ON HEROES AND TOMBS

2006-07-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Guus Hiddink!

Alright, the dream is over. Brazil's going home.

At this moment, I start my campaign to have dutch Guus Hiddink as our new coach. Imagine that...

Cheers.

2006-06-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Es el campeón de la gente (by Antonio Serpa)

Hay decenas de miles de personas que tomaron las calles y gritan, y saludan. Un moreno de unos 40 años va detrás del tanque de la ONU desde el cual asoma Ronaldo y llora y mueve la cabeza como si estuviera viviendo otra vida. Hay gente subida a las terrazas de los edificios y trepada a grúas de la construcción para ver mejor a los ídolos. El griterío no para y los soldados no pueden contener a los fanáticos, que se cruzan delante del tanque y son capaces de cualquier cosa por un autógrafo o por una mirada de Roberto Carlos o de Ronaldinho. No es una película. Es la realidad. Ocurrió en las calles de Puerto Príncipe el 18 de agosto de 2004, cuando la selección brasileña visitó —en misión de paz— Haití, el país más pobre de América. Un país convulsionado que detuvo por un día sus diferencias. Hubo un partido, claro, para el que se pagaron hasta diez dólares de entrada cuando hay familias que viven allí con menos de un dólar diario. Es apenas una muestra de la locura del mundo, de sus injusticias y miserias (que excede un abismo el tema de esta nota), y de lo que es capaz de generar Brasil.

Ya había ocurrido algo similar con el Santos de Pelé en 1969. Eran días en los que el fútbol espectáculo de aquél era requerido por todo el mundo. Incluso desde el Congo, que andaba en plena guerra civil. Como ocurría en la Antigua Grecia durante los Juegos Olímpicos, se acordó por aquellos días un armisticio para que todos pudieran gozar del equipo símbolo.

Brasil es la selección de mayor convocatoria en todo el planeta (y zonas aledañas). Capaz de colmar con 30.000 personas un estadio en Budapest o en Offenbach, un pueblo alemán a 70 kilómetros de Frankfurt. Ni hace falta un partido, basta con anunciar un entrenamiento a puertas abiertas. En Bergisch Gladbach, población perdida en los alrededores de Colonia, los negocios cambiaron sus horarios de atención. En la rica Königstein había fans que hacían guardia las 24 horas.

Hay gente que viaja miles de kilómetros sin entrada y que ofrece hasta mil euros para ver en acción de Mundial a los fenómenos. Con tal de conseguir una nota con ellos, las principales cadenas mexicanas de TV contratan modelos, les hacen un curso intensivo de periodismo y las mandan al Mundial vestidas para matar, con un micrófono en la mano. Mientras ellas hablan con los jugadores en la zona mixta, a través de los alambrados vuelan remeras y osos, y suenan, histéricos, los gritos de las fans: "Ro-nal-di-nhooooo". En Weggis, Suiza, una invadió el campo y se tiró encima del número 10, lo abrazó, lo besó. Envidiada.

Precisamente, el gobierno suizo pagó 1.500.000 dólares para que el Scratch hiciera allí la preparación para este Mundial. Se construyeron tribunas con capacidad para 5.000 personas, y las localidades para ver los ensayos —cotizaban hasta a 20 euros— se agotaron antes de que el plantel llegara. ¿Qué tiene Brasil? "Es la forma de ser abierta. Y su fútbol alegre. Por eso la gente quiere a los muchachos. Vienen los asiáticos y les regalan relojes, ropa, de todo", explica Rodrigo Paiva, el jefe de prensa. Tostao, que vivió como jugador la época de Pelé y vive como periodista ésta, da su teoría: "Atrae por su manera de jugar y porque es pentacampeón. También por Pelé, que nos dio un enorme prestigio. Y los europeos nos ven como un país exótico, el de la samba, el carnaval, la diversión y el fútbol-arte".

¿Cómo puede ser, si no, que antes del Mundial se vendieran en Alemania más camisetas de Brasil que del local? Sí, sólo Brasil lo puede. El todopoderoso Brasil. El eterno campeón.

From Olé, argentinian sports diary. Sorry to those who cannot read it.

2006-06-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Dryin' up France

That's what we usually do to opponents, dry 'em up!

Au revoir ;)

2006-06-29T16:17:00.000-07:00

Achtung!

Beware, y'all. His time is to come soon.

2006-06-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

On the move!

Right fellas, time to decide where the next stop is. Didn't take long to figure out that a long haul flight to Hong Kong (with a stop in South Africa) sounds perfect. So, places unknown, here I come!

Cheers!

2006-05-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

And the magic returns!

Well, after a somewhat incredule period on my behalf, seems like the magic is back when it comes to football.

Tonight's match between Corinthians and Vasco da Gama came as blessing to us, die-hard Timão (the way the São Paulo team is affectionally called by their followers) fanatics. Those 90 minutes brought back the memories we were used to, of a hard-fighting team who never gives up no matter how bad the odds might be.

Corinthians, after being short of a player for most of the first half, saw a very bleak horizon on its way after Vasco scored a couple of gols very early into the second half. Nonetheless - and after a Vasco player was also sent off, leveling the number of men on the field -, a couple of well-executed plays by midfielder Carlos Alberto, brought from then european champions Porto for a huge amount of euros, resulted in two gols by Rafael Moura, the He-Man himself.

Moura was sent off, along with another Vasco player, soon after that. Being a match played at nine-a-side, spaces were left open and decent football could be executed from both parts.

Close to the end of the match, forward Nilmar's perfectly executed - and beautiful - play resulted in a penalty shot for Corinthians. Carlos Alberto had a second chance at scoring - the first try was blocked by Vasco's goalkeeper,who had irregularly left the goal line, thus prompting the referee to call back the shot - and converted it, making the game 3 -2 for Timão.

Just after that, Vasco had a goal declared illegal, since forward Edílson (an ex-Corinthians player) had thrust the ball into the goal using his arm. A few moments later, Nilmar repeated his dribbling attack that again resulted in a penalty shot for Corinthians. Defender Marcelo Mattos took his chance and scored: 4-2.

The match was a helluva good game, both teams were playing some really good football on the pitch, just the kind of stuff we need to believe again in the greatness of brazilian football. Nothing better, since Germany 2006 is almost starting and the Seleção, our national team, is simply magic.

One thing comes to mind, tho: how well would european teams like Barcelona, Arsenal, Milan or Real Madrid fare if they played our yearly national? Maybe they'd secure a spot for the South American Cup, I suppose... winning it, of course, would be a completely different matter.

Iki, all of you.

2006-05-09T10:27:00.000-07:00

And the cold comes...

Hello all. Well, I've been quite busy working and wandering around the country these past weeks - thus my inability to keep uo to date posts. Not that I'd do that if I was at home doing nothing, no; blogs are, in their essence, never up to date.

Anyway, seems like the weather is, sadly, actually becoming colder here in São Paulo. Me and some lads from high school went to Campos to Jordão this past weekend - a nice town located in the Mantiqueira mountain range - to have some barbecue and to catch up with each other's gossips. So, we ate ostrich meat, drank a large amout of beer and scotch, talked (and fought over) politics and froze up there, since t'was 2 C by night. Ack, ack.

Other than that, just waiting for the weekend to come: can't wait to see The Prodigy live. Maybe off to a photo shoot around São Paulo to boost up the WikiTravel page...

Cheers.

2006-03-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

Ah, the wonders of modern digital life...

Well, from time to time, I usually stumble across some cool thing on the Internet. This time (no, it's not www.chucknorrisfacts.com - but that's cool too!) it's Textamerica, a photoblog kinda thing that allows you to post pics from your mobile phone, real-time, no bullshit. Really nice whenever you're on a trip and want to share those special moments with those friends of yours who spend the whole day sittin' in front of a stupid computer writing about political gossip or reading unending Excel charts.

Enjoy, lads.

2006-03-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

Ingrid

Girls we love, pt. II - Ingrid Bergman, born in Stockholm, Sweden, actress.

2006-03-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

Fiona

Girls we love, pt. I - Fiona Apple, born in New York, USA, singer and songwriter.

2006-03-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

International Women's Day

International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on 8 March every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women. The first IWD was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. Among other relevant historic events, it commemorates the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (New York, 1911), where over 140 women lost their lives.

Thanks a lot, girls, for being who you are! Be always happy!

2006-03-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

Great Pix, pt. V - The T-shirt, finished. Rocks, rocks, rocks! Bring 'em on down!

2006-03-06T17:18:00.000-08:00

Great Pix, pt. IV - This is what we'll have on the second edition of the already classic Sanja City World Tour t-shirt. My idea, design by Jotinha, pure Oasis. Cool, ain't it?

2006-03-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Weird Pix, pt. V - Me and my pimple and a very strange seller in Playa El Agua, Margarita Island, Venezuela.

2006-03-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

On extreme backpacking

Well fellas, looks like this year will involve even more backpacking hours for me than last year. After a brief stint across a few South American countries (Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay) and a couple of trips to Rio - the first one to watch the Rolling Stones, the second to spend a very chaotic and tiring carnival - , the time has come for Uruguay and Argentina again. Teaming up with my fellow sanja city lads, we'll storm through Buenos Aires (me, I'm flying to Montevideo on a VERY cheap ticket) and catch an Oasis gig, which will rock like hell, knowing the band as I do.

And after that, some beach time. Thanks to Gol, our local low-cost airline, I got really really (did I mention really?) cheap tickets to Natal, on our lovely northeast. Then, time to catch the flying bus again to Montevideo to spend Easter in Punta del Este - actually, it's going to be my second time during that time (eh?) there, since on the EggSport tour we spent the same holidays there, partying at Moby Dick every single night, getting lost around and experiencing really bad hangovers with local beer and bad wine.

Can't be bad, can it? Thats why life rocks so much now!

Cheers and hasta!

2006-02-02T08:20:00.000-08:00

So...

Sorry if the last post is in portuguese, but that was something I just HAD to remind my fellow voters in the Tupy community :)

Ate.

2006-02-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

Da Folha Online, em http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/brasil/ult96u64103.shtml

14/09/2004 - 18h46

Em sabatina, Serra ameniza ataques e promete cumprir mandato se eleito

CAIO JUNQUEIRA
FABIANA FUTEMA
da Folha Online

Líder nas pesquisas para a Prefeitura de São Paulo, o candidato do PSDB, José Serra, amenizou os ataques diretos à adversária Marta Suplicy (PT), em sabatina da Folha nesta terça-feira, e afirmou que só deixaria o cargo em 2006 "se Deus lhe tirasse a vida".

O tucano assinou uma declaração --apresentada pelo colunista da Folha Gilberto Dimenstein e que será registrada em cartório-- de que cumprirá, caso eleito, os quatro anos do mandato de prefeito e não deixará o cargo para concorrer a governador do Estado ou à Presidência da República em 2006.

"Só se Deus me tirar a vida. Só saio se houver uma desgraça que me envolva", disse ele, ao responder uma pergunta sobre a possibilidade de deixar o cargo para Kassab, em 2006.

Serra também defendeu o ex-presidente Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002) e seu candidato a vice, o deputado Gilberto Kassab (PFL), o qual descreveu como "homem experimentado".

Sobre a saúde, sua principal bandeira de campanha, disse que foi o PT, e não ele, o responsável por trazer o tema ao debate. "O PT trouxe o assunto, trouxe o tema para o centro de suas propostas. Em 1996, a campanha Maluf-Pitta trouxe o transporte como principal tema. Neste ano foram as maquetes", disse o candidato, em alusão ao CEU (Clínica Especializada Unificada) Saúde, projeto apresentado por Marta Suplicy.

Resumiu suas críticas à gestão Marta: "A maioria das coisas tem bom propósito, mas em todas as áreas eu vejo insuficiência, mesmo naquilo que se tentou inovar".

Também atacou o túnel da avenida Rebouças, vitrine da campanha de reeleição da petista. "[O que gastou em] túneis, a distância mais curta entre dois engarrafamentos, [a prefeitura] poderia ter investido em metrô. A prefeitura tem de entrar no metrô. O que fez [com o túnel], daria. O Fura-Fila, que custou mais do que vai custar, daria para ter levado o metrô em parceria com o Estado."

O candidato tucano esquivou-se de dizer quais programas da atual gestão manteria caso fosse eleito. Afirmou, entretanto, que não alteraria o modelo das subprefeituras implementado por Marta porque isso teria um "custo político".

"Não vou lotear [os cargos das subprefeituras]. Vou manter e não porque acho correto. Isso teria um custo político muito grande. E dá para levar uma relação com a Câmara sem práticas fisiológicas", disse.

2005-12-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Great Pix, pt. III - São Paulo just before dark. Not mine, but nonetheless a great pic.

2005-12-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

São Paulo: all the world's hearts

Everyday that passes, it seems that I love the city of São Paulo (and living here) more and more. I've had the honour and the luck to visit quite a bunch of different cities around this planet, and I can surely say that none of them (with the possible exception of New York City, but that specific place has a location problem which doesn't really help) is as cosmopolitan and has as many things to offer as my hometown has - from 24 hour shopping to amazing restaurants, disco clubs, movie theaters, bookstores to great football, all the in-between included.

The main reason for my post, matter of fact, is the wonderful fotolog thing that this guy that works as a ticket collector on a city bus set up, comprising pictures and stories from hundreds of different places all over São Paulo. Scanning through the pictures, I couldn't help but bring a smile on my face once I recalled how many great and beautiful places the city has... and to top it off, let's not forget the wonderful people!

You can check out Antonio's (yup, that's the guy's name) fotolog by clicking here. Definitely worth a visit!

Té mais, meu! :)

2005-11-28T18:49:00.000-08:00

Weird Pix, pt. IV - Sittin' on top, of the world... for a while! - Pucón, Chile, 2004.

2005-11-28T17:31:00.000-08:00

The universal truth about... (pt. I):

1. Sonic Youth: they need to learn how to tune their instuments.

2. "Black Music": the most stupid moniker ever crafted (by god knows who somewhere here in Brazil) to describe a musical genre. How can you stuff in the same bucket completely different things such as Marvin Gaye and 50 Cent just because they have dark-colored skin? "There's only two kinds of music: the good and the bad", once said Dizzy Gillespie. How true.

3. S. C. Corinthians Paulista: too great and glorious to describe it with words.

And thats it for now. Nothing more to tell the truth about at the moment.

Iki!

2005-11-26T04:35:00.000-08:00

Great Pix, pt. II - Because the world is round, it turns me on. - London, England, 2004. (no, I'm not stoned or anything like that in the pic).

2005-11-26T04:11:00.000-08:00

Due to a very intimidating email that I received from the president of the United States of America, George W.C. Bush, I had to delete the post "of that subversive jewish guy from New York City" (that's Dubya's description), Shel Silverstein. Well, you can check out his works at The Shel Silverstein Archive - also, his adult works are available online here. Yeah, he wrote for kids, but ain't we all kids at heart? :)

After a quick call to Donald Rumsfeld, I was glad to catch his evil soul in a rare moment of sympathy (not for the devil) and he allowed me to republish a single paragraph of Shel's short story that once was included in these same virtual pages. So, enjoy it while it lasts - and pray that Condi doesn't read this before you do!

Excerpt from "The Perfect High, or the Quest of Gimmesome Roy"
by Shel Silverstein

"Well, that is that", said Baba Fats, sitting back down on his stone,
Facing another thousand years of talking to God alone.
"It seems, Lord", says Fats, "it's always the same, old men or bright-eyed youth,
It's always easier to sell them some shit than it is to give them the truth".

Cheers and Iki!

2005-11-11T12:28:00.000-08:00

Weird Pix, pt. III - Lost somewhere in Krákow. Poland, 2004.

2005-11-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

On the event of the 1980s

Well, I had the misfortune of, last night, watching again "Top Gun", that, uhm, classic movie from the eighties featuring Tom Cruise, Dr. Mark-who-loves-dr-Lewis and some chick with a really ugly haircut.

And, well, it sucked. Like everything from the 80s sucked, of course (except for thrash metal, Adidas, Centurions, Dungeons and Dragons and Transformers). I still don't understand this revival wave that's been shocking the whole Planet Earth in the past few years...

I have to be honest and say that, yeah, I used to like the movie back then. As I also liked Thundercats and other crap like He-Man, that were all the time on our daily TV shows presented by the usual "stupid girl who makes small kids desire sex desperately" .

Oh, God (or whatever ancient pagan deity from Lithuania it might be), protect us from those clichés that they started at that time... they knew nothing about it.

Blessed were the 90s!

Iki again.

2005-11-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

Great Pix pt. I - My nephew Gabriel and his mom, Juliana. My brother Tom, the father, is not in the pic because he's too ugly to spoil my lovely blog.

2005-11-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Weird Pix, pt. II - Feelin' cold in the Andes. From
left to right, Luís, me and Igor. Argentina, 2004.

2005-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

Weird Pix, pt. I - Helsinki and its homeless.

2005-11-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

Work sucks. And T-Rex is quite cool (Jeepster is playing in the coolest web radio station ever, www.woxy.com).

And check out Jotinha's picture album from a few of the stops in the Sanja City World Tour 2005.

Cheers, dudes.

2005-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Bowling for Poznan. August 2005.

2005-11-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am, back in the world of silly virtual confessions and stupid thought sharing. Turns out that, since I got back home, doing nothing has been my favourite past-time, so actually writing something may turn out to be a good idea.

Of course being back to my old job doesn't help - writing isn't much related to what I do there, even tho it's a newspaper and I'm a journalist. Actually, to be even more honest, I'm losing all my passion for the thing... Maybe becoming a professional traveller would suffice in the way I expect things to be? :)

On the title of this stupid thing, I stole it from a book by argentinian writer Ernesto Sabato. Quite a good one, I'd say. Dark and creepy, just like you don't want things to be like. Luckly for me they aren't like that at the moment.

And I can't stop thinking about Lithuania and Poland. What the hell attracted me so much to those places, which never in my live I'd have thought about visiting if not for... uhm... if not for... well, whatever. I still have no idea why I went there (actually, it was my second time in Poland, since I loved it so much when I was there last year). Maybe after a few more times that I have visited those places again I'll finally understand "why the fuck"... :) But, you know, as always. it was probably all about the people.

Iki.