Ecological Storyteller

Merry Something!

2011-12-25T15:08:00.000Z

Such a pity that bloggers (and not only) still distill in some way a certain prejudice against other religions when such celebrations as Christmas arrive. If you aware you will see people from certain religions or paths wishing Happy --- to others of their own believes, forgetting that part of the world is celebrating Christmas and probably many other different celebrations. I always tried to leave a word to everyone. Along the time I am into blogging I have seen people begging to their readers to do not wish them a Merry Christmas, like if it would hurt them and tarnish their images or self esteems, or in the last chance like if it could embarrass them,to be associated to another religion. Can't you understand that one of the easiest ways that across the History leaded to wars was hate, "shame" and religion, as people hardly accept each others believes.

I have grown up under Catholicism. Portugal is one of the most catholic countries in Europe. Almost one hundred percent of the population believes in Jesus teachings and the presence of His father. I went through ten years of apprenticeship and am baptized, I can tell you probably most of the prayers a Christian must learn and I went through all of this not because I desired, but because many people here still make sure you become a Christian first then you get a personal opinion, when you can't choose, when you can't decide if you are a believer or not, because if you were born and your parents are Christians you will become one as well. I'm not angry about that. I am not a believer. I conceive god as Nature. That's the only way I understand God, but this religion is part of my culture. We always are able to take the best out of our traditions even if we don't follow them for true belief and/or faith. Christmas is seen by myself as the celebration of love, people gather together, share, help each other.

People who celebrate Christmas do not wish it to other people who don't celebrate it (in our personal way) because we want to annoy you or mistreat you and your believes. We want to wish you a good moment. It's as simple as that. Whatever you are celebrating I wish you a Merry Christmas, translate it into your own believes and it will taste better if you want. Merry Christmas means Peace, Love, Union and Respect, it would never be to upset you. Merry Christmas world!

Dear Grandpa,

2011-12-22T23:09:00.003Z

I miss you wherever you are now, people miss you down here. Perhaps you just perceived it after leaving, as all of us did, but more than a father, a husband and a grandfather you were the pillar which supported all the heaviness an substance of a family. Ours.

I met you. I grew up watching you, playing around you and being loved by you, being loved through your eyes, because you weren’t raised to express your love by words, times were tough and people were rigid. You raised your children the same way and consecutively I grew up in the same way, seeing love been hidden. It is said that grandparents give more freedom to their grandchildren because they are parents twice, they have the tolerance and kindheartedness they lacked with our parents, and I really noticed that. You were in no way enraged with me. You always talked with worry and I could see you loved me in your own way; you would alert me to what could be wrong and what I couldn’t do but sensitively, delicately, as you could.

*here

You were old since I remember, maybe because my mind was still too tiny and twisted, and you were mostly the respectful figure of someone who already lived several lives. People notice you were our support as a leader in our family. I remember such things when Christmas time arrives again and once more, every year. It is like living two lives. Before and After your departure. In the Before there is my childhood, filled with memories of giggles, union, family moments, more laughs, sunny afternoons… I can even picture you going out that door and chatting, generally murmuring about something, since you were so stubborn and would mumble a lot when your were irritated by something or somebody, though it was quite amusing to see. Then, there's the After. After you have vanished everything became dim and colder. Everyone got distant. There is a family divided in many others. There are quarrels, a lot of disagreements. People argue for the most irrelevant matters. Resentment. Loss. Depression. Silence. My eyes are filled with salty tears when I imagine how different it used to be and then how to see you dying, fading in the front of us changed the whole thing, how frustrating was to be a child and do not be able to cry while every person, from kids to grown-ups were suffocating in tears and being helped out by each others. Why no one looked at me that nighttime. I was petrified. There was a heavy body lacing us. In one moment it was a party, a child was unwrapping gifts, you were laughing. Next second you went outside and time stopped, going forward in bumps, fractionated in fragments.Doctors. Moan. Coffin. Your black shoes. That old clock stuck to the wall that rings in every single new hour, making the walls groaning. Silence.

Christmas was never the same after your left. We all became colder. Christmas became more like something that should pass quickly and drop us in reality again. Where are you? Will it ever be like it once was. Can we fill our hopes with laughs and drops of happiness again? Is it possible that one day we can meet again? I will be as old as you, or will I be the same age when you left? I will be as small next to you as I was once, watching you mumbling with your stubbornness. I will not see you falling again because now you can't fall, you can fly. I just wanted to make sure I think about you and I love you even if I never was wise enough to let know through words. Love is a language we need to learn. Some get it form the first instant of their lives, while others learn it differently. Christmas reminds me of you, I certainly will never forget you. Merry Christmas Grandpa. Wherever you are I'm thinking of you and not dropping tears but saluting you. One day we will meet again, and have Christmas as it should be. Maybe while I dream a dream.

Yours,

--

(P.S. for the readers - Don't be sorry about me. I'm sure that we all already have lost someone we treasured, this is more a writing exercise with my emotions as the basis.)

Dear readers,

2011-12-05T21:23:00.001Z

Seems harder to blog from day to day. There are millions of reasons and you certainly can point a dozen of them, since we all have ethical lives, forcing us to do more things we need than those we desire to do because they are pleasurable. From time to time I keep receiving marvelous messages in my account around and e-mail of people who want to show how they are thankful for the existence of my blog and how much they love to read it and I want to believe it. I always was fair in this point, with my blog I never aimed for some sort of easy fame, to have countless people following just because I post so many times that my post are always popping in others blogs. My true desire always was to write for a particular group of people (a few or many, it doesn't matter) and be able to share my ideas and involve with them. I am writing my blog for more than two years and I guess it occupies a especial place in my heart and I am looking for reasons to do not delete it, as I know that happens with many after some time. We create it, it's wonderful, we keep doing it. It starts getting harder to come up with things. It becomes obvious that you don't have that much time to blog. You think. Re-think. Delete.

My blog never was what I planned but it doesn't upset me, I kind of like the it's "unclear" facet. I would describe it as the ramblings of a fledgling writer and thinker, passionate for letter writing, art and words. A blog against all kinds of prejudice and for peace. I'm not foccusing in any of my preferences, as my blog doesn't show only penpalling related issues, it also doesn't let you read only book reviews (as an example), though I'm a devoted letter writer for more than one decade and I truly desire to show my passion and do not let penpalling become some futile hobby as the time passes by. I also love many other things and my blog is basically about everything.

I would love to hear from who reads me along all this time. You hidden. Let me know what you like about my blog and something else you would like to see here. Help me to put the existence of my blog in my 2012 wishes list. :)

I hope you all ate having a great time,

Warm thoughts from the Europe's tail, from the wintering Portugal,

Joana

Saudade, the most beautiful word

2011-10-19T22:52:00.005+01:00

*here I'm sorry I couldn't find the proper link of who made this, so I'm linking to my weheartit account. If you own that image please, let me know (:

I'm proud because Portuguese language holds the most beautiful word in the whole world. There's no literal translation into other languages, but you all, at least once in your life felt it and dropped a tear because "saudade" crushed your sentiments. Yet, it is poetry, nostalgia and melancholia, all at the same time, inside the same bottle. I just wanted to share something beautiful and significant my culture holds. ♥

Not so eager to meet you dear pen pal!

2011-09-23T14:47:00.001+01:00

A girl asked how my first meeting with a pen pal was and I decided I owned an answer to her and all of those who probably thought about it or that secretly read my blog. To people into letter writing it's quite common to listen about the marvelous experiences meeting pen pals in "flesh and bone" but speaking the truth it isn't always like that, so I label my experience as hideous, because I've met the most selfish and immature girl in my whole life, who use to label herself as a great friend, I doubt that now that I've met her for real and I wonder if the problem in her life wasn't always herself and not the others. Do you know that kind of self-centered people who twist everything to turn the good side to themselves?

I would ask you if you pretend to be someone else when you have such meeting? Do you erase your personality and try to smile even when you are feeling down. When we go meeting someone we do our best, yet we keep being alive and having the same problems we used to have before, and guess what, I had one, I was sad and silent for a while and "my friend" instead of showing what penpalling is about and be a friend and supporter started avoiding me inside my own house and in the next day when I asked about it I was told I was a cold person, when I was actually sad, and when we are sad we do not laugh hard, talk a lot or want to party, so yes sad people may look a little cold, maybe, for a while! Or in her country sad people free rockets and sing and dance around the fire to celebrate blue moment?

The first days were good, I neglected some details in her personality because I'm not perfect and everyone runs a little to the reality, yet I should have seen she was that selfish because she couldn't shut up her mouth for a while, even when I wad trying to do something else. Plus, she couldn't even try to taste food because in her country "we didn't match this with that" or we don't make tea like that... She even was rude to my friend, I wonder if because she was my friend or if because she is half French and "my friend" doesn't like French people, yet she loves cultures and to know more about the world, and more? She claims to be an ecologist, ecologist throw papers to the ground? I don't think so... maybe she didn't notice, because she is too used to do that "in her country".

Well, I'm not considering quitting penpalling, I have friends who write letters with me for almost two handfuls of years, with others not so many, yet you easily see when one ego allows the other to live inside letter (as in real life), and I'm glad that I had this experience at least to be sure that not everyone is what they pretend to be, letters are perfect to fancy a noble human being, but reality sooner or later show itself. Selfishness and immaturity aren't easy to pretend when we are living together for a while. At least I would like to tell you one thing that in Portugal we try to do, to care about our guests and respect our host family. I'm sure she is okay now, telling her hoaxes to someone else. It's so silly how some people think to be so grown up and owing the world, when what they are doing is floating on the surface of the Earth, one day the bubble bursts and they crash against the floor, and who will help them to rise?

After all she used and abused of my good will for one entire week, even avoiding and ignoring me I drove her to the station, my friend Chloé and I carried her bags while she was almost running in the front of us with her nose up and in the last minute she said she didn't want to cross my path again but thanks for everything. Hilarious. Actually she was smart to do that or I would have left her in the middle of the green fields before the city with her bags to carry. So, if you are reading this consider yourself a lucky girl, and I hope you never cross with someone "colder" (reference to what she called me) than I or you will need a new face, though I would never do that, because to me crappy people deserve silence and disdain.

Here's my experience, anyone with bad experiences to share?

It's not your birthday anymore!

2011-08-19T22:28:00.003+01:00

What a curious way to tell everyone that's my birthday, it was, yesterday. I've spent the whole day working, liar! I had some free hours in the morning which I used to unwrapped the gifts I got from my dear friends. Believe or not, but I could wait days to open them! I really wanted to carry all the magic to my birthday since it normally seems a waste of everything, especially emotion stuck inside me. I always stare thinking about my life. Life. When will it start changing? Is it already changing?

The best t-shirt I ever got! Thank you Aga

Tomorrow I finally will meet my very first pen friend. I never expected to be her the first one but seems we can't predict the future. I'm truly excited ans anxious, a sort of sentiments. How it will be? I'm sure that many of you already had a similar experience or long for one, I'm not sure if I should grow high expectations, my friend must be exactly like I picture her, it's not like a blind meeting, I know her, we write letter for almost one year and I don't expect more than what I think I will meet tomorrow, yet I'm afraid that my English skills can't be enough to a good understanding between the two of us. Possibly a silly thought. I know my written English (note, English is my second language) is much better than the spoken one, for the simple reason that while I write I can think first, but if while talking to someone I know that person is paying attention and waiting to listen to what I've to say and that gives me goose bumps. She just doesn't come wrapped in birthday paper, but she is belated birthday gift. Wondrous!

Anyone with experiences to tell? How was the first contact? You blushing anfd your friend more than mute. Or did you find out you didn't match that much and it was the first and last meeting? There are endless to tell about such experiences. Wish me luck.

The most beautiful stationery I ever got, thank you Pat. I'm even afraid to use it, but I will, it deserves to be used and loved. Aga once wrote in one very similar, also from Italy, check here

The best handmade birthday card ever made, it's mine and I will not give it to you! Thank you Cupcake Darjinha. Yes, yes those little paper cuts are all handmade.

Now, a fact about letter writers. You know you are an addicted letter writer when wherever you go, you check paper supplies looking for nice stationery or something that can be useful to make a letter more creative. I guess people out of this think we are a little dumb, why should we be looking for paper and envelopes or pens while there such an handsome clothing store in the next door? -.-'

Signed Sealed Delivered

2011-08-11T22:15:00.000+01:00

A creative piece of mail art from Greece. Isn't it breathtaking? Every single details looks to have been added with a especial purpose. <3

Mail art from South Korea made with care and lots of imagination.

Look out to this beautiful paper the envelopes was made with, isn't it gorgeous? Came from New Zealand.

The beautiful Ayo is now part of mail art from Poland, thanks Aga.

Chocolate flavoured mail art from Germany, isn't it *yummy*?

Ana have sent me a book from Great Britain and we decided to become penpals. She's Portuguese living abroad for ages. Her package was made with a upcycled envelopes, I do it most of the times with bubbled envelopes, why to waste what still can be used? Saving the Earth one piece at a time is the motto!

From my youngest penpal, he is just five years old and soon will start school, he lives in England and i a very smart boy! Ah-ah he isn't my penpal but his mom does. Once he "wrote" me a letter and I've mailed one with his name and guess what I got? I adored every single bit of it!

I think books and letters should be a part of kids favourite things to play with as they can and dream about, not video games and long hours inside home in a room with a dim light staring screen and barely breathing. That's not like childhood must be reminded later...

Veggie Custard

2011-07-17T21:50:00.004+01:00

★300g peas

★1 small leek

★100g green beans

★150g carrots

★1/4 red bell pepper

★1/4 green (or yellow) bell pepper

★200g courgette (zucchini)

★4 eggs

★2dl cream

★50g grated cheese

★butter, salt and pepper

1. Turn the oven on to 180 °C. Wash the vegetables and cut them in small pieces. In a pot boil water with salt and a bit of pepper and as soon as it starts boiling add the vegetables and cook for 5-7 minutes. Drain well the water.

2. Beat the eggs together with the cream and the grated cheese. Season with salt (and some more pepper if you want) and add the vegetables. Beat all for a while and carefully, just to mix it in a better way.

-- You can choose whether you prefer small (like cupcakes) cake pan or a bigger one to contain all the cooking. Personally I took a big one since I only have a few small cupcake molds and I cooked the double.

3. Grease the surface of the cake pan with butter. Add the mixture in the cake pan and puts it in the oven using bain-marie (water bath). It consists of putting your cake pan with the mixture inside a bigger pan.That pan must contain water that will gently boil inside the oven and cook what is inside the cake pan with its heat. Cook for 30 minutes.

4. Take it out carefully and let it cool for a while. Unmold inverting the container over a serving plate and decorate it as you wish. It's ready.

-- You can be creative and remove or add vegetables you like/dislike. I forgot but I next time I will add mushrooms and olives! I doubled the ingredients because I know that most of the recipes from magazines are made to small portions. Here's a tasteful vegetarian recipe, also a healthy, easy and very very cheap to cook! I guess that I have spent close to 3€. I guess I never was very into culinary because I always thought that there is always one ingredient hard to find, or it is hard to cook and takes all our nerves to explode and so.

I'm considering the measures applied in my country (kg). If they are hard to understand please look for a system to convert to the measures applied to your country and try this recipe.

My kitchen assistant Hugo, with his help I should finish the custard tomorrow morning, he still would be cutting the green beans and asking "is this bit okay?", "and this?". (:

Love, the chief, Joana

Where is your heart?

2011-07-10T23:49:00.010+01:00

® do not use without my permission

I've been absent, out, off, somewhere, travelling in a brand new galaxy. Slightly feeling guilty, eagerly desiring to be a wrongdoer. Nothing compares to the feeling of being amidst the dark, softly rubbing the stars, flying around the universe.

It's summer here and doing justice to the main idea about Portugal (from people who don't know nothing about it or almost nothing) it's pretty warm here, our long coastline invites everyone to get a tan and have fun in the freezing water of the Atlantic. I must be fair, I remember how warmer the water used to be when I was a child, now it's such a thermal shock when we finally reach the water an full of expectations (obviously only for seconds, we know it is freezing) we stretch our tip toe to the water. After some lamentations and "oops and ouchs" we finally are jumping into the water and playing like kids and forget who is watching because everyone is actually doing the same.

Besides that, there have been a lot of work, not so much free time as desired and I've been trying to catch up with reading and writing. I'm somehow submerged into Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase, and luckily, soon finding the end of the chase for such sacred and hidden animal. Also, I have been reading a biography of José Saramago, released to celebrate one year passed after his death.

I wished summer could last forever, at least if Autumn doesn't come any more as it used to be, could at least summer stay longer? Winter is so depressing and blue... please mister Summer, stay for a longer time! Please!

No. I've just been busy feeling useful to no one else than myself, living, breathing, watching around and perhaps, sometimes, smiling. Where's your heart anchored? What are you doing now or planning to do?

E r ♥ t i c a

2011-06-02T22:47:00.007+01:00

"erotica. literary or artistic works having an erotic theme; especially, books treating of sexual love in a sensuous or voluptuous manner. The word erotica typically applies to works in which the sexual element is regarded as part of the larger aesthetic aspect. It is usually distinguished from pornography, which can also have literary merit but which is usually understood to have sexual arousal as its main purpose." *here

Recently, I started reading "Delta of Venus" by the French born Anaïs Nin. "Delta of Venus" is a collection of short stories of erotica, and from what I already read it deals with a great number of not so widely spoken themes, yet poetically, like if she could portray human bodies like a fine artist does in his canvases, while she does that though words. Nin's work cast her as one of the most prominent women who firstly wrote erotica, the female view of eroticism in the 1940's, while it has been so far a point view of man and men sexual desire. From the few I read so far, and taking some thought from the excerpts of her diaries she easily shows the difference between pornography and erotica, which is seen like the same by many people, throwing erotica to the unwelcome and spoken-by-whispers spot of the disgraceful and shameful written style. Erotic literature is after all the narratives of human sexual relationships, commonly used to arouse the person sexually. Is it a reason of shame?

*image from Hello Amber Flickr also Hello Amber (she rocks!)

Nin's work is veiled with symbolism, and I consider quite easy to read in the mid-lines what isn't printed with ink on the paper. You may consider erotic literature as an indignant style but so what are we? I've always heard that what is wrong can be solved by talking, even if in reality it isn't so plain like that, it's the start to a solution. Taboos appear with people's silence and shame, when they can't express properly by words what they mean, especially because many people seem to have the same problem and blame and carper other's ideas, when it is a question of free self expression. which isn't accept by narrow-minded people. After all, and even if we live inside our bodies they keep being the biggest and most outrageous social banished issue in our society, like if we had to feel guilty for having every single but of skin of our bodies.

Ellen von Unwerth

Could people see nudes as poetry and art and it would be easier to interact without being ashamed to hurt susceptibilities, which are commonly hidden with "immature content" when there are some breasts and naked legs shown, or is it the delta of Venus which most frightens people? It's delicate curves and its warmth. Should I had some immature content to these words? Aren't word like poetry and pictures like art when they actually were made, thought, dreamed to make the you feel what I mean beautifully and not the contrary, to profane your soul. After all what is Art? Isn't it supposed to be thoughtful, gracious and sometimes cruel and magnanimous, devastating and charming, like the perfect balance between the good and evil.

*here

We live constantly afraid to hurt susceptibilities by spelling banned concepts and I probably should consider this post and my words as inappropriate material, because I am talking about erotica? What if I spell c-u-n-t? Maybe someone will alert me about my indelicacy and rude moods or be angry at me. Perhaps I just said what such people aren't capable to say, so I can call them hypocrites. Will intolerance ever stop? We all have "filthy" thoughts at least once in our lives (obviously I am being reasonable!), we are free to look around and want to learn more and express ourselves by our means.

"One word I would banish from the dictionary is 'escape.' Just banish that and you'll be fine. Because that word has been misused regarding anybody who wanted to move away from a certain spot and wanted to grow. He was an escapist. You know if you forget that word you will have a much easier time. Also you're in the prime, the beginning of your life; you should experiment with everything, try everything.... We are taught all these dichotomies, and I only learned later that they could work in harmony. We have created false dichotomies; we create false ambivalences, and very painful one's sometimes -the feeling that we have to choose. But I think at one point we finally realize, sometimes subconsciously, whether or not we are really fitted for what we try and if it's what we want to do.

You have a right to experiment with your life. You will make mistakes. And they are right too. No, I think there was too rigid a pattern. You came out of an education and are supposed to know your vocation. Your vocation is fixed, and maybe ten years later you find you are not a teacher anymore or you're not a painter anymore. It may happen. It has happened. I mean Gauguin decided at a certain point he wasn't a banker anymore; he was a painter. And so he walked away from banking. I think we have a right to change course. But society is the one that keeps demanding that we fit in and not disturb things. They would like you to fit in right away so that things work now."- Anaïs Nin

Do we want to hide from where we came from and keep meanness hidden or are we walking to a period of more openness? Do we need to fit in no matter what is our opinion and forget all the sensations and our pursuits in life?

Letter Writer's Circle Forum

2011-05-31T14:16:00.004+01:00

Long ago (I can't precise when) I created a Facebook group dedicated to letter writing and long letters lovers and it was pretty nice to share ideas, discussion were organized, there was the section to upload photos and there was the main thread. Not long ago Facebook changed the settings and all becomes too messed to my taste, became harder to follow a discussion in each one of the topics, all was coming mixed up in the main thread. A forum was my idea for a long time but it requested time make it look nice and especially to have people joining, since it isn't in Facebook or associated it requires that people really want to spend some time and go there, checking it often or as much they desire to. A friend mentioned it to me, she said a forum would be nice and it trigged me to try it. And it happened. A totally free forum to mail lovers, to people who see letter writing as an art and a passion and not just like a business of "send me and I'll send you back". I'm very proud of what was conquered and we are even doing our first forum swap, of postcards actually, better to start from a small thing, right? I feel much more secure about this little swaps with the marvelous members of the circle, like I never felt with others I did, where I most of the times was tricked. Not long ago we passed the fortieth member and all was possible with the help of my friends' help, which I invited and who invited more and their friends invited other friends, and I guess we have a pretty cohesive and friendly group.

Letter Writers' Circle ♥ Long Letter's Lovers

I'm here not to invite all the people into penpalling but all the true mail lovers, people who see mail as something we probably will do for the rest of our lives because we love it. People who loves to put efforts in writing beautiful missives, to dig into new worlds and give our own for free. Not for people who use and abuse of mail like people do from things they can take the essential and then leave it behind, that's not what we are looking for. My goal as a letter writer always was to protect this art, reinvent it but never leave it end up like one more tradition and "thing from the past" that was renovated and ended up loosing all its magic. Are you up to it?

Are you up to share and comment mail related issues in discussion peacefully with other people?

To join you just need to register. Then, you must read the rules and present yourself to the other members and finally participate in everything you wish. That's simple and I bet you will have fun. In order to present against scammers or never used account after a period of time without any activity in the forum accounts are deleted. We are trying to make it as safer as we can and gather a nice circle of people... come!

Have you ever been into a forum? How was your experience?

Becoming a (long) letter writer Tips 31-40

2011-05-16T22:50:00.014+01:00

Welcome! Do you think that's easy to find one hundred reasons to do something? In practice it isn't that easy, which doesn't mean the reasons don't exist but at some point the reasons are connected with each other, like a cobweb, and you need to go round your head endless times to make it work and dig up some more brilliant ideas or at least shiny ones that you can related with what you want. Enough of pretty talking! Let's dig up the next ten tips you longed for a long time and don't forget to comment and give me your feedback about them, express yourself and tell me anything you want about them. Guess what? We are one of a kind!

31. (hlp) help

Among other definitions it means "to furnish with strength or means for the successful performance of any action". Did you ever felt one of your new pen pals just needed a push to become a more eloquent pen pal? Not everyone is able to write as passionately as we would like to see, sometimes it is something that never will change but sometimes they just need some help, a little of guidance to improve and reach new levels of writing, especially to write more. It's not a easy task because you can be touching a delicate point of that person and hurting one's personality (especially because things can be easily misinterpreted when we are not face to face and only words count) but if you will never try you can be losing pen pals that would be great friends, so why do not to give it a try? Give some tips to improve the process and make sure you are helping someone that can go far with words and do not criticizing.

32. Spell D-E-A-R one hundred times

Are you able to be sweeter than "Hi!". Can you see how impersonal it looks like? Do you know what's the purpose of penpalling? Isn't that catchy to feel more an acquaintance and a way to someone get letters for free at home rather than someone the others care about . You can spell "dear" in dozens of languages and dialects, you can also use hundreds of hearty ways to start a letter, you catch the other attention in the very first words, if a letter is impersonal and boring in the very start what can we expect after some paragraphs? Brain death. Affection proves doesn't hurt or will cost you money, they are for free in letter writing world.

33. Do not protect prejudice or violence!
It makes you part of it! Look in the middle lines, hate isn't something properly bad, we all hate something, but hate must be measured and we should never forget when it becomes violent and cruel, don't make a pact with such people and assure that penpalling keeps being a way to promote union and peace across the world.

34. Send the pain away.
There are people like you somewhere in the world and you will find a couple of them sooner or later. Share you sentiments and receive back the way they feel, share your life and accept the others, whatever is the reason for your grief it will shrink if you allow yourself to share, if you are open to receive the other's moments written down and talk about it, you will not only be helping yourself but supporting someone else in the world. It can be hard in the very start but you will understand the signs of trust. Send your pain away around the globe, to far places and receive love back.

35. Don't skip pages randomly.
People keep saying that one thing that turns e-mail better than snail mail is the simple fact that you don't kill trees by wasting paper. Paper will always be used while trees exist too, so what can we do? Think twice at least. One of the things I can't understand is why people write just on one side of the paper and leave the other completely blank. I'm sure some use it as a way to look that they wrote longer letters, other because the pen in use are to heavy to such kind of paper, the last one can be changed, and once in a while it isn't a problem. Letters aren't longer because you skip the back side of your paper! Plus, if you write both sides you will be saving money of postage and the beautiful trees say thanks and keep waving in the wind.

36. Watch Mary and Max
I'm as sure that every penpalling aficionado will love it as the result of one plus one is two. You will be enchanted to watch a story of two people united by what you know very well, letter writing, you will know what are the feeling they are feeling, what is too feel the joy to get a letter from a person somewhere in the world you never saw, the woe that causes you when one letter is missing. I couldn't avoid to feel what the characters were feeling. I need to say thanks to the dear friend who have sent it to me, Bahanur.

37. Save your mail organized (you should spell organized too).

Excuses that your letter was stuck between the wall and the book shelf or that it fell somewhere into the water or blah blah blah will not longer exist. There's no particular way to do it, each person feel better with or or the other. I particularly save my mail in big boxes, by name. I save envelopes and everything inside them and they are gathered by name and alphabetic order. I hard about plenty of ways, like people who keep letter in plastic folder, that makes the paper straight and hardly something will damage it. That's a good one too, but I like to pick some letetrs and open them endless times, reproduce the moment I opened them for the first time. Plus I have a little box for letters waiting to be replied.

38. Pen pals for a day? You! Not I!
There are plenty of people looking around to catch one more in their cobwebs. If you are looking for long lasting friendship you surely will fall in such tricks a lot of times but you will also learn how to do in the future. A little of talking never was too bad, you don't need to talk about personal issues you would prefer to discuss in letters (in paper) but you can talk about your requests and make sure of them and also "hear" some opinions back. People who aren't interested din such thing soon stop sending messages and leave you to look around for someone fool enough to be tricked and give them the pleasure to get a letter at home that will never be replied. You might not think about it, but penpalling is becoming a neighbourhood where there are several mutual friends around and even if you don't know about it you probably are known for some because of this and that. Have you ever heard about reputation?

39. You can jump and dance like a child because you got mail.
Yes you can. Why not? It provides you some moments of joy and moments of joy makes you live longer, plus you do some physical exercise while you perform your "maildance". There always the child we once were inside us knocking to come out for a while.

40. Make Friendship Not War.
As simple as the title says. Do not make wars for silly things. Do not blame mutual friends about things that only are related with you and that person, do not tell lies or spread ideas about one's that are beyond the truth. Here is said that lies have short legs and you cannot take longer steps than your legs actually are. You can befriend everyone you see and A LOT of times you will not match the so "interesting person" you read about. Do not abuse, try to convert, be imprudent, selfish or mean, it doesn't help.
.

Romanticizing the fear

2011-05-13T22:11:00.006+01:00

Seems tough I know... but we all fear something, that "thing" inspires us but it's quite controversial when we talk about it. We romanticize it idea, it's frightening but hard to let go in thoughts. I can relate mostly with some sentiments and states of mind. What about you?

What scares you the most but inspires you at the same time?

The Letters of Loss

2011-05-03T23:27:00.011+01:00

Dear beloved pillow,

Thank you. Thank you for all these years of familiarity and for all those which will come, if I do not toss you away in a flash of madness, like those which invade our minds every now and then, small demons of our self, eaters and corruptors of our spirits. Believe me, I’ll not do that on purpose to hurt your feelings, you know we all should be allowed to the bliss of a few moments of rage in our lives, purity for itself doesn’t exist alone and it would be such a boredom to be pure and sparkling as water, right now, allow me to sense the smallest drop of ire for such pretenders.

You were always there, being my comfort in late and devastating hours, when hope seemed uncertain and oodles of fears and loss would take me down, slowly, by mischief. The sound of cellos popping out from your core while I was sleeping, floating into my dreams, you planted those in my fate, like tiny roots of faith climbing the Olympus to see the gods; You will be there until the end of time; I know you will, even if replaced by a newer and softer one the sentiments will keep flowing because you are the peaceful moment I long for every day, the pearl in the bottom of the vast dim sea, where filthy tentacles grope in the weak gloomy light, in the hunt for a victim to submerge in nightmares, breathing less dystopias. You were never terrified by the bad dreams and I held you in remission for my unfaithful sin, my despair, my loss, the heaviness I’ve grounded in you. I know I’m forgiven. I will always be. With you.

*here

With all these years reading my thoughts you became a philosopher, the theorist of life the writer of freedom, everything I longed for and all I pursued and intend to be in centuries, like a pale trace in the clear sky, a name written in black under the roof of a public house memorable for all its stories and scenes, a name drafted with the hands of a stubborn child, like once I was, proudly adventuring in the world of grown ups and day dreamers. You’ve seen all and you will watch the rest. At least you are not frightened about a possible tragic ending, you certainly will going to suffer the frustrated anguish caused by the loss of the cherished ones, at the most someone will stab your heart and tear apart the dreams I poured into your core, spreading the feathers of your lyricism in the pure air of a morning sun light. You will always be like poetry, like a deceased reminiscence of life, you and I, the same. The obstacle and the solution.

Sincerely,
the nostalgia

The Freedom We Live In

2011-04-26T23:56:00.006+01:00

What if I couldn't write this here? And if you couldn't read it? We are free. Are we?

There isn’t something simpler than to write a letter about our ideals and mail it with the same free will wrote it. Undoubtedly easy to do, so easy we barely spend time thinking about such thing. This thought didn’t come randomly to my mind, yesterday Portugal celebrated the Freedom Day (Dia da Liberdade). How many countries in the world lived under such a tough period of a dictatorship or any other kind of government that subjugates your freedom of speech? How many citizens still live today fearing the tomorrow, frightened by their thoughts and dreams?

Let’s go backwards in time. You don’t see your friend for a long time, since he moved to a different spot in the planet and now you two talk through letters, you are both great visionaries, always idealizing a brave new world, making plans and dreaming. One day a malevolent authoritarian man rises and everyone starts being controlled. You can’t dress like you always dress to go out. You can go to the mall but you need to talk in a low voice because if any idea against the regime is heard by the police you are in big troubles. Internet is a mirage and was made a hunt for books considered bad to the citizens; idealistic books were burnt and erased from that nation. Letters are allowed but they are checked, letter are open, read and if something considered against the regime is there you are investigated and you must think about a place to run, and quickly, because you are in great difficulties. You need to control your own voice and words, after all, everything that makes you speech yours and true. You are a puppet now. You would probably and after a while discover someone who has an illegal way to mail stuff abroad and you will write avidly and avoiding big statements about your situation, you will also try some code languages, hoping that your friend will understand it. In the end, you will not be you, you will leave scared to breathe and one day the easiest things you once used to do became the most horrible experience of your life, because you feel someone ate your soul, someone has tied your hands and gagged you.

The poorest thing is to realize that it happens, on the surface of the same land you walk in it happens everyday, in one way or other, it is there, somewhere and we never know how the future will be.

The pleasure to write a letter is a gift from the free world and must be use with conscience, passion and without prejudice against the “difference”, rather making the “difference” the desirable and the beauty of freedom of speech. Minds are like finger tips, some can be similar but there aren’t two exactly equal and you can copy one to pretend you are someone else but sooner or later you will be found.

*here

I think letter writing has an important matter in this topic, it help us to explore the unexplored inside ourselves and the societies we live in. We constantly compare and discuss about each others livings and in the process we assimilate the differences and what could be changes, what would lead us to a better living state but also what is wrong. While writing letters we constantly debate our freedom and what makes us prisoners. There’s no better place to know more about ourselves (and the others) than with writing, I can’t conceive a letter written by someone who normally writes “I can’t describe myself”. Liberty is surrounding us all the time, like clothes do, while clothes protect our external appearance, freedom is what models us, for good or for bad, if that makes any sense.

I know this conception of freedom is subjective; we shouldn’t just conform because that is what disconnects us from the past. Conformism isn’t freedom.

Can you name something from your daily life that means freedom to you, comparing with places you know it doesn’t exist? Oh and can you tell me how to say "freedom" in your language or other language you know? In Portuguese we say "liberdade".

Peace,
Joana

Giving Wings To Our Books

2011-04-15T15:32:00.005+01:00

Hello all! I would like to thank you for the lovely comments in Pip's interview , I'm sure she is very satisfied with such good feedback and I am as well. She give all her soul to write an interesting, chatty and personal interview and the results is there. But well, I've been reading (as always), thinking (fortunately I can) and wondering (madly) it all is resumed to readings.

First of all, do you like to read? Are you the kind who reads only when necessary or that who reads even the small letters in the cereal box while you are having breakfast?

A few weeks ago I joined a community of trade of books. It's very alike with BookMooch but it is in fact called WinkingBooks. I'm sure many of you are familiarized with the first at least, since it is base in U.K. and a bunch of people from other countries also use it. Apart from books in my mother tongue, Portuguese, I also read some in English, especially those friends send and to be honest sometimes I buy some in English not only to send to friends but also so I can read them because they are much cheaper and I have the honor to read something in the original language, not to mention that I am improving other language besides my own. I was very reluctant int he very start but I had some requests and own some points and I decided to ask for some book I wanted for such a long time but I've said to myself I would try to find them in second hand, since they are not new books (some) and it happened. So far I got four books for free, they all look perfectly new, and by now I am reading the second (Budapeste written by the Brazilian composer, singer and writer Chico Buarque).

*here

Normally, I tell to people about the importance of buying second hand books too. It's not that they have diseases because they were used once, there are a lot that are new. Who never bought a book because it had a good price in the bookstore and then you started putting it behind the other in your shelf and somehow one day you look over it and you are sure you will never read it because it actually doesn't awakens any interests of yourself... I've heard from people saying "hmm I cannot abandon my books, they are very sentimental to me" or something like that.

To bookaholics (or bookworms) books are a deep passion, each one we buy is like a small pearl in our shelf. A story, a handful of poems, a play, everything with the shape of a book isn't just a bunch of paper, each tale lives amid those leaves, characters get real lives and they pull us to their world, we abandon reality while we hang around with them in their blue worlds.

Received books Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, Enduring Love by Ian McEwan and Budapeste By Chico Buarque

One day I got a book I tried to read, I swear I do! I guess I stopped before the last two chapter or so... I know, who does that? I could at least had finished, it was so close to the end, sure! I don't even wanted to know how it would end. It wasn't though to read because of the writing style, it was just out of my interests and some sort of conversion to religion I disliked, not that I have something against who like it, I don't even will mention the title, but it rang some bells in my mind. I would never grab it again and I decided to sell it and I did. I think I made someone very happy because it was new and shinning yet, it looked pulled from the bookstore shelf seconds ago and I've sold it for a third of price in the stores. After that I made a little group of books I wouldn't mind to sell and then I found the place to trade them. For the price of a postage stamp we can get books, isn't it superb?

*here

Do you buy second hand books or does it bothers you because they already had a previous owner?

Meet Pip with Letter Writers Circle

2011-04-02T17:20:00.004+01:00

Joana - Hello Pip! You showed an interest in being featured in Letter Writer Circle, and here we are. Tell us about and your life.

Pip - Kia Ora! First of all, thanks to you, Joana, for the invitation to the Letter Writers Circle. I’m really excited to have the opportunity to feature here.

OK, let me tell you something about myself. ALWAYS the first thing people seem to wonder about is my name, Pip. No, that is not my ‘real’, legal name – that is Philippa. But I’ve been Pip since birth and somehow Philippa just seems like someone else, haha. I am 25 years old and come from the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. This place is truly my home and my heart; I love it here. After I finished school I studied German and Linguistics at University, then went on to complete my teaching diploma. For the next few years I worked teaching both German and English at various high schools around Dunedin, and for 5 months at the end of 2010 I worked teaching English in Germany. Another question I get often is ‘why German?’ – The answer is simply because it was my favourite subject at school; also I did an exchange to Germany when I was 16 and just fell in love with everything there… the food, the culture, the people. I think I enjoy teaching… most of the time, which is why, when I returned from Germany 5 weeks ago, I decided to begin studying again. Right now I’m doing a course in Photography, and it is making me happier than I’ve been in a LONG time. Where will life take me? I wish I knew – I’m a bit of a perfectionist who loves having a plan!

St. Clair beach, Dunedin. Popular for brave surfers!

J. – Since New Zealand looks so far away from everything when we look at it on a map, how would you describe it and what is it like to live there, especially in Dunedin? Tell us more about both.

This signpost is at the most southern point in NZ - you can see how far away from the rest of the world we are!

P. - Firstly, you’re not wrong when you say NZ looks so far away – it is! Our ‘closest’ neighbour is Australia, and even that is a 3 hour international flight away. Flying to Asia or America takes 12 hours, and to Europe is a full 24 hours (minimum!) away. We are, quite literally, living on the end of the earth. I often rue the fact that it’s so difficult and expensive to travel, yet I don’t think I could imagine calling anywhere else home. I love to ask people what they already know about NZ, and most often the answers are… um… ‘you’re down there next to Australia’… ‘you have lots of sheep’ or ‘wasn’t Lord of the Rings filmed there?’ *hehe* Briefly: NZ is a former British colony; settlers came from the UK and Europe in the late 1700s/early 1800s and began to make a life here. The Maori people were here long before the British though; they are the native inhabitants of NZ, so we have two distinct cultures and languages here. I have to stress; Maori do NOT live on reserves as some people I’ve encountered seemed to think! We are all NZers and we live side-by-side. There are just over four million people in NZ, most of whom live on the North Island. I live in Dunedin, a city of 100,000, which lies on the southeast coast of the South Island. The South Island is a lot wilder and isolated than the North, although both have some amazing nature. NZ is a crazy place – in one smallish place we have everything from rainforests to volcanoes; sandy beaches to a snow-capped Alps. Life is generally pretty relaxed. In Dunedin we have a large University (Otago University - the southernmost University in the world, incidently) so there's loads of students in the city and that makes for a really nice atmosphere. There is also 35 beaches in Dunedin, as we lie on the Pacific coast. Unfortunately, we never really get much bikini weather... our climate this far south is quite mild. Tough southerners!

We do have lots of sheep here - 45,000,000 to be more precise ;)

J. - One of the reasons why you are being interviewed is because one of your main passions is letter writing. How did you discover it and why did you start being interested in sending missives around the globe? Tell us Pip, why do you think penpalling is good for people to be involved in?

P. - I ‘discovered’ penpalling when I was 11 years old. My local library used to stock copies of a British children’s magazine called ‘Aquilla’. In the back of each copy they featured penpal advertisements, one of which I decided for some reason to answer. I got a quick reply to my letter, and was hooked. 14 years later, I am still writing to that girl, and we have met twice in real life! Up until I was perhaps 17 or 18 I only had the one penfriend, but at that point I decided to search for a German penpal to help practice my language skills. I signed up to interpals, and shortly after also discovered Postcrossing, and through both those sites I met some absolutely amazing people. It is really since then that I began to take penpalling seriously and realised the joy having penfriends could bring to my life. Oh, that kind of leads on to the second part of the question – why is penpalling good for people? Firstly, I think because of the friendships that can be formed and grow through writing letters. I have a small number of amazing penpals, all of whom I now consider real friends. Through travelling I have even met up with some of my penpals: what cool experiences! Another reason I believe that penpalling is good for people is simply because of the act of sitting and writing. For me, taking a few hours to sit quietly by myself and write is really therapeutic! I also love thinking about my little envelope travelling to the other side of the globe, and hopefully making someone else smile J. For me, somehow the act of writing a letter somehow is like ‘getting back to the basics’ in this technology obsessed world, haha.

I keep my letters in plastic folders so I can flick through them.

J. – A bird told me you like hiking and have adventured in the New Zeland wilderness, far from the world. Aren’t you scared? What kind of feelings do you experience into such adventures? You surely have more interests and hobbies, right?

P. - Yes! The little birdy informed you correctly, haha. Apart from penpalling, hiking is my absolute favourite hobby. New Zealand has a LOT of wilderness and uninhabited areas, so there are literally hundreds of tracks you can explore. I always go with my boyfriend and occasionally his family come too, so it’s really social and we laugh lots. We have done many tracks together, most of which are between 3-5 days long. We carry everything in our backpacks, and walk on average 5-7 hours per day – up to 20kms! We always go on tracks where there are huts to sleep in, although they are no more than a roof over our heads – there is no luxury like showers or flush toilets. I wonder how many people are reading this and thinking… YUCK? *hehe* By the end of the hike the first thing everyone wants is a hot shower and a nice meal, but somehow during the hike these things aren’t so important – you just accept the situation, and somehow it’s all part of the fun! For me, hiking is the ultimate escape away from all the stress of daily life. There is no cellphone reception, no internet, no shops etc. It is just you, your companions, and pure nature all around you. You can only hear birds, not cars. You can smell the forest, not pollution. I love it! I wish I could go hiking more often. Do I get scared? No... the only time I was scared on a hike was when I massive possum jumped out of a tree in front of me. I've been much more scared in cities, such as in Paris when I got hopelessly lost, haha.

One of my favourite spots on the West Coast. Can you spot my boyfriend and I?

Photography is a huge passion of mine, even though I’m still a student and have SO much to learn. Since I began my course I feel as though I’m looking at the world through different eyes. Right at the moment, photography is probably my main interest – at least, it’s the one I’m being made to devote the most time to, haha.

I have many other interests: to mention them briefly… I love to read, and always have a book ‘on the go’. I’m also a huge fan of going to the movies – the whole experience of popcorn, a dark theatre, and (hopefully!) a good film. I love music, and going to concerts (regrettably, not often enough!) My absolute favourite band is The Strokes – I love their music so much that I’m almost counting down the days until their new album, as sad as that may be!

Hiking along a beach to get to the start of a track.

J. – Tell us five of your favourite books and five of your favourite author and one quote that means a lot to you.

P. - I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a big ‘comfort’ reader. I have read and re-read my favourite books/authors so many times I’ve literally lost count. My favourite author is Alexander McCall Smith, and I love all his books although my favourite of his series are the ‘Sunday Philosophy Club’ books. Another ‘go-to’ author for me is Marian Keyes; I especially love the characters she builds and the realism of the stories she weaves. Right now I am currently re-reading the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. I used to devour her books when I was younger, and recently decided on a whim to see if I still enjoyed her writing. The answer is YES, haha. Perhaps I’m stuck down memory lane, but these books are just so happy and are taking me back to my childhood J. I am also a fan of the Harry Potter books, I find them totally magical. Have I reached five yet? OK, a stand-alone book I love is ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setterfield. I enjoy audio-books too.

My favourite quote is:

“Keep your face towards the sunshine, so the shadows fall behind”

– no matter how hard life can be, it’s so important to at least try to be positive J.

(Picture above: A small selection of my personal library)

J. – What would be your dream job if you were able to do anything your heart desired?

P. - I would absolutely love to be a photojournalist, combining the two things I enjoy most. Otherwise, being able to make money from either writing or photography alone would be amazing. Oh, and a job with some free travel thrown in would be ideal. I think many people wish for such a job though…

My favourite photography course shot so far...

J. – One day you realize you have a golden ticket and you won a big prize in the lottery; what would be the first thing you’d do with your money?

P. - I think I would be sensible – first I would pay off my student debt and my Mum’s mortgage. At some point the time would come to be frivolous so I would buy myself a few treats (such as a MacBook, ah!) and probably book a nice, long holiday. Since this is my dream, I’d buy a first-class ticket to New York and hire The Strokes to play a private concert for me. Thank goodness at least dreams are free, haha. It’s really hard to say: I think I would share the majority of my prize with my family, and also donate a sum to cancer research.

J. – I’ve heard many people saying that real friendship isn’t possible through letter writing for various reasons. What do you think about that statement?

P. - I can tell you that from personal experience it IS possible! J As I mentioned earlier, I have met several people who I’ve first got to know through mail. Probably the most poignant moment for me has been meeting my dear friend Ingrid. We met via Postcrossing and started writing then. In 2008 I travelled to Holland to meet her and her family, and then in 2009 she made the looong journey to NZ and we met again. In 2010, when I was in Germany, we met up again several times. She is most definitely a friend ‘in real life’, and I often am amazed at how our friendship evolved from ‘just’ letters.

(Picture above: This is what I did with my penfriend Ingrid when she came to visit me in NZ :D)

J. – Tell us about your cosy moment to answer a letter, things you need to have around you, how looks like the perfect moment?

P. - Well, honestly, I don’t really have a routine or a certain place where I write. I don’t even have a desk at the moment (wait – add that to my answer above – if I won Lotto I’d buy a desk! haha) For me, the absolute #1 top priority is finding a nice pen. I can start a letter five times with different pens if I don’t feel comfortable! I write a lot at work or on our dinner table where I can spread out. Oh, and I always decorate/address the envelope before I start writing. I don’t know why, I guess it’s just a habit. I like peace and quiet to write, where I can just escape totally and focus on writing. Mind you, I often listen to music at the same time too.

My mailbox, where I look every day ;)

J. – And finally the last question, after bothering so much with so many details! Where can we find you Pip and read more about you or possibly send you a message to be have you as a penpal?

P. - I’m on Interpals (s0ma2281) and actually, I am looking for one or two new penpals at the moment so I’d be happy to hear from anyone I’ve inspired a flicker of interest in!

J. - I want to thank you dear Pip, for your fabulous and genuine interview, I'm sure you wrote all those answer with your soul. I hope al the EcologicalStoryteller reader can enjoy it as much as I did and don't forget, if you want to meet Pip deeply she is looking for a couple of new penpals. Want to be featured send an e-mail or leave a comment with your contact. Love, Joana

Earth Shaped Love

2011-03-26T16:14:00.009Z

Why not to switch off the lights for one hour, one hour for the planet. Once more I will turn of my lights and today the Ecological Storyteller will be in the darkness, because today around the globe the Earth Hour 2011 will take place for a common purpose to the billions of people living here, on Earth. What are you going to do? I believe that a person who can't do such a simple gesture like to turn off the lights for one simple hour can't go further that, will never do more. Great events start with small gestures. If you don't find support around do your own private Earth Hour, because it matter, what you do matter, even if your neighbor doesn't want to get into, if your friend or relative thinks it's stupid and useless, it matter and you know that.

they were Just Kids

2011-03-22T22:34:00.004Z

"I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs. But secretly I knew I had been transformed, moved by the revelation that human beings create art, that to be an artist was to see what others could not."

Just Kids

Just Kids moved my heart. It could be just one more book about a girl and a boy who met and had a life to tell as one, but it is beyond that. Before Robert Mapplethorpe died Patti Smith promised him that one day she would write their story (what a story). She kept her promise, like all the vows Robert and she took, such as their promise to stay together whatever happened, they would always have each other, and they always had, no matter what. To that bond I call pure love or true friendship.

Patti Smith (born December, 1946), a remarkable singer, poet and down to visual arts person met Robert Mapplethorpe (born November, 1946), someone who knew of his talent to create with his hands, subsequently discovering photography and becoming known for his work and nudes, as well as S&M photography, but also as the person who documented memorable days in the life of Patti, met when they were two 19 years-old youngsters, adventuring in the New York City of the late years of the Sixties, for a place as remarkable artists. They would start an intense relationship, they would learn and support each other so much that none needed to talk through words to understand each other, looking into each others eyes would be enough, enough to let one read all the thoughts and consuming feelings inside the other’s mind. They passed through a period of extreme poverty; Patti would work in book stores to help Robert to pursuit his art and give him freedom to create. In the mean time, Patti dreamed to be a poet, writing endlessly about everything and nothing to extend her creativity and vision.

"I imagined myself as Frida to Diego, both muse and maker. I dreamed of meeting an artist to love and support and work with side by side."

Just Kids

Their relationship passed through turbulences, execrable situations, to most of us. Robert was uncovering his sexuality while Patti would be breaking a new path to reach her dreams. They never turned apart; they always kept their vow, like if some bond was connecting them.

While their story was happening, Patti describe us all the people crossing their paths, all the places, the movements, the happening, the dreams in the air, the hopes and changes that the late decades were so higher on. I felt in chicken skin while reading the book passages where she talks about the moments she saw or talked with Janis Joplin (which is one of my muses), Jim Morrison, Andy Warhol, Jimi Hendrix, Salvador Dalí and so many others, actresses, models, artists of all kind, Vali Myers, Edie Sedgwick and so many others, all leaves left by time in the decades of our history. So many idolized artists died too young, I wonder hoe the world would be today if they could be alive. Reading about them all, including Robert Mapplethorpe left in me a missing feeling, which in Portuguese (exclusively in Portuguese language, because it doesn’t has a translation to any other language) we call saudade. Why do I miss someone I never met? Possibly because they inspire me deeply, they will always inspire me and surely because that period of their youth is one of those that most fascinate me historically. Did you ever cried reading a book?

Smith writes poetically about her life, what hurt her so deeply and the intricate paths her life took, mostly she taught me something indirectly, which is only haunted by the times we live today and I wonder if it is really like that way we paint it, we should fight for our dreams, with hard work and perseverance we will reach them. Along the entire book we get to be familiar with how she arrived from a tiny place to New York City and how her life changed, slowly, very slowly indeed, but she kept dreaming, the period in the Chelsea Hotel was surely fascinating, due to all the individuals passing by, writers, poets, painters, musicians and others. Robert and her, two artists conquering their dreams, always side by side. I feel a certain absence, like if something in my life was missing, I’m sure it is due to the enormous mark Just Kids left on me.

You should never stop dreaming, no matter what. I feel that as much as I try to explain the fascination I feel the more I fail, I would like to find a word to explain it all, at once, to amaze you, but that words doesn't exist yet, it is composed of many, inside the leaves of that story, it is among the black and white photos that go with the story, did you ever feel this way?

"So my last image was as the first. A sleeping youth cloaked in light, who opened his eyes with a smile of recognition for someone who had never been a stranger."

Just Kids

Babbling

2011-03-17T22:49:00.003Z

*here

Does such place exist, where people do all of that? It's quite utopian but it is the way I'd like it to be, wouldn't it be perfect? Tea and books, people hugging for no reason in particular but all, seems we are so bounded to behave with care, avoiding simple gestures. Simple affection. Patti Smith's book is totally consuming my ideas, it's brilliant, full of thoughtful ideas from a poetic mind, from someone who really saw the world, not only from the point most of the people see it today, the simplest way, the easiest. Smith, like many others tried to see the world from other perspectives, look for the meaning of life in the middle lines. What is your favourite decade? That where you take inspiration from, in aesthetic, music, films, literature and everything else.

Stay tuned for a new Letter Writers Circle interview soon.

Dreaming Dreams

2011-03-04T17:55:00.007Z

I have been dreaming a lot lately, even if we always dream about something we don't really remind about it every time, but I have been remembering my very livid dreams, I almost can touch them and believe me there are dinosaurs looking through the window like in Jurassic Park, I wished to know where our minds go find and remind to use such scenes. The other day I dreamed I had a house, a flat, that I could use just when I wanted. It was in the middle of a big city and through the windows we could just see more and more tall buildings getting lost in the horizons. Mine was very clean and organized, the walls where white and there were green plants in strategic places, all looked wonderful, I was happy to know I had that house to go when just when I needed and as someone else was using it I wasn't very happy, because someone would mess it up and I didn't want that! This house things remind me of Inception, am I getting crazy or do we actually remind of past things or perhaps future things we will live? Or that will be similar, or maybe we have a life in our dreams! There are numerous choices to question about.

*here

I think dreams are private things, they obviously carry a heavy charge of emotions we hide (or not) during our conscious time and they are discharged there, when our sub-conscious starts working full time for us. Everything we feel, things we desire avidly, experiences we are afraid of, all gather together in our dreams and build that intricate metaphor which sometimes may look funny, but which also may take dark shapes and haunt us. I decided to share a part of them which I think that will probably amuse you, because we all dream and I am sure a lot of us stare thinking for while about some dreams you can remember in the moment you wake up.

*here

It's said that we don't have notion how giant our mind is and all the abilities contained inside it, are mostly reflected while we are sleeping, in dreams, since we don't know how to use such capacity while we are awake, I believe because we never learn to use them, it would require efforts we aren't used to. Here, I could go on talking about many issues related with dreams, like oneirology which I am very interested in as well as oneironauts, which is what I call an ability, even if I am sure that a great part of the world don't believe in such things any more (abilities), I do think that most of us born with propensity to do some things that others can't and vice versa. One of the easiest cases is the drawing. There are people that when grabbing a pen can draw the world upside down with eyes shut. Who never heard someone telling to someone with visible talent to drawing some thing like to the other "I wished I could draw like you, where did you learned?". Possibly many people never discover their own talents or abilities because they are hidden or because they need to test them, they need some way to start interacting with them. Also, for social or political reasons it might not happens.

An oneironaut can be the person next to your door, and such person can travel within dreams, normally I guess a part of the conscience is working, we are aware that we are dreaming while we actually dream, we can take options, decide paths we want to walk through, did it ever happened to you?

I'm sure people normally don't refer such things afraid to be taken as a fool, because we live in a very material and palpable world. Everything that can be mistaken with something more spiritual or not visible is today a reason to laugh or to doubt peremptorily.

If you could travel in your dreams where would you chose to go? Or what would you do?

{edited to improve the information}

When I Talk About Love

2011-02-21T21:46:00.007Z

One of my goals about reading to the New Year was to read more Portuguese literature and also poetry. Recently I started making a small collection of books for a price you barely can associate to a book (very cheap), once a week with a magazine I get one new. Each is from a Portuguese author and in one side it has a poetry work and when turned upside down to the other side it has a prose work. I have always read a few authors from my own country, the most well known for sure, and it was something a I wanted to change because Portuguese literature is highly rich and I was feeling poor to leave so many of what is mine too, my culture, behind, unknown. The very first books I read was written by José Jorge Letria (born 1951) a journalist, poet, politic and Portuguese writer. I loved both, Produto Interno Lírico (poetry) and Coração Sem Abrigo (prose). The poetry work is very enchanting; most of the poems are about memories and feelings, about the feelings of being a writer and the world around, and the love for such feelings. It’s very evocative to who is inspired by such things.

The prose work is what I want to talk about the most. The title Coração Sem Abrigo means literally “Homeless Heart”. It is a story of solitude, loss, melancholia but also about the sharing of love with the most inoffensive creatures, animals. The story is told by the main character, a homeless man who never tells his name, because through what he says, it is a connection to the “other life” he once decided to leave behind, in the other side of a metaphorical bridge. In the other side of that bridge he was a man with a house, a family, a mother who loved him very much, possibly some friends and even books he loved to read before to go to the war. There memories prevails, but all of that stopped making sense to him, all of it lost it meaning because he felt suffocating and one day he decided to cross the bridge and be forever free, free from what society has to say, from what society tell us to do, he just wanted to be unrecognised and make each day a journey, each day have a reason to survive. He stopped believing in people and its manners and behaviours.

He decides to look for a dog, a homeless companion like he is, which would be destined to die with a lethal injection if no one looked for him, the only creature to whom he could give all his love without feeling he was wasting it, wasting his time in a relation that sooner or later would make him even poorer. He finds a dog that owns the name of Lobito (means little wolf) and since then he will show that love for animal is just as precious as any other kind of love. He would do anything for his Lobito as well as his Lobito would always came back to him like if his place was close to his owner, the only person capable to care about him and love him with all the intensity.

The story let us know about the excluded from society, their wandering around the city, what secrets they hide and reasons why they were defeated by the force and have given their soul to the solitude of being completely alone. In the other hand it is a book about the fight against animal abandon. A homeless person can love a animal and care about it, a person who doesn’t has nothing material can do anything for the only thing he loves that loves him back, why can we all do the same? Why some many animals are left alone in the cities, in the woods, lost, starving, missing who they believe that could love them, missing what in their heads was home.

When I try to fancy what is inside the mind of people who do such things I barely can pass from the first stage. How can someone be so cruel and heartless, they surely even can laugh sarcastically of their gestures with their pets, they surely can beat them. Why when vacation comes animals stop being part of the family because they can’t travel with them? Animals aren’t objects you use an abuse when you want and threw away like rubbish when you don’t need it or when it is a burden in your back. How can such people pass values to their children and make them the noble men and women of our future?

That homeless man knew his heart was defeating him and he only could think who would care about his beloved friend Lobito, but do someone cared? Wasn’t him just one more abandoned animal in the streets, wandering. Where stops human cruelty and until where goes the love of a human and animal heart for each other?

(c)The photos can't be used without my permission.

Could Be Friendship Day

2011-02-11T22:24:00.006Z

I've read that in some countries in South America the Valentine's Day is known as "Día del Amor y la Amistad" (Day of Love and Friendship) and being friendship a kind of love and affection I decided to show some crafty idea through a sequence of images with the materials and steps to be crafty. I hope you enjoy!

The Fellowship You Dream About

2011-02-07T18:02:00.004Z

The Lord of the Rings and The Fellowship of the Ring
JRR Tolkien

(this is not a resume or a typical review, but my very personal thoughts)

Who have never heard about the most amazing epic fantasy trilogy? The name The Lord of the Rings surely rings many bells in numerous minds. In the back cover of the first volume I’ve read, there’s a reference to the newspaper Times, which wrote that exist two particular ways to divide readers of this trilogy, those who already read it and those who will read it. I questioned myself if the popularity that Tolkien’s masterpiece achieved didn’t put away many people who are averse to popularity or to things that people widely talk about and idolize. I got to know J.R.R. Tolkien work through the films, when they were released, I am honest I hadn’t a clue who he could be before that and today I totally venerate his work as someone whose the biggest dream is to be a respected writer not because I have a hand full of degrees but because I wrote something worth to be respected. Tolkien’s work is like the creation of a new brand world, not only from the physical point and where you follow the actions since the present to the following days, but all that a world can contain. Tolkien materialized what a writer can be; a writer can be a god.

I don’t read much of fantasy and I can’t mention many titles from the genre, that I have already read, only a couple of them, I am a little picky about it because some of those books are rather childish and the ideas aren’t that vast, it is all turning around the same, somehow it becomes boring. Well, I am not especially fan of over commercialized things, I don’t look for very well known things to follow, I rather prefer to look by myself, still I wouldn’t stop loving something just because it got well known for a vast group of people, but Tolkien’s work came much before that and even if I don’t read fantasy all the time I do like it when it is highly well structured and there isn’t a better example than The Lord of the Rings, the books, the films, the soundtrack! Oh, I swear I would die to be a hobbit carrying a ring in my pocket each time I listen to that the soundtrack.

I’ll not lead you through the never ending story of how Frodo Baggins gets a powerful ring he has to carry to be destroyed, most of people knows that story, since the film was a blockbuster, which doesn’t mean that everyone watched it or everyone knows the story, but I think that reviews are so avoided by readers here, because they are boring and looks like frauds, copies from covers. I rather prefer to express my feelings about books in other way, giving all the freedom to people to look for the books and read themselves the covers and the story inside.

One of the particularities of The Fellowship of the Rings (and possible the other two books of the trilogy) is that it contains more story than what we watched in the cinema. There are more characters, that don’t influence the end of the story, so they were cut in the films, but they bring some more to the avid readers of Tolkien, plus you will find more details about all the characters, more paths, more scenes, more places. The book gives us a perfect travel through Tolkien’s world, you can see the paths in your mind (at least if some imagination rests in your head) and breathe the air the characters breathe. When you are back to the real world you are sure nothing of that is real, but while you are reading you could bet it has to be real! It can’t be a fancied world and here is what I miss in fantasy books.

All the illustrations credited to the author John Howe, taken from *here

Stereotypes & Literature

2011-02-01T20:56:00.009Z

You perhaps never thought about this and hopefully I will provide you something new to think about. Picture novels or short-stories you enjoyed reading and tell me something, who is the writer? Is the author male or female? Is the main character a man or a woman? A few men create female main characters and the opposite also happens. The most apparent reason will probably cross your mind; men identify more with their own genre, the same happens with women. It can be evident to most of you, but shouldn’t a writer - a creator of dreams and worlds-, be capable to create any character and endows the same with the veracity it deserves inside its own context in the story it belongs to? Do the writers fear to be unsuccessful getting into other genre's skin and mind and hide it behind what is easiest to them, or is it a way to hold admirers and readers?

Once, I read an article about this matter. I remember it dimly but enough to talk about. Supposedly, male main characters can hold more admirers and interest to be read about. Men identify with them and women admire and feel attracted by them. It couldn't be more overtly masculine, I know. If you analyse the matter, the world is still widely ruled by men. It wasn't that long ago that feminist movement started taking place and women got some freedom. I know that today the situation is different from the awkward past, but we all know that a long path to walk by still awaits for humanity in general. I especially question myself about why writer choose the genre of their characters.What problems influence that choice. Can a man easily write about female characters and a woman can do the same with male characters?

*original here

Across all my life reading and due to all the characters and writers that passed through my eyes I could notice that female writers can write better male characters than male writers can write female characters. Make sure, I am not aware if anything I am writing about here is scientifically proved, all derives from my observations; I don't state anything as total and unique truth, like for instance all female main characters written by men could be all bad! It is so not the truth. I am founding my ideas in a general view of my observations.

In Occident, masculine values are mostly the standard values and happens that most of women live with them without question it because it is deep-rooted in our existence and cultures (not all obviously), in order to reach some goals for life we women have to be aware of those values, plus we are mother (I am not one yet, indeed) and we are part of what educates a man. Due to all these reasons maybe it explains a little why women can write easily male characters.

*original here

We even know stories of women which have hidden themselves under masculine names, in the past, to have the opportunity to be more successful and do not be judged. It changes pretty much but who knows what goes inside some minds? Still, this is not the what I am talking about here, just a path through where we could go and discuss. Focus in the writers and their characters, please.

This may look like a stereotype (we know they exist), for good or for bad. Since ever we categorize ourselves by genres, I don't think it is properly bad, at least if we can orient it through a healthy way and if it doesn't has as propose to hurt or act like some sort of prejudice. The idea I question about here came to my mind long ago when I started having a few great ideas to write a novel and I could just think that my main character would be a man, also due to all the rest of the plot. I was leaded to tremendous thoughts, such as if it will be a greater challenge than to create a female character or if it will be the same, or would it be easier to create a female main character. Will I be discredited from feminist ideals? I know all the answers to my questions but somehow the smooth veil of uncertainty prevails. I think I'll be sure about all of it the day I finish my first novel. I'm sure that day will exist, soon or in decades, who knows? Time doesn't make someone better or worst writers, everyone has a time.

Moderato Cantabile

2011-01-21T22:06:00.007Z

written by Marguerite Duras, 1958

One day, unexpectedly a man shoot his lover in a café in the same street where once a week Anne Desbaresdes takes her son to the piano classes, in Mademoiselle Giraud's place. That day, a scream filled the air and breached through the open window, in the fifth floor, where once more Mademoiselle Giraud was trying to instruct something to the little obstinate child, under his mother sight and concern.

In the next day and claiming to be thirsty Anne goes to the café and asks for some wine, something she isn’t used too. She meets Chauvin, a working class man and together, every day they wait for the instant to meet again and make up what could have been the story of that couple involved in the fatal happening and how everything leaded them to such brutality.

The story can be easily resumed within a few lines, it's a repetition of the same happenings since the incident and when when Anne starts going to the café and meet Chauvin, until that one day she arrives to her house, the last one in the boulevard which represents her financial state, drunk, where she is expected to a dinner party and is involved in a scandal. The repetition of her actions can make some people throw this story away, it can be an disadvantage.

*Marguerite Duras

I think the meaning here, is hidden along the narrative. Somehow the story that Anne and Chauvin make up about the lovers merge into their own story, they look to create the story of the others as a way to get involved and express their own repressed feelings about their lives and their relationship, because something turns them apart, maybe the social positions. They seem to forget the world around them, while her son plays freely outside alienated from what his mother is doing, he also seems to represent what brings her to reality.

I would describe this book as the fatal love story between two strangers that barely touched each other physically, deeply desired to be themselves living the fatal murder that one day took place there, as a way to live eternally free, far from what society as to say, and judge.

*scene from the cinematic adaptation in 1960

*here

I think each book has something to teach or to let us flow some emotions about it, whether we like it or not, well sometimes it isn’t a matter of like/dislike. There are story that are beyond such easy description, I don’t like to describe them that way. It is too vain describe something so easily like that when a story involves so many emotions and let us take our own judgments. The disadvantage of this novella is probably the nude way it is told, there are a few characters, places and everything turns around the same constantly, only the feelings change, evolve. Some may find it tedious, other will stare thinking after the end.

To finish, the title is a musical direction, meaning respectively "moderately and singingly. Mademoiselle Giraud would ask its meaning time after time to the child, but stubborn as he was and denying the desire to want to learn piano he would pretend to forget leading her to a furious state of mind.

Der Kontrabass by Patrick Süskind

2011-01-19T22:11:00.005Z

Theatre (monologue) 1981

The German Patrick Süskind is well known for many of us due to his brilliant literary work Das Parfum (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) adapted to the cinema not long ago. What several people don't know is what is beyond that. Süskind, a said to be reserved man wrote other works such as the play I present you today, maybe it can sound very differently to who loves his most famous novel, but Der Kontrabass (The Double Bass), a dramatic monologue probably will reminds you of something. While in the Perfume we were seduced by scents, in this fascinating play we are seduced by sounds.

Narrated by a musician who plays double bass in a orchestra, he is sit somewhere in his soundproof house while he drinks beer constantly and talk. The double bassist tells us after all about the instrument he plays and how it has repercussions in his life. There are many references to classical music and to techniques of a musician but somehow you pass thought theme easily, because they are presented in a very soft way, as well as all the names of compositors he mentions. I must be honest, I read the book in some hours and spend most of the time listening to the compositors and works he mentioned, I guess it worked pretty much as the soundtrack.

I had no idea what the book would be like and surprised me very much to enjoy the lightness of how it can be interpreted. In some way it’s amusing to know how the double bass influences his existence, as for the relations with women or just how he prefers to care more about it than about himself. In addition, he refers his frustrations due to his situation in the orchestra, how he thinks that a double bass is an essential piece in a orchestra but how he is neglected and thrown to the farthest place in the orchestra’s space and how barely audience look at him. He secretly loves the soprano Sarah whom he thinks that most likely never noticed him and aims to claim for her attention probably screaming in the middle of a musical performance, projecting her to the fame with such audacity, making everyone notice her beautiful voice and make her the principal soprano and proclaim himself it as a historical day and probably be fired in the ending because he is just a double bassist.

*here

He compares the orchestra with human society, since he feels despised due to his post in the orchestra and in society the individuals that do the most degrading jobs are the most despised by the others and he do think the double bassists are the ones who need more strengthens by many levels. With this he makes a accurate critic to the modern society.

After all this is also a book about music and I shall end here with a very thoughtful idea, music is eternal and untouchable, music is at a level we can't reach. There might exist wars in the world but music would not be a war, it helps people to reunite, because music have the ability to change minds and to touch hearts and to reproached hurt souls.

Mirrors of Ignorance

2011-01-10T20:25:00.006Z

A few days ago I was looking for some new blogs with substance to read and I ended up looking toward various pictures of anorectic top-model, and the post was designated as something close to “Fashion dismisses Size Zero”, while the pictures were filling the blank spaces. It isn’t the first time I write about matters to what a great part of humanity still shut the eyes to, to where they just can tell comment such us “poor things”, “disgusting” or using a problem to cheat on one’s stupid gesture. Not that my tiny little blog posts placed in the middle of the vastness of this planet, sometimes full of crap, could change something, but at least it works somehow like in chaos theory, it reminds who passes here once more about this or that, and who reads will have the job to perhaps pass it in a verbal way, or written or in a casual talking with a neighbour. It is how things spread around the world. Perhaps we never thought that issue single little action we do have repercussion in a huge scale, I am just reminding about it too right now!

*here
Happens that Isabelle Caro died recently and the world reminded about her once more. I remember that about a year ago my friend S. gave me as Christmas gift a book called “Wasted – A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia” which that even in the original version, in English, I read in a couple of days and as much as I was reading as much I wanted to know. Marya Hornbacher wrote that autobiographical book when she was only twenty-two, about her struggle with eating disorders since she was very young, not that much than ten years old. In any part of that book she pretends to be the poor one, and I feel she writes with all her soul and demystifying every single thought that was in her head as well as her acts, the relations, the feelings about everything, the pain, the struggle. I still believe that many people think people with eating disorders are pathetic because they just want to be thin, most of the time, they kind of make it like the stupidity of diets, that if one’s don’t want can’t stop. What most forget is that it isn’t just a matter to want to be think (associated to be pretty), it all is an avalanche that starts growing when stupid people joke about the others, when parents without values say horrible things at home and let their kids listen and grow like invaluable citizens too, making the others suffer. It is a big snow ball that grows and grows due to the irrelevancy of some minds, due to the hatred some carry. I remember the books I read about Isabelle and I saw an interview with her and she was telling she was trying very hardly to recover, and I thought she would be capable…

*here
I am myself a thin person, since I remember myself. You couldn’t count how many times in my life I listened middle age women telling me I would become fat as soon as I have their ages, because they used to be like me, but they aren’t any more. Everyone knows that metabolism turns slower with age, but what many don’t have will to is to work out and make some physical efforts, so they can’t shut their mouths and squeeze young minds like mine. People are constantly stinging the other for their own miseries as a way to wash their hands. I remember to get know know from other people that some people would think I could have anorexia because I was simply thin, because my metabolism works faster than the others. Do they really people know what is to be thin and sick?

This leads me to something more. People got ashamed to talk about fat people in their faces. Obesity is a big problem and a large percentage of the population in the world suffer of it, a lot of people have problems with the scales, so they shut about it, but do you think the same happens with thin people? No. They love to smash in our faces what we really see every days in the mirrors because they are jealous. Here, is the point. People love to point you the finger. And if you didn’t have a problem you get it because you turn sick to listen every days the same thing and at some point you just wish to change that and shut them up, you just wish to be “normal”. Comes on, we are all normals, bodies are bodies, they are like they are. You aren’t ugly because you have less than ten pounds more or less than you should. Are you taking care of yourself, do you work out, do you eat well, DO YOU FEEL GOOD? So let them talk. It’s just a zum-zum, you are beautiful.

How many people will have to suffer and die because of the others lack of personality? Everything I wrote before may focus a little more in body issues, especially due to the examples I wrote about but the body issues are just a part of the problem. The way people intoxicate the others are much deeper, and sometimes have damages permanently the esteem each person has inside, self-esteem. There are so character traits I still can't deal with such as arrogance, rudeness and coldness toward the way they talk with the others. I think that is frankly stupid when people with such character traits show it to the others like if they have a very strong personality. I don't think it I personality, I think it shows they do not own one.

There are plenty of ways to share the love. Do it and spread it.
Warm thoughts,
Joana

Metamorphosis, meet Yolanda Soares

2011-01-07T19:32:00.012Z

Today, I am going to introduce you the Portuguese crossover singer Yolanda Soares, one of my favourite singers. Her fresh new album named Metamorphosis is perfect and to leave you in "chicken skin", believe me. Entirely different from the first album, Musix Box (Fado em Concerto) , she reinvented her music, a true transformation, quoting, a metamorphosis.

I guess I should introduce her properly with the research I have made from a few links and give you some more accurate details about her biography and career.

Iolanda Isabel d'Albuquerque Pina Soares, artistically known as Yolanda Soares was born on November 30, 1971 in Lisbon, capital of Portugal. Soares grew surrounded by strong musical and artistic traditions, a family particularly bonded to Fado and dance. The singer attended the Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa (Lisbon's National Conservatory) first as ballet dancer, later as a singer.

Yolanda Soares is a talented crossover singer, which means that she can make a fusion of various musical genres. I guess that only listening to her you will know what I truly mean, there's the "chicken skin" feeling I mentioned some paragraphs above.

In the year of 2007, Yolanda Soares released her first album Music Box - Fado em Concerto together with Abel Chaves, which includes music already knwon from the authorship of other artists, but also originals, mixing Fado and classic music. An orchestra of the Czech Republic participate in this same album, as well as five lyric voices and musical instruments such as piano, portuguese guitar, clavichord, synthesizer and drum.

The last year, 2010, she released Metamorphosis, which is described in her website, I quote "A true stylistic transformation, now touching on symphonic rock.", also about her "Yolanda Soares represents the women of the twenty first century. The women that do not conform, do not give up. The women with the incredible capability to transform themselves and their circumstances to overcome any problem.", here's the concept of Metamorphosis.

I recommend you to take a look to http://www.yolandasoares.com for more info, videos, photos and others. Plus, it has something I really enjoyed, you click on Jukebox and have access to some seconds of each song from Metamorphosis plus the lyrics and some details about the songs and what inspired them. It is really neat and enjoyable.

Besides all the talent she owns, I do believe she is that kind of warm-hearted artists that easily give a word when someone ask her something, who doesn't hide or pretend to be magnificent just because has the face printed in a music album. You can join her official Facebook group where she talks with her fans, Yolanda Soares Oficial, and give her some love. I am all in love with her voice, strength and sound.

Here's my favourite song, Kéni Inderò, from the new album, written by Alex Fan Moniz, in Kerish, an invented language. It was performed in a Portuguese TV show. The lyrics aren't in a language of the world, it was invented and doesn't mean nothing in particular, it is supposed to make you feel the song even if you don't understand the lyrics, it happens quite a lot to us who are connected with people from other countries and when we experience their music in their languages, we don't understand what it means but most of the time we are bonded to the melody and it leads us to some emotions. I hope not to be telling such a big lie *ah ah*. Enjoy.

Credits goes too all the websites mentioned with proper hyper links. I am adding hyper links to some info in Wikipedia, where you easily can get to know more about things as Fado, Portuguese guitar, mainly belonging to Portuguese culture. Never is enough what we can learn, hm?

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend,
Warm thoughts,
Joana

No, I do not hate Christmas

2010-12-24T22:28:00.004Z

I do not hate Christmas. I will not write a post telling to people to stop wishing me a Merry Christmas and I wouldn't do it for any reason unless I would consider myself a selfish human being. Christmas Day is the highest celebrations of Christianity, commemorating the birth of Jesus but we all know how it changed across the time. I belong to a highly religious country, where almost 90% of the people are Catholics, but I don't consider myself religious or a believer, due to that I'll not blame the others for believing as I don't shut the others mouth to talk about their celebrations from their own religious, I'm glad to hear about it all the time, and I would be much pleased to get a card from a celebration of other religious or culture. Friendship is about understanding and religion is one of the first steps to consider ourselves open-minded people. As I told before I am not a believer but I do have a sentimental thing for Christmas, which is related with love, reunion of families, friendship, charity and many other things. Many other cultures joins today this celebration even if some have not any basis on it, due to their religious, it means Christmas spreads into something beautiful. With this I want to mention how sad I feel to read in some places some people asking the others to stop wishing them a merry Christmas. Embrace your friends like they do when it comes to your culture. Make peace.

Feliz Natal!

Joana

South of the Border, West of the Sun

2010-12-20T14:13:00.008Z

South of the Border, West of the Sun starts as a childhood love story between Hajime and Shimamoto, both are only child, something that wasn't seen as normal as now in that time, the second half of the last century, in Japan, more accurately, in a small town. They find in each other everything they needed, the companionship, they spend most of their time talking, and entertaining themselves listening Shimamoto's fathers old recorder on her stereo. Shimamoto suffer of a disease that makes her drag her leg, something that is seen by the others but that Hajime barely sees. As for the moment they have to go to high school they follow different paths and Hajime starts to feel that maybe Shimamoto doesn't want to see him any more and slowly stop appearing to the endless afternoons they spend together listening to the old recorder that Shimamoto always took care so delicately.

"In the Solitude of Ravens" by Masahisa Fukase

The story follows letting Shimamoto behind, following Hajime's percuss until he is 37 years old man, married to someone he found when he thought to be lonely and lost, someone that despite everything he learned to love, with who he had two daughter he loves to drive to school while all sing children songs loud.

He owns now two bars of jazz in Aoyama and thinks to have the perfect job, the perfect life he never thought to be possible, everything happens perfectly to him since he met his wife Yukiko.

"When I went back into the bar, a glass and ashtray remained where she had been. A couple of lightly crushed cigarette butts were lined up in the ashtray, a faint trace of lipstick on each. I sat down and closed my eyes. Echoes of music faded away, leaving me alone. In that gentle darkness, the rain continued to fall without a sound".

One day, Shimamoto appears in his life, sitting in his bar, waiting to be recognized, she appears as the most beautiful woman on the surface of Earth and they start talking endlessly, he makes him feel everything he used to feel when they used to be together when they were 12 years old but she never gives him details about her life, making him leave in her constant "what if", appearing when she wants, disappearing for periods when she decides, leading him to the desperation of possess her, of leaving everything to have her like he desired all his life, like if he had the chance to go back in time and never had left her behind, maybe life could be different at that point. All leads him t choose between his wife and perfect life and the image of his past, Shimamoto. Will he decide for the best? What uncertainties will it brings to his thoughts, how long will he actually live and feel the blood in his veins warming his body.

"In the Solitude of Ravens" by Masahisa Fukase

I would call to this book a short novel to Murakami's style, everything in his own style is prevent, cats out actually, but the shortness of this novel involved me like a warm veil that at some points turn cold, almost freezing ad let us breath as quickly as the characters do. It is haunted by nostalgia and melancholy, it's rich in feelings of desperation and loss and make us questions simple things around us, the simplest "what if" became intricate questions to answer. It can swallow you quickly and make you ramble in the coldness it brings outside.

South of the Border refers to the song by Nat King Cole played in moments of Shimamoto and Hajime's life. West of the Sun is related with a syndrome of Siberian hysteria.

"No one will weave dreams for me – it is my turn to weave dreams for others. That’s what I have to do. Such dreams may have no power, but if my own life is to have any meaning at all, that is what I have to do."

Once Upon a Time

2010-12-19T00:36:00.005Z

There was a man, a very old man, as old as you can remember, so old you barely can figure out how old he was. He died alone because he was too old to someone care about. This is the story of a nobody, someone people barely knew, a man who was a lover once when he was a young boy, a dreamer while he grew in a too hard to live country of the last century, a boy who jumped a dried leaf in the ground, decades ago, a leaf that remained quite until the much older mister Wind came to sweep it out and mumble the same old windy story. He was a just a man like any other, happens he never thought he could die alone when he was that dreamy boy smashing that leave in the ground, who knows the future?

It isn't supposed to make sense if you are asking it to yourself after reading the very first lines, it is indeed to make you confused, or you perhaps things you might be hallucinating, you are not, it is the reality. Some stages of life sucks, there's no other term to define it. You thought I left? I didn't. I've spend a great part of my time doing something very useful. Thinking. Too boring? This is not for you. I tried for many times to write something to make you sure I was alive but I wasn't, I was conscientious but so thoughtful that I couldn't put any effort in any other kind of action that would lead me to think. We can do two things at the same time but did you ever realized we can' think about two things exactly at the same time? I suffered a massive writer's block. Did you ever felt the same? Most of the times it takes me like one or two days to vanish and passion comes stronger, but last time it just took a long time, it was evasive and painful. For many reasons, for healthy, because of the job, because of myself, because of the others, because of the world itself it happened, who know the true reason? There are so many things that makes us like a person, can we define one things that can be the cause of such thing?

Excuses apart I want to tell you about that man! Yes, the very poor old man that one day was a smart and dreamy boy. He died the other day, close to the well in his house. A great part of the old houses here have a particular and deep well in the yard, most of them are no longer used because modern time changed drastically people's needs. Someone found him coloured like that makes us when we give the last breath. He was there for days, Rain knocked him to awake him. Mr Wind came and slapped him in the face, the pale lips being eaten by the grass. The shy winter Sunlight warmed him from the outside to the inside to give him life and make him bloom like It does with the yellowish flowers in the fields. Nothing woke him up. Nothing will because he died alone in a moment of agony, his nails scratched the wet ground until his lips blurred into a purple blue.

I used to see him, while he was alive. Every time I saw him him felt the same cold agony. I never saw someone with him, he was speechless but always polite in the few words I listened from his mouth. He hadn't some fingers in his hands because life sucked for him in some moment of his own life, he was in Colonial War perhaps, or he had a though job in sawmill cine he was perhaps ten years old, it doesn't matter. He used to tremble a bit while taking out his money to pay the few items he would pick carefully, he always had everything well thought because he was quick. He used to dress well but his clothes were unclean. He had a green wallet with 7UP logo. He never asked for help, he never said more than what was supposed to say to a stranger, but I saw he was alone. He died and a few days after he was found cold and breathless people started mentioning "Do you remember that old man that used to come here every day at five to nine? He died!". No one reminds him any more. No one probably remembers the colour of his wallet or the way he used to look attentively to what he was doing.

Once I was coming from work, was late, rainy and dark. He was riding his mechanical bicycle when I passed by him in my car. I thought he wasn't okay to be doing it only with an ordinary coat and a beret in his head. The other say he was dead by Death.

He was a just a man. Are we just a shell? To where we go when we leave our shell behind? Nothing you read before besides de physical facts are proved. I fancied most of it even the dying process because no one knows, all are suppositions people make after hearing about a story having such few facts, but one fact leaded me to all this story (you must find creepy) he was too old and alone.

Christmas is coming. How many alone people will die just like that, with a coldness in the spot of the heart...

Did you ever felt someone was lonely?

Penpalling becomes a Job

2010-10-15T14:33:00.003+01:00

Watch out, someone stole penpalling's essence! I come in defense of who loves to write letters as it was the most passionate act of a day, not a job.

& Everything that Makes you Wonder

edited I added some extra thoughts
We all started doing penpalling by diverse reasons and ways and slowly we go discovering it and exploring what it has to give us. About one decade ago when I discovered it I experienced what was to send letters all the time and even like that I guess I never had more than twenty pen friends, even so young I would feel bored in some moments because I always thought I was putting much more effort in something than the other person would do, it was clear to see that. Across the ages I started writing in English, putting more efforts into it, writing longest letters and I realized about the perfect number of people I could write with, hopefully and having a job now I could open space to write letters with more one or two beautiful minds. The "perfect number" means as easy as the number of people I can afford to send a letter and the time I can spend to write it and put all together, make a nice envelope and give the love contained inside me, it takes time, it takes pieces of me I am glad to give because soon, receiving one more letter from a dear person it will be recharged.

You surely would ask why I write so much about letter writing and never show my letters, what I put inside or what I get inside them. It happens just because it never was a priority to me. Showing such things is like to tell a conversation I had with a friend, tell their secrets, tell to everyone all the small secrets we can have, even if we never saw each other, even if we never hugged each other. I don't see penpalling has a Guinness record I have to beat. I see people talking about picking pen friends randomly, saying they would not care to get a grocery list to a letter because they just want to get mail at home? Penpalling is supposed to be beautiful, not random.

Kill the random please...

I am not against who does that particularly, I do mail art, to see all the pretty envelopes people do, and the cultural items we exchange, I could show them either, but not all. Be sure, here is just my side of the question.

What the beauty to count the number of letter and postcards you've sent in one month? To try to beat the number in the next one? I guess penpalling became a job and I didn't realize, there are people earning money for that?

I pledge to write a few letter, but to be honest I have all the pleasure to get a few letters, each one full of something I could not believe that could be possible to be contained on the paper. Each time I open the boxes where I save mail I wonder how it would be to feel about mail from people I barely now something about. My mail isn't part of a collection but part of my heart.

Peace,
Joana

Letter Writers Circle #4 Meet Rosane

2010-10-06T12:55:00.006+01:00

Dear reader,

Penpalling is made of a too vast number of voices, each one of them spread an opinion and it is one of the bright sides of it, not just to get to know different people, but much more. It is the easiest way to get to know different ways to live and think. Today I introduce you someone from Brazil, so meet Rosane.

1. Who are you?
My name is Rosane. I am a teller of tales.
Other than telling tales, I also write letters.

www.interpals.net/Rubycon
www.hod-sephiroth.deviantart.com

2. How long are you into penpalling? Can you describe us your path into it?
It’s family stuff. My parents met each other through penpalling. I used to exchange drawings with the children of my father’s Swedish pen pal when I was a kid. I started penpalling by myself when I was 17, when I received a letter from a girl from the USA. Actually, I still don’t know where she got my address, because I don’t remember having given it to anyone at that time (and I have never questioned her about it :P).

3. How would you describe yourself as a letter writer and what you look for in one?
I value quality over quantity. I don’t define a good pen pal by the number of pages of their letters or by the number of letters they send me, but rather by their will to express their thoughts in a deeper way.
Two things I don’t like: 1- People who are afraid of discussing polemic topics; 2- People who want to know everything about me but don’t want to open up to me in return.
As for my style of writing, as I am a story writer, my vocabulary is quite correct and I find it very easy to express my thoughts through words.
When it comes to the visual style of my letters, as I am a Graphic Designer, I believe the appearance must follow the contents. I care more for a clear handwriting than ornaments. I don’t buy stationery. Other than being expensive, they don’t fit my taste. I often make myself some drawings in my letters to illustrate the things I’m writing about.

4. Through your past experiences how does post-offices in your country seems to work sending and delivering mail?
Brazilian post offices used to be some of the world’s best ones, but a few years ago it passed through a dark period when lots of mail were stolen or lost. I even lost some of my oldest pen pals in that period.
Nowadays, post offices work normally again (except for a delay every now and then), but there are new rules about sending objects, so I don’t send gifts with my letters, and prefer that my pen pals don’t send them to me either.

5. Relate ecology movement and penpalling in the same thought.
People usually think that internet is more ecological than letter writing, but it’s not true. All means of communication demand materials and energy. Talking demands air and saliva; letter writing requires paper and fuel; internet requires a computer and electric energy.
The devastation of forests nowadays is something to worry about, so it’s important to be sure that the paper you’re using comes from an area of legal extraction, and is made by a company that cares for the environment, replacing all the trees they use with new ones.
But there are many factors to think about when it comes to the impact of the means of communication in our environment, other than cutting trees. The current need for high technology in our informational society causes enormous electronic waste, and due to its chemical composition, electronic garbage may cause as much damage to the environment as cutting trees.
I believe that letter writing is more ecological than internet in this regard: people don’t throw away their letters in the garbage as they do with electronic things.

"Customized handmade bookmarkers that I made for my pen pals using recycled or reused paper."

6. What can be done to do not let die the art of letter writing?
Wipe away this idea that letters are old fashioned. For some people (including me), old fashioned means stagnant and conservative. We must make clear that letters offer as many possibilities as internet.

This customized handmade box where I keep my postcards was originally a university project (cosmetics’ box).

7. What simple pleasures in a letter makes you smile?
Just the fact that someone has dedicated some time in their life thinking of me and writing to me is the greatest pleasure in a letter.

8 . What is the worst enemy of penpalling? (one word)
Superficiality.

"Some photographs made by me. The big eyes on the top belong to my pet Twiggy."

9 . What other hobbies or interested do you have?
Sleeping (but I don’t do it very often :P)

10. Tell something utopian (or not) that you would like to exist about penpalling.
I wish there were no prejudice in the world, so that all people could communicate with each other easily.

""Photomanipulation made by me. I am a fan of Chuck Norris (everybody is :P).

11. How do you prepare to reply a letter? How, when and where?
Nothing special, actually. I can write anywhere, even in crowded and noisy places. But I don’t like it when people around me peek at my letter, so I’m more likely to write when I’m alone. I guess my only particularity is the fact that I don’t start writing the reply right after reading the letter. I take some time to think carefully about what I’ve read, and I read the letter several times before I reply it.

"An image from my first cutout animation project."

12. Any last thought?

“Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet.”

William Butler Yeats - ch. 1, “A Teller of Tales”

Avoid the Unavoidable

2010-09-21T18:56:00.005+01:00

I'm back.

After almost a month where many things happened I am back to my cozy blog. I feel my blog is a cozy place and I never meant to write endless posts about things with only a momentary interest, it makes me in a irregular blog writer and I like it. I just write when I think I'll write something interesting to be discussed and read by my followers. I wasn't feeling that fine to write here, but imagination came again.

Today it is about first letters, stalkers, collectors of letters and short missives

I am not sure if you are an avid observer but as soon as you become one you will realized that penpalling world got its own stalkers. People are collecting letters around and you probably already were tricked by one.

Some people look to ignore the true meaning of friendship or letter writing and the passionate feeling we carry about it. They totally neglect that, they embarked in the dark side of letter writing, where everything is possible, where addiction rules. We all used the term "collectors of friends" and we probably think the requests we wrote somewhere are enough to put away such people, at least we fancy about it the moment we write them, but it isn't enough, they aren't scared by that, why? They never read the whole profile. Why? They don't really like to read!. But, do they like to write? No, they don't..

They basically write a message they will send you asking you to be pen friend with them, they surely sent it to dozens of people. They say they love your profile, that you are very alike and will be great pen friends, that they love to write long letters and decorate this and that, add this and that and are passionate about letter writing but hate who collects pen friends. Really? Did you ever heard about inverted psychology? Maybe you don't because I guess my brother invented the term to define what my six years old little godson does when he wants something. He says "you will not give it to me, won't you? I really would like to have it, but I know you will not give it to me...".

You can't avoid such people, because you can fly over their heads to see what they are programming to do, but you can't try to. Start with messages. Let the person know that you want to share a couple of long messages first, talk about your requests and be precise and do not be flexible or they will get the best. Make sure that you are really looking for something, because if you can't be precise you surely are asking to be deceived. First messages aren't supposed to unveil details that you would prefer to read in the paper, they are about details you don't need to read about you just need to see and feel you were lucky to find.

People who aren't available to write more than a page will not write you much more than a personal message, you feel they them being boring telling always the same thing.

In many cases you send a letter and never receive nothing back, after a while you might get a message from the same person asking you again to be pen friends with, sound weird, hum?

I guess people shouldn't be so scared to talk about the dark side of things. I am passionate about letter writing and even if you think I a writing here a bunch of alerts, that I possibly am to lucky finding pen friends, I tell you the truth, I am not. I just am a great observer and I leaned a few things from people's actions and know I thin I know a little to advice the others. I am truly passionate about letter writing and want to keep it a great passion.

I've learned that things must be called by their own names.

I wanna thank you everyone for the Birthday wishes and to the belated wished too, here we always say that it's better late than never. Thank you for the love *

To the dearest members in the group I've founded in Facebook that inspire me to discuss about penpalling. Long letters lovers ♥ snail mail

Peace,
Joana

No more birthday cakes!

2010-08-18T20:54:00.004+01:00

For my birthday I got... a cold!

Today, I turned 22 years old, if it means something. A friend of mine told me that faith drive us until we complete 21 years of life, when we celebrate the next age destiny start being written by ourselves and while I think about it, it all makes sense. Before, during my whole life looked like everything was settled, everything was happening as it was supposed too. We go to school when we are little, we make friends, we have the first love crushed. We don't really time hard choices, because everything happens so naturally and when we, now, think about it, everything looks to fast in our minds, comparing with our grown up ages. Doesn't it? Now we take choices! We spend time thinking how our choices will influence our future and if we take the wrong one soon we will know and it will have repercussions in the following time.

I always write down my wishes, especially inside my mind, I do it since ever. I don't really think that a big and loud party is needed to celebrate a birthday, but should exist some introspection time, to wipe out tired spirit so attached to our souls, clean up our minds and open little spot to introduce new miracles and hopes. That's what life is made of, little miracles and hope.

How is your birthday? Do you spend time thinking or you just want to party?

I got a few gifts from family and beloved pen friend. I just proved of what they are made of. Surely, I didn't need them to send gifts to prove it, but come on, let's not be ordinary and say "hmm... objects, I don't really care!". They were sent. My friends sent them and I accepted them with he same love I believe they were sent. I never felt so loved and I think it means I have been a good friend either and someone they care about. It made my birthday much brighter just to know they exist.

I made some photos of some things I got and I think there is not problem to share at least once my mail stuff. I am not very much that kind, but today is my birthday let me show what surrounded me today after some hours of work in the morning.

I am very in love with all the books I got and I can't wait to start the first one. I'll not tell each one I'll pick firstly because I don't want to look I am picking a friend first. Books are always a great gift, aren't they?

I am not a cell phone person, I do hang around perfectly with the old pal, I feel a little embarrassed putting out it in the middle of modern generation phones, but I never thought a phone with millions of options could be essential. My brother was for a very long time asking me if I didn't liked this or that one, that I could spend some money buying one. I always ended up with "nah, to expensive, I rather would buy a book of stamps, I like my old folk." Happens that I got from my family a new generation touch screen thing... is new generation swallowing me completely?

I wish you all have bright days like mine,
Joana

Black and White Story for common letter writers

2010-08-16T20:28:00.004+01:00

I think to grow old and gray with penpalling. You surely do it either, but do we really know what it means?

It’s a constant to find a great and close pen friend who becomes a dear friend and we promise and hope to be together forever, a bunch of silly and dramatic expectations to our very far future – some will think. Will we be good enough to keep that promise or it isn’t a question of being good or not but of a kind of faith related with penpalling?

I wished that could be more common to see young people meeting old people and agreeing to share addresses, but the common sense says “there aren’t much in common between us, even if there were our ages are to distant, it could never happen”. I don’t really believe it. I think it all depends of each person. Even a young person who has a job and kids can choose to talk just about that the whole time, or can choose to mention it as well as mentioning several issues like the book he is reading, or what he thinks about relations. It all depends of us, of what we have to offer to the others, most of the times it just doesn’t match with the other person expectations, so it isn’t a question of age or religion or anything else that can look like prejudice, that many times is, indeed.

*via

How will we feel being old? Will youngster skip up from us, run away afraid of our gray hair? I think about it, most of the times randomly as probably most of you, and surely I don’t pay attention to it after a while, since it is so distant, so vague…

As the young adult I am today I want to be respected in the future and I want to see penpalling the same way of today, I don’t want to be scared to ask a younger person if he/she is able to want to start sending letters with me because I am old, because outside there is only a shell, and people are scared of the shell, I am not. There are very beautiful people around the globe, with many interesting things to tell, bunches of stories of the past, and I wished so much to read some, to find someone able to tell me wonderful stories, sad stories, any kind of stories, because they will always exist, not matter the age is.

I’m turning 22 years old next August 18th and I don’t want that this post sounds like a depressed thought of my mind because I am having one more year in my back, it isn’t. I have been thinking about this lately since no one ever mentions this very much and it also is part of penpalling, to get older and still be passionate about mail, but how see us the rest of the world? The other day at my work an old lady was buying two blocks of letter paper and pens, and the thoughts so small in my mind once claimed to come out. It is how people inspire me.

Warm thoughts and peace,
Joana

The Eloquence of a Missive

2010-08-09T22:50:00.005+01:00

How is your passion about getting a new letter?

"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."
Walt Whitman

Some of us are into penpalling for ages, some maybe decades, but did the passionate feeling about getting a letter changed, did it become colder? My sense tells me that when I get a good letter my mind instantaneously think the asnwer, sometimes I wished to had it saved somewhere because it looks far the best asnwer ever. Still, later I'll have to write it down in the paper, sometimes some thoughts are endlessly lost, but I can't help it to love the feeling of be reading an inspiring letter tie after time and do not wish to start writing soon because it will means that sooner or later I will have to send my reply and that missive I loved will be the mother of a new one. Guess I am too attached to great letters and the dearest people who write them.

When it comes to a letter that makes me feel that was written up on the knees of someone, as quicker as possible to be sent and despacthed as if it was an inevitable hard thing we want to keep away from us. When a letter doesn't bring the welcome lovely feeling I just feel like putting it away. I look over it during days and I never feel like answering. So, I don't get why so many people love to get as many first letters as they can, empty letters, maybe be fat envelopes, but never too fat in the beauty of words.

I just want to keep feeling delighted to get letters, every time more.

How do you feel when you get a good or not so interesting (to you) missive?

I feel like a small philosopher, wandering in my own head.

"What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call."
Liz Carpenter

***

Mail from Gracie

Peace,
Joana

Becoming a (long) letter writer Tips 21-30

2010-08-04T19:06:00.007+01:00

21. Be Unique, Be Yourself

Why to write the same to all your pals, somehow you will start feeling tired because a letter must be unique, not a list of things about your life you have to send to this and that person. Why not to start with your current mood and something that happened recently, then slowly ideas flow and you will realize how every letter your write is so different from the others.

22. The most amusing pen time

Some people look to have a "perfect" time to write, it all depends of our daily lives, so each person looks to have a different taste. Look for yours. When do you feel better, in the morning, when your mind is still fresh and calm, or at night when owls come out? The "perfect" time means more inspiration and calmness to write a good and deep letter.

23. Stories are glories

Who's able to tell a story? Many people still rush something they have to tell, it is so rushed most of the time that you barely can understand what actually happened. The expression "it is a long story" scares me, because I love long stories, and long stories makes long letters, so give freedom to your own stories and tell them, you are letter writer and a storyteller!

24. Save Money

Penpalling will surely helps you to grow in all the direction. If it is about wasting money, it also can be about saving money. Not all of us swim in money and some of us are students, getting money from parents, but most of us aim for a little of independence, so start it, save little money to buy your stamps or supplies.

I talk by experience. Almost all my life I saved my own money to buy stamps and have the pleasure to glue them in my heavy long letters, so my parents never bothered me about letter writing.

25. Do not kill the snail! (will surely give birth to a new brand post about it soon)

Yes, fuel is wasted to deliver mail, trees are killed to make paper... but will we stop all the pretty "tradition" of the world because in the other side we keep wasting and hurting Earth? First, be Earth friendly in your daily life, recycle and follow the green plan. Plus there are bunches of nice things you can do to help. Reuse the wasted supplies. Old magazines and newspapers can give nice collages to send to your friends as well as envelopes! Recycle old wasted pens. Discuss the issue. Besides ecology there is also a world tradition to preserve, will the future generations knows that a piece of paper could travel across the world to deliver news and make friends?

26. Write a memorable first letter

You were waiting for a promised long letter ans you got a sheet or two with random facts about someone? I'm sure you are feeling upset.

The first letter is to many people the first glance at other person way to do penpalling. You can write so many interesting details in a first letter so why to keep it short? Here's some things you can talk about: who are you, where you come from, how old are you, who are your family, where you grew up and where you studied, and also what. What are your main hobbies and if there is something you are not really cut for. How long are you into penpalling and how you found that. Each one is your religion or belief and how you see them. What are your dreams and expectations to your future. What are you looking for a pen pal and what you have to give. What personality traits you pledge in someone. Do you have pets? Do you work or did so kind of work before?

There are dozens of things you can talk about in a first letter, you obviously don't need to write ten pages about each issue, because gradually in the next letter you will discuss the strongest ones and keep to another related or not issues.

27. Don't Give Up

You feel betrayed? A friendship you thought to be forever ended, or your realized that your friend wasn't the kind of person you like to have in your friend's circle? Don't give up of penpalling because of that. There are too many people in this world, to many to get to know in the future. Be honest and you will be one of the good ones :D

28. Print A Smile

How often do you send printed photos to your friends? I have to be honest.. I stopped doing it since I can show them who I am through Internet, but once day I decided o print some to send and the truth.. I got some back and I loved it! Now I hang them in my cork board and I can look at my beautiful friends faces as much as I wish for. Print some yourself and ask for one from each one of your pals.

29. Spread the Word

Get other people involved in penpalling by sharing with them your experiences. never let them know that penpalling is a way to get things easily because it is the worst things you can tell them, penpalling is much more than a way to get gifts, so let them know the brightest things, we want penpalling to evolute, not to be corrupted.

30. Don't say "excuse me, I had too many letter to write"

Do you tell in real life "sorry, I can't meet you because you I have other friends to talk with"?

(sent by a friend) To Be Undone - Nadja Bournonville, Galerie Gabriel Rolt

Letter Writers Circle #3 Meet Darja

2010-07-27T22:57:00.004+01:00

1. Who are you?
I’m a girl whose name is translated as Palace island in the sea ^.^ I live in a beautiful city in the South of Germany where I’ve studied something about China and Slavic languages… I’m half-Russian, quarter-German and quarter-Ukrainian and I speak Russian as my mother tongue… If I would be a dot on the map, I would put myself between Asia and Europe ~ the place where I was born… What I like about Germany is that people know how to leave you alone… What I don’t like about Germany is that people know how to leave you alone…

I hate to end my sentences with full stops, so I use smileys, points of ellipsis or exclamation marks instead… I gave a big piece of my heart to the Chinese language, I need it every day, like a drug ^.^ I’ve collected some knowledge inside my brain and I think that others deserve knowing it too, this is why I like being a teacher… In my opinion you can pass on knowledge through games, riddles and funny stories as well ^.^

I’ve noticed that I often start my sentences with ‘I’ and I have to admit that I am kinda egocentric… though it’s not the same as cold-hearted, arrogant or selfish! I always need a good balance between work – family – friends in my life, I think I can have everything I wish for, why not?

Does it all make sense?

This is what I usually tell to everyone who asks… But in fact I’m a little tanuki! Now it’s not a secret anymore… sigh… A tanuki is a raccoon dog (it looks pretty much like a raccoon, but it’s a relative of the dog) who lives in Eastern Asia… If it’s clever enough, it can transform itself into anything else, even a human being *hint hint* =^.^= A tanuki loves food so much and when it gets scared, it plays dead… *drop*

2. How long are you into penpalling? Can you describe us your path into it?

Since my childhood I’ve been incredibly fascinated by this world of ours, the people who live in it! I was attracted by everyone who seemed ‘different’… Besides I always loved paper and writing, so my first penpals were my mother’s friends’ daughters who lived in other cities… Then I wrote to the friends that I had to leave after moving to Germany… And then I’ve learnt enough English to start writing to young people from abroad ~ and these were the ‘real penpals’ we talk about, huh? My first pal from abroad was a boy from Egypt who was incredibly talented with drawing on his envelopes… So he was also my first ‘mail art’ experience ^^ Then, there was a girl from the Philippines who was a bit of a culture shock because she was amazingly friendly and gentle! It was all about 15 years ago, when I was about 13 years old… I loved the fact that I can make friends with people from such far away countries… Then, writing also helped me to develop my language skills… and finally, what really matters for me now is that you can feel close to someone you’ve never met before… I’d like to add that the more I get to know about different cultures and lifestyles, the more fascinating is it to discover that people are actually all the same… (Not everybody would agree, but I only state my opinion here ^.^)

3. How would you describe yourself as a letter writer and what you look for in one?

When I exchange letters with someone, I want to have the feeling of a real conversation. I’m very (!) chatty in real life and I can spend hours in a café with a friend talking about this and that without much action. During the years of my studies, I trained my brain to change to the ‘standby mode’, but usually it works at full speed and I like thinking about how people behave, what they experience in life, what’s going on around the world… So, I want to talk about a lot of things in my letters and I expect my pals to be chatty as well! I don’t see the point in short letters (and for those who might ask again ~ no, I don’t count the pages!!)… Maybe someone would call me unimaginative, but if there is nothing written that would inspire me to reply or comment, then I don’t feel like writing neither… I’ve experienced how hard it can be in real life to talk for two persons because the other side is just passive and well, it’s just the same in letters. I don’t want them to become hard work… I think little details in life make it fascinating, so I try to add a bunch of them to every story I tell… I put effort into my letters ~ I have them lying beside me when I answer them, try to decorate them nicely, try to take part in my pal’s life and I think I can demand just as much as I give (in the emotional sense ^.^)!

"A box where I store the C6 letters ^.^"

4. Through your past experiences how does post-offices in your country seems to work sending and delivering mail?

I think so far it works great… There were some cases when letters were lost or damaged, but not so often. I see a problem in the direction the things are taking though ~ like the fact that post-offices have to cooperate with bakeries and other shops and the staff know nothing about the guidelines. There was a lady who had been asking me ‘Where is Malta?’ each and every time I sent a letter to there for years until I moved T.T I think it’s a shame that people don’t know all the countries there are when they work at the post-office! Most of the time the people who work there aren’t friendly and what kinda hurts me ~ they’re careless… It doesn’t matter that I’ve made a beautiful envelope, it will be destroyed by an ugly postage sticker T.T They treat something I’ve put so much heart into in the same way as bills… wuuuhuuuuu T.T

And the postage is getting ridiculously expensive!!

"A part of the wall near my desk with some wonderful things I've got from friends and pals"

5. Relate ecology movement and penpalling in the same thought.

Difficult… I would like to hear your version, Joana, because I’m feeling like a complete dumbo right now ^.^ (it’s nothing to grin about =.=) The only thing I can think of is recycling stuff to decorate the letters… You can also send ‘fair trade’ and ‘organic’ stuff to your pals…

"The most beautiful maki I've ever produced (with a little help from my friends)"

6. What can be done to do not let die the art of letter writing?

You know what? The most important thing (in my opinion) is that you stay interested in it yourself, that you can feel inspired to write back to the friends you’ve met through penpalling! Sure, you can promote the whole thing and help others to get penpals (what I did in high-school), but it’s also (maybe even more) important to keep the love for penpalling in your heart as well… From my own experience, I’ve noticed that people get excited easily and lose interest as easily as that! The first reply is written on the same day, the second a week later and the third after a few months… Why? I know that life has its twists and turns and I can accept if someone feels like he doesn’t click with me, but people should remember that letter writing is not a hobby like ikebana (why do I think of ikebana? o.O) or fitness studio, it’s not a simple way to kill boredom… There is always a person waiting for an answer, someone who has feelings ^.^ Ah, I’m getting too pathetic ^.^ But as long as you continue writing yourself, you don’t let it die, huh? So if you’ve found a great penpal, please keep in touch ^^

"Some of my hand-carved stamps... As you see I'm a beginner, but I love the fact that I can have all the designs I want ^^"

7. What simple pleasures in a letter makes you smile?

Getting a letter and writing a letter is equally good ^.^ When I get a letter from someone I’ve been writing to for a long time, it makes me feel warm to hear some news from the person I care about… If it’s a first letter, I’m excited to discover what the future will bring for our relationship… In writing a letter, I enjoy having the feeling that somebody is so close to me… Like, I was writing a letter to Sara when her interview came out and I felt a bit puzzled ~ how can she be there, if she’s here with me? ^.^

8 . What is the worst enemy of penpalling? (one word)

Carelessness *bad bad*

"To add a rather unusual pic of my city ~ I see this when I look out of the window at our Slavic department… "

9 . What other hobbies or interested do you have?

I love languages, especially tonal ones… Have you ever listened to a tonal language (Chinese, Vietnamese, Yoruba, I’ve heard that even Swedish has tones)? It all goes up and down in a melody and it’s so expressive! I like speaking Cantonese, it sounds like throwing peas on a drum ^.^ (Please, dear Cantonese speakers don’t be upset by this comparison ^.^)

I love music and singing… I think the best instrument ever is the human voice <3 I prefer female singers ^^ I am the karaoke queen! My best mark was 97 (out of 100) for Ayaka’s ‘I believe’ ^0^ I’m keen on discovering music from all over the world, whether it’s pop/ rock or folklore… I love Slavic composers ~ Bártok & Stravinsky ROCK!

I like paper craft ~ for example making cards, paper cuts and surely MAIL ART ^.^ I’m writing calligraphy sometimes, my favourite is the seal script because you move your hand slowly and evenly and it feels like meditation...

10. Tell something utopian (or not) that you would like to exist about penpalling.

I would like to have enough time to write to a penpal in every country ^.^ But it is absolutely utopian, because I like long letters and I won’t take all the time I have in life for letters only ^.^ Now I can only do my best in writing to people I already know and treasure, no matter where they’re from ^.^ Unfortunately (for whom? ^.^) I can’t take any new pals now…

I would also like to know beforehand whether someone will be a good penpal … hehe… You put so much hope into the opportunity to make a new friend and if the outcome doesn’t meet the expectations, it’s sad ^.^

"Here I will spend my next holiday ~ Tsushima island"

11. How do you prepare to reply a letter? How, when and where?

Prepare… I like having my desk clean and free of stuff that usually lies around there, I like listening to music while writing and maybe I will make myself a tea as well ^^ I prefer writing in the morning because I get sleepy in the evening (oh, really?? o.O), I also like preparing an envelope before writing the letter, but it’s not always possible because I don’t always know what I’ll send when I’m finished with writing… Yeah, I’m usually sitting at my desk, because there is enough space for everything and I can check the dictionary and wikipedia on the net…

"I'm always interested in handwritings, this is a reason why I hate typed letters..."

12. Any last thought?

I feel honoured to be part of this project ^^ If someone cares ~ this is my tanuki blog ~ Starshine whirls make my head spin ^.^ It sounds like a weird pun or riddle… It’s not… It’s nothing ^.^
I’m not trying to sound especially mysterious, but I’m a bit afraid of the internet and the information that is stored there… Please bear with me…

"Tanuki pic from wikipedia"

P.S. to Darja from Joana - See, when e less expect we answer to the question 5., I just asked a little of imagination and you did it :)

I hope you enjoy to meet Darja, I'm very glad for having her here, I can assure you that she has a great soul and her friendship is memorable. Who's next?

The Inconvenience of Being Born

2010-07-21T16:51:00.006+01:00

Do you ever wished to have a minds recorder?

I am working for a month in a food supplies market in the cash machines, fairly not my dream job, but (also fairly) a great way to get money and make plans to the future, with my age all I have is The Future, so I must start working on it. So, I don't feel unhappy with my state, I thought I'd hate it very much, but always when I picture what I'll do with the money I'll get I get strength to keep. Plus, I found pretty friendly and helpful co-workers, I even noticed recently with one of the new girls that she is only two hours older than me!

A place where people go everyday to buy food supplies or any other items to daily life or house activities it is the easiest place to see the biggest variety of people, sure we are all equal! We have the same shape, but inside we think differently and act in very personal ways. What most challenged me working there and I was pretty afraid of that is the fact that I have to smile all the time. It means "you have to smile even when you don't feel like doing it!", so I stay the whole day smiling, when I don't feel like I grin my teeth while I swing the weight of my body form one leg to the other... yes I do have the stay the whole day up. Some people barely deserve a grin from me, what I can say about a frank smile?

May look odd to you, but I feel inspired there and I wished to have a recorder to save all my thoughts. There are all the kind of people passing there and I fancy all the kind of stories to the people that pass through me, their clothes, those who hang around with them, their ways to talk, the expressions they make with their faces, everything turns into a novelist world to me, or I might be getting crazy.

What makes me think the most is when someone looking very old and barely moving go there, totally alone, bringing a few items with the money in plastic bags or hidden in the inhospitable places of their clothes. I stare thinking "where the hell are the sons, daughters, any relative, any one?".

There are people who are rude, because they think we are lower, they own the money they rule, they forget that if we do not sell them food they will starve because long ago they forgot the roots and can't plant a simple potato!

There are people who never smile or open their mounts, even if you make a speech in the front of them, they just mumble and blink their eyes.

There are people who are so sympathetic that you feel your mood being recharged by them.

There are people who are drunk and smile for any and all the reasons.

There are people who say merci or danke schoen or even who try to spell the Portuguese obrigado.

There are people who recognize you after a while and look for you.

There are people who buy envelopes and I wonder what they will will send inside it. A personal letter to a beloved relative? Or a bill?

There are husbands promising a punch in the face of the wives.

There are every kind of people there, inconvenient or affable people, it is the place where acceptance knows the limits and everyday I learn that they can be high.

I wished to share with you my minds recorder, but I don't have one, yet.

peace,
Joana

Ceci n'est pas un post

2010-07-18T13:56:00.008+01:00

Summer + books

Most of the summers there are at least one Portuguese newspaper giving at least in four days of the week free books. The editions aren't a great thing, they are mostly cheap edition, made with very cheap paper, but what matter? The titles surely. Since yesterday I am enjoying one more collection. Here's the collection of this summer:

01. The adventures of Alice In Wonderland * LEWIS CARROLL
02. The Canterville Ghost and other tales * OSCAR WILDE
03. Cidade Proibida * EDUARDO PITTA
04. Carmen * PROSPER MÉRIMÉE
05. O Alienista * MACHADO DE ASSIS
06. Last Day of A Condemned * VICTOR HUGO
07. Inxalá - Espero por ti na Abissínia * CARLOS QUIROGA
08. Double Bass * PATRICK SÜSKIND
09. My Aunt Margaret's Mirror * WALTER SCOTT
10. O Mandarim * EÇA DE QUEIRÓS
11. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde * ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
12. Moderato Cantabile * MARGUERITE DURAS
13. Polikushka * LEO TOLSTOY
14. A Dama Pé-de-Cabra * ALEXANDRE HERCULANO
15. Davy Crockett * ENID LAMONTE MEADOWCROFT
16. Carmilla * SHERIDAN LE FANU
17. Heart of Darkness * JOSEPH CONRAD
18. A Ruiva * FIALHO DE ALMEIDA
19. (short stories) * HERMANN BROCH
20. Dream Story * ARTHUR SCHNITZLER
21. White Nights * FIODOR DOSTOIEVSKY
22. Night Flight * ANTOINE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
23. The Virgin and the Gipsy * D.H. LAWRENCE
24. The Murders in the Rue Morgue * EDGAR ALLAN POE
25. Os Conjurados * JORGE LUÍS BORGES
26. Daisy Miller * HENRY JAMES (I already own it)
27. (horror tales) * BRAM STOKER

A few are collections of short stories, so it's hard to mention a name, since the name in the Portuguese translation do not correspond to the original one. I am quite happy with a few I will own soon.

I also got a few weeks ago two new notebooks. They are a creation of MOLA Ativism - Design for Fnac. The design has the motto of reinterpretation of the concept of notebooks, notebooks shall not be seen anymore like a disposable piece, but as something to save in time. They are four and come in packs of two, you can pick the side you want to be the front cover, because both sides can work like that. The motto is Isto não é um caderno (this is not a notebook) and it reminds me of Ceci n'est pas une pipe or also Ceci n'est pas une pomme, works of the surrealist René Magritte, one of my favorite fine art artist since I was about fourteen.

I took some pictures of mine:

I'm sure there are people around who like notebooks as a memorable item, not as a disposable thing, right?

Keep reading the interviews!

Peace,
Joana

Letter Writers Circle #2

2010-07-14T18:11:00.003+01:00

1. Who are you?

My name is Agnieszka, I’m 24 and I’m from Poland. I live in a small town near Warsaw, the capital city. I studied finance and banking, I’ve just finished but I haven’t defend my thesis yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me:) After that I’ll be looking for a job and either find some quickly or become jobless. We’ll see.

I am a bit shy when I first meet someone, but then I open up eventually. I’m rather optimistic person, maybe a little irresponsible:P I’m a total dreamer but at the same time down-to-earth person… I’m not dreaming about impossible, am I?:P I love love love traveling and there’s no place in the earth I wouldn’t like to go to. I like the nights and the summer. I’m addicted of tea and chocolate. My favorite fruit is grapefruit and my favorite color is green. I’m a peaceful and tolerant person. And as I’m here, you can guess I love long letters:)

I’m not looking for new penpals at the moment, because I already have enough and I want to concentrate on them. Maybe I’ll be looking for some in the future though.

2. How long are you into penpalling? Can you describe us your path into it?

I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I started writing letters, I was around 13-14 years old I think. I started writing with a Polish girl that has a summer house near mine and we were spending every vacation there, and to keep in touch during a school year we started penpalling. I also was exchanging letters with three other girls, two of them were from Italy and one from Spain. I met them during a language course in England. But sadly it didn’t last long, our letters were becoming shorter every time and sent irregularly and finally we stopped writing with no particular reason. Our English wasn’t very good back then. I never exchanged letters with “strangers”. I once sent a letter to a girl from a magazine ad but she didn’t write back and it discouraged me so I was only looking for penpals among people I actually met. With my Polish penpal I was writing for a couple of years but when the Internet came, we changed to it and I had a looong break from penpalling. I came back to it over a year ago, when I found Interpals site and I met some wonderful people there. Now I can’t imagine how could I live without penpalling for so long. I even started snail mailing with my first penpal lately although we live in the same city and see each other from time to time, so we don’t write to each other so regularly but we can still find something we haven’t discussed in person to write in a letter. And I already feel so close to my new foreign penpals. I fell so lucky.

3. How would you describe yourself as a letter writer and what you look for in one?

I think I’m not bad as a penpal:P I usually response quite quickly and I send back a letter within a week. Of course there might be some busy time and I might not have so much time for writing a letter and then it can take me longer, but I’ll always find some moment for a letter finally. I keep thinking about unanswered letters lying in my drawer which distracts me from other things so I can’t let them lye there for long. And I want the same from my penpals, I want them to be my real friends. You don’t talk to your friends once in half a year so why would it be different with letters?

Also I like long letters, I have medium length penpals which I love, but there’s nothing better in a world than a long letter for me. I like sharing with my penpals whatever comes to my mind and I want them to do so too. I want to really get to know them. I show them my life and myself as it really is, even if it’s sometimes difficult to say something, but I see no point in hiding “uncomfortable” facts or making myself a saint not being one. I don’t avoid any topics. I like talking about everything really, serious things and silly stuff.

I see stationery and small gifts as an addition to a letter. For me letter writing is much more than just exchanging nice pieces of paper and gifts, I care mostly what is written, not what it looks like. Of course stationery is a nice thing but I have penpals who write on a plain paper and I don’t see how would these letters be worse. I like sending small gifts from time to time but it doesn’t mean I have to get something back.

4. Through your past experiences how does post-offices in your country seems to work sending and delivering mail?

I can’t tell anything wrong about post office in my country. It works a bit slower during Christmas time, but that’s it. I really don’t have any bad experiences with it. If there was a problem it was usually on the other side. They could have bigger choice of stamps in the little post office in my town.

"The post office in my town"

5. Relate ecology movement and penpalling in the same thought.

It’s difficult to relate ecology and penpalling directly… the use of paper and fuel. You can use ecologic paper or make envelopes by yourself from some old magazines to save the trees… I can tell more about indirect connection between penpalling and ecology though. If ecology is an important thing for your penpals and you discuss it in your letters, you automatically start thinking about it and then care more about ecology in your life.

6. What can be done to do not let die the art of letter writing?

Talk about your passion. Not everyone will “understand” you and most people probably won’t start writing letters, but maybe some of them will get interested in that and start. And let your children send letters, help them find penpals and support them in that. If they do it early in their life, there’s a bigger chance they’ll continue later. It’s not only a way of finding great friends but also learning new things, practicing languages, making your opinion on different topics, learning about other countries and cultures, being creative. It’s not a waste of time.

"My desk in a rare moment without mess"

7. What simple pleasures in a letter makes you smile?

Oh gosh, everything! First, when I spot a letter in my mail box, my heart already beats faster. I rush home to open it. Then reading all the news from my friends. Also what I always found a small pleasure is some simple things you can get to know from your penpal, about their country, their hobby or about something you didn’t know. Like what does pigeons have to do with mate plantations in Argentina, why does the ghost from Mexican legend cry, where was Portugal born, what do people in Korea eat in summer for refreshment… I’m always excited to hear such things.

"Some envelopes I made"

8 . What is the worst enemy of penpalling? (one word)

Dishonesty.

"A part of a letter to a friend, I overuse smiley faces in my letters"

9 . What other hobbies or interested do you have?

I like reading books, watching films from all over the world, not only American ones, going to theatre and cinema, going out with my friends to the pub, club or just for coffee. I like learning languages, although I don’t know many yet, but I’m doing my best. I’d say my greatest passion is traveling, and no matter if I’m going somewhere abroad or just out of town, I’m always very excited. From time to time I also like cooking. And I like taking photos, swimming, roller skates, daydreaming about places I’d like to go…

10. Tell something utopian (or not) that you would like to exist about penpalling.

I wish everyone “clicked” from the beginning and that the post office in all countries was working perfectly well.

"Me with a teddy bear that I got for my 18th birthday"

11. How do you prepare to reply a letter? How, when and where?

I usually start writing the same day or the next after getting a letter. I choose the stationery, pen and stickers. I like writing letters at night, sometimes I can’t stop until the sun raises! At night I write at my bed, during a day I change my location all the time. I can’t sit at one place. I almost don’t use my desk, there’s too big mess in there:P Oh, and I drink huge amounts of tea while writing, tea and letters are inseparable for me.

"Me by the lake where I go every summer, there I met my first penpal"

12. Any last thought?
Write letters people, don’t be afraid of opening up, and you’ll get wonderful friends:)

Letter Writers Circle #1

2010-07-08T23:01:00.009+01:00

[Here's my surprise! I have the honor to start today the Letter Writers Circle, to honor and show to the world everyone who is interested in letter writing. I invited my dearest friend Sara to have the pledge to be the first person here, which I think she did honorably as I expected. I hope to hear all your opinions, leave your e-mail if interested to get in and let me know about your genuine interest about letter writing. I must say that along the time the questions may change a little as well as the face of the Letter Writers Circle, since I expect to innovate. Every week wait for one more bunch of questions and personal asnwer from who loves penpalling as you :D]

1. Who are you?

My name is Sara, I’m almost 26 and I live in the strange country they use to call Italy. I prefer “Italia”, because I love to use original names when I can, even if sometimes it’s not easy. I study something that nobody understands (Sciences of Education, but no, I’m not going to be a teacher!!), and I hope to finish and get my degree next year! Then… my cover as a student will fall apart, and I’ll enter in the fantastic world of unemployment! Yay!

I use to define myself as “strange”, because people told me I am strange too many times. I’m not sure what it means, but maybe I am. I live in my own little world, a word between kawaii and vintage, full of fluffy cats and paper. I can’t live without my journal, and usually I write something every single day. I use ink like water!
And… I’m totally addicted to so many things, that I don’t know where to start. But I guess it’s good, addictions keep me alive and full of passion. No, not drugs… but books, stationery, cultures, human mind, music, anime, Final Fantasy VII, Xena, Kate Nash, cats, rain, and more… Sometimes I still wonder what I’m going to do when I grow up, then I realize I’m already an adult and I feel a bit scared. But all my world makes me smile again. I have my personal Wonderland, and I feel very lucky for this!
If you’re curious about me, you can visit my blog at Stationery Addicted

At the moment I’m not searching for new penpals… but, who knows. If you think you’re my(platonic) soul mate, you can leave me a comment! Oh, and please forgive me for my English. I’m still learning!)

"The only picture of my face I actually like!"

2. How long are you into penpalling? Can you describe us your path into it?

I wrote my very first letter more than ten years ago. I joined a fan club about a Japanese manga(“Please save my Earth”). We were supposed to write letters to each member of it, so I did. I started with many penpals, but only one really got my attention. The letters were usually very short and empty… except for the ones from a guy. Actually, I think he was my example of what kind of letter writer I wanted to become. To receive a new envelope from him was always an infinite joy! To open it, to read it all, to devour it until the end… feeling the urge to write, to reply… was always amazing. So, with time I stopped with the others, and I wrote just to him for years. Little by little I wrote more and more, until our letters became very, very long! He helped me to write in a better way (in my language, I mean), and to
learn to organize my mind better. You know, really, to write a lot helps. And it’s so fun! So, now I can’t stand very short letters, because I’m used to long ones. I want to find a world inside a letter… to feel something, to be near the person and feel what he or she feels…

More or less a year ago, I started to search for more penpals all around the world. Finally I became a bit more confident about my English (it isn’t perfect still, but I try!), so I decided to add a layer on my penpalling. I love to know new cultures, new ways of life! I had many bad experiences, but I found too amazing, true friends. Oh, and I still write to my first!

"My usual breakfast. No, ok. Usually it has more sweets."

3. How would you describe yourself as a letter writer and what you look for in one?

I’m devoted, quick, and I write a lot for sure. I use to write letters as diaries, day by day, because of course it’s hard to write a lot of sheets in just one!

First of all, I think about my pals as true friends. I don’t like to define penpalling as an “hobby”,because another person is on the other side. I mean, it isn’t like doing decoupage! Respect, honesty, and care are necessary. I see letter writing as a chat, a conversation. I write about everything I can think about. Often I do some drawings, I try to decorate the paper, even if that’s not the most important thing. I write about what I’ve done during the day, but also about general topics. News, ideas, dreams, problems, questions to know the other person better, my opinion, books I read or movies I watch… everything, really. My mind is always full and I always have something to say! After all, when you are with a friend, you usually
talk… right?

I love fat packages, handmade envelopes… Recently I’m trying to do mine sometimes, I’m still not very good at it but I hope to improve!

What do I search in a penpal? Well, I guess I always sound very picky. The fact is, I search for friends and not just for some strangers who sends me some sheets of paper. To find friends is hard, we all know that. Good intentions are not enough, sometimes.

The first thing I look, it’s the introduction of someone. If it’s short, that is not the penpal for me. I think the intro is important, I read them with attention. If one can’t be excited and full of words when introducing, I doubt he/she could be in letters. The things that make me say a big no are racism, intolerances of any kind, rudeness… A good intro should be interesting, funny, and nice to read. It should give me an idea of who you are, so to just say “hello” isn’t a good idea.

And then? I search friendship. With everything it includes. So, it seems natural to me that a couple of sheets a year can’t built a real relationship! I need a lot of words, and a regular connection. I don’t care a lot about e-mails, but when one is too busy to write it’s nice to communicate in some way. Because, hey, friendship!! It isn’t to have news about you just sometimes… I can understand each of us has a different idea about letters. I have mine. So I’m not really a good pal for whom likes short ones, but I think I could be a very nice pal for whom loves long (10 A4 sheets or more, let’s say) ones!

"I keep new, blank journal in an old case, ready to be used!"

4. Through your past experiences how does post-offices in your country seems to work sending and delivering mail?

Oh gosh, no. Italian post service is… a bit, uhm, how could I say that without being sued by someone? … mischievous?

The "sending" problems are related to the wild fantasy of who works in post offices. My envelopes always arrive, but before to send them I have to hear funny things like that envelopes full of colors are not allowed (but it isn’t true), or that envelopes too full won’t arrive anyway (they really hate my envelopes, I wonder why). And it’s hard to find stamps. To avoid the immaginationland of who hate color, I always walk all around the city to find some stamps! The “delivering” problems are a little more annoying, because sometimes things just get lost.

Usually I receive, but sometimes it becomes a fight! I visit many offices, I call around, I ask… Well, it worth the effort, but… Wah!

"Where I keep my stationery. The drawer you see contains letters I'm writing right now."

5. Relate ecology movement and penpalling in the same thought.

Well… Penpalling is about using paper and fuel to deliver stuff, so it isn’t so ecologic in the end, but… I think the connection could be the way of thinking besides it. I mean, the love for little things, handmade, from heart. The love for an activity that has a taste of the past, that could be replaced by e-mails, but e-mails are so cold… A letter is warm. So maybe I don’t see an easy connection, but it’s a matter of feelings and prospective. Does it make any sense?

"Where I keep my stationery. The drawer you see contains letters I'm writing right now."

6. What can be done to do not let die the art of letter writing?

Buy stationery!!! To find a writing set it’s so hard nowadays! (Well, maybe not if you live in Asia, but in Europe I guess it is…) If we don’t buy paper anymore, they won’t sell it! And then… to write, of course. To share our passion. Maybe we could start to write letters to a far away friend, instead of adding him on Facebook!

7. What simple pleasures in a letter makes you smile?

To open a letter is amazing. I use to sit down and read it all, page after page. I love that moment, when I’m totally in the world of my friend, and I feel there. Another thing I love, is to reply. I like to do it on my bed, at evening. It’s a way to relax and to think about what happened, or what I have in my mind.

"Where I keep old diaries."

8 . What is the worst enemy of penpalling? (one word)

Boredom.

9 . What other hobbies or interested do you have?

I love music. I always have a soundtrack, when I write. I’m too a bookworm, I read very quickly and I could devour a big book in a day! I watch some American series, Japanese anime, and read some manga. As I wrote I have many passions! I play video games, even if not too many, and I prefer role-plays. I write daily on my personal journal, I enjoy a good walk around the city and… I would like to say that to travel is one of my hobbies, but for now it isn’t so true. I hope it will!

"Me being silly and tired in Palermo."

10. Tell something utopian (or not) that you would like to exist about penpalling.

I could be very happy if stationery was more popular. I would like to find it without have to order from Asia… and I’d like to find the damn stamps!! But that is too utopian I guess…

11. How do you prepare to reply a letter? How, when and where?

Sometimes, I start my reply immediately after the reading. More often, I write on evening on my bed. I take with me a pen and the sheets, and I go in the bedroom. There I can write for hours! My little sweet Nami (my cat) is always near me, and she often tries to bite the sheets… or she sits on them when she decides it’s cuddle time! But then she understands, and sit besides me purring. I love that atmosphere, those moments. I let my mind free, and write and write…

"Nami says hi!"

12. Any last thought?

If you never tried to write a letter… just try. Choose a friend, or search for a new one, and do it. Believe me… if you’re thinking it could be nice, it will.

"Me in Venice!"

Enjoy it!

Peace,
Joana

Death With Interruptions

2010-07-01T21:28:00.008+01:00

"We will know less and less what it means to be human." - Book of Predictions

The original name is As Intermitências da Morte and it was written by the Portuguese Nobel José Saramago (1922-2010). I just finished it today and I'd love to share it with you, since I think it is a great book, and said to be one of his better works, can't prove it because in my short life and looking at his long bibliography I only read a few.

It could be just one more book about death if it had not been written by the master of "If...". The story begins like "No dia seguinte ninguém morreu.", which basically means "The following day, no one died." It could be a tragedy since death most of the time reminds us of great tragedies and pain, but it isn't. Sometimes it is hilarious, other times it is fascinating and deep. Here, in this book, death is a circumstance of life and also death herself, appearing like a woman. Obviously it is Saramago's work and one if his marks it is the criticize about society, religion (mostly about Church) and politics. The story isn't a simple story how death stop killing and go to the grocery... it is actually a critique to society, and both representations of death works here to be related with it.

In one moment of the book Church and government of a country (where death stopped killing) are trying to solve the problem, because when death stops "her" works everything starts being possible, and how keep Church doing its job, since religion is directly related with death? Church couldn't survive without death! Soon you will know why death stopped killing, and the book ends in such a way you will remember because nothing happens just because...

My favorite edition of the book in Portuguese

"Saramago's Style As it happens in most of his books, the author openly avoids traditional forms of grammar and punctuation. Many of his sentences are written in a style almost akin to stream of consciousness. Saramago avoids using quotations to signify speech, instead relying on inline text, and the usage of capitalization to signify the start of a new speaker's words."

Smells Like Work Spirit

2010-06-28T19:33:00.008+01:00

She’s alive!

If you follow my blog you now I post irregularly, I do prefer to post when I feel I have something to say, something that worth to be read or seen. Recently, about one week ago I got a summer job and ever since I am working a lot, 40 hours a week, also weekends and making at least an extra hour everyday, so I’ve been pretty busy. Most of the time I arrive home in late hours, but still I occupy the time before to sleep or fall deadly zombie in the bed answering to my dear pals and reading. I guess I couldn’t do it other way, if I had to stop doing everything and especially things that give me so much pleasure such as these two I’d become mad. So, this is my verdict excuse!

As Intermitências da Morte by José Saramago
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman ("Death with Interruptions" English title)
Ancient Angkor by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques
Visão - José Saramago edition of Visão magazine about the life and work of José Saramago

Plus it’s even better to who reads… because you can follow my blog without being almost obliged to read something everyday. I want to thank you everyone who is following me and commenting and even only watching so far, means a lot, each comment means a smile (sometimes more). :D

Here the news. Soon I’ll open a new section in this blog, which became mostly a blog about penpalling problematic and other ramblings, the new section will be equality about penpalling but it will not longer depend only of me, I hope you enjoy it and comment too :) Still, I prefer to keep the surprise! *ah ah*

I’m into Swap-bot now. Now I’m looking more for flat mail swaps to make lists and such things, which I love, until I can be able to make my own swaps. I’m already there! Still, my first swap was to swap a package with a few items (1 notepad, 2 funny pencils, 1 funny pen, 1 funny eraser, an intro and a sweet surprise). Check what I sent that was very appreciate by my partner. Here a photo. The pencils are already wrapped in bubbled plastic (tons) and my into was more like a letter and I also sent a postcard.

In return I got things that looked nothing more than dirty and used... Did it ever happened to you? The person who was going to send to me never sent me a message until today and send not funny things and dirty, half used. I felt she only sent it to get things back...

Recently I also bought a new book of Haruki Murakami, called The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, can't wait to finish Saramago's to start. Any Murakami fan? I love the Portuguese edition of the books. Here's the ones I already own:

Kafka On The Shore, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, Sputnik Sweetheart and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle

Peace,
Joana

José Saramago 1922-2010

2010-06-18T13:13:00.007+01:00

"Dentro de nós há uma coisa que não tem nome, essa coisa é o que somos." José Saramago

("“Inside us there is something that has no name, that something is what we are.”"

I surely love to post happy things and I thought I would post one of those nice things today, but I just got the news that José Saramago, Nobel Prize of Literature in 1998 died today. Now I know what is to feel that someone we admired very much and deeply passed away. I know, famous people also die, but none of mine died so far, and even if Saramago was 87 years old I thought he could be immortal for a little while more.

We never expect the death of someone like a certain thing. People are alive and we think about them like that, we think in what comes next, in the future, to us future always come. No one is prepared to death or to think someone will die.

This post in my simple blog is in honor or tribute of that great Portuguese writer and man, translated in many languages, that today left, leaving behind a great literary work, leaving behind to us and the next generations a monument, a beautiful and great mark of what is Portuguese language and its literature.

I had bought a new book from him last Friday and I was so happy to add one more to those I already own. He isn't only an inspiration to me as a the man he was, but in his literary work, the way he expressed himself will forever remain, and I'll follow, forever. A master left today.

SHORT BIO

José Saramago was born in 1922 to a family of farmers in the little village of Azinhaga (Ribatejo) north of Lisbon. For financial reasons he abandoned his high-school studies and trained as a mechanic. After trying different jobs in the civil service, he worked for a publishing company for twelve years and then for newspapers, at one time as assistant editor of Diário de Notícias, a position he was forced to leave after the political events in November 1975.

In 1969 he joined the then illegal Communist Party, in which however he has always adopted a critical standpoint.

Between 1975 and 1980 Saramago supported himself as a translator but since his literary successes in the 1980s he has devoted himself to his own writing. His international breakthrough came in 1982 with the blasphemous and humorous love story "Baltasar and Blimunda", a novel set in 18th century Portugal.

Since 1992 he has been living on Lanzarote, the north easternmost of the Canaries with his wife Pilar del Río.

Saramago's oeuvre totals 30 works, and comprises not only prose but also poetry, essays and drama. His awards include Prémio Cidade de Lisboa 1980, Prémio PEN Club Português 1983 and 1984, Prémio da Crítica da Associação Portuguesa 1986, Grande Prémio de Romance e Novela 1991, Prémio Vida Literária 1993, Prémio Camões 1995.

"“Human vocabulary is still not capable, and probably never will be of knowing, recognizing, and communicating everything that can be humanly experienced and felt.” José Saramago

Peace,
Joana

Becoming a (long) letter writer Tips 11-20

2010-06-03T21:44:00.006+01:00

Thank you to everyone who commented in my last post. There were there pretty amazing opinions, and it is it that makes me to keep writing a blog. I want to tell Storm Bunny who asked about the mother who told that her daughter was under a punishment. Here in Portugal it isn't seen as a shame, we all behaved in a bad way when we are young and the punishments most of the time are to stay a few days without Internet, TV or something else we love. Still, I think her mother just remembered about it when I mentioned penpalling. Also answering to other comments I think that is great that teachers influence students to write letters. I found my first foreign pal due to a French class activity, I remember my teacher was very proud that at least one person got mail and she even announced it to all the class loudly. Penpalling is the perfect way to learn or improve a language and also test ourselves. It's still a monitory who knows about it, so the others might fear about it, but how can a mother fear about letter writing when her kids spend the day in Internet...

11. You Weren’t Cut For Penpalling (to "non pen pals")

You might read all the tips I will write, whether they are 100 or 1000, but if you don’t like to write or feel bored to have to seat and spend some time thinking, you surely will never be a good pen pal, and hardly a long letters writer. Don’t waste your time, or the time of who will trust you.

12. Stop Tricking Yourself (to pen pals)

Do you feel each letter you get as a burden in your life?

Do you have the best excuses (or sometimes always the same) all the time to delay a reply?

Would you rather prefer to do a thousand of things like to go out (or others) than to have to reply a letter?

Do you feel most of the time like that? You should think twice your priorities and what you want. As people do a sport for ages and someday decide to stop just because they don’t like it anymore, the same is applied to penpalling. Penpalling is a hobby not a burden in your back. I know how wonderful is to get letters, but never forget that someone is sending them, and there are feeling and expectations in that “someone” (your pal/friend), you might be hurting him/her. Be honest to yourself.

13. Feel Wise, You Are a Pen Pal

I’m sure you already felt a little weird when you told to someone who didn’t know about penpalling that you are a letter writer. You probably had to tell something such as “yes, a letter writer in the traditional way, with pen, paper and stamps, which you put inside the mailbox”. I guess this isn’t even a problem, it can be fun most of the time, because we are a minority and people feel shocked or curious why someone still write letters when there are e-mail. Sure. Can they touch the paper that travelled across the planet with the smell of other cultures, with the mark of someone else in the world that cares about us? No. We are lucky and we get to know a lot about the world we live, about diversity and equality.

14. The Beauty and the Addresses

How many of you complained about your letters that vanished into the blue? Isn’t awful when one letter get lost? So picture it in a huge scale, when a long letter get lost it is even worse, we will have to re write page after page about the same issues, trying to express feeling we are not feeling at the moment anymore… Did you ever think that the fault isn’t only of the post-offices? How many of we don’t get letter where we barely can read what is written in the addresses?

Don’t forget you are sending mail to other cultures and some cultures do not use to characters to write, or even some letters, and to some cultures some names are the weirdest things, it’s pretty normal, some people should think about it and make some pretty and legible handwriting because mail men aren’t decipherers.

15. The Trick of Paper Sizes

An A5 leaf isn’t the same of an A4 paper leaf, actually an A4 leaf makes two of the smaller. It doesn’t mean we will count your pages, but sometimes people wrote the same pages in A5 than they wrote once in A4. Sometimes people even write a low number of A5 pages and call it a long letter but if we think those pages in A4 size it will be a extremely short letter. Long letters are related with a passion for writing long, so do not trick the others, or you like to write or not. Do your best.

16. Handwritten or Typed Letters?

It’s your choice, each person prefer one of them , some both, but make sure you are not going against your pals requests, it’s not big deal, there are people who have the same like of you, look for them. Plus, do not make copies of your letter just changing a few things and the name, the others aren’t idiots. If you need to copy your letters it’s because you do not know how to handle with so many pals, and I’m sue your letter aren’t being that interesting. I guess it’s time to think twice. Well if you type to not use font number 20 or similar, surely your letter will be huge, but one more time they will only be long in your mind.

If you handwrite your letter be careful with your handwriting, you know why ;)

17. Gifts Are Secondary

Long, chatty and sincere letters would be a must. I think when a long letter writer’s gets one like those nothing else matters; it’s enough to make him/her feel extremely happy and satisfied. Penpalling is still about letter writing, why look like that some people wait for gifts all the time, or they don’t feel so satisfied when they get a letter without a gift? Do not send gifts to hide your weak efforts in your letter, at least if you want to be a long letter writer, letters matter!

18. How To Stop Writing With Someone?

First be polite and second be gentle and honest. If you for some reason need to stop with someone let the person know, I know it can be hard sometimes for different reasons but you can write a small letter or send an e-mail, at least the person will no longer wait for your letter, and remember all of us someday stopped writing with someone. Still, I am not against who stop writing without a note when the other person break all the agreements done before starting sending letters. Still, a small note it’s always good, if it isn’t to the other person it will be to your own self. Be aware, some people can be rude or not so gentle after getting the note, but you can’t avoid it, try to think how you would feel.

19. Find Your Old Dictionary

Do you still remember what it is? That big book, full of small words, do you think that all mean the same? No! It’s your dictionary! Do not avoid it if you want to become a long letter writer, if you try a friendship with it soon you will be wise enough to speak its language :) . There’s nothing better than to have a dictionary by your side, slowly you will learn how to use it, each time quicker, and plus you will improve your foreign language pretty much.

20. Bury Your Pencils

No pencils! Do not write letters with pencils just because you are lazy to lift and look for a pen, or because you are somewhere and don’t have nothing else to do, so you will doodle a letter with a pencil… In penpalling laziness isn’t the best friend of creativity (in technology it is!), can you figure out the numerous ways how a letter can be damaged because you used a pencil to write? Just a little of water is enough to make everything vanish… ouch!

Got it from the dearest tanuki

Letter writing becoming a dying art

2010-05-31T17:18:00.008+01:00

NOTE I decided to add this note after reading some comments (which made me very glad so far! Thank you to all of you and to the next ones who will comment, it's important to discuss ideas. What I want to say? A great part of us are pen pals for years and we already spent a lot of money and we have sometimes one or two dozens or more of pen pals, but a little girl starting will perhaps have one and send very short letters, it is so very cheap, the money can't be an excuse to parents

Today, I was reading some things and googling silly things just to see what appears to read and I found something very interesting, actually it interests all of us, especially people into letter writing, and be proud, you are the minority who write letters, and what they do not know? We write letter compulsively and with passion. I settled in the same moment that it had to be shared because it is also a matter of the present state of the world, more related with the personal development of people, I believe.

According with Telegraph news and a poll commissioned by World Vision, more than a quarter of seven to 14-year-olds have not written a letter in the last year, and one in 10 has never written one. But, it says that in the last week alone, half of youngsters have written an email or a message on a social networking site.

A child education expert Sue Palmer said: ''If children do not write or receive letters they miss out on key developmental benefits. Handwritten letters are much more personal than electronic communication."

The poll also reveals children are less likely to write letters as they get older, and it also reveals that girls are more likely to grab a pen and write a letter than boys.

*via

All of that drives me to a conversation I had a few months ago. A friend of my mother and her eleven years old daughter were here and we ended up talking about school and English class. My mother's friend told that her daughter loves the English classes and her higher marks are there. Then I remembered that penpalling could be a great way to keep improving it, because I think that in most of the cases classes aren't good enough to learn very well a language. Most of the teacher doesn't even request the students to talk in English along the classes. Plus, 5th grade is awesome, it was my favorite class wither, I used to have the higher mark (5), but in the two following years I got a teacher who couldn't control very well the class and I don't think she had her psychological state very well either, so English turned a burden.

Still, I told to her mother about letter writing, how could be fun to her to have a pen pal and write cute letter with someone of her age and improve the English. I even told her I would help the little girl to find her first pal, but the her mother told me she had behaved badly and was under a punishment... What? I wasn't offering a Disneyland ticket, I was offering to help her to find a pal to improve something that is also related with school... Why when we offer something people always think we are selling it, that nothing comes for free?

Shouldn't be the parents themselves to encourage? With that kind of actions aren't parents encouraging children to turn themselves strictly to social networking, Internet and computer?

I know that most of them don't know about it (snail mail) but I heard from people who did it with relatives when they were young, and girly girl magazines normally has a section to find pen pals. What you think?

I was tempted to try when I was young and saw the ads in one of those magazines and since then I never stopped, but what about the others. Why most of the people never felt or tried at least to have the experience to write a letter?

Can you name some reasons why children do not write letter?

Is letter writing growing among children and adults or actually dying and are we the last ones of one kind?

You can read here the Telegraph article

Peace,
Joana

Questions and rock n' roll

2010-05-27T23:55:00.007+01:00

The rock n' roll part is to trick you.

I was tagged by the amazingly beautiful Gracienne from Gracie Bella Butterfly and now I have to answer her 8 random questions. I don't like to pick among great things, so some of the questions will be painful and I'll cheat a little.

In this tag we have to answer 8 questions and then make your own 8 questions and pass them on. I hope you enjoy this, and I'll try to pick random, funny and interesting questions about silly things.

Thank you Gracienne.

1. What's your favourite fairytale? I read hundreds of fairy tales when I was a child, and I love a lot of them, some might not be in the ordinary shape of fairytale, but they are for one reason or the other. Some I need to mention without picking just one are Hansel and Gretel, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, Rapunzel, The Little Red, Peter Pan and does Alice and the Wizard of Oz count? I could mentions dozens!

2. Do you prefer Mac or PC? I can't say I prefer Mac because I never owned one and I am not sure if I will in the next years, but I hard they are the best, so far until now I had only PC and I like it, it's better than nothing.

3. How would you describe yourself in 5 words? here's the hardest question, not because I don't know what to say, but because the fact of I know my own self very well can make the other feel jealous. I would pick loyal, generous, perhaps a little melodramatic, broad-minded and nonconformist.

4. Heels or flats? Definitely flats, I love flats! They make me feel light and natural, like walking on the clouds. I am not a heels person, but I love to see people with them, when they match well with their styles. I love to see high heels actually.

5. What's your biggest dream? I have two indeed. One is to do volunteer work in Africa or any country of the world where Portuguese is the first language (Brazil and some countries in Africa). I would like to work helping refugees, women in danger or teaching from children to elder to read and write. The other is to write a book, and then many others, but something meaningful to adults or books to children.

6. Your favourite book character? hm.. I like Kafka ("Kafka On The Shore" H. Murakami), one more time I could mention a lot and develop this a little more, but no one would read me.

7. Are you the type of person who keeps their feelings inside or lets it out? Keep inside or write about it. I'm quite tired of what people have to say, I already know all the silly and useless advices they will say, most of time "It's okay", or "It will pass", well, I know it, I expected to listen better things, so I prefer to keep it inside and deal with it by myself. Maybe some day I'll know someone wise to give advices :)

8. Who is your role model? I'm pretty much in love with everyone with a touch of healthy nonconformist. If I could pick a someone to rule the world with ideas I think that are the best I would vote for Morrissey.

Then I admire everyone who does humanitarian work in the world, everyone who gives their lives to protect the weak ones, to save, to rescue, to those who protect Earth everyday with the simplest acts, all of them are people I admire.

My questions are:
1.When you were a child each band or singer was your favourite?
2.If you could change your name, what would be the name you would pick?
3.Mention five things that make you very upset.
4.What do you do to protect Earth? (name a few things or just one)
5.Each book would you pick to go with you to other planet if life on Earth was in the end?
6.Are you terribly afraid of something?
7.Name five people you would love to erase from Earth.
8.Each one was the most beautiful moment of your life?

I am going to tag the lovelies Anaurora from The Circus Lady, Jennifer from Stationery Addicted, Fabi from Creative Corner, Faiza from It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day, Meg from Paper Jot and finally the last but not the least Rondy from El Rondielle

Enjoy ladies and feel tagged if you want!

Sleep tight and peace,
Joana

Becoming a (long) letter writer Tips 1-10

2010-05-25T22:35:00.008+01:00

Photo taken by my brother. Me and my godson modeling.

I am a true lover of long an massive letter and I am honest, I couldn’t write massive letters to all my pals (I do it strictly with those who love it too) but I can write as much long letters as I want, and I defend that a long letter start somehow with six sheets A4 sized (the double in A5 size), obviously both sides with a medium letter, and surely if your one word handwritten doesn’t occupy a whole page of the sheet. I always say this to make people sure that two sheets aren’t a long letter, there are people writing much more.

I realized that many people who tell to write long letters write shortly according to a lot of other people. Some people also show interest to become long letter writers but don’t know exactly how to start it, so I decided to start some kind of steps/tips to become a long or massive letter writer, it is supposed to be something nice and to have fun, not my bible about long letters.

I keep saying. Long letter writers aren’t better or worse than people who write shorter, it’s all about each person options, this is my blog and here I write my things, I’m totally against rudeness, so don’t use it if you do not agree. If you do not agree because you have other way to do penpalling please leave a look for something you like.

Excuse me for any mistake with the English, I might not have seen it, as one of my dearest friends say I am not retarded, I am (in my case) Portuguese.

1. Find Your Goals

What do you expect of penpalling? What do you like in penpalling? What kind of pen pal do you want to have? You need to answer some questions in your mind first, then you can decide what you really want, in the end and if you really have the love for long letters and letter writing it is the first step to start writing long and deep letters.

2. Learn To Say No

Letter exchange can turn a beautiful chaos, it’s amazing to get letters, even if after reading they don’t satisfy us, so after settling what you want of a pen pal, do not excuse yourself and learn to say no. The first time is hard, the second better. Never forget politeness and perhaps explain why you can’t accept to exchange letters with that person. No one is guilty of your letter writing choices, so be gentle.

3. Look For True Long Letters Writers

How? Surely you will have lots of deceptions because the concept isn’t the same to everyone, so settle what to you can be a long letter and tell it to the person, explain everything and make sure he/she understand, don’t be afraid to scare. Long letter writers will not b scared, but other will. Never give up, you surely will find among a dozen of people a long letter writer, it is what matter :D

4. Keep A Journal

You don’t need to write everyday, but make it your journal where you can write without fears your thoughts, your dreams, your fears, wishes, or anything else. It is a good exercise to know how to write a pretty long letter, because you will not feel your mind in blank.

5. Leave Pals You Don’t Feel a Match With

Long letter requires more time to be written and patience, even if in the end everything worth it, but if you still keep your 50 pen pals will keep being hard to be a long letter writer as you wished to be. Leave the pals with who you don’t feel a strong connection, perhaps who writ shortly. Did you ever think that perhaps you are not even being good pals to these? When we don’t feel the excitement to get a letter (normally short ones) it’s because something is wrong and we do not put much effort in your reply, so leave old habits and your pals will also be free to find someone they can match better.

6. Do Not Rush Your Thoughts!

That is one of the most important tips to become a long or very especially a massive letter writer. If you keep rushing your thoughts to finish your letter quickly and send it as soon as you can you will not be able to write nothing long. (I might come later to this tip with other ones to explain better how to do it)

7. Acceptance

Penpalling itself requires acceptance, you know it, and you are into other cultures and ways to think. With long letters you will go deeper in your thoughts and beliefs, as well into the ideas and beliefs of the other person, so learn to accept and to discuss without rudeness or disrespect, accept yourself first, then the others and finally you are able to do it.

8. Say Bye Favorite Pen

A funny tip surely! Remember that pen you love so much, which you carry to every where you go? It’s over. Pens are very important, find a type of pens you like to write the most, you need to feel comfortable and do not be always complaining if you should or not to find a new pen.

(In my very personal case I prefer fluid ink pens, black ink or any other pen with a slender trace, black ink mostly)

9. Keep Your Mind Active

Even if you don’t have a job, if you stay at home, always keep your mind active, read books, blogs, papers, write in your journal or in other place, blog, create handmade stuff, do something else to keep your horizons open and your mind healthy and working.

10. Stop Being So Busy All the Time

How many people say to be busy just to excuse themselves because of their laziness? Stop doing it. You must love letter writing and not feel obliged to do it just in order to get mail. Love it! When you are in the couch gazing the wall remember that you could be writing to someone you call a friend, remember you could be sending a letter in a regular basis and do not take months t reply just because you think you are busy. Yes, there are busy people for real, even like that letter writing should be a passion, and can you count the time you spend sometimes gazing? Why as snail mail to be an excuse?

(soon more tips, unless someone kills me before)

Peace.

Into the Mystic

2010-05-12T20:50:00.007+01:00

Illusion from my own photographic work. Look at that sky!

Are you a mystic person?
I am.

I couldn't count the numerous dreams I had where everything seems to have a bit of my conscious. This isn't surely an issue I'll debate here, if we can rule our dreams or not, I know the answer, but it doesn't matter. I am just curious about the other sleep time. Do you dream and can remind about your dreams often or seems you never dream?

When I have dreams which I can't easily separate from reality I wake up with such a numbness, everything looks weird round me, everything real looks unreal, actually it looks like my true life was in my dreams and someone took me out of it.

And if I can abuse of my curiosity a little more, do you believe in something related with paranormal?

***

I ordered The Vampire Diaries Vol.1 book 1 and 2 a few days ago and I just got it today and it is being devoured. I'm such a huge fan. A lot of people who also aren't big fans of Twilight Saga and who became a little frighten by the vampire maniac wave of this days, complain and tell me that this might be just one more story, what a lot of people don't know is that L.J Smith wrote The Vampire Diaries almost 15 years before Twilight, and even if the story has vampires and humans and a love story it is full of differences, gladly. Just to point one about the female character, Elena, she doesn't really look like a depressed weak teenager girl, she is strong and intuitive and helpful. The first season is close to the end and I can't wait to see episode after episode. I was missing a book of fantasy, I am to picky about fantasy books and I pick them very carefully and I don't remember the last time I read one. I even bought the English version because it is much cheaper than the translated one.

Still, why the vampire hate from some people now? There were always stories about vampires, they are creatures from fantasy world, just because a story got really famous it doesn't mean that everything needs to suck now.

Yes, I am addicted to TV series and I will not hide it from no one ^^

I even picked the covers with the TV character :D

***

I just got the first postcard form the my second round into Postcrossing project. It came from Holland.

Peace,
Joana

Black Cloud

2010-05-08T19:46:00.011+01:00

The last month was lived by me with a little of anxiety, since I had to pass the driver’s exam. It might sounds quite natural and you may ask “why the anxiety?”

In Portugal the instructor (people who tell if we pass or not) are seen as jerks, most of them doesn’t show a drop of sympathy and due to the rules in Portugal you easily can fail the exam, even if you are a great driver and plus if you fail you have to pay a huge amount of money, so it’s better to pass as soon as we can, and try to do the best we can, but anxiety is always there, even if it only appears in the critical hour. Well, I passed and in second all the ugly thoughts of my mind disappeared and I felt lighter. I was feeling so unlucky, like if a black cloud was passing through my head all the time.

The wall of my cork board and some stuff of penpalling.

I also went to a job interview last Thursday and they told me they would call the same day or in the next day and until now… nothing. One more typical thing from my country, they always tell they will call us to say whether yes or not, but they never do it. I still have a little of hope, it could be a job I wished to have, a bookstore which has other shops attached like one with materials to artistic practices and stationery!

A mixed Cd with Portuguese music I was working on

I was already making plans to the future with the bonus of my job (means money :D) like some trips in Portugal to places I never went to, such as some historical cities and villages with mysterious places related to occultism, castles and palaces, also I would like to become a stationery-sort-of-addicted, keeping doing my things but also purchase more and subscribe a literary contest. I use to dig looking for them and they are SO hard to find, and the time I found a good one I have to pay to subscribe! Who doesn’t had plans?

I’m sure sooner or later I’ll find a job and make some dreams come true…

Yesterday I created something new to my Etsy shop EcoStoryteller Etsy Shop, here's the brand new carefully handmade set of envelopes:

"My blue World" Set of Envelopes

and

"Desire" Set of Envelopes

I am into Postcrossing again, this time behaving and sending postcards slowly. The first time I subscribed I turned addicted and I couldn’t stop clicking “send”, something I don’t even knew where to find more postcards… and then I also got some horrible cards. Do you try to send what the other are looking for? Could you send a card, printed at home with bad quality to someone? Is it fair? Here’s the second I am sending, it's the beach village next to my village:

Someone will get this soon..

Can't stop listening to Morrissey

Have a great weekend,
Joana

We're All Gonna Die

2010-05-01T22:38:00.011+01:00

"We're All Gonna Die - 100 meters of existence"

I've been away for almost one month! How time passes by so quickly. I've been looking for a job and trying to pass my exam to be a good driver, and it is making me a little nervous, so I try to spend as much time as I can doing some handmade things or at least trying, envelopes, writing endless and loving long letters and appreciating the hot temperatures that for a few days toasted Portuguese brains a little.

(I advise you to click on the link above or in the picture to enlarge)

I just saw this in a friend's Facebook and I needed to share. I can't post the photo in its total size, it is 100 meters long, but if you go there and see it by yourself, you surely will feel wondered. It is a simple photo (apart from the size!), with people walking, but there are there an enormous diversity that will make you feel impressed.

Each detail caught your attention the most?, Surely you will find something amusing.

I've created a new fabric brooch to be sold in my Etsy shop. Take a look at it. I am working in more handmade products, made with useless items that aren't anymore used and fabric. A friendly help to environment.

Love,
Joana

9 things I love and random things

2010-04-15T19:22:00.012+01:00

Click on the image to join the Long Letters Lovers on FACEBOOK

I liked this post made by Zöe in her blogIn The Next Room and thought to make something similar, here it goes:

Our beautiful Earth So small in the immensity of the universe, so huge to us, little beings who pinch Earth everyday and steal its life. Earth isn’t our, but we belong to her (in Portuguese Earth is feminine genre, so I think it is weird to call her “it”). A magical sphere, full of wonders, mysteries, beautiful creatures, the only place where so far is possible love, shouldn’t we do more everyday to keep her alive?

I flied to the Moon and took this picture to Earth a few minutes ago (:

Book and Notebooks Stories! Fancied worlds, a free place to exercise people’s minds, the first filled by someone, the second filled by ourselves, blank pages that were filled with our imagination, with our creation, the place where we can be gods.

Some of my books

Animal rights In my country they exist but no one respect them and authority most of the time bamboozle about us. Why someone see a mistreated animal and can’t feel a bit of sorrow? Animals suffer with what we build around their habitats, they are creature of nature, we should protect them and try to help them us much as we can… is it hard? I’ve helped a lot of lost animals and adopted abandoned animals a lot in the last years, I don’t buy them, because there are too much needing a family, they are pretty and smart even if they don’t have a expensive race. To help is easy, to heal a wound make them to feel better, to cuddle, to give food, to protect… so easy.

Portuguese language because it is my home and my safe place, because I do not stab it and I speak it correctly, because my language is part of my identity, because Portuguese is the language of the poets, a wonder and a passion.

Politeness and Respect Hard to achieve? Not at all! It’s wonderful to be polite and respect the others, it is as good as to receive the same. Respect is half way to a better world. I know this sounds utopian, but is the truth. As long as some people keep acting like life was a bitch and upsetting the others for their personal reason we will not accomplish any goal concerning to world peace. I am talking in the world view, but who never felt upset because someone rude yelled at us for any reason, who never saw someone mistreating or do not providing help to foreigners when they were needing, there are several examples.

A letter from someone new in my mailbox I love to feel the closed envelopes in my hands when I get a letter from someone new. I feel the envelope with the palm of my hands wondering what is inside, most of the time I try to guess if it is a long or short letter. Am I maniac? *ah ah*

Old letters I save inside a drawer

Trees I love them, when I see a very old one I picture it like in Lord OF the Rings! I love to look through the Internet people's creation about trees and I have seen amazing stuff around. I see trees like ancient pieces of nature, guardians.

Find new bands or singers I click with in the first moment. I love to dig for new things to listen to.

I wrote a new poem and feel I love it more each new time I read it. "To learn read, To know, write", we all need to exercise to be goods at something and it’s normal that some things and a great part of them end ugly and we don’t feel fine about it, but isn't marvellous when we feel we did something we are proud of?

* Storytelling *

2010-04-09T22:23:00.012+01:00

How are your writing habits?

Most of the time I end up picturing all the stories I wrote and that people wrote to me through mail, I guess that most of us never thought about it, but we all have a rib of writers, we write stories all the time, some more the other less, but we all are storytellers, that’s how I would describe letter writers.

I always wrote quite a lot, not only letters obviously, but through out the time I changed my way to do it. Which is the way you use to write most of the time? Just before my first computer (which I got when I was twelve I suppose) my father bought to me and to my brother a typewriter, it’s not like those beautiful old ones, it was more modern (probably today it isn’t that modern!) and tremendously nice to me, I wanted to write stories and it was the perfect way to make me feel like a writer even if I spent the first time wasting ink and corrector, writing simple phrases just to test this and that, and obviously after a while my father told me he wouldn’t keep buying corrector and ink to waste… curiously the same happened when I got the computer :D

With time and life around computers the typewriter was forgotten somewhere, until a few days ago I decided to look for it and try to make something again (years later) with the ink resting. I made round stickers with my address by the way. I plan to write more with the machine, since nowadays the ways I use the most to write are my hands and the computer (some people text messages as much they should handwrite, but it is a different story), but I love the typed writing in the paper, you surely can find a similar font in your computer but not that pressed deep touch in the paper. It doesn’t has the usual computer “QWERTY” keyboard, so my favorite silly thing in the beginning was to try to write my name as faster as I could in the keyboard, I guess this is what maniacs do, I used to think in words and try to write them as faster as I could!

Do you have a typewriter?

I wished to write more with mine, but what I prefer handwritten letters, I could write some using my machine but I am not sure if someone will be happy about that, and I am not sure until where will go the ink that remained for ages inside the machine, and plus I don’t know if there are still the kind of ink that it needs.

Do you write a lot? What you write the most? Letters, poems, short-stories, novel, articles or something else?

***********************

• Listening to a mixed CD with Taiwanese music from a swap
• Watch Casablanca
• Reading Theater by Somerset Maugham
• Looking for new long letters writers’ pen friends, would be amazed to find one from Australia, since I never had one and I am looking for one for ages.
• Watched new episodes of last season of Lost and one of Vampire Diares
• Want to buy French airmail tape madly
• Don't miss Megan's Giveaway here Time After Tea: Giveaway Time! Enjoy it!
• Is thinking to make a giveaway to celebrate her 100 follower, but still have time :D
• Got amazing postcards from a friend in Taiwan:

This postcard is about the time when Taiwan was ruled by Japan, it has a very typical style of drawing of there as well as clothing style. I love it very much!

Alishan Mountain Railway of Jia-Yi, Taiwan, thew old train in Taiwan, how beautiful!

Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Cambodia is one of the countries I want the most to travel to, I loved to get this postcards, which aren't obviously from Taiwan but from a trip to Cambodia.

Gate of Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Banteay Srei, Siem Reap, Cambodia

"You're just a storyteller
You're not trying to escape responsibility
If we believe you then you're successful
But you don't make claims of verity"

*Storytelling Belle and Sebastian

In love with Snailmail

2010-04-02T17:23:00.007+01:00

At what age did you start penpalling? I have been thinking and I come to the conclusion that most of the people started penpalling in different ages. I know, I know it isn’t that hard to reach that conclusion, but I started penpalling about one decade ago and for a long time I had the idea that most of the people started when they were kids or teens, but some people find penpalling in the adult age.

I started when I was probably twelve, I used to buy a girly girl magazine and there was there a section to meet people through letters and once I decided to do it. It was completely strange to me, I never had written a letter to someone in my life, at least a real letter, with stamps and a true address in the front side of the envelope, and more (!) get an answer from someone completely strange. My very first pen pal was named Daniela, I lost her track after a while, when one more time she moved, but we were both of the same age and she was also Portuguese and we were kids/wannabe teenagers, I used to keep the letter I used to get from her glued with a lot of adhesive glue so no one could steal it and read it… guess you never thought someone could do this!

After one year or a little more I decided to try to find in the Internet something about correspondence, and I really found some websites, some doesn’t exist anymore, but I found the beautiful world of penpalling with foreign cultures, and I never stopped anymore, maybe never will.

I got this from a friend who went to Spain for a few days, Picasso Museum in Malaga, Spain

Where did you find your very first penfriends? I know that are plenty of ways to have exchange letter, magazines help, plus Internet, people who exchange letters with relatives who live far away, maybe through friends or school, What about you?
*****

Finished the book As Aventuras de Tibicuera written by Erico Verissimo.

The God of Small Things

2010-03-27T20:29:00.011Z

Recently finished with The God of Small Things written by Arundhati Roy.
With the 50 Unread Books Challenge 2010 I decided not just to try to read that amount of books this year but also to write my personal review about each one of them and publish some here that might work as my recommendations.
I consider that is very important to read. Books, magazines, newspapers, anything, even blog posts, it’s easy to see that some people doesn’t like at all to read here, but I want to deny it and try, try as much as I can. Literature is also art, the art of writing.

*****

Summary

The chronological situation goes in past and future, when Estha and Rahel are seven and when they finally see each other again, twenty-three years later, when they are approximately 30 years old. The time flies uncountable times along the story, letting the reader know the facts in different periods of time.

Forced by the circumstances to get back to Ayemenem, Ammu tries to find a way to get out again and be free of that small boring place. She finds her way by marrying a man she met in Calcutta after convincing her parents (Mammachi and Pappachi) to go spend some days in her aunt house in Calcutta. She didn’t even know if she was in love, but he was an option and he looked nice. After a while she is pregnant of and realizes how her husband turned addicted to alcohol and to miss work. She divorce and backs with her loved “non-identical” twins Rahel and Estha to her not so loved Ayemenem, where she will feel unwelcome especially by her great aunt Baby Kochamma, a Roman Catholic (since she fell in love for a priest in her young age) who torment the other lives because of her own unlucky.

In the house and besides Mammachi (almost blind), Baby Kochamma lives Chacko, Ammu’s brother, who studied in Oxford and married there a English woman called Margaret, and they gave birth to a baby girl called Sophie Mol (mol means girl and mon boy), but soon Margaret leave him to stay with Joe a English man she met and who will raise Sophie mol after Chacko return to India.

Chacko helps Mammachi to enlarge her industry of pickles and they turn it into a factory called “Paradise Pickles and Preserves”, which give job to some people in the Ayemenem.

After Joe’s death, Chacko invites Margaret and the nine years old Sophie Mol to spend some days in India to forget, he never met his daughter, and it will be the chance. Sophie Mol arrives with her bellbottom trouser and her Go-Go made in England purse to India, making the seven years old twins fee they are not so loved, Sophie Mol is.

The story is told with a very funny and dreamy child way in some points. In some moments it floats like the mind of Estha and Rahel.

The flamed and fatal love story of Ammu, a touchable with Velutha, an untouchable will predict the end of the childhood of the children in the plot. Velutha always was well treated by Mammachi who give him a job, recognizing his qualities fixing things and in woodwork. Estha and Rahel likes him very much as he likes them, until some day Ammu realizes she also likes him.

Ina few days all their lives change, what was unthinkable happens, what was impossible happens, what was forbidden happens, twins are separated, the girl with the Go-go made in England purse vanish and serves has food to fishes, in a few days everything turn upside down and ends.

*****

This book focuses very important issues. The Indian traditions, the communism, the Christianity in India, a molestation, death, the love between siblings, it was a pleasure to read. I couldn’t tell you all in clear words or I’d be telling you all the important points in the books, but I recommend you this book. It went directly to my favorite books list.

*****

A short note about the author
Arundhati Roy (born November 24, 1961) is an Indian novelist, activist and a world citizen. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her first novel The God of Small Things and was compared to García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. The God of Small Things was the only novel written by her, after writing it she focused in writing about political issues and be an activist about environmental issues.

*****

The edition I own and the ladybug I love (:

"If someone doesn’t like it, it is like saying they don’t like my gall bladder. I can’t do anything about it." - Arundhati Roy

A part I quote from the book in my notebook, apparently written in Portuguese

READ!
What are you reading now?

Where tea lovers go?

2010-03-23T22:20:00.009Z

Are you a TEA ADDICTED?

Take a picture of your teatime and add it here, let’s see how tea is enjoyed around the world in the most diverse situations. You are free to choose how you catch the moment but it need to show some teatime ^.^

*citysights

Last night, whilst I was reading my book “The God of Small Things” by the indian woman Arundhati Roy, close to the warm fireplace, I tried one of the tea bags that the lovely friend M (and I do really call her M) sent me last time. She is very down to healthy food, ecologic ideas, Earth lover enthusiast, so this organic teas she sent me were great to me either, I really appreciated it, I still have one left to try today, while I’ll watch some episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The tea I tried is an organic tea and Ayurvedic Spice Infusion (as the tea bags says *sigh*), and I decided to add some milk to it and it was the most tasteful tea I ever tried, well one of them! BE reading a book written by an Indian and which take place (the story) in India, and drinking tea with milk if also awesome to travel in my imagination, since Indian drink a lot of Chai, a preparation of tea and milk and some other spices and things. I’m sure it could kill any tea addicted of pleasure. Anyway, I am really addicted to iced and hot tea, I drink iced one all along the day and at night I love the hot one, so I guess I don’t have blood in my veins but nothing more than tea. My body is 90% made of tea.

Iced, hot or both?
With milk?
With sugar or without it?

Once I heard from someone telling that sugar kills the affects of the tea properties, so we shouldn’t add it if we want to enjoy tea benefits. Does someone know about this? True or not I like to add some very little spoon of sugar, but I also like it without. About milk I just can tolerate some of them with it. But this in especial I tried has the instruction that it can work with milk, and I am true alive proof to tell it is the best.

My tea last night, before the milk

I love Rooibos. It reminded me when in my teen years I used to spend some afternoons in a cozy tea house, most of the times I’ll ask for Rooibos to drink with some delicious biscuits. All the teas were handed prepared, there were bookshelves in the walls with books we could take out to read, there tables were through all the room and were round and small, with comfortable chairs. The room was so silent, we could just talk in a noiseless manner, but it was so good because no one could hear us and we could easily hear the other people in the table, which is something very hard in the great majority of the cafés, where you barely hear your thoughts.

Some of teas waiting for me *yummy*

There are some stories related with tea you want to talk? What are you favorite tea brands of the moment? I love some flavor of TAZO, Oolong tea, Taiwanese green tea, this Yogi Tea and some Twinings, well a couple more. Unfortunately Portugal isn’t a producer of Tea (only in one spot in one of the group of Islands) and good tasteful teas are hard to find, LIPTON looks to rule here…

*puestadelsol

Drink tea!(and share it with photos *ah ah*)

Enter here your photos of your Teatime {closed}

Les Lettres Perdues

2010-03-21T18:57:00.005Z

These days, my French is like an old hat which stayed for ages trapped in a box, now it is full of holes through where I can put my fingers or see the other side of the room. One fine day it was perfect, but some gloomy day I stopped using it and slowly forgot a part, a necessary part.

"In the summer of 2002, in a sunny lunch hour I got the first letter from someone with a different language, it was the day I felt the magical world of penpalling and the easy way to get to know cultures and having each time a bit of it in my hands. It was long ago but I remember about it perfectly. She was a French girl answering to an ad that my French teacher posted in a French magazine dedicated to students (among my classmates I was the only one getting an answer back).

We agreed that we’d write in French, but she would try to write in Portuguese from time to time, to learn it, and she did it. We shared some letters and someday she told me she would have to move to Lyon in order to study piano in the conservatory and sent me a card with her new address, so we couldn’t loose our track. I answered but since that day I never got any letter from her again, I thought she didn’t want to write anymore, but it was strange! If she didn’t want why she would waste her time writing me a card with her new address?

The letters she sent me, now part of old mail, that mail we keep in a drawer, forgotten and untouched

I didn’t think like that in that time because I didn’t know that letter get lost! Mail gets lost! Mail is stolen! Mail is damaged, mail vanish in the air!

A few years ago I thought about it and I decided to write her again, even after all those years I wanted to know what happened. Soon I realized that the postcard was lost, when I moved some of my things stayed behind against my will, and my old collection of postcards was there. What rested was an envelope with the scratched address, nothing more. Sometimes I end up wondering how she is now, what she does and maybe how is her life of grown up person is now, does she kept sending letters?

(Her name is Maguelonne and if you know her let me know)"

Do you know how many tons of mail gets lost every year? I think post-offices work today to companies, to the market and not to personal mail. Advertising is religiously delivered everyday, our mailboxes every days are full of advertising, but when you ask why your letter didn’t reach, someone will shrub or they tell you “you should have sent it as registered mail”. Do you loose mail often?
Do you ever lost the track of someone you liked lot and that you would like to find. Do you have a story to tell about your experience with penpalling, something weird, adorable casual, random, just something?

*****

I am very glad about all the opinion I got in the last post and I wished to get more to make a new post relating a little more about that issue and the points of view I got, so if you didn't wrote your opinion please do it in the post below or by clicking here Massive Letters

Sincerely,
Joana

Massive letters

2010-03-19T16:59:00.010Z

What kind of pen pal are you?

What kind of length do your letters have?

Penpalling is growing and taking massive proportions, but is penpalling turning vain or adopting different ways like everything does. Is it growing in the right direction?

With the enormous diversity of cultures and people from that cultures and the diversity of ways to live and think it’s natural that we start looking for our way in letter writing world. After all we look for connections and to share equality but also diversity, nothing better than to look for someone with a common way to do pen palling, what doesn’t mean that he/she may have some different tastes in music, or cinema, or to think about some issues. There appear the requests.

We see requests about the length of the letter everywhere, especially about people wanting to find other people who like to write medium to long letters, because short ones are pretty common, we know that! BUT, is a medium or long letter the same to everyone around the world? Guess not!

Did you ever heard about massive letters? If not, I present you the term. Long ago I realized that a long letter to me isn’t the same to the common mortals, my letters can take weird proportions when I find someone who also enjoy the madness to write intensely and eccentrically till any ink rests in the pen. I needed a term to identify it and to let people know what I really enjoy, so once in a chatting I realized that “massive letters” was the best. I keep referring I write and prefer to get long letters because no one knows the massive letters term and I keep receiving messages from people who mostly write what I would call a medium letter. I realized that other people who love massive letters, that I met along the years, also have the same problem, they only find people who write shorter than their wishes.

So, dear massive letter writers help me to spread the term, and soon we will easily find the joy we always looked for.

Even if you are not a massive letter writer let me know what is the length you prefer the most, how much you use to write, let me build a close notion to what I shall call short letters, medium letters, long letters and massive letters.

I know that the length depends of the circumstances but did you ever realized how in an average we write most of the time the same or around the same? Talk in sheets please, not in pages.

Let’s discuss pen palling.


I hope to be helping some dear friends and also other people around the world *sigh*

******

I wanna try to read as many books as I can this year. I have a lot of books in my self which have never been read, while I keep buying new ones the others keep being saved to a later day. I want to gaze less and read even more and finally read all the books I never read. I am currently reading The God of Small Things by the Indian woman Arundhati Roy, and reading short-stories from two books (both in English) Eleven Kinds Of Loneliness by Richard Yates and Outstanding Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe and Others.

Girl with a Pearl Earring

2010-03-17T21:45:00.004Z

I am still in love with the book I recently finished reading. Girl with a Pearl Earring(1999 written by Tracy Chevalier, is about the girl behind one of the master works of the 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Chevalier wrote a fictional story, what means that she didn't write about proved facts, but she tells a story about the events surrounding the girl named Griet and the day she started working in the house of the family Vermeer.

Girl with a Pearl Earring
(Meisje met de parel)
c. 1665-1667
oil on canvas
18 1/4 x 15 3/4 in. (46.5 x 40 cm.)
Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis,
The Hague

Today I'm going to watch the film with the same name, played by Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.

If you know about Vermeer's work you will surely enjoy to remind some of his paintings while they are described in the book, with the characters being someone and not just a picture, some of them are:

The Milkmaid
(De Melkmeid)
c. 1658-1661
oil on canvas
17 7/8 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm.)
The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The glass of Wine
(Het glas wijn)
c. 1658-1660
oil on canvas
25 5/8 x 30 1/4 in. (65 x 77 cm.)
Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz,
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Postcardmania

2010-01-26T16:11:00.012Z

Today I went to the city to buy a new coat, I bought a cheap one but very beautiful and warm, I can't see the pint of buying extremely expensive clothes, I guess it is a waste of money and the time people wasted working to earn it. I've made a watercolours painting of it.. I tend to feel happy with new things, so I gave it a little of artsy feeling.

I was into Postcrossing.com for a while, and then left out, even with our requests I felt that a lot of people send cards, very ugly one and also printed at home with bad quality supposed postcards and send them, while someone in the other corner of the world send something nice. I left and maybe I'll back someday, I hope to have more money to spend with it!

Christiania, Kopenhagen, Denmark 2003

Anyway, I also get postcards from my friends, because it is in general a common interest.

Marie Xiong 2007

I was into postcards with views, but I fell in love for artistic postcards too. I want to share some with you.

Mau Mau on Mosaic, Lesley Anne Ivory, 1989

Mozambican Images

Hu Ke-Ming Half Seen Kuan-Yin Color, Ink on Paper 46.5x82cm, Taipei Fine Arts Museum 2001

Kullervo's Curse, 1899, Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931), Art Museum of the Ateneum, Helsinki, Finland

There is also this amazing envelope that Y sent me, Taiwanese vintage is awesome!

Love
J.

How to Write a Story

2010-01-14T16:40:00.006Z

A friend told that I shouldn't feel ashamed to try to follow the great writers and be inspired by them to create my own path into literary world. Those great writers probably did the same, we all are influenced by something or someone and to me it could be a great way to grow as a writer, it's much better to want to follow the greatest ones and grow as a writer wanting to be like them, than to want just to write something of low quality just because "everyone can do it". I'm not sure if I should qualify writers into two categories, the great and the awful writers. I probably like writers that you don't, you probably think that they are awful, and the same about me, I probably don't like some of your favorite writers, but one thing I guess that is true that are writers and writers!

Not many people looks to like to read posts today, I know how attractive images are, how easy is to look to them and write neat commentary, but if you are the other half who loves to write (and read too) give an opinion.

*Regina Pessoa "Tragic Story with Happy Ending"

How to write a story

Introduction
You already know how to tell a story. You do it every day! Every time you tell someone about something that happened to you or something you did, you tell the "story" of what happened. For example, if something funny happens at school, when you tell a friend about it, you've created a story. The trick is to be able to write it down.

Get Started
There's a very scary blank piece of paper sitting there in front of you. What do you put on it? Here are a few tips to help you get started developing ideas and working through them.

1. Pay attention! Amazing things are happening all around you. You just have to see them. "Like what," you say? Well, the next time you are out shopping, look around you and try to count the number of people you see with red hair. Is there a story in that? The guy who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories thought so! Paying attention to the world around you is the first step in developing ideas.

2. Listen! How do people put words together when they talk? Words fall into place and make stories. The more you listen to others, the better writer you will become.

3. Think! When somebody tells you about something, think about it for a minute. Are there two sides to the story? Is Mrs. ABC really and truly the worst teacher in the world? Is Coach XYZ really blind and stupid? Is that famous actress with the blond hair as smart as she seems in the movie? Will your liver actually turn upside down if you stand on your head? Are elephants the only mammals who can't jump? Question things. You'll be surprised how many ideas you'll get that way.

4. Get used to writing! Start a diary. When you see something interesting or when something happens, make a note of it in your diary. Your diary doesn't have to be fancy, either. A small notebook will do.
5. Read a book! You know those funny-looking things made from papers stuck together with words inside? You can find them all kinds of places, like libraries, schools, and even grocery stores. Pick one up and start reading.

6. About that blank piece of paper. . . . Pick up your pencil. . . . Close your eyes. . . . Write the word 'Now.' The paper is no longer blank and your story has begun. (If you're typing, close your eyes and hit some keys. It really doesn't matter what word it is. Get that paper dirty so it's no longer blank.)

(from http://blackdog4kids.com/holiday/summer/do/read/howto.html)

And my Etsy Shop is since today open

2010-01-09T16:47:00.008Z

Since today my Etsy shop is open to everyone who want to see the items I make by hand, if you are a lover of handmade items you are more than welcome to visit me there and buy. And if you are a lover of writing you will enjoy it!

EcoStoryteller Etsy Shop

My shop is mostly based in notebooks/journals till now, but I aim to sell paintings, zines (perhaps), knit stuff, and everything else I'll make in the near future. I am a person very down to Earth, I'd consider myself an ecologist and I like to work with cheap materials, with old stuff we find, and we can use in the most variated endings.

I started making notebooks a few months ago, and I already have a few that I can sell. They are all original, unique, there aren't two equal, and I am constantly making different ones.

If you perhaps have some piece of cloth with which you would love to have a notebook you also can contact me, and we will clarify everything about it (cover size, number of paper sheets, additional details on the conceiving process, and price), it's a pretty good idea, so you can have your very personal notebooks.

In my shop you also can see pictures of the notebooks in variate views, so you will me more than elucidated with what you will buy. The measures are in centimetres because I am Portuguese and Portuguese and most of the Europe use this measures (I realized that most of the people in Etsy use inches), so you just need a converter on line to convert it, it's very easy!)

As I am new here I am still not very sure if the prices are the fairest, but I've made some comparisons and I think those are the best prices, come one it is handmade! We should focus on handmade things, most of them are pretty much unique, you will not find thousands of the same piece as you find in most of the shops, that is the magic of craft work, the artist shall be payed so he can keep making more and enlarge the view of artisans or anyone who work with their own hands and personal ideas.

Deep Purple recycled notebook - Check more photos

Travel bag recycled notebook - Check more photos

Attention: Because I couldn't have space enough to more character in my Etsy name account it is named Ecostoryteller, being this blog Ecologicstoryteller, well I think that is pretty easy to memorize, and you will have since now a little application in the sidebar where you can click and travel to my Etsy shop.

With all the love,

Joana

Acta Est Fabula

2010-01-02T16:46:00.012Z

No way, I am not leaving. I just have made this today, with a sort of painting I had made a few days ago. I wished the weather was better to take a better lighted photo, it's awful outside, no lights. I hope you enjoy it, it's from my notebook, I decided I have to end it quickly to buy a new one to 2010, and I have to create a lot.

Letter from Eco to the Storyteller

2010-01-01T17:31:00.013Z

The year 2010 begin and my first post of the year brings something I wrote or Eco was the one who gave me the ideas while I was sleeping? Whispering them in my ear. It's the first time I am doing this, so please give me your opinion. Much love, J.

***
Dear Storyteller,

My name is said to be Eco, at least it was what he told me to be, he told me that everything has a name, and I deserved one. I never had known a name in myself. Maybe it is not my real name, but I like it. Some told I am a cat, others that I am a dried autumn leaf, and even other ones that I am a tear. Maybe I am something of that, maybe not, I am just myself, I don’t aim to be nothing and I don’t pretend to be nothing either. I am a wanderer, I live wandering through the world, and I think, Mister Storyteller that I am alone. Dear Storyteller, I think you are my last chance to be saved and redeemed of human faults.

Nothing else more breathe in world crust, neither me. I only can see land, sand and deprivation, but I still met someone alive, through him I could absorb some human things. I’ve felt his last breathe and I’ve closed his eyes, so he could rest forever. He told me I would not cry for him and I never did it, because I don’t know what it is to cry, I am the Tears.

Once he told me about the world, how it used to be. He have described me the animals, the humans who climbed to the highest mountain and ruled the world by themselves, in the end of his life, dear Mister Storyteller, that man, a old man, told me how humans declined one after the other, innocents first, then guilty men, who had committed suicide since they never accepted the disillusion to live under the Nature will, their lives would have to be very hard, they would have to fight make peace, they would have to respect each others, they would in the end of the matter to live like equal among all the alive being of Earth. They didn’t accept it, they told it to be a humiliation for their race, so they gave up, first went innocent who couldn’t struggle against power fullest men will, and then everything little by little anything alive. Slowly the world turned dark and cold and suddenly desolate, hope vanished into the blue and one day even Sun decided to depart.

I’m so alone here. I knew what was to be alone when I drank in the love still remaining in the old man eyes. I could learn what it is its reverse, which I think to be what I am feeling since he gone, it’s about lost, solitude and miss. I feel alone...

I don’t know much about the world. I was born empty, but absorbing what this world still sweat, through all the remaining happening which took place here I still can catch feelings and learn them. I was not cut for the good or bad, I am the fair symmetry of both, the equilibrium. As you can imagine, dear Storyteller I just know about feelings, I was born in the day that every human being lost their gods and became believing in a single one, a fraternal unique entity, me. I am the last Echo of the world, the last proclaimed voice, I am the opposite of the Om, I am the last sound of Earth, I am the last drop of hope of human hearts, the serenity in the animals sight while they knew they would feel asleep forever. I am the last autumn leaf which fells in the floor; I am time, the last time, the end of it. I am what no one wished to wait for but that everyone wanted to see coming someday, in the day that their hope would run away through their hands, like the sand, like the sand where I walk know. People are believer, it is their nature, when they lost hope they give up. I would not be here if they hadn’t lost the optimism.

The old man was a believer till his last breathe, but I had to close his eyes before he would lost the remaining love in his soul, he was my last chance to save Love. For his courage I provided him a warm never ending dream, I know he is still living that dream and forever he will.

I don’t know anything about the materialistic matter Mister Storyteller, nor about human myths. The old good man, in his fever told me, - while he was looking for a hand to hold his own hand, and warm him inside for a last time, to write you my story. He told me I was like a child and he once was a storyteller who has saved many children across the world; his stories made them happier and had changed many paths from the dark abyss. I told I would find that dark abyss, and he only could give me a last smile, there I absorbed the human hope, and I learned it in me. Now I know that one path exist to salvation, in a plain light it will appear, in a mumble of myself it will illustrate itself.

He also told me that you would come to save me, like he had saved the children of the old world, once. I am writing you, so you can provide me a vision of the world how it used to be, how Nature, my beloved fair mother, ruled until Man caged her in the desolate egocentrism of His soul.

Please Storyteller, help me to save Earth, ruined for centuries by supremacy. I have hope Mister Storyteller, so I believe you, even if no one ever believed you, besides the old storyteller. Now I just was wishing to cry a little, maybe I wouldn’t feel so alone here. I’ll keep wandering.

With all he love I’ve learned,

Eco, the cat.
***

"Eco" is the Portuguese word to "echo". An echo can be:
n., pl., -oes.
Repetition of a sound by reflection of sound waves from a surface.
n. Greek Mythology
A nymph whose unrequited love for Narcissus caused her to pine away until nothing but her voice remained.