family cartography

Continuing preparations for my vacation to Brasil:
I've been making a google map of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo each; trying to find as many places of interest, restaurants, bars, etc., as I can. For Rio, I recruited my parents to help.
Little did I know they would also be including family history and places in their editing! It was great to find out which hospital I was born in, where my mom went to school, etc etc. My dad even included some jokes, historical background, and even poems about certain places!

here's the map for Rio!

my favorite musical!

Dancer in the Dark: excellent!
Björk: a bit melodramatic, but overall a great performance. It's a role that somewhat fits her shy, quiet, eccentric personality, so it makes sense that she would pull it off. Definitely worthy of a swan dress!
Musical numbers: unlike any I'd seen before, though I'm definitely not a musical buff (blegh!). I especially like how sounds from the background of the previous scene slowly materialize into a song. The musical scenes themselves are filmed in a slightly different color (different camera?), and the dancing seems to happen as if it were on the background, sometimes breaking into the forefront of Björk's mind. Reality breaks back into the scene slowly, not quite abruptly, and an actual event happens while the song is finishing. The scenes are really quite wonderfully set up and executed. Kudos, Lars!
Story: meh, interesting only because of how it is constructed around Björk's character's flaws. If she wasn't so intent on keeping promises, or so distracted at work, there would be no story. But it works for the purpose of the movie, this contrast between a harsh/depressing reality, and happy musical numbers.

Recommended!

*I should say though, that this is my second favorite musical; there's always Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Björk's got nothing on Gene Wilder!

discoloration...

Due to my upcoming trip to Brasil (just one week!!!), I've had to renew my passport, buy almost $2,000.00 worth of plane tickets, i've bought a ridiculous costume for the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval parade, i might buy more inconspicuous shoes (sans the swoosh) and a more easily transported bag (backpack?) to make my trip easier and possibly safer... ...but this one topped all of the silly travel preparations I've had to make:
I'm getting a yellow fever shot! I have to do so because there have been some recent cases in the state of Goiás, which is near Brasília. I'm only going to Brasília for a couple of days, but you never know. The things I do for Niemeyer...
Here's a map showing endemic zone for yellow fever in South America:
UPDATE: got the shot. I had to go in at 3pm, because they had to open a 5 dose vial that only lasts for an hour after open. So four or five people have to be there, or else the dosages are wasted. Still, it cost me $75.00! So now I'm immunized (effective in 10 days for the next 10 years), and i have a yellow card to prove it!
But the cost made me think a little about all of the diseases in third world countries, and how much it costs for each individual vaccine; I know this specific one is more expensive, but it is difficult to finance all of these medical expenses in countries where tere is not nearly as much money to begin with...
not to mention uncurable diseases like AIDS.
Sigh; well, at least I'm immune to one of them. Hooray for me.

naked time!

Damn! Today was No Pants Day, and I missed it! That's what I get for working on Sundays...
Meanwhile, in Union Square, pantless subway riders converged to celebrate the occasion!

mondo music festival

Went with Jonathan and Chris to Hiro Ballroom for the Mondo Music Festival last night, and saw some amazing bands!
First off, it was Burkina Electric. This group comprises of three natives of Burkina Faso, one German, and I think one Austrian (I couldn't quite figure it out, because they kept joking about where they were from). The music itself is quite interesting, in that they mix traditional vocals, lyrics, and rhythms with electronic sounds, distortions, and equipment. The instruments include an electric guitar, a digitalized table of some sort that works as a sampler (i really wanted to get a closer look at this instrument, it was an intense piece of equipment!), drums, and a pair of "wands" that trigger different sounds and rhythms depending on their position relative to each other. Meanwhile, the singer, Mai Lingani, has a captivating voice, is beautiful, and can really move. She dances along with a couple of choreographers, although one of them was sick and did not perform last night. The dancing ranges from tame rhythmic bobbing back and forth to what could be best described as tribal interpretive dancing. There were a lot of quick, expressive motions involved in the dances, making for a theatrical presentation. And a lot of the basic steps reminded me a lot of samba and other Brazilian dances, which is just the dose of nostalgia I need in the midst of deadline, and right before my trip :P All in all, it was a great experience. I would recommend checking out their website, even though it's not extensive, if only just to hear the two songs they have on video there.
Next up was Zemog el Gallo Bueno. I don't have much to say about these guys. They annoyed me. I don't really like to trash talk people that are working hard to make a living, but damn, this was disappointing. It was Latin music, mostly the party salsa/merengue hybrid stuff that involves a lot of call and response and yelling. It was not very original, most of the beats seemed very very similar, and the singer was definitely not as good looking as in the first band. He was like a Puerto Rican version of the lead singer from Creed, and it seemed like he had the same self-adulation as that guy. Really not a good time; or maybe I'm being too bitter.

The next band, Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca, was also a latin music band, but they were quite a bit more talented. Their music had different beats and melodies, the singers had good voices, they knew how to engage the crowd, they knew how to do great solos (they even borrowed the best member from the previous band, the bassist, for the night); just a better band. Not to mention By this time Chris was good and buzzed, but he still would do nothing but bob his head (what is it with midwesterners and dancing?). Jonathan and I were starting to burn up the dance floor; it was only a matter of time before we started moving up to the front and bumping into everyone around us. All we needed was for the music to go up yet another notch.

And it did. Budos Band is absolutely fantastic! They're a bunch of guys from Staten Island who play AfroSoul music. The horns, oh the horns! Every single one of the 12 member carries his own weight, and the music really grips you and makes you move... ...I completely zoned in, and wasn't paying attention to anything but me and the music for a solid hour! Just feeling it, moving to every beat, to every toot of the horn... ...it probably looked like I was having a seizure to everyone else, but what the hell do i care? It was the first time in months I had this intense of a moment with the music, so I just rode it until they finished. The type of song didn't matter either; they had slow songs, ominous songs, happy songs, hyper songs... ...I was moving to it all. I would HIGHLY recommend picking up some of their music!

Budos Band- Budos Band II

Search for Mondo Music Festival; I don't know how often they'll have this, but I would try it out every time! I'm definitely adding Burkina Electric and Budos Band to my musical library, and would never turn down an opportunity to see Jose Conde (and his LEGO t-shirt, hehe) live again!


Musical bliss.

yummy in my tummy, muthafaka!

mmmm..... full of Florent, courtesy of dad, for mom's birthday! My sister had an indoor soccer game this evening at Chelsea Piers (first time there, remind me never to participate in any tourneys in the place). Game aside (sorry, B), it was a great night. My mom complimented a Gehry building (IAC), we walked around the meatpacking district, and dinner was great! Made fun of some people with really annoying voices with my sister, and apparently someone that was in Incredibad was there. I had the roulade of chicken breast....wow.wow.wow. Maybe I just like cheesy stuffed chickens, but this was great! Also gotta love the decor; framed city maps, cities from all over the world. I'd forgotten about that touch from my last time there. Even the menus have maps on them. good times, good times...

Florent
69, Gansevoort St.
between 9th Ave. and Washington St.
this place is open 24 hours, and is not too cheap, but not off the charts or anything... 4 people, a little under 80, plus tip.

sabotaging mofos...

Well, looks as if Intel is backing out of One Laptop per Child, days before a OLPC machine with an Intel chip was to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in La Vegas this week. The company cites "philosophical differences", and is itself involved in developing a low-cost computer that will be put in competition with OLPC machines in some of the same markets. Yeah, philosophical differences, right...
Some of the disagreement could stem from the use of chips by Intel's competitor, AMD, in the first few prototypes of the OX machine. But the timing of this is very suspicious. We'll see how this Classmate computer compares to the OX. I guess that competition could improve the cost of this product, maybe even immediately, but at the same time, the quality of these products needs to be top-notch. The children don't have the money to replace their computers every few years...

I hope this is for the best, but it certainly doesn't feel like it right now.