tape measure master

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y63OV_E7M-4&feature=player_embedded

the Nexus One superphone vs the blackberry

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/05/google.nexus.announcement/index.html

as cool as this sounds, (never having to text by typing again), i may stick to my blackberry. with the arrival of the iphone, many people jumped on the bandwagon to find that there were many flaws; lengthy phone bills, missing functions, connectivity issues, missed calls, the new dock not fitting, the battery running out and a plethora of other mishaps.

with regret, my trackball, after two years of being spun, pressed and tickled, is now showing signs of dimentia, as i now have to voice dial since the address book icon doesn't respond when clicked. but that doesn't stop me from loving my blackberry.

it has every application i could possibly need, it's small, sexy and fits into my little hand. even after two years, it still looks like a new model. it never drops calls, misses calls, and there is even a flash on my camera, which iphones lack.

the nexus one is operated by google, which automatically interests me, but why would i let my loyalties slip from the blackberry to the nexus one just because its a newer model? my blackberry has been monogamous to me, forgiven me when i dropped it. heck, it has traveled more than most people i know. what happened to the days where you had one number, and you could call someone to ask if they could play? the blackberry makes these conversations simple. and that's all i want. a phone that works.

tony bourdain burns six tons of cocaine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmEf-nnffRI

listen to how much he's sniffling as he's narrating. nice subconscious gesture. too bad they cut right before it goes up in smoke.

Welcome to the new clog

You're probably here because you are interested in what I have to say. I'm going to say upfront, you may not find what I think about all that interesting.

Now, check out the funniest website I FINALLY found this year. Belly ache from this one.

http://heystupid.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/strange-tales-of-the-internet-album-covers/

This, along with Maddox's "the best page in the universe" sites are those I return to, even though Maddox is too busy being famous to update his site for all us little people. http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=irule

Mrs. Miller is always a great way to start the week...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw07CDid0JM

And for anyone who appreciates cool looking stuff, here's an artist I found on Beck's homepage..

http://www.beck.com/images/colorspace/olaf.html

great video by stephane pivron for mikros image
http://vimeo.com/7980901

back home

well, i am back here in san francisco so my time in brazil has come to a close, finally. truncated but worth it. a third party accessed my bank account and it was locked, paypal was also locked. i loaned $300 to a friend without knowing he had a cocaine addiction and he never paid me back. my house was robbed, laptop and cables and chargers for phone and camera stolen, my cat died, i was poisoned as a joke, and my friend ivo ended up being caught by the police for stolen goods and ended up splitting town never to be seen again.

i learned how to cook some brazilian food, i learned that doing nothing all day is not an easy task for me. i learned to trust no one and be skeptical with people who say they are your friends. give personal information to no one. i learned to speak portuguese, that people, both good and bad, just want to be loved.

brazil was not what i had hoped... but that is the adventure.

tchau until the next trip.

success

well, the living in brazil adventure has been completed. i am now back in sf, and brrrrr!!!!!
i lasted 7 months and i think i will be ready to live in another country as soon as i work a bit and save enough money to do so.

in summary, brazil is a beautiful land polluted by dishonest people. but not everyone is dishonest and lazy. there are few people who make up for the corruption of the country, and they give brazil the reputation of being a warm and generous country. people who have nothing will divide their food, their house, anything they can give you. the rest will tell you they are your friend and steal from you, do things that no friend would ever do.

brazil is a huge country with different dialects from state to state. the weather is hot and humid in the summer, cold and wet in the winter, it's tropical and rainy, pouring for a few hours then stopping to let the sun shine on.

there is a huge divide between the wealthy and poor, just like in the states. there is racism, just like in the states. the black people are looked down upon, and for this reason, they have been neglected the same opportunity to make a good life. most of the population in the favelas is black. there is also a prejudice against the poor. the rich don't even let them on their property....and unfortunately this is due to the poor being thieves.

rio de janeiro is somewhat of a facade. there is a beautiful quote on a website i have always turned to when i want to get emotional about brazil (www.hillerphoto.com/brazil/). stephen berkoff says, "Rio's biggest symbol is the figure of Christ that holds out his stiff, concrete arms to the world beneath him. Never was a symbol more meaningless. Never did his words mean so little to those below. Never in my life have I seen so little charity or compassion in any city where extreme wealth and unendurable poverty live side by side."

i think this quote sums up brazil perfectly.

if you want more, check out my yelp on brazil.
http://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=G1DM_OyYFb32QylgvQGrGQ

SHIT!!!!

i left my journal in curitiba. well, someone will know all my deep dark secrets. now i~m not sure WHAT to write.