Stop Animal Abuse in Brazil – Crueldade Nunca Mais – Sunday, Jan. 22

On Sunday (Jan. 22), we’ll be attending the Crueldade Nunca Mais rally in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is not just a nation-wide rally, but an international one, dedicated to strengthen extremely weak laws in Brazil against animal cruelty.

Coming from a military dictatorship, Brazil has erred on the side of caution when it comes to handing down sentences for crime (the maximum sentence for any offense, such as murder, is 35 years). Partly due to this, as well as cultural issues, the laws for animal cruelty are particularly weak, and cruelty against animals is always a problem here. From the Web site (Note: Disturbing images):

This event is the beginning of a series of actions to correct penalties for cruelty to animals.

The official goal of the movement is to collect 1.5 million signatures. … The demonstration is a peaceful movement and law-abiding, conceived and organized by animal protectors of Brazil, and will be the beginning of a series of actions intended to correct penalty for crimes of mistreatment of animals.

The events will be held throughout the nation of Brazil, as well as in other countries, including the United States and England. Check the Web site here for locations.

Pets have become an important part of Brazilian life. I’d like to thank Crueldade Nunca Mais for fighting to strengthen animal cruelty laws, and for fighting for the rights and lives of the animals we love.

–WKW

Brazilian drug dealer takes tagging to the next level

Sometimes Brazil can be a leader in innovation. Not always in good ways, mind you. From the Associated Press:

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police say a suspected drug trafficker is giving crack cocaine addicts free drugs in exchange for tattooing his name on their bodies.

Police in the northeastern state of Bahia said Monday that upward of 70 people in the small town of Itapetinga have tattooed the surname “Freudenthal” on their bodies.

Police have also found corpses of suspected drug addicts with the same tattoo.

Well, I suppose just tagging walls and billboards gets old after awhile.

HT Greg Pollowitz

–WKW

Update: Brazil keeping Chevron’s feet to the fire over oil spill

Last week I wrote about the Chevron oil spill in the Frade Oil Field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, as well as how Brazil has held Chevron’s feet to the fire for the incident. Brazil is continuing to keep the pressure on Chevron. A couple updates:

Brazil says Chevron must come in line with Brazilian law as they claim Chevron has lied and hidden details of the spill:

Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil producer after Exxon Mobil Corp., needs to comply with the country’s laws and coordinate activities with the country’s oil regulator, Minister Edison Lobao said in an interview in Brasilia today.

Brazil plans to offer exploration areas by the end of 2012 in the so-called pre-salt region in deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil has made the largest oil discoveries in the Americas in more than three decades in the area, where oil deposits of up to four miles below the ocean floor are trapped under a layer of salt.

Chevron “needs to completely come into line with Brazilian law,” Lobao said. “From time to time there are gaps of information between them and the agency.”

Chevron has come under increased scrutiny in Brazil after it leaked 2,400 barrels of oil last month from an oil field in deep waters of the Campos Basin. Chevron underestimated the amount of pressure at an oil deposit it was exploring, and crude leaked from the reservoir for about eight days, George Buck, the head of Chevron for Brazil, said on Nov. 20. …

Brazil’s oil regulator, known as ANP, is investigating Chevron for only providing partial video clips of the Nov. 7 oil spill and not reporting the presence of hydrogen sulfide in an oil well at the Frade project where the spill happened, Magda Chambriard, a director at the agency, said Dec. 1.

The agency ordered Chevron to shut the well with hydrogen sulfide and is also investigating inconsistencies in Chevron’s plan to cement and abandon the well that caused the leak, she said. The agency has prohibited Chevron from drilling any new wells for at least three months until it finishes probing the spill, Chambriard said.

Chevron to be kicked out of Brazil if they do not comply:

BRASILIA – U.S.-based Chevron Corp. will have to leave Brazil if it fails to comply with the agreement it reached to deal with the damage caused by an oil spill last month off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Energy and Mines Minister Edison Lobao said.

“The company has already been given a very strong penalty for what it did and it has been suspended from engaging in new drilling in Brazil, even if it is the second-largest oil company in the world,” Lobao told reporters in Teresina, the capital of the northeastern state of Piaui.

Chevron must pay a fine of 50 million reais (about $28 million) levied by officials and took responsibility for the environmental damage caused by the spill, whose extent has still not been determined, the energy minister said.

Brazil holding its ground against the Oil Companies:

Speaking to the Financial Times, Carlos Minc, Rio’s environment secretary and the country’s former environment minister, says he is now pushing for tougher rules for companies looking to profit from Brazil’s oil boom.

“We may be a tropical country but we’re not a ‘banana republic’,” he says. “Everyone wants to come to Brazil and if we’re not strict with [Chevron], this place is going to turn into a pool of oil.” …

“If we let Chevron make an error, there will be a thousand more errors during pre-salt,” says Mr Minc. “We need to be hard now, especially on big companies such as Chevron, which has all the resources to do things the right way, but got it wrong,”

Last week ANP, Brazil’s oil and gas regulator, put further pressure on the company by shutting down another well at its Frade project after a safety audit found unreported hydrogen sulphide. The week before, ANP already said it would ban Chevron, which ranks as the country’s third-largest oil producer, from drilling wells in the country’s waters until the causes of the incident had been further clarified.

Ibama, Brazil’s environmental regulator, imposed the maximum fine it could on Chevron of R$50m ($28m), and Mr Minc says the company can expect at least another R$200m in fines from regulators and the state government.

Meanwhile, the federal police have launched their own investigation, which could even lead to the imprisonment of Chevron workers for environmental crimes. …

Mr Minc has also pushed regulators to ban Transocean, Chevron’s drilling partner on the project, which also operated the drill in the Gulf of Mexico spill. Transocean responded by saying it would fully co-operate with the authorities.

However, Mr Minc warns the industry of even stricter regulations, calling for the maximum fines to be doubled.

The difference between how the U.S. government coddled and protected BP for the much-larger Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and how Brazil is handling this incident could not be more striking.

–WKW

 

 

In Brazil, the LGBT Community is being massacred

Despite steps taken by Brazil’s politicians to give equality to the LGBT community – Marriage equality recently became the law of the land – Brazil is still a very dangerous place for the LGBT community, which is putting everyone in danger:

A self-employed 42 year old had his ear severed in the early morning hours last Friday in São João da Boa Vista, a city in the São Paulo countryside 216 km from the capital. The victim and his 18 year old son say they were embracing after a country music show at the local agriculture fair when they were mistaken for a homosexual couple by a group of homophobes.

Father and son were waiting for their girlfriends, who had gone to the restroom. “They asked if we were gay and we said no,” said the man.

According to him, the group insisted on bothering them. “He asked us to kiss, because it is legal”.

Shortly thereafter, he claims to have been punched in the jaw and was unconscious for 15 seconds. When he regained consciousness, he was missing a piece of his right ear.

Brazil’s immense problem with hate crimes against the LGBT community is well documented:

In 2010, 260 gay men, transvestites and lesbians were murdered in Brazil. According to a report by the Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) released on Monday, every day and a half a Brazilian LGBT is killed. In the past five years, there has been an increase of 113 percent in the number of murders of LGBTs. In the first three months of 2011 alone, there were 65 murders.

Among the victims, 54 percent were gay men, 42 percent were transvestites and four percent were lesbians. Luiz Mott, the anthropologist responsible for the survey, believes the statistics are smaller than the reality. “Those 260 documented murders are an underreported number, because there are no official hate crime statistics in Brazil. The situation for homosexuals is extremely troubling.”

The study also indicates that Brazil is the world leader in the murders of LGBTs. In the United States, 14 murders of transvestites were reported in 2010, while in Brazil there were 110 murders. Furthermore, the risk of an LGBT being killed violently in Brazil is 785 percent greater than in the United States.

Part of the reason for the extreme intolerance in Brazilian society is the effect of the Catholic Church and Christian evangelicals promoting an anti-LGBT agenda. But whatever the reason, it is time for the government to start taking drastic and important steps to stop this massacre. Murder and hatred is not an acceptable part of any society.

–WKW

Tweet

Brazilians boiling, blaming Big Pharma for new FDA office in Brazil

MINAS GERAIS — Brazilian officials are in Washington, D.C., today to speak with the Food and Drug and Administration to attempt to get them to change their minds about building an FDA office in Brasilia.

In what Brazilian magazine Epoca is calling the first speed bump in President Dilma Rousseff’s dealings with the United States, the U.S. announced on April 26 it’s plans to build an FDA office in Brasilia – a move Brazilian officials are saying was never discussed with them.

Brazilian officials consider the move an insult, as Brazil already has a food and drug agency – ANVIA – that has proved to be effective and regularly shares information with the FDA, as well as the fact that Brazil does very little in the way of exporting medicine into the U.S.

“We were surprised. I ordered a personal email from the head of the FDA, Margaret Hamburg, telling our unhappiness with this disrespectful situation,” President of Anvisa Dirceu Barbano told Epoca. “The direction of ANVISA does not allow a foreign agency to do similar or equal work to ours in Brazilian territory. If this happens, ANVISA could be discredited internationally.”

Former Brazilian Secretary of Health Jose Agenor Álvares insinuated that the move is being made in part for pharmaceutical companies to lobby against current Brazilian patent laws.

“Viewing it from the American side, this is being done for lobbying reasons. To try, for example, to speed up authorizations for the American medicine sales,” Álvares told Epoca.

President of the Association of the National Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Alanac), Fernando Marques told Epoca the reason for the office was to defend U.S. business interests in Brazil.

“They want to prolong patents of the remedies that they win in the next years and to continue to get millions from the Brazilian government,” he told Epoca. “The manufacture of cheaper national generic and similar remedies will be fought.”

Brazil’s patent laws have long been an issue for pharmaceutical companies. In 2007, Brazilian authorities broke a patent from Merck, and began to sell a cheaper version of the AIDS drug Efavirenz. Brazilian authorities have made it a practice in the past to allow for generic drugs far earlier than in the U.S. Last summer, Pfizer, the world’s largest drug maker, acquired 40 percent of Brazilian generic pharmaceutical firm Laboratorio Teuto Brasileiro.

Brazilian authorities are especially irritated that the U.S. is putting them into a category with such countries as Mexico, China and Jordan, believing they have had a better record and that the move could hurt exports coming from Brazil.

A spokesperson for ANVISA said that they could not comment on the matter while diplomatic meetings were ongoing. A spokesperson for the FDA has yet to respond to a request for information on this subject.

The announcement of the new office in Brasilia was made on April, 26.

The FDA has rounded out its global foothold and selected all the international office locations that can be sustained with existing funding levels, with the agency recently obtaining approval from the State Department to send staff to the economically thriving Brazil. As the agency also prepares to deploy its employees to a satellite office in the Middle East, the so-called Arab Spring has not stymied the opening of an FDA site in Amman, Jordan.

Lumpkin added that the recently enacted food safety law also provides FDA with the first “congressional blessing” for the establishment of international offices, even though FDA could – and did – enact these sites through its existing authorities. Section 308 of the new law, which authorizes the establishment of foreign offices.

“We now read this as the congressional [mandate] that FDA be an organization outside the United States,” he said Tuesday (April 26) at an Alliance for a Stronger FDA membership meeting. “It’s now been established as a statutory mandate for us by Congress.” …

Lumpkin said the State Department recentlyapproved the establishment of an FDA site in Brazilia, the capital of Brazil. That facility will complement FDA’s offices – either already established or nearing finalization – in China, South Africa, India, Jordan, Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica.

In September 2010, the Brazil and the U.S. signed a confidentiality deal:

(ANVISA) is authorized to disclose non-public information to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding ANVISA-regulated products as part of cooperative law enforcement or cooperative regulatory activities. ANVISA proposes to share non-public information regarding, among other things, the safety, effectiveness, or quality of ANVISA-regulated products with the FDA.

This Commitment is intended to strengthen communication between ANVISA and FDA to enhance their ability to protect and promote the health and safety of their respective populations with respect to products within the regulatory jurisdiction of ANVISA and FDA.

Earlier this month, The House voted to block a $147 million annual payment to Brazil’s cotton industry.

Brazilian journalist Laura Albernaz Arantes contributed to this report.

–WKW

Brazil’s 2014 World Cup in jeopardy as work lags on stadiums, airports

As Brazil readies itself for the ultimate one-two punch of international sporting events – the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics – one thing has become increasingly clear – Brazil isn’t even close to ready to host these two events.

Despite an economy that can be called “robust” in these troubled economic times, good old Brazilian bureaucracy is threatening both events, especially the World Cup, which will feature games throughout the nation. The problems lie with numerous stadiums being behind schedule for restoration – or for being built from scratch – as well as the monumental problem with air transportation in Brazil. From The Economist:

The 12 host cities have among them nine airport redevelopments which are well behind schedule. São Paulo has not even started to build the new stadium that is supposed to stage the opening match. In Rio de Janeiro the Maracanã stadium (pictured), pencilled in for the final, is a money-guzzling building site. The contract for Natal’s proposed arena was signed only on April 15th—more than three years after Brazil was named host. Air travel is essential to shuttle fans between games, but most of Brazil’s airports are already operating above their nominal capacity. Baggage handling and check-in are slow; delays and cancellations common. On April 14th IPEA, a government-linked think-tank, said that even if all the planned airport upgrades were completed by kick-off (which it said would not happen), hectic growth in local demand would still leave most airports overcrowded—even without 1m football fans stopping by. The number of internal flights taken annually rose by 83m in 2003-10 and will rise by almost as much again by 2014, the study said.

Keep in mind, Brazil’s airline industry has been riddled with high-profile accidents over the past few years. Here’s what I wrote about their airline industry for WorldGolf.com in 2007:

For Brazil, what this accident means is that it’s time to put aside the bickering, name-calling, finger-pointing and inaction that dominates its political system. Now is the the time for serious, professional and concrete action. It will be an expensive proposition to update the air industry here, but it is something that must be done and be done thoroughly. Having the nation’s military control the airline industry is obviously not working,especially when even more close calls are being reported just days after the horrifying accident. With nearly 400 lives lost in less than a year, Brazil is on the verge of becoming a complete pariah in the tourism world, which is something that will only further hurt the poor and hinder the consistent economic strides the nation has made over the past eon.

The stadium situation is even worse for Brazil. According to Brazilian magazine Veja, as of May, only 7.5% of the money put aside for building or renovating stadiums has been spent. At the current pace:

• The National Stadium in Brasilia will be ready in Oct. 2021.
• The Arena Amazonia in Manaus will be ready in April 2024.
• The Estadio de Corinthians – a $700 million project – will never be done, as they have yet to start.

It is worth noting that virtually every nation that hosts major international sporting events gets behind on the work but eventually catches up. But in June 2011, Brazil is nightmarishly behind schedule, and catching up will require an incredible, and incredibly expensive effort. Remember, Brazil needs to be ready by 2013 in time for the Confederation Cup.

What does this all mean for Americans? Well, should the worst happen and FIFA pulls the World Cup from Brazil, the U.S. stands to gain the cup. The infrastructure is there and the airports are ready. Which is much, much more than Brazil can say at the moment.

–WKW

The Love of a Dog in Brazil

A story of a dog’s dedication to its family, following their deaths last week in Brazil. Translated from Fohla.com:

The former street-dog Caramelo helped rescue the bodies of its owners, whose were killed during last week’s rains, then did not want to leave the makeshift grave of his owner.

It lived with its owner, Cristina Cesário Maria Santana, and three other people in a house of the Caleme quarter, one of the most devastated in Teresópolis. The house was destroyed and the family died. The dog escaped, but dug for them until finding them.

When the rescue teams arrived, Caramelo guided them to the bodies. Caramelo was rescued, but did not want to leave the grave of its owner and now he is very depressed and needy.

The deaths due to the rains are a true tragedy, but this is more or less an annual occurrence in Brazil, where millions live in sub-standard housing with scant building regulations. When the rains come every year at this time of year, people die as a result. This year, the count is at more than 600 lost lives.

With the strongest economy in its history, and two major international events (The 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics) coming to the nation, it’s time for Brazil to protect its citizens with the same passion and dedication as Caramelo. Because the rain will always come, but the deaths can be prevented.

Update: Caramelo has a new home.

–WKW

The World Cup just means more to Brazilians

While millions will be rooting on Holland or Spain in today’s World Cup Final, let us not forget the pain felt by those eliminated. In Brazil, where soccer is King, Queen and the rest of the royal court, the disappointment of seeing their side knocked out was too much for many. Especially young Salomão:

In case you need a translation: The kid is really upset.

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 21, 2010

BP CEO Tony Hayward, relaxing at home with the small people now that he has his life back.

News

Burn it all: Burning of oil in the Gulf of Mexico means death to wildlife. Also, there’s a lot more oil gushing than previously reported.

Politicizing the Oil Spill: It was all bi-partisan teamwork on the oil disaster until Democrats started mocking Joe Barton.

Let Them Drill: There’s no evidence that Deep Water drilling is risky, say plaintiffs.

Israel Eases Gaza blockade: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that easing the Gaza blockade will weaken Hamas. Maybe they could have figured that out pre-flotilla massacre.

Also: Rapper “The Game” shot and killed, humanitarian and former NBA fan-favorite Manute Bol dies.

Odd News

A Heady Day: Finally, we can answer the age-old question – how many human heads can you fit into three boxes?

Catholic Priorities: Remember, it’s much worse for a comedian like Louis CK to make jokes about pedophile priests than it is to defend pedophile priests.

Today in Tasering: Not wearing a seat belt? Tase him!

Put the camera away: If you happen to be being beaten by a Maryland cop, for God’s sake, don’t film it.

Sports

Brazil Handily Wins: Luis Fabiano scored twice (albeit once illegally), as Brazil continued South American domination of the World Cup with a surprisingly easy 3-1 victory over Ivory Coast. Brazil’s only complaint? Kaká being tossed from the game for allowing an Ivory Coast player to run into him.

Anarchy in France: At the 2010, the French can’t win a game and is in the midst of a player revolt. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group.

U.S. Open to McDowell: Graeme McDowell survived a tough Pebble Beach to win golf’s U.S. Open, leaving big names like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els in his wake.

Blogs

Tomfoolery: My Day with Karl Rove.

EZKool: If you watch only Fox News, you know for a fact that the British Petroleum Oil Spill is all the Federal Government’s fault.

Political Carnival: Blackwater forced to pay the price for their sins – by getting a new $120-million government contract.

Pam’s House Blend: What you missed this weekend.

Tweet of the Day

“Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes Mark Kirk’s resume.”

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 16, 2010

Brazil fan Zé Aparecido was pensive during the first half of Brazil-North Korea World Cup match.

News

Obama on the Oil Spill: Taking to his biggest bully pulpit, President Barack Obama laid out steps the government has taken and will take in fighting British Petroleum’s oil disaster. The final step? Prayer. Lots and lots of prayer.

Ashburn Changes Course: Since being nabbed for a DUI coming from a Gay bar, California Sen. Roy Ashburn has seen the light. This Q&A showcases the new and improved Ashburn.

Prop. 8 Closing Arguments: The Federal Trial to judge whether California’s Proposition 8 is Constitutional is today. Here’s a handy guide to follow the action.

Wealth Inequality in U.S.: Not that facts should matter, but we are truly living in a second Gilded Age.

More: The first steps toward austerity in the U.S., the Truth of Bloody Sunday finally revealed, Arizona wants to toss American children out of the country, Westboro Baptist Church brainwashing children with hate.

Sports

Brazil Beats N. Korea: The North Koreans did all they could to slow down powerful Brazil, but an impossible-angle goal by Brazilian Maicon helped lead Brazil to the three points in its first 2010 World Cup match. In news from Brazil – the whole nation was up until 3 a.m. shooting fireworks after the game, my dogs are going to have a long World Cup.

Portugal-Ivory Coast Tie: Not a lot to say about this evenly matched game, except that when it comes to the top players in the world – Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – I’ll take the humble and professional Messi over the vain and spoiled Ronaldo any time.

Bonus Portugal & Brazil Fact: You know how Polish jokes have long been a staple of American humor? Well, in Brazil they make those exact same jokes – but about the Portuguese. It’s a fact.

Lakers Force Game 7: When the Lakers are playing at their best, Boston has no chance. In Game 6, the Lakers left it all on the court, and forced a Game 7 with a remarkably efficient 89-67 victory.

Blogs

Black Politics on the Web: The election of Barack Obama hasn’t translated into more Black political candidates.

David G. Simmons: Taking a look at Obama’s speech from the Oval Office.

DagBlog: The great Libertarian wonderland of New Hampshire is not quite all it’s cracked up to be.

Tweet of the Day

“Remember when Ronald Reagan solved the Iranian Hostage Crisis thru power of Prayer (and selling arms to Iran)?”

–WKW

William K. Wolfrum’s Morning – June 15, 2010

“Would you just stop it with the forsaking already?”

Wolfrum’s Word

The most interesting thing to me about the much-over-hyped Tea Party movement is how easily it was for the organizers to get normal Americans to fight against their own self-interest. The overall level of ignorance at Tea Party meet-ups has been staggering. And what shows that these are die-hard ignoramuses is their reaction to the British Petroleum oil disaster. Pretty much everyone on the right, and especially on the far right, have refused to see that a corporation the size of BP doesn’t have to care about things like Freedom of the Press, liberties or anything else that’s not directly related to profit.

Basically, the dream of the Tea Party aficionados is to have a very small government, which would allow corporations like BP to rule us all. And that’s just ignorant.

News

Barack to Talk: President Barack Obama will be speaking to the public today from the Oval Office. Will he use the oil spill to kick off his push for energy legislation? Of course. But at least he’s not using an attack on the U.S. to start a war with a nation that had nothing to do with it.

Please Hold: Have you called BP to complain about their destruction of the Gulf of Mexico? You may as well be talking to yourself.

Death in Kyrgyzstan: All hell has broken loose in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 200 killed thus far in rioting.

Death to Jesus: So a big statue of Jesus was struck by lightning? He must have pissed off Dad.

Entertainment

A Thin Sheen: Just because Charlie Sheen is a sexist, conspiracist douchebag is no reason to not let him run his cars into ditches whenever he gets the urge.

Science Channel Goes Creationist: Hey, when Morgan Freeman is involved, how could the Science Channel refuse airing non-scientific creationist clap-trap?

Sports

Brazil Takes The Field: It can’t be considered a World Cup until Brazil gets involved, and they’ll take the field today against North Korea. Barring a 30-goal effort from North Korea Leader Kim Jong-Il, look for Brazil to take three points in style.

Japan Wins: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – when it comes to International soccer, Asia is the new Africa.

Stay Out of Strip Clubs: Two of the bigger sports figures that I’ve interviewed in the past have had a bad week. First, UCLA coaching legend John Wooden died at age 99. Now, Titans QB Vince Young has some explaining to do about his recent adventure at a strip club. If Bo Jackson or Archie Griffin have any trouble, let me know.

Blogs

AmericaBlog: The good thing about Margaret Thatcher being in poor mental and physical health? It makes it easier for Sarah Palin to stalk her.

Greg Mitchell: At The Nation, Mitchell gives you a cheat sheet and more links to start your Tuesday.

FreakOut Nation: The South shall rise again! Gather your armies!

LitBrit: Did you know BP had another oil spill going in Alaska?

Tweet of the Day

“Fact: That little swingy thing in the back of your throat was originally called a Vuvuzela.”

–WKW

Be like a Brazilian – Have sex and dance more

Brazil is a land of paradoxes. One one side of the coin, the nation will fight resolutely for its citizens with HIV/AIDS. On the other, a judge will announce that gay men have no business playing soccer.

But recently, Brazilian Health Minister Jose Temporao gave some advice to uptight Brazilians that Americans should heed – dance more, and have sex more.

From The Huffington Post:

Temporao says adults should be exercising more to help keep their blood pressure down – and he says a good cardiovascular workout includes sex, “always with protection, obviously.”

Temporao also recommends dancing, a healthy diet and regular blood-pressure checks.

So, for you Americans battling high-blood pressure, have more sex. And dance more. Remember, it’s like Tom Delay disappeared off the planet after being on Dancing with the Stars.

–WKW

Samba Bill & the Road to Carnival – the complete series

Last year I was luck enough to perform during Carnival in Brazil at Rio de Janeiro’s famed Sambódromo as part of the Imperatriz Leopoldinense Samba School. Below is the five-part series I wrote about the journey.
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Raquel Arantes & Simone Bischoff – Genius I know

Quite often, I sit around the house reflecting on my own genius. These are times of focused contemplation. They are also times that usually take, say, 42 seconds or so.

Because all I need to do is look toward my family to see true genius. Take for instance my Mother-in-Law Raquel Arantes and my cousin Simone Bischoff.

Raquel is an extraordinarily gifted artist, and has developed a unique tool that is making the wine world swoon. Her Wine Aerator manages to be a breakthrough in a business as old as time itself.
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This one time, on a cruise ship …

[Author's Note: This was originally posted on this site on Jan. 8, 2008. But with my wife, Emilia, out of town and me deep in the throes of missing her (Don't let her know that, tho) I thought it would be a good time for a re-post]

I try not to mention my wife, Emilia, in my work because, well, I don’t know why. She sure as hell talks about me at her work. She has several bits down pat about the adventures of the silly American in a strange land.

Generally, however, I keep Emilia in the background. But I had mentioned a story in a blog post about her innocently (I’ll testify to that in court) about something we did on a cruise ship. I feel like this might be embarrassing for her, but I thought, “hey, If I just write a really sweet post about her first, I’d probably be ok on this one.” If there’s one thing they don’t teach you about marriage, it’s this – variables. Get to know them, and play them.

So anyway, this one time, on a cruise ship …

[Read more]

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