Japan, strange country (in japanese)
This is a Japanese version, since the author decided to remove the English version from the web
The other Joao in Estonia @jlopesmarques is launching a new book
Portuguese author Joao Lopes Marques (@jlopesmarques) is presenting his new book today at Hell Hunt, one of the few decent pubs in Tallinn.
Joao, or as I like to call him “the other Joao” has been living on and off in Tallinn for some time now, and has written about his “beautiful Estonian exile” in a new book that is being promoted by Eesti Ekspress
He is not only an author with several books published, he also occasionally writes articles for the Estonian newspaper, as well as Portuguese media.
His previous book, “Microcontos” was a selection of some of the best passages from his blog http://joaolopesmarques.blogspot.com, and I was lucky enough to get a signed copy from him just before Xmas! In these short tales, Joao writes with an almost poetic prose. And I can’t wait to test my Estonian skills on his new book
In a way, Joao personifies the true Portuguese, someone who outgrows the place where he was born, and travels constantly, discovering the world on the way. Portugal has always been a nation of travelers and discoverers, we’re always planning our next trip and find it hard to settle down (or maybe it’s just me…)
So, if you’re in Tallinn, 18h30 at Hell Hunt
Facebook vs Twitter vs Buzz (imho)
Twitter: “This is big! I need to get this out there!” 
Facebook: “Look at me! I’m interesting!”
Buzz: “Why is this guy annoying me?”
I find that one of the main unspoken advantages of twitter over Facebook is that in twitter there’s no “follow back” concept. You only follow those you want to listen to, not necessarily because you know them, but because you want to read what they have to say. And they are not obliged to follow you back.
In fact I have a feeling most people posting stuff on Facebook are just suffering from low self-esteem and looking for some external validation in the form of a comment or a thumbs up on their posts. I don’t see that in re-tweets on twitter…
Also check out “The Oatmeal“‘s rendition of Facebook suck
Elaborate and creative campaign for Heineken in Italy
Heineken Case Study - Champions League Match vs Classical Concert (Real Madrid, AC Milan) from Carlos Pecuch on Vimeo.
Very elaborate campaign from Heineken to get 1000+ football fans under the same roof under the false pretense of going to a classical music event…
[Google Fast Flip] Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea
Sent to you by joao.rei via Google Fast Flip:
Centuries-Old Shipwrecks Found in Baltic Sea
A gas company building an underwater pipeline stumbled upon several wrecks, some dating back 800 years. The wheel of a 18th or 19th century sailing ship appears in the waters of the Baltic Sea. AP Photo/Nord Stream A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks dating from medieval times to the world wars have been found. The ships were very well preserved because ship worms that eat wooden wrecks don’t live in the Baltic Sea. Thousands of similar wrecks have previously been found in the Baltic Sea. A dozen centuries-old shipwrecks — some of them unusually well-preserved — have been found in the Baltic Sea by a gas company building an underwater pipeline between Russia and Germany. The oldest wreck probably dates back to medieval times and could be up to 800 years old, while the others are likely from the 17th to 19th centuries, Peter Norman of Sweden’s National Heritage Board said Tuesday. “They could be interesting, but we have only seen pictures of their exterior. Many of them are considered to be fully intact. They look very well-preserved,” Norman told The Associated Press. Thousands of wrecks — from medieval ships to warships sunk during the world wars of the 20th century — have been f…
Read full storyHow much TV do you watch?
Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
To me the bottom line seems to be, the more educated you are, the less TV you watch. I’ve been TV free for 3 years now. But that doesn’t mean I don’t watch TV shows or movies, it just means I don’t own a TV set or pay for a subscription. I get my stuff online, like Euronews to start the day and some sitcom to end it with (30 rock, How I met your mother and The big bang theory), and a movie or two over the weekend. Which would yield about 10 hours a week.
Not having a TV set does reduce the amount of TV I watch, simply because I no longer use a TV as “background noise” as I used to. I no longer keep it on if there’s nothing of interest. Since I have more control over what I watch, I take deliberate actions to download or go to a certain website. I don’t “cruise the channels” anymore in search of something to waste time with or distract me. (I have twitter for that…)
[Google Fast Flip] Between Germany and Greece, a Chorus of Sturm, Drang and Pathos
Sent to you by joao.rei via Google Fast Flip:
Between Germany and Greece, a Chorus of Sturm, Drang and Pathos
By NICHOLAS KULISH In recent days, novel solutions to the Greek debt crisis have surfaced, though perhaps not the constructive ones European leaders desperate to hold their struggling union together were hoping to hear. A pair of German politicians, incensed at the thought of paying for a bailout of the profligates to the south, suggested Thursday that the Greeks consider plugging the large hole in their budget by selling off some of their lovely islands. Several Greek politicians and commentators have argued that the Germans should pony up reparations for the death and destruction wrought by the Nazis during World War II. These would not be the coolest heads prevailing. In times of economic growth and rising prosperity, the continent’s shared and all-too-often unhappy history was a lot easier to paper over. Now that there’s room for blame and recrimination, the history suddenly matters. Germans, still smarting from the replacement of their beloved Deutsche mark with the euro, harbor deep suspicions that European unity boils down to them perpetually handing out their hard-earned money, an inerasable debt for the horrors of Nazism. The German news magazine Focus recently summed up t…
Read full storyGermans want Greece to sell off their paradise Islands
Some right wing German politicians are suggesting that Greece should sell some of its islands to pay off the country’s raising debt.In an interview to German tabloid newspaper Bild, the MP’s said: “A bankrupt party must use everything he has to make money and serve his creditors. Greece owns buildings, companies and several uninhabited islands, which can now be used to repay debt.”
Another MP from a more radical party had this to say: “Greece must radically part with company shares and also sell property, for example uninhabited islands”
Other suggestions included selling historical monuments, government buildings, art works, and government owned land. Which no doubt the Germans would be willing to buy and use for their vacations… This exchange of words is escalating and won’t help calming tensions between Berlin and Athens over fears the Germans have that they would have to bail out Greece.
