Santa Claus is coming to town

Christmas is coming and, as usual, people go crazy thinking of what to buy other people. After 8-hours of daily work, some people still manage to drag themselves to mall and whatnots to buy Christmas gifts.

However, it is a good idea to know in advance what is it that you are going to buy, otherwise when you drag yourself aimlessly through the stores you’ll fell like screaming at the woman in front of you carrying 5 different bags that has just (accidentally) hit you with one of them as she rushs through the book store.

So, this year, here’s a tip: PLAN AHEAD.

The wind doesn’t seem to inviting? The idea of having your feet and the bottom of your trousers wet doesn’t charm you? No? So here’s tip # 2: STAY HOME. Go on-line and browse through some of the Christmas suggestions that The New York Times, New York Magazine or FNAC have for you. Use the ideas they have and adapt them so you liking.

And to kick off the Christmas season in a good spirit, here are some of my suggestions for possible Christmas gifts you can give (me or other people): books, umbrellas, socks, trips, massages, a day at the spa, iPods, Mad Men Season 1 DVD, magazine subscription, Photoshop, new cell phone, gift cards, car, house, pets, gloves, funny handkerchiefs, cooking utensils, IKEA vouchers, theatre tickets, cookbooks, bracelets, Jimmy Choo’s, sunny weather, jumping ropes, photography books, key chains, mugs, chocolates, bookends, hair pins, place mats, shower gels, false eyelashes, board games, flowers, hair dryers, lipsticks, comfy slippers, Nespresso coffe machines,... get the idea?

13th

Today is Friday 13th. Nothing bad happened to me. So far.

Except that tonight there will be no Mad Men on tv, but a 24-hour marathon of "24". Darn!

Surprise at Work

Back to work, already.

But today I had a surprise: I arrived to find out that I had been transferred to the translations section of the room! I think I will be diving into translations full time, now!

Here’s hoping...!

Have a good week!

A Fact a Day Keeps Boredom Away

A friend of mine just e-mailed me this amazing website. It's called "Learn Something Everyday" and the name is pretty much self-explanatory.

The website presents one fact per day and they are really funny and informative. They have small windows with bright, eye-catching colours with funny pictures and the fact of the day. Today's fact is:

Worth visiting.

House Hunting

I took two weeks off to relax and go house hunting. If anyone hears of good bargains in Lisbon, shoot me an e-mail.

Asthmatics in Lamborghinis

Last night, I was watching tv when I stumbled across TOP GEAR. Man, I haven’t seen that program in a while!

10 minutes in, they start talking about the new Lamborghini and the tall man, the one with giant legs and curly hair used one of the best metaphors I have ever heard! He said that the air conditioning of the [previously released] Lamborghinis was like “an asthmatic breathing at you through a straw”. GENIOUS!

I can’t actually remember the correct phrase – to you, at you ? - but the “asthmatic breaking through a straw” was brilliant, right?

Hungry Hippos

An amazing video with photographs of the feeding time in the Lisbon Zoo. A must see, here.

Ok, the hippos are not in the video, but the name is funny.

Genius in a Bottle

Genious in a bottle!

In Portuguese here.

In English here.

Personal Questionnaire on VF

Vanity Fair Magazine (VF) has this amazing Proust Questionnaire they publish on-line once a month. It’s a very nice questionnaire that VF asks one public figure every month – movie stars, actors, politicians, painters, writers, scientists… you name it. Go here for more information on the Questionnaire.

Now, they made it even cooler: you can answer the Questionnaire yourself! If done already and it was really funny to be able to answer the same questions that Carolina Herrera, Dustin Hoffman or Tony Curtis.

You can easily access it here. Enjoy!

Graffities

It's been a while since I posted any picts. So here are a few more (from July), colourfull and funny graffities.

I haven't been out taking pictures recently. It'sprobably because of the heat, the demoralising heat! But the weather is starting the chil and I think I will be hitting the streets soon!

Spanish rain

Darn!

It looks like this weekend the rain will not remain mainly in the plain or in Spain!

Shreded Mariah

Better than a reading a good review is reading a review that completely shreds to pieces a music album, in this case, Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel”, but written in such a way that it transpires intelligence, eloquence and an almost perfect use of the English language.

Quero o Calippo Cola!!!

Também sentem falta do Calippo Cola? Era óptimo sentir o pegajoso da cola na boca, lábios e bochechas depois tentar beber/trincar um Calippo Cola.

A OLÁ está a fazer uma petição on-line e quem estiver interessado em trazer o Calippo Cola de volta apenas tem de assinar a petição aqui.

Notícia aqui, da TIME OUT LISBOA.

Facial Photos

"Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for the pages of Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best. "

Vanity Fair, October, here

The New October

For many years, September was, to me, synonym with going back to school and studying and October was synonym with weather. I’ll explain.

During September you could still wear some of the clothes you used during the summer and you didn’t need coats or sweater, for that matter. The idea alone would make you shriek.

But this year, especially because I didn’t have a vacation or and no longer studying, September is the new October.

Earlier this week the weather became cooler. The days are warm(ish), and the evenings are a little bit chilly, which means you have to take a sweater or a coat with you when you go out. I somehow feel we are already in October.

Also, it is the time when you wake up in the middle of the night a little bit cold and pull out a blanket from your closet and cover yourself up in bed. And I love it! I love feeling the comforting weight of the blanket, the crispness of the sheets… I feel comfortable and comforted.

I know it may sound strange, but hey… though luck!

New New Team Member

We're having a new team member here at work!

It's a girl (another!), Maria José, who will be starting today, doing project management.

Welcome!

New Team Member

We're having a new team member here at work!

It's a guy (yes!), Jordan, who will be starting next Monday during the afternoons. He's one of our freelance translator who came for a visit and decided to stay for a month to perfect his Portuguese.

He'll be doing in-house translations.

Welcome!

Trust me on this one

I have a new label (on the blog) called "Trust me on this one".

I'll use it for suggestions about things I really like and vividly recommend to you.

(Great) Free eBook!

This one promises: "100 New Yorkers of the 1970s", by Max Millard - free profiles of Isaac Asimov, George Plimpton, Tom Wolfe, among others.

A definite must-read!

I’ve started reading some of the profiles and they are truly amazing.

The book includes such profiles as

ISAAC ASIMOV - Author of 188 books

GEORGE BALANCHINE - Artistic director of the New York City Ballet

JULES FEIFFER - Screenwriter for “Popeye the Sailor”

GEORGE LANG - Owner of the Cafe des Artistes

Amazing people. Amazing stories. Amazing writing. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Go here for more informations, and here or here for the book itself.


p.s. - I hope it is as good as "Journalistas - 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists" (this one not for free, though)

Extra weight

After finishing a 700 page book (Stieg Larsson's 'Milennium' trilogy), I turned to a 150-Agatha Christie murder mystery (Elephants Can Remember).

I miss the extra weight.