Remembering 9-11

I have already ranted on Facebook about my impatience with those who want to create a big drama on this 10 year anniversay.

In this case I am reposting a video I first saw on  Luasol's Nova Capitulo de Minha Vida blog.

Thank you Jane.

Remember to Love.

Missing US Gay Culture

I miss talkin’ trash, gay style. Throwin’ some shade; spillin’ some tea; workin’ my chicken neck (which I learned in high school in Detroit).

It’s not for everyone, but, Jonny McGovern is a gay comedian who produces a LONG podcast that is totally US gay, southern California/New York style.  Very fun when you are cooking all afternoon.

If you are not hip to gay/lesbian- speak and want to be a voyeur, check it out.

Go to iTunes and search for Gay Pimpin’ with Jonny McGovern.

Love you Jonny!

Oh my sweet Detroit - what happened?

There is a word in Portuguese that is often mentioned as one without a real equivalent in English: “saudade.” It essentially means longing, or homesickness, or emotional wishing-for, missing.

Sorry to say, I rarely, rarely have saudade for the United States. Sure, I miss my friends, but the country itself? – not so much. Even when Brazil drives me crazy with its high prices, under-educated populace and corrupt elected officials, I still do not pine for the days of living in the United States.

But at times my heart aches for the folks living in places I used to haunt. In this case I am referring to Detroit. I was born in Detroit. I went to school in Detroit (well, a block or two from the border of the City). My first real girlfriend (yes, I had a girlfriend) lived in Detroit. I loved Detroit.

But nowadays I’m sad for Detroit. It has fallen so far. I have saudade for how things used to be.

When my extended family lived in or near Detroit it was the heyday of the auto industry. The Big Three, we would say (GM, Chrysler, Ford). Almost everybody’s parent worked for the auto industry, or some other job supporting the industry. My grandmother used to joke that if she had a dollar for every slice of pie she served to auto workers in the diner she spent her working life in, she would be a millionaire.

But now things are different. Most of that is gone.

My brother and his wife moved to a cute little historic block in Detroit some time ago, bought an old Victorian house and refurbished it (Dan did a fantastic job!). They were one of the star homes on the neighborhood Christmas walking tour. But they saw the writing on the wall, sold the house, and moved to the country.

Now Detroit lays feral – or mostly so. Good luck my friends in Detroit. I know you are all rooting for success.

For a real taste of Detroit today – go take a look at the Sweet Juniper blog.

Keeping things real in the USA

Even though I maintain a blog in Brazil, I keep an eye (albeit wearied) on the politics in the USA. In that regard, let’s take a look at the lie that is the Republican’s idea that they are economic conservatives and Democrats are the party of spending. (Barf.)

Just a simple graphic reminder.

 The Conservatives/Republicans have a communication machine that feeds ideas into the general public’s mind – but they are lying, based on the facts.
My cardiologist is so happy I live here. If I had to confront this felony of truth and/or stupidity on the TV every day – I would not be as tranquil as I insist on being…

Good luck my US American friends (and I also vote).

USA upset at the Women's World Cup

Wow - did you see this? I must admit my loyalties were split when the US matched up against Brazil. Then it turned into a fantastic victory for the women of the USA team.

Watch this... and who said US guys don't get excited about women's sports?



And here is an interview with player Ali Krieger discussing the win.

Book Review: Sing You Home

This was my first Jodi Picoult novel. I recently watched a segment of an Ellen DeGeneres show where she interviewed Ms. Picoult and discussed this book.  The subject matter is dear to my heart so I took the bait.  I’m glad I did.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable read (and at times it provided a compelling excuse to avoid my translation work).

Picoult has a beautiful use of language and I enjoyed the rather female point of view she put on the page.

Rather than try and write my own review let me just say I recommend this book and have included below paraphrased excerpts of a March 15, 2011 review by Susan Salter Reynolds published in the Los Angeles Times.  I will also include it in my list of books available for lending at the Expat Lending Library.

Oh, and I should mention that the book comes with a CD that includes original tracks that reflect the mood and emotion of Zoe, the main character (and music therapist), as she winds her way through the story.  Cute touch. Music by Ellen Wilber; lyrics by Jodi Picoult; all songs are performed by Ellen Wilber.

Here are bits from the review:

Picoult is known for her ability to shed light on the issues affecting domestic life in America. She picks an issue — in the case of Sing You Home, same-sex couples and the emotional and legal issues surrounding fertility procedures — and explores it from several perspectives, including legal, medical, religious, political. She complicates already complicated dilemmas in her plots.

Picoult works hard to keep her characters from being straw men and women. The closer she gets to real life, real people, real problems, the better the novel. In a country as polarized as ours, for a Democrat as active as Picoult (who gives a lot of money to various causes and institutions) it's not always easy to make, say, the anti-abortion activist, the anti-gay-marriage minister or the school board bureaucrat banning books into sympathetic characters. But the writer must try. For without the insight into the motives and convictions of characters on both sides of an issue, the novel will fall flat.

When the novel opens, Zoe and Max have just had yet another miscarriage. The cost of in vitro fertilization has used up their savings (they are not wealthy), and the emotional strain of Zoe's determination and desire to force her body into motherhood has finally overwhelmed Max, who struggles with alcoholism and low self-esteem.

They divorce. Max goes to live with his wealthy brother Reid and sister-in-law Liddy, devout Christians and members of an evangelical church who are struggling with their inability to conceive. Max has a revelation one drunken night and joins the church. Zoe, a music therapist in schools and hospitals, falls in love with a guidance counselor at one of the schools — a woman named Vanessa.

Vanessa has been in the open about her sexuality since high school; Zoe has never had a sexual relationship with a woman. She just loves Vanessa. They marry but have to cross state lines (from Rhode Island to Massachusetts) to do so. When the subject of children comes up, Zoe remembers that there are three frozen embryos unspoken for in the wake of the divorce. She asks Max for permission to use them, but he's persuaded by his church's pastor (who, with his congregation, believes homosexuality to be a depraved lifestyle choice) to deny her request and offer the embryos to Reid and Liddy.

What a plot! Zoe, Max and Vanessa are thrown into decisions and situations for which they are utterly unprepared. Picoult's supporting characters — Zoe's New Age mother, a suicidal teenager Zoe treats each week, the church pastor and the lawyer who represents Zoe and Vanessa in the courtroom drama at the novel's end — are equally unforgettable, though we do not travel as far into their psyches as the author takes us into her main characters.

It's not the happy endings that keep her readers coming back, for she does not always provide them; it's the possibility that humans can be kind, even when they don't get exactly what they want.

I’m looking forward to reading Picoult’s novel My Sister’s Keeper.

Who owns you?

At first I just posted this to my Facebook. But the more I listened to it the more I wanted everyone to hear it.

I think it is good if we are critically thinking participants in our democracy. (That's not controvercial, right?)

School us Sr. George Carlin.

Some things ARE the same in Brazil and the US

Not my cake.  Photo from the scrumptious food blog "Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice"
http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2010/05/carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting.html

You know how you think: “I’ll make the cake for our birthday party.  It will save us some money.  Bakery cakes can be so expensive.” At least, that’s what I think (unless there is a COSTCO nearby).

Well, I just ran the numbers.  I’m making a regular 9”x 13” pan cake that I will flip over and slice in two across the middle to make two layers, and then frost.  Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Check this out.

Flour:                               R$2.00

Butter:                                 5.60
Carrots:                                3.00
Eggs:                                       .80
Pineapple:                           3.50
Brown sugar:                      1.50
Milk:                                       .60
Cream Cheese:                20.00
Yogurt:                                1.20
Confectioners' sugar:        4.00
Etc.:                                      1.00

That comes to R$43.20, give or take, plus my time (and love for my guests).  So I guess the thought still applies here in Niterói – even if the cream cheese is R$20.

Stay tuned for the recipe and some pics.

Book Review: Unbroken

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

This sort of book is not typically my cup of tea: lengthy (400 pages of text, 75 pages of notes), detailed and graphically horrifying biography of a WWII war hero. But I heard an interview with the author, perhaps on Fresh Air, and clicked over to Amazon.com and ordered a used copy from an associate seller.  I was not disappointed.

The story is of Louie Zamperini, a southern California juvenile delinquent turned track star that participated in the Berlin Olympics in 1936. He was then later a member of the US air force in WWII, and subsequently shot down over the Pacific. He then survived adrift for over a month with a couple buddies in a rubber raft (complete with shark attacks) until he was caught by the Japanese forces and held as a POW.  After surviving more than two years of severe brutality in several POW camps Japan surrendered and Zamperini was freed.

Zamperini returns to California for the next chapter of his life, trying to emerge from the psychological wreckage created by his war experience.  He embarks on a long and heartbreaking journey to the bottom of the proverbial barrel, but then has a life changing experience that helps him climb back out.

Remarkably, later in life he manages to forgive his captors, including the one Japanese official who relentlessly targeted him with unspeakable and inhuman brutality.

Zamperini’s life, experiences, endurance, resilience and heroism is almost too incredible to be believed. This is a tale unlike most others.  It is well written and enthralling.

I will add it to my list of books at the Expat Lending Library online.  If you would like to check it out, just let me know.

That's surprising

Things about the United States that surprise my Brazilian friends:

- Hotels, even fancy ones, do not provide a fabulous, free, fresh breakfast (B&Bs yes, but hotels, no).

- You can get a perfectly good education in public schools.

- The bill collector can seize your home if you get sick and have mounting medical bills.

- Your parents will likely shoo you out of the house once you reach 18 years old.

- There are city law enforcement agents who actually issue traffic/parking violations, really.

- Chinese take-out costs about US$7.00 (and you can find it for less).

- Clothing stores sell XXXL T-shirts or sweatshirts.

- There are no dessert pizzas.

- Classes to learn English as a foreign language are often free.

- If you buy a twelve-pack of Coke it costs less than 12 individual cans.

- There are no vendors on the beach.

- Drivers yield for pedestrians, most of the time.

- Most restaurants close at 10:00 p.m. (except for the 24 hr variety that you generally do not want to eat in anyway).

- Meat cooked on the grill is not covered in salt, rather, a sloppy, spicy sauce.

- Your cell phone service does not cost more than your car payment.

What am I forgetting…

Brazil Supreme Court awards gay couples new rights

This article appeared this morning on the BBC website

6 May 2011                                                              

Brazil's Supreme Court has voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing same-sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexuals.

The decision was approved by 10-0 with one abstention.

The ruling will give gay couples in "Stable Unions" the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in heterosexual relationships.

The ruling makes Brazil one of very few South American nations, after Argentina and Uruguay, to allow gay unions with benefits similar to those afforded a heterosexual married couple.

"The freedom to pursue one's own sexuality is part of an individual's freedom of expression," said Justice Carlos Ayres Britto, the author of the ruling.

Gay activists welcomed the decision, saying it marked an "historic day" for the country.

"The degree of civilization of a country can be measured by the way people in a nation treat their homosexual community," Claudio Nascimento, head of Rio de Janeiro state's Gay, Lesbian and Transsexuals Committee said, according to O Globo.

From now on same sex couples will be able to register their civil partnerships with solicitors and public bodies, giving them proper inheritance and pension rights.

However, the landmark ruling stops short of recognizing gay marriage, which could involve public or religious ceremonies.

Brazil's Roman Catholic Church had argued against the decision to allow civil unions, saying the only union referred to within Brazil's constitution was that between a man and a woman.

But the country's recently elected President Dilma Roussef has made the issue one of her big social policy reforms.

Now if only our friends back in the States could see such progress.  I fear getting relief from the US Supreme Court is a much more distant reality, however. Sigh.

Additional info here.

Country comparisons, the macro version

 Comparing things in Brazil to things left behind in our country of origin is a favorite pastime for many expats, at least among the newbies.  I’ve found that these comparisons start out listing all the wonderful new things discovered in Brazil that were either not available in the States (or wherever) or are simply way better here (like varieties of bananas or singing at BBQs).

Over time the comparisons switch to the quality of consumer products, or maybe the lack of certain items here in Brazil.

If we don’t check ourselves, the comparisons can spiral out of control and turn into ugly, whiny, bitch sessions.

One of the first realizations expats need to come to, in my opinion, is: DON’T COMPARE.  It will only make you crazy, and probably not a lot of fun to be around. Just live locally and love it.

However – I’ve found this really cool website that ranks countries in terms of numerous points of comparison, like: population, health, crime, sports, wealth, etc.  So let’s have some fun.

Retail shrinkage (shop lifting) as % of sales, 2010.        Brazil:  1.64        USA: 1.5

Prevalence of adult obesity, 2010.       Brazil: male 8.9%, female 13.1%           USA: male 32.2%, female 35.5%

Greenest countries, most livable places, 2008.   Brazil ranks 40^th          USA ranks 23^rd

Prison population, per 100,000 people.          Brazil: 191         USA: 738

Price of a Big Mac in US$, 2010.          Brazil:  US$5.10          USA: US$3.73

Road traffic deaths, per 100,000 people, 2009.          Brazil: 18.3         USA: 13.9

Circumcised men (%), 2006.    Brazil: 7.4%      USA: >80%

Women in Parliament, 2011.    Brazil: 8.6%      USA: 16.8%

Diabetes prevalence, % of adult population, 2010.      Brazil: 6%       USA: 12.3%

World Cup football championships.  – OK, not fair…

You can find a lot of fun facts to know and tell at this website.

Why I blog

[Dove-tailing off of Rachel’s recent post.]

In the beginning I thought I would blog because it would save me from having to write 20 emails a week to my friends and family back in the States.  I could keep them informed without it being a big, laborious deal.

With a red face I am here to say that my friends and family did not care that much. I don’t get regular emails from folks “back home” who want to know how I am doing – it never happened. And when I sent them emails it was typically days or weeks before I heard back.  That’s just the fact of the matter.

Shame on me for thinking I would be a significant object of their attention – or a preoccupation, just because Luiz and I chose to leave town.  People’s lives are busy, things are complicated, they have a gazillion issues pressing to be priorities.  In general, we have not made the cut.

I don’t blame anyone.  We left them… How dare us to expect a primary place in their focus after we were gone? We had to grow up. We made our bed –and now we are sleeping in it. (Side note: I am SO GLAD we brought a quality mattress from the US!)

So why do I blog? I no longer do it for my family and friends. (Over the past three years I may have gotten one or two comments from family members.)

Blogging fills a social purpose. I have made online friends who also blog. Blogging gives me a chance to speak to the universe of potential readers in a way that may be helpful or amusing in some way. Blogging lets me think I have a voice in the world (no matter how miniscule). Blogging provides an English environment in which to spend time during an otherwise trying Portuguese-filled day. Blogging allows me to write – something I enjoy.

FaceBook has filled in for a lot of the daily chatter.  I connect with a lot of old friends there.  More so than via email.

But blogging has become a new adventure, a new platform, a fresh environment in which to make social connections.  This old dog has learned a new trick.

So far so good.  Thanks for being a part of this adventure.

President Obama in Rio de Janeiro

In front of the Theatro Municipal

The television is all Obama all the time. And everyone is smiling.  Growing crisis and ill-fated war in Libya aside, this post is about the people’s reaction to President Obama’s visit to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.  The guy is a rock star.

The artist brought this as a gift to President Obama. The image shows Obama crying a tear of joy at the reality that a black man is president.

These guys in white worked up a song and dance routine to celebrate Barak Obama as an honorary Brazilian.

News reporters tripped over themselves to sing the praises of President Obama and they had no difficulty finding people on the street who were eager to express their excitement and pride in just being in the same city while the President and his family visited.

As a US American I consider myself pretty cynical and hardened against putting too much stock in a politician.  But when a black man can be president of the United States and he brings his family with two small girls to a poor community in Rio for a visit – Brazilians of African descent take note.  The pride, the excitement, the hope, the thrill of it all sent ripples of promise throughout the community.  It was very moving to watch.

Lots of security.

Luiz and I went to Cinelandia to watch President Obama’s speech from outside the recently restored (magnificently so) Theatro Municipal.  Much to our disappointment there were no jumbo-trons televising the speech to those of us standing in the square.  We did not even see his motorcade drop him off at the theater.  Oh well.  The crowd was fun and we, of course, spent the afternoon sitting  in an outdoor restaurant enjoying the warm sunshine and cold beer.  We watched the President’s speech on the televisions hung over the diners.

Watching the speach on the television.

"Obama generico" - an Obama look-a-like works the crowd.

It was a bit eerie to be on the streets of Rio with absolutely no traffic.  It was a ghost town.  We could even walk down the middle of the street. Very weird. And security forces were everywhere.

But the take away experience was one of pride. Brazilians were feeling proud and Luiz and I felt proud. It is amazing, the hope and promise President Obama inspires just by being who he is.

Making friends with the security guys.

Here is President Obama's speach in English.

Boys kissing - yes!

Ok, so I know I'm 50 years old, going on 51.  But I still get a thrill watching a popular TV show (even though it is on FOX) where two baby gays finally give in to it all and kiss.

Viva LGBT on TV!

(Sorry about the pop up chatter...)

US American prudes screw it up for all of us, again

OK, so I know the movie trailers for the upcoming animated feature "Rio" have been posted and reposted all over the place, but I just read here that the Brazilian director Carlos Saldanha told a Rio de Janeiro newspaper recently the film’s animated beachscapes had to undergo at least one change for American consumption: bigger bikini bottoms.

Oh please. And I suppose he had to fight off adding Bibles to people's beach bags as well. US American culture police make me sick to my stomach.

Viva Brasil!

Embedding the YouTube file has been disabled.  You have to watch it on YouTube directly.  Here.

Said "Ameicanized" bikini bottom is at 1:47.

Driving each other crazy

Some things are just cultural.  They don’t translate.  For example:

Try putting a slice of avocado on your Brazilian friend’s hamburger.

Or – try putting ketchup on your American friend’s pizza.

Try giving your female Brazilian friend a pair of panties bought at Costco.

Or – try getting your female American friend to wear Brazilian-style women’s panties.

Try getting your Brazilian friend to show up at your party on time.

Or – try getting your American friend to relax while waiting for Brazilian guests to arrive.

Try convincing your male Brazilian friend to not pee on the street (when he feels the need to).

Or – try convincing your male American friend that it is OK to pee wherever he likes (at least your cultured male friend!)

Try feeding roasted vegetables or a cold pasta salad to your Brazilian friends.

Or – try feeding a delicious frango ao moliho pardo to your American friends (when they understand what it is).

Try getting your American friend to sing out loud at a friends’ gathering.

Or – try getting your Brazilian friend to NOT sing out loud at a friends’ gathering.

Try getting your American friend to prioritize family over friends.

Or – try getting your Brazilian friend to prioritize friends over family.

Try getting your American friend to drink sweet avocado juice for breakfast.

Or – try getting your Brazilian friend to eat a sausage, bacon, ham omelet with hash browns and toast for breakfast.

Try to get your Brazilian driver friend to wait for a pedestrian to cross the street.

Or- try to get your friend from Berkeley to even contemplate cutting off a pedestrian.

Can you think of something that drives you and your Brazilian friends crazy?

What the United States can learn from Brazil

Don’t get me wrong.  There is WAY MORE that the United States can learn from humble Brazil than what I’m about to note.  But let’s just name a couple things.

According to the Brazilian Health Ministry, an estimated 33 million people, or 17 percent of Brazil's population suffer from hypertension and some 7.5 million suffer from diabetes.

If you were a concerned politician and you knew that about 34% of the deaths in your country each year were caused by hypertension- and diabetes-related complications, would you pick your nose up out of the trough long enough to consider a remedy?

Lucky for us we have a socialist-minded president who gets it that helping people AVOID these conditions will save lives and save a gazillion in health care expenses.

As such, Brazil’s new president Dilma announced recently that the government will now provide free hypertension and diabetes medication though the “Popular Pharmacy” program.

The diabetes medication was already available at nearly free prices, but this extends the wellness program even further.

As a further note (and one I extend to my policy maker friends in the US) I will mention that in the case of poor people with cancer, the government also offers a helping hand.

My mother in law is a breast cancer survivor.  When she completed her treatment she was placed on a drug called Tamoxifen, which is designed to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer.  It is state of the art treatment, and it is expensive.  She must take this drug for five years.

Well, my mother in law could not afford the R$500+ needed per month to buy this drug, so she went to the city government and said: “Look, I’m a poor old woman.  I’m retired.  How am I going to afford this drug?  Give me a break.”  And guess what?  The government said “OK, we understand.  We will provide the drug to you for free.”

And so my mother in law receives the drug at no cost to her and continues to live a robust life – and it is worth noting that she did not have to sell her house and all her family’s assets in the process.

Take a note United States.  If a poor country like Brazil can do this for its people, so can you.

American style football - all you need to know

I loved me some In Living Color!

No wonder Americans (USA) are so fat

It's so-called Super Bowl Sunday weekend back in the States.  Time for a giant pan of aunt Tracy's famous 7 layer taco dip (with extra sour cream).  Or your brother-in-law Paul's famous double bacon and cheese sliders (with extra mayonnaise mixed right in the meat!)  Or better yet: food blogger Amanda's double stuff Oreos baked inside chocolate chip cookies (no kidding).

I was doing some TasteSpotting this morning (nibbling on real Triscuits, compliments a care package from Rachel -- shout out!)  And what to my wondering eyes should appear but a chocolate, sugar, fat bomb disguised as a cookie.

In all honesty, I could see myself eating one of these - but just one, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Count me among the fat Americans, unfortunately.

It's important to remember that there are very few Big and Tall clothing stores here in Brazil.  Style and selection are narrow.  Better that I stick to the banana mango sorbet.

[Photos and the recipe are from here. No offense intended Amanda.]