The Other Algarve

On 19th July Seth Sherwood published an article in The New York Times about the wonders of the unknown Algarve - the southern coastline of Portugal.

From its seaside blessed with dunes to the sublime seafood he tells his experience of the other Algarve where he found traditional fishing villages, medieval castles, unmarked surfer beaches.


Read The Other Algarve

On November 27, 2011 Seth Sherwood published in the same newspaper an article about Oporto: 36 Hours in Porto, Portugal

Read more about Portugal in The New York Times: From The New York Times to Oporto

WHY SUMMER MAKES US LAZY

Why does summer make us lazy? Read Maria Konnikova in The New Yorker on humidity, productivity, and the link between sunshine and happiness.

It's a boy!

George Alexander Louis

The Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband Prince William welcomed their first child on Monday, 22nd July.The baby boy was born at 4:24 p.m., weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces (3,8 Kg). 

The official announcement of the birth was posted on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace to be viewed by the waiting crowds.

CNN: Royal Baby meet the relatives

http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2013/06/world/uk-royal-family-tree/

Royal Baby on the way

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the Duchess of Cambridge has been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, London in the early stages of labour. 

The Duchess travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital with The Duke of Cambridge.

The same hospital is where Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were born.

It could be 10 days before the baby's name is announced. British people favour the names Alexandra, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Victoria, Grace, James and George. The field is open for both boys' and girls' names because the parents did not want to know their child's sex in advance.

The child's title will be His or Her Royal Highness Prince or Princess (the baby's name) of Cambridge. 

Protocol dictates that the first to know about the arrival of the baby will be Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister David Cameron and the governors general of each of the Commonwealth Nations -along with the rest of the Royal Family and the Middleton Family.

The baby will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, regardless of gender. A rule change in 2011 (More Queens in the future?) ended centuries of male primogeniture, which decreed that the crown passed to the eldest son and was bestowed on a daughter only when there were no sons. It means that if the next royal baby is a girl, she will eventually become queen; previously, a younger male sibling would have taken precedence.

Global Wealth Inequality

A shocking and disturbing video about global wealth inequality:

Helen Thomas has died at 92

Helen Thomas (1920-2013) was a pioneering journalist at the White House. She covered the administrations of 10 presidents (from Kennedy to Obama) for nearly five decades. She was the person sitting in the front row at the White house who ended every presidential press conference by saying, on behalf of her fellow journalists, "Thank you, Mr. President”.

She was known for asking difficult questions.

President Obama released a statement saying: “What made Helen the Dean of the White House Press Corps was not the length of her tenure but the fierce belief that our democracy works best when we ask tough questions and hold our leaders to account”.

Woody Allen´s New York

Carlyle Hotel

You can watch Woody Allen and the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band play in the intimate Café Carlyle.

Explore Manhattan, through the eyes of Woody Allen.

O meu nutricionista

Uma amiga chamou-me a atenção para um artigo do meu nutricionista, Dr. Júlio de Castro Soares, publicado na revista Men´s Health.

Ali, mais destinadas a atletas, as recomendações da dieta são bastante diferentes daquelas que me deu, quando o consultei pela primeira vez, há cerca de um ano. No entanto e por esta leitura, nota-se que mantém a mesma atitude geral daquela que tive então a oportunidade de registar agradavelmente. 

Aconselha uma alimentação saudável, tendo em conta o tipo de pessoa a quem se destina. Comigo, não fez advertências ou pretendeu impor exigências, daqueles tipos que provocam mal-estar connosco próprias. 

Ao contrário, sublinhou que comer importa para o nosso bem-estar, pode continuar a ser um prazer, mesmo com preocupações de equilíbrio. Portanto, mostrou-me ser possível encontrar uma dieta, na qual acontecem aqueles três ingredientes, prazer, bem-estar e equilíbrio. 

https://www.facebook.com/nutricionistajuliodecastrosoares   

   

Rota Vicentina in The Sunday Times

Gavin Brett published an article about Rota Vicentina, in which he highlights the “wild Alentejo” that he discovered while walking through the region, in May.

Read more

 Zambujeira do Mar beach

My favourite place to stay: Monte das Pedras Pardas

The perfect spot to spend Earth Day. 

Mandela Day

July 18 is Mandela Day, a day that recognizes South African activist and former president Nelson Mandela's birthday.

Nelson Mandela is spending his 95th birthday in hospital in Pretoria, as events take place around the world and in South Africa in his honour.

NELSON MANDELA (in Portuguese)

Statement by President Obama on Nelson Mandela International Day 

Badwater Ultramarathon

The Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135-mile race across Death Valley, California, the hottest place on Earth, starting at 86 m below sea level in the Badwater Basin, and ending at an elevation of 2548 m at Whitney Portal. It takes place annually in mid-July, when temperatures over 49 °C even in the shade are not uncommon. On Monday, July 15, 2013, 96 competitors from 25 countries began the race.

The Portuguese runner Carlos Alberto Gomes de Sa, from Barcelos, has won the 2013 Badwater Ultramarathon, with a time of 24 hours, 38 minutes and 16 seconds, according to the race's official website.

Panda twins born at Zoo Atlanta

Lun Lun

Lun Lun, a 15-year-old giant panda, gave birth to twins at Zoo Atlanta on Monday, July 15, 2013. The first of the tiny duo arrived at 6:21 p.m., and its twin followed at 6:23 p.m. The last panda twins born in U.S. were in 1987, zoo says. The cubs will go on public display in late fall.

The twins

http://www.zooatlanta.org/home/article_content/giant_panda_twins

A Physics Class Story

Miss Rogers taught physics in a New York school. Last month she was explaining to one of her classes about sound, and then decided to test them to see how successful she had been in her explanation. She said to them, “Now, I have a brother in Los Angeles. If I was calling him on the phone, and at the same time you were 75 feet away, listening to me from across the street, which of you would hear what I said earlier, my brother or you-and for what reason?”

The smartest student at once answered, “Your brother, Miss Rogers, because electricity travels faster than sound waves.”

“That´s very good”, Miss Rogers answered, but then one of the girls raised her hand, and Miss Rogers said, “Yes, Debbie?” “ I disagree”, Debbie said. “Your brother would hear you earlier because when it´s eleven o´clock here it´s only eight o´clock in Los Angeles”.



Hill, L.A. Intermediate Anecdotes in American English. Oxford University Press, 1980.

A funny story about exams

A teacher was asking a student a lot of questions but the student couldn´t answer any of them. The teacher then decided to ask him some very easy questions so that he could get a few right.

“What was Bunker Hill?” she said

The student thought for some time and then answered “An airport?”

“No, it was a battle” the teacher said. She was getting a little angry now, but she was trying not to show it. Then she asked, “Who was the first President of the United States?”

The student thought for a long time, but didn´t say anything. Then the teacher got very angry and shouted, “George Washington!” The student got up and began to walk towards his seat.

“Come back!” the teacher said. “I didn´t tell you to go.”

“Oh, I´m sorry”, the student said. “I thought you called the next student”.

Hill, L.A. Intermediate Anecdotes in American English. Oxford University Press, 1980

The Cuckoo’s Calling

J. K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter novels made her one of the world's best-selling authors, published a new novel in April and kept it a secret.

She wrote "The Cuckoo’s Calling" as Robert Galbraith. Her book earned good reviews.

Read more

Homenagem a Rembrandt

O Google presta hoje homenagem a Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669), pelo seu 407º aniversário, com um doodle do auto-retrato do artista, que se encontra na National Gallery of Art, em Washington DC.

 (http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights.html )

Em Londres, na Queen´s Gallery, em Buckingham Palace, podemos admirar o retrato de Agatha Bas.

Na National Gallery, em Londres, encontra-se o auto retrato do artista aos 34 anos 

e A Festa de Belshazzar

Em Lisboa, no Museu Gulbenkian, "Figura de Velho"

 No Museu Rijksmuseum, em Amsterdão, "The Night Watch"

Barbie is 54

Barbie, whose “real” name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy company Mattel. 

She was launched in March 1959 and was an immediate market success - around 300,000 dolls were sold in that year (the first doll was sold for $3.00). 

The mere mention of “Barbie” elicits a reaction and her name has been the subject of numerous controversies involving her lifestyle. "Barbie Syndrome" is a term that has been used to depict the desire to have the physical appearance and lifestyle of the Barbie doll. 

Over the years Barbie has collaborated with more than 75 different fashion designers, has had a dream house, a boyfriend - Ken (named after the son of Mattel founders Ruth and Elliot Handler) -, more than 50 pets, 130 careers and 40 different nationalities. Barbie is everywhere with girls today, a phenomenon that I have never really understood. Fortunately I never owned a Barbie doll - I always preferred baby dolls but eventually, somewhat unwillingly, bought some. For me, Barbie represents a frivolous life of which I am not fond.

This month an artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nickolay Lamn, recreated the doll using proportions of the average 19-year-old woman: her neck is nearly twice as wide, her legs shorter and her head a tiny bit smaller. He said he wanted to see if an average-sized Barbie had market potential, and was pleased with how well she turned out.

Viva a França!

O dia 14 de julho é o dia nacional de França.

Apesar deste blog ter como objetivo principal fornecer informações sobre a cultura anglo-americana aos meus alunos de Inglês, não posso deixar de referir que a Revolução Francesa provocou enormes mudanças nas instituições políticas e sociais e teve repercussões em todo o mundo, que foi muito influenciado pelos seus ideais de Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.

Considero o hino francês um dos mais bonitos de todo o mundo e a sua interpretação no filme Casablanca a melhor de sempre.

Viva a França!

Vive la France!

Hooray for France!

Aqui o artigo publicado no jornal da escola.

An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

Chris Hadfield, Commander of the International Space Station, in 2013, orbiting the Earth during a five-month mission captivated the world with stunning photos and commentaries from space. Have you seen how he celebrated his last day aboard the craft by releasing an adaptation of David Bowie´s Space Oddity? 
(http://relvateresa.blogspot.pt/2013/05/commander-chris-hadfield.html) 

Now, in his first book, Chris Hadfield offers readers extraordinary stories from his life as an astronaut, and shows how to make the impossible a reality.

Written with humour, and a profound optimism for the future of space exploration, Chris Hadfield shares exhilarating experiences and challenges from his 144 days on the ISS and provides an unforgettable answer to his most-asked questions.

What's it really like in outer space?

Chris Hadfield decided to become an astronaut after watching the Apollo moon landing with his family on Stag Island, Ontario, when he was nine years old.

The book was not yet released but it will be published by Random House of Canada in October. 

Portuguese Man- of -War

Is it just in Portugal?

A summer cartoon by Danny Shanahan for the New Yorker Cartoons.

Are you a tile lover?

Today I went to the handicraft FIL (International Lisbon Fair) exhibition and found this interesting piece: a necklace made of a small hand painted tile.

If you are interested in tiles don´t miss Quinta da Bacalhoa

 in Azeitão, Portugal. 

Here you will find one of the oldest tiles in this country dating from 1565. 

Palácio do Marquês da Fronteira in Benfica and of course the Church of Madre de Deus and the Museum of Tile cannot be forgotten.

If you enjoy tiles and also have a sweet tooth go to Fábrica dos Pastéis de Belem and enjoy both: beautiful tiles and the delicious and the truly authentic custard tarts.

Banker of the year: António Horta-Osório

The chief executive of UK’s Lloyds Banking Group, António Horta-Osório won the banker of the year award- as part of Euromoney's Awards for Excellence 2013- for his efforts to restore the UK bank to profitability over the past two years. 

The awards were presented yesterday at a dinner in the City of London attended by more than 500 bankers from the world’s leading financial institutions. 

Collecting the award, António Horta-Osório said: “I am honoured to have won this prestigious award. It is testimony to the hard work done by teams across the business to support our strategy of transforming the Group into a simple, UK customer-focused, low-risk retail and commercial bank that is delivering real benefits for customers, colleagues and shareholders.” 

António Horta Osório is a Portuguese banker, economist and professor who became Lloyds Group Chief Executive on 1 March 2011. He is 49 years old, married with three children and is a keen tennis player and scuba diver. 

Euromoney is the world’s leading financial markets magazine. 

http://www.euromoney.com/Article/3229828/Wells-Fargo-Goldman-Sachs-and-Lloyds-chief-executive.html


http://sicnoticias.sapo.pt/economia/2013/07/12/antonio-horta-osorio-distinguido-como-melhor-banqueiro-do-mundo

The Consul of Bordeaux

Aristides de Sousa Mendes
 Portuguese Diplomat

João Paulo de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches, the last surviving son of Aristides Sousa Mendes, led successfully the attempt to revive his father`s memory. He died in California in 2009 and unfortunately was not able to see some of his legacy -films, books and magazine articles, celebrating the importance of his father.

João Paulo Abranches (in the middle) in Fall River in 2001

However João Paulo Abranches was in Massachusetts (New Bedford and Fall River) in 2001, where he attended a celebration and an exhibition organized by the Portuguese consul, members of the Jewish Community and the Diocese of Fall River about the major humanitarian achievements of Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

This week the New York Times published an article about The Consul of Bordeaux: In Portugal, a Protector of a People is Honored

In June the Portuguese magazine Visão produced a long article with interviews of some survivers of the Holocaust whose lives were saved by Aristides de Sousa Mendes.

The Coronation Festival

The Queen had a tour of the Coronation Festival today.





The Coronation Festival runs from 11-14 July at Buckingham Palace.

It will give members of the public the chance to enjoy the unique opportunity of meeting more than 200 companies that have supplied the royal family in the last five years and therefore hold Royal Warrants (they range from traditional craftspeople to global multinationals). The event will be held in The Gardens at Buckingham Palace.

The firms will be split into four areas - Homes & Gardens, Food & Drink, Design & Technology and Styles, Pursuits & Pastimes. 

The Gardens will also be the setting for a spectacular gala celebrating cultural life in the last 60 years.

Fortnum & Mason is in the list of Royal Warrant holders of the British Royal Family. I love this shop in Piccadilly, London just opposite the Royal Academy of Arts.

http://www.royalwarrant.org/

https://www.coronationfestival.com/

The Butler

The Butler is a look at the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986.

The film is based on the real-life of Eugene Allen (1919-2010). It is directed by Lee Daniels and has a famous cast.The music is by Rodrigo Leão, a Portuguese musician who was part of the ensemble Madredeus.