An Amazing and Utterly Wacky World of a Boy

facebook killed my blog

2010-01-09T23:07:00.000+01:00

they actually kept their promise

2010-01-08T23:06:00.001+01:00

Wow, for once (okay some other times when the national football team plays and when you read news in a foreign language about Portugal or portuguese people) I felt proud to be portuguese. The majority left-wing with seats in Parliment approved today a law on gay marriage - not a civil union, but yes - marriage! It's only the sixth country in Europe to do so. And probably the most Roman Catholic of the Old Continent! The Socialist Party which won the last elections in November had promised to propose this law, if they won the re-election.

"LISBON, Portugal - Portugal's parliament passed a bill Friday that would make the predominantly Catholic nation the sixth in Europe to permit gay marriage. Conservative President Anibal Cavaco Silva is thought unlikely to veto the Socialist government's bill, which won the support of all left-of-center parties. His ratification would allow the first gay marriage ceremonies to take place in April — a month before Pope Benedict XVI is due on an official visit to Portugal. Right-of-center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the issue, but their proposal was rejected and the government's bill was passed by 125 votes to 99."

when words are not enough

2009-11-15T23:45:00.001+01:00

erik hassle - hurtful

one week to vegas and sanfran

2009-11-15T23:41:00.001+01:00

woohoo! only one week...7 days... to fabulous Las Vegas and then road trip to San Francisco! I am SO EXCITED! :D

2009-09-28T12:52:00.001+02:00

I am so so so hollow right now... I don't know what to do. Well, I know what to do, but not how to do it without regretting it afterwards, without hurting, without being a villain...

kanye west is the biggest asshole ever

2009-09-16T20:07:00.000+02:00

shame on you, Kanye. Jackass!

i am not dead

2009-09-16T18:54:00.001+02:00

ok, so now I got this thing called Windows Live Writer which will hopefully make it easier to blog and make me use it a bit more often.

keep an eye on this space! ;-)

the cook tease

2009-06-29T21:38:00.003+02:00

the bike parking lot at work is directly opposite a restaurant's kitchen.
every day when I arrive and when I leave, the cook smiles at me from inside his kitchen. the thing is, it is not an ordinary smile... it's a mischievous flirty smile and it's driving me mad.

my official summer song

2009-06-28T13:43:00.003+02:00

Lily Allen : Fuck You + Traduction French HQ

Lily Allen - Fuck You

it starts in 3 days

2009-06-28T13:29:00.004+02:00

Mew Trentemøller Glasvegas Fleet Foxes Friendly Fires 2ManyDjs Röyksopp Tim Christensen Little Boots Elbow Lily Allen Oh No Ono Pet Shop Boys Deadmau5 Mikael Simpson Ida Maria White Lies The Whitest Boy Alive Yeah Yeah Yeahs Coldplay Grace Jones Oasis I'm From Barcelona Nine Inch Nails

should I stay or should I go?

2009-06-26T22:45:00.002+02:00

I'll give myself 1 year time to decide...

2009-06-26T22:45:00.001+02:00

the king of pop died and my blog ressurrects.

dustin lance black

2009-02-23T11:41:00.002+01:00

This is one of the best Oscar speeches ever.
I am probably biased because it hits a special place, but I'm sure everyone, gay or not, got touched by these words.

bloc party @ vega tonight

2009-02-22T17:58:00.003+01:00

I am going to Bloc Party's concert tonight. On my own.
Is that too sad?

UPDATE!!:

It was an amazing concert!
I got a better place than last time (the first floor, where I could see the whole stage from above), and they really connected with the audience this time.

Yeah, their songs might seem alike one another, but they strike a chord and boy do they sound great live! It might not be Coldplay/U2 stadium rock, but it is still a crowd pleaser without losing their uniqueness at the same time.

And Kele was charming as always, and super cute with his schoolboy shorts and trainers.

The most WTF?! moment of the night: two eleven year-olds singing along every single song! With their parents next to them enjoying the concert as much as them! :)

2009-02-20T11:26:00.001+01:00

I have decided to change my blog's font and colors.
I am not sure I like the final product, but I'll give it a trial period.

recap

2009-02-20T10:46:00.006+01:00

The last month's recap:

Me and Kristian finally had a getaway weekend. We went for the weekend to Lalandia, a holiday resort on an island in South Denmark, where we rented a cabin, and spent roughly the whole time in the aquadome - waterslides, swimming pools, jacuzzis, saunas, all within an indoors tropical atmosphere.

It was an amazing weekend. We borrowed Kristian's mother car, drove there and back (we visited beautiful Møns Klint on our way back), and it was great to be somewhere just me and him.

Møns Klint (The White Cliffs)

Then there were some personal issues, relationship problems, and the typical life crisis that I have once in while. All dealt with and in the past.

My mother had her birthday this week and my gift to her was an extended weekend in London in April. I am going to be in London twice within 50 days!! Can't hardly wait for both trips. woohoo! :D

This week it started to snow in Copenhagen (actual snow, not slush) and the city is covered in a 10cm deep snow layer. In spite of being freezing outside, I love the quiteness and calm the snow brings.

video of the month

2009-01-13T00:04:00.001+01:00

This song is fucking fantastic!

Lily Allen - The Fear

CR7's new toy only lasts 2 days

2009-01-08T20:18:00.004+01:00

The portuguese brat everyone is crazy about keeps behaving badly.

Now, he totalled his brand new Ferrari (which he had just imported from Portugal), worth $300K - a bargain for Cristiano.
If you only need to work 2 weeks to get a new one, I'm sure he isn't that shaken about the accident.

Dating one busty tv-presenter one week, a fake-tanned model the other, Cristiano loves to live the good life.

the slumber party

2009-01-08T20:14:00.000+01:00

This weekend there's slumber party at mine!

The gang will come for a 'teen movies' themed sleepover. They will bring their sleeping bags, we will eat pizza and we have a big collection of films to watch (Mean Girls, American Pie, Clueless, She's All That, 10 Thins I Hate About You, ...).

And then we will do each others nails.
Or maybe not... :)

2009-01-08T20:10:00.005+01:00

I haven't posted anything in more than 2 months!! Shame on me!

We are already in 2009 and life is on full throttle!

snow and furniture

2008-11-21T22:42:00.003+01:00

Outside the first snow fall of the season.
Copenhagen is now a sea of white flakes.

The table and 4 chairs the bf bought today are assembled and the living room looks completely different. It's like we brought the living into it.

The bf leaves for a night out with some friends. I am working tomorrow morning - yeah, I know, on a saturday... but that means I get paid overtime.

5 minutes after he leaves I get a text. 'Look out of the window'. Right below, on the roof of a car, now covered in snow, he wrote "Amo-te" (I Love You in portuguese).

It was like a scene out of those Hollywood productions I'm addicted to. Right here, outside of my door.

I can't stop loving him :D

videoclip of the month

2008-11-16T16:14:00.002+01:00

This one has been growing and growing on me.

Lady GaGa - Just Dance

lazy boy

2008-10-11T16:59:00.005+02:00

I have just realized how bad I am at returning phone calls, replying text messages or emails my friends send me.

It is not that I don't think it is worth replying I am just lazy. Ridiculously lazy.

Even when they are on my best interest, I always postpone it - tomorrow I will write him back, I will call her later...

And then the days go by and I have a text on my phone from an old friend waiting to be answered for a whole week!

Sorry guys! Now you know, if I don't reply you right away - I still love you!! :p

videoclip of the week

2008-10-05T16:59:00.001+02:00

They are back! :)

The Presets - My People

videoclip of the month

2008-09-20T15:30:00.002+02:00

The music is everywhere (OK, maybe a bit too much), but it's still ace!

Here's a dance remix:

the portuguese is back from the midlands

2008-09-20T15:10:00.003+02:00

I came back last wednesday (with a 6-hour delay - thanks Sterling!) from a weekend trip to Manchester and Leicester.

I went to Manchester with other 3 guys fromk the swimming club to participate in the PrideGames - my first international gay competition.
Although swimming only filled the saturday afternoon, I swam a lot and eventually got 5 medals (3 gold and 2 silver) back home. Not bad for a first-timer! :)

Bur of course what we did most was clubbing and taking the most out of Manchester's gay village.
Our hotel was 2 blocks away from Canal Street, the epicentre of mancunian's gay life.
The street itself is amazing - a cute typical english street along a canal. And there are gay bars next door to each other from no. 1 Canal Street until the very end. And then on crossing and perpendicular streets.

No need to say, we were out friday, saturday and sunday. As true tourists, we had to try all of the bars.
Manchester was a pleasant surprise. English boys are not the most stunning, but boy are they flirtatious!
Another thing I loved, and missed from my London party-days, was the popmusic played at gay bars, with plasma screens everywhere showing the videoclips at the same time.

On sunday and monday we got to do cultural/sightseeing stuff. The centre of Manchester - the shopping streets and old-town are charming; and Salford Quays (15 min outside Manchester) is a must see, harbouring The Lowry, Imperial War Museum North, and Old Trafford not too far away.

I even survived the complicated english railway system, by visiting my friend Tania in Leicester I hadn't seen in 2 years, before flying back to wonderful Copenhagen.

For photos, check my Facebook profile ;)

sporty spice

2008-09-11T21:06:00.005+02:00

I'm flying to England tomorrow. Finally some time off!

I convinced myself to participate in an international swimming competition.
My first time will be in Manchester, for PrideGames. I'll be swimming 100m & 50m breaststroke + 50m freestyle *gasp* and I keep telling myself is all about participating and gaining experience :)

Did I also mentioned I joined the newly created gay waterpolo club?? I'm the one lying out of breath by the poolside after each session :p

And because Leicester is not that far away, I'll pay a visit to my friend Tânia, who I haven't seen for more than a year!

pride week

2008-08-28T11:32:00.007+02:00

Hi folks!

Here comes my monthly post :)

I do try my best to post more often, but I either don't have the time or don't feel like it.

Let's see what has been going on the last couple of weeks...

_____________

Well, Javi came to visit two weekends ago. He was the guy I met in Aarhus at the intro-week and who was flirting with me all the time without me noticing. When I eventually did, it was too late and he had gone back to Spain.

He lives now in Barcelona and I promised at the time to visit him and take revenge, but the perfect timing never came. 2 years went by and he came to Scandinavia on a summertrip.

He stayed at my place for a weekend and it was great to see him again.

It's weird to be the guy showing the city around, rather than being "the tourist".

______________

We have also gotten a new little friend :)

Luke, one of the brits we met last November at Masken and eventually went to Stockholm with for a weekend. He has moved to Copenhagen!

It is AWESOME to have him around. Finally someone who understands pop-music and shares my passion of gossip magazines :)

We have been introducing him to the danish life, which includes loads of bureaucracy, cheap shots, and slutty guys. Although I wouldn't say he jumped hearfirst into the last one. He is still adapting :)

______________

Then last week was Pride Week. My first Pride ever - in Cph, Lisbon or anywhere else.

I was really excited, as there were all this events, parties, arrangements. The Town Square was turned into Pride Square for 5 days, with all the LGBT organizations represented, concerts, debats, etc... which actually I didn't experience that much.

Pride hit me hard on the weekend - the Parade on saturday was amazing. The biggest ever, according to numbers, the sun was shiny and it was hot for once that week, there was people at the streets waiting to see it all the way from Nørrebro to the Town Square.

At night we started at Code, some cosmos and gin-and-tonics, then headed to Studiestrædet, which was closed to traffic for the night and full of people drinking outside Masken and Chaca. It reminded me of Bairro Alto and of how much I miss Lisbon!

We ended up staying there for a long time, which meant we got very drunk very early... we were supposed to go to one of the many parties afterwards, but those Smirnoff Ice bottles kept appearing out of nowhere and people were soon drifting home.

As a true trouper I still managed to go to Rocco and meet my boyfriend and some other firends and shake my booty :)

I am SO looking forward to Pride 2009!!!

_______________

And then it was back to the hard life.

Specially now that I'm moving in with Kristian, it was been hectic!

Him moving in, then getting all the appliances, furniture, whatnot we need, now me moving in tonight.

It has been very tiring, but it will be so worth it once it's over!

____________

And to lighten things up, there's another poolparty this weekend!! Woohoo!!

2008-08-25T22:51:00.000+02:00

I'm the worst blogger EVER!

John McCain is not senile...

2008-08-10T21:09:00.002+02:00

Do we really have to put up with yet another asshole ruling the most powerful country in the world??

Paris Hilton hits Copenhagen

2008-08-10T20:56:00.004+02:00

Paris Hilton was in Copenhagen this week to promote her new line of handbags.

I thought the why-are-they-famous celebrities was a portuguese phenomenon, but danes are just as crazy!
There was a Paris frenzy all week - she got the frontpage at almost all the newspapers every day, direct tv-coverage when she visited Tivoli, people 24/7 outside her hotel...

I guess like everyone else, danes need their weekly shallow gossip fix.
But even for me it was a bit too much. Gossip has a limit, specially when involving non-celebrities!

should I stay or should I go?

2008-07-24T22:18:00.003+02:00

I am seriously considering moving in with my boyfriend.
Is that too risky? Is it the right next step? Should I be scared?

2008-07-22T17:11:00.001+02:00

is my blog dying??

let the fever begin

2008-06-04T14:51:00.000+02:00

coming concerts @ Vega

2008-05-13T21:55:00.001+02:00

Hercules And Love Affair in June and The National in August.

anyone going??

zombies invade copenhagen

2008-05-09T17:45:00.008+02:00

Well, today I finally have some minutes to write here.

I can only sum up and quickly describe what I've been up to, as it doesn't have the same effect to tell stuff 2 weeks after it happened.

What I wanted to tell you about, is the Copenhagen Zombie Crawl that took place on April 30. I found about it after Iason added it to his events on Facebook. It got me very interested once I read the description: basicly it was a pub crawl, the difference was, everyone was dressep up as a zombie (make-up, clother, acessories - all zombie-like).
I must say it was one of the funniest nights I had in a long time, and an awesome experience to take part in. More than 350 people showed up and some had fantastic costumes and were really original.

The best part was between pubs, when we would walk from one bar to the next through the streets of Copenhagen. Zombie-walking, screeching and lusting for brains like true zombies. People on the streets would interact with us and laugh. I could only imagine my own reaction if I were i their shoes and suddenly saw 100 zombies coming my direction out of nowhere.

We ended up going only to 2 bars, as by 23:00 we were already too wasted. Me, Iason, Mike and Jeff headed off to our gay mecca of shots - still as zombies!!! :)

The worst part was going to work the next day with a massive hangover. Damn tequilla shots!!!

Check my Facebook for more photos!

2008-05-08T22:22:00.001+02:00

I had a lot to write here. But I can't find the time!!! :(

Roskilde Festival 2008

2008-04-21T15:35:00.003+02:00

Antoher year, another Roskilde Festival. And of course I couldn't miss it this year, now that I've become a RF-addict.

The line-up is far from stellar, but it has great names and I really look forward to it!
Here is my what-to-see list:

Will Not Miss For Anything:

Radiohead
The Chemical Brothers
Hot Chip
Goldfrapp

Not Priorities, but Wanna See:

Cat Power
Duffy
Band of Horses
Fedde Le Grand & Friends
The Streets
The Gossip
Alphabeat
Gnarls Barkley

Wanna Check It Out:

Adele
Kate Nash
Enter Shikari
Dan Deacon
Familjen
MGMT
M.I.A.
Spleen United
Battles

and there is always some bands you see totally randomly and you simply fall in love with them.
Les than 70 days left! :D

grown-up life is hard

2008-04-07T18:26:00.003+02:00

Now I know why my mother would always complain when arriving home after a long day at work.
Stress, computers and customer service do not mix very well together.

It's now been over a month at my new job. I can say I have definitely started to keep up and get a grasp of everything. And as it seems, my boss agrees as he got me responsible for coordinating a project with 4 other people. All of sudden I have 4 minions!! No, but seriously, I actually don't like being "coordinating" a group of people. I feel much better relying only on myself. That way I don't always need to look over everybody elses's shoulder to make sure they are doing everything well.

The plus is that the days at work fly by! Or is it a plus? Because so do the weekends! I barely have time to relax, it's working day again already! And you need to juggle boyfriend, friends, 'me-time', hobbies, danish lessons, what-not!!!! It really gets overwhelming sometimes.

But you need to work your ass off to get some change at the end of the month, right?

Breathe in, breathe out...

could I please reback my mony?

2008-03-19T17:52:00.003+01:00

I probably shouldn't make fun of it, but this is too good.

At work I receive emails from people all around the world regarding their travel insurance's claims.
Last week I was processing a claim from a student in Turkey that had dental surgery. When I finished reading I couldn't stop grinning. There are a lot of errors in it, sure, but at the same time I couldn't stop thinking "ohhhh... that's sweet. even though he's murdering the English language". I'm sure the Latin American agents/clients that get emails from me in spanish feel the same way. :)

Dear Sir,

I study in Sabanci niversity-Turky as Exchange student.

At December i got ill and went to clinic and i do some tratment, and the
doctor see that it isn't enough so he send me to another doctor in a
hosbital to make a surgery and i made it, i baied all the mony of tratment
and surgery from my owen mony.

Sir i sent to you many mails and you told my from one month that the agent
will handle my problem and send my mony back but till now i didn't got any
mony in my accont, now i have been more than 2 monthes waiting the mony but
no way.

From 2 monthes i sent you all orginal of the bills and medical report to you
to reback my mony as the insurance policy says.

The insurance policy say that i can reback my mony at maximum 2 weeks after
sending my bills, report, and claim form. But i didn't got any thing till
now. way they didn't take any action till now.
Please reply me as fast as possible. i am wating for your replay.
Thanks for you.

Best regards.
Mohamed.

Maybe I should add that the poor guy only got about 10% of the total amount he spent. But it wasn't our fault! There's a limit for dental treatment, and it's specified on the policy conditions :)

stockholm, sweden

2008-03-10T19:56:00.004+01:00

There is something wrong about swedes.

Yeah, it's an amazing country, successful in every aspect, which gave the world a lot of iconic and life-changing stuff, but something is completely wrong when you can't find a place to buy alcohol at 17:00 on a saturday!!!

God, how annoying it is!! You can't get booze in the supermarkets or kiosks. And the only licensed liquor-store chain is open for 5 hours from monday to saturday!! And then you go out and try to get some fun, but you spend half of your weekly income on a beer!!! a fricking 3,5% beer!!!

Apart from that I had a great weekend. Visited one of the best museums I've ever been to - Vasa Museum. Slept on a hotel room (something I haven't done in years). Saw the marvellous 'Juno' at the cinema.

And all this while being phone-less after having forgotten my PIN-code when I got off the plane...

eurovision 2008 begins

2008-03-10T19:28:00.003+01:00

Poland would be the sure winner with this entry!!!
I shame they didn't win the polish final :)

sweden, again and again

2008-03-02T16:58:00.004+01:00

I spent last weekend with 5 other guys in a cabin in Sweden.

Iason's family has a charming little house in the middle of the forest, and it's kind of a tradition to go there every Winter. This year it was my second time.
It's in a remote place, without running water, cable tv or a shower, but it's always a well-spent weekend.

You get your mind off your daily problems, the big city, all that stress.
This time, we were without power for about 20 hours (a lot of card-playing, reading and walks around the forest) and when the power came back we took our revenge on the deprivation of electronics - a whole night playing SingStar (God how awful I am at playing it, but it's hella fun!) and watching a couple of films.

And it looks like I can't get enough of the country that brought us Ikea and Abba: this thursday I leave for a weekend in Stockholm with some friends. :D

Daniel Day-Lewis is the sweetest guy on Earth!

2008-02-29T22:53:00.005+01:00

Just watched the Oscar ceremony. He's always smilling and his speech was so heart-felt and sweet!!!

Judging by the times I saw him on the screen, I thought he was a stone-cold, mean and kinda guy... I guess that's how great an actor he is.

a destruição dos valores da civilização ocidental cristã... LOL

2008-01-27T21:28:00.000+01:00

Não pude deixar de dar algumas gargalhadas ao ler um comentário a esta notícia.
Há que respeitar a liberdade de opinião, mas quando são ideias tão descabidas e inoportunas só me dá vontade de rolar os olhos e ter pena destas pessoas tão ignorantezinhas...

O problema está no movimento gay que é um projecto de poder para a destruição dos valores da civilização ocidental cristã, nomeadamente para a destruição da família. Tudo isto se insere no projecto maior das esquerdas à escala planetária.
A sobrevivência do Estado-Nação e grande cultura que somos dependem do treino do pensamento estratégico. Ao se discutir temas que, por exemplo, vão do universo gay ao feminista, corroemos a coesão nacional e a desintegração da nossa sociedade porque fica esquecida a perspectiva da grande estratégia, vale dizer, defesa da tradição cristã, da família, da livre iniciativa, da propriedade privada, etc.

Certas pessoas deviam manter as suas opiniões para si próprias...

movie clip: Jumper

2008-01-10T20:39:00.000+01:00

What with the now hunky Jamie Bell and the lovelly Rachel Bilson, Jumper is the it movie of 2008!!

Doesn't it look rad!?

is 2008 gonna be it?

2008-01-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

I know I haven't written in more than a month. The thing is, I haven't actually felt like it.
What with the two jobs, the almost non-existent free time, the relationship I decided to give a try... Yes, it's true. I'm dating someone. Actually, I think we're over that phase. I can say I'm in a relationship.

I guess I was always too afraid to commit, so that's what makes it this time so special and fulfilling.
He's the sweetest and most caring guy ever, and he makes me feel really unique and wanted. After a serious of unlucky crushes, I really needed it.
It has also made our workplace much more fun. Him being the one everyone likes and thinks is adorable, me being the new guy that swept him off his feet.

And so, here I am, in a relationship with a great guy, with a positive bank account, 2 jobs, some job prospects in the near future, and the best friends I could ever ask for. If this isn't happiness, I don't know what is! ;)

30 days of night-ish grey-ish weather

2007-12-09T12:16:00.000+01:00

Yeah, I know... it's been ages since I posted something.
Busy life, that's what it is! Still working two jobs, and trying to enjoy the few free time I have to be with my friends and to keep alive my social life. And I wish I had the self-discipline of writing more often on my blog.

I finally went to the cinema after 3 months of not seeing a single movie at a theater! I went to eat out at a restaurant a couple of times. I went clubbing more than once on a weekend!

Too much alcohol and partying ensue. Or is there such a thing as too much of that? The thing is one does a lot of foolish things once drunk. Some one regrets, some one was longing to do and finally has the guts to.

Well, now I am between a rock and a hard place and I need some time to solve this situation.
That's what you get for being high maintenance, guys.

Oh! And I'm going home for Christmas next week! Really looking forward to it!! :D

the unbearable power of buying

2007-11-17T00:41:00.000+01:00

I finally have furniture! And a new duvet, a new pillow, 2 new bedlinen-sets, a new lamp...

I went to Ikea last weekend and I got my first earthly possessions! It felt really good to come back home with a car full of stuff... the power of consumption!!!
I also managed to assemble all of it myself, contradicting those who thought I was far from being a handyman :)

My new room looks much less like a refugee camp now. Ohh, yeah, I forgot to tell you. I have found a room. I moved 2 weeks ago. It's a collective, meaning we are 6 guys living in a whole floor (we share the bathroom and kitchen). It's in one of the best neighbourhoods of the city (5 minutes by bike from the inner city, in one of the most famous and biggest streets in Cph - on the fashionable side), and the guys I live with are very nice.

And as if I hadn't spent enough money, I bought my plane tickets for my week in Portugal for Christmas. I must admit it feels great to be able to spend money. Your own money. I'm still every month struggling to have a positive balance and wishing next month will be better. But I know NEXT month will :p

Slowly, everything is getting into place :)

dr. strangelove, or how I start worrying and became a stalker

2007-10-22T14:31:00.000+02:00

I finally got a couple of days off from work this weekend. And what a better way to relax than to go out with some friends and having an old-time wild night?

After too many shots, we went clubbing. We got drunk, we pole-danced, and old feelings emerged.
Stalking a guy at 4:00 in the morning through the streets of Copenhagen just because you're a bit jeaulous is so pathetic, that I don't even know how to explain it...

I had so much more to tell about that night. But I mustn't.
As they say, what happens below, stays below...

life update

2007-10-12T12:25:00.000+02:00

Life is getting on track once again.

Most of my paperwork is done: I already have my tax-cards, work/residence permits, contracts, bank account. I should get my first salary at the end of the month, though it won't be much being my first month and all (I haven't been assigned the regular 37 hrs per week).
Other than the little frustration of wanting/needing to work more and getting 14-hour shifts instead, everything is going smoothly :)

The room situation looks less complicated now. I have 3 options I'm considering. Either way I'll have a place by the beginning of next month.

The romanticlife situation is also much better now. I think I've moved on... And I've been smilling all week after a close encounter of the naughty kind on monday after 3 dry months :p

I hope the lucky streak keeps going!!!

what is 'hygge'?

2007-10-05T13:20:00.000+02:00

One of the terms more difficult to translate or explain to someone who hasn't lived in Denmark is 'hygge'. Danes use it a lot, saying it was 'hyggeligt', a person can be 'hyggelig' or you can also use it as verb and 'hygger' yourself.
Sounds like chinese!? Here's a really good definition I found.

Definition of "hygge",

A love of or need for hygge is an important part of the Danish psyche. Hygge is usually inadequately translated as cosiness. This is too simplistic: cosiness relates to physical surroundings – a jersey can be cosy, or a warm bed - whereas hygge has more to do with people’s behaviour towards each other. It is the art of creating intimacy: a sense of comradeship, conviviality, and contentment rolled into one.
Friends meeting in the street might say that it has been hyggeligt to see each other, and someone who is fun to be with can be called a hyggelig fyr, when he would hardly be described as a cosy fellow. The truly emotive depth of the word hyggelig is best captured by considering its opposite, uhyggeligt, which means anything from cheerless through sinister to downright shocking and grisly.
To have a hyggelig time is social nirvana in Denmark. Candlelight is used to encourage a hyggelig atmosphere. In fact, the Danes are mad about candles and use them everywhere, both in public, and at home. The dim lighting helps to soften the clean, uncluttered surfaces and uncompromising white walls that are typical features of Danish living rooms.
Achieving hygge generally involves being with friends and family, and eating and drinking.

freak like me? don't think so...

2007-10-03T16:23:00.000+02:00

The net-dating world is full of surprises. And sometimes we find some pearls that we just need to share with everyone.
I'm sorry for those who can't understand danish, but I couldn't possibly translate everything, it's way much more fun as it is.

The first one was looking for someone who would move in and be the boss. Nothing sexual, he just wanted to follow strict rules at home!

søger en dominerende fyr der flytter ind (ikke sexaftale)
men når du er flyttet ind bestemmer du i lejligheden, jeg skal rette mig efter dine regler.
men hvis det ikke ligger til dig at bestemme og udnytte andre, så er det ikke dig jeg søger.

And then this one who had lost his sugadaddy who gave him a fancy car and expensive clothes. Now he lost all that and he's looking for a new one. He's also looking for a younger lover he can use as he pleases on the side...

Hej jeg hedder Nicklas, nogen gange Casper, det kommer lidt an på hvem jeg prøver at lokke i seng med mig.

Før i tiden var jeg en player der sov med alle og tjente stort på det.
Fik bil, mærketøj og alt hvad jeg pegede på af min helt private daddy som endda ejede et firma.

Men svinet droppede mig sgu så nu har jeg bare slet intet og alle ens såkaldte venner og elskere er også bare daffet fra en. Det er da totalt nederen at folk skal være så snobbede og egoistiske.

Nå men jeg savner det gamle liv og vil gerne have en daddy til (som kan give mig penge og ting for sex), og når jeg har fundet ham vil jeg gerne have nogen unge elskere jeg kan bruge nu og da ligesom i gamle dage (gratis selvølgelig)...

And I thought I as a freak...
PRICELESS!!

moving out, moving in

2007-10-01T23:31:00.000+02:00

I'm now working full-time at the bar, although this week I'll only work 30 hours.

I've also moved from Iason's place to Jacob's. I still can't afford a room in Copenhagen, but now I found a job, I'll hopefully also find a place so I can move next month. Jacob's place is actually awesome - it's in Nørrebro but in a very nice neighbourhood, I have my own room and there are no cats in sight...

Now I just have to get the paperwork out of the way (residence/work permit, personal registration, tax card), and then I can begin with the room-hunt.

so you think you look good shirtless

2007-09-27T14:27:00.001+02:00

Phew!! What a third season it has been for So You Think You Can Dance!
There has been a lot of mindblowing dance routines, and mostly a lot of eye-candy! Can you take your eyes off of Neil and Danny, two of the finalists!?
Particularly when they do it shirtless!!

Here's the videos of the dance numbers pictured above:

Lacey and Neil dancing Latin Jazz
Uploaded by mickeymcc

Danny's solo performance - 7/12/07
Uploaded by abfic

the job-hunt, the b'day party & the bingo night

2007-09-26T20:14:00.000+02:00

The job issue doesn't look as dark as it did before. I was streesing out because I couldn't find a job last week. This week I had a 3 day try-out at a bar and a job interview on tuesday at a health insurance company. Either way, I'll have one of those jobs by friday.
I began monday at Oscar and today was my last try-out day. I have to say it was a lot of fun actually. Although I'm overqualified and they don't pay that well, the staff is great and helped me a lot, the guest ditto. It was tiring, but fun.
The other job wouldn't be as exciting, but would pay better and be more related to my studies.

On the lighter side of life I have been busy too. Last weekend Iason hold is birthday party here. A lot of nice guests, a lot of balloons and serpentines (precisely as one would imagin a Iason's b'day party), and even more alcohol. And so I'm back on the danish party-train. I got a bit tipsy, flirted left and right, and had time to go to a danceclub after.
Yesterday we had the fantastic idea to go bingo. But not any bingo. Tranny Bingo at BLUS!! It was ridiculously funny! Everyone was there (Mike was back from Seattle, some of my colleagues from Oscar came along too), and we had a great time drinking free beer and trying to be attentive to the numbers the heavily drunk trashy trannies picked out of the bag.
A great evening spent surrounded by lots of familiar faces.

It's great to be back :)

this feeling inside

2007-09-21T23:08:00.000+02:00

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That's what I want to do. Scream as loud and strong as I can, where no one can hear me. I want to hibernate and be awoken only when all my problems are gone. When no one will disappoint me or when there will actually be someone out there who cares for me, who really cares. I wanna be found. I want to feel special and found someone who is special to me. I need that. But I can't seem to find it.

And then fucking Avril Lavigne comes and sings these songs that make me cry!!!

bad joke of the week

2007-09-19T17:48:00.000+02:00

There's a new hire car out in Portugal. It's small,
and if you can't get all your kids inside you can
fit one in the boot. It's called the Renault McCann.

ari gold rocks

2007-09-19T16:43:00.000+02:00

Jeremy Piven won this year's Emmy for a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. I say he deserves an Oscar, if such cattegory existed at the Academy Awards.
The guy is brilliant and Ari Gold is simply one of the best characters on TV in years.

Here's a conversation he had with his assistant on the 4th season finale:

Now I want you to break out your pink rolodex, call every queer assistant in town and tell them to open their mouths like J.T. is going to drop a load in it.
Time is of the essence. I want you to hype this bitch!

If you haven't heard of Entourage, go watch it now!!

the declaration of independence

2007-09-18T18:48:00.000+02:00

I know everyone will think I'm a cheesy old prick, but today - while watching one episode of Felicity - I felt as if the whole episode was written just for me.

The episode portraits perfectly the stress of the last year of college, the parental pressure, the uneasiness of not knowling what will come next, what our next steps should be, who is there for us...
Am I'm sure everyone who has recently graduated feels just like Felicity (and Noel) feel - lost and uncertain.
It's great to see that we're not alone out there.

the search continues

2007-09-18T00:22:00.000+02:00

Still no job.

Either I'm doing something wrong, or the world works in mysterious, slow ways...

may the (bear) force be with you

2007-09-13T20:47:00.000+02:00

Was I the last one to discover this pearl!? :D

it's good to be back

2007-09-12T17:41:00.000+02:00

And here I am, back back back. Still without my luggage (which should be arriving any minute now after being held up in Lisbons airport), but already loving it.

I've been to BLUS night yesterday - saw Daniel, Lars, Søren and some others. Amazing how welcome and missed I felt. Although everything is much as it was, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Now I just need a job!

returning to denmark

2007-09-10T17:11:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow I'm flying back to Denmark. And this time I'm going without a job, or a place of my own to stay. It's gonna be hard at first - looking for a job, then a room, then moving in and settle down. But I'll have my friends, that I know I can rely on.

See you on the other side!

Japanese can make great TV shows!

2007-08-29T19:20:00.000+02:00

Because I don't have anything better to do, look what I found on YouTube :D
Watch them!! They're worth it!!

the summer update

2007-08-15T12:32:00.000+02:00

The weather sucks. I was supposed to drive to the beach with my mother today, but we postponed it until the weekend, hoping for at least some sunshine. It's August and the sky has been full of grey clouds since last friday...

The good news: my sister is going on holiday tomorrow, so I'll have the computer all to myself; I'll be back in Copenhagen in less than a month.

What's been happening more?
Hmmmm... I got 2 replies from some jobs I applied for in Cph. They wanted to schedule an interview in August and I had to turn them down (one of them was at Nordisk Film, the company I ultimately want to work for!!), so that affected my morale a bit...

Let's hope I can get myself some tan next week ;)

the portuguese summer

2007-08-03T15:17:00.000+02:00

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, but the thing is I've been VERY lazy. Yeah, more than usual...

In a nutshell this is what I've done lately: Claus and his sister came on holiday to Portugal. I met them one day in Lisbon (one-day trip to Sintra [when did it got so fucking expensive!? no wonder it's full of tourists, only they can afford prices like those!]) and one in Porto. Both times I got drunk...
I then went back to Lisbon for a whole weekend: awful scorching hot days, lovely indian summer nights, not so exciting clubbing. To be honest, I found the whole clubbing-crowd too corny and redneck-y... am I becoming too snob or have the standards lowered while I was away!? I did missed Bairro Alto and the mediterranean party mood, it was just my Scandinavians who were missing.
That said it's great to see my friends again... but then it starts getting boring and too familiar. 3 or 4 weeks down here would be more than enough.

Now is one more month enduring this above 35º daily temperatures. I might as well get myself a great tan, or the shame when I go back to DK will be too much...

back to the mediterranean life

2007-07-11T17:21:00.000+02:00

After being in transit for 12 hours,with 5 hours of delays, I finally got home (around 1:45AM).

The weather is great, the homemade meals even better, and I am now beginning the friends and family tour.
Friday I'm going to Lisbon and show Sintra and Lisbon's nightlife to Claus and his sister, who are spending almost 2 weeks in Portugal.

Will I ever stop going back and forth!?

Roskilde Festival '07

2007-07-03T12:24:00.000+02:00

After waiting 3 excruciating hours to exchange my ticket for a wristband on sunday morning, getting a good place for the camp, and setting the tents up, I came back to Cph on sunday afternoon. I'll come back to Roskilde this afternoon, and although the weather isn't the best, I can't wait for it and I'm ready!

I bought galoches, an umbrella and my winter coat will keep me good company.
It will be hard to attend some concerts under heavy rain, but here is my programme:

Thursday

Arcade Fire
The Killers
Björk

Friday

Camera Obscura
The Sounds
Klaxons
CSS
Mika
Peter Bjorn and John
Nephew

Saturday

The National
Thomas Dybdahl
Oh No Ono
The Whitest Boy Alive
Buraka Som Sistema (I need to support the only portuguese act on the festival!)
Grizzly Bear
Moi Caprice
DJ Tiësto

Sunday

Beirut
Wilco
Arctic Monkeys
Muse
Dúné
Basement Jaxx
Justice

It seems I'll be quite busy... what with being hungover all the time... but I can sleep when I'm dead, so they say ;)
I'll be back next monday.

the hectic week

2007-06-29T12:58:00.000+02:00

I finally have some time to update the blog and let you guys know what I've been up to.

I had a very tiring and eventful week. Beginning with the international swimming competition last weekend (apart from being disqualified, it was quite fun :D), 4 days in a row waking up at 5:30 and getting home at 21:00, starting to pack some stuff, getting ready for Roskilde Festival (starts this sunday), being dragged into the 'lovestoned' stage once again...

I hate when the time to move comes. Always so much to do, so little time, so little will-power. Within 2 weeks I'll be back home for the summer - I'm actually really looking forward to it, spend some quality time with my family and friends. I'm then expected to come back to Copenhagen on September 11th.

modultesten

2007-06-18T20:56:00.000+02:00

Today I did the reading and writing part of my danish modultest. If I pass it, I'll go to Modul 5 (out of 6) next September.

I alwyas love the writing exercises on language tests because I can set my imagination and mix it with non-fiction facts. I always have a lot of fun writing them.

Here was mine from today's test (sorry non-danish speakers):

Opgave: Du skal skrive en historie, der slutter med Jeg er aldrig blevet så overraskelset i hele mit liv.

Oliver var en flinke fyr jeg lært at kende da jeg begyndte på universitet.
Efter et par dage, man kunne mærkt, at Oliver var ikke en almendelige fyr. Han var meget populær, snakkede meget og med alle. Han havde noget de andre havde ikke: noget som tiltrækker alle mennesker som talte med ham. Både piger og fyre kunne ikke ignorere Oliver. Alle ville være Olivers ven, nogen ville noget mere. Han charmerede hvem han gad.
Jeg tror han gik ud med i det mindste 4 piger i løbet af den første semester. Pigerne var simpelthen vild med ham og fyrene ville være ligesom ham.
Men jeg kan godt huske hvad skete på årsslutningsfesten.
På et tidspunkt var alle sammen meget fuld. Inten overraskelse her. Man ved godt hvordan studenter festen er. Men hvad jeg så kunne man ikke forvente.
Festens lokale var næsten tom. Det var cirka kl.04 og kun mig, Oliver, Kat og Max var stadig ikke døde fuld. Kat og jeg dansede og snakkede om festen, da vi kiggede på terrassen: Oliver og Max kyssede hinanden. Kat kiggede på mig og vi sagde intet ord - vi lo bare.
Jeg er aldrig blevet så overrasket i hele mit liv.

Now I want the errors' patrol to let me know how bad it is ;)

the need for speed

2007-06-11T21:02:00.000+02:00

jeg fik en hastighedsovertrædelse bøden i dag.
1500kr, for satan!!! øv øv

I got my first speeding ticket today. Nothing to be proud about, quite on the contrary when you have to pay 200€ for driving 83 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.
I sure learned the lesson... I've been driving under 60km/h ever since... but those 200€ will be SO missed, as if my economical problems weren't enough already...

there goes the money I saved for the summer...

the indian summer weekend

2007-06-10T19:11:00.000+02:00

Unbelievably fantastic weekend in Copenhagen!!

All of a sudden, the weather changed and it feels like August - temperature around 28º, no wind, sun always shinning from 4:00 until 22:30...
And I didn't let the opportunity to enjoy it go away!! A beach grill at Amager Strand with the gang on friday evening, sunbathing by the canal at Islands Brygge on saturday afternoon, followed by an all night party at Zum Biergarten, closing with a great sunday afternoon at the beach.

I'm going crazy with all the eye-candy!! Shirtless is the rule, and I'm not used to so many delicious things prancing around the city...
I LOVE Denmark!!!

den danske sommer

2007-06-06T13:26:00.000+02:00

I går mødte jeg Iason og Mike om eftermiddag og vi havde frokost sammen. Vejret var så godt, vi gik til Kongens Haven bagefter. Og det var for dejlig!!! For fanden, hvor hyggeligt det var!
Sol skinnede, vi lagde på græsen, og haven var fuld af lækker topløs fyre - derfor var jeg meget glad. ;)
Det var min første virkelige sommertur til haven dette år og det var kanon.

Danmark kan være deprimerende og koldt i vinteren, men sommer i København er anderledes! Den bedste ting i verden!

This was my very first post entirely in danish!!! woohoo!! (Iason, feel free to tell me if something isn't correct).

the final weeks, again

2007-06-05T12:36:00.000+02:00

Denmark: Phase 2 is almost over. Barely one month left before I go home for the summer.
But I'm already looking forward for Denmark: Phase 3. I just hope everything goes for the best and I find a job and a place to live in Copenhagen by September...

Everyone crossing fingers for me!!

What a rollercoaster ride it has been. Time flies by too quickly!

the week from hell

2007-05-25T19:15:00.000+02:00

Bag stolen on my birthday night. Check.
Had to get new keys and new personal/bank cards. Check.
Mobilephone's screen kaput 2 days later. Check.
Laptop undergoes critical error and a general colapse is imminent. Check.
New mobilephone won't arrive until next week. Check.

What's the worst that could happen now?!
Something is really wrong when you start crying over an Avril Lavigne song...

Eurovision memory lane

2007-05-17T14:48:00.000+02:00

I went to the attic and found this little treasure:

Lúcia Moniz - O Meu Coração Não Tem Cor

It's one of the best songs Portugal ever sent to the ESC, getting the best position ever (6th place). And that was in 1996 when the orchestra was still important and each country had its own maestro...

And then I found some other memorable songs that were smash hits at the time, but seeing them now only makes me laugh at the over-the-top hairdos, questionable fashion sense and cheesy danse routines. :D

from left to right, top to bottom:
Da Vinci - Conquistador (1989)
Carlos Paião - Play-Back (1981)
Dulce Pontes - Lusitana Paixão (1991)
José Cid - Um Grande, Grande Amor (1980)
Dina - Amor d'Água Fresca (1992)
Doce - Bem Bom (1982)

the new iron curtain

2007-05-13T14:12:00.000+02:00

So the Eurovision Song Contest came and went...
And this year the ESC took Europe by storm once again, for political/geographical reasons. The Western countries were outraged on thursday night after the semifinal, when 9 Eastern Europeans countries + Turkey got the 10 places at the final.

Expressions like 'the Eastern European maffia', 'regional voting', 'cheating' were heard everywhere when not a single Western country got through the final. The only Western representors at the final were the ones who always have a secure place (Germany, France, Spain and the UK) and a couple more (Sweden, Ireland, Finland and Greece). Out of 24 songs, 16 came from the ex-Yugoslavia and ex-USSR countries...

Here in Denmark, where the ESC is still popular, pleas where made for the Westerners to stick together and don't vote on an Eastern country...
But it's no novelty that the countries always give maximum points to their neighbours, but only now the Western countries realized that they can't vote on a song they like, but rather on another Western country, or the ESC will soon become the Eastern European Song Contest.

The lesbian song from Serbia (how it's known around here) won the contest this year, with the amazing Ukranian unbelivable number 'Danzing!' a close second.

It's still fun to watch the final with a bunch of friends!!

Verka Serduchka - Danzing Lasha Tumbai (Ukraine ESC 2007)

my wishlist

2007-05-07T16:25:00.000+02:00

Beause my birthday is coming soon, and people don't stop asking me what I want for my birthday (even though I told them I don't really need presents!), I added to the sidebar my wishlist... of course that most of them are very unreasonable wishes, but it's what I would like to have :p

You asked for it!
And it doesn't mean that those are the only things I want... It's always fun to get something you weren't expecting and be surprised.

May the Fourth

2007-05-07T16:08:00.000+02:00

Last friday was Star Wars Day - May the Fourth (be with you).

Lame joke, I know, but it's actually funny! :)

BLOC PARTY!!!

2007-05-02T16:19:00.000+02:00

The Bloc Party concert was sold out for a long time, making my chances of getting to see them live this year almost zero.

I had accepted the fact that it wasn't a lucky week for me when Peter at last.fm said he had a spare ticket because his brother cancelled on him. I was over-excited! One day before the concert, I get my chance! :D
It was also good news for Daniel who was somewhat worried he would have to go alone to the concert. :)

The concert was awesome. They brought a great lights-show, along with an amazing stage performance. Kele was always smiling and singing with passion (even after some childish guy in the audience threw a bottle at him), and the song line-up was great (I just wished they played Kreuzberg).
Although sometimes his voice didn't seem quite up there, they managed to make the time fly by and made us salivate for more...
A lot of teenagers in the audience though... mosh pits and crowd-surfing don't really do it for me.

Here's the musicvideo for their latest single:

Bloc Party - I Still Remember

application rejected

2007-04-26T21:10:00.000+02:00

I'm angry at the world!!!

Got an email today saying my application for a graduate programme was rejected... and it was my best chance to stay in Denmark for one year more... I don't know where to turn now... All I get is no's.
The clock is ticking and I'm losing hope :(

When will I get my big break!?

sunday blues

2007-04-22T19:22:00.000+02:00

I had a great weekend - I met Ivan on friday, Ági yesterday, I went to 2 parties yesterday and had lots of fun... and yet today I feel so down, sad and depressed...

And in part I know why.

Think positive, André bandido...

estes escandinavos...

2007-04-18T16:25:00.000+02:00

Estes gajos são completamente marados!!
O tempo primaveril finalmente chegou e ok, sabe mesmo muito bem este sol e o céu azul... já dá para andar de óculos de sol e tal... agora chinelinho e corsários, tops sem costas!? Ainda estamos em Abril amigos!!! E o sol brilha sim senhor, mas aquecer é que nada!

Não admira que já andem por aí muitos constipados :p
Mas a verdade é que não há coisa melhor que a chegada da Primavera à Escandinávia.
Confesso que até eu já fui estender-me ao comprido no parque a ler um livro... mas ainda de calças e sweat-shirt!

Mas uma coisa é certa, a Primavera trouxe o que a gente quer: love is in the air!!

my second Roskilde Festival

2007-04-18T16:12:00.000+02:00

I bought today my ticket for the best festival in the world - Roskilde Festival!!! yay!!
It was fucking expensive, but totally worth it!! I was there last year but working, therefore I coulnd't attend some concerts. This year I decided I would pay just because I want to be free and enjoy the whole festival.

Names confirmed so far I want to see: The Killers, Björk, Muse, Mika, Arcade Fire, Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys, Basement Jaxx, moi Caprice
some other I want to check out: Mando Diao, Oh No Ono, Camera Obscura, Cansei de Ser Sexy, Against Me!
and some others I'm not really into: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, My Chemical Romance, Beastie Boys
and still more 100 bands to be announced... WOOHOO!!!

bohemian like me

2007-04-12T21:34:00.000+02:00

23-Feb | 03-Mar | 10-Mar | 16-Mar | 24-Mar | 30-Mar | 06-Abr | 07-Abr | 08-Abr | and still more night outs to come...

Am I becoming a Paris Hilton wannabe!?

For the last couple of weeks I've outdone myself. The weird thing is, I was never this bohemian back home, quite the opposite.
Maybe it is the fact that I'm in a different country, for a specific period of time. I guess I just want to enjoy everything and everyone while I can.

Every weekend I meet the guys and we have so much fun that the only thing I can think about is how hard it will be once I have to leave Denmark again :(

sinner

2007-04-12T19:19:00.000+02:00

I'm gonna rot in Hell.
I gave into temptation and sinned during Easter...

the alcoholic tiramisú

2007-04-07T14:12:00.000+02:00

Dinner at Iason's yesterday.
I think he was trying to get us all drunk, because the tiramisú was soaked in rum!! It's fun to drink rum & coke, maybe some rum shots... but eating rum with ladyfingers!? not that good... :p

After the dinner I went downtown but the tiramisú was too much and I wasn't feeling well at all! A shame though, becausee Boiz was packed with eye-candy :\

musicvideos of the week

2007-04-04T17:32:00.000+02:00

Yes, this time I bring 2 musicvideos at once. To make up for all the weeks I forget to post one :p
I've chosen two songs that I just can't get out of my head for a while now.

Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby

Amy Winehouse - Rehab

300 (tiny) review

2007-04-04T16:45:00.000+02:00

'300' shouldn't be taken too seriously. After all it's simply a blockbuster, thus pure entertainment.
But it's a good blockbuster, a different one.

The visuals and camera work are completely stunning: the contrast used, the appealing and vivid colours, the skies and landscapes, the slow motion battle sequences, the over-the-top costumes and props... 300 is a feast for the eyes. Total eye candy (not mentioning the buffed, almost naked greek hunks).

And there's the controversy/discussion on whether the film is homophobic or not.
I found this review on the homoeroticism of '300', specifically on the relationship Stelios/Astinos.
It's amazing what people find when they are looking really hard for something ;)

"It started with Stelios saying something like,“You fought well. For a woman!” to which Astinos gave a naughty smile. And then there was a remark at some point about one of them admiring thespians to which the comeback was,“Jealousy does not become you.” And then at a different scene they were fighting back to back and Stelios said,”You need me to watch your back,” to which Astinos answered,”We don’t have time for that right now.”

Yes, I saw the movie twice and really think it was pretty explicit in the words that they were lovers, even who was dominant and who submissive. But I also think it’s too bad that the studio honchos or the writers or Frank Miller or whoever did not have enough guts to make Stelios the one most shaken by Astinos’ death instead of his father. Just like when they made Patroclus Achilles' cousin in Troy."

Now, he might actually have a point. The dialogue between those two was dubious, but does it really matter whether they were gay, lovers, or just commrades in arms!?

Another, yet different, review:

"I personally don't care one way or another about this movies politics, I found it to be an entertaining flick, nothing more or less. Yet I see a lot of misunderstanding about why some people claim this movie is homophobic. So I figure I would do my best to explain the reasoning behind it.

Those that argue that this movie is homophobic see nothing in the portrayal of the greeks as homophobic. On the contrary, the Greeks are presented as the ultimate masculine ideal, strong, manly men willing to fight and kill above all else. And then we have Xerxes. Wearing his golden codpiece, carried on a giant gay pride float by dozens of oiled slaves, gently stroking Leonidus, trying to seduce him to
the dark side. And the ever hetero spartans brutily massacre the effeminate persians.

The people that argue that 300 is a homophobic film sees it as a portrayal of the straight spartans destroying the queer persians, and see them portrayed as righteous for doing so, protecting their precious way of life against the decadence of the invaders.

Read into it what you will, I believe it to be a valid interpretation."

I love when a movie causes this much fuss!!

After the great remake of Dawn of the Dead, Zach Snyder didn't disappoint on making another visual masterpiece. And just for that alone, the movie is awesome!!!

mission: impossible

2007-03-29T21:04:00.000+02:00

Today, during class, I tried to explain the portuguese educational system to a chinese... in danish!
It didn't go that well, as you can imagine ;)

Dnevnoy dozor

2007-03-28T00:38:00.000+02:00

And 2007 just gets better and better cinemawise.

This time I have the trailer from the sequel to the excelent Night Watch (Nochnoy Dozor), a russian fantasy-thriller set in present-day Moscow where the respective forces that control daytime and nighttime battle for supremacy.

A plot outline: Among normal humans live the "Others" possessing various supernatural powers. They are divided up into the forces of light and the forces of the dark, who signed a truce several centuries ago to end a devastating battle. Ever since, the forces of light govern the day while the night belongs to their dark opponents. In modern day Moscow the dark Others actually roam the night as vampires while a "Night Watch" of light forces, among them Anton, the movie's protagonist, try to control them and limit their outrage.

Timur Bekmambetov, the visionary director, has been dubbed the new Tarantino.
The huge success of this first film, spawned a triology - the second one being Dnevnoy dozor (Day Watch), and the final one still in production (Dusk Watch).

Day Watch picks up where Nochnoy dozor left off, where Anton (Khabensky) continues to fight the forces of Darkness while simultaneously attempting to find and save his son from the clutches of those same forces. But when vampires belonging to the Dark side start mysteriously being killed, and Anton is framed for their murders, he must put that goal on hold and try to escape the Day Watch that is looking for his blood.

I'm a sucker for good CGI-sequences and over-the-top visuals, so this one goes right to the top of my must-see list of 2007.

the plugoo

2007-03-27T16:30:00.000+02:00

I have a Plugoo now!

What is a Plugoo, you might ask?

Plugoo enables you to chat directly from your Instant Messenger with any visitor of your blog or personal webpage.
Visitors on your site can see the Plugoo and type a message in it to send it to you!

This Plugoo is directly connected to your Instant Messenger and forward you in real time all the messages your visitors send you. You answer to the visitor directly from your Instant Messenger, LIVE!

This means that now you all can contact me while reading my blog. I hope it makes you interact more with me! No one ever comments my posts, and I need your feedback to keep going!

2007-03-26T23:01:00.000+02:00

I need your opinion!!

Beard or no beard??
Leave a comment with your vote during this week.

the end's not near, it's here

2007-03-24T20:17:00.000+01:00

Last night I watched the very last episode of The OC.

As you all know, more than my guilty pleasure, The OC is one of my favourite series ever. So it was with sadness that I had to say goodbye and watch it for the last time. :"(
I will miss Seth Cohen and his 'sethisms' most of all; but also the bitchy Julie, the sassy Kaitlin, the witty Taylor, the sweet Kirsten, the hunky Ryan, the wise Sandy, the wacky Summer...

All in all it was a very good finale. I won't spoil it for the ones who haven't watched it, but let's say that all ends well but not in a way that we would exactly expect.

Welcome to The OC, bitch!

2007-03-22T14:57:00.000+01:00

Estava a navegar num daqueles 'dating sites', quando encontrei este texto num perfil:

"Tenho crises de melancolia e depressão que me tornam instável e imprevisível, com tendências autodestrutivas. Adoro dias cinzentos e de chuva. Odeio pessoas que assobiam. Gosto da combinação de azul claro e castanho. Gosto de pessoas que vêem mais além. Gosto de tipos misteriosos, calados mas com um olhar eloquente. Gosto de bipolares, esquizofrénicos e deprimidos. Raramente sei se estou a fazer a coisa certa e tenho muito poucas certezas."

Não sei se me hei-de sentir assustado pelo negativismo ou admirado pela sinceridade...

There are some really fucked-up people out there!!!

the canadian diver

2007-03-21T11:53:00.000+01:00

Alexandre Despatie is a young canadian world champion diver, and he caught my eye on the last Olympics when I discobered my love for this sport ;)
He is the current World champion at the 1 and 3m springboard and is the first diver to have been World champion in the three categories (1, 3, 10m platform). And all this being only 21 years old!!
Besides all the talent, he looks very good on his speedos and is very easy on the eye :p He is so cute you just want to take him and snuggle all day... *sigh*

Just wacth this videoclip made by a fan (with a very very cheesy song!):

the guests from Århus

2007-03-20T22:40:00.000+01:00

It was a busy weekend.

Ronnie (that one from Aarhus) was coming to Copenhagen with a friend for the Nelly Furtado concert on friday, so I said they should stay at my place for the weekend.
I haven't seen him since last July (at the Roskilde Festival), and he's a very special friend, so it was great to be with him again. To make things even better, Søren came back from his 2-week holiday in Lanzarote that same friday, so I took everyone for a night out.

The night turned out to be very crazy and wild (don't they all!?), with me dancing without my t-shirt (something I can't remember of doing before), being the last ones to leave Boiz (the bartenders even got us free shots), and a late-night visit to Cozy Bar (for the first time, although everyone must go to the legendary Cozy at least once - though I recommend you to be a bit sober so you can enjoy it, if there's anything to enjoy...). I was very shameless that night. I wish I was a bit more like that when I'm sober! ;)

On saturday we spent the whole day at home - we had a 'The OC'-marathon.

I know it sounds I'm a bohemian and a very outgoing guy, but I'm really not!!! I usually only go out once a week, although it is true that I go out much more often here than in Lisbon...

now & then

2007-03-14T01:00:00.000+01:00

While reading this post from B's blog, I start thinking about David Fonseca's path from his early days as the frontman of Silence 4, the break-up of the band, and his work as a solo artist - how he became one of the best singer-songwriters in Portugal. His Silence 4 days remember me my teenage-years and the boost of portuguese musicians singing in english.

So let's go down the memory lane...
When he was part of the band Silence 4 (1998):

Silence 4 - Borrow

and now as a solo artist (2006):

David Fonseca - Our Hearts Will Beat As One

And he sure is damn cute!

2007-03-13T15:39:00.000+01:00

Pois também lá, entre as chaminés, nos intervalos do sofrimento, algo se assemelhava à felicidade. Toda a gente me pergunta só pelas vicisstiudes, pelos "horrores": todavia, no que me diz respeito, é talvez essa a experiência mais memorável. Sim, é disso, da felicidade dos campos de concentração, que eu lhes falarei na próxima vez, quando me perguntarem.
Se é que perguntam. E se eu próprio não me esqueci.

in Sem Destino, Imre Kertész

Acabei ontem este livro. E por quanto mais leia/veja sobre o Holocausto, sinto sempre arrepios e lágrimas no canto do olho de cada vez que alguém conta a sua história... E a história de Imre Kertész é contada de uma perspectiva nova - a do fascínio, sem recorrer a um tom moralizante.