Oscar Wilde

"If one hears bad music, it is one's duty to drown it by one's conversation."

Por mim toca a fazê-lo no Estribo, que pelo zunzum que andei a ouvir aquilo mudou de aparência, de gerência, mas infelizmente não da péssima e detestável qualidade de som ;) Podiam fazer-nos o favor de que já que tem que passar música potencialmente extremamente prejudicial ao nosso intelectuo de passa-la bem baixinho e o pessoal poder conversar na boa sem estar ao berros é que caso a gerência não tenha reparado aquilo é um bar não uma discoteca ;)

Avante com um movimento nacional anti-Estribos que por aí populam no nosso país ;)

Até que enfim!

Gracias por inagurares (?? aí que o espanhol já começa a fazer estragos, qualquer dia escrevo portuguenhol inglesado) o meu blog pela primeira vez ;) Só espero que o meu Daddy não vá para Angola durante o Paredes de Coura, senão mais uma vez vou perder The Yeah Yeah Yeahs e é uma pena que o Sr. Jack White não venha :( Estou a ver que temos que ir a Chigago/NYC numa altura em que apanhemos The White Stripes in town ;)

Entretanto cusquei hoje o site do Beck, se ele vier (e duvido depois do desire do ano passado em que o colocaram no fim do mundo como cabeça de um cartaz no sense e ainda por cima num domingo de madrugada com putos que só curtem o que tá em fashion e não música a sério) só pode ser no Sudoeste, que Paredes de Coura anda ele por terras nórdicas e Países Baixos... Temos que fazer um baixo assinado para um concerto a solo no Coliseu dos Recreios ;)

It seems this summer will be a great summer in terms of concerts… Just a pity that money, time and work will be hard to juggle!

Let’s see, next month in about a week and a half on the 7th of June, Franz Ferdinand, Editors, dEUS, The Legendary Tiger Man and Linda Martini! Then about one month and a half afterwards, on the 17th of July, Belle and Sebastian and a week afterwards on the 22nd The Strokes and, its rumored, The Raconteurs!

Jack White is definitely a must, it’s not The White Stripes, but perhaps he likes Portugal and comes back, after all it was unthinkable that The Strokes would ever find out there was a country called Portugal that has been waiting for a concert for some years already ;) But I should stop dreaming otherwise I can get disappointed...

Anyway here are some clues for our festivals’ organizers: Wilco, The Morning Jacket, Calexico, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, Devendra, and so on (otherwise the list would be too great) and thanks for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in August (if I had a band it had to be one like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs)!

Little Boys - Cripple Crow

Most people just think this is kind of a gay music with a fantastic beat, Devendra introduced this song in November as a song for men and women, I like to think that it's not only because women can also be lonely sailors but above all because of the first paragraph of the music, all those women who come and go, come and go precisely because men don't seem to ever get enough...


"Life is tough and love is rough
For the man who just can’t ever seem to get enough
The days go by and the women come and go
So many that you decide to get rid of your front door
So you don’t have to hear them all disappear

You just sit and you wait
Staring at your empty plate
And you can say I’m a lonely sailor
Rockin’ gently on my dreams
‘Cause I can have it all, but I don’t want it all
And it ain’t like I’ve never ever ever tried
I've just never been fully satisfied

But just a tie a little shoelace
And to share a sleeping bag
And I look ahead to the days
When I can look back at all the fun that I’ve had
But still, but still, but still..

I see so many little boys I wanna marry
I see plenty little kids I’ve yet to have
Even when the moon goes out
Even when the sea dried out
I still see so many little boys I wanna marry
I see plenty little kids I’ve yet to have now
Even when the sea’s all freeze
And everything’s lying underneath
Even when the sun ceases to shine
I won’t care, I’ll still have on my mind
So many little boys I wanna marry yeah yeah
I see plenty little kids I’ve yet to have

And in the shower I get my dreaming done
I hold my breath and I wait for the day to come
Oh little Billy, little Timmy, little Jimmy, you’re the one
I may not look it, but I swear my heart is young for so many..
Little boys I wanna marry
I see plenty little kids I’ve yet to have you know you know

I've got many little boys I wanna marry, yeah you know
I've got many little kids I've yet to have
Oh oh, Yeah yeah
Little boys I wanna marry, yeah you know
I've got plenty little kids I've yet to have now, yeah you know
I've got so many, so many little boys I wanna marry now, marry now
So many..."

Poema 20

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.

Escribir, por ejemplo: «La noche está estrellada,
y tiritan, azules, los astros, a lo lejos».

El viento de la noche gira en el cielo y canta.

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.
Yo la quise, y a veces ella también me quiso.

En las noches como ésta la tuve entre mis brazos.
La besé tantas veces bajo el cielo infinito.

Ella me quiso, a veces yo también la quería.
Cómo no haber amado sus grandes ojos fijos.

Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche.
Pensar que no la tengo. Sentir que la he perdido.

Oír la noche inmensa, más inmensa sin ella.
Y el verso cae al alma como al pasto el rocío.

Qué importa que mi amor no pudiera guardarla.
La noche está estrellada y ella no está conmigo.

Eso es todo. A lo lejos alguien canta. A lo lejos.
Mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.

Como para acercarla mi mirada la busca.
Mi corazón la busca, y ella no está conmigo.

La misma noche que hace blanquear los mismos árboles.
Nosotros, los de entonces, ya no somos los mismos.

Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero cuánto la quise.
Mi voz buscaba el viento para tocar su oído.

De otro. Será de otro. Como antes de mis besos.
Su voz, su cuerpo claro. Sus ojos infinitos.

Ya no la quiero, es cierto, pero tal vez la quiero.
Es tan corto el amor, y es tan largo el olvido.

Porque en noches como ésta la tuve entre mis brazos,
Mi alma no se contenta con haberla perdido.

Aunque éste sea el último dolor que ella me causa,
y éstos sean los últimos versos que yo le escribo.

Pablo Neruda (1904 - 1973)
in "Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada" (1924)

80% to 95% Condom Effectiveness - "there is no such thing as ‘safe sex - only ‘safer’ sex"

I was reading on the other day about the anti-contraceptive movement of “extremist” Christian organizations, when one part of the article called my attention about condom effectiveness. The other day I had seen a rate of 80% in a Brazilian health webpage but I thought it had been a mistake as in school and health brochures I had always seen a rate of 95%, which in case of AIDS is still too much of a risk. So I did a bit of research and I found some national health government webpages, reports of WHO, and so on.

It seems that they still haven’t done a condom efficacy test that has given valid and conclusive rate. But the most recent tests done on condoms’ reveal that its effectiveness may be as low as 80% (depending of the research) and even lower for other Sexual Transmitted Diseases.

It’s rather interesting to hear all AIDS organizations, health professionals, and so on, speaking of the use of condoms as the only way to prevent STD however they seem always to forget to stress that “there is no such thing as ‘safe sex - only ‘safer’ sex” as the New Zealand government states. Having sex using a condom with a one night stand, a new partner or even an unfaithful partner means that in every 100 times 5 to 20 times of those have the chance to contract AIDS (if the other is infected). “Luckily”, the % of infected people aren’t that high. However I keep on not understanding how people take chances catching a one night stand, for example, infected and that the condom fails. People don’t tend to risk doing or taking something that can mean catching a medium-term terminal disease.

Besides that fact it’s quite worrisome that there are no conclusive proofs of condoms effectiveness in preventing the transmission of STD and as some can make a person infertile (especially women as there are lots of STD in which the man only carries the disease, while the woman gets infected) if not detected or treated in time… I know that becoming infertile or HIV positive would kill my dream of being a mother, my deepest desire (AIDS also as it shortens my life span and I don’t wish to give birth to a child I’ll abandon a few years afterwards). So I suppose it's always better to know with who you are going to bed and still face the possibility that you may not be the only person going to bed with that person ;)

Anyway here are some citations of the sites I found more interesting and if you click the title you will be able to download 2 reports on condom effectiveness. And don't forget that even the highest rate, normally associate to correct usage but failure of the condom such as leaks, slip offs and rips, 95%, means you can still get pregnant and if you can get pregnant you can get infected with a STD.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs243/en/

The most frequently cited condom effectiveness rate is for typical use, which includes perfect and imperfect use (i.e. not used at every act of intercourse, or used incorrectly). The pregnancy rate during typical use can be much higher (10-14%) than for perfect use, but this is due primarily to inconsistent and incorrect use, not to condom failure. Condom failure – the device breaking or slipping off completely during intercourse – is uncommon.

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/CAA750BDA8432F84CC25702000720012

• Individuals should decide when they are ready to have sex and should not feel pressured to have sex when they are not ready

• There is no such thing as ‘safe sex - only ‘safer’ sex

• Using condoms consistently significantly reduces the risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection

• Don’t have sex with someone who has an STI

• Many teenagers will have sex. Using a condom significantly reduces the likelihood that they will catch and transmit a sexually transmitted infection.

Cochrane Collaboration - One of the reports was done by them

'This review indicates that consistent use of condoms results in 80% reduction in HIV incidence. Consistent use is defined as using a condom for all acts of penetrative vaginal intercourse.

Because the studies used in this review did not report on the "correctness" of use, namely whether condoms were used correctly and perfectly for each and every act of intercourse, effectiveness and not efficacy is estimated.

Also, this estimate refers in general to the male condom and not specifically to the latex condom, since studies also tended not to specify the type of condom that was used. Thus, condom effectiveness is similar to, although lower than, that for contraception.'

Bulletin of the World Health Organisation

'The panel strongly cautioned the public against misinterpreting the scanty evidence.

The small number of well designed prospective studies precluded the panel from making judgments about the effectiveness of condoms in preventing other STIs; the reviews stated that the lack of data were not to be construed as evidence either supporting or denying the effectiveness of condoms.'

'Since 2000 important new evidence ...has come to light to support the effectiveness of condoms in preventing STIs in men and women. In no study has the effectiveness been 100%. Nonetheless, even partially effective interventions can have a major impact on controlling the spread of STIs in the population (36). ...Condom promotion represents an important component of comprehensive HIV-prevention and STI-prevention strategies.'

http://www.rhlibrary.com/Commentaries/htm/Dwcom.htm

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/sex_relationships/facts/condoms.htm

Condoms are sheathes that trap the sperm when a man climaxes ('comes'). Wearing them greatly reduces the chances of pregnancy. They also provide some protection against sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. But this protection is far from 100 per cent.

My new toy ;)

And tomorrow some studies on condoms effectiveness...

If you can read The Economist of May 6th-12th 2006 "Unstoppable? Iran's nuclear ambitions" once again they defend the same as I, the world must have a united front so that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doens't think he can get away with it, just as Suddan Hussein thought, due to China, Russia, France and Germany interventions... Maybe it will be the only chance of not occuring a war, as impossible as it may seem with Ahmadinejad's daily verbal threats... It's time for China and Russia to realize they will loose much more if they don't pressure Iran to stop with it's plans to obtain a nuclear bomb (that's if they don't have it already)...

Greenpeace

Normally I defend Greenpeace but this time I must criticize them. As me they have always been against the use of nuclear power and nuclear weapons, Einstein meant it has a cheap way of energy so everybody could have access to energy and develop, unfortunately he didn’t foresee the consequences. I believe he didn’t wish a Chernobyl or Hiroshima…

Well, last week Greenpeace put online a petition for NATO not to nuke Iran, which would be perfect if it was a petition for no country or organization to nuke any region of the world. I don’t know how Greenpeace can live in such an ideal and rosy world, because at this moment I fear that, staying put and trying to convince a mad man who every time we see him on TV is threatening with nuclear weapons (please just hear/read what he says, clearly he has it or his very close to it)…

The problem is once again if we don’t do something one of these days we’ll see another 11^th of September, another 11^th of March, another 7^th of July, and so many others, but this time it will have been a nuclear bomb in Israel, or perhaps in Greece or even Italy, millions of innocent killed just because we think everybody is human and all human nature is kind not evil. We cannot forget the lessons of our past, the 2^nd World War, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Darfur and so many other atrocities committed by some mad men/women eager for power and money.

I have cried due to the beginning of so many wars, but although I’m a pacifist, I’ve reached the conclusion a long time ago, when I started understanding the world around me that not all are trustworthy, not all are kind and good in nature and the world needs to make a stand sometimes to defend innocent, so that less innocent die than otherwise.

I hope China, Russia (if this time France and Germany behave) will agree to sanction Iran, to make pressure, because just has I defended before Iraq’s war, if the international community sticks together and forces Iran to allow the inspections without any obstacles being lifted, a war will be avoided and many innocent lives spared.

I don’t want another war to happen, but I’ll have to be on NATO’s side if it happens and I believe that nuking Iran will be their last resort and only if they are sure that if they don’t do it Iran will nuke another country. I really hope this war won’t happen because I fear if it does we’ll assist to the begging of 3^rd World War. The world has been manipulated to hate blindly USA (they have lots of faults but there are not the worst threat to the world), so that sand is thrown in the eyes of the people who are manipulated and they do not see the biggest threats in our world and Iran with a nuclear bomb is one of the most dangerous at this time.

If we look to history we realize most events are consequences of others and that some repeat themselves in a vicious cycle. I believe there will be a 3^rd World War if USA intervenes unilaterally in Iran, because USA has already a huge deficit due to Iraq’s war and with an Iran war the situation will be far worse, even if USA intervenes within NATO, they are still the biggest contributor. If USA’s economy fails and they fall into a huge recession or even worse a depression, we will begin to see history repeat itself, because if USA goes the world economy will also go. And what happens when there are global depressions or at least depressions in the major economies of the world? People start getting unsatisfied of seeing there children hungry, no work and extremist parties start to attain more power (no matter if they are left or right, Hitler and Stalin/Lenin were some of the worst monsters we had in last century) and that will mean taking sides and world war for sure… I know lives don’t count of decision makers but I hope at least the world economy does…