It's really amazing how all the standard values are "inversed" during that brief period of time called Carnaval in Brazil.
It's fun to be (or dress up as) outcasts and prostitutes. It's cool to sleep during the day and stay up all night long. (Actually, it's a nonstop party, starting early in the morning with the Street Parades and moving on to the Samba School Parades which goes on till sunrise.)
It's ok to close down otherwise crowded business streets to give room to the Parades. It's nice to talk nonsense all the time and to keep on laughing for 4 days in a row.
It's Carnival!
Carpe Diem,
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Brazilian Roots
"O que entre elas [as nações ibéricas] predomina é a concepção antiga de que o ócio importa mais que o negócio e de que a atividade produtora é, em si, menos valiosa que a contemplação e o amor".
Which freely translates to:
"What predominates among them [the Iberian nations] is the old conception that leisure is more import than business and that production is, in itself, less valuable than contemplation and love".
(Extracted from "Raízes do Brasil" by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, 12th ed., p. 10)
In the book, that line of thought is further expressed by a metaphor involving "farmers" (who worship the work itself) and "hunters" (to whom it is all about getting the reward). Therfore, Iberian people are considered hunters rather than farmers.
The nature of Brazil - our roots, our issues and our virtues - may be understood in the eyes of that metaphor. It may be the very reason why tourists feel at home when here and why everyone (from different origins and from various religious beliefs) lives "in relative peace and harmony" in this blessed land.
Carpe Diem,
Which freely translates to:
"What predominates among them [the Iberian nations] is the old conception that leisure is more import than business and that production is, in itself, less valuable than contemplation and love".
(Extracted from "Raízes do Brasil" by Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, 12th ed., p. 10)
In the book, that line of thought is further expressed by a metaphor involving "farmers" (who worship the work itself) and "hunters" (to whom it is all about getting the reward). Therfore, Iberian people are considered hunters rather than farmers.
The nature of Brazil - our roots, our issues and our virtues - may be understood in the eyes of that metaphor. It may be the very reason why tourists feel at home when here and why everyone (from different origins and from various religious beliefs) lives "in relative peace and harmony" in this blessed land.
Carpe Diem,
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Favorite Icon (how to)
A Favorite Icon is that small image (logo or picture) that appears next to the page name (URL field / webpage) on a browser's tab (such as Firefox).
To add it to your pages, create a 16 pixel wide by 16 pixel high image file and set its color depth to 16. Save it in Windows Icon Format (favicon.ico) and upload the saved file to the web server. Finally, add the following code to the HEAD section of your HTML pages:
<link REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="/favicon.ico">
(based on http://www.coffeecup.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=3507) [last visited on February 8th 2007]
For some tips on how to design a logo of letters, visit: http://www.bamagazine.com/7ecHEsLand.asp
For creating a transparent icon image file (.ico), try the following freeware: http://www.gimp.org/
Carpe Diem,
To add it to your pages, create a 16 pixel wide by 16 pixel high image file and set its color depth to 16. Save it in Windows Icon Format (favicon.ico) and upload the saved file to the web server. Finally, add the following code to the HEAD section of your HTML pages:
<link REL="SHORTCUT ICON" HREF="/favicon.ico">
(based on http://www.coffeecup.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=3507) [last visited on February 8th 2007]
For some tips on how to design a logo of letters, visit: http://www.bamagazine.com/7ecHEsLand.asp
For creating a transparent icon image file (.ico), try the following freeware: http://www.gimp.org/
Carpe Diem,
Family & Friends
Here I am listening to some original music+lyrics composed and recorded by a friend of mine...
Why is that sometimes we consider our friends and family to have great artistic talent? Do they really have?
From composing to playing music to acting to designing clothing to writing to painting to playing sports, I have seen them doing it all. And doing it superbly!
Nevertheless, to my surprise, they usually follow another track in life - a less artistic and more traditional one. Is it our cultural/economic system crippling-off young talents? Or is it an all-knowing darwinian filter in action?
Carpe Diem,
Why is that sometimes we consider our friends and family to have great artistic talent? Do they really have?
From composing to playing music to acting to designing clothing to writing to painting to playing sports, I have seen them doing it all. And doing it superbly!
Nevertheless, to my surprise, they usually follow another track in life - a less artistic and more traditional one. Is it our cultural/economic system crippling-off young talents? Or is it an all-knowing darwinian filter in action?
Carpe Diem,
Monday, February 5, 2007
Global Warming and the Quest for Survival
... "Every man dies, not every man really lives" ... (Braveheart)
With global warming and the present space-race, it makes one think if we are not, at the end, a sort of a "virus" (The Matrix) for this earth.
Will we behave properly with the inhabitants of the other planets we conquer? Will it be different from the E.T.s in "War of the Worlds" or "Independence Day"? Are we following the right track in this very moment? Perhaps...
"Lock: If it were up to me, Councillor, I'd take every man, woman, and child, put a gun in their hands and march them straight into that dock.
Councillor Dillard: Perhaps it is best that it is not up to you. " (The Matrix)
(Extracted from http://www.matrix-explained.com/php/about-the-matrix-movies-1368.html) [on February 5th 2007]
Should everything be tolerated in our quest for survival?
Carpe Diem,
With global warming and the present space-race, it makes one think if we are not, at the end, a sort of a "virus" (The Matrix) for this earth.
Will we behave properly with the inhabitants of the other planets we conquer? Will it be different from the E.T.s in "War of the Worlds" or "Independence Day"? Are we following the right track in this very moment? Perhaps...
"Lock: If it were up to me, Councillor, I'd take every man, woman, and child, put a gun in their hands and march them straight into that dock.
Councillor Dillard: Perhaps it is best that it is not up to you. " (The Matrix)
(Extracted from http://www.matrix-explained.com/php/about-the-matrix-movies-1368.html) [on February 5th 2007]
Should everything be tolerated in our quest for survival?
Carpe Diem,
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Politics
Justice is the pathway. Love are the steps. Peace is a measure of alignment with the path.
Carpe Diem,
Carpe Diem,
Friday, February 2, 2007
The Matrix - Take Time
... "Yes, of course. Who has time? Who has time? But then if we never take time, how can we ever have time?" ...
(Complete dialog at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/quotes) [last visited on February 2nd 2007]
We tend to start our lives with plenty of time and health and a lack of money. We go through our adult life getting more wealthy and enjoying less leisure-time. At the end, we have both time and money, but a fragile health.
Hardly anything is certain in life, but it's primary to make our choices knowing full well the trade-offs involved.
Carpe Diem,
(Complete dialog at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215/quotes) [last visited on February 2nd 2007]
We tend to start our lives with plenty of time and health and a lack of money. We go through our adult life getting more wealthy and enjoying less leisure-time. At the end, we have both time and money, but a fragile health.
Hardly anything is certain in life, but it's primary to make our choices knowing full well the trade-offs involved.
Carpe Diem,
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