50 Brasilian Songs You Gotta Listen to Before You Die

From a UK magazine, Jungle Drums, that I picked up in London.

Check out the playlist here.

I love Gene Kelly

It's Always Fair Weather (1955)




Watch the movie; Cyd Charisse's number in the boxing studio is wunderbar.

Also, I know I have lots to update on about Europe. Pictures to come...
Have a very Merry Christmas.

The Adoration of the Shepherds.
Anton Raphael Mengs

(And, read about the real St. Nick)

[Edit: The French subtitles in the clip were unexpected. But a nice touch.]

Moi, a published author?

Sort of.

Educate yourself here.
The 2007 issue of Geneflow, a magazine that promotes awareness of agricultural biodiversity.

There are a few articles I wrote in the climate change special section, and a majority of the remaining articles were penned by Megan. A definite labor of love :)

Important environmental issues affecting...everybody, really.

Czech it out!

mahler's ninth

"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,

and let it divide the waters from the waters"

[oxford] thoughts

He walked with her to the station, passing through those streets whose serried beauty never bewildered him and never fatigued. The lovely creature raised domes and spires into the cloudless blue, and only the ganglion of vulgarity round Carfax showed how evanescent was the phantom, how faint its claim to represent England.

-E.M. Foster, Howards End

Mr. Donne

AS virtuous men pass mildly away,
And whisper to their souls to go,
Whilst some of their sad friends do say,
"Now his breath goes," and some say, "No."

So let us melt, and make no noise, 5
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move ;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears ;
Men reckon what it did, and meant ; 10
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers' love
—Whose soul is sense—cannot admit
Of absence, 'cause it doth remove 15
The thing which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,
That ourselves know not what it is,
Inter-assurèd of the mind,
Care less, eyes, lips and hands to miss. 20

Our two souls therefore, which are one,
Though I must go, endure not yet
A breach, but an expansion,
Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so 25
As stiff twin compasses are two ;
Thy soul, the fix'd foot, makes no show
To move, but doth, if th' other do.

And though it in the centre sit,
Yet, when the other far doth roam, 30
It leans, and hearkens after it,
And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,
Like th' other foot, obliquely run ;
Thy firmness makes my circle just, 35
And makes me end where I begun.

vacuum

i store up so many things
taking, sucking, filling up

with nothing to show
for it.

---
equal parts:
snatching, thinking, speaking.
but what they don't tell you
are the chasms that lie between.

3 kinds of people
able to do one, or both,
rarely three.

some winged sandals
an accelerator of sorts
are what i need.

----

the prodigal son is a story of a father and his TWO sons.

success simply "is."

I wish.

[so many things]

[environmental] thoughts

ok...so i realize that the amount of carbon emitted from this family trip, in addition to the amount of traveling i have done in the past 20 years, is probably outstanding.

so, my plan is to donate money to forest conservation efforts, or to plant my own orchard to offset this carbon.

apples, anyone?

[art] thoughts

from Picasso (Ediciones Poligrafia):
"The modernist objective...was to find a method of representing reality within the superficial condition of painting which has its own coherent, internal logic." (5)

"Thus the painting itself becomes an object, one more element of reality, endowed with specificity and autonomy."

In the Palais de Tokyo, Christina Boltanski's exhibit:
"What remains of a person's existence but a few objects and some unlikely photographs?"

Is this the sole evidence of being?

Also, an interesting piece at the Palais de Tokyo (I forgot to grab the artist's name):

heights

So this is a bit overdue...

but my senses have been on overload, and it's takes time to process.

a curious fusion of antiquity, history, modernity, avant-garde art, fashion and architecture...

the eurotrip was quite a frenzy, but some quality family time was had. we started in blackpool at the uncle's and made our way through the continent.

paris had me at champ elysees and cafe du trocadero. beautiful, posh, the hub of art and fashion... i loved the museums, especially the musee d'orsay and the palais de tokyo. bonnard and vuillard, added to a list of favorites. trying to understand modernism, impressionism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism.

madrid, mature, historical. el retiro a beautiful park in the heart of the city...a real retreat. the reina sofia and the museo thyssen-bornemisza had very comprehensive collections.

and barcelona...bustling and alive. gaudi! so organic - the synthesis of aesthetics and function. his work and his inspiration is striking.

much thought about art, about purpose, about the meaning of words and images.
the fragility of memory and life.
the documentation of existence, of being...

and don't even get me started on the foods... [thought, i must say, nothing lived quite up to the cuisine in italy...] let's just say i enjoyed the wining and dining.

i also now speak "euro" which is a cacophonous mix of italian, french, and spanish. i am amazed at those who have mastered them individually! one day...

so many sights, sounds, tastes, smells, thoughts and memories i'm trying hard to hold on to.
and it doesn't stop, won't stop until i'm sitting on a plane headed for a school in jersey.

so trust that i'm coping, enjoying, missing, and living...

here's a few from the trip:

Thoughts on Travel

An article from the New York Times.

Me in a nutshell?

Languages, Parks, and Vonnegut

Amazing experience last night sitting at Pizzeria da Baffetto with a motley crew of Europeans.
3 French people, 1 German, 1 Italian, and 2 Americans

We met outside in line, and were invited to have dinner with them...Nevio was the ring leader, speaking English, Italian and French, translating back and forth.

I was ecstatic to practice my French and hear about life in Europe.

Also, went to my new favorite Roman place, and found a fountain, which I now think is my favorite fountain in the world. On our way, we got lost, and it started to rain. We were on a road with no sidewalks, and had to hug the walls so that cars wouldn't run as over. We walked for what seemed like forever, and just as we lost hope, we found an opening. It was like seeing the gates of heaven. Villa Doria Pamphili was amazing. The combination of cool weather, the sun setting, and lush green of the park made it a perfect place. I love parks.

As for today, we went to Castiglione del Lago...absolutely gorgeous. Lake Trasimeno was a giant dish of clear blue, warm bath water. Finally some clouds as we traveled through Umbria...the countryside looked so much greener because of it.

Making my way through Schlachthof-funf. Almost done, but really enjoying it.

"Billy Pilgrim says that the Universe does not look like a lot of bright little dots to the cretures from Tralfamadore. The creatures can see where each star has been and where it is going, so that the heavens are filled with rarefied, luminous spaghetti. And Tralfamadorians don't see human beings as two-legged creatures, either. They see them as great millepedes--'with babies' legs at one end and old people's legs at the other,' says Billy Pilgrim."

acknowledgements

to the musicians who have kept me sane this summer
(also a reminder for me to buy their music when I get the chance)

1. m.ward
2. scatteredtrees
3. rufus wainwright
4. the slip
5. camera obscura
6. dj mother hubbard
7. girltalk
8. ben kweller

also, thank you, rihanna, for "umbrella"

the Med in my veins

Owl eyes

My own eyes are no more than scouts on a preliminary search,

for the camera's eye may entirely change my idea.
-Edward Weston




(Calcata corner-Neighborhood church-Drinking water near Piazza Navona-People waiting for the Madonna on Ponte Garibaldi)
*********



(in my world, every alleyway ends with a pizzeria)

a good morning in italy

I woke up to the bells of Santa Maria Maggiore,
the magnificent basilica around the corner,
but chose to stay in bed for a while,
resting my eyes and lying in the cool air
the morning had brought.

Our shuttered windows were flung wide open
[as they always are]
to let the breezes in.

I finally decided to get up
and go to the market
so that I could make a lovely breakfast
of eggs, toast and jam, and melon.
I listened to some tunes,
that made me want to smile,
and waited for Shawn's call to give the 'ok.'

But we're going to Calcata today,
with or without him,
to reconnect with some hippie love,
that sits on a fortressed plateau
outside of Rome.

[addition]
To Calcata we went! [sadly, without Shawn]

A tiny town on a hill,
Deserted when we arrived,
[it was siesta].

We walked to the bottom of the tree-covered valley
where the river bustled through
and where we dipped our feet in
to cool off.

And it felt like we went back in time...
to see the dinosaurs...

Hardly a tourist in sight.
Just an empty piazza,
and a church in the corner,
with a clock, whose hands stopped turning
long ago.

firenze

On the way to Firenze, we sped by Tuscany, filled with fields of sunflowers.

They became blurs of yellow, but they still made me smile.


Florence was very hot, but the people were nice.
I bought some Roman strappy sandals. Because Florence is known for their leather.

And for its art.
I saw this guy:
And the birthing of Venus as well. Not to mention many Virgin Mary's with her Son.


Also, my first experience in a hostel.
...Interesting.
[I seem to attract Asians...or am always drawn to them].

the golden birthday

Today, I am 20.
I slept in.
I ate my morning cornetto.
I received many warm fuzzies.
I decided that wild and adrenaline-pumping acts can still take place when I'm in my twenties, after partaking in a what I thought was my last wild and adrenaline-pumping act.
Then, I went back to what I love, no matter where I am in the world...
the sand, the sun, and the beach.


The teen years are gone. What is left to come is much better.
I will be taking on the world next, on my scooter.

ciao.

berlin surprises

a quick jaunt up north for the weekend, to surprise julio for his birthday.

jason and i have been conspiring for some time now, and it was perfectly executed.
what a joy to see familiar faces...

quite the contrast from rome, but a very enjoyable city.
rich history, tall buildings, modernity.

blueberry cake and walls and checkpoints and pictures and graffiti and doners.
dining and dancing, and no more high heels (on my honor).

a rush to the airport, and no time to cry.
and a hug that has to last for the next 5 months.

Requiem

Last night, we sat under the stars of the night sky painted on the ceiling of Chiesa Santa Maria Sopa Minerva. And we listened to the church fill with waves of sorrow and loss in an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. It was peaceful, to close my eyes and take it in.

We stepped along the cobble stoned pathways around the Fontana di Trevi, searching for the great San Crispino, only to have just missed it, and settling for some “lesser" gelato. The espresso kept me up all night.

But at the least, today, I began to blend in once again. Exchanging smiles with the Italians, being mistaken for a "signorina," walking down Via delle Quattro Fontane with a warm baguette and a carton of wine in my arms. It was a simple evening, cooking an even simpler meal. But it was a good one.

Some shots from the weekend:

Colosseo 7/6/07

7/6


Roman Subway 7/7

Villa Adriana 7/7

Chiesa di San Ignatius 7/8

i love...

cornetto mornings outside on the patio...

a morning meeting of the entire staff from around the world, sipping Italian coffee and hearing about the cool projects the organization is working on [as well as Kwezi's "motivational talks" related to him driving around Rome].

It is a beautiful day today, and it bodes well for a splendid weekend [Both because I can now be the writer I wanted to be, and for the Tuscan adventure to come].

And a few pictures as promised:

Leaving the Chiesa Trinita dei Monti 6/29

Sperlonga 6/30


Loud Public Transportation 7/2