old small bed... But driving this time has a purpose, go and fetch mum and dad for them to take care of us until my holidays at the end of July.
The word makes me smile just writing it :), feel better already, yes sir!

Fiesta Ibizenca

On Friday we went to a birthday party, by the swimming pool on this very nice house. As we arrived, we got shocked: everyone was wearing white, from head to toe. Obviously, everyone noticed how we broke the rules, by not abiding to the strict and implicit code. Yes, implicit because the invitation didn't refer to white garments, but to Ibiza. How on Earth should we have known that a Fiesta Ibizenca means White? Well, we were the obvious rebels, even though we were foreign, but that didn't help us being forgiven, the stares of the guys with white moccasin shoes and white transparent trousers didn't fool us, they were totally pissed off at us. We didn't have to embarrass ourselves :)

This is Blythe

In one of the magazines which is our customer for the paper we do, more specifically called Tendencias Fashionmag, in there there was an article about a new reinvented tendency: the Blythe dolls, which are nice dolls with big heads and that were commercialised in the States back in the seventies. They weren't a big success for their strange unproportional form and they were pulled out. Now they are back as collectibles and their price on eBay can reach 1,500€.

I find them the cuttest thing, and so did the Japanese toy maker Takara which is now making more of these dolls, destined to a grown-ups as collectibles.

The things you learn! :)

It's hot!

Guys, going to the gym in a hot day like this is a bit of a torture I know, but this is just the beginning of some hot 3 months, when breathing fresh air is a commodity and a haven. My bichinho is equipped with AC, and damn right too! It shouldn't even be an option, but a special mandatory requirement to have AC standard here in Madrid. Everywhere! My apartment doesn't have one of those big AC machines hanging on a window, but luckily I really do not need it, as we are facing north, i.e., the sun sets on our left, so we never really have it straight on our faces boiling the room... It can even get a bit chilly (and this is my best kept secret, as this adds value to any house in this city!).

I don't even know what is worse, to be freezing in your office all day, sneezing all your 8 hour long workday, or to come out to the heat of the street and be totally cooked in quick mode... Hmmmm....

Sea nostalgia...

And my swimming pool is officially open for the next 3 months! With today's temperature at 32c is it definitely good news!

Although I was on 'holiday' 4 days of the previous week and supposedly went to Portugal, I must tell my boss I need more holidays of the true kind, i.e., lying on the beach all day, have a Coke on the beach bar to have a rest from all that sun exposure, swim a bit, dry up and slowly get back home, shower, dress up all nice and tanned for dinner and drinks until dawn... Then, start this process again until you get tired.

Oh yes, I COULD DO THAT RIGHT NOW! (I even see all blue, blue like the sea...it's a serious case of tiredness and boredom!)

The brainwash

I'm back. I was supposed to be brainwashed by now, but I survived the process.

What a weird business going on there...

Anyways, went to the hotel on Sunday, met my room mate, lovely and sweet Idil.

Met the other boys (we were only 2 girls) and spend a nice afternoon together, having some tapas. We were from Portugal, Turkey, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, UK and Spain.

We didn't know much about the job, we were all eyes and ears. We were all there for the adventure. We didn't know what the job was exactly about.

To summarize it, they send teams of 3 people (a girl and 2 boys) to mainly underdeveloped countries in order to sell advertising in the country report that these teams will help elaborate. They are sent for a minimum period of 3 months and their goal is to sell as many pages as possible. How? By trying their utmost best to sell advertising space on their report which might be published on the medium they work with, so it might be The Economist, The New York Times, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, etc etc.

These are valid country branding, in the sense that their goal is to attract foreign investment and help consolidate a good image of a country. But it's more appearances than we think, as if I can't have the company, whose CEO my 'journalist' just interviewed for an hour, to buy an ad in this report, his comments aren't going to be published, meaning that if they don't give us money, we aren't taking him into consideration, saying quite the contrary during the whole meeting. The prices of these ads are absolutely incredible, and we must convince these top leaders to sign the contrat on the spot. This in Africa, for instance.

They said, indirectly, of course, that I was to use my feminine charms and that was why I was there (I felt cheated and on a very machist environment). And although the team is comprised always of 3, it is always the role of the girl to sell and the boys to pretend they are journalists and photographers for all these famous publications. And the money we get is supposedely transferred from an offshore bank account.

In a nutshell, the whole thing stunk but I've learnt how to do a presentation of 20 mins, memorise all that, present myself impecably, watch my gestures and body language, maintain eye contact, smile, chit chat, boost people's egos, get them to trust me... I can't say these are bad, I really enjoyed these. It's just on what they are used that made me feel a bit bitter. Like interviewing Mr Taha, who is one of the architects of war in Sudan, or the dictator of Congo. All of this with a smile, saying he is so incredible and we must have a nice photo of him in my paper which reaches the right audiences for him to get the foreign investment he deserves.

It's against my morality. This is not selling a physical thing, it's selling an idea, selling an utopia for the price of one too. It's being really pushy, really annoying but with a smile and a hand on his arm. I know all sales have that component of persuasion, but this is really low, it's making people believe they are so special they must be part of the editorial, but if they can't see the point of also being in the advertising side of it, then they are totally dispensable.

And as I'm not like that, I can't get my enthusiasm felt if I don't feel it myself, they told me I didn't have that commercial profile they were looking for. To tell you the truth, I was happy I didn't have the profile of person they wanted...

The selective training 1

Yeah, I didn't mention that the training starts Monday! Yes, already!

Today I must focus: have a presentation to prepare as homework for the training.

Three topics to go through, no notes, no powerpoints, no slides. Just me and THEM!

My opinion is that this will take place first thing on Monday morning, for them to see what we do well and not so well and start from there. Yes, the job involves plenty of presentations to very important audiences and we all must sound professional and convinving.

If I don't get picked, at least I've learnt tactics and strategies. It's 3 official days for training, whilst still being evaluated, then the 4th day is for the ones that passed their criteria and did well generally. Thursday will be the decisive day, when you know that your life as you know it is about to change. If you are over by Wednesday, then your life is supposed to remain the same as it is now.... I'll let you know. Please keep your fingers crossed!

And the beat goes on...

Just got that phone call, I had a feeling I'd know something today...

I'm through to the training!!!!!

Yuppeeee!

Tinky Winky is gay!

Long gone are the days where innocence was a ever-present. Tinky Winky from the Telly Tubbies has been branded as a homosexual because he carries a “hand bag” and so the Polish Children's Rights Commissioner Ewa Sowinska wants him banned from tv. Apparentely poor Tinky Winky, the purple one, is promoting homosexuality!
How I miss my childhood days!

The Assessment day

OK, done and over with!

It was quite an intense morning, filled with presentations, group discussions, simulations...All I know that at some point 2 of the 7 of us were 'disposed' of, meaning they kicked them out as they didn't want to waste anymore time with unsuitable candidates.

It was a very creative, stressful experience which, if I go through, was just the beginning of what's to come: a week-long training at the end of which we must present our cases and defend ourselves against the commercial board, the tough cookies. HR garanteed we'd have all their support during the process, but the final decision wasn't theirs to take... Basically we have to sell ourselves and maybe even our mothers to convince these guys we are the best for this job.

The job is quite ambigous in what isn't a common 9 to 5. Having said that, because it's so different, it gives me the chance to capitalise on it, later on. But you can be sent to India for as long as 6 months and then to Greece for another 3. And that's what it makes it so special, and hard. Not many would have the guts (or madness) to go for it, but I'm willing to try, like always. To stop is to die, right?

Oh dear...

Nervous? Who? Me?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Yupiiiii!

Remember me saying that I've applied for my dream job?

Well....I'm invited to their Assessment Day!!!!!!

If this go well, then: 'candidates who fit the profile will be invited to participate in the selective training which takes place in Madrid. Finally those that pass the training will be hired.'

This went really quick and I guess I sort of deserved this push up, as work nowadays has been hell! I guess it all comes round.

Just a tip on this crazy job: it involves travelling for 11 months a year....


Indeed, I'm CRAAAZZZZZYYY!

Nutella, the best!

Found under the category The best way to get fat Nutella is the best.

On any given day, you can get over 3.5 million Nutella mentions on the internet. And in Italy, there's even a MyNutella.it page where you can exchange compliments about the spread with other unconditional fans.

This I found in The Best Stuff in the World! Vote for yours!

Rice and the inconvenience of...

...being small.

That's right, these two came together as on our weekly food shopping we couldn't get the rice we wanted from the shelf! I mean, me and my sister aren't super tall, but at 1,65m we aren't tiny.

Well, that seemed true, when we tried to get the rice pack from the top shelf. We were literally struggling to get that last pack of rice, by trying to climb on the shelf below - accidentally kicking some other rice brand from its place -, by reallyyy streching our arms and legs and whatever helped us to reach that damn box. Meanwhile, plenty of men, taller than us, were passing by, noticed our frustration and did nothing to help ease our suffering. And not that they were with their other halves, they simply didn't mean to help. Finally, in a quick, decisive and unbalanced jump your dear here managed to get the box which didn't fall to the floor and ruined our whole experience, by a nail. We managed to grab it from my shoulder, on its inummerable twists and turns while falling from its altar there. That was hard work and this while there were 49 other brands to choose from, on normal height shelves... But women, we like it complicated, don't we?

Dream job

My sister found on the internet what seems to be my dream job! I've applied immediately and am now pendent of my mail.

I'm not going to share what it is yet, but I got a quick response from them, asking for a photo and, in my rush to send it, I wrote 'thank you very mich'! Hope they understand it's a silly typo and don't stick to that!

I'm just telling you, if I get that job, my life would change a lot, and I'm not just talking financially! :) It would change drastically, I'm telling you!

Cross your fingers for me, plllliiiiizzzzz!

Intelligence

Eduard Punset is one of those people you thrive to be like.

Beside being a lawyer and economist, he's also a writer and scientific (meaning, he spreads scientific achievements, namely on the psychology area). His blog is on my favourites and even for who's quite lay on those subjects of science, finds it quite appealing. He makes it simple for us.

His latest contribution peaks at how psychopaths are. They can be our bosses, neighbours, friends... Very interesting, but sorry, only in Spanish. TVE is showing this program only at 3 am next Sunday, bless ignorance! Prime time too expensive to be dedicated to documentaries like this.

Anyhow, according to studies, psychopaths know what they are doing, they understand the difference between wrong and right, but are incapable of showing any kind of empathy or remorse for their actions. They usually are liars, violent and charming. This might ring a bell to some, at work we have one of them around. Besides neurotic, hysterical and unpredictable, I also think she's a psychopath! I'm sure!

Colour test

I found this test in Coisas da Net e não só. Do it! I'm this Aqua colour. Which is yours?

AQUA

You enjoy life, humor, and being exuberant. Wherever you go you usually find yourself stealing the spotlight without even trying. You love to let go and have fun.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Mopping the floor

This is Naomi's diary of her sentence cleaning floors. We tend to forget celebrities are also human...

Life after the Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama is going to retire. He is part of the world furniture, he has always been there, it sounds weird he will not be in the future. But the fact is that he wants to step out and leave it to a younger Lama, with whom all teenage girls are in love - that's something not even His Holiness can claim in this world.

His unique presence is due to the fact that he has had a dual role: he spoke for the Tibetans as a people and for their suffering at the hand of the invader and, at the same time, and with startling directness, he told the truths of Buddhism. The Independent says:

'The trampling of Tibet by the People's Liberation Army, the trashing of its monasteries and the brainwashing of its monks and nuns, the colonisation of its towns and cities by Chinese settlers, all of which continues, was an outrage of which the Dalai Lama spoke with unique eloquence, and because the outrage was so stark he found a huge ready audience everywhere. And then, almost without us being aware of it, he was telling us about values, about morality, about happiness, in the simplest words. And because of the way he did it, most of us lingered to listen to that message, too. Tibetan Buddhism is a fabulously exotic construct, as remote and strange a religious tradition as any in the world, ineffably far away. Yet Tenzin Gyatso has a way to make it simple, without cheapening its truths. "Happiness is not something ready made," he will say, "it comes from your own actions." "In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher."

My bichinho is back!

I have it again! How I missed my dear bichinho. (Refer to 'Bad day for Bichinho' in March). Looks all shiny and new. Got the plate replaced and some paint on, but seriously I can't tell where, as it wasn't scratched anywhere. But that shows on the invoice the guy's insurance is going to pay, so I don't mind too much. Overall it was a 100 euros plus bill. I can only imagine how a serious damage would cost!

But that's the price of owning things, right?

Golf mania

Yesterday, we went to the golf course in the posh area of Madrid. The intention was for me to try and learn it, as the guys are already almost professionals with their 13 club sets... So, there I was, learning all about the positions, the strikes, the clubs' range, the speed and direction of the balls. Basically, it was great, even though I had their gloves and clubs (all much too big for me). But learning with inadequate equipment is no news for me (skying, windsurfing, kitesurfing...all of these I dared to try and learn with equipment less than fit for me, but even so I went for it and when I finally got the right stuff, everything seemed much easier!).

At the end of the practice, after we knocked 3 whole baskets of balls, around 50 balls each, we were sore and tired. Today my shoulders hurt, but the feeling of shooting a ball across the grass across more than 80 meters, that's cool. My favourite clubs was nr 6 and nr 7. I have 11 more to practice with!

YOU!

This is you guys! Look at the countries your servers are on, I mean, who do I know in Mexico? Keep poking in, make me proud!
Buá! Have a nice weekend!
PS - Still missing it.... :(

Friday feeling...

I want to finish this week... Bad mood and silly headache on a Friday afternoon? Booh!

My dream

Missing

Why is it that you only miss something when it's lost?

(this can be applied to a trillion of things and you can have your own interpretations of this, but I'm really missing it...)
Any guesses?

And you, what are you missing?

Weather

Where's Spring? With the beautiful greens and flowers and nice and smooth temperatures? Here in Madrid we have either winter (all last week pouring rain and freezing) or super summer (this week totally hot, temperatures last evening, at 8.30 pm - 26c!)...Go wonder! Of course, terraces and cold drinks are all we start thinking from now on until late september! Yuuupppeee!

Tax

Yesterday I've opened my mailbox to find inside my simulation of the tax I had asked before. I wish I hadn't ask for it....it seems that I will have to pay a LOT back, as the office in all 2006 was charging me less tax than I ought. I hate taxes! I am now in negotiations with my landlord to see what we can do in relation with the rent I'm paying and if I can include it in the tax form to somehow try and help reduce my payment... Believe me, it's a lot!

How I wish to be a kid again to be tax-free happy!

7 Wonders of Portugal

As you probably already know by now, Portugal will be the host of the ceremony of the New 7 Wonders of the World the coming 07.07.07.

Taking advantage of the idea, we also came up with 77 sites which are considered relevant, both historically, architecturally and of course, are beautiful.

So, out of the 77 and following the same model as the World wonders, people are asked to vote and 21 finalists are competing nowadays to become the 7 wonders of Portugal. Mainly are castles, churches and palaces. These are excuses also, to visit them before voting and deciding. Please vote, even if you aren't Portuguese, check the website and the pictures and decide for yourself. It's really cool.

My hair

Spring is here, and changes are almost inevitable. I'd like to cut my hair, but have no guts! The thing is that I always had my hair long, always girlie girl, and for as much as I remember, I always wanted to give it a radical change, but I could never get round to it. I love to change a lot, changes are fresh, keep you alive and give you energy...but not changing my hair. I can't compromise that. It's weird, how attached I am to it, but I guess it's also who I am, a long hair girl. Lately I've been playing with the idea of cutting it shoulder lenght, but funnily enough, always find excuses not to go to the hairdressers'. Maybe when I'm old and wise, then maybe I can serioulsy ponder that option, but now...I'll stick to it. It's feminine, never outdated and looks fine. Right?

Joke of the day

Miscellaneous terms definitions:

ADULT: A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.

BEAUTY PARLOUR: A place where women curl up and dye.

CANNIBAL: Someone who is fed up with people.

Travel bargains!

25 wonders

Love travelling. Lifts the spirit. Breaks your routine. Enhances your senses.
When I read this list of wonders to be seen in our lifetimes, compiled by the Rough Guide, I tried to find one out that I could possibly afford to visit soon.

1 Salt flats of Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
2 Uluru or Ayers Rock, Australia
3 Pyramids at Giza, Egypt
4 Drifting down the Amazon
5 “Fairy chimneys” and caves of Cappadocia, Turkey
6 Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
7 Petra, the city carved from stone in the Jordanian desert
8 Machu Picchu, Peru
9 Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s masterpiece in Barcelona
10 Perito Moreno glacier, Patagonia
11 Sistine Chapel, Rome
12 Trekking in the Himalayas
13 Angkor Wat, Cambodia
14 The canals and palaces of Venice
15 Taking a camel train across the Sahara
16 Great Wall of China
17 Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe
18 Paddling in the Barrier Reef, Belize
19 Taj Mahal, India
20 Maya ruins of Mexico and Guatemala
21 Stone giants of Easter Island
22 Grand Mosque, Djenn鬠Mali
23 The temptations of Las Vegas
24 Forbidden City, China
25 Itaipú, the world’s biggest dam, Paraguay and Brazil

There's plenty of room for discussion about these 25 choices. For example, Las Vegas??? Is the Rough Guide patriotic or what?

In any case, I've seen (or been to) 2, been really close to other 2, but out of these true wonders, the one that would most easily and quickly take my fancy would definitly be....(still thinking)....maybe.....either Stone Giants or Patagonia. That sounds exotic enough, doesn't it? I mean, I wouldn't say no if my only choice were the Maya ruins or Petra.

Basically, I need the time and the money and I'd do them all! Oh yeah!

Learn how to...

I married adventure

I bought a very interesting book. It's called 'I married Adventure' by Osa Johnson and it relates the biography of the first explorers and documentary makers in the South Seas and Africa, at the beginning of the 20th century. It's the story of the Johnson couple, Osa and Martin, and their mindblogging adventures in cannibal lands, unexplored places where they were the first white people locals saw. It's truly amazing to read how they organised the expeditions, how this delicate woman went through the difficulties of exploring rough lands, with rough insects, huge and dangerous beasts, diseases, communication... Don't forget we are talking the beginning of 1900s.

They were from Kansas and together filmed and took thousands of photographs of remote and unheard lands. They exchanged gifts with cannibals, learnt aboriginal languages, learnt how to use rifles and hunt for survival.

All is told with plenty of humour in this remarkable book. It comes with some examples of the pictures they took for us to have an approximate idea of how things looked and how, for example, a human head looks like standing on a pole by a fire!

You can also see more photos on their Museum webpage on the Exhibits link. Really cool couple. Above all, brave and ahead of their time.

The thumb test

What to do:
Interlock the fingers of your hands, and place one thumb on top of the other.

Analysis:
The brain works in two general modes. In one mode (often called ‘right-brained’), it is more intuitive, visual, and creative. In the other (often called ‘left-brained’), it is more logical, sequential, and language based. In many ways, it is like having an artist and accountant arguing in your head, and you keep flipping between the two. All of us work in both modes, but everyone naturally tends towards one or the other.

People who place their right thumb on top of their left thumb tend to be left-brain dominant, and are thus more verbal and analytical. Those placing their left thumb on top of their right thumbs tend to be a right-brain dominant, and thus excel in visual, spatial and intuitive tasks.

PS - I'm a right-brain :)

Slow down!

A study in 32 cities has concluded that we are walking faster than a decade ago. This might be the reflection of technology in our lives, such as the internet or mobile phones which turn us more impatient and likely to cram increasingly more activities into a day.

The speed we are walking is also the mirror of what we feel and the pace of our lives. We feel more stressed, more agitated, more demanding. Answer these questions:

Slow down?

* Do you seem to glance at your watch more than others?
*When someone takes too long to get to the point, do you want to hurry them along?
*Are you often first to finish at mealtimes?
*When walking along a street, do you feel frustrated because you are stuck behind others?
*Would you become irritable if you sat for an hour with nothing to do?
*Do you walk out of restaurants or shops if you encounter a short queue?
*If you are caught in slow-moving traffic, do you seem to get more annoyed than other drivers?

Five or more “yes” responses mean you should take your foot off the accelerator.

I will slow down! I definitely get frustrated at a slow pace, I'm too accelerated!

Read more at this interesting web and participate in the studies.

Another day

Just another day of misery in Darfur

100 years defying gravity

With 2007 marking 100 years since the invention of the brassiere, it would seem that boob obsession is alive, robust, and more pervasive than ever.

You've probably read the many horror stories surrounding the history of the bra and lingerie in general - when corsets were so tight women regularly fainted, failed to keep their food down, and even suffered the occasional pierced liver, courtesy of their own ribs. While it hasn't always been fun, the changing silhouette has continually been tightly driven by fashion trends.

And 100 years later, we women are still struggling to have the perfect bra, with easy and quick unhooking of the back strap, adjustable cup-sizes, straps and colours. I guess the perfect bra would also include a remote control bra to help our boyfriends during a night of passion.

It's safe to speculate that breasts have captivated humankind since its creation.

Let's take a look, shall we?

From innocent looks and less than revealing garments, to the wonderbra, a girl's best mate:

We're obsessed with shape, size, anatomy, feel, looks of our breasts. Men are the main cause, although the majority have no clue of our bra size, no clue how to unhook them in a soft and discreet manner...

We're left with this, most of the times:

Veggie art

Still on the food topic, just have a glance at this - Veggie art! Can't eat them now...

Cooking

Gordon Ramsay is one of England's top chefs and quite exquisite at it too.

I've found some succulent recipes for you to try out, as they are basic, quick and easy.

Lack of time is what most people give as an excuse for not cooking regularly, but with some of these recipes, there's no more of that.

Check them out and let me know how you liked them.

It's raining here, all we think is to stay home and indulge. Go ahead, do it, you have my permission! Then, only after taking advantage of them, only then, go to the gym :)

Bichinho in a flower

Isn't this a cool photo?

Chocolate pleasures

Ah, and I had a delicious chocolate tart for dessert.

As I told you, it's raining...

Cinammon rolls

Bah, kept raining all day, as we know rain is caused by holidays and weekends. Not clouds or high pressure. NO!

So took parents and Bichinho to Ikea to compensate...ended up buying some shoes at the mall we went to after, but that's irrelevant for this post. Got a huge traffic jam on the way back, due to the rain and don't know what else.

Going to watch a DVD, drink some tea and eat a cinnamon roll we got from Ikea's food court...hmmm. The best of a rainy day is that you can indulge on sweet things and not go to the gym! Gotta dash!

Holidays/Vacaciones/Férias

Ahhh, public holiday tomorrow in Portugal and me in Spain enjoying it :)

(note, Ali is singing Edith Piaf now.... keeps talking about the film and singing at the same time...I think it's time to go home, mate!)

As I was saying, tomorrow I have a day off and don't know what to do with it, you get so used to work than when you have some time off you kinda get nervous and cannot keep focus, either you want to do lots or nothing...

My thinking about holidays is making me strained and nervous, as I see time fly by and no plans to fill in those precious beautiful days of joy - can you feel the anguish here? I feel like going everywhere and insist with everyone to give me tips and company. Is this sad? Hmmm, actually sounds like it! But it fills me with hope of having a great time, whatever that will be.

Can I ask you too? Nice places to spend 2 weeks of pleasure. (I'm really missing your comments, guys, you suddenly all disappeared and I'm left here all by myself, writing to my poor and sad self. Now, that's sad!).

In any case, and in the meantime, if you like Isabel Allende, read this article about her returning to Chile.

Portishead - glory box

Just listening to a wonderful song I caught in the luso corner in here: http://itsstillourpleasure.blogspot.com/. It's really one of those memorable lyrics and it makes you wanna sit back, close your eyes and relax...and think of 'a reason to love you'. Thanks for reminding us of some good music :)

Book Day

Today it's the World Book Day.

In choosing April 23 as World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO drew inspiration from a Catalan tradition. On this day in Catalonia, numerous book fairs and street festivals are held and customers are offered a rose with every book they buy. By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

In Madrid, this day is celebrated with special events and bookstores are opened up till 12.00 am and offer 10%.

I might go and see Paul Auster's daughter reciting...

Life of Pi

Just finished reading one of the best books I ever read: Life of Pi, by courtesy of Nelson who lent me the book of which I knew the cover well, from my times in Prague. Then, I knew it was a special book, by the attention it received on bookstores. But I found it only in Czech and forgot about it. But the image of the kid sharing a lifeboat with a tiger stayed. Last time we went to Nelson’s house and I saw that cover, I knew it was my time.

Last night I had only a few (around 20) pages left to finish it, so I stayed up and by the time I’ve finished it I couldn’t sleep thinking about it. It’s one of those books that don’t leave you immune.

I’m not going to reveal the story, but it’s a very human account of survival and hope. And always with a lightness that obliges you to stay reading until your eyes beg for rest. It explores religion (the protagonist believes in 3 religions, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism) and spirituality (the writer uses animals to illustrate morals and human characteristics). It challenges you to believe the story(ies). You must take a stand after reading it, as it becomes in the end a matter of faith.
Life of Pi won the 2002 Man Pulitzer award. READ IT!

The Gift - Music

It was full house at the old theatre. The Gift left Madrid’s audience dancing and singing and smiling. It was a cool show, the epicentre being when they sang Music, I was surprised as they all knew the lyrics and made sure the band realised that… There’s no escape now, we are condemned to sing the bloody chorus till the end of our days, it’s just so sticky: “I'm doing it for music, I'm doing it for love, I'm doing it for everyone around me…”

PoP! Goes My Heart

From the new film with Hugh Grant... Don't they look just like a mix of Duran Duran and Wham?? hahahaha How corny!

The Gift in Madrid

We're going to see these guy's at a mytical place in Madrid called Joy Eslava. It should be a cool gig.

They're trying to launch themselves here in Spain, in a more official way than they are already (one of their most famous songs is played on the Spanish equivalent of Emergency Room on tv...)

Barcelona visit

Going to Barcelona, uselessly tonight, coming back tomorrow. Client visit, but as we are in Spain, a dinner is on the book as well as some sight seeing and tapas eating.
So, in effect, the visit is tomorrow, but it doesn't matter, it's always good to have a routine break and sleep in a nice hotel, like this one.

HERÓIS DO MAR-SÓ GOSTO DE TI (tv 1985)

Lembram-se meus queridos?
Era assim que soava há 20 anos atrás.
Memórias, memórias...

America's Cup

Ahoy!

Tomorrow starts at Valencia one of the most lucrative sport events in the world, and one of the poshest. Also, the oldest continuous trophy in sports. It started in 1851, with Americans winning for a straight 132 years (25 editions) until Australia took the Cup in 1983. The Cup is so called because of the first yacht to win the trophy, the America.

This will be the first time in over 150 years that the America's Cup has been held in Europe.

Here are some curious facts about this year's edition:

* 60,000 bottles of Moet & Chandon were taken to Valencia. The official Cup's champagne will be opened by the winners of each regatta, but also on all the ceremonies organised by the Louis Vuitton Cup;

* 1,000.000 m2 is the surface the Port of the Cup, the largest and most modern infrastructure ever to be built for a nautical competition;

* 1,000 boats will coming in and out of the port each day of regatta;

* 33 TV cameras will follow the regattas from helicopters, catamarans, speed boats and even aboard the competing boats. Furthermore, there will be 6 cameras on each boat during the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup and America´s Cup;

* 18 kg of weight and 110 cm height - these are the measures of the cup, the oldest sports trophy in the world.

The way it works is quite refined and difficult to grasp, but in other words, the regattas for classification have been happening since 2004, eliminating candidates - to keep public interest high between matches before the 2007 America's Cup championship, the Louis Vuitton Acts were created with 13 regattas, called "Acts".

The Louis Vuitton Cup is composed of the regattas' rounds in order to establish at the end, a competitor for the last America's Cup winner, the Alinghi from Switzerland (ironic winner, from a land with no sea!).

The America's Cup per se is that event, the competition between these yachts, representing their yacht's clubs. The cup is to be passed on to the yacht's clubs and is still the original trophy.

All this takes place starting tomorrow to June 12 (Louis Vuitton Cup - challenger selection series). The 2007 America's Cup match will take place between June 23 and July 7.

Everyone is ready, on their positions, just waiting for the right wind blow and strike of luck. These are the teams.

Team name Nationality

Defender:Alinghi Switzerland

BMW Oracle Racing United States

+39 Challenge Italy

Team Shosholoza South Africa

Emirates Team New Zealand New Zealand

Luna Rossa Challenge Italy

Areva Challenge France

Victory Challenge Sweden

Desafío Español 2007 Spain

Mascalzone Latino-CapitaliaTeam Italy

United Internet Team Germany Germany

China Team China

Good luck, sailors!

Trash the house!

The 'let's trash the house party' invitation was obedientely taken by the more than 200 guests.

This was a party invitation posted on the internet by a 17-year old girl who took advantage of her parents absence to have fun. Little did she knew that the family house was to be left in shambles and her parents had to land in temporary accomodation until the house is professionally cleaned and put back together. Read it here.

It had to be Portuguese...

In London, a restaurant was fined after fiery sausage explodes at the table. The flaming chorizo looked appetising until the waiter decided to top up the sausage dish with a dash more rum — then it exploded at a packed table.

It could be funny, had it not left a woman with horrible burns all over her face and hands.

These chorizos, a bit too hot, perhaps?

New seat belt reduces 45% of accidents

Now that traffic accidents are the talk of the day (here in Spain, last week alone there were 104 deaths on the road), there's a new seat belt that men think will do the trick.

Hotelsurfing

I'll offer you something different, for those of you not adventurous enough to enter the couchsurfing world (post below), and for those who like an hotel not only to drop your bags and leave. This is in Madrid, but I’ll try to find more for other capitals, as I like to be useful to you guys. Read it up and make it real, they sure look worth the stay.

Couchsurfing

A different (and very cheap) way of globetrotting is using the increasingly common advantage of staying at strange people’s houses, whilst visiting their town. These are people who offer their houses to travellers for the sake of the company.
Although it seems nuts for people letting their houses to strangers, this hospitality network is growing and you can virtually travel the whole world couchsurfing. Interested? Check it out here.