Tea

Scientific name: Camellia sinensis

Tea originated in a vast region of South-East Asia, including China, Japan, Burma, India and other areas. The tea plant and the method of preparing the drink were shrouded in a fair amount of secrecy among Oriental peoples, to such an extent that until the nineteenth century it was thought that black tea and green tea were produced from direct plants.The Portuguese probably first came across the drink in the Canton region, and used the local word (ch'a). 

As is commonly know, tea as a beverage was introduced to the English court by the Portuguese queen D. Catarina de Bragança, daughter of the king João IV, which leads one to believe that it was already known in Portugal at the time, although it was from far widespread. The same cannot be said of the plant and the method of preparing the tea. It would appear, from details dating from the nineteenth century, that at time it was not generally known in Portugal how to prepare the drink. As for the plant, there are records of tea plant's existence in Angra do Heroísmo, in the Azores, at the beginning of that century, and its introduction to Brazil at the beginning of the nineteenth century is confirmed - although the date is open to question - when King João VI travelled to Rio de Janeiro as a result of the French invasions, and received tea plant as a gift from Chinese emperor. 

From Brazil tea then reached the island of São Miguel in Azores, and continental Portugal, where attempts were made to grow it in the north, centre and south. Plants still exist to this day dating from that time, although they are now abandoned, the largest know group being that on Alto do Chá or «Tea Peak», in the Sintra mountains. 

The cultivation of Tea in Africa was set in motion by the English from India. Tea was brought from former Nyassaland (Malawi) to Mozambique in about 1914, and it underwent a certain amount of expansion there. Records exist of the plant being introduced to Angola, but growing never took off. 

Nice guys finish last?! Really?!

When you think in a title of this post, you think...relationship, love and that stuff. Well, I do it to, but one day I was curious were did this quote come from? And what was the meaning of the quote? Curious thing, this quote came from a baseball manager called Leo Durocher in 1939 and he was talking about the opposing team rather than to male/female relationship dynamics. 

This idea isn't linear but most of the times is right. American biologist, Garret Harding used the quote "nice guys finish last" to prove the existence of a selfish gene concept of life and evolution, saying that the weakest fall, and the strongest live. This idea means that the person that does anything to survive (mostly in the wrong way) wins. Years later Richard Dawkins tried to dispute this idea and wrote The Selfish Gene, but unfortunately he was misinterpreted, confirming "the nice guys finishing last" view. But this is genetics...this is not the love vision. 

So, where did this vision come from? 

On an article in the journal Sex Roles from 1995, written by Stephan Descrochers, he claims that some nice men (sensitive men), don't believe women actually want "nice guys". It all started here. This idea began because of disbelief of man. We created this. Desrochers said "it still seems popular to believe that women in contemporary America prefer men who are sensitive, or have feminine personality traits".  Like I said this isn't a linear idea, because women and men are the same. The "nice guy" has more chances if the other person wants a relationship. It's just a matter of needs and desires. If you like adventure you don't choose a nice guy, you actually choose a jerk because you want the trill of the adventure. Well this is normally the choice of the one night stands. 

Most men are interested in a good relationship. Most of men will never give in the chance to date the woman of theirs dreams. When a man finds this kinda passion immediately thinks "this woman is a keeper. I'm going to treat her right and do all I can to make her happy". And this is the big problem with being the nice guy. You will eventually become the boring, predictable guy. That initial excitement will eventually fade for the woman because she has what she wants and begins to lose interest and before you know it, her eyes start to wander, and you know what's coming next. Nice guys will be left heartbroken and will start to wonder what he did wrong. The answer is: Nothing. This is now a matter of Ying and Yang. As long as nice guys continue to get bumed, there will always be a jerk in the horizon to provide that adventure and excitement for women. And at this moment is when nice guys realize the type of man women like. Complete douchebags. 

If  women want  nice guys, then why is that most of them are single? Why is that we constantly hear situations about women dating big jerks? The fact is that women don't want nice guys. Because women act most of the time on impulse and emotion. So tha's why you need to be a balanced guy instead of a nice guy or a jerk. Balance you attitude, a man has to be able to woo a woman, amuse her and excite her while constiounisle challenging her. 

So be nice to women but not too nice, because nice guys finish last....true story.