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Olha lá vai passando a procissão/Se arrastando que nem cobra pelo chão/As pessoas que nela vão passando acreditam nas coisas lá do céu/As mulheres cantando tiram versos, os homens escutando tiram o chapéu/Eles vivem penando aqui na Terra/Esperando o que Jesus prometeu/E Jesus prometeu coisa melhor/Prá quem vive nesse mundo sem amor/Só depois de entregar o corpo ao chão, só depois de morrer nestesertão/Eu também tô do lado de Jesus, só que acho que ele se esqueceu/De dizer que na Terra a gente tem/De arranjar um jeitinho prá viver/Muita gente se arvora a ser Deus e promete tanta coisa pro sertão/Que vai dar um vestido prá Maria, e promete um roçado pro João/Entra ano, sai ano, e nada vem, meu sertão continua ao Deus dará/Mas se existe Jesus no firmamento, cá na Terra isso tem que seacabar A Procissão, Gilberto Gil
Last week, I saw Gilberto Gil live at the Nokia Theater with my mom. She showed me his music way back in the day, (as his, it's not like his music doesn't play everywhere in Brasil) and I would not let his show go by without her seeing him.
Let me just say before anything else: Gilberto Gil can play! Shit, can he play! And sing! And dance! And he's 66 years old! He was dancing around like a maniac, screaming from the top of his lungs, giving evil looks to the crowd, and even doing a bit of ginga (capoeira move). All this out of someone whose black/gray/white dreadlocks probably weighed as much as the rest of his body.
His band was incredible as well, seamlessly switching between completely different musical styles, combining them, switching rythms, arrangements, and the like. And it wasn't just some musical masturbatory exercise (as per my most recent Prefuse 73 show, which made me quite upset); this was a concert designed to make you dance. My mom and I did not stop the whole time, we kept bumping into some not-so-happy concertgoers, but we didn't care. We came here to enjoy some incredible music by moving to it, not just staring mindlessly at the guitarists fingers. For that, you move to the side...
Now, this leaves my list of brasileiros i have to see on stage one name shorter:
Caetano Veloso
Gilberto Gil
Chico Buarque
Milton Nascimento
Jorge Ben(jor)
DJ Dolores
Edu Lobo
Olodum
Nação Zumbi
Zuco 103
Marcelinho da Lua
hmmm.
So much for that idea...
Here's the count:
Last blog entry: 2008.06.15_12.09 (finished 2008.07.04)
Blog entries, last 19 days: 1
Time to get it right...
Read the book Cradle to Cradle, by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. This chemist/architect pairing began in the late 80's and early 90's when these two were amongst many people trying to figure out ecologically sound solutions for product design and mass produced goods. The two began brainstorming about ways to create/build product so that they could be disassembled into biodegradable and recyclable components. The main objective behind this would be to close the product loop, so that nothing is thrown out at the end (there is no end). This is in contrast to recycling, which while valuable, still produces waste, doesn't stop its product from being thrown out post-use, and creates pollution of its own. The current system, therefore, is called cradle to grave.
This book touches on the most important changes to be made within manufacturing industries, building industries, and the general public/society, as outlined by Braungart and McDonough's philosophy:
1. There are two alternative for the life cycles of products, depending on if they are biodegradable or not. biodegradable products are made purely of biodegradable materials, and can be thrown out by the consumer upon consumption without worry or specific location. These products must be composed of safe materials and chemicals, both during and post-use. Other products may contain some less safe materials and chemicals, though offgassing of these chemicals must be minimal. Also, such chemicals as dioxins and carcinogens (but I thought everything was a carcinogen...) are strictly prohibited from use in any product. These synthetic products can be upcycled, meaning they can be reused in a constant cycle, in the same composition or a higher-level use than previously. Currently, recycled materials tend to be of lower quality than their predecessors. Biodegradable and non biodegradable components may be combined in the same product, but only through easily and safely detachable physical bonds.
2. Production facilities must be safe for workers and the surrounding community, and should be active participants/contributors to the community. New production systems can be implemented that do not use toxic chemicals. Factories and other buildings can utilize environmentally friendly building materials and technologies, and can use "sustainable" infrastructure such as solar/wind/micro-hydroelectric energy, composting waste, water capture/reuse/treatment.
3.Ecology, Equity, and Economy can and should work hand in hand, but they should be equal in priority within a manufacturer's operations. To balance these 3 ideals is to create a truly successful business model that is not unsustainable. Businesses can approach this balance from any angle, but the end result should be equality of purpose.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, printed on paper and plastic impermeable pages, and am now more willing to think beyond the general guidelines of what is sustainable, into the realm of what is effective, regenerative, and therefore more attractive/feasible.
My one complaint with the cradle-to-cradle system is the lack of effort in engaging the public, and even companies themselves. Perhaps because it is just one business engaging with other businesses, the public scope is too large. In the place of cradle-to-cradle's detailed and specific studies, a third-party rating system similar to LEED has emerged, called SMaRT (run by MTS, or Market Transformation for Sustainability). While it may not seem so from the unfriendly website, these ratings are easier to understand than cradle-to-cradle, but rely on a lot of paperwork, and less research by the third-party. The research and product development comes from the company itself; all MTS and other parties do is study the information they are given and assessing points based on a system. More standardized, but not necessarily as helpful on a case-by-case basis.
Either way, it seems a revolution in product design and manufacturing is happening. Hopefully the general public wakes up to this and begins to overhaul their living in the same way.
Seems as if I only make time to write on here once a week. So I'll try to give weekly updates of how my updating of the site is going. And maybe try to go on here more often.
Last blog entry: 2008.06.08_22.06
Blog entries, last 7 days: 2
Update from latest crane incident:
The lead inspector of cranes and derricks at the NYC Department of Building was accused yesterday, under suspicion of taking bribes from a crane company, and selling crane operation licensing exam responses from the same company.
Hm. That's very surprising. I never would have thought the inner workings of any public entity in a huge and bureaucracy-rich city such as New York would be subject to such lobbying/bribery. My oh my.
Well, I guess it's time to react to it when people start dying in public.
Here are a couple more synopses on films I've seen recently, which both happen to be from Latin America:
Manda Bala, by Jason Kohn (2007)
Compelling, I think is the best description for this documentary. It attempts to make sense of the chaos that is brasilian society, based on its may incarnations and reactions to crime. The two main forms of crime that are juxtaposed are money laundering by politicians, and kidnapping of these and other rich by the poor. Along for the ride are frog farmers, reconstructive plastic surgeons, bombastic anti-kidnapping division policemen, and paranoid "mauricinhos" (stuck up rich boys, in brasilian slang). Metaphors are thrown around, and even though they may be direct they are not overemphasized, instead taking shape through the scenes, cuts, and cinematography. Which, by the way, is quite stunning at times, even though none of these filmmakers had ever directed or produced anything (so kudos to the camerawoman, you rock!).
I think the most surprising emotion I came away with from this movie is not so much anger at conditions i already knew existed (the poor being abused by the rich, especially in the north of the country; the extremely poor trying to take something for themselves through any means, and leaving their morals in the backburner; or the rich ignoring the actual conditions of the poor and resorting to stereotypical portrayals of the poors as ignorants for justification), but more at a current thread through all of these characters: the brasilian ability to adapt, to innovate in order to succeed, the jeitinho that apparently permeates through most brasileiros. I wonder if I see too much into this theme in anything brasilian i experience, but it seems to make sense too often. Maybe it's a good thing I'm an architect. Time to put the jeitinho to work...
El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, by Carlos Carrera (2002)
1. Based on a seemingly anti-catholic novel written before 1800 about scandals involving priests, and loves forbidden by already outdated canonical laws.
2. Hot, good actors and actresses. ok, actor and actress... ...and she's really not that good, but Gael Garcia Bernal is. Though I think they went a bit too telenovela with the love story aspect. But maybe I'm just not wired for these things.
3. Peasants turning against heretics while priests fund hospitals through laundered drug lord money. That just about brings the story up to the late 20th and early 21st century.
4. leprosy, catholic witch doctors, abortion, blackmailing, and coronaries. And a lot of talk about Mexican food.
So the film wasn't necessarily great, but it had its highlights. Though I still can't figure out the general point of view of the writers/producers/directors, especially regarding religion and organized religion. B ut I will say, one of my favorite moments was the recitation of dirty Holy Book passages during sex. HOT! And definitely better overall as a movie than most American romances nowadays.
Another crane incident...
Incompetence is the name of the game in the NYC construction industry. Well, that and money.
I guess this is a good time to introduce Curbed, a website about NYC real estate, community, and planning.
