Posts tagged Europe
Jon’s Early perceptions of Lisbon
Jun 2nd
There are fifty-seven varieties of people here. Different skin colors, languages, body types, clothing. The people are generally poor except for the tourists.
We saw an old replica of a giant Portuguese galleon and the carcass of an old submarine in a river near the train station in downtown Lisbon.
Africa is not that far away. Black people from Africa are much darker than American negroes. Someone told me that Portugal started the slave trade.
Many people here smoke cigarettes and drink Coca-Cola. Many women have tattoes and some piercings. There aren’t many pretty ones. People are poor and not so healthy-looking except for the tourists. There aren’t many public toilets and some of the streets smell like urine.
There is a US Embassy that might have information about places to live and where the English-speaking people are. I might be able to teach English somewhere, but I’ve read employment doesn’t pay much and finding employment is difficult, coming from the USA.
People from the European Union (EU) have advantages here over US citizens, like getting extended visas. The Portuguese government runs most business. Not much free enterprise. In government buildings and banks, you take a number from a machine and then wait for your number to see an agent.
Millenium banks have the most ATM machines throughout Europe. If you use a credit card from the US, there is a considerable surcharge at the ATMs. There is a conversion fee from US dollars to euros.
There is a lot of tile here. There are many apartments and few houses. Streets are narrow with cars parking on the street and sidewalks on both sides. Most have one-way traffic, often with roundabouts at major intersections. Many of the cars are quite small and there are tuk tuks and tour buses downtown.
Tuk tuks are small carriages with a lawnmower-type of engine. Petrol efficiency is important because the price per liter is similar to the price of a gallon in the USA.
The term America, referring to the United States, seems like a misnomer to me. Americans could also be from Canada and South America.
One lady commented that everything is better in the United States, but we don’t know how to choose a president. She said she was afraid of President Trump. Presumably because billionaires don’t have much in common with ordinary people.
Jon Graham’s Travel Journal : Lisbon, Portugal
“Channel 1 Networks Jon Graham has moved from Boulder to Florida and now Portugal. Jon will be sending dispatches from Portugal, Europe about his travels and impressions of European life compared to American Life.”
“Before Midnight” What All Films Should Be
Jul 13th
“What All Films Should Be”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Before Midnight is the third in the series of films that began with the 1995 Before Sunrise and continued with the 2004 Before Sunset.
All of them were directed by Richard Linklater and star Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
First of all, it is refreshing that none of the films in this trilogy has a number in its title.
Second of all, you don’t need to have seen the first two films in order to enjoy and understand this one, although seeing them in order would certainly heighten the enjoyment and refresh your memory about what is discussed in this one.
And third of all, don’t be put off by a description of this excellent film that like the first two it consists mostly of the two lead characters talking. The subjects they talk about are fascinating, they are relevant to the relationship of all couples, and at some point they become surprisingly heartbreaking.
And I don’t mean when Celine tells Jesse, “You never stop ogling girls” or when she says “I’m stuck with an American teenager.”
Yes, Jesse is American, Celine is French, and they met 18 years earlier on a train when they began talking and Jesse convinced Celine to get off with him in Vienna and share his last night in Europe.
Jesse wrote a successful novel based on that accidental encounter, and nine years later they met again in Paris when he was on a book tour, and again they spent a romantic night together even though Jesse was married and Celine had a boyfriend.
And now it is again nine years later, Celine and Jesse are not only together, but they also have twin girls, and they have all just spent six weeks on vacation in Greece with close Greek friends.
This time the extensive dialogue is broken up into four distinct parts.
The first part is when Jesse and Celine are driving back from dropping off his son at the airport, and they discuss Jesse’s son and Celine’s concerns about taking a new job in Paris.
The second part is a long discussion over lunch with their friends, and they discuss sex in the future, gender differences, and family appearances.
And the third and fourth parts are Celine and Jesse talking about their future.
Before Midnight is what films should all be.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Flagler College news – November 2, 2012
Nov 3rd
Rene Shwartzbuckle has an obsession for a turnip-like vegetable called rapunzel. After spotting a delectable patch of the plant in Witch Izwitch’s garden, Rene sends her husband to “borrow” some. When the witch has her malicious henchmen terrorize him, he agrees to give his firstborn child to the witch in exchange for unlimited amounts of the plant.
Sixteen years later, the child, a daughter named, you guessed it, Rapunzel, has been placed in a tower, destined to be rescued in the children’s musical play, “Let Your Hair Down Rapunzel,” presented by Flagler College’s Children’s Musical Theatre class.
“We make a point of selecting shows that appeal to the child in all of us, ” says director Phyllis Gibbs. “We hope everyone will be entertained.”
The play will be presented at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 and 2 p.m. Nov. 10-11 in the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St. in St. Augustine.
Tickets are $10 and $5 for children. A special Tea Party with the characters will be held after the Nov. 10 performance by reservation only. Tickets to the performance and Tea Party are $20 for adults and $10 for children. For more info, call 904-819-6217.
Flagler Professor to Deliver Keynote Election Night Speech in New York City
Will Miller, assistant professor of public administration at Flagler College, has been invited to serve as the keynote speaker for an election night dinner hosted by Danske Capital at the New York City Public Library on Nov. 6.
Miller will be speaking before roughly 150 invited guests including internal representatives from Danske Capital along with select clients who are primarily CEOs and CIOs from Northern Europe’s leading pension funds, insurance companies and capital funds.
“The 2012 Presidential race is shaping up to be one of the most interesting of our time. With a clear difference between the views of the two major party candidates and a fairly polarized electorate with few truly undecided voters, all of Election Day will be spent looking at turnout and exit polls,” said Miller. “A small handful of voters in a few number of states have the potential to select the course of our country as we look toward the next four years.”
Miller’s presentation will focus on an overview of both the Romney and Obama campaigns and how their policy beliefs will potentially impact the economies of Northern Europe along with relationships between our nation and the region. He will be providing a detailed discussion of both demographic and polling trends in key battleground states and will be offering an analysis of exit polls as they become available and issuing predictions based on that data as merited. Miller’s research focuses on public opinion and electoral studies.
Miller has published an edited volume on the Tea Party’s impact on Senate races and American politics in 2010. He has two additional volumes set to be released in early 2013-one looking at the 2012 Republican Party nomination and the other on the Tea Party’s impact on 2012 races.
The dinner and Miller’s address serve as the culminating events for Danske’s two-day Capital Summit Seminar Program entitled “The U.S. & Global Economy: Outlook and Investment Implications.”
In lieu of an honorarium, Danske Capital will be donating to Flagler College to establish a textbook scholarship for students within the Public Administration Program.
“This is an excellent opportunity to speak as a member of the Flagler College faculty to an audience of international investors in a historic location about a potentially monumental election and help further awareness of our first-rate academic programs and students,” said Miller. “To be able to have Danske Capital make a donation to help students in the Public Administration Program only makes the opportunity that much more exciting.”
Source: Flagler College