My Factory of Extravagant Marvels

Pentâmetro iâmbico

2012-01-04T10:28:00.000-05:00

Útil pra quem anda lendo Shakespeare:

O pentâmetro jâmbico (ou iâmbico) é um tipo de metro da poesia originário do grego e muito difundido no inglês e no alemão. Ele consiste de cinco jambos - uma sílaba fraca e curta seguida por outra forte e mais longa - consecutivos. Um exemplo disso em Shakespeare pode ser observado no ritmo deste verso:

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Shall / I / com / pare / thee / to / a / sum /mer's / day?
Shall (fraco) / I (forte) / com (fraco) / pare (forte) / thee (fraco) / to (forte) / a (fraco) / sum (forte) / mer's (fraco) / day? (forte)

A batida dos versos quando lidos em voz alta parece a de um tambor ou de uma marcha:

da / DUM / da / DUM / da / DUM / da / DUM / da / DUM
(fraco / Forte / fraco / Forte / fraco / Forte / fraco / Forte / fraco / Forte)

Fonte: http://www.jorwiki.usp.br/gdmat05/index.php/Pent%C3%A2metros_j%C3%A2mbicos

Sobre a violência policial

2011-11-12T12:46:00.001-05:00

Como não entro muito frequentemente no Facebook, acabei vendo meio tarde um certo comentário que dizia o seguinte:

"Essa pessoa (seta indicando a foto) é a favor da polícia descer o cacete nos estudantes da USP - Universidade não é lugar de fumar maconha".

Bom, deixemos de lado os erros gramaticais e contextuais e conversemos um pouco sobre violência policial.

Por que é importante levar esse assunto a sério?

Muitas vezes, cidadãos que se consideram dentro da lei desdenham notícias sobre protestos em favor da democracia e contra a violência policial. É fácil entender o raciocínio dessas pessoas: a polícia existe pra defender os bons cidadãos e para punir àqueles que não cumprem a lei. Muito bem, muito legal. O problema começa quando a diferença entre bem e mal não é assim tão clara. A ditadura militar acabou não faz muito tempo, será que a gente já esqueceu os vários exemplos de que a polícia existe para defender os interesses dos mais poderosos?

Mesmo em países onde a polícia não está contaminada por corrupção, basta o indivíduo ser pobre ou pertencer a uma minoria étnica para que ele seja enquadrado como mais suspeito do que alguém "comum" (leia-se branco de classe média). Nos Estados Unidos, por exemplo, segundo o US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 39,4% da população carcerária é negra, enquanto os negros representam apenas 12,6% da população geral - seria uma grande inocência, pra não dizer ignorância, atribuir esses números a uma real disproporção no número de crimes cometidos por brancos e negros.

Recentemente, ficamos sabendo do caso dos estudantes da Universidade da Califórnia-Davis que estavam protestando pacificamente e foram literalmente atacados com spray de pimenta por um policial. Exemplos como esse nos mostram como a polícia não é uma força para o bem da democracia, mas uma arma para a manutenção do poder das elites.

No caso do Brasil, a questão da brutalidade policial é ainda mais grave. A cada ano, os informes da Anistia Internacional denunciam corrupção, abuso de poder, tortura e outros problemas que assolam as forças policiais do país, mas os governos federal e estatais prestam pouca atenção à questão e a população é muito apática para exigir mais justiça. Nossa herança cultural de anos sob domínio militar fica clara...

De óculos!

2011-11-03T08:30:00.002-04:00

Usar óculos me inspira a ser mais nerd :-)

Como manter-se seguro online

2011-09-22T13:20:00.001-04:00

How an Omniscient Internet ‘Sextortionist’ Ruined the Lives of Teen Girls | Threat Level | Wired.com:

'via Blog this'

A internet fascina e ao mesmo tempo dá medo. Resolvi escrever esse post com umas dicas de segurança pra internet depois de ler essa notícia ai acima, que é de arrepiar.

Segundo o Jon, é importante tratar nossos computadores como se fossem a nossa casa. A cada vez que você faz um download, é como se você estivesse deixando alguém entrar. Se você deixar entrar uma pessoa que não é de confiança, não deixe passar do hall de entrada, ou seja, não instale.

Quando você instala um programa no seu computador (webcam funny faces, emoticons animados, etc) é como se você estivesse dando suas chaves de casa ao programa. Não vai dar as chaves a um programa em que você não confia! Se você usa Windows 7, a cada vez que um programa vai ser instalado, a caixa de diálogo abaixo vai aparecer. Só clique yes/sim se você confiar no que estiver instalando.

Além disso:

- Cuidado ao fornecer seus dados pessoais na internet. Sempre use uma conexão segura se for fazer compras (indicada pela letra S no https://) e compre apenas de empresas respeitadas.

- Bancos e empresas idôneas (Google, Hotmail, Amazon, Americanas.com, eBay, etc) nunca pedem informações pessoais por email. Ignore emails pedindo sua senha ou informações sigilosas, pois se trata de "phishing".

- Se você receber um email com um arquivo anexo, abra apenas se confiar que o arquivo é realmente seguro. Muitas vezes arquivos powerpoint (.ppt), PDFs e toques de celular são softwares maliciosos disfarçados de algo inofensivo. Ao abri-los, você estará colocando seu computador à disposição de ataques remotos.

- Sempre instale as últimas atualizações de segurança do seu sistema operacional. Se você usa Windows, faça o Windows Update regularmente.

- Não acredite em spam, não envie spam, não abra spam. É tudo mentira, a Nokia e a Ericson não dão celular de graça e o Bill Gates não sai por ai distribuindo dinheiro pra quem encaminhar spam. E o principe da Nigéria não foi sequestrado e nem está pedindo sua ajuda. Não acredite em spam! O mesmo vale pra correntes.

- Sempre oriente crianças e adolescentes sobre a melhor maneira de usar a internet. Eles vão ter acesso, quer pais e responsaveis queiram ou não. O melhor é que eles saibam se manter seguros.

- Mude sua senha de email de vez em quando (eu mudo a minha mais ou menos a cada 2 meses). Se perceber que alguém invadiu sua conta de email, mude a senha imediatamente. Invente uma senha que seja facil pra você lembrar, mas dificil para outras pessoas deduzirem. Evite palavras que se encontram nos dicionários.

- Verifique sempre a URL (endereço) do site que você está usando. Principalmente se você chegou nele clicando em um link.

- Se você tem webcam, a luzinha de funcionamento só deve estar acendida enquando você estiver usando sua webcam. Se a luzinha acender em outras ocasiões, você pode estar sendo observado a distância. Verifique se seu computador foi contaminado por algum malware.

Instalados em Sevilha

2011-09-14T15:24:00.001-04:00

Finalmente estamos nos instalando em Sevilha. Semana passada foi marcada pela constante busca por apartamentos, que depois de muitas visitas decepcionantes, acabou terminando quando encontramos nosso porto seguro.

Amanhã vai fazer uma semana que estamos morando aqui. O apezinho fica no norte da região Macarena de Sevilha, um bairro de classe trabalhadora, bem servido de transporte público e o melhor (no nosso caso) de ciclovias mil. Tem também um parque enorme a menos de 10 minutos andando daqui (de bike, a gente chega num piscar de olhos) e vários supermercados.

Outra ótima novidade é que encontramos um lugarzinho pra nadar no rio e temos nos divertido muito desde então. Foi uma sorte, estávamos passeando num jardim perto do parque de diversões Isla Mágica quando vimos uns adolescentes dando saltos e piruetas e caindo no rio. Nos aproximamos e eu perguntei pra eles se não tinha problema nadar ali. "No pasa nada!", respondeu um dos garotos dentro dágua, o que fez nossa alegria desde então.

Nada como um banho de rio quando está fazendo 42 graus!

Pesquisando minhas origens

2011-08-24T08:00:00.002-04:00

Um dos países em que passamos nessa viagem de bicicleta é a Itália. Cruzamos a fronteira suíço-italiana na cidade de Como e logo depois pegamos o trem (ou melhor, 4 trens) pra chegar em Rovigo, a região de onde alguns dos meus antepassados paternos vieram. Já faz tempo que minha tia Marlene está pesquisando a árvore genealógica da família e coletando os documentos necessários para dar a entrada na cidadania italiana, mas ainda faltam duas das certidões e eu me ofereci pra ir procurar em pessoa.

Então eu e o Jon colocamos nossos disfarces de detetives e começamos a busca. A primeira parada foi na prefeitura de Rovigo (capital), aos trancos e barrancos eu consegui me fazer entender num italiano digno de "Terra Nostra" (leia-se "italiano de meia tigela"), com ajuda do meu querido ipod e do Ultralingua Italiano-Inglês. O atendente foi bem gentil, mas me disse que eu precisaria de mais detalhes pra encontrar o tal "certificato di matrimonio" dos meus tatatatatataravós. Ele me sugeriu ir ao "Archivo di Stato" e perguntar lá. Fomos e nada. A única saída então era ir a cada uma das 3 cidadezinhas vizinhas, Lendinara, Costa di Rovigo e Villanova del Ghebbo e perguntar em pessoa.

View Larger Map

Pausa pra explicar o contexto: o sol aqui é de RACHAR! Agora eu entendo porque tem tantos descendentes de italianos dessa região na cidade paulista de Catanduva - o clima é exatamente igual! O sol é escaldante e o vento é tão quente que não refresca nada. Nessas condições, eu e o Jon saímos de Rovigo de bicicleta em direção à Costa di Rovigo, que fica a uma distancia de mais ou menos 8 km, às 11h e pouco da manha. Chegando lá, o Jon estava passando mal: ele esqueceu de cobrir a cabeça e acabou torrando a cuca no caminho. Conseguimos encontrar o "certificato di battesimo" do nono Isidoro Ferrarese, mas nenhum sinal do certificato di battesimo da nona Giuseppa Campesani ou do "certificato di matrimonio" entre eles.

O Jon voltou sozinho pra Rovigo pra se refugiar no ar condicionado do hotel, mas eu resolvi continuar pedalando em direção de Villanova del Ghebbo e Lendinara, pois elas ficavam respectivamente a 4km e 8km de Costa di Rovigo. Na minha cabeça, o melhor era já eliminar todas as possibilidades numa tacada só. BAD IDEA! Quando cheguei à Villanova, não tinha sequer uma alma viva na rua e o termômetro indicava 43°C. Depois de verificar sem sucesso na paroquia local (interrompendo o almoço do pobre do padre, que me atendeu um pouco contrariado, mas teve pena de mim andando de bike no sol quente), eu comecei a me arrepender de ter ido, mas resolvi continuar até Lendinara pois quem está na chuva é pra se molhar (ou melhor, quem está no sol é pra se queimar). Como eu sonhava com uma chuvinha bruxeloise...

Cheguei a Lendinara esturricada e tive relativa sorte na igreja de Santa Sofia - o padre não estava, mas o sacristão era a gentileza em pessoa e abriu as postas pra mim. Ele me explicou que muitos ítalo-brasileiros fazem essa maratona de ir pesquisar em pessoa, mas geralmente eles vão pela manhã (ou seja, quando não está tão quente). Pesquisamos em todos os livros de batismo de 1859 a 1865, mas nada de encontrar o tal registro de nascimento da nona. E nada nos livros de casamento de 1884 a 1887. A última opção seria ir pesquisar na outra paroquia de Lendinara, a chiesa San Biaggio, mas ninguém atendeu quando eu toquei a campainha.

Agora era voltar pra Rovigo de mãos vazias, infelizmente.

Hoje pela manhã eu voltei à prefeitura daqui de Rovigo e confirmei que os documentos não estavam mesmo lá. Por via das dúvidas, eu mandei autenticar o registro de nascimento do nono Ferrarese, mas minha tia já tem esse documento. É uma pena que eu não consegui encontrar aqui as certidões que faltam, mas cheguei a umas conclusões interessantes. O sobrenome Campesani é bem raro nessa região, vários padres fizeram esse comentário. Olhando na internet, eu descobri que esse nome tem origem na região de Vicenza, então minha conclusão é de que provavelmente a nona deve ter nascido por essas bandas de lá. E provavelmente o casamento foi por esses lados também... Não que isso ajude muito, pois eu não poderei ir em pessoa a Vicenza pra perguntar, mas talvez eu consiga perguntar por telefone, se conseguir melhorar meu (pseudo)italiano.

É isso, depois eu vou fazer um update nesse post com as fotos do livro de registros de batismo onde consta o nome do nono Isidoro Ferrarese. Apesar de inútil, ver a inscrição do nome dele datando de 1859 foi um momento histórico. E o padre de Costa di Rovigo foi muito legal com a gente. Ele nos deu água gelada, ameixas geladinhas e um lanchinho pra comer no caminho. Além de tudo, ele ainda deu um boné pro Jon usar no caminho de volta.

PS: o Jon estava tão grogue voltando sozinho de Costa di Rovigo que ele teve tontura acabou indo parar no canteiro lateral de bicicleta e tudo. Ainda bem que não aconteceu nada de grave, só deu uma raladinha no cotovelo. O coitado está traumatizado com o calor...

Explorando a Europa de bicicleta

2011-08-15T13:15:00.001-04:00

Resolvi atender aos pedidos da minha mãe e escrever esse post em português. Estamos agora na cidade de Luzerna, na região central da Suiça, pertinho dos pés dos alpes. Amanhã a gente começa a subidona, que deve durar 3 ou 4 dias.

Nosso caminho passará pelo Passo de São Gotardo, situado a 2109 metros de altitude. Esse passo é conhecido desde a antiguidade, mas só começou a ser empregado com frequência a partir do século 13, quando a primeira ponte cruzando o rio Reuss foi construida. Chamada de Ponte do Diabo, ela é uma entre várias pontes cuja construção o povo diz ser obra do diabo; diz a lenda que a construção de uma ponte naquela região era muito difícil. O diabo concordou em construir a ponte, mas em troca, queria a alma do primeiro que atravessasse. O habitantes locais concordaram, mas pregaram uma peça no dito-cujo: fizeram um bode atravessar primeiro que todo mundo e o diabo ficou a ver navios.

View Larger Map

Mais novidades em breve, beijos e fui!

In Senegal, part 2

2011-08-15T12:54:00.001-04:00

Ian was a bit anxious to go to his village because he had to take care of the well he was building with the villagers, so we took the earliest Neokolo lines truck-bus to Salemata that we could get. We got off the bus at Diarapont, the bridge that lends its name to the village where Ian works. The driver climbed up on top of the bus and untied our bikes, then handed them down. We got on and started riding the 3 km to the village, but halfway there Ian stopped to talk to an old man we were passing on the road. It turns out that Ian's (village) grandmother had died, just two days before, and the funeral had been yesterday. She was the oldest woman in the village, and was more or less the matriarch of the place. In fact, she was far older than the village, which has only been around for about 35-40 years. She was one of the adults who initially came down the mountains from Guinea to found the place.

Not long after we arrived, a visitor arrived at the family compound to pay his respects, the first of many who would come to do so while we were there. He had rode on his motorcycle, on the treacherous and difficult gravel road down the mountain, but as soon as he arrived, he got off his bike, fell to his knees, and started wailing. The family members came and started crying and wailing with him, joining him on the ground, holding each other and rocking back and forth. Eventually it settled down, and the people sat in groups, mostly talking sadly and quietly, but with the occasional burst of laughter. I didn't need Ian's translation to realize that they were reminiscing and telling each other stories about the deceased; some things are universal. Ian told us that this is normal for a Pular funeral: they usually spend 1 day in abject mourning, but then quickly return to normal. The difference here was that because the woman was so important to people in other places, mourners were arriving all week, prolonging the bereavement.

After the family and the new visitor had talked together for a while, we were invited to join them for dinner. This is when we got our first taste of truly typical Senegalese food.

It was terrible.

It was rice with peanut sauce, and I will share the recipe here in case anyone wants to try a little taste of the Senegalese countryside at home:

Ingredients:

White Rice
Peanuts

1. Shell peanuts, then grind them into a very fine paste/liquid. You can skip this step by purchasing unflavoured, unsalted, sugar free peanut butter.
2. Cook rice.
3. Heat up peanut butter.
4. Put rice in a huge bowl, then pour hot peanut butter on top.
5. Serve.

Note: I do not recommend actually trying this at home. It's exactly as good as it sounds.

To be continued...

From the road

2011-07-27T07:25:00.000-04:00

I know I still have to post about the second part of the Senegal trip, but you will have to be patient for now until we have access to electricity and internet for the computer. For now, you can follow my tweets about our bike trip from Brussels to Barcelona (sometimes in Portuguese, sometimes in English) on the left column of this page or by following natperez on Twitter.

HAT Tournament | AUM - Association de Ultimate de Montréal

2011-07-13T18:10:00.000-04:00

HAT Tournament | AUM - Association de Ultimate de Montréal

Awesome!

In Senegal, part 1 - Dakar, Jinack, The Gambia and arrival in Kedougou

2011-07-11T10:34:00.001-04:00

Jon and I recently came back from an adventure trip in Senegal, where we went to visit our friend Ian, who's a Peace Corps volunteer there. When we landed in Dakar on the evening of June 14th, Ian came to pick us up at the airport with a couple of his PC friends - Frank and Emily. The adventure started right away: getting out of the airport is insane, there is an incredible number of people offering to sell taxi rides, food, help... It' s a bit overwhelming. Jon was reluctant to shake hands with this unknown man who came up to him smiling and holding his hand up, but then thought it was OK when Ian greeted him warmly: I'm his friend, said the guy, don't worry. Jon then went ahead and shook the guy's hand, but almost lost his engagement ring (it turned out that Ian had never seen the man in his life - the unknown guy was just bluffing to try and get the ring).

We sneaked in at Fana Hotel for the first couple of nights, making sure to mingle among the PC volunteers that were there for a conference. Nobody noticed the two extra toubabs and we got a free ride. After Ian was done with the conference, we headed to Jinack with Richard, Frank, Jason (PC volunteers as well) and Skipper, Richard's super fun dad. We had a mighty good time staying at the Jinack Lodge - they are called "purveyors of tranquility" for a reason. Fun, beach, heat, more fun, good food, etc. We enjoyed ourselves.

From Jinack we headed to Banjul, in The Gambia. Since we did not have the necessary visa to enter the country legally, we decided to use the back door and just crossed over by boat from Jinack. It was a pleasant 45 min trip that took us to the back of the Albert Market in Banjul. I must tell you, this market is one of the poorest places I have ever seen. It was very sad to see a woman breastfeeding a baby among a bunch of garbage ornate with buzzing flies.

Once we were out of the market area, the poverty was a little less striking, but present nonetheless. It was lunch time and we decided to eat "Tcheb" from a street cart. Little did we know that it was the begining of our nightmares... Don't take me wrong, the food was quite tasty, but eating there cost me several days of severe vomiting and diarrea over the course of the whole trip. And it was too bad too, because I had been really careful to drink only potable water. Alas, the bug caught me anyways. The good thing is that I only got sick the next day, so I could visit a couple cities in the Gambia, including Senegambia, Saracunda and Banjul.

In Saracunda, I visited a polygamous family for the first time, when we went to have lunch at Sherrif's (I wonder if that's how it's spelled), Skipper's friend from a long time ago. Sherrif is a guy who traveled the world quite a bit; he even lived in Canada for a while. Anyways, he is currently back in Saracunda, where he is the head of his house, living with his many wives and kids. He is the financial provider for 18 children of his own (with the 4 different wives) and he is responsible for his deceased brother's wives and kids as well. I can only imagine that he must have a tough time with the "dépenses", as they call it. The wives don't have it any easier, though. Judging by the clothes line that was stretched across the compound, they must spend hours at a time washing the clothes by hand, with water they fetch from a well that is also in the middle of the yard. Caring for the children, cooking, cleaning the house, etc, must take all of their time.

I was already starting to feel sick from the street Tcheb when we went to visit them, but I still had a little bit of energy to dance with the kids. They were real sweethearts, dancing away the afternoon to the music playing on the big brother's cellphone.

To exit The Gambia we also had to cross by boat, because otherwise we would have to pay for the visa on our way out. That boat trip was extremely hard for me and my upset stomach. By the time we got to the other side, I could barely walk. It would take 2 miserable nights before I was back on my feet and could continue traveling. Once I was feeling a bit better, we headed to Kedougou, via Kaolac and Tabacounda. Kaolac is extremely dirty and smelly, but Tabacounda seemed to me like paradise because I could finally lie down. We ended up waking up super early with the roosters and prayers, but that was OK because we got a sweet ride from a PC employee down to Kedougou. I tell you, an air conditioned pick up truck equipped with seat belts beats by far the trips in the infamous "set places".

To be continued...

Why Does Everything Have to Be So Bloody Complicated? « Adventures in Boogieville

2011-06-10T12:21:00.000-04:00

Why Does Everything Have to Be So Bloody Complicated? « Adventures in Boogieville

My mom often told us sad stories about how my grandma protected my uncle Gilmar more than my aunt Tânia and herself. The post above brings light to similar situations happening in India, but in a whole different degree... how sad.

Dilma Rousseff suspends anti-homophobia campaign

2011-06-07T09:36:00.002-04:00

I wrote this for www.todomundofeminista.com:

Brazilian leader suspends anti-homophobia campaign - Boston.com

This decision was made a couple of weeks ago, but I still think it's important to comment. This is a perfect example to illustrate why public policy should not be influenced by religious beliefs. Dilma Rousseff, a usually open minded and inclusive leader, let herself be influenced by the evangelical front of the federal representatives (bancada religiosa) and suspended the campaign to raise awareness about homophobia.

Of course everybody wants the videos and written material to be appropriate to school aged kids. We are talking about raising awareness here, teaching kids that homophobia has no place in a democracy. Nobody is trying to convert them into gays -- the idea is to let them choose. The president said in an collective interview that the government supports efforts against homophobia, but that it has no place in "advertising sexual options".

The videos are completely harmless in my opinion. If there is any fault with them, is that they are a little cheese. But nobody is looking for prize winning direction of photography here.

The president failed. A rare occasion of learning about sexual diversity was denied to teenagers from all over Brazil.

Isso aqui me deixou inspirada...

2011-04-17T12:28:00.002-04:00

Melhor do jogo, Michael comemora a vitória e pede a música: ‘I will survive’ | globoesporte.com

Que alegria me deu ver essa notícia. A homofobia é um dos problemas brasileiros dos que eu mais reclamo e é com muito orgulho que eu soube da história do Michael. Eu tiro meu chapéu pro meu povo! Esse foi um raro sinal de real solidariedade para com os homosexuais em geral, um passo que eu espero vire moda e contagie toda a população.

Nenhuma forma de preconceito deve ter vez. Parabéns torcedores do Vôlei Futuro. Vocês deram um exemplo a ser seguido por toda nossa sociedade.

Isso aqui me deixou inspirada, depois falo mais...

2011-04-17T12:28:00.000-04:00

Melhor do jogo, Michael comemora a vitória e pede a música: ‘I will survive’ | globoesporte.com

A quote from Paulo Freire

2011-04-15T05:23:00.000-04:00

Curiosity about the object of knowledge and the willingness and openness to engage theoretical readings and discussions is fundamental. However, I am not suggesting an over-celebration of theory. We must not negate practice for the sake of theory. To do so would reduce theory to a pure verbalism or intellectualism. By the same token, to negate theory for the sake of practice, as in the use of dialogue as conversation, is to run the risk of losing oneself in the disconnectedness of practice. It is for this reason that I never advocate either a theoretic elitism or a practice ungrounded in theory, but the unity between theory and practice. In order to achieve this unity, one must have an epistemological curiosity—a curiosity that is often missing in dialogue as conversation.

Paulo Freire

"A Dialogue: Culture, Language, and Race" in Harvard Educational Review, vol. 65, no. 3, fall 1995.

L'Institut Benjamenta at Ocean Nord

2011-04-04T08:17:00.001-04:00

It has often been hard to convince Jon to come out to the theatre in French, but it's getting better. Last night I managed to get him to come with me to watch "L'Institut Benjamenta" at the Theatre Ocean Nord. It's been a while that I have been thinking of going to this theatre, and I don't know why I haven't done it before. In any case, the visual experience of "L'Institut" was a worthy first time.

For sure the most impressive thing about the production -- at least for me with my limited grasp of the French language subtleties -- was the super cool light effects they used for the set design. Honestly, I don't know if I am being naïve in my statement, but I don't think I have ever seen such solid-seeming lights in my life. I mean it -- it felt like you could touch it. There was a wall of light on the stage, through which the characters could disappear into infinity. It made me think of my friend Audrey-Anne Bouchard, a director and lights designer. Indeed she is right -- you can create wonders with litghs. Just lights.

The first time I had ever heard about Robert Walser was watching RW 1er dialogue at the Rideau de Bruxelles, last year, right before it got the prize as best show. I liked it a lot. Then I saw RW 2e dialogue and it was super beautiful too. Robert Waiser's poetic subservience seems to resonate strongly with me.

Despite the similarities with RW, this latest adaptation, L'Intitut Benjamenta, had a different feel. It seemed to me that the main character, Jakob von Gunten (by the way, the name of the original novel the play was adapted from), although in search of becoming a big zero (to quote the director) still preserved some sense of self protection and dignity. Granted, not a very strong sense of self, but there was in his words nonetheless a certain resistance to the arbitrary rules to which he was confronted, which was not at all present in the main character(s) of the RW version.

"L'Institut" was definitely more concerned with the text, and indeed, it felt like the words coming from the characters mouths came from the pages of a novel. I don't mean this as negative though. RW paid strong attention to movement and music. L'institut, on the other hand, didn't have any sound effects whatsoever. Movement was quite important, but in a different way. There wasn't a purely corporal attempt at communication. The characters moved extremely soberly, holding themselves upright, showing how they were ready to accept the rules.

I asked Jon how he reacted to the play's visuals and body language, to compare with my reactions, and see how much of the story was related to the text. In fact, he also felt like Jakob's desire to erase himself might not be so genuine as the director hints at in the program blurb. Jakob says that is what he wants, but his personality always seem to get in the way. A visit to the original novel might prove useful in elucidating the actual intents of Jakob.

I cannot stop myself from noticing the treatment given to the only woman in the show. Sister Benjamenta is portrayed in a sexy librarian/ stern headmistress look, and her attitude is not far from that either. The production definitely plays the love affair card between Jakob and her, which to be fair, is in the novel. But the Jakob in the play seemed a little more attracted to Fraülein Benjamenta than his written counterpart. In more than one occasion he express a certain jealousy, especially about her way to deal with the other pupil Kraus. I do have more ideas about Sister Benjamenta, but since I didn't read the novel yet, I don't want to risk being biased.

One interesting point made by J. M. Coetzee in The Genius of Robert Walser is that "Jakob’s cynicism about civilization and about values in general [...] point prophetically toward the petit-bourgeois type that, in times of greater social confusion, would find Hitler’s Brownshirts so attractive." I could see that parallel in the Jakob of the play at Ocean Nord, but surely not without his inner conflict.

2011-03-10T04:58:00.000-05:00

Here I am writing my blog post during class. It's OK. I am good at multitasking (when it's convenient).

Rouge Gueule, a play by Étienne Lepage that I directed, was the opening show of the fifth edition of the Théâtre Ouvert de Bruxelles, a student run festival that is taking place at ULB until April 5th 2011. I have to say this was one of my dearest theatre experiences so far, the whole company had a wonderful time rehearsing, producing and presenting the play, and to complete the fun, we were featured on a 2 min reportage at RTBF, one of Belgium's main francophone TV channels (wanna watch it, check out the play's blog link above).

I think the reason I enjoyed the work so much this time was that I felt really free to experiment. I felt like I didn't own my choices to anybody and that just helped me to let myself go crazy. Also, everybody in the company was extremely talented and generous, which helped the whole process result in a fun and smart show. We are now working on a video version of the show, so hopefully you will be able to watch it soon.

Paris - imagens valem mais que mil palavras

2011-01-17T13:56:00.002-05:00

Aventuras diversas

2010-10-27T04:30:00.003-04:00

Muitas águas já rolaram desde meu último post, desculpe a ausência. Deixe-me tentar contar tudo num resumão...

As aulas começaram mais ou menos dia 20 de setembro. Vocês devem achar estranho eu dizer "mais ou menos", mas é isso mesmo. A Universidade Livre de Bruxelas faz juz ao seu nome "livre" no que diz respeito a datas... alguns professores começaram desde a primeira semana, outros iriam começar só na terceira, e outros ainda, resolveram na última hora deixar pra começar só no semestre que vem. Bom, posso confessar que isso não me agradou em nada. Estou acostumada com as instuições canadenses, onde tudo é muito organizado e as regras são respeitadas. Esse negócio de não saber ao certo se eu estava perdendo aulas ou se or professores tinha apenas resolvido estender as férias não é nada legal. Prindipalmente se você acaba de chegar numa cidade e está doidinha pra estabelecer uma rotina e organizar sua vida, como eu estava.

Bom, agora as coisas já estão se encaixando (por incrível que pareça, na 5ª semana de aula!) e a (des)organização da ULB já está entrando nos eixos. Ainda tivemos outros problemas com a burocracia interna e o "bordel" (como eles dizem por aqui pra se referir à bagunça) que é a administração da universidade, mas pelo menos agora nós já somos gatos escaldados e estamos preparados pra lidar com os contratempos.

Falemos de coisas mais interessantes. Na semana antes de as aulas começarem, eu visitei, junto com a Courtney e com o Heli, uma feira medieval. Dá só uma olhadinha nas roupas da galera, eles levam à sério mesmo. Tomamos vinho quente numa taberna, assistimos à uma batalha e a um duelo (de mentirinha, claro) e vimos um show de música trovadora, com gaita de fole e uns outros instrumentos malucos. Eu até pratiquei arco e flecha. O maior barato. E o mais legal é que o lugar onde a feira aconteceu é uma abadia muito antiga no bairro de Forest, aqui em Bruxelas, construida na époda medieval mesmo.

A próxima aventura foi um jantar na casa de meu colega de classe Atanásio, que é mexicano. A maioria dos estudantes do programa Erasmus Mundus estava presente pra comer comida típica do seu pais. Foi muito divertido fazer um primeiro encontro pra conhecer todo mundo. A reunião teve até direito a cantoria com violão, sanfona, trompete... Marisa e Rafael são dois brasileiros que estão aqui estudando também. Eles são um casal de palhaços e apresentaram um número pra gente. Eu levei o violão, foi bem divertido.

Depois, fui pra Gand/Gent (depende se você prefere que eu escreva em francês ou neerlandês), uma cidadezinha à 30 minutos de trem daqui de Bruxelas. É bem bonitinha, tem muitas construções antiquíssimas e inclusive um castelo. Primeiro castelo que vejo pessoalmente (sem contar o que vi em Victoria, BC - mas aquele datava de mais recentemente), foi legal, mas ele era até pequeno. Fui com a Ruth e a Arianne (da Suissa e do Quebec respectivamente - foto ao lado) que cantam no coral da ULB comigo.

E claro, não posso deixar de contar da minha primeira aventura fora da Bélgica, à Maastricht, nos Países Baixos (pois é, recentemente descobri que o nome Holanda se refere apenas a uma parte do país - o certo é se referir aos Países Baixos pra incorporar todas as províncias). Eu adorei a cidade, adivinhem por que? BICICLETAS!!! O centro (que por sinal é super pequenininho) é exclusido a pedrestres ou magrelas. Os carros não são permitidos exceto por algumas ruas laterais. É super calmo caminhar por ai, sem tem medo de ser feliz ou atropelado. Eu fui prá lá com Paola, uma chica colombiana muito bacana. Assistimos também à peça de teatro "A história sem fim" em neerlandês (claro, não entendemos bulhufas) e vimos uma exposição de marionetes muito louca. No caminho o trem passa por Liège, e eu pude dar uma olhadinha na cidade. Parece bem calma, e minúscula :-)

Tem mais pra contar, mas fica pra um outro post, senão vocês vão se cansar de ler. Agora é hora de eu ler e estudar pois tenho muito trabalho a fazer. Até breve!!

Atomium, Flea Market, Fête de la BD... biking around Brussels

2010-09-12T08:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday it was very sunny so I decided to go for a bike ride in the morning to enjoy the day. I went to the Atomium, one of the big tourist attractions in Brussels, which consists of a huge metallic-looking structure representing an atom. I didn't go in because I wanted to spend the day outside and save the 8 euros of admission fee, but it was nonetheless a pleasant trip. The Atomium is very shiny on a sunny day (and at night too, thanks to the lights they turn on at sundown).

Later in the day I joined Courtney (an American girl from Florida/California I met through Couch Surfing) at the Flea Market at Place Jeu de Balle. It was interesting to see how much random stuff can be together in the same public square. The prices are not cheap, specially if you are chatting in English and look like a tourist, but the view is quite peculiar. From old cameras, to China, to 70's furniture, you could find mostly anything there. One very annoying thing: many of the salesmen don't seem to understand that flirting with the clients has the opposite effect than they intend. I am beginning to become very irritated with the catcalls here and there. Oh, Canada, I miss you!

In the late evening it was time to go to the Light Show at Fête de la BD. It was short and sweet, 25 min of fun with tons of Tintin and fireworks and lights and live music. The funniest (but not necessarily the most fun) part was in the end, after the grand finale, they forgot to turn off the displays before shutting down windows (I was surprised they didn't use Mac for that) and the "Windows is shutting off" message was projected on all four walls at the Place Royale. Very anticlimactic.

Finally, a bank account

2010-09-08T08:21:00.000-04:00

I overheard that Belgium is one of the most bureaucratic countries in Europe but I guess I could only believe after having gone through the system myself.

It took me 6 visits to different institutions to be able to open a checking account to receive my scholarship. Good heavens! I suspect that they are closing off the banks as one of the efforts to make the lives of illegal immigrants more difficult, but I feel like they are taking the wrong approach.

For one: if you come to Belgium on a student visa (or mostly any long stay visa) you have to register with the Commune (city office) and get a Permis de Sejour (permit to stay). They must believe that will help keeping track of the people who come live here. Sweet delusion. Most of the people "without papers" (as they say) simply ignore that rule and never show up to register.

Well, when you do have papers and go to register, they are not very friendly or smiley to start with. Then, after you registered and gave them your address, the police comes to your house to see what's up...

The police!

I find that really weird, I don't know if it's because of all of the years I have been living in the Freedom-loving North America, but doesn't that sound to you like spying on your life?

Well, it's the rules of the country so I better follow them. I am eagerly waiting for a phone call from the police officer telling me when they are gonna come. I hope they are nicer then the guy at the Commune where I had to register. I think he has a chronic constipation problem... it must be it :-)

Settling in Brussels

2010-09-06T05:35:00.000-04:00

Good day to you all! I know I have been absent for a while, but you have to forgive me - from precarious sleeping places to intermitent internet connections, a bunch of things got on my way of sending news to you.

I am finally settling in Brussels. Today I move into the place where I will hopefully spend the whole year. I will finally have an address and a stable home.

My first couple of days on the old continent were a little messy. I arrived here on Friday at 7:30am, but for me it was like 1:30am. I really just wanted to go to bed and sleep. Dimitri, my CouchSurfing host could only receive me at 7pm, though, and wanted to go partying after that. Thank heavens that my new classmate Marta (who graciously went to pick me up at the airport with Carla) offered me her house for the day. She and her boyfriend Alberto, both from Italy, were very nice and cooked a delicious Cabonara pasta to welcome me to Brussels. I even took a nap at her place.

In the evening, I went to meet my CS host at the party. It turned out that Maja, also a CS member, was leaving Brussels and was throwing a farewell party. I managed to have fun when I decided to ignore my tiredness. I met a bunch of travelers from all around Europe. At 2am, exhausted, Prestina, another CS, offered me her place for that night. Dimitri wanted to continue the party and I just didn't have anymore energy left. Dimitri insisted he was not going to stay long, but I didn't want to risk and I went over to Prestina's for that night, against his will.

Next day I went to his place, finally, and met 6 or 7 other CouchSurfers that were all staying there. It seems that hosting is Dimitri's main hobby - he does that a lot and for that reason he has a bunch of rules for hosting. Definitely different from my own CS style. Hosted by him, all of us had to stick together because we didn't have access to a key for his place. We went to Place Jeu de balle, to scavenge the end of the Flea Market, and did a city tour, which included many shops for all kinds of things. Not really my style of tourism, but fun nonetheless.

In the Saturday evening, I wanted to go for a beer with Celia, a Spanish girl I met at Maja's party. She is going to do an undergrad exchange in psychology, also at ULB. She and her dad had also stayed at Dimitri's before. They intended to go to Delirium Café, a bar that has the most impressive choice of beers in Brussels - more than 2000 types, on tap! It turned out that Dimitri had other plans for us that night and got upset when I suggested going out. I messaged Celia about not being able to go to the bar and stayed in with all the other CouchSurfers. Dimitri is very adamant about CouchSurfers getting to know each other.

Because I was feeling a bit restricted by the CouchSurfing situation (I got the impression that people here in Europe seem to have stricter rules about sharing their couches) I wanted to find a more flexible place to stay while I searched for apartments. It was for sheer luck that I met a Brazilian family at a café who offered me some help. Celia, her husband and Lilian, their daughter, have been living in Brussels for a few years now. They were really sympathetic when they heard my adventures and introduced me to Luzia, a neighbor who was looking for a roommate. It was not something permanent, since we would be sharing a bedroom, but at least I would have a safe place where I could come and go whenever I needed - which is quite important when you have to visit apartments all the time.

Luzia, Lupercio (her son) and I became friends quickly. They are the kindest people! We have been hanging out all the time, with the other nice people in the building too. Most of them are Brazilians expats, from all kinds of backgrounds. We spent evenings playing guitar, chatting, having fun in general. They fed me Brazilian food and gave me a bunch of tips about Brussels.

On Monday I got together with Alex, a friend I met in Montreal in 2003, during my exchange year. He showed me everything on the ULB campus, including a bunch of resources to search for apartments. When I told him about my living arrangements, he offered me to stay at his place until I could find something permanent. He understood how hard my situation was because of his own experience in Montreal. I moved to Alex's place on the Tuesday and that's where I am right now, waiting for the evening to move into my new place.

I am going to share a beautiful 2 bedroom apartment with Heli, a Brazilian guy who is one of Luzia's friend. After visiting an average of 4 apartments per day during one whole week and finding nothing decent within my price range, I was getting a little worried. Worried because I cannot open a bank account without a permanent address - can you believe that the Police has to come pay you a visit to confirm that you live where you say you live? I know! Crazy rules. Anyways, without a bank account I can't receive my salary and I can't just live on my credit card forever if there is money waiting for me here. This last week was really stressful because my reserves were running out and I had not seen one single good place to rent. When Luzia told me about Heli, I decided to check out his place. I knew it was far from university (for Brussels standards, that is, 9km) but I was mostly interested in having a clean place, where I could stand without hitting my head on the ceiling (believe me, that happened for real during one visit).

I fell in love with the apartment at first sight. Super cozy, fully furnished, with a queen bed for Jon and I, decent public transportation close by, 4 or 5 grocery stores around the corner, two balconies, storage for my bike... It was the best deal ever! And Heli is flexible about the dates of the contract - I can leave after 10 months without any problems. And on top of that, he is a super sweet guy, easy going, clean and pleasant to talk to. With the only downside being the distance from University, I took the deal without thinking twice.

So, this is the story of my first week in Brussels. I haven't had much time to go sightseeing, but I did managed to squeeze in a little visit to the Grand Place, the Manneken Pis, followed by Waffels, on Friday evening. I went with Luana, a very nice girl who's also Luzia's neighbor. I will post the pictures as soon as I get them from her.

Be back soon!

Shame on you, Catholic Church

2010-07-16T00:26:00.000-04:00

How awful is it that the Catholic church equates women's equality rights to pedophilia? Compare Articles 5 and 6 of the new Vatican rules.

To put it in plain words, they are saying that women who are ordained Catholic priests (and those who help them do so) deserve the same type of punishment as the sick priests who engage in sexual relations with kids!

I am ashamed of having belonged to this denomination for the first years of my life, albeit without my own consent. Unfortunately, many people in my family are still faithful to this disgusting institution which just uses its followers for political manipulations.

I am deeply sad that so many of my Brazilian compatriots are not only catholics, but active catholics, who look for moral counseling from such idiots as the ones who implement these misogynistic policies.

This is an offense to all women who diligently go to church, donate their time to the institution, and follow the doctrine. Especially because the great majority of the pedophilia cases that have been devastating the catholic institution (maybe all of them) were perpetrated by MEN. Yes, and the freaking Vatican dares say that MEN are the only ones who deserve to represent God.

I don't know, but this God of theirs does not seem too appealing to me, to be honest. Thanks very much, but I don't want to have a sexist spiritual leader. I am glad I choose to abandon the sinking boat of the catholic faith.

Black Mountain, Adirondacks

2010-06-29T10:22:00.000-04:00

We left right after work on Friday June 25th. Gabriela and Paulo picked up Jon and I at home and then we left towards Black Mountain, by Lake George. The car trip, once we managed to get to the highway, was about 3 hours long. Black Mountain is located by Pike Brook Road, just off route 22 in the state of New York.

Our first hike comprised a stop by Lapland Pond for a quick swim in the muddy waters, and a walk by wetlands and two other ponds before we reached the peak of Black mountain. Paulo and Gabriela are more experienced hikers and could keep up a very decent pace. Jon, although also experienced in outdoorsy life, had injured his ankle playing basketball and had to pay attention to each step. That was good, because I was carrying a lot of wait for what I am used to and I can't say that I spent that many hours of my life hiking, being a city girl that I am.

I love it though and want to keep on doing this. I like city life but there is definitely no comparison with the life you experience in the wilds.

One of the best aspects of this park is that there is no entrance fee and you can camp wherever you want. The first night we stayed at the top of the mountain and had burgers for dinner. They were delicious! Partly because Gabriela made them really well, and partly because we were so hungry after walking up hill for a few hours. The Kraft processed cheese that we put in the burgers never tasted so good before. After dinner, we were ready for bed, and ended up skipping the Smores that Paulo brought. It was OK, we though; we could have them the next day.

We put the alarm to ring at 5am to watch the sunrise, but tell me who had the courage to get up? Nobody. I woke up simply to turn it off and was hoping that Gabi and Paulo would stay in bed as well. I knew that Jon would. We actually got up after 7:30am. I went exploring the area, recovered the food that they had hung from a tree to keep the bears away from the camp and started making breakfast. After eating, we all headed down the mountain to set camp by the Lapland Pond, where we had swam the first day. Paulo and Gabriela ended up taking a wrong turn and got there later than us two, the slow ones. Set camp, took a nap and by 4pm, Jon and I decided to take a trip to Lake George.

Following the yellow trail markers, we passed by a creek, by a beaver dam, and finally arrived at a very pretty pond where we photographed a frog and a bunch of other pretty things. But something was unfamiliar. The trail was supposed to be the same one we took to go to the peak of Black Mountain, and we didn't remember a beaver dam, or a bridge, or that pond. After taking a look at the map, we realized we took the wrong turn somewhere and ended up 1.5 miles away from the other trail. Luckly, this trail also took us to Lake George, but it would be 2 extra miles than the intented one. We decided to march on; by our calculations we would have time to get there, take a quick swim and turn back to camp before it got too dark.

Except... that this said trail was much more difficult than the other one, and it was much more down hill (1750 ft descent, as opposed to 1000ft) and it started raining, which delayed our arrival at the lake. We got there at 8:30pm. I was so scared to get trapped in the middle of the forest in the middle of the night that I implored to Jon to stay there. He did not think it was the best idea, but once we tried to head back and saw that the trail markers were sparse, he agreed to stay.

Our map came really handy because we noticed it indicated a shelter about half a mile away. When we got there, it was actually a day camp site, with a few picnic tables, barbecues and a cover roof. We would not be protected from the wind, but at least we would be from the rain.

I noticed that someone must have just left, because one of the barbecues was still warm and there were amber coals in it. That really was lucky because Jon had found fire wood, which albeit being wet from the rain, caught fire much more easily after drying by the left over warmth. With a few wood chips from the floors and a few small branches from a pine tree we managed to get a fire in no time.

By midnight, a park ranger came on his boat to see who the heck was there. He asked us what we were doing there and we told him our story. He didn't have a blanket for us, but he did give us Gatorade, which helped a lot on the trip back.

By dawn, Jon and I had managed to take turns sleeping a bit and were more or less ready for the 3 miles back to camp. Hungry and tired, we walked until we reached Lapland Pond, all the way hoping for Gabriela and Paulo not to be too worried about us.

When we say Paulo, he greeted us with: hey! you also didn't spend the night, here! We told them our story, but when he told us theirs, we realized that in fact we had spent the night in a 5 star hotel.

They got lost in what was intented to be a very short trail. The only thing they had was 2 flashlights. No water, no food, no map. After wondering in the forest, off-trail, for hours, they decided to stop and wait for dawn. It turned out that they walked so much they even left the limits of the park. Luckily, they went uphill and Paulo's iPhone's GPS started to work (it didn't in the campsite) and they managed to walk back to Lapland Pond.

We would not change a thing though. Now that we survived, this is a freaking awesome story!

No USA for you!

2010-06-02T08:16:00.004-04:00

This past weekend promised lots of adventures. Jon went down to St. Albans, VT, by bike on Friday and my plan was to join him on Saturday, bringing my bike on the good old Greyhound to ride back to Montreal. We were going to visit the Hartmans and pick up our new sexy camera.

Everything was going well, I got help from Aaron, Jen and Jack to prepare everything and was able to leave on time. Jack even gave me a ride to the bus station. The sun was shining and there was no rain in the forecast for the whole weekend... I was feeling lucky!

The bus was not very full, I noticed. It should not take too long once we got to the border.

Or so I thought.

Once we got to the Vermont border, I was informed by the border patrol officer that my passport was expired. By 38 days, to be precise. And I had just not noticed.

Now, do you want to know the best part of the story? The border patrol officers who let me in the USA two weeks before that - when my passport was expired by 26 days - had not noticed it either. They issued me a I-94 (it's a sort of an entry form) that was valid until November 2010 without much trouble, stapled it to my passport and wished me a good trip to the Big Apple.

Unfortunately, the lady that helped me this time was more attentive than her NY colleague and did catch sight of the expiration date on my little green travel booklet. They brought me in the supervisor's office but there was no solution to the problem, except to go back home.

That was very sad, especially because I would have to wait for the next Greyhound to Montreal, which was coming only in a few hours. There was my Saturday night down the drain.

Well, I decided not to give up on that luck I felt earlier, and started to ask people clearing customs for a ride. Who knows, maybe I'd get home in time for a beer, at least. The response was surprisingly positive, the only reason I didn't get a ride before asking 3 times was that I did have a huge bike box with me, plus a backpack.

The first girl's sports car looked quite fancy, but its trunk was the size of a match box. Half of the bike stuck out of it. "Thanks for trying, though!" The second couple - from Brazil by the way - was nice enough to try, but I saw right away that the stroller for their baby took most of the space. "Have a good trip, I am staying".

Then I spotted a quebecois couple with a huge antique black Lincoln. No doubt that car has amazing trunk space (I know because my dad drove one for the longest time). The bike fit in there like a glove and off we went - Maxime, Marie-Claude and I - to Montreal. They were so helpful that they even brought me to my door! And plus we had a nice conversation.

In the end, I can't say I enjoyed being denied entry in the US. I have always been wary of problems at the border. But given that the officers were surprisingly friendly and helpful and I got home early thanks to Max and M-Claude, I can't complain too much.

Vermont, wait for me. I am renewing my passport and I should be back soon!

"I would love it if New Jersey was the future."

2010-05-07T12:25:00.002-04:00

Metzger always gives great interview, and he's got one of his most interesting subjects yet at this week's Dangerous Minds interview. Dr. Nell Irvin Painter is on, talking about her new book The History of White People. She talks about the different things that race and whiteness has meant over the centuries and in places around the world, imparts some fascinating information about Ralph Waldo Emerson and Thomas Jefferson that I'll bet you never would have guessed, and explains why she thinks Newark, New Jersey is a fantastically enlightened place. Watch it.

Denmark Introduces Harrowing New Tourism Ads Directed By Lars Von Trier

2010-04-08T19:37:00.000-04:00

Why the debate over the niqab is like the debate over prostitution

2010-03-31T02:34:00.003-04:00

This week, Quebec passed Bill 94, which mandates that any government employee dispensing public services, or any citizen attempting to receive those services, must have his or her face uncovered. This bill, though written in general language, was targeted specifically at Muslim women who wear the niqab, a veil that covers the entire face with only a small hole to see out of.

Ask 10 different people what the justification for passing the bill is and you are likely to get at least 5 different answers, but there are two basic categories that the justifications fall into.

- If a person's face is covered, her identity can't be verified, and this is a security risk.

- The niqab is a form of male, paternalistic oppression, and we shouldn't allow it in our society any more than we allow men to beat their wives.

The first argument is rather easy to dismiss. If that were truly the concern, minor tweaks to existing policy are all that would be required. Police officers, for example, already had the authority to order a woman to reveal her face if they believed it necessary.

Argument number two (with perhaps a dash of racism) is the real reason this bill passed. We look at this custom, cluck disapprovingly, and think to ourselves, "Somebody ought to do something to protect these women. Surely there's a man forcing her to do this--or, if not a man, at least a culture of female oppression."

The problem with this argument is that while it might be true some of the time, it's not true all of the time. And this is where we (finally) get to the parallel with prostitution. The arguments on both sides of this issue are stunningly similar to the arguments for and against the legalization of prostitution.

On the one side you have a well-meaning group of people who look down on a group of people who make choices that the do-gooders think is wrong. When the hookers/niqab wearers protest that they really are doing what they do by their own free will, the do-gooders say, "Well, that might be true for you, but it certainly isn't true for everybody! What about all those poor teenage girls who are forced into (prostitution/arranged marriages) just because their fathers are (lowlife drug addicts/batshit-crazy fundamentalists)? Surely they deserve to live a normal life!"

The (hookers/niqab wearers) respond with, "Absolutely, but the way to do that is with education and assistance, not with discriminatory legislation. If you criminalize (prostitution/niqab-wearing) you're just driving these poor girls back into the shadow of their (pimps/abusive husbands)."

The do-gooders then say, "Well, that might e true some of the time, but (prostitution/niqab-wearing) is wrong, and if we make this type of behaviour legal, we're granting it a sense of legitimacy. We're telling all these young girls we should be trying to help that it's actually okay to (sell sex for money/submit themselves to the men in their lives), and if we send that message, we're not helping anybody."

So where do I stand on this? Well, I think both prostitution and niqab-wearing should be completely legal, but that in both cases we need to look closely and make sure the participants are making a genuine, informed choice, and not doing it because they're being pressured. I can see and appreciate the opposing point of view, but absent any real, solid evidence of harm (or benefit) I will generally lean towards having more personal freedom.

Going to Europe

2010-03-20T13:13:00.000-04:00

It's a dream coming true! This fall, Jon and I are moving to Europe for at least two years. I got accepted to a Marter's program in Theatre with a scholarship from the European Commission.

The program is called Master Conjoint Erasmus Mundus en Étude du Spectacle Vivant. I presented a proposal to study the history of women's roles and contributions to performing arts in Brazil, culminating with a piece based on the findings of my research.

I am very excited to study more in depth the partitipation of women in the performing arts in my home country. The idea came from an experience I recently had, teaching theatre to kids there.

I am very curious to bring to light works by women and about women that portray us in a less stereotipical way. I feel an urgent need to contribute to changing the mainstream focus on sexual objectification of women's bodies that is present in Brazil today.

Brazil has a rich folklore. I hope to get inspired by characters and stories from such popular sources and write a feminist show. Let's see where this journey takes me.

Don't get too scared by the F-word here. Feminism, as I see it, is a way of thinking that promotes equality based on gender - it does not mean the dominance of women over men. It means that no matter what sex organs you have between your legs or the use you decide to make of them, you should be treated with the same respect as anybody else.

Europe, here I go!

Dan Savage is a pretty cool dude

2010-03-04T02:24:00.004-05:00

Dan Savage is widely known as the author of the advice column Savage Love, but he's also a very funny and engaging speaker. I came across this video today:

I think he makes some really good points: we all decide to tolerate the flaws in our loved ones. We might nag them about them and hope they change, or we might just stay quiet and deal with it to spare their feelings. But when you start thinking about those little things you hate as just the price of admission to a beautiful relationship, you can take a measure of joy in them instead of treating them as a burden.

Girls drink tea, not scotch...

2010-03-01T03:13:00.001-05:00

I often hear comments about how feminists misinterpret innocent action for misogyny. Sometimes, though, it is impossible not to see how much my own friends can be chauvinistic macho douche bags.

Jack, one of my neighbors upstairs, loves sports (especially hockey) and we often go to his house when there are important events to watch. This was the case with the Olympic gold medal game for men's hockey this Sunday. It is especially pleasant to attend such events at his place because he is a brewer and usually offers his guests some of the best home brew available in Montreal. But I digress: the problem this time was not with Jack (even though he can sometimes have his share of macho attitude). The problem - as I put it - was surprisingly, with Aaron.

Aaron is my roommate. He is a lot of fun, he loves to play sports, he cooks well, he likes good music (he introduced me to M.Ward, for example) but sometimes he can be so clueless.

For the first Canadian goal celebration, there was scotch drinking. Aaron poured 5 glasses (we were 6 people watching) and distributed them among the guys for a toast:

- Thanks, Aaron, I don't want any - I said, teasing.

To which he answered, defensively:

-It's not my fault. There were only 5 glasses on the table...

Of course I don't think he did this on purpose to humiliate me or anything like that, but I did expect better from him. The cupboard where the glasses are stored is not that far away. It particularly bothered me that such an attitude came from him for a couple of reasons:

1) He was the one to introduce me to scotch tasting. He often gives me tips on how to recognize flavors, aging, etc. Why is it that he assumed I would not want any? Or did he think that I was not entitled to any?

2) I always share my food and drinks with him. I expected reciprocity!

Jack felt bad for not having put an extra glass for me, he even wanted to give me his own glass and get another one for him. I explained that was not the point. In fact, Jon said in his own words "she is just upset that she was left out".

Of course I was upset to be left out, as much as anybody else present in the room would be. I did not want to have any scotch (I was going to have some home brew) but the fact that I was not offered any is the upsetting issue. One of the first things I learned from my parents is to share my food with friends and family, but this is not a gluttony anecdote. It is a gender anecdote. I was not offered scotch because I am a girl and girls drink tea.

iPhone fix - I am officially awesome (or almost)

2010-02-21T12:45:00.006-05:00

Why am I awesome? The iPhone is working again!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my persistence was rewarded: I managed to replace the screen successfully even after all the accidents. Let me tell you the story.

Friday I come back home from rehearsal to find the replacement screen that I had bought from ebay in my mailbox. I was really anxious to try it out, but my schedule was tight. I had only 1h30 to have a shower, get ready, fix myself some food and get out of the door for the Red Bull 3style with Stella and Brooke.

Only on Saturday afternoon, after coming back from the radio, I had time to start my adventure. I was treating the iPhone with the utmost care - I really wanted to avoid any more accidents with the tiny cables. I managed to put the screen and metal support back together, but I had been too gentle with the cables, they would not easily connect to their sockets and I was afraid to apply pressure. When I tested the phone, it was completely dead. Back to the beginning.

This morning I saw Jon online and asked him how the heck I was supposed to connect the cables. He said "press until you hear click" (which is indeed the sound most connections do, when you manage them). I felt better about applying pressure on the thing.

The new attempt was very complicated. The cables are so close together in the phone that it is really tricky to have all of them correctly placed at the same time. I tried a bunch of approaches and finally "click, click, click"!

I connected the phone to the wall (it was out of batteries) and wait - tchanan! The little pineapple (it's jailbroken) appeared on the screen for my total bliss and I started screaming with joy (and startled Déjà). I did a bunch of tests, that turned out successful, apart from one. That is where the "almost awesome" comes in. The phone works, connects to the internet, all the buttons respond correctly, it makes calls but... the sounds only work through the loud speakers, not the small ones.

I imagine that I might have left some sort of plastic protection on, and didn't notice. I will have to open the phone again, unfortunately. But it works! It works! What a relief!

PS: for those of you with iPhone problems, go to www.ifixit.com for some great help.

iPhone fix - Trying and Failing so far

2010-02-15T01:49:00.003-05:00

You heard about the cracked iPhone glass in my last post. Jon and I decided to try and fix it the cheap way. I cut a piece of plastic in the shape of the iPhone screen (it was hard, but I managed) and we started the fixing process.

That was just terrible.

First, the attempts to remove the broken glass with a razor blade just didn't work in our case. The glass was not shattered enough, so the digitizer and screen would not come apart. In trying, I broke the corner of the digitizer and then Jon started losing hope. His turn to try comes and we decide to take the phone further apart not to risk damaging the other components. Then it's his turn to make a probably fatal (at least we think so) error. When he tried to remove the LDC, the connector got stuck and he tried a little bit too hard, breaking off the clip that holds the connector together.

It's worth to note that this clip measures about 3 x 1 mm, which makes it pretty hard to handle. It looks like something really hard to replace (not sure even a Genius would have the tools/parts, but we can't take the phone to Apple because the phone is: 1) taken apart, 2) jailbroken, 3) unlocked). OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways, I don't want to give up just yet, so I bought a replacement screen kit on eBay for $18 and will try to hold the connector together with some sort of tape or glue... I don't know if this will work, but I think the iPhone is worth the 18 bucks bet.

Broken IPhone Glass

2010-02-11T02:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Jon's IPhone screen broke and it was kind of my fault... Well, I don't really know how it happened, I was giving him a hug and as I backing away, he started to take the phone off his pocket. Next thing we hear is the noise of the phone falling on the ground.

This was really unfortunate because he has been receiving and making lots of important phone calls and now he can't access the contacts or answer the phone. The phone, by the way (and thank god!), is working underneath the broken surface, but the touch screen does not recognize touch. It turns out that the glass serves only as protection, the actual touch sensors are underneath it.

I offered to bring it to the Apple store to get it fixed, but Jon said he would do it himself for cheaper. I mean, fix it, not bring it to the store. I got really curious and decided to look it up on Google. I found an IPhone Buzz blog post teaching how to get the screen fixed for $5!!!! Yes, five bucks... I mean, the result is not the same thing as the shiny glass screen, since they use transparent plastic, but I am really tempted to try this... after all, if it turns out to suck, I only spent two toonies and a loonie.

For those who are curious, check this post for the complete step by step screen recovery process.

A Map of the True History of Vancouver

2010-02-05T07:09:00.003-05:00

From Vancouver [de]tour guide 2010:

"This project is a local and collective response initiated by a loose consortium of concerned residents, activists, artists, geographers, and others coming together to present more expansive and generative representations of our home city. Given controls on freedom of expression and movement, among other liberties, during this time, we feel it is necessary to record, collect, and transmit information such as Olympic impacts and other unofficial stories to visitors."

www.vancouvertourguide2010.com

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2010-02-03T03:36:00.004-05:00

More at http://www.smbc-comics.com/

Understanding Government Spending

2010-01-25T11:23:00.006-05:00

In a conversation with Mirian, Thiago and Stella yesterday, we raised some questions about how the Canadian government spends money and how it gets in debt. This morning I have been trying to understand some of the secrets of government debt, how they invest in social programs and how they get the money for it.

Well, I find out that this subject is not very simple to understand. Let's be patient.

First things first, it is important to understand the difference between debt and deficit. Deficit is the difference, each fiscal year, between what was earned and what was spent. Debt, however, is whatever money any level of government owes internally or externally.

To make it easier to understand, think of a household: a family with a yearly income of $80,000 dollars might spend, yearly, much less than that in food, health, taxes, clothing, etc. When this happens, they have a surplus (as opposed to a deficit). However, this family might have a mortgage of $240,000 dollars which they are paying over a 20 years period. This is their debt. Got it?

The government of Canada seems to be pretty much in control of its debt - it has the lowest ratio of debt to GDP of the G7. Check out this graph:

Now, about deficit. I could not find an easy to understand chart or text for the most recent fiscal year, but below I will paste a text that I found at www.fin.gc.ca which seems to quite clearly explain the fiscal year of 2006 (although the pie charts are a bit messy). At least for that year, government spent less than it received and manage to pay part of the debt.

Where Your Tax Dollar Goes

For the fiscal year ending March 31st 2006, Canada's federal government collected $222.2 billion in taxes and other revenues. That represents a bit over 16 per cent of our country's nearly $1.4 trillion economy.

Here's a quick overview of where that money went-and how it was raised.

About These Numbers

The federal government calculates its finances over a 12-month "fiscal year" that ends every March 31. This presentation is based on the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada for the most recent completed fiscal year, 2005-06. Where Your Tax Dollar Goes is updated annually, after the Government's final financial results become available. Please note that numbers may not total 100 per cent due to rounding

1. Interest Payments

The largest single federal spending item was interest payments on Canada's public debt (that is, money borrowed by the central government over the years, which has not yet been repaid to the lenders). These payments-to institutions and people who hold federal bonds, treasury bills and other forms of the debt-cost $33.8 billion. That's just over 15 cents of every tax dollar.

2. Transfer Payments

Cash payments that go directly to individuals, to provincial and territorial governments, and to other organizations are called "transfers." There are three major categories of transfers. Combined, they make up more than half of all federal spending-just over 53 cents of each tax dollar ($118.3 billion).

Transfers to Persons

The biggest transfer category was Major Transfers to Persons. These direct payments to people cost about 23Â½ cents of every tax dollar ($52.6 billion).

This included payments to eligible elderly Canadians through Old Age Security payments, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Allowance for spouses. After interest on the federal debt, this support for seniors was the second largest spending item in the federal budget-13 cents of your tax dollar ($29.0 billion).

The other major transfer to people was employment insurance (EI) benefits to eligible unemployed workers (including for periods of unemployment due to sickness, pregnancy, parental leave and caring for gravely ill or dying family members). And funding also went to programs that assist people to prepare for, find and maintain jobs. Altogether, EI payments cost about 6Â½ cents of every tax dollar
($14.4 billion).

The federal government also provided $9.2 billion in direct cash payments to eligible families to help with the cost of raising children under age 18 through the Canada Child Tax Benefit. These payments cost just over 4 cents of every tax dollar.

Support for Families and Children

The federal government also provides assistance to low- and modest-income families especially those with children-the goods and services tax (GST) credit ($3 billion). Since these payments are subtracted from ("netted against") GST revenues, they are not included in the spending calculations presented to Parliament in each year's federal budget.

Funding for Provinces

The federal government also funds several Major Transfers to Other Levels of Government. These payments-totalling almost $41 billion in 2005-06 -help provinces and territories pay for health care, post-secondary education and other social services.

Since 1996, much of this support came through a single program, the Canada Health and Social Transfer. However, to improve transparency and accountability, the federal, provincial and territorial First Ministers agreed to divide this funding into two separate programs starting in 2004.

The Canada Health Transfer last year provided provinces and territories with cash support for health programs equal to more than 8Â½ cents of each tax dollar ($19.0 billion).

The Canada Social Transfer-to support post-secondary education, social assistance and other social programs-gave provinces and territories cash funding representing over 3Â½ cents of each federal tax dollar ($8.2 billion).

Further major transfers included the equalization and Territorial Formula Financing programs, which together equal 5Â½ cents of every tax dollar
($12.4 billion). These are payments from Ottawa to less-affluent provinces, and to the three territories, to help them provide public services reasonably comparable to those that wealthier provinces can deliver.

There were also a variety of other federal transfers, such as $0.6 billion in gas tax transfers to cities and communities for purposes of environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure, and $3.3 billion in transfers to provinces and territories under Bill C-48 for post-secondary education, public transit and affordable housing. Together, these helped boost transfer funding by almost
2 cents of each tax dollar ($3.9 billion).

Due to long-standing fiscal arrangements with the provinces, these transfer amounts exceed $41 billion.

Alternative Payments for Standing Programs and the Quebec Abatement

During the 1960s, the Government of Canada offered provinces opting-out arrangements for certain federal-provincial programs, such as hospital care and social welfare. Only Quebec chose to use these arrangements.
Under these arrangements, the Government of Canada reduced - or "abated" - personal income tax by 13.5 percentage points while Quebec increased its personal income taxes by an equivalent amount.
Quebec continues to receive the value of these extra tax points through its own income tax system, in lieu of cash, while other provinces receive the corresponding amounts in cash.
Transfers to Quebec for the CHT/CST and Equalization are shown in the budget on the same basis as transfers to other provinces. However, since part of the Quebec transfer is made through lower federal taxes, it is necessary to net this amount out of transfer program spending.

Support for Health Care

Federal support for health care goes beyond cash payments under the Canada Health Transfer, and the equalization program.

For example, in 1977 the federal government agreed to let the provinces take over a share of its taxes to supplement direct cash transfers. In 2006-07, these "tax points" added some $18.6 billion to provincial finances for programs such as health care.

There is also direct health-related spending by the federal government itself, which contributed some $6 billion this year. This included funding for First Nations health services; health care for veterans; and programs for health protection, disease prevention, health information and health-related research.

Other Grants and Contributions

Other transfer programs by various federal departments provide funds to individuals, governments and other organizations and groups for specific public policy purposes.

In 2005-06, spending on these federal grants, contributions and subsidies added up to $24.9 billion, or just over 11 cents of each tax dollar. This included:

over $6.5 billion in transfers for First Nations and Aboriginal peoples (bringing total federal spending in this area to some $9 billion);
about $2.6 billion in assistance to farmers and other food producers;
over $4.0 billion in foreign aid and other international assistance; and
over $5 billion in support for research and development, infrastructure, regional development and assistance to businesses.

Other funding went to student assistance programs, health research and promotion, the arts, amateur sports, and multiculturalism and bilingualism.

3. Other Program Expenses

After transfers, the bulk of federal tax dollars went to cover the operating costs of government itself: the more than 130 departments, agencies, Crown corporations and other federal bodies that provide programs and services for Canadians.

In 2005-06, these operating costs (such as salaries and benefits, facilities and equipment, and supplies and travel) made up roughly 25Â½ cents of each tax dollar ($56.9 billion).

But a large share of this spending-close to 11Â½ cents of each tax dollar-went to just three organizations.

Defence

First, spending in 2005-06 by the Department of National Defence on Canada's military forces made up almost 7 cents of each taxpayer dollar ($15.0 billion).

Public Safety

Next, operating costs of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness were close to 3 cents of your tax dollar ($6.6 billion). This includes funding for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the federal prison system, and border traffic and security operations.

Canada Revenue Agency

And third, there was funding for the Canada Revenue Agency, which administers the federal tax system (and also collects personal income taxes for all provinces except Quebec). Its operations cost about 2 cents of each tax dollar ($4.0 billion).

Other Operations

A further $24 billion-just over 11 cents of each tax dollar-was spent on the operations of the other federal departments and agencies.

These included major departments such as; Environment; Fisheries and Oceans; Health; Human Resources and Social Development; Industry; Justice; Natural Resources; Public Works; Transport; and Veterans Affairs.

As well, funding went to federal agencies such as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Parks Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Paying for Parliament

One of the smallest slices of federal operating spending goes to Parliament itself-the House of Commons, the Senate and the Library of Parliament.

In 2005-06, the combination of salaries and benefits for Members of Parliament, Senators and parliamentary staff, and spending on facilities and services, totalled about $495 million. That's less than one-quarter of a cent of every tax dollar.

Crown Corporations

The last portion of Other Program Expenses went to Crown corporations (organizations owned directly or indirectly by the Government). This cost
$7.2 billion, or a bit over 3 cents of your tax dollar. But the bulk of this funding went to just three organizations:

the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which helps support home ownership and affordable housing, received $2.1 billion;
the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-our national television and radio networks-received $1.7 billion; and
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, which received $0.7 billion.

Funding was also provided to cultural organizations (including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canada Council for the Arts), to enterprises like VIA Rail, and to the Canadian Tourism Commission.

4. Budgetary Surplus
(Debt Reduction)

The remaining 6 cents of the tax dollar was the $13.2 billion budgetary surplus-how much money was left after paying for all federal programs, operations and interest on the debt.

This surplus was not money available for future spending. Government accounting principles mean that any surplus at year-end automatically reduces the federal debt.

That's our brief summary of the investments and operations where Canadians' federal tax dollars go. But before finishing, let's look at how these funds are raised.

Where the Money Comes From

The federal government's budgetary revenues came from a variety of taxes and other sources.

Personal income tax is the biggest revenue source. In 2005-06, it provided $103.7 billion in federal funding. That's more than 46 per cent of all federal revenues.

Revenues from the goods and services tax provided $33.0 billion, or 15 per cent of total federal funds.

Corporate income tax raised about $32 billion, just over 14 per cent of federal finances.

A number of other taxes-such as non-resident taxes, customs import duties, energy taxes and excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco-made up $17.7 billion, or nearly 8 per cent of revenues.

As well, employment insurance premiums, which are treated as part of general revenues, contributed $16.5 billion to federal finances, or 7.4 per cent of the total.

And other revenues-such as earnings by Crown corporations and the sale of goods and services-provided the remaining $19.6 billion, or 8.8 per cent of total revenues.

So that's the story of where your federal tax dollar goes, and how it was raised.

Useful links

More information on Government of Canada finances is available from these sources:

Annual Financial Report
The Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada provides overall financial data on federal revenues and spending on a full accrual accounting basis for the most recent complete fiscal year. It is available through the Finance Canada website under Publications at http://www.fin.gc.ca/toce/2005/afr_e.html.
Fiscal Reference Tables
Along with the Annual Financial Report, Finance Canada also publishes its annual Fiscal Reference Tables. Financial information on the provinces and territories is also included. The tables are available through the Finance Canada website under Publications at http://www.fin.gc.ca/toce/2005/frt_e.html.
The Fiscal Monitor
roduced by Finance Canada, this monthly newsletter highlights the most recent financial results of the Government. It is available on the Finance Canada website under Publications at http://www.fin.gc.ca/serialse/2006/fiscmon-e.html.
Public Accounts
The Public Accounts of Canada contain the Government's audited financial statements for the most recent fiscal year, and details of financial operations by each ministry. It is available through the Public Works and Government Services Canada website at http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/text/pub-acc-e.html.
Federal Budget
Usually introduced in February or March, the federal budget presents the Government's fiscal plan for the coming year, introducing new spending initiatives and any proposals for changes in taxation. Information on recent budgets is available from the Finance Canada website under Budget Info at http://www.fin.gc.ca/access/budinfoe.html.
Estimates
The Government prepares Estimates-including individual departmental spending plans for the coming fiscal year-for presentation to Parliament in support of appropriation legislation. These are available on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat website at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/est-pre/estime.asp.
Debt Management Report
The annual Debt Management Report covers key elements of the federal debt strategy, and strategic and operational aspects of the Government's debt program and cash management activities over the past year. It is available on the Finance Canada website under Publications at http://www.fin.gc.ca/toce/2005/dmr05_e.html.
Canada Revenue Agency
While the Department of Finance is responsible for setting federal tax policy, it is the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that manages the actual revenue collection for the federal government. A quick overview of CRA operations (and access to the agency's annual operating report and Internet home page) is available at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/agency/annual/2005-2006/performance-e/cvr_fld2-e.html

How Can I Get More Information?

A multimedia version of this documentâ€”which also includes direct links to other online material on federal financesâ€”is available on the Internet at www.fin.gc.ca.

General information on the Government of Canada and its operations is available by phoning:

1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232)
1 800 926-9105
(TTY for the speech and hearing impaired)

You can also obtain copies of this fanfold and other documents prepared by the Department of Finance Canada from the:

Distribution Centre
Department of Finance Canada
Room P-135, West Tower
300 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Phone (613) 995-2855
Fax: (613) 996-0518
E-mail: services-distribution@fin.gc.ca

Brazil Part I - Teaching Theatre

2010-01-22T11:57:00.006-05:00

November comes, my IT contract ends and it's time to go to Brazil for a break from the weather, which is getting cold every day. That is what make me decide to spend 50 days in Brazil, after almost 7 years living in Montreal.

Yeah, I had been back in this time, but always for short periods, for vacation basically. This time, I wanted to go have a taste again of what it is to live there. Could I go back eventually, to live there again? I was researching the answer for a question that people often ask me. Will I ever go back to live there?

I signed up to volunteer in a orphanage, teaching theatre to the kids. That would give me work to fill my days in São Paulo. Moverover, I was preparing my application for a master's program in performing arts, and I wanted my project to have something to do with my home country. Nothing better than hands-on experience to inspire me to write a good application.

Indeed I was right about getting inspiration: there are so many problems to write about! The actual teaching experience was very enriching, the kids were sweethearts and super-engaged in the activities. However, there was no commitment whatsoever from the direction of the institution, which left me with very few resources to work with. They didn't even divide the class according to age, as I asked them to. I basically had to baby-sit 15 kids from the ages of 4 to 16, at the same time, in the same room.

I wasn't there to baby-sit, so it required quite a bit of improvisation on my part to get the whole thing to work. It's good that improv was one of the things in my program. My class in masks was a great mess, but in the end it turned out ok, with a few students very interested in the craft and making beautiful work.

The saddest thing about the lack of interest from the coordination of the orphanage was that the masks we made were left out in the rain. None survived. Way to show interest for the kid's artistic manifestation...

Anyways, we overcame the loss with more acting games and improv. The smallest kids were very creative, and the bigger ones were very eloquent, but one observation made me a bit sad: there was so much influence from TV in the kids play.

I ended up channeling all the frustration from everything that went wrong into writing my project for a master's application. At least something good came out of it. I also think the kids enjoyed the work, although the final result had nothing to do with what I was expecting. In the end, I was there for them, not them for me. Hopefully I gave them something good.

Where am I?

2009-12-13T08:41:00.003-05:00

It's been almost seven year since I left São Paulo, and driving here, which used to be second nature, is now done with some measure of stress.

I´ve been happy though with my sense of orientation, which didn't suffer from the years away. I am still able to find my way in the city in the most remote places, even under rain and at night.

Or so I thought...

My friend Kleber was kind enough to give Carla and I a ride last night - since I didn't have access to the car and Carla's foot is hurt, keeping her from driving. On the way back from Carla's place, Kleber took Bandeirantes Ave. towards the airport thinking that we were going home. He was lucky I was there to show him the right way -- he did a u-turn and soon enough we were headed to Vila dos Remédios.

Except that 15 minutes later, we saw the airport. We then realized that we were headed the right way in the first place and I had indicated the wrong path.

Sleepy, in the rain, and worst of all, 7 years of biking in Montreal and I still thought I knew better than a guy that spends ours per day braving the traffic jams and potholes of our hometown.

Sorry Kleber, you are such a good friend for giving me a ride and I pay by making fun of you for not knowing the way - when you actually knew it.

Next time, I will keep my mouth shut :-)

SMC screws up again - RoadRunner customers vulnerable

2009-12-11T11:04:00.006-05:00

First, for regular readers of Natália's blog, this is a guest post from Jon. I don't have a blog of my own, and this info needs to get out there, so I'm borrowing Natália's.

I'm in New York City right now, and I needed some internet access without having to pay the exorbitant international roaming charges on my iPhone, so I did what any good geek would do: whip out the ol' aircrack-ng suite and crack some poor unsuspecting soul's wifi. There were (of course) numerous networks within range that only had WEP encryption, and I got down to business cracking the nearest one. It had a name that looked like it was randomly generated, so I figured it was some ISP's default configuration and would be nice and easy to crack.

(Let me stop here for a second and remind everyone that you should never, ever, ever use WEP encryption. It can be cracked in less than 5 minutes. WPA or WPA2 with a strong password is the way to go.)

Sure enough, the cracking went very smoothly, and I was online within minutes. But that's when I noticed something was terribly wrong.

I'm going to break off for a second here to explain a thing or two to any non-geeks reading this. Wifi networks broadcast their names over the air at regular intervals (several times a second). The name actually has two parts. The first is the ESSID, which is what you normally see when you connect to a network--it might be linksys, or Nick's Network, or anything else. It's meant to be something easy to remember/identify, so you know which network is which. The second is the BSSID, which is the actual identifier for the network. The BSSID is what actually identifies the network, and it might look something like this: 00:22:2D:38:B2:EE.

So why am I telling you this? The encryption key (password) for the network I cracked, unbelievably, turned out to be the same as the network's BSSID, with some zeros added to the end. I checked another one with a similar name, and it had the same problem. I can't possibly overstate how ridiculous this is: it's like if a home security company sold alarm systems to millions of homes across the country, then instead of asking their customers what they wanted to use as a PIN, they just used the house number. Except this is even worse, because most folks would notice if their PIN was the same as their house number and change it, whereas most folks have absolutely no clue what their BSSID is, or even what it is.

So why does the title of the post talk about SMC and RoadRunner? Well, you might remember about the massive security flaw in certain SMC modem/routers from a few weeks ago. Both of the routers I found with this problem were SMC, though I couldn't tell precisely what model of SMC device it is that's doing this, and both of the internet connections turned out to be RoadRunner DSL.

So I'm putting this out there right now, in the hopes that someone will read this and fix the problem: if you want to get free wifi and there aren't any open networks, just find an SMC router (both of the ones I found were RoadRunner DSL customers) and plug in the BSSID as the encryption key. Betcha it'll work.

p.s. There's a chance this is a coincidence, or that the people actually chose to use their BSSID as their encryption key for some reason, but I doubt it. We'd need some more data to know for sure, though.

São Paulo and Rain

2009-12-09T06:28:00.011-05:00

Dear Rain:

How are you in this grey but rainless day? Taking a bit of a break, are you? I heard a lot about you in the news - you worked hard.

In the afternoon, you only manage 4 km of traffic jam, but I think the chaos you caused in the morning was enough to make you happy for the whole week. Oh, but knowing you of course you are going to keep on making the best effort to stop the city, right?

Cars that turned into boats and trucks that turned into ships must be your biggest pride. It's not everywhere that we can see amphibious vehicles going around -- such innovation. You must love it.

I also heard that you did some pretty crazy work in a favela in Santana do Parnaíba, transforming the houses in slip-slides... Four children died, though, did you know that? Oh, I see, collateral damage for your adventures? Don't you care for the parents' pain?

I know you were here before us and nothing was wrong until we made the place water proof, but people need to go places in their cars, what can we do?

What? You don't like the work they are doing at marginal ? But they have to build 3 extra lanes so the traffic jams can stop happening... even if it's only going to work until 2013. And only if you are not around, because with the river overflowing, the extra space will not help much.

Can't you just give us a break?

I see, you are not going to stop falling in São Paulo, no matter how nicely we ask.

You know what? We are not stopping either, did you know that? You got here first, but we are many! We have cars and trucks and factories and we want to stay in the city! We want to drive our cars. We want to go shopping in our cars.

And don't you dare telling us to take the metro! Are you crazy? We hate feeling like we are sardines in the train. We want to drive alone, burn as much gas and pave as much land as we want. You are not going to stop us -- just try it!

Until you can rain so hard that you flood the whole city and drown all of us, we will not stop! We have rights! We have the right to destroy this ecosystem, as we did, and you cannot do anything about it.

Praça Roosevelt

2009-12-06T15:38:00.006-05:00

Last night, Mário Bortolotto, dramaturge and playwright active in the theatre movement of Roosevelt Square in São Paulo, was shot during a robbery in the Espaço Parlapatões.

I am deeply sad for what happened. I had never had the chance to meet Bortolotto or the Parlapatões (in fact I was eager to participate of a contest to win a spot in a comedy workshop that would happen next week at the theatre) and now he is fighting for his life in the hospital and Espaço Parlapatões is closed.

I found out about the sad news this afternoon, when I tried to get tickets for the play "O papa e a bruxa". When I typed Parlapatões on Google, there came the bad surprise: the play had been cancelled due to the event and, instead, there will be a manifestation in support of peace.

Those of you who know me are aware that one of the reasons I moved to Montreal is that I felt safer there. I love to be able to go out for a night at the theatre and come back home in one piece - even when I am alone.

For the last 10 days that I have been here in São Paulo, my hopes about the city got high. I have gone out at night by myself a few times, I have left the car parked on the street (and found it on the same place when I came back), and most of all, I have been getting in touch with the rich cultural life around here. All of that made me feel the human side of São Paulo again. Montreal has awesome culture too, but it is SO GOOD to have a little taste of it in my own Portuguese language...

Last night's events at Praça Roosevelt were a reality check for me - there is still a lot to be done for our São Paulo to be ours again. What good is it if people are not speaking Portuguese around here anymore? Instead, they are talking the language of fences, of alarms, of gunshots...

I feel outraged with the violence, people feel it's their own fault. I could not believe when I heard someone say that it was Mario Bortolotto's own fault that he got shot, since he reacted. I simply cannot agree with that statement. I mean, the guy is having a beer with friends after work. There comes a bunch of drugged armed man asking for everybody's money and hitting a friend. He reacts. He gets shot! Three times.

An artist's life, a human being's life is now in risk because of 200 reais and a couple cell phones. That is not fair.

I wish I could do something about it, I wish we could take our city back in our hands again. Espaço Parlapatões and the whole theatre movement at Praça Roosevelt were doing something about it, but they got hit hard. Right now, we can only show support for Bortolotto and hope that we will still be able to go to the theatre downtown. The city needs it. The people in the city needs it. We need theatre, not gunshots.

Pisa no meu calo

2009-12-01T18:16:00.002-05:00

Everybody around here (I am in São Paulo right now) is very unhappy about Robin Williams' little joke on how Rio got the Olympic Games instead of Chicago. Check out the joke here:

I mean, of course it was a stupid joke, but to go so far as to report it in several news programs as the headline and try to sue the artist for making a joke, that's a little bit too much. Especially for a people like us who LOVE to make jokes about everybody in the whole world.

Last year, when the Olympic games were happening in China, Jon and I were in Brazil to attend my sister's wedding. One day, when we were having some "quality" time watching TV (that's a good joke), we saw, for Jon's stupefaction (I'm already used to the absurdities in Brazilian TV), a little doll representing a Chinese person.

The doll was named Ni Hao and was an olympic hit around here - especially among children. I mean, what are we teaching our kids? That it is OK to make fun of how other people look like, just because they are different from ourselves. And even that is not true, since we have a whole bunch of Asian immigrants here who compose the miscegenation in Brazil.

But no, we are not racists... and no, we don't have prostitution or drugs traffic. God forbid someone make a joke about it. God is Brazilian, did you know that?

Feminism in Brazil - a long way to go...

2009-11-28T08:14:00.002-05:00

In my search for a theme for my masters application, I went to the library and got a bunch of random books to try and get inspiration. They had two things in common – first, they were about aspects of theatre that interested me and second, they were all very different from each other. I like variation.

The one that interested me the most was Contemporary Feminist Theatre. It was written in the early 90s as an overview of feminist theatre in Britain. Well, I have never been to Europe before (in fact, I am trying – and hoping - to got there to study) and I am not particularly interested in the subject of the book per se, but its ideas got me thinking...

I come from an all-women household, where my mother was the head, which means I have been used to the idea of “women's emancipation” since an early age. Or so I thought. Ever since I moved to Montreal, my view of myself as a woman and as part of society has been changing. Since I moved here and started enjoying much more freedom as a woman, I realized how much we are oppressed in Brazil.

I really need to study this more in depth and get a hold of some facts, but just from my own memories and from personal accounts from some friends, I noticed that there is an ingrained discrepancy in the way society treats boys and girls, women and men over there.

I must say that I am not proud of that realization. In fact, to admit that my place of birth is so behind in this respect is quite upsetting for me, especially because it seems to reinforce some pre-conceived ideas that are common around here... this is yet another aspect for South America to be considered inferior...

I am fed up with the prejudice and lack of information about Brazil that is still so common around here (subject for another entry). However, when we talk about prejudice against women I have no choice but to agree that my country is, in fact, way behind.

I want to do something about it, so I decided to explore this theme. I finally rediscovered the meaning of my theatre making, the reason why I wanted to do it in the first place: I want to help open people's minds – through theatre!

I want to find ways in which I can help my fellow Brazilian women to break free of the slavery we are in. And I want to be an active part of the transformation that I hope will happen in Brazilian society in regards to women's place.

Is this a good subject for a masters? Where do I start now? More thoughts to come...

Não podemos desanimar...

2009-10-22T11:13:00.003-04:00

Ai, que tristeza, um kit pré-montado de motor elétrico, em que todas as partes já vêm escolhidas, custa mais do que 6000 dólares. Isso significa que apenas o motor custaria mais do que o dobro do nosso orçamento, isso sem contar o preço do carro.

Já que nós teremos que tomar medidas mais drásticas pra botar o projeto pra frente, eu comecei a pesquisar opções mais em conta. O problema é que essas opções requerem muito mais conhecimento técnico do que eu tenho. Dá-lhe estudar...

Bom, como conhecimento nunca é demais, eu vou continuar lendo pra ver se consigo achar uma opção menos cruel pro meu bolso. Ouvi dizer que se pode adaptar um motor de empilhadeira pra ser usado nas ruas, vamos ver...

Segundo passo: amigo serralheiro

2009-10-19T00:42:00.003-04:00

Na busca contínua de ajuda para nosso projeto de carro elétrico, eu pedi ao Nick, que é expert em trabalho com metais, para nos ajudar com a parte de serralheria necessária à conversão.

Como vocês devem imaginar, para que o carro funcione à eletricidade, nós vamos instalar várias baterias que armazenarão a energia necessária pra locomoção do veículo. Para isso, nós precisamos construir suportes reforçados que servirão de apoio às baterias e a sua localização depende do modelo do carro.

Eu particularmente gostaria muito de converter um fusca antigo, já que esse modelo de carro me lembra minha infância. Quando eu era pequena, minha mãe tinha um fusquinha branquinho que nos levava pra cima e pra baixo. Quantas vezes a gente não foi à cidade universitária andar de patins ou bicicleta nesse fusquinha... Bem que eu queria ter uma foto pra colocar aqui :-)

Bom, voltando ao assunto do carro elétrico, eu irei agora dar uma fuçada no Craigslist Montreal (um site livre de classificados) pra ver se tem alguém querendo se livrar de uma carcaça de fusca ou qualquer outro carro pequeno. Desejem-me sorte :-)

A saga começa bem - Primeiro passo

2009-10-17T12:16:00.003-04:00

Ótima notícia, o projeto de construir um carro elétrico está um passo mais perto: nós conseguimos uma garagem!!

Quem conhece Montreal, mesmo de só ouvir falar, sabe que o inverno aqui é bravo. Nós não poderiamos começar o projeto sem antes conseguir uma garagem fechada pra trabalhar.

Pra minha surpresa, minha amiga e visinha Susie Fairbrothers ficou muito interessada em nos ajudar e ofereceu a garagem da casa dela. Além da vantagem de ser um local perto de casa (ela mora a 4 quadras de nós), nós poderemos contar com os conselhos (e talvez ajuda) do Tim (marido da Susie) que é entendido em solda e construção em geral.

Além disso tudo, é de graça, detalhe importante pra não estourar o orçamento (máximo de $3000).

Bom, agora é hora de continuar a pesquisa sobre como fazer a conversão e em seguida ir atrás de uma carcaça decente pra abrigar nosso motor elétrico. Mão à obra!

Carro Elétrico

2009-10-16T05:40:00.003-04:00

Uma das razões que me fizeram escolher Montreal pra morar em vez de voltar pra São Paulo é a taxa de poluição do ar, que é bem mais baixa aqui. Além disso, o transposte público bem organizado e a presença de ciclovias pela cidade acaba nos inventivando a não usar o automóvel tão intensamente quanto na cidade da garoa, reduzindo o trânsito - outra grande vantagem!

Mas aquela propaganda que diz que brasileiro é apaixonado por carro não deixa de ter uma certa razão. É muito bom se sentir livre pra dar aquele passeio no fim de semana, ir visitar aquele amigo que mora longe ou simplesmente poder trazer as compras de supermercado pra casa sem ter que fazer 3 viagens de bicicleta.

Muitos amigos e familiares ao meu redor tem comprado automóveis ou pelo menos tem planos de fazê-lo num futuro próximo. Por um lado, isso me deixa feliz porque é superlegal ver o pessoal progredindo e avançando ( e me dando carona), mas por outro, eu acabo ficando triste porque um carro a gasolina a mais nas ruas significa mais CO2 na atmosfera.

Na minha luta pra viver uma vida mais ecologicamente correta, eu resolvi ir atrás de uma solução pro problema - converter um carro a gasolina em elétrico. Minha iniciativa original - os meus discursos sobre os benefícios de andar de bicicleta - com certeza fará menos efeito agora que o inverno está chegando. (Andar de bike no frio não é tão ruim assim - pelo contrário, é bom para moral - mas a maioria da galera que vem de países mais quentes acaba optando por ter um carro pra fugir das baixas temperaturas.)

Por que construir, perguntou meu amigo Guimbão, se há carros elétricos ou híbridos disponíveis no mercado? A resposta é simples: o preço desses carros é absurdo e um reles mortal não tem poder aquisitivo suficiente pra adquirir um. O mais barato dos híbridos (gasolina/eletricidade), o Toyota Prius, sai por no mínimo U$21500. Já o REVAi, inteiramente elétrico, tem o preço equivalente a U$ 24500, mas está disponível apenas na Europa. Isso pra não falar do MA-RA-VI-LHO-SO Testa Roadster, que custa nada mais nada menos que U$109000. Pois é, infelizmente não é pra mim tão cedo. Há oficinas que oferecem o serviço de conversão, mas além de a mão de obra não ser barata (U$10000 pra converter) você ainda tem que fornecer um carro específico (e lá se vai mais U$20000).

Inspirada pelos blogs, livros e testemunhos virtuais de pessoas que já fizeram sua própria conversão, eu consegui convenser o Jon de que a idéia é boa e agora nós já temos um projeto de ciências pra completar. Nossa idéia é converter uma caranga bebedora de gasosa em um esbelto elétrico por no máximo U$3000. Espero que essa aventura inspire outras pessoas. Mãos à obra!

Um sonho

2009-10-06T00:44:00.005-04:00

Hoje eu sonhei com você. Faz tempo que a gente não se fala e acho que aquele convite que eu te fiz ficou no meu subconsciente, apesar de você não ter respondido ainda.

Foi um sonho estranho... confesso que não tenho coragem de contar como foi pra ninguém, mas eu acordei com uma sensação boa. Aquela sensação de que você acaba de viver algo super intenso e verdadeiro. Pena que foi só um sonho.

Você deveria aparecer, dar notícias, dar as caras. Esse negócio de ficar no isolamento não está com nada. A vida é assim, a gente sofre, aprende, muda, perdoa - esse é o curso normal das coisas.

Mas quem sou eu pra falar em curso normal das coisas com você, não é? Você parece não acreditar que haja curso normal pra nada. Você parecer ser contra a normalidade.

Nesse tempo que a gente não se viu, uma coisa que eu nunca imaginei possível aconteceu comigo. É, eu sei, eu sei, quando eu tentei te contar você achou que eu era egoista e só pensava em mim. Desculpe, não foi assim que eu raciocinei. Pra mim, dividir alegrias e tristezas faz parte da relação e eu estava dividindo com você o que aconteceu. Era minha maneira de dizer que eu ainda confiava em você.

Mas você também estava passando por várias boas e não estava com energia pra me ouvir, né? Eu entendi depois. Muito depois.

Tenho pensado muito na capacidade de escutar. Eu gostaria de desenvolver mais esse meu lado. Muitas vezes eu me pego me defendendo dos outros quando, na verdade, se eu escutasse mais descobriria o verdadeiro problema.

Eu estou de bem com a vida, agora. Com calma, contemplando o presente e o futuro. Fazendo planos. Sonhando.

Espero que a gente se encontre em breve, mesmo que seja num outro sonho como o que eu tive. Estou com saudades.

Entrevista na Radio Canada Internacional

2009-10-02T05:08:00.003-04:00

Teatro

2009-10-02T03:45:00.002-04:00

Acabei de me lembrar como foi minha primeira experiência de atriz...

Sempre que alguém me pergunta quando esse meu negócio de teatro começou, eu respondo que foi na minha adolescência, com o Centro de Artes Cênicas do SESI Leopoldina, onde a querida Carmen Beatriz comandava uma galerinha de atores adolescentes.

Mas na verdade, tudo vem de muito antes. No pré-primário, quando eu tinha entre 6 e 7 anos, eu tinha uma professora chamada Maria Luisa. Ela tocava violão. Um dia ela preparou uma atividade com a nossa classe e foi nesse dia que eu fui picada pelo bichinho do teatro.

Era uma historia sobre a vaidade das flores, não sei se uma lenda do folclore brasileiro ou algo assim. Cada uma das flores contava vantagem, querendo ser a mais bonita do jardim. Era aquele tititi, ninguém entrava em acordo até que um dia apareceu a rosa, que virou a preferida de todos e ganhou a reputação de flor mais bonita. Eu fiz o papel de rosa!

Engraçado, né? Acho que no fundo, o meu é um um caso de nascisismo oculto crônico, que não me deixa abandonar o palco.

Natal no natal!

2009-09-25T06:55:00.003-04:00

Quer dizer, no natal mesmo estaremos em São Paulo, pra passar com a família e matar a saudade daquela festança brasileira. Mas um pouquinho antes, o Jon e eu iremos pra Natal, RJ, pra aprender a mergulhar. Isso mesmo, Scuba Diving!!

A viagem veio meio que de repente, já que a gente estava pensando em ficar quietinhos aqui no Canada nesse fim de ano pra poder juntar a graninha necessária pra nossa "road trip" no Brasil, que será no ano que vem. Mas como umas mudanças de planos me deixaram livre de compromissos nesse fim de ano (não estou mais estudando e meu contrato de trabalho acaba no fim de outubro) eu fiquei com aquela vontadinha de ir pro Brasil fugir do frio e ver a mamãe (e todo mundo, de quebra).

Conversa vai, conversa vem, eu convenci o Jon a pegar o restante das férias dele e ir me visitar lá no hemisfério sul. Pois é, visitar, pois eu vou praticamente morar no Brasil nesse fim de ano - 2 meses já é morar né?

Estamos loucos pra aprender a mergulhar e tirar umas fotos lá no fundo do mar. Já que o orçamento não nos permite comprar uma câmera à prova d'água, nós compramos uma capinha que diz ser impermeável. Vamos ver se funciona... A gente tinha pesquisado na internet uma maneiras malucas de "faça você mesmo" a sua câmera submergível - com camisinha e cola de vedação - mas quando vimos essa capinha na Mountain Equipment Co-Op, resolvemos tentar.

Pra praticar mergulho, é preciso fazer um curso de 4 dias, em que se aprende técnicas de segurança, utilização do equipamento de respiração e comunicação dentro d'água. É importantíssimo aprender como subir à superfície sem se machucar. A pressão da água em profundidades elevadas tem um impacto no corpo e, pra não haver problemas, é necessário equilibrar a pressão com pequenas paradas na hora da subida.

Eu aprendi isso aí na Wikipedia, apenas por curiosidade, mas assim que eu fizer o curso e aprender a versão oficial, eu coloco aqui.

Por enquanto, o importante é achar um cantinho pra dormir lá em Natal. Aliás, se você souber de alguém que possa nos hospedar lá, mande ai um sinal de fumaça que a gente agradece. Já estamos cadastrados no couchsurfing.org...

Art+Culture Interview

2009-08-18T11:53:00.003-04:00

I had the privilege to be interviewed by Natalia Lebedinskaia , for the website Art+Culture. She was one of the wonderful volunteers that helped me put together the Blabla Festival this year.

Here is an excerpt of the interview (for the complete version, click the title):

Artist Initatives In Montreal: One. Natália Perez And The Bla Bla Festival

by Natalia Lebedinskaia

The BlaBla Festival received great feedback from both the performers and the audience. They all felt that they were a part of a really close-knit community event, and they loved the variety of the shows. Many music performers enjoyed a full audience, while some others were much more intimate, such as Marc-André Casavant's Disco Salope. Interestingly, it became very powerful as a result of the small audience: his goal was to shock, and with only a few people, there was no way to hide behind the anonymity of the crowd. He also changed the plan for the piece in the last minute: instead of changing behind the scenes, he stripped down to his underwear while dancing to Rammstein, parading his new persona as a girl shows off her new outfit while getting ready to go out dancing with her friends. The scale and the mood of the festival really allowed him to do what he wanted, which is an amazing privilege, compared to larger-scale events where everything has to be planned in advance.

Would she do anything differently?

Natália does not take on the “I would not change a thing” stand. Instead she is honest: she wishes it was more structured, wishes there were more money available for a bigger event. “With more means, you could make something really neat.”

What about next year?

Natália admits that she was looking forward to getting the festival finished this year. However, after hearing the flow of positive feedback, she is inspired. There are no specific plans yet, but some artists have come forward to volunteer their services and assistance. There is already a group of people willing to get involved and she is considering it, if she is still in Montreal.

Mudanças

2009-07-20T13:32:00.005-04:00

Resolvi escrever em português também de agora em diante. Eu tinha começado esse blog com a idéia de praticar meu inglês escrito e não foi à toa - gostei muito dos comentários de amigos anglófonos que leram e deram opinião e dicas.

Mas eu sinto falta da minha boa e velha lingua materna, aquela em que eu não preciso pensar muito pra escrever... se bem que estou me sentindo tão enferrujada no português que talvez vocês leiam algumas barbaridades por aqui. Nesse caso, por favor me avisem!

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-10T11:20:00.001-04:00

Android Love

2009-06-25T10:25:00.001-04:00

From xkcd.com

Militar Police Inside USP Campus - City War

2009-06-14T00:14:00.002-04:00

"Filha da Puta" cries the student that is heart by a rubber bullet. The policeman is as afraid as him, but carrying a gun, is able to advance while the students run away. Check what happens to a university campus when guns are around...

Adventures in Victoria - Part 2

2009-05-29T13:24:00.004-04:00

Wednesday was the day when we visited the Thetis Lake Regional Park, a region that was declared Canada's first nature sanctuary, in 1958. There you can go for a hike, for a swim or just relax on a rock by the lakesore. We decided to take our bikes on the trails for some extra adventure, which would have been a great idea if we had brought our helmets, but we hadn't and I ended up falling head first and getting some bruises and a black eye. Now I understand my sister Mirian's pain when she fell from her bike head first going downhill when we were teenagers. It does hurt. I learned my lesson: I will not bike without a helmet anymore.

Apart from this - thank God - minor accident, the park was totally awesome. The trails were really well kept and the forest is quite beautiful. We even had a chance to take a picture of a woodpecker. For those who like to fish, apparently you can catch trout and some sort of bass in the lake.

To make your way to the lake by bike, you can take the Galloping Goose and turn on Six Miles Road, which will take you directly to the Main Beach, where there is an entrance to the park. You can also go by car and park in one of the many parking lots they have available.

Adventures in Victoria, BC - Part 1

2009-05-27T14:03:00.010-04:00

Jon and I flew out of Montreal at 9am on May 23rd, getting to Victoria 7 hours later, at 1pm local time. Our first adventure, right from the airport, was to go with Carol, Jon's mom, pick up a shed in Sooke, and enjoy a fabulous view of the Sooke Basin. Then we tried to find a bar to watch the Lakers x Nuggets game - which is hard during the hockey playoff season. We finally went to "Knockemback" with Fred, Jon's dad, where they were really nice and switched channels in one of the TVs for us, but the waitress managed to screw up our orders and over charge... Oh, well...

On Sunday, after working on the field for some time planting kale, we took our bikes and went exploring the Galloping Goose Regional Trail - awesome! It's a bike/pedestrian trail that was built were there used to be a railroad. It took us right downtown, to Pandora Street bridge. We wandered around for a few hours, ate some wanna be mexican food at La Fiesta, wandered some more and went back home for Carol's delicious Barbecue chicken stew (cooked with free range farm chicken). Then bed, please!

Monday we went to the Royal Roads University Campus, again taking the Galloping Goose all the way there. The Hatley Castle, the main building of the university, was the shooting location for X-men. Jon and I took the chance to chill out a bit on the Croquet Lawn before heading back home for some more work on the field, this time digging a trench to plant leeks.

Tuesday was when we visited the Gorge lagoon and took a nice ride along its shore - quite short but pleasant - before heading downtown for some more sightseeing and eating. This time we went to a really nice restaurant called Ferris Oyster bar, where they serve much more than just oysters (which are not my first choice, I must confess my lack of refinement). I had the Pan Seared Salmon Fillet and Jon had the Bouillabaisse, both of them were exquisitely delicious. We had read some good reviews about the food, but alerting us about the slow service. They were not slow at all, in fact, they were so fast we couldn't even start our basket of mixed sweet potato and regular fries.

We finished the day off by taking the Galloping Goose all the way back home in pitch dark - I was terrified. It was not so bad, since the trail is very well kept and we weren't in risk of falling in some unseen hole.

Home Gardening and wanderings

2009-05-08T16:26:00.004-04:00

Summer is approaching and the mood is getting better. School will soon be over for me (I can't wait to be free of classical music theory, seriously). I have been looking for a job lately, but with all my travel plans I am making it hard for people to want to hire me. Anyways, maybe everything will be easier once I am back from my wanderings.

Speaking of wanderings, I am going to bathe in two different oceans in less than a month. Yeah, I will not only go to Brazil for a couple of weeks in early June, but before that Jon and I will take a trip to Victoria.

Jon's family has an organic farm in the outskirts of Victoria and his mom invited us to come over and check it out. Of course she wanted us to help around too, this time of the year is very busy with preparation and seeding, the more hands the merrier.

I am looking forward to learn about organic farming, I have been curious about the subject since my friend Ana told me about her experience picking raspberries in BC a few years ago (she's a forestry engineer and did some volunteer work while she was spending time here in Canada). Apparently the benefits you get from it are not only good wholesome food, but also psychological. It's a very grounding experience.

I am very interested in earth subjects lately because I have recently started a home garden in my front yard here in Montreal. Actually, I should not take credit for it alone, Jon and Aaron are also sharing the responsibilities with me.

We have 5 different herb plants and last Tuesday I planted 3 zucchinis. We also intend to have tomatoes (which were grown from the seeds by Aaron and will be transplanted soon from their pots) and pole beans. I, being a city girl from the cradle, am very excited to eat veggies grown by my own hands. I will let you know how they taste once we harvest them.

Cheers to home grown veggies!

From Questionable Content

2009-05-05T20:37:00.001-04:00

Credit Card Security: Say NO to Chip and PIN

2009-04-04T18:01:00.007-04:00

Picture this situation: Visa sends you a letter with a new card. It has the "newest technology", a chip that is supposed to be much harder to clone than your old magnetic strip. The card has to be used with a four digit PIN that replaces the need to sign the receipt at the moment of the transaction.

All seems very well, you are impressed with VISA's concern for the security of your transactions and you think to yourself: Wow, Visa takes good care of their costumers. Wrong! The chip set cannot be replicated, but there are other ways in which it makes the costumer vulnerable. Worse ways.

See, if you need to sign the receipt when you buy something with your credit card, there is a way of knowing when it was not you who signed the paper. There are infinite possibilities for ways of signing your name, now, a four digit PIN has only 10 thousand possibilities. That is much less than infinite.

But that's only a detail. The big problem is that the costumer is not only vulnerable to the fraudsters (who, in real life would not guess your PIN, but steal it with "security cameras" or card readers that have been compromised) but also to VISA. Yes, to the very company that is claiming to be protecting you.

With the use of CHIP + PIN, VISA's intention is merely transfer the liability of the fraud to the costumer - you would be responsible for the purchase you didn't make if someone manages to use your PIN. Check this out:

The CHIP isn't worse than the magnetic strip, it is the handwritten signature that should still be required. I have used a CHIP card where the card reader requires a signature and I am fine with that - it's still me who signed. The technology is there, why not use it to actually make the process more secure as opposed to just transferring responsibility?

More on the subject here.

Remix of a remix of a remix - RiP: A Remix Manifesto

2009-03-19T17:06:00.006-04:00

MUTO

2009-03-18T10:28:00.001-04:00

Animation by Blu. Produced by Mercurio Film. Music by Andrea Martignoni.

From XKCD: Alternative Energy Revolution

2009-03-16T09:42:00.006-04:00

More at www.xkcd.com

Thank you!

2009-03-05T14:05:00.000-05:00

Hello, hello:

Here I am, with the morning after effect of the big Dom Casmurro adventure – what a great sense of relief! Thanks to all of you who came to support us – it is always nice to play to a full house – even when the venue is small like the one we were at.

Please, don't forget to write your comments about the play (etceteratheatre@gmail.com). Your opinion will be much appreciated, since we intend to present the show again in May 2009 (in French, too!).

For now, the company shall take a brief break before continuing to work on the show. I'll post the complete information about the next run closer to the date, which will be around the end of May.

Let me go now, I gotta catch up with school work (which has been postponed until the end of the production period). See you later,

Dom Casmurro at Art Matters Festival

2009-02-21T10:21:00.005-05:00

Yeah, I know. It's been more than a month without posting... But I've got a good reason, please forgive me. I've been working on a show... more specifically, writing, producing, acting, and making it happen.

Do you remember my first posting - the one about Machado de Assis? He's one of my favorite authors and I decided to share a bit of his wits with my dear public here in North America. I am adapting his acclaimed novel '' Dom Casmurro" to the stage, with the help of a wonderful team of talented people: Parissa Mohit is our animator, Audrey-Anne Bouchard is in charge of lights, Jon Oster of sound and Glen Knorr is my partner on stage.

Stay tuned, it comes up in less than two weeks, as part of the Art Matters Festival at Concordia University. Here is the complete info:

DOM CASMURRO
by Machado de Assis
March 4th at 7pm

Galerie Artefacto
3520 rue St-Jacques Ouest
Metro Lionel-Groulx
FREE ADMISSION!

The play is part of Night Vision - An intermedia art show in the dark in conjunction with Art Matters.

Adventures of Winter Biking

2009-01-10T11:01:00.007-05:00

Although for some it might seem crazy to ride a bike in the dead of winter, it is actually a very pleasant activity. It keeps you active, you don't have to depend on buses, and it's completely environmentally friendly. Plus, it's a fantastic way to increase your serotonin levels and keep you happy during winter. With the right gear, you won't feel cold at all--quite the opposite.

Montreal is a biker friendly city--or so it claims. According to the city, these are the parts of the bike path open during the whole year. Bikers, though, are having a hard time riding in the Reseau Blanc. It's not only that VERY IMPORTANT parts of the network are officially closed (Westmount being the most annoying for me personally), but parts that are supposed to be clean (and thus safe) for us bikers are full of snow and (worse) ice. It's actually more dangerous riding on the paths than on the road.

I had a personally frustrating experience last Monday, January 5th 2009. Riding on Maisonneuve, between Fort St. and St. Mathieu, I didn't find only a snowy and icy bike path, I also found garbage in the middle of it. Come on, the bike path is there so we cyclists have our own road and don't have to get in the way of the ''all-powerful cars'' (who usually think they own the roads). Let's keep it clean and safe, please!

If you want to know more about the condition of the Reseau Blanc, read this Gazette article.

During the summer, bikes are already many people's main means of transportation, as proven by the popularity of downtown's Maisonneuve Bike Path. I hope the conditions of all Montreal Bike Paths improve as they become more popular and people start to depend on them even during the winter.

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T10:14:00.004-05:00

I am amazed every time a year ends and another begins. This must be some kind of childhood reminiscence. Anyways, here we are in 2009 and ready to put all our new year's resolutions in practice - I need to make a list :-)

I wish all of you a very prosperous 2009, in all aspects of your life.

Gail Issenman on Tracking Changes

2008-12-29T16:46:00.003-05:00

December 27th was Tracking Change's lucky day. The first time we received an established artist as a guest deserves celebration - we had an interview with Gail Issenman, singer, producer, composer, teacher and mother.

Gail's career in music has been as complete as it can get, ranging from singing classical pieces in religious settings, to 2 children's CDs, passing by pop/jazz recordings and the founding of her own label, Greendoor Music.

Give it a listen at www.radiocentreville.com (click on the calendar, and then on Saturday at 10am) and don't miss our next show next Saturday :-)

Tracking Changes

2008-12-23T13:15:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I have a radio show every second Saturday of the month at Radio Centre-Ville (CINQ FM 102.3 or 88.3 on cable). Last Saturday our guests were the guys from Barton Fink Band.

Emerging from all kinds of musical backgrounds Barton Fink's sound was glued together because of a big love for sweet beats and soulful melodies. After hooking up with producer and beatmaker Cristo, the band's sound was finally captured and will be thrown at the world in 2009!

If you want to listen to the show, you still can. Go to www.radiocentreville.com, click on the calendar and go to Saturday 10am. It's there for one week after the show is broadcast.

Bush Dodges Shoes

2008-12-15T12:20:00.000-05:00

ACTION ALERT: Yes, I support a coalition government

2008-12-02T20:47:00.002-05:00

I received the text below from my friend Camila who, like me, cannot vote in Canada yet (we have recently immigrated and are only eligible to become citizens after three years living here). The political decisions of the Canadian government do affect us, though, so I'd like to join my voice to my friend's and urge you to show your support for the coalition government - out with this conservative crap!

On October 14, the Conservatives won a minority of seats in the House of Commons. As a result, in our parliamentary system, Stephen Harper needs the confidence of the House to govern. By failing to provide leadership and a plan to address the current economic crisis and choosing instead to pick fights with the opposition parties, Mr. Harper has lost the confidence of the House.

On Friday, Mr. Harper said that Canadians should speak out on the possibility of a Liberal-NDP coalition government replacing his Conservative government. These are some suggested messages that Mr. Harper, his MPs, and the broader public should hear this week:

1) Almost a million more Canadians voted for the Liberals and the NDP than the Conservatives.

In the last election, 3.6 million Canadians voted for the Liberals and 2.5 million voted for the NDP (for a total of 6.1 million votes). If you add the 1.4 million votes for the Bloc Quebecois, which has indicated it will support the coalition but not sit in cabinet, that total vote count increases to 7.5 million In contrast, 5.2 million voted for the Conservatives.

2) A coalition government is both democratic and legitimate.

Given the election was held just six weeks ago and this is the first sitting of a new Parliament, experts in constitutional affairs say the Governor-General is obligated by precedent to let the opposition parties form a government if they can prove they have the confidence of the House of Commons.

3) The Conservatives have failed to address the economic crisis.

The Harper government did not provide a plan to stimulate the faltering economy in last week's fall economic update. Instead they used the crisis to attack the democratic process, violate the rights of public servants to bargain collectively, and end pay equity. Now the Conservatives are talking about holding another 36-day, $300 million election to stop a coalition government and it has even been suggested that Mr. Harper may prorogue Parliament for the next two months.

TAKE ACTION

Conservative MPs and partisan have been told to try to undermine support for a coalition government prior to the non-confidence vote on Monday December 8. We can also expect 'attack ads' from the Conservatives on radio and TV this week..

To counter this, you are encouraged to say, "Yes, I support a coalition government. I believe a coalition government has the best chance of accurately reflecting the concerns of a majority of Canadians and therefore dealing with the current economic crisis."

To do this,

1. Send e-mails to your Member of Parliament. You can find their contact information on our website at http://www.canadians.org/action/contact_reps.html.

2. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper.

3. Attend the planned rallies on Thursday December 4 across the country in support of a coalition government (information will be posted on www.canadians.org).

4. Attend the planned climate rallies on Sunday December 7 and express your support for a coalition government.

5. Organize your own local event (contact your local labour council for information on events that may already be in the works).

6. Post your comments on media websites and list servers.

Me too!

2008-12-01T10:48:00.003-05:00

The big news is that you'll be able to listen to my new pilot radio show every second Saturday starting December 6th at 10am. "Tracking Changes" (Radio Centre-Ville: 102.3 FM or 88.3 on cable) will present Montreal local music artists in a informal setting, where you'll be able to listen to their music and know more about their projects. For the pilot run, I'll be on the air every second week, for the month of December.

I need your support, please listen to the show and call the radio station to say how much you loved it (hopefully you will). The more people call, the more chances I have to continue in the air for longer. IMPORTANT: you can also listen to the show on the internet at www.radiocentreville.com. And if you miss it at 10am, no problem, the show stays online for a whole week after the broadcast. Just click on the right time on the schedule. Enjoy!

More news: my friend Thiago is going to sing this coming Saturday, December 6th at Église St. François Solano (3730 rue Dandurand, Montreal). It starts at 20h and it's free. Donations will be accepted for the church's renovation.

Now, I'm going to sing too! I'll be performing children's songs and Christmas songs at Vanier College's Staff End of Year Celebration. It'll be a Children-Sing-Along where I'll sing in several languages and play my guitar. Unfortunatelly, this isn't open to the public, but I still thought I'd let you know.

Lamenting the Lament

2008-11-19T12:12:00.003-05:00

Dulcinea's Lament closes tonight, after running for one week at the DBClarke Theatre at Concordia University. The play – actually, it's better to call it a multimedia show – is an attempt to give voice to Don Quixote's muse, Dulcinea del Toboso, by the homonym Dulcinea Langfelder.

Langfelder - actor, singer, writer, dancer - originally from Brooklyn, NYC, has been touring the world for 10 years with another show of hers, Victoria. In her newest creation, her talents are all put to work fullforce. Excellent performer, Langfelder gracefully leads us with her movements, voice and wit through the mélange that is Dulcinea's Lament.

The show is a patchwork of several contemporary and ancient references, framed by the projection of psychedelic images and Broadway style songs. The looks are flawless, the meaning not so much. The abundance of material covered by the work is such that it does not allow for a deeper exploration in only 1h30min of performance.

Female deities are given voice in the show, however, never really having their meaning explored to the fullest. The attacks of 9/11 are briefly mentioned, but seem out of context and misplaced in a show that, until then, had seem to be going down the femininity/feminism route.

It is a effective spectacle if considered through the biographical lens, though. Once one understands the show is about Dulcinea LANGFELDER, not so much about Dulcinea DEL TOBOSO, all comes clear. And then even the bare boobies make sense.

My Heart Turns for You

2008-11-05T15:36:00.001-05:00

Boing Boing published this video of a very interesting heart gadget.

Fake Sarkozy Calls Sarah Palin

2008-11-02T13:00:00.001-05:00

Here it is, the famous prank call that The Masqued Avengers, a comedy duo from Montreal, passed on Sarah Palin. I translated the transcript to Portuguese so my friends in Brazil can laugh with us, too. Enjoy!

Palin: Aqui é a Sarah.

Avengers: Ah, sim, Gov. Palin.

Palin: Ola.

Avengers: Espere na linha pelo President Sarkozy, um momento.

Palin: Oh, ainda não é ele, estão dizendo. Eu sempre faço isso.

Avengers: Sim, alô, Gov. Palin.

Palin: Alô, é a Sarah, como vai?

Avengers: Muito bem, e a senhora? Aqui é o Nicolas Sarkozy falando, como vai?

Palin: Oh, é tão bom falar com o senhor. Obrigada por telefonar.

Avengers: Oh, é um prazer.

Palin: Obrigada, nós temos um tamanho respeito pelo senhor, eu e John McCain. Nós amamos o senhor e obrigada por dedicar alguns minutos pra falar comigo.

Avengers: Eu estou acompanhando a campanha de perto com meu conselheiro especial americano Johnny Hallyday, a senhora sabe...
Palin: Sim, muito bom.

Avengers: Excelente. A senhora está confiante?

Palin: Muto confiante e nós estamos gratos de que as pesquisas estão mostrando que a competição está ficando mais acirrada e...

Avengers: Bem, eu sei juito bem que fazer campanha pode ser muito cansativo. Como a senhora se sente nesse momento, minha cara?

Palin: Eu me sinto muito bem. Eu sinto como se nós estivéssemos numa maratona e bem no final da maratona a gente toma um novo fôlego e se esforça até a linha de chegada.

Avengers: A senhora veja, eu me elegi na França porque eu sou real e a senhora parece ser alguém real também.

Palin: Sim, sim. Nicolas, nós apreciamos muito essa oportunidade.

Avengers: A senhora sabe que eu a vejo como presidente também, um dia.

Palin: Talvez em oito anos.

Avengers: Bem, eu espero, por você. A senhora sabe, nós temos muito em comum pessoalmente porque uma das minhas atividades favoritas é caçar, também.

Palin: Oh, muito bem. Nós temos que ir caçar juntos.

Avengers: Exatamente, nós podemos tentar ir caçar de helicóptero como a senhora fez. Eu nunca cacei de helicóptero.

É como nós dizemos em francês, “on pourrait tuer des bebe phoques, aussi” (nós poderiamos matar bebês focas, também)

Palin: Bem, eu acho que nós poderiamos nos divertir muito juntos enquanto trabalhamos. Assim, nós podemos matar dois coelhos com um tiro só.

Avengers: Eu simplesmente adoro matar esses animais. Mmm, Mmm, tirar vidas, é tão divertido.

Eu adoraria ir, contanto que o Vice-Presidente Cheney não venha junto.

Palin: Não, eu serei mais cuidadosa, claro.

Avengers: Sim, a senhora sabe que nós temos muito em comum, a diferença é que da minha casa eu consigo vigiar a Bélgica. É menos interessante que no seu caso.

Palin: Veja bem, nós dois estamos pertinho de dois países diferentes com quem nós temos que trabalhar. claro.

Avengers: Algumas pessoas disseram nos últimos dias, e eu achei maldoso, que a senhora não tem muita experiência em relações internacionais e a senhora sabe que isso é completamente falso. Foi isso que eu disse ao meu grande amigo, o primeiro ministro do Canada, Stef Carse.

Palin: Ele está se saindo muito bem, também, e sim, quando as pessoas nos subestimam, nós temos a oportunidade de provar que os críticos estavam errados. Nós trabalhamos muito mais.

Avengers: Eu estive pensando... porque a senhora está tão perto dele... um de meus grandes amigos, o primeiro ministro do Quebec, Sr. Richard Z. Sirois, a senhora o encontrou recentemente? Ele veio a um de seus comícios?

Palin: Eu não o vi em nenhum de meus comícios, mas tem sido ótimo trabalhar com os oficiais canadenses. Eu que como governadora nós cooperamos constantemente nos projetos de desenvolvimento de recursos. O senhor sabe que eu adoraria trabalhar com o senhor e conhecê-lo pessoalmente e a sua linda esposa.

Minha nossa, o senhor deu vida nova ao seu país com essa sua linda familia.

Avengers: Muito obrigado. A senhora sabe, minha esposa Carla adoraria conhecê-la, mesmo tendo demonstrado um pouco de ciúmes ao saber que eu iria conversar com a senhora hoje.

Palin: Oras, mande um grande abraço a ela.

Avengers: A senhora sabe que minha mulher é uma cantora conhecida e ex-top model e ela é muito boa de cama. Ela até escreveu uma música pra você.

Palin: Oh, minha nossa, eu não sabia disso.

Avengers: Sim, em francês se chama “de rouge a levre sur un cochon” ou se preferir em inglês, Joe the Plumber (Joe, o encanador)...
“it's his life, Joe the Plumber”

Palin: Talvez ela entenda um pouco das críticas injustas que eu sofro, mas eu aposto que ela também trabalha duro, e sabe que nós temos que simplesmente enfrentar as críticas.

Avengers: Eu só quero entender uma coisa, esse fenônemo Joe o encanador. Ele não é o seu marido, não, né?

Palin: Não, ele não é o meu marido não. Ele é um americano normal que simplesmente trabalha duro e não quer que o governo tire o dinheiro dele.

Avengers: Sim, sim, eu entendo. Nós temos um equivalente aqui na França, ele se chama Marcel, o cara com a baguete debaixo do braço.

Palin: Claro, é exatamente isso, a classe média e o governo trabalhando por ela. O senhor é um ótimo exemplo pra nós aqui.

Avengers: Eu estive vendo NBC, e até mesmo Fox News não têm sido tão alidaos como de costume.

Palin: Sim, é o que nós temos que enfrentar.

Avengers: Gov. Palin, eu adorei o documentário que fizeram sobre a senhora. A senhora conhece, da revista Hustler, “Nailin' Paylin” ?

Palin: Ohh, que bom, obrigada, sim.

Avengers: Um filme bem atrevido.

Palin: Oras, que bom.

Avengers: Eu adorei a senhora e eu tenho que dizer algo pra senhora, governadora, a senhora acabou de receber um trote dos Justiceiros Mascarados (Justiciers Masqués). Nós somos dois comediantes de Montreal.

Palin: Ohhh, nós recebemos um trote? E pra que rádio?

Avengers: CKOI em Montreal.

Palin: Em Montreal? Me diga o código da estação.

Avengers: CK...alô?

Let My People Vote

2008-10-28T22:14:00.002-04:00

This article was published in the New York Times. It made me think of how upsetting it is to be denied something you have the right for:

"For weeks now, James Jones has been extra courteous in traffic and at the gas station because he has an Obama sticker on the back of his truck. “Something like that might make a difference for Barack Obama,” Mr. Jones explained. “I’m not taking a chance.”

Mr. Jones, a black warehouse worker, bought campaign signs for his yard and made sure his family had valid voter registration cards. He and his wife cast their votes 10 days early to avoid last-minute problems at the polls.

So imagine Mr. Jones’s disappointment this week when he got word of a rumor making its way around his humble southeastern part of town — that early voting is nothing more than a new disenfranchisement scam, that early votes are likely to be lost and never counted.

“I went to the library where I voted and I said, ‘Ma’am, I heard rumors that early voting is dangerous, is that true?’ ” Mr. Jones, 47, said he had asked an election worker. “She said: ‘It’s pretty well safe. I wouldn’t worry about it.’ ”

But in conversations with about a dozen Jacksonville residents in cafes, outside churches and at their homes over three days, Mr. Jones and many of his black neighbors worry anyway, unable to put aside the nagging feeling that somehow their votes will not be counted.

Wounds have not healed here in Duval County since the mangled presidential election of 2000, when more than 26,000 ballots were discarded as invalid for being improperly punched. Nearly 40 percent of the votes were thrown out in the predominantly Democratic-leaning African-American communities around Jacksonville, a reality that has caused suspicions of racial bias to linger, even though intentional disenfranchisement was never proved.

Now, in a show of early election enthusiasm, more than 84,200 people have already voted in Duval County, surpassing the number of early votes cast in the last presidential election. Added to 33,800 absentee ballots collected so far, the numbers show that 22 percent of registered voters cast their ballots as of Oct. 27, county election officials said.

But amid excitement over Mr. Obama’s historic candidacy and the chance that the country might choose an African-American president within a matter of days, there is an unmistakable sense of anxiety among blacks here that something will go wrong, that victory will slip away.

“They’re going to throw out votes,” said Larone Wesley, a 53-year-old black Vietnam veteran. “I can’t say exactly how, but they are going to accomplish that quite naturally. I’m so afraid for my friend Obama. I look at this through the eyes of the ’60s, and I feel there ain’t no way they’re going to let him make it.”

Mr. Wesley refuses to vote early. “I don’t believe the machines work properly in general,” he said, “and they really don’t work properly when they think you’re voting for Obama.”

Mr. Wesley’s wife, Paris, disagrees and thinks the best thing she can do is get to her polling place before Nov. 4. “I want to go early so that if I see and hear anything that’s not in keeping with the rules and regulations, I can make a call,” she said. “As far as faith in the system, I don’t have faith in the system. I just pray we have people in the polls who will be honest and watchful.”

Some things have not changed since 2000: Florida is still a battleground. Mr. Obama and Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee, are in hot pursuit of the state’s 27 electoral votes, which could prove crucial for victory.

Other important things have changed. In 2004, there were only minor glitches. Duval County has done away with its old confusing ballot and upgraded its scanning machinery. It also has a new elections supervisor, Jerry Holland, who has reached out to blacks and earned their respect.

The skepticism about early voting is confounding to many officials because it is intended to make voting easier and more accessible, and was recently promoted in Jacksonville by Mr. Obama’s wife, Michelle Obama.

Mr. Holland said that the number of people, including blacks, who had turned out to vote early showed that misgivings were not widespread. Of the 84,273 residents who had voted as of Sunday, more than 30,900 were black.

“Obviously, we’ve come a long way since 2000,” Mr. Holland said. “For some people, it may have taken eight years to rebuild confidence. For others, it might take another election cycle. The goal is to keep building confidence one voter at a time.”

He added: “We will have record numbers. It may be feasible to get 50 percent of our voters before the election.”

Still, suspicions linger that something — faulty machines, misread ballots, mysteriously lost votes — will deny Mr. Obama some of the support that he has.

“I vote in a predominantly minority area,” said Monica Albertie, 27, a health care executive. “I worry about getting there and all of a sudden the electricity doesn’t work. Anything can happen. I know that sounds silly, but these are real concerns. We have a record of getting excited, then being disappointed. You get paranoid. What if the bus system shuts down that day?”

Ms. Albertie said she was “on the fence” about early voting, because “I don’t want my early vote to get lost.”

Her friend Susan Burroughs, who is also a health care executive, said she planned to vote early but felt “queasy.”

“You know, you don’t want to get too excited because it could go in just the opposite direction,” Ms. Burroughs said. “You read the papers here, and you know, there was something wrong with the machine over here, they lost the votes over there, they had to recount votes. That makes a lot of people leery.”

“My queasiness is that we shouldn’t become too comfortable with the polls showing he’s ahead,” she said. “It means nothing until you cast your vote, and the tally is in.”

Mr. Jones also expressed a sense of queasiness.

“I feel good, and I don’t feel good,” he said. “I’m thankful to God that this is happening in my lifetime, that I get to see it. But I’m not ready to celebrate anything. This could be a very tricky time for us. I don’t trust the polls. And the state of Florida in the past has had a lot of crooked things going on.”

Experiencing Traditions

2008-10-24T18:06:00.003-04:00

According to Wikipedia, “Simchat Torah means "rejoicing with the Torah" and refers to a special ceremony that takes place on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. This holiday immediately follows the conclusion of the holiday of Sukkot.

The last portion of the Torah is read, completing the annual cycle, followed by the first chapter of Genesis. Services are especially joyous, and all attendees, young and old, are involved.”

Last Wednesday, October 22nd, I experienced for the first time the celebration of the Simchat Torah. I was invited by my voice teacher, Gail, to join her and her family at their synagogue.

The ceremony was very pleasant, with a lot of singing and dancing. People were invited to walk around the temple 7 times with the Torah Scrolls which in this particular synagogue were covered in white, a different color than during the rest of the year. In the end, the covers were changed back to the usual royal blue.

By the way, they have a total of 7 Torah Scrolls in this temple – all of them written on parchment under the very strict requirements of the tradition, by a specially trained scribe. One scribe will usually write one scroll during his lifetime. Tradition says that, if the scroll is torn, it cannot be fixed and all of the people present at the moment of the tearing have to go to synagogue every day for one year! They are very special and sacred books for the Jewish people.

At the celebration, we were also offered apples as a symbol of the closing of the harvest season (celebrated with the Sukkot, a few days earlier).

My apple was specially delicious because Clara, Gail's 6-year-old daughter, chose it for me. She's an expert in choosing apples, she chose one for each member of the family. Hers, though, was definitely the most perfect.

Obama visit his grandmother

2008-10-21T19:29:00.008-04:00

Barack Obama will make a pause of 36 hours in his last days of campaign to go to Honolulu visit his ill grandmother, Ms. Dunham.

I think this is absolutely lovely.

I have an empathy for Barack Obama ever since I started hearing about him, during the primaries, among other reasons because his face reminded me of my grandfather - granted a good 30 years younger. But he's a politician, so I was very skeptical of this feeling. He turned out to have good ideas, so I was quite pleased to know that my empathy wasn't going to waste.

“When [he] announced he would stop campaigning for more than 36 hours starting on Thursday, and would instead fly to Hawaii to visit his gravely ill grandmother, presidential historians noted that it was an unprecedented step for a candidate this close to Election Day, but they differed about the political risks of such a personal decision.”1

I hope that Americans can see how important it is for a big politician to be a human being, and rule for human beings. Some observers have said his decision was political (that he was trying to gain the voter's heart by showing how good of a grandchild he is). I don't think so! Well, that might happen – he scored points with me, that's for sure (but I don't count as I'm not an American citizen to vote for him) – but to say he's doing it on purpose is just cheap.

Here's a comment by a New York Times reader: “God bless the woman who raised a mixed race child in racist America so well that he has grown up to be our next president. What a woman! What a grandmother! (...)”

It is refreshing to know that there are Americans who deserve our respect.

Brokers with hands on their faces

2008-10-19T18:26:00.004-04:00

Check this out, it is funny!

http://brokershandsontheirfacesblog.tumblr.com/page/1

End of the road for the cul-de-sac?

2008-10-16T00:03:00.000-04:00

From The Star and Tree Hugger

Peter Gorrie of the Star makes some interesting points about cul-de-sacs. Owners love them; Gorrie describes one family: "The Bennetts love their enclave. It's quiet and friendly;a safe place for not only road hockey but also learning to ride a bike or sled down a mound of snow in the centre of the turning circle. Their parents all know each other; visit while their kids play, watch each other's homes and sometimes sip wine together on a Friday evening."

He also teaches us the the derivation of the term: "Cul-de-sac began as an old French hunting term: It translates, literally, as "bottom of the bag "– where snared rabbits were shoved, face down, to keep in the dark and restrict their motion."

Owners may love them but planners and environmentalists don't; Gorrie writes:

"Cul-de-sacs consume vast amounts of land.

They create car-dependent zones whose inhabitants spew four times as many greenhouse gas emissions as downtown dwellers. All that driving creates traffic congestion as all those vehicles pour on to a limited number of collector roads.

Since residents spend so much time behind the wheel, abdominal spare tires quickly replace six-packs. A widely quoted American study concluded that people on cul-de-sacs weigh nearly three kilograms more than those in traditional grid neighbourhoods of straight streets and right-angle intersections.

Isolated and insular, they become cesspools of self-absorption and pettiness that turn their backs on the wider world. "People who live in a cul-de-sac are out of touch with the rest of their community and most likely do not know much about the folks who live behind the fences of their blocked-off streets," complains a recent report from the American Planning Association.

They inspire crime: A British study says the burglary rate is 30 per cent higher."

Swing Dance

2008-10-15T19:03:00.002-04:00

Wikipedia says:

"The term "swing dance" commonly refers to a group of dances that developed concurrently with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, although the earliest of these dance forms predate swing jazz music. The best known of these dances is the Lindy Hop, a popular partner dance that originated in Harlem and is still danced today. While the majority of swing dances began in African American communities as vernacular African American dances, a number of forms (Balboa, for example) developed within Anglo-American or other ethnic group communities."

Swing Dancing is a lot of fun and I love it. Since my friend Guillaume moved away from Montreal to work in Abitibi, I haven't been dancing very often - but tonight he is in town and we're going to dance our feet away!

America's Absurd Immigration Waiting Line

2008-10-15T00:02:00.003-04:00

From http://www.reason.com/blog/show/128999.html

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

2008-10-13T18:54:00.004-04:00

More at http://www.smbc-comics.com/

Le Jeu de Robin et Marion

2008-10-10T00:14:00.007-04:00

I was thinking about what to write today and then I remembered an essay I wrote for music history class last semester. I thought of publishing it here because it was quite an interesting subject, but since it was music, I thought of searching youtube to see what I got as example.

Then I came across this marvelous video of some TV show called Robin and Marian, which I did not know until that very moment. Check it out below (and read the essay, if you feel like it). I am seriously thinking of making a cover of this song with my acoustic guitar - it's a piece of poetry!

“Le Jeu de Robin et Marion” is perhaps the earliest secular musical drama known to history. Written in the latter part of the 13^th century (around 1283 or 1284), the work was composed for the entertainment of the court of Robert II, count of Artois. It consists of a dramatized pastorelle (a lyric depicting an amorous encounter between a shepherdess and a roving knight)¹ and a dramatized bergerie (a lyric describing the songs, dances and games of a group of shepherds)², and was composed by Adam de la Halle, one of the most versatile trouveurs of the 13^th century.

Adam de la Halle, also known as Adam le Bossu or Adam d'Arras, lived from around 1235 until his death likely to be between 1286 and 1306. He was born in Arras, studied in Paris, and served in the court of Robert II d'Artois in both France and Italy. He is one of the few composers of the time that can be credited for both monophonic and polyphonic pieces. His work encompasses most of the genres that existed in the late 13^th century music.

“Le Jeu de Robin et Marion” is believed to have been written while de la Halle accompanied the court of Robert II in the south of Italy. The work was preserved in three manuscripts: two containing the music, and a third one containing only words and empty staves. Although the play's subject matter is light—as is the case for most pastorelles and bergeries—its artistic quality is remarkable. Adam de la Halle cannot be credited for the all of the 16 melody lines spread throughout the play; most of them were traditional tunes known as refrains³. In fact, lyrics and melodies belonged in the public domain in that period and can be found in other motets and narrative poems. Adam de la Halle's great accomplishment, however, lies firstly in the blend of those refrains to form the musical comedy, and secondly in arranging some of those melodies polyphonically⁴.

In Robin et Marion, Adam de la Halle follows most of the courtly characteristics of the time: melodies are rhythmical, short, syllabic and metrically independent from the context. The aristocracy's stylized view of the country life is portrayed by the lyrics and by the bagpipe and horn instrumentation. The play achieved great success in its time due to its unusual treatment of its characters and subversive plot. It is in fact a parody of the pastorelle, with plot twists only resembling the standard of the genre. The work is anticlimactic, however, because the peasant characters behave counter to genre conventions at every turn: Marion spurns the knight's advances because she already has Robin as a lover, Robin runs away and hides instead of protecting her honour against the knight, Marion is left to defend herself alone, and Marion does so successfully and admirably.“Le Jeu de Robin et Marion” set a precedent in musical drama. It did not, however, directly influence future developments in the genre, and instead remained isolated in musical history. Although the play was ahead of its time, and a great success, other composers and playwrights of the period did not follow de la Halle's example, preferring to stay within more established boundaries. It is only through the lens of history that we can today see its innovative literary and musical value.

Bibliography

Axton, Richard, and John E. Stevens: Medieval French Plays. Oxford: B. Blackwell; New York: Barnes and Noble, 1971.

Falck, Robert: 'Adam de la Halle', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 19/03/2008),<http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?section=music.00163.1#music.00163.1>

Grout, D.J and Palisca, Claude V.: 'Teoria e práticas musicais na Idade Média', Historia da Música Ocidental. Ed. Gradiva, 1988.

Halle, Adam de la : Le Jeu de Robin et Marion. Bibliothèque Mejanes Ms. 166 (Rés Ms 14) Aix-en-Provence (Accessed 19/03/2008) <http://toisondor.byu.edu/dscriptorium/aix166/>

Rastall, Richard and Stevens, John: 'Early secular drama'', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 19/03/2008),<http://www.grovemusic.com/shared/views/article.html?from=search&session_search_id=651075530&hitnum=1&section=music.41996.3.2.3>

Shugo Tokumaru

2008-10-09T01:02:00.005-04:00

Shugo Tokumaru played last Friday at O Patro Vis, as part of Pop Montreal Festival.

He came on stage barefoot, with his acoustic guitar and a very polite smile and started to play. The whole show was only him and his guitar, but what a show!

Montreal was part of his first North American tour. The show included songs from his new album "Exit", which features "Parachute."

Machado de Assis

2008-10-08T20:29:00.009-04:00

Machado de Assis is not as widely acclaimed outside Brazil as an author of his caliber deserves to be. Among his works are novels, short stories, plays and poems of great literary quality, always witty and still current more than a century after their publication.

Considered by many as Brazil's greatest writer of all times, his style is extraordinary and exposes the many social dysfunctions of 19th century Brazil (and often of today, interestingly enough). Literary critic Harold Bloom places Machado de Assis alongside writers such as Dante, Shakespeare and Cervantes.

His father was a son of freed slaves who married a Portuguese housekeeper. Machado de Assis learned to read by himself, and spoke French and English fluently. He started off by working as a typesetter for newspapers, where he later published his first works. Apart from his own writing, he also translated many of Shakespeare's work into Portuguese.

2008 marks the centennial of his death, and here is a bit of his book The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, translated by Gregory Rabassa. Enjoy!

"For some time I debated over whether I should start these memoirs at the beginning or at the end, that is, whether I should put my birth or my death in first place. Since common usage would call for beginning with birth, two considerations led me to adopt a different method: the first is that I am not exactly a writer who is dead but a dead man who is a writer, for whom the grave was a second cradle; the second is that the writing would be more distinctive and novel in that way. Moses, who also wrote about his death, didn't place it at the opening but at the close: a radical difference between this book and the Pentateuch.

With that said, I expired at two o'clock on a Friday afternoon in the month of August, 1869, at my beautiful suburban place in Catumbi. I was sixty-four intense and prosperous years old, I was a bachelor, I had wealth of around three hundred contols, and I was accompanied to the cemetery by eleven friends. Eleven friends! The fact is, there hadn't been any cards or announcements. On top of that it was raining--drizzling--a thin, sad, constant rain, so constant and so sad that it led one of those last-minute faithful friends to insert this ingenious idea into the speech he was making at the edge of my grave: "You who knew him, gentlemen, can say with me that nature appears to be weeping over the irreparable loss of one of the finest characters humanity has been honored with. This somber air, these drops from heaven, those dark clouds that cover the blue like funeral crepe, all of it is the cruel and terrible grief that gnaws at nature and at my deepest insides; all that is sublime praise for our illustrious deceased.

Good and faithful friend! No, I don't regret the twenty bonds I left you."

My Factory of Extravagant Marvels

Pentâmetro iâmbico

Sobre a violência policial

De óculos!

Como manter-se seguro online

Instalados em Sevilha

Pesquisando minhas origens

Explorando a Europa de bicicleta

In Senegal, part 2

From the road

HAT Tournament | AUM - Association de Ultimate de Montréal

In Senegal, part 1 - Dakar, Jinack, The Gambia and arrival in Kedougou

Why Does Everything Have to Be So Bloody Complicated? « Adventures in Boogieville

Dilma Rousseff suspends anti-homophobia campaign

Isso aqui me deixou inspirada...

Isso aqui me deixou inspirada, depois falo mais...

A quote from Paulo Freire

L'Institut Benjamenta at Ocean Nord

Paris - imagens valem mais que mil palavras

Aventuras diversas

Atomium, Flea Market, Fête de la BD... biking around Brussels

Finally, a bank account

Settling in Brussels

Shame on you, Catholic Church

Black Mountain, Adirondacks

No USA for you!

"I would love it if New Jersey was the future."

Denmark Introduces Harrowing New Tourism Ads Directed By Lars Von Trier

Why the debate over the niqab is like the debate over prostitution

Going to Europe

Dan Savage is a pretty cool dude

Girls drink tea, not scotch...

iPhone fix - I am officially awesome (or almost)

iPhone fix - Trying and Failing so far

Broken IPhone Glass

A Map of the True History of Vancouver

From Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Understanding Government Spending

Where Your Tax Dollar Goes

About These Numbers

1. Interest Payments

2. Transfer Payments

Transfers to Persons

Support for Families and Children

Funding for Provinces

Alternative Payments for Standing Programs and the Quebec Abatement

Support for Health Care

Other Grants and Contributions

3. Other Program Expenses

Defence

Public Safety

Canada Revenue Agency

Other Operations

Paying for Parliament

Crown Corporations

4. Budgetary Surplus(Debt Reduction)

Where the Money Comes From

Useful links

How Can I Get More Information?

Brazil Part I - Teaching Theatre

Where am I?

SMC screws up again - RoadRunner customers vulnerable

São Paulo and Rain

Praça Roosevelt

Pisa no meu calo

Feminism in Brazil - a long way to go...

Não podemos desanimar...

Segundo passo: amigo serralheiro

A saga começa bem - Primeiro passo

Carro Elétrico

Um sonho

Entrevista na Radio Canada Internacional

Teatro

Natal no natal!

Art+Culture Interview

Mudanças

United Breaks Guitars

Android Love

Militar Police Inside USP Campus - City War

Adventures in Victoria - Part 2

4. Budgetary Surplus
(Debt Reduction)