Today is the last day of 2011 and it is once again when people look back in time and realize what they have done throughout the year and if they stuck to their promises. I don’t give that much importance to events like new year’s eve or even my birthday but I decided to write a blog post and to think about what happened on 2011.

December is also the month I’ve joined Igalia, I have been in the company for 3 year and the changes seem to have been quite some.
I feel 2011 was not a very productive year from the point of view of side projects. I have been working on the toolkit that powers the MeeGo Harmattan (Nokia N9) for a year and a half and that, together with other tasks in Igalia and in my personal life didn’t leave me much time for creating new projects. Still, I released 5 new versions of OCRFeeder; 4 versions of SeriesFinale and ported it for the Nokia N9. Also I have given once again presentations in some nice events like FOSDEM and LinuxTag.

On the personal side of things the big event this year was my wedding with Helena. After that we had a nice time travelling in Turkey after having cancelled the plans to visit Japan due to the earthquake.
We also spent 10 days in Berlin, we are still in love with the city and we wish one day we’ll experience living in there (could it be 2012?).
After 3 years living in Spain, I feel comfortable here, I recognize its virtues and flaws but I want to know more cultures, more languages and thus more ways of seeing life. As for Portugal, it is part of what defines me but Helena and I are not planning on living in there for the foreseeable future, especially these times when the government(s) is(are) making things difficult for everybody.
Related to this and the economic crisis that is going on, this year I joined a demo and a strike for the first time and I keep hoping that things get better for everyone.
I also realized I am now used to donate to some institutions throughout the year and it is something that makes me feel good.

As book counting is something often present in this kind of year’s review, in 2011 I read 10 books and a short story. The most important ones, in case you’re interested are: The God Delusion (Richard Dawkins), Through the Language Glass (Guy Deutscher) and Citações e Pensamentos de Agostinho da Silva (“Quotes and Thoughts of Agostinho da Silva” by the philosopher).

The future

People often say “next year is gonna be a year of change” but things do change and some situations that happened this year have made me think about my life so I really feel there are going to be changes in 2012. Hopefully they will be good ones.

I wish you all a happy 2012.

Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages by Guy Deutscher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you speak more than one language or like languages in general than you must read this book.

“Through the Language Glass”, from the linguist Guy Deutscher, talks about the particularities of languages and the way it influences people’s thoughts.

The book offers an overview of different theories from linguistics on how speakers of certain tribes could be color blind or unable understand the concept of time like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis advocated.

While Deutscher recognizes we do not know much about the brain to know how different people really think from each other, he uses a good deal of experiments’ reports that show how language plays an important role in what comes to understanding concepts like color, spatial orientation and gender. Still, do not make the mistake of thinking that maybe this limits people’s thoughts because a good part of the book explains how even if a concept does not exist in a language, it can be explained to and perceived by speakers of that language.

Many interesting differences among cultures are presented, ranging from the simple concept that a tree might be a he, she or it, to the fact that many cultures treat blue and green as tones of the same color.

All this is written in a very smart and funny way like the sarcastic comments about linguistics’ daring theories or by temporarily borrowing other languages’ features and using them in English.

This is no doubt one of the best books I have ever read and thus I give it 5 stars and recommend that you add it to your “to-read” list.


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A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I met a friendly alien from outer space and she me asked how do things work here, I’d suggest she read this book.

“A Short History of Nearly Everything” deviates a bit from Bill Bryson’s books about travel, places or cultures and instead takes us on a guided trip to the great discoveries of science. From the theories on the origin of the universe to the extinction of species, Bill Bryson gives a nice overview of a lot of topics, explaining them in a clear and simple way.

Although the book has a less humorous tone, the irony we got used in other of his works is also present here, especially when he talks about the character, lives and events of the people who uncovered a bit of the mysteries of our universe. It shows how science’s history is full of jealously, discredit, vanity and injustices behind big breakthroughs.

Having studied sciences, the book covered many topics I had already studied but the author’s entertaining way of explaining them didn’t let me get bored and it’s always nice to review these things. One thing that caught my attention was the emphasis on how many things are just projects or theories and not actually demonstrated (like the temperature of the inner core of the earth). Some of the books I had at school talked about these things taking it more as facts.

The more I advanced in the book the more I had the feeling that the quote from the Guardian that is used in the book’s cover — “Truly impressive… it’s hard to imagine a better rough guide to science” — is best way to describe it.

For all this, I give this amazing book 5/5 stars.


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Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Warning: may contain spoilers)

This is a book about an old couple from 1930s Berlin who, after losing their only son in the front, decide to fight against the Nazi government. Based on the true story of Otto and Elise Hampel, the couple starts their lone resistance by writing postcards with anti-Nazi messages and leaving them in public buildings, in a hope that people read them and pass them on.

I like the fast paced style of this book, maybe derived from the fact that Fallada wrote it in around four months only; the author doesn’t lose time with unnecessary words or details and still you get a really good picture of the characters in this story and the atmosphere of misery, fear and paranoia.

This isn’t the typical story about wartime heroes, full of charisma and ending up inevitably in success. No, these heroes, Otto and Anna Quangel, are rather uninteresting and even dull.

Their risky fight seems to have been in vain but that’s not what the book is really about. This novel is about keeping one’s dignity, it is about not being corrupted only because there’s a corrupt government and society around us. It shows us that if you do something to change that situation, even if it has no direct effect or if you pay with your lives, you have won!

I really enjoyed this book and how it’s written. I was touched by the story and the message it gives and also by the author’s tragic life that is briefly described in the book’s afterword, so, I’m giving this book 5 stars.

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Mutiny on the Bounty by John Boyne


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was offered to me and, having read some good critics about the author’s previous books, specially “The Boy in Striped Pajamas”, I was looking forward to check how this book was and put my dislike of nautical adventures behind my back.

The books tells the (mis)adventures of 14 year old John Jacob Turnstile on board the HMS Bounty from his own thoughts and words. Turnstile gets the position of Captain’s servant boy as an alternative to spend time in jail after getting caught in an act of thievery. While the ship heads towards Tahiti, the young boy shows the reader how hard life on the sea can be and how harder it seems to have been in the 18th century.

While all this seems like an interesting adventure to read about, I found most of the book quite boring. Page after page I was think there were more words used to make it sound like 18th century’s English than actually to tell interesting events and catching the attention of the reader. Things move really slowly in the book. I was urging for the mutiny to happen in hope that the book got more interesting.
Surprisingly, a while after the mutiny (you realize I’m trying to avoid any spoilers here by not mentioning what exactly happened that while after), the events seem to suggest that then would come some new and interesting things but it seems the book enters in fast forward mode and the whole story is finished in just a few pages leaving you with a feeling that either the pages number was too much for the author to keep writing or he was running out of time and had to rush things.

I would recommend this book only if you are a fan of reading about sea adventures in past centuries. If you do not specially enjoy such a scenario for an adventure, then do not read this book, the pace is slow and and it make you feel you are wasting your time.

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