Just saw my second The Waterboys' concert, yesterday at Paradiso, Amsterdam. Mike Scott, Steve Wickham and Ralph Salmins were on stage with the other musicians who make the new "modern blues" line up. The venue was fantastic and The Waterboys played a mix of songs from the new album and old hits, with the same energy that has kept them going unstopped since the 80's. Great stuff.
As for the beautiful city of Amsterdam, it is one of those places difficult to label, and although I was tempted to cite Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam", I will refrain, and rather go for Herberto Helder's words:
"A Holanda agora é isto: vacas, e - no centro - o inferno".
Back to The Waterboys, here is the acoustic version of the song "Mad as the Myst and Snow" adapted from a poem by William Yeats. Lyrics below.
Bolt and bar the Shutter for the foul winds blow
Our minds are at their best this night and I seem to know
That everything outside us is mad as the mist and snow
That everything outside us is mad as the mist and snow.
Horace there by Homer stands, Plato stands below
And here is Tully's open page, how many years ago
Were you and I, lads, mad as the mist and snow ?
Were you and I, lads, mad as the mist and snow ?
You ask what makes me sigh, what makes me shudder so
I shudder and I sigh to think that even Cicero
And many minded Homer were mad as the mist and snow
That Cicero and Homer were mad as the mist and snow
That Cicero and Homer were mad as the mist and snow
Sunday 7 December 2014
mad as the mist and snow
Tuesday 25 November 2014
Goecha La Trek - Kangchenjunga park
The mighty Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world standing at 8,586m above sea level. The Goecha La trek puts you at the foot of this sacred mountain, at an altitude of about 4940m.
On the first day of the 7 day trek we walked for 6h hours in the dense Sikkim forest. We set our tents in Thuka, 3000m. The morning of the second day brought us the first glimpse of the Kangchenjunga range.
On the third day, after 5h walking under a cloudy sky, sometimes descending upon us in the form of a cold, thick fog, we arrived to our camping, at 4000m. A freezing night would ensue. The reward came with the morning sun. Spirits were high. We played football and posed for a silly walk photo.
On the fourth day, camp at Thanzing, in the glacial valley leading to Goecha La. Temperatures reached -10ºC during the night, -6ºC inside our tents.
The ascent to Goecha La from Lamune (4200m) takes about 6h return. We were lucky to wake up to a starry sky. As we walked up the valley, sunrise came to gave the cold some respite. The sun stayed with us until noon, later giving place to a thick, sticky fog. Another freezing night followed.
On the return to Thoka, rhododendron and pines made most of the landscape. Fog again. More cold. We would only feel warm again at the lower grounds around Yuksom.
Thursday 30 October 2014
Wednesday 29 October 2014
duas leis
É evidente que a maldade gosta de cortar aos bocados e comer. Evidente ainda que certo mau humor, vindo da parte de trás do céu, está na base da imundície de certos homens. Nenhum mamífero seria tão cruel se não tivesse apoios obscuros e altos. Uma paisagem que esteja acima do nível do mar (e da tua cabeça) poderá cair ou voar. Se voar será bela, se cair sobre ti: parte-te o pescoço. São duas leis.
in "Uma Viagem à India", Gonçalo Tavares
Monday 27 October 2014
Indus, Shyok and Nubra
Nubra Valley
Overlooking Turtuk and the Shyok river, 
Beautiful Turtuk 
Friday 21 March 2014
Monday 10 March 2014
Return to Homs
I was deeply impressed by Talal Derki's documentary "Return to Homs". In it, the director follows a group of Homs locals, leaded by a young man named Basset, in their spiral to despair in the midst of the Syrian conflict. As the city falls apart so do their initial hopes of a peaceful revolution and they soon take arms to fight the regime. The film is deeply immersed in the daily lives of Basset and his friends who are clearly naive with respect to the broader implications of the conflict and the politics around it. The director makes a clear choice to ignore the politics in order to focus only on the human aspect and the brutality of Homs' siege. This results in an impressive, moving testimony of the absurdity of war.
Thursday 6 March 2014
Saturday 1 March 2014
Sunday 26 January 2014
It's going to get worse and worse and worse, my friend
Precise, powerful and beautiful performance from Lisbeth Gruwez in ADC this week. Came out wanting more.
"De la manipulation à l'extase, Lisbeth Gruwez dynamite de l'intérieur la force de frappe des discours autoritaires."
in journal de l'association pour la danse contemporaine de Genève
