Following to my 11/01/10 post on books and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451

Good Morning America today announced: Green your books for the Holidays.

The Sustainability Sierra Club was there promoting their book and telling people not to buy books. Yes, I’m not gaga yet, it’s what I’m saying. And they went on stating that printing books generates 10% more of carbon dioxide than kindles and 13% more than iPads.

And more: someone that reads over 40 books -and they don’t mention within what period- should be given kindles and iPads, not the real thing.

Go organic and eco-friendly these Holidays: get the skin and the bones of your turkey from Thanksgiving, stuff it with all these bright ideas, and serve the eco-friendly-bird on Christmas dinner.

Also, don’t forget to tell Santa to stop all his toys production to make sure he gives only eco-sustainable-friendly presents made with renewable energy and deer’s organic waste.

And tell your kids to preserve nature but not education.

Facts about the Portuguese Language - Collection of Information

230 Million-people speak Portuguese as their native language, which is more than the French, German, Italian or Japanese languages.  Lusophones find it strange that some people consider their mother tongue a "minor" language and that their leading novelists, poets and songwriters are overlooked.  Camões, the 16th-century poet, whose seafaring epic "Os Lusiadas" is often compared with Homer and Dante, has been found by some scholars an influence on Shakespeare.  Yet, we still find people who believe Portuguese to be a dialect of Spanish!

Since 1986, when Portugal became a member of the European Union, Portuguese is one of its official languages.  Brazil is a member of Mercosul (the Southern Common Market).

BRAZIL LEADS RECOVERY OF AMERICA, announced The International Monetary Fund in 10/01/2009.  The IMF has raised its growth forecasts for Latin America and said recovery will be led by Brazil and stimulated by government stimulus measures adopted "in time". 

In 1996, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) was created bringing together countries where Portuguese is the official language to increase cooperation and cultural exchange between member countries in order to standardize and disseminate the Portuguese language.

As wide and geographically discontinued as it is spoken, Portuguese is presented like any other living language, with internally differentiated varieties regarding pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Such differences, however, do not compromise the unity of the language; despite the turbulent history of its expansion in Europe, and especially outside, the Portuguese language managed to maintain a high level of cohesion among its variations.

In 1996, Brazil and Portugal, joined by five African countries  Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe,  found the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries — CPLP.

Portuguese was recently designated an official language of the Organization of African Unity as a result of CPLP’s efforts; however, leaders believe that more can be done and the hope is that Brazil can lead the way.

When East Timor obtained its independence from Indonesia in 2002 and joined CPLP, it inspired an outpouring of sympathy, support and volunteers there and in other Portuguese speaking countries.  

The CPLP  recently granted observer  status to China and India where the language still enjoys official status in Macao, Goa, Damao and Diu, three other former Portuguese colonial outposts. 

Kindle & iPads, are we burning our books?

Is there anything more tangible in cultural heritage than books? I like to flip through old family books to find a dry flower in it, to think of its previous owners that I met or that I only know their history, browsing the very same pages and learning the very same things.

I like to get in a used  bookstore to find treasures and feel the smell of it. But maybe I'm not practical, just romantic.

 "Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953 ... After all, it was not sci-fi!  See the first scene of the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9n98SXNGl8

ATA 2010 Conference - Welcome to Denver!

Colorado History & Tours Sample

See links of interest below - See videos on the  Video Bar on the right

Colorado, like us translators and interpreters, has a history of diverse cultures and many languages.

Arapahos with Interpreter

The first people known to have inhabited these lands were the Pueblo Indian tribes, succeeded by the Arapahos, Cheyennes, Sioux, Kiwoas, Comanches, Soshones, Navajos and Utes.

The first Europeans to arrive in Colorado were the Spanish conquistadores in the 1500s followed by the French explorers led by La Salle in the 1600s.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France –The Louisiana Purchase. There was a claim of the eastern territory of the Rocky Mountains, which conflicted with a separate Spanish claim. When the US went into war against independent Mexico, the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty was signed and Mexico relinquished its northern territories to the US. Colorado was the Jefferson Territory for a while, before becoming the Colorado Territory. On August 1, 1876, less than a month after the centennial of the United States, Colorado became a state and, for this reason, was nicknamed the Centennial State.

Colorado’s war against Indian nations in the 1860s is a sad passage of its history known mainly for the Sand Creek Massacre and General Custer renewal of the conflict against the Cheyennes and Arapahos at the Battle of Washita River.

Pike’s Peak was the setting of the Gold Rush in the 1800s (it is worth taking a trip to Manitou Springs, 65 miles south of Denver to ride on the cog railway train), and later, its economy evolved into coal mining. Farming and ranching grew up alongside mining and town building. In the 1990s, the technological boom favored companies moving to the Rockies and the development of DTC –The Denver Tech Center-, a more people-friendly business compound only 20 minutes from downtown.

Downtown Denver is called Lodo, short for lower downtown. A free shuttle runs continuously along the 16th Street pedestrian mall to a variety of gourmet options and hip bars, where you can stroll and feel Denver’s unique flair and local shops. Have breakfast at The Market on Larimer, or dinner at Hotel Teatro, which has an extensive wine list, and is conveniently located across the street from the Denver Center for Performing Arts where you may plan to see a show.

If you want to drive through Denver’s DTC, you may enjoy shopping cowboy boots, belts or other Western-style attire at Sheplers. On this occasion, you can go to the near by Centennial airport for a happy hour or maybe dinner at the Perfect Landing where while listening to a live piano, you can watch, behind a sound-proof glass wall, the small jets landing and taking off with Colorado’s sunset as their backdrop.
If you want to get a better taste of the cowboy-far-west-ambience and visit the mountains, but with little time to spare, you can have dinner at The Fort, a restaurant in Morrison, only 20 minutes west of Denver, that boasts a beautiful view and Colorado game options such as elk. With just a 40-minute morning ride to Fairplay you can have a buffalo burger and draft beer lunch in the cowboy saloon of an old haunted hotel. Gamblers will enjoy a full day at Blackhawk with its far west street-lined casinos.

If you have two or three days to spare, and maybe want to try the slopes of Colorado famous ski resorts, mine and ghost tours, fancy towns and boutiques, then you may consider the following suggestions.

Wind your way up the mountain roads to see the breathtaking vistas of the Continental Divide and drive to Winter Park for skiing. Then, head up to spend the night in Steam Boat Springs, another great ski resort town and bathe in the naturally 103o hot pools of the Strawberry Park (open until 10 PM) like the Utes used to do; and if the snow is falling, you’ll have an amazing unique experience, and you can be sure you won’t feel the cold! On your way back, stop by fancy Beaver Creek for ice-skating and Vail for its shopping and nightlife.

Another possible two-day trip is to have lunch in Boulder, maybe at the Dushanbee Teahouse with exquisite menu and architectural decorative elements made by artisans from several cities of Tajikistan. Boulder’s energy revolves around the campus of the University of Colorado, with its intellectuality and green awareness. A good way to feel it is perusing the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. Arrive to Estes Park to spend the night at world class The Stanley, with its early 1900’s history and ghosts tours; and if you are lucky, you may find yourself in the very room where Stephen King wrote The Shining. Drive back to Denver through Breckenridge, another quaint ski town, and dine at one of its lovely restaurants.

Coloradan ATA and CTA members are proud to host the Conference this year, and we will do our best for attendees to make the most of their visit.

If you like this article, please leave a comment. Thank you.

Links to activities mentioned in the article

http://www.colorado.com/?gclid=CN72rpDzw6QCFQoTbAod6APOEA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Colorado">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Colorado
http://www.cograilway.com
http://www.coloradoeats.com/market
http://www.hotelteatro.com/teatro/dining/kevin-taylor.aspx
http://www.denvercenter.org/Home.aspx
http://www.sheplers.com
http://theperfectlanding.com
http://www.thefort.com
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/fairplay.html
http://www.blackhawkcolorado.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Divide_of_the_Americas
http://www.skiwinterpark.com/index.htm
http://www.strawberryhotsprings.com/2005
http://www.steamboat-springs.com
http://www.beavercreek.com
http://www.vail.com
http://www.boulderteahouse.com
http://www.stanleyhotel.com

http://www.breckenridge.com

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