mom

mom, i love you!

artwork by nikki mcclure.

virada cultural 2011 [revisited]

there was nothing i was dying to see. lots of interesting attractions, but nothing really worth seeing. well, that's just me saying. yet, there i was again. and like all the other times i was there i had the same feeling: well, how nice to be here! i could´ve planned what i was going to see but this time i decided to just walk around and see what was gonna happen. the home base was leo's place, just like last year. it's nice to be there, to see good friends you usually meet up once or twice a year. sad in a way, but that's what it is. looking over the window one could catch a glimpse of what was happening on palco são joão, one of the many stages all over downtown. it felt good to be there, to see the many bands playing afro and latin rhythms, and the reggae people with their movements, their dancing and their style, and to be with people you like. skatalites was the one i enjoyed most. really nice vibe if i'm to say.

after some hours sleep and a nice wash up, on the streets of a sunny and hot sunday morning i was. this time by myself. i headed towards vale do anhangabaú just on time to see beatles 4ever starting to play the white album vol.1. thumbs up! the birds flying low over the stage to the sound of dear prudence and while my guitar gently weeps. special moment! and also as gently came the afternoon. the band playing the abbey road album and it's really hard not to say that this is one of the best albums of all times. big thumbs up for something and the best one: i want you (she's so heavy). fantastic!

Non-Book English #5 [our time in here is fleeting]

click image to enlarge

fleet: to run quickly.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/fleet_3

calvin and hobbes by bill watterson is awesome!

I am now a vegan

Essa eu não sabia. Depois de ler que o presidente dos Estados Unidos Barack Obama pediu que durante sua passagem pelo Brasil todo o cardápio da comitiva fosse vegan eu fiquei interessado e descobri que sim, ele é vegan. Inclusive acreditaram que isso pudesse arruinar suas chances de ganhar a presidência (afinal os Estados Unidos são os principais consumidores de carne no mundo), mas o desfecho você já sabe. A história provou o contrário. O primeiro presidente negro e o primeiro vegan. Leia abaixo:

I have long been an advocate of the less fortunate among us, of those who life has handed a crooked deck, the short end of the stick, an unfair deal. There are no Americans for who this is more true than the populations of our feedlots and industrial farms. It is time to end the exploitation of farmed animals on American soil. It is time to give up hamburgers as we have given up slave-holding. It is time for us to end our dependence on milkshakes as we must end our dependence on foreign oil. It is time to acknowledge that the fishing industry does damage to our oceans far beyond that of emissions from our coal burning power plants. I invite all Americans to join me in a bright future free of cruelty and exploitation, free of the blood of innocents killed only for our pleasure.

While details of his animal liberation agenda were vague, he obviously doesn't lack conviction. When questioned directly by a reporter after the speech, Obama stated "Yes, I am now a vegan. From a personal perspective, it doesn't hurt that people of African descent are invariably lactose intolerant." 

Longtime vegan and perennial presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was supportive, saying "It's wonderful to see a young politician like Barack taking a stand on such an important, under-discussed issue." Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean was less enthusiastic: "While we support Mr. Obama's right to stand up for his principles, this decision takes him so far away from mainstream American belief that it's difficult to regard his candidacy as viable. The corn and soy lobby think they've pulled off a coup here, but he's just lost his Super Delegates." (It's worth noting that the Vermont dairy lobby is especially strong.) 

Personally, I'm torn. I'm thrilled that Obama's gone vegan, but I can't help wishing he'd won the presidency first. The only way this won't hurt his campaign is if Hillary Clintondeclares herself an atheist and John McCain comes out as gay.

Mais sobre Obama no Brasil: http://www.anda.jor.br/2011/03/17/barack-obama-exige-cardapio-vegan-em-sua-visita-ao-brasil/

Eat of the apple so young... [Jar of Flies - AIC - 1994]

One thing should be said: Alice in Chains` EP Jar of Flies is the right fit for this soaky Tuesday morning. Ranging from dark, depressive songs like Rotten Apple to the more upbeat anthems like No Excuses, the album shows the band's versatility and broad musical scope. Recorded right after their extensive world tour for Dirt, when they went back to Seattle and found themselves evicted after failing to pay the rent, Jar of Flies took only a week to be finished. Yeah, fellow! Some masterpieces take a lifetime to complete, some take a week.

That's the shit! One of the best music videos ever! watch it and see for yourself.

I Stay Away is notably softer than the previous recordings on both Facelift and Dirt. However, despite the bright opening guitar riff and verse, the song's pre-chorus suddenly detours into dark, sludgy electric guitar and a haunting vocal harmony. The chorus then reintroduces the upbeat tones with powerfully long-drawn vocals and anxious violins. A hard rock electric guitar solo then plays amidst the bright acoustic section. The track also uses a great deal of instrumentation that Alice in Chains had previously not attempted, including horns and string instruments. It also effectively demonstrates the harmony between vocalist Layne Staley and guitarrist Jerry Cantrell. [source: wikipedia]

Jar of Flies - tracklist

1. Rotten Apple
2. Nutshell
3. I Stay Away
4. No Excuses
5. Whale & Wasp
6. Don't Follow
7. Swing on This

2 livros

Não sou um devorador de livros, ou como dizem em inglês, um bookworm. Geralmente demoro meses para ler um livro, sem dizer que muitos eu nem chego até o final. Em outras épocas eu leio bastante. Reparei que isso acontece geralmente no começo do ano. Nessa mesma época do ano passado eu li 4 livros em uma tacada só: The picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde), Brief Candles (Aldous Huxley), Dom Casmurro (Machado de Assis) e A Metamorfose (Franz Kafka). Os três primeiros são simplesmente sensacionais. O tom irônico e sarcástico de Oscar Wilde combinados com a excelente tradução que peguei fizeram do primeiro um dos melhores livros que já li. O segundo fez de Huxley - junto com Milan Kundera - meu escritor favorito. Dele já havia lido o clássico Admirável Mundo Novo e The Doors of Perception. O terceiro, obra-prima de Machado de Assis, o que falar? O melhor escritor brasileiro na minha opinião. Já A Metamorfose... não sei. Talvez numa outra época, comigo funciona assim. Eu insisto. De Kafka li mais 2: O Processo (fudido!) e O Veredicto (também não convenceu).

Bom, mas estou aqui pra compartilhar outros dois livros. Segue abaixo:

The Ghosts of Sleath - James Herbert (1994)

Livro que peguei emprestado do Hostel República, na minha viagem de Reveillon ao Rio de Janeiro. Nunca tinha ouvido falar de James Herbert. Se fizesse lista de futuros livros, os dele entrariam.

Curioso? Segue o que está escrito na contra-capa:

"Can a ghost haunt a ghost? Can the dead reach out and touch the living? Can ancient evil be made manifest? These are the questions that confront psychic investigator David Ash when he delves into the mysterious events terrorizing the community of Sleath, a small, quaint village hidden away in the Chiltern Hills. In Sleath he will fear for his own sanity as each dark secret in unveiled and terrible, malign forces are unleashed. For the full horror will be beyond imagination. Sleath. Where the dead will walk the streets".

Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne (1873)

Pra quem gosta de relatos de viagem em terras distantes, leitura obrigatória. Livro leve, excelente entretenimento. Contra-capa:

"At his club that day, Fogg bet half his fortune that he could travel the world in an easterly direction in eighty days; so he and Passepartout begin their voyage. But Detective Fix of Scotland Yard finds it coincidental that Fogg should want to escape England in such a hurry while there is a robber on the loose. Convinced they are one and the same person he joins them on the first leg of their epic travels. A race against time to save face and fortune, Around the World in Eighty Days is both a thrilling and humorous adventure and a classic story of travel in an age gone by".

Aqui no blog tem também:

Noite na Taverna

Demian - Hermann Hesse (1919)

O sorriso de Karenin

A obsessão lírica e a obsessão épica

Milan Kundera - Risíveis Amores

Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery

Navegando pelo mundo da internet eu achei esse comics bem legal sobre bicicletas chamado Yehuda Moon & The Kickstand Cyclery. Pra quem anda de bicicleta, mesmo que pouco, irá se identificar com várias situações. Vale a pena dar uma conferida. Só que é em inglês...

Hiking to the top of Pedra Grande

The hot sun burning high up in the sky and the amazing view from the top made the two-hour hike on Pedra Grande/Atibaia along with Tim, Enio and Valery a rewarding experience. Grab some snacks and fruits. Water is a must. Make sure you start the way down about two hours before the sunset.
  

November 14, 2010 - Adoro trilhas, montanhas, mato. Essa é a quarta vez que subo a Pedra Grande em Atibaia. Dessa vez o tempo ajudou, o sol apareceu e a vista lá de cima estava linda! Da última vez que fui deu uma chuva tão forte que perdi o celular e o alarme do carro do Sérgio parou de funcionar. Osso! Lá embaixo tem uma pista de pouso com um bar. Dá pra tomar umas brejas baratas, o dono é bem simpático e gosta de papear. Pra quem não gosta de trilhas, tem como chegar no topo de carro pelo outro lado, por Bom Jesus dos Perdões. Eu já fiz esse caminho com a Michele, de Uno. Outra coisa, sem preparo físico fica difícil o primeiro terço da subida, mas continue que depois vale muito a pena.

Alien Safari

In the summer of 2006 I went on a student exchange program to Cape Town, South Africa. Definitely the height of this trip was this 4-day open air festival (Saturday 30 December 2006 to Tuesday 02 January 2007). The invitation came from my Russian roommate, Tim, who had been invited by his friend Yuri, also from Russia. Together with Domi, a 16-year-old girl from Czech Republic, the four of us hit the road into the woods of Franschhoek, a small village about 75km from Cape Town.

The V3 Motorola cell phone camera is crap but I managed to take this nice picture of Yuri, Domi and Tim enjoying the breathtaking landscape of the R321 Villiersdorp / Franschhoek road. 

I believe that's the Theewaterskloof Dam.

Posing for picture after putting up the tent.

Shaded and watered dance floor, ambient zone, camping, swimming, food-stalls, medical facilities, craft and clothing market, showers, mexican mushrooms, acid and pot.

Commuting - Bike your drive

It took me some time but I finally gathered up the courage to commute by bike. Saturday morning - I had gone to bed kinda early the night before - I woke up by 5:30 (yeah, I know you don't believe it), had a good breakfast, got packed (you know, class material, a clean t-shirt to get changed when getting at school, and the like) and off I went, leaving home at 6:45. The 7.2-km route from home to work if full of ups and downs but it was easier than I thought. (click here to see the route map)

As I got there 1 hour before I start work, I went on a ride around the neighborhood to take some pictures. Cool graffiti I found!. Here they are.

Below: Bar do Alemão at the background. (top-left corner). Great place!