COIMBRA vai voltar a poder tomar café n' A Brasileira a partir de hoje. O clássico espaço, aberto em 1928 e encerrado há 17 anos para tornar-se um pronto-a-vestir, regressa ao destino para que nasceu. Eu lembro-me bem do velho espaço da Brasileira, que cheguei a frequentar regularmente. Era um café com história mas relativamente incaracterístico (ao contrário do magnífico Santa Cruz), de maneira que não me choca nada que o tenham alterado completamente. Está agora com um toque de classe e quando for a Coimbra voltarei a passar por lá para tomar uma bica.

UM diário de viagem ficcionado no Extremo Oriente (Episódio 1)

OS ENSINAMENTOS DO LUNYU

OS ENSINAMENTOS DO LUNYU

Tradução de Daniel J.L. Carlier

Professor da Escola Luso-Chinesa

Técnico-Profissional de Macau

I. O QUE A VIDA NOS ENSINA (continuação)

 I.13. Mestre You disse: “Quem respeita os rituais não sofre desonras.”[1]

IV.13. O Mestre disse: “Um país pode ser governado por meio de rituais e de concessões? Há dúvidas? Se não fosse possível governar um país por meio de rituais e de concessões, para que serviriam os rituais?”[2]

VIII.2. O Mestre disse: “Sem rituais a deferência torna-se enfadonha, sem rituais a prudência não é senão timidez, sem rituais a bravura é cega, sem rituais a franqueza não passa de uma afronta.”[3]

XX.3. O Mestre disse: “Quem não conhece os rituais vive à margem da sociedade.”[4]

III.3. O Mestre disse: “Se não se comportarem humanamente, que utilidade têm os rituais?”[5]

XVII.11. O Mestre disse: “Falam e falam de rituais, falam apenas de jade e seda?!”[6]

XII.6. O Mestre disse: “Atingido por uma onda de calúnias e insultos, fica imperturbável. Pode-se dizer que é uma pessoa lúcida.”[7]

VI.23. O Mestre disse: “Uma pessoa sábia é dinâmica; uma pessoa humana é serena .”[8]

IX.29. O Mestre disse: “A pessoa sábia não tem ilusões, a pessoa verdadeiramente humana não vive na ansiedade, a pessoa corajosa não tem receios.”[9]

XIV.4. O Mestre disse: “Uma pessoa verdadeiramente humana é uma pessoa corajosa, uma pessoa corajosa nem sempre é uma pessoa verdadeiramente humana.”[10]

XVII.3. O Mestre disse: “Só os sábios e os idiotas é que nunca mudam.” [11]

XVII.2. O Mestre disse: “A Natureza une, os costumes separam.”[12]

XIII.30. O Mestre disse: “Enviar um povo inculto para a guerra é deixá-lo ao abandono.”[13]

II.3. O Mestre disse: “Governar com moralidade e administrar segundo os rituais torna o povo digno e cumpridor.”[14]

XIV.41. O Mestre disse: “Quando os superiores hierárquicos respeitam as normas, o povo é bom cumpridor.”[15]

II.24. O Mestre disse: “Não tomar as medidas que sabemos serem justas é uma forma de cobardia.” [16]

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[1] 有子曰：“恭近於禮，遠恥辱也。”

[2] 子曰：“能以禮讓為國乎？ 何有？ 不能以禮讓為國，如禮何？ ”

[3]子曰：“恭而無禮則勞，慎而無禮則葸，勇而無禮則亂，直而無禮則絞。”

[4]子曰：“不知禮，無以立也。”

[5] 子曰：“人而不仁，如禮何？”

[6] 子曰：“禮云禮云，玉帛云乎哉”.

[7] 子曰：“浸潤之譖，膚受之愬，不行焉，可謂明也已矣。”

[8] 子曰：“知者動，仁者靜。”

[9] 子曰：“知者不惑，仁者不憂，勇者不懼。”

[10]子曰：“仁者必有勇，勇者不必有仁。”

[11]子曰：“唯上知與下愚不移。”

[12] 子曰：“性相近也，習相遠也。”

[13]子曰：“以不教民戰，是謂棄之。”

[14] 子曰：“道之以德，齊之以禮，有恥且格。”

[15] 子曰：“上好禮，則民易使也。”

[16]子曰：“見義不為，無勇也。”

 

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[1] O Lunyu é um conjunto de ditos de Confúcio e dos seus principais discípulos.

It’s a revival night for the Jazz Club

by Paulo Barbosa, publlished in MDT

"ONLY with the effort of all this dream can become reality", says Manuel de Almeida about the attempt to revive the Macau Jazz Club. Existing since the mid eighties, the Club plunged into an eight-year period of inactivity but some of their initial members want to make it live again. Tomorrow, from 10 pm, the Jazz Club will hold a free concert at Casa Garden (near Camões Garden), displaying their old resident band, ‘The Bridge’. Before the music starts, a one hour film screening will bring back the great moments of jazz festivals organized during the golden days of the Jazz Club.




The coordinator of the library of Portuguese Oriental Institute (IPOR) and one of the oldest members of the Jazz Club wants the venue room to be full tomorrow at show time. “I would like that the greatest number of people could occur, to give this project a vitality that currently doesn´t exist," says Manuel de Almeida. The Bridge will play two 45 minute sets, featuring jazz standards, mainstream, fusion and pop jazz music.



But the organisation suggests that the party continue. "If the audience wishes to do so​​, the night can continue. We hope that musicians will show up so that we can make a jam session and create a moment of celebration and joy. I hope it's a night to mark Macau and the principle of major projects for the Jazz Club" says Manuel de Almeida.



The jazz lover told Macau Daily Times that one of the main reasons for reopening the Club is "to relive the past and return to the old days". The other is to relaunch the International Jazz Festival, which Manuel de Almeida considers to be "the pioneer of Asia" when it started in mid-1980. Through the years, the festival gained notoriety, not only in Macau. "Hong Kong people always showed great curiosity to come to Macau to see the festival. The South China Morning Post has always followed closely the jazz festival and appealed to the people of Hong Kong to come here," he mentions.



Manuel de Almeida says the festival highlighted "bands from several parts the world," but he remembers mostly the Portuguese musicians. "In recent years, Portugal has had a very significant development in terms of jazz. When I recapitulate some of the names that passed through the festival, I like to remind the Portuguese”. Almeida also praises Eugene Pao, a veteran of the jazz scene in Hong Kong.



The festival thrived for some years but the Jazz Club did not resist because there were no alternatives for a new space. According to a press release, the return to Portugal of many members and the lack of motivation of the remaining ones were among the reasons why the club closed its doors.



Starting with tomorrow’s concert, when membership cards will be distributed to everyone who’s interested in joining, the top aim is to gather the former Club members and attract new ones. After having more members, the club promoters want to call upon a general assembly, as well as organise elections.



The other priority is to find a new basis. The Jazz Club has had its own spaces in Macau (it was based at Rua das Alabardas, close to the São Lourenço church, for 15 years and then for a brief period at the Glass House, but the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau took the property back in 2003) and intends to return to a place where it can develop a regular activity. The Club promoters are planning to maintain a dialogue with the Government to be assigned to a site where "the Jazz Club can be reborn and become again a reference in Macau and Asia.” Setting up a jazz school to form young Jazz musicians is other aim.



"There is new blood in Macau. And not only the Portuguese, there are several communities. Through music we can bring together the people of Macau into a common project. This is what would be beautiful to Macau and is, rather, the identity of this city,” says Almeida.

"THIS is so awesome. Please take a moment to read:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"