If Einstein Were A Dog...

...This is what he would look like.

Meet my dog, Spock. If Border Collies are famous for their intelligence, well then, this would be a famous Border Collie! I got to thinking of how much he would be enjoying the 70 centimenters of snow that fell in Connecticut and decided to honor him with a blog. Somewhere way up in heaven, there´s a happy, great-looking, hilariously clever, bilingual dog barking at snowflakes and chasing down heavily bundled sledders.

Wow, fighting back tears here...
Good boy.

Wrong Place, Wrong Season

As New York glistens under more than two feet of fresh snow, I sit and await the next glacial age to maybe witness Rio under a white blanket. How beautiful that would be... As this will not happen in the next few minutes, let´s just appreciate what nature is capable of when it turns down the heat and turns on the faucet.

To add insult to injury, the place registering the highest amount of snow (at least as far as I've seen, with 28 inches!) is exactly Easton, Connecticut, where I used to live!

To my friends in New York and Connecticut: Wish I were there...

The Constant Gardener

For once I will bypass the traditional "movie review" detailing of the technical and artistic aspects of film, despite "The Constant Gardener" presenting itself as utterly brilliant here. Instead, I am forced to recognize that such elements must ultimately take a back seat to the clarity and brutality of the film´s message.

To best synthesize this, I have elected a stubby and unpretentions, albeit melodious little word as perhaps the most emblematic in dissecting what is truly essential in this film. I believe this word´s versatility is what makes it so applicable for this task.

And so, in light of the tragically common and calamitous events which ravage the African continent, and which are so sublimely depicted in "The Constant Gardener", I offer you the word:

WAKE


1. a) To cease to sleep;
b) To be brought into a state of awareness or alertness;

2. A track, course, or condition left behind something that has passed;

3. In the aftermath of; as a consequence of.

4. To keep watch or guard, especially over a corpse.


How exactly are these definitions applicable? Simple:


1. We who live confortably and blissfully, eyes closed in REM, unaware of the African catastrophy, must wake up to reality.

2. The mindless, soulless, cash-driven exploration of the African continent and the African people leaves in its wake an evergrowing cemetery of nameless faces.

3. In wake of the lack of the most basic of human needs, Africans themselves inflict their own wave of death and destruction.

4. Before the collective burial of Africa, the planet blindly attends what seems to be an interminable wake.


Some movies are prizeworthy not because of the art, but because of the humanity.

Fresta

Assim, discretamente, por uma fresta no Brooklyn... Será que há injustiça maior do que dizer que NY possui arranhacéus? Pois dentro da arquitetura, acho que nunca o céu se sentiu tocado por seda mais macia.

Foto tirada por mim em Julho de 2005.

Campanha

Senhoras e senhores (até parece...),

Começo hoje minha campanha eleitoral particular. E ao contrário desses parasitas que infestam nossa política, não gastarei nem um centavo público em fazê-lo. Aliás, não gastarei mais do que alguns minutos por mês! É tudo muito simples...

A partir de hoje utilizo este blog para expor minha intenção de voto nas próximas eleições.

VOTE NULO

Dentro desta pseudodemocracia (ou você ainda pensa que o povo tem em suas mãos o poder?), este é o único meio que temos para protestar contra a putrefação política neste país. Funciona assim:

No segundo turno, se nenhum candidato conseguir a maioria (mais de 50%) dos votos, a eleição está obrigatoriamente cancelada e um novo pleito será realizado. Melhor ainda: é automático o afastamento dos candidatos, pois eles não poderão mais concorrer à eleição e serão substituídos por novos nomes (não se trata aqui de devaneio: nas últimas eleições, conforme rezou a lei, 28 municípios do País tiveram suas eleições anuladas pelo imperativo do voto nulo).

Por favor, peço-lhes que espalhem isso para todos. É importante que não votem nem nos "candidatos" (risível, não?) e nem em branco. O voto é NULO. A urna, quando forem digitados números que não correspondam a nenhum candidato, dará ERRO como resposta. NÃO É ERRO!! É DIREITO SEU!! Digite 00 (zero zero) e confirme.

V O T E N U L O

Downside Up

In this upside-down world, wouldn´t you agree that one should position the camera accordingly? Well, that´s just what I did...

I believe it permits us to find beauty in a variety of unexpected ways.

When In Rome...

Do as the Romans do. When in Rio, do as the Cariocas AND ROMANS do. Apparently, that´s the way to go...

As I stood in a long and excruciatingly slow line waiting to cash in some traveller checks, I witnessed a tourist in a process of perfect adapatation to his surroundings. How, you ask?

After 3 minutes standing at the back of the line, an Italian man of about 30, as evidenced by his passport and his spoken language, realized just how long he would be occupying that very spot and very casually walked out of the American Express office. Gave up, right? Went back to his nearby hotel room and decided to come back some other time, right? No, not quite.

In an uncanny impersonation of a modern-day Brazilian, this man walked back into the office some five minutes later, this time holding in his arms a toddler, a little girl about 3 years of age, and without flinching, walked to front of the line. In case you have not yet processed this information, here is the way things work down here: Senior citizens (over 65), women in gestation, handicapped persons, and persons holding small children have the right to immediate assistance.

Well, from the behavior of the child I gathered that at least it was HIS child. But still, this little girl was way past taking her first steps (or needing to be in his arms, for that matter). I can only assume that he went up to his hotel room, got the little girl and came back.

So I say "well done, my Italian friend!" In a mere handful of days you have mastered the Brazilian art of "dar um jeitinho", which loosely translates to "find a quicker, easier, but not necessarily more respectable way" of getting things done.
Nevertheless, being one of those who tries his best to do things in the "slower, harder, more respectable way", and doing things in this manner in his native country and city (overseas I wouldn´t imagine doing things any other way!), I did not hesistate for one moment in giving this man a long, hard look of disapproval, of utter disgust even, for his actions. Whether it had the desired effect, I will never know...

But hey, I must be one in some ten thousand to behave this way. The other (and obviously "cleverer") 9,999 people probably would have done the same as the Italian. After all, stupidity feeds stupidity, disrespect feeds disrispect, and lack of character feeds from everything else.

Mother Nature´s Son

This is one of the places where I spent part of my childhood, in a day where mother nature was feeling "creative" and I, one of her more appreciative sons, had my trusty camera with me.

Deixa Que...

Hoje na praia eu vi e escutei, em cores e alto e bom som, o que é a doença deste país. Sentado sob minha barraca, assistia uma senhora de uns cinquenta e muitos e sua filha de vinte e poucos juntando seus pertences para encerrarem seu dia sob o sol escaldante da Barra. Sobrou, como de praxe, um montinho de lixo contendo copos de mate, sacos de biscoito Globo, cocos e outros detritos. Eis que escuto o seguinte diálogo:

Filha: Pega esses copos aí que eu pego o resto!
Mãe: Ah, deixe que os caras fazem isso!

Com essas sete palavrinhas, esse senhora resumiu, com eloquência, a atitude que domina grande maioria do povo brasileiro. E graças a Deus, posso escrever aqui a palavra "maioria" porque a própria filha dela se encarregou de catar o lixo. Ainda assim, nada mais me espanta; nem a total falta de consciência, respeito e classe da senhora (não somente dela) e nem o tradicional descaso com o meio ambiente. Aliás, pobres praias do Rio que são obrigadas a suportar essa gente porca e folgada que é o carioca. Mas isso é outra história...

O tema aqui é o "deixa que". Sina mor dessa gente que assiste, impassível e incólume, a extinção de tudo que é digno e essencial ao bem-estar de uma sociedade. É um defeito que varre a população em geral, desde o mais pobre, que às vezes parece não se interessar em aprimorar a própria existência (leia-se aqui PREGUIÇA para se instruir e se educar), até o mais rico, que lamentavelmente adota uma postura de desinteresse devido ao seu poder aquisitivo (leia-se aqui PREGUIÇA para usar de seu arsenal financeiro no melhoramento das instituições que regem este país).

E assim...

Deixa que o outro faz.
Deixa que o outro paga.
Deixa que o outro sofre.
Deixa que o outro pega.
Deixa que o outro reclama.
Deixa que o outro fala.
Deixa que o outro vota.
Deixa que o outro chora.
Deixa que o outro deixa.......

Eis que, deixando para o próximo, deixando para depois, o Brasil é largado às traças, exposto aos ladrões e aproveitadores, todos da mesma laia, que se proliferam nas favelas, passando por todas as classes e culminando escandalosamente no governo.

Mas não os culpem não! Não me venham dizer que o problema deste país é a corrupção e a incompetência de nossos governantes! O problema deste país é que temos 180 milhões de OVELHAS que, lideradas por absolutamente ninguém, se permitem serem encaminhadas placidamente a um penhasco. Isto sim é a maior vergonha.

Continents and Climates

Another picture taken by me (I took the one below as well but you wouldn´t know it if you don´t speak portuguese), this one in Segovia, Spain. Since I'm being cooked by the Rio de Janeiro heat here, I thought I would change continents and climates. So, you think I have a chance as a photographer?

Silhueta

Entre luz e sombra, qual oferece mais conteúdo?
A luz é o deleite dos olhos.
A sombra decora a imaginação.
Ou será a silhueta, que te dá um pouquinho de cada?

(Foto tirada por mim - a primeira de muitas que mostrarei aqui. Espero que gostem.)

A Second Chance

And a third. And a fourth. And a sixty-fourth, if necessary! Because good music is not necessarily the one that immediately pleases your ears. It´s the one that makes you think a little harder, listen a little harder, so that ultimately you might rise and fall a little harder. It doesn´t invade, it asks permission - and even in that, within all the sound, it does so in a silent manner. It begs for another "PLAY", even if it is not the center of attention. And it is often here that it makes itself heard more intensely, more meticulously. Soon enough, you are delicately assaulted by a pulsing of pitch, rhythm, melody and harmony in such a manner that it becomes addictive. It becomes essential. It inspires. It enslaves you and sets you free at the same time.

Several bands have afforded me such pleasures, from giants of music like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Beatles to lesser known bands such as Marillion and not-yet-giants Coldplay or the Dave Matthews Band. They have all contributed to my undeniable awe of music´s capacities and influences.

Lately, and may I say that this is the reason for this particular blog, it is Radiohead which impresses me. I purchased "OK Computer" a while ago, based simply on word-of-mouth and musical reviews. Listened to it once. Listened to it twice, three times and declared it a "dissapointment". A few kilos of dust later, pulled it out again and threw it on the CD player for a little aural entertainment as I busied myself with other tasks. And then, ladies and gentleman, I urge you to re-read the first paragraph. Must I say more?

Eletricidade

Uma rotina vital de microchoques
Dedos pueris futucando tomadas à procura
Certas vezes nos acostumamos com a eletricidade
Torna-se despercebida e mundana, ou talvez anestésica
Baixando uma cortina sobre desconfortos maiores
Nos acomodamos, nos iludimos na calmaria
Despertados por um pico de energia
Sobrecarregados os sentidos, lamentamos, reclamamos...

Injustiça!
Pois que fique registrada minha gratidão.
A queda de um raio é mesmo fundamental, não?

Korean Monster

Aside from the booms, bangs and crashes, the laughs and giggles, the sighs and tears, a few select movies originating from the four corners of the planet have as their primary objective the exploration of the human psyche, both at its best and at its worst. Some would say, pardoning the clichê, that these movies investigate the soul.

There seems to be, and understandably so, a perduring tendency for the movie industry to focus on the "feel-good" aspects, portraying beauty, love, decency, virtue and the likes. But I ask you: How great is it when it all turns sour? Isn´t it a fantastic experience - and a satisfyingly unexpected one - when all hell breaks loose and reality hits the fan?

OLDBOY: A Korean movie which slowly crept into my "to watch" list. It is no masterpiece, it is no technological marvel, it is no great cinematographic feat. Yet, as I sat down to watch it, I could not imagine what was in store for me in the subsequent two hours. Scary to think that such a story could ever be concatenated in somebody´s head, but there it was. I will not give away the plot, as it deserves to be absorbed and deciphered individually, but please allow me to attempt a synthesis of its essence:

A monster is let loose from the depths of the mind.

The Human Flapjack

Flip over, on your stomach. Flip again, on your back. Turn to the left. Turn to the right. Shift your head on the pillow. Shift it back. Put your arms under the pillow. Take one out. Take both out. Slide your leg up. Slide it back down. Cross it over the other one. Flip over, on your stomach. Flip again, on your back. Ah, you´re getting the idea now...

Tired yet?

Well, imagine doing this for H O U R S. Welcome to the wonderful world of insomnia! Oh, if you ever get there, don´t fret. I'm right there with you! In fact, I'm there RIGHT NOW!! Isn´t it thrilling?

It´s now nearly 4 AM. I have to be up just over 2 hours. Any ideas which don´t involve pills, alcohol, or a sledgehammer to the back of the head?

HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!