Within a Sky Full of Earth

Deixar de amar alguém leva, como ninguém nos precisa de "aconselhar", o seu tempo,

capaz de fundar, em forma de cidades,
questões sem resposta concreta,
motoras da procura do intricado acesso
com sabor a uma nova liberdade.

Nesse compasso,
dianteiro da relatividade do tempo,
fui automaticamente inscrita num dos árduos cursos que a vida, a dado momento, se encarregou de me dar a conhecer.

De nome Reavaliação,
composto pelo número de frases,
conscientes,
rápidas,
letais e
renovadas da inconsciência que é o estado de graça de seM-ti-(r).

vago.
doloroso.
triste.
ambíguo.
perturbador.

um dia destes

pode ser um dia

destes dias que passam depressa.

Manuel Alvarez Bravo was one of the foremost practitioners of visual arts in the twentieth century. Manuel Alvarez Bravo, the first major retrospective of his eighty-year career, showcases hundreds of iconic photographs and unveils more than twenty previously unpublished images. Featuring landscapes, still lifes, rural and urban scenes, religious and vernacular subjects, as well as portraits of luminaries such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Carlos Fuentes, and Octavio Paz, the work is chronologically arranged and richly varied. Three illuminating essays reveal the poetry of Bravo's photographs—from his use of light and form to his fascination with dreams and his preoccupation with death. This definitive monograph is a powerful tribute to Mexico's most distinguished photographer.
Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002) received his first camera in 1923 and would go on to become Mexico's most celebrated photographer.

Photopoetry, Manuel Alvarez Bravo
CHRONICLE BOOKS • 320 PAGES • 350 DUOTONE PHOTOGRAPHS • HARDCOVER • OCT 2008
{soon at Bloom}

Perguntaram-me pelo Escritor. Eu, ao que parecia difícil, porque me encontrava distraído, respondi:
- Sentei-o!
Sim, é essa a verdade, sentei-o, ao Escritor; uma mesa quadrada, com dois lugares de restaurante de cada lado. Uma ligeira brisa quente que com os seus odores espreitava da zona da cozinha. Perguntaram-lhe se vinha sozinho, onde estava a namorada; riram-se, as duas mulheres do restaurante, e quando elas já estavam quase a coçar as barrigas, com o que parecia ser uma grande anedota, ele disse:
- Sim, estou sozinho!
Disse-o noutra língua que não conhece como devia conhecer. Disse-o nas palavras que sabia dizer, que não eram muitas. Talvez cinquenta, talvez mais. Os óculos escuros abandonados na mesa, o bule de chá a chegar de imediato. Sentou-se com as costas direitas virado para o vidro que o separava da rua e, sem perder mais tempo, começou a prever o futuro imediato olhando para a ementa.
Mas o interrogatório prosseguiu. Não chegava o começo da história, não chegava uma alusão do ambiente, as luzes frias, o cheiro da comida, era preciso mais.
- E depois? - continuaram eles.
Não eram polícias, nem agentes da autoridade. Na realidade não se ouvia ninguém. A meu ver, eram apenas leitores. Ávidos leitores da obra prima que se estava a escrever. E não pediam menos do que isso. Para quê perder tempo se na verdade não é uma obra prima, se é uma porcaria qualquer?
O Escritor, acima de todos os outros problemas que tinha, que sobrariam das páginas da enciclopédia da sua vida, se ela existisse, tinha um grave dilema com o qual se debatia no seu dia-a-dia. O problema grave do Escritor, que encobria todas as outras acções que prefaziam a sua existência, era que ele não escrevia.

durante alguns meses trabalhei na Bloom.
das experiências mais gratificantes que tive até então em Macau.

Li livros, vendi livros, conversei sobre livros.
durante várias tardes.

Parei, pensei e reflecti as minhas melhores decisões.
sempre no meio de muitos livros lidos, vendidos e conversados.

E todos esses momentos guardarei no fundo do coração.

a loucura de, fizesse o que fizesse, cumprir a minha obrigação de ler, vender e conversar sobre livros.
de saber que os meus domingos não podiam ser de outra maneira.
de conhecer pessoas que nunca teria tido oportunidade de conhecer, de outra cultura diferente da minha,
e que me visitavam regularmente para lerem, venderem e conversarem sobre livros.

E com algum pesar concluí que as pessoas que (mais) precisavam de ler são as que leêm (menos).
Porque temem, a meu ver, conflitos interiores.
motivados pela força que um livro pode ter.

e espero que um dia com as minhas mãos volte a mexer, cheirar, invadir e habitar dentro das palavras de Lobo Antunes.
que para além de meu psicólogo,
porque sabe que eu com comprimidos não vou lá,
me devolve pelo silêncio, sempre o silêncio que ecoa dentro do meu prazer.

Temos estado afastados deste espaço. Atravessámos uma espécie de deserto. Um deserto de tempo onde nada mais existe. Preparamos o nosso regresso. Aqui dentro e lá fora. E as novidades vão ser boas e muitas, e vão cair como uma bomba! A bomba Bloom!

Nós na nossa vida, levamos a vida a procurar janelas em paredes que não as há, temos medo de as abrir e portas em paredes que sabemos que não as há. E acabamos por viver como as viúvas pobres com 2 assoalhadas com serventia de cozinha. E temos imensos quartos que nunca entramos.
ANTÓNIO LOBO ANTUNES

...para fazer algo assim!

It's obvious that something is going to change and life will be for the better. When you have a smarter person driving, the wheel turns with greater directions and the tiny road ahead becomes a horizon full of opportunities, with endless fields to grow. Here or there the clock and the heart are beating in the same way. We're on the same machine, an engine to make a better world!
[BLOOGGING WITHIN THE AIR OF THE CITY - USING: BLOGWRITER LITE and iPHONE]

Obama is close to a big win in USA. According to CNN's latest projections, Obama has 207 electoral votes and McCain has 135. There were projections that Obama will win Ohio, a key battleground state with 20 electoral votes. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio. Going into the election, polls showed Obama with a 3-point lead there. All the country is on the move and close to a state jubilation. It's all for the coutry but is also all for the world. What the admisnistration Bush did along these years will be hard to account. The damage is beyond repair and the action will start from scratch. Nothing better to start and do it neat. It's not just the President, from the Senate to the states the republicans will have a huge loss. We know that most of the time ideas drown on politics, but we're hopeful of a change. It's a revolution!
Bloom is happy for the world!

Macau Society for the Protection of Animals (ANIMA) invites you to November's Adoption Day. It will happen this coming Saturday at their shelter in Coloane. Bloomland wants to join this effort in the name of animals. Best friends of man.
Do show up to support dogs and cats of Macau! Thank you!
CHECK THE INFO HERE or CLICK ON THE IMAGE.

MOLESKINE DIARIES 2009
Moleskine keeps exploring more layouts to support your creativity and time management. This year new layouts for the exquisite diaries of the Italian brand. Moleskine has introduced two completely new layouts: Weekly Diary Vertical and Monthly Notebook
A complete diary collection now. 19 different styles, including the previous three most popular layouts: Daily Diary, Weekly Diary Horizontal and Weekly Notebook
Moleskine diaries are available in 3 cover styles: Hard Black cover, Hard Red cover and Soft Black cover; and 3 sizes: Pocket, Large and Extra Large.
Sleek design with unmatched attention to details, the diary that evolved from a legendary notebook, with the same quality features as the Moleskine notebooks.
Moleskine Asia designed a microsite to help you choose your Moleskine diary, click the image on the left or ENTER HERE.
Afterward come back here and order from us all your choices throwing us an email. Thank you!
BLOOM IS THE DISTRIBUTOR OF MOLESKINE DIARIES AND NOTEBOOKS IN MACAU

Slightly near Rua do Campo, there's a low flow of a web signal you can catch if you're lucky enough and if the gadget you're using has a wide open mouth. It comes like the wind, no passwords, no special adjustments to enter. It's right on the corner of Cafe E.S.KIMO, a franchisable local brand of places spread around the city and its overshadowed islands. Sometimes WIFI is just around the block and you don't need to squeeze yourself to get in. Stand there and breath it.
We're on the street blogging. People passing and the wheels of the traffic clashing on the tarmac. It's Saturday morning in Macau. Bloom is waiting for spots to grow and build the most Beauty Fool place in town. Stay tuned!
TOOLS USED: BLOGWRITER LITE [software] and iPHONE [hardware]

If you go up to the Se Cathedral and turn left, going down through Travessa do Bispo, towards S. Domingos Street, just on the middle, there's a hairdresser called 'Base Hair Culture'. Just hang there on the door, you can seat at the window outside, and you'll find another free hotspot. By the way, go inside and use their services. They do it very well and Man, the owner, who had learned his metier in Paris, the land of coiffures, is a great guy to be with, you can chat with him all along and discuss the meaningful wonders of Macau and the world. And believe me, you are in good hands.
Cheers!

On the road it's very easy to blog. You just need to get to a wireless hot spot and start working your ditches. I'm just finishing my espresso on a Cafe near Senado Square. It's Ou Mun, a Portuguese coffee shop, on the small alley upwards to the Se Cathedral. Once inside ask them for the password access. It's free!
CTM, the local internet provider, offers different WIFIs around the city, but you have to pay for it and slash into a more complex process to get online. We'll track down here, places where you can tune up the web to your mobile device for free. We use iPhone, there's nothing better for it. Have a nice day!
USING: BLOGWRITER LITE and iPHONE [photos and text]

A BLOOM NO TELEJORNAL
São ainda as cheias na Bloomland. Foi assim que aconteceu, dois dias após o dia fatídico das inundações na baixa da cidade, a TDM esteve no Largo do Pagode do Bazar para registar os pormenores da situação. Da noite para o dia a água deixou um rasto de irrealidade levando quase todos os alicerces da nossa livraria, ou seja, os livros, para além de avultados estragos nas instalações e no equipamento. Desde então até agora pouco mudou, a ajuda prometida pelo governo local, uma linha de crétido sem juros, ainda não chegou. Já está uma semana fora do tempo e sem isso não vamos poder voltar a respirar. Fazemos projectos de eventuais mudanças e sonhamos acordados com visões fantásticas. Sim, a sorrir pela possibilidade do que pode vir. De todo, é uma mudança radical que põe tudo em questão, não importa se é um milagre ou não.
A REPORTAGEM DE LINA FERREIRA / APRESENTAÇÃO DE VITOR REBELO © TDM / CANAL PORTUGUÊS

• QUALIDADE NORMAL (mais rápido)
• MELHOR DEFINIÇÃO (mais lento)

The Centre for Creative Industries is opening a photographic exhibition by Nuno Soares, a Portuguese architect and urban planner based in Macau. At Bloom we're congratulating Nuno for this event and inviting you to attend the opening AWAITING - Reflection on Urban Voids, tomorrow, Friday the 24th, at 6:00 pm. Don't miss it!
The Centre for Creative Industries is located at the Macao Cultural Center.

AFA presents "Monumentum Pro", a new exhibition of works by Konstantin Bessmertny, curated by Amelia Johnson.

"Monumentum Pro" further develops themes from Konstantin Bessmertny's series "Si Monumentum Requiris, Circumspice" which was created for the 52nd Venice Biennale. The paintings and sculptures comprising Konstantin Bessmentny's "Monumentum Pro" meaning " monument for…" intriguingly allude to the Latin verb monere – to warn, to advise, to remind from which monumentum is derived. Employing Konstantin Bessmertny's idiosyncratic characters and distinctive technique, the works appear to be part monument and part morality tale, their tantalizing warnings, whimsical commemorations and cautionary narratives appearing to form visual declensions of monere.

Konstantin Bessmertny is one of the most distinguished artists working in Asia today. His technical mastery, achieved after seven years of studying Fine Art in the grand academies of the former soviet union, combined with his detailed knowledge on a wide-range of subjects including literature, music, history and politics lend to his work an intelligence and a credibility that is rarely witnessed in contemporary art. Konstantin Bessmertny's work is utterly unique, employing humour and candour in depictions so subtle and gentle that they require revisiting time and time again to uncover all that they have to offer. Never formulaic or predictable, Bessmertny uses his work as a means of exploring and experimenting with new ideas, finding inspiration in the bizarrest of places and creating work that continues to challenge and excite preconceived notion.

The artist will be present at the opening reception, this Friday, 24th of October.

Start Time: Friday, October 24, 2008 at 6:30pm
End Time: Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 8:00pm
Location: St. Paul's Fine Art
Address: Travessa de S.Paulo Nos 3, 5 e 7
City/Town: Macau, Macau