A Sunday afternoon, one year ago, I was reading my blog and thinking how intelligent my readers are. So I thought: why not invite some of them to the party I held every March 19, in honor of my patron, Saint Joseph? Acting on an impulse (as I normally do) I posted the invitation for 10 people on the first come/first served basis. We got over 500 emails, and the first were from different parts of the world. However, the party was to be held in the middle of the Road to Santiago, (Puente la Reina, Spain).
Then I asked myself: did these readers understand the invitation? It is only for a party, I am not paying the air ticket, hotel, etc. And it is not easy to get to Puente la Reina.
I sent a second email to them, and all said that they fully understood. Thanks to this, I had the pleasure to meet wonderful people, most of them now in my top friends in myspace, and all of them very close to my heart.
You can see the photos of the party at Flickr
That was when I only had a WordPress blog. I still have a blog, but I am now also in Myspace and Facebook. Meaning: when I release this invitation, it will be read by close to 20.000 people. I was discussing with Paula, and the first come/first served basis does not apply anymore.
Lotteries don’t work. And this 19th March, the party will be held in Paris: I am hiring a boat so we can have a good seated dinner, an amazing sightseeing of Paris by night, music and dance to complete the fun.
But the boat has a limitation of 120 people. Considering that I am inviting 90 personal friends (that attend this party for close to 10 years), we have 30 places for the readers.
Therefore:
A] if you want to come, please send an email to pilar_piedra@hotmail.com with a link to your page or your blog.
B] please take into consideration that March 19th is in the middle of the Holy Week, and may be difficult to find air tickets and hotels.
C] put in the subject the month you are born, and the social community ( for example: myspace/ April or blog/August)
D] I will select randomly one reader for each month (and we can squeeze two tables, so we can have 36 readers, 12 from each community – Myspace, Facebook, Blog)
E] Paula is trying to manage with the boat to have an extra 20 guests. It is not sure, but we are trying.
F] So, if you REALLY can come, send your email during this weekend. If you don’t hear back from me, that means that either you are in the waiting list (the extra guests) or we need to find another opportunity to meet.
G] If you can come, you understand that the invitation is only for the party, and for one person.
H] I will send the confirmation email by Feb 5th – till then, please be patient.
Thank you for your understanding that I cannot invite all of you, even if I want to.
This post will be here till Monday, Feb 4th .
Love,
Paulo
Invitation to St Joseph’s Party
Quote of the Day
By Paulo Coelho
We need to forget what we think we are, so that we can really become what we are.
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
On rhythm and the road
By Paulo Coelho
‘There was something you didn’t mention in your talk about the Road to Santiago,’ said a pilgrim as we were leaving the Casa de Galicia, in Madrid, where I had given a lecture only minutes before.
I’m sure there were many things I didn’t mention, since my intention had been merely to share something of my own experience. Nevertheless, I invited her for a cup of coffee, intrigued to know what this important omission was.
And Begoña – for that is her name – said:
‘I’ve noticed that most pilgrims, whether on the Road to Santiago or on any of life’s paths, always try to follow the rhythm set by others.
At the start of my pilgrimage, I tried to keep up with my group, but I got tired. I was demanding too much of my body. I was tense all the time and I ended up straining the tendons in my left foot. I couldn’t walk for two days, and I realised that I would only reach Santiago if I obeyed my own rhythm.
I took longer than the others to get there, and for long stretches I often had to walk alone, but it was only by respecting my own rhythm that I managed to complete the journey. Ever since then, I have applied this to everything I do in life: I follow my own rhythm.’
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
Today’s Question by Aart Hilal
You are the living proof that the written word is not dead in this age of the Internet and beyond. But, will the written word ever die? Is there any need for us to fear for its demise?
When I became an author in the late eighties, before the Internet boom, many people said that the written word was dead. Specially being a Brazilian author, I heard constantly that it was useless to become a writer since the language of literature was now English.
When Internet was implemented during the nineties, it stimulated people to read and write once more. This illustrates the idea that when people predict something usually it’s the opposite that happens.
Are we prisoners of the past?
Dear Readers,
Recently I stumbled upon a question from a reader that intrigued me : are we prisoners of the past?
Please give me your thoughts on that.
Love,
Paulo
Top authors join Amnesty project
Thirty of the world’s most acclaimed authors are to write new works in support of Amnesty International.
Tom Stoppard, Paulo Coelho, JM Coetzee, Jeanette Winterson and Nadine Gordimer are among those taking part in the Blood Like Water project, which marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Six books, each containing five original works, will be published in August.
Each writer will contribute a story “as a literary testament to the ideal that an attack on human rights anywhere is an attack on humanity everywhere”.
The authors will be provided with first-hand interviews, news reports, photographs and video footage of human rights abuses.
Iain Banks, David Mitchelle, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, DBC Pierre, Colm Toibin, Kate Atkinson and Marina Lewycka are also involved.
Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: “From the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the newspaper article that inspired Amnesty International and the countless letters written on behalf of prisoners of conscience ever since, the written word has played a powerful part in promoting and defending human rights.
“That so many of the world’s best-known writers should put their pens to paper on our behalf is thrilling and has enormous potential to spread Amnesty International’s vital message still further.”
From : The Press Association
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist
alkmist