15 seconds of fun!

A great funny video, really worth of your time!!

Berlin Wall – Accident has always shaped human destiny.

Excerpts of a blog post from a Newsweek reporter hat was in Berlin on the 9th of November, 1989. The full text can be found here:

Egon Krenz, the Communist boss of the German Democratic Republic, called it a “botch.” He was savoring a rare moment of triumph when his party spokesman stopped by in the late afternoon of November 9. “Anything to announce?” asked Günter Schabowski, innocently. Krenz hesitated, then handed him a press release. It was to announce a major initiative he had forced through parliament only hours earlier, and which the country’s restive people had been demanding in the streets for weeks: the right to travel. Krenz intended to give it to them – but only the next day, November 10.

Oblivious to this critical fact, Schabowski went off and read it out to the world in a now-famous vignette. “When does it take effect?” reporters asked. Confused, Schabowski neglected the all-important date: “ so fort ,” he said. “Immediately.” In a heartbeat, the damage was done. Astounded East Germans surged like a human sea to the crossing points to the West. Border guards, receiving no instructions and not knowing what else to do, opened them up. The rest is history.

Accident has always shaped human destiny. Even so, it is worth asking, What if Schabowski had not messed up? Imagine that, the next day, Krenz’s travel laws had taken effect in an orderly and efficient German way.

Strictly speaking, the Wall would not have fallen. It would have been opened, not breached. The Communists, not the people, would have done it. Change might have come by evolution, not revolution. Might Krenz and the Communist reformers who had seized power just weeks earlier have been able to channel popular unrest, or even defuse it? Instead of a unified Germany today, could there still be two Germanys, East and West?

The “what if” game can be played out endlessly. Without the drama of that night at the Wall, with all its inspiring visuals, would the Velvet Revolution in Prague have come one week later? Would Romanians have found the courage to rise against Nicolae Ceausescu a month later? The dominoes of Eastern Europe might have toppled differently. A few might not have toppled at all.

Sand Animation of the Great Patriotic War

The next video is from an artist that makes dynamic art with sand at the sound of music.

The show is visually beautiful with a scenes of the Soviet Union during  2nd World War (the Soviets called the fight against Germany and its Allies the Great Patriotic War).

This video is really worth of your time!

At the end of the show the artist writes the words  “you are always close”.

5 Portuguese Wineries in the best 100 in the World

The American Magazine Wine&Spirits chose 100 wineries from bling tastings of wines released over the past 12 months. The  brands in the list produce a range of wines that score at the top of their categories.

photo credit: wine&spirits mazine

The 5 Portuguese Wineries selected to join the exclusive list are the following (after each wine name you will see “rated with ” and a number from 80-100. Keep in mind that a wine rated with 90 or higher is considered to be exceptional):

Winery: Aveleda

2008 Vinho Verde Alvarinho, rated with 92, $13

2008 Vinho Verde Quinta da Aveleda, rated with 90, $9

2007 Vinho Verde Grinalda Reserva, rated with 90, $15

Winery: Nieport (Prices not available)

2003 Vintage Porto, rated with 96

2004 Douro Redoma Reserva White , rated with 96

Winery: Quinta do Portal (Prices not available)

Quinta do Portal Grande Reserva 2006, rated with 94
Quinta do Portal Reserva 2005, rated with 94
Quinta do Portal Grande Reserva 2003, rated with 93
Quinta do Portal Reserva 2003, rated with 92
Duradero 2006, rated with 91

Best Buys:

Quinta do Portal Red Colheita 2005, rated with 92

Quinta do Portal Red Colheita 2006, rated with 87

Winery: Quinta do Noval (Prices not available)

2003 Vintage Porto Nacional, rated with 98

Winery: Fonseca

10 years Fonseca, rated with 91, $25

20 years Fonseca, rated with 91, $52

40 years Fonseca, rated with 91, $188

Some of the wines from Aveleda  and Quinta do Portal were selected, by the same magazine, for the list of Excellent Wines bellow a $20 price tag. More information in my previous Two Portuguese Wines were awarded as “Value Brands of the Year”.

For more information about when to serve Port Wine in a meal, please check my previous post about White Port and Red Port.

Two Portuguese Wines were awarded as “Value Brands of the Year”

When to drink White Port and Red Port?

Recently at the beginning of a dinner party, a friend asked for some Port Wine.

I was intrigued by the request and quickly replied that Port Wine is usually drank after dinner.

My friend replied:

“White Port is for apéritif and Red Port is for dessert”

It turned out that she was correct:

The dessert is the ideal moment for savouring a Port Wine that will harmonise in countless ways with fruits, sweets and cheeses.

Before we go on, please go here and here to get to know the various families/types of Port Wine.

Drinking Red Port Wine for Dessert

Cakes and chocolate mousse go extremely well with a young and fruity LBV or Vintage.

The intensely rich and sweet traditional Portuguese desserts (based on egg yolks and sugar) are highlighted by the delicate flavour of a 10 or 20 years old Tawny.

If you have chosen a fruit salad, caramel custard or almond tart, desserts with less intense flavours, vanilla ice cream or dried fruits, we recommend a younger wine such as a Tawny Reserve or 10 years old Tawny that has been chilled to accompany the temperature of the dessert.

If on the other hand, you prefer a cheesecake or a mild, creamy cheese, you should select a Ruby Reserve or an LBV.

Strong and hard cheeses are best when eaten with older Tawnies such as a 20 years old.

Drinking White Port wine for apétizers and during the meal

Toasted almonds, smoked salmon, dry plums or dates, served as an aperitif to a meal, are perfect when accompanied by a chilled White Port.

White Port continues to be an excellent choice for a light meal based on salads or grilled fatty fish such as salmon. This is also an excellent wine to drink with rich, creamy soups.

Information in how to have Port Wine can be found here (the excerpts above were taken from this site) and here (summary to quickly identify which wine should be served according to the type of food).

HOME

HOME is a film about the way we are impacting our home and raises awareness to our responsability to make a change in the way we use and share the planet’s resources.

“The Engine of life is linkaged. In Nature everything is linked.”

Everything is linked. Nothing is self-sufficient. Water and air are inseparable, united in life and for our life in earth. (…) Sharing is everthing.

“The cost of our actions”

The following screenshots were taken from the movie:

“It’s too late to be a pessimist”, we need to act

The movie presents the following good examples of us working towards the right use of the planet’s resources:

• a city that make use of solar energy (Freiburg);

• countries that sease the strenght of the sea and the wind to produce energy (Denmark and Iceland to name a few)

• leaders in change like Muhammad Yunus,

• initiatives that the consumer can support like the Fair Trade movement.

I think they should have spent more than 15-20 minutes on the actions we need to take and these actions should not only be macro actions (policies that our governments can take in order to promote the installation of solar panels, the instalation of massive solar panels and wind towers  fields) but also specific actions that we can easily incorporate into our daily routines.

To check what other actions you can take to contribute to a better usage of our planet resources, check my latest post about the founder of Cirque du Soleil and his initiative to raise awareness on water related issues. Here is the link to the post.

The Guzheng: an ancient Chinese stringed instrument

On my latest trip to Barcelona I’ve discovered, in Parc Güell, the Guzheng, an ancient Chinese stringed instrument that dates back 2200 years.

Here is a description of the instrument:

A modern Guzheng typically has 21 strings over movable bridges, and steel strings wound with nylon, although ancient instruments used silk strings. These are mounted on a large resonant half-tube box made of wu-tong wood, and the instrument is typically about 1.7m long. The strings are tuned by both moving the bridges and by adjusting tuning pegs.

Generally the notes are plucked with the right hand, on which the player wears tortoise-shell finger-picks. The left hand is usually bare, but sometimes used to pluck accompanying notes as well as providing pitch bend and vibrato effects behind the bridge.

More information here

Starless Night

Cannes Short Film Festival 2008: Historia de un letrero

(Thank you to my friend Janete for sending)

Lisbon’s New Orchestra: Lisbon Film Orchestra

A visit to Lisbon can now also mean listening to great soundtracks from memorable movies and musicals such as ET, The Phantom of Opera, Mamma Mia,  Harry Potter, Star Wars,  Physco and new ones that the Lisbon Film Orchestra is continuously incorporating into their playlist.